Jockstrip: The world as we know it

British judge acquitted of flashing charge

WESTMINSTER, England, June 13 (UPI) -- A top British judge has been acquitted of charges he twice exposed himself to a woman on a South London commuter train in 2006.

A panel of three magistrates dismissed the case against Sir Stephen Richards, 56, due to insufficient evidence, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

Richards, who sits in the Court of Appeal and has presided over several high profile cases, had been charged under the Sexual Offenses Act with two counts of "intentionally exposing his genitals intending that someone would see them and would be caused alarm or distress."

During the trial, Richards said he was astonished when police arrested him in January after a woman identified him as the "very kind looking" man who twice approached her on the train with his fly open, the newspaper said.

"I am a happily married, family man and I cannot perceive deriving any form of gratification to exposing my penis," he told the court.

Richards' defense largely relied on his argument that, given the style of Calvin Klein underwear he favors, he would have been unable to expose himself in the manner his accuser described, the newspaper said.

Jersey City, New York fight over fireworks

JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 13 (UPI) -- Jersey City officials say the New York City Fire Department used an 1834 treaty to force it to move its July 4 fireworks onto land.

The treaty between New York and New Jersey gives New York State jurisdiction over all the waters of "the Bay of New York." That means Jersey City had to get approval from the fire department for a fireworks barge off Liberty State Park.

The fire department was willing to give permission, but only if the Jersey City show started at 8:50 p.m., the Jersey Journal reported. Officials claimed any later start time would interfere with the gigantic show sponsored by Macy's.

"There's always competition, but Macy's, maybe they want to be the only one on stage," said Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy. "Maybe it's an ego thing."

If the weather is good July 4, full darkness only arrives at about 9 p.m. So Jersey City has decided to set off its fireworks from the park at 9 p.m.

Calling all rickshaws!

LONDON, June 13 (UPI) -- Two London bobbies responding to a distress call from a colleague across town had no squad car at their disposal, so they commandeered rickshaws instead.

Pedicab operators Ben Matthews and Will Vaughan had just dropped off riders when two police officers jumped into Matthews' cab and told him which way to go, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

Vaughan went along as well with his rig.

Both rickshaw operators rang their bells and one officer, Sue Beament, did her imitation of a siren.

"They were ringing their bells to warn people we were coming," she said. "I even tried making a siren noise myself, but the bells were far more effective."

Beament said she and her colleague commandeered the rickshaws because they knew it might take too long to run, and they "probably would not have been in the best condition to help out our colleagues."

Matthews said he and Vaughan found the adventure pretty exciting.

"We're fairly new to crime fighting, but like to imagine ourselves as cowboys riding down the bad guys," he said.

The police department gave the rickshaw drivers "a healthy tip" for their trouble, the newspaper said.

Honest teen returns envelope full of cash

NEW YORK, June 13 (UPI) -- A New York teenager who found almost $12,000 in cash in the men's room of a restaurant made sure it got back to its rightful owner.

Yousry Desooky, a 16-year-old high school junior, told the Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance that he never considered keeping the money. He found the money on the floor of a stall in the men's room of La Fiesta Restaurant in West New York, N.J. The envelope had "For Tahir. 11,875" written on the outside.

When Guessoom Tahir of New York returned to the restaurant with little hope of getting his money back, he found that Desooky and his father had left a note.

"I'm thinking, 90 percent, I'm not gonna find the money. I just accept the loss and that's it," Tahir, a Brooklynite who owns a Manhattan auto repair business, told the Advance. "Thank God it was honest people."

The money was repayment of a loan Tahir had made to a friend to buy a car at an auction.

When Tahir met Desooky at the office of the Advance, he immediately handed back $1,200 as a reward. The teen said he plans to save the money for college, the newspaper said.