NewsFebruary 24, 2005
State briefs 2/24/05
Two admit to conspiracy in $9 million phone scam; Blunt defends comment about Democrats; Polish parish seeks outside help to mend ties; Remains of Missouri man found in Afghanistan crash
Two admit to conspiracy in $9 million phone scam
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two brothers, one a reputed member of a New York crime family, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to bilk the federal government out of nearly $9 million by inflating expenses at a Kansas City area telephone company. Richard T. Martino, 45, of Tuckahoe, N.Y., an alleged member of the Gambino crime family, and his brother Daniel D. Martino, 54, of Hawthorne, N.Y., each pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Richard Martino, who pleaded guilty in New York last week to federal charges in a separate case, also pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud Wednesday.
Blunt defends comment about Democrats
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt on Wednesday defended a comment he made during a recent Republican rally that Democrats can be found in Missouri only in places "where nobody wants to live anymore." Blunt said his point was that Republicans are winning in growing communities. The governor's comment has drawn criticism from the state Democratic Party, as well as from Democratic lawmakers from St. Louis and Kansas City. They perceive their cities as the target of the one-liner. Blunt carried most of Missouri's counties in last November's gubernatorial election, but lost in St. Louis city and county and in Jackson County, home to a large part of Kansas City.
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Polish parish seeks outside help to mend ties
ST. LOUIS -- Members of the board of directors of a mostly Polish parish said Wednesday they will not formally appeal a sanction from St. Louis' archbishop in a dispute over control, instead praying that a "Man of God steps forward and rights this wrong." The St. Stanislaus Kostka Polish Roman Catholic Parish board said Wednesday it reached its decision after consulting with a canon law expert and the board's attorney. Rather than file a formal appeal, the board wants "other individuals to take up our fight, cardinals and bishops in the U.S. and Europe as well as the Vatican, and they have agreed to," spokesman Richard Bach said. He declined to name prelates who have sided with the parish.
Remains of Missouri man found in Afghanistan crash
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The remains of a Missouri man who was among those killed when an airliner crashed in Afghanistan earlier this month have been located and identified, a spokesman for his family said. Ryan Hogan, 24, was one of the 104 people on the Kam Air plane when it hit a snow-covered mountain near Kabul on Feb. 3. Randy Parlett, a spokesman for his family, said the remains were taken to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan for positive DNA testing, then flown on Tuesday to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for an autopsy. Hogan was a senior airman and ground radio maintenance technician with the 139th Airlift Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard. He was on leave and working as a civilian contractor at the time of the crash.
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