A $75,000 reward was posted Monday in the deadly home-invasion shooting of a director who worked on the reality TV show “America’s Next Top Model,” police said.

Investigators said they have exhausted all possible leads and are asking for the public’s help to find the two men who burst into James Marcus Howe’s home in Los Angeles, killing the 42-year-old father and husband the day before Thanksgiving.

Howe and his wife were at their Glassell Park home the morning of Nov. 27 when someone knocked on the door posing as a lone salesman, Los Angeles police said. When the couple answered the door, two men – believed to be between 20 and 25 years old – forced their way inside.

Patrol Car Crash Victims Were to Be Engaged: Family

A fight ensued and one of the men pulled out a gun and opened fire, fatally striking Howe. The director’s wife was also struck by gunfire, but survived and is now struggling to cope while raising their 6-year-old son alone.

"I'm kind of going through grief and denial," said Alicia Shoemaker, the victim's sister-in-law. "The whole entire thing is unbelievable to me."

A woman is believed to have been driving the get-away car, described as a dark green, convertible Ford Mustang with a tan top, police said. The car is believed to be between model years 1994 and 2004.

Howe worked as a second-unit director for a season on "America's Next Top Model," and was also the second-unit director of the reality show "A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila."

Toy Drive Ends in Massive Brawl

Detectives said they're at a loss for what motivated the deadly crime. Loved ones and law enforcement hope the newly posted $75,000 reward will help solve the case.

"It's a horrible tragedy we can't undo, but we can make sure justice prevails," LA City Councilman Jose Huizar said at a news conference Monday.

The Los Angeles City Council is expected to formally approve the reward at its meeting Tuesday.

Anyone with information in the case is urged to call Detective Aguilar or Officer Watterson at 323-344-5744.

Anonymous tips can be reported by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, by texting the tip preceded by the letters “LAPD” to CRIMES (274637), or by visiting LAPDonline.org and clicking on “webtips.”

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is giving animal lovers a look at two new lion cubs born just 10 days ago.

Guests can see the male and female cubs in the park’s animal care center at 10 a.m. and noon.

The two are doing well, gaining weight and feeding every two hours on kitten-starter formula.

The cubs are being cared for by humans because their mother, Oshana, wasn’t giving them the attention they needed to thrive.

They aren’t shy about demanding more food or calling out to each other.

When the brother and sister are separated, they really vocalize according to senior mammal keeper Jennifer Minichino.

The female cub is described as feisty while the male cub is considered to be calm.
 

The plump, rosy-cheeked and typically white Santa Claus is a mainstay in American culture, but he is replaced each year at one South Los Angeles mall with a more diverse pair portraying Father Christmas.

Langston Peterson and Mario Vazquez have been staples at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza for more than a decade. Together, they offer children and families the opportunity to take Christmas photos with an African American Santa, Peterson, and a Latino Santa, Vazquez.

The diversified Santa program was launched after listening to requests from the community, said mall marketing director Rachel Erickson.

“This is a longstanding tradition for a lot of folks over here,” Erickson said. “Our programming is so engrained into our community.”

Sheba Lo, an assistant professor of Pan African Studies at California State University Northridge, says the idea of different races of Santa should be the norm .

“I think we should be encouraging diversity,” Lo said. “I don’t think it could be in the least bit harmful.”

Vazquez, the Latino Santa, works in the mornings and early afternoon. When he leaves, African American Santa Peterson takes the chair for photos.

“They’re both great people and they have great personality,” said Mack Siu, owner of Rudolph Holiday Photography, the company that contracts for the Santa photos at the mall.

The reach of the Santas extends far. Erickson said many families visit every year, driving from as far out as Palmdale and Thousand Oaks.

The Santas first appeared at the mall on Black Friday, and they’ll be available for photos all the way up until Christmas Eve this year.

Erickson said the program has full support from the mall, and that Latino and African American Santas are a fixture that won’t be going anywhere soon.

“We’ve just received such a tremendous response,” Erickson said. “We think it’s really important to reflect the culture of our community.”
 

More than 600 million pieces of mail are expected to be processed at post offices nationwide on Monday, the busiest postal day of the holiday season.

People with several packages to be sent to friends and family crowded the post office and processing center at Carmel Mountain Ranch with nearly a week to go until Christmas Day.

"A lot of shopping was done this weekend. Now's the time to mail your Christmas presents to get them to their destination by Christmas," said Eva Jackson, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service.

Jackson said there was still ample time for packages to get across the country.

Express mail can be a more expensive but speedier option for those who procrastinate.

Some people felt they were cutting it close. Cindy Lopez was mailing Christmas cards to friends and family.

"It's last minute, yes. I want to make sure they get there in time," she said.

The post office reminds people they can purchase priority mail postage online and print them out at home to avoid the lines and get a discount. Look for the "Skip the Trip" link on the USPS website.

Jackson also warned that bad weather like the recent snow storms can slow delivery.

The U.S. Postal Service offers tips on how to pack your gift as well as a way to estimate the cost of the delivery on its website.

San Jose may allow its living wage policy -- which requires city contractors to pay up to $17.03 minimum wage -- to be skipped over.

By Starbucks.

The coffee chain wants an exemption to San Jose's living wages for a possible location at the San Jose convention center, according to San Jose Inside.

Don Imwalle Jr., a developer, also wants a break from the wage law in order to fill 6,000 feet of storefronts on Fourth Street.

The higher wages would be necessary because the California Bay Area properties are city property, according to reports.

The exemptions would need to be approved by the San Jose City Council.

A yacht is destroyed after bursting into flames Monday afternoon on Harbor Island. It is expected to be towed to South Bay Marine Group on Monday night.

Fire engulfed the Sea Siesta, a 57-foot Chris Craft Constellation that was docked alongside other boats at the Sunroad Resort Marina.

Two San Diego Harbor Police boats used water cannons and foam to extinguish the fire around 12:30 p.m. Monday.

Flames destroyed Christmas decorations on the deck and a Christmas tree on the roof along with a bicycle and what looked like several toys. Divers are now preparing to put some flotation devices on bottom of yacht to get it off floor of the bay so it can be towed.

Two workers were on board when this fire began and so was the female owner, according to officials. The workers are believed to have helped pull the owner out of the burning yacht.

Electric holiday lights strung along the yacht were left on overnight after Sunday’s Parade of Lights had ended, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue officials.

Fire investigators will look into the possibility that those electric lights may have caused the fire.

Investigators with the San Diego Metro Arson Strike Team will look over the vessel for evidence once it is towed to a South Bay boat yard.

Once harbor police crews put out the fire, the yacht began listing greatly over to one side.

“That’s one of the problems and challenges of a boat fire,” San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesperson Maurice Luque said explaining how firefighters are careful how much water they use in these situations because too much water can cause sink a vessel.

U.S. Coast Guard crews are investigating possible contaminants that may have been released from the fire into the water.

The 1,500 gallons of diesel still in the yacht’s tanks is of great concern.

Officials said a vessel salvage company will come in and surround the yacht with buoys and tow it out of the marina to avoid any environmental concerns over the boat and its fuel sinking in the bay.

The Sea Siesta was a 57-foot wood and fiberglass boat available for charter as a bed and breakfast.

There are more than 100 boats docked in the marina along Harbor Island Drive just west of downtown and south of Lindbergh Field.

No other vessels were damaged.

Forty firefighters and 20 Harbor Police officers responded to the fire.

The Parade of Lights is an annual event where dozens of decorated boats parade on the harbor and along the Embarcadero.

Crews worked to extinguish a two-story house fire in Mira Mesa Monday afternoon.

San Diego Fire-Rescue crews arrived to the home on the 7700 block of Acama Street around 2:30 p.m.

Video shot by NBC 7 Newschopper showed firefighters on the roof near the fireplace. Other crews were in the backyards of adjacent homes in an attempt to keep the fire from spreading.

In approximately 20 minutes, crews had the fire knocked down.

There were no known injuries, no word on what cause the fire or a damage estimate.

The home is located west of Camino Ruiz and south of Calle Cristobal.

More than 20,000 people in San Diego County started applications for Covered California health insurance plans from October through November, according to the California Department of Health Care Services.

Cumulatively, 10,231 individuals in San Diego County have enrolled in subsidized or non-subsidized Covered California health insurance plans, which reflects about 9 percent of the statewide enrollment.

“San Diego County is critically important to our success,” Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee said.

Covered California is the state's health care exchange and a part of the national Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Dec. 23 is the deadline for consumers to enroll for health insurance coverage taking effect Jan. 1, but Lee pointed out that consumers can continue enrolling in Covered California plans through March 31, 2014.

A pile of metal debris from a stockpile of "light iron" recyclable metal exploded and sparked a fire at Sims Metal Management in Redwood City - for the second time in a little more than a month - prompting fears about the quality of air spewing from the blaze.

Health officials asked nearby residents to stay in their homes, and at 7 a.m. advised that nearby residents shelter in place. Tuesday was also the 10th consecutive "Spare the Air" day in the Bay Area.

The two-alarm fire was reported Tuesday about 1 a.m. from the Seaport Boulevard plant, where the "environment, sustainability and the health of the communities" are taken seriously, according to the company website. Then a second and third "spot" fires were reported at nearby addresses because of flying embers. Sims stressed in a statement that any material that comes to its plant are required to be "de-polluted."

RAW VIDEO: Smoke Billows From Sims Metal Plant in Redwood City

San Mateo County and Redwood City firefighters said the fire likely started from used appliances that exploded for some reason out on the yard. By 6 a.m., the fire had been contained, but the smoke was still billowing into the sky.

"After the first fire, changes were made (at the facility)," Redwood City Fire Marshal Jim Palisi told NBC Bay Area. "But this was an explosion, and we'll be looking into that."

Sims representative Melissa Cohen on Tuesday apologized for any "inconvenience."

MORE: Redwood City Recycling Plant Fire Sparks Health Concerns

This fire follows on the heels of a Nov. 10 fire, where the smoke prompted a health warning for  people to stay inside to parts of three counties--San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda. That fire was started from old cars burning in the yard.

It's hard to believe, but Simms Metal is burning. Again pic.twitter.com/Cn5Z4aqme1

— Redwood City Fire (@redwoodcityfire) December 17, 2013

Hours after the flames broke out during the November blaze, the smoke began settling miles away, in places like downtown Menlo Park.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Sims said, in part: "We believe that the public knows that that recycling is an inherent public good, and that operating a facility of this size has risks. But the timing of these two fires raises concerns."

That's why after the November fire, the company said it made a "number of improvements designed to reduce the risk of fires at this facility," including reducing stockpile size, separating light iron from auto bodies, improving fire breaks, and implementing infrared monitoring of stockpiles. 

Sims also established a facility review procedure for our after-hours security force to observe and report unusual activity at the facility, according to the statement. 

The same building caught fire back in 2007, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued a public nuisance violation because of the large quantities of contaminates.

MORE: Bay Area Quality District Under Fire

Sims shreds recycled metal to ship overseas and the company touts its commitment to the environment and social responsibility. Its website states that its facilities are located in 23 states. Last month, the New York Times reported that a Sims facility will open at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

NBC Bay Area's Investigative Unit found that since 2007, there have been five major fires at the biggest metal recyclers in the Bay Area, Sims and Schnitzer Steel, which erupted in Oakland, Hayward, San Francisco and twice in Redwood City.

San Diego's shipyard industry and community activists in Barrio Logan are on collision course, gearing up for another political showdown over land-use changes that waterfront industrial interests say would jeopardize their businesses and thousands of jobs.

The confrontation involves a community plan update recently approved on a 5-4 City Council vote, later challenged by maritime interests in a referendum petition drive that could force that decision onto the ballot -- unless the Council backs down Tuesday afternoon.

"I put my trust in voters to see this referendum process for what it is,” says Councilman David Alvarez, “a greedy attempt to keep the status quo at the expense of hard-working residents."

Alvarez, who grew up in Barrio Logan and has lived much of his life there, spoke to news media crews Monday in front of a house on Newton Avenue that’s sandwiched between two industrial properties.

Along with Barrio residents, environmentalists, and shipyard union workers, Alvarez argued that zoning changes to increase separation between the two land uses will not affect maritime builders and their suppliers.

"Every single one of the existing businesses can continue to exist under the plan, and they can expand up to 20 percent," Alvarez said. "Not one job will be lost. Not one business will be forced to relocate. And this plan is a true compromise in every sense of the word."

Said Hector Villegas -- the owner of the Newton Avenue home, in a neighborhood filled with machine shops: "I just hope that the rest of San Diego understands that things are not good here with the environment -- and there's a lot of noise with that, too."

While Villegas believes that industrial pollution is the cause of his daughter’s asthma, shipyard interests say zoning changes to buffer five city blocks in the Barrio eventually would hamper 24/7 maritime enterprises that have a $14 billion annual economic impact and 46,000 employees.

"There's lights, there's noise, okay?” says Derry Pence, president of the Port of San Diego Ship Repair Assn. “And if they start to curtail our operations by saying 'You have to shut down by 9 o'clock at night and you can't start until 7 in the morning’, then that's going to make it more difficult to do our job."

The Council already has seen emotional presentations at previous meetings – and been targeted with a successful referendum petition-gathering effort that was accused of being dishonest, but upheld by a judge.

Shipyard workers have risen in protest of the community plan.

But the organized labor leader, who represents 80 percent of them, says they were misled for a long time, and now they've learned differently.

"They will also support this,” Shipyard Workers Union President Robert Godinez told reporters Monday, “because it's protecting their job and it's protecting the neighborhood -- that many of us actually live in."

The showdown is another campaign bone of contention between Alvarez and Council colleague Kevin Faulconer in their runoff race for mayor.

On Monday, Faulconer pushed back against his rival’s remarks, in an interview with NBC 7.

"To change the process that prevents these suppliers from locating there by right, putting them into a conditional use process, making it political -- that's wrong for the city of San Diego,” Faulconer said.

“The right decision would be to rescind this plan, go back and work on it, make some of these changes, compromise, and bring it forward -- not put it out to a costly ballot election. That would be the wrong choice."

If the plan is re-affirmed Tuesday by a Council majority, the City Charter requires that the referendum be placed on the June 3 citywide primary election ballot.

Should voters ultimately reject the plan, there would have to be substantial changes before it could be reintroduced earlier than a year later.

Family members say a mother and daughter killed in violent crash last Friday were inseparable.

“I’m almost glad that they’re together because they were like Velcro to each other,” said the victim’s sister Lauren Sedivec. “I don’t know if they could have lived without each other. I know that’s a weird silver lining.”

Jillian Sedivec, 28, and her 4-year-old daughter Savanah died instantly when their SUV slammed into a semi-truck on Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton.

On Monday, Jillian’s family said they have no explanation as to what may have caused the accident. Investigators said the SUV was traveling at freeway speeds and did not break before hitting the big rig.

The reason for their car trip is even more tragic.

According to the victim’s family, Jillian was taking Savanah to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Savanah was born with a neurological disorder known as Neurofibromatosis. They say one of Jillian’s passions in life was to get the best possible treatment for her daughter.

Jillian also has an 8-year old daughter, Cydney, who is now living with her grandmother.

“I really don’t know how I feel,” Jillian’s father Jeff Sedivec said. “It’s such a sudden shock to have somebody that you love so much to be suddenly just wiped away and gone and turned into nothing more than a memory.”

A memorial service is planned for Wednesday in San Clemente, where Jillian’s mother lived. The family has also set up a fund to help with funeral costs and Cydney’s future education. As of Monday night, nearly $15,000 had been donated to the fund.

Officials received calls from residents of San Diego County reporting something falling from the sky early Tuesday. 

San Diego County Sheriff's Department received several calls reporting something in the sky over State Route 52 at Mission Gorge in Santee.

Deputies checked the area where witnesses claimed to see something fall to the ground just before 5 a.m.

They told NBC 7 there were no aircraft missing or overdue at the nearby Gillespie Field.

Heartland firefighters assisted in the search and said they are considering the reports unfounded, believing the object may have been a meteor.

Get Forecast for Your Neighborhood

There are two meteor showers happening right now and visible from Southern California.

The Geminid Meteor Shower peaked about two days ago. In fact, it was a fabulous showing this year according to NBC News.

The Earth passes through a trail of debris left behind by the asteroid Phaethon and draws stargazers all over the U.S.

“So it’s quite possible that something could’ve fallen from the sky in the shape of a meteor. It’s possible,” said NBC 7 Meterologist Jodi Kodesh.

NASA reports the shower was expected to be active through Dec. 16. 

 A California man has hired an attorney after being forced to take down his patio Christmas lights.

Michael Cardenas of La Jolla, Calif. said he was forced to take down the Christmas decorations on the outside patio of his condo in the 939 Coast private residences.

It was just a few strands of Christmas lights, on his patio. But even a single light is one too many, for the Homeowners' Association.

According to Cardenas, the governing board of his building told him the lights are prohibited because they are considered a modification to his home.

“This is what we are disagreeing about. The lights here, in this patio, and these two right here,” Cardenas told NBC 7 News on Saturday. “This is what they considered potentially offensive? This is what we are talking about."

The battle over holiday decorations began in October with a few Halloween decorations Cardenas put up.

When the disagreement continued over Christmas decorations, Cardenas hired an attorney

Cardenas took down the display last weekend, but will still fight that rule, claiming it was written "after" he strung the lights.

He feels he should be allowed to hang the lights since they're on his private patio.

There's a similar dispute in the Los Angeles area where police issued a curfew and other restrictions on a neighborhood display.

Kim Earle says critics need to "lighten up."

"The residents feel that the city would rather have this go away, and we don't want it to go away," Earle said

In La Jolla, Michael Cardenas now says he might pay the $100 a day fine, and turn the lights back on.

One attorney who is an expert in land use told NBC 7 News the association would likely welcome the money.

Karen Frostrom said condo associations usually have the law on their side, when they restrict public displays of any kind.

"You can speculate away about whether it's for religious equality reasons or someone, Scrooge, wrote their rules. For whatever reason, if that's their rules, that's their rules," Frostrom said.

NBC 7 made several attempts to contact the management at the 939 Coast building for comment on this story.

A 51-year-old Oceanside man shot to death by police after a wild pursuit in a Corvette was mentally ill, paranoid and needed help according to his lifelong friend.

Brian Beaird chose to run from Los Angeles police officers Friday because he suffered from schizophrenia, said friend Gilbert Vasquez.

“He heard voices so he probably saw the helicopter lights, the lights of the cops pursuing him,” Vasquez said. “It scared the hell out of him.”

Beaird, a National Guard veteran, swerved and sped through South Los Angeles for more than a hour before T-boning another car in an intersection.

LAPD officers shot and killed Beaird at the end of the televised pursuit.

Beaird was unarmed.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Monday he would reserve comment until the investigation is complete.

“It’s very different to see something from 1,200 feet from a helicopter than 15 feet in the dust and the noise,” he said. “So I reserve judgment.”

When asked if the sound of a non-lethal beanbag round being shot may have prompted other officers to start firing, Beck didn’t answer directly. But he said that normally officers yell out to others to avoid firing in confusion.

“Before an officer discharges a beanbag, the protocol is to loudly state, ‘bean bag ready! Bean bag ready!’ so that everybody knows that the next detonation that they hear is not a gunshot,” he said.

The LAPD has not yet said if a bean bag was deployed.

But Vasquez insists his friend needed help and only non-lethal force should have been used.

“It's outrageous that this police department chose to use a shoot to kill policy on him,” Vasquez said. “He was unarmed. He didn't have anything.”

A last second loss in Tennessee, three cracks at the goal line in Washington, a heartbreaking defeat in Miami - win just one of those games and the Chargers playoff position wouldn't be so perilous.

Special Section: San Diego Chargers

But as former GM A.J. Smith so famously said, "It is what it is."

Quarterback Philip Rivers took the same approach after practice on Monday, "There's nothing we can do to change them, but yes I think it is just natural for you to look back on games you didn't finish or let get away."

Rivers added, "I think what's important for our team is to win another division game and see if we can get to 8-7."

By the time the Chargers kickoff against the Raiders on Sunday afternoon it might not even matter.

The Dolphins, who are a game ahead of the Bolts (and hold the tiebreaker) in the playoff chase, play at Buffalo Sunday morning.

A  Fins win and the Chargers will be left playing for little more than pride.

Still the game is important to Rivers, "Whether we're eliminated, whether we still have a chance we want to finish winning four in a row and five of the last six. It will say a lot about our team if we can finish the right way."

A funeral is scheduled for Wednesday for the 30-year-old lawyer fatally shot in a carjacking as he left an upscale New Jersey mall after shopping with his wife.

Services for Dustin Friedland will be held at 11 a.m. at Beth Am Shalom in Lakewood.  

The Hoboken attorney was shot in the head Sunday night as he and his wife returned to their silver 2012 Range Rover, which was parked on the third level of the deck near Nordstrom.

Police say two men approached Friedland and opened fire as he was getting into the driver's side after opening the passenger side door for his wife. They then jumped into the car and sped off, possibly down Route 24. 

Friedland was pronounced dead at the hospital. His wife was not hurt.

The stolen Range Rover was recovered Monday morning, abandoned in Newark about 15 miles away from the mall, but police are still looking for the suspects.

Mall officials said they were working with local police in the investigation. 

Friedland, a patent lawyer who graduated from Syracuse Law School, grew up in Toms River, according to friends. He graduated in 2002 from Toms River North High School, where he was an accomplished swimmer, rower and Eagle Scout.

His former co-workers at Lerner David in Westfield said he was universally liked, calling him "the most charming, delightful guy." 

"The staff loves him. They were in tears and some of them still are," said law partner Bruce Sales. "It's disbelief." 

Friedland's former neighbors in Hoboken, where he'd lived with his younger brother before marrying his wife, Jamie, recalled the "wonderful young man who had his whole life ahead of him," according to Joe Auriemma. 

"It can happen to anyone and that is the worst part of it all," said former neighbor Ryan Florez. 

Friedland met his wife at Syracuse Law School and they married two years ago. 

Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the prosecutor's office at (877) 847-7432.

Brian Thompson and Jen Maxfield contributed to this report. 

The refund train is leaving the station.

Amtrak is putting the brakes on a ticket refund policy that allows certain "no show" passengers on the rail system to get their money back if they miss their train with little to no notice.

Riders who purchase "Value fare" tickets will have to cancel their reservation within 24 hours of the departure time to qualify for a refund under a new policy posted to the passenger rail system's website this week.

Amtrak spokesman Clifford Cole said the change, announced Monday, "is being driven by a need to better manage our inventory and to be able to provide seats for customers who need to purchase at the last minute."

"We believe that by encouraging customers to let us know in advance that they are not going to travel on their scheduled train, we will be able to make more seats available for customers who need to purchase at the last minute." he wrote in an email.

"Flexible fare" tickets will continue to be fully refundable under the policy, which is set to take effect March 1, 2014. A third tier of low-cost tickets, known as "Saver fare," will remain ineligible for refunds.  

Under the old refund rule, passengers who canceled their "Value fare" ticket within 24 hours of departure or who failed to show up for a train could receive a refund worth the cost of the ticket after a 10 percent cancellation fee was deducted or an eVoucher for the full amount, Cole said.

The nationwide rail system serves an average of more than 85,000 passengers throughout the country each day.

Editor's note: A previous version of this article referenced a report containing an incomplete description of the old refund rule. The story has been updated with the full policy.

A truck carrying medical supplies overturned in San Diego Tuesday.

The 26-foot truck crashed along the off-ramp from southbound Interstate 5 to Oceanside Boulevard just before 11 a.m.

The truck was traveling from Los Angeles at the time of the crash.

California Highway Patrol said the man behind the wheel wasn’t injured. Officers closed the ramp to traffic and then helped unload the boxes of medical supplies in the cargo area to a waiting truck.

A 32-year-old Los Angeles man who describes himself as a performer at "the new frontier of broadcast journalism" was charged Tuesday with illegally recording phone calls to professional and college athletic coaches.

Watch: Who Is Kenneth Tarr?

Kenneth Edward Tarr, arrested last week, is scheduled for arraignment Dec. 30. He is charged with a felony count of eavesdropping for allegedly recording phone conversations with the coaches while assuming the identity of representatives from other teams.

California law prohibits recording people without their consent.

Tarr, posing as a team representative, gauged the coaches' interest in managing other teams and, in at least one instance, offered a coach a head coaching position, according to prosecutors. He then posted some of the conversations online, according to investigators.

The victims included coaches from the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, Major League Baseball and university football programs. Tarr contacted University of Hawaii Coach Norm Chow, Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier and San Diego Chargers Offensive Coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, NBC News reported, citing sources familiar with the investigation.

NBC football analyst and former NFL coach Tony Dungy also received a call from Tarr, who offered him the USC head coaching job, NBC News reported. Dungy discussed being contacted about the position during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show."

Former Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian accepted the job earlier this month.

In November, Tarr told NBC4's Fred Roggin he contacted Dungy several times and considered himself at "the new frontier of broadcast journalism and sports media and entertainment."

"Most people say they make prank phone calls, I do it," Tarr told Roggin. "I'm better at it than anyone else, and my career momentum is going forward."

If convicted, Tarr faces a maximum of three years in county jail.