RITZ acquits

Patrick Dolan was cleared of his role in the whacky bid to sell The Ritz. The elderly Irishman claimed he was a scape-goated by "rich people" who set up a scheme in which they claimed to have rights to purchase the London's Ritz Hotel for below its market price. A st£1 million deposit was paid by an interested buyer who never saw their cash again. Dolan didn't waste his share, gambling it on horses, buying a new Merc and paying off his mortgage.
Anthony Lee, an unemployed lorry driver, was convicted for his part in the fraud and is due to be sentenced later this month.