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Springfield University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center employee given prison in thefts www.privateofficer.com
The U.S. Attorney’s office says 47-year-old Janet Mosier, of Springfield, must also repay the stolen money under the sentence she received Thursday in federal court.
Mosier was the director of accounting services at Springfield University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.
In a guilty plea earlier this year, Mosier admitted stealing from a petty cash account from 2003 through 2010.
Prosecutors said Mosier resident submitted receipts from her personal expenses and others she got from family members to support inflated reports of petty cash outlays.
Northern Virginia police arrest violent gang forcing high school girls to prostitute www.privateofficer.com
The defendants, most of whom were arrested overnight, were scheduled to appear in federal court Friday afternoon in Alexandria, Va., on charges that include underage sex trafficking.
The alleged ringleader is identified in court documents as Justin Strom, 26, of Lorton, Va., a suburb of Washington. He is described as the Fairfax County, Va., leader of the Underground Gangster Crips. The arrests of the five alleged members of the gang follow six other arrests of members of the gang in the past year and a half, officials said.
The investigation began in September 2011, but an affidavit lists alleged crimes by the reputed gang members dating back to 2006.
Officials from the U.S. attorney’s office, the Virginia attorney general’s office and others said Strom and his associates recruited high school girls to work for them as prostitutes and vowed violence if they tried to leave.
Authorities identified at least 10 high school girls between 16 and 18 years of age who were recruited.
The amounts of money involved were generally small, with prostitutes often receiving $50 for performing sexual acts.
Authorities arrested Michael Jefferies, 21, of Woodbridge on Wednesday night. Police said he handled the money.
They arrested Strom and Henock Ghile, 23, of Springfield early Thursday. Ghile transported the girls, police said.
Donyel Dove, an alleged bodyguard and driver, was arrested on March 24 in Warren County on separate charges, police said.
The fifth man, Christopher Sylvia, 22, of Springfield, Va., was arrested on March 8 as a driver in the sex trafficking conspiracy, police said.
Springfield teacher arrested for enticing child www.privateofficer.com
Springfield MO. Aug 12 2011 A Springfield elementary teacher has been arrested and charged in connection with the alleged attempted enticement of a child younger than age 15.
Jeffrey L. Turnbough, 29, of Springfield, was booked into the Greene County Jail this week. Bond is set at $30,000. Bond conditions include no contact with the alleged victim, no contact with children under 17, and he cannot be anywhere where children congregate, including daycares and schools.
The crime happened July 28, according to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. The formal charge is one count of alleged enticement of a child, a felony.
Turnbough was hired by Springfield Public Schools in August 2009. He was a fifth-grade teacher at Pleasant View Elementary and was apparently planning to teach this year because a note about his 2011-12 classroom supply list was still up on the school website.
Teresa Bledsoe, spokeswoman for the school district, confirmed Wednesday that Turnbough was employed as a fifth-grade teacher. “He’s currently on administrative leave,” she said.
For the 2010-11 school year, Turnbough received a base pay of $33,085 plus a $1,226 stipend as a staff sponsor of the middle school Pep Club. The Pleasant View school includes elementary and middle school students.
Turnbough identified himself as a teacher on his Facebook, Google+ and Twitter pages. As @jeffturnbough81 — his name plus the year he was born — Turnbough wrote that he loves his teaching career, music, movies and sports. He was sending tweets until 2 a.m. Wednesday.
In one of his last posted tweets, he wrote to @PaulaAbdul that “I want you to know that you have pulled me thru some tough times. I’m at my lowest point point tonight & your music gets me thru.”
