American Scene

CALIFORNIA

Kidnap suspect poorly supervised

SACRAMENTO | A new report finds that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation failed to properly supervise parolee Phillip Garrido and missed opportunities to discover the alleged kidnapping victim held for 18 years.

The report also said the department failed to refer Garrido for a mental health assessment.

The California Inspector General’s Office released a summary of the report Wednesday on its Web site.

The inquiry was launched after Garrido and his wife were arrested for allegedly kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard and holding her captive in his backyard.

Questions arose about how Garrido managed to keep Miss Dugard hidden for so long despite being monitored by parole officers because of a previous rape conviction.

FLORIDA

Lawyer suspected of fraud sent text

MIAMI | A South Florida lawyer suspected of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar fraud sent his partners a text message from overseas apologizing and suggested he might not return to face authorities.

The politically connected attorney, Scott Rothstein, did return Tuesday from Morocco and met with federal investigators.

A spokesman for the lawyer’s firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, confirmed that Mr. Rothstein sent the message over the weekend.

Federal investigators and a court-appointed receiver are looking into allegations that he misappropriated millions in a side investment business.

Mr. Rothstein called himself a fool in the message, which was first reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

ILLINOIS

State can enforce abortion notice law

CHICAGO | Illinois is allowed to start enforcing a long-debated parental notification law for teenagers seeking abortions after more than a decade of legal challenges.

The state’s Medical Disciplinary Board decided Wednesday not to extend a 90-day grace period put into place in August.

The state’s law was passed in 1995 but never enforced because of various court actions. Thirty-five other states have similar laws, which meant some teens seeking abortions came to Illinois for them.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois plans to ask anew for a temporary restraining order to keep the state from enforcing the law.

It requires doctors to give the parents or guardians of girls 17 or younger 48 hours notice before the teens get abortions.

MICHIGAN

Judge: Man can sue store he robbed

MOUNT CLEMENS | A man who claims he was chased, shot and beaten by workers at a store he had robbed can sue the men, a judge said. But only if he comes up with $10,000 within two weeks.

Scott T. Zielinski, 23, is serving an eight-year prison sentence after being convicted of unarmed robbery for the November 2007 heist at Nick’s Party Stop in Clinton Township.

The man filed a lawsuit against the store, its owner and three employees in April. Zielinski was shot twice and claims he was excessively beaten.

Circuit Judge David Viviano ruled this week that although Zielinski is indigent and imprisoned, he must post a $10,000 bond to cover the store and employees’ attorneys fees if he looses the case. Zielinski is seeking $125,000.

NEW YORK

53 charged in drug crew probe

NEW YORK | Federal prosecutors have charged 53 people with running open-air drug markets at two housing projects near Yankee Stadium.

Authorities said the gang sold heroin and crack, and some of the heroin was sold under the brand name “American Gangster,” an apparent reference to the 2007 film starring Denzel Washington as a Harlem drug lord.

Federal agents and police officers arrested 37 of the suspects during raids Wednesday morning.

The arrests followed a yearlong investigation of violent drug crews.

NORTH DAKOTA

Sheriff: Students likely didn’t see pond

DICKINSON | Three college softball players found dead after their SUV went into a pond on a North Dakota farm during a stargazing trip likely drove straight into the water in the dark, authorities said Wednesday.

Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said the women’s SUV was found resting on its wheels Tuesday in about 10 feet of water hidden by tall grass, with the doors and windows closed.

The sheriff said the Dickinson State University students were on private property. He stopped short of saying they were trespassing.

No foul play is suspected in the deaths of Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of San Diego; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. The bodies of the women and Miss Neufeld’s dog were found inside the SUV after signals from their last desperate phone calls late Sunday helped lead authorities to the farm.

OHIO

Police: 11 victims in suspect’s home

CLEVELAND | Authorities said they have confirmed at least 11 victims whose remains were found in the Cleveland home of a sex offender.

The Cuyahoga County coroner’s office said Wednesday that a skull found in a bucket in Anthony Sowell’s basement belonged to a body they have not yet found.

Authorities also say they have identified one of the victims as 53-year-old Tonia Carmichael, who disappeared a year ago.

Police Chief Michael McGrath said her remains were buried in the backyard and had marks indicating she was strangled.

Miss Carmichael’s daughter Markiesha Carmichael-Jacobs said her mother struggled with drug addiction and frequented Sowell’s neighborhood.

From wire dispatches and staff reports