Watercooler Stories

'Unique' stolen jewelry dumped in Sardinia

OLBIA, Italy, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Much of the jewelry stolen from a Saudi princess last month was found Tuesday dumped near the Sardinian hotel where the heist took place, Italian police said.

Investigators said the thieves probably found themselves saddled with jewelry worth $16 million that they were unable to sell because the pieces are "unique" and known through catalogs, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The theft occurred on the night of Aug. 5 at the Hotel Colonna. The thieves pried a strongbox or small safe off a wall and made off with it.

The safe was found in August in a dump with a few loose gems inside.

Police said the jewelry discovered Tuesday was about three-quarters of what was stolen. They said investigators are getting close to the perpetrators.

Break-ins have occurred at a number of hotels and villas on the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia and at the mainland resort of Portofino.

Family with kids gets cursed on bill

HALIFAX, England, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A restaurant employee was fired in Britain after the F-word was found printed on a family's dinner bill.

Craig Cartin said he and his wife where shocked when their bill for dinner at Cactus Joe's in Halifax, England, arrived with the curse word typed at the bottom.

He said his older daughter, aged 2, created a fuss when their food took nearly 30 minutes to arrive.

Cartin thinks the words "Thank you littell ...," were aimed at his daughter.

"Molly was a bit grumbly but her behavior was not terrible -- so this was just uncalled for," he told the Halifax Evening Courier. "Presumably they had meant to delete the insult before printing the bill, but it's still no excuse."

Restaurant owner Steve Ryan said he paid a personal visit to the family to offer his apologies and fired the employee responsible for the message.

"This was absolutely inexcusable and it won't be tolerated," he told the newspaper. "The person involved has been sacked and I am planning on consulting my lawyers to see if I can take further action against her."

Police: Suspect biked away from robbery

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla., Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said a pharmacy robbery suspect was arrested after allegedly cycling home from the crime and asking his mother for a ride to a store.

Investigators said James Lachenauer, 19, brandished a revolver Monday at the Medication Station Pharmacy in Boynton Beach and instructed employees to fill his black backpack with powerful painkillers, including morphine, oxycontin, oxycodone and hydrocodone, the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reported Tuesday.

The police report of the incident said Lachenauer rode his bike home from the robbery with the 1,524 pills in his backpack and asked his mother for a ride to a store. Officers familiar with a description of the suspect spotted Lachenauer riding in his mother's green sports utility vehicle and pulled the car over. The pills and the backpack were recovered from the vehicle and the revolver was found at the suspect's house, the newspaper said.

Lachenauer was arrested and charged with armed robbery and trafficking in oxycodone and hydrocodone. He was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail.

'Bloodless' bullfights hit Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A "bloodless" bullfight held in Las Vegas ahead of Mexican Independence Day drew a crowd of hundreds to watch the non-lethal event, promoters said.

Edward Silva of Don Bull Productions, which sponsored the event Monday at the South Point hotel-casino, said "bloodless" bullfighting involves matadors attaching Velcro-coated sticks to a patch of material on the bull's back to simulate stabbing without actually harming the animal, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Tuesday.

"This is very dangerous," said Edward Silva of Don Bull Productions, the event's sponsor. "It's more dangerous than regular bullfighting" because the animals are not weakened or slowed down by injuries, he said.

Silva said the bullfight, which he described as the first in the Las Vegas area since 1965, will continue with another show Tuesday and will return Sept. 27-30.