Woman gets 55 years in Rilya Wilson foster-child abuse case

Geralyn Graham was sentenced to 55 years in prison Tuesday in the Rilya Wilson kidnapping ad abuse case.

The Kendall woman, 67, was convicted by jury last month in a case that roiled Florida’s child welfare agency, which was supposed to monitor the child. The body of Rilya, who was 4 years old when she vanished, has never been found.

Graham got 30 years for kidnapping and 25 years for aggravated child abuse.

"One can only be inherently evil to inflict that type of pain and torment on an innocent child,” Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez said. “Rilya Wilson deserved nothing less than a loving, caring, nurturing environment. Instead she lived in fear and suffered in a house of torture, torment and abuse."

Tinkler Mendez could have sentenced Graham to as much as life in prison.

Prosecutors believe Graham smothered Rilya, a foster child, with a pillow, disposed of her body near water in South Miami-Dade, then spent years telling conflicting versions of what happened to the child. Jurors, by an 11-1 vote, deadlocked on a count of first-degree murder.

The jury convicted her of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated child abuse and one of child abuse.

The case was significant for the Florida Department of Children & Families, which did not notice the girl was missing for 15 months. Graham told investigators that a mystery DCF worker whisked the child away for mental health treatment.

Graham was later arrested for and convicted of fraud. Based on incriminating statements from her domestic partner, Graham was then charged with aggravated child abuse of Rilya.

Her partner, Pamela Graham, no relation, agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of child neglect.

Pamela Graham, a meek shell of a woman, testified at trial that Geralyn Graham would bind the child’s hands to the bed railing with plastic “flex cuffs” and confine Rilya in a laundry room for hours.

A friend of the pair told police that Graham borrowed a dog cage to put Rilya in when she misbehaved, although no could say they saw the child in there as punishment.

Acquaintances also testified that Graham gave conflicting stories about what happened to the girl — to some, she claimed the girl was on a road trip with a “Spanish lady” friend.

A grand jury indicted Geralyn Graham in 2005 after she allegedly confessed in detail to inmate Robin Lunceford, who testified at trial over four days. Two other inmates also testified that Graham, while behind bars, suggested she killed the child.

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Elijah Wood Maniac Trailer

When I chatted with Elijah Wood last July, the actor excitedly spoke about the Maniac re-imagining he was fronting and now you can see the fruits of his murderous labor in this just released red band (ie: violent) trailer.

The film casts Wood as Frank, the owner of a mannequin shop develops a dangerous obsession with a young artist, and adopts a unique perspective on the traditional slasher. Literally.

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"A majority of the film is from my point of view," Wood told me. As for the acting challenges that presented, he relished every single one. "It was like playing a character in three different movements. The character was comprised of my voice and we re-recorded all the dialogue from the film in a booth, so I knew a significant portion of the character would be created in that environment in terms of atmosphere, his presence and him vocally. The second was arms and hands in frame – trying to navigate around a moving camera. The third was ultimately the camera operator. Our Director of Photography was effectively me. He stood where my character would during filming. Often we worked together and every scene was choreographed. It was so interesting."

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In the end, all the behind-the-scenes choreography was worth it, as Wood says, "I think the film we ended up making was quite different than the film we intended to make. It ended up far more beautiful and artistic than we imagined … while also brutal. I mean, I do scalp women in it."

Check out the trailer and see if you agree with Wood.

Maniac opens later this year.

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Man mines Mars

NASA's Mars Curiosity next to the tiny hole it drilled in the surface of the red planet. The hole, drilled in the white area near the bottom of the photo above is 1.6 centimeters across and 2 centimeters deep.

For the first time ever human beings have drilled into a planet other than Earth, and you can see the fruits of that labor in an amazing panoramic shot from NASA's Mars Curiosity rover.

On Feb. 8, the rover drilled a hole barely big enough to hold the tip of your pinkie finger into a rock nicknamed "John Klein," according to Wired.

EPA

A close-up of the hole drilled by the Mars Curiosity rover.

This is the most complicated operation the rover has completed to date.

The rock the rover drilled into is in an area called the Yellowknife Bay that scientists believe was repeatedly flooded with water in the past.

The tiny 1.6 centimeter across hole is a test in preparation for the rover's big time drilling operation when it will drill 5 cm into Mars' surface in order to analyze the planet's interior.

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U.S. Century to OK details of new deal

U.S. Century Bank is expected to sign off on Monday on its letter of intent — the framework for a plan to recapitalize the bank.

Under the deal, a local group of investors, led by Jimmy Tate of Tate Capital and Sergio Rok of Rok Enterprises, will bring in fresh capital and wipe out the Doral bank’s bad loans, while allowing it to operate independently.

The investor group is expected to inject $50 million in capital into the bank, becoming majority owners. In addition, the group will pay about $90 million to buy certain loans, including all $98 million of U.S. Century’s non-performing loans, said U.S. Century President and Chief Executive Carlos J. Dávila. The deal would also provide for a negotiated amount to be paid to the federal government to repay U.S. Century’s $50.2 million in TARP funds.

A definitive agreement, based on the letter of intent, is expected next month. Pending shareholder and regulatory approval, the deal could be completed by mid-year, Dávila said.

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Former state GOP chairman Jim Greer pleads guilty to theft

ORLANDO --
Former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer pleaded guilty Monday morning to four charges of grand theft, avoiding trial in a case that could have potentially embarrassed former Gov. Charlie Crist and much of the state’s Republican elite.

Greer stood next to his lawyer Damon Chase a little before 10:30 a.m. and entered four separate guilty pleas as part of a last-minute deal with prosecutors. Jury selection had been expected to begin this morning.

“Sometimes clearing your name is not as important as taking care of your family,” Chase said.

Greer declined to comment as he left the courtroom.

As part of the deal, Greer faces a maximum of 42.6 months in prison. Sentencing is scheduled March 27.

A trial threatened to expose inner workings and potentially sordid details of the Republican Party of Florida as well as is top leaders past and present.

The case centered around Greer’s creation of a company to handle fundraising duties for the state GOP, Victory Strategies. Greer diverted about $200,000 in party funds to Victory Strategies but contended Republican leaders — including Crist — knew about the arrangement and approved of it.

Crist, who likely would have been called to testify during the trial, denies knowing about the fundraising arrangement.

Others who had been expected to testify include House Speaker Dean Cannon, former Senate President Mike Haridopolos, former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, state Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine and a long list of other GOP notables.

Though Greer and Chase had said the case would go to trial, talks of a plea deal have been in the works for weeks.

Greer is still suing the state GOP in an effort to collect $130,000 he was promised when he agreed to resign as chairman in 2010.

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Kerry Washington Channing Tatum Independent Spirit Awards Presenters Exclusive

Given their host (Joel McHale, Rainn Wilson, Seth Rogen, John Waters, Andy Samberg) and nominee track record, The Film Independent Spirit Awards have long been one of my favorite award shows -- and don't even get me started on the sublime singing!

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This year's ceremony is set to be their most star-studded to date. Not only are Jennifer Lawrence, Matthew McConaughey, Bruce Willis nominated, but ETonline can exclusively reveal that Kerry Washington, Channing Tatum, Kyle MacLachlan and Zachary Booth will be presenters on the big night!

McConaughey earned one of his two 2013 nominations for Tatum's movie, Magic Mike, while Booth's insanely good indie, Keep The Lights On, scored nods for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Male Lead.

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MacLachlan has been a Spirit Awards staple since Blue Velvet dominated the 1987 ceremony and Washington was nominated for Best Female Lead for 2002's Lift.

The 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards air February 23 at 10 p.m. on IFC.

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Giants player Diehl pleads guilty to drunk driving after smashing into 2 parked cars last summer

Ellis Kaplan

David Diehl pleaded guilty today to driving while drunk after watching a soccer match in the city last summer.

A boozy NFL offensive lineman pleaded guilty this morning to drunk driving after a soccer match last summer.

David Diehl, 31, dodged up to a year in jail when he admitted to a Queens judge that he drove a black BMW into two parked cars on 31st Street in Astoria on June 10.

"Did you drive a car while you were intoxicated?"asked Queens Criminal Court Judge Suzanne Melendez.

"Yes ma'am," replied a hulking, well-dressed Diehl who sported a light gray suit and lavender collared shirt.

The Giants player plead guilty to aggravated DWI and impaired driving.

"My client will continue in the NFL DWI treatment program," said his attorney Gary Certain.

Over a six-month-period, Diehl is not allowed to drive or apply for a driver's license in New Jersey — where he lives.

"You understand you're not allowed to drive, right?" the judge asked.

"Yes, I do your honor," he replied.

"Sir, please don't drink and drive. Look what happened here, you could have been seriously hurt," the judge said before allowing Diehl to be excused from court for his compliance hearings.

After he completes two drunk driving programs — one where he is on a panel — and pays $1,200 in restitution fees to the owners of the cars, he will be formally sentenced to a 90 day conditional discharge.

Diehl's blood alcohol content was "well above the New York State legal limit" at .182, prosecutors said.

Diehl will also have to wear a SCRAM bracelet for 90 days.

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Green cards for sale at a South Beach hotel: Competition is on for EB5 investment visas

If David Hart gets his way, South Beach’s 42-room Astor Hotel will be on a hiring spree this year as it adds concierge service, a roof-top pool, an all-night diner, spa and private-car service available 24 hours a day.

New hires will be crucial to Hart’s business plan, since foreign investors have agreed to pay about $50,000 for each job created by the Art Deco boutique.

The Miami immigration lawyer specializes in arranging visas for wealthy foreign citizens under a special program that trades green cards for investment dollars. Businesses get the money and must use it to boost payroll. The minimum investment is $500,000 to add at least 10 jobs to the economy. That puts the pressure on Hart and his partners at the Astor to beef up payroll dramatically, with plans to take a hotel with roughly 20 employees to one with as many as 100 workers.

“My primary responsibility is to make something happen here over the next two years that will create the jobs we need,’’ Hart said a few steps away from a nearly empty restaurant on a recent weekday morning. “It’s all going to be transformed.”

Though established in the 1990s, the “EB5” visas soared in popularity during the recession as developers sought foreign cash to replace dried-up credit markets in the United States.

Chinese investors dominate the transactions, accounting for about 65 percent of the nearly 9,000 EB5 visas granted since 2006. South Korea finishes a distant second at 12 percent and the United Kingdom holds the third-place slot at 3 percent. If Latin America and the Caribbean were one country, they would rank No. 4 on the list, with 231 EB5 visas granted, or about 3 percent of the total.

Competition has gotten stiffer for the deep-pocketed foreign investors willing to pay for green cards. The University of Miami’s bio-science research park near the Jackson hospital system raised $20 million from 40 foreign investors under the EB5 program, most of them from Asia. The money went into the park’s first building; visa brokers are waiting to see if the second building will proceed so they can offer a new pool of potential green-card sales.

In Hollywood, the stalled $131 million Margaritaville resort had hoped to raise about $75 million from EB5 investors before ditching that plan last year to pursue more traditional financing. A retail complex by developer Jeff Berkowitz in Coral Gables also launched a program to raise $50 million in EB5 money for the project, Gables Station. Hart worked with other EB5 investors to back pizza restaurants in Miami and South Beach. A limestone mine in Martin County also was backed by EB5 dollars.

This year, the city of Miami itself is expected to get into the business by setting up an EB5 program to raise foreign cash for a range of city businesses and developments. The first would be the tallest building in the city — developer Tibor Hollo’s planned 85-story apartment tower, the Panorama, in downtown Miami.

With a construction cost of about $700 million, Miami’s debut EB5 venture hopes to raise about $100 million from foreign investors, said Laura Reiff, the Greenberg Traurig lawyer in Virginia working with Miami on the EB5 effort. “This is a marquis project,’’ she said.

The arrangement is a novel one for Miami, with the city planning to help a private developer raise funds overseas for a new high-rise. And it would allow Hollo and future participants to tout the city of Miami’s endorsement when competing with other Miami-area projects for EB5 dollars. “We will have the benefit of the brand of the city of Miami,’’ said Mikki Canton, the $6,000-a-month city consultant heading Miami’s EB5 effort. “A lot of these others are privately owned and they won’t have that brand.”

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Chris Brown Car Collision

ET has learned that Chris Brown was involved in a solo, non-injury traffic collision in Beverly Hills at noon today, blaming the paparazzi for losing control of his Porsche and colliding with a wall.

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A statement from Lieutenant Lincoln Hoshino of the Beverly Hills police details the incident: "On February 9, 2013 at approximately 12:03 p.m., entertainer Chris Brown was involved in a solo, non-injury traffic collision in the 600 Block Bedford Drive/Camden Drive alley. Mr. Brown was the driver of the vehicle and collided with a wall. Brown stated that he was being chased by paparazzi causing him to lose control of his vehicle. Brown's Black Porsche was towed from the scene at his request."

Related: Rihanna Accompanies Chris Brown to Court

Earlier this week, Brown visited an L.A. courthouse with girlfriend Rihanna on to oppose a motion to revoke his probation stemming from his 2009 assault on Rihanna. Prosecutors claim Brown did not show sufficient evidence that he completed his required community labor sentence. 

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Man killed inside no-tell motel in Queens

A man was killed inside of a no-tell motel yesterday in Queens, authorities said.

Joseph Benzinger, 54, was discovered by an employee of the Crown Motor Inn off Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst at 11:30 p.m. laying on the floor in one of the rooms, police said.

It was not immediately known how the Middle Village man died, police said.

The city’s medical examiner will determine the cause of death, cops said.

No arrests have been made.

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