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U.S. NEWSSaturday 20 January 2018

5 in US, 2 in Italy charged with running opioid pill “mills”

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —          ed down earlier. They al-    $21 million.                           dering, prosecutors said.       the news release. “This sort
Two people in Italy and five     lege the defendants were     About 700 center patients              “Throughout this country,       of profiteering effectively
U.S. residents have been         involved in a widespread     are dead, prosecutors                  and certainly in Tennessee      trades human lives for fi-
charged in a fraud and           scheme to operate “pill      said. A Justice Depart-                and Florida, the illegal and    nancial riches.”
drug trafficking conspiracy      mills” in the U.S.           ment news release says a               unconscionable mass-dis-        Two Italians, Luca Sartini
to distribute opioids in Flori-  Prosecutors say defendants   “significant percentage of             tribution of prescription opi-  and Luigi Palma, were ar-
da and Tennessee, leading        ran the Urgent Care & Sur-   those deaths, directly or in-          oids through the operation      rested Friday in Rome by
to hundreds of deaths, fed-      gery Center Enterprise,      directly, were the result of           of illegal pain clinics has     Italian authorities. U.S. of-
eral prosecutors said Friday.    which distributed enough     overdosing on narcotics”               taken a heavy toll on our       ficials are seeking extradi-
The indictments were un-         oxycodone, oxymorphone       prescribed by the center.              citizens, families and com-     tion. Federal court records
sealed by federal officials      and morphine to generate     The scheme involved illegal            munities,” U.S. Attorney        posted online do not show
Friday in Knoxville but hand-    clinic revenue of at least   kickbacks and money laun-              General Jeff Sessions said in   if they have lawyers.q

Olympic gymnast abused by ex-doctor wants him to suffer

Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman gives her victim impact statement, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, in       president Lou Ann Simon —       pornography conviction,
                                                                                                     who is facing growing calls     the 54-year-old man can
Lansing, Mich., during the fourth day of sentencing for former sports doctor Larry Nassar, who pled  to resign or to be fired by     expect to be behind bars
                                                                                                     the board.                      for the rest of his life. Rais-
guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault.                                                         “Through this terrible situ-    man hoped the testimonies
                                                                                                     ation, the university has       of her fellow survivors will
                                               (Dale G. Young/Detroit News via AP)                   been perceived as tone          never leave him.
                                                                                                     deaf, unresponsive and          “All these brave women
By DAVID EGGERT                  Roughly 80 of the women isman said. “I love this sport,             insensitive to the victims.     have power, and we will
                                                                                                     We understand the pub-          use our voices to make sure
MIKE HOUSEHOLDER                 and girls whom Larry Nas- and that love is stronger                 lic’s faith has been shaken.    you get what you deserve
                                                                                                     The Board has listened and      — a life of suffering spent
Associated Press                 sar abused under the guise than the evil that resides in            heard the victims,” chair-      replaying the words deliv-
                                                                                                     man Brian Breslin said after    ered by this powerful army
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — of medical treatment have you, in those who enabled                            a closed-door meeting that      of survivors,” Raisman said.
                                                                                                     lasted more than four hours.    Under a plea deal, Nas-
Olympic gold medalist Aly stood before the court dur- you to hurt many people.”                      Trustees declined to answer     sar faces a minimum sen-
                                                                                                     reporters’ questions. Nassar    tence of 25 years in prison,
Raisman on Friday con- ing a marathon sentenc- Facing pressure over how                              also was a team doctor at       but the judge could set
                                                                                                     the Indianapolis-based USA      the minimum as high as
fronted her former doctor ing hearing that began Michigan State University                           Gymnastics, which trains        40 years. State prosecu-
                                                                                                     Olympians.                      tors requested a maximum
who has pleaded guilty Tuesday, describing with handled allegations made                             Raisman said if just one        125-year sentence, reflect-
                                                                                                     adult had believed Nas-         ing the number of women
to multiple sexual assaults, eloquence and sometimes against Nassar when he                          sar’s accusers and had          who at that time had come
                                                                                                     “the courage and char-          forward with allegations
warning him that the tes- tears the harm Nassar did was employed there, the                          acter to act, this tragedy      against Nassar.
                                                                                                     could have been avoided.        “Even though I’m a victim, I
timony of the “powerful and the impact he has had school’s board of trustees                         I and so many others would      do not and will not live my
                                                                                                     have never, ever met you.       life as one,” Jordyn Wieber
army” of 140 survivors at his on their lives.                 on Friday asked the state’s            Larry, you should have          said. “I’m an Olympian
                                                                                                     been locked up a long,          despite being abused. I
sentencing will haunt him in “You have not taken gym- attorney general to investi-                   long time ago.”                 worked hard and man-
                                                                                                     Nassar pleaded guilty to        aged to achieve my goal.
prison.                          nastics away from me,” Ra- gate but stood by university             molesting girls at his MSU      But I want everyone — es-
                                                                                                     office, at home and at a        pecially the media — to
                                                                                                     Lansing-area gymnastics         know that despite my ath-
                                                                                                     club, sometimes with a par-     letic achievements I am
                                                                                                     ent present. Already sen-       one of over 140 women
                                                                                                     tenced to 60 years in prison    and survivors whose story is
                                                                                                     on a separate federal child     important.” q

13-year-old charged with murder in boy’s crossbow killing

CHANDLER, Okla. (AP) — A         ties say 10-year-old Austin  murder. The Associated                 shot his friends with the ar-   ties he was within earshot of
13-year-old Oklahoma boy         Almanza was fatally struck   Press is not naming the boy            row. The 8-year-old told        the incident said he heard
accused of fatally shooting      by an arrow, which trav-     because of the possibility             authorities said he and his     the 13-year-old boy say, “I
his 10-year-old friend with      eled through his body and    he that he could be tried              brother had gone to work        think I murdered him acci-
a crossbow in anger has          then pierced his 8-year-old  as a juvenile. At a hearing            on a treehouse with the         dentally,” according to an
been charged with first-de-      brother in the arm.          Thursday, a judge ordered              13-year-old boy, but that       affidavit. The boy then “ran
gree murder.                     Prosecutors charged the      a psychological evaluation             the older boy became            home crying.”
The death happened Oct.          13-year-old boy as an        of the boy to determine                angry when they tried to        Lincoln County Sheriff
21 in the small town of          adult, making him one of     how his case should be                 leave. The surviving brother    Charles Dougherty said in
Chandler, about 40 miles         the youngest ever in Okla-   handled going forward.                 said the suspect then shot      October that Austin didn’t
(65 kilometers) northeast        homa to be charged as        Investigators say the boy              the arrow. An uncle of the      die “because of an acci-
of Oklahoma City. Authori-       an adult with first-degree   told them he accidentally              brothers who told authori-      dent.” q
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