Briefly... CITY/REGION

Targeting mortgage cheats

Federal, state and local officials here announced the results yesterday of "Operation Stolen Dreams," a nationwide takedown launched last year by the Obama administration targeting mortgage fraudsters.

Since last December, the U.S. Attorney's Office here has charged 20 defendants in a wide variety of scams involving everything from home improvement to investment and foreclosure rescue. The cases involve more than $40 million in bogus loans and hundreds of defrauded homeowners. The charges have resulted in three guilty pleas and one defendant was sentenced to three years in federal prison. For more on this, See Page 79.

Witness bill on hold

A bill that would fine people who intimidate witnesses and then utilize the money to assist victims and witnesses was put on hold by City Council yesterday after Mayor Nutter said that he would dedicate $200,000 in city money for witness protection.

"Hopefully this will get the ball rolling with the state and the federal government to create a real protection program that people can have confidence in," Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. said.

Riding against crime

The Midnight Ride for Peace, a periodic, motorized stand against violence, will roll through crime hot spots tonight in South Philadelphia. Those interested in participating in the event, sponsored by Men United for a Better Philadelphia and the Police Department, should start up their motorcycles and classic cars and gather at City Hall at 10 p.m. to hear speakers. Kickstands go up at 11.

Autopsy: State cop was drunk

State Police Cpl. John Quigg, 48, who died in a head-on crash after driving the wrong way on the Schuylkill Expressway early Tuesday was driving drunk, according to autopsy results released yesterday. Quigg, of Wyndmoor, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27 percent, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent, when he entered I-76 from the Spring Garden exit ramp, according to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office.

Quigg, an accident reconstructionist and drug-recognition expert who had supervised state police sobriety checkpoints, had been on desk duty since December, when he was arrested for DUI after a low-speed crash in Upper Merion. He faced a hearing on that case the day he died. The driver of the car Quigg crashed into remained hospitalized yesterday with severe leg injuries.

Bells Corner loop complete

SEPTA marked the completion yesterday of an extensive overhaul at the Bells Corner Loop in Northeast Philadelphia.

As part of a $1.4 million state-funded project, SEPTA has completely overhauled the facility at Castor and Bustleton avenues.

Man hurt in Kensington shooting

A man was shot and critically wounded in Kensington about 9:45 p.m. yesterday. Police said that the victim, whose name was not released, was wounded in the head and thigh on Boudinot Street near Allegheny Avenue and admitted to Temple University Hospital in critical condition. Police had no suspects or motives. Tipsters can contact East Detectives at 215-686-3243.

Cops: He aimed, they shot him

Police shot an 18-year-old man who pointed a sawed-off shotgun at them in Germantown early yesterday.

Two officers were looking for suspects in an earlier attempted armed robbery when they encountered two teens fitting the robbers' description at Penn and Pulaski streets about 3:30 a.m., police said.

The older teen brandished the shotgun and both cops fired, hitting him in the chest and leg, police said. He remained in critical condition at Albert Einstein Medical Center yesterday. The other teen, 16, wasn't injured.

Del. man eyed in jewel heists

A Delaware man has stolen thousands of dollars in merchandise from at least eight area jewelry stores in recent weeks, including yesterday in Monroe Township, N.J., police said.

In each theft, Jonathan Wesley Wiseman, 27, allegedly asked to see rings and other jewels, then ran away with them, police said. Robberies in Bensalem, Middletown Township and Northeast Philadelphia alone netted him about $27,000 worth of jewels, Bensalem police said.

- Staff and wire reports