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By Times staff reports
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 8, 2001
Man sent to prison in Hovercraft fraud
TAMPA -- A man who bilked investors with a phony prospectus for a Hovercraft shuttle service was sentenced Monday to 41 months in prison.
Lebo R. Mancuso Jr. -- charged with mail, wire and securities fraud -- pleaded guilty last year to two counts of mail fraud in return for a recommendation for leniency. He had remained free after claiming he had an oil deal in the works that would help him pay the $1.16-million he owed in restitution. The oil deal never materialized, and U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday sentenced Mancuso to the maximum prison term.
Mancuso, 50, admitted selling fraudulent securities from 1989 to 1999 to investors enticed by a plan to start up a 400-passenger Hovercraft service ferrying gamblers from New York City to Atlantic City. But investors' funds were funneled by Mancuso into his $300,000 Harbour Island home, thoroughbred racehorses, gifts to friends and loans to other Mancuso companies, records show.
TAMPA -- Blueprints for a controversial $20-million complex planned for historic Ybor City will go before the Barrio Latino Commission in two weeks so that the public can air their opinions and the board can decide whether it should be built.
During a design review meeting Tuesday, commissioners asked architect Ken Kroger to return with additional information, including renderings of the Seventh Avenue storefront and pictures of more traditional balconies.
The proposed project, a mix of nightclubs, bars, restaurants, shops and offices under one roof, is being criticized for deviating from the district's historic flavor.
The commission, which must approve all buildings in Ybor City, will vote on the issue during a meeting Aug. 21.
Search still on for suspect in deadly Tampa shootout
TAMPA -- Tampa police continued their search Tuesday for a man they say was involved in a botched drug deal that left two people dead in northeast Hillsborough Monday night.
The man, who police have not been able to identify, fled with a friend after the gunfight erupted.
The friend was found dead of a gunshot wound about a mile from the confrontation. Police identified him on Tuesday as 20-year-old Azania Moore of Tampa.
The missing suspect was described as a black male, between 5-feet-6 and 5-feet-8, with a medium build and dreadlocks. He was wearing a gray T-shirt, tan shorts and gold chains around his neck.
TAMPA -- A Sarasota man accused of scamming elderly victims out of $1.6-million by promising huge lottery payoffs was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison. Serges Jacques "Jack" Descent asked U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. for mercy.Without comment, Moody then sentenced him to the high end of the guidelines. He also ordered him to pay more than $1-million in restitution.
BROOKSVILLE -- Wendy Tellone, a veteran administrator enjoying a ground swell of popular support for her bid to become Hernando's next superintendent, got the interim post Tuesday night from a split School Board.
Tellone, 50, will become the interim superintendent on Sept. 4, the day after John Sanders steps aside after six years of leading the school district. He officially resigned Tuesday to become superintendent in Lee County.
Board members Sandra Nicholson and Gail Coleman opposed Tellone's appointment, arguing that the interim superintendent should not be a candidate for the permanent post. It could scare away good candidates who might feel a candidate search is just a formality, they said.
Robert Wiggins and John Druzbick said they might consider giving Tellone the job without searching for candidates. Or, Wiggins suggested, maybe Tellone could get the job on a trial basis. If she does well, she could keep it.
TAMPA -- Tampa police were continuing their search Tuesday for a man they say was involved in a botched drug deal that left two people dead in northeast Hillsborough Monday night.
The man, whom police have not been able to identify, fled with a friend after the gunfight erupted.
The friend was found dead of a gunshot wound about a mile from the confrontation. Police identified him on Tuesday as 20-year-old Azania Moore of Tampa.
According to authorities, Moore and the unidentified man went to apartment No. 126 at a complex on Charter Oak Court about 9:10 p.m.
Moore walked up to the second-floor apartment and exchanged words with Charles Samson Bing Jr., who was inside visiting his girlfriend.
Moore walked back downstairs and returned a few moments later with his friend. After a brief exchange of gunfire, Bing and Moore were both shot.
Bing, 33, died inside the apartment. His girlfriend and their child were home at the time, but the child was asleep in another room, said police spokeswoman Katie Hughes.
Police said Moore and the other man stole money and Bing's car keys and sped away in Bing's black Ford Expedition.
About a mile away, on Knollwood and 40th streets, police found Moore dead inside the Expedition. The other man was gone.
He was described as a black male, between 5 feet 6 and 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a medium build and dreadlocks. He was wearing a gray T-shirt, tan shorts and gold chains around his neck.