DISTRICT ATTORNEY WEIGHS CHARGES AGAINST EX-MAYOR

By Frank Moore

The Smallville District Attorney's office is expected to announce formal charges against disgraced ex-Mayor William Tate, who resigned one week ago after confessing to his shocking involvement in a 42-year-old murder and its subsequent cover-up.

Sources close to the district attorney said the indictment might include counts of accessory to homicide, obstruction of justice and destruction of city property. Currently being held without bail, Tate has issued no public comments since he admitted having played a role in the 1961 slaying of young housewife Louise Potter McCallum.

Mrs. McCallum was found shot to death in her barn by Tate, at that time a sheriff's deputy. Her body was in the arms of her farmer husband, Dexter McCallum, who maintained that a mysterious drifter he saw fleeing the scene was to blame. McCallum was later convicted of the crime largely because of Tate's eyewitness testimony.

But it is now clear that the wrong man was sent to jail. Prompted by the former mayor's recent statement to the authorities, an investigation has uncovered new information concerning the murder. On the morning of the killing, Deputy Tate freed a violent criminal just days after the man had been arrested for robbing Mrs. McCallum at gunpoint.

Tate then allegedly concealed his actions by tearing out pages of the police log from that day. Thanks to a tip from some enterprising Smallville High students working on a school project, a police blotter corresponding to those missing pages was found in the archives of the Ledger.
The blotter entry reveals the shocking identity of the thief Tate released to be an unemployed Scottish immigrant named Lachlan Luthor, the father of LuthorCorp CEO Lionel Luthor. According to Mitchell Taylor, LuthorCorp director of public relations, "Lionel Luthor has no knowledge of this alleged connection between his late father and Mr. Tate."

The district attorney's office has not officially disclosed whether it suspects that Lachlan Luthor was Mrs. McCallum's true killer, nor has it indicated what may have motivated Tate's involvement. "Those questions will be answered in due time in open court," the district attorney said in a written statement. It is clear, however, that Luthor was not the mysterious drifter Dexter McCallum claimed to have seen before he discovered his dead wife. The identification of that man is still unknown.

One wonders if the spectators at that eventual proceeding will include Dexter McCallum. Now 67 years old and in ill health, he was released from prison last week an innocent man.

FROM COVER GIRL
TO JAILBIRD
Wayward Teen Repents
By Kathy Romita

Lana Lang, the sweet fairy princess who graced the cover of Time magazine back in 1989, was arrested yesterday for stealing a car. Her boyfriend and crime partner, Seth Nelson, remains comatose in the Smallville Medical Center. Nelson was later the victim of an unrelated freak electrical accident. Doctors do not know if he will recover.

Yesterday afternoon, Nelson allegedly stole a new car off the Smallville Auto Sales lot on Highway 19. Nelson stopped by The Talon and picked Lang up. The two were planning to leave Smallville. Lang reportedly removed all the money from The Talon coffeehouse cash register, a charge that co-owner Lex Luthor vehemently denies. Lex said, "Even if Lana did clean out the daily receipts, she's entitled. After all, she is one of the owners."

It is believed that on Monday night, the duo broke into the county fairgrounds and rode the Ferris wheel. Neighbors remember seeing the ride lit up and running even though the attraction was closed. A lock on the main gate was found on the ground. Nelson had worked at the fair at one of the skill-testing booths.

Sheriff Adams caught up with Lang on the outskirts of town and arrested the teen for her involvement with the stolen auto. Shortly thereafter, with Nelson's help, Lang escaped from jail.

Lang's friends insist she was "not herself" for a few days. Martha Kent explained, "This is totally out of Lana's character. For some reason, she was drawn to Seth and couldn't fight the attraction. He pulled her into this new, exciting world, and she simply couldn't resist. I know she's remorseful now." Some theorize she might have been ill with a strange flu, similar to the one she suffered almost two years ago.

Three days ago--before the electrical accident--Seth Nelson was working his booth at the county fair and was rushed to the Smallville Medical Center after an altercation with a disgruntled fairgoer. Radiology department staff members reported that an incident occurred with an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine while Nelson was being scanned but refused to further elaborate. The event is being investigated by the MRI manufacturer as well as the center's administration. After Nelson's accident, a repentant Lang turned herself over to the sheriff.

MANHUNT FOR MORGAN EDGE
STILL UNDERWAY
"If He's Out There, We'll Get Him," Vows MPD
By Jim "Slim" Bradlee

Months after the Metropolis Docks exploded in flames, exposing a bizarre double murder bridging Metropolis and Smallville, MPD's Lieutenant Maggie Sawyer says the case against missing crime boss Morgan Edge remains open.

"Popular conception is that Edge was killed in a shootout that day, along with his henchman Edgar Hoyt," stated Sawyer. "We have Hoyt's body--with two bullet holes in it--but where's Edge's? This is far from over. We dredged the entire area and came up empty, and Edge has fallen off the radar since then. Trust me, the district attorney is very interested in our progress on this case."

The MPD also has the body of Ethan Carter, found impaled on a pitchfork in Smallville, raising concerns here that Edge may be expanding his operations beyond the island of Metropolis and into its once peaceful surroundings.

"My folks moved to Smallville to get away from this sort of thing," commented B.B. Davenport of the Smallville Chamber of Commerce. "The thought that big-time crime could be getting a foothold here is truly frightening."

Sawyer says Edge has almost certainly been behind much of the mayhem plaguing Metropolis' suicide slum district. "We've got bits and pieces on him going back decades. And I'm not naming names, but we suspect that he acquired many powerful and influential friends on his way to the top of the criminal heap. Our people are looking into all the angles. If he's out there, we'll get him."

URBAN LEGEND: ABLE TO LEAP BUILDINGS IN SINGLE BOUND?

By Max Taylor

This is the third in a series of four articles that chronicled the exploits of Metropolis' Urban Legend this summer. It is reprinted with the permission of our sister paper, Daily Planet.

Metropolis is an island steeped in legend and lore. As a reporter who occasionally loves to break into columnist mode in order to bring the more fascinating tales of this city to my readers, I am one part baffled and two parts intrigued by the most recent subject that has every one of you abuzz at our local coffeehouses, bars and water coolers. You know the question; it barely needs repeating. But here Max blows: Who in Hell's Kitchen is the Urban Legend? I mean, come on people! Is this guy for real?

No one really knows the answer to that question, yet the folklore continues to flow. My contacts at the MPD remain baffled as they press on, interrogating the few who claim to have actually seen him (her? it?).
For those just tuning in, let's recount, shall we? The rumors began in late spring with the now infamous brawl at the Blue Rose biker bar, 20 miles outside of town. Eyewitness accounts tell of a young drifter who started and quickly finished a fight in a superheroic display of raw physical strength. All witness accounts offer supernatural tales of power that I will leave to the masterfully illustrated recounting by Planeteers Mark Verheiden, Clint Carpenter and Tom Derenick, available in stores November 19.
It only gets more difficult to explain away from there. Lieutenant Maggie Sawyer reports multiple thefts involving a masked man who punched through an ATM machine and grabbed thousands in cash with his bare hands.

The perpetrator then bolted out "faster than a speeding bullet, " according to one witness, Kyle Anderson. More recently, Luis Renterria, a longtime hot dog vendor posted on the sidewalk just below the LuthorCorp Plaza Tower had another Urban Legend tale for me. Luis swears he saw a masked man leap "from the Daily Planet all the way to LuthorCorp." Now, I've been buying dogs from Luis since I was a Daily Planet intern. I know him only as a completely genuine and trustworthy Metropolitan who makes the best chili dog The Big Apricot has to offer. In other words, I trust the guy.

So yesterday, my trusty associate Loreen and I went up on the roof of the Planet equipped with a fancy-schmancy tool used for measuring the logic of Luis' claim and the distance between our building and LuthorCorp Plaza. It's 217 feet--with a slight 10-story incline to boot! So this means that either Luis is spiking his chili with the wacky dust, or we have an anomaly worthy of Daily Planet column space and Max Taylor midnight oil reserves.

Max Taylor--The Daily Planet

Are we talking about a real human being here? Or is this just another chapter in a growing Urban Legend the entire city is spinning together? For now, we are left without a concrete answer or a positive ID. For now, we are simply left to wonder, ponder...and discuss. For now, I'm still Max Taylor and this is what you'll talk about today.