TAMPA — A lizard tattoo on the small of a teacher's back; a ladybug on the lower left side of her belly; a flower on her right. Several photographs of Stephanie Ragusa were released today by the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office. Prosecutors are not commenting on the pictures but sheriff's office reports have said the photographs were used to corroborate statements given by a teenager who claimed to have had sex repeatedly with Ragusa. She was his teacher at Davidsen Middle School. ...more

July 8, 2008

The Justice Department agreed Friday to pay biological-weapons expert Steven Hatfill a settlement valued at $5.85 million to drop a lawsuit he filed after then-Attorney General John Ashcroft named him a "person of interest" in the investigation of the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks. ...more

June 28, 2008

TAMPA - A panel of jurors saw an extreme hard-core pornographic movie today and is expected to see many more as it weighs whether a California porn producer, who uses the name Max Hardcore, has violated criminal obscenity laws. Today, U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew decided federal prosecutors can show excerpts of the movies as they put on their case. Defense lawyers for Max Hardcore, whose real name is Paul F. Little, argued that jurors need to see the entirety of the movies because the repetition of the acts is a necessary component. ...more

May 29, 2008

The Bay area was stunned by the slaying of first one young girl, then another, then another during a 14-month span: Carlie Brucia, Jessie Lunsford and Sarah Lunde. ...more

May 29, 2008

TAMPA - Racketeering and conspiracy charges have been dropped in the case against the final five defendants among more than 50 arrested in a roundup of suspected Latin Kings gang members. ...more

May 23, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the death sentence appeal of a man convicted in the baseball bat slayings of six people over an Xbox video game system. ...more

May 5, 2008

Ask and you shall receive in Lenawee County Circuit Court. A man who pleaded guilty to unarmed robbery faced no more than a year in the county jail, but asked to be sent to prison instead to help his chances of rehabilitation. ...more

February 10, 2008

A lawyer who represented Sami al-Arian and Wesley Snipes notified the court Thursday that she will defend a former University of South Florida student accused of trying to help terrorists. ...more

February 8, 2008

Linda Moreno, half of the team that defended Sami Al-Arian on terrorism-related charges, will team up with defense lawyer Lyann Goudie to represent Ahmed Mohamed, a 26-year-old Egyptian national who was arrested in South Carolina along with Youssef Megahed in August. Deputies said they found pipe bombs in the trunk of their car. ...more

February 7, 2008

A Supreme Court judge convicted former President Alberto Fujimori of abuse of authority and sentenced him to six years in prison Tuesday in the first criminal conviction for Fujimori, who also faces human rights and corruption charges. ...more

December 12, 2007