Disgraced Philly Cop Gets Even More Disgraced
Plus, when your college degree turns out to be fake.
Former Philly cop Patrick Heron (photo via Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office)
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Disgraced Philly Cop Patrick Heron Gets Even More Disgraced
Former Philadelphia police officer Patrick Heron, who retired from the force in 2019, was already facing a heap of charges from 2022 for allegedly having unlawful sexual contact with young girls, possessing child pornography involving young girls, and retaliating against and harassing his accusers. He allegedly committed those crimes after his retirement.
But now the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has filed a slew of new charges against Heron for crimes he allegedly committed while he was a police officer and, in some cases, when he was in uniform and on duty. And by slew, I mean 233 new counts. Those counts include kidnapping, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, indecent assault, and institutional sexual assault.
“The implications of what appear to be serial misconduct are nearly too horrifying to contemplate,” assistant district attorney Lyandra Retacco said in a statement on Tuesday.
In the 2022 case, a judge let Heron back on the streets on $2 million bail. But this time around, the DA’s office says he’s not eligible and will remain in jail until trial.
What Do You Do When Your College Degree Is Fake?
If that nursing degree you obtained online from some Florida company in less than a year seems to good to be true, it probably is, as Pulitzer-winning Inquirer reporter Wendy Ruderman tells us in this story about Philly-area nurses who now say they were scammed.
Local Talent
In one of the more bizarre examples of audience members throwing things at performers during a concert, Pink — the Pride of Doylestown — just found herself the recipient of what were reportedly human remains. That’s right. During a concert, a fan tossed a bag of what was said to be her mother’s ashes onto the stage. Pink stopped singing and said, “This is your mom? I don’t know how I feel about this.” I don’t know, either. What was Pink supposed to do with these ashes, exactly? Maybe a good rule of thumb is: Don’t throw stuff at performers. Except maybe flowers.
I did enjoy the fact that NBC News tried its best to analyze all this, saying that such behavior “can be explained by a combination of poor socializing skills after the pandemic, alcohol intoxication and competitive bids for virality.” “I’m done with this world,” joked my colleague upon sharing this Pink news with me.
Speaking of Philly-area expats, Shipley grad David Corenswet will play the next Superman. No, I never heard of him before, either, but his grandfather was apparently the guy behind those Chose Your Own Adventure books I used to read in the ’80s. You’ll have to wait until July 2025 to see if he’s any good as the Man of Steel. David, my advice to you is to just watch Dean “Worst Superman Ever” Cain try to be Superman — and do the opposite.
By the Numbers
333 percent: Exactly how much above normal the last week of rainfall has been in Philadelphia
11: People arrested and charged with being part of a multimillion-dollar catalytic-converter theft ring in the Philly area
7: Tons of ingredients Wawa said it would use on Wednesday to make thousands of free hoagies for Wawa Hoagie Day
And from the Cubs-Flubs Sports Desk …
There were worries that last night’s Phillies/Cubs game in Chicago might be postponed because of the Not-Windy-Enough-City’s air-quality problems due to Canadian wildfires. After all, the Phils had a home game postponed because of those same fires. But the game started on time, to the dismay of the TV broadcasting crew, who managed to miss Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff double off Jameson Taillon. Trea Turner promptly singled him in: Good start, guys! Then, in the second, Brandon Marsh hit a (what else?) solo homer. Ranger Suárez had a good start, too, up until he gave up a single in the third to Nick Madrigal, who stole second and then took third on an errant Garrett Stubbs throw. Never fear; Ranger got out of it. You’ll be happy to know both teams’ fans were bitching about the calls at the plate.
In the fifth, Marsh hit his second boomer — and wonder of wonders, Bryson Stott was on first!
If they hold on to this one, Marsh is gonna be the postgame interview and it will be hilarious to see half the team come out and douse him. #Phillies
— Jim Miller (@jmiller678) June 28, 2023
Kody Clemens stretched a single into a double, and Taillon got a talking-to. He then walked Stubbs. Clemens scored on a Nick Castellanos single that fell among three Cubs. Taillon came out for the sixth for Michael Rucker, who came out for the seventh for Javier Assad. Suárez, meanwhile, had only needed 75 pitches to get through six. He made it through the seventh, too, with three straight strikeouts after giving up a walk. OMG, the online love was strong.
I would die for Ranger Suárez, no questions asked
— Dr. Death Steve Wheeliams (@GentonWheels) June 28, 2023
On to the eighth, when Ranger gave up a single and a blooper that fell between fielders and came out after seven and a third. Gregory Soto allowed a single that scored one, but that was all. In the ninth, Marsh walked with one out and Clemens singled, and a Stubbs safety squeeze couldn’t move them around. Schwarbs at the plate, and he already had two hits on the night; he walked them loaded for Turner, who … struck out. It was all up to Craig Kimbrel after that. He handed out a strikeout, a Dansby Swanson single, another strikeout, and a long fly-out. Masterful. Final: 5-1 Phils. Grudge match tonight at 8:05. Oh, and that post-game interview?
https://twitter.com/ACinPhilly/status/1673882707481198593
And in Other Sports News …
Never let it be said Tobias Harris doesn’t have a sense of humor:
Greg, it actually comes in a box… https://t.co/cSSBCl6uaq
— τobias Harris (@tobias31) June 27, 2023
The Union player most likely to cause me to scream at my TV, midfielder José Andrés Martinez, was the only dude on the team named to the MLS All-Star team. Why does he make me scream? Because he picks up yellow cards like confetti and can’t seem to stop picking fights. On the other hand, he does have a brand-new baby boy, so we’ll cut him some slack. Congrats, sir! But what — no Carranza? No Andre Blake? Anyway, soccer fans, there’s a match tonight for the U.S. National Men’s Team, vs. St. Kitts and Nevis in the CONCACAF Gold Cup tourney, 9:30 start.
All Philly Today Sports Desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.
