W.A. Clark Memorial LibraryHuguette Clark with one of her dolls.NEW YORK — The nurses, doctors, hospital, attorney and accountant for the reclusive heiress Huguette Clark coerced or influenced her to give them more than $44 million in gifts, the executor of her estate claimed in a remarkable legal petition filed Tuesday in Manhattan. The executor asked the court to order all the money to be repaid.The executor doesn't deny that Clark authorized nearly all of these gifts, relentlessly writing hundreds of checks in her own steady hand until her eyesight gave out aged 102.The accusations were vigorously denied by Clark's attorney, whose representative said, "To suggest that these gifts were not from Mrs. Clark's generous heart is to denigrate the person who gave these gifts, ... Continue reading →
W.A. Clark Memorial LibraryHuguette Clark with one of her dolls.NEW YORK — The nurses, doctors, hospital, attorney and accountant for the reclusive heiress Huguette Clark coerced or influenced her to give them more than $44 million in gifts, the executor of her estate claimed in a remarkable legal petition filed Tuesday in Manhattan. The executor asked the court to order all the money to be repaid.The executor doesn't deny that Clark authorized nearly all of these gifts, relentlessly writing hundreds of checks in her own steady hand until her eyesight gave out aged 102.The accusations were vigorously denied by Clark's attorney, whose representative said, "To suggest that these gifts were not from Mrs. Clark's generous heart is to denigrate the person who gave these gifts, ... Continue reading →
W.A. Clark Memorial LibraryHuguette Clark with one of her dolls.NEW YORK — The nurses, doctors, hospital, attorney and accountant for the reclusive heiress Huguette Clark coerced or influenced her to give them more than $44 million in gifts, the executor of her estate claimed in a remarkable legal petition filed Tuesday in Manhattan. The executor asked the court to order all the money to be repaid.The executor doesn't deny that Clark authorized nearly all of these gifts, relentlessly writing hundreds of checks in her own steady hand until her eyesight gave out at age 102.The accusations were vigorously denied by Clark's attorney, whose representative said, "To suggest that these gifts were not from Mrs. Clark's generous heart is to denigrate the person who gave these ... Continue reading →
SANFORD, Fla. — The killing of Trayvon Martin here two and a half months ago has been cast as the latest test of race relations and equal justice in America. But it was also a test of a small city police department that does not even have a homicide unit and typically handles three or four murder cases a year. An examination of the Sanford Police Department’s handling of the case shows a series of missteps — including sloppy work — and circumstances beyond its control that impeded the investigation and may make it harder to pursue a case that is already difficult enough. The national furor has subsided for the moment. But as the second-degree murder case against the defendant, George Zimmerman, moves from ... Continue reading →
Associated PressThis is the last known photo of Huguette Clark, taken 80 years ago. She hid away in a New York hospital room for at least the past 22 years, until her death in May. This photo was made on Aug. 11, 1930, the day of her divorce, in Reno, Nev. Her marriage lasted two years. She had no children.NEW YORK — More than $3 million dollars on dolls. Nearly $2 million to her attorney's favorite charity. Another $380,000 in checks written to the staff on a single day, just as the press started to ask questions. And a magic bottomless checking account with $43 million to spend.These details emerge from court documents filed in the early stages of a legal battle over the $400 ... Continue reading →
John Edwards' defense team is eager to change the focus of the former presidential candidate's corruption trial from sex, lies and betrayal to the fine print of campaign finance laws. NBC's Lisa Myers reports. By Hampton Dellinger, Special to msnbc.comANALYSIS The judge’s ruling was written on the lawyers’ faces. Last Friday, after Catherine Eagles denied John Edwards’s motion to dismiss the six felony charges against him at the close of the government’s case, the former Democratic senator’s lead attorney sat red-cheeked and grim. To his right, the typically stiff lips of the federal prosecutors curled into small grins. While Edwards’ request to have the case thrown out for lack of evidence was a long shot, the decision highlights the ever increasing peril Edwards faces and ... Continue reading →
New Jersey Governor's Office N.J. Gov. Chris Christie with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in November 2011. Despite Guadagno's involvement in a criminal investigation of pension abuse, Christie has not appointed a special prosecutor.By Mark LagerkvistNew Jersey WatchdogNew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — a rising star in the national Republican Party — called an overhaul of the state pension system his "biggest governmental victory." He now faces embarrassment from flaws his reforms failed to fix.The sweeping new laws increase contributions from public workers, decrease benefits and halt cost-of-living hikes. According to Christie, the changes should save the state $120 billion over the next 30 years.But his reform did little to stop the age-old New Jersey practice of double-dipping, in which employees "retire," start collecting a pension, ... Continue reading →
