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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 1994)
Page 2 • The Battalion STATE & LOCAL Tuesday • November 15, Health spa tycoon found guilty of passport fraud day ‘Nov Founder sentenced to four months, receives credit for time already served HOUSTON (AP) — Despite prosecutors’ hope for a stiffer penalty, a federal judge has sen tenced a former health spa ty coon to four months in prison and a $100,000 fine for passport fraud charges. Richard Minns, who left the country after his ex-girlfriend was paralyzed in a 1980 shoot ing, faced up to 40 years in prison and $2.5 million in fines for the charges he pleaded guilty to Nov. 3 on the second day of his trial. But he got four months Mon day and credit for time already served while awaiting trail, meaning he will finish serving his sentence at noon Friday. Since he’s in the country illegal ly, he will be turned over to im migration officials who will de cide if he should be deported. Minns wants to be deported and allowed to return to Cana da, where he was headed when he was arrested in July at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, his attorneys said. The 64-year-old founder of the President & First Lady health club chain gained notoriety years ago after the 1980 shoot ing of Barbra Piotrowski outside a Houston doughnut shop. Four men were convicted and sentenced in the shooting, which left Ms. Piotrowski, who later changed her name to Jan- ni Smith, paralyzed from the waist down. Minns has never been charged, but he sold his business interests and fled the country shortly after the attack. His for mer lover, believing he was the mastermind, sued him and won a $32 million judgment in 1990 that is still under appeal. Smith, who now lives in Cali fornia and runs a rehabilitation center with her husband, was an gered by the short sentence. “It’s extremely difficult to be lieve,” Smith said in a telephone interview Monday. “I had faith that this time jus tice was going to be served. I guess that our innocents are go ing to be brutalized ... and then we reward the criminals for do ing it, especially if they happen to be wealthy,” she said. But she also said she will still try to collect the judgment. Oral arguments on the appeal are scheduled next month. Minns said little during his sentencing, but defense attorney Mike Ramsey said afterward that his client was relieved the case was over. Minns was flying from Mexico to Vancouver, Canada when he was arrested at Dallas-Fort Worth airport. At the time, he had seven passports from four different countries and under five different names, officials have said. Prosecutors on Monday claimed Minns obtained pass ports illegally as part of his ef forts to elude justice in case he was ever charged in Smith’s shooting. But defense attorneys have maintained their client was striving for privacy and did not have any criminal intent when he obtained the passports. Ram sey also said Monday the case had nothing to do with the high ly publicized shooting, and he asked the judge not to consider it in passing sentence. Hughes seemed to agree, say ing that despite all the publicity, he was passing sentence in a passport fraud case. “We had argued for perhaps a more stiffer sentence, but ul timately it’s up to the judge to decide the sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Gaynelle Griffin Jones. “We accept whatever the judge’s ruling is.” Hughes also scolded U.S. State Department officials over Minns’ Irish passport, which was sent to Ireland even though the govern ment had agreed to return it when Minns pleaded guilty. Texas to convert rehab prisons to high-security facilities AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas prison sys tem is converting new and highly touted substance abuse rehabilitation prisons into more secure lockups to house higher-risk criminals that are backed up in county jails, a newspaper reported Monday. The cost to convert the facilities, many of which are under construction, could go as high as $6 million, the Austin American- Statesman reported. Prison officials say the move will save the state millions of dollars in reimburse ment payments to counties that are hous ing state felons in local jails. And, they said, this will not derail the drug and alcohol treatment initiative that had been touted as a major step in stopping the cycle of crime. “We always thought all of the substance abuse beds wouldn’t be filled right from the start,” said Andy Collins, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. “We’re simply increasing the security de sign so we can hold other types of inmates there” in the short term, he said. “I don’t think anybody would want us to have (prison) beds sitting there empty,” he said. The Legislature in 1991 authorized the construction of 12,000 beds for intensive substance abuse treatment. Of the 12,000 beds, sites for 10,600 have been selected, officials said. Of those, 9,000 were to be housed in separate lockups and 1,600 were to be phased in as separate pro grams in existing prisons. Sites for another 1,400 beds haven’t been chosen, officials said. Of the 9,000 beds, 6,000 beds located in eight prisons are to be “enhanced” to hold other convicts. Those changes include installation of 12- foot-tall perimeter fencing topped with razor wire, additional security lighting, electronic door locks and the enclosure of guard desks in chain link fencing to withstand a riot. Lawmakers never fully funded the treatment programs planned for 12,000 beds because not all were expected to be opened immediately, the American- Statesman reported. In September, a state study projected that only 7,200 intensive therapy beds would be needed by 1996. Even before the report, prison agency records show that “enhancement” of the drug treatment prisons had been under study since May. After months of negotia tions with contractors to change the design, officials said, the first conversion was or dered in late September. avid Win iATTALION my Page Quarter lantic Reci It** 1/2 (out ( Robert PI a ic with his : fage can s i he invenl ppelin but oi “No Quart ey can still ro Pirt-acousi Quarter” vtrs along jigs. Euroj Its, Arabic ptian ens >' way onto |)ew Unledd '’s Fault B ns Pole” riva jftor pace of well to Plar I gypt nati\ (ip blends pi an extraoi \Bttle of Ever phile not the albu version ing You.” hankfull choose t n classic, ' orchestr ;e’s guitar :s someth i mart not tc tdrway to Gonna Le Amy Browning/THEB*™ Flex those muscles Randall Walton, a junior zoology major from South Lake Kyle Kepple, a senior petroleum engineering majorff Joshua, through his strengthening exercises in a physical py session at Beutal’s physical therapy department. Bush pledges to sign bill allowing Education necessary for judges, police officer mp . 1 J J dealing with abusive husbands, boyfriends '* dZeppelins lexans to carry concealed handguns , v * m _ A ^ , u 7 J SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A Protective orders have come un- her needs. AUSTIN (AP) — Gov.-elect George W. Bush said Monday he will sign legislation that would al low Texans to carry concealed handguns. A little more than 15 months ago, Gov. Ann Richards vetoed a bill that would have let Tex ans vote on whether they should be allowed to tote handguns. The new bill, which wouldn’t require voter ap proval, was introduced by state Rep. Ron Wilson, D-Houston, for the regular legislative session that starts Jan. 10. “I support Mr. Wilson’s bill ... I will sign that bill,” Bush said at a news conference. Bush defeat ed Richards last week in the general election. Dur ing the campaign, he said he supported concealed handgun legislation. Wilson’s bill would allow persons who are 21- years-old or older with no history of criminal wrong doing or mental illness to apply for a license. To get the license, applicants would have to complete a firearm education and safety class set up by the Texas Department of Public Safety. On June 3, 1993, Richards vetoed a non-bind ing referendum on the issue, saying it was a tax payer-funded opinion poll for gun interests. She was backed by numerous law enforcement groups that said the measure would only lead to more violence. This time, Wilson said, with Bush’s backing, the bill will become law. “It’s nice to have the chief executive who be lieves in the people’s ability to protect them selves,” Wilson said. Currently, state law doesn’t allow citizens to be li censed to carry concealed or exposed handguns. It re stricts Texans to keeping handguns at home, carry ing them from a purchase, taking them on a hunting or fishing trip or transporting them during travel. state senator says laws to pro tect battered women will be inef fective until judges and law en forcers start acting more respon sibly in dealing with abusive spouses and boyfriends. “We have good laws on the books, but they’re not always en forced,” said Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo and a member of a Sen ate committee examining domes tic violence. “We need continuing education for judges, police and prosecutors so they can develop experience and knowledge about how to deal with these cases.” Women are urged to seek a protective order in abusive rela tionships, but that doesn’t always protect them, the senator said. der attack for various reasons: —they are difficult to enforce; —a hearing on a violation may take six months to come to court; —judges often don’t assess the maximum punishment; —the orders aren’t available to everyone who needs them. Debby Tucker, executive di rector of the Texas Council on Family Violence, noted that Michelle Gomez obtained a pro tective order to defend herself from her ex-husband. The day before Gomez was killed. Tucker said, the judge presiding over a hearing on a vi olation of a protective order ad monished the woman’s former husband “to be more sensitive to Timm Doc “The judge saw the prod as a marriage-communica'I problem,” Tucker said ini day’s editions of the San Ante Express-News. Gomez had obtained a pnl tive order to keep P CialtoThf. DeLaCruz at a safe distaa from her and had filed a cl Do you reme ingly prophetic affidavitt^rd about a c days after Christmas. “He has always been verb abusive to me, (choking) me a beating me,” Gomez said in! court document. “I’m afraid b going (to) kill me or our childrei >w what albi The couple were divert tdominates March 3, and Gomez died DeLaCruz’s hands less month later. * FREE PREGNANCY TESTING • Confidential Counseling Information & Referrals Available Good Samaritan Pregnancy Service, Inc. 505 University Dr., Suite 602 846-2909 Call for an appointment *★*★★**★**★*★****★★★*★★*****★*★★★★*★★★*<+ MURDER! MSC Second Annual Murder Mystery Join us for our second murder November 18 at 7 p.m.! You are the detective assigned to crack the case. Can you solve the case before the murderer kills again? But remember to be careful! The culprit is inside Rudder WITH YOU! BUY YOUR TICKET NOW AT THE SECRE TARY’S ISLAND IN THE STUDENT PROGRAMS OFEICE OR ON THE FIFTH FLOOR OF RUDDER AT 6:30 THE NIGHT OP THE MURDER INDIVIDUALS - $3. GROUPS OF 4 - $10. irt Show NOVA. . 'Pen&oH& cvitA ctltoxtlttflcA ceiti %45~ 15 f 5 fo OtfatMt. u4 you* tftcclal ttctcU . KJt icqueAt k<%U~ ^ jlcatfoK tAftee (3) twiAiny eOujA ftnian. to- (Ac event fa cneiAlc fa euAiet tf<%u fa (Ac Aeet owi oAlUtteA. Yet almost tl eo realm, las tmercially ir (ears before Introducing... a revolutionary new GMAT course. Call: 696-3196 TARGETED TRAINING is the most customized, flexible approach to GMAT study ever. get a higher score KAPLAN TTTTTTagTTTTTT B U F F E T Join us on Thursday, November 24th or a traditional dinner. We’re in Our Turkey Best! Turkey with Dressing • Chicken Florentine Steamship Round of Beef Carved Bone in Ham • Beef Stroganoff Catfish Mediterranean • Deep Fried Shrimp Chilled Shrimp served with Cocktail Sauce Slow Roasted Pork Duxelles Omelettes Cooked to Order, Waffle Station Eggs Benedict, Quiche Lorraine, French Toast, and Blintzes. Reservations Suggested 409/693-7500 With an array of delicious vegetables, breads, and cheeses and a wonderful assortment of Sweets including: New York Cheesecake, j Pumpkin and Pecan Pie. Build your own Ice Cream Sundae and much, much more! If College Station Served from 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM and Conference Center $14.95 Adults $5.95 Children 6-12 15% Senior Citizens Discount 5 and Under EAT FREE The Battalion 801 University Dr. East • College Station, TX 77840 BELINDA BLANCARTE, Editor in chief MARK EVANS, Managing editor JENNY MAGEE, Opinion editor HEATHER WINCH, Night News editor STEWART MILNE, Photo editor MARK SMITH, Night News editor DAVE WINDER, Sports editor KIM McGUIRE, City editor ROB CLARK, Agg/e/f/e editor ’80s? Mart} er replace a ers heralded v age in aud fen years lai »such popu What is the ] ferent fates c almost iden Simply state Staff Members City desk— Jan Higginbotham, Katherine Arnold, Michele Brinkmann, Stephanie Dube, Am! Fowle, Melissa Jacobs, Amy Lee, Lisa Messer, Tracy Smith and Kari Whitley News desk— Robin Greathouse, Sterling Hayman, Jody Holley, Shafi Islam, Tiffany Moore,! Stanton, Zachary Toups and James Vineyard Photographers— Tim Moog, Amy Browning, Robyn Calloway,.Stacey Cameron, Blake Grig Gina Painton, Nick Rodnicki and Carrie Thompson Aggielife— Margaret Claughton, Jeremy Keddie, Constance Parten and Haley Stavinoha Sports writers— Nick Georgandis, Kristina Buffin, Tom Day, Drew Diener, Stewart Doreena Jason Holstead Opinion desk— Lynn Booher, Josef Elchanan, Laura Frnka, Aja Henderson, Erin Hill, Jeremy Keddie, Michael Landauer, Melissa Megliola, George Nasr, Elizabeth Prestoi Gerardo Quezada and Frank Stanford Cartoonists— Greg Argo, Brad Graeber, Alvaro Gutierrez and Quatro Oakley Office Assistants— Heather Fitch, Adam Hill, Karen Hoffman and Michelle Oleson The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall andsprinj semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer sessions (except University holidays 2 exam periods), at Texas A&M University. 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