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| April 29, 2019 | Entertainment, LOCAL, NATIONAL, NEWS | No Comments
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Southlake couple has been sentenced to 7 years for keeping woman in their home as a slave

DALLAS – A Southlake couple will serve seven years in prison each for using a West African woman as their slave for 16 years.

Mohamed and Denise Toure were convicted of forced labor, conspiracy to commit alien harboring and alien harboring in January. They also physically, verbally and emotionally abused the victim, hitting her with an electrical cord and calling her dog, slave said she was worthless.

The Toures is from a wealthy and powerful Guinean families, brought the girl from her rural village in Guinea to Texas in 2000. She lived in their home and worked for them without pay until she decided to run away in 2016.

The sentence includes the Toures paying the woman nearly $300,000 in restitution.

CHICAGO (AP) — Two brothers who say they helped Jussie Smollett stage a racist and homophobic attack against himself sued the “Empire” actor’s attorneys on Tuesday, accusing them of defamation by continuing to insist publicly that the brothers carried out a real, bigoted attack on Smollett despite knowing that wasn’t true.

Abimbola “Abel” Osundairo and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo said in a joint statement issued after their lawsuit was filed in federal court in Chicago that Smollett’s legal team has spread false accusations that have hurt their reputations and undermined their career prospects.

City receives funding for Cadillac Heights Levee project

Dallas – The City of Dallas’ floodway projects, including the new Cadillac Heights Levee,  received over $450 million in funding under Supplemental Appropriation in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (PL 115-123) to address long awaited critical flood risk management for the residents and businesses along the Trinity River. The US Army Corps of Engineers included the Dallas Floodway and Dallas Floodway Extension Projects as part of the supplemental appropriation.

“The City is grateful for the Corps’ leadership and collaboration of our federal and state partners with helping secure the funding needed to advance flood protection projects that will help protect lives and properties from flood risks,” said District 11 Councilmember Lee M. Kleinman, Chair of the Mobility Solutions, Infrastructure and Sustainability Committee.

The inclusion of $135.25 million for the Lamar Levee and Cadillac Heights Levees will complete the Dallas Floodway Extension Project after over 20 years of efforts. The remaining $223 million is for major improvements in the Dallas Floodway, such as levee raises and flattening, removal of AT&F Bridge, Trinity Portland Pump Station, Charlie Pump Station, Delta Pump Station Rehabilitation, Hampton Pump Station and

“I am very pleased that the Cadillac Heights Levee project is funded,” said Councilmember Carolyn King Arnold, District 4. “Work on this project provides much needed flood protection and environmental improvements, spurs economic development, and gives the City the opportunity to deliver on a promise made to residents and businesses in this area.”

“The planned improvements for the remaining pump stations, including the Trinity Portland Pump Station and the levee system are important to the residents of District 6,” said Councilmember Omar Narvaez, District 6. “These improvements will aid in improving the quality of life for our residents and reassure the community that we are keeping their best interest in mind as we seek resources for Dallas.”

The Lewisville Dam is also approved for associated flood risk management such as spillway improvements and restoration of maintenance paths with funding of $92 million. The supplemental funding gives the City the opportunity to complete these projects, in a timely manner and reduce financial obligation for the residents and businesses.

Brothers sue Jussie Smollett’s lawyers, claiming defamation

By MICHAEL TARM and CARYN ROUSSEAU

CHICAGO (AP) — Two brothers who say they helped Jussie Smollett stage a racist and homophobic attack against himself sued the “Empire” actor’s attorneys on Tuesday, accusing them of defamation by continuing to insist publicly that the brothers carried out a real, bigoted attack on Smollett despite knowing that wasn’t true.

Abimbola “Abel” Osundairo and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo said in a joint statement issued after their lawsuit was filed in federal court in Chicago that Smollett’s legal team has spread false accusations that have hurt their reputations and undermined their career prospects.

“We have sat back and watched lie after lie being fabricated about us in the media only so one big lie can continue to have life,” they said. “These lies are destroying our character and reputation in our personal and professional lives.”

In their lawsuit , the Osundairos contend that even after prosecutors dropped the charges against Smollett while simultaneously saying they could prove the attack was a hoax, Smollett’s attorneys kept saying in interviews that the Chicago-born brothers “led a criminally homophobic, racist and violent attack against Mr. Smollett.”

 

Bill Cosby fighting $1M a month legal bill in arbitration

By MARYCLAIRE DALE

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A fee dispute between actor Bill Cosby and one of the many law firms hired to address his legal problems shows the Los Angeles firm alone was billing Cosby $1 million a month in the run-up to his first sex assault trial.

The imprisoned Cosby is challenging a California arbitration award that upholds nearly $7 million of the $9.2 million billed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan for nine months work.

Cosby, 81, accused the firm in a petition Friday of elder abuse and “egregious” billing practices, and of fraud for representing both him and the insurance company he was fighting in court, American International Group Inc., over his coverage.

The Quinn Emanuel team was led by partner Christopher Tayback, the son of the late actor Vic Tayback. Quinn Emanuel had been retained to represent Cosby in three lawsuits in late 2015, but eventually had 28 lawyers working on 10 cases involving 14 accusers across the country as Cosby’s legal woes snowballed. The lawyers made about $500 to $1,075 per hour.

Cosby paid the firm $2 million while AIG kicked in $2.3 million, the documents show. The arbitration panel this year upheld $6.7 million in fees, leaving Cosby with a bill of about $2.4 million. His petition seeks a review of that decision and a refund of the money he paid.

The Quinn Emanuel team was among more than a dozen lawyers to help Cosby defend a dizzying array of legal problems across the country as dozens of women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct or defamation.

Cosby said he never knew the scope of the firm’s work — in part because of his age and blindness — as it began exploding after his December 2015 arrest in Pennsylvania. The arbiters found Quinn Emanuel had kept Cosby’s personal lawyer informed along the way. The firm worked on the criminal case beside lead lawyer Brian McMonagle and others before parting ways with Cosby in mid 2016, long before the first criminal trial the next year. Cosby was convicted at a 2018 retrial of drugging and molesting a woman at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. He is serving a three- to 10-year prison term and appealing the conviction.