Ex-L.A. cop charged with dumping gator

Los Angeles Los Angeles authorities filed criminal charges Thursday against two men suspected of dumping an alligator named Reggie into a popular urban lake, which has been closed since last summer because the reptile has eluded capture.

“The victim here is all of us,” said City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo as he announced the charges at 60-acre Lake Machado in the Harbor City section of Los Angeles, where the recreational waterway is ringed by orange plastic-mesh fencing to keep visitors out.

Delgadillo, whose office is prosecuting the case, said he will seek full restitution from the defendants for the money spent searching for the alligator and guarding the lake, estimated at $155,000 so far.

Todd Natow, a 42-year-old former L.A. police officer, and Anthony Brewer, 36, were charged with releasing an alligator into a lake, causing a public nuisance and multiple counts of unlawfully possessing restricted animals. They are also charged with marijuana possession.

The alleged crimes are misdemeanors. If convicted on all counts, Natow could face 14 years in prison and Brewer could get six years, Delgadillo said.

Reggie has not been spotted since October. But because alligators are hardy creatures that don’t die easily, he is believed to be still roaming the lake.

Boy Scouts returning historic rock to tribe

Montville, Conn. The biggest boulder in New England – a spot used for dirt-bike riding and Boy Scout camping trips – may soon return to its ages-old function as the site of Indian tribal councils.

The Boy Scouts’ governing council in Connecticut wants to give Cochegan Rock back to the Mohegans more than 350 years after it was claimed by European settlers.

All that is needed to transfer the 50-foot-high rock, plus 92 acres, is approval from Connecticut’s attorney general, who is reviewing the paperwork.

Tribal officials consider the rock an important piece of their heritage and sought to include it when a 700-acre reservation was formed in 1994. The 17th-century chief Uncas, who founded the Mohegan tribe and made peace with the colonists, may have held tribal councils there.

Tree trimmer killed in chipper accident

Loveland, Colo. A man trimming trees was killed when he was pulled into a wood chipper by his gloved hand, authorities said.

Brian Morse, 54, the owner of a tree-trimming service, died Wednesday while he and a co-worker were cutting branches at a home. The co-worker ran to the house where they were working, and a woman living there called 911.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.