Man, Literally 'Falls' Into Police Custody

Hidden suspect falls through ceiling, cops waiting below

Oct 31 2011

PORTLAND, Ore. — Police officers in Oregon say a domestic disturbance suspect more or less fell into their hands _ through the ceiling.

Portland police were called Monday to a home to deal with an intoxicated man reported as threatening relatives. Lt. Robert King says they found him barricaded in the attic and determined he wasn't a threat, so they began to leave with the intention of following up later.

They say that's when they heard a crash and turned to find the man had fallen through the ceiling and onto the living room floor.

Twenty-one-year-old Aaron Deon Kinsey was not injured in the fall. But he was booked on domestic violence charges, fourth-degree assault and harassment.

Economic Depression Increases the Number of Naked Women

AP
More women needing cash go from jobless to topless to bottomless

Mar 22 2009 02:08PM CST

By KAREN HAWKINS - Associated Press Writer



Stripper Eva Stone (not shown above) raved about the work at the Pink Monkey gentlemen's club in Chicago, on Feb. 19, 2009. Stone is a 25-year-old dancer with a bachelor's degree in graphic design who hopes to go back to graduate school this year to pursue a master's in education. She took up dancing four years ago when her student loan companies wouldn't stop calling.

As a bartender and trainer at a national restaurant chain, Rebecca Brown earned a couple thousand dollars in a really good week. Now, as a dancer at Chicago's Pink Monkey gentleman's club, she makes almost that much in one good night.

The tough job market is prompting a growing number of women across the country to dance in strip clubs, appear in adult movies or pose for magazines like Hustler.

Employers across the adult entertainment industry say they're seeing an influx of applications from women who, like Brown, are attracted by the promise of flexible schedules and fast cash. Many have college degrees and held white-collar jobs until the economy soured.

"You're seeing a lot more beautiful women who are eligible to do so many other things," said Gus Poulos, general manager of New York City's Sin City gentleman's club. He said he got 85 responses in just one day to a recent job posting on Craigslist.

The transition to the nightclub scene isn't always a smooth one _ from learning to dance in five-inch heels to dealing with the jeers of some customers.

Some performers said they were initially so nervous that only alcohol could calm their nerves.

"It is like giving a speech, but instead of imagining everyone else naked, you're the one who's naked," Brown, 29, said.

Eva Stone, a 25-year-old dancer at the Pink Monkey, said dealing with occasional verbal abuse from patrons requires "a thick skin."

Makers of adult films cautioned that women shouldn't rush into the decision to make adult movies without considering the effect on their lives.

"Once you decide to be an adult actress, it impacts your relationship with everyone," said Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of adult film giant Vivid Entertainment Group. "Once you make an adult film, it never goes away."

The women at the Pink Monkey say dancing at a strip club might not have been their first career choice, but they entered the business with their eyes wide open. The job gives them more control and flexibility than sitting in a cubicle, and "it's easy, it's fun and all of us girls ... look out for each other," Brown said.

For some, dancing is temporary, a way to pay for college loans or other bills. Others say they've found their niche.

Dancers at the upscale Rick's Caberet clubs in New York City and Miami can make $100,000 to $300,000 a year _ in cash _ even with the economic downturn, club spokesman Allan Priaulx said.

Priaulx said 20 to 30 women a week are applying for jobs at the New York club, double the number of a year ago.

"In the past, people have said this industry is recession-proof," said Eric Wold, director of research for financial services firm Merriman Curhan Ford. "I definitely don't see that; maybe recession-resistant."

Strip club dancers and managers said they're drawing in the same number of customers, but fewer high rollers.

"They're not getting the big spenders," said Angelina Spencer, executive director of the Association of Club Executives, a trade group for adult nightclubs. "They're not getting the guys who come in and drop $3,000 to $4,000 a night anymore."

Still, the clubs' operating structure leaves them with low overhead and profit margins of up to 50 percent, Wold said.

Dancers are independent contractors, paying clubs a nightly flat fee depending on how long they work. At the Pink Monkey, for example, dancers who arrive at 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday pay a $40 "house fee," while women who don't arrive until midnight pay $90. And they keep their tips.

Wold and others say it's almost impossible to estimate the size of the adult entertainment industry because few companies are publicly traded. He does pay close attention to three that are: Lakewood, Colo.-based VCG Holding and Houston-based Rick's Caberet, which own clubs, and New Frontier Media, a Boulder, Colo.-based adult film producer and distributor.

All three are profitable.

Rick's Caberet had $60 million in revenue in its 2008 fiscal year, up from $32 million the year before, Wold said, and he estimates VCG will have $57 million for last year, compared with $40.5 million in FY2007. New Frontier Media generates more than $400 million in consumer buying a year.

Larry Flynt, whose half-billion dollar Hustler empire publishes magazines, produces and distributes films and operates a casino, said he's continued to do well. But he doesn't expect those who are solely in the film business to survive.

"A lot of the small studios are out of business now, there's no doubt about that," Flynt said.

Adult magazines also are struggling along with the larger publishing industry, and have to cut pages like everyone else.

But the economic realities aren't keeping jobseekers away.

Vivid Entertainment's Hirsch said the number of women in his business has doubled in the last couple years, with roughly 800 working as adult actresses. "It is more competitive than I've seen it in 25 years," he said.

That doesn't mean all the newcomers are planning on lengthy careers in the industry.

Stone, who has a bachelor's degree in graphic design, took up dancing four years ago to help pay her student loans. She plans to go to graduate school this year to pursue a master's in education.

Brown, meanwhile, has a ready answer for those critical of her career choice.

"I have job security," she said.

Instructions for How to Lose $4,000,000.00

Maybe I put it here.

TOKYO (AFP)Jan 28, 2009 — An elderly Japanese businessman buried four million dollars in his garden for safekeeping only to find it dug up by a thief, police said Thursday.

The man in his 80s discovered the theft in October and died two months later. As he left no records, it took time for investigators to piece together the details.

The man, who was still serving on a corporate board when he died, had put cash into a container over four decades, repeatedly digging it up and then placing it back in the ground in his yard in southern Saga prefecture.

On October 10, he noticed at around 6:00 am that something was amiss.

"He noticed that there were signs that parts of his yard were dug up. Then he learned that the container in which he kept the money was gone," a local police official said.

Police were searching for the culprit behind the theft of the cash, estimated at 360 million yen (four million dollars).

"He buried the money because financial institutions are offering only low interest rates, and he thought it was better to keep his cash himself," the official said.

"He chose to bury the cash in his garden to avoid damage from possible house fires or earthquakes," he said.

The businessman had recollected that the last time he had checked the money was in the middle of 2007, the official said.

"Birdman of Alcat.....oops, ......Australia?"

(AP Photo/Australian Customs Service, HO)

February 3, 2009 Melbourne, Australia CP

An Australian traveler was caught with two live pigeons stuffed in his pants following a trip to the Middle East, customs officials said Tuesday. The 23-year-old man was searched after authorities discovered two eggs in a vitamin container in his luggage, said Richard Janeczko, national investigations manager for the Customs Service

They found the pigeons wrapped in padded envelopes and held to each of the man's legs with a pair of tights, according to a statement released by the agency. Officials also seized seeds in his money belt and an undeclared eggplant.

The alleged bird smuggler, who arrived in Melbourne on Sunday on a flight from Dubai, was being questioned.

Australia has very strict quarantine regulations on the importation of wildlife, plants and food to protect health, agriculture and the environment of the isolated island nation.

Janeczko said the pigeons were not endangered and that the case _ as well as the birds, eggs and seeds _ had been turned over to the Quarantine Service to assess the health risk associated with bringing the birds into the country.

It was not immediately clear why the man was attempting to smuggle two ordinary pigeons, which can be found in any Australian town, into the country. The pigeons can be bought for $10 AUS a pair in any pet shop.

Charges of wildlife smuggling _ which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of 110,000 Australian dollars ($70,430) _ could be brought against the man.

The Quarantine Service would not comment on the continuing investigation.

"It's an outrage," said Scott Johnson, a 57-year-old contractor from San Francisco who has no connection with this incident or Australia and should not have been quoted here. Sorry.

In a Feb. 1, 2009 photo (see above) released by the Australian Customs Service, the legs of the Australian man caught with his pants full of pigeons on arrival on an international flight from Dubai to Melbourne, Australia, are shown. Police were asking anyone who recognized the legs to contact them. The 23-year-old man arrived in Melbourne on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009 and was questioned by Customs officials after two eggs and some seeds were found in a vitamin container in his luggage. A search of his body found the live pigeons wrapped in padded envelopes and held to the man's legs with a pair of tights.