A San Antonio teacher plans to sue her former employer, a Catholic high school, saying she was fired for marrying a man who had been divorced, a proceeding not recognized by the Catholic Church, the San Antonio Express-News reported Tuesday.
Marquis LaFortune, 25, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after her Nov. 22 ceremony. She claims that once the school found out her fiancé had been divorced, Deacon Patrick Cunningham told her she had three options: seek an annulment, resign or be fired.
“I would have resigned if I'd felt like I'd done something wrong,” LaFortune told the Express-News last week. “I couldn't get out of bed. It's just been this cloud. It was supposed to be the best week of my life, and I had to pull myself together for the ceremony.”
Central Catholic High School said federal law upholds the institution's decision.
“We have very clear policies on what we expect from Catholic people on our faculty, and there has been a violation of that,” Brother Peter Pontolillo told the Express-News. “When a person does something that is obviously contrary to everything that our Catholic school stands for, we cannot just look through our fingers.” more
Every day, we wake up with a choice. We can choose to embrace the day as a new opportunity to learn, grow, and make a positive impact on the world, or we can let fear, doubt, and negativity hold us back. It's easy to get caught up in the challenges and obstacles we face, but it's important to remember that these challenges are what shape us into who we are. Each obstacle is a chance to learn something new, to become stronger, more resilient, and more capable than we were before. But we don't hav
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Who said that crime doesn’t pay?
Crime shouldn’t pay but in the case of perverted Plattsburgh politico predator George “Chris” Ortloff, he will reportedly collect a $53,000 a year pension for the rest of his life, courtesy of the state taxpayers, even while he’s serving a minimum sentence in federal prison after admitting that he used the Internet to attempt to engage in sexual acts with girls he believed to be 11 and 12 years old.
Ortloff, 61, a former 10-term Assemblyman from Plattsburgh and most recently a commissioner on the state Parole Board, pulling down an annual salary of $101,600, was arrested in the nude on Oct. 13 at a Colonie motel where he thought he was meeting the pre-teen girls. He pleaded guilty this week to a single felony count to avoid being indicted and to gain his release until sentencing.
Police said that between June of 2008 and his arrest on Oct. 13, Ortloff had been communicating over the Internet with an undercover investigator with the New York State Police, trying to set up a sexual liaison in Albany although he believed he was communicating with the girls’ mother. The “mother” was actually an undercover investigator assigned to the New York State Police’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Albany.
Ortloff could be sentenced up to life in prison when he returns to federal court on April 23, after posting a $100,000 bond and released so he could be home for Christmas. The minimum term he must serve, unless there’s some sweetheart deal, is 10 years during which the state will pay him over a half million dollars. more
Ortloff, 61, a former 10-term Assemblyman from Plattsburgh and most recently a commissioner on the state Parole Board, pulling down an annual salary of $101,600, was arrested in the nude on Oct. 13 at a Colonie motel where he thought he was meeting the pre-teen girls. He pleaded guilty this week to a single felony count to avoid being indicted and to gain his release until sentencing.
Police said that between June of 2008 and his arrest on Oct. 13, Ortloff had been communicating over the Internet with an undercover investigator with the New York State Police, trying to set up a sexual liaison in Albany although he believed he was communicating with the girls’ mother. The “mother” was actually an undercover investigator assigned to the New York State Police’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Albany.
Ortloff could be sentenced up to life in prison when he returns to federal court on April 23, after posting a $100,000 bond and released so he could be home for Christmas. The minimum term he must serve, unless there’s some sweetheart deal, is 10 years during which the state will pay him over a half million dollars. more
Chronic 911 caller charged with harassing authorities
A Tamaqua man who had more than 100 contacts with police in the past two years faces charges of harassing authorities with calls about a rock in his yard being moved 4 inches, pool water ruining his grass and children making noise.David W. Roeder, 51, of 130 W. Spruce St. should face single counts of persistent disorderly conduct and recklessly endangering another person, District Judge Stephen J. Beyer of Tamaqua ruled. Beyer dismissed a count of harassment by communication.Beyer's ruling came exactly two years after Tamaqua Police Chief Dave Mattson, then a patrolman, advised Roeder in writing "to cease and desist the nonsense calls to the station and 911 center."In an arrest affidavit, police say they brought the charges after years of warning Roeder against making phone calls to Schuylkill County Communications Center without a legitimate complaint. His calls tied up emergency telephone lines and operators and kept police officers from responding to legitimate police calls, the affidavit says.
Court Strikes Down Sex Offender's 28-Year Sentence
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
A federal appeals court has ruled that a convicted sex offender's 28-year prison sentence for failing to properly update his home address with authorities was too harsh.The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered a lower court to reconsider the punishment of Cecilio Gonzalez. He was handed the lengthy term under California's three-strikes law, which requires a minimum prison sentence of 25 years after a third violent or serious felony conviction.Gonzalez had failed to check in with authorities five days after his birthday. Sex offenders are required to update authorities annually of their home addresses.The appeals court said that failure to update his Burbank address was a technical violation and didn't count as a third strike.
A federal appeals court has ruled that a convicted sex offender's 28-year prison sentence for failing to properly update his home address with authorities was too harsh.The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered a lower court to reconsider the punishment of Cecilio Gonzalez. He was handed the lengthy term under California's three-strikes law, which requires a minimum prison sentence of 25 years after a third violent or serious felony conviction.Gonzalez had failed to check in with authorities five days after his birthday. Sex offenders are required to update authorities annually of their home addresses.The appeals court said that failure to update his Burbank address was a technical violation and didn't count as a third strike.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
A man tried to kill his girlfriend with a knife and fork
LAKE WORTH — A man faced a judge this morning on attempted homicide charges after deputies say he tried to kill his girlfriend with a knife and fork.
According to investigators, Arlen Arguijo was involved in an argument with his live-in girlfriend on the corner of Lake Wood Road and Kirk Road Saturday afternoon. Arguijo pulled a fork out of his pocket and tried to stab the victim several times. He then grabbed a folding knife and attempted to stab his girlfriend, telling her he would kill her and her children.
The victim sustained lacerations to her fingers as she fought to get away. A witness to the fight intervened and the victim was able to get away.
Arlen Arguijo now faces attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges.
According to investigators, Arlen Arguijo was involved in an argument with his live-in girlfriend on the corner of Lake Wood Road and Kirk Road Saturday afternoon. Arguijo pulled a fork out of his pocket and tried to stab the victim several times. He then grabbed a folding knife and attempted to stab his girlfriend, telling her he would kill her and her children.
The victim sustained lacerations to her fingers as she fought to get away. A witness to the fight intervened and the victim was able to get away.
Arlen Arguijo now faces attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges.
Hubby: If you slept with my wife, get a test
A Toronto man who was infected with the HIV virus by his stripper ex-wife is pleading for other men who may have had sex with her to get tested for the disease. "I know there were other men she slept with," Percy Whiteman claimed yesterday of his ex, Suwalee Iamkhong, who's fighting deportation from Canada. "I am lucky that I was able to find out early."
Iamkhong, 39, arrived in Canada from Thailand in 1995 and danced at Toronto's Zanzibar Tavern for most of her career, which lasted until 2004.
NO EVIDENCE
While Whiteman alleges his former wife had sex with other men, no evidence has yet been presented publicly.
She was sentenced in August 2007 to three years in jail after being convicted of criminal negligence causing bodily harm for infecting Whiteman with HIV. Whiteman, who married Iamkhong in 1997, told court that he didn't know she had AIDS until the woman fell ill in 2004.
The Canadian government wants to deport Iamkhong, who is being detained in an immigration holding facility. A final deportation date has not been set.
Whiteman sponsored Iamkhong and according to immigration laws, is financially responsible for her until 2011.
"I don't think justice was fully served," he said. "She should have been deported a long time ago for what she's done to others."
Whiteman has since founded Positive Survivors Living with HIV AIDS to help men in similar situations.
'LIFE AT STAKE'
more
Iamkhong, 39, arrived in Canada from Thailand in 1995 and danced at Toronto's Zanzibar Tavern for most of her career, which lasted until 2004.
NO EVIDENCE
While Whiteman alleges his former wife had sex with other men, no evidence has yet been presented publicly.
She was sentenced in August 2007 to three years in jail after being convicted of criminal negligence causing bodily harm for infecting Whiteman with HIV. Whiteman, who married Iamkhong in 1997, told court that he didn't know she had AIDS until the woman fell ill in 2004.
The Canadian government wants to deport Iamkhong, who is being detained in an immigration holding facility. A final deportation date has not been set.
Whiteman sponsored Iamkhong and according to immigration laws, is financially responsible for her until 2011.
"I don't think justice was fully served," he said. "She should have been deported a long time ago for what she's done to others."
Whiteman has since founded Positive Survivors Living with HIV AIDS to help men in similar situations.
'LIFE AT STAKE'
more
Monday, December 29, 2008
Man Robs Bank with his check stub, arrested
CHICAGO — The robber's threatening note made a Chicago bank job easy to solve: The FBI says the suspect wrote it on his pay stub.
An FBI affidavit says the man walked into a Fifth Third Bank on Friday and handed a teller a note that read "Be Quick Be Quit . Give your cash or I'll shoot."
The robber got about $400 but left half of his note. Investigators found the other half outside the bank's front doors. Authorities say that part of the man's October pay stub had his name and address.
The suspect was arrested at his Cary home. A judge ordered him held without bond Monday. If convicted of bank robbery, he faces 20 years in prison.
An FBI affidavit says the man walked into a Fifth Third Bank on Friday and handed a teller a note that read "Be Quick Be Quit . Give your cash or I'll shoot."
The robber got about $400 but left half of his note. Investigators found the other half outside the bank's front doors. Authorities say that part of the man's October pay stub had his name and address.
The suspect was arrested at his Cary home. A judge ordered him held without bond Monday. If convicted of bank robbery, he faces 20 years in prison.
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