MEXICO
Female assassin arrested
Police in the northern city of Monterrey said on Monday they had arrested a female assassin implicated in 20 murders for the feared Zetas drug cartel. Maria Jimenez, 26, was paid about US$1,700 per month to kill her victims, who included rival drug traffickers and a police officer, said Jorge Domene, spokesman for the state prosecutors in Nuevo Leon, Monterrey’s home state. Jimenez was arrested last week and has since confessed to the murders and other crimes, Domene said.
UNITED STATES
Travolta accused of assault
John Travolta is being sued for US$2 million by an unidentified masseur who claims the Hollywood star assaulted him sexually during a massage in January inside a room at the Beverly Hills Hotel, according to court documents. The masseur claims that Travolta rubbed his leg, touched his genitals and tried to initiate at least one sex act. Travolta’s spokesman dismissed the claim in a statement as a “baseless lie.” “On the date when plaintiff claims John met him, John was not in California and it can be proved that he was on the East Coast,” the statement said. “John intends to get this case thrown out and then he will sue the attorney and plaintiff for malicious prosecution.”
MEXICO
Troops free 18 from Zetas
Troops have freed 18 undocumented immigrants from a house where they allegedly were being held by the Los Zetas drug cartel, the navy said. It said the troops were acting on information obtained from the arrests of two alleged members of the crime group, who said illegal immigrants were being hidden in the house in the northern border city of Piedra Negras in Coahuila.
UNITED STATES
Prosecutor accused of graft
A South Texas prosecutor running for Congress is accused of taking more than US$100,000 in bribes and kickbacks to minimize charges and agree to settlements favorable to defendants. Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos is charged with racketeering, extortion and honest services fraud. A private attorney, Eduardo Lucio, faces similar charges. The two men were indicted on Monday in Brownsville, which is on the US-Mexico border. In one case, the indictment alleges Villalobos had Lucio sue a murder defendant for wrongful death, collect US$200,000 in the suit and then pay US$80,000 to Villalobos. Villalobos acknowledged earlier on Monday that he was involved in a federal investigation.
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