Crime Blotter: 'Jack the Snipper' Case Closed

May 27, 2005 -- -- New Hampshire's "Jack the Snipper" case is officially closed; a former Connecticut police officer is arrested for lewd conduct involving a smiley-faced banana; and two former Texas officials see prison in their futures for using federal funds to pay a psychic. As this week's edition of the "The Crime Blotter" shows, sometimes crime is just too unpredictable.

'Jack the Snipper' Case Closed

DOVER, N.H. -- The case of "Jack the Snipper" is officially closed.

Jeffrey Gelinas, dubbed "Jack the Snipper" by authorities, has pleaded guilty to attempted burglary for breaking into a woman's Durham apartment near the University of New Hampshire in August 2004. Police nicknamed Gelinas because they believed he was involved in a series of break-ins in Durham apartments in the summer of 2003 where a burglar would cut off women's clothing while they slept.

Gelinas, 29, was never charged for the other burglaries. Before his arrest for the 2004 burglary, he had been on probation for two prowling violations. Gelinas faces between 18 months and eight years in prison when he is sentenced.

Man Gets Jail Time for Exposing a Smiling Toy Banana

STAMFORD, Conn. -- A former police officer will be spending some time in jail for lewd use of a toy banana.

Arthur Bertana, 63, will spend 20 days in jail for lewd conduct after police said he placed a toy banana in his pants this past March and flashed people on the street. Stamford police said Bertana placed a shopping bag in front of his pants and then expose the bulge masking the banana in a sexually offensive way.

"It was a yellow, plush child's toy banana," Sgt. Roger Petrone Jr. said at the time of Bertana's arrest. "It had a smiley face on it."

Bertana had been on probation for lewd conduct for a separate incident in Stamford more than four years ago. In the current case, a judge had ordered Bertana to serve a 4½-year prison term that is to be suspended after 20 days. Bertana was also sentenced to a year of probation.

Former Texas Officials See Prison Time in Future for Psychic Visits

McALLEN, Texas -- A former Texas mayor and bookkeeper are seeing hard time in their future for using federal funds to pay a psychic.

Diana Cortez and Sandra Lopez, the former mayor and bookkeeper, respectively, of La Grulla, each have been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for using $53,700 in federal funds for psychic consultations. They pleaded guilty to theft in November 2004.

An indictment alleged that Cortez and Lopez withdrew the money between May 2002 and May 2003 to pay for consultations that included the use of tarot cards.

The funds were supposed to be used to develop affordable housing and encourage home ownership in La Grulla. Cortez was mayor between May 2001 and May 2003 while Lopez was bookkeeper and responsible for accounts receivable.

One must wonder whether the psychic foresaw the legal woes of Cortez and Lopez.