Misappropriation

At first blush, "Ganesh Versus the Third Reich" sounds like a long-lost Monty Python skit about some bizarre time-tripping action-figure wrestling bout. Indeed, as the title hints, a cosmic smackdown between the pachyderm Hindu god and the German Führer takes center stage in the production from Australia's Back to Back Theatre company, which on Thursday opens a four-night run at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. But that epic confrontation is only one thread in the show's imaginative tapestry.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office plans to retry the case against Bell council members accused of misappropriating public funds by overpaying themselves for sitting on city boards and authorities that rarely met, according to defense attorneys connected with the case. D.A. spokeswoman Jean Guccione said Tuesday that prosecutors want a retrial after jurors in March issued a mixed verdict and the judge declared a mistrial on some counts. Jurors delivered a mixed verdict for Victor Bello, George Cole, Oscar Hernandez, Teresa Jacobo and George Mirabal, finding them guilty on multiple felony counts and acquitting them on other charges.

His story once made for a shameful headline: a small-town preacher accused of stealing from a working-class community that had trusted him for years. Arrested on a September morning in 2010, Luis Artiga was dismissed by many as a criminal who hid behind his faith, one in a pack of city leaders who paid themselves handsomely while residents struggled to pay bills. Initially, Artiga said he believed his near-six-figure salary was "a miracle from God. " Later, the day before he was arrested, he was apologetic and called the money "a trap from the devil.

His story once made for a shameful headline: a small-town preacher accused of stealing from a working-class community that had trusted him for years. Arrested on a September morning in 2010, Luis Artiga was dismissed by many as a criminal who hid behind his faith, one in a pack of city leaders who paid themselves handsomely while residents struggled to pay bills. Initially, Artiga said he believed his near-six-figure salary was "a miracle from God. " Later, the day before he was arrested, he was apologetic and called the money "a trap from the devil.

Plucking the already tense string that binds new media and old, the Associated Press announced an initiative Monday to protect online versions of its news content from what it called "misappropriation" by a variety of online news outlets. At its annual meeting in San Diego, AP Chairman Dean Singleton said the news syndicate would pursue "legal and legislative remedies" against entities that it believes are unfairly borrowing its content.

Three local and state law enforcement agencies have taken action against the city of Bell and its elected leaders and administrators. Their investigations have led to tax rollbacks, a lawsuit from the state attorney general to recover improper loans and bloated salaries, and — in the most dramatic step yet — the filing of dozens of felony charges against four of the five council members, two former council members and two former...

The mayor is speaking out against special-issue rifles that carry the city's name. The .22-caliber Ruger is engraved with a stagecoach and "City of Elk Grove Special Edition." It's one of several guns marketed by a Colorado company to specific communities. "I'm livid," Mayor Sophia Scherman said. "This is a total misappropriation of the name of our city." Only 26 of the $599 rifles have been made, said Bill Daley, marketing director for Investment Arms in Fort Collins, Colo.

N.Y.C.'s Metropolitan Museum of Art this week disproved allegations by a Rutgers University professor that it had illicitly received five paintings stolen by the Nazis. The museum presented catalogue cards and other documents showing it had obtained all five works--including the famous 18th Century Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin work "Boy Blowing Bubbles"-- through proper channels.

As a public high school English teacher, I was appalled when California High School Exit Exam preparatory booklets were delivered to my 10th-grade honors English students. What this amounts to is 57 wasted books, as these honors students will have no trouble passing the upcoming exit exam. (Last year, Westlake High School's passage rate was somewhere in the 90th percentile, so I question the purchase of books for the vast majority of our students who obviously do not need them.) I marvel at the wisdom of the educational office that would decide that every 10th-grader in California (without regard for level)

Hours after resigning his Vista City Council seat Thursday, Ed Neal was placed on three years' probation and fined $1,000 for misappropriation of public funds. Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman, in keeping with a plea bargain reached Tuesday by attorneys, also ordered Neal, 46, to perform 200 hours of community service. Neal, who was elected to the City Council in April, 1982, is barred from seeking any public office during the probationary period.

The California state attorney general's office is investigating whether the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy's controversial executive director misappropriated funds, sources close to the case said Tuesday. That allegation and others against Ann Muscat were made in complaints submitted to the attorney general by former officers of the nonprofit that manages nine-tenths of Santa Catalina Island, according to documents obtained by The Times. Muscat declined to comment. Lynda Gledhill, press secretary for Atty.

At least eight California school districts have misappropriated millions of dollars in funding intended to pay for meals for low-income students - the biggest culprit being the Los Angeles Unified School District, according to a state Senate watchdog group. The California Department of Education has ordered districts to repay more than $170 million in misused funds to their student meal programs, the California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes said in a report issued Wednesday.

At first blush, "Ganesh Versus the Third Reich" sounds like a long-lost Monty Python skit about some bizarre time-tripping action-figure wrestling bout. Indeed, as the title hints, a cosmic smackdown between the pachyderm Hindu god and the German Führer takes center stage in the production from Australia's Back to Back Theatre company, which on Thursday opens a four-night run at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. But that epic confrontation is only one thread in the show's imaginative tapestry.

Former Upland City Manager Robb Quincey was arrested Friday on suspicion of misappropriating public money and other acts, the San Bernardino County district attorney's office announced. Quincey, 52, was taken into custody without incident by district attorney's investigators and taken to the West Valley Detention Center, where he was booked. He was also charged with a conflict of interest over a contract while a city official and with perjury, prosecutors said. The perjury charge stems from a case involving Upland Police Sgt. John Moore, who alleged that Quincey passed him over for a promotion because he had investigated a domestic dispute involving Quincey and his ex-fiancee in 2008.

It can be a dog-eat-dog world in social games. Electronic Arts Inc. on Friday filed a copyright infringement suit against Zynga Inc., alleging that the social gaming company's "The Ville" misappropriated EA's game "The Sims Social. " EA's lawsuit was just the latest in a string of bad news for Zynga. The San Francisco social gaming company was hit Monday with a shareholder lawsuit claiming that Zynga investors and executives — including its chief executive, Mark Pincus — had improperly cashed out $516 million in company stock in April, three months before Zynga posted disappointing earnings that sent its shares plummeting 37% in one day. In a blog post explaining EA's lawsuit, Lucy Bradshaw, head of Maxis, the EA-owned studio that created "Sims Social," outlined why EA contends that Zynga "ripped off" its intellectual property.

Eight years after former Compton Mayor Omar Bradley was found guilty of corruption, an appeals court this week tossed his conviction out, saying that his trial had not proved that Bradley meant to break the law. Bradley was convicted of misappropriation of public funds in 2004 along with former Councilman Amen Rahh and former City Manager John D. Johnson II. Prosecutors said the men had used their city-issued credit cards for personal items and...

Re "Perks Bring D.A. Probe at College," Aug. 31: As a community college student, I am painfully aware of the state's current budget crisis: There are students without classes, instructors without jobs and rising tuition costs. Therefore I am extremely interested to hear the directors at Compton Community College justify spending what seems to be nearly $1 million of the school's money on their own interests. I fail to see how students are receiving a better education because board members are allowed to drive luxury vehicles or take overseas trips financed by the college.

Former Lynwood City Councilman Arturo Reyes on Wednesday pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft and agreed to testify against four other former or current council members charged in the same case, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. Reyes, 58, entered the plea to an amended count of grant theft before Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter in Compton. Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary Nielsen, who is prosecuting the case, said the original count of misappropriation of public funds would be dismissed when Reyes was sentenced.

Two former Lynwood council members accused of illegally boosting their salaries were convicted Tuesday in a closely watched case that legal experts said could expand the definition of public corruption. The guilty verdicts marked a significant victory for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office in its efforts to crack down on city officials who pay themselves excessive salaries. The Lynwood trial was seen as an important test case for prosecutors as they prepare to try former Bell council members accused of similar charges in a much higher-profile corruption scandal.

For years, prosecutors say, Lynwood council members lived large on the working-class city's dime. They allegedly billed the city for trips to far-flung places, including Beijing, Bermuda, Rio de Janeiro and Puerto Vallarta. One councilman charged his city credit card to watch Playboy channel movies at a Washington hotel. Another got a $100 daily allowance from the city to play in golf tournaments and attend a Tony Bennett concert and also used his city credit card for a $193 dinner at the House of Blues, prosecutors say. Among the most salacious bills: a $1,500 night out at a Guadalajara strip club, where dancers allegedly performed sexual favors for a council member and city manager - all charged to the city.