UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Only in New York: Thief mugs bank robber

NEW YORK, July 12 (UPI) -- A man who robbed a New York bank fled on foot and ended up losing his loot on the street to another thief who stole his haul.

The original robbery of the Independence Bank was July 3, when several good Samaritans took after the thief on foot and ran him down, the New York Post said Wednesday.

In the scuffle of subduing him, another man who had witnessed the robbery grabbed the bank bags containing about $3,000, police said.

At the scene, police arrested James Boccanfusso and charged him with bank robbery, and the Samaritans provided a description of the second thief.

Tuesday, officers spotted the wanted man near the Independence Bank, and arrested him as well.

Kareem Sims, 31, is charged with robbery and possession of stolen property, the newspaper said.

Men win lottery on last day of work

ANDERSON, Ind., July 12 (UPI) -- Seventeen years of playing the lottery has paid off for nine workers at an Anderson, Ind., factory on their last day of work.

The workers, forced to retire from a Delphi plant, won a total $9 million before taxes, WISH-TV Indianapolis reported Wednesday. Once the money is split between them, each man will receive $370,000 after taxes.

"We really couldn't hardly believe it at first because we've been playing for so long," winner Richard Quinn told WRTV Indianapolis. "Finally, the last time we play it, we finally hit it."

"I couldn't hardly talk," said Dick Quinn, another of the winners. "I told my wife, I said look, look at these, we couldn't believe it so we waited until 12 o'clock and checked the computer again and it was true."

The men told the television station they have made plans for the money but have not yet made any major purchases. Eight of the men said they plan to use the money to retire comfortably and only one plans to seek another job.

ACLU withdraws from muzzling its board

NEW YORK, July 12 (UPI) -- The self-described champion of free speech, the American Civil Liberties Union, has backed down from imposing a gag order on its own board members.

Amid a flurry of internal and media allegations of hypocrisy and censorship, board President Nadine Strossen said a committee's recommendation that would prevent board members from publicly criticizing the group had been withdrawn from consideration "on the grounds that those passages might have some chilling effect on board members' freedom of speech and dissent."

Norman Siegel, a civil rights lawyer who headed the ACLU's New York affiliate for more than 20 years told The New York Times in a telephone interview he was relieved, but perplexed.

"I'm very pleased that the committee has withdrawn its proposals from consideration, but the all-important question still remains: How could such proposals get this far at, of all places, the American Civil Liberties Union?" Siegel said. "The leadership should have dismissed them immediately when they were first presented."

Pet pigs create stink in posh neighborhood

LAKE FOREST, Ill., July 12 (UPI) -- Nearly 250 residents of a wealthy Chicago-area neighborhood want the city to evict three pet pigs they claim foul the air.

The petition presented to Lake Forest City Hall says the pet pigs at Estelle Gonzalez Walgreen's $3.3 million estate also emit obnoxious noises, including grunts, snorts, oinks and belches, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

Walgreen divorced Charles Walgreen, a grandson of the drugstore founder, and brought the pigs to the property in May. Pinky, Piggy and Cooper roam freely and sleep in a converted garage, with a full-time handler during the day to clean up after them.

Walgreen's former mother-in-law, Kathleen B. Walgreen, is among the protesters and said in a letter there were no "pedigree papers" to verify her former daughter-in-law's pigs are Vietnamese pot-bellied variety.

City officials have so far refused to issue a citation against Walgreen, saying the city's animal-control ordinance is vague on regulating pets other than cats or dogs.