gofuserectus

another bizarre story in the news.

Police: State Senator Accused of Assault
Thursday, March 23, 2006 8:18 PM EST
The Associated Press
By CANDICE CHOI

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) State Sen. Ada Smith was accused in a criminal summons Thursday of throwing hot coffee into the eyes of a former staffer.

Smith, a Queens Democrat, faces a misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault, according to court records. She will be required to appear in Albany City Court on April 6.

Smith allegedly threw "a cup of hot coffee into the eyes" of former staffer Jennifer Jackson of Albany on Tuesday morning, the documents said. The senator also pulled a hairpiece from Jackson's head, causing a neck and shoulder injury and injury to the corneas of her eyes, the documents stated.

On Wednesday, Smith's office said Jackson no longer worked for the senator.

The alleged incident happened after the senator returned from a Weight Watchers meeting and said she had lost about four pounds, according to the Albany Times Union, which cited unnamed sources. Jackson responded she thought Smith would have lost more, given her active lifestyle, according to the newspaper.

Smith, who's been in office 18 years, issued a statement Wednesday saying the claims of a confrontation were "completely and utterly false."

"It's extraordinarily disappointing that these kinds of baseless allegations can make their way into the press simply because it's an election year. I don't know the motivations behind these claims, but I am confident my constituents and my colleagues will see through these lies," the statement said.

Smith's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Last year, the state Division of Human Rights found insufficient evidence to support accusations by a former chief of staff that Smith made racist remarks and fired him because he's gay.

She was fined in 2004 after being found guilty of failing to obey a direct order from a police officer for improperly driving through a security checkpoint at Empire State Plaza.

In 1998, she also was charged with biting a New York City police officer's hand during a traffic dispute. Smith denied the charges.




this is just beyond comprehension!!


Bogus Healer Convicted in Mermaids Case
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 6:11 PM EST
The Associated Press


HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) A bogus traditional healer who persuaded a businesswoman to hire "mermaids" and accommodate them in a Harare hotel to help find a stolen car was convicted of theft by false pretenses, court officials said Tuesday.

Harare magistrate Sandra Nhau found Edina Chizema guilty of swindling a businesswoman of her savings with promises that mermaids would help recover the luxury car in 2004 and solve the businesswoman's unspecified "personal problems."

In Zimbabwe, where tribal superstition is deeply entrenched, prosecutors said Chizema persuaded Margaret Mapfumo to pay 200 million Zimbabwe dollars (about $30,000) to hire mermaids, feed and accommodate them in a Harare hotel, buy power generators for a floodlit lakeside ceremony and invoke ancestral spirits to find the missing car.

Some of the money was to be used to buy a bull whose genitals described in court as the animal's "strong part" would point out the car thief, prosecutors said.

At a hearing Monday, the magistrate said Chizema, who had pleaded not guilty and claimed to be a spirit medium, was not a credible witness and the "idiosyncrasies" of her plea were not recognized in law.

Chizema will be sentenced to imprisonment or a fine at a sentencing hearing later, the court officials said.

In Zimbabwe, prominent figures and even leading politicians have often been the victims of such scams.

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Woman Charged With Biting Off Man's Tongue
Monday, March 20, 2006 10:31 PM EST
The Associated Press


CELINA, Ohio (AP) Police accused a northwest Ohio woman of biting off a man's tongue. Chad Ringo, 29, remained in intensive care Monday at St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima after unsuccessful attempts to reattach about 30 percent of his tongue, Celina police said.

A hospital spokeswoman said he was in fair condition.

Police charged Emily Mescher, 25, with felonious assault after Ringo was injured Friday night. She was freed on $10,000 bail following a hearing Monday in Celina Municipal Court.

Police said Mescher and Ringo had been involved in a relationship.