Crime Scene

Unsolved cop-killing on America's Most Wanted

America's Most Wanted will again profile the case of slain BSO Sgt. Chris Reyka (left) on Saturday night's broadcast.

This case has weighed heavily on the hearts of law enforcement officers in South Florida and across the country since Reyka was gunned down in a drugstore parking lot last August. Leads have come and gone, and at times investigators seemed close to breaking through with an arrest, but so far, the case is still open and unsolved.

The show airs at 9 p.m. on Fox affiliates nationwide.

The do-good bank robber

Catherine Kaczanowski loves her some bank robbing. She also loves giving back.

A few years ago, Kaczanowski robbed five banks. When cops caught up with her, she told them she pulled off the heists to pay for medical care for her cat, Smoochie.

She was back to her old tricks last week, when she stole $1,000 from a North Fork bank in Bensonhurst, N.Y. How do cops know it was Kaczanowski?

Because she returned to the bank Thursday with $700 and a handwritten note, which she gave to a teller: "I stole this money on Friday, February 22. I'm sorry."

She then went to a liquor store to pick up some Jack Daniels. By the time she got home, police were waiting for her with handcuffs in tow.

New York tabloids the Post and the Daily News have more. Thanks to Judi at Dave Barry's blog for the tip.

Hog-lovin' hulks hogtie heister

Now THIS is what we call a bike patrol.

From The Sydney Morning Herald ...

Machete wielding masked bandits picked the wrong club to rob yesterday - 50 bikie club members were meeting there.

Police said the robbers raided the Regents Park Sporting Club about 8.50pm yesterday, ordering people at the bar to lie on the floor.

But the robbers failed to notice 50 members of the Southern Cross Cruiser Club enjoying a drink in the nearby auditorium.

"Fifty of us jumped out of our seats and raced out to the main bar," said club president Jerry "Jester" van Cornewal.

...And a lump of coal

You won't see Sandy groping Santa Claus again -- she promises.

According to the Danbury News Times, Sandrama Lamy, 33 of Danbury, Conn., blames bad meds on her bad behavior. You might remember: Lamy got touchy with a mall Santa a few months back, when she and a friend were sitting on his lap.

A Connecticut judge granted her a special probationary program Wednesday, and if she stays out of trouble for two years, the charges will be dismissed.

Two men arrested for robbing graves

These two men may bring new meaning to the term grave robbing.

Hollywood Police say Carlos Javier Gonzalez (left), 32, and Victor Perez, 44, stole brass flower vases off grave sites at Fred Hunter's Memorial Gardens in Hollywood.

Then they sold them to A & B Recycling for scrap. No word on how much they got for the vases.

Gonzalez was arrested Friday on a charge of grand theft. Police arrested Perez last Wednesday on the same charge.

O.J. over the years

I personally don't care for the O.J. Simpson stories nowadays that mention how he's "looking much heavier than in his playing days" or "paunchier and slower-moving." Happens to most everyone, right? It's not the point of the stories, so why point it out? Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

But, without passing any judgment, check out these O.J. mugshots from over the years, posted in The Smoking Gun's substantial mugshot collection:

First, after his June 1994 arrest in Los Angeles. O.J. was charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. A jury acquitted him in October 1995.

Second, after his September 2007 arrest in Las Vegas. O.J. and several other men were charged with armed robbery and other felonies after taking collectibles from two sports-memorabilia collectors. Their trial is set to begin in April (see last graf).

Third, in January 2008 before a bail-revocation hearing in Las Vegas. A judge increased O.J.'s bond because of a profanity-laced message on his bondsman's voicemail that violated a court order.

In the Vegas case, a judge today denied a request from defense attorneys to postpone the trial. It begins April 7.

Officer fired for porn-star side gig

Easy there, fellas -- this one's from Hungary.

Livia Kovacs, 36, (no photo available, sorry) was fired from her job as a Hungarian police officer after a colleague spotted her in a porn video and reported it to supervisors.

In the flick, Kovacs apparently portrays a dominatrix cop who uses her handcuffs on a partner.

She was fired for "bringing the force into disrepute and misuse of her police uniform."

Kovacs told reporters she didn't mind the dismissal because she's been inundated with offers to star in more films.

Thanks to Dave Barry's blog for the story.

Doc, is that a painkiller in your pocket?

Yes, AND he's happy to see you.

Jacksonville doctor Benjamin S. Malang (left) allegedly found a way to pump up his acupuncture business: He wrote free painkiller prescriptions for patients who had sex with him.

Police launched an investigation earlier this month after a patient told cops Malang, who is 70 (!!!), had been giving her Hydrocodone and Oxycontin scripts in exchange for sex at his home and office for the past two years. Undercover cops set up similar arrangements with Malang and arrested him, the Florida Times-Union reported.

Malang, who has been licensed to practice in Florida since 1984, once served as senior physician for a North Florida jail. His medical training is listed as "Far Easteren (sic) medical school" on a police report, which The Smoking Gun posted.

Attention Seminole Hard Rock

Those Vegas-style slots come with certain -- ahem -- expectations.

From the Des Moines Register:

An Iowa casino worker says he should not have been fired for demanding that his co-workers provide him with prostitutes because the casino promotes Las Vegas-style gaming.

Neil Jorgensen, 62, of Kalona worked at the Riverside Casino and Gold Resort south of Iowa City until last November. He was fired after he was given a $100 Riverside gift certificate and a free night's stay at the casino hotel in recognition of a year's employment with the company.

He used the gift certificate and free night's stay on the night of Nov. 28.

"I went to Ruthie's, the nice steakhouse within the casino, and I had a cosmopolitan or two and a bottle of wine and a really good dinner," Jorgensen testified at a recent state hearing dealing with his request for unemployment benefits.

He said he went to his hotel room about midnight and called hotel managers for help in figuring out how to order an adult movie. An hour later, he said, he called the managers again "and asked for a hooker."

Masked duo steal $11,000 worth of cell phones

Police need help finding the two people who broke into a Davie electronics store Monday and stole dozens of cell phones.

The heist happened at 6:26 a.m. at Mobile Media, 6403 Stirling Rd.

For 16 minutes, surveillance video captured two people in masks raiding the store. In the end, they got away with between 50 and 60 cell phones valued at $11,000, Lt. Wayne Boulier said.

Davie police responded to an alarm call at the store, but they were too late. All they found was the rear door of the business pried open.

Anyone with information is asked to call Davie police at 954-693-8200.