Supermodel Campbell’s past clashes can be raised in lawsuit

NEW YORK (AP) _ Supermodel Naomi Campbell’s string of tussles with aides and maids can be raised in a lawsuit against her, a judge has ruled.

The British catwalker tried to block former maid Gaby Gibson from bringing up Campbell’s history of dust-ups with people who work for her, saying it was “scandalous and prejudicial.” But in a ruling published Wednesday, Manhattan state Supreme Court Judge Michael Stallman said previous incidents could be admitted.

“Those alleged acts might be relevant to the issues of intent and the need for future deterrence,” Stallman wrote. Gibson was “very happy” about Stallman’s ruling, said her lawyer, Lambros Lambrou. Campbell’s lawyer did not immediately return a telephone message left at his office early Thursday.

Gibson worked for Campbell from November 2005 through January 2006. She claims the 37-year-old model hit her, called her bigoted names and threatened to charge her with theft after being unable to find a pair of jeans designed by Stella McCartney.

Campbell has denied the claims. She was never charged with any crime in the incident Gibson alleges.

Campbell did plead guilty in January to misdemeanor assault for throwing her cell phone at another maid, Ana Scolavino. Sentenced to pay Scolavino’s medical expenses, attend an anger management program and do five days of community service, Campbell traded couture togs for a city Department of Sanitation vest to sweep, mob and scrub at a Manhattan garbage truck garage in March.

In February 2000, Campbell pleaded guilty in Toronto to an assault charge for beating assistant Georgina Galanis while making a film in Canada in 1998. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Campbell expressed remorse and was released without punishment or a criminal record.

Campbell also has faced other lawsuits from other former employees who accused her of violent behavior. She settled a claim filed by former employee Amanda Brack this spring, but no settlement terms were disclosed.

Unknown to be cast as Notorious B.I.G.

The role of Notorious B.I.G. for an upcoming biopic on the rapper will be filled through an open casting call, the film’s producers told The Associated Press on Thursday.

“Notorious,” which has been in the works for nearly seven years, will seek its star by auditioning actors and non-actors alike who resemble the rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace. Anyone can submit audition videos beginning 3 a.m. EDT Sunday to http://www.foxsearchlight.com/notorious or http://www.biggiecasting.com.

An official announcement of the online casting call will be made Friday by Fox Searchlight Pictures, which in 2005 secured the rights to a film about the slain rapper. Wallace’s mother, Voletta Wallace, and his two former managers, Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts, are producing the movie.

“As it relates to the individual Christopher Wallace _ his looks, his stature, what he represented, the swagger, the sensibility of the man _ all those elements are very difficult to find, no matter where you go,” Barrow said Thursday. “In the typical Hollywood world, no one came to mind outside of Forest Whitaker who could capture that essence genuinely.”

Barrow said the film’s producers never approached Whitaker because _ though he would have been ideal _ at 46-years-old Whitaker is more than twice the age Wallace will be for much of the film. Wallace was gunned down at the age of 24 on March 9, 1997, after a music-industry party in Los Angeles.

“We thought it would be best to open it up to the world and … give somebody the opportunity to step into his shoes and fulfill their own American dream,” said Barrow.

In a statement released to the AP, Voletta Wallace described the qualities the producers are seeking.

“There will only be one Christopher Wallace, but I’m happy that his legacy will open a door for another to walk through,” said Wallace. “I don’t want you to just imitate him. I want to see his swagger, his style, his energy and smile come through.”

Fox Searchlight on Thursday also told the AP that George Tillman will direct. The filmmaker’s previous credits include “Men of Honor” (2000) and “Soul Food” (1997).

Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “Shooter”) was two years ago reported to be close to agreeing to direct. In an interview earlier this year with the AP, Fuqua said he was apprehensive about the degree of control the producers had in developing the script.

“They’re in the record business, they’re not in the film business,” Fuqua said then.

Barrow said he remains friends with Fuqua and that timing was the only issue.

The script was written by Cheo Hodari Coker and Reggie Rock Bythewood. Coker, a hip-hop journalist, wrote the biography “Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.”

The film intends to focus on the Wallace not seen in his public life, zeroing in on “the humanity within Christopher himself,” said Barrow. He added that no real-life character in Wallace’s world will play himself, given the passage of time.

The producers hope to begin production this fall.

Q&A: Kelly Rowland. singing solo

The girl we knew from Destiny’s Child has definitely changed. Once a self-proclaimed “team player,” Kelly Rowland is finally getting the hang of being on her own musically without Beyonce and Michelle Williams at her side.

After a year’s delay and a bit of retooling, Rowland kicked off her sophomore solo album, “Ms. Kelly,” which includes the single “Like This,” featuring Eve.

Next up, the 26-year-old R&B singer, who keeps her iTunes playlist cued up to the sounds of Sade, Robin Thicke and, yes, a touch of T-Pain, is gearing up to serve the streets a little swagger with her second single, “Ghetto,” alongside Snoop Dogg.

Clearly, she’s not in Houston anymore.

AP: Now that Destiny’s Child is behind you and you’re on your second album, who is Kelly Rowland today?

Rowland: I’m comfortable in my skin and quite honestly, I feel older. (Laughs.) I rushed through my first album, “Simply Deep” (released in 2002), but with “Ms. Kelly,” I was able to take my time. I’m very proud of the first one, though. I sold almost 2 million albums, so I still dust my shoulder off for that one.

AP: Let’s talk about the track “Still in Love With My Ex.” Who is this guy?

Rowland: We don’t talk about him. He doesn’t even have a name; he’s just “the ex.” I got a great song out of (that experience). Thanks, buddy!

AP: So, tell us about your fans.

Rowland: Well, I still have Destiny’s Child fans who’ve grown up with me, and I’ve also talked to people on MySpace and on my Web site who are listening to the new album and liking it. That’s a good feeling.

AP: What’s it like now that you’re on your own?

Rowland: I feel like I’ve come into the fact of being comfortable, just being by myself, which is a really good feeling. It’s good to finally say goodbye to that fear.

AP: You and your Destiny’s Child bandmates seem to be supportive of each other’s solo projects. How did that happen?

Rowland: It was instilled in us, just the spirit of camaraderie. I think it’s really important to me. I’m so happy that my parents taught me that, you know, the fact there’s room and there’s space for everybody and that we’re supposed to support each other and be secure within ourselves as women, as sisters.

AP: You’ve got Snoop rhyming on your next single, and then there’s Tank singing with you on a sexy ballad. Do tell.

Rowland: I’ve loved Snoop since he released “Doggy Style,” so I’m glad he said yes to my song. And Tank? The man is an R&B crooner. He wrote and produced “The Show” and I loved working with him.

AP: So, let’s talk about the album’s first week’s sales.

Rowland: Yes, I came in at No. 6 and sold 86,000 records _ in a declining market, might I add. I’m very proud of that. Not everybody’s selling records like they used to. Even the biggest artists don’t come out and go platinum in a week anymore. It’s a different day and age in the music industry.

AP: How’s your ringtone game coming along?

Rowland: Every time I walk through an airport, someone’s phone will ring with “Like This,” which is pretty cool.

AP: How have you managed to deal with the ups and downs of the entertainment industry?

Rowland: There’s no easy way to get what’s worth working and waiting for, so whenever I get thrown a curveball, I know it’s just a challenge. You just have to keep going.

___

On the Net:

Kelly Rowland:

http://www.kellyrowlandonline.com/

Vick: I’m not guilty of dogfighting

Michael Vick will spend the next four months defending himself against federal dogfighting charges instead of mastering a new coach’s playbook and dissecting game film of opposing defenses.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback’s elite five-member legal team doesn’t expect it to be easy and his career could be in jeopardy.

“This is going to be a hard-fought trial,” defense attorney Billy Martin told reporters Thursday after Vick pleaded not guilty to participating in a dogfighting ring that allegedly executed underperforming pit bulls by hanging, electrocution or other brutal means.

Three co-defendants also pleaded not guilty. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson set the trial of all four for Nov. 26 _ four days after the 11th of 16 regular-season games the Falcons will play under new coach Bobby Petrino.

The ghastly activities outlined in an 18-page indictment returned last week have sparked widespread outrage. Vick’s arrival at the federal courthouse was greeted by protesters holding signs with messages like “Neuter Mike Vick” and “Prosecute All Dogfighters.” The protesters’ boos and jeers drowned out shouts of encouragement from badly outnumbered Vick supporters.

In a written statement, Vick declared his innocence and pleaded with the public to give him the benefit of the doubt until his day in court.

“I take these charges very seriously and look forward to clearing my good name,” Vick said in the statement, which Martin read to reporters. “I respectfully ask all of you to hold your judgment until all of the facts are shown.”

He also apologized to his Falcons teammates and to his mother “for what she has had to go through in this most trying of times.”

Vick’s mother, Brenda Boddie, stood next to Martin as he read the statement but did not speak. The lawyers did not answer questions.

Earlier, in court, Hudson asked Vick how he pleaded to a charge of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities.

“Not guilty,” the 27-year-old NFL star said firmly.

He asked for a trial by jury, as did his co-defendants.

If convicted, Vick faces up to five years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

Vick was released without bond, but with a series of conditions to meet, including the surrender of his passport, a pledge not to travel outside the immediate area of his primary residence without court approval, and to not sell or possess any dog.

He also was ordered to surrender any animal breeder or kennel licenses.

The court appearance came on the day the Falcons opened training camp. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has barred Vick from attending camp and asked the Falcons to withhold any punishment while the league investigates.

Team owner Arthur Blank said the team wanted to suspend Vick for four games, the maximum penalty a team can assess a player, but held off at Goodell’s request. Blank has told his star quarterback to concentrate on his legal problems, not football.

The case began April 25 when investigators conducting a drug search at a massive home Vick built in rural Surry County found 66 dogs, including 55 pit bulls, and items typically used in dogfighting. They included a “rape stand” that holds aggressive dogs in place for mating and a “breakstick” used to pry open a dog’s mouth.

Vick contended he knew nothing about a dogfighting operation at the home, where one of his cousins lived, and said he rarely visited. He also blamed friends and family members for taking advantage of his generosity and pledged to be more scrupulous.

His comments Thursday were his first on the case since then.

Charged along with Vick are Purnell A. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach; Quanis L. Phillips, 28, of Atlanta; and Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton. All three have retained their own lawyers.

According to the indictment filed July 17, dogs not killed in the fighting pit were often shot, hanged, drowned or, in one case, slammed to the ground. The document says Vick was consulted before one losing dog was wet down and electrocuted.

It alleges that the dogfighting operation began in 2001, not long after Vick was the first overall selection in the NFL draft. His first contract was for $62 million. In 2004, the former Virginia Tech standout signed a 10-year, $130 million deal, then the richest in league history.

The indictment says the fights offered purses as high as $26,000, and that Vick once paid $23,000 to the owner of two pit bulls that had beaten Bad Newz Kennels dogs.

That owner is one of four cooperating witnesses cited in the document.

___

Chips: High tech aids or tracking tools?

CityWatcher.com, a provider of surveillance equipment, attracted little notice itself _ until a year ago, when two of its employees had glass-encapsulated microchips with miniature antennas embedded in their forearms.

The “chipping” of two workers with RFIDs _ radio frequency identification tags as long as two grains of rice, as thick as a toothpick _ was merely a way of restricting access to vaults that held sensitive data and images for police departments, a layer of security beyond key cards and clearance codes, the company said.

“To protect high-end secure data, you use more sophisticated techniques,” Sean Darks, chief executive of the Cincinnati-based company, said. He compared chip implants to retina scans or fingerprinting. “There’s a reader outside the door; you walk up to the reader, put your arm under it, and it opens the door.”

Innocuous? Maybe.

But the news that Americans had, for the first time, been injected with electronic identifiers to perform their jobs fired up a debate over the proliferation of ever-more-precise tracking technologies and their ability to erode privacy in the digital age.

To some, the microchip was a wondrous invention _ a high-tech helper that could increase security at nuclear plants and military bases, help authorities identify wandering Alzheimer’s patients, allow consumers to buy their groceries, literally, with the wave of a chipped hand.

To others, the notion of tagging people was Orwellian, a departure from centuries of history and tradition in which people had the right to go and do as they pleased without being tracked, unless they were harming someone else.

Chipping, these critics said, might start with Alzheimer’s patients or Army Rangers, but would eventually be suggested for convicts, then parolees, then sex offenders, then illegal aliens _ until one day, a majority of Americans, falling into one category or another, would find themselves electronically tagged.

Thirty years ago, the first electronic tags were fixed to the ears of cattle, to permit ranchers to track a herd’s reproductive and eating habits. In the 1990s, millions of chips were implanted in livestock, fish, pets, even racehorses.

Microchips are now fixed to car windshields as toll-paying devices, on “contactless” payment cards (Chase’s “Blink,” or MasterCard’s “PayPass”). They’re embedded in Michelin tires, library books, passports and, unbeknownst to many consumers, on a host of individual items at Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

But CityWatcher.com employees weren’t appliances or pets: They were people, made scannable.

“It was scary that a government contractor that specialized in putting surveillance cameras on city streets was the first to incorporate this technology in the workplace,” says Liz McIntyre, co-author of “Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID.”

Darks, the CityWatcher.com executive, said his employees volunteered to be chipped. “You would think that we were going around putting chips in people by force,” he told a reporter, “and that’s not the case at all.”

Yet, within days of the company’s announcement, civil libertarians and Christian conservatives joined to excoriate the microchip’s implantation in people.

“Ultimately,” says Katherine Albrecht, a privacy advocate who specializes in consumer education and RFID technology, “the fear is that the government or your employer might someday say, ‘Take a chip or starve.’”

Some critics saw the implants as the fulfillment of a biblical prophecy that describes an age of evil in which humans are forced to take the “Mark of the Beast” on their bodies, to buy or sell anything. Others saw it as a big step toward the creation of a Big-Brother society.

“We’re really on the verge of creating a surveillance society in America, where every movement, every action _ some would even claim, our very thoughts _ will be tracked, monitored, recorded and correlated,” says Barry Steinhardt, director of the Technology and Liberty Program at the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, D.C.

In design, the tag is simple: A medical-grade glass capsule holds a silicon computer chip, a copper antenna and a “capacitor” that transmits data stored on the chip when prompted by an electromagnetic reader.

Implantations are quick, relatively simple procedures. After a local anesthetic is administered, a large-gauge, hypodermic needle injects the chip under the skin on the back of the arm, midway between the elbow and the shoulder.

John Halamka, an emergency physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston got chipped two years ago, “so that if I was ever in an accident, and arrived unconscious or incoherent at an emergency ward, doctors could identify me and access my medical history quickly.” (A chipped person’s medical profile can be continuously updated, since the information is stored on a database accessed via the Internet.)

But it’s also clear to Halamka that there are consequences to having an implanted identifier. “My friends have commented to me that I’m ‘marked’ for life, that I’ve lost my anonymity. And to be honest, I think they’re right.”

Indeed, as microchip proponents and detractors readily agree, Americans’ mistrust of microchips and technologies like RFID runs deep. Many wonder:

Do the current chips have global positioning transceivers that would allow the government to pinpoint a person’s exact location, 24-7? (No; the technology doesn’t yet exist.)

But could a tech-savvy stalker rig scanners to video cameras and film somebody each time they entered or left the house? (Quite easily, though not cheaply. Currently, readers cost $300 and up.)

What’s the average lifespan of a microchip? (About 10-15 years.) What if you get tired of it before then _ can it be easily, painlessly removed? (Short answer: No.)

How about thieves? Could they make their own readers, aim them at unsuspecting individuals, and surreptitiously pluck people’s IDs out of their arms? (Yes. There’s even a name for it _ “spoofing.”)

The company that makes implantable microchips for humans, VeriChip Corp., of Delray Beach, Fla., concedes that’s a problem _ even as it markets its radio tag and its portal scanner as imperatives for high-security buildings, such as nuclear power plants.

“To grab information from radio frequency products with a scanning device is not hard to do,” Scott Silverman, the company’s chief executive, says. However, “the chip itself only contains a unique, 16-digit identification number. The relevant information is stored on a database.”

VeriChip Corp., whose parent company has been selling radio tags for animals for more than a decade, has sold 7,000 microchips worldwide, of which about 2,000 have been implanted in humans.

The company’s present push: tagging of “high-risk” patients _ diabetics and people with heart conditions or Alzheimer’s disease.

In an emergency, hospital staff could wave a reader over a patient’s arm, get an ID number, and then, via the Internet, enter a company database and pull up the person’s identity and medical history.

To doctors, a “starter kit” _ complete with 10 hypodermic syringes, 10 VeriChips and a reader _ costs $1,400. To patients, a microchip implant means a $200, out-of-pocket expense to their physician. Presently, chip implants aren’t covered by insurance companies, Medicare or Medicaid.

For almost two years, the company has been offering hospitals free scanners, but acceptance has been limited. According to the company, 515 hospitals have pledged to take part in the VeriMed network, yet only 100 have actually been equipped and trained to use the system.

Some wonder why they should abandon noninvasive tags such as MedicAlert, a low-tech bracelet that warns paramedics if patients have serious allergies or a chronic medical condition.

“Having these things under your skin instead of in your back pocket _ it’s just not clear to me why it’s worth the inconvenience,” says Westhues.

Silverman responds that an implanted chip is “guaranteed to be with you. It’s not a medical arm bracelet that you can take off if you don’t like the way it looks…”

In fact, microchips can be removed from the body _ but it’s not like removing a splinter.

The capsules can migrate around the body or bury themselves deep in the arm. When that happens, a sensor X-ray and monitors are needed to locate the chip, and a plastic surgeon must cut away scar tissue that forms around the chip.

The relative permanence is a big reason why Marc Rotenberg, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, is suspicious about the motives of the company, which charges $20 a year for customers to keep one its database a record of blood type, allergies, medications, driver’s license data and living-will directives. For $80 a year, it will keep an individual’s full medical history.

Vick will have to scramble to avoid sacking

If he’s a student of history, perhaps Michael Vick is familiar with Pugnaces Britanniae, the war dog used mostly in battle, but later used for dogfighting contests, “blood sports,” inside the Colosseum during the days of the Roman Empire.

Way back, history tells us, there was a time gifts of valuable fighting dogs were exchanged between royal courts, also military accounts of campaigns using fighting dogs, all of which facilitated the spread of fighting-dog breeds.

In time, South America would give us the Dogo Argentino, Spain the Presa Canario, Latin America the Dogo Cubano

Dogfighting once was completely legal, sanctioned and promoted during the Colonial period, continuing through the Victorian era in the late 19th century.

Today dogfighting is a felony in 48 states, a misdemeanor in Idaho and Wyoming.

Whether or not Vick is steeped in history, by now I’m sure he’s well aware of a law that places his NFL career as the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons in jeopardy.

Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury last week for his role in a dogfighting operation at a home he owns in Virginia.

The NFL called the alleged activities in the 18-page indictment “cruel, degrading and illegal.”

Vick maintains he had no idea what was taking place on his property.

The indictment said he did.

Officials know dogfighting goes on but conviction rates remain low

It starts with two dogs and a bet.

It’s anyone’s guess which dog will limp away, bloody with deep cuts and bite marks, to fight again.

In recent weeks, dogfighting has come to the nation’s attention as Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has been investigated and ultimately indicted on charges of participating in a fighting ring.

Law enforcement officers and animal shelter directors throughout Middle Georgia say they know dogs are fighting, even while conviction rates remain low. Residents are calling in tips of fights and injured dogs more than ever.

“It’s either becoming more prevalent or we’re becoming more aware of it,” said Dublin Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Brandon Faircloth.

“People tend to report it more now than they did 10 or 20 years ago,” he said. “People are recognizing the signs.”

A SECRET BET

It’s difficult to pinpoint how much dogfighting is going on in Middle Georgia, but officials say there’s no doubt it’s occurring.

The wounded animals – blinded, ears bitten off, bones broken with new cuts over old scars – are the proof.

In the past year, Macon Animal Control Director Jim Johnson said an estimated 20 to 25 dogs passed though the shelter with injuries suspected of being inflicted by fighting.

“It’s a lot more prevalent than we see with the convictions,” Johnson said.

The most recent case in Middle Georgia occurred in March in a rural wooded area of Laurens County.

Faircloth, who is prosecuting the case, said authorities found a pit and enough evidence to arrest 15 people and confiscate 31 dogs. The suspects were indicted last week.

Irene Sumner, director of the Dublin-Laurens County Humane Society, said her officers euthanized 28 of the 31 dogs in June.

She said the other three dogs were puppies who didn’t display aggressive tendencies and were allowed to live.

She said it was especially sad to see the dogs die knowing that they were affectionate toward the humans at the shelter.

“But when you put them in next to one another, they go at it,” Sumner said.

Thursday, she said, the shelter received a call about a wounded fighting dog that had staggered into a yard before collapsing.

When animal control arrived, the bulldog-pitbull mixed dog was still alive, with maggots in its ears and wounds.

“But it was dead before it got here,” Sumner said. “We see it all the time.”

On average, she said the Dublin-Laurens shelter sees two to three dogs a month with fighting wounds.

Sumner said the shelter also has a contract to house dogs picked up in Treutlen County.

She’s seen dogs from there too that have the wounds.

“You can look at these dogs and see the new wounds on top of the old ones,” she said. “You can tell.”

In Macon, Johnson said dogfighting can be as simple as two owners meeting on the sidewalk while taking their dogs for a walk and betting about which dog can overcome the other.

“They’ll do it right there in the front yard,” Johnson said. “It’s nasty and it’s bad.

“I can not fathom how people can stand to watch it.”

Warner Robins police Capt. Brenda Parks-Mathern, animal control director there, described most of the dogfighting as non-professional “street fighting,” meaning the fights aren’t organized and generally are held in vacant buildings and pits.

“It’s usually your younger adults and older teens,” she said.

Parks-Mathern estimated she’s seen about 20 dogs with wounds in the past couple of years.

But she has also seen a good number of dogs that have been used for “bait” to help fighting dogs become more aggressive.

Johnson said the bait dogs, usually smaller breeds and puppies, often are stolen pets or strays.

Parks-Mathern said many of the bait dogs are euthanized because of the extent of their injuries.

In Crawford County, Sheriff Kerry Dunaway said, although his deputies haven’t found evidence of dogfighting within the county limits, residents are raising dogs to fight. In drug raids, he said, deputies have discovered treadmills designed to strengthen and train dogs.

Dunaway said he believes the dogs could be fighting outside the county, although he hasn’t discovered any proof.

Jones County Sheriff Butch Reese said he has no doubt fights are going on in his county although it’s hard for deputies to find out about the fights until they’re over.

“It’s all over Middle Georgia,” he said. “But they keep it very secretive as to where they fight.”

A DIFFICULT CASE TO MAKE

When a dogfighting tip is called in at Macon Animal Control, Johnson said the tip is turned over to the Macon Police Department for further investigation.

Often, he said, dogfighting goes hand in hand with drug use, gang affiliation and weapons related crimes.

In many cases, he said, suspected dogfighters are arrested for other crimes before a case can be built based upon their mistreatment of animals.

“They often go about it by other means,” Johnson said. “But the bottom line is to stop these dogs from being mistreated and stop what’s hurting them.

“It’s a small victory if we can stop the suffering.”

Faircloth, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the Laurens County dogfighting case, said it is possible to build a successful case without witnessing a fight if there are strong indicators fights are occurring.

Examples of indicators include finding medication used to slow a dog’s bleeding and build strength, a pit littered with blood, puffs of hair and teeth left over from fights, a dog with broken bones that didn’t heal properly because it was denied medical attention and the tell-tale fighting wounds, Faircloth said.

And he said dog owners aren’t the only ones charged when officers find evidence of a fight.

“If you’re there and encouraging or participating in it – even as a spectator – you can be charged,” he said.

Suspects convicted of dogfighting can be sentenced to confinement for one to five years and may be subject to a fine of up to $5,000, Faircloth said.

THE END OF THE ROAD

Dogs trained to fight are issued a death sentence from the time their training begins.

One of three things generally happens: They die in the pit with another dog’s teeth in their flesh, they die of untreated wounds after a fight or they end up at an animal shelter.

Animal shelter directors say they don’t adopt out fighting dogs, leaving them no other choice than to euthanize.

“We can’t take the chance of adopting out a dog that’s aggressive,” Parks-Mathern said.

She said it’s the tips from residents that help save dogs’ lives by punishing people who train and fight dogs.

“If you see it going on, don’t wait until it’s over with,” Parks-Mathern said, urging residents to call 911 to alert officers to the fights.

Even if it’s just seeing a dog chained up in the yard being mistreated, she said residents should call their local animal shelter.

NBA, some players dismiss referee study

Kobe Bryant says he’s never noticed any evidence of racial bias when it comes to NBA officiating. “I think I’ve gotten more techs from black refs than white refs,” the Los Angeles Lakers star joked Wednesday. “That’s reverse racism probably.”

Bryant, LeBron James and four other NBA players dismissed an academic study that found evidence of racial bias in referees‘ calls, saying they’ve never experienced it.

According to an upcoming paper by a University of Pennsylvania professor and a Cornell graduate student, white referees called fouls against black players at a higher rate than they did against white players.

Their study also found that black officials called fouls on white players more frequently than they did against blacks, but the disparity wasn’t as great.

“We obviously discuss officiating and our feelings toward it,” said Utah Jazz guard Derek Fisher, president of the NBA players’ association. “But I don’t ever recall it being a racially motivated type of conversation where we felt like there were certain guys that had it out for me or him or whoever just because of the color of our skin.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever really felt that there was a racial component to officiating.”

James put it this way: “It’s stupid.”

Chicago Bulls veteran forward P.J. Brown said: “Somebody’s got too much time on their hands.”

That misses the point, said Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at the Wharton School and co-author of the study.

“This is not a view that one set of people hates another set of people. This is implicit, unconscious biases,” said Wolfers, who conducted the study with Joseph Price, a graduate student in economics at Cornell.

“You see two players (collide) on the floor and you have to call a block or a charge. Does the skin color of the players somehow shape how you interpret the signals your brain gives you?”

Analyzing NBA box scores from a 13-season span running through 2004, the study found that black players received fewer fouls per 48 minutes than white players, 4.33 to 4.97. But it also found that fouls on black players could increase as much as 4 1/2 percent in that time period “when the number of white referees on a crew went from zero to three.”

Though the NBA is made up of predominantly black players, less than 40 percent of its officials are black and they are randomly assigned to games in three-person crews.

“I don’t think there’s any prejudice or racial stereotype,” the Bulls’ Chris Duhon said. “I think all our officials are great. I don’t think any of them are racist in any way. They just call the game. If it’s a foul, it’s a foul. If it’s not, there’s no call.

“I don’t think it’s possible to really be biased in your calls because if (you are), I think it would be way obvious if you’re doing that.”

Wolfers and Price analyzed officiating crews, based on boxscores, not individual referees. The NBA, after getting a draft copy of the paper last year, did its own study. Using data from November 2004 to January 2007, the league reviewed some 148,000 calls along with which official made each call.

“The fact is there is no evidence of racial bias in foul calls made by NBA officials and that is based on a study conducted by our experts who looked at data that was far more robust and current than the data relied upon by Professor Wolfers,” said Joel Litvin, president of league and basketball operations.

“The short of it is Wolfers and Price only looked at calls made by three-man crews. Our experts were able to analyze calls made by individual referees.”

But Wolfers said they analyzed calls made by all-white officiating crews and all-black officiating crews, and the results were the same. The study also didn’t verify the exact race of players and referees, saying, “We simply noted whether a player or referee appeared black, or not.” But Wolfers said the sample was large enough so that wouldn’t be a factor.

“That’s a lot of diagnostic evidence,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “If you have a conclusive evidence you want to come out with, you can almost make statistics prove what you want to prove.

“If you go in with that it’s about race, maybe you find the things you’re looking for.”

Union chief Billy Hunter hasn’t read the study, but said he wasn’t surprised by its results. There is bias everywhere in society, Hunter said, so why should the NBA be immune?

But Hunter also said he’s never gotten any complaints about discrimination.

“No, never heard, never gotten one,” he said. “I know (commissioner David Stern) wouldn’t tolerate any conscious bias, racist act by a referee or by anybody else.”

Wolfers and Price are to present the paper at meetings of the Society of Labor Economists on Friday and the American Law and Economics Association on Sunday. They hope it will eventually be published in an economic journal.

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3 ex officers get prison for corruption

Three former police officers were sentenced Friday to federal prison for heroin trafficking and conspiracy charges stemming from an undercover FBI investigation into corruption at the department.

The ringleader, 41-year-old former Detective Kevin Companion, was sentenced to 14 years behind bars by U.S. District Judge James Cohn. The judge sentenced ex-officer Stephen Harrison, 46, to nine years in federal prison.

“The conduct exhibited by the defendants is disgraceful,” Cohn said. “Not only have you disgraced the police department and yourself, you have disgraced your family.”

Former Detective Thomas Simcox, 50, got more than 11 years behind bars in a separate sentencing appearance in Miami before U.S. District Judge Donald Graham, who called the case “disgusting.” Prosecutors had recommended a nine-year sentence for Simcox.

All three officers had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.

A sentencing hearing for former police Sgt. Jeffry Courtney, 51, is scheduled for next month. A Hollywood lieutenant, Charles Roberts, is expected to plead guilty next week to charges of lying to the FBI about leaking the undercover sting operation, which ended it prematurely.

The men were charged after FBI agents posed as New York-based mobsters _ complete with fake names like “Big Jack” and “Mikey Suits” _ who were involved in heroin trafficking, dealing in stolen diamonds and other goods, gambling and other illegal activities. The police officers provided protection in return for thousands of dollars each in payments.

The Hip Hop Cop Derrick Parker’s DVD and Book

Following the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. in Los Angeles, Parker stressed the importance of some sort of investigative unit to closely track hip hop artists. The NYPD eventually decided to make Parker the official point-man for its Rap Intelligence Unit.

Parker went on to work the high-profile cases of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Jay-Z, before retiring in 2002. In addition to being known as the Hip Hop Cop, Parker is also known for The Rap Binder, an infamous and extensive book, which was created to keep mug shots and profiles of rappers filed and on record.

Now, Parker is set to reveal his work as the Hip Hop Cop via the Black and Blue: Legends of the Hip Hop Cop DVD, which drops today (June 27) and the Notorious C.O.P. book, which is set for a mid-July national release.

Parker promises both the DVD and book to provide hip hop fans with an in-depth look at the Rap Intelligence Unit and the rappers he had to deal with.

“The DVD shows you exactly what I had to go through and what problems I had, it tells you about the binder and the problems that I had with those detectives in the police department,” Park told Vibe.com. “Then when you read the book, it gives you everything that we couldn’t put in the DVD and it gives you the raw details about crimes, murders and crimes that weren’t solved because of what the police did wrong. I’m not one-sided in the book. I’ll tell you where the police screwed up too.”

The Black and Blue: Legends of the Hip Hop Cop DVD include special appearances by the likes of Russell Simmons, Reverend Al Sharpton, Damon Dash, Ice-T and Wyclef Jean. The DVD was directed and produced by Peter Spirer, who is also responsible for the popular Beef series.