He fought the law, and he lost. Faron White, a former north Alabama police officer, pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing $60,000 from the police department where he was a sergeant, feigning his abduction, and fleeing to Las Vegas. White faked an elaborate struggle in his Alabama office to divert would-be pursuers but was found only three days later in Sin City. White, who was once named officer of the year by the Decatur Police Department, also said that a former citizen volunteer from the organized crime unit that he supervised aided his escape plan. White faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000. (Associated Press)
Stephen Blake, the head of human resources for AIG Financial Products, will testify today before the Connecticut legislative committee investigating the $165 million in retention bonuses paid to AIG executives. Committee co-chairman Rep. Ryan Barry said that Blake was chosen to testify because he understands how the bonuses were structured. “Mr. Blake is someone who can peel back the layers of the onion,” he said. Connecticut lawmakers will interview other subpoenaed AIG executives in private or at a later date. (New York Times)
A judge froze the assets of Peter Madoff Wednesday in connection to his brother’s multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Peter Madoff is being sued by Andrew Ross Samuels, who alleges that he invested almost half a million dollars in a trust administered by Bernard Madoff. Andrew Ross Samuels, a 22-year-old law student, received the money from his grandfather to help pay for his education and entrusted Madoff to manage it. Peter Madoff has not been charged in connection to his brother’s scheme, but Samuels’ lawyer said that it was his legal responsibility to protect the money. (Associated Press)
Local authorities arrested former Tennessee Republican state Senator Jeff Miller as well as his secretary April Miles Wednesday for aggravated perjury and official misconduct. Miller was removed last year from his position as Bradley County delinquent tax attorney last year stemming from allegations that he overbilled the county for his services. When he was ordered by a judge to turn over the titles of payments he billed, Miller could not provide the necessary documentation. The Tennessee District Attorney requested that the investigation be reopened in January, which led to Miller’s arrest. (Nashville Post)
A former Suffolk County, New York legislator and a Manhattan-based dominatrix were charged in a $50 million mortgage fraud that stretched from New York fetish clubs to suburban homes in Suffolk County, prosecutors said Wednesday. George Guldi allegedly made millions helping the owners of the sexual fantasy business Arena Productions to secure large mortgage loans by using the names and incomes of high-earning clients to apply for loans themselves. Prosecutors said that Miller and Arena Productions paid clients $5,000 to $10,000 to get them to allow their names to be used.
