THIS JUST IN: Milton Street Convicted Of Tax Evasion, But Beats Fraud Rap
INQUIRER: The jury in the federal trial of T. Milton Street Sr. rendered its verdict today, convicting him of three counts of tax evasion for failing to file returns in 2002, 2003 and 2004; acquitting him on four counts of mail and wire fraud; and deadlocking on two charges that he filed false returns in 2000 and 2001. Codefendant John H. Velardi Sr. was acquitted on three counts of wire and mail fraud. The jury, which was drawn from nine counties, as far west as Lancaster and as far north as the Lehigh Valley, deliberated for nearly three days. Street, the brother of former Philadelphia Mayor John Street, sat stone-faced as the verdicts were read. Sentencing was scheduled for May 22. Under sentencing guidelines, Street faces 27 to 33 months in prison. “This has been a long, exhausting, humbling experience. But I’m satisfied with the verdict,” Street said as the courtroom cleared. MORE
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ROCK STAR: Obama Boogies Back To Texas With Asleep At The Wheel
Not only does he sing without embarrassing himself, dance The Twist (paging Mr. Checker!) with just the right blend of sass and self-mockery, but he is most certainly the FIRST soon-to-be President of The United States to give an adoring crowd the double-devil-horns salute. This is history being made, people.
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MEETING PEOPLE IS EASY: Radiohead To Headline New Jersey’s Coachella
New Jersey has never seen a music festival like it. The All Points West Music and Arts Festival, taking place at Liberty State Park in Jersey City Aug. 8-10, will feature three stages and more than 40 acts, including stars from the worlds of rock (Radiohead, Cat Power, Kings of Leon, the New Pornographers), hip-hop (the Roots, Michael Franti and Spearhead), techno (Underworld) and world music (Rodrigo y Gabriela, Youssou N’Dour, Amadou and Mariam). Radiohead will headline on Aug. 8-9, while mellow singer-songwriter Jack Johnson will close the Aug. 10 show. The festival, which will take place in an 80-acre area of the park that offers scenic views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline, is expected to attract approximately 25,000-35,000 people a day. Other performers will include Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, Metric, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Forro in the Dark, Nicole Atkins, Juana Molina, Rogue Wave and Your Vegas. Tickets — $89 for single days, $258 for a three-day pass — go on sale Feb. 29 at noon via ticketmaster.com only. Some proceeds will go to Friends of Liberty State Park, a volunteer open-space advocacy organization. The event is a joint venture of the Jersey City-based Liberty Event Management company, Goldenvoice/AEG Live (which produces the annual Coachella festival in Indio, Calif.) and the New York nightclub the HighLine Ballroom. Its creation was one of the factors behind the postponement of the similarly intentioned Vineland Music Festival, originally planned for the same weekend in the South Jersey city of Vineland. That festival is now planned for early summer 2009. [via NEWARK STAR-LEDGER]
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SECRET SERVICE: Pay No Mind To Those Puffs Gunsmoke On The Grassy Knoll
The U.S. Secret Service Friday denied reports that security measures at a recent Barack Obama rally in Texas were relaxed or deviated from established plans. Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said there was no order from the Secret Service to stop screening people going to the Obama rally Wednesday at Dallas‘s Reunion Arena. He said that the event’s security plans didn’t involve having each participant pass through a magnetometer, as may be the case at other events. The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported that some police at the event expressed concern about people not passing through metal detectors. “Any allegations to the fact that we had suspended screening or deviated from the original security plan would be entirely inaccurate,” Zahren said. Obama, D-Ill., spoke before some 17,000 supporters at the rally ahead of the March 4 primary election in Texas. There were no security-related incidents. While stressing that security preparations are different for each venue and event, Zahren said officials were happy with the security plan for the rally at Reunion Arena and the way it was implemented. Limited use of metal detectors “in no way constituted a security lapse at this venue,” Zahren said, adding that the security measures were developed with Dallas-area law enforcement personnel. [via UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL]
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RIOT GIRLS: Looting ‘Belgrade Bimbos’ Become A YouTube Smash
BELGRADE — A video of two young women looting with gay abandon during rioting in the Serbian capital Belgrade was becoming a Balkan smash hit on the video-sharing Web site YouTube Friday. Looters seized their chance as rioters attacked Western embassies during a mass rally to protest at U.S. and European support for Kosovo’s independence. Police arrested some looters but public humiliation by YouTube may prove a far more painful punishment for the pair, whose spree Thursday night was also aired on local television stations and was being discussed across the Internet. A persistent amateur cameraman followed the women as they loaded up with chocolates at a corner shop, came out giggling, then went after designer bags, shoes and clothes at Belgrade’s swankiest stores in its vandalized main shopping street.”Get lost, stop filming,” one of them shouted, so laden down with booty that clothes and bags dripped to the ground amid the broken glass below emptied storefronts. “But you are the heroines of this protest for me,” the cameraman replied sarcastically above the din of burglar alarms. [via REUTERS]