Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/462019
ByJulietWilliams TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who gained national atten- tion as mayor of San Fran- cisco for ordering then-ille- gal gay marriage licenses to be issued, said Wednes- day that he will begin rais- ing money to run for gov- ernor in 2018, a position he has long sought. The announcement from the 47-year-old Democrat comes just a few months after he was re-elected to a second four-year term as the state's second-high- est elected official. New- som said last month that he would not pursue a U.S. Senate seat, creating antic- ipation he would seek the state's top post. Newsom has been a con- troversial national figure since 2004 when he ordered the San Francisco city clerk to ignore state law at the time and give marriage li- censes to gay couples. New- som served seven years as mayor. In an interview Wednes- day, Newsom said he will spend the next few years raising money and devis- ing "a grand strategy" to restore California's great- ness. He said Gov. Jerry Brown deserves credit for restoring the state's fiscal solvency, and the next step is a vision for its future. "I want to take the time to do it right. One thing you can't manufacture is time, and you can't get it back. So many mistakes in politics and in campaigns are made because of those constraints," Newsom said. "And I want the opportu- nity to look out in to the future with a different per- spective, with a more sus- tainable perspective." Opening a campaign committee nearly four years before the election allows Newsom to begin collect- ing large checks, boost his name recognition and por- tray himself as the front- runner. He has more than $3 million remaining in his campaign account for lieu- tenant governor after cruis- ing to re-election in Novem- ber. "He is, I think, trying to clear the field," said Sherry Bebitch-Jeffe, a senior po- litical science fellow at the University of South- ern California. "He's go- ing to need to get name recognition. If he's seri- ous, he's made his deci- sion, he wants to run, the earlier he's out there, the more likely he is to gain name recognition." Other potential Demo- cratic candidates include former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is said to be weighing a bid for U.S. Senate, and billion- aire climate activist Tom Steyer, who opted not to run for Senate. Newsom launched a brief campaign for governor be- fore dropping out in 2009 as then-Attorney General Brown sought the position. Brown won in 2010 and was re-elected in November. When asked what he learned from his short campaign against Brown, Newsom said, "Don't ever consider running for of- fice against someone in the state of California with the last name Brown." ELECTION 2018 Newsomtoraisemoneyforgovernorbid By Kristin J. Bender The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Kill switches on cellphones es- sentially render the device a paper weight when sto- len. And the good news is thieves seem to be getting the message. Cellphone robberies in San Francisco dropped 27 percent over a two-year period between January 2013 and December 2014 after companies began in- stalling the switches a few years ago, according to crime data released Tues- day. New York and London also saw sharp declines in cellphone thefts. The news comes after smart- phone robberies between 2012 and 2013 increased by 94 percent nationwide, ac- cording to Consumer Re- ports. In June 2013, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, London Mayor Boris Johnson and San Francisco District At- torney George Gascón formed the Secure Our Smartphones Initiative and called on the smart- phone industry to adopt kill switch technology as a theft deterrent. Apple introduced a kill switch in September 2013. Others followed suit. Now they are taking at least partial credit for the dip in robberies, which are often violent and harmful. "As more manufacturers implement this technology to comply with California law, I expect to see further reductions in the number of robberies," Gascón said in a statement. Gascon said the kill switch far outweighs any other feature the wire- less industry can put on a smartphone. "It just goes to show that thoughtful regulation that protects consumers is not at odds with innovation. We will end this public safety crisis through pre- vention, by removing the incentive to commit these violent crimes," he said. Gascon's spokesman Max Szabo said a San Francisco undercover of- ficer recently went into an organized criminal fenc- ing ring in an attempt to sell a smartphone that the officer said was sto- len. The thieves told said they no longer pur- chased iPhones, which are equipped with the kill switch. Instead, they wanted other models to sell on the black market, Szabo said. San Francisco was among cities to see a dip in the thefts. During the same period, New York recorded a 16 per- cent overall drop in cell- phone robberies, includ- ing a 25 percent decline in iPhone robberies. Lon- don saw the greatest dip with smartphone thefts down 40 percent. The technology allows a user to deactivate a sto- len phone from a com- puter, making it unusable. Thieves who wipe a sto- len device will still need the original user creden- tials to reactive the device on a new wireless network — credentials they will not have. In August, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law re- quiring all smartphones sold in California after July 1 to include this tech- nology. The industry has said that all smartphones sold in the United States will meet the requirements established by the Califor- nia law. CRIME DATA Ki ll s wi tc h cu ts s ma rt phone the in cities JAEC.HONG—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will begin raising money to run for California governor in 2018. He says he passionately believes "in the future of this great state." By Michael Tarm The Associated Press CHICAGO A plot twist in a legal drama featur- ing a mobster and a vio- lin played out Wednesday when a prison chaplain an- nounced in court minutes before his trial was to start that he was guilty of trying to help an imprisoned mob hit man recover a hidden Stradivarius. Eugene Klein, a Roman Catholic priest, was ac- cused of scheming with Chicago Outfit enforcer Frank Calabrese Sr. to find a rare, 250-year-old violin Calabrese hid years ear- lier in his Wisconsin sum- mer home to keep authori- ties from selling it. They be- lieved it might be worth $26 million. Klein, 66, of Mesa, Ar- izona, wore a clerical col- lar and gripped a cane as he walked into court, where half a dozen witnesses sat on a back bench ready to testify in the long-planned trial. But the clergyman surprised the courtroom by saying he wanted to forgo the trial and plead guilty. Several minutes later, he did just that. He answered calmly when U.S. District Judge John Darrah asked him if he did what prosecu- tors accused him of doing. He leaned forward and re- sponded, "I'm guilty of the offense." The offense itself is the stuff of Hollywood films. Prosecutors say the plat was hatched in 2011 when Klein was administering communion to Calabrese at a prison in Springfield, Missouri. Calabrese had been sentenced to life in 2009 for 13 killings, includ- ing strangling some victims with a rope, then slashing their throats to ensure they were dead. He was also or- dered to pay $4.4 million in restitution. He died in a fed- eral prison in North Caro- lina in December 2012 at age 75. After Calabrese's impris- onment, federal authorities continued to search for his assets. Prosecutors say Ca- labrese wanted to ensure that agents could never get ahold of the violin that once belonged to entertainer Lib- erace, saying he'd rather the priest profited from its sale. Prison authorities kept Calabrese in strict isola- tion after he was accused of threatening a prosecu- tor during his trial in the same Chicago courthouse, allegedly mouthing to the government attorney: "You are a ... dead man." According to prosecu- tors, Klein broke prison rules by accepting a note from Calabrese that was wrapped in religious ma- terials and pushed through the food slot of his cell. It di- rected Klein to look in a sec- ond-floor bedroom, behind a pull-out door and against a wall in the home in Wil- liams Bay, Wisconsin. "That is where the violin is," the note said. Prosecutors say Klein even called a real estate agent selling the home, pos- ing as a potential buyer. The plan was for another un- identified conspirator to distract the agent during a tour of the house while Klein helped retrieve the violin. A federal search in 2010 did turn up $1 million in cash, diamonds and other valuables in a wall behind a family portrait in Cal- abrese's Chicago-area Oak Brook home. But despite searches in Wisconsin, no violin was ever found. Klein pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States. Klein, who is free on bond, will be sen- tenced June 23; he faces a maximum five years behind bars. In the Oak Brook search, prosecutors found a certif- icate indicating the violin may have been a much less valuable one made in 1764 by Giuseppe Artalli, and not by the renowned Antonius Stradivarius. Asked Wednesday out- side court what motivated him to help a notorious hit man, Klein declined to speak. His attorney, Thomas Durkin, said his cli- ent made "an error in judg- ment," though added Klein is partly being made to pay for his good work providing spiritual guidance to con- victs, like Calabrese. "This," Durkin said about Klein's prosecution, "ranks right up there with no good deed goes unpunished." PRISON CHAPLAIN Pl ot t wi st s in m ov ie -l ik e ca se Cr im e f ea tu re s a mobster and violin, a priest pleads guilty ANTHONY SOUFFL — CHICAGO TRIBUNE Rev. Eugene Klein, center, stands with his attorney, Thomas Durkin, at the federal building in Chicago, on Wednesday. By Paul Elias The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Officials in Northern California on Wednesday warned Bay Area Rapid Transit com- muters that they may have been exposed to measles. Contra Costa County public health officials say someone was diagnosed with the disease after rid- ing BART trains between Lafayette and San Fran- cisco during the morning and evening commutes Feb. 4 through Feb. 6. Officials said Wednes- day that the patient also dined at E&O Kitchen and Bar on Feb. 4. The state Department of Public Health said it does not know how many San Francisco Bay Area resi- dents have measles vac- cines. The number of par- ents declining to vaccinate their children has risen in the region — and the country — in recent years, though the majority is vac- cinated. Health officials said Wednesday that those without vaccinations who came into contact with the BART commuter are a "high risk" of coming down with measles. Peo- ple displaying symptoms are urged to seek medi- cal attention immediately. Symptoms include high fever, runny noses, cough- ing and watery red eyes and can begin from one to three weeks after expo- sure. An infected person is contagious for several days before and after the rash appears. Health officials say the risk of vaccinated commuters contracting measles is "highly un- likely." People born be- fore 1957 are considered immune. 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