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The indictment of a former federal agent charged with accepting $250,000 in bribes to protect the Mafia in upstate New York is rooted in a 'racial animus' toward Italian Americans, his lawyer contends. Federal prosecutors have failed to identify 'a single penny' Joseph Bongiovanni took from gangsters in Buffalo, New York, during his two decades with US Drug Enforcement Administration, his defense attorney alleges in new court filings.  'The government has noticed that all of the participants have Italian last names, and as such, has imagined the existence of an Italian-American organized crime syndicate,' the attorney, James Harrington, wrote in the filings. Retired veteran DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni was indicted in 2019 on federal counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements He said the criminal organization cited by prosecutors, the Buffalo Crime Family, 'does not appear to exist, yet the lore of the Italian mafia is so pervas

A former Massachusetts prosecutor and defense attorney with a 25-year history of sexual misconduct allegations has been arrested by Boston police and charged with raping a woman last week. Investigators said Gary Zerola — once named one of People magazine’s most eligible bachelors — had been wanted on a warrant issued out of Boston Municipal Court for rape and breaking and entering in the nighttime. The 49-year-old Zerola appeared on Thursday in Boston Municipal Court for a dangerousness hearing before Judge Thomas Horgan, who ordered him held without bail. Scroll down for video  Gary Zerola, 49 (left and right), a Massachusetts attorney and former prosecutor, has been charged with raping a woman on January 11 Zerola appeared at a dangerousness hearing on Thursday and was ordered held without bail after prosecutors argued that he is a danger to society  Prosecutors argued that Zerola is a danger to the community because he has faced a slew of rape allegations since 1996 and had been ou

Police believe remains found in a station wagon pulled from a New York reservoir this week belong to a mom who went missing in 1989 after following an alleged cult leader. Officials have since reopened a missing person's case for Brenda Kerber, 40, who disappeared from her White Plains home around September 28, 1989 and was a follower of Frederick P. Lenz III, according to The Journal News. Cops did not reveal Kerber's name and said that confirmation the remains found in the station wagon belong to 'the missing party in question' is pending forensic examination and family notification, according to a press release.  The car was found submerged in the Muscoot Reservoir off Route 100 in Somers during a recent study of the reservoir bottom conducted by the New York City's Department of Environmental Protection. Cops found a car believed to belong to Brenda Kerber during a recent environmental study of the reservoir bottom Divers with New York State Police recovered the

Millions of Sydneysiders will be welcomed back into Victoria as the state goes another day with zero local coronavirus infections. Victoria reported three Covid-19 cases in hotel quarantine on Saturday morning after 15,711 tests were conducted over the past 24 hours.   The state has now gone 17 days without a locally acquired case of Covid-19.   It comes as Victoria relaxed its border closures to Sydney at 6pm on Friday, with just one LGA - Cumberland in Sydney's west - still classed as a red zone.  Millions of Sydneysiders will be welcomed back into Victoria as the state goes another day with zero local coronavirus infections . Pictured: Melburnians line up on a night out Victorian premier Dan Andrews (pictured above) announced the easing of restrictions on Friday to interstate guests With the exception of the Blue Mountains and Wollongong, the rest of regional NSW will now be a designated green zone. Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Friday health authorities had been revi

Jennifer Woodley, 40 , former CEO of Make-A-Wish Iowa, was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree theft and unauthorized use of a credit card The former CEO of Make-A-Wish Iowa has been charged after embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the charity that supports sick children. Mother-of-four Jennifer Woodley, 40, was arrested on Thursday and booked at the Polk County Jail in Des Moines on two counts of first-degree theft and the unauthorized use of a credit card.    Months after becoming its leader in August 2019, Woodley allegedly secretly awarded herself a $10,000 bonus in October 2019. According to the criminal complaint, this had not been approved by the Make-A-Wish Iowa board.   The bonus, which Woodley added to a list of legitimate bonuses earned by other employees, cost the organization $15,540 in all, police said.   In addition, Woodley allegedly made 84 unauthorized purchases on an organization credit card that were for her personal use. The purchases totaled

Pennsylvania is now allowing smokers to be at the front of the line for COVID-19 vaccinations alongside nurses, doctors and nursing home residents. Smokers became eligible to receive the doses first in the state after the Pennsylvania Department of Health added those with 'high-risk medical conditions' to the first phase of the vaccine rollout.  Smoking is among the conditions deemed to be high risk. The state is currently still in its first phase of the rollout, which includes Health care personnel, those aged over 65 and those aged between 16-64 with high-risk conditions. So far, Pennsylvania has given out 643,000 of its 1.3 million doses. Pennsylvania is now allowing smokers to be at the front of the line for COVID-19 vaccinations alongside nurses, doctors and nursing home residents Among the other high risk conditions are cancer, chronic kidney disease, Down Syndrome, heart conditions, obesity and pregnancy.  Under the changes, smokers are now eligible to receive the vaccin

Kellyanne Conway's teenage daughter has threatened to release hours and hours of footage which she claims will prove the former Trump adviser is an abusive mother. Claudia, 16, posted to TikTok in response to the uproar she caused on Tuesday by sharing two videos she alleged were compilations of some of the verbal abuse she has suffered from her mother. Kellyanne is not shown in the videos but what appears to be her voice is heard telling Claudia that she should be lucky her mother is pro-life, as well as calling her teenage daughter a ‘b***h’ and an ‘a**hole’. ‘I’m not looking for attention, I’m really not,’ Claudia, who has 1.6million TikTok followers, said in her latest video posted Wednesday, as she clapped back at claims that she had heavily edited the footage.  ‘I’m looking for safety, that’s it.’  Scroll down for video  In a TikTok post on Wednesday night, pictured above, Claudia Conway claimed that she has hours and hours of footage of her mother Kellyanne Conway abusing

It began serving beer on its current site in the 1600s and survived the Great Plague but the Lamb and Flag in Oxford is set to close for good after being hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The Grade II-listed pub where JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and Thomas Hardy once visited has shut its doors after 408 years. The Lamb and Flag will be officially closed on January 31 after suffering dips in revenue over the last year. The Lamb has been in operation since 1566 just south of St John's College in Oxford, moving to its current location on St Giles in 1613. St John's College named it after the two symbols of St John the Baptist: a lamb and a flag, shown on the inn’s sign.    The Lamb and Flag in Oxford survived the Great Plague but is closing after 408 years after being hit by the coronavirus pandemic The Lamb has been in operation since 1566 just south of St John's College in Oxford, moving to its current location on St Giles (pictured in the late 1800s) in 1613 The Lamb and Flag

DailyMail.com Editor-at-large Piers Morgan revealed on Friday that Donald Trump told him he spoke with a prankster impersonating him for 'several minutes' in October about 'all sorts of things', days before the election.  The conversation has never been leaked and the caller's identity remains a mystery.  Trump only revealed it to Morgan during an October 24 phone call after phoning him to discuss what advice he had for him about his election campaign.  He was entirely 'unconcerned' and 'thought the whole thing was hilarious,' Morgan said on Friday.    On October 23, Morgan had stared down the camera during an appearance on Fox and Friends and told Trump in a direct appeal that he could still help him win with some key pieces of advice. The President called the next day.   'I was sitting at home and the phone goes, it was the White House switchboard. I was pretty surprised because I hadn't spoken to Trump since April, he had unfollowed me on

United CEO Scott Kirby says he's considering making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory among staff  United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has announced he's in favor of a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy for all employees and says other companies should follow suit.  Kirby on Thursday spoke during an employee town hall meeting where he informed staff he is strongly considering the move.  'The worst thing that I believe I will ever do in my career is the letters that I have written to the surviving family members of coworkers that we have lost to the coronavirus,' he said, according to a transcript obtained by CNBC.  'And so, for me, because I have confidence in the safety of the vaccine – and I recognize it's controversial – I think the right thing to do is for United Airlines, and for other companies, to require the vaccines and to make them mandatory.'  Legally, private US companies can require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but are unlikely to do so