Supermarket Mogul Guilty of Charges
National News
George Torres, a feisty entrepreneur who built a multimillion-dollargrocery store chain by catering to some of Los Angeles' poorestcommunities, was convicted of racketeering, solicitation of murder,bribery and other crimes Monday by a federal court jury.
Torres, who faces potential life imprisonment as a result of theverdict, showed no emotion when it was read. Friends and family,however, burst into tears and embraced one another outside thecourtroom of U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson.
Prosecutors' portrayal of Torres differed starkly from the52-year-old's public persona as a successful businessman andinfluential political donor.
According to prosecutors, Torres hired undocumented workers at hisstores, bribed a Los Angeles city planning commissioner and sought tohave people killed.
A former associate of Torres' testified that he was present when Torressolicited the killing, and another witness admitted driving the carfrom which the shots were fired.
The jury acquitted Torres of arranging the killing of his onetimeconfidant Ignacio "Nacho" Meza, who mysteriously disappeared in 1998after supposedly stealing half a million dollars from Torres. Anotherslaying charge Torres faced was dropped by the judge during the trial.
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Does a car or truck accident count as a work injury?
If an employee is injured in a car crash while on the job, they are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. “On the job” injuries are not limited to accidents and injuries that happen inside the workplace, they may also include injuries suffered away from an employee’s place of work while performing a job-related task, such as making a delivery or traveling to a client meeting.
Regular commutes to and from work don’t usually count. If you get into an accident on your way in on a regular workday, it’s probably not considered a work injury for the purposes of workers’ compensation.
If you drive around as part of your job, an injury on the road or loading/unloading accident is likely a work injury. If you don’t typically drive around for work but are required to drive for the benefit of your employer, that would be a work injury in many cases.
If you are out of town for work, pretty much any driving would count as work related. For traveling employees, any accidents or injuries that happen on a work trip, even while not technically working, can be considered a work injury. The reason is because you wouldn’t be in that town in the first place, had you not been on a work trip.
Workers’ compensation claims for truck drivers, traveling employees and work-related injuries that occur away from the job site can be challenging and complex. At Krol, Bongiorno & Given, we understand that many families depend on the income of an injured worker, and we are proud of our record protecting the injured and disabled. We have handled well over 30,000 claims for injured workers throughout the state of Illinois.