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Australia

McDonald’s in $250 million wage theft claim with SDA over alleged denial of paid rest breaks

McDonald's in $250 million wage theft claim with SDA over alleged denial of paid rest breaks

The fast food workers’ union has hit McDonald’s with a $250 million-plus wage theft claim in the Federal Court over the alleged denial of paid rest breaks.

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association is seeking compensation for more than 250,000 current and former workers across the country.

The union this month launched a new “mega” legal action involving 323 McDonald’s operators and the fast good giant itself, and spanning almost 1000 current and former McDonald’s sites.

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Australia

Gold nuggets, illicit drugs, $250k cash found during raid of Ballarat motel

A blue street sign under a canopy of trees, cloudy sky, for the suburb of Golden Point.

A man has faced court in Ballarat after police discovered gold nuggets, illicit drugs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

Police say they raided a motel on Main Road, Golden Point, about 11pm yesterday.

Mark McKay, 48, was arrested before police allegedly located stolen jewelry, more than $250,000 in cash, and gold nuggets worth about $17,000.

Officers said they also seized a large amount of methylamphetamine, cannabis, and cocaine.

They said the raid was part of a long-running drug investigation.

A metal sign saying Ballarat law Court beneath a symbol of the court.
A Ballarat man has been charged over the discovery.(ABC Ballarat: Laura Mayers)

Mr McKay has been charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine, trafficking cocaine and trafficking cannabis.

He is also accused of three counts of possessing drugs of dependence, dealing with the proceeds of crime, and committing indictable offenses while on bail.

The 48-year-old was remanded overnight and faced the Ballarat Magistrates Court today.

He made no application for bail and will return to court for a committal mention in October.

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Australia

‘I hate you’: Daughter’s blistering attack on her father’s friend after dad’s death

'I hate you': Daughter's blistering attack on her father's friend after dad's death

The grieving daughter of a man who died in a horrific crash in South Australia last year has launched a blistering attack on the drunk and speeding driver responsible for his death.

Campbell Henderson, 29, appeared in court on Thursday after pleading guilty to causing the crash on Easter Monday 2021 that killed his friend and 39-year-old passenger Nick Peart.

Watch the video above for more on this story

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The crash occurred just meters from the houses of both men, who were neighbors as well as friends.

Peart’s high school sweetheart and wife Elaine Revi-Peart told the court in a victim impact statement that more than a year after losing her partner: “I get chest pains which I can only describe as heartache.”

Henderson was driving almost 40km over the speed limit when he lost control around a bend in Brukunga and crashed into a large tree.

Witnesses reported seeing his distinctive yellow ute doing burnouts earlier that night.

His eldest daughter, 14, also made a scathing statement to the man who was once like an uncle to her: “I hate you, I want to see you leave in cuffs and prison clothes, you have ruined my life.”

“Without my dad, it is hell.”

The fatal crash at Brukunga on Easter Monday claimed Peart’s life after the speeding car lost control and collided with a tree. Credit: 7NEWS
Witnesses said they saw the distinctive ute doing burnouts on the same night as the crash. Credit: 7NEWS

Henderson was teary-eyed in court and remorseful as he admitted in court that his driving was “dangerous and irresponsible.”

“If there was any way I could trade places with Nick I would, I’ll never forgive myself.”

He pleaded guilty to causing the fatal crash.

The court heard Henderson had no criminal history and has suffered ongoing mental and physical health problems as a result of the accident he has little memory of.

It heard that the last thing Henderson remembers is being in the car, before waking up in hospital, after which he has experienced PTSD and suicidal tendencies.

His lawyer asked for a home detention report to be ordered, which Judge Joana Fuller said she would consider but did not order on Thursday.

Henderson was granted bail last year and has spent just hours in police custody.

He is South African-born but has been living in Australia since he was 10 years old, and is currently in the country on his mother’s UK passport.

He is set to be sentenced next month.

Nick Peart was the high school sweetheart of his now grieving widow and the sole wage earner for their family. Credit: 7NEWS
Henderson (left) is remorseful and said he has suffered physical and mental health issues after the fatal crash. Credit: 7NEWS

Revi-Peart said her neighbor “chose to drive that day”, and that her husband “paid the ultimate price for trusting a friend”.

Peart’s mother said her son’s death was a shocking and senseless tragedy.

The last year has been tough for the family, who aside from losing Peart, have had to find a new house following extensive water damage to their home, while also caring for their daughter Kayley who lives with the health condition Neurofibromatosis type 1.

The family fundraised over $30,000 after the accident to go towards legal costs, and to support the family grieving the loss of their sole wage earner.

Daughter’s blistering attack to her father’s friend after dad’s death.

Daughter’s blistering attack to her father’s friend after dad’s death.

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Australia

Canberra man accused of money laundering as a result of joint FBI-AFP investigation faces court

Canberra man accused of money laundering as a result of joint FBI-AFP investigation faces court

A Canberra man arrested in spectacular circumstances last month, after police seized more than $10 million in assets and cash, has appeared for the first time in the ACT Magistrates Court.

Karan Talwar, 35, is facing three charges of dealing with property reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime.

Police allege Mr Talwar laundered money and cryptocurrency through complex transactions from the sale of personal identification information, illegal goods and scams.

It is alleged he has accumulated a significant number of assets with the money he has made.

Police have seized eight Canberra houses, four cars, luxury goods including handbags and more than $1 million in cash.

A police officer stands in front of a car as it is towed away
Four high-end cars were seized by police. (Supplied)

Police also targeted 28 bank accounts and about $600,000 in cryptocurrency.

At the time of the arrest, police searched two homes and a storage unit seizing documents and devices as well as cash.

Mr Tulwar was identified as part of an international investigation into money laundering involving the FBI.

He did not enter a plea and will return to court next month.

A man in a suit walks outside the ACT Magistrates court
Mr Talwar (left) is on police bail after he was arrested last month. (ABC NewsEmma Thompson)

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Categories
US

Onlyfans star Courtney Clenney fought boyfriend in elevator before stabbing

Onlyfans star Courtney Clenney fought boyfriend in elevator before stabbing

Miami prosecutors unveiled video footage on Thursday that showed an OnlyFans star fighting with her boyfriend in an elevator just two months before fatally stabbing him in the chest.

Courtney Clenney, who boasts 2 million followers on Instagram, will be extradited to South Florida after her arrest in Hawaii this week on second-degree murder charges.

Miami-Dade County State Attorney Kathie Fernandez-Rundle said at a press conference announcing the charges Thursday that Clenney stabbed Christian Obumseli at close range during a fight at their luxury apartment on April 3.

Fernandez-Rundle said the pair had a “tempestuous” relationship that became so disruptive to residents in the apartment building that managers were pursuing their eviction.

To demonstrate Clenney’s capacity for violence, Fernandez-Rundle played a video from February showing the pair scuffling in an elevator that opened directly into their apartment.

“It certainly appears that the defendant was aggressively attacking Christian,” Fernandez-Rundle said.

The pair was known to have a highly tumultuous relationship.
Courtney Clenney is accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend.
Miami Office of the State Attorney

Clenney’s attorney, Frank Prieto, maintains that she stabbed Obumseli in self-defense after he shoved her to the ground.

Fernandez-Rundle said the couple’s constant warring had led to a brief separation in March while Clenney’s mother came to stay with her in the apartment.

But just two days before the fatal confrontation, the pair reconciled and Obumseli moved back in.

“The arguments began almost immediately,” she said, adding that cops responded to the apartment and found Clenney intoxicated.

Clenney boasts 2 million followers on Instagram.
Clenney will be extradited to South Florida after her arrest in Hawaii on second-degree murder charges.
Miami Office of the State Attorney

Two days later, Fernadez-Rundle said the couple had a relatively quiet morning and recorded a video playing with their dog. Obumseli later left to get them sandwiches.

Clenney then went live on Instagram as Obumseli returned home at 4:33 pm that Sunday before they began arguing once again.

Clenney later claimed to investigators that she grabbed a knife after Obumseli threw her down to the floor and chucked it at him from a distance of 10 feet.

But Fernandez-Rundle said the evidence did not support that claim — and that she had stabbed him in the chest at close range. Obumseli was never armed.

The fight took place during a fight at their luxury apartment on April 3
Clenney’s attorney argues that she stabbed Obumseli in self-defense after he shoved her to the ground.
Miami Office of the State Attorney

Records show that the model called her mother twice before calling 911 at 4:57 pm, the prosecutor said. Obumseli could be heard on the 911 call “repeatedly saying that he was dying,” Fernandez-Rundle said.

She added that Obumseli was a victim of “domestic violence” — and that men are often unwilling to come forward to report their abuse.

Clenney had been getting therapy for PTSD stemming from the case in Hawaii before her arrest.

The video shows a struggle between both partners.
Lawyers for both parties have claimed that their clients were defending themselves.
Miami Office of the State Attorney

“We are completely shocked at Courtney’s arrest based upon the clear evidence of self-defense in this matter,” Prieto said Thursday. “Obumseli attacked her and choked her that evening; Courtney had no choice but to meet force with force.”

Larry Handfield, a lawyer for the Obumseli family, had initially argued that investigators prematurely deemed the stabbing a case of self-defense and pushed for a more thorough probe.

Joined at Thursday’s press conference by Obumseli’s brother and cousin, Handfield lauded the arrest.

“We always believed that with a thorough and fair investigation that this day would come into reality,” he said. “This is such a relief for the family. But it gives restored hope that even though delayed, justice will still come.”

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Categories
Entertainment

Brazil police recover art masterpieces stolen in $139 million elderly con

Two women stand either side of Tarsila do Aarel's painting.

Brazilian police are seeking the arrest of six people accused of involvement in stealing 16 artworks, together valued at more than $190 million, with some recovered.

Police said in a statement that the group stole the works from an 82-year-old widow who had been married to an art collector and dealer.

The haul included museum-quality pieces from Brazilian masters Tarsila do Amaral and Emiliano Di Cavalcanti.

Police found more than 10 works underneath a bed and at the bottom of the pile was Sol Poente — a do Amaral painting of a brilliant-hued sunset.

“Wow! Look who’s here!” one officer said in a video recording as she removed bubble wrap from the work.

“Oh, little beauty. Glory!”

The theft was orchestrated by the widow’s daughter, according to the statement, which didn’t provide either of their names.

The daughter was among those arrested Wednesday, according to local media, which also showed images of a woman attempting to escape through a window as police arrived.

It’s alleged the paintings weren’t stolen in a heist, but rather through a bizarre con.

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Brazil police recover stolen art masterpieces valued at $139 million

In January 2020, a self-proclaimed soothsayer approached the widow in the Copacabana neighborhood and informed her that her daughter was sick and soon to die, according to the police statement.

The widow, who holds mystical beliefs, was compelled to make bank transfers totaling 5 million reais ($1.38 million) over the course of two weeks for supposed spiritual treatment.

Her daughter, who allegedly encouraged the payments, proceeded to fire domestic employees so her accomplices could enter the residence unimpeded and remove the artworks.

It’s alleged that upon receiving threats from her daughter and the accomplices, the widow made additional bank transfers.

Three of the artworks, collectively worth more than 300 million reais ($82.9 million), were recovered in an art gallery in São Paulo.

The gallery’s owner told police he had purchased them directly from the widow’s daughter, and sold two others to the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires, according to the statement.

A press officer for the world-renowned museum said that its founder, Eduardo Costantini, purchased the works for his personal collection, and possible display at the museum in the future.

The museum identified the widow as Genevieve Boghici and said Costantini has maintained direct contact with her throughout the acquisition of the paintings and since

AP

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Australia

New smoking ban in WA prisons prompt fears of jail riots

New smoking ban in WA prisons prompt fears of jail riots

Smoking will be banned in WA prisons, in a move that risks a new riot flashpoint in jails across the State.

The ban will begin at Bandyup Women’s Prison, where inmates will be forced to stub out on October 31.

Prison bosses will evaluate the fallout with the attempt of making all other jails smoke-free.

WA is the only jurisdiction in Australia where smoking is allowed in jail. Prisoners are allowed to light up outdoors.

Previous governments have toyed with the idea because exposing prison staff to passive smoke rubs against occupational health and safety laws. But successive administrations have shied away from a ban for fear of inciting riots.

Four in five prisoners smoke and each year 5000 smokers spend $10 million on tobacco at jail canteens – half of all sales. A 25g pouch of White Ox tobacco costs $63.10.

Picture of the external front view of Bandyup Women's Prison in West Swan, Perth. Picture: Ross Swanborough. 190819
Camera IconBandyup Women’s Prison. Credit: ross swanborough/The West Australian

The change at Bandyup will see prisoners, staff, contractors and visitors stopped from lighting up.

Nicotine patches are other products will be made available and QUIT support programs rolled out to the 161 Bandyup inmates who smoke.

Tobacco products will be limited in the lead up to the October 31 deadline to stop stockpiling.

The harmful effects of smoking and its impact on those who inhale second-hand smoke is well-documented and this move is an opportunity for prisoners to quit and have a fresh start.

The prison watchdog, the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services, estimates that 82 per cent of prisoners smoked, compared with 11 per cent of the free community.

The 2021 study found Aboriginal people, women and younger inmates were more likely to be smokers.

The ban would ensure jails comply with the Work Health and Safety Act 2021. It is understood there are five children staying at Bandyup with their mothers.

“The Bandyup Women’s Prison trial is part of the WA Government’s commitment to provide a healthy and safe environment for those in the care of, working or visiting custodial facilities,” Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston said.

Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston.
Camera IconCorrective Services Minister Bill Johnston. Credit: Kelsey Reid/The West Australian

“The harmful effects of smoking and its impact on those who inhale second-hand smoke is well-documented and this move is an opportunity for prisoners to quit and have a fresh start.

“WA and the ACT are the only Australian jurisdictions where smoking is allowed in prisons, with smoke-free policies successfully implemented everywhere else.

“We are taking a staged, cautious and considered approach to ensure a smoke-free Bandyup Women’s Prison.”

The Department of Justice is finalizing the schedule for bans in other facilities.

Tobacco will likely become sought-after contraband but the ban should reduce the number of fires lit deliberately by prisoners because of the availability of lighters and matches.

The move will be supported by the WA Prison officers Union, which has lobbied for the change.

In 2014 WorkSafe issued the Department of Corrective Services with an improvement notice, giving it until April 2015 to stop prisoners lighting up indoors.

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Categories
Australia

Port Kennedy driver charged with running over a man in Warnbro incident

Port Kennedy driver charged with running over a man in Warnbro incident

A Port Kennedy driver has been accused of running over a man and pinning him under his car after a brawl at a Warnbro service station.

Police allege that the incident unfolded about 8.20pm on Wednesday, when the accused went to the Caltex petrol station on Warnbro Sound Avenue to buy a couple of items.

When he returned to his Mitsubishi Lancer, a man known to him hopped into the front passenger’s seat and a fight broke out between them.

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The 29-year-old man in the passenger’s seat got out of the car and started to walk away.

It is alleged the 33-year-old driver then sped towards him, with the Lancer jumping the kerb and ploughing into the victim, pinning him under the vehicle.

A man has been hospitalized after he was hit by a car at a service station in Warnbro.
Camera IconA man has been hospitalized after he was hit by a car at a service station in Warnbro. Credit: 7NEWS/7NEWS

Several people nearby managed to lift the car off the victim.

He was then given first aid by police officers before being taken to Royal Perth Hospital with third degree burns to his back.

The driver was arrested and charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to harm and no authority to drive.

He will appear at the Rockingham Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Photos of the aftermath showed the Mitsubishi dumped in the bushes near the service station, with the scene taped off by police.

Police have taped off the scene.
Camera IconPolice have taped off the scene. Credit: 7NEWS/7NEWS

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Categories
US

Shock, shame among some Muslims as Afghan accused of New Mexico murders

Afghan Muslim arrested for killings that shook New Mexico's Islamic community

Participants in an interfaith memorial ceremony enter the New Mexico Islamic Center mosque to commemorate four murdered Muslim men, hours after police said they had arrested a prime suspect in the killings, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, US August 9, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Hay

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ALBUQUERQUE, NM, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Muslims in New Mexico interviewed on Wednesday said they felt shock and shame at the arrest of a Muslim immigrant from Afghanistan in connection with the murders of four Muslim men.

Police on Tuesday said they detained 51-year-old Muhammad Syed. A motive for the killings remains unclear, but police said he may have acted on personal grudges, possibly with intra-Muslim sectarian overtones.

Syed denied being involved with any of the four killings when questioned by police, according to the New York Times.

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“We’re in complete total disbelief. Speechless. You know, kind of embarrassed to say he was one of our own,” said Mula Akbar, an Afghan-American businessman who said he had helped Syed settle in the city.

“His hatred of Shi’ites might have had something to do with it,” Akbar said.

Syed was from the Sunni branch of Islam and prayed together at Albuquerque’s Islamic Center of New Mexico (ICNM) mosque with most of the victims, three of whom were from the Shi’ite branch of Islam. All four victims were of Afghan or Pakistani descent. One was killed in November, the other three in the last two weeks.

Syed, who made his first appearance in court Wednesday, was formally charged with killing Aftab Hussein, 41, on July 26 and Muhammed Afzaal Hussain, 27, on Aug. 1.

Police said on Tuesday they were working with prosecutors on potential charges for the murders of Naeem Hussain, 25, a truck driver killed on Friday, and Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, shot dead on Nov. 7, 2021, outside the grocery store he ran with his brother in southeast Albuquerque.

It was not immediately clear if Syed had retained a lawyer.

Police declined to comment on rumors Syed was angry one of his daughters had eloped and married a Shi’ite man.

The daughter told CNN that her husband was friends with two of the men who were killed, Aftab Hussein and Naeem Hussain. The woman, who CNN did not name out of concern for her safety, said her father was not happy when she married in 2018 but had become accepting more recently.

“My father is not a person who can kill somebody. My father has always talked about peace. That’s why we are here in the United States. We came from Afghanistan, from fighting, from shooting,” she told CNN.

Palestinian-American Samia Assed said the Muslim community of around 4,000 in Albuquerque had worked to do to prevent violence they left behind in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“This took me back to 9/11 when I just wanted to hide under a rock,” said the human rights activist after she hosted an interfaith memorial at the ICNM, Albuquerque’s oldest and largest mosque.

“For this to happen it’s like setting us back 100 years,” she said.

The mosque is nonsectarian, serves mainly Sunnis from over 30 countries and has never before experienced violence of this kind, according to congregants interviewed by Reuters.

Syed is a truck driver, has six children, is from Pashtun ethnicity and arrived in the United States as a refugee about six years ago from Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province, said Akbar, a former US diplomat who worked on Afghan issues and helped found the Afghan Society of New Mexico.

Syed developed a record of criminal misdemeanors over the last three or four years, including a case of domestic violence, police said.

Video from February 2020 showed him slashing the tires of a vehicle at the ICNM believed to be owned by the family of the first known victim, Ahmadi, according to the mosque’s president, attorney Ahmad Assed.

“We’re in a surreal time trying to make sense of these senseless killings we’ve suffered,” he said.

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Reporting by Andrew Hay in Albuquerque; Editing by Donna Bryson, Howard Goller and Rosalba O’Brien

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Categories
Australia

Murdoch University students uncover crucial detail to bring decades-old murder investigation to Australia

Murdoch University students uncover crucial detail to bring decades-old murder investigation to Australia

Murdoch University students have helped uncover a missing piece of the puzzle and an Australian twist in a decades-old European murder investigation.

As part of the International Cold Case Analysis Project, Murdoch students, alongside criminology and forensic science students from UK universities, dusted off a mysterious murder case known as “The Gentleman” which had sat unanswered for 28 years.

On July 11, 1994, a male body was found by police in the North Sea, west of the German island of Helgoland. The body showed signs of trauma and had been weighed down with cast iron cobbler’s feet, a shoemaker’s tool.

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An artist's reconstruction of The Gentleman.
Camera IconAn artist’s reconstruction of The Gentleman. Credit: Murdoch University/Supplied

The body was brought to the city of Wilhelmshaven for a post mortem, but the man’s identity remained a mystery and he became known as ‘The Gentleman’ due to his apparent ‘middle-class’ clothing.

Initial investigations by German police in the 1990s suggested ‘The Gentleman’ was about 45 to 50 years old when he died and from an English-speaking country, but they were never able to confirm his identity or homeland.

The students, along with Germany’s Police Academy of Lower Saxony, recommended a range of further actions to be taken by local authorities which resulted in a surprising discovery — ‘The Gentleman’ likely spent most of his life in Australia.

This vital clue came from isotope ratio analyzes on a sample of bone. Isotopic compositions of food, water and dust differ across the globe due to variations in climate, bedrock, soil and human activity, and so do the isotopic compositions of the tissues of humans who ingest them.

A complete DNA profile was achieved in December last year, as well as photographic facial reconstruction.

Murdoch’s Cold Case Review group directors Brendan Chapman and Dr David Keatley are now using their local law enforcement connections to help German authorities progress the case in Australia, with hope it may lead to ‘The Gentleman’ finally being identified.

“It’s almost unbelievable,” Mr Chapman said.

Murdoch Cold Case Review group co-director Brendan Chapman.
Camera IconMurdoch Cold Case Review group co-director Brendan Chapman. Credit: Murdoch University/Supplied/Supplied

“What are the chances that from this small collection of universities working on this case, one would be from the country where the man originated?”

“We’ve built such a great relationship with ICCAP course leader Karsten Bettels over the years and we are really privileged to be afforded the trust by the German Police Academy to work on live cases with our students.”

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