newsmakers

newsmakers

3 face charges in fake Cedar Point tickets

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio

Three people accused of making and selling fake tickets to an Ohio amusement park have been arrested on theft and forgery charges.

Police in Middletown in southwest Ohio say two men and a woman were arrested Thursday. Police say they were making and selling fake tickets to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky in northwest Ohio to people who didn’t know they were counterfeit.

Authorities discovered the alleged scam after a man who police say paid $220 for the fake tickets in a store parking lot found out they were counterfeit after arriving at the park. Police say another person in Middletown paid $175 for fake tickets.

The equipment used to make the tickets was seized by police.

Judge favors Costner in sculpture dispute

RAPID CITY, S.D.

A judge has ruled in favor of Kevin Costner in a dispute between the Hollywood actor and an artist he commissioned to create a bronze sculpture for a resort in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

The dispute centered on whether there was agreement between Costner and artist Peggy Detmers on the site where the artwork now sits. The Rapid City Journal reports that Judge Randall Macy ruled there was.

Under terms of the contract, if the two hadn’t agreed on a site, Costner was to sell the sculpture and split the proceeds. Costner said there was agreement; Detmers said she had little say on the site. The resort has not materialized after 20 years.

Costner’s attorney says the actor is “well satisfied.” Detmers declined to comment.

LaBeouf: This is my last ‘Transformers’

MOSCOW

Shia LaBeouf’s days of battling the Decepticons look to be over, with the “Transformers” star saying he has nothing more to offer after three films playing kid-next-door Sam Witwicky.

The 26-year-old American actor told The Associated Press he was “done” with the action-packed franchise, adding he “doesn’t have anything new to contribute.”

Speaking at the recent opening of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” at the Moscow International Film Festival, LaBeouf said he did not know if “there’s anywhere to take Sam, really.”

Directed by Michael Bay, “Transformers 3” also stars Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whitely.

Paramount Pictures said the movie earned $37.3 million Wednesday in the U.S. on its first day — a 40 percent drop from its predecessor, “Revenge of the Fallen.”

‘Macho Man’ Savage died of heart disease

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

A medical examiner says something went wrong with professional wrestler “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s heart before he crashed his car and declared the cause of death as heart disease.

The autopsy released Thursday reveals that 58-year-old Randy Poffo, known professionally as Randy Savage, had an enlarged heart with severe blockage of his coronary arteries. With only minor injuries from the crash, the Tampa Bay area medical examiner determined the cause of death to be heart disease.

Authorities say Savage was driving in Pinellas County on May 20 when he lost consciousness and crashed into a tree. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Toxicology results showed small traces of alcohol and hydrocodone in Poffo’s system, but officials say the amounts wouldn’t have factored into the crash.

Vindicator wire services