Ferman

  Their paths don't cross professionally. He's in the kitchen, she's in a courtroom. But on Thursday, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and her brother, the acclaimed chef Marc Vetri, shared a stage for the first time. Their topic was neither cuisine nor crime, or sibling rivalry - but charity. Vetri, the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Vetri, Osteria, Amis, and Alla Spina, cofounded the Vetri Foundation in 2008 to promote healthy foods and active lifestyles.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and its law enforcement partners have been confiscating a lot of marijuana lately - nearly $15 million of it, actually, in an investigation called Operation: Weed Whacker. District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman announced Thursday the dismantling of a major marijuana trafficking ring that saw 3,673 pounds of marijuana - with a street value in Pennsylvania of $14.7 million - shipped in from January to April by a California supplier. It was sent to a pair of Philadelphia-area brothers, who allegedly then sold the drug to dealers throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The body of a missing 10-month-old child has been found at the King of Prussia apartment complex where she was snatched as her grandmother tried to save her life, authorities said today. The body of Saanvi Venna was discovered at 4:30 a.m. in a basement area of the apartment building, said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman. Police arrested Raghunanean Yandamuri, a family friend, who they said had sought a $50,000 ransom. Yandamuri, who lives in the same Marquis apartments complex, left a chilling ransom note.

The revival of a working relationship with a Philadelphia law firm is giving the Montgomery County district attorney's staff a boost. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, which has an international practice, is lending free legal support to District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman's office. Eleven lawyers from the firm's litigation division were sworn in recently as special assistant district attorneys. Eventually, 20 of the firm's newer lawyers will be involved with criminal proceedings that include assisting at preliminary hearings, violation of probation and parole hearings, and, possibly, trials.

Police found the body of a young Montgomery County woman blindfolded and stabbed to death in a King of Prussia motel yesterday, prosecutors said. Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Risa V. Ferman said that the woman had been identified but that her name was being withheld until relatives were notified. The killing wasn't random, Ferman said. "We believe she was targeted based upon who she was and who she was with," she said. Ferman called the woman "a hotel guest" at the Motel 6 on Route 202 near an exit for the Schuylkill Expressway.

A Conshohocken woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing a total of $193,242 from two municipal authorities for which she was administrator, law enforcement officials announced today. Linda Ann Marie Palermo, 41, of the 300 block of W. 11th Avenue, Conshohocken, is accused of committing theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking and related offenses. She'll be arraigned this afternoon at a district court in King of Prussia. Officials said Palermo has admitted to detectives she stole $27,855.

Five men have been arrested and police are seeking 18 others in an elaborate scheme to bilk Comcast out of $2.4 million by selling discounted cable services for a fee, officials in Montgomery County said Tuesday. The scam was carried out from April 2011 to April 2012 in Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties, said District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, during a news brief in Norristown. In all, 5,795 customers paid $150 to have promotional discounts applied to their cable accounts, giving them premium channels and lower rates they weren't entitled to, Ferman said.

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman on Tuesday identified the jogger fatally injured in Limerick Township on Monday afternoon as Merinda Thompson, 40, of Royersford. Thompson was jogging north on the southbound shoulder of North Lewis Rd. near Royersford, when a northbound car "crossed over into the southbound lane and then partially off the road striking Ms. Thompson," Ferman said in a press release. "The car then struck a utility pole before coming to rest," the press release stated.

A Montgomery County assistant district attorney has been fired after "serious discrepancies" were discovered in the unit she oversaw, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Karen Grace Ricca, who oversaw the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition unit (ARD), was terminated Thursday during a regularly scheduled meeting of the county's salary board. No official reason was given and efforts to reach Ricca were unsuccessful. ARD is a pretrial program for first-time nonviolent offenders who agree to certain conditions and are closely supervised by the courts.

Investigators in Montgomery County are looking into the deaths of two people found on Sunday afternoon in Norristown. A man and woman were found laying on their backs in a rented bedroom on the second floor of a home in the 1200 block of Arch Street, said District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman. She described the couple as "a tenant and his girlfriend. " The call came into authorities about 4:22 p.m.; the victims were found by another resident in the house. The two had multiple wounds to their head and torso area.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and its law enforcement partners have been confiscating a lot of marijuana lately - nearly $15 million of it, actually, in an investigation called Operation: Weed Whacker. District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman announced Thursday the dismantling of a major marijuana trafficking ring that saw 3,673 pounds of marijuana - with a street value in Pennsylvania of $14.7 million - shipped in from January to April by a California supplier. It was sent to a pair of Philadelphia-area brothers, who allegedly then sold the drug to dealers throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania.

  Their paths don't cross professionally. He's in the kitchen, she's in a courtroom. But on Thursday, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and her brother, the acclaimed chef Marc Vetri, shared a stage for the first time. Their topic was neither cuisine nor crime, or sibling rivalry - but charity. Vetri, the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Vetri, Osteria, Amis, and Alla Spina, cofounded the Vetri Foundation in 2008 to promote healthy foods and active lifestyles.

  Two men have been charged with murder in a March 22 slaying outside Brian's Cafe in Pottstown, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday. The suspects were identified as Michael Hinton, 26, of Philadelphia, in custody since the day of the incident, and his cousin, Maurice Andrews Jr., 19, of Pottstown, who remains at large. They have been charged with first-, second-, and third-degree murder and related offenses in the shooting death of Victor E.B. Baez, 28. District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said both men had gone to the cafe with weapons.

Montgomery County officials say a new state wiretapping law helped them take down a "notorious drug dealer" who sold large quantities of marijuana in Norristown and elsewhere. At a news conference Monday, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman displayed about 50 pounds of marijuana, stacks of cash, two semiautomatic handguns, and numerous cellphones seized last month from Ryan Gavlick and his alleged associates. Gavlick, 26, of Pottstown, and alleged supplier Jason Bishop, 38, of Philadelphia, were arrested March 8 in Upper Merion, after weeks of wiretaps and surveillance by county narcotics detectives.

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman on Tuesday identified the jogger fatally injured in Limerick Township on Monday afternoon as Merinda Thompson, 40, of Royersford. Thompson was jogging north on the southbound shoulder of North Lewis Rd. near Royersford, when a northbound car "crossed over into the southbound lane and then partially off the road striking Ms. Thompson," Ferman said in a press release. "The car then struck a utility pole before coming to rest," the press release stated.

A special operation to curb violence in Norristown helped authorities arrest a second suspect in a recent slaying and could lead to other homicide cases being solved. Andrew Tomlinson, 18, was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, robbery, and other offenses in the Feb. 11 killing of Andrew Polen, 25, of West Norriton, Norristown Police Chief Russell Bono and Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said. Polen was one of two passengers in a car of a friend when they were targeted for robbery in Norristown, authorities said.

WHEN FORMER University of Pennsylvania economics professor Rafael Robb pleaded guilty in 2007 to killing his wife, he told a judge: "I just lost it. " On Wednesday, Robb lost it again, but this time "it" was his chance at freedom: The state Board of Probation and Parole changed its mind and revoked Robb's scheduled parole after a tough fight by his victim's family, along with Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and Montco state Rep....

The revival of a working relationship with a Philadelphia law firm is giving the Montgomery County district attorney's staff a boost. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, which has an international practice, is lending free legal support to District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman's office. Eleven lawyers from the firm's litigation division were sworn in recently as special assistant district attorneys. Eventually, 20 of the firm's newer lawyers will be involved with criminal proceedings that include assisting at preliminary hearings, violation of probation and parole hearings, and, possibly, trials.