SAN DIEGO

Drug trafficker sent to prison, fined

A Mexican drug trafficker was sentenced Monday to 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines to punish him for his service as a top lieutenant in the Arellano Felix cartel.

Gilberto Higuera Guerrero pleaded guilty in April to racketeering charges. He was brought to San Diego in January to face federal charges after the Mexican government extradited 15 people already serving time south of the border.

His brother, Ismael Higuera Guerrero, also among those extradited, was sentenced Dec. 3 to 40 years in prison and $5 million in fines after pleading guilty in March to racketeering.

Prosecutors say the brothers were senior figures in the Arellano Felix organization, based in Tijuana.

Ismael Higuera Guerrero admitted to coordinating the transfer of multi-ton shipments of cocaine and marijuana from Colombia to the U.S. via Tijuana and the border town of Mexicali, 120 miles east of San Diego. His younger brother took delivery of the shipments in Mexico.

Both men also admitted to enforcing the cartel's dominance over the drug business through kidnapping and murder. Ismael Higuera Guerrero also admitted to bribing government officials.

LOS ANGELES

Woman fined for defaming Flatley

A judge has ordered a woman who accused Michael Flatley of sexual assault to pay the "Riverdance" star more than $11 million after finding that she made false allegations to extort money from him, according to documents obtained Monday.

The judgment order, signed by Superior Court Judge Michael Stern, stated that Tyna Marie Robertson, a real estate agent, had defamed and intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon Flatley.

Robertson had alleged that Flatley raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2002 and threatened to file a sexual assault lawsuit unless he agreed to pay a "seven figures" settlement, according to court papers.

Police declined to press criminal charges, and Flatley said the sex was consensual.

Robertson then filed a $33 million civil sexual assault lawsuit in Illinois, but it later was dismissed. Flatley countered with a lawsuit against Robertson and her lawyer D. Dean Mauro, claiming extortion, intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation.

The California Supreme Court held in July 2006 that Mauro had committed extortion and he settled the case by making "a substantial payment" to Flatley, according to a statement from the dancer's lawyer, Ricardo P. Cestero. Flatley plans to donate any recovery on the settlement to charity, Cestero said.

LOS ANGELES

Waiver request for writers rejected

The union representing striking writers aimed a blow at the glamorous heart of Hollywood, refusing to allow its members to write for the Academy Awards or Golden Globe ceremonies.

The board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, West, decided not to give the academy an interim agreement for writing services, a person close to the guild said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

On Monday, the guild released a letter rejecting the request from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which awards the Golden Globes. The letter said that granting a waiver "would not advance" the guild's ongoing battle with studios to negotiate a new contract.

SANTA BARBARA

Trees provided to military families

A Santa Barbara man is thanking military families this week by providing them early holiday gifts — Christmas trees.

Anthony Dal Bello says his company, Anthony's Christmas Trees and Wreaths, along with Santa Barbara Bank and Trust, has provided trees for local military families and will send 100 trees to military families around the world.

The trees are part of the national FedEx-backed Trees for Troops program, which Dal Bello leads locally.

CORONA DEL MAR

Some residents fight fluoridation of water

A small but vocal contingent of Orange County residents say they'll do just about anything to avoid the fluoride recently added to the area's drinking water.

Corona del Mar resident Blythe Fair says she's taking fast showers to minimize contact with fluoridated water.

Orange resident Terry Jakel installed a $200 reverse osmosis filter to purify his water.

Fluoride was added to about half of the county's water supply in November because health experts believe that it keeps teeth healthy.

SAN DIEGO

Judge says officials can't be subpoenaed

A federal judge in San Diego has reaffirmed his ruling that a defense contractor convicted of bribing a former congressman cannot subpoena reporters and government officials to determine the source of grand jury leaks.

Brent Wilkes had sought to subpoena 20 witnesses. His attorneys argued that the leaks denied Wilkes a fair trial and urged that the indictment be dismissed.

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns called the leaks an example of "outrageous governmental misconduct" Monday, but he said Wilkes still got a fair trial.

— From wire reports