Prosecutors: Man cleared $ 100 mil. in massive Ponzi

JACKSON, Miss.— Prosecutors say a Mississippi man raked in “well in excess” of $ 100million from more than 250 investors in at least 14 states in a Ponzi scheme that promised quick profits on non- existent trees. Arthur Lamar Adams, 58, of Jackson, Mississippi, is cooperating with prosecutors and is likely to plead guilty at a later date, his lawyer, John Collette, said Tuesday. The scheme centered on a common investment for wealthy southerners— trees. Prosecutors said that between 2011 and last month, Adams told investors he was buying rights to cut down timber cheaply from private lands and reselling it at higher prices to sawmills.

Driver convicted of 2nd- degree murder for plowing into pack of bicyclists

KALAMAZOO, Mich.— A reckless driver who was on drugs when his pickup truck crashed into a pack of bicyclists, killing five, was convicted of second- degree murder Tuesday in southwestern Michigan. Charles Pickett’s trial lasted just a few days in Kalamazoo County. There was no dispute that he had swallowed painkillers and other drugs before driving, although his lawyers argued that murder charges were excessive. He faces up to life in prison at his sentencing.

Ex- CNBC director admits to spy cam

WHITE PLAINS, N. Y.— A former CNBC television director has admitted to spying on his nanny with a hidden camera in the bathroom of his suburban New York home. Daniel Switzen, of Pleasantville, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to unlawful surveillance. He was arrested in November. Prosecutors said Switzen placed a secret camera inside a tissue box in his bathroom to record the nanny and her friends on video. The camera was discovered by the nanny. Switzen faces 1 ½ to 4 years in prison when he’s sentenced Aug. 21. His lawyer called him a “very decent family man.”

Principal rescinds idea of ‘ modesty ponchos’ at prom

DEARBORN, Mich.— A principal at a Michigan Catholic high school has rescinded a plan to require female students to wear “modesty ponchos” at prom if their dresses are too revealing. Some students and parents at Divine Child High School in Dearborn had called the policy a form of body shaming.