The (occasional) Daily Chuckle! 4-24-08

Burden Of Proof Aids ‘Weekend At Bernie’s Bandits’

Men Accused Of Taking Dead Friend To Cash His Check Cleared Of Charges

Medical Examiner Unable To Determine When Man Had Died

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Two men accused of pretending their dead friend was alive so they could cash his Social Security check were set free because officials couldn’t actually confirm the man was dead in the first place.

CBS 2 first caught up with the so-called “Weekend At Bernie’s” bandits, David Daloia and James O’Hare, who are both senior citizens, when they were arrested in January. Police said the pair wheeled their deceased pal Virgilio Cintron – who was later actually pronounced dead – into a Hell’s Kitchen Pay-O-Matic to cash his $355 check.

Three months later, both Daloia and O’Hare are free men and cleared of all criminal charges, contending they didn’t do anything wrong.

“I didn’t know he was dead. If I knew he was dead, I apologize,” Daloia told CBS 2.

Yes, Daloia insists he had no idea his friend was dead.

“I thought he was sick. My fault,” Daloia said. “There was no rigormortis, there was nothing. He was his normal self.”

And Daloia himself admits it’s a story that’s hard to believe.

“I’m not that stupid, am I?” he said.

It turns out that Cintron was “very dead” at the Pay-O-Matic, but the medical examiner could not determine his exact time of death, leaving open the possibility he could have been alive when the ill-fated trip began. That’s why the charges were dismissed.

“Let me tell you something. The medical examiner doesn’t know when he died. How do you expect me to know,” Daloia said. “I’m not even a layman.”

As for what he and O’Hare were doing trying to cash their friend’s Social Security check? Daloia said that’s what they did sometimes, but more specifically, they needed the money for entertainment purposes.

“HBO,” Daloia admitted, though he wouldn’t elaborate further. “Look, they split the apartment. All I did was carry the guy.”

O’Hare could not be reached for comment on the issue.

The medical examiner determined Cintron died from complications related to Parkinson’s disease.

Detective Comics #843

                                        

 

 Detective Comics #843

 I’ve been raving about the direction of Detective comics since the rather uneventful Resurrection story arc and guess what…I’m STILL gonna rave about it! We have yet another great Detective issue in #843 as Paul Dini returns after a one issue break and brings with him the beautiful Zatanna and the villainous (if a tad short) Scarface. Not to mention a brief appearance by our favorite web-footed, overweight waddler, the Penguin. It’s a who’s who of the Bat-villians these days but you won’t hear me complaining (for once).

 

What really makes this issue stand out for me is that you get to see more of Bruce Wayne than Batman, which makes for a nice change-up once in awhile. And not just ‘public’ Bruce but the real Bruce underneath, complete with a little flirting with Zatanna. With Bruce being such a public figure, it always left me scratching my head how he could spend soooo much time in the cowl and hardly any promoting his playboy image. But I have to give DC credit, they throw Bats in just about every book yet I never get the feeling he’s over-exposed…unlike a certain clawed mutant at the OTHER company who is really annoying with his numerous books and appearances (but that’s another gripe for another time). Maybe it’s just my newfound DC love that’s blinding me, I don’t know.

 

Like I said, I’m really loving these Detective issues and I kinda hope they keep this book like it’s been these past few months. The short one to two issue stories, and varied old-school villains, are really working together well to make this one of DC’s more interesting books. The other Bat-titles can have all those ‘earth-shattering’ 6+ part stories, just leave me my Detective as it is now and I couldn’t be any happier.

 

Writer: Paul Dini

Pencils: Dustin Nguyen

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $2.99

 

                                       THE CORNER! RATING: 8 out of 10

Action Comics #863

                                          

Action Comics #863

 

As with all good things, there must come an end, and in Action #863, it’s the end of the Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes arc that we’re focusing on. In Action #862, we had the set-up for the big showdown between Earth-Man and Supes as a galactic armada is in-route to destroy the Earth. The Legion discovers their missing members being held in stasis, used to power Earth-Man, and find that the source of the sun turning red is none other than Sun Boy, who is hooked up to a power amplifier that forces him to keep it changed.

 

Now bring on part six which shows promise as being a real ‘slobber-knocker’. Well, let’s change that ‘shows promise as’ to ‘is’ because this issue just rocks! The fight between Supes and Earth-Boy is everything you hoped it to be as the lies and deceit of this version of the Justice League comes out and the future is righted…but if you want all the exciting details, you’ll have to pick up the issue because I’m not spoiling it. (Go pick it up, go NOW, it’s worth the three bucks…promise!)

 

Barry Allen update…For those not familiar with my insane theories, I believe that the Lightning Rod being held by Braniac contains the essence of Barry Allen and have been keeping track of it since The Lightening Saga. You don’t see it in this issue except in a cool add for a Final Crisis tie-in which features Superman and the Legion vs. Superman-Prime and the Legion of Super-Villians. The rod is in the ‘vs.’ part and shows YELLOW lightening with a RED backdrop…hmmm, who has a costume like that (hehe)? Take it for what you will but fans of this arc better prepare for another futuristic thrill ride come August as DC launches Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.

 

Writer: Geoff Johns

Pencils: Gary Frank

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $2.99

                                                  THE CORNER! RATING: 8 out of 10