Dateline: Italy Two politically minded porn stars battling it out for the mayorship of a city on Italy’s southern coast have decided to forego debates in favor of a pole-dancing competition. According to England’s Sun newspaper, adult film stars Amandha Fox and Luana Borgia are vying to become the new civic leader of Taranto. The two have agreed to appear at a pole-dancing night this month so that voters can get a look at the candidates’ assets. Agent Mimmo Pavese told the newspaper, “We want to be fair, so we would like to invite any other candidate to come along and dance, too.” No word yet on whether incumbent mayor Ippazio Stefàno will join the ladies. Dateline: Spain A missing fishing boat belonging to a New Jersey man has shown up in Spain—more than three years after it disappeared off the coast of Nantucket, Mass. Scott Douglas last saw the Queen Bee in August 2008 when he and his brother-in-law were thrown off the deck by a cresting wave. Douglas and his brother-in-law, who was recovering from heart surgery at the time, spent nearly two hours swimming back to shore. “There were times when both of us didn’t think we were going to make it,” Douglas told CBS New York. “Everything had to go our way. It was a miracle.” Three and a half years to the week, Douglas’ 26-foot pleasure craft washed ashore in Spain—rusted, covered in barnacles, but remarkably intact. “The Coast Guard’s opinion is it went up north the coast of New England, Canada, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, across the northern Atlantic, Greenland and then eventually getting to Ireland and making a right, going down the European coast,” Douglas told 1010 WINS news radio in New York. According to maritime law, the Queen Bee now belongs to the Spanish government. Dateline: Brazil An amateur bank robber metaphorically shot himself in the foot by … literally shooting himself in the foot. Closed-circuit television footage at a small bank in Paraná shows the man guarding the front door of the financial institution while two accomplices demand money from the tellers. Shortly after taking up his position by the door, the man—whose name has been withheld by local authorities—suddenly drops to the ground and limps out of the building. Police say the man accidentally shot himself in the foot. He was arrested later that night after checking himself into a hospital. Police are still searching for the rest of the gang, who managed to get away with 30,000 reals ($16,000). Dateline: Massachusetts Authorities allege a 36-year-old woman purchased $64 worth of soda using a stolen EBT card at the Lynn Stop & Shop, then immediately fed the full cans into the supermarket’s automated redemption machine to get back the 5-cent deposits. Tina Cafarelli pleaded not guilty to charges including larceny, property destruction and receiving stolen property. Lynn Police told the Daily Item that the state-issued welfare benefits card Cafarelli used to buy the 18 12-packs of soda had another person’s name on it. She gave several false names when officers watching the store’s loss prevention video confronted her about it. Supermarket manager Kevin Wilson confirmed that the full soda cans Cafarelli jammed into the redemption machine caused “well over $250” worth of damage. A Lynn District Court judge ordered Cafarelli held at Essex County House of Correction in lieu of $250 bail during an arraignment on Monday, Jan. 23. Dateline: Illinois John R. Pacella, a 38-year-old resident of the Chicago suburb of Willowbrook, is accused of calling 911 and asking to fight a police officer. Police responded to the call around 4 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19, about a man who “wanted to see an officer because he wanted to fight with them.” According to a report in the Chicago Tribune , Pacella proved to be a man of his word, shoving officers and resisting arrest when authorities arrived. Pacella was booked into DuPage County Jail on charges of aggravated battery, resisting a police officer, and battery with intent to provoke or insult. He remains behind bars on $100,000 bail. Willowbrook Police told the paper they have had prior contact with Pacella, who is a registered sex offender. Dateline: Arizona A northern Arizona inmate has been charged with trespassing because he refused to leave his jail cell after his scheduled release. According to Coconino County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gerry Blair, 44-year-old Martin Batieni Kombate was arrested in Flagstaff in late January for trespassing. Kombate was supposed to be released on his own recognizance on Monday, Jan. 23, but he refused to vacate his cell at the Coconino County jail. Allegedly, Kombate said he was staying because he couldn’t find his wallet. Police were called and Kombate was arrested. He remains in jail.
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
