Free Republic

A top marketing consultant for the Democratic party who worked for both the Bill and Hillary Clinton presidential campaigns and for Barack Obama was busted in a bizarre purse snatching at a Flatiron District restaurant, the Daily News has learned. Michael Coscia, 52, was dining with celebrity jewelry designer Shahla Karimi, 33, at Almond on E. 22nd St. Wednesday night when they were accused of stealing a $3,100 Celine shoulder bag from another patron, according to court records. Both were arraigned on fourth-degree grand larceny charges and criminal possession of stolen property in Manhattan Criminal Court late Thursday night and...

For Brenda Williams, the last four years and nearly three months have been a triumph of faith and forgiveness over self pity and hatred.

(ROBBERY TEAMS ARE TARGETING LONE ASIAN WOMEN) Watch out for The Rippers. The Rippers are watching for you. The Rippers are what San Jose police are dubbing packs of purse snatchers who have been targeting Asian women in recent months as they stroll through parking lots with purses fat with cash. The dangerous and unprecedented epidemic includes 21 recent robberies, according to San Jose detective John McElvy, many of them carried out brazenly in crowded and well-lit lots. Despite four arrests of the robbers, the crime wave continues. On Tuesday, a woman was robbed of her purse at 7:20 p.m...

A thief who snatched a purse from an 80-year-old woman in Slidell got a 12-year jail sentence after he pleaded guilty Thursday, the St. Tammany Parish district attorney's office said. Curtis James Fletcher, 43, of Slidell was arrested in March after he took the woman's purse in a store parking lot. The woman was headed back to her vehicle after shopping when he came up behind her and took the purse, knocking her to the ground. The woman, whom authorities did not identify, quickly got up and yelled for help. Several bystanders helped police catch Fletcher as he was fleeing....

Son of TV Host Bryant Gumbel Arrested in New York NEW YORK (Reuters) - The son of former morning television host Bryant Gumbel was arrested on Thursday on charges he snatched a purse from a woman walking on a Manhattan sidewalk. Bradley Christopher Gumbel, 24, was accused of approaching a woman from behind as she walked along Manhattan's posh Upper East Side, grabbing her purse and fleeing, police said. The unidentified victim, 31, contacted police, who arrested Gumbel a few blocks away at 2:30 a.m. Gumbel was arrested on charges of assault and robbery, and he was awaiting arraignment in...