13-year hunt ends in arrest of 'grogfather'

NEW ORLEANS — After searching for 13 years, authorities have found Nofio Pecora Jr., a mob lieutenant's son who fled Louisiana before he could stand trial for money laundering.

Pecora was captured in England last month after lying on a British passport application and a license to own a shotgun, London police said. He is in a British jail.

At the time he was found, Pecora was running a neighborhood pub outside London and was living under the name John Stryker, an alias he may have taken from the 1949 movie "Sands of Iwo Jima."

News of the capture stunned regulars of Stryker's Railway, who credited Pecora with running a good bar. One British publication dubbed him "The Grogfather."

U.S. investigators describe Pecora as a shifty con man who, along with his mother, ran a rip-off operation masquerading as an insurance business.

Frank DeSalvo, Pecora's defense lawyer in New Orleans, said he hoped to reach a plea agreement with the government in the 1991 case. DeSalvo said he has not spoken with Pecora but planned to fly to London in about a week.

County to charge TV stations $51,000 for prime trial space

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — San Mateo County is charging television stations $51,000 to reserve a coveted spot next to the courthouse for the Scott Peterson murder trial.

The announcement by county officials Friday prompted a stunned silence, then laughter in a briefing room filled with dozens of reporters, photographers and camera operators planning to cover the case.

"In 24 years in this business, I've never seen anything like this cost this kind of money," said Chip Vaughan, who works for KTVU, the Oakland-based Fox network affiliate. Vaughan said his station had reserved a spot but couldn't keep it because of the fee.

"Our station manager got wind of this and nixed it," he said.

Peterson, 31, is accused of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. The trial was moved from Modesto because of publicity.

Thousands of grocery clerks rally, call for stores to bargain

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Thousands of grocery clerks, many struggling under the financial strain of a nearly 4-month-old supermarket strike, rallied with supporters from other unions yesterday to urge store owners to return to the bargaining table.

Police in riot gear lined the sidewalk as protesters marched, chanting, "The mighty, mighty union!" before a rally outside a Vons supermarket in Inglewood, near Los Angeles. Police estimated the crowd at about 14,000.

The demonstration was one of several staged in recent weeks by leaders of the grocery clerks union in a bid to restart stalled talks with Albertsons, Kroger and Safeway. The sides remain deadlocked over contract issues, particularly the cost and scope of health benefits.

New York bill would let diners get 'doggie bags' for wine

ALBANY, N.Y. — Two state legislators are proposing a law that would allow diners to take an unfinished bottle of wine home from a restaurant.

If the bill passes, New York would join at least five other states that allow take-out wine. California, Oregon, Maine, Hawaii and Connecticut all have "doggie bag" laws.

The law could pump up wine sales while also reducing drunken driving, said Assemblyman Bill Magee and Sen. Stephen Saland, who introduced the legislation.

Also ...

One of two inmates holding a corrections officer hostage in an Arizona prison tower walked on the roof carrying what appeared to be a shotgun or rifle yesterday, the first time in the two-week standoff that either of the inmates had shown a weapon. ... Divers found a body inside a small plane that crashed into the Pacific Ocean yesterday about one-half mile from the Port of Los Angeles, authorities said.