Briefly...

Student guilty in cats' deaths

Philadelphia University student Erik Lach, 23, of School House Lane near Wissahickon Avenue, in East Falls, pleaded guilty in Municipal Court yesterday to animal-cruelty charges in connection with the deaths of three cats, two of them his own.

Under a negotiated agreement, Lach was sentenced to time served to 23 months in jail, followed by three years' probation. He was immediately paroled. Lach also was ordered to pay $1,700 in restitution to his now-former roommate and to undergo mental-health and anger-management counseling. He also was prohibited from having contact with animals for 10 years.

$125M in back taxes collected

The city Law Department announced yesterday that the city has collected about $125 million in delinquent property taxes since September 2007, when a new tax-foreclosure collection initiative began.

If you owe tax money and would like to settle the debt, it is recommeded that you go to www.phila.gov/law/tax_

delinquent.html.

Archdiocese closing 2 schools

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is closing two more parish schools because of declining enrollment. Church officials said Saint Benedict's School, in Germantown, and St. Ann's, in Bristol, will close at the end of the academic year in June.

Ex-MTV figure cleared

Prosecutors are expected to drop theft charges against former MTV guest correspondent Daria Calvecchio, 23, after her father, John, said he was solely responsible for an embezzlement scheme at his former company. They were charged last year with stealing more than $100,000 from the Arthur Jackson Co. in Upper Darby, but Daria Calvecchio's attorney, Robert Keller, said yesterday she was unaware that her father was depositing money into an account under her name.

Burglars get cop's gear, PC

Burglars broke into the Chester home of a part-time Darby Township police officer last week and stole gun clips, bulletproof vests and laptops, including one that contained information from his job as a state constable, police said yesterday.

Chester Police Capt. Joseph Massi said that the computers are password-protected and that the burglary appeared to be random. Tipsters: call 610-447-8426.

Unions want to block furloughs

Two New Jersey unions - one representing 33,000 police officers and firefighters and one for 60,000 rank-and-file state and municipal workers - are asking a court to stop furloughs of public workers. The unions filed separate actions yesterday, seeking to block a new Civil Service Commission rule giving the governor and local governing bodies power to impose temporary layoffs because of the economic crisis.

Haverford market evacuated

The Haverford Superfresh in the Manoa Shopping Center was evacuated yesterday morning when a malfunctioning fan in the bakery area caused a buildup of carbon monoxide, police said. Twenty-six people were examined for possible exposure and three were treated at local hospitals. The supermarket was evacuated last summer for a similar problem. *

- Staff and wire reports