Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Digest

Briefly

By TIMES WIRES
Published September 27, 2006

Plea details released in Gambino trial

TAMPA - One of six men accused of conspiring with the Gambino crime family to commit extortion, murder and robbery has accepted a plea bargain and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

While Michael Malone, 30, of New York actually pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering in August, his decision remained secret until a hearing Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew ordered the plea agreement unsealed.

According to the plea agreement, Malone participated in an armed robbery of a Sears in New Jersey; the murder of a man in Queens, N.Y.; a robbery at Thee Doll House, a strip club in Tampa; and the extortion of a Tampa resident.

Gary Trombley, Malone's attorney, said he could still get life in prison when he is sentenced.

However, prosecutors typically recommend a reduced sentence if a defendant agrees to cooperate.

87-year-old killed in rush-hour traffic

TAMPA - Each day, Carmen Rosa Zambrana, 87, walked through her neighborhood on Tampa's west side, keeping up on news and staying in shape.

On Monday afternoon, she made her usual trip. But as she crossed Waters Avenue near River Oaks Drive during rush hour, she was struck by two cars and killed, deputies say.

She had crossed two lanes of Waters Avenue at 4:11 p.m., when a 2002 Jeep driven by Christina Poppe, 33, of Clearwater hit her, sending Zambrana into the path of a 2003 Toyota driven by Madeline Acevedo, 65, of Tampa, deputies say.

Acevedo tried to stop, but her car hit Zambrana. Several people tried to help her as she lay in the road, but she later died at St. Joseph's Hospital.

No charges have been filed, said Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

'James! James! Your house is on fire'

TAMPA - Thomas Alexander awoke Tuesday morning to find the home of his longtime friend and neighbor ablaze.

He ran to the door of 1507 E North Bay Street where James C. Larry lived.

"James! James! Your house is on fire," he recalled yelling to his friend of nearly 30 years as he banged on the locked front door. "Get out of there!"

Larry's wife, Virgen Larry, 35, had escaped through a side door, but Larry, 55, did not emerge.

"I guess he was delirious," Alexander said.

Minutes later, Tampa firefighters arrived, broke through the front door and found James Larry unconscious. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he was in critical condition later Tuesday.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Wade said.

Driver cited in wreck with officers' truck

ST. PETERSBURG - A woman who crashed into a pickup truck carrying two detectives Monday night received a citation for running a red light, Pinellas sheriff's officials said.

Patrina Davis, 38, was driving a Chevrolet Impala west on Fifth Avenue N when she collided with a pickup truck carrying a sheriff's office detective and a Gulfport police detective. The two detectives were traveling on 49th Street, sheriff's officials said.

Witnesses said the pickup truck was going through a green light when it was hit, Sheriff's Officials said. Both vehicles were totaled in the crash, but no one was seriously injured.

[Last modified September 27, 2006, 08:48:37]