California

Arrest made in slaying of officers in 1957

Helped by a new FBI fingerprint database, authorities arrested a man Wednesday in the 1957 slayings of two El Segundo police officers who were gunned down after pulling over a car for running a red light.

Gerald Mason, 68, was arrested without resistance at his home in Columbia, S.C., Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Capt. Frank Merriman said. He said Mason had apparently led a “very well-adjusted, normal life” in the 45 years since the attack.

Fingerprints taken from a stolen car on the night of the killings in El Segundo were traced to Mason through a new FBI database, authorities said. They were linked to Mason through a 1956 burglary in South Carolina.

Mason was charged with two counts of murder along with rape, kidnapping and robbery for alleged attacks on couples at a lovers’ lane. He was being held without bail and could face life in prison without parole if convicted.

Virginia

Terror link probed in credit fraud ring

More than 30 Pakistanis face federal charges in an alleged credit-card fraud ring that investigators believe netted $5 million.

Investigators have concerns, but no hard evidence, that the money may have helped fund terrorist activity. The alleged ringleader, Shah Nawaz, has fled to Pakistan as have other members of the group, U.S. Atty. Paul McNulty said Wednesday in Alexandria.

Under the scheme, McNulty said, people obtained credit cards with bogus identities or found individuals who were willing to sell their personal information.

Then merchants involved in the scheme would max out the cards with bogus purchases. Credit card companies would send money to the merchants, who would keep a commission and pass on the rest to accomplices, McNulty said. The credit card balances went unpaid.

Pennsylvania

Race riot victim’s family sues police

The family of a black woman killed during 1969 race riots sued the city of York and five former police officers Wednesday, alleging police did not try to stop the violence and concealed evidence for three decades.

The lawsuit filed by relatives of Lillie Belle Allen seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

The lawsuit follows the October criminal trial of former York Mayor Charlie Robertson and two of the 10 other white men charged since 2001 in Allen’s slaying.

Robertson, a police officer in 1969, was acquitted, and two co-defendants were convicted of second-degree murder. Six of the men charged reached plea agreements on lesser charges, and one case is still pending.

Arizona

Cactus thieves target retirement communities

Retirees in Surprise have a prickly problem: cactus thieves.

Police say crooks have snatched cactuses from the yards of about 50 homes in Sun City and Sun City Grand, retirement communities west of Phoenix. Residents are on the lookout.

“Every morning I look out to see if my three cactus are still there,” said Rose Marie Kery, 62. “We all have open yards, so we’re just watching out for each other. The thieves clearly know we go to bed early.”

The culprits — police suspect more than one person is involved — kick over five or six cactuses in each yard, said Surprise Police Detective Scott Bailey. They target shallow-rooted golden barrel cactuses.

Bailey said the thieves may be posing as landscapers to swipe the yellow-spined cactuses, which retail for about $150 each. The losses have added up to about $10,000 in Sun City Grand alone, Bailey said.