The trial of former McDonald County sheriff candidate and Seneca police officer Randy Hance on federal weapons charges will be postponed until at least Aug. 1.
U. S. District Court Judge James C. England granted the continuance that Hance and his attorneys had requested. Springfield lawyer Shawn Askinosie cited three reasons for the continuance:
-Hance and federal officials have been negotiating a plea in the case.
-The government has not turned over the complete case file.
-Askinosie is involved in another case in U. S. District Court on April 25, the day on which the trial had originally been scheduled.
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Sales for ConAgra were up slightly during the third quarter, but operating profit continued to decline, according to information filed with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission today.
The decline was caused by increased input costs and challenges in the packaged meat operations, according to the filing.
The report contained bad news for investors, as company officials said they made a mistake involving tax matters which would decrease the company's after-tax profits between $150 million and $200 million. The mistakes will be addressed in ConAgra's quarterly report.
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The SEC may file charges against former U. S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle in connection with the alleged looting of Hollinger International by its CEO Conrad Black and his partner David Radler. The information was reported today by Bloomberg News.
Perle was a member of Hollinger's Board of Directors.
Today's Wall Street Journal indicated that the U. S. attorney's office in northern Illinois has confirmed that is conducting a criminal investigation into the allegations against Black and Radler, though it mentioned nothing about Perle.
No word yet on whether other members of the board, in addition to Perle, during that time are being investigated, but one of them was former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Hollinger at one time owned The Carthage Press and The Neosho Daily News.
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Various news sources are reporting that Kmart stockholders approved the acquisition of Sears today. The merger will create the third biggest retail giant in the U. S. behind Wal-Mart and Home Depot.