In Brief
JUSTICE – Local magistrate fired for behaving badly The Supreme Court has dismissed a justice of the peace from the judiciary after its disciplinary committee found her guilty of inappropriate behavior, it was reported Saturday. The unidentified woman allegedly gave favorable treatment to the local mayor when he appeared in a court case, allegedly declaring it to be a great honor for the court to welcome the mayor. Both inside and outside courtrooms, she allegedly made inappropriate comments such as Have you ever been tried by a blonde judge before? and Do you like my low neckline? More serious were allegations of debts to local merchants, delays of up to eight months in issuing rulings, and failure to sign wage sheets or pay courthouse rents on time. The Athens News Agency report did not name the fired official nor the area in which she served. FERRY SINKING One year later, probe pending A year after the sinking of the Express Samina ferry off the island of Paros, last September 23, which resulted in 80 deaths, the investigators have not yet released their report. It is due out next month. Minoan Flying Dolphins vice-president Pantelis Sfinias committed suicide two months after the ferry hit a well-marked islet off Paros and sank in a storm. Mines stolen. Soldiers on patrol near Xyno Nero, Amyntaio in Florina, near the Albanian border, on Saturday found that an army storeroom had been broken into and two anti-tank mines and six mine detonators stolen. The military authorities and local police are investigating. Explosive device. A powerful bomb planted under a car in Aghia Fyla, near Limassol, Cyprus on Saturday failed to explode. The BMW’s owner, Yiannos Christofis, who works for the stock market company Market Trends, saw the device under one of the back wheels of the car. Police believe the bomb was placed by a dissatisfied customer. Deposit returned. Deposits paid toward the purchase of homes must be returned if in the time preceding the signing of the final contract the prospective buyer discovers serious defects in the property, including a lack of central heating, the Supreme Court has ruled, it was reported yesterday. The ruling was issued in the case of a person who was given only a brief inspection of a third-floor apartment because it was occupied at the time. The prospective buyer paid 4.5 million drachmas to secure the transaction, but on a subsequent visit found that the apartment had no central heating. The court ordered the seller to pay back the amount plus interest. Too curious. A car owner in Thessaloniki beat up and threatened to stab a man he saw looking at his car which was parked near the vegetable market early Saturday morning. Alexandros Lazaridis, 37, said he thought that Traianos Papadimitriou, 41, was trying to steal his car. Papadimitriou was taken to hospital for first aid and Lazaridis, found in possession of a knife, was arrested.
