Mo. Supreme Court To Hear Bankers' Appeal
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-In a case that could open up more credit union cases to challenges, the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear the bankers' appeal of a lower court ruling denying them legal standing to challenge field of membership rulings. In a decision by the Cole County Court, upheld by the state appeals court, the bankers were denied standing to challenge an FOM grant by the Missouri CU Director for Telcomm CU (formerly Springfield Telephone Employees CU) encompassing almost one million residents in the state's 417 telephone area code. Based on the court decision, the state CU Commission, which must sign off on all major rulings by the CU Director, has denied standing by the bankers to bring administrative challenges on FOM rulings. A ruling by the Supreme Court to grant the banks standing could open up a variety of rulings to additional challenges by the banks, including a half dozen FOM grants. The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in the case for Sept. 10.
Gunman Follows Mich. Member To His Home
FERNDALE, Mich.-A member of Dearborn FCU was shot four times in an attempted murder last week by a gunman who followed him 20 miles after he made a large cash withdrawal from the credit union. The unidentified member, a 42-year-old man from Clinton Township, was shot in the back, elbow, legs and buttocks before the assailant rifled his pockets but fled empty-handed because the victim had left the cash in his van. A surveillance tape taken at the credit union shows the assailant in the teller line behind the member, then following the victim out to the parking lot after the cash withdrawal. The gunman followed the victim almost 20 miles to an empty house where the victim went to assess a painting job he was contemplating. Police would not say how much cash was involved in the attempted robbery.
16-Year-Old Is Sentenced
SPOKANE, Wash.-A 16-year-old boy who disguised himself as a woman to rob Coulee Dam FCU last March was sentenced to 32 months in prison last week and ordered to pay $1,965 in restitution.
Travis Kubik, of Ritzville, Wash., was charged as an adult in state court while his alleged accomplices in the heist, John and Brenda Scheel, with whom he was living, were charged in federal court.
As part of his sentence Kubik was ordered to have no contact for 20 years with the Scheels, each of whom pleaded guilty last month to bark robbery charges. The teenage bandit bound credit union teller Joanne Hopkins with duct tape and zapped her 20 times with a stun gun during the robbery, while John Scheel threatened her with a handgun and cleaned out the vault.
Bike-Riding Bandit Pleads Guilty
NASHUA, N.H.-A man who fled separate robberies at Acorn CU and New Hampshire Bank & Trust on a Huffy mountain bike last year pleaded guilty to the separate hold-ups.
Peter Greico, 39, of Nashua, was arrested after robbing the bank, two days after he held-up the CU. Detectives were downtown investigating the credit union robbery when they saw Greico pedal by them on Main St., and went after him.
No one was injured in either of the robberies.
Harland, ORC Expand Relations
ATLANTA-Harland Financial Solutions said it has expanded its bill payment relationship with Online Resources Corp. to allow credit unions use ORC's Money HQ personal financial management and transaction center. Harland Financial will integrate ORC's Quotien Internet Bill Payment service with its ULTRADATA System, allowing 89 credit unions to use Money HQ, which provides account aggregation, funds transfer, electronic bill presentment, and person-to- person payment services. Those credit unions currently use ORC's remittance services for their online bill payments.
