Latest news with #Clubb
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Felon hid dead uncle in trash can to keep stealing his vets benefits
A Missouri felon who stored his Army veteran uncle's remains in a trash can was charged this week with 11 counts of fraud and theft for illegally pocketing $650,000 in disability benefits while concealing the death for years. Department of Justice officials said Brian K. Ditch, 44, faces multiple counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and theft of government property. Related, he has also been charged with illegal possession of firearms after investigators looking for his uncle found weapons in the home, in violation of his parole. Court documents said his uncle, Thomas Clubb, was a disabled veteran suffering from dementia and quadriplegia. Ditch, 44, became Clubb's primary caregiver in 2008. But investigators charged that Ditch kept his uncle locked in a garage and without proper care for years while stealing his veterans benefits checks, which totaled $9,559 a month. In addition, federal records showed Clubb was sent more than $235,000 in Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and Retirement Insurance benefits over the last 17 years. 'Instead of properly caring for his uncle, Ditch trapped him in the garage for over 24 hours at a time, forcing his uncle to sit in his own urine and feces without the ability to eat or drink,' Justice officials said in their indictment release. Investigators charged that after Clubb died in 2019, Ditch continued to pretend he was alive to keep the federal benefits checks from being halted. They said he used the money to buy exotic reptiles and fund 'lavish vacations' for himself. When local police searched Ditch's home in March, they reported finding Clubb's partially frozen body in a trash can. Family members told investigators that Ditch claimed his uncle was being cared for by a nursing home, but would not provide details where. In a statement, Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley with the VA Inspector General's Office said the arrest came as the result of cooperation between multiple agencies and law enforcement officials. 'VA's programs and services are established to justly compensate deserving veterans, and the VA Inspector General will bring to justice those who would defraud these programs,' he said. Prior to this investigation, Ditch was previously convicted for burglary and battery charges. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Friday.
BBC News
18-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
North Yorkshire Council criticised after clearing trees and plants
A council scheme that saw trees cut down, rose bushes removed and flowerbeds turfed over in a North Yorkshire town has been criticised by were cleared from Friary Gardens and a roundabout on Darlington Road in Richmond as part of the works by North Yorkshire councillor Stuart Parsons, who did not know the plants were due to be removed, said the scheme had "upset" local Jonathan Clubb, the council's head of parks and grounds, said the works had become "necessary due to the current condition of the areas". Workers cleared plants and trees from the gardens and roundabout on Darlington Road last week, according to the Local Democracy Reporting areas are both managed by North Yorkshire said he had received phone calls and emails, and had been stopped in the street by people asking about the said workers had "ripped [the planting] apart with no explanation and quite a lot of people are upset by it"."I've said I want it all reinstated - if they want to make changes they have to do so with the people concerned," Parsons Swift, who lives opposite the roundabout, said it was a "little oasis" and a refuge for birds before it was cleared."We used to hear a tawny owl perched in the trees on the roundabout at night," she Town Council was advised work was going to take place, but was not informed about the extent of the changes, a spokesperson said. 'Brighter spaces' Clubb said the council understood the importance of the areas to both residents and wildlife."That is why we are currently carrying out improvement work at both locations," he said."This is being undertaken as part of our annual winter works programme and has become necessary due to the current condition of the areas."He said flowerbeds that were under the shade of trees in Friary Gardens had been "moved into brighter spaces," with others being "refreshed".Part of the footpath was also resurfaced."In relation to the roundabout, the rose beds were thinly planted, the small trees had been weakened by ivy cover and the bedding was in need of refreshing," Clubb proposed improvements would include a new grassed area, bedding and trees, which it was hoped would increase biodiversity in the years to come, he to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
12-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Arundel: Town's teenagers to get their own gym
Teenagers in a West Sussex town will be able to attend free sessions at a gym once a council-funded Youth Gym, aimed at 13 to 17 year olds, is launched in a marquee at Arundel Lido on will include a "varied exercise programme covering weight training, circuits and other fitness as well as providing time to socialise", an Arundel Town Council spokesperson Clubb, a local resident who came up with the idea, said the town did not have "a wealth of activities available for teenagers, particularly if you haven't got loads of cash to spare". She told BBC Radio Sussex: "When I spoke to teenagers they told me they wanted somewhere to get fit and hang out with their friends in a safe place without having to spend money. "If we can show our young people we are listening and are invested in them it might make all the difference." Tony Hunt, Arundel's mayor, said: "Our young people are our biggest asset. "This idea gives young people what they have asked for, access to fitness, in a place where they can socialise and be safe." The Youth Gym will run on Wednesday evenings from 17:30 to 18:30.
