PORTLAND

Federal marshals seize drugs alleged to be misbranded

U.S. marshals say they have seized drug products from a Portland company that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration alleges have been misbranded.

The FDA says Global Biotechnologies Inc. has made claims on its website, in promotional materials and on labels that its products can diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent diseases.

The FDA says the products, including Glucanol, Healthy Trac, Immunol and Lactopril, meet the definition of drugs because they are promoted to treat diseases, but the company failed to provide adequate directions for their use, misbranding them.

Dr. Robert Bogosian, who owns Global Biotechnologies, said none of the products was removed from his business, but they were tagged and quarantined.

“This has nothing to do with product quality,” Bogosian said Wednesday night. “It’s a simple labeling issue that will be resolved.”

No illnesses have been associated with the products.

Ex-bookkeeper at company pleads guilty to stealing

A Saco man has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing nearly $72,000 from his former employer.

Joel Bailey admitted stealing the funds while he worked for the Jordan Group from October 2008 to January 2011 as a bookkeeper. He was released on personal recognizance pending sentencing.

Prosecutors say Bailey, 33, was hired in 2006 to work in Scarborough. That year, Jordan Group opened a $37,000 line of credit. Authorities say Bailey admitted writing checks from that account to himself and his own company.

He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

BELFAST

Maine man pleads not guilty in death of Florida firefighter

A Maine man accused of shooting a Florida firefighter in the head in a drug dispute has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Daniel Porter, 24, entered his plea Wednesday in Waldo County Superior Court. Authorities say he shot Jerry Perdomo, 31, of Orange City, Fla., in late February and dumped his body on a remote family property in the town of Newburgh.

Police say Porter told them he owed Perdomo $3,000 for a drug debt.

Porter was arrested Feb. 28 at a rented house in Jackson where police say he killed Perdomo. The body was found the next day. Porter’s attorney has said his client acted in self-defense.

AUGUSTA

Man gets eight-year sentence for abducting woman at store

A homeless man has pleaded guilty to abducting a woman at random from a parking lot and robbing her.

Shawn Doray was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping and other charges in the abduction Dec. 20. He also was ordered to pay nearly $1,200 in restitution.

Police say Doray, 33, approached the victim in a Walmart parking lot, showed a knife and forced her into the passenger seat of her car. He drove her to an ATM and told her to withdraw money.

When she told him she was unable to make a withdrawal, he took $180 from her and fled.

Of 19 municipal applicants, 9 deemed ‘business-friendly’

Gov. Paul LePage and Economic and Community Development Commissioner George Gervais on Wednesday announced the first round of communities to be designated “business-friendly.”

The nine communities are Augusta, Bath, Biddeford, Saco, Brewer, Bucksport, Guilford, Lincoln and Sanford. In a Cabinet Room ceremony, LePage said those cities and towns have found ways to speed up the regulatory process.

“The No. 1 focus of our administration is to create prosperity for the state of Maine,” he said.

Of the 19 cities and towns that applied for the designation, only the nine were named “certified business-friendly.” They will receive road signs so they can tout the award.

Falmouth, Gorham, Cumberland, Houlton, Kennebunk, Pittsfield, Presque Isle, Rumford, South Portland and Waterboro applied but were denied the certification.

SANFORD

Students will vote today on high school’s new mascot

Students at Sanford High School are scheduled to pick a new nickname for the school’s sports teams this week.

Students will vote today on a mascot to replace “Redskins,” which was dumped by the School Committee last month in response to objections from American Indian groups, which consider it offensive.

The four choices for a new nickname are Pride, Stampede, Spartans and Cardinals. The choices, along with logos, were unveiled at a School Committee meeting this week.

Sanford was the last high school in Maine to use the nickname, although it had been de-emphasized in recent years. The Journal Tribune reported that the finalists to replace it were chosen from a variety of options submitted by students, residents and alumni.

FALMOUTH

Truck crashes into guardrail, choking traffic on turnpike

FALMOUTH – Traffic on the Maine Turnpike slowed in both directions Wednesday morning when a well-drilling truck slammed into the median guardrail at Mile 50, just south of the Falmouth exits.

State police said the driver of a commercial truck was in the southbound passing lane when the driver’s side tire blew out, causing the truck to veer into the median, crashing into a guardrail. Pieces of the protective barrier were blocking northbound traffic.

The 9 a.m. crash initially caused delays between Exit 47 in Portland and Exit 53 in West Falmouth in both directions, the Maine Turnpike Authority said in a statement. Traffic was flowing smoothly again by early afternoon, it said.

Nobody was injured in the crash.

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