Real police investigate a virtual theft, and more

Real police investigate a virtual theft

Italian police are investigating a woman’s claim that virtual burglars broke into the virtual home she maintains in an online game and stole her virtual furniture. Paola Letizia, 44, says she spent $140 of actual money furnishing and decorating her virtual apartment in the Facebook game Pet Society, and that by hacking into her Facebook account, the “burglars” committed a real-world crime. “I don’t think it matters that the apartment only exists in Facebook,” said Letizia. “It is real to me and I have suffered a real loss.”

Lady Gaga steals a boyfriend

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A TV actress has accused Lady Gaga of stealing her boyfriend, saying she had no chance of competing with “the most powerful woman in the world.” Alex Stebbins had been dating bartender Luc Carl for a year when Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, began calling and texting him. Carl resisted at first, but the pop star persisted and won him over. “She can literally have anything she wants and I had the one thing she couldn’t have,” Stebbins said. “That made her want it even more.”

Burglar carjacks bridesmaids’ limousine

A Massachusetts wedding was briefly interrupted when a burglar fleeing police carjacked the bridesmaids’ limousine. The five bridesmaids had just pulled up at the church when an unidentified assailant, who had just burgled a nearby home, smashed the limo’s window with a hammer, hauled the driver from the vehicle, and drove off. The bride was in the church at the time, and the bridesmaids and other members of the wedding party waited until after the ceremony to share news of the carjacking with the happy couple. “People didn’t want to create a bad vibe,” said one bridesmaid.