21 men jailed in prostitution sting

OVER-THE-RHINE -- A prostitution sting Friday night along Main, Liberty and Walnut streets landed at least 21 men in jail on charges they attempted to buy sex from an undercover officer posing as a prostitute.

Cincinnati Police ran the three-day sting last week, said Capt. Paul Humphries. Authorities Saturday were compiling the final statistics on the total number of people arrested.

Two women were arrested Friday on charges of prostitution, but it was unclear if they were arrested as part of the sting.

Police performed similar stings earlier in the week in College Hill and Northside.

Suspects sought in house-party shooting

AVONDALE - Cincinnati Police were continuing to look for two suspects in a Saturday morning shooting at a house party here.

The 4 a.m. shooting on Blair Avenue left three people injured from gunfire. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening.

Investigators have a warrant out for Rodney French, age and address unknown, on felonious assault charges. A second suspect has not yet been identified.

Police said two men got into a fight with other party-goers over a woman and were asked to leave the home. They came back with guns and started shooting, police said.

Erpenbeck appeals length of sentence

Facing two 30-year federal prison terms, convicted home-building swindler Bill Erpenbeck has asked a federal appellate court for a lighter sentence.

Erpenbeck, 43, was sentenced April 1 by U.S. District Judge Arthur Spiegel. His appeal claims the judge did not follow the law in assigning the long prison terms. The two sentences run at the same time. If the sentence stands, Erpenbeck will be eligible for parole in 23 years.

Erpenbeck pleaded guilty to bank fraud in connection with a scheme in which he diverted $34 million in home-buyers' mortgage checks into his own account. He also was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

The appeals process will take several months.

9 citations issued for underage liquor sales

MIDDLETOWN - Nine liquor establishments here sold alcohol to underage people during a sting Friday night, police said.

Middletown officers and agents with the Ohio Investigative Unit conducted the alcohol compliance check to try to decrease underage alcohol sales during spring break, police said in a statement. They sent undercover "customers" younger than 21 into the stores and bars, telling them to show their true identifications if they were asked to do so.

Of 23 places checked, these nine sold to the underage people, Middletown police said: Friends American Bar and Grill in the Ramada Inn; Ameristop and Charlie's Line Drive Thru, both on Lefferson Road; Max's Mart, Tytus Avenue; Yankee Station, on Yankee Road; Kwik-N-Kold, University Boulevard; Stars & Stripes Market, Verity Parkway; Midd-Town Drive Thru, Central Avenue; and Reed Center, Oxford State Road.

Those clerks who sold to the underage buyers were cited by police and the state's alcohol unit issued citations against the liquor license of each business.

At 14 other establishments, police said clerks did not sell to the underage customers.