Brickbats
New York City police charged artist Andy Golub with public exposure and lewdness for applying body paint to nude models in Times Square. But a compromise with prosecutors may allow Golub to escape jail time. The agreement says Golub can paint topless women anytime, but he can paint totally nude models only after dark. If he abides by those terms, prosecutors have promised to drop all charges.
The assistant principal of Florida's Orange River Elementary School called the Collier County Sheriff's Office and the abuse hotline of the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) to report the following "possible sex crime": Two 12-year-old girls in a gym class were arguing about which one liked a boy more, and one of them went over and briefly kissed the boy. Sheriff's deputies and DCF officials agreed the act does not count as a sex crime. For now.
A New York City sanitation worker spotted Darbe Pitofsky tossing some old newspapers in a sidewalk trash can and chased her down. He demanded ID from her, threatening to have her arrested if she didn't comply. Then he gave her a $100 ticket for putting household garbage in the can. When she complained, he threatened to make it a $300 ticket.
The Argentine government has filed criminal charges against MyS Consultores for publishing numbers that show price inflation is higher than the government admits.
Steven Roth, a special education teacher at New Jersey's Bankbridge Regional School, has been placed on administrative leave after being caught on video bullying one of his students. Roth called the boy a "tard" and told him, "You ain't gonna do a thing. You ain't never gonna be big enough or bad enough."
A Richmond County, Georgia, deputy assigned to a DUI task force has admitted faking some readings from a portable Breathalyzer. Erik Norman, a nine-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was forced to resign after telling a prosecutor he had falsified information. During his two years on the DUI task force, Norman arrested an estimated 250 to 400 drivers.
Who has access to your prescription drug records? Under a new drug monitoring program run by Washington state's Health Department, just about everyone. The program gives state, local, and federal law enforcement officials access to drug records, along with doctors, pharmacists, health licensing and regulatory agencies, medical examiners and coroners, Medicaid officials, state officials who deal with worker's compensation, Department of Corrections officials, and Health Department officials, among others.
Transportation Security Administration agent Nelson Santiago has been charged with stealing $50,000 worth of electronics from passengers as they passed through Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Santiago was caught after an airline employee saw him taking an iPad out of a suitcase and stuffing it down his pants.
Charles Oliver
