Archive for August 31st, 2012

Musical note.

Friday, August 31st, 2012

At the moment, I have some of the worst crap in the world stuck in my head.

And I can’t get it unstuck.

(Hotel. Motel. Holiday Inn.)

Posted in Music | 1 Comment »

Bad boys, bad boys…

Friday, August 31st, 2012

Our first story is kind of strange.

Matthew Itkowitz was drinking tequila one fine night in March of 2008. Apparently, Mr. Itkowitz got into an argument with his wife; Mrs. Itkowitz ran up to several people, including a man named Ryan Gonzalez, who were standing nearby, and asked for help.

Mr. Itkowitz claims that Mr. Gonzalez brandished a handgun, threatened to kill him, then punched Mr. Itkowitz and knocked him to the ground. Mr. Itkowitz deployed his own weapon and shot Mr. Gonzalez five times, killing him.

…the Los Angeles district attorney’s office declined to prosecute Itkowitz in 2010, despite concluding that his account of the shooting was “patently inconsistent” with video footage captured by a wall-mounted security camera in the alley.

Mr. Itkowitz has now been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of “deprivation of rights under color of law, using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and obstruction of justice”.

The video footage in question appears to show Mr. Itkowitz pulling his gun and hiding it behind his right leg as Mr. Gonzalez walks away from him.

Still walking toward the tattoo parlor, Gonzalez turns back toward Itkowitz and motions for him to leave. When he doesn’t, Gonzalez turns and walks several steps back in Itkowitz’s direction. He is about 10 to 12 feet away when Itkowitz raises his gun and fires.

By the way, Mr. Itkowitz is a deputy US marshal.

Meanwhile, the LAPD is investigating five of their officers after a woman died in their custody.

And Lance White had his 2009 conviction for weapons possession overturned by a federal appeals court in Manhattan. Why?

…should have been able to tell the jury that the main witness against him, a New York City police detective, had been found to have testified untruthfully in proceedings involving an unrelated gun case.

Noted:

…the panel’s decision made it “far more likely that future juries will hear that an officer has previously lied or somehow been found untruthful. And it will make prosecutors think twice before they use him in future cases.”

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law | 1 Comment »

And we’ll have fun, fun, fun until Daddy takes the newspapers away…

Friday, August 31st, 2012

The street finds its own uses for things.

Oh, look! Julie Taymor and the “Spider-Man” producers have settled their lawsuit out of court.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed and representatives for Ms. Taymor declined to comment further on Thursday. A press representative for “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” also declined to comment.

Quel frommage!

The worst Division I football program in history?

Over 11 seasons, Savannah State, the self-proclaimed University by the Sea, in a charming city distinguished by oak trees that sprout Spanish moss, has won 17 games, just five against Division I teams. It has changed coaches six times — once because of a death — and had nine athletic directors, including interims. It has been placed on N.C.A.A. probation twice and faced a pair of embarrassing lawsuits that claimed racial discrimination.

Savannah State is playing Oklahoma State and Florida State in the first two games, and will collect $860,000 (“which represents about 17 percent of the Tigers’ modest athletic budget”) for those games.

By the way, last year was a “1-10 season that included losses by scores of 63-6, 41-6, 47-7, 45-3 and 59-3, in addition to a defeat at the hands of a team that had lost 29 conference games in a row.”

There’s an interesting piece in the LAT about George Perez, former city manager and city councilman in Cudahy. (Previously.) Perez has not been charged with any crimes, yet, but is a major figure in the criminal cases against other Cudahy officials:

…court documents repeatedly refer to a top city official identified as “G.P.” orchestrating much of the alleged wrongdoing. Two law enforcement sources said “G.P.” is George Perez.

Perez started out as a janitor in Cudahy and worked his way up to the city manager position

…despite his populist persona, rumors of corruption long flowed from Cudahy City Hall, where nothing seemed to happen without Perez’s blessing.

And this is kind of interesting:

By 2000, Perez, married and with four children, was serving on the City Council and working at a building materials store. Then he lost his job. The council changed city laws so it could appoint Perez city manager. A group of Southern California city managers were so disturbed by Perez’s elevation that they asked for a criminal investigation. County prosecutors launched a conflict-of-interest probe, but investigators were met with silence at Cudahy City Hall, they said. In a memo produced by the prosecutors, they wrote that it was “clear that Perez liked politics and power more than the building materials business.”

So there were concerns twelve years ago, but nothing happened? Quel frommage, again!

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Geek, Law, Loser, Sports, Theatre | 1 Comment »