A Chesapeake judge fined Brian Query $50, plus $72 for court fees, last week. The charge carried a maximum fine of $500. It's a misdemeanor to call another person's telephone intending to annoy them. In July, Query said he didn't know which text landed him in hot water, but he knew the complaint came from a former girlfriend. A charge against Query for profane language was dismissed, but he was fined $252 for failing to show up in court.

Aaron Pierce received a 30-day jail sentence for the death of fellow Virginia Tech student Brian Joseph McCloskey, who was run over and killed in November 2005. But Pierce's court ordeal hasn't ended. Wednesday, McCloskey's family filed a $7 million lawsuit against Pierce and the owners of the 2006 Ford Excursion that Pierce had borrowed, a vehicle that belonged to the Magic City Ford dealership in Roanoke. Aside from Pierce, the suit names Magic City Ford as a defendant, as well as owner Bill Johnson and his son Cameron, who was Pierce's roommate at the time McCloskey was killed. The suit accuses all the defendants of contributing to McCloskey's death through negligence. Pierce, 21, referred questions Wednesday to his lawyer, Tony Anderson, who declined to comment. The Johnsons could not be reached for comment. Fairfax lawyer Michael Shevlin, who filed the suit on behalf of McCloskey's mother and sister, also declined to comment Wednesday.

 

The lawsuit alleges Pierce was drinking the night of McCloskey's death, and using the Excursion to transport other underage college students who had also been drinking. It accuses him of knowingly driving off-road in a prohibited area used by pedestrians. The suit claims Cameron Johnson, his father and his father's company were negligent because they permitted Pierce to use the Excursion. The suit also claims they knew the vehicle was being used in a reckless manner. It demands $5 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages. The evening of Nov. 4, 2005, McCloskey, an 18-year-old freshman, started walking back from a birthday party at an apartment complex in Blacksburg. That same night, Pierce was shuttling students to and from nearby parties using the Ford Excursion borrowed from his roommate. At the time, Cameron Johnson was general sales manager at Magic City Ford. The Excursion had been taken from the dealership.

 

According to court evidence, Pierce made three trips, during which he took a shortcut through a grassy area with a walking trail -- where two people discovered McCloskey lying unconscious early Nov. 5. McCloskey died five days later from his injuries. At first authorities weren't sure whether he had been beaten or run over. After Pierce learned of the incident, he became concerned he could have struck McCloskey. He shared his concerns with his roommate three weeks after McCloskey was found unconscious. Pierce spoke to police Dec. 9, 2005. He told police about the shortcut and that at one point he thought he had struck a large rock. An examination of the Excursion found a bolt pattern consistent with one found on McCloskey's body, according to court evidence.

 

In February, Pierce made an Alford plea to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. The plea allows Pierce to maintain his innocence while taking a plea agreement and acknowledging there is sufficient evidence for a conviction. Under the terms of Pierce's sentencing, the manslaughter charge will be dismissed if he stays out of legal trouble for three years. He agreed to serve 30 days in jail, perform 300 hours of community service and lose his license for a year. Pierce also paid $12,800 to the McCloskey family to cover the cost of his funeral and gravestone.

Sunrise Senior Living's former chief financial officer is firing back over his ouster from the senior housing giant. Bradley Rush has filed suit for breach of contract and defamation in Fairfax Circuit Court, claiming he was wrongly discharged in May 2007 after discovering accounting problems. Sunrise disputes the account. "Sunrise fired Mr. Rush in retaliation for his discovery and disclosure of Sunrise's improper, and in some cases fraudulent, accounting practices, and as part of Sunrise's campaign to make Mr. Rush the 'fall guy' for its improper and fraudulent behavior," Rush's lead attorney John M. Dowd said in a statement. Dowd says in a press release that Sunrise wanted Rush out of the way because the McLean company was trying to sell itself to private investors.

 

In a press release April 25, Sunrise said it had suspended Rush after the board of directors concluded that he failed to follow the company's document retention directives. He was subsequently terminated in May. At the time, the company was reviewing recent insider sales of company stock, its historical practices related to stock option grants and the facts relating to its accounting treatment for certain categories of transactions. Dowd said the only documents Rush failed to retain were personal documents that Sunrise's general counsel told him did not need to be kept. Sunrise issued a statement, calling Rush's assertions "nonsense."

 

"Sunrise has not yet been served with a copy of Mr. Rush's complaint, but has only seen his lawyer's press release. The assertion there that Mr. Rush was fired because he was trying to uncover or report financial improprieties is nonsense. "The reasons why Mr. Rush's employment as CFO was terminated for cause, including his actions inconsistent with the company's document preservation directives, as previously disclosed by the company, will be demonstrated in the litigation. Because this matter is now in the courts, Sunrise does not believe it would be appropriate to make further public comment at this time. The company, however, intends to vigorously contest this legal action."

Fredericksburg, VA - Former University of Mary Washington president William Frawley entered an Alford plea in Fredericksburg Tuesday to a charge of driving under the influence. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit a crime but acknowledges that the state has enough evidence to get a conviction. A General District Court judge fined Frawley $500, suspended his Virginia driver's license for one year and ordered him to attend VASAP -- the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program. Frawley faces a similar charge in Fairfax County on Friday. The charges stem from a two-day period in April when Frawley was in a single-vehicle accident in Fairfax, charged with DUI, hospitalized, then arrested the following day in Fredericksburg for another DUI. The University of Mary Washington fired Frawley shortly after he was charged.

Saadet Muslu's classmates at Langley High School in McLean will be heading to college soon, but she'll be serving a one-year jail sentence. When she gets out, a judge said yesterday, she'll spend the next 10 years talking to teenagers about the dangers of speeding and "what it's like for a young person to spend time in jail." Arlington County Circuit Court Judge Benjamin N.A. Kendrick sentenced Muslu, 18, to a year in jail for involuntary manslaughter in a high-speed crash on the George Washington Memorial Parkway last year that killed one of her passengers and seriously injured two others. "I hope to God we can save some lives," said an emotional Kendrick, who said he had struggled with the case. "Thousands of people are dying every year." Muslu, who was 17 and traveling more than 100 mph at the time of the Sept. 28 crash, tried to read a prepared statement that she had written in jail but broke down. Her attorney, Peter D. Greenspun, read the statement, in which she called her behavior "irresponsible and idiotic" and said she will forever live with the "unimaginable pain" of the death of her friend Jesse H. Little, 21, also of Great Falls. The defense contended that Muslu was being egged on by some of her passengers to go faster and faster when she lost control of the car, which belonged to her friend's mother. The car skidded more than 300 feet near the Spout Run exit, crashed into the embankment, went airborne and then slammed into a tall tree eight feet up.

 

Muslu, a senior at Langley at the time, admitted to police that she was going more than 100 mph. One of her passenger's parents testified that Muslu told her she was going as fast as 130 mph, trying to beat her friend's 123-mph record on the road, where the speed limit is 40 mph at that spot. Little, 21, was the oldest of the five people in the car. Two other teenagers were seriously injured, one of whom spent five weeks in intensive care. Both have largely recovered. Muslu and the front-seat passenger, whose mother owned the car, had minor injuries. A jury of seven men and five women convicted Muslu of involuntary manslaughter March 14. Greenspun said yesterday that Muslu was subjected not to peer pressure but to "peer idiocy." He said other teenagers in the car -- who he insisted he didn't want to blame -- had shouted "you're a baby" to try to get Muslu to step on the gas. During the trial, Greenspun painted a picture of a chaotic night among the meandering teenagers, with constant cellphone calls, text messages and brief stops across Northern Virginia. One of the teenagers testified that the front-seat passenger in the car wanted to prove that her mother's Lexus LS 430 was faster than the BMW 745 owned by Muslu's parents. He testified that there was "nothing" going on that night and that the teenagers were looking for something to do. Greenspun asked Kendrick to take all those factors into account when considering his sentence. Kendrick sentenced Muslu to five years in jail, with four years suspended. With time already served, Greenspun said his client would probably be released before the year is up. "We just want her to come home," said her older brother, Mustafa Muslu. "We feel terrible about everything that has happened."

 

Kendrick noted that Muslu was charged with a speeding offense one month before the crash. "Nonetheless, she was driving on the GW Parkway at 130 miles per hour," he said. The defense spent most of the sentencing hearing trying to show how remorseful Muslu was about her friend's death, putting three witnesses on the stand. During the trial, prosecutors depicted Muslu as a spoiled, wealthy teenager who cared more about her own fate than about the welfare of her friends, asking repeatedly at the crash scene, "What's going to happen to me?" "Sorry, sorry, sorry," said Nadya Muslu, the teenager's mother, at yesterday's hearing. "I want to say how sorry we are about Jesse. I pray for him and his family every day. We will never, ever forget our whole life," she said, breaking into sobs.

 

The apology didn't do much to ease the heartache on the other side of the courtroom. Lauren Homer, who first adopted Little and his brother Jake from Russia, cried through much of the proceedings. Harrell Little Jr. later took Jesse in as a foster child when the boy was 14 and then adopted him; Homer still has custody of Jake. "I'm disappointed she's only going to be in jail for one year," Homer said. "Her conduct was inexcusable. Our tears will never end."

CINCINNATI - A county in Ohio has agreed to pay $8 million to settle a lawsuit over photos that used bodies in the county morgue as props. The settlement still has to be approved by a federal judge but calls for the money to be paid to more than 500 families over two years. The county is to formally apologize and ensure that all offensive photos are destroyed. The settlement also includes grief counseling and a memorial. A photographer posed the bodies with fruit, doll house furniture and other props as part of an art project to illustrate the cycle of life. He was convicted in 2001 of gross abuse of a corpse for taking the pictures. An official said those responsible no longer work for the county.

ALEXANDRIA, VA - A northern Virginia doctor whose controversial pain management techniques landed him in the national spotlight has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison on federal drug charges. The sentence is far less than the life sentence sought by prosecutors, who claimed that McLean doctor William Hurwitz crossed the line from doctor to drug dealer with his medical practice. Hurwitz has been described as a savior by some patients and as a killer by loved ones of other patients who died after he prescribed them huge doses of opiates, like oxycodone.

In the beginning, throwing all your profits back into the business makes a lot of sense. Growth is what matters. But as your business matures and your life changes, your priorities will likely shift, too. Maybe it's time to free up some cash, or perhaps you're thinking of passing the business on to your far-flung children. But how can you increase liquidity or transfer wealth without getting hit by onerous taxes or damaging your company?

 

The simple answer is to think ahead. It's true that estate planning appears to be first and foremost about death and taxes. But a good plan is much more than that: It's really a strategy to keep your business going. An estate plan will protect your company-and family-if you or your partner die or get divorced. It will allow you to indulge your philanthropic streak and can smooth any bumps that may arise when passing your company to the next generation. "A big chunk of this is transition management," says Paul Vogel, president and CEO of the trust division for Enterprise Bank & Trust in Clayton, Mo. Estate planning starts with two basic premises. First, don't exceed the lifetime gifting exemption of $1 million ($2 million for married couples). Second, you must not fall prey to the estate tax, which can eat up 45% or more of your assets. Although most entrepreneurs won't be hit by the estate tax-it kicks in if assets total more than $2 million ($4 million for a couple)-those who know they're likely to be affected should start planning. "To a large extent, the estate tax is voluntary," says Allan Paterson, head of the estate and trust group at San Antonio law firm Cox Smith Matthews. "If you don't do anything about it, you will be taxed at the maximum amount. But with planning, you can use strategies and techniques to minimize the burden."

 

Beyond those basics, things can get pretty complex. Trust and estate planning can resemble a chess game with a finite number of pieces and nearly infinite possibilities. Preparing an estate plan with an eye to selling your business is difficult enough, but preparing to pass a business down through your family is far trickier and likely to get more complicated with each successive generation. No two scenarios are exactly alike, and estate lawyers are likely to try many variations on a few basic themes.But most experts agree it's best to stick with the tried and true. Estate tax law is thorny and complex, and you don't want to wind up lost in a judicial labyrinth with the IRS breathing down your neck. "Start with planning that is not new," says William Forsyth, senior fiduciary counsel for Bessemer Trust in New York. "Chances are no one plan will solve whatever the issue is, but you don't want to be a tax court case." Once you determine your goals, you'll need to work with your advisers-including a lawyer, financial planner, and accountant-to devise a strategy that uses an array of financial vehicles. Among them: insurance, gifting, trusts, family limited partnerships, and grantor retained annuity trusts. What's important is that you don't wait until your AARP membership card arrives to get going. "Very few privately owned businesses make it down through several generations, and one reason is the failure of the senior generation to do any planning at all until it is too late in the game, or too difficult," says Forsyth.

 

FIND SHELTER

When you're launching a company, it may seem a bit morbid to think about what could happen when you are no longer at the helm. But the unexpected does happen, as Debi Butler can attest. In the 1930s, Debi's father, John, founded Butler Gas Products, a New Brighton (Pa.) company that manufactures and distributes specialty gases for industrial and medical uses. John died of cancer in 1977, and although he had put 30% of the company stock in an irrevocable trust, protecting those shares from estate taxes, the business still owed about $200,000 on other shares. "That sounded like a lot of money to me and my sister," says Butler, then 21.

 

The family considered selling the company, but Debi's brother, Jack, who was also in his 20s and had been working at Butler Gas for a few years, decided to take the reins. He bought company stock from the trust and paid the estate tax bill with a combination of his own savings and the company's revenues. Today, John, Debi, and sister Barbara jointly own the 30-employee, $10 million business.

 

Ideally, a business owner should no longer have a controlling interest in the company when he or she dies. That ensures that the value of the business remains outside the estate. Both revocable and irrevocable trusts can be used to shelter shares in the business. And an insurance policy owned by an irrevocable trust can go along way toward easing cash needs if an owner dies unexpectedly. Another option some entrepreneurs use is to divest themselves of a controlling interest by transferring more shares in the business to a spouse.

 

Today the Butlers are planning aggressively to make sure the transfer to the next generation goes smoothly. Since business owners, like other people, can give any number of individuals $12,000 tax-free each year, the Butlers make annual gifts of nonvoting stock to their children. They have also set up additional irrevocable trusts for company shares. They hold life insurance policies to pay off estate taxes that might arise should any of them die unexpectedly.

 

SURVIVORSHIP

Insurance policies were an important facet of the plan Junab Ali and Jay Uribe made when they started Möbius Partners, a 17-employee, $25 million info-tech consultancy and computer hardware reseller. Ali, 34, and Uribe, 35, wanted to be sure that their families would be provided for if one of them died. They purchased insurance policies valued at $5 million. Each partner named the other as his beneficiary, enabling the surviving partner to buy the other's shares. In the event of Ali's death, for example, the insurance payouts would flow to his wife or to an irrevocable trust for Ali's two girls, now age 7 and 2, to fund their educations. Ali says he and Uribe also structured their buy-sell agreement so that the surviving partner would buy the other man's shares. That prevents family members who are not involved in the business from becoming partners, but ensures they get the money from the asset. Says Ali: "When you are running your day-to-day business, you tend to forget all about wills and life insurance, and it is doubly important as a small business owner, because you are responsible for all your employees and business partners and your family."

 

CASH CONCERNS

As your business thrives, you may want to unlock some of its cash, for anything from a college tuition bill to income for an aging parent, or a philanthropic cause. You may just want to reduce the value the business contributes to your overall estate. That requires juggling the cash needs of the company with those of its principals. "It is very important to establish a situation where you have the right balance between your payroll and distributions," says Brenda Newberry, the 53-year-old chairman and CEO of Newberry Group, a 135-employee IT outsourcing company in St. Charles, Mo. Newberry and her husband, Maurice, 55, who is president and chief operating officer, support several charities, including the United Way and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and want to do more. One option is setting up a charitable remainder unified trust, which would provide Newberry with an annuity based on the amount of assets in the trust. After a predetermined number of years, the remainder plus any increase in value passes tax-free to the designated charities. Says Newberry: "A charitable trust would be one way to help protect some of the assets from the impact the heirs would have." Ken Van Tuinen, CEO of West Michigan Uniform in Holland, Mich., faced the challenge of providing for his father's retirement while keeping enough cash in the business. "The cash needs of the company have to be met during that time, keeping the business growing with cash to buy equipment, attract the right employees, and to make other improvements," says Van Tuinen. His father, Gordon, founded the company in 1963 and recapitalized the company stock just before he retired in 1983. Gordon divided the company stock into voting and nonvoting shares. Then he and his wife began giving a combined $20,000 in shares annually to each of their five children, but just two-Tom, the executive vice-president, and Ken, the only other sibling working in the company-received voting rights. To provide retirement income for his father, Ken arranged a deferred compensation plan for him. He also personally purchased the two buildings the company owned, paying for them over a 10-year period. That gave his father another source of retirement income and lowered the value of the estate.

 

NEW VISION

As the Butlers have found, succession planning gets more complicated with each generation. If a family-owned business is run by siblings, they are more likely to have common goals, probably based on their shared upbringing. But often by the next generation, cousins, spouses, and other relatives have different visions for the company.

 

Debi Butler says that because she and her brother and sister grew up in the same house, what they want for the business seems to be the same. "We knew what to expect because we were together on Easter and Christmas and for summer vacation," she says. "With the [subsequent] generations, there are a lot of different cultures and people think differently." Between them, the three Butlers have six children, two of whom have expressed interest in joining the company.Distributing wealth among siblings can be fraught with tension, especially if some children work in the company and others do not. You may have to find a way to share your assets with multiple children in a way that everyone is comfortable with. "On the one hand, you have someone who might say: 'My sibling will receive a business interest and is worth more.' And on the other hand, the person who gets the business interest may say, 'My sibling got cash and securities, and I got a job,'" says Charles Aulino, first vice-president and director of financial planning at Glenmede Trust Co. in Philadelphia.

 

WEALTH SHIFT

The Van Tuinens are now working on a plan to pass the company to the third generation, while continuing to balance the $6.5 million, 78-employee company's needs with those of the two owners. Ken owns 66% of the company, and Tom owns 14%. To fund Tom's impending retirement, the company will purchase about 6,000 of his shares during the next seven years. Tom will gift an equivalent amount to his children, Steve, vice-president of operations, and Mitch, vice-president of sales, increasing their ownership stakes. When he's 59, Ken expects a similar buyout arrangement to kick in, moving shares into the hands of his son, Patrick, currently vice-president of finance.

 

To transfer still more wealth from the business to his heirs (besides Patrick, Ken has two daughters, Emily and Elise), Ken set up three family limited partnerships, or FLPs. These trusts hold the company real estate, which Ken owns and the company rents from him. The FLP structure lets Ken retain 80% control while gifting 20% to his children, who get a tax break on their ownership since it is a minority stake. Explains John Barone, a wealth-planning strategist for Wells Fargo Bank: "It allows you to have a discount in transferring the ownership interest in the FLP, as opposed to the value that would be imposed if you were to transfer the ownership interest in the real estate itself." Right now, Tom's children own 9% of the company each, while Patrick owns 2%. Once a month, Ken and Tom take time to have frank discussions with Mitch, Patrick, and Steve about the progress they are making in the business. All three sons are required to meet performance goals and to complete self-assessments. "What the final result will look like-whether Steve, Mitch, and Patrick will own one-third, or whether Steve and Mitch will own 49% and Patrick 51%, we are just not sure," says Ken Van Tuinen.

 

Over the years, what has become clear is that an estate plan isn't done once and filed away. Aulino at Glenmede recommends a checkup with your planner at least every three to five years, and sooner if there is a significant life change or a business opportunity arises, such as the prospect of a sale that is too good to pass up. Meanwhile, the ongoing education of all family members is important. Every Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 9, the Van Tuinens hold a family meeting where they discuss succession issues. It's also their forum for creating a family covenant which elaborates the values they want the business, and those who own it, to embody. "We all agree we want to work together and enjoy this, so we want to know what will it take to be successful, for ourselves and the next generation," says Ken Van Tuinen. "My goal is to be able to see my two nephews and son be more successful than I was. And not just financially, but by continuing the values my dad taught me."

RICHMOND - Under Virginia's estate tax law, candy moguls Forrest and John Mars could have left the state as much as $1.6 billion each when the Northern Virginia brothers go to that big chocolate factory in the sky. But as of today, the so-called death tax is gone. The Mars brothers' personal wealth - accumulated from the sale of M&Ms, Milky Ways, Starburst and other popular food products - and the fortunes of many other well-off Virginians will not be shared with the state. The General Assembly and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine had concluded the tax is bad for business, not to mention sort of creepy. Still, they acknowledge, it wasn't easy to lose the revenue. While not every death is as bountiful for the state as the passing of a billionaire, Virginia's estate taxes have generated between $120 million and $160 million annually for the past decade. The end of the tax comes at a time when Virginia faces a budget shortfall this summer between $200 million and $300 million.

 

Weak tax collections are expected to continue over the next year, putting a pinch on Kaine's plans to expand pre-kindergarten education and land conservation programs. "I think we'll be all right," said Del. Robert Tata, R-Virginia Beach, who championed the abolition of the tax. "We'll make up the money in other ways. The people who want to expand and grow their business can do that now without the government reaching into the grave after them." However, Virginia's death tax may not stay dead. Congress is gradually phasing out the federal estate tax, but it will return full-force in 2011 unless Congress votes to extend the cut. The federal and state taxes are coupled. If the federal tax is revived in four years, the Virginia tax also could be resurrected. There is strong pressure on national and state officials to make sure that doesn't happen. The Policy and Taxation Group, a California organization with ties to the Mars family, spent $180,500 over the past four years lobbying the Virginia General Assembly to end its estate tax, according to reports filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Mars Inc., the world's largest confectioner, has devoted far more lobbying resources on Capitol Hill.

 

The company has spent nearly $12.6 million lobbying Congress since 1998. The money also was used to lobby on agricultural and trade laws. Congress began weaning itself off the federal estate tax in 2001. The following year, Tata introduced a bill to repeal the state version after he received a letter from a constituent requesting the change. Tata said recently that Virginia Beach resident William Simmons, who wrote to Tata in July 2001, had not been contact with him since then. Simmons could not be reached for comment. Tata nearly succeeded in 2003 but his bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Mark Warner, who argued that the state couldn't afford to cut taxes in the aftermath of $6 billion in state budget cuts. In 2005, all three gubernatorial candidates told a gathering of farmers that they favored ending estate taxes. The following year, the legislation abolishing the tax was approved.

 

The measure was supported by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and the National Federation of Independent Business-Virginia. However, much of the financial muscle for the repeal effort came from the Policy and Taxation Group, based in Orange County, Calif. At various times between 2003 and 2006, the organization employed four to nine Richmond lobbyists, including former officials from the administrations of Govs. George Allen and Jim Gilmore. Patricia Soldano, a financial planner who runs the advocacy group, said she does not usually lobby outside of Congress, but she made an exception in the case of Virginia. "It was an issue of proximity if nothing else," she said. Soldano, who does not identify her clients, said she represents wealthy families in 25 states. In lobbying reports filed with Congress, she has listed Mars Inc. and Gallo Winery among her contributors. Forrest and John Mars, both in their 70s, live in McLean and Arlington respectively. Forbes magazine has estimated their net worth at $10.5 billion apiece.

 

The reclusive brothers did not respond to telephone calls and e-mails to company offices in Virginia, New Jersey and Illinois. Other billionaires, however, have made personal appeals to politicians and the public in an effort to end the tax. Robert Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television and the first black billionaire, wrote a letter to Virginia legislators in 2003 asking for a repeal of the tax. "African-Americans have not accumulated wealth in past generations and were denied the opportunity to do so because of slavery, Jim Crow laws and other government institutions," Johnson, of Washington, said in a telephone interview. "They've made it, they worked hard and they feel, and I feel, we should be able to keep it." State tax analysts said super wealthy individuals like the Mars brothers or Johnson rarely pay their full taxes. They set up tax shelters and make charitable contributions to reduce the estate bill that will fall to their heirs. Farmers and small-business owners jump through similar financial and legal hoops to protect their assets. Southampton County farmer Jamie Lee and his father have spent years setting up trusts and insurance policies. But, Lee said, they could still face financial problems if they are forced to pay estate taxes.

 

"My sister and I could have to come up with a lot of money because it only covers part of it," said Lee, 37, who grows corn, wheat and soybeans on 1,400 acres. "This is not just a tax on the rich. Farmers might have a nice net worth because of their land, but they don't have a lot of money in the bank." Bob Hedrick, chairman and CEO of Sprinkle Masonry in Chesapeake, said protecting a personal fortune that is tied up in his business has been expensive. "I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on attorneys and consultants and accountants," said the 66-year-old executive, whose son Robert is a partner in the firm. "It infuriates me. How can you say to people, 'When your daddy dies we're going to tax your butt off'? It doesn't make sense." Lots of states agree. Virginia is one of 33 states that have eliminated their estate taxes in response to the congressional action, according the National Conference of State Legislatures. But because many states could re impose their state taxes if Congress revives the federal estate tax, businessmen like Hedrick won't celebrate too hard when the Virginia tax expires today. "In 2011 on Jan. 2, we could be right back in the toilet," he said.

• "Abusive drivers" fees in addition to the normal fines will be imposed for some traffic offenses. Those cited for reckless driving (a charge that can be given for multiple reasons, including speeding 20 miles per hour above the limit or driving with faulty brakes) will pay an extra $1,050; those convicted of drunk driving will pay an extra $2,250; and those caught driving without a license will pay an extra $900. These additional fees only apply to Virginia residents and not out-of-state offenders.

 

• Drivers under the age of 18 can be ticketed for using wireless devices while driving if doing so while committing some other offense.

 

• Localities with sufficient populations will be allowed to have red light cameras.

APPOMATTOX - A man accused of killing another man in a hit-and-run has four prior convictions for driving under the influence and had been deemed a habitual offender for drunken driving. Anthony Barnes, 49, of Concord, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Calvin Lee Megginson, who died after the dune buggy he was driving was hit from behind Saturday night by a 1993 Nissan pickup truck on Virginia 605, known as Dreaming Creek Road. Megginson, 58, also of Concord, died at the scene. "Alcohol may have been a factor in that accident," Sgt. David Cooper of the Virginia State Police said Monday.

 

According to documents filed in the Appomattox County clerk of court's office, Barnes was deemed a habitual offender in 1992 after having been convicted of three charges of driving while intoxicated in Prince Edward County in a matter of 10 years. The court documents said Barnes was ordered not to drive a vehicle in Virginia for 10 years. Then on April 25, 1997, Barnes was charged again with driving under the influence and driving after being declared a habitual offender. For that incident, Barnes was sentenced to three years in prison with two years suspended, documents show. He also was placed on supervised probation for two years after his release. According to the criminal complaint in the 1997 case, an Appomattox County sheriff's deputy spotted Barnes speeding. The officer wrote that he was driving 90 miles per hour trying to keep up with Barnes, when a piece of furniture blew off the back of Barnes' truck.

 

The complaint said Barnes ran a stop sign after the officer turned on his lights and tried to stop the vehicle. A bottle of liquor and a cooler of beer were found in the truck. When tested, his blood alcohol content was at .20, the criminal complaint stated. In Virginia, a person is considered under the influence at .08. Second-degree murder is the only charge Barnes is facing in connection with the weekend wreck, but that may change, said Darrel Puckett, assistant commonwealth's attorney for Appomattox County. Puckett said once the state police's investigation is complete, he will sit down with investigators and determine if additional charges will be filed. He expects that meeting to happen by the end of the week. "We've got ample time to make charges," Puckett said.

 

Cooper said information received in the investigation indicates that the accident may have been intentional. "They had some confrontation earlier that day," Cooper said. The investigation is continuing. Investigators filed several search warrants Sunday and Monday in Appomattox County's clerk of court's office to gather evidence from both vehicles involved. Investigators are searching the truck and the dune buggy for any damage caused by the wreck; hair, bodily fluids and tissue samples; impact impressions; paint samples; and fingerprints. Red paint scrapings were found on the dune buggy, the warrant said. The truck, the warrant said, was located not far from the accident at 1631 Dreaming Creek Road - at Barnes' house. "Barnes admitted to striking the victim's vehicle in the rear with his registered vehicle," the warrant said. Barnes' preliminary court hearing has not been scheduled.

Herndon police this week arrested the passenger in a November fatal hit-and-run and are hoping to nab the driver, who was deported shortly before he could be arrested. Joseph A. Passarelli, 53, was walking his dog across Herndon Parkway on Nov. 20 when he was hit, dragged about 200 feet and killed, police said. Investigators later identified a gold 1997 Ford Mustang as the car involved and began looking for Jose Santos Sibrian Espinoza, obtaining a warrant for felony hit-and-run. But Espinoza was deported to El Salvador the day before police obtained the warrant, Herndon Lt. Jerry Keys said yesterday. On Monday night, police arrested Espinoza's brother, Jose Orlando Espinoza Sibrian, 35, of Herndon. He was charged with failing to report a fatal accident, a felony.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Ryan Kenty, 20, and his brother Brandon, still a sophomore in high school, plan to drive their mother to jail Monday morning before heading back to her rented apartment to move the rest of her belongings into storage. Their mom, Elisa Kelly, and her ex-husband, George Robinson, are paying the price for hosting Ryan's 16th birthday party -- more than two years in jail each. Ryan had asked his mother to buy his friends some beer and wine, as long as they all spent the night. "No one left the party," said Kelly, 42, who collected car keys that night almost five years ago to prevent anyone from leaving. "No one was hurt. No one drove anywhere. I really don't think I deserve to go to jail for this long."

 

But Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney James L. Camblos III, who prosecuted the parents, said it was the worst case of underage drinking he has had to deal with in 15 years. "Not only were they serving alcohol to 15- and 16-year-olds, they misled parents who called to ask about alcohol, and they tried to get the kids to cover it up after police got there," Camblos said. In this season of senior proms and graduation parties, the story of the couple is a cautionary tale for parents if they plan to serve alcohol -- or look the other way. It comes at a time of increased concern about the effects of drinking and driving and underage binge drinking, which is on the rise. Although 27-month sentences are rare, parents are increasingly being held criminally responsible for underage drinking under their roofs, even if they are not aware that it is going on. "In a lot of cases, the parents are the problem," said Diane Eckert, a prevention specialist in the Safe and Drug-Free Youth section of Fairfax County schools. "The majority of our youth say they obtain their alcohol in their parents' homes." Eckert recently helped launch an awareness campaign in the county called Parents Who Host Lose the Most. She said parents have to realize that it is illegal for those under 21 to drink and against the law for adults to provide them with alcohol. "A lot of our parents were able to drink when they were 18, and we're in a culture that endorses drinking as a rite of passage," Eckert said.

 

Kelly and Robinson -- the boys' stepfather -- were charged with nine misdemeanor counts each of contributing to the delinquency of a minor resulting from the August 2002 backyard birthday bash. Both were originally sentenced to eight years, but the sentences were reduced to 27 months. The case was appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court and then the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently declined to hear it. Robinson's attorney, Jonathan Wren, called the jail time the "harshest sentence of its kind by a long shot." Wren said his client declined to comment. About 30 kids were at the Robinson property on remote Bleak House Road in Earlysville, Va., when police arrived about 11 p.m. after receiving a call about underage drinking. Many of the kids scattered into the nearby woods after one of them yelled, "Cops!" The couple initially were charged with 16 misdemeanor counts, but seven of the partygoers had no alcohol in their systems. Of the nine who did, all were below the legal limit for intoxication, according to Wren. "I made a big mistake. I know that," Kelly, a stay-at-home mother, said this week. "I am so sorry." Her son Ryan was so distraught that he dropped out of school and wants to serve her sentence for her.

 

Kelly said she believed the kids were going to drink regardless. She reasoned that supplying the alcohol and keeping them home would be safer than having them out drinking and driving. Court records show she spent $340 on beer and wine for the party that night. She said she made a deal with her son that no one could leave. Kelly called the punishment harsh, excessive and politically motivated. "I'm not a hardened criminal," said the woman, who does not have a criminal record, not even a parking infraction. "I'm just a mom." Camblos, who has made curbing underage drinking part of this year's reelection campaign, denied any political motivation. "Politics had nothing to do with it. I've seen too many photographs of teenagers being killed in car wrecks because of drinking and driving." Camblos said there was "some suggestion by Mrs. Robinson that several kids could gargle with vinegar to hide the alcohol." Kelly, who changed her name after her divorce, denies it.

 

The couple pleaded guilty in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and Camblos recommended a 90-day sentence at the time. But the judge, angry about the recent death of one of Ryan's classmates at Albemarle High School in an alcohol-related crash, sentenced them to eight years. The couple appealed to Circuit Court, which reduced the sentence to 27 months. The Virginia Supreme Court upheld that decision in January, rejecting defense claims of an illegal search of the couple's property. The defense tried to have the case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court as a violation of the couple's Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. "All their appeals are done now, and it's time they start serving their sentences," Camblos said. Kelly said the almost five-year "nightmare mess" has been very hard on her elder son. She said Ryan is shouldering deep guilt about his sports-coaching mother, whom he calls the "best mom in the world," having to serve time for something he's still convinced was his fault. "He's bawled his eyes out over it," she said. "I keep telling him, 'I was the adult. I made the mistake, and it's not your fault.' " "I wish I could go to jail for her," he said this week, his eyes welling up. If he could, he'd swap places with his mom, who has a "heart of gold," in a minute.

 

Kelly said she's "scared" to go to the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, where each of her sons will be able to visit her only once a month for 15 minutes at a time, and worried about how her sons will fare without her. "I'm going to miss the end of Brandon's high school," she said of her 16-year-old son, choking back tears. After the incident, Ryan dropped out of high school, where he was an athlete and a member of the school's basketball team, saying he couldn't take the constant attention. He shelved plans to attend college and now works full time at UPS. The brothers will live nearby with their father, Marc Kenty, until their mother is released. "You'll see, Mom, I'm going to have a house for us by the time you get out," he said last week after helping her move some of her stuff to storage. "And I'm going to take good care of Brandon." "Not one minute of guilt, though, right?" Kelly asked her son, her arm draped affectionately on his big shoulder. "Like we've talked about." He answered, looking down, "Okay, Mom, okay."

A woman drove her car through a business in Virginia Beach Thursday afternoon. She injured two people inside the building and has been charged with reckless driving. It happened just before 5:00 p.m. in the 1600 block of Indiana Avenue. That's just off Oceana Boulevard. Police say an elderly woman ran her car into the side of the Motor Sports, Inc. A man was sitting at his desk when she hit him. The name of the woman who hit the building is 72-year-old Bernice Watson of the 2400 block of Hunting Home Way in Virginia Beach. She has been charged with reckless driving. The man who was sitting at a desk inside the building is 27-year-old Terri Mathews of Virginia Beach. Medics had to wheel him out on a stretcher with a neck brace. There was also a teenager in the business. She is 18-year-old Shakyria Dailey. She had only minor injuries. All three were taken to Virginia beach General Hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Oscar winner Robert De Niro has filed a motion against Fireman's Fund Insurance to dismiss a suit the company filed against him in 2006. De Niro's rep Stan Rosenfield tells TMZ "This was filed in response to Fireman's Fund's decision to sue Robert De Niro because he was diagnosed with cancer." According to the motion, filed today in a U.S. federal court, De Niro was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October 2003. The documents say that when he was diagnosed, De Niro was days away from starting work on the film "Hide and Seek." Because of De Niro's diagnosis and subsequent treatment for his illness, he was unavailable to start working on the movie as scheduled, and shooting was held up almost 60 days. Due to this delay, Fireman's Fund, the insurance carrier on the film, paid over $1.8 million to reimburse the studio for its lost costs. In October of 2006, Fireman's Fund filed suit against De Niro, claiming he misrepresented the state of his health on a medical certificate they issued him for the film. De Niro claims that he was diagnosed on October 15, 2003 after undergoing a prostate biopsy on the 10th. The medical certificate filed with the insurance company was dated two days earlier, on October 13. Fireman's Fund acknowledges in their suit against the actor that he had not yet "been diagnosed with or treated for" prostate cancer, but they decided to sue him anyway. De Niro, in today's motion, says there was no way he misrepresented his health on the certificate because he hadn't yet been diagnosed with cancer. De Niro is asking the court to immediately dismiss the lawsuit against him.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The judge in music producer Phil Spector's murder trial ruled on Wednesday that famed criminologist Henry Lee recovered possible evidence from the crime scene that he hid from prosecutors. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler, who made the finding after convening a special six-day hearing into accusations of evidence-tampering in the sensational case, declined to hold Lee in contempt. But Fidler said Lee's denials under oath that he withheld evidence were not credible and ruled that, if the renowned criminologist testifies for the defense, prosecutors can raise the issue of the missing evidence -- possibly a piece of the deceased's fingernail -- before jurors. Spector, 67, is accused of shooting actress Lana Clarkson to death in the foyer of his Los Angeles-area mock-castle on February 3, 2003. His trial on murder charges is expected to last until July.

 

Former Spector lawyer Sara Caplan and private investigator Stan White testified during the hearing that Lee recovered a small white object from the pioneering rock producer's foyer. The judge said that he found Caplan's testimony the most credible. "If I have to chose between the two, I am going to choose Ms. Caplan as more credible than Dr. Lee," Fidler said. "Dr. Lee has a lot to lose if this turns out to be true." The white object has not been seen since the day that Lee supposedly recovered it from Spector's foyer, and therefore can not be entered as evidence. Prosecutors have long claimed that the defense had recovered a fragment of Clarkson's fingernail at the crime scene, which they say could help prove that Spector shot her. The defense claims that Clarkson, 40-year-old star of such films as "Barbarian Queen" and "Amazon Women on the Moon," was holding the gun herself when it went off in her mouth. Lee is best known for testifying for the defense in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, along with a number of other high-profile cases. He is sought as a guest on cable news shows for his forensic expertise.

WASHINGTON D.C. police said a 52-year-old mother has been charged with filing a false police report. Police said Cheryl Rousseau claimed a Metrobus hit a stroller with her 3-year-old in it, in February at Half and O streets in Southwest. The woman made up the story, authorities said. She allegedly was trying to take advantage of the transit agency because of recent crashes involving Metrobuses, according to police.

The former Danville police sergeant who resigned Monday during an internal investigation into his recent car accident on Franklin Turnpike has now been charged with driving while intoxicated. Danny Leigh Cassidy Jr., of Providence, N.C., was initially charged by Virginia State Police with reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. Two other people have been charged with obstruction of justice as a result of the accident. Trooper C.L. Brooks said alcohol and speed were involved in the accident that took place about 1:30 a.m. April 20 in the 3400 block of Franklin Turnpike. "He had been drinking and appeared to be under the influence," Brooks said Tuesday evening. However, no field sobriety or blood alcohol tests were conducted after the accident. Cassidy's hearing on the DWI charge has been set for May 7 in Pittsylvania County General District Court. Brooks said he found Cassidy at the home of his girlfriend, Autumn Dee Yates, about five or 10 minutes after he arrived at the crash scene. Cassidy's mother, Connie Cassidy, also of Providence, N.C., was charged with obstruction of justice on Tuesday.

 

The charge is a misdemeanor. She went to the accident scene and allegedly told Brooks she was driving the car, but changed her story. "She tried to cover for her boy," the trooper said. Yates also is charged with obstruction of justice after she gave misleading information to Brooks. She was charged April 28 and will appear in court on May 7. Brooks said he determined the DWI charge after he finished his investigation. He described Cassidy as cooperative after the accident. The investigation showed that Cassidy was traveling about 70 miles per hour when he lost control of his 2006 Lincoln LS. The speed limit in the section of Franklin Turnpike where the accident occurred is 45 miles per hour. Brooks said Cassidy lost control of the vehicle, which then traveled a couple hundred feet before it came to rest in a field off the road. State Police 1st Sgt. M.L. Bailey said Monday that Cassidy's Lincoln suffered about $10,000 in damage. Bailey estimated damage to trees, landscaping, street signs and other materials at $2,800. "It's a real mess," Brooks said, adding that a nearby beauty salon also was damaged in the accident. Danville Police Chief Philip Broadfoot confirmed Monday night that Cassidy has resigned from the force. Cassidy was a Danville police officer for nine years. His status as president of the local Fraternal Order of Police is unknown.

We buy insurance to protect ourselves against catastrophes. But will coverage be there when we need it? There have been enough headlines, lawsuits and regulatory concern in recent years to give us pause. Here's just a sample:

• Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina inflicted a record-setting $66 billion in insured losses -- more than the toll of Hurricane Andrew, the Sept. 11 attacks and the Northridge, Calif., earthquake combined -- thousands of policyholders who thought they had full coverage are still bickering with their insurers over whether wind or water destroyed their homes.
• Blue Cross and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan were both recently assessed regulatory fines for "wrongful recession" -- illegally withdrawing individual insurance coverage from people after they got sick. Critics say the companies scoured the consumers' applications for minor errors or omissions to use as an excuse for ending their coverage.
• Unum Group reached a settlement with 40 states after a flurry of lawsuits accused the disability insurance provider of unfairly denying claims. A California jury awarded a $7.67 million verdict to one of the victims, a single mother of two who lost her home and went on welfare after losing her benefits. In upholding the jury verdict, a federal judge ruled the company had used biased medical examiners and destroyed medical reports in its efforts to deny or cut off checks. A federal judge in Maryland said in a separate case that the company's behavior "bordered on fraud."
• Claims payouts by property/casualty insurers have dropped sharply in recent years, despite huge catastrophes, according a Consumer Federation of America review of figures from rating service A.M. Best. The percentage of premium dollars insurers collect that is paid out in claims fell from an average of 81% in the 1980s and 79.8% in the 1990s to just 68.3% last year, the lowest level in at least 26 years and perhaps the lowest since the 1950s. At the same time, property/casualty insurers have been posting record profits.

Insurers say they're investing smarter

The insurance industry insists policyholders aren't being systematically stiffed. Fights over payouts are the exception, said industry spokeswoman Loretta Worters, rather than the rule. For example, more than 95% of the 1.2 million homeowners insurance claims from Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi were settled within one year of the storm, Worters said. "Despite the attention focused on lawsuits filed following this catastrophic storm, the number of claims in litigation accounts for a very small percentage of the total number of claims filed," said Worters, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group. "Estimates show that fewer than 2% of homeowners' claims in Mississippi and Louisiana were disputed either through mediation or litigation." Insurers say they are simply getting better at assessing risks and are using their profits to strengthen themselves against future catastrophes. "The idea that insurers are boosting profits by denying legitimate claims is a just a lot of claptrap," Worters said. "Excellent underwriting results, the substantial drop in catastrophe losses and strong investment performance enabled insurers to reinvest billions of dollars in 2006, allowing claims-paying resources to reach an all-time record high estimated at $481.5 billion."

 

Methodic lowballing

Robert Hunter understands the need for strong insurance companies and doesn't begrudge them profits. But the former Texas insurance commissioner, now insurance director for the Consumer Federation of America, believes the industry is "methodically" lowballing and denying legitimate claims in addition to overcharging policyholders, avoiding risk, trimming coverage and seeking taxpayer bailouts from catastrophe losses. Hunter and other consumer advocates want to see tighter regulation of insurance companies, including more scrutiny of their rates. I think their concerns are justified. Without strong supervision, insurers are likely to keep cherry-picking their risks. Instead of providing broad pools of protection, insurance coverage could become divided between well-covered clubs of haves and the exposed have-nots. We're already there in the health-insurance arena, with 45 million uninsured and 16 million more underinsured, or exposed to catastrophic losses because of inadequate coverage.

 

How to protect yourself and your family
We consumers also have a role. We must try to avoid companies that play hardball with their customers. One indication: a company's complaint history, which you may be able to find on your state insurance regulators' Web site. There are other things we can do to protect ourselves. When it comes to health and disability insurance, for example, we can:

• Go for an employer's group plan, if possible. Group coverage is easier to get and harder to lose than individual policies, if you can keep your job. If you need individual coverage, though
• Be scrupulously honest in your applications. This is sort of a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't proposition, since unfortunately some insurers will use minor health conditions as a reason to deny coverage upfront. But it may be better to risk that than to think you're covered, only to have the rug pulled out from underneath you when you actually make a claim. Be particularly careful to disclose any medical condition or health treatment that has a paper trail or that the insurer may uncover in your records. For example, you may not need to disclose that you smoked a single cigarette behind the barn at age 14, but if you sought medical help to stop smoking, fess up.
• Follow your policy to the letter. It's a bore, I know, but you need to read your health insurance coverage all the way through and understand the coverage and limitations. Call your health insurer before any major procedure or hospitalization to make sure you've covered and have all necessary pre-approvals. (Since individual doctors involved in a surgery may bill separately, make sure all of them are covered as well.) Keep scrupulous notes of all conversations you have with your insurer.
• Follow up. An insurer's reluctance to pay your claim can wreak havoc with your credit, as I covered in "How to survive your hospital bills." Some hospitals and medical providers are quick to turn unpaid bills over to collections. Call your insurer every time a provider sends you a bill to make sure there aren't any problems and to see if you need to provide more information. If you can't resolve the problem:
• Get help. If your claim is denied or your coverage is dropped, appeal the decision with the insurer. You also can call your state insurance regulators, although their effectiveness varies by state. A claims assistance professional also can help you navigate the system for an hourly fee; you'll find referrals at the Alliance of Claims Assistance Professionals. If you're facing huge bills or lost coverage and have run out of options, consult an attorney.
• For property insurance: Make sure you've got enough coverage. Most people don't have enough insurance to rebuild their homes, as I wrote in "Is your home underinsured? 8 key tests." Make it clear to your insurer that you want sufficient coverage and double-check its recommendations with a local contractor's estimate of your home's rebuilding costs (perhaps inflating the results by 15% to 20%, in case your home is destroyed in a widespread disaster that drives up labor and materials costs). Also, make sure you have "replacement cost coverage" not "actual cash value." The latter pays only a fraction of what your home and possessions cost to replace. For more suggestions, check out the "Do's and Don'ts" section of United Policyholders, a consumer group.
• Do your part. Inventory all your household possessions at least once a year. The easiest way is to walk around your home with a camcorder, detailing what you own. The Insurance Information Institute provides free home inventory software at KnowYourStuff.org. Keep at least one copy of these records offsite -- perhaps with an out-of-state relative. If you remodel, keep copies of plans and receipts to document the improvements. If you have a loss, make your claim promptly and document it as thoroughly as you can.
• Consider getting a home-equity line of credit. It's not a good idea to borrow against your home for most spending. But if you don't have a substantial emergency fund, having a HELOC to tap for living expenses can keep you from having to settle for a lowball offer. Also, some policies are set up to reimburse you for building expenses, rather than providing cash in advance, so you'll need a source of cash to get started.
• Get independent estimates. If you need to rebuild all or part of your house, you should get bids from at least three qualified contractors. You don't have to accept the insurance adjuster's estimate or the contractor he or she recommends, but you should work with the adjuster on the so-called "scope of work," which will be the basis for bids. The scope of work outlines the work to be done and the materials to be used.
• Don't sign releases or cash checks prematurely. Doing so can affect your right to further payment. Know your rights and insist on getting what your policy promises before you allow your insurer to close your case.
• If you can't get satisfaction, get help. Use the insurance company's appeal process, and contact your state insurance department for help. If you have a big claim, you may want the help of a "public adjuster" (someone who advocates for the insured) or an attorney who specializes in representing homeowners.

LINDEN, Texas - A jury awarded $9 million to a black man who suffered permanent brain damage after being beaten and dumped in a field by four white men in 2003. Billy Ray Johnson, 46, lives in a nursing home because of the injuries he suffered in the beating. In the criminal case, the men accused of assaulting him were fined and sentenced to probation and jail time, but none served more than 60 days behind bars. In a four-day civil trial in District Court that ended Friday, jurors found James Cory Hicks and Christopher Colt Amox responsible for Johnson's injuries. Defendants Dallas Chadwick Stone and John Wesley Owens previously reached confidential settlements, attorneys said. A jury of 11 whites and one black deliberated less than four hours before returning a unanimous verdict, said attorneys for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which brought the lawsuit on behalf of Johnson. "The jury told all of Texas and, indeed, the entire country, that Billy Ray is a human being who deserves to be treated with dignity _ that the life of each of us, rich or poor, black or white, abled or disabled, is truly precious," said Morris Dees, founder and chief trial attorney for the Montgomery, Ala.-based law center.

 

Authorities in this poor, pine-locked east Texas hamlet had said that Johnson, well-known around town as a friendly but "slow" character, was lured to an all-white party where underage drinkers fed him alcohol and picked on him. Authorities said Johnson, who lived with his mother and brother and had no criminal background or history of violence, was taunted for the defendants' amusement. He was found unconscious on an ant mound and had suffered a serious concussion and bleeding in the brain. Jurors in the criminal cases against Amox and Hicks acquitted them of felony charges, instead convicting them of a lesser charge and recommending probation. Stone and Owens pleaded guilty to an "injury to a disabled individual by omission" charge. District Attorney Randal Lee said before the sentences were imposed that the juries' decisions were in line with other juries who sympathize with first-time offenders. He pointed out that the so-called beating involved one punch.

The District has agreed to pay $1.2 million to the parents of two children who were killed in 2004 by a motorist fleeing police in Northeast, lawyers for the city and the family said. The crash at 12th Street and Florida Avenue NE took the lives of Octavia Suydan, 8, and her brother, Christopher Suydan Jr., 7. It focused renewed attention on police pursuit protocols, which have long been the subject of controversy in the District and other urban areas. Police investigators determined that officers initiated a pursuit just before the crash, but said they broke it off before the fleeing driver, Eric Palmer, plowed into the two children, who were with their father, walking to a store to buy chips and soda. The accident took place about noon Sept. 11, 2004. The family contended that the city was at fault and sued the District in Superior Court, accusing police of "gross negligence." The District, while agreeing to the payout, did not admit wrongdoing, Deputy D.C. Attorney General George C. Valentine said.

 

In addition to the payment to the family, the city agreed to order the officers involved to attend a two-day driving instruction program at a federal law enforcement center in Maryland. The chain of events began with a police drug sting in the 600 block of Orleans Place NE. An undercover officer had just bought drugs from a man standing next to Palmer's car, and when officers in marked and unmarked cars moved in to arrest the drug dealer, Palmer panicked. He had been in court three days earlier, accused of violating probation on a drug charge. Gunning the engine of his Honda Accord, he bolted from the scene, striking a patrol car and nearly running over an officer, according to police. An officer in a patrol car pulled behind Palmer's car and turned on the sirens and emergency lights in an effort to stop the driver. But Palmer refused, and a commander ordered the officer to halt the pursuit, police said.

 

In general, D.C. police are not allowed to chase suspects unless they believe a violent felony has been committed or that the public is in serious danger. The policy was developed after other deadly crashes. Nationally, authorities acknowledge that strict limits on high-speed chases can embolden criminals who know the police are constrained by pursuit policies. But supporters of the policies say the possibility that a criminal may escape must be weighed against the deadly risk to bystanders in densely populated areas. In a letter to the city, the family's lead attorney, Kim Brooks-Rodney, of the law firm Cohen & Cohen, said the depositions taken as part of the lawsuit make it clear that the officers had no basis to begin chasing Palmer and that even worse, one officer persisted in pursuing the car even after having been ordered to stop. Brooks-Rodney also noted that the incident took place in a "heavily populated residential neighborhood" on a busy Saturday. Police have said the episode lasted about 30 seconds and covered 10 residential blocks. Both sides agree that Palmer, then 19, was hurtling through the streets -- just as the Suydan family was preparing to cross Florida Avenue. The walk signal was flashing. Halfway across the street, Suydan let his children run ahead, and just then Palmer's Honda came flying through the intersection. Octavia and Christopher were thrown 140 feet, the family's lawyers said. "They were holding hands just before the collision and died in the direct sight of their father," Brooks-Rodney wrote the city.

 

Palmer, who was taken into custody after his car crashed into another car, pleaded guilty in 2005 to two counts of second-degree murder for the children's deaths and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. In her letter to the District, dated Dec. 20, Brooks-Rodney demanded $5 million to settle the case. Lawyers for the city and the family negotiated the payment of $1.2 million. The children's parents, Christopher Suydan Sr. and Towhanna Boston, issued a statement through their attorneys yesterday. "While we continue to be devastated by the loss of our children, we are hopeful that the retraining of the police officers involved in the chase will make the District a safer place so no other parents will need to endure what we have," the statement said.

The young couple in the convertible were headed to a North Carolina beach house when they crossed paths with a man in a green pickup truck south of Frederick yesterday morning. The two male drivers got into a spat, police said, "exchanging obscene gestures" as they whizzed south on Interstate 270 during the thick of rush hour. Near the Urbana exit, in an apparent attempt to have the last word, police said, the pickup driver slammed on his brakes when the Chrysler Sebring convertible was on the truck's tail, prompting the convertible's driver to swerve right. The convertible slammed against the guardrail, flipped over and barreled into an embankment shortly after 8 a.m. The driver, Christian M. Luciano, 28, and his girlfriend, Lindsay L. Bender, 25, both of Harrisburg, Pa., were ejected from the car and died almost instantly, police said. The driver of the pickup sped away. Police are searching for him. "How could something so stupid lead to this?" Charles Bender, Lindsay's father, said last night in a phone interview. "They had their whole life ahead of them. I feel sorry for whomever that driver is. I have no hate. I have sorrow." Maryland State Police troopers described the driver as a white male in his 30s with dark, collar-length hair who was wearing a dark baseball cap. The driver was behind the wheel of a light-green late 1990s or early 2000 model Chevy Silverado standard-cab truck with a diamond-pattern rear bumper, said Trooper 1st Class Eric Corbin, one of the investigating officers. "We're definitely looking for anyone with information of his whereabouts," Corbin said. Corbin said Luciano and Bender were not wearing seat belts. Investigators are not certain how fast the vehicles were traveling, what started the dispute or how long it had been going on, Corbin said. Witnesses told investigators that the drivers had been quarreling since at least Route 85, which intersects I-270 just south of Frederick. The Urbana exit is a few miles south of Frederick. Outbursts of road rage are a daily occurrence on I-270, which has become increasingly congested in recent years, police said. "We get calls every single day," Corbin said, "particularly during rush hour."

 

Charles Bender, 55, said he spoke to his daughter minutes before the crash. He said Luciano's car had been having problems, so the couple borrowed Lindsay's mother's convertible. They left home at 7 a.m. for the 395-mile trip and were looking forward to spending a few nights at the beach house because they had been working long hours, he in construction, she at a furniture store, Bender said. "They were just so excited and happy," he said. "They said they were south of Frederick. I told them to take their time, relax; they couldn't wait to get here and relax. We were all excited." The couple met at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and started dating almost four years ago, Bender said. His daughter was a political science major, and Luciano was a state champion wrestler, Bender said. "She has always been a big wrestling fan," he said. Luciano was a "great kid, hard-working," he added. "They were planning to get married. All they did was work."

 

The couple had moved into an apartment March 1 and spent the past few weeks furnishing it and buying appliances. Lindsay Bender's two sisters were at the beach house with their parents yesterday. They had been up since 7 a.m. in anticipation of the couple's arrival. About the time they were expected to reach the house, the family received a call from a Maryland state trooper. Occasionally choking up, Charles Bender offered the following anecdote to illustrate his daughter's personality. When she was in fifth grade, some of her classmates mocked a girl who wore jeans with holes to class. Lindsay told her father when she got home and decided to take action. "She gave her new jeans to that little girl," he said. "This was the kind of girl she was." Charles Bender said his family is trying to understand why God would allow them to die. "I don't understand it," he said. "They were so happy that He thought it was the right time to take her." Police encourage anyone with information about the crash or the driver of the pickup truck to contact police at 301-644-4151.

A former top administrative assistant in the Fairfax County prosecutor's office was convicted yesterday of a felony for erasing a man's drunken-driving conviction and was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. The jury verdict and sentence for forging a public document was more bad news for the office of Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr., which was criticized last week for reducing charges against a rape suspect who then received a 16-month sentence. Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh apologized yesterday to the victim, told her he had taken all felony cases away from the assistant prosecutor involved, Toni S. Fay, and said he did not believe Fay's version of the case. The administrative assistant who was convicted yesterday, Cecilia A. Ruiz, 30, was well-known around the courthouse, first as a clerk in traffic court, then as an aide in the prosecutor's office, eventually rising to a position where she assisted Horan and Morrogh. In August 2004, Annandale resident Munir S. Dellawar was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated. Dellawar testified that he was trying to get his real estate license and wanted to avoid a DWI conviction. He said he had a friend who claimed to know someone in the courthouse who could help him. The friend, Cesar Monteverde, introduced him to Ruiz. Dellawar, 30, said that he and Monteverde met with Ruiz and that she explained how she could make his case go away. He said Ruiz told him to plead guilty to DWI, regardless of his attorney's advice, and then file an appeal when the attorney was gone. The appeal file would then go to the commonwealth's attorney's office. "She said she would go and take that folder out," Dellawar testified. He said that he asked her about the computer records and that Ruiz told him, " 'I have access to everything.' Whatever information was left, she was going to scramble it." Dellawar said he did as he was told, pleading guilty in November 2004. A couple of weeks later, Dellawar said, he met Ruiz in the parking lot of the Chuck E. Cheese's pizza parlor in Fairfax City. There, Ruiz provided him with a certified copy of his new court record, showing that his case had been reduced to driving in an HOV lane. A grateful Dellawar said he then paid Ruiz $1,000.

 

But when Dellawar, who had the vanity license plate "R3LTOR," was pulled over several months later, the officer who originally had arrested him heard the plate read on the police radio. Officer Douglas Middlebrooks also had been present for Dellawar's guilty plea. He testified that he drove over and questioned Dellawar, who denied the DWI arrest. But after Dellawar was released, Middlebrooks persisted, and a police investigation led to Ruiz's arrest. Ruiz did not testify at the trial and declined to comment. Her attorney, Lavonda Graham, called Dellawar a "proven liar and a manipulator" who had "ruined the life of an innocent woman." Retired Fairfax Circuit Court Judge J. Howe Brown will decide June 29 whether Ruiz should serve the full 3 1/2 years. The case was prosecuted by Prince William County Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney James A. Willett because of Ruiz's connection to the Fairfax prosecutor's office. While Ruiz's case was being decided, Morrogh was meeting with the victim of a beating and sexual assault in Fairfax City. The suspect, Eugene A. Marriott Jr. of Clinton, an ordained minister, had been charged with rape, sodomy, abduction with intent to defile and malicious wounding. In November, he pleaded guilty to the abduction charge, facing a 20-year minimum sentence. But two days before his sentencing March 16, Fay agreed to reduce the charge of abduction with intent to defile to simple abduction, and reduce the rape and sodomy charges to misdemeanors, so that Marriott would not have to register as a sex offender. The victim and two police officers said Fay never told them of the change. Fay said she did.

 

Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Stanley P. Klein, who still could have given Marriott as much as 10 years for simple abduction and five years for wounding, sentenced the minister to 16 months. "I expressed regret for the actions of Toni Fay," Morrogh said he told the victim. "It's an embarrassment to our office and a disgrace." Fay acknowledged she had cut the deal with Marriott without consulting anyone in her office, but she contended that she had told the victim and the investigator, Fairfax City Detective Edward C. Vaughan. The victim and Vaughan denied that. "I've known Ed Vaughan 24 years," Morrogh said. "He's an honest man, and I believe him 100 percent. I also believe the victim." Morrogh said that he was "mystified [Fay] did what she did," and that Horan was reviewing whether to take further steps against her. The victim said she was satisfied with Morrogh's explanation but wondered whether more would come of her case. "I did my part," she wrote in a letter to Horan. "Your system failed me."

A New Jersey Supreme Court panel is considering whether to allow health insurers and union health plans to sue Merck jointly to recover money they paid for Vioxx prescriptions _ a lawsuit potentially worth more than $15 billion. A New Jersey state judge granted that lawsuit class-action status in mid-2005, and a state appellate court ruled last year that the nationwide suit could go forward. Merck is appealing.

CINCINNATI - Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) has won a jury award of $19.25 million in a civil lawsuit filed against four former Amway distributors accused of spreading false rumors linking the company to Satanism to advance their own business. The U.S. District Court jury in Salt Lake City on Friday found in favor of the Cincinnati-based consumer products company in a lawsuit filed by P&G in 1995. It was one of several the company brought over rumors alleging a link with the company's logo and Satanism. Rumors had begun circulating as early as 1981 that the company's logo -- a bearded, crescent man-in-moon looking over a field of 13 stars -- was a symbol of Satanism. The company alleged that Amway Corp. distributors revived those rumors in 1995, using a voice mail system to tell thousands of customers that part of Procter & Gamble profits went to satanic cults. The company's claim was based on the Lanham Act, which prohibits unfair competition and false advertising. "This is about protecting our reputation," Jim Johnson, P&G's chief legal officer, said in a statement Monday. "We will take appropriate legal measures when competitors unfairly undermine the reputation of our brands or our company." The former Amway distributors thought they'd be exonerated and were shocked by the jury's verdict late Friday, said Randy L. Haugen, one of the defendants. "It's hard to imagine they'd pursue it this long, especially after all the retractions we put out," said Haugen, a 53-year-old Ogden, Utah, businessman who maintained P&G was never able to show how it was harmed by the rumors. "We are stunned. All of us." Haugen said he forwarded another person's account of the Satanic rumor to other Amway salesmen on a common phone-message system, then circulated the retraction. The original message, however, found its way to Procter & Gamble. Amway has said it acted quickly to quash the rumor and the company was dismissed from the case, leaving the four ex-distributors, who are protected by liability insurance against the judgment, Haugen said.

 

P&G spokesman Terry Loftus said Monday that the corporation brought a handful of cases against various individuals -- not just Amway distributors -- through the 1980s, with the last one prior to this case filed in 1990. Loftus said he did not have immediate information on the outcome of those cases. Joseph Joyce, one of the attorneys representing the Amway distributors, didn't return several messages left by The Associated Press on Monday at his Salt Lake City office. A federal judge had dismissed the lawsuit involving Amway, and a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver agreed in 2003, saying the rumors were not defamatory and that P&G had not made a case for specific damages. P&G, however, got the case reinstated on a further appeal, Haugen said. Amway has successfully defended itself in this and other lawsuits and can provide its research materials to the former distributors if they appeal, said Kate Makled, spokeswoman for Alticor Inc., Amway's parent company based in Ada, Mich. "Despite the public apology, P&G has spent 12 years destroying their lives," Makled said. "P&G is a $68 billion company. What they got out of this case was what they could earn in about 2 1/2 hours. We think that's shameful." Amway is involved in direct selling through independent business owners in over 80 countries and territories around the world. P&G is the world's largest consumer products company. Its products include Pampers diapers, Tide detergent, Pringles chips and Folgers coffee.

A Great Falls teenager who was driving more than 100 mph on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in September when she lost control of the car and slammed into a tree was convicted yesterday of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a friend killed in the crash. Saadet Muslu, 18, wiped away tears after the verdict was announced. Her mother, sitting with relatives and friends, held her face, grimacing and crying. She wailed outside the Arlington County courtroom after her daughter was led away by a sheriff's deputy. Jesse H. Little, 21, of Great Falls, the oldest of the five people in the Lexus, was killed in the Sept. 28 crash, which occurred at 1 a.m. near the Spout Run exit. Two teenagers were seriously injured, one of whom spent five weeks in intensive care. Both have largely recovered. Muslu, who was 17 at the time of the crash, and the 18-year-old front-seat passenger, whose mother owned the Lexus, suffered minor injuries. "We're very disappointed in the verdict," defense attorney Peter D. Greenspun said outside the courtroom. "We do not feel it rose to the level of involuntary manslaughter." Greenspun said that the Muslu family has been "devastated" by the crash and that no decision has been made about an appeal. Greenspun said "parents, kids, teenagers will learn a valuable lesson" from the case. Prosecutors said speed, not alcohol, was a factor. The Circuit Court jury of seven men and five women deliberated for two hours before reaching a verdict. Judge Benjamin N.A. Kendrick denied bail and ordered Muslu held until her May 25 sentencing. She faces up to 10 years in prison. In his closing argument, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jason L. McCandless called Little's death a "senseless loss of life" that was caused by a teenager who was going at a "crazy speed" and shouldn't have been behind the wheel. He called it the "worst nightmare that could befall a parent." Kendrick explained to the jury that because Muslu was 17 at the time, she was not allowed to drive from midnight to 4 a.m., except in special circumstances. Muslu had had her driver's license for five months at the time of the crash, which occurred on a cool, dry autumn weeknight.

 

The Lexus skidded more than 300 feet, crashed into an embankment, went airborne and then slammed into a tall tree eight feet up. Muslu admitted to police that she was going more than 100 mph on the parkway. One of the teenagers' parents testified that Muslu had told her she was going as fast as 130 mph, egged on to try to beat her friend's 123-mph record on the road, where the speed limit is 40 at that spot. Greenspun maintained throughout the three-day trial that Muslu was subjected to intense peer pressure to make the luxury car go faster. One of the teenagers in the car testified that the front-seat passenger, Joy Goktepe, repeatedly pressured Muslu to step on the gas to prove that Goktepe's mother's car was faster than Muslu's BMW. McCandless told the jury that Muslu could not "hide behind peer pressure" because as the driver, she was the "captain of the ship" and, therefore, legally responsible. Greenspun painted a picture of a meandering night among the friends in the Lexus, with frequent cellphone calls, text messages and brief stops at various places around Northern Virginia, all with music blaring. He called it a case of "social issues" involving "cellphones, cars and hanging out."

 

One of the teenagers testified that "nothing was going on" that night and that the group was looking for something to do. There was conflicting testimony during the trial about whether they were headed to Georgetown or Old Town Alexandria at the time of the crash. McCandless, who told the jury that Muslu was carrying a designer Chanel bag when she was interviewed by detectives, said prosecutors were not trying to depict her as a "coldhearted, spoiled" teen who "didn't have remorse" about the death of her friend. During the trial, prosecutors said Muslu cared more about her own fate than about the welfare of her injured friends, asking repeatedly at the crash scene, "What's going to happen to me?" The emotional case brought tears on both sides of the divided courtroom. Harrell W. Little Jr., the victim's adoptive father, said he deeply mourned the loss of his son. Little said he had taken Jesse in as a foster child when the boy was 14 after his first American adoption from Russia hadn't worked out, largely because of attachment disorder issues. Little said his son often associated with younger children because he felt more comfortable around them

FLUSHING - A sniper's bullet in Vietnam was nothing compared to the bite of his sister's Siamese cat. A Genesee County jury on Friday gave an ex-Marine from Flushing $122,400 for an injury he sustained when his sister's cat bit him on the hand in March 2004. Michael Sabo, 57, of Flushing had just taken a barbecue grill to his sister when her cat, Randy, let out a screech and bit him, said Sabo's attorney, Tom Pabst. "This was a Siamese seal-point," said Pabst. "They're the pit bulls of cat." Sabo's fingers swelled so much that his fingers looked like "plump hot dogs" and his arm looked like the "Incredible Hulk," said Pabst. The ensuing infection landed Sabo in an Ann Arbor veterans hospital for three weeks and racked up more than $20,000 in medical bills. The pain was worse than what Sabo suffered when an enemy sniper shot him in the ankle in Vietnam, said Pabst. That wound forced doctors to fuse Sabo's ankle together and earned him a Purple Heart. Pabst said Sabo's sister, Jean Toney, had warned people not to pick up Randy because he had bitten people before. Sabo, however, was sitting down when the cat leapt into his lap and bit him on the meaty part of his right hand near the base of his little finger. "This (cat) was mean and ornery," said Pabst. On top of the doctor bills, Pabst said Sabo lost $11,500 in income, and his arm still isn't at full strength. Sabo initially tried to get his sister's Farm Bureau Insurance homeowner's policy to cover the cost of the bite, but when the company refused, Pabst said he had no choice but take the matter to court. Toney, her attorney and Farm Bureau officials could not be reached for comment Friday. The case has understandably put a strain on Sabo's relationship with his sister, said Pabst. As for Randy, Pabst said the cat is still alive. "(Toney) loves the cat," said Pabst. "He's named after her dead husband."

HAMPTON, Virginia - A man who tried to hide a small bag of marijuana just outside a courthouse door - a common trick used for cell phones, which are not allowed inside - was arrested and charged with distribution of the drug. Security officer Carl Hornberger said he was working the courthouse metal detector when he told Ronald E. Hall Jr. to empty his pockets. Out tumbled Hall's cell phone and a half-ounce bag of marijuana. "You can't bring that crap in here," Hornberger said. Hall, 22, took the phone and the drugs and hid them in the bushes outside, then passed the security checkpoint and continued upstairs. Hornberger summoned a police officer, who waited for Hall to return and watched as he retrieved the phone and the pot, Hampton Police Cpl. Allison Good told the Daily Press newspaper.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The ninth step of the 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program calls on members to make amends with those they have harmed - unless doing so would cause further injury. William Beebe's decision to confess to the woman he'd sexually assaulted more than two decades earlier finally brought her justice, but it also landed him in prison. On Thursday, a judge sentenced Beebe to 18 months in prison for attacking Liz Seccuro in 1984 at a fraternity party at the University of Virginia. To me, this was never about step nine," Seccuro said. "Alcohol doesn't rape people. People rape people." The case was revived in 2005 when Seccuro received Beebe's letter of apology for the college attack, and began exchanging e-mails with him. In one e-mail, Beebe wrote: "I want to make clear that I'm not intentionally minimizing the fact of having raped you. I did." In 1984, Seccuro was given a drink at a fraternity party that made her feel strange, and she later passed out, leaving her memory hazy. She said she vividly recalls being attacked by Beebe, and had a vague impression she'd been assaulted by other fraternity members. Seccuro said that she reported the assault to university officials at the time but that a dean and the campus police treated her dismissively. Seccuro, 40, of Greenwich, Conn., eventually called Charlottesville police to report her correspondence with Beebe. There is no statute of limitations on felonies in Virginia, and Beebe was arrested in Las Vegas.

 

Beebe originally was charged with rape and object sexual penetration and could have faced a sentence of life in prison if convicted. But in November, he entered into a plea deal after investigators uncovered new information suggesting Seccuro was attacked by more than one person that night. Beebe has yet to give prosecutors any helpful information in the investigation. As part of his sentence, Beebe also will have to perform 500 hours of community service related to issues of sexual assault and alcohol abuse on college campuses, or face an additional 7½-year prison sentence the judge suspended. "I'm not trying to excuse my behavior, but I was a different person then," said Beebe, 42, of Las Vegas, describing how sobriety has changed him. "I have a purpose, and that gives life meaning. I didn't have that then." Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Edward Hogshire clearly struggled with the sentence, saying what Seccuro went through was horrific, but that Beebe went on to be a leader in the recovery community. "Is he remorseful?" the judge asked. "I think so." Several people testifying on Beebe's behalf Thursday said he is a kind and generous friend who often helped other recovering substance abuse addicts.

 

"Will didn't tell me what to do, he showed me," said William Daniel Griggs Jr. of Richmond, who credited Beebe with helping in his recovery. He also said that Beebe helped care for his sick son several years ago. Prosecutor Claude Worrell described Beebe's decision to apologize as selfish, and said it traumatized Seccuro all over again. Defense attorney Rhonda Quagliana responded that it was "sad and tragic" that Beebe's apology was depicted that way, and said Seccuro made a choice to respond to his letter. Seccuro, visibly shaken, left the courtroom. Later, Worrell shot back, "As it relates to Mr. Beebe, Elizabeth Seccuro has never had a choice." After the sentencing, Seccuro accused the university of spinning "tale after hurtful tale of how you quote 'properly handled' this situation in 1984 and quote 'supported me'" then and now. University of Virginia spokesman Carol Wood said only that Seccuro was "a courageous woman who was determined to see this through, and today justice was served on her behalf." Beebe's decision to contact Seccuro after more than two decades sent her life into upheaval, Seccuro said. She has suffered two miscarriages she attributes to stress, endured frequent panic attacks and had to contend with harsh criticism from those who disagreed with her decision to press charges. Seccuro went public with her name and story, hoping to lead other sexual assault survivors to seek help. She launched STARS - Sisters Together Assisting Rape Survivors - to raise money for rape victims and their families. Seccuro says she has forgiven Beebe for assaulting her, but that an apology is not a substitute for punishment. The attack changed her life dramatically - but after the sentencing, she said she can move forward. "As Maya Angelou said, 'I may be changed by what has happened to me, but I will not be diminished by it,'" she said.

GREAT FALLS, VA -- Fairfax County police said alcohol may have been a factor in a fatal crash early Thursday morning. At about 12:20 a.m., a Reston-area man was involved in a minor crash, police said, and as he stepped out of his 2004 Toyota Camry, which was blocking a westbound lane of Leesburg Pike near Georgetown Pike, he and his car were hit by a 1999 Dodge Dakota driven by a 48-year-old Leesburg-area man. The Dakota crossed into the eastbound lanes before hitting a guardrail and stopping. The driver of the Camry, 27-year-old Anton Stefan Sjostrum, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Dakota and a passenger were taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A police investigation is under way.

A woman who went into a vegetative state in November of 2000 awoke this week for three days, spoke with her family and a local television station before slipping back on Wednesday. "I'm fine," Christa Lilly told her mother on Sunday ? her first words in eight months. She has awakened four other times for briefer periods. "I think it's wonderful. It makes me so happy," Lilly told television station KKTV-TV. She also got to see youngest daughter, Chelcey, now 12 years old, and three grandchildren. Her neurologist, Dr. Randall Bjork, said he couldn't explain how or why she awoke. "I'm just not able to explain this on the basis of what we know about persistent vegetative states," he said. A vegatative state is much like a coma except her eyes remain open. "The good Lord let me know she's alright, he brings her back to visit every so often and I'm thankful for that," said Minnie Smith, her mother and caregiver after Christa slipped back into the vegetative state.

The Supreme Court threw out a $79.5 million punitive damages award to a smoker's widow Tuesday, a boon to businesses seeking stricter limits on big-dollar jury verdicts. The 5-4 ruling was a victory for Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA, which contested an Oregon Supreme Court decision upholding the verdict. In the majority opinion written by Justice Stephen Breyer, the court said the verdict could not stand because the jury in the case was not instructed that it could punish Philip Morris only for the harm done to the plaintiff, not to other smokers whose cases were not before it. States must "provide assurances that juries are not asking the wrong question ... seeking, not simply to determine reprehensibility, but also to punish for harm caused strangers," Breyer said. The decision did not address whether the size of the award was constitutionally excessive, as Philip Morris had asked. Punitive damages are money intended to punish a defendant for its behavior and to deter repetition. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and David Souter, joined with Breyer. Dissenting were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens and Clarence Thomas. Mayola Williams sued Philip Morris for fraud on behalf of her husband, a two-pack-a-day smoker of Marlboros for 45 years. Jesse Williams died of lung cancer more than nine years ago. Philip Morris makes Marlboros.

 

She argued the jury award was appropriate because it punishes Philip Morris' misconduct for a decades-long "massive market-directed fraud" that misled people into thinking cigarettes were not dangerous or addictive. Williams, according to his widow, never gave any credence to the surgeon general's health warnings about smoking cigarettes because tobacco companies insisted they were safe. Only after falling sick did Williams tell his wife: "Those darn cigarette people finally did it. They were lying all the time." The cigarette maker, however, said a jury can punish the company only for the harm done to Williams, not to other smokers. The jury should have been told explicitly that other smokers, no matter how tragic their stories, would have to prove their own cases, the company said. The Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and trade associations representing car and drug makers have weighed in on behalf of tighter restrictions on damage awards. The case also was watched closely as a test of whether the new makeup of the Supreme Court would lead to changes in its prior rulings limiting punitive damages. Roberts and Alito, the two newest members, were in the majority Tuesday, giving no hint of a change in the court's approach to punitive damages. The case is Philip Morris USA v. Williams, 05-1256.

PAW PAW TOWNSHIP, Michigan -- Two brothers who shared a home were killed in a head-on traffic collision with each other, police said. Jessie West, 24, and James West, 33, were killed Sunday in a head-on collision near Paw Paw, not far from their home in Decatur in southwestern Michigan. James West was driving his 1985 Chevrolet Monte Carlo north when he lost control and crossed into the path of his brother's oncoming 1988 Dodge Daytona, according to police. "We've never had anything quite like this," Van Buren County sheriff's Sgt. Virg Franks told the Kalamazoo Gazette. Police said skid marks left at the scene suggested the crash was accidental. Family and friends told police there were no bad feelings between the brothers. Jessie West was wearing a seat belt and was trapped inside his car when police arrived. James West, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from his car. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, The Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph and the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune reported. Jessie West worked as a supervisor at Gallagher's Eatery and Pub in Paw Paw and left early Sunday, saying he wasn't feeling well. His brother worked as a truck driver and moved into the home about eight months ago, said Jessie's longtime neighbor, Josh Hunsberger.

Richmond, VA - The Virginia General Assembly will allow local governments to set up cameras to catch drivers who run red lights, renewing a program that safety advocates say reduces accidents and aggressive driving. The Senate voted 30 to 10 Tuesday to approve a bill that would let towns, cities and counties with populations of 10,000 or more install photo-monitoring systems at intersections with traffic signals. The House has already approved the measure, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) has said he will sign it. Nearing the close of their 45-day session, lawmakers also voted Tuesday to phase out touch-screen voting machines because of concerns about their accuracy. And House Republicans blocked an effort to raise the state's minimum wage to $6.50 an hour. The session ends Saturday. The red-light camera program would replace an experiment that expired in 2005 in Alexandria, Fairfax City, Falls Church, Vienna, Virginia Beach and Arlington and Fairfax counties. In addition to the District, Maryland and 11 other states use automated cameras for traffic enforcement.

 

"This is the best opportunity this legislature has had since I've been here for 12 years to establish a statewide safety program," said Sen. Martin E. Williams (R-Newport News). "This is for all localities in Virginia." The real hurdle was in the more conservative House of Delegates, where lawmakers had approved the measure this month 63 to 35. It is one in a series of measures to be approved this year after historic resistance by House members who have argued against what they view as unnecessary government "nannyism" through regulation. The House also has approved laws requiring restaurants to prominently display signs if smoking is allowed on the premises and requiring children to be restrained in a booster seat until age 8. Last week, a House committee approved a law prohibiting teens from using cellphones while driving; the bill is likely to come before the full House on Wednesday. "Virginia is a very weird state," said Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax). "There's a vast difference of opinion about what the people want. I never thought we'd ever see photo-red get out of here. But a lot of the rural guys are just sick and tired of this fighting with the Senate. In order to compromise, we have to give up some of the things we like." Others attributed the shift to election-year jitters. With all 140 seats in the General Assembly up for election in November, Republican lawmakers are mindful that Virginia's electorate has been trending toward Democrats in recent years and is turning to government to solve problems such as the traffic crisis in Northern Virginia as well as health and safety concerns. "I think they are recognizing that all their ideological talk about the 'nanny state' not only isn't working, but it is also portraying them as callous and indifferent to measures that protect our families and kids," said Del. Robert H. Brink (D-Arlington). Sprinting through their final week, lawmakers addressed dozens of other measures Tuesday. Responding to bipartisan concern that electronic voting machines are susceptible to fraud and error, the House approved a bill by state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax) that would no longer replace them when they break down. Local government agencies that administer elections will instead have to buy machines that offer a paper trail, most likely optical scanners.

 

"What it really came down to is people are concerned about voting integrity," said Del. Timothy D. Hugo (R-Fairfax), who sponsored an identical bill that was approved by the House. About 100 of 134 jurisdictions use paperless machines. Although some advocates have pushed for an immediate switch to paper machines, local registrars have opposed the move, saying it would be too costly. Hugo said it would probably be a decade before all the touch-screen machines are replaced. House Republicans stymied the effort to raise the state's minimum wage to $6.50 an hour after they decided to send the bill to a committee that isn't scheduled to meet before the session ends Saturday. The decision to refer the bill, approved 53 to 43, caps weeks of wrangling over an issue that Democrats are expected to highlight in this fall's legislative races. Virginia has historically followed the federal minimum wage, currently $5.15 an hour. But Democrats in Richmond, emboldened by their party's successful use of the issue in last year's congressional races, have sought to impose a higher state wage this year. The Republican-controlled Senate voted this month to raise the wage to $6.50 an hour. But Republicans on the House Commerce and Labor Committee, under pressure from GOP leaders, voted several times to block the measure. Del. Phillip A. Hamilton (R-Newport News) said Republicans were worried that the bill could cost the state money because some state employees earn the minimum wage. Sue Capers of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness called it a "a sad day for Virginia's low-income workers." "It is almost unbelievable to me they would defeat this bill. Virginia is a wealthy state, and all we asked for is $6.50 an hour," Capers said. "While it's a disappointment for those of us who worked for the bill, just imagine the people who are doing the work. I just hope people remember who did this when they go the polls in November."

KAMAPLA, Uganda - At least 22 people have died and nine more have been hospitalized after drinking illegal, homemade gin, a health official said Wednesday. A 1-liter bottle of the illicit gin sells for US$0.40 (euro.30) and is popular among poor Ugandans because it is cheap and extremely strong. The ingredients are often unknown. "They all died from poisoning," said Dr. Elly Tumushabe, director of health services in Komo Island in Lake Victoria, about 95 miles east of the capital, Kampala. "They all drank a local brew brought to the island by a trader."It is possible the death toll could rise, he said. The gin was taken to the island Friday and six people who drank it died Saturday, authorities said. Seven died Sunday, five on Monday, three on Tuesday and at least one Wednesday. Poverty is widespread in Uganda. Almost half its 22 million people live on less than a US$1 (euro.75) a day. Two of the gin trader's colleagues have been arrested. Police accuse them of helping the trader spike the gin of 20 jerry-cans, locally known as Nguli, with chemicals before he brought them to Komo Island, which has a population of 22,000. "We are hunting for him and we are certain we will get him soon," Police Commander James Awulenyi said, adding that the trader ran the business for more than two years. Police say he will be charged with murder if caught.