http://youtu.be/Ov9mMEIHer8

By Times-Picayune Staff

NEW ORLEANS — In a rare black eye for his office, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten confirmed Thursday that Sal Perricone, one of his top prosecutors, has been using the alias “Henry L. Mencken1951” to bash landfill owner Fred Heebe and a raft of other local and national figures, including federal judges, in the comments section on nola.com.

Perricone “readily acknowledged” using the pseudonym, and the matter has been referred to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which will mete out any punishment following an investigation, Letten said.

Perricone — whom Letten called a “fine veteran attorney” — has been recused from all matters that he discussed in comments on nola.com, Letten said. He declined to confirm which cases that would include, citing the office’s policy to not discuss ongoing investigations.

“My overriding concern is dealing with this crisis, this issue, properly, dealing with it honestly and trying to get that message out there to the public to keep the trust people have placed in us,” Letten said.

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Ex-Gov on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice

Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the guy who had an acute case of rambling on and on, may be a bit more careful now that he’s behind bars.

The Illinois governor, aka “Blago”, reported to prison Thursday morning at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in suburban Denver, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Now Blago will also be known as inmate No. 40892-424.

Earlier in the day, he left his Ravenswood Manor home in Chicago, the Sun-Times reported. Cameramen and photographers and reporters chronicled his departure as he left to serve 14 years for his high-profile public corruption conviction.

“I’m leaving with a heavy heart, a clear conscience and I have high, high hopes for the future,” said Blagojevich, according to the Sun-Times.

“Saying goodbye is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Blagojevich said. “I’ll see you when I see you.”

By Allan Lengel

A fed jury on Thursday issued a superseding indictment charging a New Orleans man with the murder of five people, one of whom was an off-duty New Orleans cop.

Steven Earl Hardrick, 27, was charged with violations of the federal controlled substances act and federal firearms laws, carjacking, witness tampering and murder.

The superseding indictment alleges that Hardrick allegedly carried out the Oct. 1, 2007, murder of Dwayne Landry; the Oct. 13, 2007, home invasion, shooting and killing of off-duty New Orleans Police Officer Thelonius Dukes; and the Oct. 24, 2007, carjacking and murder of Brett Jacobs, David Alford and Howard Pickens, the Justice Department said.

Whether you prefer Do-Si-Dos or Thin Mints, almost everyone loves a Girl Scout cookie, but the annual fundraiser has created a spike in crime across the country this year that has even the Secret Service stepping in.

At least two troops on opposite sides of the U.S. have received counterfeit money in exchange for boxes of their cookies. Troop 60916 in Tynsborough, Mass., spent Sunday afternoon selling cookies, and took their $258 deposit to the bank when the teller told troop leader Dianna Mines that four of her $20 bills were fake.

“I was shocked,” Mines told The Lowell Sun. “Girl Scouts is about trying to teach the girls how to be good members of the community. To be taken advantage of was just not right.”

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By Allan Lengel

The murder of 16 Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier could come back to haunt us here in the homeland.

CNN reports that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security put out a bulletin on Wednesday issuing that warning, saying “there is currently no specific, credible threat information” but that the U.S. should still be on the alert.

“The FBI and DHS are concerned that this event could contribute to the radicalization or mobilization of homegrown violent extremists in the Homeland, particularly against U.S.-based military targets,” the bulletin said, according to CNN.

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• Fed. Court Blocks DEA From Closing Fla. Pharmacies (Hawaii News Daily)
• DEA Raids Marijuana Dispensary for Second Time (Opposing Views)
• Fed Prosecutor Admits He’s the Blogger (Courthouse News Service)
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• The Hunt for KSM (Main Justice)