LIONEL LUTHOR
SIGHTED

Brace Yourselves--He's Back

By Angela Perez

Rumors are circulating that the titan of LuthorCorp, Lionel Luthor, has been spotted around town. Sources say Smallville's most reviled enemy has taken up residence in our fair haven. Area locals claim to have seen the senior Luthor near the Scottish mansion presently occupied by his son, Lex.

One might ask why the notorious tycoon would dare set foot back in the region that he almost single-handedly brought to economic collapse last June. According to an anonymous source close to the Luthor family, the elder Luthor is in town recuperating from a third eye surgery meant to restore his sight. But others speculate that Luthor has more than just recovery on his mind.

Ernest Castallo, Smallville's largest commercial real estate broker, declined to disclose the purchaser of a 300-acre parcel of land sold yesterday by the Alfred Miller family estate.

The city coucil may rezone the land for commercial use; and insiders have linked Luthor to the purchase. Mayor Tate declined to comment on the rezoning issue.

So it seems Lex Luthor and his father are no longer estranged. After the elder Luthor placed the blame for the closure of Smallville's Fertilizer Plant No. 3 solely on the shoulders of his only son, Lex formed LexCorp, and many in the business world predicted all-out war was on the horizon. Following the devastating twister this past summer that left Lionel blind, Lex personally stood vigil over his father and even flew in the best medical professionals from Metropolis. Perhaps the younger Luthor feels that one should keep his friends close and his relatives even closer.

LuthorCorp shareholders stay privy to the company's future plans by accessing the somewhat cryptic LuthorCorp annual reports delivered last spring.

SMC PATIENT DIES OF
MYSTERIOUS OVERDOSE

By Gena McGuiness

Smallville locksmith Ray Wallace Jr., owner of Ray's Lock and Key, died yesterday in Smallville Medical Center after what may have been an accidental overdose of morphine. Wallace was admitted to SMC following a car accident in which his truck swerved off the road, avoiding a head-on collision with a vehicle that had veered into the truck's lane. Wallace was rescued by Smallville High School student Pete Ross, son of Lowell County District Judge Ross, when the student came upon the accident shortly after the crash. The driver of the errant car has not been identified.

Wallace suffered a concussion, lacerations and contusions. According to a source at SMC, the locksmith and former SHS star kicker was administered a morphine drip after complaining of severe lower back pain. Hospital logs show that Wallace's condition was checked just 45 minutes prior to the discovery of his death. The cause of the overdose is still under investigation, but sources say Wallace may have tried to increase his own morphine drip instead of appealing to medical staff. Interviews with nurses and doctors are ongoing. This is the first such incident at SMC, whose past reviews by the KDHE's (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) Bureau of Health Facilities have been mostly exemplary.

Wallace, 37, took over his father's locksmith business in 1983, when a busted knee the summer before entering Kansas State University sidelined him, and he lost his football scholarship. Raymond "Ray" Wallace Jr. is survived by his brother Gary Wallace of Central City. Services are pending.

MISSING DOCUMENTS
COULD REVEAL BIG-MONEY
"SMOKING GUN"

LuthorCorp And Fledgling Breakaway LexCorp
Might Be Affected
By Christopher James Beppo

Last week, this column noted the founding of breakaway company LexCorp, Lex Luthor's streamlined answer to his father's megacorporation, LuthorCorp. Shortly after the article went to press, however, another high-profile firm was shaken to its core by new revelations, and both LexCorp and LuthorCorp could be swept up in the wake.

It has been almost a year since LuthorCorp swallowed U.K.-based Hardwick Enterprises in a hostile takeover resulting from a series of poor management decisions on the part of magnate Sir Harry Hardwick. Now, Hardwick Consolidated Energy (HardCon), the only company owned by Hardwick that was not absorbed in the LuthorCorp conquest, faces shocking allegations that it grossly overstated its profits to dupe investors and creditors.

HardCon sacked its accounting firm, Norbertsen, last week amidst rumors that several missing documents could become a "smoking gun" exposing the well-suppressed decline of HardCon in the past few months. Norbertsen officials admitted that they were suspicious of the corporation's accounting practices as far back as February.

HardCon said it severed ties with Norbertsen after learning of the
auditor's massive destruction of documents and the possible theft of classified company information contained in computer disks, accounting files and memos. A lawyer for HardCon stated, "We're very concerned about the accounting advice we got, and we're particularly keen to get a hold of those memos as well."

The extent to which HardCon overstated its profits came into question after the disks and files, which are believed to contain warnings and data about an alleged accounting scandal, were reported missing. Officials at both HardCon and Norbertsen refused comment, but highly placed sources, on condition of anonymity, pointed to a recently terminated employee as the culprit. "One of the VPs may have tried to blow the whistle on HardCon and had to go into protective custody. The marshals have been snooping around here for a couple of days now."

If prosecutors can prove that HardCon was involved in fraudulent activities, then LuthorCorp's acquisitions, such as Hardwick Enterprises and its subsidiary Cadmus Labs, could be dragged into the controversy. LuthorCorp is already being closely monitored by state and federal agencies regarding one of its holdings, Metron Pharmaceuticals, which was charged with improperly experimenting on several children in a study.

RECLUSIVE METEOR ROCK SCIENTIST DIES

By Kathy Romita

Scientist Dr. Steven Hamilton, a sometime Smallville resident, died suddenly last night at the Smallville Medical Center. Hamilton, 55, succumbed to an unknown illness several hours after being admitted. Hospital authorities are baffled as to what killed the eccentric researcher. "We've only seen one other person who presented with the same 'jittering' symptoms," explained Dr. Kenneth Ruddzhen. He further added, "We have no reason to think it is contagious. His death seems to be related to an overexposure to a rare mineral. We are conferring with the DCA on this one."

While still a student at MIT, Hamilton was recruited by NASA to study the Apollo moon rocks. He remained with the government agency for several years. Hamilton then moved to Metropolis in 1985 and served as a research professor at Metropolis University for eight years. His observations on meteorites garnered him several awards and a seat among the scientific elite. Hamilton's fascination with the Smallville meteor shower led to a controversial research paper explaining his theory that our meteors altered cellular makeup. His thesis was so far-fetched that all private research funding ended. He was denied tenure at Metropolis University and discredited throughout the scientific community. He retreated to Smallville soon thereafter to devote himself to further research on Smallville's meteorites. As late as last year, the mineralogist supported his work by selling small fragments of meteor rock at the roadside stand in front of his property on Allentown Road.

Hamilton had not been seen in Smallville for the past several months. Medical personnel described his appearance as gaunt and weak, some commenting that Hamilton was so far gone that he "seemed to be sweating green." Dr. Hamilton has no known survivors.