DETROIT (AP) - You won't see this scene in one of those Viva Viagra commercials. Federal prosecutors say they've busted up a Viagra for food stamps scam. Authorities charge confidential informants in Detroit swapped food stamps for Viagra, painkillers, booze and porno. Federal prosecutors filed fraud charges this week against three people who worked at Jefferson's Liquor Palace in the Motor City. Authorities charge food stamp recipients also got cash as part of the scheme. The liquor store is now closed.
VEGAS LAP DANCES
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Oh, behave! Or get busted. That's what police
in Sin City want. Las Vegas police officials are urging Clark
County commissioners for tougher lap dance regs. Now, only club
owners can be cited if strippers misbehave. Police want to give
undercover officers the authority to cite the dancers themselves if
they start rubbing a customer illegally. Lt. Karen Hughes says
dancers sometimes try to arouse patrons before offering sex for
money. Hughes says dancers should be held responsible for their
actions.
CAPONE'S HIDEOUT
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) - It was good enough for Al Capone and it soon
can be all yours. The Chippewa Valley Bank has bought Capone's
Wisconsin hideout at a sheriff's sale. The bank paid $2.6 million
for the 400-plus acres and stone house. Bank officials say they
hope to quickly resell the property and have a number of interested
parties. Scarface, as Capone was known, must have felt secure in
his rural getaway. The stone walls are 18 inches thick to shed
bullets from tommy guns and two guard towers protect the place.
According to local legend, the Chicago mobster used a nearby lake
to receive shipments of bootleg booze that would arrive by
seaplane.
LONGEST CIGAR
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - It's one monster of a stogie. Cigar maker
Wally Reyes yesterday started rolling what he hopes is a smoke
nearly a block long. He wants to set a new Guinness World Record
with a 180-foot cigar. If all goes according to plan, Reyes will
finish rolling the cigar during the Cigar Heritage Festival Nov. 21
in Tampa, Fla. An official from Guinness will be there to certify
the record, if it's broken. Reyes is a prior cigar record holder.
But the current giant cigar mark was set in Havana, Cuba, last year
with a smoke of 148 feet.
SQUIRREL STATUE
KENT, Ohio (AP) - Kent State University is going nuts -- over
its unusual black squirrels. This week, the university unveiled a
30-inch tall statue to honor its favorite rodent. The Ohio campus
holds an annual "Black Squirrel Festival" as part of freshman
orientation. The black squirrels were first brought to campus in
the early 1960's. They were imported from Canada by the grounds
superintendent and a retired tree company executive.
DOG SEARCH
CLEVELAND (AP) - Maverick, the missing pooch, is back in his
Cleveland home. Kelly Durkota says she paid a $1,000 cash reward
for the return of the 5-year-old Maltese/Shih Tzu mix. And Durkota
is convinced the reward was critical in getting her pet back. She
tells The Plain Dealer newspaper that she doesn't think she's
"ever been this happy." No word, though, if her boyfriend is
going to help cover some of that reward. He was dog-sitting when
Maverick wandered away.
