■ UNITED STATES
Man convicted for scam
A jury convicted a man in a marriage fraud scam where hundreds of immigrants gained permanent residency illegally by paying up to US$16,000 to be matched with Americans in fraudulent marriages. Peter Absolam was convicted on Monday in federal court in New York City, three years after an immigrant from Dominica reported the scam to the FBI. Prosecutors say the fraud from April 2001 through November 2005 produced as much as US$1 million from fees paid by hundreds of immigrants. So far, 26 of the 29 people originally charged in the case have pleaded guilty, choosing to avoid trial. Alleged ring leaders Phillip Browne, a US immigration office worker, and his sister, Beverly Mozer-Browne, who owned a financial and legal aid business, have both pleaded not guilty.
■ UNITED STATES
Controversial blogger nabbed
A man who blogs about his attraction to young girls but says he does not touch them was arrested near a child care facility at the University of California, Los Angeles, with a camera, police said. Jack McClellan, 45, who is unemployed and lives out of his car, was arrested on Monday, campus police said. He violated a restraining order requiring him not to loiter or congregate within 9m of minors, police alleged. He maintained a Web site in Washington for years where he posted photos of children he had taken in public places. He also discussed how he liked to stake out parks, fast-food restaurants and other places where little girls congregate.
■ UNITED STATES
Woman pleads guilty
A woman has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a former drummer for the Jackson 5, Indiana authorities said on Monday. Yolanda Davis, 45, will be sentenced to two years in prison if a judge accepts an agreement with prosecutors in Johnny Jackson's slaying. Her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 24. Davis told police she fatally stabbed Jackson with a steak knife when he lunged at her during a fight. Police found Jackson's body in a Gary home on March 1 last year after responding to reports of a disturbance. Jackson, 55, of Gary, replaced the Jackson 5's original drummer around 1967 but he was not related to the family.
■ UNITED STATES
Garbage takes toll on trucks
It is tough times for trash haulers in West Virginia's second-largest city, which is down to three working garbage trucks. Eight of Huntington's 11 garbage trucks are out of service, along with two flatbed trucks used to pick up loose trash in alleys, Public Works Director Chuck Cornett said. ``It's the age of the equipment catching up with all of the work,'' Cornett said on Monday. The average age of trucks was about 15 years.
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