Free Republic

CHICAGO (AP) -- Authorities found two bodies at the home of a federal judge Monday night, and Chicago police and the FBI were investigating. The bodies were found at the home of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow, but the judge was uninjured, police spokesman Patrick Camden said. He declined to elaborate. FBI agents were assisting police but would provide no details.

FL driver's licenses get major makeover FORT MYERS, March 17, 2004 — Florida driver's licenses are getting a makeover, with changes meant to protect you. Driver's licenses can be used to validate stolen credit card information, steal your identity and commit fraud. But the state is taking new precautions to make IDs harder to rip-off. In addition, the new licenses are designed to prevent underage drivers from the using their ID to get alcohol. Underage drivers will have vertical licenses, while those over 21 will be horizontal. (click images for larger view) Among the other changes are: --A new beachscape...

The first firefighters at a fiery car wreck Sunday in Fayette County that killed a Memphis driver's license examiner thought it was suspicious even as they put out the flames. Investigators began an immediate search for a device that might have triggered the intense fire, said the chief of the Piperton Fire Department. The fire killed Katherine Smith, the examiner at the center of a federal investigation of an alleged scheme to issue driver's licenses fraudulently to men with Middle Eastern ties. Smith died one day before she was due to appear before a federal magistrate judge for a detention ...

Prison, fine for certifying driving tests By Pamela Perkins Contact March 17, 2004 A retired Memphis police officer was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in federal prison and fined $20,000 for taking money for falsely certifying test results at her driving school - clearing the illegal aliens to apply for Tennessee driver's licenses. "I'm just sorry," said Charlotte Creasy, 57, before U.S. Dist. Court Judge Jon McCalla sentenced her. She pleaded guilty in November to mail fraud conspiracy. Federal prosecutor Steve Parker, member of the U.S. Attorney's anti-terrorism section, asked McCalla to pass a sentence that would send a message...

An unknown assailant attacked the Shelby County medical examiner late Saturday, wrapping him with barbed wire and strapping a bomb to his chest before leaving him in a stairwell outside his downtown Memphis office. Dr. O. C. Smith received minor injuries from the attack that included chemical burns. His attacker threw an acid type substance on Smith's face as he left work at 1060 Madison around 10 p.m. Smith was found by a security guard shortly after midnight. This is the second time in the last three months an explosive device or bomb has been found at the Shelby County...