Police on Long Island say their hate crimes unit is investigating an anonymous note sent to a black resident asking her and her family to leave the town, which the letter said is "84 percent white."

"ATTN: AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY," the all-caps note read. "THIS IS COMING FROM LINDENHURST COMMUNITY."

"YOU DON'T BELONG HERE," the letter continued. "PLEASE LEAVE LINDENHURST AS SOON AS YOU CAN. IT WILL BE BETTER FOR ALL OF US."

The letter urged the woman to find a town "WHERE THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU," and ended with, "SORRY IF THIS IS RUDE, BUT IT'S THE TRUTH."

Darcell Copes lives in the home with her three grown children and five young grandchildren. 

"I went from being fearful, protecting my family, to being totally confused, and wanted to know who and why," she told NBC 4 New York Friday. "Today, it becomes even deeper: is it someone in the school district, is it the guy at the corner store, is it my neighbor down the street? Where?" 

Daughter Ronica Copes uploaded a photo of the menacing, hateful letter to Facebook, and the image has since been shared more than 1,500 times. Dozens of Facebook commenters expressed outrage about the letter, postmarked May 19.

"Sooooo, I'm checking my mail and when I come across this I can't help but laugh... wait, it's not funny though," Ronica Copes wrote on her Facebook page. "Where they do that at? Oh yeah Lindenhurst. Unbelievable but then it's not ... our daily reality, I've just never seen it in this form."

The Copes said they've been receiving support from the community. The family has lived in the home for two years and say they hadn't experienced overt racism in the past since moving there -- but the letter is proof that alive and well in 2015, and they're not shocked. 

Babylon Town and Lindenhurst Village condemned the letter for its "racist hateful views" in a joint statement obtained by Lindenhurst Patch Friday.

“The best way to fight bias is with solidarity and we stand with all of our residents in declaring that there is no place for this type of intolerance and hatred in the Village of Lindenhurst, the Town of Babylon, or anywhere in our community,” the statement said, according to Path. “We are, and always will be, a strong diverse community that does not cede ground to hostility, ignorance, or hatred, wherever it may appear.” 

Darcell Copes called the letter writer a "coward" but will pray for the person, she said. The family won't be intimidated and plan on staying, she added

A Chicago police officer seen in a viral video apparently sleeping inside a squad car was suspended for five days without pay, a department spokesperson confirmed.

"This incident is unacceptable and not in keeping with the high expectations placed on our officers by this department and the residents of Chicago," the department said in a statement to NBC Chicago.

The penalty was handed down after the officer in seen in the video came forward, the department said. 

The video was posted online last week after being recorded at an intersection on the city's Southwest Side. A man narrating in the footage claims a number of shootings have happened in the area, and suggests a parked squad car is there to patrol.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel reacted to the video on Wednesday and implored the media and the public to keep the incident in context with the other positive things the city's public servants do.

"The video, I think, is there for all to see and make a judgment," he said after a meeting of the Chicago City Council. "You have to look at what the men and women in uniform throughout the city do all day," he said. "There are a lot of videos of officers, and a lot of them do exactly what you’d want them to do, both on duty and off duty, consistent with the responsibilities of being a police officer, which means we put a lot of trust in you."

A 31-year-old woman was indicted Friday on murder and robbery charges in the death of a 28-year-old man found bloodied and unconscious under a mattress at a midtown Manhattan hotel blocks from the Empire State Building earlier this week, according to court documents and authorities.

Christine O'Brien had been with victim Roderick Goodwin, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, in his hotel room at the Hilton Garden Inn early Monday before going down to the lobby and bringing five people -- four men and another woman -- up to Goodwin's hotel room with the intent to rob him, a criminal complaint alleges.

Surveillance video shows O'Brien, the four men and other woman, getting onto an elevator from the lobby around 3:30 a.m., then leaving the hotel sometime later, the complaint says. Two of the men were seen walking down the stairs carrying a large object hidden in a sheet, which is believed to have been a hotel safe stolen from Goodwin's room at the 298-room hotel near Herald Square.

According to court documents, hotel security alerted police after getting a number of complaints around 3:45 a.m. about noise and yelling coming from Goodwin's room. Officers responding to a 911 call found him face down on the floor under the mattress, authorities have said. Blood and broken glass littered the floor of the room, the criminal complaint said. Goodwin was pronounced dead at a hospital. The medical examiner ruled he died of blunt force trauma and asphyxiation,

According to the criminal complaint, one of the men O'Brien allegedly brought up to Goodwin's room smashed him in the head with a bottle, causing some of the traumatic injuries detectives observed. All five suspects then proceeded to beat up Goodwin, kicking and punching him while they repeatedly demanded he give them the combination of the hotel room safe, the complaint said.

O'Brien allegedly told investigators she hit Goodwin in the torso. At one point during the beating, when Goodwin said something that sounded like a number, O'Brien allegedly told investigators she went to the room safe and tried to open it using the number she heard. It didn't work.

Ultimately, O'Brien and the other four suspects left the room together and pulled the safe off the wall so they could take it with them, the criminal complaint says. It wasn't clear what might have been in the safe, and there was no word on the whereabouts of the group O'Brien allegedly involved.

O'Brien was remanded to jail after arraignment Wednesday. She was not in court when the grand jury indictment was announced Friday and is due back in court next month.

Daniel Scott, an attorney for O'Brien, said the criminal complaint has some inaccuracies.

"What they claim she said she did is not true," Scott said. "You have very persuasive detectives putting words in people's mouths."

Scott said detectives obtained the information after a lengthy interrogation that lasted "many hours." He said he met with his client after the indictment was handed down Friday, and that she's doing OK, given the circumstances. Scott said he and his client were looking forward to litigating the case.

The Hilton Garden Inn did not return AP calls earlier this week seeking comment on the murder.  

Behind a humble facade in the middle of White Plains, New York, lives are being changed for returning combat veterans, thanks to one idea hatched by a former first responder six years ago. 

"Education has been my best weapon, I think, to help veterans coming home fight their way back," said veteran readjustment counselor Liz Ianelli, who has developed a program teaching police how to interact with veterans.

"It's encouraging them to think differently and have a raised level of awareness that veterans are a special population, and they do have distinct needs," she said. 

From traffic stops to chance meetings, the training equips police with tools to recognize if a veteran is struggling with readjustment, depression and even PTSD.

White Plains Police Commissioner David Chong heard about Ianelli's program and immediately had her teach his entire department.

"We can't forget the service that these young men and women have done for our country," he said. "We're a service department. We're out there to help them." 

It's not just about lectures in a classroom. Ianelli and the officers take the classroom out into the field. At a traffic stop training demonstration, an officer practiced telling the driver: "I see on here you're actually a vet." 

The driver said she'd just returned from deployment, and the officers offered to escort her back to the Vet Center in that training session. 

"For that officer reaching out in that moment, it can profoundly change the direction of someone's life," said Ianelli.

The officers can identify how to problem-solve, defuse a situation, or even direct vets to the Vet Center for more help. 

"Veterans want to know that you care," said White Plains police officer Michael Cheeks, who was a Marine serving in the Persian Gulf before he joined the police department. He has seen the positive impact the First Responder Initiative is making.

"It actually helps us do our job better," he said. 

In just six years, Ianelli's idea has spread across Westchester with dozens of police departments receiving the training, and every new recruit going through the class.

Now first responders across the country are starting to take notice of what began in a humble office in White Plains, and on this Memorial Day weekend, Ianelli says listening and offering help is the least we can do for veterans.

"This country is big on the phrase, 'We'll never forget,' but I'd say, we'll never stop learning," said Ianelli. "If you see a need, what are you going to do about it?" 

The agency that supplies most of the water to San Diego County announced Thursday it plans to increase rates to its member districts.

The San Diego County Water Authority said Thursday it will propose a plan to increase 2016 rates by 6.6 percent or $72 per acre-foot more for untreated water and 5.4 percent or $74 per acre-foot more for treated water in calendar year 2016.

The decision is in response to cuts announced by the Metropolitan Water District, which sells imported water to agencies serving millions of Californians. The MWD announced earlier this year it will reduce regional deliveries by 15 percent effective July 1.

The board of directors must approve the plan on May 28 and a public hearing on the changes will be held June 25.

The SDCWA, a wholesale supplier of water to 24 local water agencies, gets the majority of its water from the MWD.

Officials said each member district will then decide how its own retail rates will reflect the increase when it charges customers.

An acre-foot is about 356,000 gallons or roughly the amount of water needed to serve two households for a year.

If you are one of the millions expected to travel this Memorial Day Weekend, the Transportation Security Administration wants you to leave knives and other banned items home.

Airlines expect 2.6 million air travelers over the holiday weekend, a 2.5 percent increase from 2014 according to AAA.

More than 60,000 passengers were expected Friday at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field.

In the last 24 hours, TSA officers at Lindbergh Field have confiscated knives, tools and even a credit card knife.

It’s just a drop in the bucket when it comes to the estimated 7,000 pounds of prohibited items collected at the airport’s security checkpoints each week, officials said Friday.

Passengers should review what is prohibited as a carryon item before they arrive to the airport, officials said.

There are even certain foods that need to be checked.

"If passengers just take the time to put it in their checked bag, it'll be fine and it will be there when they get there," said spokesperson Nico Melendez.

If you have a specific question, use the TSA's "Can I Bring?" section on their app.

Get more information through the TSA website.
 

A fire broke out in a canyon behind the parking lot of a Walmart in Santee Friday morning, officials confirmed.

The blaze began around 8:20 a.m. in a canyon and near a riverbed in the 100 block of Town Center Parkway. By 9 a.m. fire crews were asking for water drops to help contain the flames.

Officials said no homes or buildings in the area were threatened.

Firefighters were able to quickly get a handle on the fire. Firefighters borrowed a raft from Walmart so they could get to a hotspot in the riverbed. By 9:50 a.m., the blaze was almost fully knocked down.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. No one was injured.

Two men were arrested and several others are wanted in connection with the beating death of a man at a park in Oceanside earlier this year, police confirmed.

The Oceanside Police Department said search warrants were served at different locations related to the February 2015 homicide at Buddy Todd Park. Several people are being questioned by police.

Ultimately, officers arrested and charged Oceanside resident David Ioane, 25, with conspiracy to commit murder. After Ioane's arrest, another suspect, 24-year-old Oceanside resident Chris Augafa, turned himself in to police.

On Feb. 16, Oceanside resident Moustafa Gordon, 24, was found beaten to death at Buddy Todd Park in the 2800 block of Mesa Drive. He was found at the northeastern edge of the park and had suffered deadly blunt force trauma to his face.

Oceanside Police Lt. Leonard Cosby said the victim’s lifeless body appeared to have been lying in the park for several hours. The victim was discovered by a resident walking his dog at the park that morning.

Lt. Cosby called the beating death “an attack of great severity” and said it is likely Gordon knew his assailant or assailants.

Now, investigators are searching for three others in connection with Gordon's death: Angelo Doeing, 31; Raider Seau, 33; and  William Epenesa, 45.

After Gordon died, NBC 7 spoke with the victim’s brother-in-law, Orbary Walker. He described Gordon as a veteran who worked as a mechanic in the military and a “really nice guy always helping people.”

NBC 7 reached out to Gordon's family Friday who said they had been briefed by police regarding the search warrants and persons of interest in the case. The family was still waiting for names to be released but believe those involved were some of Gordon's "so-called friends."

Gordon's mother, Rashidah Abdul-Khaliq, spoke with NBC 7 about her son -- the baby of the family, a proud Army veteran and talented mechanic.

“He had an irresistible smile and a kind spirit. He was just an all-around good guy,” Abdul-Khaliq said.

The mother said her family is seeking justice for Gordon. She said she can't understand what could've motivated someone to brutally beat her son to death.

“We all have faults. But there is nothing in this world that my son could’ve done that warranted the heinous crime that was done to him,” she said. “He was beaten so bad, it took the morticians five hours to reconstruct his face.”

"No one deserved what he got," she added.

Abdul-Khaliq said this is the second time she has had to bury one of her children. Her eldest son was killed in a car accident.

“Let’s make sure that there’s a conviction for those who did this,” said the mother. "

The investigation is ongoing.
 

One person died in a gas leak Friday morning at a home in Encinitas, officials confirmed.

Authorities were called to a house in the 200 block of Florita Street just after 11 a.m. to investigate the leak.

When crews arrived, officials smelled a strong odor of natural gas coming from the home and noticed a “very high level” of gas based on meter readings, Encinitas Battalion Chief John Blumeyer said.

When crews entered the home, they discovered one man dead inside.

As of 11:20 a.m., firefighters were working to secure the leak. San Diego Gas & Electric had also been called to the scene to shut off the gas source.

Blumeyer said most of the windows inside the home were shut. He could not say whether foul play was suspected. Sheriff’s deputies were called to take over the investigation.

NBC 7 spoke with one of the victim’s friends who said he was visiting from Huntington Beach. When he arrived at the home, he smelled gas and heard a hissing sound coming from the kitchen area.

The friend, who asked to remain anonymous, said he opened a window into the house and found the victim dead on the couch.

He said the victim worked as a tattoo artist, loved to surf and was a father to three young children. Those kids were not home at the time of the gas leak. The friend said the victim did not seem despondent or suicidal when he last spoke with him on Sunday.

Jon Dodd, another of the victim’s longtime friends, said the man was a wonderful person. He saw him just three days ago and said nothing suggested the victim was having any problems.

“I’ve known him since I was in the fifth grade. He’s been my friend this whole time. He’s the reason I live in Encinitas. We grew up in Long Beach together. He’s a good father, a good husband and he’s wonderful. Multi-million guys’ best friend. The guy is loved,” Dodd told NBC 7.

As of 2 p.m., officials remained on scene. San Diego County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Jan Caldwell said investigators did not yet know if this death was accidental. She said the San Diego County Medical Examiner would help make that determination at a later time.

Deputies were not conducting a criminal investigation, Caldwell said, but the investigation into the gas leak and death is ongoing.

The victim’s name was not immediately released.

A man convicted in a fatal robbery of a ice cream truck driver in Coconut Grove, Florida, more than 40 years ago when he was just a teen is a free man.

Prince Johnson has been in prison since he was 16, following his 1971 trial for first-degree murder in the death of Marta Roman.

At a hearing Friday, a Miami-Dade judge furloughed the sentence. Johnson thanked his family after he was set free.

"My family, for all the moral support they gave me, standing by me," he said.

Prosecutors accused Johnson and another teenager of shooting Roman during a robbery of her ice cream truck in July 1970. Two 6-year-old girls told investigators they heard the shots and saw the teens running away from the ice-cream truck.

At first, prosecutors were seeking the death penalty for Johnson, but a judge sentence him to life in prison instead.

"The State knew that there was another person involved, they couldn't connect it. Prince was never alleged to be the shooter in this case, he was a kid who possibly got swept into this incident," public defender Gail Lewis said.

"I'm so happy and I want everybody to know there is a God up above," family member Olive Johnson-Coley said. "He missed his whole life, he was only 16."

"He wouldn't take anything from people, he was different but today is my day, I can't wait to kiss him," aunt Kathleen Basten said.

Three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all juvenile offenders sentenced to death or to life in prison must be re-sentenced. The court deemed it a cruel and unusual punishment otherwise, and now the courts are seeing more cases like Johnson's.

A bizarre slow-speed chase of a man in a convertible Ford Mustang ended peacefully Friday when a man stepped into traffic and in front of the car and stopped it, forcing the driver to surrender.

The man in the Mustang had a sign on the driver's side door reading, "Victory Parade," as he led police on pursuit at 10 mph with his hazard lights on in the western San Fernando Valley.

The man flashed victory signs, and waved and saluted at bystanders on sidewalks as he wove in and out of traffic while police followed along the main Valley drag, Ventura Boulevard.

The man had a beard and was wearing a newsboy cap. In addition to the sign on the driver's side door, a sign on the passenger-side door read: "victory" and below that "war over we win."

The pursuit began at 5:45 p.m. in Northridge after an off-duty firefighter called police to report an erratic driver, said LAPD Lt. John Jenal.

The pursuit ended about an hour later when an onlooker stepped into the path of the car. The Mustang driver appeared to try to wave the man away, but he didn't budge.

The driver got out of the car with his hands up and surrendered. He faces a less serious misdemeanor charge of evading arrest. Police said he has a history of mental illness and they believe he was having a "crisis."

The man who stopped the chase was intially detained by police but later released.

Witnesses were shocked to see him handcuffed at the scene.

"A slow-speed pursuit and then the guy that stopped the car got arrested?" said witness Kelsey Savoie. "I don't understand why that happened."

William Renaud said he thinks the man should get a reward.

"He was brave," he said.

Jenal said police do not condone someone "endangering themselves, impeding the road."

Rosa Ordaz contributed to this report.

Three members of a D.C. family — and their housekeeper — were held overnight by more than one person before they were slain in their home last week, according to new court documents filed Friday afternoon.

The youngest of the victims, 10-year-old Philip Savopoulos, died from "thermal injuries" and stab wounds. He was found in a bedroom consumed by fire, the documents say.

There was a strong smell of gasoline permeating the house, and a K-9 officer detected an "ignitable liquid." A matchbox and several matches were found at the top of the stairs.

The court documents reveal new details in the murders of Savvas Savopoulos, 46; his wife, Amy Savopoulos, 47; their son, Philip, and housekeeper Veralicia "Vera" Figueroa, 57, on May 14. 

Darron Dellon Dennis Wint, 34, is the only person charged in the murders so far, though the documents say Wint "and others" held the family hostage until $40,000 in cash was delivered Thursday. The deed “required the presence and assistance of more than one person," the documents say.

Wint's name was spelled "Daron Dylon Wint" in previous filings in the case, though today's filing says Darron Dellon Dennis Wint is his "true name." He has also used his brother's name: Steffon. 

Court documents also indicate more than one person knew of the delivery of the $40,000 to the Savopoulos family's home in the hours before the victims died.

In fact, one of those witnesses changed his story about critical details of the case while police were interviewing him, changing his claims of when the request to deliver money was made, how he received the package and where it was left.

The person the documents call "W-1" said that he received a text from Savvas Savopoulos Wednesday evening, instructing Savopoulos' assistant to meet another employee Thursday morning to pick up a package.

Initially, W-1 said the request to pick up a package was made Thursday morning.

The employee took four bundles out of his or her pockets and put the cash in a red bag belonging to W-1.

W-1 drove the assistant to the Savopoulos home, and called Savopoulos 10 minutes before arriving. According to the witness, Savopoulos instructed W-1 to leave the money in a red car inside the garage.

The assistant put the money inside a manila envelope and left it on the driver's seat. Police did not find the envelope in the car during their search of the home.

Police said at Wint's court hearing Friday that they are still looking for a red car missing from the mansion's garage. It was not immediately clear whether this was the same vehicle.

Wint appeared in court Friday afternoon in a prison jumpsuit, his hands and legs shackled. He is charged with first-degree murder while armed. 

In court Friday, Wint was ordered held without bond and ordered to submit to a DNA swab. He did not enter a plea, and is due back in court June 23.

Police said during the hearing that they are looking at a plastic water bottle with fingerprints on it that was found at the crime scene.

On Friday, D.C. and Prince George's County authorities searched a motel in College Park where Wint and and others were seen the previous night. Investigators carried bags of evidence from the motel shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.

Wint was arrested late Thursday while in a two-vehicle caravan including a box truck in northeast D.C.

The white Chevrolet Cruze Wint was in was followed from the Howard Johnson motel in College Park by members of the fugitive task force. A Prince George’s County Police helicopter also Tracked the car for several miles as it headed south on Route 1 into the district, providing the exact location to officers on the ground.

Officers at the scene described Wint as stoic.

A court document said U.S. marshals saw "a large stack" of what appeared to be $100 bills in the truck. This denomination is consistent with what was delivered to the victims' home.

NBC News has confirmed that at least $10,000 was found in the truck.

The marshals also saw several money orders.

An occupant of Wint's vehicle admitted to authorities that he or she had purchased money orders "under the direction of an identified person who was providing [him or her] with money," according to the document. The person providing the money was not named in the document.

The occupant of the vehicle also told authorities he or she believed the total amount of money orders exceeded $10,000.

He had once worked for the company run by one of the victims, and was identified as a suspect after authorities made a DNA match on a partially eaten slice of pizza left behind in the Savopoulos' home.

Investigators found two Domino's pizza boxes in the bedroom where the three adult victims were found, according to the court documents obtained Friday.

The pizza boxes were time-stamped May 13 at 9:14 p.m. — the night before the killings — and paid for with the Savopoulos' credit card.

A Domino's employee who took the order told detectives that the caller, believed to be Amy Savopoulos, gave some unusual instructions. She told the Domino's employee that she was caring for a sick child and couldn't come to the door, so the delivery person should leave the pizzas on the front porch, ring the bell and then leave.

The delivery person told detectives that all the lights in the house were off, with just the front porch light illuminated. The delivery person placed the food on the porch as instructed and left.

San Diego County residents are paying for an outside public relations consultant to write press releases, assist with communications and identify press opportunities for San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts' office, according to county documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates.

Roberts also has a communications staffer on his county payroll and has recently hired a campaign-funded crisis communications expert.

Marketing and communications professional Lisa MacLarty has been working with Roberts' office since March, according to a contract obtained by NBC7 Investigates through the state public records act.

MacLarty referred questions about the contract to Roberts’ office. A spokesperson for his office told NBC 7 Investigates they did not have a comment on the public relations contract.

MacLarty has a $6,000 contract for a three-month period with the supervisor. Invoices for the PR work were not immediately available.

Roberts has been under fire this month after accusations from former staffers were made public about alleged abuse of public funds and unfair treatment of employees.

In a claim filed against the county last week, former scheduler Diane Porter accuses Roberts of misusing public funds, carrying on an inappropriate relationship with 26-year-old staffer Harold Meza and retaliating against those who objected.

Through a spokesman and in written communication, Roberts has denied those allegations.

Roberts' spokesman Gary Gartner, a crisis communication expert, said Roberts’ former chief-of-staff Glynnis Vaughan authorized the PR contract with MacLarty.

Vaughan filed a claim Thursday against the county about the supervisor and the workplace environment in Roberts' office.

Vaughan’s attorney said the contract is between MacLarty and the county.

“MacLarty was hired through the county through a legitimate procurement process,” said attorney Lynne Lasry. “My client didn’t authorize the contract because she has no authority to authorize it. The County does that."

In Vaughan’s claim, she alleges the supervisor’s office attempted to pay for an additional consultant through nefarious means. Vaughan described how she uncovered a deal Roberts made with a n Arizona consulting which had provided services to his office for two years – a deal, she said, that was “never properly authorized by the County of San Diego.”

According to Vaughan's complaint, that Arizona-based consulting firm said it was owed $28,900 for its work.

NBC 7 Investigates surveyed the other four county supervisors to find out if any had outside PR consultants paid with taxpayer dollars.

Staff in Supervisors Dianne Jacob, Greg Cox and Ron Roberts’ offices all said there were no outside communications consultants working for their offices. Supervisor Bill Horn’s office did not answer.

MacLarty recently sent a news release about a speaking engagement at Mira Costa Community College in which Roberts was to talk about the role of a county supervisor. That event was scheduled for Friday but Roberts cancelled the event at the last minute.

Members of the public still showed up for the event. Some said they were disappointed because they wanted to tell him they still support him.

“I have known Supervisor Dave Roberts for more than 15 years,” District 3 resident Mary Jane Boyd said. “I know him to be a person of the highest integrity and I know absolutely that he has not done anything improper or unethical.”

NBC 7 Investigates is working for you. If you have more information about this or other story tips, contact us: (619) 578-0393, NBC7Investigates@nbcuni.com. To receive the latest NBC 7 Investigates stories subscribe to our newsletter.
 

NBC 7's Gene Cubbison has this analysis about the developments behind the Chargers stadium scramble.

The Chargers may hold heavy leverage in upcoming stadium talks with the city and county.

But smart card-playing by the public sector’s outside negotiators might serve to to boost the team’s antes and call its bluffs.

Mayor Faulconer’s nine-member Citizens Stadium Advisory Group set the bargaining table while enduring four months of carping from critics -- shelling out upwards of $40,000 from their own bank accounts for expenses, to spare the taxpayers.

"I mean, they were under the gun,” said San Diego Union-Tribune sports columnist Nick Canepa, “and they came through with something. Now is it perfect? No. Are the Chargers going to accept this plan? Not a chance -- I mean, not a chance!"

There's still no official response from "Chargers Park" to the city's proposal for a new stadium.

It's not even clear whether team president Dean Spanos himself has read the financing plan.

He's got high-priced talent to vet the numbers and recommend bargaining strategy.

But at City Hall, at County Center, and in other influential quarters around town, spines seem to be growing – and abject terror over the prospect of losing the Chargers diminishing.

There’s a strong feeling about the franchise needing to put up more money than it's offered in the past.

"We can't have a plan where the Chargers aren't putting in their fair share,” said CSAG spokesman Tony Manolatos. “So we put them down for $300 million. Twelve years ago, when they introduced a plan, they put themselves down for $200 million. Costs have gone up astronomically since then."

Will that – and having the team paying $10 million a year in rent over 30 years, after a decade of paying none at Qualcomm Stadium -- wind up being a deal killer?

“If they want to leave, why don't they just go?” Canepa asked, rhetorically, during a Friday recording session for Sunday edition of NBC 7’s “Politically Speaking” public affairs program. “I mean, why put everybody through all this?"

Especially the most fanatic Bolts backers in the team’s fickle, fair-weather fan base?

Non-sports types who see the Chargers leaving as good riddance?

And -- before billionaires reap public subsidies and bigger profits -- the 'middle ground' of San Diegans who like their NFL football, but also want solid infrastructure and adequate public services?

“In the end it's going to be a question, can you tell people that it's a modest investment that brings the community together to create cohesion?" National University economist Erik Bruvold predicted during the PolSpeak recording session.

Sportswriter/broadcaster Annie Heilbrunn offered this bold sizeup: "I know the financing is a big issue. I honestly think they can work through the financing. What they can't work through are these timelines."

Meaning, environmental reports on redeveloping the stadium site, re-zonings, land use "entitlements," whatever electioneering needs to be done.

And what about the Bolts' parallel stadium track in Carson, which informed NBC 7 sources are convinced is a serious player in the scheme of things -- not just bargaining leverage, and farther along in the league's mind that the Inglewood bid that's stampeded this whole crisis?

"We have to tough up,” San Diego CityBeat editor Ron Donoho said in an interview Friday. “If the Chargers have already decided that they're going to move, then there's really nothing we can do. But it we do tough up, that's the only way that this stadium plan will pass a public vote in San Diego.

To hammer home the point, Donoho added: "There's a lot of risk in going to L.A. And granted, there may be much more reward. But there's no reason the city of San Diego should not play hardball."

Negotiators are due at the bargaining table on June 1.

The half-hour discussion on "Politically Speaking" airs at 5 p.m. Sunday.

The former manager of a taxpayer funded affordable housing complex in San Diego is the subject of an embezzlement investigation, according to the San Diego Police Department.

Royal Property Management (RPM) lost the property management contract at Hotel Sandford this month after the San Diego Housing Commission and SDPD were alerted to possible cases of embezzlement at the complex. RPM was awarded the property management contract last October by the San Diego Housing Commission.

The San Diego Housing Commission is in charge of overseeing the building’s operations on behalf of the City of San Diego, which owns the 130-room complex located downtown. In 2010 the city bought the former hotel and converted the building into housing units for seniors.

The Commission is governed by the San Diego Housing Authority, an administrative body that includes all nine San Diego City Council members.

The owners of RPM said they hired Michael Shew to run the day-to-day operations of the housing complex when they were awarded the property management contract. According to the owners, when they first took control of the housing complex, the converted hotel, built in 1914, was in poor condition after a fire on the building’s third floor last year brought not only fire but flooding damage to the building.

RPM’s owners said the company and Shew fixed all of this; they even added a computer center for seniors living at the complex. According to them, everything was going smoothly, until last month. That is when, they say, they were first alerted that rent checks, made payable to the Hotel Sandford, were not being cashed into the hotel’s accounts.

When RPM brought this to the attention of Shew, the owners said, he submitted his resignation the next day, citing personal health issues.

The owners said they then alerted the San Diego Housing Commission and handed over all of Hotel Sandford’s financial records to Commission members. RPM owners also said, after they learned of the problems with the rent checks, they filed a police report with the SDPD’s Economic Crimes Division.

SDPD Spokesman, Lt. Scott Wahl, confirmed to NBC 7 Investigates an investigation into Shew is ongoing but could not comment further because it is in the preliminary stages.

At this time, no charges have been filed against Michael Shew or RPM’s owners.

NBC 7 Investigates reached out to Shew via email. He responded Friday night, writing "This is certainly interesting news and the first I have heard of it. Clearly I will offer no comment at this time until speak with an attorney."

RPM owners told NBC 7 Investigates they hope the actions of one person will not impact the years of hard work they dedicated to Hotel Sandford’s residents and other San Diegans living at their facilities. RPM manages rental properties across the county from Escondido to downtown.

NBC 7 Investigates learned the San Diego Housing Commission began an internal audit of Hotel Sandford’s records in April.

RPM was removed from managing the Hotel Sandford in early May. Residents at the complex told NBC 7 Investigates they received a written notice in the mail on May 7. It said the San Diego Housing Commission would be taking over management duties until further notice.

Sanford’s residents say they’ve noticed the recent management change and rarely see Housing Commission management on site.

NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the San Diego Housing Commission regarding the recent change in management and the preliminary results of the internal audit performed last month.

In response to these questions, the Housing Commission’s Senior Vice President of Communications Maria Velasquez said in an email, “the Hotel Sandford is now under the management of the San Diego Housing Commission. At this time, we can only confirm that we are conducting an operational and fiscal audit of the project and its operation."

We reached out to all nine city council members about the Hotel Sandford audit and investigation.

In an email to NBC 7 Investigates, Councilmember Lorie Zapf said she was unaware of the pending investigation but is concerned with the allegations. Councilmember Marti Emerald said she plans on meeting with the Housing Commission and SDPD to get more details about the investigation. All other councilmembers who responded said they were unaware of the investigation and unable to comment on it at this time. Council President Sherri Lightner and Councilmember Myrtle Cole have yet to respond.

NBC 7 Investigates is working for you. If you have more information about this or other story tips, contact us: (619) 578-0393, NBC7Investigates@nbcuni.com. To receive the latest NBC 7 Investigates stories subscribe to our newsletter.

Mileage reports from embattled San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts’ office show a staffer tasked with driving Roberts to events logged 2,096 miles on his personal vehicle between July 2014 and April 2015.

Policy Adviser Harold Meza asked for reimbursements for those miles, stating on the reports that the purpose of the trips was mostly to drive Roberts to various events.

Questions over Roberts’ transportation were raised when a former staffer alleged the supervisor is double-dipping into the county’s car funds, using a county-provided vehicle or those of his staffers’ while also accepting a $1,000 per month allowance for his personal car.

The supervisor’s staff also logged more than 15,000 miles on the county-owned vehicle assigned to Roberts’ office in 2014 and 2015, according to records released to NBC7 Investigates through the California Public Records Act.

County policy about the car allowance states: “Such allowance shall be in lieu of all transportation charges or use of County provided vehicle by such eligible employee for motor vehicle travel within San Diego County in the performance of official duties.”

Meza’s mileage reports show he routinely picked Roberts up at the supervisor’s home and drove him to various events such as Lion’s Club meetings, the National Federation of Filipino Association Gala, the American Lung Association Lung Force Walk Kick-off and the San Diego Latino Jewish Coalition Breakfast.

On Oct. 26, 2014, for example, Meza picked Roberts up from the San Diego Airport and transported him to the Marriott hotel on Rio Drive for the Gala of the San Diego Filipino American Humanitarian Foundation, the records state.

Meza then took Roberts from the gala to his home, detailing on the reports that the purpose of the trip was to “drop Dave off.”

On another occasion -- last November -- Meza logged leaving the Sheraton hotel in Carlsbad and driving to Roberts’ home. The stated taxpayer-funded purpose of that car trip was to “drop Dave off,” according to the report.

In her claim filed against the county, former scheduler Diane Porter said she didn’t think it was a proper use of taxpayer money.

“You’re paying him to drive, but you’re getting money for your car because you’re supposed to be using your car … that’s not right,” Porter said

Staffers also complained in the claims in interviews with NBC7 Investigates that Meza’s sole job duty was to drive Roberts around -- an accusation Roberts’ spokesman adamantly denies.

“He served as a policy advisor and a community representative,” spokesman Gary Gartner said at a news conference Thursday. “Some media outlets have unfairly categorized him as a driver and chauffer. A chauffer is somebody who takes you to an event, drops you off, and then waits for you and takes you to the next event. What the aides to the supervisor, including Harold and other aides have done is they take the supervisor to the event, they staff the supervisor. When people have constituent problems or complaints, or issues, they take notes on the back of the business card and then they follow up with that constituent or person. That’s part of the job.”

“In Harold’s case, because he speaks Spanish so eloquently, he served as a Spanish-language translator for media interviews as well as for constituents who spoke Spanish. It was also his responsibility to figure out a route to get the supervisor to meetings,” Gartner said.

On Nov. 10, Meza’s mileage reports state he picked Roberts up at his house and transported him to a destination identified as “work.” He billed 20 miles for that trip.

On a day in October, he made eight trips with Roberts, logging 106 miles.

A spokesman for the county said the agency reimburses mileage at the standard IRS rate, which would mean Meza applied for about $1,205 in reimbursements for those 2014 and 2015 trips.

Roberts’ spokesman Gartner said county officials forgot to give Roberts a form for him to sign that had all the information about the car allowance.

Gartner said Roberts was aware he was receiving the $1,000-a-month stipend on top of his $147,000 annual salary, “but he was not given the proper forms to sign that actually stated that.”

Gartner said it is not considered misuse of the car benefit.

“Supervisor Roberts also drove himself some of the time to meetings,” Gartner said. “He was not taken all of the time by people. I would say 10 to 15 percent of the time, if it was something close by to his home in Solana Beach, or Del Mar, and someone wasn’t available on his staff, he would take himself to those meetings.”

NBC7 surveyed the other four county supervisors who all said they also accept the car allowance. Supervisors Bill Horn, Ron Roberts, Greg Cox and Dianne Jacob said they rarely, if ever, go to events in any vehicle other than their own personal car.

There's no guarantee they will survive, but this could be their only shot.

Eight brown pelicans soaked in sludgy crude oil have arrived at the Oiled Bird Care and International Bird Rescue Center in San Pedro, California, where veterinarians and expert are scrambling to help the seabirds survive.

"They have been very heavily oiled," said Dr. Christine Fiorello of the Oiliced Wildlife Care Network based out of UC Davis. "Anywhere from 90 to 100 percent oiled."

So far, eight brown pelicans have been saved, but the bodies of five oil-soaked bodies of pelicans have been recovered, officials told Reuters Friday. Those being cleaned up and washed in San Pedro are expected to have a good prognosis, "based on the fact that they were captured promptly and getting care right away," according to Fiorello. "We’re lucky for that."

Rescuers also saved two sea lions and one elephant seal from the spill zone since the pipeline ruptured on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the cleanup and recovery operations.

The cleanup process is tedious. At first, the birds sit for 48 hours, so they can adapt to the stress of being removed from their environment, Fiorello said.

The team then uses various cleaning chemicals to first loosen the oil from the birds’ feathers before using Dawn dishwashing detergent to finally wash out the oil.

The Oiled Bird Care and International Bird Rescue Center is part of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's "Oiled Wildlife Care Network," and the closest to the spill near Santa Barbara.

"We have drills, we are getting ready for a spill every day of the year," said Eric Laughlin of Fish and Wildlife. But he said the whole process will take time.

Once the birds are cleaned, they are cared for medically for up two weeks before they are expected to be released back into the wild.

The release is expected to happen in San Pedro, because pelicans are migratory birds and could be released anywhere along the coast, Laughlin said.

Dozens of girls being raised without fathers weren't left out Friday night when the Chicago Police Department held its first-ever "Daddy Daughter Dance."

The event at the South Shore Cultural Center wasn't intended for officers and their daughters, but rather as a way for all dads to spend a formal evening with their little girls. Still, many of the girls who come from neighborhoods where poverty and violence leave little for celebration got a very special escort: a commander, sergeant or officer who was happy to stand in for their dads.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing because some people don't really associate with their fathers," said 13-year-old Brejay Payne. "So once you come out, dressed up, and dance, eat, and play with your father, it's kind of a nice day."

Girls, dads, and officers were dressed to the nines for the free, formal event. While the girls got an opportunity to enjoy food and refreshments and be the center of attention, officers got a chance to connect with community members and show that policing is more than just walking a beat.

"They actually get to see us to find out that that the police are nothing but people. We just happen to have uniforms on," said Cmdr. Larry Watson.

Chicago police districts 5, 7, and 9, as well as the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, planned the dance. They said they hope to make it an annual event.

A sea lion sickened in the oil spill near Santa Barbara is being rescued and cared for by SeaWorld San Diego.

The sea lion was driven to SeaWorld Thursday night to be treated by veterinary staff. The animal was hurt at the Refugio State Beach near Santa Barbara, where a broken oil pipe spilled about 105,000 gallons of oil into the ocean.

Dr. Todd Schmitt, a senior veterinarian at SeaWorld, said the female sea lion had oil covering much of her body and 50 percent of her head.

“When the van arrived, you could actually smell the fumes,” Schmitt said. “She was fairly alert and responsive, but you could tell she had a long day.”

Schmitt said the sea lion’s prognosis is guarded, as staffers are still monitoring how the oil has affected the animal’s health.

Oil can be damaging to sea lions in that it's irritating to their skin, restricts their ability to thermal regulate and can be toxic if ingested, veterinarians said.

This is the first sea lion sickened by oil that’s come to SeaWorld San Diego, Schmitt said.

Earlier this week, a team from the Oiled Wildlife Care Network set up at SeaWorld San Diego and washed and treated oil-soaked birds.

The sea lion will undergo a similar treatment, which Schmitt describes as “wash, clean and stabilize.”