WEEK IN REVIEW

Aug. 5-11

Ex-Charter Schools Chief Admits FraudFormer Official Could Face Three Years in Jail

A former D.C. charter school official pleaded guilty to four felony counts of cheating the low-performing public schools system over three years and trying to avoid taxes on her ill-gotten gains.

Brenda Belton, 61, told U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina that she steered about $446,000 in seven no-bid contracts to friends and a cousin and stole $203,000 by paying school funds to a fictitious company she controlled. At the same time, she received $180,000 in illegal payments and kickbacks from friends she helped with school business. The crimes took place from March 2003 to May 2006, prosecutors said.

Belton was fired last year from her job overseeing 17 public charter schools. During sentencing in November, Belton will face a probable term of 30 to 37 months in prison for theft and tax evasion charges. She has agreed to pay restitution of $383,000, most of which will go back to the school system.

Lanier Again Calls All Hands on DeckHundreds Arrested in Third Mass Deployment

D.C. police made more than 300 arrests during the latest installment of Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier's "All Hands on Deck" crime-fighting initiative, officials said.

All of the department's 3,300 members worked street patrols Monday and Tuesday as part of Lanier's efforts to bring police closer to the community during summer months. The deployment coincided with Tuesday's "National Night Out," an annual event to promote police and community teamwork.

This week marked the third "All Hands on Deck" deployment this summer. Police made more than 1,500 arrests during the heightened patrols.

Judge May Not Be Reappointed to PostDry Cleaner Lawsuit Cited in Warning Letter

The D.C. judge who sued his dry cleaner for $54 million over a pair of pants could be nearing the end of his tenure on the bench.

A city commission has voted to formally notify Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson that he may not be reappointed. The Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges sent him a letter, a key step toward denying him a full 10-year term.

The panel cited Pearson's infamous failed lawsuit against Custom Cleaners, the business that he claims lost his pants and failed to honor a sign promising "Satisfaction Guaranteed." But its letter focused mainly on his work as a judge the past two years. Pearson could press to keep his job by appearing before the commission at its next meeting in September.

Lawyer's Wife Urges Killer to ConfessKathy Wone Speaks Out for First Time

Speaking publicly for the first time since her husband's slaying a year ago, Kathy Wone issued a slow and deliberate message to his killer: "Confessing will be one of the hardest things you can do, but also one of the most freeing things you can do for yourself."

D.C. police have not made any arrests in the slaying of prominent lawyer Robert Wone, who was killed late Aug. 2, 2006, while staying overnight at a friend's home near Dupont Circle. Wone, 32, was stabbed three times in the chest with a butcher knife that came from the kitchen, police said.

P Street Struggles With BeautificationCity Project Is Hitting Some Vendors Hard

It sounds like a project that would make everyone happy: The city is beautifying a stretch of P Street NW west of Dupont Circle. But some activists are concerned that not all P Street businesses will survive the $3.5 million project, which broke ground in January and is scheduled for completion in April. They want the District government and economic development groups to help tide over merchants with grants and small-business loans.

The D.C. Department of Transportation selected the area for its Streetscape program, an initiative that beautifies business corridors with brick sidewalks, greenery, old-fashioned globe lamps, modern underground infrastructure and freshly paved streets. City officials call the disruption "short-term pain for long-term gain."