Edition 5-20-04

(Sun) May 30 Estero, “Vee-Dub Fest,” The LOVE Club. Miromar Outlet Mall. Pre-registered $20. Day of Show: $25. Vendors: $40. More info: call Lore at (239) 267-6658. Website: www.vwloveclub.org

RED EARTH NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL  
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June 4-6, 2004     
Oklahoma City, OK  
http://www.redearth.org/v2/index.htm           405-427-5228  

For three extraordinary days, Red Earth, America's Greatest  Native American Cultural Festival will welcome the descendants of over 100 American Indian tribes. They will  gather in Downtown Oklahoma City to share the richness and diversity of their heritage with visitors from all over the  world. It is one of the largest cultural festivals of its type and has been voted one of the Top 100 Events to see in the United States according to Frontier Country.  

Japan is the world's leading importer of iron ore.  

An Oaklyn man, who identified himself as a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, has been convicted of kidnapping a woman and raping her repeatedly inside his garage in August 2001.

Richard Hill, 45, faces a sentence of up to 50 years for the convictions.

A Camden County jury deliberated for three days before returning its verdict late Monday afternoon.

Hill was identified as the assailant by both the victim and a co-defendant, Ryan Shavitz. Testifying at his trial before Superior Court Judge William Cook, Hill said he had invited the woman back to his garage after drinking beer and playing pool at the Westmont Inn, but said he slept through any sexual activity between her and co-defendant Ryan Shavitz.

Both Shavitz and the rape victim testified that she went to the garage, described as a "biker barn" willingly, but when she tried to leave was dragged back inside. She said she was pulled up steps to a second floor, stripped, and held down while she was raped repeatedly and threatened with a 12-inch Bowie knife.

Shavitz, described during the trial as a Pagan apprentice, is serving a 12-year state prison term for his part in the assault.

Defense attorney Michael Farrell told jurors the woman had conspired with Shavitz to implicate Hill in retaliation for a fight she had in a bar with Hill's wife in 1999. Hill and the victim had met often since that fight, however, according to testimony, often drinking together.

Police learned of the kidnapping and rapes after the victim, in her 30s, ran naked except for socks around 5 a.m. on Aug. 17, 2001, from Hill's garage at his home in the first block of West Beechwood Avenue. The woman called police from a public telephone on the White Horse Pike.

Assistant Camden County Prosecutor Mindy Mellits said the incident lasted almost three hours.

Hill is being held without bail pending sentencing. No sentencing date was set because he first must be evaluated by staff at the state's Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, a facility for repeat sex offenders.

Winnipeg -- The Manitoba government plans to hire extra sheriff's officers and court-services workers and expand its prosecutions office to deal with the trial of five suspected Hells Angels members and associates.

The five men are to stand trial this fall on intimidation-related charges that stem from alleged fire bombings and drive-by shootings.

The province is planning to hire 12 extra sheriff's officers for security and transportation of the accused, at a cost of more than $300,000 this fiscal year alone. Four new court service workers also will be hired. CP

May 18, 2004 -- SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Former Congressman and Gov. Bill Janklow left jail yesterday, 100 days after he began serving his sentence for an accident that killed a motorcyclist.

Janklow, carrying a large accordion-file box under one arm and a brown grocery bag in the other, walked out of the jail, past a crowd of reporters, and left in a vehicle driven by a longtime friend.

"We love you, man," family friend Matt Rost yelled as Janklow walked outside. Janklow hugged another friend who complimented him on his obvious weight loss while incarcerated.

A jury in Janklow's hometown of Flandreau convicted him in December of speeding, running a stop sign, reckless driving and second-degree manslaughter for an Aug. 16 accident that killed Randy Scott of Hardwick, Minn.

Scott, 55, died instantly. Janklow, 64, suffered a broken hand and bleeding on the brain.
FLFLHTC: 100 days for a bikers life. Is this supposed to be justice!

A member of London's Hells Angels is behind bars and facing 13 charges in connection with two bank robberies, with police investigating links to two more jobs. David Michael McLeish, whose street name is Dirty, is the second high-profile supporter of the outlaw motorcycle club recently arrested in the region.

McLeish was arrested several weeks ago in connection with an April 16 robbery at a TD Canada Trust branch in Kerwood, but police did not reveal his biker connections at the time.

McLeish faces more charges in connection with the robbery of a Bank of Montreal branch in Thorndale in March, Middlesex OPP said yesterday.

McLeish, whose face bears Hells Angels tattoos, is a full-fledged member of the London Hells Angels, Insp. Don Bell of Ontario's Biker Enforcement Unit, confirmed.

Outlaw bikers will do anything to make a buck, Bell said.

But bank robberies are unusual in the outlaw biker world, said Guy Ouellette, a biker expert and ex-officer from Quebec.

"To get money, drugs and sex are so valuable . . ." he said.

Only when they're facing some personal woes will bikers vary off the tried and true ways to make money, Ouellette said.

In the Kerwood and Thorndale robberies, two armed and masked men walked into the banks and demanded cash before fleeing in a car.

Two other men face charges in the Kerwood robbery but they apparently are not bikers.

McLeish has a long history with biker clubs in the region, most notoriously as one of those charged in the 1999 shooting of Loners leader Wayne Kellestine over a rift among club members.

That split eventually led to bikers such as McLeish joining the Hells Angels.

SARASOTA COUNTY --

Rapkin, a judge since 1992, and Briggs, who has been on the bench since 1987, announced they would not seek re-election shortly after receiving the two lowest scores out of 28 judges in Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties evaluated by attorneys this year.

Rapkin had also been under fire for his handling of two probation violation cases against Joseph P. Smith, the man accused of killing 11-year-old Carlie Brucia in February.

The judges' decisions came just before the qualifying deadline, so attorneys seeking the positions had to make quick calls.

After news of Briggs' decision, Galen and former Judge Preston DeVilbiss Jr. chose to run. Attorneys Ronald Filipkowski and Kurt E. Lee were in the race before Briggs bowed out.

When Rapkin announced he would not run, attorney Mike Mosca declared his candidacy. Attorneys Susan Chapman and Diana Moreland also joined the race. Attorney William Salomone had already decided to run before Rapkin made his announcement.

Just weeks before the May 7 qualifying deadline, it seemed the positions would be filled by the incumbents. And in Sarasota, it's custom not to run against a sitting judge, attorneys said.

Circuit judges serve six-year terms, and are paid about $134,000 a year. They rotate among criminal, civil and family court in several counties.

County judges also serve six-year terms; they are paid about $121,000 a year. They preside over misdemeanor cases and county civil cases.

Three circuit judges and two Sarasota County judges are running unopposed.

 

Word of the Day

raffish \RAF-ish\ adjective

1 : marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness
*2 : marked by a careless unconventionality : rakish
Example sentence:
Tristan was a raffish young rebel, a free spirit who sought every opportunity to flout convention and challenge authority.
Did you know?
"Raffish" sounds like it should mean "resembling the raff." But what is "raff"? Originally, "raff" was rubbish. That term derives from the Middle English "raf," and it was being used for trash and refuse back in the 1400s. At around the same time, English speakers were also using the word "riffraff" to mean "disreputable characters" or "rabble." The origins of "riffraff" are distinct from the "rubbish" sense of "raff"; "riffraff" derives from an Anglo-French phrase meaning "one and all." By the mid-1600s, the similarities between "raff" and "riffraff" had prompted people to start using the two words as synonyms, and "raff" gained a "rabble" sense. It was that ragtag "raff" that gave rise to the adjective "raffish" in the late 1700s.

http://www.merriam-webster.com