MILWAUKEE (AP) - Attorneys representing sexual abuse victims filed an objection Friday to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s bankruptcy reorganization plan.
The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011, saying it would not have the money to pay if lawsuits filed by victims of clergy sexual abuse went against it. Hundreds of victims then filed claims in bankruptcy court, accusing the archdiocese of covering up abuse and moving priests to new churches without warning parishioners.
The reorganization plan filed by the archdiocese in February would set aside about $4 million to compensate nearly 130 people abused by priests who worked for the archdiocese. It would be one of the smallest per-victim settlements yet in about a dozen bankruptcy cases involving Roman Catholic dioceses, and would pay nothing to people abused by lay people or priests assigned to religious orders - even if they worked in the archdiocese.
The $4 million would come from a roughly $8 million settlement the archdiocese reached with a group of insurers known as Lloyd’s of London. The rest of the settlement would go toward the archdiocese’s bankruptcy costs.
The archdiocese has said it does not have more money to pay victims because properties like its lakefront headquarters are already mortgaged. Victims and their attorneys have insisted the archdiocese is hiding money, pointing to such things as its transfer of about $50 million into a cemetery trust fund.
The documents filed Friday in federal bankruptcy court reiterated victims’ claim that the money should be available to help pay them and note that their attorneys’ appeal of a court order ruling it off-limits has yet to be decided.
They also question the archdiocese’s claim that many of its parishes are poor and raising money from them in annual assessments is difficult. Victims’ attorneys say the archdiocese has refused to turn over parish financial statements, making it hard to determine the parishes’ worth.
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MILWAUKEE (AP) - The dogfighting matches described this week by Milwaukee County prosecutors allegedly took place in residential neighborhoods, not in far-flung rural communities. If true, it raises the question of why neighbors never reported seeing or hearing anything out of the ordinary.
The answer hints at why dogfighting remains so persistent in Milwaukee: Perpetrators go to such lengths to hide their actions that neighbors may not even know dogs are living next door. To combat the scourge, police have begun teaming up with animal-welfare groups to spot signs of dogfighting, and community groups have set up a telephone hotline where residents can report anything that seems the slightest bit suspicious.
Authorities arrested 13 Milwaukee-area residents Thursday and recovered 22 pit bulls, the culmination of an investigation that began with a tip of dogfighting in 2011. Police acknowledge that other perpetrators may still be out there.
Dogfighting operations can be highly sophisticated. Dog owners might build elaborate fighting pits in their basements, and they’ll often breed or pay top dollar for pit bull puppies genetically predisposed to be vicious toward other dogs. Owners also put their dogs through rigorous training regimens that build up their stamina through hours on a treadmill or long walks while dragging heavy weights.
But the owners are also part of a secretive, highly insular community, Milwaukee police Officer Ivan Wick said Friday. Matches are often planned hours in advance, and participants might arrange two or three meeting points beforehand so they can ensure they’re not being followed. They might keep their animals locked in the trunk, only taking them out when their vehicle is inside a closed garage.
Many matches are also held late at night or during pre-dawn hours, and basements can be soundproof.
So even if three or four matches are being staged in one night in a residential area, neighbors might not have a clue.
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CUDAHY, Wis. (AP) - Cudahy police have arrested a 34-year-old man after a 4½-hour standoff in which shots were fired.
Officers went to a home Friday afternoon on a report of a man who made suicidal statements and displayed a gun during a video phone call.
Police say both the man and an officer fired shots during the incident, which began around noon. Surrounding homes were evacuated.
SWAT team officers used a chemical agent and entered the home just after 4:30 p.m. The man was taken to a hospital with what Police Chief Thomas Poellot describes as a non-life-threatening injury.
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SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) - A spring snowstorm dropped nearly a foot and a half of new snow in some northwestern Wisconsin communities.
The National Weather Service recorded 17.8 inches of snow near Superior and 17 inches near Ashland on Friday. Snow totals around a foot were common along Lake Superior.
Ashland, Bayfield, Birchwood, Hayward and Hurley were among the school districts choosing to cancel classes Friday.
Xcel Energy says about 9,400 of its customers lost power for part of the day in western Wisconsin. Around 8 to 9 inches fell in Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley.
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