U.S. District Court

Marvel v. Local Comic Book Writer: Who Has Rights to Ghost Rider?

image viaNever mind if he's dead or alive, who the hell gets the money he's making?​Sometime in the late 1960s, a Missouri-born comic book writer named Gary Friedrich came up with a new character: Ghost Rider, a motorcycle stunt rider who sold his soul to the devil and consequently exchanged h ... More >>

The trail of an international child-porn ring led to a tiny house in the woods outside St. Louis

Take Me to Your Feeder: Welcome to the world's largest candy convention. Be advised: Resistance is futile.

Josh Gould, Admitted Ponzi Schemer from U. City, Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison

Image viaJosh Gould was sentenced today to eight months in the pen.​Josh Gould, the 32-year-old University City resident and former Woodbury Financial broker who stole millions of dollars from his Orthodox Jewish brethren in a Ponzi scheme, was sentenced today to 97 months in federal prison. Gould ... More >>

Byte Me: The collapse of SecureAxis left Jim Kalishman out for blood and his partner, Chris Elbring, in prison

BREAKING: Bishop/Attorney Martin Sigillito Indicted

Bishop/Attorney Marty Sigillito​Updated 4:16 p.m. with press release outlining indictment. We have all but official confirmation that Martin Sigillito -- the Clayton attorney and American Anglican bishop who already stands accused in civil court of running a $45 million ponzi scheme -- has finally ... More >>

Schwag frontman Jimmy Tebeau says Camp Zoe is an idyllic campground for weekend hippie jam fests. Federal prosecutors beg to differ.

The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants, But What's Been Unearthed Reveals a Culture of Cruelty

Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms: The Supreme Court Rules, Everyone Claims Victory

Image viaEven Alfalfa is smiling about yesterday's ruling on alfalfa.​Gut Check hasn't read much case law since our high-school debate career ended and our briefcase (and trophies!) went into storage in our parents' garage. However, we were fairly certain that when the Supreme Court issued a rulin ... More >>

Sentencing of BETonSPORTS Founder Gary Kaplan is Postponed

​Gary Kaplan, the founder of the now-defunct offshore cyber-gambling empire known as BETonSPORTS, was slated to be sentenced on federal racketeering charges in U.S. District Court tomorrow. But that proceeding has been rescheduled for November 2 at 1:30 p.m. U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson grant ... More >>

Con Man Bill Jakob: In His Own Words

Bill JakobIn the course of reporting "Hornswoggled," this week's feature story about the con man Bill Jakob, RFT obtained a transcription of a sworn deposition that Jakob gave earlier this year as part of a $7.25 million civil rights lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court.Federal investigators warne ... More >>

Hornswoggled!: Welcome to Gerald, Missourah — the town that did just fall off the turnip truck

Vanishing Act, Part 2: Missing since 2003, little Christian Ferguson is almost surely dead. Police think they've fingered the culprit — and there's nothing they can do about it. A Riverfront Times Special Report.

Vanishing Act: Six years after the fact, the disappearance of nine-year-old Christian Ferguson remains a mystery. A Riverfront Times Special Report.

Red Alert: Everything they really don't want you to know about those pesky traffic-light cameras

7-Up vs. Coke, Part 2: From dot-com darling to disaster, the spectacular flameout of Andrew Gladney. Heir to a fortune, Andrew Gladney went from John Burroughs to Yale and came home to found Savvis Inc. Then he squandered it all.

Holocaust on Trial

Lewis Greenberg argues his lawn is art in court.

Steal Das Book

Rod Shene paid a paltry few grand for a volume worth $500,000 or more. Only one hitch: The German government wants it back.

The Rockwell Files

Steven Spielberg's stolen painting, a St. Louis art thief, and a plot to kill Martin Luther King. It could make a helluva movie.

Deanna to Ray: Shut Up!

The former Mrs. Vinson sues her ex-hubby to rid the airwaves of his famous cornpone voice.

How Does It Feel?

Recent lawsuits puncture the veil of secrecy surrounding lethal injection

Masterpiece Theatre

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

The Gang That Couldn't Dress Straight

Meet the cross-dressing bank robbers who confounded cops for years

News to Muse

The Year in Review: A Quiz

Hot Wheels

Walter Fields wanted a Bentley. He wound up with two lemons.

Chutes and Ladders

Bill Stallings, the mastermind behind the Chase Hotel renovation and one of St. Louis' biggest movers and shakers, has tumbled hard

As Warson Woods Turns

Is the police chief an embezzler? Or do the mayor and his wife dabble in two-bit corruption?

Sentimental Journey

Unreal cares enough to send the very best; plus, we get our five minutes of TV fame and continue the hard-hitting sandwich reportage

Dirty Little Secrets

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department keeps a tight lid on internal affairs. Even if it means breaking the law.

Funky Town

Smokestacks, strip joints and a seriously solid tax base: Welcome to Sauget, Illinois

The Case of the Vanishing Videotape

A workhouse inmate claims he was wrongly beaten, and city officials scramble to get their stories straight

Green Monster

Jeff Harlow is St. Louis' best golfer. Indoors, that is.

Who's Afraid of Anthony Shahid?

He's a hero to some, a pain to others. Either way, he makes people very nervous.

Dumb & Dumber

If they'd sold drugs on a street corner, punishment would have been swift. Instead, they used the Internet -- and the party lasted for years.

Standard of Care

When a childbirth went terribly wrong, the blame game began. Dodging responsibility was everybody's first order of business.

Ugly on the Inside

Behind the cosmetics counter, things weren't quite as lovely

Serial Tiller

When it comes to ripping people off, John Tiller and the Civil Rights Legal Defense Team just keep going and going

So Long, Joe

While Joe Amrine waits to die, Missouri courts won't admit they may be wrong

Lead Counsel

These lawyers could cash in big, but who hired them?

Hell Hath No Fury

The good ol' boys at Rent-A-Center raise a white flag -- they're licked

Nasty Boys

The women screwed by Rent-A-Center are threatening to take the company to the cleaners. But Ernie Talley and the rest of his Texas bubbas are trying to have the last laugh.

Ms. Step

Merline Anderson let Leslie Hamilton prey on STEP's female employees and clients. The social-services agency had to settle a bruising lawsuit, but Anderson's still in charge.

Custody Battle

Marvel Comics isn't going to give up Captain America without a fight

Stalking Back

Trying to collect a half-million-dollar debt from Floyd Warmann, the hunter becomes the hunted

Sour Note

Time for Chuck Berry to roll over, says rock legend Johnnie Johnson

Joker's Wild

Casino lawyer Michael Lazaroff cheated for years -- and the insiders knew. Now that he's cut the deal of his life, why does anybody believe him?

Killer Campaign

When the Benetton clothing company dared to humanize death-row inmates in a $20 million ad campaign, Attorney General Jay Nixon threw a fit. Then he played right into their hands and sued them.

Welcome to Brooklyn

Damn the criticism -- Mayor Ruby Cook runs Brooklyn her way. But in this historic town, best known for its sex trade, she's not the biggest problem. Brooklyn is broke, divided and sinking fast.

The Scarlet Letter

Someone penned an anonymous letter making damning allegations about Normandy High School principal Alvin Smith. He blames it on a disgruntled ex-employee out to take him down. Trouble is, some of the letter is true.

The Conviction of Tim Dreste

Tim Dreste's journey from Christian missionary to anti-abortion racketeer cost him a $6 million federal fine for his role in threatening to "kill, assault or do bodily harm" to abortion providers. But he isn't about to stop his crusade.