I reported earlier on a number of crimes allegedly carried out by one Santa Claus, a.k.a. Kris Kringle, a.k.a. "St. Nicholas," a.k.a. "St. Nick," during this holiday season, and it seems only fair to follow up with this report that Claus has been cleared in at least one of those incidents.

The bartender at the East Providence Yacht Club who accused Claus of robbing the bar at gunpoint has now admitted that the report was a hoax. She was charged with making a false report on Thursday. According to police, the money Claus was accused of taking is still missing and "the investigation is continuing," but I bet the number of suspects is limited.

This should mean that Claus will now be free to distribute presents at least in Rhode Island without worrying that there may be a warrant out for him. And that seems like good news for almost everybody.