Half brother charged with stealing from comic

March 28, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

WOBURN, Mass. — The half brother of Dane Cook has been ordered held on $1 million bail on charges alleging he stole millions of dollars from the comedian. Darryl McCauley pleaded not guilty to eight counts of larceny over $250, forgery and larceny by continuous scheme. Prosecutors said at Thursday’s arraignment in Middlesex Superior Court that more charges are expected.

Prosecutors say the 43-year-old McCauley stole the money while being paid $12,500 a month to act as business manager for Cook’s company, Great Dane Enterprises.

Defense attorney Robert Goldstein said McCauley denies taking any money without his brother’s consent. A pretrial conference is set for April 16.

Britney Spears’ roadies face assault charges

PITTSBURGH — Two employees of a contractor working for Britney Spears’ concert tour were arrested early Thursday morning after police said they assaulted officers who tried to break up a fight.

Rockey Lee Dickey Jr., 34, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., was hitting another man on a city sidewalk when a patrol car drove by at around 1 a.m., police said. Dickey swung at one of the officers who intervened, knocking off his hat, and had to be subdued with a Taser, police said.

Police said Alex Montes, 23, of Valencia, Calif., put one of the officers in a headlock. The officers were not hurt.

Both men were being held in the Allegheny County Jail on assault and public drunkenness charges. It was not immediately known if they had attorneys. The alleged victim, identified only as a 30-year-old Pittsburgh man, was taken to a hospital for facial injuries.

Spears’ Web site posted a statement saying the two men worked for a company that was contracted to provide road crew service, not for Spears or her tour. The men have been fired, the statement said.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Ken Howard is 65. Actress Dianne Wiest is 61. Country singer Reba McEntire is 54. Rapper Salt of Salt-N-Pepa is 43. Country singer Rodney Atkins is 40. Actor Vince Vaughn is 39. Rapper Mr. Cheeks of Lost Boyz is 38. Guitarist Dave Keuning of The Killers is 33. Actress Julia Stiles is 28.