At least Peterson panel lives in comfort

C M Y K
A-1
12/11/04 22:36
MODESTO_BEE - FINAL - 1 - 12/12/04
It’s All Relative
401(k) Savers
Keeping the peace
at family gatherings
Firms jockey to help
workers manage funds
LIFESTYLES H-1
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WORK & MONEY D-1
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S U N DAY , DE C E MB E R 12 , 2 0 0 4
Today’s
Scoop
P R I CE $ 1 . 2 5
SPECIAL REPORT
A TROUBLED PAST
Mayor’s first year
Paramedics are supposed to
stabilize their patients before
they get to the hospital. In
many respects, a Bee editorial
says, that’s what Mayor Jim
Ridenour has done for
Modesto this year — stabilized
city government. Page B-6
Hotel has usual amenities,
with koi, karaoke to boot
Diagnosis: Poison
The mystery
illness that
has left
Ukrainian
opposition
leader Viktor
Yushchenko’s
formerly
handsome
face scarred and pitted is the
result of dioxin poisoning, his
Austrian doctors said
Saturday. The Back Page
By TODD MILBOURN
BEE STAFF WRITER
Honoring the Virgin
About 300 people gathered at
St. Stanislaus Catholic Church
in Modesto on Saturday to
honor Our Lady of Guadalupe,
the patron saint of Mexico.
Page B-1
Pill study refuted
A recent study touting a list of
unexpected health benefits for
the birth control pill was wrong
and should be discounted, say
scientists with the Women’s
Health Initiative. Page A-8
Footsteps of Jesus
Visitors to Israel wander the
alleys of Jerusalem’s Old City,
home to some of the holiest
sites of Christianity, Judaism
and Islam. Increasingly,
however, these visitors are
devout Christians looking to
follow in the footsteps of
Jesus. Page G-1
Coming Monday
In Hollywoodspeak, “epic” is a
generic term for any movie
with a $100-million-plus
budget whose creative team
has a nodding acquaintance
with historic data. With some
exceptions, it also has come to
mean a box office and critical
stiff. In LifeStyles
Weather
Fog yielding to sun.
High 59, low 43.
Yesterday: High 58,
low 48.
TED BENSON/THE BEE
Tony Daniloo’s DreamLife Financial mortgage firm in Modesto focuses on loans to low-income and minority groups.
Couple behind millions in pledges
has history of financial, legal problems
At left, DreamLife
Arena at California
State University,
Stanislaus. Below,
artist’s rendering
of the DreamLife
Cancer Center at
Emanuel Medical
Center in Turlock.
By TODD MILBOURN
T
BEE STAFF WRITER
ony and Nansi Masihi Daniloo,
the Turlock couple behind
millions of dollars in pledges to
Emanuel Medical Center and
California State University, Stanislaus,
have a history of financial and legal
troubles, including bankruptcies, late
payments and accusations of fraud.
The Daniloos and Modesto-based
DreamLife Financial made headlines
in recent months by pledging
$4.5 million for a cancer center and
other projects at Emanuel, and
$1 million for athletics at the
university.
Emanuel and Stanislaus State
happily accepted and publicly
acknowledged the pledges. But neither
Turlock institution did a background
check on the donors.
Here are some of the items The Bee
discovered:
• When the pledges were announced,
the Daniloos were involved in a
Chapter 7 bankruptcy filed in Oakland,
the third Nansi Masihi Daniloo had
filed since 1998, the year before the
couple married.
• The couple in recent years has
been slow to pay tens of thousands of
dollars in credit card and tax bills,
resulting in liens as well as lawsuits
being filed against them, according to
a search of property and court records.
• Tony Daniloo is facing several
lawsuits in Alameda County, where he
worked as a mortgage lender and
broker before joining DreamLife
Financial in 2003.
Pending cases involve allegations of
breach of contract and fraud.
SEE PAGE A-16, PLEDGES
DEBBIE NODA/THE BEE
TED BENSON/THE BEE
Tony Daniloo in his office at the DreamLife Financial mortgage firm in Modesto
Details on Page B-8
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Movies ........................... H-2
Obituaries........................B-3
Opinions..........................B-6
Travel ............................. G-1
Work&Money ................. D-1
Your Home...................... E-1
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To subscribe: 578-2222
The Modesto Bee, © 2004
At least
Peterson
panel lives
in comfort
REDWOOD CITY — It’s hard to avoid
news of the Scott Peterson case, even for
12 jurors ordered to do just that.
Dozens of complimentary copies of
USA Today litter the hallways of the Bay
Area hotel where they’re sequestered.
Friday’s edition included a front-page
headline that the death-penalty decision
had gone to the jury.
Though jurors are not allowed to read
newspapers, there are other reminders
of the case.
From the top floors, on a clear day, one
can see San
Francisco Bay,
where Peterson dumped
the bodies of
MORE ON THE
his wife, Laci,
PETERSON CASE
and his unborn
son, Conner.
Jurors under
It’s in this luxurious, suburstress.
ban
hotel
Page B-1
where the jurors will live
until they decide whether Peterson
should die for his crimes. He was convicted Nov. 12 of the murders of Laci and
Conner Peterson.
“Nobody in the world wants to be sequestered,” said Art Noffsinger, a
former Modesto resident who lives in
Las Vegas and was staying at the hotel
Friday night. “I guess if you have to be,
this is as good a place as any.”
Jurors are allowed to read only courtapproved books and magazines. Their
TV viewing is limited to sports and
court-approved movies. They are not allowed to use the Internet. They can place
calls, but can’t receive them. They can’t
have visitors.
And they cannot leave the seven-story
building in the middle of high-rise
suburbia. It’s about a 10-mile drive from
the Redwood City courthouse.
Rooms are pretty much like those at
any hotel: Big windows, televisions in
entertainment centers and paintings of
flower pots hanging on the walls. Rooms
start at about $69 a night for one kingsize bed, which is being billed to taxpayers. Jurors stayed at the hotel nine
nights before reaching a verdict. They
have stayed there three nights so far during the penalty phase.
Brochures tout the hotel’s sunny
atrium, where waterfalls pour into a koi
pond and bubbling stream.
There are two restaurants. One features Japanese cuisine. The second is a
sports bar and grill with eight giant TV
screens, two pool tables and a dance
floor, the scene of karaoke and dancing
parties during the weekend. A plate of
beef and broccoli costs $14; pints of domestic beer, $3.
For recreation, there’s a heated pool, a
whirlpool and a sauna. There’s even a
chance for holiday shopping. A firstfloor gift shop sells a number of novelty
items. Neckties go for $8.99.
Those who struggle with sleep might
find respite in the fitness center, which
is open 24 hours.
Bee staff writer Todd Milbourn can be
reached at 578-2339 or tmilbourn@
modbee.com.
Our goal is to help others with their holiday wishes
Dear readers,
A
Book of Dreams — our annual
holiday publication featuring
people in need and organizations that
help so many in our community — is
off to a wonderful start.
Thanks to your kindness, generosity
and overwhelmingly big hearts, we
have more than $34,000.
Here’s the rub. Our goal this year is
our highest ever — $119,427. We’ve
been publishing the book for 15 years.
It’s all about helping children and
there are a lot of needs to fill in our
community.
If we reach our goal of $119,427, we
will be able to:
• Help the Modesto Gospel Mission
provide shelter and clothing and a
little stability for homeless children.
• Help the Redwood Family Center
help women — and their children —
recovering from drug and alcohol
addiction; women such as Lisa
Phillips, seen here with
her twin daughters,
Chandra and
Haleigh Flowers.
• Help the
Alexander
Cohen Hospice
House
accommodate
younger
visitors as well
as adults. It’s not easy to lose a parent
or loved one, especially when you’re a
child.
• Help the Children’s Crisis Center
work with the 130 children who visit
each day. The center needs food, baby
supplies and office space.
The list goes on and on.
There’s still time to help.
We realize that $119,427
sounds like a lot. But
wouldn’t it be a
wonderful gift to
meet that goal
to help our
children? It
really would be
a dream come
true.
Send your contributions to:
A Book of Dreams Fund, The
Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 4922, Modesto
95352. All financial donations are
tax-deductible. None of the money goes
to administrative costs. The Stanislaus
Community Foundation administers
all funds for The Bee.
Donations will be accepted through
Dec. 24.
Thank you again — for sharing our
dreams and for sharing in the spirit of
this holiday season.
Susan Windemuth
Assistant managing editor