Man arrested after failing to show up for fraud sentencing

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A Massachusetts man wanted for failing to show up for sentencing on numerous fraud charges a year ago has been arrested in Salem.

Authorities say Steven Morehouse, 69, of Methuen, Mass., failed to appear in federal court in Maine last November. He was to be sentenced on numerous counts of fraud, bank fraud and identity theft.

Officials say his crimes spanned many years and involved banks in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia. They say he stole about $400,000 and faces up to 30 years in prison.

Morehouse was arrested Monday afternoon outside a Salem restaurant. A spokeswoman at the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Hampshire said Morehouse agreed to be returned to Maine for sentencing, which was schedule for Dec. 19.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Malone in Maine said her office is considering whether Morehouse will face additional charges.

Teen driver in fatal crash charged

CHELSEA, Vt. (AP) – The teenager who was at the wheel of a car that crashed in Brookfield Sept. 11, killing a passenger, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of grossly negligent driving with death resulting.

Police say the crash occurred on the same road where Teddy Gilman earlier had been the driver in “stunt videos.” Police also said that they had obtained a tape showing another instance of Gilman driving more than 100 mph, and yet another instance of him driving at 65 mph with a friend on the trunk of his car.

Attorney James Martino entered the not guilty plea for 17-year-old Gilman of Randolph in Vermont District Court for Orange County on Monday.

Police say Gilman was driving a 1995 Volkswagen Jetta at more than 100 mph on the Ridge Road in Brookfield when he lost control on a curve just before the intersection with Vermont Route 65.

The car crashed into the woods, killing Gilman’s passenger, 16-year-old Kyle Garrow of Braintree.

Court papers say two other passengers, Jeremy Johnston, 15, and Mikel Brady II, 16, both of Randolph, who suffered only minor injuries, told police the car spun around after “catching air” on a hill and careened backward into woods, flipping twice before landing on its roof.

Gilman, who was airlifted to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., allegedly told police while in the hospital that he was traveling 110 mph before the crash.

Prosectors to appeal dismissal of UVM drunken driving case

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – A decision in a drunken driving case brought by the University of Vermont police department could make it more difficult for the UVM officers to enforce the law off campus.

Chief Gary Margolis said the decision last month by Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman contradicted similar decisions by other judges and it wasn’t changing the way his 22 officers operated.

“Taking his argument as written forward one can posit that a Bennington police officer has no legal authority in enforcing the laws of the state of Vermont while in Rutland because s/he isn’t answerable to the citizens of Rutland via their City Council or selectboard,” Margolis wrote. “He’s basically invalidated the section of (state law) that gives us all statewide arrest authority.”

The Chittenden County state’s attorney’s office is appealing Cashman’s decision to the Vermont Supreme Court.

“We have already filed the notice of appeal,” said State’s Attorney Bob Simpson, who wouldn’t discuss the case further.

In the case decided last month, the attorney for James T. Curley-Egan successfully argued UVM police were not controlled by an elected body and therefore had no authority off campus.

“None of the Board of Trustees, selected privately or appointed by the General Assembly, must answer to the electorate made up of all those subject to the police jurisdiction,” said the Oct. 27 order signed by District Court Judge Edward Cashman.

The decision dismissed the driving under the influence charge against Curley-Egan as well as the civil suspension of his driver’s license for refusing to submit to a roadside breath test after his May 7 stop on Summit Street, about a block from the UVM campus. He was 20 at the time of his arrest.

Curley-Egan of Southborough, Mass., is still enrolled at UVM, but is studying abroad this fall, UVM officials said. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

Margolis said his officers regularly patrol the hill section of Burlington near the UVM campus and work with area police departments. His officers have the same police authority as any officer in the state.

Jane Woodruff, the executive director of the state Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, said Tuesday she informed her members about the case so they would be aware of it. She didn’t hear back from any of them.

The UVM police are unique because they represent the school rather than a public body such as a city, town or county. In 1991 the Legislature authorized UVM to create a department that would have all the powers of any police agency in the state.

Cashman’s ruling says that state law requires that police agencies be overseen by electable public bodies, such as a board of selectmen or city council.

“He (Curley-Egan) argues that the university stands in the same position as a private corporation, such as the International Business Machines or Wal-Mart,” Cashman said.

Simpson said that if the Supreme Court reverses Cashman’s decision, his office could file again the DUI charges against Curley-Egan.

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