Ex-governor cleared

Ex-governor cleared

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A jury found Puerto Rico’s former governor not guilty Friday on all nine counts of conspiracy, money laundering and lying to the FBI, concluding his monthlong corruption trial.

Anibal Acevedo Vila, who could have faced 20 years in prison if convicted, was the first governor to be charged with a crime since the island became a semiautonomous U.S. commonwealth in 1952.

His former adviser Luisa Inclan was also cleared of similar charges.

Georgia bank shut down

WASHINGTON — Regulators on Friday shut down FirstCity Bank in Georgia, marking the 18th failure this year of a federally insured bank. More are expected to succumb to the prolonged recession.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of the failed bank, located in Stockbridge, Ga. It had about $297 million in assets and $278 million in deposits as of March 18.

The FDIC said it will mail checks to depositors of FirstCity Bank for their insured funds Monday morning. Direct deposits from the federal government, such as Social Security and veterans’ benefits payments, will be transferred to SunTrust Bank.

New search for Holloway

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Natalee Holloway’s father flew a search dog and handler to Aruba to search for the missing teen’s body Friday, although prosecutors said they have no new leads in the case.

Ann Angela, a spokeswoman for the Aruba Prosecutors’ Office, said the dog is searching a small reservoir in northwestern Aruba that witnesses have previously identified as a location where Holloway’s remains might be found.

Holloway, from Mountain Brook, Ala., disappeared in May 2005 in the Aruban capital Oranjestad. She was 18 at the time.

Angela said neither police nor prosecutors have any new information in the case, but they gave Dave Holloway permission to search.

Madoff remains in jail

NEW YORK — Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was properly put in prison to await sentencing in one of the largest financial frauds in history, an appeals court ruled Friday as the government released victims’ emotional letters describing their losses.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its written ruling a day after hearing arguments from the government and a lawyer for the 70-year-old former Nasdaq chairman.

The dozens of letters released Friday had been forwarded to U.S. District Judge Denny Chin before Madoff confessed March 12 to defrauding thousands of investors of billions of dollars.

Security hiring freeze

UMM QASR, Iraq — The drop in oil prices has forced Iraq’s military and police to put recruiting on hold even as the U.S. hands over more responsibility for protecting the country.

The freeze is stalling efforts to hire Sunni ex-insurgents and has prompted the Iraqi military to transfer hundreds of soldiers to the navy to protect vital oil installations in the Persian Gulf.

Iraq will also have to scale back purchases of equipment and weapons, raising new questions about its ability to defend the country’s borders and prevent a resurgence of violence.

All this comes as the Iraqi military is preparing for the 2011 departure of U.S. forces, who often provide everything from clean drinking water to fuel.

U.S. delegation in Moscow

MOSCOW — Some of the biggest names in U.S. diplomacy of the past decades met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and other Kremlin leaders Friday, in an effort to improve frosty relations that experts say could threaten many U.S. foreign policy goals.

In some of his most upbeat comments about U.S. relations since President Barack Obama took office, Medvedev said his meetings with current and former U.S. officials in recent weeks “reflect the goal of our nations to significantly improve ties.”

After greeting a delegation led by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Medvedev praised the American initiative, first announced by Vice President Joe Biden, to “press the reset button” on U.S.-Russia relations.

Biologist warned of chimp

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut biologist warned state officials nearly five months ago that a 200-pound chimpanzee who mauled a woman last month could seriously hurt someone if he felt threatened, according to a memo released to state lawmakers Friday.

The biologist also said the chimp’s owner violated state law, and ended her note with the prophetic warning: “I would like to express the urgency of addressing this issue. It is an accident waiting to happen.”

Charla Nash was critically injured Feb. 16 when she was attacked by the 200-pound chimp. Nash’s attorneys say the 55-year-old woman lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids and may be blind and suffering brain damage after the attack. She is being treated at the Cleveland Clinic.

Associated Press