Prosecutors Ask to Drop Charges in 9/11 Case;

FEDERAL COURT

Prosecutors Ask to Drop Charges in 9/11 Case

Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to dismiss charges against the wife of a former Navy commander accused of lying about injuries he suffered during the 2001 terrorist attacks to collect more than $300,000 from a victims fund.

A jury in April deadlocked 11-1 to acquit the wife, Sabrina Coughlin, of a theft charge, the only count leveled against her.

The jury hung on four charges against her husband, Charles E. Coughlin, but acquitted him of three counts of mail fraud. After U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. declared a mistrial on the deadlocked charges, prosecutors said they will retry him.

Prosecutors alleged that Coughlin, 49, of Severna Park claimed that he was badly injured at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, and applied for aid from the Justice Department's victim compensation fund.

-- Del Quentin Wilber

PUBLIC SAFETY

Fire Chief Warns of Budget Pressures

D.C. Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin said yesterday that the department could not fill 80 positions and had to cancel a cadet class because of budget pressures and warned that service could be adversely affected.

Rubin made his remarks in conjunction with the release of a national study of more than 17,000 firefighters from more than 9,400 departments nationwide. Those survey results showed that local firefighters think equipment is not purchased or replaced quickly enough, and many volunteer departments have been hit hard as members leave to find paid jobs in the recession.

The study was sponsored by Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.