Man claims he lured, strangled Etan Patz

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- A New Jersey man being interviewed by detectives as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz claims he lured and strangled the child 33 years ago.

Detectives who are questioning Pedro Hernandez are cautiously optimistic he is linked to Patz' disappearance in 1979, but they are not yet ready to charge him. A law enforcement official says he has implicated himself and has been tied to the case in the past.

Hernandez, who was picked up at his Camden area home Wednesday, reportedly says he strangled Patz and put his body in a box to dispose of it. Prosecutors are attempting to verify if it's possible that his claims match the known fact pattern.

One source has said that some of the suspect's statements contradict known facts, but adds that is not a reason to discount the bulk of his remarks.

Hernandez is being questioned in Lower Manhattan by NYPD detectives and investigators with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

He was in his 20s or 30s at the time of the disappearance and had a connection to the SoHo neighborhood where Patz vanished as he walked to the school bus. He says he was working in a bodega at the time.

There was an exhaustive search by the police and a crush of media attention. The boy's photo was one of the first of a missing child on a milk carton. Thousands of fliers were plastered around the city, buildings were canvassed and hundreds of people were interviewed. Now, police may have the break they have desperately searched for.

"An individual now in custody has made statements to NYPD detectives implicating himself in the disappearance and death of Etan Patz 33 years ago," NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said in a statement. "We expect to provide further details later today."

Last month, investigators dug up a SoHo basement for possible Patz remains. After a four-day search, they announced nothing conclusive was found, including any skeletal or human remains. Officials say the man in custody was not linked to the basement search.

Friday is the anniversary of the boy's disappearance, when detectives traditionally receive a landslide of hoaxes and false leads related to the case.

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Woman claims she was fired for being 'too hot'

new york city, sex discrimination, lawsuit, labor law, layoff, legal, labor dispute, job, style, new york news, kemberly richardson NEW YORK (WABC) -- In a bizarre and bitter lawsuit, a woman who worked at a business in midtown Manhattan is suing her bosses. She claims she was fired for being "too hot" at work.

"When my supervisor asked me to tape down my breasts, I asked my supervisor, are you kidding?" former employee Lauren Odes said.

The 29-year-old Odes said it wasn't a joke, and she was appalled by the suggestion and what happened at the 5th Avenue headquarters of Native Intimate's, a wholesale lingerie business. According to Odes' attorney, Gloria Allred, "The treatment was discriminatory, profoundly humiliating and unlawful."

The allegations of gender and religious discrimination were spelled out in the complaint currently filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The voluptuous blond was hired April 24 to coordinate shipments of sample to customers and maintained that her supervisors repeatedly complained about her physical appearance and attire, even though she insists there was no dress code, co-workers wore tank tops, and were casually dressed.

She wore a short sleeve purple dress on day two of her job and was allegedly told that the company's Orthodox Jewish Owners felt the piece was drawing too much attention and should not be worn for her "own safety."

The following Monday, she tried a hooded top, but the outfit was still criticized. On the fifth day, she wore a knee-length black dress with a shawl over it hoping to please her bosses, instead they told to wear a red bathrobe, which she took a picture of her wearing it in the ladies room.

"I felt ridiculous and extremely embarrassed, others in the office were laughing and asking why I was wearing it and I told them what I was told," Odes said.

Odes took off the robe and went to buy yet another outfit that she thought would be appropriate, but instead got a phone call saying she was fired, she feels because of the size of her breast and shape of her body.

"I do not feel an employer has the right to impose their religious beliefs on me when I'm working in a business that's not a synagogue, but sells things with hearts on the female genitals and boy shorts for women that say hot in the buttocks area," she said.

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