Forced to watch movie; man bites firefighter; 1 voter delays election

WICHITA, Kan. — A Kansas priest charged Tuesday with stealing nearly $151,000 from two parishes and the Catholic Diocese of Wichita used the money to fund his gambling, federal prosecutors alleged.

Documents filed in U.S. District Court in Wichita charge Father Thomas H. Leland with one count of bank fraud.

Leland was assigned in 2010 to St. Francis Parish in St. Paul and St. Ambrose Parish in Erie, both located in southeast Kansas. He is no longer active with the diocese, spokeswoman Amy Pavlacka said.

Court records do not list a defense attorney who could comment on his behalf, and church officials had no contact information for him.

"The charges filed today reflect a difficult time for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita," Pavlacka said in an email. "Our priorities throughout have been to assist and secure the financial well-being of St. Francis and St. Ambrose Catholic parishes, which we have done, and to help Fr. Leland navigate this difficult time with justice and mercy."

Both parishes have "turned the page," and are thriving under new leadership, she said.

Prosecutors allege that between 2012 and April 2014, Leland executed a scheme to defraud the two parishes and the diocese.

"During that time period Father Leland began gambling extensively and funded that endeavor with funds embezzled from the victims," the government said in its filing.

Leland, the only priest assigned to the parishes, had sole signature authority on each of the parishes' bank accounts, prosecutors said.

The government alleged Leland took overpayments totaling $2,063 for conducting Mass; took unauthorized salary advancements and salary overpayments totaling $138,200; and took unauthorized reimbursements for personal expenses totaling $10,656.

The court issued a summons for a Sept. 23 initial appearance in federal court in Wichita.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The bear is back.

A 9-foot stuffed polar bear returned to Michigan State University on Tuesday after spending the summer with a taxidermist. It was the first time the bear had been away from the lobby of the Natural Resources Building since 1966.

The Lansing State Journal says the bear has clean white fur, a new jaw and new pads on the hands and feet. Taxidermist Dennis Harris says he found a 1960 Seattle Times newspaper in the bear's head.

The bear was killed in Alaska in 1957 and given to the MSU Museum. It was eventually moved to the Natural Resources Building.

President Lou Anna Simon says she donated to the bear's makeover. She says the bear symbolizes a "need to think about our environment more closely."

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — An official at the University of North Dakota has been placed on paid administrative leave following his arrest during a prostitution sting in Minnesota.

KFGO-AM reports that Randall Bohlman is the university's associate director of sustainability. He is facing a misdemeanor charge of engaging in prostitution in Pope County, Minnesota.

Authorities say the 59-year-old Bohlman tried to meet a prostitute at a hotel in mid-August.

A UND spokesman tells the station that Bohlman will be on leave pending the results of an internal investigation.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Bohlman has an attorney. The Thompson man did not immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking comment on his case.

The death toll from a Legionnaires' disease outbreak at a western Illinois veterans home climbed to seven Tuesday, with the state's public health director suggesting more fatalities are likely.

Officials with the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and the state Department of Public Health said that each of the victims at the 129-year-old Quincy facility had underlying medical conditions, with an average age of 86.

Thirty-nine residents have been sickened so far, and test results for others remain pending. The outbreak was first identified late last week; its source remains undetermined.

"Unfortunately, we expect to see additional cases and possibly additional deaths because the incubation period for Legionnaires' disease can be up to two weeks," said Dr. Nirav Shah, Illinois' public health director.

An epidemiological team from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta came to Quincy on Monday to assist the state investigation. CDC officials referred inquiries to their Illinois counterparts.

Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia, with lung inflammation usually caused by infection. Most people get it from inhaling bacteria that can't be transmitted by human contact but thrives in warm water. People can get sick if they inhale mist or vapor from contaminated water systems.

The veterans home has slightly more than 400 residents, with several dozen living independently but the remainder in an environment similar to assisted living or a nursing home, said Ryan Yantis, a Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman.

Residents are relying on bottled water and sponge baths as a precaution, and the facility has cleaned its hot water tanks and air conditioning system while shutting down its decorative and drinking water fountains and other potential sources of aerosolized water.

Those who exhibit symptoms such as breathing difficulties, coughing, fever and muscle aches are monitored closely, and infected patients are treated with antibiotics, Yantis said.

"We are going with an abundance of caution," he said. "Unfortunately, all of these symptoms match normal, run-of-the-mill respiratory illnesses."

Legionnaires' disease has also been reported this summer at the San Quentin state prison in California and in New York, where 12 people died and more than 100 infected in an outbreak traced to bacteria found in a cooling tower on the roof of a Bronx hotel.

In Quincy, health officials are advising the elderly and those who are sick or with compromised immune systems, including organ transplant recipients, to not visit the veterans home, which consists of more than 25 separate buildings spread over 210 acres. Access by outsiders is otherwise not limited, and residents are not being restricted from leaving the home.

"When you're a Vietnam veteran and you're used to living off the field, you get used to it," resident Tom Meleski told the Quincy Herald-Whig. "They're taking every precaution for our safety and our well-being. It just requires a little more patience than you regularly have."

MADISON, Wis. — Spending on Wisconsin's private school voucher program increased about seven times as fast as aid to public schools since Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans took control of the Statehouse, based on new figures released Tuesday.

A memo by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau prepared at the request of voucher-opponent Sen. Jennifer Shilling, a Democrat from La Crosse, shows the spending increase on private voucher schools between the 2011-2012 fiscal year and 2016-2017.

During that time Walker and lawmakers increased funding for the original voucher program in Milwaukee and created new ones in Racine and statewide. Walker, who is running for president, has touted his support for expanding access to private schools through the voucher program as he travels the country.

While voucher school funding went up about 77 percent, funding for K-12 public schools increased only 11 percent over that period. Still, spending on vouchers pales in comparison to what the state pays in aid to public schools.

In 2016-2017, the state will spend about $258 million on voucher schools compared with $5.4 billion on public schools. In 2011-2012, the state spent about $146 million on voucher schools and $4.9 billion on public schools.

"With declining family wages, a shrinking middle class and statewide teacher shortages, we need to stop taking money away from Wisconsin's children and start investing in quality public schools," said Shilling, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate.

Jim Bender, president of the pro-voucher group School Choice Wisconsin, highlighted that total spending on voucher schools is less than 5 percent of all money spent on schools in the state. He said voucher opponents, whom he described as "protectors of the status quo," were not coming forward with any ideas or reforms, but simply complaining about funding.

Voucher payments are $7,210 for students in K-8 grades and $7,856 for high school students.

There were 29,609 students in the voucher program last school year, according to the state Department of Public Instruction. That is an increase of 26 percent from 23,426 who were in the program in 2011-2012.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Six tigers and four other exotic animals seized by Ohio officials from their owner in January have been moved from a temporary holding facility to animal sanctuaries in three other states, the Ohio Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.

The move began late last week and the final two animals arrived Tuesday at a facility in Arizona, department spokeswoman Erica Hawkins said.

The department took custody of the animals from a small, roadside animal sanctuary near Toledo after it said the owner, Kenny Hetrick, ignored warnings that he needed a permit for the exotic animals and that his cages weren't secure enough to prevent an escape.

The tigers, bear, leopard, cougar and a liger (part lion, part tiger) spent the last seven months at the holding facility operated by the state near Columbus while their owner continued to fight the state's authority to seize the animals.

State officials have said from the beginning that the facility was not meant to house the animals long-term.

"They're doing really well, so it was an ideal time to transport them," Hawkins told The Associated Press. "They needed more space, and we realized that."

Veterinarians who saw the animals also recommended the move, she said.

Hetrick said he wasn't notified about the animals' relocation beforehand and believed the state was prohibited from taking such action while his legal matters are pending. He said Tuesday that he planned to talk with his attorney about pursuing the creatures' return.

"I want the animals back in Ohio," he said. "They're not allowed to leave the state with them."

The animals now are at sanctuaries in Tampa, Florida; Spearfish, South Dakota; and Valentine, Arizona, where they will remain until Hetrick's court challenges against the state are resolved, the state said. The Department of Agriculture said in a court filing that caretakers at the sanctuaries are under contract but it retains custody of the animals.

Because the legal proceedings could continue for months or more than a year, the state decided it could not wait for the move.

"We've gotten good feedback from the sanctuaries that they're enjoying the open space," Hawkins said. "It's definitely a better situation for them."

The department oversees permitting for dangerous wild animals under state regulations enacted after a suicidal man in eastern Ohio released dozens of his animals, including African lions and Bengal tigers, on his farm in 2011 and authorities had to kill them, fearing for public safety.

Hetrick, who had taken in abused and unwanted animals since the mid-1970s, sought to keep his seized creatures at his property under a wildlife shelter permit and a dangerous wild animal rescue facility permit, but the department denied both requests after administrative hearings.

The director's orders said Hetrick submitted an incomplete application after the deadline, didn't microchip all his animals as mandated and had facilities that didn't meet legal requirements.

Hetrick has argued that the state worked with other exotic-animal owners on compliance issues and that he was treated differently. He said he made improvements at the facility and tried unsuccessfully, with witnesses, to get help from the department in the permit process.

Hetrick appealed the department's administrative rulings Aug. 20, a week after a Wood County court denied an emergency motion seeking the return of the animals and put the case on hold pending administrative proceedings.

Despite any changes Hetrick has made to his facility, the animals could not be returned to him, Hawkins said. "The deadline has passed, and the law will not allow us to give him a wildlife permit," she said.

ROSEVILLE, Minn. — Luck has struck not once but twice this year for a St. Paul man playing the Minnesota Lottery.

Jeffrey Bock matched all 12 numbers in Sunday's "All or Nothing" drawing to win the $100,000 top prize.

Bock ran his ticket through a scanner and the message read: "Claim at the Lottery." That typically means a decent prize, and Bock figured he'd won $1,000. When he showed up at Minnesota Lottery headquarters, however, he found it was much more.

The $100,000 was his second big prize this year. In January, he won $20,000 playing a scratch game.

Bock told the lottery that he had randomly chosen the numbers that won Sunday. Minnesota Public Radio News  reports a St. Cloud store sold the winning ticket.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Nighttime travel likely will be easier for motorists in Sioux City as the city looks to change more streetlights to LED bulbs, which shine brighter and are more cost effective.

MidAmerican Energy Co. has announced that it started switching some 100,000 streetlights it owns and operates in the municipalities that it serves from older, high-pressure sodium bulbs to LED, or light-emitting diode, bulbs.

Sioux City owns about 1,600 streetlights in the city, while MidAmerican owns about 6,600 of them, the Sioux City Journal reported. The city has asked MidAmerican to change the lights along streets that see higher traffic.

"It's the place citizens are going to get the most benefit," said Ed Pickens, city field services/streets superintendent.

A company representative said a number of municipalities across the U.S. are moving to LED streetlights because it helps them cut costs and save energy.

LED lights shine brighter and emanate a white color, and will be more noticeable to city residents who have grown accustomed to the pinkish-orange glow of current lights. Because the bulbs use less energy, power plants have to generate less electricity, reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Sioux City started a process to convert to LED streetlights earlier this year and has replaced about 50 so far. Most of the city-owned lights are in business districts, parks and street sections.

The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors began studying a proposal earlier this year to change every lighting unit in every county building to LED.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Law enforcement authorities say a man whose arm got stuck between tree branches bit a firefighter during his rescue and later fled from a hospital.

Sioux Falls Police spokesman Sam Clemens on Tuesday said the 44-year-old man got his arm caught in the tree Sunday afternoon, and when first responders worked to free him, he bit the firefighter on the left forearm.

Clemens says the Sioux Falls man was taken to a hospital after the incident, but on Monday, he pulled out his IV and left the hospital. Clemens says the man was taken into custody later that day after a chase.

The man, who authorities didn't publicly identify, was returned to the hospital. Clemens says the man hasn't been charged, but likely will face simple assault and ingesting charges.

DETROIT — A Catholic priest who led a suburban Detroit parish for nearly 30 years pleaded guilty to fraud Tuesday in a scheme to conceal the theft of more than $500,000, including money for a Florida condominium.

"Why am I pleading guilty? Because I am," the Rev. Edward Belczak told a judge.

Belczak's mail fraud was the act of sending incomplete financial reports to the Archdiocese of Detroit in 2010 to conceal embezzlement from St. Thomas More Church in Troy. Investigators said he stole about $573,000. Belczak opened a separate bank account with his name and the name of the church.

"I decided to do this for me," he said.

He used $109,000 to help buy a $500,000 condo near Palm Beach, Florida, from his parish manager, Janice Verschuren, who also is charged in the case.

"Father Belczak abused the sacred trust his parishioners placed in him so that he could enrich himself," U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said.

Belczak, 70, could get three years in federal prison when he returns to court Dec. 1. He must give up the condo and repay what he stole.

While admitting guilt, Belczak at times suggested that donors wanted him to have certain financial gifts.

"Between now and the time of sentencing, you better reflect on what you did because I'm hearing a lot of justification," U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow said.

Belczak was removed from St. Thomas More in 2013 after an audit raised questions about parish finances.

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. — A 29-year-old man is accused of using duct tape to bind boys 4 and 6 to chairs and making them watch the movie "Mommie Dearest."

Nebraska City radio station KNCY reports that Glenn Oliver is charged with two counts of child abuse and false imprisonment. His attorney didn't immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press, seeking comment on the allegations against Oliver.

Oliver had been baby-sitting the boys while their mother was at work on Sunday. Court records say Oliver reported to officers that the boys' mother told them to watch the movie. He says they weren't minding him, so he used the duct tape to secure them to the chairs while the movie played.

INDIANAPOLIS — Dozens of officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are learning how to recognize mental illness when responding to calls and the steps needed to keep those situations from escalating.

Five days of training with the Crisis Intervention Team began Monday at the police academy. About 40 officers are participating in an effort to help them better understand mental illness, ranging from depression to schizophrenia, the legal process and how to engage others while on a call.

"It's just an everyday reality for patrol officers and mental health, medics, firefighters, and everyone (who) deals (with) a lot of mental illness," said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department patrol officer Tim Westerhof. "People (are) dealing with mental illness on the street, in homes, at work."

The ultimate goal is to make situations safer for police officers and the public, as well as getting people with mental illnesses the help and support they need.

"As a patrol officer you deal with calls from families pleading — sometimes begging — for help with mental illness," said Westerhof.

On Monday, officers involved in the training program watched documentaries and listened to guest speakers. At the end of the first day, Westerhof said he had already grasped the importance of being patient and being a good listener.

"One of the things that I've really taken away from this is to really listen to the family members and not just the person who can pull it together for a few minutes and talk to us and sound pretty coherent and lucid, but really listen to what the family is telling us is happening when we're not there," he said.

The Crisis Intervention Team program has trained more than 200 police officers in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS — A 29-year-old central Indiana woman accused of faking a nursing license faces four new charges related to the case.

Court documents show that Ashley Trent of McCordsville now faces a total of 20 charges in Hancock, Hamilton and Marion counties. Those charges include multiple counts of forgery, theft, unlicensed practice of nursing and identity deception.

Trent is accused of forging a nursing license and working as a nurse for Developmental Service Alternatives in Greenfield from late 2012 to early 2014. Court documents allege Trent created a fake document from the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, saying she couldn't renew her license because of a computer glitch, instead of producing a renewed license.

Trent also is accused of forging letters from IU Health that claimed she had breast cancer.

Her attorney says Trent plans to plead not guilty to the charges.

IOWA CITY, Iowa  — Iowa's second largest city will be required to install thousands of new curb ramps and make changes to parks, buildings and parking lots under an Americans with Disabilities Act settlement announced Tuesday.

The far-reaching agreement gives Cedar Rapids four years to complete a transformation that should vastly improve services and access for disabled individuals, including those who use wheelchairs or have vision, hearing and speech problems. City officials say the costs could reach $15 million, and have already borrowed $5 million to start the work.

U.S. Attorney Kevin Techau of the Northern District of Iowa praised city leaders for reaching the settlement, which also calls for improving for the disabled in everything from police services to the city's website.

"For everyday people in Cedar Rapids, those that have disabilities, this is going to open up all those opportunities that they are entitled to under the law," he said.

The settlement avoids the prospect of a civil lawsuit and resolves alleged violations that were uncovered during a routine compliance review that began in 2011, when auditors visited city parks, swimming pools, golf courses, parking lots and buildings. The review determined that disabled individuals were "excluded from participation in or are denied the benefits of many of Cedar Rapids' programs, services or activities," according to the settlement.

Many of the alleged violations were in buildings, streets and parks that date back to before the landmark law took effect in 1990, Techau said.

Cedar Rapids denied the violations but cooperated over the last year to negotiate the settlement, which the city council approved in July.

More than 215 similar agreements have been negotiated by the U.S. Department of Justice under its Civic Access Project, including one with Des Moines in 2011.

In Cedar Rapids, 4,000 to 8,000 curb ramps will have to be installed to remove physical barriers to sidewalks, assistant city manager Sandi Fowler recently told the city council. She said the most expensive parts of the agreement will be the ramps and correcting parking lot slopes. Paths will also need to be installed at city parks to allow wheelchair users access to things like tennis courts and bathrooms, she noted.

The agreement gives the city 15 months to identify and develop a plan to make the changes to sidewalks, and four years to complete the work. The city is already moving to hire an architect to monitor the projects and verify progress to the Justice Department, as required by the deal. That architect will also review Cedar Rapids buildings and programs that weren't part of the federal review and document any violations.

In the coming months, Cedar Rapids must ensure that its 911 dispatchers are equipped to effectively receive TTY communications — used by those with hearing and speech impediments — and develop procedures and training for handling those calls as quickly and accurately as any other calls. The city's police station must also be outfitted with equipment to handle such calls.

Techau said the public safety improvements were particularly important because they could "make a life or death reaction."

The city must also draft new procedures for making documents available in alternate formats, including Braille, and to improve the accessibility of its website and online services.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Since one voter would have had full say on whether to increase the sales tax by a half-cent in a downtown Columbia business improvement district, board members of that district say they won't hold an election.

The Business Loop Community Improvement District board decided Monday to delay the vote but said it was optimistic a tax increase might pass in the future, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported.

The district planned to hold an August 2016 election on the sales tax increase, seeking to raise about $220,000. Under state law, only registered voters within the district are allowed to vote on proposed sales tax increases. If no registered voters are present, property owners vote.

Organizers of the BLCID thought they drew up the district's boundaries so it included no residents, meaning property owners would decide the fate of the proposed sales tax. But when district officials contacted the Boone County Clerk's Office, they discovered Jen Henderson, 23, had registered to vote in February with her Business Loop address — meaning only she would vote on the sales tax.

Henderson told the board in a letter received before Monday's meeting that she was open to hearing members' views and continuing with the election. Henderson's attorney, Josh Oxenhandler, said after the meeting that her attitude has not changed.

"My client intends to continue to engage the stakeholders so that, if she is given the opportunity to vote, she is as fully informed as can be," Oxenhandler said.

The lack of sales tax revenue puts the district in a difficult financial condition because it has amassed about $110,000 in debt. Board members have said they don't think the district will be able to pursue many infrastructure or beautification improvements without the tax revenues.

Board member Cris Burnam said the board can make minor improvements with $50,000 a year from a property assessment.

"Naturally, sometime in the near future we're going to have to reconsider an election as well," Burnam said.

CHICAGO  — The city of Chicago has filed a $300 million lawsuit against the former operator of its red light cameras, alleging the program was built on bribery.

The Chicago Tribune reports Mda) the lawsuit seeks more than double the $124 million Redflex collected on the contract with the city.

The lawsuit alleges Redflex executives teamed up with former city official John Bills to orchestrate cash payments, vacations and other items to him. In exchange, Bills coached Redflex on how to beat its competitors, orchestrated key votes at City Hall, manipulated field tests to favor the company.

Former Redflex chief executive Karen Finley pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiracy to commit federal-program bribery.

Bills' attorney, Nishay Sanan, said he was unaware of the lawsuit, adding his client asserts his innocence.

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Marijuana is still illegal in Wisconsin, but cities across the state slowly have been relaxing penalties against people caught with small amounts of the drug.

A Gannett Central Wisconsin Media review found that nine of the state's 10 largest cities have decriminalized simple possession. Madison and Milwaukee were among the first cities in Wisconsin to reform their ordinances on marijuana.

Stevens Point is the most recent municipality in central Wisconsin to adopt and then modify its ordinance. Last month, the city cut the fine for first-time marijuana offenders to $100.

Under state law, a person caught with a small amount of marijuana can be charged with a misdemeanor crime punishable by jail time and a permanent criminal record. Since cities in Wisconsin have begun enforcing lesser penalties, those people now face anything from six months in jail to no jail time or fee.

Some law enforcement officials don't support decriminalization because they believe marijuana can lead users to harder drugs. But decriminalization advocates think lesser penalties for those caught with marijuana allow them to be treated like other minor offenders.

Madison adopted its ordinance in 1977 and the current version doles out no punishment to a person caught with up to 28 grams of marijuana.

Chief of Police Michael Koval said he's glad Madison has the ordinance because it allows the police department to focus on hard drugs, like heroin and methamphetamine, instead of recreational marijuana users.

"Unless you are doing something that is creating a disturbance... it's no major point of emphasis for us to get involved in that situation here in Madison," Koval said. "Unless your use is leading to some sort of abject behavior that is contrary to law."

In June, Milwaukee decided to lower its marijuana fine to $50 due to a racial disparity, said City Council member Nik Kovac. About 1,250 of the 1,500 citations issued last year for simple possession were given to African Americans, he said, adding that it's unacceptable to target minorities in a city with a population that's roughly half black and half white.

Kovac hopes the reduced fine eventually will prompted officers to stop issuing citations so all recreational marijuana users no longer have to worry about the consequences of a lifelong felony conviction.

"If we never issue a first offense," Kovac said, "it never gets to that second offense.

For the second time, state Rep. Melissa Sargent has introduced a statewide marijuana legalization bill aiming to make communities safer and eliminate racial disparities.