The PM Roundup: SEC Slams Mozilo, More . . .

[WSJ Law Blog]

We’ve got to dedicate this PM roundup to actor Keith Carradine, who was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room on Thursday, the victim of an apparent suicide. Sad news. The “Kung Fu” star, who made a bit of a resurgence as a result of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies, was 72.

On with it:

SEC Charges Mozilo: The SEC filed civil charges against former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo and two other former executives, accusing them of committing fraud by misleading investors. Mozilo was additionally charged with insider trading for selling his Countrywide stock for about $140 million in profit based on nonpublic information. (WSJ; complaint)

Leader of Plane-Crash Scheme to Plead Out: An Indiana money manager, Marcus Schrenker, plans to plead guilty to crashing an airplane near a Florida Panhandle neighborhood in a botched attempt to fake his own death and escape financial problems and a crumbling marriage, according to court documents filed Thursday. (AP)

Give the Bling Back to Spain! Florida deep-sea explorers who raised an estimated $500 million treasure from the 200-year-old wreck of a Spanish galleon should give all the loot back to Spain, a federal magistrate judge said. (AP)

Thongs Now Wrong in Yakima: The Yakima City Council is cracking down on what an ordinance delicately refers to as “cleavage of the buttocks.” Responding to a proliferation of coffee stands with baristas wearing see-through clothing, thongs and other scanty apparel, the council this week approved minor changes to the city’s indecent exposure law. The change approved by the council means that anyone in public wearing see-through apparel, a thong or a G-string — regardless of whether they are working at a coffee stand — could be prosecuted for a misdemeanor violation. (AP)