UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Judge fights to save comedy career

SOUTH HACKENSACK, N.J., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The New Jersey Supreme Court is set to hear the case of a judge who was ordered by an ethics board to give up his second career as a stand-up comedian.

Vince Sicari, a municipal judge in South Hackensack, has been performing stand-up comedy for years under the name Vince August, and his gigs have included warming up crowds for Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" and regular appearances on ABC's "Primetime: What Would You Do?" where he portrays many bigoted characters designed to get reactions from unsuspecting members of the public, The (Hackensack) Record reported Monday.

The state ethics board told Sicari he would have to give up his second career to keep his position on the bench. The board said Sicari's comedy and acting work could make defendants question his impartiality.

"It seems a bit unusual that a United States Supreme Court justice can appear on the show but a municipal court judge making [$13,000] a year can't warm up the crowd," E. Drew Britcher, Sicari's lawyer, said of his client's work for "The Colbert Report."

'Romantic' balloons lead to arrest

DANIA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The Florida Highway Patrol said a man seen releasing a dozen heart-shaped Mylar balloons with his girlfriend was charged with a felony.

The patrol said a trooper saw Anthony Brasfield, 40, send up the balloons Sunday in the parking lot of a Motel 6 in Dania Beach while with his girlfriend, Shaquina Baxter, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Monday.

Brasfield was charged under the Florida Air and Water Pollution Control Act with polluting to harm humans, animals, plants, etc., the highway patrol said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said that between 2008 and 2012 the state had 21 arrests under the little-used statute.

The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Schilling's bloody sock sells for $92,613

NEW YORK, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A sock bloodied by Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling in Game 2 of the 2004 World Series sold for $92,613 at a New York auction.

Chris Ivy, director of Sports Auctions for Heritage Auctions, said Pete Siegal won the auction Saturday at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion in New York with a high bid of $92,613, CNN reported Monday.

"It's a one-of-a-kind item," Ivy said. "I expected anywhere from $75,000 to many multiples of that. It's the first bloody sock we've sold, and it came in just under what we expected to get for it. I'm happy with the sale."

The sock was stained with Schilling's blood when he played the game with an injured ankle, just days after undergoing surgery.

Archbishop leads more than 60 bikers

PALMETTO BAY, Fla., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A Florida archbishop led more than 60 other motorcycle enthusiasts on a 60-mile ride through southern Florida.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski, riding his Harley-Davidson Street Glide, led the motorcyclists out of St. Richard Catholic Church in Palmetto Bay after a blessing for the first Motorcycle Poker Run, which involved participants collecting cards at different stops to eventually form a complete poker hand, The Miami Herald reported Monday.

The holder of the winning poker hand was given a $500 Harley-Davidson gift card.

"Bikers are people that are accustomed to praying because if you're going to ride a motorcycle, you should know how to pray," Wenski said. "This is a way to bring some good attention, find financial support for St. Luke's Center [Catholic Charity] and have a good time."