Around the state

Four sentenced in thefts of McDonald's prizes

JACKSONVILLE -- A federal judge Thursday sentenced one man to two years in prison, two to six months of home arrest and a fourth to probation for participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme that redeemed stolen pieces of McDonald's games.

Jerome Pearl, 45, of Miami, received the prison sentence and must pay restitution of $786,500 at $50 a month. George Chandler, 30, of Walhalla, S.C., and John Henderson, 50, of Las Vegas, received home arrest and must pay $440,125 and $473,167, respectively, in restitution. Kevin Whitfield, of Savannah, Ga., was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $1,500 and must pay $40,500 restitution.

The men were convicted in August of mail fraud. They recruited winners or acted as winners in the games, which gave away prizes as high a $1-million and luxury cars.

The scheme's leader was Jerome Jacobson, security director for the company that ran the games for McDonald's. From 1995 to 2001 he stole most of the games' high-value pieces, selling some to family and friends, who recruited other people to join in. Jacobson, 59, of Lawrenceville, Ga., was earlier sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison.

Forty-seven people have pleaded guilty, four have been found guilty and one man was acquitted.

Former aide to Gov. Bush to be voice for St. Joe Co.

Florida's biggest landowner, the St. Joe Co., has hired Katie Muniz, who until recently was spokeswoman for Gov. Jeb Bush, to smooth community relations as it plans massive development in the Florida Panhandle.

Muniz will be St. Joe Co.'s public affairs manager for Northwest Florida, where it is pursuing more than a dozen projects.

The company's plans will bring in thousands of new residents, move roads, add expressways and put a major new airport next to a state forest north of Panama City.

Muniz, who has extensive political ties from her work with Bush and before that with then-House Speaker John Thrasher, will "help deepen the relationship between St. Joe and the communities where we do business," a company press release said.

A group of Panhandle residents is challenging the company, saying it wants to build developments to lure people to one of the most untouched regions of the state.

Whale researchers' bodies found in sunken plane

FERNANDINA BEACH -- Searchers using sonar have located the plane that crashed Sunday in the Atlantic, killing a pilot and three whale researchers. Two bodies were found in the plane.

Divers from the Nassau County Sheriff's Office recovered the bodies Wednesday and hoped to find the remaining body when they attempt to raise the plane from the ocean floor today.

Emily Argo, a 25-year-old St. Petersburg conservation biologist, was one of those on board the 1969 Cessna 337-02A, along with pilot Tom Hinds, 40, of Fernandina Beach; Michael Newcomer, 49, of Los Altos, Calif.; and Jacqueline Ciano, 47, of Massachusetts. Ciano's body was found about seven hours after the crash.

Pharmacy owner arrested on OxyContin charges

SANTA ROSA BEACH -- A pharmacy owner was arrested on charges of illegally possessing the potent painkiller OxyContin.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement reports said agents found OxyContin when they searched the apartment of pharmacist Michael David Urquhart above the store on Jan. 23.

Investigators obtained a search warrant after 2,000 tablets of the drug and other controlled substances turned up missing at the pharmacy. Agents said the 2,000 40-milligram tablets would have a street value of $80,000.

The drug has been blamed in many overdose deaths.

Doran, briefly attorney general, joins law firm

TALLAHASSEE -- Richard Doran, who was attorney general briefly after Bob Butterworth quit last year, has joined Ausley & McMullen, a Tallahassee law firm.

Doran was attorney general from Nov. 4 to Jan. 7, making him the first Republican to hold the job. He was Butterworth's chief assistant from 1997 to 2002.

Doran will specialize in constitutional law, appeals, litigation and government law.

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