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Enrico Ponzo was a member of the New England mob. More specifically, he was a member of La Costa Nostra, known for its involvement in organized crime in the Boston area. In 1994, he was accused of multiple drug-related crimes and trying to whack the boss of his crime family. Before he could be brought to trial, recounts Reuters, he fled the city. And now he’s finally turned up. For the last 10 years, Enrico Ponzo was living under an assumed identity, Jeffrey John Shaw, and tending to cattle in Idaho....

Prescription drugs can save lives. Then can also be addictive and potentially deadly. And the line between legitimately filling a prescription and abusing the system to sell pills for profit is sometimes so thin as to be invisible. So what’s the difference between having the prescription pills you need and having enough prescription pills to open up an illicit pharmacy? Here’s what you need to know about criminal prescription drug charges and penalties....

Puddle of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin was arrested after partying a bit too much like a rock star on a JetBlue flight. The flight was halfway from Boston to Los Angeles when Scantlin allegedly got into it with a flight attendant over alcohol. The “Blurry” singer was reportedly already intoxicated, but wanted to drink some more. A flight attendant apparently told the rock star that he’d had enough, which led to an altercation, reports E!...

Rapper T.I. has been released … again. T.I. is now safely tucked away in an Atlanta halfway house after a technical snafu sent the rapper back to jail the same day he was released in August. T.I. was initially released from an Arkansas jail on August 31st, the New York Daily News reports. Prison officials let the Atlanta-based rapper have a few sweet hours of freedom before he was escorted back to prison, according to the Daily News....

An anonymous, alleged sexual abuse victim of Dennis Hastert filed a breach of contract lawsuit last week, claiming the former House Speaker still owes him $1.8 million of $3.5 million Hastert agreed to pay to “compensate for and keep confidential” the abuse. It was the previous $1.7 million in payments that put Hastert on the FBI’s radar, and he has already pled guilty to structuring bank withdrawals to avoid bank reporting requirements....

A crazed woman went after television’s most reviled music judge on Saturday, breaking into Simon Cowell’s London home with a brick. This was after the woman, Leanne Zaloumis, 29, reportedly hurled items at the mansion. On-site security detained the Simon Cowell intruder after finding her in a bathroom, surrounded by glass and holding a brick. She was placed in a locked room until officers arrived. When they did, she was hiding inside a wardrobe, probably hoping that police would think she had left....

If you’re a celebrity, there are probably thousands of eyes on your Twitter account. So maybe it’s no surprise that if you’re a rapper named The Game, one tweet can send a flurry of calls to a sheriff’s office in Compton, California. The calls were the result of a prank post on The Game’s Twitter account. Was this actually all a game to The Game? A Twitter prank may seem funny at first, but it probably gets a whole lot less hilarious when criminal charges are considered....

Amanda Sorensen was charged with murder after her boyfriend’s daughter died from ingesting chili powder. At an arraignment Thursday, Sorenson pleaded not guilty to the charges. On Sunday morning, police got a call that a 2-year-old was suffering a seizure at a home in Apple Valley, California. The child was immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment. The girl, Joileen Garcia, died in the hospital and it appears the cause of her death was ingesting chili powder....

Just because they’re legal doesn’t mean they can’t get you in trouble. Prescription drug overdoses reached an all time high in 2014, when there were more deaths from prescription drugs than from cocaine and heroin combined. And prescription drugs can be just as addictive as illicit drugs, leading to similar instances of criminal behavior surrounding use, abuse, manufacture, and sale. Here are five things you need to know about criminal law and prescription drugs:...

A voluntary recall has been issued for Triad alcohol swabs, alcohol swabsticks, and prep pads. The manufacturer of the over-the-counter alcohol swabs, prep pads and swabsticks initiated the recall due to concerns that the products were potentially contaminated with Bacillus cereus, an organism that causes meningitis. The recall includes sterile and non-sterile products. In addition to the Triad recall, third parties that sell Triad alcohol swabs are continuing to issue recalls....

According to Food Safety’s report, some of the foods most recently added to the recall list are the following: Aurora, IL-based Creative Contract Packaging Corporation recalled HERB-OX ® beef, vegetable, and chicken granular bouillon for specific date codes. Lancaster, PA-based National Pretzel Company recalled all its Honey Mustard Onion flavored pretzels produced since December 2009. McCormick & Company in Sparks, MD recalled various dips mixes and corn bread stuffing. Buena Park, CA- based Fresh Food Concepts Inc....

The US Supreme Court this week issued an order granting full faith and credit to a lesbian adoption that took place in Georgia and that the Alabama Supreme Court refused to recognize. The unanimous order reversing the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling is considered a big win for same-sex adoption, according to Slate. The case is called VL v. EL, and it is about VL seeking visitation with children that EL bore and that VL adopted in Georgia....

Obviously criminals shouldn’t profit from their crimes. And I think that we can all agree that a car used in a drive-by shooting or purchased with money from a bank robbery can be confiscated by police. But what about when law enforcement seizes assets before a criminal conviction, or before criminal charges are even filed? Recent studies are showing law enforcement officials are taking advantage of civil forfeiture laws more than ever....

Willow Smith may already have a burgeoning career as a singer and actor. But at 13, she’s still just a kid. Which is why Los Angeles County’s Child Protective Services has opened an investigation into her equally famous parents – Will and Jada Pinkett Smith – after 20-year-old actor Moises Arias posted a picture of himself shirtless in bed with the teenage Willow. Her parents just do understand, but will CPS investigators?...

There are many criminal defenses you can raise at trial, but being drunk is generally not one of them. The law does differentiate between voluntary and involuntary intoxication. The involuntary type can often be a defense, but you have to prove that you didn’t know you would become intoxicated – for example, by showing that someone else spiked your drink. If you had a beer knowing it was beer, however, that’s voluntary....

Occupy Wall Street protestors can’t pitch tents at Zuccotti Park, but that hasn’t destroyed their spirit. In fact, there’s a new campaign to get their message out using a tactic that they’ve called “tenting.” The idea is to set up vacant tents on public property close to various financial institutions. The tents won’t be “occupied” by a protestor but they’ll be decorated with messages conveying the protest’s ideals. But “tenting” may actually be violating some laws, and can even amount to a crime in certain situations....

Rapper 50 Cent pleaded not guilty to domestic violence charges Monday, as a Los Angeles court ordered him to turn in his guns. 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, was charged over allegations that he had kicked Daphne Joy, who claims to be the mother of his child, and destroyed property in her L.A. condo, reports TMZ. Domestic violence cases often have measures in place to protect victims, even when the suspected abuser is someone as famous as 50 Cent....

Earlier this week, Angelina Jolie wrote a heartfelt op-ed in The New York Times about her decision to undergo a preventive double mastectomy. She made the decision after doing a genetic test that showed she carries a gene that greatly increases her risk of developing aggressive breast and ovarian cancers. What many people don’t realize is that Angelina Jolie’s cancer gene, BRCA1, is patented by a company called Myriad Genetics. The gene, and the company, are at the center of a pending U....

The Better Business Bureau has issued an alert regarding a new email scam targeting professionals through their work email accounts. According to the BBB alert, the emails appear to be from your company’s human resources department regarding your benefits. The emails are designed to look official and use urgent language regarding the cancellation, reduction, or suspension of your benefits to convince you to open the email and click on the links or attachments included....

In any court proceeding, witness testimony can be an important source of evidence. It follows, then, that courts take calling witnesses pretty seriously. How seriously? Seriously enough that those who refuse to testify can, in some situations, be held in contempt of court, which may result in penalties including fines and even jail time. What are the rules for testifying in court and how can you keep yourself from running afoul of them?...