Ex-volunteer firefighter charged in fatal NY fire

Ex-volunteer firefighter charged in fatal NY fire

Police on Long Island say a former volunteer firefighter has been arrested in connection with a fire that killed a mother and her three children.

Police say 19-year-old Caleb Lacey of Lawrence was charged with first degree arson and four counts of second-degree murder.

Police say Lacey, who was arrested on Friday, was a volunteer member of the Lawrence/Cedarhurst Fire Department. Police did not give a motive.

Morena Vanegas and daughters Andrea and Susanna and son Saul Preza died inside their second-floor apartment in North Lawrence on Feb. 19. Authorities say the fire started in a stairwell, the main escape route from the building.

Lacey will be arraigned Saturday in First District Court in Hempstead.

A police spokesman did not know if Lacey had a lawyer.

(This version CORRECTS corrects spelling of Lacey).)

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NY judge finds hedge-fund swindler competent

NY judge finds hedge-fund swindler competent

A federal judge in New York says a hedge-fund cheat is well enough to stand trial _ or plead guilty _ for skipping out on prison.

Judge Kenneth Karas, relying on a medical report from the Bureau of Prisons, said Friday there's no reason to think that 49-year-old Samuel Israel "is suffering from mental disease."

Israel's lawyer, Barry Bohrer, says Israel may plead guilty, but no commitment has been made.

Israel, of Armonk, went on the lam in June instead of surrendering for a 20-year prison sentence for bilking investors in the Stamford, Conn.-based Bayou funds. Israel faked his suicide and absconded for nearly a month before surrendering in Massachusetts.

Israel tried to plead guilty last year, but Karas ordered a medical evaluation instead.

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