Saturday, August 16, 2008

FBI Confirms Identity Of Kidnapping Suspect

BOSTON -- The FBI said Friday that it had matched fingerprints from a German man's decades-old immigration papers to a kidnapping suspect who calls himself Clark Rockefeller -- the first forensic link to a conclusion California authorities had already made.

The FBI said it matched fingerprints from Christian Gerhartsreiter's immigration papers from the early 1980s to those taken from a wineglass Rockefeller touched in late July -- around the time he is accused of abducting his daughter -- and those taken by Baltimore police after his Aug. 2 arrest.

Authorities have said Gerhartsreiter lived all around the United States, including California, Wisconsin and Massachusetts, under aliases including Chris Crowe, Chris Chichester, Charles Smith and Chip Smith.

"Gerhartsreiter is at the center of the longest con I've ever seen in my professional career," said Daniel Conley, district attorney in Massachusetts' Suffolk County.

Authorities want to question Gerhartsreiter about the 1985 disappearance of Jonathan and Linda Sohus. Gerhartsreiter rented a guesthouse at the home of Jonathan Sohus's mother in San Marino, a wealthy Los Angeles suburb.

Detroit Mayor Faces Assault Trial

DETROIT -- A judge ruled Friday that there's enough evidence for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D) to stand trial on two felony assault charges stemming from a confrontation with two investigators. The investigators testified that an angry Kilpatrick shoved one of them into the other and made racial remarks while they were trying to deliver a subpoena in the mayor's perjury case to one of Kilpatrick's friends last month. Kilpatrick's attorneys have denied an assault took place. Kilpatrick remains free on bond ahead of arraignment next week in Wayne County Circuit Court. He must continue to wear an electronic ankle tether.

Suit Over Justice Program Grows

A lawsuit filed by an unsuccessful candidate for the Justice Department's elite honors program expanded yesterday to include five more young attorneys who say they were unfairly denied jobs for ideological reasons. The plaintiffs cite recent findings by the department's inspector general, who concluded that several former Justice officials violated civil service laws. The civil case names former White House liaison Monica M. Goodling, former deputy attorney general chief of staff Michael J. Elston and former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales as defendants.

Texas Drops Some Custody Cases

SAN ANTONIO -- Texas authorities have dropped custody cases concerning more than 30 children from a polygamous group in West Texas. A spokeswoman for the child welfare department says the state filed paperwork Thursday indicating it no longer needed court oversight of the 10 families involved. A judge agreed. Spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner says the action doesn't necessarily end the agency's involvement with the families. But it does mean the agency believes the children can be safe without court oversight.

-- From Staff Reports and News Services