Free Republic

Frank Spencer Harm told his neighbors he was an ex-cop. He told his mother he was in the witness protection program. But a Santa Clara County sheriff's detective says Harm was a killer on the lam for more than 33 years, until authorities arrested him in Minnesota this week. Harm was jailed Thursday on a warrant charging him with shooting 25-year-old Fred Izzarelli to death after Harm broke into a Monte Sereno bungalow -- apparently in search of drugs -- where Izzarelli was living in 1972. Sheriff's Lt. Pedro Contreras said Harm was ``on the radar right from the beginning,''...

Did anyone catch Joe Buck's commentary (I think it was him) about how our commie buddy Castro is celebrating the World Series by trying to block it from being broadcast in Cuba (which would seem awfully difficult) and not allowing Contreras' name to be spoken publicly? Is there a transcript of the comments available? Fidel's still a paranoid loon after all these years.

Go Sox! The other Sox, that is THE WORLD SERIES starts tomorrow with the Chicago White Sox facing the Houston Astros. Normally, we would not take sides, as the better-colored Sox are watching from home. But two White Sox players give us reason to cheer for their team. Jose Contreras and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez are two of the greatest baseball players their home country has ever produced. The country is Cuba, and its tyrannical ruler, Fidel Castro, has labeled Contreras and Hernandez traitors for daring to provide a better life for their families by escaping to the West to...

Councilman would fill Contreras' labor post Calling it a bittersweet moment, Councilman Martin Ludlow accepted the nomination Tuesday to replace his friend and mentor, Miguel Contreras, in the top job of the Los Angeles County labor movement. Meeting behind closed doors, the executive board of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, chose Ludlow, 41, the former political director of the organization and a close ally of Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa, to be its next secretary-treasurer. "This is a time of great transition in Los Angeles; we just elected a new mayor," Ludlow said. "This is a time, I believe,...

Among thousands at the union chief's funeral, many wear the attire of their trades. He 'fought for each worker,' his widow tells the crowd. California's most powerful politicians and some of its least empowered laborers crowded elbow to elbow in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Thursday to bid farewell to Miguel Contreras, the son of migrant farmworkers who grew up to be one of the nation's strongest labor leaders and a dominant force in Los Angeles politics. (snip) The standing room-only crowd, estimated at 4,500, included many of the most prominent politicians and labor leaders in...

The Democratic Party's dominance of California politics over the last decade can be attributed to a series of interrelated demographic, economic and cultural forces, but one person - someone most Californians didn't even know existed - could be rightfully credited with recognizing and seizing the opportunity those forces provided. Miguel Contreras was probably the state's most influential Democrat when he was felled by a heart attack Friday, having transformed the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor into a powerhouse that moved the county sharply leftward and tipped statewide politics toward Democrats. Ironically, however, the one-time San Joaquin Valley farmworker's death...

Miguel Contreras, the Los Angeles labor chief who rose from the ranks of Cesar Chavez's farm labor movement to head one of the most powerful unions in the nation, died Friday of an apparent heart attack, officials said. He was 53. Contreras, as executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, took control of the umbrella organization of unions and built it into a potent political force that today includes more than 300 affiliates and 800,000 members and wields enormous influence across Southern California. Details were sketchy about what occurred Friday, but officials said Contreras appeared to...

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - The chief of the feared security service of former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet was forcefully arrested at his home Friday and sent to prison with four of his top aides after being convicted in an emblematic human rights case. Retired Gen. Manuel Contreras, who commanded the security service known as DINA, refused a court order to appear before a judge to be served notice of his 12-year sentence and be sent to jail. The judge, Alejandro Solis, issued an arrest warrant and sent police to Contreras' suburban home to arrest him. Police did not disclose details...

Everyone's thrilled by the story of Yankee pitcher José Contreras' wife and children, who left Cuba on a smugglers' boat and outran the Coast Guard to land in Florida. Thank God they arrived safely. But none of this would have been necessary if we had a more sensible policy regarding Cuban athletes. Every year, baseball players the world over, from Japan to Nicaragua, return to their home countries to enjoy the off-season with their families and friends. Cubans, however, are allowed to play baseball in the U.S. only if they renounce their homeland and leave their families behind forever. When...

When Cuban pitching sensation José Contreras defected in Mexico in 2002, the risks were so great that he didn't even warn his wife, Miriam, in advance. Not long after he had signed on as a New York Yankee, though, he began working to try to bring her and their two young daughters to America. This week Mr. Contreras realized his dream. But not in the safe, legal manner that he had pursued. That path was blocked by Fidel Castro, who refused to grant the three exit visas so that the family could be reunited. After rejecting their application, Castro told...

With hugs, kisses and misty eyes, Yankee pitcher was reunited with his wife and daughters in Miami last night after his family's daring nighttime escape from Cuba. The big righthander last saw his loved ones 18 months ago, just before he defected to the U.S. In a bizarre twist, they came together again on a Miami street when their limos crossed paths on the way to a hotel. The cars stopped and the long-separated couple said they ran to each other with tears in their eyes. "Miriam, at last you are free," Contreras told her. "I thought I'd never see...

The wife and two daughters of Yankees pitcher José Ariel Contreras -- the former Cuban national team star who defected in 2002 -- arrived in South Florida aboard what authorities described as a smuggler's go-fast boat after the Cuban government made it clear it would be years before they would be allowed to leave. Miriam Murillo Flores, 31, and the couple's two girls -- Nailan and Nailenis Contreras, 11 and 3, respectively -- came ashore in the Keys on Monday and were released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tuesday evening. ''It's a tremendous joy,'' said Contreras, who arrived at...

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Jose Contreras' family defected from Cuba this week, and the New York Yankees pitcher left the team Tuesday and traveled to Miami to reunite with his wife and two daughters. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Barbara Gonzalez said she did not know details on how the family got out of Cuba. ``It's spectacular news,'' Yankees manager Joe Torre said before Tuesday night's game at Baltimore. Wife Miriam, 11-year-old Naylan and 3-year-old Naylenis were put in ICE custody by the border patrol early Tuesday and released from its control around 4 p.m., she said. After being examined by...

Dear Lord, There's a young man far from home, called to serve his nation in time of war; sent to defend our freedom on some distant foreign shore. We pray You keep him safe, we pray You keep him strong, we pray You send him safely home ... for he's been away so long. There's a young woman far from home, serving her nation with pride. Her step is strong, her step is sure, there is courage in every stride. We pray You keep her safe, we pray You keep her strong, we pray You send her safely home...