Earth opens up and swallows Oregon Private Investigator

By Dan Tilkin, KATU News and KATU.com Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. – A Southwest Portland private investigator was found dead Sunday while solving a mystery in his own backyard.

Neighbors said the man, 57-year-old Michael Zerwas, had been complaining of water bubbling up in his yard. Then, last Thursday, a neighbor saw him alive for what would turn out to be the last time.

Portland police responded to a missing persons report Sunday, searching Zerwas' Southwest 52nd Avenue home. They found no clues inside, but outside – beside a watery hole tucked deep in the back yard – they found a muddy pair of Crocs-style shoes.

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Portland man wins $4.75 million after medical device damages shoulder

By Helen Jung, The Oregonian

January 22, 2010, 5:56PM

A Multnomah County jury on Friday ordered a medical-device company to pay $4.75 million to a Portland man and his wife in a product liability lawsuit that may have national implications.

The jury found I-Flow Corp. liable for destroying the cartilage in Matthew Beale's right shoulder and leaving the 38-year-old father of four with constant pain and a disabled arm.

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Former Freightliner exec sentenced to federal prison in fraud scheme

By Bryan Denson, The Oregonian

January 22, 2010, 5:19PM

A former Freightliner executive has been sentenced to four years in prison for wire fraud after an FBI investigation revealed that she diverted millions of dollars from the company.

Sabina Vieru, a 40-year-old resident of Boring, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown to pay more than $7 million in restitution to Daimler Trucks North America LLC, formerly Freightliner LLC, of Portland.

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