German police have charged a robbery suspect after matching his DNA to that found on a piece of salami spat out at a crime scene.
The bitten-off chunk of the telltale sausage was discovered at a building that had been broken in to in the southern city of Darmstadt in April, police said Thursday.
The 37-year-old man was taken into custody in early January after police ran his name through their computers at a highway spot-check and found he was wanted for several other crimes. Once in custody, he was linked to the Darmstadt break-and-enter through the DNA sample on the salami and charged.
But it seems the rejected meat was not the robber's only slip up: he has been charged with a total of 19 break-ins after other links were found.
The man, whose name was not released, remains in custody while police investigate.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
That's not a religious web site sonny
A civilian State Police employee was accused of sneaking into a church to look at pornography on a nun's computer. Police arrested Thomas G. Findler Wednesday and charged him with burglary and theft.
Authorities said Findler had been sneaking into Grace St. Paul Episcopal Church in the night over the last three weeks to look at pornography.
Wednesday morning, a church custodian found Findler, who worships at the church, on a nun's computer.
The custodian chased him out, right into a police officer who happened to be nearby.
Findler works in a local office for the state police.
Reached Thursday morning, Findler's father said his son was not home.
Authorities said Findler had been sneaking into Grace St. Paul Episcopal Church in the night over the last three weeks to look at pornography.
Wednesday morning, a church custodian found Findler, who worships at the church, on a nun's computer.
The custodian chased him out, right into a police officer who happened to be nearby.
Findler works in a local office for the state police.
Reached Thursday morning, Findler's father said his son was not home.
Tornado victim billed for cable devices
Having a tornado demolish her home was bad enough. But when Ann Beam received a $2,000 cable bill a few weeks later, she was floored. "I just couldn't believe it," Beam said. "I was like, 'What are they thinking?'"
Time Warner Cable billed a number of Wheatland residents for equipment destroyed in the Jan. 7 twister that struck the southeast corner of the state. Beam's bill covered five cable boxes and five remote controls.
She immediately called the cable company, but a man who identified himself as a manager said there was nothing the company could do.
"They said I would have to take the bill and turn it in to my insurance company," Beam said.
But her cable equipment was nine years old, and the insurance company would pay only a depreciated value that wouldn't cover her bill, she said.
Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Celeste Flynn said many customers got charged for unreturned equipment because they canceled or transferred their service without mentioning their requests were tornado-related.
"We understand this is an unusual situation," Flynn said Wednesday. "All they will need to do is call and we will take the equipment off their account."
A message left for the cable company by The Associated Press early Thursday afternoon was not immediately returned.
Rare winter tornadoes that destroyed more than two dozen homes and damaged nearly 80 others in Kenosha County on Jan. 7. The damage was estimated at $18 million.
Time Warner Cable billed a number of Wheatland residents for equipment destroyed in the Jan. 7 twister that struck the southeast corner of the state. Beam's bill covered five cable boxes and five remote controls.
She immediately called the cable company, but a man who identified himself as a manager said there was nothing the company could do.
"They said I would have to take the bill and turn it in to my insurance company," Beam said.
But her cable equipment was nine years old, and the insurance company would pay only a depreciated value that wouldn't cover her bill, she said.
Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Celeste Flynn said many customers got charged for unreturned equipment because they canceled or transferred their service without mentioning their requests were tornado-related.
"We understand this is an unusual situation," Flynn said Wednesday. "All they will need to do is call and we will take the equipment off their account."
A message left for the cable company by The Associated Press early Thursday afternoon was not immediately returned.
Rare winter tornadoes that destroyed more than two dozen homes and damaged nearly 80 others in Kenosha County on Jan. 7. The damage was estimated at $18 million.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Paris drunk: Got 50,000 euros? I'm no banker
PARIS (Reuters) - A drunk broke off his rendition of a Charles Aznavour song to ask rush-hour Paris commuters for 50,000 euros (37,109 pounds) on Wednesday, inspired by the scale of the trading scandal at French bank Societe Generale.
"Got five euros sir? No? Maybe 50,000 euros then. I'm not a banker. I'd bet it on the horse-races," said the drunk, who got no money but plenty of laughs.
Societe Generale's board met on Wednesday with the job of chairman Daniel Bouton on the line after the bank announced a trading loss of 4.9 billion euros, which it blamed on a 31-year-old who bet a total of 50 billion on share markets.
"Got five euros sir? No? Maybe 50,000 euros then. I'm not a banker. I'd bet it on the horse-races," said the drunk, who got no money but plenty of laughs.
Societe Generale's board met on Wednesday with the job of chairman Daniel Bouton on the line after the bank announced a trading loss of 4.9 billion euros, which it blamed on a 31-year-old who bet a total of 50 billion on share markets.
Man struggles to return from the dead
WARSAW (Reuters) - Red tape is preventing a Polish man from returning from the dead.
Piotr Kucy, 38 and from the city of Polkowice in southwest Poland, was wrongly identified by authorities last August as a drowned man, only to show up a few days after his own funeral.
Despite pointing out the fact that he was alive to government officials, Kucy still remains dead in official records, stopping him from working and paying social insurance.
But on the bright side, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday, he no longer needs to pay taxes.
"We are nearly through January, and my documents still say I'm dead," Kucy told Gazeta Wyborcza, adding: "It's a bit of a joke." But a registry office official was adamant about the situation. "This citizen does not exist," she told the paper.
Piotr Kucy, 38 and from the city of Polkowice in southwest Poland, was wrongly identified by authorities last August as a drowned man, only to show up a few days after his own funeral.
Despite pointing out the fact that he was alive to government officials, Kucy still remains dead in official records, stopping him from working and paying social insurance.
But on the bright side, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday, he no longer needs to pay taxes.
"We are nearly through January, and my documents still say I'm dead," Kucy told Gazeta Wyborcza, adding: "It's a bit of a joke." But a registry office official was adamant about the situation. "This citizen does not exist," she told the paper.
89 frozen ferrets found in Va. home
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Authorities removed nearly 200 animals from a Virginia Beach home, including 89 frozen ferret carcasses. Police spokeswoman Margie Long said animal control agents found more than 100 live ferrets, a dog, a bird and three cats, most of them suffering from dehydration and malnutrition.
Long said the frozen bodies of 89 ferrets, a cat, a rat and an otter were discovered in freezers in the house and garage.
Sixty-one of the live ferrets had to be euthanized because of poor health.
Long said the frozen bodies of 89 ferrets, a cat, a rat and an otter were discovered in freezers in the house and garage.
Sixty-one of the live ferrets had to be euthanized because of poor health.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Fly naked on Germany's first nudist holiday flight
German nudists will be able to start their holidays early by stripping off on the plane if they take up a new offer from an eastern German travel firm.
Travel agency OssiUrlaub.de said it would start taking bookings from Friday for a trial nudist day trip from the eastern German town of Erfurt to the popular Baltic Sea resort of Usedom, planned for July 5 and costing 499 euros (370 pounds).
"It's expensive, I know," managing director Enrico Hess told Reuters by phone. "It's because the plane's very small. There's no real reason why a flight in which one flies naked should be more expensive than any other."
The 55 passengers will have to remain clothed until they board, and dress before disembarking, said Hess. The crew will remain clothed throughout the flight for safety reasons.
"I wish I could say we thought of it ourselves but the idea came from a customer," Hess told Reuters by phone. "It's an unusual gap in the market."
Naturism, or "free body culture" (FKK) as it is known in Germany, was banned by the Nazis but blossomed again after the Second World War, particularly in eastern Germany.
"There are FKK hotels where you can go into the restaurants and shops naked, for example," Hess said. "For FKK fans -- not that I'm one of them -- it's nothing unusual."
"I don't want people to get the wrong idea. It's not that we're starting a swinger club in mid-air or something like that," he added. "We're a perfectly normal holiday company."
Travel agency OssiUrlaub.de said it would start taking bookings from Friday for a trial nudist day trip from the eastern German town of Erfurt to the popular Baltic Sea resort of Usedom, planned for July 5 and costing 499 euros (370 pounds).
"It's expensive, I know," managing director Enrico Hess told Reuters by phone. "It's because the plane's very small. There's no real reason why a flight in which one flies naked should be more expensive than any other."
The 55 passengers will have to remain clothed until they board, and dress before disembarking, said Hess. The crew will remain clothed throughout the flight for safety reasons.
"I wish I could say we thought of it ourselves but the idea came from a customer," Hess told Reuters by phone. "It's an unusual gap in the market."
Naturism, or "free body culture" (FKK) as it is known in Germany, was banned by the Nazis but blossomed again after the Second World War, particularly in eastern Germany.
"There are FKK hotels where you can go into the restaurants and shops naked, for example," Hess said. "For FKK fans -- not that I'm one of them -- it's nothing unusual."
"I don't want people to get the wrong idea. It's not that we're starting a swinger club in mid-air or something like that," he added. "We're a perfectly normal holiday company."
W.Va. mayor uses magazine to prove ID
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Charleston Mayor Danny Jones had a problem as he tried to get through the security gate at a California airport: He had misplaced his driver's license, and the expired one in his wallet wouldn't do.
The guards at John Wayne Airport in Orange County searched his bag, he told the Charleston Daily Mail for a story published Monday.
Then he remembered picking up a copy of Charleston Magazine while on his way to the West Coast for a little rest and relaxation.
Inside was a photograph of him standing in downtown Charleston and an article Jones had written as mayor welcoming visitors to the state capital.
Only then was he allowed to board his flight home.
The guards at John Wayne Airport in Orange County searched his bag, he told the Charleston Daily Mail for a story published Monday.
Then he remembered picking up a copy of Charleston Magazine while on his way to the West Coast for a little rest and relaxation.
Inside was a photograph of him standing in downtown Charleston and an article Jones had written as mayor welcoming visitors to the state capital.
Only then was he allowed to board his flight home.
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