Free Republic

Basin fugitive captured June 27, 2006 07:04 PM CDT Javon Woods is in custody Tuesday and his two-day jump from justice is over. Woods no doubt finds the Saint Martin parish jail a more hospitable place to sleep than the Atchafalaya basin. State police say he was suffering from dehydration, wasp stings and bruises when he was pulled from the water this afternoon. His skin was sensitive and sore due to the long exposure to water but overall he's in good condition. KATC's Marcelle Fontenot was there when woods emerged from the water about two o'clock Tuesday afternoon and the...

Law-enforcement officials believe hundreds of millions of dollars may be missing from a Connecticut hedge-fund firm that unexpectedly told its investors it was closing last month, a person briefed on an investigation into the matter said.The firm, Bayou Securities LLC, earlier this year reported to investors that it had assets of $440 million. Last year, it told investors that it had more than $500 million in assets. A person familiar with the firm's accounts said that assets had "petered out" in the past 18 months, and that there had been markedly less trading in that time after years of rapid-fire...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Law-enforcement authorities are investigating whether funds are missing from a money-management firm, Bayou Securities LLC, that claimed to be overseeing $440 million in investments, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said the Connecticut Department of Banking is looking into the company, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. Federal prosecutors also are investigating, a person familiar with the matter said. A spokesman for the Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment to the newspaper. The Journal said red flags went up in recent weeks when some investors...

Religious groups demand an end to New Orleans' Southern Decadence Festival NEW ORLEANS -- The wet Jockey shorts contest will be followed by drag queen fashion shows, the Mr. Louisiana Leather 2004 Contest and thousands of gay men drinking a whole lot of alcohol. The Southern Decadence Festival started in the French Quarter for the 32nd straight year on Wednesday and will draw an estimated 110,000 people, mainly gay men, from around the world. To the participants, Decadence is the ultimate Bourbon Street blowout, full of good, not-so-clean fun. But to a growing number of religious leaders, it's a sinister...