Southern Illinoisan from Carbondale, Illinois • Page 6

Page 6A The Southern Illinoisan, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2000 Nation BRIEFLY offi Three L.A. police cer There's good convicted of co Dtion rra cops and there's bad cops. A lot of us on the jury felt that they just didn't happen to cover themselves enough and they never thought it would come back to haunt them. VICTOR FLORES, jury foreman Architectural items stolen and sold PHILADELPHIA (AP) A retired federal labor corruption investigator admitted a role in the fencing of stolen architectural relics, including 200-year-old gates stolen from a historic church in Society Hill. Authorities alleged Charles W.

Kass bought $120,000 worth of mantels, doors, stained glass, grates, moldings and other decorative pieces, then resold them to antique dealers. Kass, 53, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of interstate transportation of stolen property and faces up to 21 months in prison at his Feb. 8 sentencing. Prosecutors said he acted as a fence for thieves "robbing poor neighborhoods of their architectural heritage." Federal prosecutor Linda Dale Hoffa said wiretaps show Kass even talked to his suppliers from Ms phone at the Department of Labor Inspector General's Office, in the same building as the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Kass would not comment outside court. His lawyer, Jeffrey M. Kolansky, called Kass' conduct a "colossal mistake in judgment." execution HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) A convicted killer was executed Wednesday for abducting an 11-year-old girl from a school, raping and strangling her and then carving on her body with a scalpel and protractor. Tony Chambers, 32, became the 37th death row inmate executed in Texas this year, tying the record number of executions carried out by the state in 1997. He was the second of three scheduled to die this week.

Ten people were arraigned Providence, R.I., Wednesday on charges they helped run a lucrative gambling ring that mobster Anthony M. "The Saint" St. Laurent allegedly supervised from his Kentucky prison cell. A man was accused Wednesday of three sex killings going back to 1987 after investigators used new DNA technology to link the crimes. The indictment against Patrick Baxter, 31, was unsealed in Westchester County Court in White Plains, N.Y.

Among the victims was a 14-year-old girl. LOS ANGELES (AP) Three officers accused of framing gang members were convicted of conspiracy and other crimes Wednesday in the first trial resulting from the biggest police corruption scandal in Los Angeles history. After weighing testimony from a parade of gang members and police officers, the Superior Court jury found Sgts. Brian Lid-dy and Edward Ortiz and Officer Michael Buchanan guilty. A fourth officer, Paul Harper, was acquitted of all charges.

"There's good cops and there's bad cops," jury foreman Victor Flores said. "A lot of us on the jury felt that they just didn't happen to cover themselves enough and they never thought it would come back to haunt them." All four officers were suspended after their arrests. The convicted officers face one to four years in prison at sentencing Jan. 16, though defense attorneys said they will appeal. "There's been so much publicity about the Rampart scandal the jury might be afraid if they came in with all not guiltys, people would think it was the O.J.

jury," said Harlan Braun, who represented Buchanan. Hie scandal, centered within the anti-gang unit at the LAPD's Rampart station, involves allegations that officers framed gang members, planted evidence, committed perjury and even shot innocent victims. The scandal has led to the dismissal of about 100 criminal cases tainted by police testimony. Dozens of officers have quit or have been fired or suspended. According to some estimates, it may cost the city $125 million to settle lawsuits resulting from the scandal.

The first trial was considered an important test that could determine whether prosecutors would go forward with cases against more officers. So far, only one other officer has been charged and is awaiting trial. The partial convictions were a victory for District Attorney Gil Garcetti, who lost his re-election bid one day before the case went to the jury. He had been criticized for pursuing a case that appeared thin, and he was still stinging from losing the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

"The issues in this case go to the very heart of the criminal justice system," Garcetti said. "We must be able to depend on the honesty of all police officers." Prosecutors had pressed forward with the trial despite losing their star witness: Rafael Perez, a disgraced former cop whose allegations started the scandal last fall. Perez turned informant in exchange for leniency after he was caught stealing $1 million worth of cocaine from a police evidence room. He was expected to be the top prosecution witness until he demanded immunity from murder allegations now recanted made by an ex-lover. The jury was already deliberating when Sonya Flores said she made up the story about bodies buried in Tijuana, Mexico, because Perez had spurned her.

Without Perez, prosecutors were forced to rely on gang members with credibility problems and police officers who said they knew little if anything about the charges. The four men were accused of wrongdoing in three cases between 1996 and 1998. In one incident, an officer was accused of planting a gun on a gang member. In another, an officer allegedly rubbed a gun on a suspect's hand to get his fingerprints and frame him. Liddy and Buchanan were accused of fabricating a story about gang members trying to run them down with a truck.

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$29458. LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON MARSH LANDING KNIT TOPS, TURTLENECKS MOCItNECKS FOR MISSES PETITES Reg. 14.99 each. LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON mm mm ENTIRE STOCK YOUNG MEN'S BOYS' 8-20 PLUGG CARGO PANTS SALE 17.99-18.99, reg. LADIES' DRESS a CASUAL SHOES LIFE STRIDE 'UNLISTED AMANDA SMITH 'MORE Orig.

MEN'S DESIGNER DRESS SHIRTS 'TWILL 'CHAMBRAY SALE 18.99, orig. 39.50. MEN'S SAVANE DEEP-DYE PANTS TWILL 'GABARDINE Reg. dToio 35 LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON QSlIS ejifBSD ana KRUPS OR BRAUN 10-CUP COFFEEMAKERS SAVE reg. Both feature swing-out filter basket and water level indicator.

CLASSIC WHITE DOWN COMFORTERS SAVE orig. 159.99-199.99. In 29-oz. king, 25-oz. fullqueen or 18-oz.

twin sizes. 250-THREAD COTTON SHEET SETS SAVE $25; reg. 59.99. No-iron cotton 4-pc. sets include fitted sheet, flat sheet and 2 pillowcases.

EMBASSY COTTON TOWELS Reg. 6.99 each. Also, hand towels, reg. 5.99 each, SALE 37.99. Washcloths, reg.

3.99 each, SALE 36.99. LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON LOWEST PRICE OF THE SEASON fflt mm GEORGE FOREMAN INDOOR GRILL SAVE $10; reg. 29.99. Compact indoor grill with non-stick grilling surface and drip tray. MAGNUM 8-PC.

OR MASTER CHEF 7-PC. SET SAVE $42; reg. 79.99. Select from the Magnum 8-pc. non-stick set or the Master Chef stainless steel 7-pc.

cookware set. JUST $30 PER MONTH UNIVERSAL CHAD WICK QUEEN BED WITH RAILS SAVE $750; reg. $1250. Rice carved bed with rails features 18th Century American styling. JUST $70 PER MONTH ALEXVALE FLAIR 2-PC.

SET PLUS FREE WING CHAIR a OTTOMAN SAVE $1370; reg. $2670. Sofa, love seat plus free wing chair, ottoman. In latte, cinnabar, leaf or champange. 0 PSiMMCI CHARGE.

NO PAYMENT 'Til MmG ON 50 PURCHASES STOREW Time Option Purchase available exclusively on your Famous-Barr charge account. Subject to usual credit approval and state and local taxes. Deferred Billing available on your Famous-Barr charge for minimum purchases of $50 or more storewide; $299 or more in Fine Jewelry with no finance charge during Deferred period. See sales associate for details. Certain items excluded.

Offer may end at any time. A.P.R. 21.6, 50 cent minimum finance charge. Intermediate markdowns may have been taken on some items. Percentage savings indicated have been taken from original prices.

Extra savings applied to reduced prices. Regular and original prices are offering prices only and may or may not have resulted in sales. Advertised merchandise may be available at sale prices in upcoming sale events. Biggest Sale of the Year ends November 18. IF A MA S'BAMR COLLECTIBLE GUND WISH BEAR JUST 15.99 WITH yJ ANY $35 PURCHASE CHARGE IT WITH FAMOUS-BARR WE ALSO WELCOME VISA MASTERCARD AND DISCOVER 1 I I I I i Iff THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD.