newsmakers

newsmakers

Liberace’s ex-lover gets probation

RENO, Nev.

An ex-lover of Liberace’s who was the subject of an HBO film on the pianist’s life was sentenced to probation on identity-theft charges after lawyers argued over whether it was proper for him to receive drug testing at a Nevada brothel.

Washoe District Judge Patrick Flanagan sentenced Scott Thorson on Wednesday to eight to 20 years for burglary and ID theft but suspended the prison sentence. He rejected suggestions Thorson be ordered to inpatient drug treatment and instead sent him to the county’s drug-court program.

Prosecutors mocked Thorson’s lawyer’s argument that he deserved outpatient treatment because he voluntarily submitted to regular drug testing at a legal brothel.

But defense lawyer David Houston says brothel testing is the most trustworthy because a faulty test can cost them their license.

Fantasia eyes Broadway show

NEW YORK

Grammy Award-winner Fantasia Barrino will star in the Broadway-bound “After Midnight,” a musical revue celebrating Duke Ellington’s years at the famous Cotton Club nightclub in Harlem.

Producers said Thursday that Barrino, last seen on Broadway in “The Color Purple,” will be their first guest star in the show. Performances start Oct. 18, with an official opening night set for Nov. 3. Barrino ends her run Feb. 9.

Directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with musical direction by Wynton Marsalis, the show appeared off-Broadway last year at New York City Center under the name “Cotton Club Parade.” Songs include “Stormy Weather” and “I’ve Got the World on a String.”

Firm admits leaking Rowling’s alter ego

LONDON

The mystery has been solved.

A British law firm admitted Thursday that one of its partners inadvertently revealed that J.K. Rowling had authored a mystery novel, “The Cuckoo’s Calling.”

The Sunday Times newspaper revealed over the weekend that the “Harry Potter” author had penned the book under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

The newspaper said it had received a tip-off on Twitter, and there was speculation that Rowling or her publisher were behind the revelation — which has sent sales of the thriller skyrocketing.

But law firm Russells said Thursday that one of its partners, Chris Gossage, had let the information slip to his wife’s best friend, Judith Callegari — the woman behind the tweet. Her Twitter account has now been deleted.

Jay-Z views album inspiration at cathedral

LONDON

Jay-Z has dropped by an English cathedral to see the inspiration for his latest album — an 800-year-old parchment copy of the Magna Carta.

The musician visited Salisbury Cathedral in southwest England to see one of only four surviving original copies of the 1215 proclamation that is considered the founding constitutional document of the English-speaking world.

Jay-Z’s chart-topping album “Magna Carta Holy Grail” is partly inspired by the document, whose name means the Great Charter.

The cathedral said Thursday that Jay-Z spent an hour at the church Sunday, meeting the dean, the Rev. June Osborne, and some of the choristers.

Osborne said the star had been “a delightful guest.”

Vindicator wire services