William J. Lynn Convicted Of Catholic Church Child Sex Abuse Ring Cover Up! Another Pennsylvania Pedophile!

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Cardinal’s Aide Is Found Guilty in Abuse Case

Msgr. William J. Lynn, a former cardinal’s aide, was found Guilty Friday of Endangering Children, becoming the first senior official of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States convicted of covering up sexual abuses by priests under his supervision.

The 12-member jury acquitted Monsignor Lynn, of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, of conspiracy and a second count of endangerment after a trial that prosecutors and victims rights groups called a turning point in the abuse scandals that have shaken the Catholic Church.

The single Guilty verdict was widely seen as a victory for the district attorney’s office, which has been investigating the archdiocese aggressively since 2002, and it was hailed by victim advocates who have argued for years that senior church officials should be held accountable for concealing evidence and transferring predatory priests to unwary parishes.

Monsignor Lynn, 61, sat impassively as the jury foreman announced the verdicts, but relatives behind him were in tears. Judge M. Teresa Sarmina of the Common Pleas Court revoked his bail, and the monsignor stood up, removed his clerical jacket and was led by sheriff’s deputies to a holding cell area. His conviction, on the 13th day of deliberations, could result in a prison term of three-and-a-half to seven years; sentencing is set for Aug. 13.

The trial sent a sobering message to church officials and others overseeing children around the country. “I think that bishops and chancery officials understand that they will no longer get a pass on these types of crimes,” said Nicholas P. Cafardi, a professor of law at Duquesne University, a canon lawyer and frequent church adviser. “Priests who sexually abuse youngsters and the chancery officials who enabled it can expect criminal prosecution.”

The three-month trial cast a harsh light on the top leadership of the archdiocese, especially Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, whom Monsignor Lynn advised. Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1988 to 2003, he died in January, but his name was invoked frequently during the testimony. Monsignor Lynn’s own lawyer told the jury that “in this trial, you have seen the dark side of the church.”

The revelations of sexual abuse and seeming official indifference have tormented an archdiocese that was long known for imperious leaders and an insular camaraderie among its priests. It has also been costly: the financially ailing archdiocese said recently that legal fees and internal investigations spurred by the abuse cases had cost $11.6 million since early 2011.

Cardinal Bevilacqua and his aides, the prosecutors argued, sought to avoid scandal and costly lawsuits at almost any price, putting the reputation of the archdiocese ahead of protecting vulnerable children.

The archdiocese issued a conciliatory statement on Friday, saying that “the lessons of the last year have made our church a more vigilant guardian of our people’s safety,” and offering a “heartfelt apology to all victims of clerical abuse.”

Monsignor Lynn served as secretary for clergy for the 1.5 million-member archdiocese from 1992 to 2004, recommending priest assignments and investigating abuse complaints. Prosecutors presented a flood of evidence that Monsignor Lynn had not acted strongly to keep suspected molesters away from children, let alone to report them to law enforcement.

But the length of the jurors’ deliberations and the mixed verdict showed the difficulty of placing criminal blame on one church official. The jurors also wrestled with the definition of conspiracy, and with the question of criminal intent on the part of Monsignor Lynn, who presented himself as an affable man who tried his best. Nevertheless, the Philadelphia district attorney, R. Seth Williams, said Friday that the verdict had sent a lesson to the nation. “This monumental case will change the way business is done in many institutions,” he said.

Monsignor Lynn’s lawyers are expected to appeal.

Victims advocates said that they hoped the conviction would embolden prosecutors in other states to investigate senior church officials, and predicted that it would lead to more victim lawsuits.

“The guilty verdict sends a strong and clear message that shielding and enabling predator priests is a heinous crime that threatens families, communities and children, and must be punished as such,” said Barbara Dorris, of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

But such proceedings may often be limited, legal experts said, by statutes of limitations.

The prosecutors in this case faced just such a hurdle. A second priest, the Rev. James J. Brennan, 49, was tried with Monsignor Lynn, charged with attempted rape and endangerment of a youth, but the defense challenged the accuser’s credibility.

To convict, the jury had to find that Father Brennan had not only abused that boy but continued to put children at risk over subsequent years of ministry. The prosecutors were unable to find later victims. The jury said it was deadlocked on the two counts against Father Brennan, and Judge Sarmina declared a mistrial on those charges.

Monsignor Lynn’s defense hinged on his claim that he had tried to curb abuses, but that only the cardinal had the authority to remove priests. One crucial piece of evidence was a list drawn up in 1994 by Monsignor Lynn of some three dozen active priests who had been credibly accused of sex abuses. Before the trial began, a lawyer for the archdiocese turned over to the court a frayed folder including a copy of the list, saying it had been found in a locked safe.

Prosecutors called it a smoking gun. One of those named in 1994 as “guilty of sexual misconduct with minors” was the former Rev. Edward V. Avery, whose continued tenure in ministry was at the heart of Monsignor Lynn’s trial. Mr. Avery, now 69, spent six months in a church psychiatric center in 1993 after an abuse episode, and doctors said he should be kept away from children. But Monsignor Lynn allowed him to live in a parish rectory.

In 1999, Mr. Avery undressed with a 10-year-old altar boy, told him that God loved him and had him engage in oral sex. Mr. Avery pleaded guilty to the assault just before the trial began and was sentenced to prison.

In 2002, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a national “zero-tolerance” policy, pledging to remove any priest facing credible accusations. But serious lapses have occurred, including in Philadelphia, where a grand jury in 2011 asserted that as many as 37 priests with past accusations remained active in ministry.

Last summer Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, then the head of the Denver Archdiocese, took over in Philadelphia, and in May he announced the removal of five priests named in the grand jury report. Three others were cleared and investigations continue into other cases.

The bishop of the diocese in Kansas City, Mo., Robert W. Finn, is awaiting trial on misdemeanor charges of violating the state’s mandatory reporting requirement by allegedly waiting six months to tell the police that a priest had taken lewd photographs of girls.


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Sources: CNN, MSNBC, NY Times, Google Maps

Caylee Anthony's Death Exploited For Florida Tourism Dollars? Yes!!

Little Caylee Anthony Is Dead! Can We All Agree On That Fact?

She Was Murdered By Her Young, Very Selfish, Biological Mother Who Obviously Did NOT Want To Be A Parent Anymore Because Caring For Caylee Apparently Interfered With Her Busy, Partying Lifestyle.

I Repeat Caylee Anthony Is Dead! Murdered By Her Biological Mother!

NOT Intentionally Murdered But Murdered Nonetheless.

So Can Anyone Please Explain To Me Why Little Caylee's Death Is Being Exploited By The State Of Florida For Tourism Dollars??

While Its True Caylee's Mother, Casey Anthony (Premeditated, Cold-Blooded Child Murderer) Is Legally Entitled To A Fair Trial & The Right To Defend Herself, I Still Cannot Understand Why The State Of Florida Appears To Be Using This Trial To Attract Tourists & Bring In More Revenue.

I'm NOT Speaking Up Of Excessive Media Coverage, Although That Too Is Unfair Because If Caylee & Casey Were BLACK Such Media Coverage Would NEVER Have Occurred.

Instead I'm Speaking Of Regular Tourists Or People Visiting Florida Just For The Sake Of Hoping To Sit In On Casey Anthony's Trial, As If She Were Some Kind Of Celebrity Versus Being A Premeditated, Cold-Blooded Child Murderer!

Instead I'm Speaking Of Nosy Florida Residents Lining Up Outside Of The Courthouse Each Day This Trial Takes Place, Waiting & Hoping To Catch A Glimpse Of Casey Anthony: Premeditated, Cold-Blooded, Child Murderer As If She Were Paris Hilton!

Casey & Her Parents Are Probably Hoping To Use Her Trial To Snag A Movie Or Book Deal To Help Pay For Legal Fees And....

To Hopefully Later On Have Casey's Trial Or Guilty Verdict Thrown Out On A Legal Technicality.

Considering Casey's Unstable, Troubling Behavior I Will NEVER Understand Why Little Caylee's Grandparents Didn't Fight For Legal Custody Of Caylee.

Perhaps Neither Of Caylee's Grandparents Wanted The Responsibility Of Raising Caylee Just As Casey Did NOT.

Attention Mainstream Media & People Everywhere:

Casey Anthony Is NOT A Celebrity!

Casey Anthony Is NOT Mentally Ill!

Casey Anthony Is NOT Crazy!

Casey Anthony Is NOT Physically Sick!

Casey Anthony Was NOT Sexually Abused By Her Father or Brother!

Casey Anthony Is NOT A Victim At All!!

The Real Victim Is Little Caylee, Now Living In Heaven With God Because Her Mother Casey, Killed Her Via An Over-the-Counter Medicine & Chlorofoam Overdose So That She Could Go Out Partying One Night Or To Visit A Boyfriend.

Wait A Minute!!!

Has Anyone Forgotten Casey's Trial Is Being TOTALLY Funded With Taxpayer Dollars???

Isn't Florida Governor Rick Scott A Republican?

Aren't Republicans Constantly Whining About Waste, Fraud & Cutting Spending?

Okay So Than Why Is Gov. Rick Scott Allowing The Use Of Taxpayer Dollars To Be Used To Exploit A Dead Child?

A Child Whose Death Is Explicitly Being Used To Help Bring In More Summer Tourism Revenue Into The State Of Florida.

The Thought Of This Practice Is Sickening!!

I Say Casey's Trial Has Gone On Long Enough!

Its Time To Wrap Up This Fiasco.

Time To STOP Treating Casey Anthony (Premeditated, Cold-Blooded Child Murderer) Like A Celebrity Because She Isn't!

Either Throw This Chick In Jail For LIFE Or Sentence Her To Death!

R.I.P. Little Caylee.






Casey Anthony Case: a morbid sensation


Hours before sunrise, they line up on the sidewalk in front of the Orange County Courthouse by the dozens — an interior decorator from Savannah, a true-crime blogger from Illinois, a former Miami International Airport air traffic controller — all hoping for a chance to witness the blockbuster murder trial of Casey Anthony.

Armed with coffee and energy drinks, novels and crosswords puzzles, they sit or sprawl on the sidewalk waiting for 5:30 a.m. when the all-out — and much-videoed — sprint often begins to secure seats in the courtroom to watch a slice of the trial that has both fascinated and repelled the American public.

Often, the first person in line is Brian Maher, identifiable on Internet videos of the Black Friday-like stampede for seats as the guy wearing the distinctive neck brace. He arrives about 3 a.m. each day to vie for a seat, beating out the latecomers who show up at 5 a.m. or so. On Wednesday, the group waiting for tickets to claim about 50 seats available for the public in the courtroom on the 23rd floor included students and tourists, professionals who took a day off from work, along with two journalists from Tokyo there to take in the global saga.

It’s a surreal scene, a voyeuristic tableau, that has repeated daily during the trial of the 25-year-old Orlando mother charged with the murder of her 2-year-old daughter.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I have followed this case for three years, I am fascinated with her life and all the stories she has told,’’ says Tiffany Chaffin, 24, who along with an aunt and cousin traveled 150 miles from Lake City to score seats during the third week of the trial. They arrived in Orlando at 1 a.m. Wednesday, heading to the courthouse two hours later to snag positions 8, 9 and 10 in the line, guaranteeing courtroom seats.

“The whole world is watching this,’’ Chaffin marveled.

The story of Casey Marie Anthony, and her daughter, Caylee Marie, has evolved into a breathless soap opera with tabloid twists and turns, characters brought to life by lies, a phantom nanny accused of kidnapping the child, incest claims, the specter of a death sentence — and a rapt American audience that can’t seem to get enough of the spectacle playing out in Orlando, land of The Mouse.

Further stoking the interest: a blank-faced Anthony herself, who has displayed little emotion during the trial except when graphic details about her child’s remains emerged. She’s charged with first-degree murder, accused of suffocating her daughter with duct tape three summers ago, then storing the body in her car trunk. Her defense team contends the little girl drowned in the family pool.

As the trial enters its fourth week, the madness — delivered by a mass of media covering the trial live — shows no signs of abating. Along with the hundreds who are sufficiently curious to line up at the courthouse each day as early as midnight, millions more have tuned in by television, radio, newspapers, live streaming, blogs and internet chats, willingly held hostage by the coverage. In Orlando, more people watched the trial on three local stations combined than watched one of the Miami Heat/Dallas Mavericks NBA playoff games during prime time last week.

On Friday morning, as nearly 200 people lined up for entry tickets, police had to break up an early-morning scuffle and one woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance when she fell and the crowd of seat-seekers raced past and over her.

The public obsession echoes big cases from the past — OJ Simpson’s murder case, perhaps, or the trial of Michael Jackson. Yet even without the celebrity factor, the Casey Anthony case has captured the collective psyche, driven as much by contemporary social media as the monstrous details of an accused child killer.

“Once you start to take in the details, then you understand why people can’t look away. You have the horrible death of an adorable little girl, and by nature we are fascinated with human horrors. You have a young and pretty mother and the idea that she would, could kill her child to be free of her — which, in itself, is mystifying,’’ says Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. “You have imaginary friends and the double life and you have the whole month that the child was ‘missing’ and Casey seems all along to be doing fine. When you stack that amount of weirdness up, along with the ease of getting public information in Florida, and you have a story that takes on a life of its own.’’

Leonard and Renae Freeman arrived in Orlando Monday for a weeklong celebration of their 14th anniversary. But by the next morning, they were standing in front of the courthouse shooting pictures and trying to figure out a way to get into the trial.

“We watch it on television every day and have followed it since we saw the picture of that gorgeous little girl. You saw her face and you cared about her,’’ says Leonard Freeman, a maintenance worker in Tampa. “And then you keep asking yourself, how can someone kill her? Maybe it was an accident but then you have to ask yourself how can someone lie the way Casey Anthony does. It’s hard to let the case go.’’

The couple even ventured 10 miles outside of downtown to see the Anthony family house on Hopesprings Drive, a pale pink home with three signs near the door that read: “Love,” “Faith” and “Hope.” After lunch Tuesday, their persistence paid off. The two got passes for the seats of people who hadn’t returned for the afternoon court session. Testimony at that point focused on an odor from Anthony’s car trunk and the cadaver dogs.

“I wanted to see her personally. I wanted to see her face,’’ says Renae Freeman.

Caylee’s skeletal remains were discovered less than a mile from the family’s east Orange County home two weeks before Christmas. By then, the story was on the national radar: The little girl’s face had been on the cover of People twice and HLN television personality Nancy Grace was hosting a regular show on the latest slivers of news and analysis in the case, even nicknaming Anthony, “Tot mom.” When the trial started May 24, Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera and Grace were in the courtroom. About 700 journalists have been credentialed for the trial, including broadcasters for Fuji TV in Japan and a station in France.

A barren downtown lot across the from the courthouse dubbed Casey Town is where news organizations have parked satellite trucks and pitched tented studios, forming a temporary media village cordoned off from the public. The HLN and Turner networks’ two-story compound even has three large windows with views of the courthouse — that’s where Grace’s show airs live. On the back side of the court complex, one television station is broadcasting from the balcony of the Travelodge hotel.

“We planned as if this were a Category 5 hurricane,’’ says court spokeswoman Karen Levey, who researched the high-profile trials of Kobe Bryant and Scott Peterson to help with logistics. “But what we were most surprised by was the public’s engagement. With the amount of social media and live streaming, we assumed that people would stay home to watch, but they want to be here in the courtroom. We have a regular stream of people calling who are planning to come to a theme park and want to get in the trial and others who want to come in for the trial and throw in a day at the theme park.’’

Miami-based NBC correspondent Kerry Sanders has been covering the story for the Today show from the beginning.

“I have been covering grisly crimes in Florida courts for 30 years, from outlaw motorcyclists to pedophile murderers, and this one is seemingly more horrible because it’s incomprehensible that a 22-year-old mother could have murdered her 2-year-old so she can go out and party, as the prosecution contends. It’s hard to grasp that kind of narcissism,’’ says Sanders. “People are captivated by this. Not just people from Orlando or Florida, but across the United States and the world, especially because of social media. Twitter is ablaze with the Casey Anthony trial.”

Casey and Caylee Anthony’s tragic story became public three years ago with a panicked 9-1-1-call from the girl’s grandmother, Cindy Anthony, on July 15 after Casey admitted to her mother the child had been missing for 31 days. Anthony would later tell police that she dropped her daughter off with a nanny and when she returned, they were both gone.

From the beginning, as investigators searched for Caylee, the case and those associated with it — the Anthony family members, the bounty hunter, the meter reader and the babysitter — attracted national attention, led by Grace who kept the case in the public consciousness for the next two years.

“The trial plays out like a classic Greek tragedy with the love and hate dynamics between the grandmother, mother and daughter,” Grace told TVNewser. “In this particular case, you have a physically attractive defendant, articulate, and with great potential, the world at her feet, and now we see her charged with murder of her young daughter.”

Grace’s show attracted 1.1 million viewers in total during its first week of trial coverage.

“Early on, Nancy showed an interest in this case. It just had so much mystery and so many human elements — how a young mother raises her child, how grandparents participate in her life, what happens when they don’t like [the daughter’s] behavior,’’ said Scot Safon, HLN executive vice president and general manager. “On one level, this is about a dysfunctional family but on another you are looking at people who are relatable. And for Nancy Grace, especially since she has become a mother, one of her core focuses has been families and communities meeting their obligation to children and when they fail children.’’

For Brian Maher, otherwise known as “neck brace guy” in the world of the web, the daily trips to the courthouse were about something else: wiling away the time. Vertebrae surgery in April left him out of work as a truck driver five to six months. A bit of boredom and the hype of the case lured him to the courthouse, but it was a video clip of him sprinting for a seat with his neck brace on that brought him his own moment of dubious celebrity.

“I was just trying to kill the time while I deal with my injury but it really is an interesting case,’’ says Maher, who has gotten a seat at least seven times. “If I am not fishing, I am here.”


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Sources: CNN, Miami Herald.com, Google Maps

Black Children Endangered Species? Eugenics; Too Many Black Abortions

Atlanta Billboards Link Race, Abortion


The message on dozens of billboards across the city is provocative: Black children are an "endangered species."

The eyebrow-raising ads featuring a young black child are an effort by the anti-abortion movement to use race to rally support within the black community. The reaction from black leaders has been mixed, but the "Too Many Aborted" campaign, which so far is unique to only Georgia, is drawing support from other anti-abortion groups across the country.

"It's ingenious," said the Rev. Johnny Hunter, National Director of the Life Education and Resource Network, a North Carolina-based Anti-abortion group aimed at African-Americans that operates in 27 states. "This campaign is in your face, and nobody can ignore it."

The billboards went up last week in Atlanta and urge Black Women to "get outraged."

The effort is sponsored by Georgia Right to Life, which also is pushing legislation that aims to ban abortions based on race.

Black women accounted for the majority of Abortions in Georgia in 2006, even though blacks make up just a third of state population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nationally, black women were more than three times as likely to get an abortion in 2006 compared with white women, according to the CDC.

"I think it's necessary," Cheryl Sullenger, senior policy adviser for Operation Rescue, said of the billboard campaign. "Abortion in the black community is at epidemic proportions. They're not really aware of what's actually going on. If it shocks people ... it should be shocking."

Anti-abortion advocates say the procedure has always been linked to race. They claim Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger wanted to eradicate Minorities by putting birth control clinics in their neighborhoods, a charge Planned Parenthood denies.

"The language in the billboard is using messages of fear and shame to target women of color," said Leola Reis, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Georgia. "If we want to reduce the number of abortions and unintended pregnancies, we need to work as a community to make sure we get quality affordable health care services to as many women and men as possible."

In 2008, Issues4Life, a California-based group working to end abortion in the black community, lobbied Congress to stop funding Planned Parenthood, calling black abortions "the Darfur of America."

Pro-Life Action League Executive Director Eric Scheidler said a race-based strategy for Anti-Abortion activists has gotten a fresh zeal, especially in the wake of the historic election of the country's first black president, Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights.

"He's really out of step with the rest of Black America," Scheidler said. "That might be part of what may be shifting here and why a campaign like this is appropriate, to kind of wake up that disconnect."

Abortion rights advocates are disturbed. Spelman College professor Beverly Guy-Sheftall called the strategy a gimmick.

"To use racist arguments to try to bait black people to get them to be anti-abortion is just disgusting," said Guy-Sheftall, who teaches women's history and feminist thought at the historically black women's college.

"These one-issue approaches that are not about saving the black family or black children, it's just a big distraction," she said. "Many black people don't know who Margaret Sanger is and could care less."


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Sources: Fox News, Operation Rescue, Life Education and Resource Network, Toomanyaborted.com, Creepygif.com, Youtube, Google Maps

Falcon Heene's Lying Parents Being Criminally Charged...911 Hoax Call Released

(During an interview for CNN Little Falcon Heene blurts out "We did this for the show!")



(Sheriff: Charges will be filed in balloon case. Larimer County, Colo., Sheriff Jim Alderden speaks about the case.)

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(911 call released in balloon case. Mayumi Heene reports that her 6-year-old son had floated off in an inflatable balloon. NBC's Jay Gray reports.)

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Sheriff: Charges to be filed in balloon saga


A sheriff said Saturday that his office will file criminal charges in the case of a 6-year-old boy who vanished into the rafters of his garage while the world thought he was zooming through the sky in a flying saucer-like helium balloon.

After the boy's parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met with sheriff's officials for much of the afternoon, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden didn't say who would be charged or what the charges would be, but he did say the parents spoke to investigators voluntarily and weren't under arrest.

Alderden previously said that if the balloon ordeal was a hoax, the parents could be charged with making a false report to authorities, a low-level misdemeanor.

"We were looking at Class 3 misdemeanor, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances," Alderden said Saturday. "We are talking to the district attorney, federal officials to see if perhaps there aren't additional federal charges that are appropriate in this circumstance."

He said deputies were seeking a search warrant for the family's home, and there would be more information at a news conference Sunday.

After the sheriff went inside, Richard Heene and his wife walked out. As reporters yelled questions, all Heene said was, "I was talking to the sheriff's department just now." He then walked to his car with his wife and a friend, and they drove away.

Big announcement

The strange day began with Richard Heene knocking on the windows of journalists camped outside his home and promising a "big announcement." A few hours later, he did an about-face when he told reporters that they should leave questions in a cardboard box on the front doorstep.

As Heene walked away, a reporter shouted, "Can you tell us once and for all if this is a hoax?"

"Absolutely no hoax. I want your questions in the box," Heene said, waving a cardboard container before going back into his home.

A circus-like atmosphere formed outside, including men holding signs and occasionally yelling "balloon boy." One sign read, "Put balloon boy on TV: America's Most Wanted."

Other gawkers carried aluminum-foil stovetop popcorn makers that resembled the silvery balloon launched from the family's backyard Thursday, with Falcon believed to be onboard.

While Richard and Mayumi Heene were at the sheriff's office, the couple's three sons remained home, apparently being watched by sheriff's officials. Authorities wouldn't comment on what was happening.

Interview raises suspicion

Alderden had said that he wanted to re-interview the family after Falcon told CNN that "you said we did this for a show" when asked why he didn't come out of his hiding place. Then Falcon got sick during two separate TV interviews when asked why he hid.

The balloon was supposed to be tethered to the ground when it lifted off, and no one was supposed to be aboard. A video of the launch shows the family counting down in unison, "3, 2, 1," before Richard Heene pulls a cord, setting the balloon into the air.

"Whoa!" one of the boys exclaims. Then his father says in disbelief, "Oh, my God!" He then says to someone, "You didn't put the (expletive) tether down!" and he kicks the wood frame that had held the balloon.

Falcon's brother said he saw him inside the compartment before it took off and that's why they thought he was in there when it launched. Heene said he had yelled at Falcon before the launch for getting inside.

Alderden said earlier that he thinks it's likely that Falcon ran off because he was scared of getting in trouble, later falling asleep in his hiding spot. He said he doubted that such a hyperactive boy could be ordered to stay quiet for the five hours he was missing.

On 'Wife Swap"

Over the years, Richard Heene has worked as a storm chaser, a handyman and contractor, and an aspiring reality-TV star.

He and his family appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," and the show's producer said it had a show in development with the Heenes but the deal is now off. TLC also said Heene had pitched a reality show to the network months ago, but it passed on the offer.

Despite his attempts to get on TV, Heene insisted Saturday that he didn't know what kinds of questions were being asked about him because he didn't have cable.

"I'm going to place the box out front. Please write your questions down, because friends are telling me they're saying this and that. I have no idea what the news is saying," Heene said.



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Sources: MSNBC, CNN, NY Daily News, Google Maps

"Balloon Boy's" Lift Off Video...Publicity Stunt

(Just-released home video from the Heene family shows the homemade helium balloon believed to be carrying 6-year-old Falcon lifting off yesterday from the family’s Colorado home.)

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(Discovery of missing boy raises many questions.)

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Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps

Falcon Heene's Publicity Stunt...15 More Minutes Of Fame For Richard Heene

(Was it a stunt? Balloon boy’s family speak out. Falcon Heene, 6, was found in his family’s attic hours after the world watched a homemade balloon, believed to be carrying the boy, crash to the ground. Was the entire saga a hoax? In a TODAY exclusive, the Henne family talks with TODAY’s Meredith Vieira.)

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(Dad: "He scared the heck out of us". Oct. 15: The father of 6-year-old Falcon Heene talks about the family's frightening afternoon. Msnbc's David Shuster reports.)

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(Sheree Silver, who lived in the Heene household while appearing with them on the reality tv show "Wife Swap", speaks out on Falcon's flying trip which didn't happen.)

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Feared lost in balloon, boy found at home

A 6-year-old boy was found hiding at home Thursday, hours after the runaway flight of his family's experimental balloon riveted the nation and led to a frantic search by authorities who feared the child was aboard the craft.

More than two hours after the balloon gently touched down in a field with no sign of the boy, Sheriff Jim Alderden turned to reporters during a news conference, gave a thumbs up and said 6-year-old Falcon Heene was "at the house."

"Apparently the boy’s been there the whole time. He’s been hiding in a cardboard box in the attic above the garage," Alderden said.

"I don't want to conjecture but this is not first time we are searching for a kid and once he realizes everyone is looking for him he hides because he's afraid of getting in trouble."

One of boy's older brothers had initially told authorities he saw his brother climb into a box compartment attached to the bottom of the balloon before it became untethered and took off.

"He was very adamant. That was his consistent story," the sheriff said.

The family, which appeared twice on a reality television show about households that swap wives, spoke to reporters outside their home after being reunited with Falcon.

Scolded, then missing

The boy's father, Richard Heene, said the family was tinkering with the balloon Thursday morning and that he scolded Falcon for getting inside a compartment on the craft. He said Falcon's brother had seen him inside the compartment before it took off and that's why they thought he was in there when it launched.

But the boy fled to the attic at some point after the scolding and was never in the balloon during its 50-mile journey through two counties. "I yelled at him. I'm really sorry I yelled at him," Heene said as he hugged his son during a news conference.

"I was in the attic and he scared me because he yelled at me," Falcon said. "That's why I went in the attic."

During his time in hiding, Falcon said he played with his toys and took a nap. He said he finally got up because he was bored.

Richard Heene adamantly denied the notion that the whole thing was a big publicity stunt. "That's horrible after the crap we just went through. No."

During a live interview with CNN, Falcon said he had heard his family calling his name.

"You did?" Mayumi Heene said.

"Why didn't you come out?" Richard Heene said.

Falcon answered, "You had said that we did this for a show."

Later, Richard Heene bristled when the family was asked to clarify and said he didn't know what his son meant. He didn't ask his son what he meant by "a show."

The sheriff said he would meet with investigators on Friday to see if the case warranted further investigation.

"As this point there's no indication that this was a hoax," Alderden said.

The discovery of the boy marked a bizarre end to a saga that started when the giant silvery balloon floated away from the family's yard Thursday, sparking a frantic rescue operation that involved military helicopters and briefly shut down Denver International Airport.

The balloon's two-hour flight played out live on television, captivating viewers across the country. The balloon rotated slowly in the wind, tipping precariously at times, during its journey before coming down in a dirt field in neighboring Weld County, roughly 50 miles away from where it took off.

Deputies rushed to the scene and corralled and deflated the balloon but found no sign of the boy. There were fears the box compartment had separated from the main apparatus during its flight. Several people reported seeing something fall from the craft while it was in the air.

With Falcon nowhere in sight, investigators frantically searched the ground along the balloon's path.

Flying saucer?

The boy's family had been building a helium-balloon craft that was kept tethered in the backyard of their home. The craft, which resembled a silver flying saucer, was approximately 20 feet across by 5 feet high.

On Thursday morning, Falcon was playing outside with one of his two older brothers when the older boy said he saw the younger one go into a box at the bottom of the balloon, said Cathy Davis of the sheriff's department.

Kevin Kuretich, of the Colorado Division of Emergency Management, said the craft had some kind of electric power unit which was run by double-C batteries. He said the balloon did seem to be big enough to carry a 6-year-old.

The craft somehow became loose and the balloon took off. It was airborne for more than two hours and glided through two counties.

"This balloon was never meant to actually carry anybody. It was just a family project they were working on," a Fort Collins police spokesperson told reporters.

Richard Heene said the balloon apparently "wasn't tethered properly" but it was unclear if the release was accidental.

Big round balloonish thing

Several people in the neighborhood saw the aircraft floating over their homes, and some snapped pictures.

Bob Licko, 65, said he was leaving home when he heard commotion in the backyard. He said he saw two boys on the roof with a camera, commenting about their brother.

"One of the boys yelled to me that his brother was way up in the air," Licko said.

He said the boy's mother seemed distraught and that the boy's father was running around the house.

Licko said he didn't believe any hoax was involved.

"Based on what I witnessed in the backyard in the morning with the parents, I don't think that's the case," Licko said. "They're better actors than I thought they were if that's the case."

"We were sitting eating, out looking where they normally shoot off hot air balloons," said another neighbor, Lisa Eklund. "My husband said he saw something. It went over our rooftop. Then we saw the big round balloonish thing, it was spinning."

Rescue plan

Television news helicopters also tracked the craft as it drifted several thousand feet above ground, hitting estimated speeds of about 30 mph. The precarious flight was beamed live to viewers across the nation.

Officials scrambled to figure out how to safely bring down the craft, believing it was carrying the boy.

While the balloon was airborne, Colorado Army National Guard sent a UH-58 Kiowa helicopter and a Black Hawk UH-60 to try to rescue the boy, possibly by lowering someone to the balloon. They also were working with pilots of ultralight aircraft on the possibility of putting weights on the homemade craft to weigh it down.

Alderden said he didn't have an estimate of how much the search cost. Capt. Troy Brown said the Black Hawk helicopter was in the air for nearly three hours, and the Kiowa helicopter was airborne for about one hour. The Black Hawk costs about $4,600 an hour to fly, and the Kiowa is $700 an hour, Brown said.

Col. Chris Petty, one of the pilots aboard the Black Hawk, said he was thrilled the boy was OK.

Asked what he would say to the 6-year-old if he saw him, Petty said: "I'm really glad you're alive, I'm very thankful, but I'd sure like to know the rest of the story."

The episode led to a brief shutdown of northbound departures from Denver International Airport, one of the nation's busiest, said a controller at the Federal Aviation Administration's radar center in Longmont, Colo. The balloon was about 15 miles northwest of the airport at that time.

The craft floated for about two hours before coming down on its own in a field in Weld County, northeast of Denver International Airport, more than 40 miles away.

Storm chaser

The boy's father, Richard Heene, is an amateur scientist, according to a 2007 Denver Post article on weather chasers. He joined another man, Scott Stevens, to form a Fort Collins-based weather-research team they called The Psyience Detectives.

In the newspaper article, Heene described becoming a storm chaser after a tornado ripped off a roof where he was working as a contractor and said he once flew a plane around Hurricane Wilma's perimeter in 2005.

Pursuing bad weather was a family activity with the children coming along as the father sought evidence to prove his theory that rotating storms create their own magnetic fields.

Although Richard said he has no specialized training, they had a computer tracking system in their car and a special motorcycle.

The Heene family also appeared twice in the ABC reality show “Wife Swap," most recently in February. On the show, they were portrayed as alien buffs who are obsessed with science.

"When the Heene family aren't chasing storms, they devote their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm," according to ABC's description of the episode.



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Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps

Social Service Official Pleads Guilty To Fatal Fraud

MSNBC, Phillyburbs.com----

Levittown - A Social-Services contractor admitted Wednesday that she helped forge documents and failed to supervise Case Workers, a lapse that prosecutors say contributed to the Starvation Death of a Philadelphia girl.

Manuelita Buenaflor, 65, of Philadelphia became the first official with MultiEthnic Behavioral Services to enter a Plea in the case, although two underlings have signed guilty pleas.

The city paid MultiEthnic a $1 million a year to visit At-Risk children like Danieal Kelly, a disabled girl who lived in a chaotic home with an unfit mother, and make sure they were receiving needed services.

MultiEthnic documents suggest they made the required visits with Danieal, a 14-year-old with Cerebral Palsy. But she had severe bed sores, weighed just 42 pounds and had long stopped going to school when her maggot-infested body was found in the squalid, stifling home in August 2006.

Buenaflor's lawyer said her client's crimes were unintentional and that she did not foresee the consequences.

"She thought a lot of the time that they were making (the visits) and just not doing the paperwork. Toward the end, she realized they were not making them," lawyer Gina Capuano said after the hearing.

Buenaflor, who has Doctoral degrees in Theology and Child development, pleaded guilty to two fraud counts and conspiracy. She has agreed to testify against her co-defendants _ including MultiEthnic co-founders Michal Kamuvaka, Solomon Manamela and Earle McNeill, all of Philadelphia _ who have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial in November.

"She's a Supervisor who has agreed to take responsibility for what went on at the company." Assistant U.S. Attorney Bea Witzleben said.

MultiEthnic was created in about 2001 to bid on a contract to take on the city's most complex Social-Services cases. Prosecutors have said the firm had frequent turnover and sometimes relied on student interns to make the visits and try to arrange services.

Case worker Christiana Nimpson became the first MultiEthnic worker to plead in the case on Tuesday, and another employee is set to plead next week.Kelly's mother, Andrea Kelly, is serving a 20- to 40-year state term for third-degree murder.

Her father, Daniel, is charged with Child Endangerment for allegedly Abandoning the girl.

Although prosecutors faulted the City's Department of Human Services for not properly monitoring MultiEthnic's contract, and two top commissioners were ousted after Danieal's death, no one in the agency was criminally charged.

Buenaflor faces several years in prison under federal guidelines. Her sentencing was set for Sept. 25.


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Sources: MSNBC, MultiEthnic Behavorial Services, Wikipedia, Google Maps