IN BRIEF

$7,900 found in suitcase

Embezzler's cash stash returned to county

Prosecutors say a stash of $7,900 found in the suitcase of a Washoe County water engineer imprisoned for embezzling millions has been returned to the county, and the county now has recouped nearly all of its losses.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Greco says his office earlier obtained an order to transfer $5,368 from Paul Orphan's frozen bank accounts to the county.

The county in December received a $2 million check from its insurance company to cover the costs of Orphan's embezzlement.

Greco says the $7,900 was found in a suitcase in Orphan's home.

In October, the 54-year-old Orphan was sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution for embezzling to finance a gambling habit. He'll be eligible for parole in 12 years.

LOS ANGELES AREA

Police find woman's body after faxed tip

Police following a tip sent by fax to a television station found a dead woman in the trunk of her car Saturday.

Officers discovered the body in a Valley Village neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley soon after being notified by KTLA-TV staff about the fax, officer April Harding said.

The anonymous sender wrote that a woman was killed Feb. 28, named two suspects in the case and indicated the area where her body could be found, Harding said.

The victim's name and the cause of her death were not immediately released. The vehicle was registered to the woman, Sgt. Sharyn Buck said.

Buck said investigators were trying to track down the person who sent the fax and the people the sender named as suspects.

DOG'S BEST FRIENDS

Firefighters rescue dog frozen to ice by the tail

There was a rescue involving a Saint Bernard in Billings, but this time it was the humans who saved the day.

Duke, a 16-month-old Saint Bernard, apparently fell through the ice on a golf-course pond after escaping from his yard. He was able to pull himself out but ended up getting frozen to the ice.

A maintenance worker saw the dog and got help. Two firefighters in dry suits pushed an ice rescue sled over about 10 feet of hip-deep water and 10 feet of ice to reach the shivering 118-pound dog.

The firefighters broke the ice around Duke's tail with a mallet before hauling him and a chunk of ice back to shore.

Duke was feeling better after being de-iced and warmed up under a blow dryer at a veterinary clinic.

LOSSES FORCED LAYOFFS

Woman charged with stealing $9.9 million

A former bookkeeper embezzled $9.9 million, forcing her company to make layoffs as she bought 400 pairs of shoes that she kept in a room-sized closet decorated with a crystal chandelier and a plasma television, authorities say.

Annette Yeomans, 51, surrendered Friday and was booked for investigation of grand theft and embezzlement. She was being held Saturday at the San Diego County jail in lieu of $10 million bail.

Authorities say Yeomans embezzled the money from 2001 to 2007 while she was chief financial officer for Quality Woodworks, Inc., a cabinetry business in San Marcos.

She spent at least $240,000 on 400 pairs of shoes, $300,000 on designer clothing and bought 160 purses valued at $2,000 each, investigators say. She also remodeled a bedroom into a closet with the chandelier and a 32-inch TV.

The losses had went unnoticed, and the company never hired an outside auditor to check the books because she had a trusted position, Sgt. Mark Varnau of the sheriff's Financial Crimes Unit said. Meanwhile, he said, the company was forced to lay off workers and restructure operations because of the losses.

An investigation began after American Express notified the company in February 2008 that one of its checks had been used to make a payment on Yeomans' account, Varnau said.

Yeomans was fired last year and agreed to turn over her assets to the company, which has recovered about $2 million from the sale of her house, some cars and other property, Varnau said.