Nick Snider

Just in time for Fashion Week, a top male model is facing criminal charges after allegedly offering sexual favors to Arkansas cops in return for his release following an arrest for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Nick Snider, 21, was busted early Monday morning after causing a disturbance at a female friend’s home in Batesville, a city 90 miles north of Little Rock. According to an Independence County Sheriff’s Department report, when deputies approached the intoxicated Snider, he stated, “I am a very famous model.” As Snider was being transported in a patrol car to the county jail, he “kept trying to get me to stop the car and let him go,” reported Deputy Brian Luetschwager. “Mr. Snider stated to me, ‘If you stop I’ll suck your dick and balls if you let me go.’” Snider, pictured in the below mug shot, allegedly repeated the oral sex offer after arriving at the local lockup, where the model “also harassed the booking Jailer with similar sexual comments.” After declining the barter deal, deputies lodged an additional charge against Snider, this one for illegally attempting to influence a public servant. He pleaded not guilty yesterday to the three misdemeanor counts during an appearance in Independence County District Court. Snider is free on $780 bond and is scheduled for a February 17 trial. Snider has appeared as the face of Prada and was named by Forbes in 2008 as the world’s fifth most successful male model. Last month, he was in Paris for the Yves Saint Laurent fashion show and will appear on various runways when New York City’s Fashion Week begins February 11. Snider, a Manhattan resident, did not respond to TSG messages sent to his Facebook and MySpace accounts.
from The Smoking Gun

CHILTON, WISCONSIN – Two Wisconsin women accused of seeking revenge on a cheating lover by gluing his penis to his stomach have reached plea deals.`
Forty-eight-year-old Therese Ziemann, of Menasha, was accused of doing the actual gluing. She pleaded no contest Monday to reduced charges of disorderly conduct and misdemeanor battery.
Her sister, 43-year-old Michelle Belliveau, of Neenah, pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct.
District attorney Ken Kratz agreed not to seek jail time for either one.
The women allegedly lured the 37-year-old Fond du Lac man to a motel and tied him to a bed in July.
A third defendant pleaded not guilty last month to false imprisonment. A false-imprisonment charge against the man’s wife was dropped earlier.
from The Associated Press

In the annals of advertising imagery, few brand symbols are more iconic and recognizable than the Sun-Maid raisin girl.
Nevertheless, Sun-Maid recently decided to join Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima and Mrs. Butterworth’s in giving the female face of their product a substantial makeover from a young, early 20th-century girl into a buxom, modern young woman, leading some to say that the newly made-over raisin girl looks like a Barbie Doll in Amish attire
Since 1915, the face of Sun-Maid has been Lorraine Collett Petersen, who, according to the company’s website , “was discovered drying her black hair curls in the sunny backyard of her parents’ home in Fresno, California.” Petersen was then asked to pose for a watercolor painting holding a basket of grapes while wearing a sunbonnet. In the years since, the company has tweaked its trademark design occasionally to keep up with the times, but every variation has always been based on the original pose by Petersen. The new computer-animated version of the Sun-Maid girl currently featured in television advertisements is a departure from the classic design that harkened back to a time when “life was much simpler, more rural, a lot less hectic.”
Naturally, the revamped look hasn’t gone unnoticed, rankling both ends of the political spectrum. The blog for conservative magazine The Weekly Standard noted that the new Sun-Maid girl looks “as if Julia Roberts decided to don a red bonnet and start picking grapes,” while the feminist website Jezebel.com remarked  that it looks as if she’s had “some implants.”
Though the new look for the raisin girl has been garnering attention of late, the changes to the 90-year-old icon were actually introduced three years ago. At the time, Sun-Maid president Barry Kriebel said that the decision to make changes was inspired by the desire to educate consumers about healthy living choices.
“This is as good a time as any to get on the wave of health and nutrition,” he said. Kriebel also noted that he felt the new look was a reasonable modernization, saying “You’re not going to see her dancing or kicking up her heels out in the vineyard, but have her do what is appropriate for her to do, based on her history but also being a contemporary person living in the 21st century.”
Additionally, there’s been talk that the new Sun-Maid girl might be given a name and featured in future advertisements doing some of the things modern women typically do, like going to the gym, shopping at the market, and speaking multiple languages, particularly languages native to countries where Sun-Maid, the world’s largest producer and processor of raisins and other dried fruits, sells raisins. However, the image on all Sun-Maid product packaging will remain the same, as the new version will only be featured in product advertisements.
from Yahoo Finance

Adam Lambert

American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert has been in the news this week for more than just the upcoming release of his debut album, For Your Entertainment: After putting Lambert on the cover of OUT magazine, Aaron Hicklin, OUT’s editor, wrote the singer an open letter, complaining about certain stipulations placed on the interview and cover shoot by Lambert’s management team — allegations to which Lambert fired back via Twitter.
We caught up with Lambert at rehearsals for the American Music Awards in downtown Los Angeles today, and got his unvarnished take on the dispute. We also chatted about the new album and his AMA performance, and will bring you those answers tomorrow as part of our ongoing coverage of Sunday’s awards show.
Entertainment Weekly: Let’s talk about the OUT magazine kerfuffle.
Adam Lambert: Isn’t that fun? [laughs]
Entertainment Weekly:We now know the behind-the-scenes dialogue between the magazine and your management team. The thing I’m curious about is, from your perspective, how does it feel to have your image managed by someone other than you?
Adam Lambert:What people don’t realize is, I am managing my image, more than maybe the editor of OUT magazine likes to give anybody credit for. My team is a team. And I really feel fortunate that 19 Management and Simon Fuller said to me, from the get-go, “We want to do what you want to do. You need to tell us how you want to do things, what interests you have,” and they’ve been incredibly supportive of me. I really mean it. I’m not being puppeted around. I didn’t want to jump onto a gay magazine as my first thing, because I feel like that’s putting myself in a box and limiting myself. It was my desire to stay away from talking about certain political and civil rights issues because I’m not a politician. I’m an entertainer. That is not my area of expertise. I can talk about relationships and personal experiences because as an artist those things involve writing lyrics and that part of my process. But I didn’t feel comfortable talking about the March on Washington. I didn’t feel comfortable, so I asked my publicist to ask the interviewer to stay away from the political questions. I take full responsibility for that. I think that the editor has his agenda and has his opinions, which I respect, but they’re not necessarily my opinions. And I wish there was a little respect for that. Not every gay man is the same gay man.
Entertainment Weekly:They’re gonna take away your laminated membership card.
Adam Lambert:Apparently. It’s just sexuality. We’re all very very different, just like all straight people are different.
Entertainment Weekly:Who told you that?
Adam Lambert:You know? That’s the thing. But the funny thing is, in order for us to progress, we need to stop segregating ourselves. And a letter like that, that viewpoint — the letter that Aaron wrote is holding us back. Because it’s recognizing the big difference as opposed to letting us all ignore preference and just be people. So I think in attempt to champion a cause he’s actually taking a big step backwards.
Entertainment Weekly:With things like the phrase “gay-gay”?
Adam Lambert:That was taken out of context. It was all taken out of context. And also, the other thing that I feel about it? If there are things going on behind the scenes with my management, it has nothing to do with my interview with them. He really crossed a line.
*
from Entertainment Weekly

CONWAY, SOUTH CAROLINA – A man caught having sex with a horse in a South Carolina stable has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Multiple media outlets report that Rodell Vereen was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to buggery. A judge also ordered Vereen to get counseling and stay away from the Lazy B stables when he’s released.
Authorities charged Vereen, 50, after a woman set up a surveillance camera and caught him on tape having sex with her horse in July. Horse owner Barbara Kenley said she had noticed her 21-year-old horse Sugar was acting strangely. She also noticed things had been moved around near the horse’s stall at her stables in Longs, about 20 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach.
She said she staked out the stable and caught Vereen sneaking into the barn days later, holding him at shotgun point until police arrived.
Kenley had seen Vereen before. He pleaded guilty last year to having sex with the same horse and was put on probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Vereen has had mental problems for several years, but seemed to get better after getting court-ordered treatment last year, said his brother, the Rev. James Vereen, in earlier interviews. The brother lives just down the street from his brother and the stables.
“He’s done all right when he was on the medicine. I don’t know if he is still taking it,” said James Vereen in a July interview.
She said she staked out the stable and caught Vereen sneaking into the barn days later, holding him at shotgun point until police arrived.
Kenley had seen Vereen before. He pleaded guilty last year to having sex with the same horse and was put on probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Vereen has had mental problems for several years, but seemed to get better after getting court-ordered treatment last year, said his brother, the Rev. James Vereen, in earlier interviews. The brother lives just down the street from his brother and the stables.
“He’s done all right when he was on the medicine. I don’t know if he is still taking it,” said James Vereen in a July interview.
from MSNBC

Richard Hatch

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND – “Survivor” winner Richard Hatch was released from a Massachusetts jail early Friday after completing a federal sentence for evading taxes on the $1 million he won during the CBS reality show’s first season.
Hatch was freed shortly before 6 a.m. from Barnstable County jail in Bourne, Mass., sheriff spokesman Roy Lyons said. He was driven home to Newport, R.I., by sheriff’s deputies and arrived there around 7:30 a.m., Lyons said.
A message left at his home Friday morning was not immediately returned.
Hatch, 48, now faces three years of supervised release. He won’t be able to leave Rhode Island without permission and must check in with his probation officer regularly, said Barry Weiner, chief U.S. probation officer for Rhode Island. Hatch doesn’t have a job yet, but he will have to find one, Weiner said. He must also complete a mental health program.
Hatch’s husband is from Argentina, and he has asked the court unsuccessfully in the past to grant him permission to live there and to go overseas to participate in a “Survivor” reunion show. Weiner said those on supervised release are typically only allowed to leave the country under special circumstances, but he wouldn’t speak specifically about Hatch’s case.
Hatch remains one of reality TV’s most famous villains, the man viewers loved to hate. He first captured their attention for shedding his clothes on “Survivor,” prompting David Letterman to nickname him “the fat naked guy.”
But he made the biggest impression – and won the show – by scheming his way to the top. He reveled as squabbles among his fellow contestants thinned their ranks, connived with teammates to stick together, then pitted his allies against each other.
In 2006, he was convicted of tax evasion for not paying taxes on his “Survivor” winnings, as well as on $327,000 he earned as co-host of a Boston radio show and $28,000 in income from rental property. The judge tacked on extra prison time to his sentence after finding he had lied on the stand, giving him a 51-month prison term.
Under the terms of Hatch’s supervised release, he must refile his 2000 and 2001 tax returns and pay all his back taxes, Weiner said.
After serving several years behind bars, Hatch was released to home confinement earlier this year and was supposed to complete his sentence at his sister’s home in Newport. But in August he got into trouble with the Bureau of Prisons when he granted three television interviews to NBC’s “Today” show,” local NBC affiliate WJAR-TV and the NBC-owned “Access Hollywood.”
The Bureau of Prisons said he was only authorized to give the “Today” interview and ordered him taken to jail for violating the rules. Hatch’s lawyer said they thought all three were allowed, and Hatch said he was being punished for comments he made during the interviews, when he criticized the judge and prosecutor in his case and said he was discriminated against because he is gay.
A federal judge last month found that Hatch broke the rules and allowed the Bureau of Prisons to add nine days to Hatch’s time behind bars as punishment.
from The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia man who authorities say stole the identities of eight Lehigh Valley residents to rack up $88,000 of bills in their names, partly to buy penis enlargements for him and a friend and breast implants for two women, could serve nearly two decades behind bars.
Lehigh County Judge Maria L. Dantos sentenced Jose Amid Juarbe to 4 to 18 years in state prison Tuesday. She also ordered him to make minimum monthly payments of $300 a month once he’s released to repay all the stolen money.
Juarbe, 40, told the judge many others benefited from the products that were purchased with the stolen money and he needed the penis enlargement surgery to properly function.
”People think that because I’m gay, I don’t have to have my parts working,” he told the judge.
Also Tuesday, one of Juarbe’s co-defendants who had penis enlargement surgery with the stolen money was placed on a program for first-time offenders.
Juarbe pleaded guilty in August to 42 counts including identity theft, writing bad checks, forgery and theft by deception. Twenty-seven of the counts are felonies. Assistant District Attorney Anna-Kristie Morffi said Juarbe has 26 prior convictions, 17 of which are thefts. She said he’s also used 23 aliases.
Juarbe, according to authorities, used information stolen from Dino Melendez Realty Co. in Allentown to steal identities in the Lehigh Valley and make more than $88,000 in purchases and loans between September 2007 and January 2008. That, according to police, included four plastic surgeries: a penis enlargement for him and another man, 30-year-old Manuel Delarosa of Philadelphia; and breast enhancement surgeries for two women, 26-year-old Maria Lopez and 33-year-old Bedenissi Feliciano, both of Philadelphia.
Police say Juarbe provided the stolen identities the man and two women used to get the surgeries and all three have been charged with theft crimes.
Delarosa on Tuesday was placed in the county’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for two years by Lehigh County President Judge William H. Platt and was ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution for his enhancement surgery. Delarosa, who has no prior criminal convictions, could have his record expunged if he successfully completes the program, which is essentially a probationary period.
The cases against Lopez and Feliciano are pending. Both have hearings scheduled for next month.
Juarbe also purchased furniture and motorcycles with the stolen money, according to authorities.
Police allege a former Allentown woman, 25-year-old Carniola Santana, sold Juarbe the personal information from customers of the real estate company. Santana, who now has a New York City address, is awaiting trial on 14 charges of conspiracy and identity theft.
from The Morning Call

UNITED KINGDOM – Stewart, 37, allegedly put slug pellets into a curry he had offered Marie Walton and Beverley Sales as a peace offering, after the trio had argued for months.
When the women started to eat however, they noticed the pellets and called the police, and Stewart was arrested. He appeared before Manchester magistrates where he admitted attempting to poison the two women last month, but denied a further charge of making threats to kill.
Stewart, from Denton, Manchester, is alleged to have kidnapped the couple’s three-legged cat, Amber, leaving her in a village miles away. The cat was eventually found three miles away being cared for by a woman who had taken her in.
Neighbours of the Miss Walton, a full-time mother, and Miss Sales, a goods vehicle driver, said “what those two girls had to endure these past years has been horrendous.”
“He was abusive to them and made their lives a misery”, one neighbour told The Daily Mail.
“And to cap it off, he kidnapped their cat and dumped it on the streets.”
Slug pellets, which contain metaldehyde or methiocarb, are potentially dangerous to animals and children. Metaldehyde is officially classed as “moderately hazardous” by the World Health Organisation, although would not usually kill an adult.
Stewart is due to appear at Manchester magistrates court at a later date.
from The Telegraph UK