National Roundup

 California

Toy company suit against Beastie Boys is settled
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A California toy company has settled its lawsuit against the Beastie Boys over its parody of their song “Girls” in a promotional video that went viral.
The Oakland Tribune says an agreement to dismiss the claim was filed Monday in U.S. District Court. No details of the settlement were released.
Oakland-based Goldieblox filed suit in November, seeking to pre-empt any possible claims of copyright infringement over the repurposed song.
The video, which shows young girls singing about science and engineering, was viewed millions of times before it was removed from YouTube.
The Beastie Boys countersued Goldieblox in December. The newspaper says it was not immediately clear if Monday’s settlement would have any effect on that claim.
The hip-hop group has a blanket ban on using their songs in advertisements.
 
New York
1st lawsuit filed in deadly NYC apartment blast 
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City woman has sued Con Edison over the explosion that leveled two apartment buildings last week.
The New York Post reports that 46-year-old Michelle Nelson of Harlem filed the civil suit Monday, becoming the first to sue over the deadly blast.
Nelson’s lawsuit says she sustained “severe and permanent injuries” when the explosion caused her to fall in her apartment more than a block away.
The lawsuit names Con Edison and the owner of 1646 Park Ave., one of the collapsed buildings.
It says they neglected their “duty to keep ... the premises in a safe, proper and secure manner.”
 
Maine
Prostitution probe scandal sees quiet end 
ALFRED, Maine (AP) — A prostitution scandal in Kennebunk, Maine, has quietly drawn to a close with resolution of the final client’s case.
The man was fined $500 last week after he pleaded guilty, joining dozens of others including a former mayor, minister and firefighter to be convicted of engaging with a prostitute.
The scandal made international headlines in 2012 with reports of 100 to 150 clients, many of whom were videotaped without their knowledge while paying for sex with fitness instructor Alexis Wright. But the prosecution was hampered when a judge ruled she didn’t have to testify against them.
In the end, charges were brought against 68 accused clients, 65 of whom pleaded guilty or no contest. Another client was convicted, one case ended in acquittal and charges were dropped in one case.
 
New Jersey
Former prie­s­t violated his court order on contact 
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man has been officially removed from the priesthood after admitting he violated a court order against unsupervised contact with minors.
Fifty-three-year-old Michael Fugee had agreed in November to seek laicization from the Roman Catholic Church to resolve charges by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Archdiocese of Newark tells The Star-Ledger on Monday that the Vatican recently completed the process of removing Fugee from the priesthood.
Prosecutors said Fugee traveled with a Colts Neck church group and heard confession despite a ban tied to an earlier case.
In that case, a jury convicted Fugee of aggravated criminal assault involving a teenager. The conviction was thrown out after courts revised jury instructions tied to the case and prosecutors agreed to the restrictions rather than retry him.
 
Wisconsin
College football recruit accused of sex assault 
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A University of Wisconsin football recruit was charged Monday with the sexual assault of a woman in her dorm room on the Madison campus in December.
Dominic Cizauskas, 18, a linebacker from Mukwonago, was charged in Dane County with third-degree sexual assault, a felony.
According to the complaint, Cizauskas allegedly showed up at the woman’s dorm drunk on Dec. 14, undressed her and sexually assaulted her after the two had exchanged text messages.
Cizauskas appeared in court Monday and was released on a signature bond, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Cizauskas was ordered not to have any contact with the woman or to be anywhere on the Madison campus. He’s due back in court March 31.
Cizauskas orally committed to attend Wisconsin last June but did not sign a letter of intent in February. Wisconsin Athletic Department spokesman Brian Lucas said that Cizauskas has not signed a letter of intent he is still a prospective student-athlete, meaning the university is not allowed to comment on his recruitment under NCAA rules.
As a senior in high school, the 6-foot-2, 250-pound Cizauskas was named the state’s defensive player of the year by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.
According to the criminal complaint, the woman told police that Cizauskas was visiting UW-Madison Dec. 13-15. She had been in contact with him by text message, and about 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 14 he sent her a racy message suggesting he come visit. The woman told police she was studying for a final exam that night and tried to dissuade Cizauskas from coming over.
Surveillance video showed him arriving at the dorm shortly before 1 a.m. The woman said Cizauskas walked into her unlocked room after she heard him in the hall asking for directions.
“I tried to make excuses trying to get him to leave,” the woman told police, adding that she told him “no” several times. “I didn’t know what to do. I was by myself, my roommate went home for the weekend and he’s a 200-pound football player and he had been drinking.”
 
Nevada
Promoter: Ja­iled boxer Molina has attorneys working
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The promoter for jailed boxer Carlos Molina says attorneys in Wisconsin, Nevada and California are working to free the title-holding fighter following his arrest earlier this month in Las Vegas.
Molina remained jailed Monday. He was arrested March 4 on a January 2007 warrant issued in Wisconsin accusing him of failing to register as a sex offender.
The 30-year-old Molina was born in Mexico, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in California say he was previously deported in 2006. ICE says the boxer could face additional immigration proceedings.
Promoter Leon Margules says an April 8 extradition hearing is scheduled in Las Vegas on the Wisconsin warrant.
Molina missed a scheduled March 8 fight to defend his IBF light middleweight title against Jermall Charlo in Las Vegas.