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Jury still out on 1 of 4 'Mob' defendants

By TIMES WIRES
Published November 29, 2006

Jurors in the Tampa trial of four alleged mobsters said Tuesday they have reached a verdict for three of the defendants but are deadlocked on the fourth. Ronald "Ronnie One Arm" Trucchio and his three co-defendants are charged with committing racketeering and extortion in the name of the Gambino crime family. After deliberating for four days, jurors sent U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew a note mid-afternoon Tuesday: "Dear Judge Bucklew, We have reached a verdict on three defendants. We have one hung jury on one defendant." Jurors planned to resume at 9 a.m. today.

Gandhi's grandson to speak tonight

Grandfatherly advice is precious. But when the grandfather is Mahatma Gandhi, it's priceless. Arun Gandhi will be in St. Petersburg tonight to give a speech titled "Lessons Learned from Grandfather." He will speak at 6:15 p.m. at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg's student activities center, 199 Sixth Ave. S. Arun Gandhi spent time with the revered advocate of nonviolence when India was fighting for independence. The talk is free and open to all.

Signs in yard get mayor's attention

Fed up with City Hall, James Shanklin took his complaint to the mayor's front yard. An 18-by-24-inch sign appeared in front of Mayor Rick Baker's home on Thanksgiving. The sign, one of 700 Shanklin made, was made to publicize what he calls abuses in city code enforcement. It got the attention of Baker and St. Petersburg police, who warned Shanklin about trespassing on private property. Shanklin told police he wasn't involved, but then he sent an e-mail to friends and the Times: "I told the cop I would never place 'a' sign in the mayor's yard again, so that night I placed five of them in his yard."

District choice applications easier

The Hillsborough school district is trying to make picking a school easier this year. An all-in-one choice application debuts this week, designed to cut back on the red tape involved in picking a school outside your neighborhood. The single application replaces several previously used for some magnet programs, as well as options known as "school choice," "open choice" and "special assignment." The first of four application periods for the coming school year begins Friday and runs through Jan. 26.

[Last modified November 29, 2006, 00:31:38]