Enigma Encryption Machine Sells For

Enigma Encryption Machine Sells For, One of the remaining Enigma machines, used by the Nazis to encypt and decrypt messages during World War II, has sold at auction for £85,250. The machine is in working order, unrestored, and has not had any parts swapped out, as often happened after the victorious Allies took the devices home as souvenirs, auctioners Bonhams said in a statement. It had been in use by the German military between 1938 and 1944.

The three-rotor model was sold by Bonhams on Wednesday afternoon, with the unnamed seller being from Europe and the buyer — whose successful bid was placed over the internet — from the US.

The guide price had been £40k to £60k, so the Helmsoeth and Rinke-built Enigma machine went for more than was expected. However, another Enigma machine sold last year for £131,180.

The British built an electromechanical Bombe machine to crack Enigma’s codes, a project in which computing pioneer Alan Turing was a key player. This year is Turing’s centenary.

Man Buys Island £55,000

Man Buys Island £55,000, A man in Britain has purchased a tiny island to ensure he and his wife, have their final resting place.  Piers Casimir-Mrowczynski, 50, snapped up the tiny Mackenzie Island, near the isle of Islay, to be his final resting place, the Daily Mail reported.
Head of Information Communications Technology (ICT) at Beechwood Park boarding school in St. Albans, Hertfordshire county, he purchased the uninhabited island for 55,000 pounds (over $88,000) this week.

Casimir-Mrowczynski said he was drawn to the idea when he was diagnosed with cancer of the appendix three years ago. Now he and wife Pauline, 50, plan to be buried there when they die.

“About three years ago I had cancer of the appendix. That was a really hard time…The cancer battle got me thinking about where I wanted to be laid to rest, when my time comes, and this island just seemed perfect,” said Casimir-Mrowczynski.

Why Runaway Bride Jennifer Wilbanks Ran Got Cold Feet

Why Runaway Bride Jennifer Wilbanks Ran Got Cold Feet, The runaway bride case was the case of Jennifer Carol Wilbanks (born March 1, 1973), an American woman who ran away from home on April 26, 2005, in order to avoid her wedding with John Mason, her fiancé, on April 30.

Her disappearance from Duluth, Georgia, sparked a nationwide search and intensive media coverage, including some media speculation that Mason had killed her. On April 29, Wilbanks called Mason from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and falsely claimed that she had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a Hispanic male and a white woman.

Wilbanks gained notoriety in the United States and internationally, and her story persisted as a major topic of national news coverage for some time after she was found and her safety was assured. Many critics of the mass media attacked this as a “media circus”. Howard Kurtz, an influential media critic for the Washington Post and CNN-TV, wrote that the runaway bride had become a “runaway television embarrassment,” and he compared the story to a TV soap opera.

Wilbanks’s repeating of the false claims to investigating police officers resulted in a felony indictment against her of giving false information to the police, a charge that could have resulted in up to five years of imprisonment. On June 2, 2005, Wilbanks pleaded no contest to this charge. As part of her plea bargain, she was sentenced to two years of probation and 120 hours of community service, and she was also ordered to pay $2,250 in restitution to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department. Also as part of the plea bargain, a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report was dismissed. Wilbanks’s criminal record was expunged after she successfully completed her period of probation.

Isaiah Cutler Market Burglar

Isaiah Cutler Market Burglar, An 18-year-old Pittsburgh man is accused of burglarizing a market with three teens, then posted pictures on his Facebook page showing the suspects mugging with some of the loot.

Isaiah Cutler who has been jailed since Friday in the Dec. 12 burglary. Online court records don’t list an attorney for him.

Police say Cutler, a 17-year-old and two 14-year-olds stole more than $8,000 worth of cash, cigarettes, candy and checks from the business. About an hour later, police say, Cutler posted pictures of the teens posing with the loot on his page on the social networking site.

The younger suspects have been charged in juvenile court and been released to their parents.

Cutler faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday on charges of theft, burglary and conspiracy.

Heidi Fleiss 1999 Bankruptcy $270,000

Heidi Fleiss 1999 Bankruptcy $270,000, Former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court Wednesday, seeking personal protection from her creditors.

In her bankruptcy petition, Fleiss said she owed credit card companies and others nearly $270,000, while her only assets were $5,000 worth of jewelry and $200 in clothing.

Among the debts Fleiss listed were $115,000 owed in legal fees to the firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and $85,000 in inventory and back rent from her defunct Santa Monica underwear business, Heidi Wear Inc.

Fleiss once earned thousands of dollars a day running a high-priced Hollywood call girl ring, but spent the last three years in federal prison for tax evasion, money laundering and attempted pandering in connection with the prostitution business.

Fleiss said in her bankruptcy petition that her total monthly income is now $5,000, all of it in gifts from family members. She lists her total monthly expenses at $6,700.

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