Feds: 24 charged with bringing drugs on Amtrak
Twenty- four people have been charged by federal authorities with using Amtrak trains to transport drugs from Los Angeles to Chicago.
The indictments allege wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin, obtained from Mexico and Southern California, were transported from Los Angeles to Union Station aboard Amtrak Express trains, according to a statement from the U. S. Attorney’s office.
The drugs were sometimes concealed in automobile parts and pool filters, and some of the defendants put GPS tracking devices inside the parcels to track them, federal prosecutors said.
Chicago residents Angelica Cervantes, 31; Juan J. Cervantes, 30; and Martell Jackson, 33, were all charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, prosecutors said. Jesus Valencia, 34, was charged with attempting to possess with intent to distribute.
One defendant, 45- yearold Roy J. Griffin of Calumet City, is an Amtrak employee who stole a package of cocaine when it arrived at Union Station on July 31, 2014, prosecutors said. He and his 43- year- old acquaintance, Daniel Douglas of Blue Island, were charged with theft of goods from a railroad car and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.
Daniel Brown
U. of I. re- adopts early- notification option
URBANA — The University of Illinois has reverted to an early- notification option for admissions after a two- year experiment with one application deadline.
Students who apply by Nov. 1 will qualify for “early action,” in which applicants will know by Dec. 16 whether they’re admitted, denied or deferred for consideration until Feb. 3.
Those who apply to the university by Dec. 1 will find out their status Feb. 3, too.
The university had a single application deadline on Dec. 1 for the past two years. The university said the federal financial aid application period’s earlier start this year and complaints from alumni caused the university to reconsider the single application date. AP
1st cold death of season
A man found dead Wednesday afternoon in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side is the first cold- related fatality of the season in Cook County.
Willie P. McCarns, 56, died at 1: 20 p. m. Wednesday in the 1400 block of West 119th Street, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The low temperature on Wednesday was 46 degrees at O’Hare.
An autopsy found McCarns, whose home address was unknown, died of heart disease, according to the medical examiner’s office. Ethanol intoxication and cold exposure were listed as contributing causes.
At least 15 cold- related deaths were reported last winter, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Jordan Owen
OSHA faults company after worker died on 1st day
A medical tractor manufacturer has been cited by federal workplace safety authorities more than three months after a worker was killed during his first day on the job in south suburban Monee.
Authorities responded July 5 to Advanced Mobility in the 6300 block of Emerald Parkway in Monee. Leo Micheletto, 58, of Frankfort, an electrician, was working underneath a semi trailer when another worker inadvertently punctured a hydraulic line, and the trailer fell onto Micheletto’s head and chest, authorities said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated Micheletto’s death and found the company failed to ensure the use of safety pins on the trailer’s front hydraulic leg stands, and the use of rear stationary jacks to prevent the trailer from falling. OSHA cited the company for one serious safety violation.
The company faces proposed penalties of $ 58,792, according to OSHA.
Jordan Owen
Police: 8th- grader posted video threatening students
An eight- grade student in south suburban Tinley Park has been removed from school after posting a video to social media threatening several of his classmates, police said.