Dorchester man denies kidnap, assault

The lawyer for Mark A. Leaston, a Dorchester man accused of snatching a woman off a Boston street yesterday, said his client was in a dispute with a prostitute and did not kidnap the woman. Speaking in Roxbury Municipal Court, where his client was arraigned on charges of kidnapping and indecent assault and battery, Richard Doyle said that the woman was "pounding the pavement" when the incident occurred on Blue Hill Avenue in Roxbury early yesterday. Doyle said that Leaston wanted the woman to get out of his truck but that she refused until he threw her shoes out of his vehicle. Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Darcy Jordan said in court that Leaston was driving a rental truck with Arizona plates when he pulled the woman into the vehicle. Jordan said Leaston drove to a nearby secluded area where he fondled the woman without her permission.

PROVIDENCE

A former medical center executive asked a federal appeals court yesterday to overturn his conviction on charges of paying a state senator to advance his hospital's political agenda, arguing that the trial judge gave the jury flawed instructions. Robert Urciuoli, the former president and chief executive of Roger Williams Medical Center, was convicted last fall of conspiracy and mail fraud in directing former state senator John Celona to support bills favorable to the hospital and to oppose legislation the hospital opposed. Urciuoli was convicted with Frances Driscoll, a former medical center vice president, as part of a sweeping federal probe into State House corruption. Defense lawyers argued in written briefs submitted to the First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston that US District Judge Ernest Torres erred by permitting the jury to consider work that Celona did for the hospital, such as lobbying towns for increased ambulance runs and arranging meetings with insurance company executives, that had nothing to do with legislation or his job as a senator. (AP)

NEW HAVEN

Two computers stolen from Yale University last month contained the Social Security numbers of about 10,000 current and former students and about 200 faculty and staff members, university officials said yesterday. Yale officials said they notified those affected, but have not received any reports that the data on the stolen machines have been misused. "The university does not believe that this incident presents a significant danger of identity theft because the crime was almost certainly aimed at obtaining hardware for sale, not at exploiting the data that were on the computers," Yale said in a statement. "Moreover, both of the computers were password-protected, and one was protected by multiple password levels, which would require considerable computer savvy to bypass." The computers and other electronic equipment were stolen July 17 from the Yale College dean's office. No arrests have been made, said university spokesman Tom Conroy. (AP)

BENNINGTON, Vt.

A 50-foot balsam fir in Green Mountain National Forest has been chosen for holiday duty at the US Capitol. Theodor Bechtol, the Capitol's grounds superintendent, made the selection Monday from a preselected set of trees. "We're looking for a tree that looks good 360 degrees around the tree," he said. "It has to be uniform in density, and it has to be a nice color. They've done an excellent job here over the years of taking care of the tree in terms of pest control, maybe a little fertilizer here and there." After Thanksgiving, the tree will be transported to the nation's capital in a caravan of antique trucks, making stops at veterans' hospitals along the way, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Once in Washington, it will be erected in cement and decorated with lights and ornaments made in Vermont. No date has been set for the lighting ceremony. (AP)

TEMPLE, N.H.

The US Embassy in London has approved a two-year visa extension for a New Hampshire innkeeper who had been denied permission to return to the state to run his business. Three years ago, Andrew Cook and partner Nick Finnis bought the 1775 Birchwood Inn in Temple and turned it into a popular pub for locals and a stopover for tourists. Cook flew back to Great Britain last month to visit his parents, but the US embassy would not grant a visa because the inn doesn't make enough profit. US Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu contacted the embassy on Cook's behalf, and reported Wednesday that his visa has been extended. After another visa interview and reviewing more financial documentation on the business, the embassy granted the extension. (AP)