WEEK IN REVIEW: Top News
A troubled Chicago commodity trader who disappeared in 1979 and was declared legally dead in 1986 has resurfaced alive and well in Las Vegas.
Arthur Gerald Jones was arrested Tuesday and booked at the Clark County jail on several felony charges, most related to identity fraud.
Along with his local alias of Joseph Richard Sandelli, Jones used several others in his decades-long quest to stay hidden, authorities said.
Faced with rising gambling debts, dangerous mob connections and a troubled home life, Jones left his wife and three young children when he went out to run an errand and never came home.
Jones' 30-year fabrication began to unravel in May 2008, when he went to renew his alter-ego Sandelli's driver's license using a Social Security number that belonged to a man named Clifton Goodenough, police said.
Monday
Ski resort may grow
The Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort has won initial federal approval for a plan that would expand the ski area to at least five times its current size.
The go-ahead from the U.S. Forest Service is a major step forward for a $35 million expansion plan that could add 39 new trails, seven chairlifts and increase the ski area's footprint from its current 70 acres to nearly 500 acres.
Tuesday
Officer cleared
A Clark County jury took less than an hour to find former Las Vegas police officer Aron Carpenter not guilty of felony charges related to a May 2010 police pursuit that left one person dead and another injured.
Prosecutors alleged Carpenter disobeyed orders to end the pursuit of Ivan Carrillo, followed Carrillo at 60 mph and bumped his car, triggering a three-vehicle crash.
The 30-year-old Carpenter, who was fired after the incident, is challenging his dismissal and said he wants his job back.
Wednesday
Rizzolo jailed again
Former Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo is heading back behind bars for thumbing his nose at the judicial system.
U.S. District Judge Philip Pro sentenced Rizzolo to nine months in prison and placed him on two additional years of supervised release for deceiving his probation officers.
Federal prosecutors sought the extra prison time, alleging the ex-strip club operator had been living a wealthy lifestyle off funds he hid from authorities while failing to pay millions of dollars in restitution to a tourist crippled at the Crazy Horse Too.
Thursday
Firefighter fallout
A Clark County fire battalion chief was terminated after county officials said she misused sick leave and aided others in abusing the system.
Renee Dillingham was a 24-year veteran and the first woman hired as a county battalion chief. She is the second county firefighter fired for sick leave abuse as part of a scandal that has also prompted a police and FBI inquiry.
Friday
Recount, same result
A recount has confirmed the tightest result of the June 7 municipal election: Wade Wagner defeated incumbent North Las Vegas City Councilman Richard Cherchio by a single vote.
The final tally was again 1,831 votes for Wagner, 1,830 for Cherchio.
Neither candidate attended the recount, but Cherchio's attorney said the matter was "far from over." That's because of unanswered -- and perhaps unanswerable -- questions about a ballot cast by an ineligible voter.
NUMBERS
36
Number of new F-35 fighter jets the Air Force plans to base at Nellis Air Force Base, which will become the new test and training center for the Joint Strike Fighter.
3
Number of American players who won their way onto the nine-seat final table
in the World Series of Poker's Main Event.
$122 million
Second-quarter earnings for Wynn Resorts. CEO Steve Wynn reported the "spectacular" numbers, then accused President Barack Obama of being bad for business.
823
Gay couples set to be married Monday in New York City, the most marriage licenses the city has ever issued in a single day. The single-day record in Las Vegas is 4,489.
QUOTES
"We took four years away from a fellow human being. What is the value of that?"
Larry Brown
Clark County Commissioner, ON a $1.5 million settlement SET FOR APPROVAL MONDAY between Las Vegas police and Dwayne Jackson. A DNA mix-up in the crime lab sent Jackson to prison for a crime he did not commit.
"How do you cancel something that doesn't belong to you? You think you're First Friday?"
Westley Myles Isbutt
gallery and bistro owner, ON a dispute over the "cancellation" of the monthly downtown arts gathering. Only a portion of the event -- the trademarked street festival part -- has been shelved UNTIL OCTOBER.
"Yes, that day you failed as a mother. You failed as a parent. You failed as a human being. Just like your husband did."
Judge Douglas Herndon
Sentencing Colleen Rimer to five to 20 years in prison for the death of her 4-year-old disabled son, who was left in a hot SUV for 17 hours in 2008. Rimer's husband, Stanley, was sentenced in May to eight to 30 years in prison.
"GOPALIN."
The personalized license plate initially rejected by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles for being too political, prompting a lawsuit from the Douglas County man who requested the slogan.
MULTIMEDIA
• Video: Talking with 10-year-old pianist Ethan Bortnic
• Slide show: Double take: Kate Middleton's effortless elegance
• Video: Mother of Ralfy Olivas speaks out about her son's death
• Slide show: World Series of Poker final table
• Slide show: Magdaleno brothers both fight at Texas Station
• Slide show: Homeless family finds hope
