Crimes and Trials News

TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese court Monday sentenced two Greenpeace activists to suspended one-year jail terms for stealing a box of whale meat that the group said was proof of embezzlement in state-run "research whaling". Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A Mexican suspect in the March drive-by shooting of a US consulate worker in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez appeared at a closed-door hearing in a Texas court, the San Antonio News said Saturday. Full Story »

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A man who told Mexican authorities he ordered the March killing of a U.S. Consulate worker in Mexico has been extradited to the U.S. and appeared in a federal court in Texas, the San Antonio Express-News reported. Full Story »

MEHMOOD KOT, Pakistan (Reuters) - Crime and the sale of donated aid supplies are undermining the aid effort for Pakistan's flood victims. Full Story »

HONOLULU - The head of a labor recruiting company accused of exploiting 400 workers from Thailand and forcing them to work on U.S. farms pleaded not guilty Friday, part of what the FBI calls the largest human-trafficking case charged in U.S. history Full Story »

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge declared a mistrial Friday after jurors told him deliberations had grown hostile in the marriage fraud case of Mexican-born actress Fernanda Romero and her husband. Full Story »

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court judge on Friday denied bail for former Enron Corp Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling, according to a court document. Full Story »

PHOENIX - The mother of an Oklahoma man believed to have been killed by an Arizona prison escapee has filed a $10 million claim against Arizona and a wrongful death lawsuit against the private company that operates the prison that housed the fugitive. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A man accused of breaking into the home of celebrity socialite Paris Hilton armed with knives pleaded not guilty on Friday to a charge of attempted burglary, officials said. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES - A witness in the Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy trial recanted statements Friday that he saw defendant Howard K. Stern give the celebrity model excessive drugs. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES - A man accused of showing up at Paris Hilton's house wielding two knives has pleaded not guilty to attempted felony burglary. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is collaborating with Mexico in bringing a recently arrested top drug lord to justice, a State Department spokeswoman said Friday refusing to say whether the United States was seeking his extradition. Full Story »

DALLAS - A 13-year-old boy and his 12-year-old girlfriend will soon face capital murder charges in a Dallas-area double-shooting after the second victim died, authorities said Friday. Full Story »

McLEAN, Va. - The former treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee pleaded guilty Friday to embezzling more than $840,000 from a variety of political committees, including an NRCC account for annual fundraising dinners with President George W. Bush. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The former treasurer of a top Republican campaign committee pleaded guilty to embezzling $845,000 over 6-1/2 years and likely will face three years in prison, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday. Full Story »

PASADENA, Calif. - A federal appeals court has overturned a businessman's tax fraud conviction because the Los Angeles judge didn't postpone the case so the man could be at his son's deathbed. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES - An appeals court has scheduled a hearing for lawyers for the father of Michael Jackson to argue that he deserves a role in decisions involving his son's multimillion dollar estate. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - A French climber dubbed "Spiderman" for scaling skyscrapers without ropes or equipment pleaded not guilty Friday to putting lives at risk after his latest stunt in Australia. Full Story »