Latest news with #Sassoon
Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Indian Express
Doctor accused in Pune Porsche crash held in kidney racket
Dr Ajay Taware, former head of forensic medicine department at the government-run Sassoon General Hospital and an accused in the Pune Porsche car crash case, has now been arrested by Pune city police in connection with alleged malpractices in a kidney transplant conducted at Ruby Hall Clinic in 2022. Police took Taware into custody from Yerwada Central jail on Wednesday. Cops produced him before a magistrate court on Thursday. The court remanded him to police custody till June 2 for further investigation. A first Information Report (FIR) in the kidney transplant malpractice case was lodged at Koregaon Park police station on May 11, 2022. Police said a woman, Sarika Sutar from Kolhapur, had been facing financial problems and allegedly agreed to give her kidney to Amit Salunkhe of Moshi (in Pimpri Chinchwad) by posing as his wife Sujata Salunkhe for Rs 15 lakh offered to her by two 'agents'. A 'kidney swap operation' was performed at the Pune based Ruby Hall Clinic in March 2022, when Sarika's kidney was given to a woman hailing from Baramati, while the kidney of Baramati woman's mother was given to Amit Salunkhe. Police said kidney swapping is allowed once all legal norms are fulfilled, but any financial transaction and forgery in doing so is illegal. After the kidney swap, Sarika did not receive the money she was promised. So she complained to Pune city police and Ruby Hall Clinic authorities. After a preliminary probe, police referred the matter to the state health department, which submitted its inquiry report to a court in Pune. Based on directions issued by the court, a case was registered at Koregaon Park police station under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, along with Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. Dr Sanjog Kadam, Deputy Director of Medical Services, Pune, lodged the FIR in this case. Police initially booked 15 people, including Sarika, Amit Salunkhe, hsi real wife Sujata, alleged 'agents' Ravi Rodge and Abhijit Gathne as well as senior management members and doctors of Ruby Hall Clinic. The FIR stated that fake documents were submitted to the hospital for kidney transplant. In these documents, allegedly prepared by the 'agents', Sarika Sutar posed as Amit's wife Sujata Salunkhe. The FIR held the Ruby Hall authorities and doctors responsible, claiming they did not thoroughly scrutinise the documents and sent them to the Regional Authorisation Committee at Sassoon General Hospital. Police said Dr Taware had been heading this Regional Authorisation Committee and he allegedly allowed the 'kidney swap transplant' without the forged documents being verified submitted by the kidney donor (Sarika) and organ receiver Amit. Police told the court on Thursday that Sarika appeared as Sujata Salunkhe before the committee headed by Taware. Police said Sarika did not give satisfactory answers to the committee. There were discrepancies in her statements pertaining to property and previous medical treatments she received from Amit Salunkhe. Police said Sarika's behaviour before the committee was suspicious, Besides, it was visible her age was different from the actual age of Sujata Salunkhe. Still, the committee headed by Taware allowed the fake person for the 'kidney swap operation', police said. Police sought Taware's custody for seven days to probe if he was involved in any malpractices in the nine kidney swap transplants held during his tenure as head of the Regional Authorisation Committee at Sassoon hospital. Earlier, the police had arrested two agents or middlemen Ravi Rodge and Abhijit Gathne in this case. Police informed the court that chargesheet was filed against the duo on July 11, 2022. Also, a supplementary chargesheet was filed against Sarika Sutar, Amit Salunkhe and two others on October 10, 2022. Police told the court that charesheet was not filed against authorities and doctors of Ruby Hall Clinic as they were found involved in any illegal financial transactions acts in this case and had conducted the 'swap kidney operation' legally. Police said one Bhau Sawant is a wanted accused, while Amit's real wife Sujata was not chargesheeted. Meanwhile, last month, the Maharashtra Medical Council suspended the medical licence of Dr Ajay Taware, for 'gross misconduct and breach of medical ethics', following his alleged involvement in the Pune Porsche crash case. ACP Ganesh Ingle of crime branch is investigating the case further. Role in Porsche crash case Two IT engineers lost their lives after the minor driver of a Porsche car allegedly crashed his vehicle into them, leading to their deaths, on May 19, 2024. The police investigation revealed that when the minor driver, the son of a prominent realtor, was taken to Sassoon Hospital after the accident for a medical examination, his blood sample was allegedly replaced with his mother's. The police arrested the minor's parents and others including Dr Taware for their alleged role in swapping blood samples. A DNA report on August 9, 2024, confirmed blood samples of two friends of the minor driver were also swapped at the hospital.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former U.S. attorney who refused to drop charges against NYC mayor quietly returns to spotlight
It had the makings of a significant news event — the first public appearance of a former U.S. attorney who resigned in protest after defying the Trump administration. But the panel featuring Danielle Sassoon proved most notable for how careful she and a famed former New York prosecutor were in avoiding any direct remarks about the president or his Justice Department. The New York City Bar Association event underscored the unease, public silence and caution hovering over much of the legal community four months into Donald Trump's second term as president. A former federal prosecutor who now works at a large law firm summed up the dynamic in one word: 'Fear.' 'People are keeping their heads down,' said the lawyer, who asked not to be named due to fear of retaliation from Trump. 'Scared of being audited. Scared of being investigated. The federal government is very powerful.' Sassoon was the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan until February, when she resigned rather than carry out orders from Trump appointees in the Justice Department to drop federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. A half dozen other federal prosecutors in New York and Washington subsequently refused to drop the charges and resigned in one of the highest-profile public rebukes of a president since Watergate. On Tuesday, a dozen reporters and a smattering of camera crews descended on the New York City Bar Association's majestic, six-story neoclassical headquarters. A routine continuing legal education event focused on female lawyers specializing in white-collar crime drew attention for one reason: Sassoon. In a blue carpeted meeting room lined with mahogany walls and portraits of Supreme Court justices, Sassoon was scheduled to conduct a 45-minute 'fireside chat' with Mary Jo White, the first woman to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Known as an aggressive prosecutor with an independent streak, White oversaw the prosecutions of organized crime leader John Gotti and the leaders of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Jenna Dabbs, herself a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, introduced Sassoon and White and thanked Sassoon for attending the session weeks after giving birth to her third child. Sassoon, dressed in black pants and a black vest, thanked her. Dabbs then came the closest of any speaker to directly addressing the unprecedented events occurring in the Justice Department under the second Trump administration. She praised Sassoon's brief tenure as the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which handles cases in Manhattan, the Bronx and part of Westchester County, as 'principled, courageous and brave.' In a protest letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon had said that Adams' lawyer had proposed what amounted to a 'quid pro quo.' Federal prosecutors would drop graft charges against Adams in exchange for Adams' cooperation in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. After Bondi declined to meet with her, Sassoon resigned. Dabbs said Sassoon had 'upheld the oath' she had taken to defend the Constitution. 'She acquitted herself in a manner reflective of the finest traditions of that office, regrettably at some personal cost,' Dabbs said. After a warm round of applause, Sassoon asked White about the role mentors had played in her career. White responded that Sassoon herself was now a role model. 'You're that right now,' White said. 'You're an extraordinary lawyer and you're the epitome of integrity and strength.' White then thanked Sassoon for her conduct in the Adams case without naming Adams, Bondi or Trump. 'You didn't choose to deal with what you had to deal with,' White said. 'But how you handled that was exceptional, and I thank you.' Sassoon asked White if she came under political pressure during her tenure in 1990s. 'There's obviously a spotlight right now on the relationship between the White House, the DOJ, SDNY, after what happened in the SDNY when I was there — the relationship between politics and prosecution,' Sassoon said. 'How is it different from when you were U.S. attorney?' White responded carefully and again did not name Trump, Bondi or Adams. 'It's always been an issue,' she said. Speaking in broad strokes, she said the independence of the Southern District, which earned the moniker the 'Sovereign District,' had 'served the public interest very well.' Asked by Sassoon whether she had any advice for people who serve as U.S. attorneys, White was blunt but vague. 'You should be prepared to resign two or three times,' she said, prompting laughter from the crowd. But White declined to say exactly why she had threatened to resign. In response to a question from Sassoon about what kind of investigations white-collar defense lawyers could expect, White expressed concern about the DOJ 'Weaponization Working Group' established by Bondi, which critics say is an effort by Trump to take revenge on his perceived enemies. Again speaking in general terms, White invoked a famed 1940 speech by Attorney General Robert Jackson where he warned federal prosecutors never to abuse their 'immense power' by targeting individuals for political or personal reasons. 'If you ever turn to focusing on a person and trying to find a crime, you've lost your way,' said White. When Sassoon asked the audience for questions, it quickly became clear that White, not Sassoon, would respond. White answered several questions in general terms and again shied away from mentioning Trump by name. Asked by a reporter if she had any comment on Bondi's tenure as attorney general, White replied, 'I do not.' With that, the event ended. This article was originally published on
NBC News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Danielle Sassoon's quiet return to the spotlight
It had the makings of a significant news event — the first public appearance of a former U.S. attorney who resigned in protest after defying the Trump administration. But the panel featuring Danielle Sassoon proved most notable for how careful she and a famed former New York prosecutor were in avoiding any direct remarks about the president or his Justice Department. The New York City Bar Association event underscored the unease, public silence and caution hovering over much of the legal community four months into Donald Trump's second term as president. A former federal prosecutor who now works at a large law firm summed up the dynamic in one word: 'Fear.' 'People are keeping their heads down,' said the lawyer, who asked not to be named due to fear of retaliation from Trump. 'Scared of being audited. Scared of being investigated. The federal government is very powerful.' Sassoon was the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan until February, when she resigned rather than carry out orders from Trump appointees in the Justice Department to drop federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. A half dozen other federal prosecutors in New York and Washington subsequently refused to drop the charges and resigned in one of the highest-profile public rebukes of a president since Watergate. On Tuesday, a dozen reporters and a smattering of camera crews descended on the New York City Bar Association's majestic, six-story neoclassical headquarters. A routine continuing legal education event focused on female lawyers specializing in white-collar crime drew attention for one reason: Sassoon. In a blue carpeted meeting room lined with mahogany walls and portraits of Supreme Court justices, Sassoon was scheduled to conduct a 45-minute 'fireside chat' with Mary Jo White, the first woman to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Known as an aggressive prosecutor with an independent streak, White oversaw the prosecutions of organized crime leader John Gotti and the leaders of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Jenna Dabbs, herself a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, introduced Sassoon and White and thanked Sassoon for attending the session weeks after giving birth to her third child. Sassoon, dressed in black pants and a black vest, thanked her. Dabbs then came the closest of any speaker to directly addressing the unprecedented events occurring in the Justice Department under the second Trump administration. She praised Sassoon's brief tenure as the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which handles cases in Manhattan, the Bronx and part of Westchester County, as 'principled, courageous and brave.' In a protest letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon had said that Adams' lawyer had proposed what amounted to a 'quid pro quo.' Federal prosecutors would drop graft charges against Adams in exchange for Adams' cooperation in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. After Bondi declined to meet with her, Sassoon resigned. Dabbs said Sassoon had 'upheld the oath' she had taken to defend the Constitution. 'She acquitted herself in a manner reflective of the finest traditions of that office, regrettably at some personal cost,' Dabbs said. After a warm round of applause, Sassoon asked White about the role mentors had played in her career. White responded that Sassoon herself was now a role model. 'You're that right now,' White said. 'You're an extraordinary lawyer and you're the epitome of integrity and strength.' White then thanked Sassoon for her conduct in the Adams case without naming Adams, Bondi or Trump. 'You didn't choose to deal with what you had to deal with,' White said. 'But how you handled that was exceptional, and I thank you.' Sassoon asked White if she came under political pressure during her tenure in 1990s. 'There's obviously a spotlight right now on the relationship between the White House, the DOJ, SDNY, after what happened in the SDNY when I was there — the relationship between politics and prosecution,' Sassoon said. 'How is it different from when you were U.S. attorney?' White responded carefully and again did not name Trump, Bondi or Adams. 'It's always been an issue,' she said. Speaking in broad strokes, she said the independence of the Southern District, which earned the moniker the 'Sovereign District,' had 'served the public interest very well.' Asked by Sassoon whether she had any advice for people who serve as U.S. attorneys, White was blunt but vague. 'You should be prepared to resign two or three times,' she said, prompting laughter from the crowd. But White declined to say exactly why she had threatened to resign. In response to a question from Sassoon about what kind of investigations white-collar defense lawyers could expect, White expressed concern about the DOJ ' Weaponization Working Group ' established by Bondi, which critics say is an effort by Trump to take revenge on his perceived enemies. Again speaking in general terms, White invoked a famed 1940 speech by Attorney General Robert Jackson where he warned federal prosecutors never to abuse their 'immense power' by targeting individuals for political or personal reasons. 'If you ever turn to focusing on a person and trying to find a crime, you've lost your way,' said White. When Sassoon asked the audience for questions, it quickly became clear that White, not Sassoon, would respond. White answered several questions in general terms and again shied away from mentioning Trump by name. Asked by a reporter if she had any comment on Bondi's tenure as attorney general, White replied, 'I do not.' With that, the event ended.
The Guardian
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
David Sassoon obituary
Belinda Bellville, a designer of special occasion clothes for her own wealthy, well-connected social group, was pregnant in 1958 and in urgent need of a temporary assistant in her London atelier. She found David Sassoon, a Royal College of Art student, and offered him a job after seeing his degree show. Bellville was old-style class, Sassoon was the new meritocracy, and what became their joint firm, Bellville Sassoon, succeeded for over half a century. Sassoon, who has died aged 92, recalled how Bellville inducted him to her strata. She taught him how those attending the royal enclosure at the Royal Ascot race meeting, a highlight of the social season, pronounced 'Ascot' – with very clipped vowel sounds. She explained how to be patient with clients' non-model figures, and age and status fears, made introductions and led him through the Buckingham Palace tradesman's entrance to fit the young Princess Anne with a bridesmaid's frock, Bellville's first royal commission. Following etiquette, Sassoon stepped backwards away from Queen Elizabeth II and put his foot in the corgis' water bowl. It never mattered. Bellville and her customers respected Sassoon's attentiveness and inventiveness: he became a couturier in the original sense of the word, directly creating clothes for prestigious customers, providing a balance of modishness with personal requirements. His reticent outsider identity endeared him to his major patron, Diana, Princess of Wales. Her customer experience did not begin well – before her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981 Diana presented herself tentatively at Bellville Sassoon's Knightsbridge premises, where an unimpressed saleswoman suggested she try Harrods. Then her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, escorted her back to order a 10-dress trousseau. Sassoon designed the newlywed Princess of Wales's going-away outfit, and confected a matching pochette bag because she had forgotten to buy a handbag. He wrote a good luck note and tucked it inside; she found that a comfort in a nervous moment, and their collusion over her appearance was on, continuing for more than 70 outfits. Sassoon made the princess's wishes happen and she trusted his judgment. Among the many royals Sassoon dressed (British, European and Gulf), Sarah, Duchess of York, fancied the outrageous and wore it against all advice, he said, while Princess Margaret had no more care for her wardrobe than for people. Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Helen Mirren, Jerry Hall, Madonna and many others wanted unique outfits for gala events through the good times of the 1960s and 70s, and into the 80s. These were a different genre of display from post-1990s red carpet gowns: in the earlier era, celebrities did not do a lot of static posing, so gladrags had to be wearable through active nights of partying, dancing, and going to the loo, without assistants on hand to rearrange the drapery afterwards. The name on the labels (which changed from Bellville et Cie to Bellville Sassoon in 1970, when she invited him to be a partner) never had to flaunt brand identity as the company avoided paid-for publicity or advertising. Its workrooms, staffed with cutters, stitchers and finishers, attracted all the customers it could cope with through personal introductions. Ready-to-wear, which it produced from the 60s on, was first sold to existing regular customers who wanted something new in a hurry. Those of Sassoon's clientele who were artists, performers or collectors, plus Bellville herself, appreciated Sassoon's cultural depth. His ideas were inspired by a wide knowledge of applied and fine arts: a coat hand-painted with flowers from a Mughal miniature; a silk crepe dress handsmocked in Arts and Crafts style; a state-banquet gown hand-beaded with Wedgwood cameos. He attributed his endless curiosity about decoration to his family. His parents, Victoria and Gourgi Sassoon, were a Sephardic Jewish couple from Iraq who honeymooned in London in 1925 and never went back to Baghdad. They set up a home, in Highbury, London, rich with colour and art. David was the third of their six children, interested enough in clothes to doll up his younger sister in remnants from his mother's trousseau. He wanted to be an actor, and after finishing boarding school and Avigdor high school in Stoke Newington, got a scholarship to study at Rada. But his father begged him to pursue a more secure future, so he first went to Chelsea College of Art and, after national service with the army in Egypt, won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art fashion department, where he studied under its revolutionary professor Janey Ironside. He enjoyed acquiring the technical competency she insisted on. Some of his student contemporaries became famous for imaginative ready-to-wear in the boutiques that dominated in the 60s, while Sassoon at Bellville et Cie anonymously clothed the best to Paris standards, albeit with London bohemian vibes. He teased Bellville that he had brought her a dowry of clients from his own Jewish milieu, eager to dress up for bar mitzvahs and weddings – couture bridal gowns were always the firm's steady, secure, income. Bellville retired in 1981, and handed over the firm to Sassoon, who recruited Lorcan Mullany, particularly for ready-to-wear designs, which were crucial from the 1990s, as couture dwindled because clients grew time-poor: two hours for a fitting had become a luxury. Sassoon worked on, also in ready-to-wear, until 2012. His lasting affection, though, was for his couture creations – in 1978, he had paid the ransom for a collection stolen from a show in New York, personally buying back one dress from a drag queen in Harlem. In retirement, he coaxed loans of his favourites from their owners for an exhibition, The Glamour of Bellville Sassoon, at the Fashion and Textile Museum in 2013, arranging them in gossipy groups. His work also starred in the exhibition Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style at the Museum of London Docklands in 2023. David Sassoon, fashion designer, born 5 October 1932; died 9 April 2025
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
Renowned California hairstylist found stabbed to death
CASE UPDATE: On April 11, 2025, a jury found Monica Sementill, 53, guilty of murder and conspiracy for masterminding the murder of her husband Fabio, with special circumstances of murder for financial gain and murder while lying in wait. WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — A well-known hairstylist was found stabbed to death Monday afternoon on the back patio of his California home, reports CBS Los Angeles. Fabio Sementilli's wife and daughter discovered his body around 5 p.m., according to police. The 49-year-old had been stabbed several times in the face, neck and upper body, police said. Investigators say two men broke into Sementilli's home and drove off in his black 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera with paper plates. Sementilli was Vice President of Education for Wella, a German hair-care company. He was nicknamed "big daddy" and was passionate about mentoring others in the hair styling industry. Wella Education posted on Facebook: "Our hearts are broken. He will be sorely missed." At Sementilli's home on Tuesday, he was praised by Eden Sassoon, the daughter of another industry icon, Vidal Sassoon, and star of the Bravo reality show Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills. "A man that truly cared. Excuse my French, he gave a [expletive]. It made a difference," said Sassoon, who called Sementilli a mentor and friend, in an interview with CBS Los Angeles. "I don't know when and if in (Sementilli's family's) lifetime those shoes can be filled. He really stood out. When you say his name, you smile," Sassoon said. Savannah Bananas pack stadiums with their zany twist on baseball | 60 Minutes American retirees expand their world overseas Trump's chaotic tariffs week
