Cleveland

A neighbor of the convicted rapist in Cleveland who was arrested Saturday night after six decomposed bodies were found in his house said Monday that t...

MINEOLA, N.Y. — An attorney who claimed his own experience as an adopted child motivated him to help people seeking to start families is suspected of running a Ponzi-like scheme that ripped off couples from New York to Texas, promising children that didn't exist.

Kevin Cohen, 41, pleaded not guilty Friday to grand larceny and other charges after one Long Island couple told prosecutors they paid him $60,000 in fees for a promised baby that he never delivered. Since then, 15 other couples from New York, Georgia, Ohio and Texas have contacted a prosecutor in New York's Nassau County, telling similar stories.

Cohen's attorney, Matin Emouna, said the disputes are civil matters and not something requiring criminal prosecution. Cohen, of Roslyn, once ran an adoption agency called the Adoption Annex and has had many satisfied clients, he said.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice has likened the case to a Ponzi scheme because Cohen partially refunded some disappointed couples with proceeds he had collected from other people to whom he promised babies. In a traditional Ponzi scheme, early investors are paid "proceeds" from a scam investment with money raked in from later investors.

"This was so much more than just a fraud scheme," Rice said. "The emotional turmoil he put these couples through is unimaginable. You have couple after couple who just want to provide a nice loving home for a baby."

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians fired manager Eric Wedge in the final days of a terrible season. Wedge guided the Indians to one playoff appearance in seven seasons, and this year the club fell out of contention early and is currently one game out of last place in the AL Central.

The Indians, who are 64-92, have scheduled a Wednesday afternoon news conference at Progressive Field to announce Wedge's dismissal. Cleveland recently lost 11 straight games and has dropped 20 of its last 25 games.

Wedge, who had one year left on his contract, will finish out the season as manager, including Wednesday's doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis, hitting coach Derek Shelton, bench coach Jeff Datz, first-base coach Luis Rivera, third-base coach Joel Skinner and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez were also told they will not be retained, but some could be rehired by the Indians' next manager.

The Indians are expected to begin interviews for a new manager in the weeks ahead. Among the names that figure to be mentioned are Boston pitching coach John Farrell, former Indians manager Mike Hargrove, former Arizona manager Buck Showalter and Torey Lovullo, who managed the Indians' Triple-A Columbus franchise.

Cleveland has a long history of hiring within the organization. The last time the Indians went outside was in 1990, when they hired John McNamara.

CLEVELAND — Before his Tahiti paintings established him, Paul Gauguin was snubbed by the 1889 Paris world's fair. Undaunted, he and colleagues staged a rival show in a cafe, a formative time featured in an international exhibtion at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The "exhibition about an exhibition" runs from Oct. 4 through Jan. 18 and then goes to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. It includes works on view by Louis Anquetin, Emile Bernard, Charles Laval and Emile Schuffenecker.

"Paul Gauguin: Paris, 1889" includes more than 75 paintings, sculptures and works on paper by Gauguin and his contemporaries and the first reinstallation of works from the Volpini Cafe des Arts exhibition in Paris near the new Eiffel Tower.

Many of the works haven't hung side-by-side since 1889, when Gauguin displayed his emerging postimpressionist style and began focusing on colors and themes that blossomed in his Tahiti works.

"I think when people hear the name Gauguin, they usually think Tahiti, South Seas, Polynesia, palm trees, beaches," said Heather Lemonedes, the Cleveland museum's associate curator or drawings. "But I've felt in studying Gauguin, a lot of what he was all about was kind of coming to fruition in 1889."

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians fired manager Eric Wedge in the final days of a terrible season.

Wedge guided the Indians to one playoff appearance in seven seasons, and this year the club fell out of contention early and is currently one game out of last place in the AL Central.

The Indians, who are 64-92, have scheduled a Wednesday afternoon news conference at Progressive Field to announce Wedge's dismissal.

Cleveland recently lost 11 straight games and have dropped 20 of its last 25 games.

Wedge will finish out the season as manager, including Wednesday's doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland's coaching staff has also been informed it will not be retained, but some of the staff could be rehired by the Indians' next manager.

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