DenverPost Reports
Love motivated Michelle Cawthra to steal $11 million from the Colorado Department of Revenue and funnel the tax returns into her ex-boyfriend's bank accounts.
Cawthra testified Wednesday that she falsified documents and created fake businesses so that her former lover, Hysear Randell, could receive millions in tax refunds in order to pay for his business ventures, delinquent child support, land deals, diamond jewelry and expensive cars.
Some of the transactions, which took place over more than two years, were in the thousands of dollars and included money from unclaimed taxpayer refunds.
Cawthra told the jury that she often used her co-workers' computer passwords to adjust tax returns so that the trail did not come back to her
Hysear Don Randell
"I did things I don't think I otherwise would have done had I not been in love with him," Cawthra testified.
Prosecutor Kandace Gerdes asked Cawthra what Randell needed in exchange for love.
"Money, I guess," Cawthra said, and began to cry.
Cawthra also told Gerdes that except for a few pieces of jewelry and a couple of trips, she did not live a luxurious lifestyle and did not share in the money she stole for Randell.
"I did what I was told," she said.
Randell, 42, is on trial in Denver District Court on multiple criminal charges including violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, theft by receiving, forgery and computer crime.
Randell's defense lawyer, Scott Reisch, said that his client did not know Cawthra, 32, was stealing money from her employer, but thought the money was coming from her family trust fund.
Reisch tried to show the jury that Cawthra was a woman obsessed with making Randell her "Prince Charming" by luring him away from his wife, Trudy Randell, with money. Trudy Randell was also charged in the case and has pleaded guilty to theft but has not yet been sentenced.
Cawthra's testimony is part of a plea deal with prosecutors. She later hopes to reduce the 24-year prison sentence she is serving.
Cawthra testified she did not have a family trust fund and that while she did try to lure Randell away from his wife, he knew the money was coming from the state of Colorado. The two met in 2002 at the Department of Revenue, when Randell briefly worked in the mailroom as a temporary employee.
She told Gerdes that before they were arrested in 2007, Randell again asked her to take money, but this time he wanted her to try and get $13 million to $14 million in one shot.
"As this went on over time there was more and more pressure to get more and more money and it was hard and the pressure was making me crack," Cawthra said.
GlobalGrind Reports
How do I keep a man? Well, I can only speak from experience because I'm not a doctor, just a woman that knows what she wants. To lay out my history with Ice, we have been married for 8 years and still going strong. We met in California on a movie set and have been inseparable ever since. Now we live in NY and at the moment we don't have any kids together. Everybody says relationships get boring, but it doesn't have to be that way, its entirely up to the both of you. As for me, I totally remember the feeling when I first fell in love with Ice.
The conversations, the kissing, the touching, the joking, the politeness, the feeling of always wanting to be near each other. Take that reminiscing and apply it to where your relationship is now. It is important to rekindle the moments.
I always like our "Date Nights". Always set aside a day out of each week and do something fun together and then end the night in love making or just plain HOT SEX! Ice and I also like Sundays, that's our "Movie Night" where I get cute for him and he appreciates the effort (men do notice..they're just not always verbal).
Ice and I work all day together on the set of his show "Law and Order", because I have an office there. But as soon as we get home, I'll change into a skimpy outfit like booty shorts and heels because it changes the mood from being business oriented. LADIES & GENTLEMEN...the most IMPORTANT advice I can give is to make sure you listen to one another!!!!! TALK A LOT!! I think the reason that Ice and I have made it in the celebrity world for so long is because we constantly communicate. Remember, relationships will always have those bad moments and it won't be rosy all the time. You have to be strong for one another and don't chicken out when you come to a bump in the road.
It may seem a little old fashioned but here are some pointers that you can do to cater to your man:
* Make him a cold drink
* Cook him his favorite food
* Give him a body rub
* Dress in his favorite outfit or item
* Draw him a bath
* Watch all his favorite shows for a night
* Play video games with him
* And finally, kiss or lick his feet. Hehe- LOL. - very optional
Until my next thought....
Love,
Coco
Websites
Cocosworld.com
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BallerStatus Reports
Remy Ma is still up on what's happening in the real world, despite being behind bars. She keeps fans and the rest of the world updated on her via a recurring blog over at GlobalGrind.com.
In her second and most recent post, the rapper decided to speak about her problem with the media, approaching it by explaining her initial reaction to hearing about Michael Jackson's death. Remy says she and her husband/rapper Papoose were spending time together during their allowed trailer visits, and the news flashed across the TV screen.
"So [my husband Papoose and I are] playing Scrabble ... and the news comes on, saying 'Breaking news Michael Jackson dead at 50 yrs old' and we were both stuck," Remy writes. "I don't think I even believed it at first, it was as if it were a hoax or something but as the story developed we realized it was official."
The first reports weren't what she had a problem with, it was how the media portrayed Jackson after he had passed. It struck a cord with the rapper and inspired her to pen the blog entry.
"In less than 5 minutes I was crying (yes crying) and Pap was totally pissed because usually when people pass everybody talks about the good things in their lives and it seemed like all they were talking about was negativity."
That negativity is something Remy says she relates to, especially since she got her fair share of negative press during the trial leading up to her incarceration.
"I used to be one of those people that watched the news and bought the newspaper everyday and believed that everything that I was seeing and reading was true; up until the point where I ended up in their reports in a negative light," Remy explained. "Now I only read the papers for the horoscopes and the comics and I only watch the news for the lottery numbers. They couldn't even get my name or age right, more less the color of my vehicle that was right behind them parked in front of the precinct. Many reporters get their information at 4th, 3rd, 2nd hand at best. They're at liberty to word a headline however they see fit in order to sell the highest number of papers but rarely do they take a moment to stop and think that this is someone's life that they're tampering with, someone with a family, someone that might have children."
In addition to her detailing how she found out about MJ's death, Remy also revealed that during her incarceration, she's read the entire Bible. Like celebrities who endure negative attention in the media, Jesus Christ was even lied about during his time on Earth, and then eventually found guilty and killed. The rapper says if Jesus went through that, she can go through her prison time.
"So if that's how they treat the Son of God, who are we?" Remy asked. "That right there gives me the strength to hold my head high everyday and I can honestly say I'm doing okay."
Remy also said she's packed on a few pounds, and plans to trying to lose some weight soon, before signing off with "Forever Innocent, Rem" and "RIP Michael Jackson."
To read her entry blog entry, head over to: Global Grind.
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Incredible remix to the summer anthem 'New York Minute' ft an all star line up
of Lil Cease aka Cease-A-Leo, Jadakiss aka J to tha Muah,
Mic Geronimo and French Montana aka Macaroni Wid Da Cheese aka Dat New Nigga Now
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Birthday boy Demetrius decided to mess about on the river - and survived
New.Sky.Com Reports
A boy had the adventure of a lifetime to celebrate his third birthday - floating eight miles down a river in a toy truck.
Demetrius Jones was camping with his family when he decided to take a drive in his battery-powered toy.
He promptly motored down a slipway into the Peace River in British Columbia, Canada, and floated downstream and out of sight.
His parents were frantic and called the emergency services.
Rescuer Don Lowen said: "We figured if he had been gone about two hours he could have gone about 12 to 15 kilometres.
Demetrius back on dry land
"So we went down and about the 12-kilometre mark we spotted what we thought were rocks along the side, with maybe an eagle on top because there was this little white blond head there.
"When we got closer there was an upside down Chevvy and the young fella just hanging on!"
Police said Demetrius was cold but none the worse for his ordeal.
"He was more concerned about leaving his truck behind," said an officer.
Demetrius, from Fort St John, had been camping with his family at Peace Island Park.
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MTVNEWS Reports
Former "O.C." actress Mischa Barton was removed from her home by the Los Angeles Police Department Wednesday after what a police spokesperson is calling a "medical issue."
"It was apparently yesterday a little after 3 in the afternoon, and one of the patrol units in West L.A. division responded to her home for a medical issue," an LAPD spokesperson, Richard French, told MTV News on Thursday (July 16). "The police department is currently assisting her with that. No one was arrested and there were no other persons involved in this incident."
No further details have been released about Barton's condition or where the police may have brought the 23-year-old actress. Barton's rep was not available for comment about the incident at press time.
However, in a statement to People, Barton rep Craig Schneider said, "Police were involved due to Ms. Barton's celebrity status, to safely transfer her to medical treatment as per doctor's orders," he said, adding that Barton is now "OK and resting."
The "medical issue" means that Barton won't be able to make Thursday night's premiere of her new film, "Homecoming." A producer for the film told People, "There were some medical problems. She's not able to travel, as far as I know." He added that "because she did a great job" playing a homecoming queen in the flick, he was "disappointed" she wouldn't make it.
The film's director also responded to the news that Barton wouldn't make the premiere, issuing a statement to Access Hollywood. "I along with everyone on the 'Homecoming' team are saddened to hear that Mischa Barton will not be able to attend the film's premiere tonight in New York," director Morgan J. Freeman said. "Her performance in 'Homecoming' is fantastic, and she will be missed at our premiere."
In addition to her work in "Homecoming," Barton was ready to make her return to TV this fall in the CW's new show, "The Beautiful Life." Barton was arrested late in 2007 and charged with a D.U.I. and marijuana possession. She was sentenced to attend alcohol education classes, 36 months probation and pay a fine.
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TimesOnline Reports
Documents leaked by a hacker on future plans of the fashionable social networking site Twitter, has sent it all a flutter.
The microblogging site apparently has projected revenue of $140 million by the end of 2010 as part of a massive expansion which will see its user numbers grow to one billion within four years.
For a service that exists to allow people to live their life in the open, Twitter has responded to the leak with uncharacteristic coyness.
Biz Stone, the company’s co-founder, said in an official Twitter blog posting. “These docs are not polished or ready for prime time and they’re certainly not revealing some big, secret plan for taking over the world.”
Although dated February, the leaked information, which has now been widely circulated on the internet, provides a tantalising glimpse into the ambitions of Twitter, which has more than 25 million users.
The episode raises serious questions about the security of personal identities and sensitive corporate information in the digital age, where data are only as safe as the weakest password of a company’s least security conscious employee.
According to TechCrunch, the leading techie blog, which says it was sent the Twitter information by a hacker, the company expected its first revenue to be a modest $400,000, in the third quarter of this year, followed by a more robust $4 million in Q4 and $140 million by the end of next year.
By the end of 2013, Twitter hoped to have signed up 1 billion users, post $1.54 billion in revenue, employ 5,200 people and make $111 million in net earnings, the document, dated February 2009, suggests.
In addition to attracting a huge popular user following the service, which permits users to post “Tweets”, or messages, of up to 140 characters, Twitter has also captured the attention of Web giants such as Google, which has had unspecified discussions with the company, according to Google chief executive Eric Schmidt.
According to Twitter, a hacker calling himself Hacker Croll broke into an administrative employee’s e-mail account by guessing a password and gained access to the employee’s Google Apps account, where Twitter shares spreadsheets and documents with business ideas and financial details over the Web.
The hacker also broke into the e-mail account of the wife of Evan Williams, Twitter’s chief executive, and from there accessed several of Mr. Williams’ personal Internet accounts, including those at Amazon and PayPal.
It is not the fist time that Twitter has been the victim of hacking. In January an 18-year-old hacker known as GMZ, admitted hijacking high-profile Twitter accounts, including President-Elect Barack Obama’s, by guessing the password of a member of Twitter’s support staff, who’d chosen the weak password “happiness.”
It is now desperate to find a way of using the popularity of its free service, to turn itself into a money-making business. Mr Stone told Reuters earlier this year that he was interested in generating revenue from premium add-on features, such as analytic tools, rather than from traditional online advertising.
The security implications of the leak - as well as the decision of TechCrunch to publish some of the confidential information and of this paper to repeat it - are also far reaching.
As more individuals and companies opt for “cloud computing,” where documents are stored on servers accessed via the Web and where there is usually just a user name and password for protection, such security breaches are likely to continue.
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TimesOnline Reports
An actor who appears in the Harry Potter films today admitted growing cannabis.
Jamie Waylett, 19, who plays bully Vincent Crabbe, pleaded guilty to growing 10 plants in tents at his mother’s home.
The teenager and his friend, John Innis, 20, were arrested when Waylett took a photograph of police as the pair drove past officers.
Innis’s black Audi was then searched and police discovered a knife and eight bags of cannabis. They also discovered pictures of the cannabis plants on the digital camera that led them to Waylett’s mother’s house in Kilburn, northwest London.
After searching the premises they found 10 cannabis plants.
They also found another three bags of cannabis in Innis’s possession.
Appearing at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Waylett, of Kilburn, North London, admitted production of cannabis during his first court appearance.
Innis, from Barnet, North London, admitted possession of a knife and having 11 bags of cannabis. The pair are due to be sentenced next week.
Victoria Oja, for the prosecution, said: “He admitted purchasing seeds and growing them into plants. He confirmed it was for personal use at the time.”
Dressed in a black suit and sky-blue shirt, he sat with his head bowed in the dock after admitting the offence. His lawyer pleaded with the judge not to send him to jail for the sake of his career.
Adjourning the hearing, the chief magistrate, Timothy Workman, said: “Clearly the possession of cannabis is a serious matter and indeed the possession of knives is serious as well.
“At the moment I’m not giving you any promises as to how the court will deal with this case.”
Cheryl Rudden, for the defence, told the court: “He has co-operated fully. He is a young man in the public eye and he has of course done something which is far from approved of in society.
“What I would not want you to do is make an example of him in that way. The effect on him is such that there are possible issues as to his future within his field.”
She said that he had been videoing the road side for a music compilation when he caught the attention of officers.
Waylett played a sidekick of the villain Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.
The latest instalment in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, went on general release yesterday.
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AllHipHop Reports
Former Tribe Called Quest front man Q-Tip has teamed with Ballentine Books to publish Industry Rules which will contain the rapper’s thoughts on the entertainment business, fashion, love and morality.
The book’s concept will expand upon a classic Q-Tip line on A Tribe Called Quest’s classic song “Check the Rhime,” in which he states: "Industry rule #4080/Record company people are crazy.”
The 4080 line became popular in Hip-Hop circles and was even the name of a popular rap magazine in the early 1990’s.
"It was important to me to write a book because on the whole, I feel we could all be more literate, and as an artist, I’m always looking for ways to do something cool, different, and both light and introspective at the same time,” Q-Tip said in a statement. “With so many influences, like Duke Ellington’s writing, or the music played by radio DJs in the 70’s, or just what you see hanging out on Linden Blvd., there’s a lot to say, and I look forward to reaching a bunch of colorful dudes and gals with the project."
In addition to the aforementioned subjects, Q-Tip will also reveal never-before-told stories about his personal and professional experiences during his 20-year-recording career.
Industry Rules will be released in conjunction with A Tribe Called Quest’s 20th anniversary of their debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990).
Q-Tip is also planning to drop his unreleased album Kamaal the Abstract on Battery Records.
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AllHipHop Reports
On the eve of his first independent album release, rapper Trick Daddy is feeling very confident that he will continue to experience the same success as he did on a major label.
The Miami pioneer is gearing up for the release of his eighth studio release, Finally Famous, due out September 15.
The album will be the first release on Trick’s new imprint Dunk Ryder Records, which he launched after leaving his longtime recording home, Slip-N-Slide Records, in 2007.
While the move for independence seemed sudden to some fans, Trick reveals that it was a decision he had been pondering since the release of 2004’s Thug Matrimony.
The lack of promotional support behind his last Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic release, Back By Thug Demand, sealed his fate.
“You go from four videos and four singles, to two singles and videos, to one video and not even one magazine cover,” Trick explained. “Then you’re selling out at the store and your homeboy is excited. But when you sell out in stores, they ain’t got enough product. Something ain’t right. That means you missing out on money. My last album sales and marketing setup was so terrible; it got so bad that the stores wasn’t receiving the records they ordered.”
Now at the helm of his new movement, Trick is excited to deliver a collection of street tales that cover his vast experiences in and out of the Hip-Hop game, which he feels will connect with fans across the board.
“I got something for the ghettoes,” he said of Finally Famous. “I got something you can ride around and smoke to, I got a little something you can vibe and think too. I got something that’s gonna remind you who I am. I covered all the bases without the big features, without the big production, cause I got my producers and my own artists."
The album also serves as a preview of sorts for Trick’s literary debut. Later this year, he will unveil his new autobiography, Magic City: Trials of a Native Son.
“The album is actually the soundtrack for the book,” Trick revealed. “I’m telling you from discovering my first love of music to the first time I saw somebody use cocaine. I tell you everything I ever have been arrested for, I speak about going to prison. I tell you the first time I heard the words ‘free base,’ the first crack baby I remember seeing. “You’ll get my accounts of surviving three major hurricanes [and] two riots,” he continued.
“But we’re not getting anybody indicted. I’m not violating any street codes when telling my story,” Trick promised.
Following the release of Magic City, Trick Daddy will also pen a graphic novel series titles Nann, in which he appears as a super hero defending the hood from social ills, and fighting off the fraudulent rappers trying to take over the music industry.
He is also positioning himself to become the next spokesperson for Lupus research after recently revealing that he has battled the disease for the last ten years.
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CNN Reports
A gunman wearing "priest clothing" sparked a shootout with police in Jersey City, New Jersey, early Thursday that ended with five officers wounded and the shooter and another suspect dead, authorities said.
Two of the officers sustained serious injuries, officials said.
The shootings began around 5 a.m. as two officers monitored a vehicle suspected of being involved in a recent armed robbery.
When a man went to the car, police approached him.
The man, dressed in what Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy described as "priest clothing," pulled out a shotgun and fired, grazing one officer in the leg, authorities said.
The suspect then fled and holed up in a nearby apartment, apparently with another person, Police Chief Thomas Comey told reporters at a news conference.
Police called in backup, including officers from the Port Authority, and evacuated other residents of the building. As they moved in for a tactical entry into the apartment, they were met with gunfire, officials said.
Four more officers were wounded and the two suspects were killed in an exchange of gunfire there.
One suspect was "ready to go to war" in the way he was armed, Comey said.
"This individual came fully ready to go to war with us," the chief said at a news conference. "This is not a normal shotgun ... and he decided to put these cops under fire." Watch chief describe suspect "ready for war" »
Of the five officers wounded, one has been released from the hospital, while the officers who sustained critical injuries have been stabilized and were undergoing surgery, according to Dr. Nathaniel Holmes, Chief of Surgery of Jersey City Medical Center.
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CNN Reports
A 53-year-old French man was killed Thursday when a stage being built for a Madonna concert collapsed in Marseille, a fire department spokesman in the southern French city said.
Another two people, one British and one American, were severely injured in the accident at the Stade Velodrome, and four were lightly injured, officer David Goddin told CNN.
"At this point we don't know how it happened, but we are confident no one else is still under the rubble," Goddin said.
About 27 fire engines and 80 firefighters responded to the emergency when the stage collapsed at 5:15 p.m. (1515 GMT).
"There were a lot of open fractures, of injuries, it was a messy sight," one of the rescue workers told Agence-France Presse.
The deputy mayor of Marseille, Jose Allegrini, told the agency the 50-year-old U.S. singer's concert, planned for Sunday, had been cancelled.
Madonna had been due to play five concerts at the Stade Velodrome as part of her "Sticky and Sweet" tour.
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CNN Reports
Frank Hatley spent the past year in jail for being a deadbeat dad. But there's one problem -- Hatley doesn't have any children. And the "deadbeat" label doesn't fit the 50-year-old either, his supporters say.
After a hearing, Hatley was released from the Cook County Jail in south Georgia Wednesday afternoon, with the help of the Southern Center for Human Rights.
Superior Court Judge Dane Perkins ruled that Hatley was indigent and should not be jailed for not being able to make child support payments. Perkins postponed a decision on whether Hatley should have to make any more back payments on child-support for a child who is not his.
In June of last year, a judge ordered Hatley to jail for failing to reimburse the state for public assistance that was paid to support his "son," who, as the court was aware, is not actually his son.
Hatley's attorney Sarah Geraghty, who filed a motion for his release, called it a case of "blatant unfairness."
Hatley is a hard-working man who demonstrated his desire to pay what the court said he owed, even making payments from his unemployment checks, Geraghty told CNN.
On top of that, "the state has no legitimate reason to pursue Mr. Hatley for child support -- he doesn't have any children," she said.
The story dates back to 1986, when Hatley had a relationship with Essie Lee Morrison. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son.
Morrison told Hatley that the child was his, but the couple ended their relationship shortly after the boy's birth, according to court documents. The couple never married and never lived together, the documents state.
When the boy turned 2, Morrison applied for public support for her son. Under Georgia law, the state can go after the non-custodial parent to recoup the assistance.
For 13 years, Hatley made payments to the state until learning, in 2000, that the boy might not be his biological son. A DNA test that year confirmed that there was no chance he was the father, according to court documents.
Hatley returned to court and was relieved of any future child support reimbursement but was ordered to pay more than $16,000 that he had owed the state before the ruling.
Latesha Bradley, an attorney who represented Hatley in that hearing, told CNN the argument for keeping Hatley liable for the back payments was that he had signed a consent agreement with the office of child support services. The court agreed that Hatley had to comply with the consent agreement for the period that he believed the boy was his son.
Court documents show that Hatley for the most part continued to make payments. He was jailed for six months in 2006 for falling behind on payments during a period of unemployment, but afterward he resumed making payments and continued to do so even after he lost another job in 2008 and became homeless, court records state.
Last year, he again became unable to maintain the payments and was once again jailed.
The circumstances of Hatley's arrest didn't feel right to many, including Cook County Sheriff Johnny Daughtrey.
"I knew the gentleman's plight and didn't know how to help him," Daughtrey told CNN.
About two months ago, when attorneys from the Southern Center for Human Rights visited his jail, Daughtrey alerted them to Hatley's case.
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}