Investigation

Investigators with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office executed search warrants at more than a dozen locations in South Philadelphia on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into a drug-dealing and loansharking operation. No arrests were made, but law-enforcement sources confirmed that the targets of the probe included two convicted narcotics traffickers with alleged ties to organized crime and the Pagans motorcyle club. Documents, cash, and a small quantity of prescription drugs were seized, according to those sources.

IRIS HAD WILTED long ago, around the time her brother died, neighbors believe. She used to clean the windows of her Kensington home every morning, but in recent years, Iris Galarza, 88, smelled of urine. She wore plastic bags on her feet and stopped three times a day at the corner store, where the owners gave her food out of pity. When she didn't get her food there, she got it at shelters or by picking through trash cans, neighbors said. The deaf woman's house had none of the things a house should have — no running water, electricity or heat, according to court records.

Walter Meyerle, the tattoo artist convicted of sexually assaulting 15 children over more than a decade, is under investigation for possible witness tampering, Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said Friday. "My office is looking into the question of whether he or his agents may have sought to do illegal things to influence the proceedings against him," Heckler said. "It is an ongoing investigation; county detectives are involved. " Heckler declined to say when the investigation started or whether a county grand jury is investigating Meyerle.

Police were trying to determine what caused injuries suffered by a 3-year-old West Philadelphia boy who was hospitalized Wednesday and listed in critical condition. The boy sustained unknown injuries in a home in the 4700 block of Chestnut Street and was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said Officer Christine O'Brien. The case is being handled by the Special Victims Unit, which investigates assaults on children. O'Brien said detectives were interviewing the child's caretaker.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The investigation into sex-abuse allegations against former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is examining the role of parties not charged in the case whose actions, or lack thereof, may have delayed intervention by law enforcement. That includes top officials at the Second Mile, the nonprofit organization that Sandusky founded and, authorities allege, used to make contact with the children he victimized. Sandusky has been charged with sexually assaulting eight boys who participated in the Second Mile, a program for troubled youth.

The mayor of tiny Marcus Hook, who just last year was a guest at the President's State of the Union address, is under investigation for allegedly shooting a gun in his house and giving alcohol to a 20-year-old whom he threatened to hold hostage. Potential charges against James D. Schiliro, 38, elected to a four-year term in 2009, include endangering another person and furnishing alcohol to a minor, according to court records. He has not yet been charged. Calls to Schiliro and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan were not returned, and the lead investigator, Detective Robert T. Lythgoe, had no comment.

When it comes to Whitewater and its aftermath, I never did get it. What's more, I think the reporters covering the meandering investigation didn't get it either. That last is surmise, of course, but, I think, reasonable surmise. Their stories implied that Whitewater involved serious, perhaps jailable, offenses on the part of Bill and Hillary Clinton - implied further that the reporters knew a good deal more than they were prepared to tell about those offenses. No matter. It was all going to come out pretty soon.

TULSA ATHLETIC director Ross Parmley has been placed on leave as the school investigates gambling allegations. University president Steadman Upham issued a brief statement saying Parmley will be on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Upham didn't offer details about whether the allegations involved sports betting or other forms of gambling. Upham says the university's executive vice president, Kevan Buck , will be the acting athletic director while Parmley is on leave.

Philadelphia police said Friday that they were still piecing together how a 4-year-old boy was shot to death inside a Kensington house this week, but sources close to the investigation said someone would be charged in the near future. Police sources described the death of Javier Merle Jr. as accidental, and said the boy may have picked up a gun left unattended. The child's death left family members anguished and residents of the 600 block of East Clementine Street shocked.

Authorities yesterday continued their investigation of CNC Trading Co., a Marlton-based firm that they say bilked investors of millions of dollars in a pyramid scheme. When company principals Charles and Nancy Cugliari caught wind of the investigation, they skipped town, according to Daniel Carluccio, Ocean County prosecutor. Investigators said they had an idea of where the couple might be, but declined to elaborate. Company representatives had told potential investors that they brokered meat products to meat and seafood markets and restaurants, and they promised a 40 percent return on their investment, according to Carluccio.