The Times - UK - 04.12.2021

the times | Saturday December 4 2021 2GM 45

Baseball purists hit out

over secret ball switch

Page 48

Mobster linked to biggest

US fine art robbery

Page 47

He requested $3.5 million from the
state budget to recruit, train and equip
members.
Florida established a state guard in
1941 to fill in for members of the
National Guard — which falls under
both state and federal control — who
were deployed during the Second
World War. It was disbanded in 1947.
Re-establishing it now, DeSantis
said, would “allow civilians from all
over the state to be trained in the best
emergency response techniques and
have the ability to mobilise very, very
quickly” without delays caused by
federal bureaucracy.
Charlie Crist, a Democrat who is
running against DeSantis to become
governor in an election next year,
dismissed the proposal. “No governor
should have his own secret handpicked
police,” he said.
Annette Taddeo, a Democratic
member of the Florida state senate,
called the governor a “wannabe dicta-

tor trying to make his move for his own

vigilante militia”.

Twenty-two other states have active

state guards but the proposal for

Florida has caused concern because of

DeSantis’s reputation as an authoritari-

an who has sought to stifle dissent.

In April he signed an “anti-riot” bill

into law. This made it easier for officials

to charge protesters with a third-degree

felony — offences that could result in a

jail sentence and strip people of their

voting rights — for taking part in any

public protest that turned violent, even

if they had not engaged in violence

themselves. A judge blocked the move

as unconstitutional; DeSantis has

appealed.

The governor has also stripped local

authorities such as school boards of

decision-making powers over how to

handle the pandemic. He has signed a

“freedom agenda” of bills to curb poli-

cies such as vaccine mandates, saying

such matters should be personal choice.

A revolving statue of Father Christmas

dancing in a tutu drew the ire of Italy’s

right-wing parties who claimed it

would ruin children’s Christmas.

The statue, in Modena, depicted San-

ta in a red leotard with a tutu made of

Christmas-tree foliage and festive

lights around his ample waist. His arms

were raised, as if pirouetting, and held

a red heart.

The statue, which revolves when a

coin is inserted in it, provoked a furious

reaction from Forza Italia, Silvio Ber-

lusconi’s party. It said: “This infamous

work violates a reality we have all lived,

including our children and grandchil-

dren.” Enrico Aimi, the local leader,

said: “More than just a rainbow icon for

‘Spinning Santa in tights is a step tutu far’

ideological adults it’s half man, half

woman — a long way from being a

Christmas figure. In this town every-

thing is political, even when child-

ren are involved.”

Ferdinando Pulitanò, provin-

cial head of the hard right

Brothers of Italy, blamed offi-

cials in the city, which is run by

a centre-left mayor, Gian Carlo

Muzzarelli. He said: “Given its

hatred for our traditions, it looks

like the left has finally found its

symbol for Christmas —

Santa Claus in tights.”

Maria Carafoli, a city of-

ficial, pointed out that the

children who had shown up

Italy

Tom Kington Rome

for the inauguration of the statue in

Piazza XX Settembre did not appear

upset. “They were really entertained by

putting coins in the statue and

dancing,” she said.

Lorenzo Lunati, creator of

the statue, said: “This is a

human Santa who dances to

shrug off some of the weight

we’ve been carrying recently.

“He is a Santa who respects

other humans — all other

humans, because Father

Christmas never forgets.”

He added: “We live in a

time in which I don’t be-

lieve anyone should con-

sider it a scandal if a man

paints his fingernails. And it

should not be a problem if there

are homosexuals on the earth.”

The Santa statue, in Modena,

dances when a coin is inserted

sent her son a text message that day

saying: “LOL I’m not mad at you, you

have to learn not to get caught.”

The next morning Ethan’s teacher

found a note on his desk, McDonald

said. “It contained a drawing of a semi-

automatic handgun pointing at the

words ‘The thoughts won’t stop — help

me’. In another section was a drawing of

a bullet with the words ‘blood every-

where’. Between the drawing of the gun

and... the bullet is a drawing of a person

who appears to have been shot twice

and bleeding. Below that is a drawing of

a laughing emoji.”

The parents were “immediately sum-

moned to the school”, McDonald said.

Ethan came to the office.

They “were advised they were re-

quired to get their son into counselling

within 48 hours” but “resisted the idea

... he was returned to the classroom”.
She added: “Both James and Jennifer
Crumbley failed to ask their son if he
had his gun with him or where his gun
was located and failed to inspect his
backpack.” Once news of the shooting
began to break “Jennifer Crumbley tex-
ted to her son ‘Ethan don’t do it’...
James Crumbley [reported] that a gun
was missing from his house and he be-
lieved his son may be the shooter”.
She added: “Mr Crumbley drove
straight to his home to look for his gun.
The gun recovered from the shooter
was the same gun.”

ALLEN J SCHABEN/GETTY IMAGES

$250 million (Keiran Southern
writes).
The 105,000 sq ft house sits on a
hill in Bel Air with stunning views
of Los Angeles. It has 21 bedrooms,
a bowling alley, film theatre, gym,
beauty salon, several swimming
pools and a 50-car garage.
The home, which took a decade
to build, is the brainchild of Nile
Niami, 53, a property developer
who originally hoped that the
property would sell for
$500 million.
His plans ran into trouble after
taking a $106 milllion loan from
Don Hankey, 78, in 2018. This year
Niami defaulted and The One was

buyers would be assessed to ensure

they have the deep pockets

required. “We’re still going back

and forth but we anticipate that the

listing price will be approximately

$250 million,” Lawrence Perkins,

the company manager, told the

court. “Our goal is to... maximise

the value from the small group of

people in the world that can buy a

property like this.”

Niami, a former film producer,

has developed extravagant homes

across California. He had hoped to

prevent the sale of The One by

transforming it into an event space

to host concerts, but Hankey

rejected the plan.

placed in court-ordered

receivership. The property was to

be sold to repay creditors.

A tortuous legal process followed.

Hankey was accused of trying to

hijack the property. He argued that

he was following the law and only

wanted to recoup his money.

In October, an auction of the

house was halted after Crestlloyd,

Niami’s development company, filed

for bankruptcy.

This week The Los Angeles Times

reported that an end was in sight.

Crestlloyd told a bankruptcy court

that it planned to hire luxury home

sellers to offload the mansion at an

auction where all prospective

The Bel-Air

mansion has a

putting green,

night club,

multiple

swimming pools

and a 50-seat

theatre in its

105,000 sq ft LA

expanse; it was

the brainchild of

Nile Niami, 53,

who spent a

decade building

it before he was

forced to default

Michigan shooter’s

parents charged

with manslaughter

The parents of a Michigan teenager

accused of fatally shooting four school

students were missing yesterday after

both were charged with four counts of

involuntary manslaughter.

FBI agents and US marshals were

looking for James and Jennifer Crum-

bley, three days after their 15-year-old

son, Ethan, was arrested following the

shootings at Oxford High School,

40 miles north of Detroit. Eight people

were wounded.

“They cannot run from their part in

this tragedy,” Sheriff Michael Bou-

chard, of Oakland County, said in a

statement.

A lawyer for The Detroit News said:

“The Crumbleys left town on the night

of the tragic shooting for their own

safety. They are returning to the area to

be arraigned. They are not fleeing from

law enforcement.”

Charging parents in connection with

a school shooting is rare. Karen

McDonald, Oakland County prosecu-

tor, said she was not trying to set a legal

standard but the facts of this case merit-

ed a criminal prosecution. Involuntary

manslaughter carries a sentence of up

to 15 years in prison.

She said Ethan was caught searching

online for bullets the day before the

shooting. The next day a drawing was

found on his desk depicting a figure

with bullet holes and the words: “The

thoughts won’t stop — help me.”

His parents were called in for an

urgent meeting but insisted he remain

in school and did not mention that his

father had recently bought him a gun,

McDonald said. Two girls aged 14 and

17 and two boys aged 16 and 17 died in

Tuesday’s shooting.

Ethan accompanied James Crum-

bley when he bought his son a Sig Sauer

9mm pistol. He called it “my new

beauty” in a social media post.

On the day before the shooting a

teacher saw Ethan searching on his

mobile phone for ammunition. The

school left a voicemail message for his

mother but received no response. She

United States

David Charter Washington

James and

Jennifer

Crumbley failed

to inform the

school that they

had recently

bought their son,

Ethan, a gun