Page 2 Monday, June 5.1 STATE THE BATTALION San Antonio millionaire goes on trial for 1997 Florida murder Two indicted in alleged kickback schem SAN ANTONIO (AP) — More than two-and-a-half years after the mother of quadruplets was shot and stabbed in her Florida home, her ex- husband, a San Antonio millionaire, goes on trial Monday, accused of ar ranging her murder. Allen Blackthorne has a wealth of financial resources at his disposal, as well as a legal team that started prep- ping for this trial two years before he was even indicted. His trial is expect ed to last three to five weeks. A two-count federal indictment charges Blackthorne with interstate conspiracy to commit murder for hire, which carries a mandatory life sen tence, and interstate domestic violence. Blackthorne's ex-wife, Sheila Bel- lush, was shot and stabbed in her Sarasota, Fla., home in November 1997, shortly after she moved from the San Antonio area. Her 2-year-old quadruplets from her second mar riage were found wandering in blood near their mother's body. Blackthorne was indicted by a fed eral grand jury in January. A day lat er, a Bexar County grand jury re turned state charges. The federal case is the first to go to trial. "He is innocent, not just 'not guilty' innocent," said Richard Lubin, the West Palm Beach, Fla., lawyer who defended famed defense attor ney F. Lee Bailey before representing Blackthorne. First Assistant U.S. Attorney John “He is innocent, not just 'not guilty' innocent.’ — Richard Lubin defense attorney Murphy said prosecutors won't "shock anyone with any of our evi dence." One suspect in the case, Samuel Gonzales, has already pleaded guilty to solicitation of capital murder. Gonzales' cousin and the alleged triggernaitm, Jose Luis Del Toro, es caped into Mexico but was returned by Mexican authorities last year. He faces trial next month in Florida. Gonzales testified against his friend, Daniel Rocha, an accom plished amateur golfer, who was sen tenced to life in prison last year. Gonzales claimed Rocha told him the money for the murder, like the plan, came from Rocha's frequent golf and gambling partner, Blackthorne. Legal experts told the San Antonio Express-News that Blackthorne's best bet is to focus on Rocha, who has been inconsistent with his statements about the case. In an August 1998 letter to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Rocha wrote while awaiting trial in Florida that the plan had been to scare Bellush and not murder her. A few months later, in January 1999, Rocha failed a polygraph test in which he answered yes when asked if Blackthorne recommended killing Bellush. Blackthorne, who turns 45 Mon day, has denied any part in the killing. He has said authorities have over looked a likely suspect in his ex-wife's second husband, James Bellush. Accusing Jam£s Bellush, an appar ent victim, of being a villain poses oth er risks because the widower has be come sole guardian for at least one teen-age daughter born to Black thorne, as well as his own quadru plets, said St. Mary's University law professor Michael Ariens. EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Authorities say more charges are expected after a grand jury last week indicted two for mer Socorro school system vendors, accusing them of par ticipating in a kickback scheme that beat the school district out of $4.6 million. Michael Christopher Rhinehardt, 32, and Toya Michelle Pinkston, 26, both from the Dallas area, were indicted Tuesday and charged with theft over $200,000 and misap plication of fiduciary property, the El Paso Times reported. The charges are first-degree felonies and punishable by up to life in prison. Pinkston was arrested Thursday and placed in the Dal las County Jail. She was released Friday after posting $100,000 bond, officials said. Rhinehardt was still at large. The indictments are the latest development inar vestigation by the El Paso County Sheriff's Depai said Capt. Ralph Mitchell. He said more arrestsanl dictments are expected. On April 4, the former director of risk managemem the Socornj Independent School District in El Paso,M li T. leremia, was arrested on similar charges. He at the El PasoCountyJail Annex in lieu ofa$l million Mitchell said Rhinehardt operated a privateinvestigaii business in Dallas that allegedly billed the Soconx)school trict for background checks on district employees thati not performed. Pinkston was his administrative assistair:] leremia was suspended from his job lastyearwhil ficials looked into irregularities in the school dish funds. He later resigned. jnday, June 5, 200 Tips Continued from Page 1 Kretzschman also said, that even though College Station is not a large city, students should still take the necessary steps to protect their be longings. Students living in resi dence halls should pay close atten tion to who is coming into the dorm behind them. Students living on campus should question anyone they do not recognize entering the dorm; if visiting, students should es cort them to the room. Kretzschman said, students should use care at night when going to bed. "Students need to lock their doors, they should remember that at any time anyone in the dorm can enter their room," Kretzschman said. Apartment and dorms are not the only targets for theives, cars are often burglarized in the summer as well. When junior English major Aaron Teague's car was stolen he lost $2000 worth of property and his insurance only gave him $800. His insurance did not cover the cellular phone, com pact discs, or books he kept in his car. Teague's experience changed the way he viewed the world around him. "First I was mad, and then 1 felt unsafe, I lost my sense of security," Teague said. The College Station Police De partment has shifted its focus to ar eas with a high occurrence of car theft. Major Mike Patterson of CSPD said, the area around Northgate is prone to car burglary. * "Car thieves know that ladiesn; leave their purses in cars whileatll bar," Patterson said. Led by eight / xas A&M mer ar's NCAA 1 rough June 3 a anford Univei hile confereno Texas finishec All-Americai ivelin earned th tie for 38th plac versity's womer A&M coach would finish in )rts of the team "Overall, I th Patterson also said, people e I VVe wm , hopn avoid being a victim if theytakeE active role in protecting theirprope tv. Patterson said car owners shooli not leave anything of value sudij purses, checkbooks or portablec® pact disk players in open viewinsis the car. Car owners should makes? all doors are locked and windows® secure before leaving the car. PatteBian in two ever son said, if someone must leavethalvith a time of 2 purse or valuables in the car, lbHnilerelay, should lock them in the trunk, i; The400-mel "People should remember, rpndseniorsJoh. :’s been a great i hrough for us, ■ lad coming in." Sophomores wo runners wh ig 12 Champii ted the eigh |o earn All-Amt few minutes it takes to securetb car can save lots of trouble Patterson said. ier(altemate) v jurday night bel •kzL\as lazy as I am. Here is my victim, th one looks particulary stupid...Ok H>4NS, n more living on the stree^ for you. Time to turn on the puppy charm Oh, look! hello little buddyl I always wanted to have a dogl Now I need a good reason that to make Keaton accept it on the apartment. . .MMMM... k Hello \ Police? TKere £xre meua—eoT'Vqj podorf- -oeS m'i fc><*.4-V-\r>oo w\ fr\ k LFc-bje: tsf A r O K} Sol t-iaA sW'o'ts ovoV'a.-t' , rovvc !-»..• k«A-*- Gre< Was/i TJI£ {DNTDITKO (MNKUi BY J. GOLDFLUTE QUEEN BEA frttf-tffcnci Alow I dvs-r N&D A SJt>€KlCK... Voy W ILl D6X 7 ffKefi How Do I KhJotf sik IVouRf: of Heto CAb&«2 1 THOMbTji 5HALL *T£SrMy Sfc&fjl Looks UKe iM quicker thar FAST FOOD' OF, 5B00LD f Sf\y ' NOT-SO-fAST hxti'n HaaHaaHaa BY NOTORIOUS 111 urr some "quality .C.'s palaces Now there bucks. With th linthe excitem ing camp! In \ ing blunders i Daniel Snyde and $10 for p; Redskins run mies at their r Wow, wh; Certainly, tain their exci VARSITY FORD SUPER SUMMER SAVINGS AT WWW.VARSITYFORDCSTX.COM WE ARE OVERSTOCKED WITH MUSTANGS RANGERS EXPLORERS COME CHECK OUT OUR SPECIALS DOWNLOAD COUPONS FOR SERVICE SPECIALS PRE-OWNED SPECIALS ARE CHANGED WEEKLY Questions? e-mail us at newcar@varsityfordcstx.com ask for rate and rebate informatioh, run credit checks, and get price and payment information hassle free ftffffffffffffffff THE HQ Wi n l ft I **;V*.* A6 VRi Vi * :R1 f ft* Beverly Mireles, Jeff Kempf Managing Editor Jason Bennyhoff, Aggielife/Radio Editor Beth Ahlquist, Copy Chief. Jennifer Bales, Night News Editor April Young, City Editor Jeanette Simpson, Asst. City Editor Editor in Chief Eric Dickens, Opinion Editor Reece Flood, Sports Editor Stuart Hutson, Sci/Tech Editor JP Beato, Photo Editor Ruben Deluna, Graphics Editor Brandon Payton, Web Master News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in the Division of Student Media, a unit of the Department of Journalism. News offices are in 014 Reed McDonald Building. Newsroom phone: 845-3313; Fax: 845-2647; E-mail: Thebattalion@hot- mail.com; Web site: http://battalion.tamu.edu Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For classified adver tising, call 845-0569. Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald, and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-2678. 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