National Roundup

Missouri Man ordered to prison for stealing on the job ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A southern Illinois man has been sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison for stealing more than $200,000 from his employer through inflated invoices. Fifty-nine-year-old Percy Puntriano of Red Bud was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. He'd pleaded guilty to felony mail fraud in June. Authorities say Puntriano was working for household product maker Willert Home Products in St. Louis when from November 2004 to March 2008 he used a shell company to buy pallets from suppliers. He then submitted inflated invoices to his employer for them and pocketed the difference. A judge also has ordered Puntriano to pay a $60,000 fine. Mississippi 5 more sentenced in insurance fraud case BRANDON, Miss. (AP) -- Five women have been sentenced from three to eight years in prison for helping bilk the state out of more than $500,000 in a health care fraud scheme. The Clarion-Ledger reports (http://bit.ly/nu3gMS) the women were sentenced Tuesday in Rankin County Circuit Court by Judge John Emfinger. So far, 11 people have pleaded guilty and been sentenced. The remaining three are set for trial in November, said Special Assistant Attorney General Larry Baker. They are Crystal Barnes, 36, Sonya Mitchell, 35, and Zaveon Cooper, 36, all of Jackson. In the scheme, three Blue Cross/Blue Shield workers, who were charged in the case and later fired by the insurance company, recruited state or school employees to file fraudulent claims. The state employees would then kick back a portion of the money to the insurance workers. Blue Cross/Blue Shield administers the state health plan and the company replaced the money stolen in the scheme. Those sentenced Tuesday were: -- Shantwana Johnson, 36, of Jackson, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to conspiracy, insurance fraud, mail fraud and false representation, was sentenced to serve eight years in prison and pay restitution with co-defendants of the money received. -- Tambrella Johnson, 25, of Jackson, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy, insurance fraud, mail fraud and false representation because of her admission and was sentenced to five years in prison and restitution. -- Fonda Church, 46, of Jackson, was sentenced to eight years in prison and restitution. She pleaded guilty to two counts each of conspiracy, insurance fraud and false representation. -- Kathy Carter, 40, of Jackson, pleaded guilty to two counts each of conspiracy, insurance fraud, mail fraud and false representations. Emfinger gave Carter three years to serve and suspended sentences on the other counts. -- Contessa Davis, 37, of Jackson, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy, insurance fraud, mail fraud and false representation and was given a five-year sentence and restitution. Pennsylvania Cops: Couple's copper theft for wedding netted $18 ELLWOOD CITY, Pa. (AP) -- Police say a western Pennsylvania couple desperate for money to pay for their wedding netted just $18 for the stolen copper wire they cut from more than a dozen utility poles. North Sewickley police say 23-year-old Joseph Russell and 24-year-old April Cater cut down the wires on August 9, four days before their wedding. Russell says he was desperate for money because he'd just lost his job and lost a $1,000 deposit after his reception hall abruptly closed down. Sgt. Jeff Bezce says the couple clearly expected to get more money than they got from the scrap where they sold the copper. Russell tells WPXI-TV he will pay for the damages. Utility officials say it will cost about $400 to repair of the 18 poles that were damaged. California Jail volunteers say LA deputies brutalized inmates LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Two chaplains and a Hollywood producer who volunteer at downtown's Los Angeles County jail say deputies brutalize inmates and sheriff's supervisors don't take beating reports seriously. The sworn declarations by the volunteers come amid reports of an FBI investigation into deputy conduct at county jails. The two volunteers say they heard deputies yell "stop fighting" as deputies pummeled inmates who appeared to be doing nothing to fight back. The Los Angeles Times reports the declarations will be filed in court Wednesday as part of a report compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is a court-appointed monitor of jail conditions. "Hangover" producer Scott Budnick, a former jail writing tutor, and chaplain Paulino Juarez described abuse. The second chaplain's declaration was submitted anonymously. Connecticut Jury sees texts between 2 men in home invasion NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Jurors on Wednesday saw text messages between two men charged with killing a woman and her two young daughters, including one in which one told the other he was "chomping at the bit to get started." Prosecutors showed the texts that Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes sent to each other in the hours before the deadly home invasion in July 2007 in Cheshire. Hayes was convicted and sentenced to death last year. Komisarjevsky is on trial and could join him on death row if he's convicted. "I'm chomping at the bit to get started," Hayes wrote, according to testimony. "Need a margarita soon." After Hayes sends another text later, Komisarjevsky replies that he's putting his young daughter to bed, adding "Hold your horses." "Dude," Hayes responds, "the horses want to get loose. LOL." Authorities also cited explicit cellphone photos Komisarjevsky took of 11-year-old Michaela Petit, who died of smoke inhalation along with her 17-year-old sister, Hayley. The two girls were tied to their beds and left to die in a fire authorities say the men set after dousing the house with gas. Connecticut lab officials told the jurors that blood samples turned up no alcohol or illegal drugs in the two men. Hayes was convicted last year of strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit and killing the girls. Komisarjevsky admits he beat Dr. William Petit with a bat and molested his younger daughter, but he blames Hayes for the three killings. Hayes blamed Komisarjevsky. Prosecutors say both men are equally responsible. Published: Thu, Sep 29, 2011