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• Tavern operator dies trying to save friends; other state briefs
• Tavern operator died trying to save friends; other state briefs

BLANCHARDVILLE -- The owner of a burned-out tavern in Blanchardville died while trying to save three others who were killed.

Authorities said Daniel Hardekopf, 45, was found in a stairwell on the lower level of the three-story building and died later at a Monroe hospital.

His girlfriend Jelayne Hughes, 44, was found on the second floor apartment level, along with two of the couple's mutual friends: Brian Monte, 34, and Cody Olson, 23.

The fire was reported just after 3:20 a.m. Monday in a building that housed the Silver Dollar Saloon, which Hardekopf and Hughes operated. According to Wheeler News service, Monte and Olson were staying in the couple's apartment after a night of poker and watching football.

Duane Hanson, the building's insurer and a long-time friend, said Hardekopf leased the bar for a year and a half, and he was in the process of buying the 106-year-old building.

Damage could exceed $300,000.

The fire was thought to have started on the second floor, but the cause has not been determined. Federal and state agents are helping local authorities investigate.

Exec accused of embezzling $4.5 million

MILWAUKEE -- An executive of Koss Corporation has been suspended after being charged with embezzling $4.5 million.

Federal prosecutors said Sujata Sachdeva of Mequon used the money to pay off credit card bills for expensive jewelry, top-of-the-line clothing and expensive home items.

She appeared in court Monday and was freed on bond on a charge of wire fraud. The money was taken over the past two years.

The amount was 2 ½ times last year's profit for Koss, which makes stereo headphones.

Sachdeva has been the vice president of finance since 1992 and is active in a number of charitable causes.

The NASDAQ stock exchange halted Koss's trading Monday at the company's request.

The firm says it will investigate what it calls "unauthorized transactions" to see if they will affect Koss's financial statements.

Company filings said Sachdeva made $173,000 in the last fiscal year. Authorities said she spent $1.3 million at one store in Mequon.

ATV users warned of thin ice

State officials say snowmobilers and ATV riders are taking too much of a chance by going on the ice this early in the season.

A Muskego man was killed over the weekend after riding his ATV on Big Muskego Lake southwest of Milwaukee. It's a spring-fed lake that often produces unstable ice.

State DNR snowmobile administrator Gary Eddy says the ice is just starting to firm up, and very few bodies of water throughout Wisconsin are thick enough yet to support vehicles.

Two of last winter's 23 snowmobile deaths in Wisconsin were caused by drowning.

The National Weather Service says the average daily temperature this month has been 27 degrees, a degree colder than normal. Experts say it often takes a few days of zero or below weather to create five inches of ice, the minimum required for recreational vehicles to drive on.

The DNR often suggests a foot of ice, and spokesman Bob Manwell says you can never assume that any ice is safe. He says it's a good idea for visitors to ask local people about the conditions, especially now.

State Supreme Court won't hear tax refund case

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will not consider giving the Xerox Corporation a $104,000 tax refund.

The justices have refused to act on a ruling last summer from a state appeals court, which said Xerox must pay personal property taxes on some of the copiers it leases to business customers.

Xerox said its stand-alone machines which copy, print, fax and scan should be classified as computers, which are exempt from the personal property taxes that businesses pay. But the appeals' court ruled in July that the machines are not computers and should be taxed.

The case involved $8.3 million worth of items taxed in La Crosse and Milwaukee. Xerox had already paid the charges and was seeking a refund.

Ex-mayor goes to court on sex charges

RACINE -- Former Racine Mayor Gary Becker is due in court Tuesday afternoon after he apparently struck a plea deal on charges connected with an Internet sex sting.

Becker, 52, is charged with seven felony counts.

He was arrested in January after he allegedly chatted online with a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl. Authorities said he went to a mall to meet the girl for sex, and she turned out to be a state Justice Department agent.

Becker was investigated after he allegedly asked a city employee to fix his personal computer, and the worker found child pornography on it.

Becker was in his second term as Racine's mayor when he was arrested. He resigned five days later.

BLANCHARDVILLE -- The owner of a burned-out tavern in Blanchardville died while trying to save three others who were killed.

Authorities said Daniel Hardekopf, 45, was found in a stairwell on the lower level of the three-story building and died later at a Monroe hospital.

His girlfriend Jelayne Hughes, 44, was found on the second floor apartment level, along with two of the couple's mutual friends: Brian Monte, 34, and Cody Olson, 23.

The fire was reported just after 3:20 a.m. Monday in a building that housed the Silver Dollar Saloon, which Hardekopf and Hughes operated. According to Wheeler News service, Monte and Olson were staying in the couple's apartment after a night of poker and watching football.

Duane Hanson, the building's insurer and a long-time friend, said Hardekopf leased the bar for a year and a half, and he was in the process of buying the 106-year-old building.

Damage could exceed $300,000.

The fire was thought to have started on the second floor, but the cause has not been determined. Federal and state agents are helping local authorities investigate.

Exec accused of embezzling $4.5 million

MILWAUKEE -- An executive of Koss Corporation has been suspended after being charged with embezzling $4.5 million.

Federal prosecutors said Sujata Sachdeva of Mequon used the money to pay off credit card bills for expensive jewelry, top-of-the-line clothing and expensive home items.

She appeared in court Monday and was freed on bond on a charge of wire fraud. The money was taken over the past two years.

The amount was 2 ½ times last year's profit for Koss, which makes stereo headphones.

Sachdeva has been the vice president of finance since 1992 and is active in a number of charitable causes.

The NASDAQ stock exchange halted Koss's trading Monday at the company's request.

The firm says it will investigate what it calls "unauthorized transactions" to see if they will affect Koss's financial statements.

Company filings said Sachdeva made $173,000 in the last fiscal year. Authorities said she spent $1.3 million at one store in Mequon.

ATV users warned of thin ice

State officials say snowmobilers and ATV riders are taking too much of a chance by going on the ice this early in the season.

A Muskego man was killed over the weekend after riding his ATV on Big Muskego Lake southwest of Milwaukee. It's a spring-fed lake that often produces unstable ice.

State DNR snowmobile administrator Gary Eddy says the ice is just starting to firm up, and very few bodies of water throughout Wisconsin are thick enough yet to support vehicles.

Two of last winter's 23 snowmobile deaths in Wisconsin were caused by drowning.

The National Weather Service says the average daily temperature this month has been 27 degrees, a degree colder than normal. Experts say it often takes a few days of zero or below weather to create five inches of ice, the minimum required for recreational vehicles to drive on.

The DNR often suggests a foot of ice, and spokesman Bob Manwell says you can never assume that any ice is safe. He says it's a good idea for visitors to ask local people about the conditions, especially now.

State Supreme Court won't hear tax refund case

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will not consider giving the Xerox Corporation a $104,000 tax refund.

The justices have refused to act on a ruling last summer from a state appeals court, which said Xerox must pay personal property taxes on some of the copiers it leases to business customers.

Xerox said its stand-alone machines which copy, print, fax and scan should be classified as computers, which are exempt from the personal property taxes that businesses pay. But the appeals' court ruled in July that the machines are not computers and should be taxed.

The case involved $8.3 million worth of items taxed in La Crosse and Milwaukee. Xerox had already paid the charges and was seeking a refund.

Ex-mayor goes to court on sex charges

RACINE -- Former Racine Mayor Gary Becker is due in court Tuesday afternoon after he apparently struck a plea deal on charges connected with an Internet sex sting.

Becker, 52, is charged with seven felony counts.

He was arrested in January after he allegedly chatted online with a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl. Authorities said he went to a mall to meet the girl for sex, and she turned out to be a state Justice Department agent.

Becker was investigated after he allegedly asked a city employee to fix his personal computer, and the worker found child pornography on it.

Becker was in his second term as Racine's mayor when he was arrested. He resigned five days later.