The chairman of the Irvine Co. and the 45th richest man in the world according to Forbes, Donald Bren, recently had a $1.4 million tax refund check stolen from him in an identity theft case the Secret Service is investigating.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in May a man who looks nothing like Bren set up bank accounts in Bren’s name earlier this year, deposited Bren’s refund check into one, and then transferred most of the money out.
The complaint did not say how the man obtained …

An estimated 89 deaths could have been related to the unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles in the last decade, according to the government.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 2000 to mid-May, it had received more than 6,200 complaints involving sudden acceleration in Toyotas.  89 deaths and 57 injuries over the sam period are included in the reports.  Previously, 52 deaths had been suspected of being connected to the problem.
More than eight million vehicles worldwide have been recalled by Toyota Motor and a record $16.4 million fine has …

David Paterson, New York Governor, proposed a way to generate $815 million annually to help close a $9.2 billion budget deficit on Thursday, May 20, 2010.  According to reports the Governor proposed his idea to generate $815 million annually to help close the $9.2 billion budget deficit.  His proposal includes lifting the sales tax on diet soda, and implementing a new “sugar tax” to full calorie drinks.
An older version of the “soda tax” proposal was rejected by the state legislature.  The beverage industries also took a strong stance against it. …

City Administrative Officer and top financial officer for Los Angeles, Miguel Santana, 40, announced that he had enrolled in an alcohol treatment center just days after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Santana issued a statement on Sunday that he had checked into an undisclosed program Saturday.
In the statement Santana said, “I do not know how long this stage of my journey will be. I apologize to my family, friends, the mayor, City Council, CAO staff, and the entire city family for my irresponsible behavior,”
California Highway Patrol arrested …

Way down south in a little town called Houston, TX, which is actually the fourth largest city in the nation, history was made over the weekend as Houston became the largest city to elect an openly gay mayor.  Annise Parker’s run-off win over former City Attorney Gene Locke.
Ray Hill, the dean of Houston’s gay activists, saw victory in more ways than one.
“For me, it means 43 years of hard work has finally paid off,” Hill said. “For Houston, it means we have finally reached the point where being gay cannot …

BALTIMORE COUNTY – Councilman Stephen G. Moxley was arrested early morning Friday for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Moxley was involved in a four-car accident at around 1:20 a.m. Friday on W. Franklin Street at N. Pulaski Street.
Reports say that Moxley was driving a 2007 Toyota Highlander and slammed into the vehicle in front of him which was stopped at a red light. The accident caused a chain reaction.
Police arrived and found Moxley swaying as he was walking near his vehicle. The councilman failed a field sobriety test administered by …

An Iraq war veteran has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman while home on leave from the military. Thursday, a Lancaster County jury found 24-year-old Jacob Ford guilty of the Dec. 27 assault at a Lincoln, Nebraska party. He faces up to 50 years in prison.
Ford said he thought the sex with the 23-year-old woman was consensual. However, prosecutors said the woman woke up to find Ford assaulting her, and that Ford called her later to apologize.
Ford’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4.