The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, California • Page 2

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Robert J. Dickey 778-4501 HXbCUIIW.eJYUW Randy Lovely 778-4616 AiM-jrnstNn imtHcnn Dar Brown 778-4507 PM.UruwnwnhMlMRiMB.cun MARKKT PFVKIDPMKNT OltWTITW Michelle Kram 778-4699 EAST Feds Identify 2 allegedly killed by Boston mob BOSTON Two bodies found last fall in an alleged mob burial ground were identified Monday as the former girlfriend of Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemrni and a man who disappeared more than 25 years ago after beating crime boss James "Whitey Bulger in a barroom brawl. The bodies of Debra Davis and Thomas King were found in September and October in a marshv area near the Neponset nttaa aiion nmiicron Greg (Vaslrq 778-4565 tii eft MixiMumMcnaufum Ernest Rodriguez 778-4601 WEST Model for 'Cstch-22' protagonist dead at 79 SPOKANE, Wash. Francis Yohannan, a World War aviator who was an inspiration for the protagonist of Joseph Heller's darkly comic novel "Catch-22," has died at 79. Yohannan, who became friends with Heller when both were bombardiers stationed on Corsica in 1944, died March 17 of complications from a stroke.

The title of Heller's 1961 novel referred to the near-impossibility of being excused from dangerous bombing runs. A flier could be grounded by being declared insane, but being afraid of such danger was considered virtual proof of sanity. In an interview for USA Today in 1998, Heller said it was from Yohannan that he "derived the unconventional name for the heretical Yossarian." HUMAN RKStHJRCM niKI-CTOR Albert Edwmrdi III 778-4536 AftwiU)ifJiihrilnnwi mm renixjenoN otRHimw Hal Koontx 778-4678 tUl.Koonuui tbaJacnuiLcoin INFORMATION TrlCHNlHjINiV DOWCTUft Mike McUland 778-4603 Mikt.McLdindiihetkurouo.cwn Lori Edwards 778-4760 Lori httwdj thcJacmun.mm CIRCULATION "EW I HIs AUOCIAI UL) I'RUSS Debt of gratitude: Family members of the victims of former Veterans Affairs nurse Kristen Gilbert embrace Steven J. Plante (back to camera), a special agent with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs who played a role during the investigation of Gilbert ii m.

ga.rn.-3p.rn. ro-wio Sat-Swi. e.m. -12noon 5pm.It 7784619 Fu 778-4654 SpringsPalm Desert i-hui Affir 775-4205 778-4620 775-4235 AHotrrer areas 8s.m.-6p.m. (800)834-6052 After 5pm Fan SUGGESTED RETAIL RATES Mm to th.

Htor By earner Ietlei5wpalmspn.gannen.com Nurse gets life prison sentence for killing vets in VA hospital $12.004 weeks (IU.ltV.84! EAST River in Quincy, Mass. The identifications were announced by U.S. Attorney Donald Stern. Davis was Flemmi's girlfriend when she disappeared in 1981 at age 26. Flemrni helped Bulger run South Boston's Winter Hill Gang for more than two decades.

King, a member of the gang, disappeared in November, 1975 after beating Bulger in a bar fight in South Boston. Patakl proposes tougher 'Son of Sam' profit law ALBANY, N.Y. Gov. George Pataki is again pushing for a stiffening of the "Son of Sam" law that allows crime victims to benefit from the profits of their attackers. Pataki on Monday said he wants to significantly strengthen the ability of victims to obtain "just compensation" from convicted criminals regardless of the criminal's source of wealth or type of crime.

"By expanding the law, we will crfvr virrimn and their families he MIDWEST Man charged l.i blaze that killed 5 children CHICAGO Five children ages 5 and under were killed in a fire after being left alone inside a second-floor apartment, and the father of some of the youngsters was charged Monday with child en-dangerment. The fire began shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday in the two-story brick apartment building. The woman who lives with Lee, the mother of two of the dead children, was at work at the time of the fire. Antoine Lee, 28, the father of some of the children and stepfather of the others, told police he left the children alone for five or six minutes while he went to the store for cigarettes, police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said.

But it appears that the fire smoldered for a half-hour in two mattresses in the living room before neighbors called to report it, Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor said. SOUTH Service commemorates 5,000 lynching victims PETERSBURG, Va. Mayor Ros-alyn Dance compared it to a funeral as she read from a list of some 5,000 people most of them black who were lynched during the Civil War through the mid 1930s. Monday was the first day of a three-day ceremony at Virginia State University to honor victims of racially motivated iynchings. "Owen Anderson, Leesburg, November 8, 1889 Magruder Fletcher, Tasley, March 14 1889 Unknown Negro, Richmond, August 8,1912 7.7," Dance and university President Eddie N.

Moore Jr. alternately read aloud as students at the historically black college trickled in and out of the ceremony. The reading aimed to cast light on the brutality of the Iynchings and ensure history does not repeat itself, said philosophy professor Renee Hill, who headed the "Reading of the Names" commemoration effort. "Healing comes through knowing what happened," Hill said. If you haw a jiew tip.

wisfi to place a pubJK announcement concerning a local ttem or organuafton. or wish to rouH atwul poWrsflefl articles the Desert Sun. pleaae contact the news deparunenl at the about numbers. We wttl not be responsible for unsolerted mantrsenpts or photos left wtjt or maeea to The Desert Sun. EMPLOYMENT 778-4537 ADVERTISING CLASSIFIED Palm Springs 322-2222 fan 7784731 Palm Desert and Indlo (800) 233 3741 Fu J41 6201 8a.m.-5p.m.

All other areas (800)233-3741 You mat cancel or change a an by catkng 778-4531 The 24-hoor ssrvioe rs available Monrjay Sunoay Pleese lene a message andmechangswHbt made within two business days. DISPLAY 8a.m.- 5p.m. Palm Springs 778-4509 Fax 778-4528 FiTysWe ki advance DAIUf Zones 1,2,3.4 S20.544 weeks teUteato7.5 satHlaa Zones 5. 6, 7,8 $21.384 woekl In Riverside County $15.864 weeks WEEKEND Sat, Sun.) Zonesl, 2,3.4 $12.884 weeks sCAsubiacttb7.5 saiestai Zones 5, 6,7.8 $13.844 weeks FOREIGN COUNTRIES $26.544 weeks Sun. $11.674 weeks N.I.E.

(Newspapers in Education) 778-4534 Student charged with making threat via Web PORTLAND, Ore. An 18-year-old man was arrested Monday and charged with making a threat against a high school in New York in an Internet instant message. Benjamin Ballard was charged with transmitting a threat via interstate commerce, which carries a potential sentence of five years in prison, FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele said. Ballard allegedly made the threat to a New York student late Thursday while they were using America Online. He reportedly warned the student not to go to school Friday because "there's going to be a lot of people dead tomorrow" at Edgemont High School in Greenburgh, N.Y.

trail By Adam Gorlick THB ASSOCIATED PRESS SPRINGFIELD, Mast. A federal jury on Monday decided on life imprisonment for a former veterans hospital nurse who killed four patients by injecting them with a heart stimulant. Kristen Gilbert, 33, was spared a sentence of death by injection. She would have become the only woman on federal death row. U.S.

District Judge Michael Ponsor formalized the jury's rec-ommendation, sentencing Gilbert to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. He also sentenced her to two 20-year terms for trying to kill two other veterans, and to several lesser charges. Ponsor could not have overruled the jury to impose the death-penalty. Before the formal sentencing, he allowed some relatives of the victims a last chance to speak. Claire Jagadowski told the judge of the loss of her husband, 66-year-old Stanley Jagadowski: "I still listen for his key in the door.

Now have to face old age alone." Gilbert declined an opportunity to address the judge. She wept softly when the jury's decision was read. Add 7.5 to the above (BOO) 233-3741 Fa. 341 6201 prices tor all newspapers marled ti4n me State irl Her father and grandmothers had pleaded with jurors to let her live, saying a death sentence would be devastating to them and Gilbert's two sons. "It's a very bittersweet day when you mink your daughter is going to get life imprisonment instead of the death penalty," said Gilbert's father, Richard Strickland.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Welch had called Gilbert a "shell of a human being" who deserved to die for the cold and calculating way she murdered her victims: injecting them with overdoses of the heart stimulant epinephrine, also called adrenaline, causing their hearts to race out of control. Prosecutors had argued that she wanted to attract attention, especially from her lover, a hospital security guard, for the way she handled herself during emergencies. Gilbert was convicted March 1 4 of the first-degree murder in the deaths of three veterans. She also was convicted of second-degree murder, which is not subject to the death penalty, in the death of a fourth veteran, and of trying to kill two other veterans.

GENERAL. tools they need to pursue justice and ensure that no criminal is allowed to reap financial rewards with a complete disregard for .1 1 V. so nu: California. Pubbsher reserves Mailing address PnHr7734 the ragrtt to change eucrapuori rales dunnllra m-c ri vjna Palm Desert Office 28 days notrce. This notice may be made by mail, by rnrjcecorrteinedlnUie newspaper or otherwise.

Subscription changes may be Implemented by changing the duration of the subaenptions. 72-624 El PaseoStetW Palm Desert, CA 92260 Indlo Office 82-632-BHwy. Ill Drawer NNN Indio.CA 92202 Postmaster Send address changes to Box 2734 Palm Spnngs.CA 92263 FAA to restrict skies over Grand Canyon The government issued new routes Monday for air tour operators over the Grand Canyon, moving some flights between, the South Rim and Las Vegas away from areas heavily used by American Indians and hikers. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was moving current flight paths over the canyon's central portions toward the western end of the park. uicy iiavc lioiiucu, 473104 said.

Current law allows crime victims to sue only when a convict receives money that represent so-called profits from the crime, like a book or movie deal. "The governor's common sense proposal ensures that no victim will suffer the further indignity of seeing his or her attacker gain an underserved windfall," said state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Wire reports tr tnetaOimo 1 0art 14 Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations 5lin uamrwr rfffj Calitornia Newspaper Publishers Association tfiSOKgrt Desert Son rHiMliMrif Ce. 750 N. Gene Autry Trail Palm Spnngs.CA 92262 caooo.Tlie Desert Sun (760) 322-8889 reserved Empire Physicians Medical Groupj Primary Care Physician Panel Windmill Park orw2zone 300 Ac, Desert Hot Springs paved rd.

New to Transformer section- 323-255-5151 Empire Physicians Medical Group and Xetna U.S.'Healthcare Golden Medicare Plan A team committed to your good health General Practice Robert L. Darras Robert Rottschaefer Internal Medicine Celeste L. Amaya, MD Assad Darawal, MD Howard N. Erlanger, MD Steven P. Gorman, MD Peter J.

Lipton, MD Abraham J. Lo, MD Carlos A. Lopez, MD Ravinderpal Mann, MD James C. Mustaqeem Qazi, MD Diomidio Ramirez, MD Robert F. Steinberg, MD Family Practice Raymond A.

Battie, MD Werner R. Bierfreund, MD Alex C. Christ, MD Clifton D. Cole, MD 7 Marvin H. Frankel, MD Edith Gonzalez-Werner, MD V.

Douglas Jodoin, MD Howard P. Levy, DO Sara Y. Lin, MD Daniel Lopez, MD Yvonne G. Morgan, MD. Stephen Novak, MD Stephen R.

Steele, MD Harold Tarleton, MD Murray D. Taylor, MD DalipS.Tibb,MD Matthew Werner, MD Brian Williams, MD Peter L. Wong, MD Visits to your doctor or a specialist (upon referral by your Primary Care Physician) are just $5 and lab tests and x-rays are free. Also members receive covered prescription drugs at any participating network pharmacy (copays, annual maximum and other limitations apply). So why not follow Empire Physicians Medical Group's example and become a part of the Golden Medicare Plan team.

Empire Physicians Medical Group is one of the area's leading physician groups. So we're particularly proud that Empire Physicians Medical Group and many of its physicians work to provide the kind of personal health care our members have come to expect. Aetna U.S. Healthcare Golden Medicare Plan provides health coverage with no deductibles and virtually no paperwork when using network providers (copays may apply), hassle-free coverage with a monthly plan premium, $15 in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Accepting current patients only.

Sjpintt aY Cm7tni Cat Wlptoithtptrfatttmlor fOurptrsonaStftndbmigtt Sue i Des McCarthy CfclEEftYE 9rww.Cfjfaton$.cotftJdtncc$rthy Calll-CCO-229-8236 (TDD 1-C0623-3323) today for more information or to request an in-home appointment. Illti J. lee March 29, 2001 Thursday, 9:00 a.m. Denny's 72950 Highway 111 Palm Desert fvbrch 28, 2001 Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. Le Peep 2665 E.

Palm Canyon Palm Springs March 27, 2001 Tuesday, 9:00 a.m. Baker's Square 1596 N. Palm Canyon Palm Springs Call for additional meeting dates and times in your area. Golden Md icare Han1 1C0 Call for a frw No Obligation Consultation fcvxj ttt r.s HctVwood heir fiihion. yt: tc3 representative will be presort and applications.

For acconmciation of persons with special needs at sates meetings, call the number shown above. This cento sa Kticre tresis, rs 3 re ertr-j '-'-7-3 A in fcara Pal B. Montcrs must coring to pcy the Part rj Fr? A fit 1 in e. or covese is provkfed '3 in V. -3 c.

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