US

United States

Texas

12/10/13

A Texas woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, under a deal that her attorney has said would cap prison time at 18 years. (Dec. 10)

Missouri

7/17/14

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court was asked to halt the execution Wednesday of a convicted killer in Missouri after a federal appeals court ruled the lethal injection could move forward.
John Middleton was originally scheduled to die one minute after midnight Wednesday for killing three people in rural northern Missouri in 1995. But less than two hours earlier, a federal judge ruled there was enough evidence of mental illness that a new hearing should take place.

Detroit

7/14/14

Jack Tocco, believed to be the longest-serving mob boss in the United States and the last living person with first-hand knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the death of Jimmy Hoffa, has died aged 87.

Tocco, who died on Monday, was the godfather in Detroit for 35 years, longer than any current godfather in the country, according to Scott Burnstein, an author and expert on organized crime in the city.

"He is one of the last, if not the last, link to the golden era of the American Mafia," he said.

Since the 1930s, when Jack Tocco's father and uncle founded the Mafia in Detroit, a Tocco has led the mob in the city, Burnstein said.

Tocco, known as "Black Jack," owned a race track and a business that provided linen to local hotels. He was convicted of federal racketeering in 1998 and sentenced to two years in prison, according to Burnstein.

California

7/17/14

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A blast of gunfire killed an automobile mechanic and wounded a cousin who was driving him home from work as their teenage sons sat behind the two men in a Southern California freeway shooting that has left police searching for suspects and a motive.

Agustin Villegas, 32, was riding in the front passenger seat of the family pickup truck through Anaheim on Monday night when the front passenger and driver-side windows exploded in shards of glass, Anaheim Police Lieutenant Bob Dunn said.

The driver, a 42-year-old cousin visiting from Arizona, managed to pull the truck to the side of the road and with the help of his son called emergency-911 for help.

Florida

7/17/14

FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. (AP) — The ex-wife of a police officer who left the department after a report tied him to the Ku Klux Klan told investigators that the couple joined the group as part of an undercover operation, according to a report released Tuesday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Ann Hunnewell said she and her ex-husband, George Hunnewell, joined the KKK in 2008 at the request of then-Police Chief Mark Isom. She said they were trying to find out if another officer was a KKK member.

No one answered the phone at numbers listed for Isom. The officer Hunnewell said she and her ex-husband were investigating later resigned.

Ann Hunnewell was a secretary for the police department before leaving in 2010.

Her statements were contained in a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report tying officer Hunnewell and Deputy Chief David Borst to the KKK. Borst resigned and Hunnewell was fired last week.

A phone number listed for Borst was disconnected. Hunnewell's number was not listed.

The information about the former officers was given to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement by the FBI. Parts of the Florida report were redacted and it's not clear what the FBI was investigating when it discovered the officers link to the KKK.

An FBI spokesman in Jacksonville hasn't responded to a voicemail.

Ann Hunnewell told investigators that she and her former husband never paid dues, attended meetings or witnessed any criminal activity. She also said there was no documentation of their undercover operation.

Fruitland Park Police Chief Terry Isaacs wasn't in his office Tuesday and City Manager Gary La Venia wouldn't comment. La Venia said the police chief would issue a statement on Wednesday.

The police department has 13 officers for the city has about 5,000 residents. It is located about 40 miles northwest of Orlando.

Fruitland Park was once known for its citrus groves and is in Lake County, where KKK violence in the 1940s and 1950s was rampant.

The State Attorney's Office told city officials that pending cases from the officers will be reviewed, although Borst's job was primarily administrative and didn't involve much patrolling, La Venia said.