Thursday, December 6, 2007

NEWPORT BEACH GYPSIES FEUD OVER FORTUNETELLING BIZ

Angelic Sanctuary fortunetelling shop on Balboa Island...
in Newport Beach, Calif., is shown on Sept. 11, 2007. A dispute between two Gypsy clans over control of the fortunetelling trade in this Southern California city has spilled into court, offering a rare glimpse of an insular culture that has long settled scores according to its own Old World rules of honor. The trouble started two years ago when Edward Merino and his wife, Sonia, opened fortunetelling shops in two trendy resort areas called Balboa Island and Carona del Mar. The bright and airy "Angelic Sanctuary" shops offer "divine soul portraits" and crystal readings (Chris Carlson/AP Photo)

Gypsy Clans Feud Over Fortunetelling Biz
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer


NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A dispute between two Gypsy clans over control of the fortunetelling trade in this Southern California city has spilled into court, offering a rare glimpse of an insular culture that has long settled scores according to its own Old World rules of honor.

The turf war in well-to-do Orange County has unfolded like a gangster movie, with allegations of death threats, a graveside scuffle, and nicknames like "White Bob" and "Black Bob" _ details revealed in a police report and requests for restraining orders.

"The older Gypsies are pulling out their hair, not wanting the courts in our business because they'll find out too much about us," said Tom Merino, who is distantly related to one of the clans but has spurned his heritage. "Ignorance is the Gypsies' weapon against the outside world."

The Stevens and Merino clans, like other Gypsy families, have run numerous fortunetelling businesses in Southern California for decades.

The trouble started two years ago when Edward Merino and his wife, Sonia, opened fortunetelling parlors in two trendy resort sections of Newport Beach, not far from where the Stevenses did business.

Members of the Stevens clan promptly broke in, stole a credit card machine and threatened to kill the Merinos if they didn't shut the places down, the Merinos claim in court papers. Since then, the bad blood has only gotten worse.

READ ABOUT THE GYPSY FEUD...
http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=3958495

ROBERT HAWKINS: OMAHA WESTROADS MALL GUNMAN ONLY 19 YEARS OLD

ROBERT HAWKINS

Mall gunman made call about suicide note
By OSKAR GARCIAASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
DECEMBER 6, 2007

OMAHA, Neb. -- Less than an hour before he killed eight people and himself in a mall shooting spree, a troubled teenage gunman called the woman who had taken him in to tell her about a suicide note - but she said Thursday she never thought he would hurt anyone but himself.

Debora Maruca-Kovac told CBS's "The Early Show" she found the note after Robert A. Hawkins, 19, called to thank her and her family for their help, to express his love, and to tell her he had left the note behind.

"He had said how much he loved his family and all his friends and how he was sorry he was a burden to everybody and his whole life he was a piece of (expletive) and now he'll be famous," she said, describing the note. "I was fearful that he was going to try to commit suicide but I had no idea that he would involve so many other families."

(snip)

Hawkins moved from his family's home about a year ago. Maruca-Kovac and her husband, whose sons were friends with Hawkins, welcomed him into their home and tried to help him.

"When he first came in the house, he was introverted, a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted," Maruca-Kovac told The Associated Press.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS TRAGIC MALL SHOOTING...

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

SEAN TAYLOR MURDERED BY 17-YEAR-OLD


17-Year-Old Charged With Gunning Down NFL Star Sean Taylor
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI — The 17-year-old suspect in the death of Sean Taylor was accused Tuesday of firing the shot that killed the Washington Redskins safety.

A Miami-Dade grand jury identified Eric Rivera as the gunman in its indictment.
Rivera and his three co-defendants were indicted by the grand jury on charges of first-degree felony murder and armed burglary.

Charles Wardlow, 18; Jason Mitchell, 19; and Venjah Hunte, 20; were ordered held without bail during brief court appearances via a videoconference from Miami-Dade County jail. The three, who stood silently during the hearing, will remain at the jail under suicide watch after Judge John Thornton Jr.'s ruling.

READ MORE OF THIS UPDATE...