US won’t stop ex-Lithuanian judge’s extradition

The State Department won’t intervene to halt the extradition of an ex-Lithuanian judge and parliamentarian wanted on charges stemming from her claim of a powerful pedophile network in Lithuania.

That word came in a Wednesday filing by Neringa Venckiene’s lawyers. Her attorneys say the 47-year-old could now be extradited at any time and want an urgent stay.

She faces charges that include disobeying a court order.

She recently told The Associated Press from jail in Chicago she feared being killed by Lithuanians she angered if extradited.

She became engulfed in a drama that captivated the country. It included alleged vendettas and her election to parliament. She fled to suburban Chicago in 2013, working with legal documents as a florist. U.S. agents arrested her on a Lithuanian warrant in February.