CALIFORNIA
Man gets 5 years in prison for art fraud scheme
MIAMI (AP) — A California man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in federal prison for trying to sell forged art to a South Florida gallery.
A federal judge in Miami sentenced Philip Righter, 43, who pleaded guilty in March to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to court records.
Righter's scheme involved buying forgeries of artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, investigators said. He made the forgeries appear legitimate by creating letters that falsely certified their authenticity and elaborate backstories to establish their provenance and then offered them to galleries, auction houses and others.
In the South Florida case, Righter sent several forgeries from Los Angeles to a Miami gallery. He was asking more than $1 million for the forgeries, which were seized by the FBI. In total, Righter's scheme attempted to scam victims out of more than $6 million and caused losses of more than $750,000.
Righter pleaded guilty Wednesday to additional counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and tax fraud for a Los Angeles case. He received an additional five years for that case, but the two sentences will run concurrently. The tax fraud totaled more than $100,000.
A consolidated restitution hearing is set for Sept. 30.
WISCONSIN
Candidates, groups spent record $10M on court race
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Outside groups and the three candidates combined to spend a record $10 million in the state Supreme Court election this spring, according to a report released by a government watchdog Thursday.
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's report shows the three candidates — liberals Jill Karofsky and Ed Fallone. along with conservative incumbent Daniel Kelly — together spent just over $5 million, a record for candidate spending. The previous record for combined candidate spending was $3.7 million in 2019.
Outside group spending topped $5 million for the first time in a state Supreme Court race, the report said, surpassing the previous record of nearly $4.8 million in 2008. The previous record for combined candidate and group spending was about $8.2 million in 2019.
Karofsky defeated Kelly in the April 6 general election. She spent $2.7 million, a record for a single state Supreme Court candidate. Outside groups supporting her spent nearly $2.5 million.
Groups backing Fallone spent about $10,300.
The biggest outside spender was A Better Together Political Fund, which poured out nearly $1.9 million to support Karofsky.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business organization, was the next biggest spender, dropping about $1.1 million on ads attacking Karofsky. The third-biggest spender was the Republican State Leadership Committee. It spent about $900,000 on ads and texts supporting Kelly and attacking Karofsky.
ALASKA
Dershowitz as law group's keynote speaker faces backlash
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The selection of famed trial attorney Alan Dershowitz to deliver the keynote at this year's Alaska Bar Association annual convention is being criticized by members upset over Dershowitz's past defense of men like Jeffrey Epstein and O.J. Simpson.
Dershowitz seems an untenable choice in a state that traditionally ranks near the top of states for violence against women, they argue.
But Dershowitz, a retired Harvard University law professor, counters that those who make those claims know nothing of his record.
The Alaska Bar Association's governing board will meet, tentatively next week, to reconsider the invitation to Dershowitz to address membership at the October meeting.
"In a state like Alaska that has grave problems with violence towards women, violence towards children — including sexual violence — it's just 100% the wrong message to send," Scott Kendall, an Anchorage attorney who previously served as chief of staff to former Gov. Bill Walker, told Alaska's Energy Desk. "My reaction was, 'No way on earth would I go to that dinner.' "
Attorney Rob Stone, the board president, said he was aware of the controversy surrounding Dershowitz's connections to Epstein and serving as one of President Donald Trump's lawyers in the impeachment process, saying "certainly, Jeffrey Epstein did some horrible, horrible things."
But, Stone added, "criminal defense lawyers are often guilty by association with the clients that they represent."
When asked about the controversy, Dershowitz told The Associated Press he has a long history of defending women.
"I've defended more women who have been victims of sexual assault than I have men who have been accused," he said in a phone interview.
Dershowitz said the list ranges from the famous, like Patty Hearst and Mia Farrow, to poor women whom he defends at no cost.
"The people who make that argument are totally ignorant of my record," he said.
Dershowitz also said there was nothing improper about defending Epstein.
"I did absolutely nothing wrong in the Epstein case, I defended it, yes, that was my job. I was not his friend," he said. "I was paid per hour for every hour I spent on his case. I did absolutely nothing wrong."
He encouraged any Alaska Bar Association member to read his book "Guilt by Association."
"It lays out the case. It has all the evidence," he said. "If I am invited to speak at the bar, I will answer all questions about this."
Stone said it remains uncertain if the annual convention will even be held during the coronavirus pandemic.
WASHINGTON
Officer pleads not guilty to vehicular assault
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A Spokane police officer has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an investigation that determined he was driving more than twice the speed limit when he struck another vehicle, injuring its passengers.
Officer Michael Brunner, 27, appeared before a judge Wednesday to be arraigned on two charges of vehicular assault, The Spokesman-Review reported.
An investigation by Washington State Patrol released last week found Brunner was going 65 mph in a 30 mph zone immediately before hitting another car at an intersection on March 25. Brunner was in his police vehicle, but was not speeding to an emergency.
The car's driver, James Collins, broke a rib and collarbone and had bleeding in his right retina, according to the State Patrol report. A passenger received a laceration to the head that required staples.
