Former Audi worker arrested in diesel inquiry
BERLIN — German prosecutors said Friday they have arrested a former employee of the Volkswagen unit Audi in connection with the company’s diesel scandal.
The prosecutors did not confirm whether the individual was Giovanni Pamio, who was accused this week by U.S. authorities of giving the orders to program diesel engines to cheat on emissions tests.
Pamio, an Italian citizen, is a former Audi executive. He’s the eighth former VW employee charged in the case that is being investigated by the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal unit. One is scheduled for sentencing this month, another is in custody in the U.S. and five others are German citizens.
Businessman receives 7-year prison sentence
DALLAS — A former Texas businessman was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to repay nearly $4 million in an insurance scam targeting a British company.
Federal prosecutors say Wesley Michael Woodyard, 66, was sentenced Friday in Dallas. Investigators say he defrauded ACE European Insurance Co. of London from 2002 through 2013.
An indictment alleges Woodyard stole money meant to buy annuities for beneficiaries of ACE European Insurance policies, including United Nations employees hurt or killed in connection with their jobs.
Woodyard owned an insurance company and acted as an agent to sell annuities. Prosecutors say Woodyard fraudulently induced ACE European Insurance to send funds to bank accounts he controlled. Woodyard was arrested in Minnesota last year. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December.
Development at North Main, Studewood
A landscaped multiuse development is planned for the corner of North Main and Studewood in the Heights, according to documents filed recently with the city Development Commission.
The North Main Retail Center, a two-story, 9,689-square-foot retail and office building, will occupy the currently vacant lot that had housed a self-service car wash.
More interest rate increases ahead, Fed says
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve says expected ongoing economic strength will warrant further gradual increases in a key interest rate. That rate forecast was included in the Fed’s semiannual monetary report to Congress, which Fed Chair Janet Yellen will deliver to Congress next week.
U.S. tracks parts that may cause fuel leaks
DETROIT — U.S. safety regulators are trying to track down gas tank flanges that can crack and cause fuel leaks, possibly causing a fire, on what could be millions of cars and trucks. The government began investigating the parts made by a German supplier, Continental Automotive, after the company filed recall documents this week.
Tesla to build giant battery storage system
SYDNEY — Tesla says it will build the world’s largest lithium-ion battery storage system in southern Australia, part of a bid to solve an energy crisis that has led to ongoing blackouts across the region. Tesla will partner with French renewable energy company Neoen to build the 100-megawatt battery farm.
Judge wants changes in water crisis settlement
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal judge has declined to grant preliminary approval to a $151 million settlement stemming from a 2014 chemical spill that sparked a water crisis in West Virginia.
Local news outlets report Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. said in an order this week that he wants changes to the deal with West Virginia American Water Co. and Eastman Chemical.
The spill left about 300,000 people without water for up to nine days.
Copenhaver raised concerns about legal fees, timeliness of payments to spill victims and how the terms awarded money.