COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) – Former Ohio State University star quarterback Art Schlichter was charged on Monday with stealing $1 million from the widow of a former Wendy’s chairman and chief executive. Schlichter, 50, who has had a long history of career and legal troubles related to his gambling habits, voluntarily surrendered to the Franklin County prosecutor. He has offered to cooperate with a continuing investigation of investments, loans, or sale of 2011 Super Bowl tickets and Ohio State football tickets, prosecutors said. Franklin County prosecutors charged Schlichter with stealing $1 million from Anita L. Barney, 68, in a fraud scheme. Barney is the widow of Robert Barney, who helped lead the Wendy’s hamburger chain in its early decades. Because of Anita Barney’s age, the potential penalties are increased under Ohio law, prosecutors said. Schlichter, who has already served prison time for fraud and forgery convictions, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. After his surrender, Schlichter met with state and federal law enforcement officers for several hours in the office of Franklin County prosecuting attorney Ron O’Brien before being taken to Franklin County jail, the prosecutor’s statement said. Schlichter’s attorney, Sam Shamansky, described the meeting as “routine.” “I meet in the hope of starting to fashion a resolution of the case,” Shamansky said. “After the meeting today, I expect to have an ongoing negotiation. Reaching a resolution in the case involving Schlichter will also, by definition, help Anita Barney.” Shamansky would not provide details of the negotiation. O’Brien called upon any members of the public who believe they were a victim of a scheme involving Schlichter to contact O’Brien’s office. Schlichter was drafted by the Baltimore Colts (later the Indianapolis Colts) in 1982, where he was frequently in trouble due to gambling. He was picked up by the Buffalo Bills in 1986, but was cut before the season began. (Reporting by Jim Leckrone; Writing by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Jerry Norton) Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter , become a fan on Facebook

Continue reading " Former football star Schlichter charged with theft (Reuters) "

Stocks     Related Video Judge strikes down healthcare law 3:53pm EST President Barack Obama speaks before signing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington December 13, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque By Lisa Lambert and Jeremy Pelofsky WASHINGTON | Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:24pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A judge in Virginia on Monday declared a key part of President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law unconstitutional in the first major setback on an issue that will likely end up at the Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush in 2002, backed arguments by the state of Virginia that Congress exceeded its authority by requiring Americans to start buying health insurance in 2014 or face a fine. “This dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance — or crafting a scheme of universal health insurance coverage — it’s about an individual’s right to choose to participate,” Hudson wrote, adding the provision invites an “unbridled exercise of federal police powers.” But he declined to invalidate the entire healthcare law, a small victory for Obama, whose administration will appeal the decision. The law is a cornerstone of Obama’s presidency, aiming to expand health insurance to cover millions of uninsured Americans while trying to curb costs. Healthcare insurers, which include companies such as Aetna Inc and WellPoint Inc, largely opposed Obama’s reforms but say the individual mandate is critical so additional customers can offset greater industry costs. Health insurers’ stock prices initially rose on the ruling before later tapering off as investors saw more uncertainty as the case proceeds. The ruling signaled that changes to the bill rather than a full overhaul are more realistic. “Investors are taking this in stride knowing this is probably going to come down to the Supreme Court sooner or later,” said Morningstar analyst Matthew Coffina. “This really only adds to that uncertainty in terms of not really being sure if and when and how the legislation can be implemented.” Virginia’s lawyers argued that the federal government could not regulate someone for not buying a good or service under the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause and could not penalize them for failing to buy health insurance. SLIM CHANCE OF FULL REPEAL “This lawsuit is not about healthcare. It’s about liberty,” said Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. He said he had discussed with the Justice Department ways to accelerate the appeals process to try to minimize uncertainty in the states and in the industry. Representative Eric Cantor, set to become majority leader in the House of Representatives, called for sending the case immediately to the Supreme Court. He said he would push the House to pass a repeal of the law next year. However, chances of a repeal are slim because Democrats will still control the Senate. The White House said the law will ultimately be upheld by the legal system. It could take more than a year for the case to get to the Supreme Court. Officials said the administration will keep implementing the rest of the law while it works through the legal questions of the individual mandate. Virginia had requested an injunction to block implementation of the entire law, but the judge did not grant it. 1 2 Next

Continue reading " Judge rejects key part of Obama healthcare law "

LIMA, Peru – Her parole restored, political activist Lori Berenson slipped out a prison’s side door and back to freedom after serving three-quarters of a 20-year sentence for collaborating with leftist rebels in Peru. The 40 year-old New York woman’s legal troubles are not over, however, as Peru’s top anti-terrorism prosecutor is trying to revoke her parole. Berenson and her lawyer and husband, Anibal Apari, arrived by taxi at her apartment just after dark Monday. “I will not be making any statements at this time,” the bespectacled Berenson told reporters as she carried in a black backpack and a green shopping bag. The couple’s 18-month-old son, Salvador, awaited them at the apartment along with Berenson’s mother, Rhoda, who had spirited the child out of the prison several hours earlier. Apari told The Associated Press that Berenson planned to speak to news media but wanted to rest first. Berenson was initially paroled in May. But an appeals panel returned her to prison in August on a technicality. The judge who first freed Berenson reinstated her parole on Friday. The former Massachusetts Institute of Technology student must remain in Peru until her full sentence is served — unless President Alan Garcia decides to commute it. Garcia has indicated he will not consider a decision until all of the legal issues in the case have been resolved. The prosecutor, Julio Galindo, claims Berenson has not fully qualified for parole. He says her case could establish a precedent for others convicted of terrorism-related crimes and that they, too, could go free. “Our goal is to achieve the revocation” of Berenson’s parole, Galindo said Monday. “This is a very sensitive matter for the country.” He said an appeals court could decide in less than a month. Many of Berenson’s new neighbors protested vehemently the first time she was released but the neighborhood was peaceful Monday evening. Six riot police officers with shields took up positions at the entrance to her apartment building. Berenson was arrested in 1995 and accused of helping the leftist Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement plan an armed takeover of Congress. The takeover never happened, but prosecutors said that among other things, Berenson had helped the group to rent a safe house. A military court convicted her the following year and sentenced her to life in prison for sedition, but after intense U.S. government pressure for a civilian trial she was retried in 2001 and sentenced to 20 years for terrorist collaboration. Berenson was completely unrepentant at the time of her arrest but softened during years of sometimes harsh prison conditions, eventually being praised as a model prisoner. In May, she apologized to Peruvians in a letter for any hurt she may have caused. Yet she is viewed by many Peruvians as a symbol of the rebel violence that afflicted the nation two decades ago. Many people remain traumatized by the 1980-2000 conflict that claimed 80,000 lives. In that conflict, the fanatical Maoist Shining Path movement did most of the killing, while Tupac Amaru was a lesser player. Berenson denies ever belonging to Tupac Amaru or engaging in violent acts. In August, when she was returned to prison, Berenson said in an interview with three Lima-based journalists that her case had become a political football with presidential elections due in April. ___ Associated Press writer Franklin Briceno contributed to this report. Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter , become a fan on Facebook

Continue reading " American Lori Berenson freed from Peru prison (AP) "