Watercooler Stories

Man faces jail for refusing sewage service

CECIL, Pa., July 15 (UPI) -- A Cecil, Pa., man said he is prepared to go to jail as part of his running battle to stop the city from forcing him to use the local sewage system.

William Williams, 78, said he refuses to use any public utilities and has previously been jailed for 30 days after he repeatedly removed a guy wire from an Allegheny Power utility pole on his property, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Monday.

He says the Washington County Sewage Council is after him for refusing to give up his septic tanks and tap into the sewage system.

"I don't like to see big outfits like this giving all this (hassle) to the people," Williams said. "These companies are trying to barge in on everybody."

If the council takes Williams to court, he could face a fine of up to $5,000 and up to 30 days in jail. Each day he fails to comply with a city ordinance requiring use of the sewage system can be counted as a separate offense by prosecutors.

However, Williams said he is prepared to argue his case in court.

"If they want to play hard ball, I'll play hard ball," he said.

Police: Cologne samples made men ill

HOUMA, La., July 15 (UPI) -- Authorities in Houma, La., said a woman has been arrested after she allegedly made two men ill by having them smell "cologne samples."

Houma police and Terrebonne Parish sheriff's deputies said Patches Wegmann, 23, approached an 18-year-old man outside a Houma restaurant in early June and asked if he wanted to smell some cologne samples, WAFB, Baton Rouge, La., reported.

Sheriff's spokesman Todd Duplantis said the woman left with three "large black male subjects" and shortly after the victim returned to work, he experienced dizziness, shortness of breath, numbness and eventually passed out.

Police said a similar incident occurred July 9 when Wegmann allegedly made another victim feel ill after having him smell the cologne.

"During the interview, she admitted to the crime which occurred on June 9," Duplantis said.

Wegmann was charged with second-degree battery and unlawful solicitation. She was taken to the Terrebonne Parish Jail.

The substance Wegmann had the men smell was not identified and her alleged motive for the crime was unclear Monday.

Cop on hook for charging grandma as hooker

NEW YORK, July 15 (UPI) -- Prostitution charges were dropped against a 40-year-old grandmother in New York who insists she never turned a trick despite what the arresting officer said.

Monica Gonzalez was nabbed on the charges in Sunset Park, an experience she told the New York Daily News "was very embarrassing and humiliating."

Her husband of 15 years, Louie, was appalled, she said.

Contrary to Officer Sean Spencer's claim in a sworn complaint, Gonzalez hasn't been arrested -- for prostitution or anything else, says her lawyer, Richard Cardinale.

"Clearly, Officer Spencer, who has been sued for civil rights violations in the past, has no qualms about arresting innocent people if it means he gets to put another notch on his belt," said Cardinale.

Gonzalez, who filed a complaint against Spencer, was walking along a known prostitution area en route to a hospital emergency room because she needed treatment for an earlier asthma attack.

When confronted by two officers, she said, "He (Spencer) said, 'I saw you going up to the car. ... His partner said, 'Let her go, I've never seen her here before,' but (Spencer) wouldn't listen," she said.

Police send bill to car theft victim

STOKE-ON-TRENT, England, July 15 (UPI) -- A British man said police have sent him a bill after their vehicles were damaged while they were chasing his stolen car.

Jason West, 22, said Staffordshire Police sent his insurance company a bill five months after the Feb. 6 incident -- which could raise his premiums by up to $4,000, The Daily Mail reported Monday.

West said he has already paid $600 to have his Volkswagen Golf repaired, after it incurred damage during the car chase. He also paid more than $200 to get the car out of impound after police caught the thief.

"I am being punished through no fault of my own. I am a victim of theft," he said.

"I did not go through my insurance because it was cheaper to repair the car myself, but if the police carry on I will end up paying out twice," West said.