Story Archive

And Presto!

A street magician in Clearwater, Fla., asked for a volunteer from the audience attending a festival, and a woman stepped forward. Richard Cook said he’d make a scarf disappear, and told her to hold her hands out in front of her. Instead, she says, he grabbed her bikini bottom and pulled them out for a peek. The woman scolded Cook, but he allegedly did it again, and police were called. Cook, who has an “extensive criminal history” and has been in prison six times, has been charged with felony battery. Festival officials say he was not one of their acts. (RC/WFLA Tampa) ...The judge has better magic: he can make Cook disappear for 2–4 years.