A local man died in a single vehicle motorcycle crash on Monday, May 7.

James Bertram, Jr., 32, of Monticello, was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 8:35 a.m. Monday by Deputy Coroner Anthony Vaughn and Deputy Coroner Gordon Hicks.

The Wayne County Coroner’s Office was notified of the crash at approximately 8:16 a.m. The scene was on Highway 674.

The accident is still under investigation and no further details were available at press time.

Kentucky State Police, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and Monticello Police Department were involved in the investigation.

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A federal indictment unsealed recently charges a London, Ky., physician, who has worked in hospitals and medical offices in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, with tax evasion.

The IRS arrested 63-year-old Werner Grentz on Tuesday, May 1. Grentz allegedly earned between $169,000 and $3,456,000 each year from 2005 to 2010, but failed to file tax returns for those years.

Grentz worked in hospitals and medical offices in London, Manchester and Monticello, Ky. and in Jellico, Tennessee.

According to the indictment, Grentz evaded his taxes by providing one of his employers with an IRS form in which he falsely claimed that he was exempt from having federal income tax withheld from his earnings. He also allegedly had his earnings deposited into the bank accounts of companies that he controlled in order to hide his income.

A federal grand jury in Lexington returned the sealed indictment on April 6.

Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Kathryn M. Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division, and Christopher Henry, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, jointly made the announcement.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The United States is represented in the case by Assistant United States Attorney John Patrick Grant and Kenneth C. Vert, Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division.

Grentz was arraigned in United States District Court in London on May 2.

If convicted, Grentz faces a maximum prison sentence of five years. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of sentences.

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The bond for a local woman who is awaiting a new trial on murder charges has been set at $250,000 cash, according to an order by Circuit Judge Vernon Miniard, Jr.

The order was entered in the Hope White case on Friday, April 27, after her attorney made the request for bond during a motion hearing earlier in the month. White is charged with murder in connection with the 2008 stabbing death of Julie Hicks Burchett.

A local jury found White guilty of first degree murder in April 2010, and recommended a 30-year sentence, but a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling issued last December reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial in the case. The ruling stated that the trial court erred in White’s case by denying her request for a jury instruction that included first degree manslaughter.

A new trial date has been set for September 17 in Wayne Circuit Court.

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Four local men have been arrested following an investigation into a series of burglaries and thefts in Monticello.

According to the Monticello Police Department, the investigation centered around burglaries and thefts reported in the Vine Street, Short Street and Monticello Avenue area on Monday, April 30.

Pursuant to an investigation, four men were arrested on Tuesday, May 1. They were: Justin Byler, 22, Monticello, charged with three counts of burglary third degree; Derrick L. Clarke, 20, Monticello, charged with three counts of burglary third degree; Dustin Davis, 22, Monticello, charged with one count of burglary third degree; and Billy Swart, 35, Monticello, charged with two counts of receiving stolen property under $10,000.

All four men were lodged in Wayne County Detention Center.

The Monticello Police Department was assisted in the investigation by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and agents with Operation UNITE. The investigation is continuing.

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A former EMS paramedic in Monticello was sentenced to two years in prison for tampering with pain medication that belonged to the Wayne County EMS.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove sentenced Susie Willis, 49, on Thursday, May 3, for tampering with a consumer product.

In May 2010, Willis admitted she broke the seal on at least two EMS vials containing pain medication called fentanyl citrate. She withdrew the medicine for her own personal use and refilled the vials with saline solution. She resealed the vials with crazy glue.

Willis plea agreement says that saline solution could have caused extreme physical pain or impairment of bodily functions if administered to a patient instead of the intended fentanyl citrate.

Willis’ surrendered her EMT license in December 2010.

Wayne County EMS Director Buddy Corder said that the ambulance service became aware of the problem almost immediately and the pain medication in question was removed. The paramedic was suspended and the case was turned over to the Kentucky State Police originally, which in turn contacted the Food and Drug Administration.

Under federal law she must serve 85 percent of her prison sentence and will be on supervised release for three years following her prison term.

Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Antoinette V. Henry, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigation, Metro Washington Field Office, and Rodney C. Brewer, Kentucky State Police Commissioner, jointly made the announcement on Friday, May 4.

The investigation was conducted by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Kentucky State Police. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Lee Gentry.

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The Monticello Police Department collected three pounds of unwanted prescription drugs during the DEA’s Take Back Initiative on Saturday, April 28.

According to Police Chief Ralph Miniard, this was the largest amount ever collected locally. The medicines were transported to the Kentucky State Police Post at London for proper disposal. The 16 Kentucky State Posts collected 644 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs during the four-hour event. By dropping off medications, Kentuckians kept potentially dangerous drugs out of the wrong hands.