Anthrax Scare at Montery Radio Station

What's the big deal. An envelope of white powder at a radio station

Independently-owned Zwerling Broadcasting news/talker KSCO/Santa Cruz, Calif. was locked down on Monday (Sept. 25) after an employee opened an envelope that had been mailed to the station containing an unknown white powder substance. Early tests indicated the powder was not anthrax or any other hazardous substance; however, additional tests are being conducted to confirm that the material posed no threat.

Radio Daily News, September 29, 2006

Ex-salesman sentenced in radio fraud

You don't make much when you work for a public radio station

A former salesman for the University of Michigan's public radio and TV stations who was convicted of conspiracy to embezzle was sentenced Thursday to 18 months probation.

Jeremy Nordquist, 28, of Saline was among three former employees of the stations who were accused of embezzling about $60,000 in items that had been donated in exchange for on-air mentions.

Nordquist admitted during his trial that he received a pool table, Persian rugs and other items but said he was following the directions of his supervisors.

A Washtenaw County Circuit Court jury in July convicted Nordquist of conspiracy to embezzle but cleared him of a second embezzlement charge. Nordquist could get less time on probation if he pays $5,000 in restitution.

Michigan Public Media operates WUOM-FM in Ann Arbor, WVGR-FM in Grand Rapids, WFUM-FM in Flint, WFUM-TV and the Michigan Channel cable station.

Detroit Free Press, Sept. 24, 2006

Ex-KIRO radio host's trial for fraud ends in a mistrial

Talker says convict me and I'll shot myself and judge declares mistrial

The insurance-fraud trial of former radio talk-show host Mike Webb ended in a mistrial Thursday after a judge determined the jury had been tainted by seeing Webb handcuffed by police following an outburst outside the courthouse a day earlier.
"The taint is too great; it does not afford Mr. Webb a fair and impartial trial. I do not have any choice," King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector told jurors Thursday after some of them testified that they witnessed or heard about the incident before they were to begin deliberating.
According to a Seattle Police Department report, police found Webb acting "irrational and irate" on James Street and Second Avenue after testimony in his trial concluded just before 1 p.m. Wednesday. A woman told police that Webb had threatened to kill himself if found guilty and that he had access to a gun in his house, the report stated.
When an officer contacted Webb on the street and asked if he would allow police to retrieve the gun from his home, Webb said no, according to the report.
Webb was not arrested, but he was handcuffed and taken to Harborview Medical Center for a mental-health evaluation, according to Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

WWL Talk Host Accused Of Murder, Free On Bail

I guess the disguise didn't fool his radio listeners

WWL New Orleans Talk host Vince Marinello, who stands accused of murdering his estranged wife, is free after posting the quarter-million dollar bail.

Marinello, who’s 69, is charged with dressing in a disguise and shooting his estranged wife to death in what amounted to a “hit” in a suburban parking lot.

Mary Elizabeth Marinello, a 45-year-old respiratory therapist, died a day after she was shot twice in the face in the parking lot.

This past July she had filed for a divorce from Marinello after she learned he was still married when they wed.

Investigators say that on August 31, Marinello put on a fake mustache and beard, rode a bicycle to the parking lot he knew she used regularly, waited, then shot her before making his getaway.

Authorities say that in a search of Marinello’s post-Hurricane Katrina FEMA trailer, they found a handwritten checklist of the alleged plans for the shooting.

Radio Ink, September 14, 2006