Police, fire warn of false solicitation...

Police, fire warn of false solicitation

The Newport Beach Police and Fire departments issued a joint

statement Tuesday stating that they are not affiliated with the Assn.

of Firefighters and Paramedics, a group that is purportedly

soliciting in the city. Officials said phone solicitors have been

calling residents to make donations of at least $25.

Newport Beach Firefighter Assn. President Rich Thomas said he

urges residents to support only local organizations. He said his

association does not solicit donations over the phone.

Officials say residents should verify if an organization is legal

by asking to see its Solicitation Registration Card, for copies of

its most recent IRS form, for its audited financial statement or what

percentage of donations actually reach the intended beneficiaries.

For more information, call the Newport Beach Police Department at

(949) 644-3104 or the Newport Beach Firefighters Assn. at (949)

646-0533.

Electricity still out on peninsula

At least a dozen residents in Balboa Peninsula were still without

power Tuesday night after Santa Ana winds that blew across Southern

California tore down trees and brought down power lines.

No significant incidents were reported on Tuesday. But Edison

officials said they were still working to restore power to those

without. They said they would work around the clock and try to

prioritize their schedule and fix those outages that pose public

hazards first.

Hearing delayed for substitute teacher

A pretrial hearing was postponed from Tuesday to Jan. 24 for Todd

Haluch, the 35-year-old substitute teacher accused of sexually

assaulting several female students.

The Huntington Beach resident faces 17 felony counts of sexual

assault and one count of witness intimidation. He was first arrested

Sept. 13 after a therapist who treated one of the victims told police

about it. Haluch posted the $250,000 bail the same day.

A second warrant on four fresh charges led to another arrest Sept.

30. Haluch is now in Orange County Jail. He pleaded not guilty to all

charges Oct. 16.

Former Costa Mesa resident admits fraud

A former Costa Mesa resident pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one

count of mail fraud and one count of tax evasion, officials said.

Patrick Wayne Maloy, 44, now a resident of Norman, Okla., was

accused of bilking investors of $4 million in a series of bogus oil

and gas investments, said Debra Wang of the U.S. attorney’s office in

Los Angeles.

Maloy solicited victims to invest in companies that were

supposedly involved in developing oil- and gas-producing properties,

she said. He told them their money would be used to acquire interests

in oil and gas wells.

Wang said Maloy used the funds to pay for his vacations,

beachfront rental homes in Malibu and Newport Beach and expensive

cars. The money was also used to operate a Ponzi scheme in which he

used money from new investors to pay off old investors. The scheme

ended in 1999.

Maloy, scheduled to be sentenced April 7, faces a prison sentence

of 10 years and a fine of $500,000. He has agreed to pay restitution.

He has been in prison since November, when his bail was revoked.

Student gets hand stuck on nail

Newport Beach firefighters Tuesday had to cut open a wooden book

cabinet to free a Newport Harbor High School student’s hand that had

accidentally gotten stuck on an exposed nail on the cabinet’s side,

officials said.

Paramedics arrived at the school at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and

found the student’s hand pierced by the nail, said Donna Boston,

public information officer for the Newport Beach Fire Department. She

said paramedics asked firefighters to help remove the cabinet door.

Once the door was removed, firefighters cut the side of the locker

with the nail that the student’s hand was stuck on, Boston said. The

student was taken to Hoag Hospital, she said.

Boston said the student was just walking by when his hand hit the

exposed nail.