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Berman’s Bits Volume 12, Number 31, August 12, 2007
Greetings, and thanks for joining me for another week. Starting us off are a few news stories you may have missed. First, the Chicago Tribune carried a Bit that helps us understand the workings of our justice system. Police said Derrick House and another man intended to kill four people in a 1985 Chicago drug hit and needed a stranger to knock on the door so that House and his companion could gain entry. They paid teenager Charles Green $25 to do that, and House completed the mission. Green, it turns out, was convicted and imprisoned for "participating" in the murder. House got the death penalty, but as a result of legal challenges, was recently released. House's companion was never convicted. Thus, the only one of the three still in prison 22 years later is the dude who just knocked on the door. This month, a judge is scheduled to hear Green's latest petition for a new trial. Next, Ananova carried a Bit about just how far identity theft has gone. A prize-winning poodle from North Wales has become the latest victim of online identity theft. Details of the two-year-old poodle, named Afonwen Welch Fusilier, were posted on the internet by his proud owner who was eager to show off her dashing hound. But a crook pilfered the details from the site and is passing the dog off as his own. He claims that Afonwen Welch Fusilier - pet name Blue - has given birth to puppies (apparently it doesn’t matter that the real dog is a male). And the mystery man, who calls himself Henry Daf and whose registered address turns out to be a Glasgow graveyard, is touting the phantom pups to potential buyers for £1,000 each. The scam was spotted by Annette Connolly-Read of London, who was looking for a poodle on a dog sellers’ website and came across the mystery Afonwen pups. Police are investigating the scam. Finally, a Bit with a happy ending. An 85-year-old man whose home was burglarized three times within a week decided to take matters into his own hands. Alton Tillman left his home at his regular time, but doubled back and quietly went inside, finding emptied drawers, items in disarray — and someone's feet sticking out from under a bed, police said. Tillman ordered him out, and then called 911. When officers arrived, they found Tillman pointing a handgun at a 16-year-old boy standing against a wall. Officers said they found several items belonging to Tillman in the boy's pockets and other items of the man's at the youth's home a block away. The teenager was charged with felony burglary and larceny. Police offered a piece of advice when they said people should call officers rather than acting on their own. The masses do love celebrity. From Yahoo News, Reggie, the alligator that cruised an urban lake for nearly two years while eluding what were purported to be some of the world's best gator wranglers, was introduced to adoring fans at his new home in the Los Angeles Zoo. The 7 1/2-foot-long, 114-pound alligator was brought in to his own exhibit area to cheers and chants of "We want Reggie." Hundreds of people, many wearing Reggie T-shirts and alligator hats, watched as about a dozen handlers lugged the gator into the compound, his jaws wrapped up in a towel and duct tape. He was unwrapped and, after a nudge or two, slid into his pool. The zoo has six other American alligators and two Chinese alligators. But Reggie gets his own fenced pond, which features a waterfall and marshy plantings. "I think he'll be happy here. He's got a luxury suite, it's absolutely gorgeous," a councilwoman said. "It's a great ending to a great story." Reggie was spotted in Harbor City's Machado Lake two years ago. Authorities say a man who illegally raised Reggie as a pet dumped the gator in the lake when it got too big. Over the next two years, Reggie cruised the 53-acre lagoon, apparently dining on frogs, crayfish and the occasional tortillas and chicken leg left by visitors and park officials. He outwitted several efforts by professional wranglers to capture him as his fame spread. The city spent about $180,000 trying to grab Reggie and on security measures to protect lake-goers from him. The gator was finally corralled after a park maintenance worker spotted Reggie catching some sun on a lake bank. Zoo officials quarantined Reggie until his official unveiling. The gator, believed to be 7 or 8 years old, is still growing and could become 10 feet long and weigh 350 pounds. Two employees of a restaurant outside New Castle, Del., went into the office after closing and found a man inside. The man took off out the back door, but was nabbed by police. Police identified him as Branden M. Tingey, 28, who was a manager at the restaurant three years ago, but was fired. "This was a burglary," said police. "He meant to rob the safe." The problem was, he didn't know how. Investigators checked a computer in the office KVOA News 4 reported that Tucson local high school students will soon be cashing in for hitting the books. A new pilot program promises to pay them to stay in school. More than 20,000 Arizona teens dropped out of the class of 2006. To fight the problem, 75 students from low income families at Amphi High and 100 from Rincon high were picked for the new program. The students will get $25 a week as an incentive to stay in school. A local nonprofit will pay for the project. To get the money, the kids have to stay out of trouble and keep their grades up. One student Cassandra Hardin said, "I can get money for doing what I'm already doing." She says the money will make a difference to her future. "You're getting paid to listen to a teacher tell you things you might need later," says student Travis Jager (like the teacher speaks another language if there’s no money involved). He says it's an incentive to stay in school. He plans on hitting the books to keep his grades up. "I'll focus on my studies and help out around the house," he says. The idea of being paid to stay in school bodes well for Dylan Ebright. He dropped out a few years ago and now fixes electronics. Even though he got his GED, he wishes he'd stayed in school. "I think a lot of kids see the rap stars and all the money they make and think if they drop out of school they can be like that," he says. His big message: stay in school. From Reuters, a 59-year-old German woman has just had most of a pencil removed from inside her head after suffering nearly her whole life with the headaches and nosebleeds it caused. Margret Wegner fell over carrying the pencil in her hand when she was four. "The pencil went right through my skin and disappeared into my head," Ms Wegner told the newspaper. It narrowly missed vital parts of her brain. At the time no one dared operate, but now technology has improved sufficiently for doctors to be able to remove it. The majority of the pencil, some eight centimeters long, was taken out in an operation at a private Berlin clinic, but the two centimeter tip had grown in so firmly that it was impossible to remove. Finally, some classic quotes about love and marriage (I call them Classic because if I used them before I can justify my lapse of memory). (1) “You know what I did before I married? Anything I wanted to.” Henny Youngman. (2) "I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me and the second one didn't." Patrick Murray. (3) "There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage." James Holt McGavran. (4) "Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays." Henny Youngman. (5) “After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.” Hemant Joshi. Later.
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