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TexasTowelie's JournalMissouri sues St. Louis lead company after pipeline spill polluted creeks with mine waste
By Jack SuntrupJEFFERSON CITY — Doe Run Resources Corp. faces another round of environmental fines after one of its pipelines ruptured in 2014, contaminating two Missouri waterways in rural Reynolds County with waste from its Sweetwater Mine and Mill.
The Missouri attorney general’s office, on behalf of the Department of Natural Resources, filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Heights-based company on Friday in St. Louis County Circuit Court. The seven-page complaint accuses Doe Run of violating the Missouri Clean Water Law.
According to the state’s lawsuit, a pipeline that carried waste from the Sweetwater facility — the material left over after lead, copper and zinc are milled — to a nearby tailings pond failed in late October 2014, releasing about “880 tons of lead mine tailings in a gray-colored slurry.”
The slurry traveled downhill to a drainage area, where it flowed into Adair Creek, “turning the stream into the same gray color as the slurry,” the lawsuit says.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/missouri-sues-st-louis-lead-company-after-pipeline-spill-polluted/article_cc5bee35-73bc-5c33-921a-b14f214510f6.html
Bloomberg files to run in Missouri Democratic primary
JEFFERSON CITY — Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire presidential candidate, is on the Democratic primary ballot in Missouri.
Bloomberg, a late entrant into the crowded race to upend Republican Donald Trump next year, filed to get on Missouri’s March 10 primary ballot on Friday.
The deadline to file in Missouri is 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Along with Bloomberg, former Vice President Joe Biden; Sens. Michael Bennet, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; businessmen Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer; and author and activist Marianne Williamson all filed to run in the Show-Me State.
A handful of perennial candidates also have filed as Democratic candidates, including Leonard Steinman of Jefferson City and his wife, Velma.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/bloomberg-files-to-run-in-missouri-democratic-primary/article_fa888de5-5920-58a3-94e2-f14f7e2475e5.html
Ceres statue returns to top of Missouri State Capitol
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The statue of a Roman goddess that prompted a brief controversy returned to the dome of the Missouri State Capitol Tuesday.
The statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain crops, was taken down last year for structural and cosmetic repairs. A 550-ton crane lifted the 10-foot, 1,407-pound bronze statue back to the top of the dome, the Jefferson City News-Tribune reported.
Last week, State Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, asked Gov. Mike Parson to stop the state from returning the “false god” to the Capitol dome, citing his and Parson's Christian faith.
Parson did not respond to Moon's letter and supporters said the statue, which shows Ceres holding a bundle of grain, represents the importance of agriculture in Missouri. It was originally installed on the dome in 1924.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/ceres-statue-returns-to-top-of-missouri-state-capitol/article_b816e235-7b25-5b97-984b-1b58f292fd5d.html
Missouri House leader rejects gun violence proposals on tap for 2020
By Kurt EricksonJEFFERSON CITY — Missouri lawmakers won’t return to the Capitol until next month, but the future speaker of the House slammed the door on gun violence proposals being floated by Democrats.
In a statement issued Thursday, House Majority Leader Rob Vescovo said he favors tougher sentencing laws for violations of state firearms laws, but opposes laws that “infringe” upon the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
“I think it’s important that we look at making our laws something that would-be criminals will fear and respect,” wrote Vescovo, a Jefferson County Republican. “During the 2020 session we will again look for solutions that keep guns out of the hands of criminals while also protecting the gun ownership rights of the good people of Missouri.”
Vescovo’s comments don’t come as a surprise given the Republican-led Legislature’s prior support for gun rights, but gun violence has become a major issue in St. Louis after more than a dozen minors were killed this year.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-house-leader-rejects-gun-violence-proposals-on-tap-for/article_238d804f-6d05-5fb0-b0a9-35f0bed744a4.html
Festus doctor gets 45 days in prison after getting busted for Medicare, Medicaid fraud
ST. LOUIS — A Festus cardiologist was sentenced Friday in federal court for Medicare and Missouri Medicaid fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Antoine Adem, 49, was sentenced to 45 days in prison. In addition, he and his company, Midwest Cardiovascular Inc., must pay restitution of $149,199. Adem also was fined $55,000.
The U.S. Attorney's office said Adem submitted many fake claims to Medicare and Missouri Medicaid regarding procedures. Adem got $2,000 extra per patient by saying he performed procedures on different days when he actually performed them on the same day.
Adem also had to give up $1.2 million to the U.S. in a settlement following a separate civil suit accusing him of making false claims.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/festus-doctor-gets-days-in-prison-after-getting-busted-for/article_24ea9738-7ec8-5813-8fff-fda09f76e2eb.html
After being sued, Mizzou returns most of nearly $5 million conservative gift
By Joe HollemanThe University of Missouri had to do what it really didn't want to — give back millions of dollars.
To settle a lawsuit brought by Hillsdale College, a small liberal arts school in southern Michigan that's popular in conservative circles, Mizzou has returned $4.7 million, Hillsdale officials said Wednesday.
One of the lawyers representing Hillsdale was former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who earned his bachelor's and law degrees from Mizzou.
"Under the settlement, Mizzou has agreed to pay nearly the full amount of the original gift, approximately $4.6 million," Hillsdale officials said in a statement.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/joe-holleman/after-being-sued-mizzou-returns-most-of-nearly-million-conservative/article_fdd8197e-462c-5679-ae09-f6b9a1aa0efd.html
St. Louis Deputy Fired by Sheriff After Declaring Campaign for Sheriff
By Danny WicentowskiElection drama has returned (again) to the St. Louis City Sheriff's Office.
Hired in July, deputy Alfred Montgomery had only worked the job a few months before he knew he wanted to run for elected office — specifically, the one occupied by his boss, St. Louis City Sheriff Vernon Betts.
But Montgomery's announcement of his campaign, made through a Facebook post on December 15, turned out to be one of his last actions as an employed deputy. One day later, on Monday, Montgomery again took to his campaign's Facebook page — which uses a photo of Montgomery in uniform as its profile image — to claim that he had been fired for "exercising my constitutional 1st amendment right to run for Sheriff for the City of St. Louis."
In an interview with RFT, Montgomery claims Betts approached him several times after hearing about his plans for candidacy. Montgomery says he initially planned to run in the 2024 election cycle. Those plans changed, though, after Betts "kept trying to intimidate me."
Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2019/12/19/st-louis-deputy-fired-by-sheriff-after-declaring-campaign-for-sheriff
Airport Privatization at 'Natural Stopping Point,' Says St. Louis Mayor Krewson
By Danny WicentowskiHuge news on St. Louis' push for airport privatization: During a surprise guest appearance on St. Louis Public Radio (KWMU)'s St. Louis On The Air, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson announced that she's pulling support for the wildly convoluted and conflict-of-interest-enmeshed plan to privatize operations at Lambert airport.
During the interview, Krewson said she would direct Linda Martinez, her representative on the Airport Advisory Working Group, to vote against the next step in the process, which would involve seeking specific proposals from the private companies seeking to turn Lambert into the largest U.S. airport to embrace privatization.
Krewson called this part of the process a "fork in the road" moment and a "natural stopping point."
https://twitter.com/STLonAir/status/1208087707764740098
In a letter to the airport working group dated today, Krewson, who has long defended her support for continuing the "exploration" of privatization, wrote that she'd listened to the "serious concern" and "trepidation" from residents, business leaders and public officials.
Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2019/12/20/airport-privatization-at-natural-stopping-point-says-st-louis-mayor-krewson
Florida Man Admits Laundering More Than $9 Million In Account Takeover Scheme
TRENTON, N.J. – A Florida man has admitted to laundering funds related to a $9 million business account takeover scheme with ties to Eastern Europe, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Igor Buzyukov, 51, of Weston, Florida, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between February 2018 and July 2018, several clients of Company-1, a financial technology company headquartered in San Jose, California, fell victim to an account takeover scheme resulting in total losses exceeding $9 million.
The scheme generally involved an unidentified individual or individuals calling Company-1 and impersonating a representative of one of the victim companies. The impostor(s) would then request that an unauthorized bank account be added to the victims’ Company-1 accounts and be designated to receive payments from e-commerce customers.
Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/florida-man-admits-laundering-more-9-million-account-takeover-scheme
Florida Man Sentenced To More Than 6 Years In Prison For Defrauding Investors Of Nearly $1 Million
Florida Man Sentenced To More Than 6 Years In Prison For Defrauding Investors Of Nearly $1 Million And Attempting To Flee Before SentencingGeoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that PEDRO ANDRES OSORIO was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III to 76 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud investors of more than $1 million. OSORIO pled guilty before Judge Pauley on September 4, 2019, to one count of wire fraud.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Pedro Andres Osorio defrauded his friends and family of nearly $1 million by convincing them to invest in his sham liquor company. Osorio’s scheme destroyed his victims’ financial and emotional wellbeing. Rather than take responsibility for his actions and face his victims, Osorio was caught trying to flee the country before his sentencing. Now Osorio will spend years in prison for his betrayals of his investors and the Court.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Not only did Osorio steal from people within his inner circle to keep up the façade of his fraudulent investment scheme, he attempted to leave the country after being released on bond in an attempt to escape the consequences of his actions. Today Osorio has learned the hard way that two wrongs certainly don’t make things right.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint, the Indictment, and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:
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