Albert Watkins

Marijuana: Gary Wiegert's Free-Speech Lawsuit Goes Forward, Sgt. Hopes to Lobby for Reform

Last week, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen passed a marijuana reform proposal that would reduce the punishment for minor pot offenses. The policy change is supposed to save police resources and the mayor is expected to sign it into law. While officials with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Depart ... More >>

Marijuana: St. Louis Police Sgt. Gary Wiegert is Suing Department for Suppressing His Lobbying

Sgt. Gary Wiegert of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department supports changes in local marijuana laws so that minor offenses would not needlessly drain police resources. That's why he decided to work on the side as a lobbyist for Show-Me Cannabis, a group that advocates for pot reform in Missou ... More >>

The North Face Asks Federal Judge to Sanction St. Louis-Based Firm, "The Butt Face"

The North Face is fed up -- once again -- with St. Louis businessman Jim Winkelmann and his college-age son, Jimmy. Back on April 14, 2010, after much media hoopla, the outdoor apparel giant settled its federal lawsuit against the Winkelmanns, who conceded that their cheeky little company, The South ... More >>

Where Is Sicily Streat? Part Two [Updated]

Gut Check noticed last week that the Sicily Streat (@SicilyStreat; 314-440-2636) appears to have gone AWOL. The food truck has sent no tweets from its account since the end of February, and -- anecdotally, at least -- there have been no sightings of it since then, either. Our attempts to reach the ... More >>

William Franke: Founder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Mired in Lawsuits

​William Franke, the man who once owned the St. Louis Globe-Democrat and who in 2004 helped found Swift Boat Veterans for Truth to attack the war record of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, is today getting some bad press of his own.  Franke, who made millions in real-estate ... More >>

Saint Louis Zoo Unsympathetic to Publicity Stunt for Man Who Lacks Empathy

Photo illustrationOh, what could have been!​The Saint Louis Zoo has put the kibosh on a publicity stunt that was to be held at noon in front of the polar bear exhibit. As Daily RFT reported earlier this week, Webster University graduate student David Schwartz was recently kicked out of the school' ... More >>

Mangia Italiano Dismisses "Media Circus" Tactics of Mangia Mobile

Image viaWill there be a t-rav smackdown between Mangia Italiano and Mangia Mobile?​To Albert S. Watkins, the attorney representing local food truck Mangia Mobile, the only thing more delicious than his client's toasted ravioli is a media circus (with him as ringmaster, of course). And that's what ... More >>

Multimillion-Dollar Ponzi Scheme Roils the Orthodox Jewish Community of St. Louis

Image viaNot Josh Gould, but this is what he does these days. ​These days, Joshua David Gould of University City dances in a Statue of Liberty costume to lure customers toward an income tax preparer. But the 31-year-old Orthodox Jew knows how to sing, too. To the feds, that is. Gould, a former sec ... More >>

To pull off the biggest pit bull fighting bust in U.S. history, investigators went deep undercover. So did their dogs.

Bryan Pour: Off-Duty St. Louis Cop Pleads Guilty in Shooting Man During Bar Brawl

Pour graduated at the top of his class from the academy. Seriously. He did.​An off-duty St. Louis police officer involved in a wild fight two years ago outside a Metro East tavern has pleaded guilty to the crime of "reckless discharge of a firearm." Bryan Pour, 28, was one of several people involv ... More >>

St. Louis Hairdresser Who Found New Moon Script in Dumpster is Selling Plunder on eBay

Courtesy of Albert WatkinsRay in Hollywood last fall for the New Moon premiere.​Remember Casey Ray? The luckiest Dumpster-diver ever? Her story just keeps on going. Sort of like the Twilight saga. Now she's auctioning off her autographed New Moon script on eBay. Bidding starts at $10,000. (For ... More >>

Daily RFT Exclusive: South Butt and North Face Settle in Federal Court

It's finally over, folks.​The federal civil suit filed by outdoor apparel giant The North Face against a small local parody company called The South Butt has finally concluded. When asked about the status of the case Friday afternoon, South Butt attorney Albert S. Watkins said that "the parties ha ... More >>

A Heated Deposition Turns the South Butt Case Into One Giant "Clusterf@#k"

​Remember how The South Butt LLC -- a Mizzou freshman's apparel company that's getting sued by The North Face for trademark infringement - has that motto, "Never Stop Relaxing!"? Well, on Friday, the student's father, Jim Winkelmann Sr., stopped relaxing. Eighteen minutes into a deposition held by ... More >>

St. Louis Salon Owner Who Found Movie Scripts in Dumpster, Sues Film Company

Casey Ray in Hollywood last fall. ​Remember the story of Casey Ray, the St. Louis hairdresser who found the script to New Moon in a Dumpster last spring? Turns out Ray actually found two movie scripts in the trash outside the Chase Park Plaza. One for the teen-vampire flick New Moon and the other ... More >>

Are Facebook Friends Really Your Friends? Court Case May Settle the Question.

​So, how 'bout it? Are Facebook friends really your friends? That's a question under debate in the criminal case of an off-duty St. Louis cop involved in a bar brawl in Illinois in 2008.This morning the Post-Dispatch reports that the ubiquitous Clayton attorney, Albert Watkins, is asking Facebook ... More >>

Judge Orders South Butt, North Face to Reach Agreement on Un-anatomical Differences

The most dangerous place to stand in St. Louis? Between attorney Albert S. Watkins, above, and a news crew's microphone!​A federal judge has ordered the outdoor clothing giant North Face and the tiny local apparel company it's suing, South Butt, to try to work out a solution to their conflict thro ... More >>

Mary Queen of Peace, a Catholic Grade School in Webster Groves, Bans South Butt Apparel

​The administration of Mary Queen of Peace School has sent a letter to parents saying that "attire with a logo the opposite of North Face" is considered "inappropriate at school." Principal Gerry Kettenbach PhD, was obviously referring to South Butt, the knock-off apparel line launched by Chaminad ... More >>

South Butt Lawsuit Gets the NPR Treatment, Tune In Tonight to Marketplace

​Apparently we were not slipping into the warm embrace of a public-radio-induced coma last night when we heard Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal promo a story on the South Butt lawsuit."You weren't dreaming," confirms Clayton attorney Albert Watkins, who says the segment will air this evening on Market ... More >>

What? TMZ Got it Wrong!? St. Louis Dumpster-Diver Is Enjoying Hollywood Vacation

Had a conversation today with Albert Watkins, the attorney for Casey Ray. Ray, if you'll recall, is the woman who in May found a copy of the script for the Twilight sequel New Moon in a Dumpster outside the Chase Park Plaza hotel in St. Louis. Watkins says a TMZ.com news item about Ray -- mentioned ... More >>

Woman Who Found New Moon Script in Trash is in L.A. For Premiere; Question Is, Is She Satisfied?

Photo courtesy of Albert WatkinsCasey Ray​Remember the case of Casey Ray?Ray was loitering outside a St. Louis hotel where George Clooney and other actors were staying this past spring when she found the script to the Twilight movie sequel, New Moon, in a Dumpster. (What Ray, a hairstylist, was do ... More >>

The South Butt takes on the North Face -- and more

Plot of Gold: Town & Country's Don Weir bled clients out of millions to bankroll a lavish lifestyle

Wifi comes from peas, woman accusing cop of illegal behavior has to answer some Qs

Video: Deposition of Woman Who Falsely Accused Cop of Doing Coke, Getting Blowjobs

The video I posted last week of a woman apologizing for false claims she made against a St. Louis cop got so many YouTube hits that the police officer's attorney -- Albert Watkins -- has now released his entire deposition of Cassidy Harris online.  The resulting videos are both humorous and som ... More >>

Woman Issues Video Apoglogy to St. Louis Cop

Peter O. ZierleinWell, that settles that. Last fall I reported on a case said to be the first of its kind in St. Louis in which a police officer filed a lawsuit against a person charged with filing a false internal affairs complaint. As I wrote back in November, south city resident Cassandra Harris ... More >>

Tattered Tale: A dubious sex and drugs complaint has a St. Louis police officer demanding justice

AdOne Media CEO Jim Neumann Files for Bankruptcy

Stripped Bare: Sometimes even Chesterfield CEOs, like Jim Neumann, must stand naked

The St. Louis Police Department's World Series Tickets Scandal -- It's Back!

The St. Louis Police Department's World Series Tickets Scandal -- It's Back!

You Say You Want A Resolution

RFT asks an eclectic mix of St. Louisans to imagine how we can get our act together in 2008.

Desperate Housewives

“We were two crazy broads who went on a shopping spree in New York.”

Masterpiece Theatre

A passion for high-priced paintings leads to one big art ache

Pulitzer's Pain

Banished from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a decade ago, Joseph Pulitzer IV lives in self-imposed exile in Wyoming. What went wrong?