LOUISA, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) — A small plane crashed into a home in Louisa County, Virginia on Thursday, authorities said, killing at least one person.

The Cessna T303, which is capable of carrying five passengers and one pilot, crashed into a residential home on Quiet Lane near State Route 33 at 12.48 p.m. local time, according to Arlene Salac, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). She said the plane crashed shortly after departing Louisa County Airport.

Jim Peters, another spokesperson for the FAA, said at least one resident inside the house got out safely. “[The] pilot [is] believed to have been killed,” Peters said.

Further details were not immediately available.

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PORTLAND, OREGON (BNO NEWS) – An Oregon man was arrested as a suspect of a double murder case, prosecutors said on Monday.

Gabriel Morris, age 33, was wanted in connection with the murder of two people in Bandon, Oregon on February 8, 2010.

Morris was taken into custody without incident by police in Prince William County, Virginia. His wife, Jessica Morris, 33, was also detained on a material witness warrant, and their 4-year old daughter, Kalea, was found and not harmed.

The Morris family had been staying in Virginia for the last few days with a person they met online, but the individual became suspicious after some of the things Morris was telling him and decided to check up on Morris on the Internet. The person discovered Morris was wanted for murder in Oregon and contacted local police in.

After seeing their vehicle in the indicated residence, police sent their special weapons and tactics team, made contact and found all three of the Morris family. No one was injured during the arrest.

The District Attorney and several detectives will be flying out to Virginia to conduct further investigations as needed. If the suspects decide to contest extradition, it could be several weeks or months before they are returned.

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MANHATTAN, NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – A man from Virginia stole more than $1.6 million from his elderly stepmother and father, prosecutors said Friday.

Peter Wilde, 61, was born in Colombia but came to the United States in the 1960s, became a naturalized citizen, and has lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia for several years.

His stepparents, Guido and Susanna Wilde, lived in Colombia, and Susanna Wilde has remained there since Guide Wilde’s death in 2003.

Guido Wilde maintained accounts at Citibank in Manhattan since the 1950’s, and sharing them with Susanna since their marriage in 1965.

Peter Wilde was granted a power of attorney for the accounts because the couple aged and avoided recurrent trips to the U.S. They did not review the bank statements, which had a combined value exceeding $1.7 million, trusting Peter completely, but in 1996, he began withdrawing money for his personal expenses without authorization.

In 2004, Peter Wilde was revoked his power of attorney after Susanna Wilde found out he had withdrawn approximately $1.6 million.
Peter Wilde is now facing up to 39 years in prison for three different counts.

“The defendant brazenly abused the trust that his elderly parents placed in him to manage their finances,” said District Attorney Vance. “Theft from vulnerable persons is a serious crime that this Office is committed to investigating, prosecuting and preventing.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – A Virginia doctor pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to impede the United States and to making a false statement, the Department of Justice said.

Dr. Andrew Silva of Sterling, Virginia inherited an undeclared bank account from his mother at the Zurich, Switzerland in 1997, which was held in the name of a sham Liechtenstein trust.

After meeting with a Zurich attorney, Silva was advised to maintain the account secretly, to not keep any records of the account, and to send coded letters to the attorney if he desired a meeting. Furthermore, Silva’s attorney informed him that transporting or mailing less than $10,000 to the U.S. does not require any declarations upon re-entry to the United States.

In September 2009, Silva was informed that the international bank was closing his undeclared Swiss account, having until the end of the year to withdraw all funds from Switzerland. Silva met with his attorney and a Swiss banker twice, as they refused to wire the money to the U.S., which would leave a trail for U.S. law enforcement to follow.

Instead, Silva received $200,000 in U.S. currency in two individually wrapped “bricks” of the $235,000.

According to court documents, with the assistance of the Zurich attorney, Silva mailed 26 packages containing over $200,000 in U.S. currency from Switzerland to the United States to himself and another person.

Silva admitted in court to have falsely informed a U.S. Customs Inspector at Dulles International Airport in November 2009 that he had traveled to Switzerland to purchase diamonds, as well as falsely stating that he had not recently mailed any money from Switzerland to the U.S.

Court documents proved that Silva had made false tax return documents for more than 10 years, failed to report the income he earned on his undeclared Swiss account on his tax returns, as well as filing he had an aggregate value of more than $10,000 at any time during a particular year in his Swiss bank account.

Silva agreed to forfeit to the government $211,200 that law enforcement officials seized from packages that Silva mailed from Switzerland to his residence in Virginia, and he is currently scheduled for sentencing on May 7, 2010, where he will be facing a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000.

Silva remains free on a $50,000 bail pending sentencing.

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ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) — James Quello, who was a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for more than two decades, died of natural causes on Sunday. He was 95.

Quello died of heart and kidney failure while surrounded by his family at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, according to a prepared statement from Broadcasting & Cable, which named Quello to its Hall of Fame in 1995.

“It is with great sadness that I learned of the death of former Commissioner Jim Quello,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. “Jim was a friend and beloved Commissioner of this agency for more than two decades.”

Quello was born on April 21, 1914, in Laurium, Michigan, twenty years before the creation of the FCC. “Known as the ‘Dean’ of the FCC — and ‘Boss’ to the many staffers who worked for him — he was a role model to generations of FCC employees and advocates for his decency, personal charm, and commitment to his work,” Genachowski said. “He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of service to the FCC, the communications industry, and the American people.” He was best known as a strong defender of free, over-the-air broadcasting.

Quello joined the FCC in 1974 and served more than 23 years. He was named interim chairman in 1994 and retired in 1997. Most recently he worked as a public policy consult for Wiley Rein, while working alongside former FCC Chairman Richard Wiley.

The Democrat, who was first appointed by Republican President Richard Nixon, is also a former President of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and recipient of its lifetime achievement award. He also received the National Association of Broadcasters Distinguished service award in 1994.

Further, Quello was the founder and chairman of the board of the James H. and Mary B. Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law at Michigan State University, his alma mater. He also was a World War II veteran.

James Quello is survived by his sons, James M. and Richard B. Quello, his wife, Kim, granddaughters Susan Butler Quello and Diane Watson, and a great granddaughter, Bethany Watson.

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APPOMATTOX, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) — SWAT Team members in Appomattox County, Virginia on Wednesday arrested a suspect in the murders of eight people on Tuesday, officials said.

Christopher B. Speight, 39, was taken into custody at approximately 7.10 a.m. local time after surrendering to SWAT team members assigned to a security perimeter.

The incident ebgan around noon on Tuesday when the Appomattox County Sheriff’s Office receive a 9-1-1 call about a male who was lying in the middle of Route 703, also known as Snapp Mill Road, and was in need of medical assistance. When the deputy sheriff arrived in the 3000 block of Snapps Mill Road, he heard gunfire in the area. The man who was lying on the road, was transported by a Med-Flight State Police helicopter to Lynchburg General Hospital, where he later died.

As additional units responded, according to the Virginia State Police, a search perimeter was set up in a wooded area within the vicinity of Snapps Mill Road and Route 613, also known as Police Tower Road. Further investigation yielded the discovery of four additional bodies outside a nearby residence and three bodies inside the residence. The deceased are both males and females. A nearby home was evacuated as a precautionary measure.

During the course of the search for a suspect on Tuesday, Speight is alleged to have fired at a State Police helicopter. The helicopter was struck at least four times, causing a fuel leak, and was forced to make an emergency landing in a field nearby. No one aboard the chopper was injured.

Speight is believed to have been confined within the established law-enforcement security perimeter the entire time of the search operation, and is thought to have been carrying a high-powered rifle. “He managed to conceal himself overnight in the wooded area and then turned himself in to authorities at daybreak,” a statement from the Virginia State Police read. At the time Speight surrendered, he was waring a bulletproof vest and was not carrying a weapon.

Virginia State Police crime scene technicians are currently processing the scene in the 3000 block of Snapps Mill Road/Route 703, as well as the wooded area within the secured perimeter.

Bomb technicians and explosives-detection canines are also on scene to detect and render safe any potential incendiary devices. “Based on information gleaned during the course of the investigation, there is a probability of explosive devices being found outside and inside the residence,” the force said.

The Office of the State Medical Examiner has dispatched it Mass Casualty Team out of Roanoke to assist with victim recovery and identification, examination and cause of death. Once identifications of the victims are confirmed, their next of kin will be notified.

It is not yet clear what caused Speight to, allegedly, carry out the murders. Police say his motives remain under investigation and charges are pending. The Appomattox Sheriff’s Office is consulting with the Office of the Appomattox County Commonwealth’s Attorney.

Police say Speight was acquainted with the victims and had lived at the residence where the murders took place. He co-owns the residence, as well as owns land adjacent to the residence.

As the search was still ongoing earlier on Wednesday, authorities also decided to close all Appomattox County public schools as precautionary measure for their safety. The school closure included the county’s four schools with a student population of about 2,000 and also Cornerstone Christian Academy, which was locked down on Tuesday as a result of the incident.

Earlier, authorities were also searching for two vehicles belonging to Speight. Both were recovered on Wednesday morning.

More than 150 personnel from the Appomattox County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Prince Edward County Sheriff’s Office, Farmville Police, Lynchburg Police Department, Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Conservation Police, Virginia National Guard, Holliday Lake State Park Rangers, and ATF were involved in the search and recovery of the suspect.

Anyone who has information about the killing spree is asked to call the Virginia State Police Appomattox Division at 434-352-3419 or the Appomattox County Sheriff’s Office at 434-352-8241. Authorities said anonymous calls are welcome.

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HAMPTON, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) – A fire broke out at a trash incinerator on the property of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia on Friday, officials said. There were no injuries.

A Hampton Fire and Rescue spokesman initially said the fire broke out inside a steam room at NASA’s Langley Research Center, but a NASA spokesman later corrected the report.

NASA spokesman Keith Henry said the fire broke out at a trash incinerator that is on NASA property, but is used by the City of Hampton under a partnership agreement. “Garbage trucks come in there and dump their trash into a boiler,” Henry said.

During one of those dumps, around 5.30 p.m. EST, a fire spread outside the boiler and caused other trash to get on fire. The City of Hampton has a special fire station designated to NASA on its property, which responded to the fire. The fire was extinguished around 9.15 p.m. EST.

Henry said the fire did not cause any damage, as only trash caught fire. No injuries were reported either.

NASA Langley Research Center is one of the oldest NASA field centers located in Hampton, Virginia. The Research Center focuses primarily on aeronautical research, though the Lunar Lander was flight tested at this facility and a number of high profile space missions are planned and designed on site.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced Friday they will host a day-long symposium Friday to discuss issues and strategies available to financial institutions exposed to interest rate risk.

With a historically deep curve and low short-term interest rates, the FDIC states that it is vital for institutions to have robust processes for measuring and curbing risks posed by potential changes in interest rates. Participating in the symposium will be bankers, experts, and supervisors from all relevant financial sectors to outline ways that banks can protect themselves from changes in interest rates and better manage risks.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said, “Banks and regulators need to be forward looking in their approach to risk management. Clearly, the interest rate environment will be changing as we emerge from this difficult economic period. Insured institutions should make sure they have sound risk management practices in place to measure, monitor and control this risk.”

The symposium will take place on Friday, January 29 at the FDIC’s Arlington, VA., facility.

Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public faith and confidence in the United States banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation’s 8099 banks and savings associations and promotes the safety and soundness of banks by identifying, monitoring, and addressing risks to which they are exposed.

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NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) — A passenger’s package briefly caused a bomb scare at Norfolk International Airport on Friday morning, officials said. The package was later cleared.

According to Wayne Shank, a spokesman for the airport, an airport employee left a passenger’s package unattended after it got separated from its owner during a Delta airlines flight. “It arrived before or after the passenger arrived,” Shank said.

Police officers later spotted the box and, following protocol, alerted the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The TSA then swapped the box and received two false positives for explosives inside.

Airport officials requested assistance from the Norfolk Police Department, Shank said, who x-rayed the box and found no explosives. Although the airport has K9 teams, they were not available at the time of the incident.

Some parts of the airport had been closed during the investigation, but operations have now returned to normal.

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) — A passenger’s package briefly caused a bomb scare at Norfolk International Airport on Friday morning, officials said. The package was later cleared.

According to Wayne Shank, a spokesman for the airport, an airport employee left a passenger’s package unattended after it got separated from its owner during a Delta airlines flight. “It arrived before or after the passenger arrived,” Shank said.

Police officers later spotted the box and, following protocol, alerted the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The TSA then swapped the box and received two false positives for explosives inside the box.

Airport officials then requested assistance from the Norfolk Police Department, Shank said, who x-rayed the box and found no explosives.

Some parts of the airport had been closed during the investigation, but operations have now returned to normal.