New Jersey court orders Mega Millions winner to share jackpot

Americo Lopes, a New Jersey construction worker who scored a Mega Millions lottery jackpot in 2009, tried to cheat his fellow workers out of their share of the pool by claiming the ticket as exclusively his own, a jury has ruled.

Five other construction workers based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, will share the jackpot after a state court ruled unanimously that Lopes had fraudulently claimed the entire bounty. The $38.5 million ticket amounted to $24 million after Lopes chose the cash option.

The plaintiffs were identified as Candido Silva Jr., Carlos Fernandes, Daniel Esteves, Candido Silva Sr. and Jose Sousa, according to court spokeswoman Sandra Thaler-Gerber.

They are expected to be awarded about $2 million each, after taxes and attorneys' fees, she said.

"They feel vindicated," said attorney Rubin M. Sinins, who said the group of workers had chipped in on the pool since 2007.

New Jersey's The Star-Ledger newspaper reported that Lopes responded to the ruling by saying "They robbed me."

His wife, Margarida, added that "justice was not served today," the newspaper reported.

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New Jersey lawmakers approve gay marriage, veto looms

Lawmakers in the US state of New Jersey approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, but the measure appeared likely to stall as Republican Governor Chris Christie has pledged to veto it.

The state's General Assembly on Thursday voted 42-33 in favor of the measure, following the Senate's approval earlier this week. The measure is now to be sent to Christie on Friday.

Christie, a rising star in the Republican party who supports White House hopeful Mitt Romney and has been mentioned as a possible vice-presidential candidate, has repeatedly said he will not approve the bill.

"I am not a fan of same-sex marriage," Christie said in a recent television interview.

"It's not something that I support. I believe marriage should be between one man and one woman. That's my view. And that'll be the view of our state because I wouldn't sign a bill like the one that was in New York."

Christie has said he would support a referendum on the issue.

So far, seven US states -- Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington -- and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriages.

A group of 80 US mayors -- including New York's Michael Bloomberg, Chicago's Rahm Emanuel, Antonio Villaraigosa from Los Angeles and Annise Parker from Houston -- last month unveiled a campaign to win support for same-sex marriage.

Gay marriage was briefly authorized in California in 2008, but later banned by a referendum re-writing the state's constitution to restrict marriage to unions between a man and a woman. 

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