Man faces 'collar-bomb' charges

24 September 2011 Last updated at 06:53 GMT Mr Peters was arrested in the US state of Kentucky, and has now been extradited to Australia A man has been extradited to Australia to face charges over an alleged attempt to extort money by locking a teenage woman to a fake bomb.

Paul Douglas Peters, 50, arrived in Sydney on Saturday morning under guard on a flight from the US, where he was arrested in Kentucky in mid-August.

He was charged with kidnapping and other offences.

The charges stem from an alleged ordeal endured by 18-year-old Madeleine Pulver on 3 August.

A masked man is alleged to have entered her bedroom in a wealthy Sydney suburb as she studied, attaching a device he said was a bomb to her neck.

A police squad spent 10 hours removing the device, which was later found to contain no explosives.

Mr Peters, a successful international businessman, was later arrested in the US at the home of his ex-wife in Louisville, Kentucky. He did not fight the extradition, though his US lawyer has previously said he rejects the charges against him.

'Admiration'

Mr Peters did not attend a brief hearing at Parramotta Bail Court in Sydney, where charges of kidnapping, aggravated breaking and entering, and demanding money with menaces were filed against him.

He did not apply for bail and will remain in custody until his next hearing on 17 November.

Madeleine's father said she was now focused on studying for her final school exams

"I have great admiration for Madeleine Pulver and her family for the way they have dealt with this matter and what has been obviously a very traumatic time of their lives," Det Supt Luke Moore said on Saturday.

Det Supt Moore also thanked authorities in the United States for their efforts in finding and arresting Mr Peters.

"The job is far from done and the courts will now make their determination," Det Supt Moore told reporters in Sydney. "I am very pleased that we have been able to bring this matter to where we are today relatively swiftly."

Madeleine's father Bill - a businessman who has made millions from internet software - praised police for their work so far, adding that his daughter was focusing on studying for her final school exams.

"Maddie is a very strong young woman who I think is doing just a stellar job in the circumstances," he said, according to AFP news agency.

The Pulvers say they are mystified as to why they were targeted in the saga.

They say they have never met Mr Peters, though reports suggest he may once have worked for a company with links to the family.

View the original article here

Read More

Mideo Cruz to Face Criminal Charges for Blasphemous Artwork

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) finally decided to shut down the controversial art exhibit of artist Mideo Cruz.

The gallery, called “Politeismo,” received criticisms from religious and NGO units for featuring artworks of several versions of Jesus Christ and other religious objects decorated with a red penis or other odd objects. The Catholic Church described the gallery as “blasphemous” and “sacrilegious.”

“Due to numerous emails, text messages and other letters sent to various officers of the CCP, and to the artists themselves, with an increasing number of threats to persons and property, the members of the Board of the Cultural Center of the Philippines have decided to close down the Main Gallery where the Kulo Exhibit is on display,” the CCP said in an official statement.

However, CCP claims that it was not the first time that “Politeismo” has been exhibited as it had been featured in Ateneo de Manila, UP Vargas Musueum and Kulay Diwa since 2002.

Despite the closure of the said exhibit, Lawyer Jo Imbong of the St. Thomas More Society of Lawyers said they will file criminal charges against the CCP and artist Mideo Cruz for “offending” Christians.

Photo Credit: Yahoo Philippines

Note: This is a repost

Filed Under: News
Tagged: Get updated with the hottest entertainment news daily by email!

Follow Starmometer on Twitter and Facebook!

View the original article here

Read More

U.S. charges for-profit college with huge fraud

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration and four states are accusing a private, for-profit college of illegally paying recruiters to enroll students in an $11 billion fraud, the latest action in a long-running examination of the industry's recruitment techniques and an allegation the company called "flat-out wrong."

The Justice Department and the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Florida and Indiana on Monday intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Pittsburgh-based Education Management Corp. Their complaint says the company broke a 1992 law prohibiting for-profit colleges from paying recruiters incentive compensation.

The law was passed in response to reports of overly aggressive sales procedures in the industry that led to the enrollment of unqualified students and high student loan default rates. It was the first time the federal government intervened in a suit alleging a violation of the ban.

The governments' complaint says the company, which offers classes online and at 105 locations in 32 states and Canada, repeatedly made false statements to conceal its practices and receive $11 billion in federal and state financial aid — nearly all of the company's revenue. The complaint alleges that student enrollment was the sole focus of its compensation system, and the company instructed recruiters to use high-pressure sales techniques like playing on an applicant's psychological vulnerabilities and inflating claims of career placement opportunities to enroll students regardless of their qualifications.

U.S. attorney David J. Hickton in Pittsburgh, where the suit was filed, said in a statement that Education Management's practices "enriched the company, its shareholders and executives at the expense of innocent individuals seeking a quality education."

A statement issued by Education Management said federal regulations issued in 2002 allowed companies to consider enrollment in admission officer compensation as long as it wasn't the sole factor considered. The statement said the company's plan required consideration of five "quality factors" along with enrollment numbers to determine salary.

"The pursuit of this legal action by the federal government and a handful of states is flat-out wrong," said the statement from Bonnie Campbell, a former Iowa attorney general and member of the state Board of Regents who is an adviser to the college's legal counsel. "EDMC's 2003 compensation plan followed the law in both its design and implementation."

Education Management offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as diplomas in trades such as design, media arts, health sciences, culinary, fashion, business, education, legal and information technology.

"EDMC's colleges are accredited institutions offering career-focused academic degrees to it students, many of whom would not otherwise attend college, and EDMC's combined graduation rate is better than other schools serving similar student populations, whether those schools are public, private or proprietary," Campbell's statement said.

The 2007 lawsuit was filed by former Education Management employees Michael Mahoney and Lynntoya Washington. If the Justice Department can prove its case, Education Management could be forced to repay three times the damage, plus penalties, with the whistleblowers able to collect 15 percent to 25 percent of the recovery.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View the original article here

Read More