National Roundup

New York Accused madam's family seeks donations for bail NEW YORK (AP) -- The family of a woman accused of moonlighting for 15 years as a multimillion-dollar Manhattan madam has launched a website to help pay her $2 million bail. Anna Gristina's family says it cannot afford to pay what they call her "cruel and unusual" bail. The site says they need donations to help "bring her back to us." It features family photos and information on her pot-bellied pig rescue farm. The site claims Gristina is being kept in solitary confinement. It says authorities also attempted to humiliate her by making "her wear only a T-shirt and diaper." The corrections department tells the Daily News there's no truth to those claims. She's been held since her February arrest. Gristina's lawyers say she was trying to start a dating service. Pennsylvania DA: Guard in fat al $2M heist clai ms self-defense PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh's chief prosecutor says the armored car guard who spent nearly two months on the run after stealing more than $2 million from his truck admitted killing a fellow guard but claimed he fired in self-defense. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala tells the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Ken Konias Jr. claimed his partner tried to stop him from pulling off the heist. Konias was arrested Wednesday in Pompano Beach, Fla., eight weeks after he allegedly shot fellow Garda Cash Logistics guard Michael Haines in the back of the head before swiping an estimated $2.3 million and leaving their truck parked under a Pittsburgh bridge. Pittsburgh police say Konias' run came to an end after he confided his crimes to a prostitute. A family attorney says he hasn't spoken with Konias. Florida Judge: state wor ker drug testing unconstitutional MIAMI (AP) -- A Miami federal judge has declared that Gov. Rick Scott's order requiring drug testing for state workers is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro ruled Thursday that blanket testing of some 85,000 workers violates the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. The ruling could eventually have an impact on a new state law also permitting random worker drug testing. Scott's order was challenged by a labor union representing government workers and the American Civil Liberties Union. They contended that drug testing should only be done if there is a suspected problem and in safety-related and high-risk jobs. Lawyers for the governor contend that objecting workers are free to quit and job applicants could choose to find employment elsewhere. Scott suspended the order in June because of the lawsuit. Maine Man makes court appearance on murder charge ALFRED, Maine (AP) -- Police say a Maine man charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a longtime friend said he snapped after the victim hit and choked him outside an Old Orchard Beach bar. Michael Swenson of Scarborough made his first court appearance Wednesday in York County Superior Court in Alfred on charges he killed 49-year-old Roger White outside the Whaler bar and hid his body under some mattresses outside a nearby apartment house. The 44-year-old Swenson did not enter a plea. A police affidavit says Swenson told a friend that White hit him on the head and choked him when they left the Whaler together after playing pool Friday night. The friend told investigators that Swenson said he went "ballistic" or "berserk" and stabbed White. Swenson is being held without bail. South Dakota Mom convicted of helping sons sell marijuana MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) -- A Mitchell woman has been found guilty of helping her 17- and 19-year-old sons sell marijuana. A jury convicted Charlene Stahl, 43, Tuesday after a two-day trial, The Daily Republic reported. She will be sentenced later on charges of aiding and abetting a drug crime and contributing to the abuse, neglect or delinquency of a child. Jurors found her not guilty of actually possessing marijuana. Assistant Attorney General Katie Mallery asked jurors to find Stahl guilty on all three counts. "She knows what is going on, she's promoting it and she's facilitating it," the prosecutor said. Defense attorney Mike Fink acknowledged prosecutors proved Stahl contributed to the delinquency of a minor by giving her 17-year-old son cigarettes, but he maintained that prosecutors lacked evidence for the aiding and abetting charge. "There is no evidence at all that Charlene did anything to bring the marijuana into the house, to repackage it, or to otherwise prepare it for sale," Fink said. The brothers have admitted to dealing drugs but testified that their mother did not know they regularly possessed and sold marijuana. The state produced text messages between Stahl and her younger son that Mitchell Police Investigator Dean Knippling testified used coded language to discuss the sale of marijuana. Connecticut Man pleads not guilty to attempted bribe of judge NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) -- The husband of a Connecticut woman who disappeared in 1984 has pleaded not guilty to allegations he offered a state judge a $100,000 bribe to influence a grand jury investigation into her death. The lawyer for 76-year-old Dominic Badaracco entered the pleas on his client's behalf Wednesday at New Britain Superior Court. Badaracco is charged with felony bribery. Mary Badaracco disappeared from the couple's home in Sherman and her body has never been found. A one-judge grand jury finished an investigation earlier this year without charging anyone in her death. Authorities say Badaracco tried to bribe Superior Court Judge Robert Brunetti for help influencing the grand jury judge. An arrest warrant affidavit says Badaracco was a possible suspect in his wife's death. Badaracco says his wife left him voluntarily. Published: Fri, Apr 27, 2012