Recently in Palos Verdes Estates Category

A 72-year-old doctor from Palos Verdes Estates was ordered on Thursday to spend 120 days in jail for sexually assaulting a female patient in his East Los Angeles office.

Roger Giani, who also uses the name Iraj Sadghiani, will also have to register as a sex offender, attend 52 weeks of sexual compulsive anonymous meetings and is forbidden from practicing medicine in California, according to Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the City Attorney's Office.

Giani was convicted by a jury of sexual battery and simple battery in Los Angeles Superior Court.

On Nov. 11, 2007, Giani assaulted the victim when they were alone in a room together at his Angelus Medical Clinic.

The then 22-year-old victim said Giani groped her breasts and rubbed his groin against her body for sexual gratification.

 The jury also heard evidence that the defendant had inappropriately touched the victim's sister in the past.

John Dowsing gave this update today to his ongoing sign-stealing, obscene-phone call saga related to his campaign lawn signs supporting democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama:

"At about 10 p.m. [Tuesday night], we heard about 100 reasonably good-sized firecrackers going off, and saw a small fire underneath the Obama for president sign. Had he not had the firecrackers, it would have burned the sign. But the firecrackers put out the fire."

Dowsing also reported receiving two more rambling and derogatory phone calls to his home and work last night and today. The man, who spoke with a drawl and sounded "disoriented," threatened to do things of a violent, sexual nature to Dowsing for his presidential pick.

Is anybody at all surprised to hear that my trifecta of campaign lawn sign-related crime stories in today's Daily Breeze has sparked heated political debate in our user comments? I know - shocking.

The most passionate comments are coming from both sides of the same-sex marriage initiative, Proposition 8. I'm a journalist, so I'm supposed to be objective on issues I report on. Which means I can't say publicly what I support or how I vote. But I can say this: There are some vindictive, mean-spirited and hateful people out there when it comes to this issue. I'll just leave it at that.

Here's the package:

• The one that started it all: Proposition 8 may have been at center of Torrance assault  Joseph Storm, the defendant in that case, is schedule to be arraigned today. I'll have an update later, and remember to keep an eye on that Twitter feed over there ---> or subscribe to my feed yourself for up-to-the-minute reports on this and other cases.
• The first one that got piled on my plate after I spoke to my editor about the assault: Proposition 8 signs disappearing from Wilmington church lawn
• The last one from a guy that just made me laugh (and be sure to check out his secretly taped video of the thieves): PVE Obama supporter catches thieves in the act

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Cletus Schmidt had no warning that a remote highway near Joshua Tree National Park was coming to an end, and crashed into a rock-hard embankment on Jan. 6, 2006. The collision left him a paraplegic dependent on a ventilator.

On Monday, a Riverside jury ordered the state Dept. of Transportation to pay Schmidt and his wife, Marlene Schmidt, $11.6 million because the agency failed to maintain safety features that were in place to warn motorists that the road was coming to an end. It turned out that there were eight crashes at that same T-intersection of highways 62 and 177 in the 21 months before Schmidt's wreck.

Schmidt was represented by Hermosa Beach attorney and Palos Verdes resident Albro Lundy III, who grew up with the elderly couple's four children, attending St. John Fisher and Rolling Hills High schools together. When Lundy's father died at age 11, Schmidt stepped-in as a  father figure. They became close, and Schmidt stood by Lundy's side when he got married 25 years ago. In a press release, Schmidt said: "What goes around, comes around. When Albro was little, we took care of him. Now he's taking care of us." Lundy, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor during the course of the litigation, was assisted by attorneys Joe Barrett, Norm Coe and Gary Dordick.

I'm working on a full story about the case.

It's been a bit crazy in the Crime & Courts machine lately, so I'm a little behind in some of my cases. In doing some updating, I learned this today:

A former Palos Verdes Estates "house man" has pleaded guilty to assaulting his employer, and will spend a year in jail, a prosecutor said Thursday. Peter Woods, 55, pleaded no contest last Friday to one count of assault causing great bodily injury and received the jail term and five years probation, according to Deputy District Attorney Lester Kuriyama.

Woods must also undergo a year of anger management counseling and keep away from his former boss and her son.

Woods' employer, Sheri Kantor, testified at a preliminary hearing earlier this year that Woods threatened to killer her, choked her and punched her on March 19 in her home in the 800 block of Gatos Place. But Woods testified he only grabbed and pushed his 57-year-old boss when she blocked his way when they were in a dispute over his pay.

An attempted murder charge against Woods was dropped in exchange for his plea.

Previously: PVE "household manager" accused of trying to kill employer

Mahendra Udani, a former gastroenterologist convicted of molesting two female patients, appeared in court today for a restitution hearing. However, Torrance Superior Court Judge Michael Vicencia said he wasn't going to hear arguments or make any rulings on the issue because the case is still on appeal.

Udani was convicted in March 2007 of 18 charges and was sentenced to two years in jail. However, he remains out of jail on bond pending appeal of his case. Previously, Vicencia ordered Udani to pay the women a total of $115,000. Part of that money, their attorney said, was to get diagnoses and treatment plans for therapy.

Now, the two women who were 22 years old in November and December 2004 when Udani groped them, are asking Vicencia to order Udani to pay them about $500,000 to carry out that treatment plan, according to their attorney. Vicencia said if Udani's convictions are upheld on appeal, they can come back and ask again.

Udani, 56, of Palos Verdes Estates, massaged, squeezed and pinched the patients' breasts while they were under his care at a Torrance hospital and his Redondo Beach office. The jury who convicted him also heard evidence that he had inappropriate sexual contact with two additional women. He has since lost his license to practice.

Robert Soloway, who will spend four years in prison beginning Sept. 22 for the barrage of spam e-mails he sent, opened up for an interview that was published last week by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula High School graduate, who got filthy rich at a young age from his business, told the newspaper: "Here's my dysfunction," Soloway said recently. "It was that notoriety. People knew me. No one clapped for me at my high school graduation. Maybe it's not how I want to be famous, but (my thinking was) 'At least people know who I am.' "

Previously:

Spam King sentenced

Sentencing hearing underway for Spam King

Robert Soloway, a 1997 graduate of Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, was sentended in a Seattle federal courtroom this afternoon for charges related to his business of spamming e-mail inboxes with unsolicited messages - including those advertising his own business.

I'll have a full report on the case and sentencing in tomorrow's Daily Breeze. However, I'd like to note that, in the hour or so that I've been writing this story, I've received messages with these subject lines in my e-mail inbox:

• Stop Collection Calls
• PayPal Security Department
• Summer discount on w4tches delivery
• Angelina Jolie nude movie
• Do you want to enlarge your penis?
• Winning notification

Not that I'm against these cases or think that spammers shouldn't be targeted, but I can't help but think that prosecuting spammers is like filling a swimming pool with water - with an eye dropper.

A professional household manager was ordered to stand trial today on attempted murder, assault and threat charges after allegedly beating and choking his Palos Verdes Estates employer.

The case, which will be fully vetted in tomorrow's Daily Breeze, gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of wealth - where homes need managers to oversee everything from maintenance and security to dog walking and errands.

Peter Woods said got the job through an online ad. The prosecutor asked him if the ad was "like Craigslist," and he said yes - but it's not clear if that's where it was. However, I did find this today, for those of you who may be interested in such a job. Woods said he earned his household manager certification at Starkey International Institute.

Although violence is really never funny, there was a kind of snarky moment during today's preliminary hearing after Woods described his job duties.

Deputy District Attorney Antranig Balian: "So, she paid you $2,000 to turn on the air, alarm and TV?"

Woods: "I think it's a little more complicated than that."

Indeed.

It's been an unusual couple of days in a Washington state federal courtroom, where former Palos Verdes Estates resident Robert Soloway is undergoing a sentencing hearing for his spamming activities. It's a landmark case - the biggest ever against the largest spammer known. The government asked for two days to present witnesses to testify about Soloway's fraudulent, annoying and damaging business, but they did not finish Monday as expected.

The case is scheduled to continue next Tuesday, July 22. Prosecutors have asked for nine years in prison, Soloway's attorneys said no more than two is justified. The Palos Verdes Peninsula High School graduate faces a maximum of 20.