Free Republic

The stepson of a former Democratic state lawmaker is charged with assaulting a police officer and planning sophisticated attacks against police. The video of the assault, which showed an officer hit in the helmet with a bat, went viral after a night of intense, escalating violence against police officers. Jacob Greenberg, 19, is in King County jail on charges of assault in the first degree, attempted arson in the first degree, and reckless burning in the first degree (a charge from an earlier case). Note: charging documents misspell his last name as “Greenburg.” His alleged accomplice has been identified as...

A former Washington state lawmaker’s stepson has been charged with setting fires during Seattle riots - and is also suspected of hitting a cop in the head with a baseball bat, according to reports. Democrat Laura Ruderman - a state representative from 1999 until 2005 - appeared in court Monday to vouch for 19-year-old stepson Jacob Greenburg after he was charged with arson for setting dumpster fires during recent riots in the Emerald City, KOMO News said. “I’ve served the state in the legislature. We will make sure he follows all the provision,” Ruderman told the court, calling her stepson...

Radar Online is reporting that a bunch of Hollywood’s elite are being sued in connection with their participation in high-stakes poker games. The civil complaint alleges that the money won by said Hollywood elite was actually money stolen by a hedge-fund manager from his clients to pay off his enormous gambling debts. According to the report, Toby “Spider-Man” Maguire was the big winner making $1,000,000 a month in winnings. Interesting. Maybe the next time Maguire is in D.C. for a photo-op with President Obama, he can explain to the president why he’s exempt from paying his fair share of taxes...

LOS ANGELES – A Beverly Hills hedge fund manager was arrested Friday on a charge he bilked investors out of $44.3 million, including $5 million he lost playing poker, the U.S. attorney's office said. Bradley L. Ruderman, 46, surrendered to FBI agents after being named in a wire fraud complaint. He was later released on $500,000 bond. The government alleges he spent at least $8.7 million of investor money on personal expenses including a summer rental of a Malibu beach home and two Porsches. He admitted in an FBI interview that he lost $5.2 million of investor money in poker...