Corrupt undertakers dig holes

Police in Italy placed a ring of corrupt morticians under house arrest last week, charging them with accepting bribes from funeral homes and stiffing grieving families out of money. It has been alleged the five funeral directors from the central town of Pesaro in the Marche region tipped off a favored funeral home when a corpse arrived and took kickbacks from the burial ceremony fees. The quintet also face accusations of allegedly pocketing payments from families for preparing and dressing the dead rather than passing them on to the hospital. Police said the illegal activities netted the five 10,000 euros ($13,800) each a month.

Message lands woman in hot water

A woman in the US may have to swap her cellphone for a prison cell after sending a text to a narcotics detective offering to sell him a morphine-like opiate called fentanyl. Police in Nevada County, California, allege Jessie Mulligan mistakenly sent the text message to the detective, who then offered to meet with her. She was subsequently arrested with three felony counts.

Loved-up Nanny you've got e-mail

If communication is the cornerstone of a good relationship, then Fran Drescher - the former star of US sitcom The Nanny - has hit the jackpot. Entertainment media reported Drescher, 56, was last week seen stepping out in Beverly Hills with Shiva Ayyadurai, 49, the man often credited by some with inventing e-mail in 1982. Drescher, who played the nasal-voiced nanny Fran Fine on The Nanny for six seasons between 1993 and 1999, posted a photo of herself with Ayyadurai on Twitter earlier this month, admitting she was in love.

Man illegally kept alligator in hot tub

A Florida man who allegedly kept an alligator in his outdoor hot tub for more than a year was arrested last week while police were executing a drug-related search warrant on his Vero Beach house. Tony Wells Jr., 32, claimed the alligator was already living in the house when he moved in, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office said. A woman was arrested during the search. Wells was also arrested after deputies found that he did not have a license from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to keep the alligator. The man had allegedly been feeding the reptile chicken.

A breakfast fit for a Prince

Pint-size pop star Prince traded his "purple banana" and "raspberry beret" for pajamas and pancakes when he threw open the doors to his Minneapolis-area home, Paisley Park, at 2 am last Saturday for his Breakfast Experience Pajama Dance Party. Pajama-clad guests were served pancakes and some big numbers including a rebooted version of his 1984 hit Let's Go Crazy. Doors opened at 2 am and guests were asked to make a $50 donation. Not a bad price to see Prince and his all-girl group 3rdEyeGirl play some of his signature tunes, including Purple Rain and I Would Die 4 U. Guests were given a viewing of the video for his new single, Breakfast Can Wait, a celebration of food and flirting.

MJ's clairvoyant predicted own death

Michael Jackson's personal clairvoyant has died - after predicting her own death. Self-proclaimed No 1 celebrity psychic in Los Angeles, Jillian Lane, confided in friend and colleague Dr Suzanne Yessayan that she believed she would die from liver disease. Lane, 53, decided to spend her final months in South Wales where she died of the disease last week. Lane first met the late "King of Pop" Jackson when he was in London to perform a concert and he phoned her helpline. Lane later gained Jackson's trust and would fly to his Beverly Hills home where he reportedly "poured his heart out" to her.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 10/27/2013 page4)