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• Ramadan comes at uneasy time for local Muslims

• West Nile figures continue to rise

• Judge’s aide charged with 94 counts of fraud

• Tracy says it can build Delta campus next year

• Pombo took $13,000 from Alaskan donors prior to oil drilling vote

• Regional Roundup

• Logbook

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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Judge’s aide charged with 94 counts of fraud

A former personal secretary to a federal judge has been indicted on 94 counts of fraud for allegedly stealing more than $250,000 from her former boss.

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. has been the primary judge in Lodi’s ongoing contamination litigation.

Heather L. Coleman, 51, was indicted on 13 counts of mail fraud and 81 counts of bank fraud by a federal grand jury Thursday. If convicted on all counts, she could face 30 years in prison.

Coleman is accused of stealing from Damrell by using blank checks from the judge’s brokerage account and the judge’s signature stamp. Coleman used the checks to pay her credit card bills, pay off a car loan and make her mortgage payments, according to the indictment.

She also took checks for the Damrells’ checking account and made them payable to herself, again using the signature stamp, the indictment alleges.

Coleman was Damrell’s secretary from the time he took his seat on the federal bench in December 1997 to her termination after the judge discovered the theft in April 2004.

Coleman was charged with the theft in June. She withdrew her guilty plea to one count of mail fraud a week ago. The terms of that plea had called for her to serve five years on probation and repay $227,274 to Damrell.

But U.S. District Judge Justin L. Quackenbush of Spokane, Wash., who was assigned to the case after all the federal judges in Sacramento recused themselves, said he wanted Coleman to serve some prison time. That led to her withdrawing the plea.

Damrell and his wife also filed a civil lawsuit against Coleman, claiming a loss of more than $450,000. That suit was settled when Coleman agreed to repay the $227,274.