New York City briefs

Cops: Shia LaBeouf arrested at theater

Actor Shia LaBeouf, who starred in the "Transformers" movies, was arrested at Studio 54 in Manhattan during a performance of "Cabaret," police said last night.

The actor was charged with criminal conduct and disorderly conduct and taken into custody, NYPD detective Brian Sessa said.

LaBeouf, 28, began making a disturbance and then used obscene language and became belligerent after security guards asked him to leave, NYPD spokesman George Tsourovakas said. He was escorted out of the theater by police after refusing to go with security guards, Tsourovakas said.

A representative for LaBeouf could not be reached for comment.

Alleged gang leader convicted of killings

A federal jury in Brooklyn yesterday convicted Ronald Herron, the alleged leader of a violent Bloods gang in Brooklyn's Gowanus housing projects, of racketeering and three homicides to support his lucrative drug-trafficking operation.

Herron, 32, who was both an accused drug kingpin and a self-styled rap artist using the street name "Ra Diggs," authored lyrics played at trial in which he claimed he had previously "beat a body." Prosecutors said it was slang for getting away with a murder.

In 2001, he was acquitted of a murder in state court when two expected witnesses refused to testify against him. Prosecutors said the two were threatened. Herron faces a mandatory life sentence at his sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 1.

Cops: Fleeing driver slams into truck, dies

New York City police say a driver fleeing officers after a traffic stop was killed after he slammed into the back of a stopped flatbed truck.

Police said yesterday that Leroy Samuel, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene of Wednesday's accident on a Brooklyn highway.

They said a female passenger with back and neck pain was rushed to a hospital in stable condition.

Police said Samuel sped away in a 2003 Infiniti shortly after he was stopped by police near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. They believe Samuel was trying to get off the expressway at Atlantic Avenue when he crashed into the tractor trailer, which was stopped at a traffic light.

Board OKs $511M loan for Tappan Zee

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's plan to use $511 million in clean water funds to help finance the new Tappan Zee Bridge won approval from a state board yesterday, despite questions from the Environmental Protection Agency and objections from eco-groups who say it's an improper use of the money.

The money would help pay for the removal of the old span and several other projects relating to the $3.9 billion bridge replacement project.

The state's Environmental Facilities Corp. approved the proposal at a meeting yesterday. It's now subject to approval by the Thruway Authority and the Public Authorities Control Board.

Environmental advocates have threatened to sue if the plan is approved, saying funds set aside for drinking water, sewage and other water projects shouldn't be used on a bridge project.

Testimony at murder conspiracy trial

The daughter of a New York City cabdriver from Pakistan is testifying against him at his murder conspiracy trial.

Prosecutors have accused Mohammad Ajmal Choudhry of arranging the killings in Pakistan of relatives of a man who helped his daughter flee an arranged marriage there.

The daughter, Amina Ajmal, began testifying on Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn and was expected to take the witness stand again yesterday. He has denied the allegations.

Combined staff

and wire reports