Free Republic

 LOS ANGELES – A West Hollywood man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Miami to criminal charges stemming from the sale of bogus artworks he claimed were created by famed modern artists, and he was immediately ordered to serve 60 months in federal prison.         Philip Righter, 43, pleaded guilty to three felony charges in a case filed in Los Angeles and admitted selling works he falsely claimed were created by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Righter also admitted using fake artwork as collateral for loans on which he later defaulted, and using...

Miami – Today, a federal judge in Miami sentenced 43-year-old Philip Righter, of California, to five years in prison for running a scheme in which he tried to dupe prominent art businesses, including one South Florida gallery, into spending millions of dollars on forgeries of works by renowned contemporary artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.   Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.Righter’s scheme was this:  He would buy art forgeries at online marketplaces and auction...

Citing conditions that amount to ”cruel and unusual punishment,” a Miami federal judge ordered U.S. immigration authorities Thursday night to release most detainees held at three South Florida detention centers. In a 12-page order filed late Thursday, U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must report to her within three days how it plans to cut its non-criminal and medically vulnerable populations by the hundreds. The judge also ordered the agency to submit weekly reports for accountability. After 10 days, ICE is to begin filing twice-weekly reports. Within two days, she ordered, ICE shall also...

MIAMI (AP) — Doctors in Florida are fighting a first-of-its-kind law requiring them to have a legitimate safety concern before they start asking a patient about guns. The physicians contend the new law is too broad and they should be free to ask patients and parents about firearms in the house to make sure people know how to keep them safely locked away. Doctors routinely offer similar advice about other household risks, from the dangers of tobacco use to swimming pools. Gun rights supporters who pushed for the new law believe questions about gun ownership are an invasion of privacy,...