Gentry enters plea in bear hunting case

Gentry enters pleain bear hunting case
DULUTH, Minn. -- Troy Lee Gentry pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of falsely registering a captive bear as being killed in the wild.
Under the plea, the 39-year-old country singer agreed to pay a 15,000 fine, give up hunting, fishing and trapping in Minnesota for five years, and forfeit both the bear's hide and the bow he used to shoot the animal in 2004. The bear, named "Cubby," was killed in a 3-acre private enclosure.
The plea meant Gentry avoided a trial, which had been scheduled to start Monday.
Ron Meshbesher, his attorney, said Gentry pleaded guilty to "a simple charge having to do with improper tagging (of a game animal), and that's all it ever was."
Lee Marvin Greenly, 46, Gentry's local hunting guide, pleaded guilty at the same hearing to two felony charges of helping other hunters shoot bears at illegal baiting stations he maintained inside a national wildlife refuge near Sandstone in east-central Minnesota.
Greenly faces a maximum prison sentence of five years for each count, forfeiture of all-terrain vehicles he and employees used to reach the bait stations, and a maximum fine of 400,000.
Gentry told the court he bought the bear from Greenly with the understanding they would videotape a hunt inside the bear's enclosure, which was surrounded by an electric fence.
"Lee and I made a deal about harvesting this bear," Gentry testified. They also agreed to report it was killed in the wild 6 miles east of Sandstone instead of on Greenly's property south of the town.
Gentry and Eddie Montgomery are the country singing duo Montgomery Gentry. Their hits include "My Town" and "If You Ever Stop Loving Me."
ABBA museum to open
STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- A museum dedicated to the music, clothing and history of Swedish supergroup ABBA will open in Stockholm in 2008.
Organizers are still searching for a suitable location for the museum, but said Tuesday it will open somewhere in central Stockholm in 2008.
ABBA is one of the most successful bands in history, having sold more than 370 million albums. While the group hasn't performed together since 1982, it continues to sell nearly 3 million records a year and the musical "Mamma Mia!" -- written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and based on the group's hits -- has been seen by more than 27 million people around the world.
The interactive museum will feature original outfits and instruments used by ABBA, handwritten song lyrics, a display of awards and "all other things we can think of and find," said Ulf Westman, an event consultant who is spearheading the project with his wife, Ewa Wigenheim-Westman.
The museum will also feature a studio where visitors can record their own ABBA songs and an interactive experience that "will recreate the feeling of being at Wembley Stadium and seeing ABBA live with 50,000 others," Westman said.
Today's birthdays
Hall-of-Fame sportscaster Vin Scully is 79. Blues singer-musician John Mayall is 73. Composer-musician Chuck Mangione is 66. Pop singer Denny Doherty (The Mamas & amp; the Papas) is 66. Actress Diane Ladd is 63. Pop singer-musician Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals) is 62. Olympic gold medal skier Suzy Chaffee is 60. Comedian Garry Shandling is 57. Actor-comedian-game show host Howie Mandel is 51. Actress Kim Delaney is 45. Actor Tom Sizemore is 45. Actor Don Cheadle is 42. Musician Wallis Buchanan (Jamiroquai) is 41. Pop singer Jonathan Knight (New Kids on the Block) is 38. Rapper The Game is 27.