SIDEKICK HELD IN MEXICAN TV HOST'S SLAYING

Mexico City - An onstage sidekick was arrested Friday in connection with the
murder of one of Mexico's most popular television entertainers.

Four others were also arrested in the slaying of Paco Stanley, while a
suspected drug trafficker was accused of ordering the killing.

Mario Bezares, who had been under house arrest since last month, was
detained at his home and taken to a Mexico City jail, the city Attorney
General's Office said.

An arrest warrant was issued for suspected drug trafficker Luis Amezcua for
allegedly ordering Stanley's killing because of a drug debt, the city's
chief prosecutor, Samuel del Villar, said. Amezcua is already imprisoned in
Mexico City while fighting a U.S. extradition request on drug-smuggling charges.

Stanley, the humorous host of a popular morning variety program, was gunned
down June 7 in a brazen midday attack along a busy Mexico City freeway.

Bezares, frequently the butt of Stanley's heavy-handed humor, initially came
under suspicion because he remained behind in a restaurant bathroom while
Stanley walked out to his car, where he was slain.