NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Firefighter deaths: A nail salon manager in Kansas City, Mo., was convicted Monday of setting a fire that killed two firefighters. A circuit judge found Thu Hong Nguyen, 46, guilty of two counts of second-degree murder, second-degree arson and second-degree assault. She faces to up to 30 years in prison for each murder charge. After Judge Joel P. Fahnestock’s verdict, Nguyen was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Larry Leggio, 43, and John Mesh, 39, were killed when a brick wall fell on them as they fought a fire at a building containing Nguyen’s salon in 2015. The prosecution portrayed Nguyen as someone who had a habit of burning businesses for insurance money.
_2 Corruption case: The former president of the Los Angeles school board pleaded guilty Monday to reimbursing campaign contributions to friends and family members and resigned from his most recent position as a board member. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Ref Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an assumed name contribution and four similar misdemeanor counts. He was sentenced to three years of probation and two months of community service. Rodriguez had resigned from his position as president of the school board last year after he was charged with more than a dozen counts involving campaign fundraising violations.
_3 Church killing: Police in Fallon, Nev., were trying to determine Monday why a man walked into his Mormon church on Sunday and opened fire, killing one man and injuring another. It does not appear that gunman John Kelley O’Connor, 48, was targeting the church but instead was focused on an individual victim, Police Chief Kevin Gehman said. It wasn’t clear if the target was Charles E. “Bert” Miller, 61, who was killed, or another unidentified man who was shot in the leg. O’Connor was charged with murder and battery. Miller was a 35year veteran of the local volunteer fire department, according to police.
_4 Campaign cash: Chicago mayoral candidate Willie Wilson says he wasn’t trying to buy anyone’s vote when he handed out close to $200,000 to churchgoers. The millionaire businessman said Sunday’s appearance at the New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church was nothing more than “one of the biggest property tax relief assistance” events of the year and the kind of thing he’s done before. Republican State Rep. David McSweeney described the sight of the Democratic candidate peeling bills from a thick wad of cash in the church as “so wrong.” The Illinois State Board of Elections said Wilson didn’t break any campaign finance laws because the money came from his non-profit foundation.
_5 Global flight: A Louisiana teenager has begun his effort to become the youngest pilot to circumnavigate the globe. Mason William Andrews, 18, took off Sunday from the Monroe Regional Airport. His flight is expected to take between 30 and 40 days. Andrews’ longest stretch of open-sea flying will be about 15 hours, when he flies from Japan to Alaska.
Chronicle News Services