Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Scalia denies rude gesture in church BOSTON, March 30 (UPI) -- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is denying he made a rude one-finger gesture to a reporter in church, and claims it was a different Sicilian gesture. Advertisement In a letter to the editor of the Boston Herald, Scalia also suggested the reporter was watching too many episodes of "The Sopranos," the newspaper reported Wednesday. Sunday, a reporter asked Scalia what he thought of critics who questioned his ability to maintain separation of church and state. In Monday's report, the newspaper said he raised a hand beneath his chin in a rude gesture. "From watching too many episodes of 'The Sopranos,' your staff seems to have acquired the belief that any Sicilian gesture is obscene -- especially when made by an 'Italian jurist.' (I am, by the way, an American jurist.)," Scalia wrote. Advertisement He went on to quote Luigi Barzini's book, "The Italians": "The extended fingers of one hand moving slowly back and forth under the raised chin means 'I couldn't care less. It's no business of mine. Count me out.'" Judge blames ADHD for jailing 11 SANFORD, Fla., March 30 (UPI) -- A Seminole County, Fla., judge fighting to save his career said a mental disorder made him order 11 people arrested for going to the wrong courtroom. Judge John Sloop, 57, blamed undiagnosed attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder for his December 2004 order that resulted in the 9-hour detention and strip searches of 11 traffic violators, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported. They were arrested after court officials sent them to the wrong courtroom. "I will never be able to make amends," Sloop testified Tuesday in a trial before the state Judicial Qualifications Commission, which wants Sloop's 15-year judicial career ended. Sloop said he is on medication and receiving mental health treatment. However, prosecutor Lauri Waldman Ross said the incident, a "raw abuse of power," is Sloop's fourth run-in with the commission. The commission will make its recommendation to the Florida Supreme Court. Goldfish win equal status to cats and dogs NEW YORK, March 30 (UPI) -- A New York state Appellate court has denied a man's appeal for a downgrade of animal cruelty charges, saying stomping a goldfish is the same as killing a cat. Advertisement Michael Garcia was appealing to have his felony animal cruelty charge reduced to a misdemeanor or thrown out because the victim was a fish, the New York Post said. His lawyer, Robert Dean, said the incident in 2003 was not nearly as severe as if Garcia had killed his girlfriend's two dogs and a cat during a violent Manhattan domestic spree that also left him charged with assault. "Beloved household pets they may be, but 'companion animals' in the same vein as dogs or cats (fish) are not," Dean said. But the 5-judge panel disagreed. Garcia was jailed for seven to 15 years, but the appeals court reduced his time to five to 11 years after finding fault with one of the assault convictions. Man targets Mass. toddler for ID theft BARRE, Mass., March 30 (UPI) -- Massachusetts officials are investigating how a man managed to steal an 18-month-old toddler's identity and open two bank accounts. The child's 32-year-old mother, who asked that her name be withheld, told the Boston Globe when she tried to open a savings account for her son, she learned someone else already had done so, using her son's name and Social Security number. Advertisement To make matters worse, the thief had deposited $19,000 in fraudulent checks, police said. Worcester police said they have identified the alleged culprit, but an arrest warrant has yet to be issued. The suspect is already wanted on several default warrants in Worcester, including identity fraud, said Sgt. Tim Walsh. "It is a new low," Walsh said.
