Florida court nixes Indian casino pact

Tallahassee, Fla.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Gov. Charlie Crist overstepped his authority when he negotiated a deal last year that let the Seminole Tribe of Florida install slot machines and offer table games at its seven Florida casinos.

The court said Crist could not allow the tribe to conduct types of gambling that are now illegal in the rest of the state. Although slot machines have been approved by voters in some counties, state law prohibits other types of gambling such as blackjack.

"The governor has no authority to change or amend state law," wrote Justice Raoul Cantero.

A tribal spokesman said there were no "immediate" plans to stop the games while legal options are explored.

Posen, Ill.

Father accused of caging daughters

A suburban Chicago man locked his two young daughters in a wire cage hidden in the back of his pickup because he didn't have a baby-sitter, officials said Thursday.

Ricardo Gonzalez, 35, of Midlothian, was arrested Monday after a woman at a gas station heard a crying child and spotted him pushing small hands back into a cage, police said.

Gonzalez told police he used the cage because he didn't have a sitter. He also said he wanted to control the girls, ages 2 and 5, so they wouldn't run away. Police said the girls did not live in the cage.

The children were turned over to the state and placed in foster care Monday.

New York

Hedge-fund fugitive in prison, a little late

Samuel Israel III, the hedge-fund manager who fled after faking a suicide last month, went to prison on Thursday, 25 days late.

U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon denied Israel bail and ordered him to immediately begin serving his 20-year sentence. Israel, 48, who surrendered Wednesday, faces additional charges of bail-jumping and as many as 10 years in prison, on top of the 20-year sentence he received in April for swindling $450 million from investors in the Bayou Group, the hedge fund he co-founded.

Burlington, Vt.

Uncle charged with kidnapping

A Vermont man whose 12-year-old niece was found dead near his home carefully orchestrated events and e-mails to make it appear she had gone to see someone she met online, prosecutors said Thursday as they charged him with kidnapping.

Michael Jacques, 42, could face the death penalty under federal law if convicted in the disappearance of Brooke Bennett. An autopsy has not confirmed whether the girl was killed.

Citing statements from another girl, prosecutors claim in an affidavit that Jacques tricked Brooke into thinking she was going to a party and instead took her to his Randolph home to initiate her into a child sex ring on June 25, the day she vanished. The girl's body was found Wednesday.

Seattle Times news services