Slip, Fall and then some...

• Author: Zalma, Barry
• Position: [ON MY RADAR]

* Alexander Goldinsky staged a ham-fisted slip-and-fall on ice in a company cafeteria, then tried to wriggle out by seeking pre-trial intervention that could've led to the insurance fraud charges being dropped. No go, the New Jersey court ruled. Goldinsky was sentenced to two years of probation plus community service for insurance fraud. The Randolph man was an independent contractor at the victim business. Goldinsky claimed he was seriously injured after slipping on ice lying on the cafeteria floor. He was taken to the hospital, claiming painful injuries. Goldinsky also lied that he developed stuttering speech, suffered from constant headaches, started dropping items, and experienced painful "frozen spasm sensations" plus heavy eyelids. Goldinsky incurred more than $23K in medical bills. Except he staged the fall right in front of snooping cafeteria security cameras. Footage shows Goldinsky dropping ice from a cup onto the floor, lying down, then acting hurt. Goldinsky's scam was an overnight media sensation. The security footage was replayed on TV news programs around the U.S. Goldinsky pled guilty to insurance fraud, then sought pre-trial intervention. He showed an "inability to acknowledge his wrongdoing and make amends"--making him a poor candidate for the program, the prosecutor said. Nor did he prove the rejection of his application was a "patent and gross abuse of discretion," the appellate court ruled this week. Case closed, though Goldinsky's ultimate sentence was election to the Coalition's Insurance Fraud Hall of Shame in 2019.

With $2M of life insurance dangling before his eyes, Nicolas Shaughnessy hired two hitmen to shoot his parents in their Austin, Tex. home. Ted was a well-known local jeweler. He and his wife Corey were in their bedroom when they heard someone enter their house in the middle of the night. They grabbed handguns. Ted was shot dead in a hallway when he confronted the intruders. Corey returned fire with a .357 revolver until she ran out of ammo, and crawled into a closet to call 911. She survived the assault. Detectives found no signs of forced entry. Nicolas also had remote access to his parents' home security system. He used his cellphone to shut off the security system. He also accessed his parent's home security account and deleted surveillance video taken during the shooting. Nor did Nicolas show any emotion after his father's death, or concern for his mother. He even joked about the crime with friends...