London aircraft jobs in jeopardy.

Hundreds of London jobs are on the line while aircraft-maker Diamond Aircraft waits for federal help to launch jet production, Mayor Joe Fontana warns.
Just days away from Tuesday’s federal budget, Fontana said the company has waited for months for a $35-million federal loan that would help it launch production of the innovative five-seater D-Jet, saving the jobs of 200 employees working on the project and creating at least 500 new jobs at the London plant.

Body along Thames.

CHATHAM — Chatham-Kent police are investigating after a human body was found along the Thames River on Wednesday.
A resident of Riverview Line, just west of Dillon Rd., discovered the adult remains, for which the gender is yet to be determined.
Forensic officers were on scene, with the police command centre trailer also at the site.

Mafia weapons stockpile found in Montreal.

Police have discovered a cache of machine guns, ammunition and explosives in an east-end Montreal depot.
It's the latest development in a spate of violence that has seen several top members of the Rizzuto crime family gunned down in the last 18 months.
The Rizzutos have controlled lucrative drug, loan shark and money-laundering rackets in Quebec for 30 years, but the family has been under a deadly siege since 2009 when Nick Rizzuto Jr. was shot and killed in west-end Montreal .

McConnel senteced to 3 years.

Wes McConnell, disgraced head of the Thames Valley Region Athletic Asociation (TVRAA) paid for his fraud with jail time this morning.
McConnell, 56, was sentenced to three years this morning, ending a decade-long fleecing of high school sports programs.
McConnell was also ordered to pay back $771,439 of cash he defrauded to the Thames Valley District school board.
McConnell pleaded guilty to taking almost $800,000 from the TVRAA coffers.

Before the verdict was read, McConnell said he was sorry.

Police have St. Pattys plan.

Go ahead and celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some green beer, said police, but if you do, don't drive home.
"The message we're trying to get out there is - have a blast, really enjoy yourself. Don't overindulge and then get behind the wheel of the car," said Sgt. Tom O'Brien.
As revelers flock to bars, pubs, taverns and clubs to celebrate all things Irish on Thursday, police are beefing up their presence downtown - and on the roads.

McConnell sentencing this morning.

Wes McConnell, an admitted fraudster whose crime cost London-area high school athletics $800,000, faces the sentencing music in a London courtroom this morning.
The court has already heard how the former head of the Thames Valley Region Athletic Association used money from accounts he controlled to fuel a gambling addiction and lavish swish improvements on his London home.
He had been the original director of the association that co-ordinates high school sports for four school boards.

Canada-wide warrant issued for alleged killer.

CALGARY - Police have issued a Canada-wide warrant to try to catch the alleged killer of a Calgary man.
Serafino Virgilio's body was discovered inside a 1999 GMC Denali on Jan. 19, 2010, a few blocks from the home where police believe he was killed a few days earlier.
Police said Tuesday they have put out a first-degree murder warrant nationwide for Pablo Rodrigo Russell in connection to the killing of the 57-year-old man.

Arson unit investigates suspicious fire.

London police and fire officials are investigating a suspicious fire early Wednesday at a building west of the core.
It was one of two fires battled by firefighters in an eight-hour period beginning at about 6 p.m. Tuesday when a small fire broke out at a downtown apartment causing minor damage to an apartment but injuring the tenant.
At about 2:30 a.m., firefighters were called to 298 Springbank Dr. and found smoke spewing from the building at the southeast corner of Springbank and Greenwood Ave.

Meningitis kill teen.

A Grade 9 student from Stratford Northwestern Secondary School died suddenly Saturday of meningococcal meningitis, one day after he had attended a gathering at the home of a school friend.
Kasey Pestell, 14, who lived with his parents at RR1 Stratford, was described by his grandmother as a "real hard worker" who loved the outdoors, hockey, golf, riding his dirt bike and snowmobiling.
Meningitis is inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal chord .

Police officer faces charges.

A 38-year-old Chatham-Kent Police Service constable faces criminal charges and is suspended from duty following an internal investigation.
Const. Jayme O'Reilly, a 10-year member of the service, faces both disciplinary and criminal charges for "primarily off-duty conduct,"
said Deputy Chief Clare Wiersma.
He said there has been an ongoing investigation by the service's professional standards section and this month new information came to light and the criminal charges were laid.

"They are intertwined," he said of the internal and criminal investigations.
O'Reilly was arrested Sunday evening and held in custody. He was released Monday on $1,500 bail.
He couldn't be reached for comment.
While police didn't release what charges the officer faces, court documents state O'Reilly is charged with criminal harassment and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.
The criminal harassment charge stems from alleged incidents between Dec. 18, 2010 and Feb. 24, 2011. The threatening complaint is from between Aug. 20, 2010 and Feb. 24, 2011.
A publication ban protects the identity of the complainants and any information that could identify them.
"In keeping in the spirit of the publication ban, we won't be releasing any details about the investigation," Wiersma said.
He noted that O'Reilly is suspended from police duty with pay and is expected to face Police Services Act (PSA) disciplinary action once the investigation is complete.
The deputy chief said the PSA only allows suspension with pay. He also noted not all officers charged criminally or under the PSA are suspended.
"It's determined on a case by case basis," he said.
O'Reilly is scheduled to return to court April 19.