According to a grand jury indictment, a New Mexico prostitution ring mastermind was trying to extort two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Jr. for $750,000 over a videotape. Bobby McMullin, the ringleader, allegedly had an unflattering video of Unser that he promised to release to the public if Little Al didn't pay him. The racer signed a letter agreeing to pay an unspecified amount for the tape, and indeed some payments were made, but authorities don't know how much money changed hands.
Authorities also don't know – or haven't said – what is on the tape. The former racer said he made the payments because of a "morals clause" in one of his endorsement contracts that could have been at odds with whatever was allegedly on the tape. The attempted extortion happened during the 2004 season while he was with Patrick Racing, his last season behind the wheel. Although it's unclear why Unser is connected with the defendant, Abuquerque prosecutor Mark Drebing has gone on record that it appears Little Al hasn't done anything wrong, and that Unser is listed as a victim in the indictment.
A busted car theft ring has turned up a vintage Cadillac once owned by one of the Magnificent Seven. The five-finger-discount drivers out of Colorado, headed by Jeffrey Earle Piper, would steal expensive rental cars, change their VIN numbers and "sell" them. The new "owner", who was in on the whole thing, would then report "his" car stolen and collect on the insurance policy. One of the cars found among the loot: a $133,000 1959 Cadillac – looks like a Series 62 convertible – that once belonged to Steve McQueen. It's other claim to fame: a guest spot on the TV show MacGuyver. The mystery we're still trying to solve is which one of its owners put the Yeti pelt over the driver's seat?
In South Korea, economics trumps justice. Chung Mong-koo, the head of Hyundai who recently received a suspended sentence for embezzling and bribes has -- along with 341,000 other businessmen, bureaucrats, and politicians -- been given a full pardon.President Lee Myung-bak, who said he was "personally against" the decision, decided to issue the pardons anyway. Mong-koo wasn't even in jail, but apparently the convicted and jailed businessmen were "having problems doing business overseas." Go figure.So on Liberation Day, in hopes that "businessmen would take the lead in reviving the economy by creating jobs through active investment and exploring markets abroad," the bad guys got gifts even better than walking papers. In South Korea, crime does pay... if you have good business sense.
One of the easiest ways to customize a car is to yank out that factory radio and stick in something with more snazzy looks and more jazzy sound. Unfortunately, thieves know how easily your new stereo can be yanked out.
There have been many variations on the concealment method of stereo protection through the years. One of the most popular being to hide the newer unit behind a nest of wires to fool would-be crooks into thinking someone had beaten them to the prize. But over at Instructables, there's a new twist to the trick.
The key to the hack is to conceal your upgraded stereo behind what looks like your car's OEM unit. There are step-by-step instructions showing you how its done, from mounting the old radio's faceplate on a removable fascia, to making the fakery look even more unappealing by halving a cassette tape for added realism. They used "Christmas With the Brady Bunch," which might work in a Geo Metro in December, but would be probably guarantee your G35 getting busted open in July.
California's Central Valley takes two of the top ten spots, again, in the National Insurance Crime Bureau's listing of the highest per capita vehicle thefts in the U.S. in 2007. Modesto, CA bumped Las Vegas out of the number one spot, dropping Sin City to number two in the national rankings. San Diego slotted in third, followed by Stockton, CA (about 35 miles from Modesto) and for whatever reason, the NICB grouped San Francisco, Oakland and Fremont, CA into one all-encompassing area for the number five position, despite the three cities being spread 60 miles apart. In the NICB's press release after the jump, it provides a few common sense solutions for thwarting a theft, including removing your keys from the ignition and locking your doors. Additionally, they recommend plenty of high-dollar prevention devices ranging from micro-dot marking and starter-locking devices.
