THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609280223
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 83 lines
Fran victims may receive unemployment aid
Virginians who are unable to work because of the effects of Hurricane Fran may be eligible for disaster unemployment assistance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency says.
The aid is available to self-employed or unemployed individuals ineligible for regular state unemployment insurance. Benefits of up to $224 per week will be paid to individuals until they are able to return to work or resume their self-employment, FEMA said.
Those eligible include people unable to work because their place of employment was put out of operation by the flooding and those unable to reach their place of employment because of flood damage. Also eligible are those left as chief breadwinner because of a death resulting from the flooding and those unable to work because of a flood-related injury.
Meanwhile, Virginia Power, which had more than 400,000 customers lose power in the storms early this month, announced Thursday a $100 million program that it said will improve customer service during future power outages.
The program includes a single telephone number to call for information about service. The number will be able to handle as many as 100,000 calls an hour during major storms.
The improvements also will place computers in company trucks, allowing work crews to access up-to-date information on problems. Film pilferer gets five
FAIRFAX - A husky film buff was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for smuggling over $4,000 worth of videos out of a suburban rental store in his clothing.
Circuit Judge J. Howe Brown, Jr. called Tyrone J. Wiggins a con artist before imposing the maximum sentence for the felony charge of receiving stolen property.
Wiggins and his lawyer, Gerald Curran, asked Brown to suspend the jail sentence.
``I've changed,'' Wiggins said as he looked out at several friends in the courtroom. ``I know I have to raise my family.''
But prosecutor Kathryn Swart said Wiggins had been convicted seven times for theft since 1983.
Wiggins was known as one of the best customers at Crosspoint Video in Lorton, even as he was routinely stealing a few videos at a time out of the store.
Wiggins rented the store's bargain movies so often he was nicknamed ``the 99-cent man'' and often discussed movies with employees.
While renting the cheap stuff, Wiggins was walking out with new releases hidden in his waistband and beneath his shirt. A store manager said Wiggins wore baggy clothing and his girth made it easy for him to conceal tapes.
ALEXANDRIA - A drug and sex ring that operated under the cloak of religious freedom brought cocaine and prostitutes to inmates of the Lorton prison, according to a federal grand jury indictment.
Supposed members of a religious sect smuggled drugs into the prison operated by the District of Columbia, and two women had videotaped sex with inmates, federal officials said Thursday.
A private room at the prison set aside for religious services was used for at least one sexual encounter, said William C. Megary, acting assistant director of the FBI's Washington field office.
The indictment charged 38 suspects, all but two of them women, said U.S. Attorney Helen Fahey.
When they signed in at Lorton, the visitors claimed they were members of a Muslim sect called the Moorish Science Temple, Megary said.
No drugs ever reached prisoners, Fahey said. She said 175 grams of cocaine were confiscated during the investigation. Also
ROANOKE - Rep. Sonny Bono, R-Calif., and the male half of the former Sonny & Cher pop music duo of the 1960s, will make a campaign appearance for Rep. Bob Goodlatte Monday.
MATHEWS - Convicted child molester Leroy D. McKenney was ordered to serve 12 years in prison but avoided further time because Circuit Judge John M. Folkes said McKenney had no prior criminal record.
RICHMOND - Robert J. Daniele, indicted in a fraudulent aircraft parts scam run by his brother, has been acquitted on all counts. MEMO: Compiled from AP reports. by CNB