BRIEFLY : WOMAN DENIES USE OF ILLEGALS AS SLAVES.A 52-year-old Woodland Hills woman pleaded not guilty at her arraignment A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted Monday in U.S. District Court on charges that she held two illegal Thai immigrants as slaves. Supawan Veerapol was indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. by a grand jury earlier this month on charges of harboring and employing illegal immigrants. Veerapol is slated to go on trial May 26 and is free on $500,000 bond. She faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors allege that Veerapol, the common-law wife of Thailand's ambassador to Sweden, used connections to get around the requirements to obtain entry visas for two women. Her lawyer, William Randall William Randall may refer to:
tr.v. mis·treat·ed, mis·treat·ing, mis·treats To treat roughly or wrongly. See Synonyms at abuse. mis·treat , saying they are part of a plot against Veerapol by a vengeful former business partner. - Daily News Jury duty medical break harder to get The Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court is sick and tired of excusing jurors for medical reasons. In fiscal year 1996-97, a total of 238,045 jurors were excused for medical reasons, said Jerianne Hayslett, a spokeswoman for the court. Only those who cited financial hardship got out of jury duty more often, she said. But a new summons will make it tougher to be excused for medical reasons. Some medical conditions See carpal tunnel syndrome, computer vision syndrome, dry eyes and deep vein thrombosis. might warrant only a postponement, Hayslett said. Doctors will have to provide more information under penalty of perjury perjury (pûr`jərē), in criminal law, the act of willfully and knowingly stating a falsehood under oath or under affirmation in judicial or administrative proceedings. , she said. - City News Service Grip's widow files suit against Disney The wife and children of a Disney grip killed on location in Poison Canyon filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Monday against the company and the manufacturer of a crane that touched a high-voltage line. Matthew Gordy, 31, of Woodland Hills was electrocuted Feb. 25 in San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. County, where background filming was being done for the live-action movie ``Dinosaur.'' Colleague David Riggio of Encino, who was burned over 5 percent of his body, also filed suit Monday against Disney and Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment Inc. Gordy's wife, Krista, filed a 35-page wrongful-death and personal-injury lawsuit on behalf of her daughter, Marlowe, and the couple's unborn child. The family seeks unspecified damages. She claims the crane malfunctioned just before touching the electrified wires. A Disney spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit. Chapman/Leonard could not be reached for comment. - City News Service Coroner IDs biker crushed by big rig Big Rig was a punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area fronted by singer/songwriter Jesse Michaels. Michaels performed with the group after the break up of his previous project, Operation Ivy, and before forming the band Common Rider. A 34-year-old Burbank man who fell off his motorcycle on the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. and was crushed by a big rig was identified Monday as Troy Moffett, a coroner's spokeswoman said. Moffett was maneuvering between the tractor-trailer and a passenger car Sunday just north of Osborne Street in Arleta when he lost control of his Harley-Davidson, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the California Highway Patrol. Neither the truck driver nor the driver of the other car has been charged. CHP CHP Chapter CHP Combined Heat and Power CHP California Highway Patrol CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Turkish: Republican People's Party) CHP Chemical Hygiene Plan (OSHA) CHP Community Health Plan investigators continue to look into what happened in the moments leading up to the 4:20 p.m. crash, said Officer Karen Faciane. - Daily News Missouri man buys celebrity cemetery Rudolph Valentino can rest peacefully again. So can Bugsy Siegel. Hollywood Memorial Park, the final resting place of some of early Hollywood's brightest stars, has been sold for $375,000 to a Missouri funeral home operator, officials said Monday. ``The threat of closure of the cemetery is now gone,'' David Isenberg, an attorney representing the trustee, said Monday. ``People don't need to worry about whether or not they will be able to be buried here or visit their loved ones.'' After dangling in bankruptcy since April 1996, the cemetery faced complete shutdown. Tyler Cassity, a 27-year-old funeral home owner from St. Louis, Mo., formed Hollywood Forever Inc. to take ownership of the cemetery. The cemetery was valued at more than $2 million. - Daily News Meeting to address regional transit zone VAN NUYS - Members of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Regional Transit Zone Citizens Advisory Council are asking for public input at a meeting Wednesday at Valley College regarding the possibility of creating a regional transit zone. In working out the transit zone, the advisory council hopes to lower the cost of and improve bus service throughout the San Fernando Valley, said Steve Meister, co-chairman of the council. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria at Valley College in Van Nuys. Two other meetings are scheduled for April 29 and May 6, both at 7 p.m. at the same location. For information, call (213) 580-5444. - Daily News 4 plead not guilty in auto-crash fraud Four people pleaded not guilty Monday to filing phony car-crash claims in a $4.6 million insurance scam. Arkady Rozenberg, 48, and Rebecca Martinez, 33, both of Los Angeles; Ilya Mestetsky, 50, of North Hollywood; and Reuben Ross, 49, of Alta Loma pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of money laundering The process of taking the proceeds of criminal activity and making them appear legal. Laundering allows criminals to transform illegally obtained gain into seemingly legitimate funds. and mail fraud, said prosecutor Stephen G. Larson. U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson set a June 2 trial date. Rozenberg, the alleged leader, remains jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail, but the others are free on $25,000 bail each, Larson said. - Associated Press |
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