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Man pleads guilty to stealing from farmers market
Court Watch |
2014/03/17 14:28
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Prosecutors say a former Glendale city councilman has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $305,000 from a farmers market.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office says 55-year-old John Drayman entered a plea Wednesday to felony charges of embezzlement, filing a false tax return and perjury.
While serving as the director of the Montrose farmers market, Drayman was accused of collecting proceeds from the weekly event and skimming thousands of dollars before turning the money over to the market's treasurer.
Drayman was indicted in 2012 on 28 counts dating from 2004 to 2011. The remaining 25 counts will be dismissed when he is sentenced April 7.
He is expected to be sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to pay $304,853 in restitution and $14,016 to the state tax board. |
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Chris Brown returns to court after rehab dismissal
Attorney News |
2014/03/17 14:28
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After a weekend in jail, Chris Brown is facing a court hearing over his dismissal from rehab and whether he should be given additional penalties, which could include more time behind bars.
The Grammy-winning R&B singer spent the weekend in a downtown Los Angeles lockup after a judge ordered him to be arrested for violating the rules and regulations of his treatment. Court records did not elaborate on the reason for Brown's dismissal from the facility in Malibu that was treating him for anger management, substance abuse and issues related to bi-polar disorder.
Brown, 24, had been under court orders to remain in treatment since November, one month after he was arrested in Washington, D.C., after a man accused him of punching him in a confrontation outside a hotel. That case remains pending, and Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin has not yet scheduled a probation violation hearing to address whether he would penalize the singer for the arrest.
His attorney Mark Geragos did not return an email message seeking comment on the singer's arrest. Prosecutors have not said what action they plan to take at Monday's hearing.
Brandlin revoked Brown's probation in December, but refused a prosecutor's request in February to send the singer to jail because of the Washington misdemeanor assault case. The judge has said Brown appeared to be making good progress in rehab and a probation officer gave him a favorable report at his last court hearing on Feb. 28.
The singer's arrest last week represents another stumble in his efforts to put his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna behind him. Brown's probation had been scheduled to conclude in August, but that is now unlikely because he still has 750 hours of community labor to complete and could face additional penalties for failing to complete rehab successfully. |
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Toal seeking millions to safeguard SC court info
Court News |
2014/03/14 14:53
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The head of South Carolina's judicial system says she needs more money to safeguard digital information for courts around the state.
Chief Justice Jean Toal told a Senate panel Wednesday that it would take about $5.5 million to set up a site at Clemson University that could serve as a backup for digital court records now stored in Columbia.
Toal says she also needs about $500,000 to train staff on data security measures.
The House budget approved Wednesday doesn't include that money. But Toal says the state's courts would be crippled if the information were wiped out and not backed up.
Toal is also asking for the money to fund new circuit court and family court judges, as well as staff attorneys for both appellate courts. |
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French court blocks secret recordings of Sarkozy
Headline Legal News |
2014/03/14 14:52
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A French court has ordered an ex-aide of Nicolas Sarkozy to pay 10,000 euros ($14,000) in damages and costs to the former French president over secret recordings that were published in an online journal, and instructed the publication to pull down the links.
Sarkozy and his pop-star-supermodel wife, Carla Bruni, had demanded an emergency injunction blocking publication of their conversation, which surfaced in the online publication Atlantico. The court Friday ordered Atlantico to take down the audio files.
Once-trusted aide Patrick Buisson was ordered to pay 10,000 euros in damages to Sarkozy for making the recordings, and Atlantico and Buisson were each ordered to pay 1,000 euros in court costs.
Atlantico has already pulled the playful exchange between Sarkozy and Bruni. |
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Man pleads guilty to sea cucumber smuggling charge
Press Release |
2014/03/10 14:07
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Federal prosecutors in San Diego say a man has pleaded guilty to charges he smuggled 100 pounds of dried sea cucumber into the United States from Mexico.
Sea cucumbers are leathery-skinned marine animals used in some folk medicine practices.
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy says Cheng Zhuo Liu (chuhng joo-oh lee-oo), a resident of Chula Vista, admitted to tucking the sea cucumbers into the spare tire area of his car before crossing the border last October.
According to the US attorney's office, their market value was between $5,000 and $10,000.
The particular species Liu had is protected under international trade rules, and requires a permit for import.
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