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   ST. LOUIS (AP) - A St. Louis County woman has been found guilty of federal charges for illegally claiming more than $3 million in tax refunds.

   A federal jury convicted 69 year old Nancy Cicero of Kirkwood Wednesday on four counts of filing false claims with the IRS. A sentencing date was not set.

   Federal prosecutors say Cicero claimed false refunds for the years 2005 through 2008 on taxes she claimed to have paid on bond income, and falsified documents as part of the scheme.

   The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Cicero is an adherent of a theory claiming that those with knowledge of proper procedures can obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in their name being held in trust by the government. An IRS investigator called the argument "frivolous."

   

 

   A well-known Kirkwood eatery may be closed for a few days after an electrical fire shut it down Sunday morning.  

   Firefighters were called to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in the 1200 block of Kirkwood Road a little before 11:00 a.m.   

   Kirkwood fire Chief Tom Openlander said it appeared the fire started in a neon sign that sits high on the side of the restaurant facing Lindbergh Boulevard. He said it was fortunate timing because the fire was spotted quickly and before the restaurant had opened.

   The fire did minor damage above the roof line.  

   A Kirkwood middle school student will answer to the juvenile courts after allegedly threatening gun violence at Nipher Middle School Wednesday.  

   Kirkwood police say the student had made threats against two classmates and the school in general while speaking with two acquaintances.  They alerted school officials of the threats.  

   The student was taken into custody.  

   Police say there is no indication that the student had tried to act on the threats. And student's family told police that the child doesn't have access to guns.

   A retirement community that charges a six figure entry fee isn't a charitable institution and must pay property taxes.  That's according to the St. Louis County Board of Equalization which Tuesday rejected a request for tax-exempt status by the Aberdeen Heights Senior Living Center in Kirkwood.  

   Aberdeen officials had asked the board to waive their $1.2 million annual tax bill, a move that would have cost Kirkwood schools around 700-thousand dollars a year. 

   Aberdeen's attorneys had argued that the luxury complex qualifies as non-profit because it waves living expenses for residents who can no pay.  

   St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman say that doesn't matter because residents must first pay the steep entry fee in order to get the "free" lifetime care.  

   Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Aberdeen's parent company, is expected to appeal the ruling.

 

 

The brother of Kirkwood City Hall shooter Charles "Cookie" Thornton is claiming that his Granite City scrap yard was raided Thursday afternoon in retaliation for the 2008 massacre.

Just hours before the fifth anniversary of the shooting was marked in Kirkwood, the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force executed a warrant at Paul Thornton's Scrap Solutions business in the 5500 block of Dial Drive. But Task force Director Gary Brewer says it had nothing to do with the anniversary of the shootings. "This all has to do with timing on following and executing a search warrant to find stolen vehicles," Brewer said.

Police found several stolen cars on the lot, along with a stolen semi and another tractor-trailer filled with auto parts. Brewer said the bust was the result of an investigation that began after a spike in thefts of older model cars.

Thornton was critical of the way the raid was conduction. He told Fox 2 News Thursday evening that it wasn't right for 20 to 30 officers to come to his business with guns drawn.

Police won't say if there are any charges pending against Thornton.