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Businessman gets 8 years in prison for theft of COVID funds

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut businessman who conspired with a now-former state lawmaker to steal federal coronavirus relief funds from the city of West Haven was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison for his role in the scheme.A federal investigation found John Trasacco, 50, had conspired with former state Rep. Michael DiMassa to submit fraudulent invoices from two companies Trasacco controlled for goods and services never provided. The list included thousands of items of personal protection equipment, billings for heating and air conditioning maintenance at several municipal buildings, COVID-19 supplies for the school board, and cleaning services for various city and school buildings, including one building that had been vacant and abandoned for years. Federal prosecutors determined Trasacco’s companies received approximately $431,982 from the scheme. A jury found Trasacco guilty on Dec. 2 of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Omar...

Starbucks fires Buffalo worker active in unionization effort

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

Starbucks has fired one of the workers who helped kick off a unionization effort at the company.Lexi Rizzo, an eight-year Starbucks employee and shift supervisor, was fired from her store in Buffalo, New York, on Friday. Starbucks Workers United, the union organizing Starbucks’ workers, said Rizzo was fired after arriving a few minutes late for work. It claims the firing was retaliation for Rizzo’s vocal support of the union.Rizzo was one of the workers who first reached out to labor organizers in 2021 to unionize Starbucks stores. Since then, at least 294 of Starbucks’ 9,000 company-owned U.S. stores have voted to unionize, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Seattle-based Starbucks opposes the unionization effort.Starbucks said Monday that Rizzo was fired for “repeated and substantial violations” of its attendance policy, including one instance where she arrived more than three hours late for a shift. Starbucks said it had documented six instances in which Rizzo...

Hard cleanup: Montana train derailment spills beer and clay

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

PARADISE, Mont. (AP) — Crews could face a difficult cleanup task after a 25-car train derailment spilled powdered clay and cases of beer beside a scenic western Montana river, leaving some cars off the tracks in a narrow, century-old tunnel with limited access, officials said.“It’s a terrible spot to get in and out of,” Bill Naegeli, manager for Sanders County Disaster and Emergency Services, said of the derailment on the Clark Fork River. “The biggest issue is the cars derailed inside the tunnel” with little clearance.Montana Rail Link has said nobody was hurt and no hazardous materials spilled Sunday morning in the derailment that left some cars precariously close to the banks of the river and some slightly dipping into the water in the mountainous area.Seven cars are believed derailed in the narrow tunnel where it will be hard to extricate them, Naegeli said.The train derailed Sunday across the river from Quinn’s Hot Springs Resort in Paradise, spilling the clay and cases of Coor...

How can you protect your garden from Denver's upcoming storm?

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Spring is technically here, but that does not stop the cold and snow from coming to the Front Range.With the weather as spring-like as it was in March, you may have been tempted to get an early start on your spring garden this year. Timing, totals for Pinpoint Weather Alert Day Tuesday Tuesday will be a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day, with around a half-inch of snow anticipated and temperatures staying in the upper-30s Tuesday, according to Meteorologist Travis Michaels. With this weather on the way, how can you protect any new plants from a potentially harsh dip in temperatures and the frost that could come with it?Why is frost dangerous to plants?Cold temperatures and frost alone are not dangerous to plants.What is concerning, however, is when the temperatures of the plants drop low enough for ice crystals to form inside cells. Ice crystals are sharp and can puncture cell membranes, which injures the plant and potentially kills it.How to protect your plantsCover you...

Watch: Opening statements in Letecia Stauch's murder trial

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Opening statements in the murder trial of Letecia Stauch, who is accused of murdering her stepson in 2020, begins Monday.Letecia, now 39, is accused of killing her stepson, 11-year-old Gannon Stauch. Gannon was reported missing in January 2020, and his disappearance sparked a nationwide search. On March 2, 2020, Letecia was arrested in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and then on March 18, 2020, Gannon's body was found in Florida. In the three years since Gannon's death, Letecia has changed her plea in the case. Originally, she pleaded not guilty, but then changed her plea to not guilty by reason of insanity in February 2022. First lady Jill Biden visits Colorado as part of national tour Letecia's trial began on March 20 with a jury selection, and those selected will be called back for Monday's opening statements. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks. She faces 13 counts for allegedly killing Gannon, including first-degree murder, child abus...

Miami Beach Police searching for shooter after homeless man found shot

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

The Miami Beach Police Department is currently searching for a suspect following a shooting that left a homeless man severely injured.The incident happened just before 3 a.m. on Monday at the intersection of 16th Street and Alton Road. Law enforcement officials were called to the scene and discovered a homeless man who had been shot. The victim was immediately transported to the hospital and is said to be in critical condition.The police are now urging anyone who may have information regarding the shooting to come forward and report it to the authorities. Anyone with relevant information can contact the police department anonymously or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS where you can also always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

FBI search for bank robber in Miami

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

FBI investigators are seeking the public’s help in finding a bank robber. The robbery took place at a Chase Bank branch at 15101 S. Dixie Highway, Monday afternoon. Officials released photographs of the bank robber. According to the FBI, the robber saw an employee who was servicing an exterior bank ATM. The suspect then forced the employee to the ground and took money from the ATM. The amount of money stolen has not been disclosed. Anyone with information about this robbery is urged to call investigators at 754-703-2000.

Police search for missing 74-year-old man in Hialeah

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

Hialeah Police are seeking the public’s help in finding a missing 74-year-old man. Pedro Enrique Cardenas was last seen Friday at around 6:30 p.m. leaving his home at 4019 West 9th Lane in an unknown direction.He was last seen wearing a black short sleeve shirt, dark gray pants, black shoes and a black F16 baseball cap.Cardenas stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, has gray hair, a gray beard and brown eyes. He also suffers from several disorders and is in the early stages of dementia. If you have any information on Cardenas’ whereabouts, you are urged to contact police at 305-687-2525.

Crews work to put out fire at townhouse complex in Sunrise

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

A fire broke out at a South Florida townhouse complex.Sunrise Fire Rescue crews arrived at the complex at 10725 NW 30th Place, Monday afternoon. According to fire rescue, it was a two-alarm fire and multiple connected townhouses were involved.All residents at the home were evacuated and accounted for. No injuries were reported, but some animals might have died in the fire. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Russian prison watchdog claims jailed US journalist ‘cheerful’ and doing well

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:02:57 GMT

MOSCOW — Jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is “cheerful” and doing well as he sits in pre-trial detention, a Russian prison watchdog claimed Monday — the first report on his condition since his arrest on espionage charges.“At the time of my visit, he was cheerful, there were a lot of jokes during our conversation,” Alexei Melnikov, a member of the Moscow Public Monitoring Commission (ONK), wrote in a post on Telegram late Monday. Melnikov is the first outsider to have been granted access to the American journalist since his arrest last Wednesday while on an assignment in Yekaterinburg, accused of collecting classified information on a defense company for “the American side.” No other foreign journalist has been arrested in Russia since the Cold War, and Gershkovich’s case marks a new low for the increasingly fraught relationship between Russia and the United States. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has claimed without evidence that Gershkovich ...