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“Bucket List Bandit” pleads guilty to bank heists

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:20:00 +0000

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man nicknamed the "Bucket List Bandit" by the FBI after he allegedly told a Utah bank teller that he had just four months to live has pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania to that robbery and 10 other heists in nine other states.

Michael Eugene Brewster, formerly of Pensacola, Fla., faces a likely sentence of between 10 and 14 years in federal prison when he returns for sentencing Aug. 12.

On Wednesday, Brewster pleaded guilty to Sept. 10 Huntingdon National Bank Heist in Erie and 10 other robberies which began June 21 in Arvada, Colo. He was arrested in Oklahoma in September after police there saw the FBI warrant for the Erie bank robbery when they pulled him over for running a stop sign.

Chemical plant explosion kills two in W. Va.

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:20:00 +0000

An explosion rocked a small chemical plant in West Virginia's northern panhandle, killing two workers and injuring another, the plant's office manager said Thursday.

Theresa D'Aurora, the office manager at the plant owned by AL Solutions Inc., confirmed that two employees died in Thursday's explosion. She could not provide any other details.

She said that although the company handles chemicals, there have been no evacuations in the area. The company develops additives for the aluminum industry.

Ken Kline, the chief financial officer for AL Solutions Inc., said the blast happened just before 1:30 p.m. at the Hancock County plant, which employs about 25 people. The blast happened in the main production building, he said.

"We're trying to determine the extent of the damage and take care of our employees," he said.

Labor Department spokeswoman Joanna Hawkins said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating and on its way to the scene.

AL Solutions was formerly called Jamegy Inc. The company website says it also has a plant in Missouri.

22 charged with flying cocaine from California to Pennsylvania

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:46:00 +0000

Twenty-two people have been charged with conspiring for a decade to fly cocaine from California to Pittsburgh while bypassing airport security measures.

The indictment was returned in June but revealed by federal prosecutors Wednesday. It charges 17 people from California, four from Pennsylvania and one from Maryland.

Prosecutors say Tracy, Calif., resident Timothy White was a primary source of the cocaine. They say Stockton, Calif., resident Ruben Mitchell lost track of more than 40 pounds of cocaine in a misdirected piece of luggage during a flight last year.

They haven't said whether the lost bag led them to uncover the operation.

White and Mitchell remain in custody. Fifteen others have been arrested. Five remain at large.

Mitchell's defense attorney hasn't returned a call seeking comment. White fired his attorney.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Twenty-two people have been charged with conspiring for a decade to fly cocaine from California to Pittsburgh while bypassing airport security measures.

The indictment was returned in June but revealed by federal prosecutors Wednesday. It charges 17 people from California, four from Pennsylvania and one from Maryland.

2 killed in gas well explosion near Pittsburgh

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:19:20 +0000

A natural gas well where welders were believed to be working exploded Friday, killing two people and sparking a fire that spewed black smoke for hours.

The blast happened around 9:50 a.m. in a remote, wooded area of Indiana Township, northeast of Pittsburgh, police said. Firefighters doused the resulting fire with foam, and part of the blaze was still burning about three hours after the explosion.

The cause wasn't yet known, but state officials believe "people were welding at the site and there was an explosion and the well caught fire," said Helen Humphries, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"Why they were welding or what caused the explosion, I don't know yet," she said.

The well, dubbed Murray Heirs No. 6, is a shallow well, about 3,500 feet deep, and was drilled in May 2008, Humphries said. It was considered to be a producing well, she said.

The department won't be able to determine the environmental impact until after the fire is extinguished, Humphries said.

The well is owned by Huntley & Huntley, a company that says it operates more than 350 gas wells in and around Pittsburgh and is also active in Oklahoma. The company confirmed its workers had arrived at the well but a spokeswoman said she had no further information.