Police stage killing to snag suspect in murder-for-hire plot

Police stage killing to snag suspect in murder-for-hire plot

NORTH RIDGEVILLE,

Ohio

Police say a makeup artist helped them stage an Ohio crime scene to make the suspect in a murder-for-hire plot believe his requested target was killed by the would-be hitman, who actually was working with investigators.

North Ridgeville police say 39-year-old suspect Seljami Idrizi, of Grafton, was arrested this week after paying the informant, who provided him photos of the faked scene to prove the killing was done.

Idrizi was jailed on an initial conspiracy charge with bond of $1 million after a court appearance Friday. Court records listed no attorney for him.

Police say Idrizi asked a man he had befriended to kill a 43-year-old North Ridgeville man, and the would-be hitman contacted police in mid-September. No one was hurt.

Ohio board certifies ballot issue aimed to block puppy mills

COLUMBUS

A proposed constitutional amendment aimed at preventing puppy mills has been certified as a single ballot issue by Ohio’s Ballot Board.

The proposal would require dog breeders with eight or more unspayed female dogs and annual sales of more than 15 dogs to meet certain standards intended to improve animal care.

To place the issue on the 2018 ballot, petitioners now will need to collect nearly 305,600 signatures, which is equivalent to 10 percent of the total vote cast for governor in 2014.

Petitioners must gather signatures from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Within each of those counties, petitioners must get enough signatures equal to 5 percent of the total vote cast for governor in 2014.

Theologians accuse pope of spreading heresy

VATICAN CITY

Several dozen tradition-minded Roman Catholic theologians, priests and academics have formally accused Pope Francis of spreading heresy with his 2016 opening to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

In a 25-page letter delivered to Francis last month and provided Saturday to The Associated Press, the 62 signatories issued a “filial correction” to the pope – a measure they said hadn’t been employed since the 14th century.

The letter accuses Francis of propagating seven heretical positions concerning marriage, moral life and the sacraments with his 2016 document “The Joy of Love” and subsequent “acts, words and omissions.”

EPA removes waste at Texas toxic sites, won’t say from where

WASHINGTON

The Environmental Protection Agency says it has recovered 517 containers of “unidentified, potentially hazardous material” from highly contaminated toxic waste sites in Texas that flooded last month during Hurricane Harvey.

The agency has not provided details about which Superfund sites the material came from, why the contaminants at issue have not been identified and whether there’s a threat to human health.

The one-sentence disclosure about the 517 containers was made Friday night deep within a media release from the Federal Emergency Management Agency summarizing the government’s response to the devastating storm.

At least seven Superfund sites in and around Houston were flooded in the days after Harvey’s record-shattering rains stopped.

Associated Press