Les Gitans (Gypsies) and Les Maghrébins (North Africans), based in Grenoble housing estates, have adopted ultra-violent methods that contrast with the codes of the old-school Corsican and Italian mafiosi they displaced. Police are battling against a similar underworld shift around Paris, Marseilles and other big cities.Officers managed to arrest Lamiri's alleged shooter as he tried to make his getaway from a wooded hillside overlooking the Varces prison after he had fired six rounds from a distance of 300 yards - but they were lucky. Gendarmes had spotted a parked motorcycle with the numberplate of a stolen car and had decided to wait for the driver to return. He turned out to be a 58-year-old convicted robber who was carrying a 7.65mm rifle with a telescopic sight.Rachida Dati, the Justice Minister, said from the scene that the murder was a blow to the prison system but congratulated the gendarmes on their catch. “The man denies the facts but he was arrested when he was getting to his motorbike, which had a false licence plate and his rifle with telescopic sight was still warm,” she said.About 100 police and firefighters were sent to the jail to quash a riot and put out fires started by prisoners, most of whom are awaiting trial.France has taken elaborate precautions over the past 20 years to stem a series of prison breakouts via helicopter but the authorities had ignored warnings that the holding centre at Varces was vulnerable to attack from the nearby hill. A guards' union complained this summer that people used the vantage point to toss food, drugs and mobile telephones to prisoners.The shooting of Lamiri, said to be a senior figure in the Gypsies gang, followed some of the worst multiple shootings seen in France.The vendetta turned truly bloody last year after a court acquitted five men from the Maghrébin gang who were charged with murdering Lamiri's brother. In February four men in a fake police vehicle stopped a Maghrébin car and killed three of the occupants, all aged 22. One of the victims had been acquitted of the Lamiri murder.
Prosecutors say that the new-style gangs, based in the ethnic housing estates, which are often no-go areas for police, are difficult to track.
“These kids accept early death as the price for living well,” a police investigator said. “They say they do not expect to live beyond 30. The money goes into beautiful cars, parties with cocaine and prostitutes, sometimes trips to Saint-Tropez to splash out on the beaches. They have been fed on violent TV series and films. They live in the present and they have made death mundane.”
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Six men who posed as police officers were arrested after robbing a Game store in the Joburg city centre.Police spokesperson Captain John Maluleke said the armed gang of 10 entered the store via a gate used by security guards on Saturday night.
Two identified themselves to the guards as police officers investigating a theft complaint. While the guards were busy verifying the complaint, four armed men came in and demanded that they lie down.The robbers tied them up with shoelaces and electrical cord. Six security guards who came to relieve their colleagues were also tied up. Some of the robbers started ransacking the store while others stood guard outside.Police swooped on the gang while the robbery was in progress. They recovered some of the stolen goods and an undisclosed amount of money.
Four suspects are still at large, but six who were arrested are expected to appear in the Johannesburg magistrate's court soon.A hair salon owner is due to appear in the same court on charges of raping an employee. The 33-year-old man was arrested at his salon in Newtown, Joburg, on Friday for allegedly raping his employee, aged 27, over four months.In another incident, eight armed gang members made off with an undisclosed amount of money after robbing the Pick n Pay in the Springs Palm mall in Springs at the weekend.
Two identified themselves to the guards as police officers investigating a theft complaint. While the guards were busy verifying the complaint, four armed men came in and demanded that they lie down.The robbers tied them up with shoelaces and electrical cord. Six security guards who came to relieve their colleagues were also tied up. Some of the robbers started ransacking the store while others stood guard outside.Police swooped on the gang while the robbery was in progress. They recovered some of the stolen goods and an undisclosed amount of money.
Four suspects are still at large, but six who were arrested are expected to appear in the Johannesburg magistrate's court soon.A hair salon owner is due to appear in the same court on charges of raping an employee. The 33-year-old man was arrested at his salon in Newtown, Joburg, on Friday for allegedly raping his employee, aged 27, over four months.In another incident, eight armed gang members made off with an undisclosed amount of money after robbing the Pick n Pay in the Springs Palm mall in Springs at the weekend.
Three members of the Outlaws bikie gang have been charged with multiple offences after allegedly forcing their way into a Hervey Bay nightclub. Police said about six members of the gang's Hervey Bay chapter forcibly entered Seven nightclub last Saturday night, demanding free drinks and trying to incite violence.
When asked to leave they allegedly refused. "These acts of thuggery will not be tolerated by the police or the public and will be dealt with by the full force of the law," said Detective Senior Sergeant Leith Lindsay, officer in charge of the Maryborough police district's crime investigation bureau. "We are continuing to pursue other members of the gang believed to be involved." Three men have been charged with offences including assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault, obstructing staff at a licensed premises and unlawful entry to licensed premises.
"The actions of some members of this gang have clearly outlined they are not the community-minded people they promote themselves as," Det Snr Sgt Lindsay said.
"We encourage members of the public to report misconduct by any people in the community." The men will appear in the Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on October 16.
When asked to leave they allegedly refused. "These acts of thuggery will not be tolerated by the police or the public and will be dealt with by the full force of the law," said Detective Senior Sergeant Leith Lindsay, officer in charge of the Maryborough police district's crime investigation bureau. "We are continuing to pursue other members of the gang believed to be involved." Three men have been charged with offences including assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault, obstructing staff at a licensed premises and unlawful entry to licensed premises.
"The actions of some members of this gang have clearly outlined they are not the community-minded people they promote themselves as," Det Snr Sgt Lindsay said.
"We encourage members of the public to report misconduct by any people in the community." The men will appear in the Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on October 16.
Five shootings on the streets of Edinburgh Police today said there was a "strong possibility" that shots fired at a private hire cab in Granton last week and a shooting outside the Gauntlet pub in Broomhouse on Tuesday are linked.there have been at least three more incidents involving firearms in recent weeks – including one where a gang member was shot in the head.Sources say criminals from the north of the Capital have found themselves locked in battle with a hardened gang of young dealers from Gilmerton and the Inch.Members of the two groups, who are involved in the cocaine and heroin trade, were friendly until a fight outside a city centre nightclub around a year ago.Since then the gangs are alleged to have become embroiled in a string of "tit-for-tat" shootings, including the attacks at the Gauntlet and on the cab.Other incidents involving the gangs since mid-August are said to include.Two gunmen on a motorbike who fired shots from a semi-automatic pistol at a man from Broomhouse while he sat in his van.A gang member shot in the face in Drylaw who was left with four shotgun pellets lodged in his skull.An alleged heroin dealer from Craigmillar who had his front window shot at by the motorbike gunmen.Sources close to the gangs also allege that the Festival Cabs car was shot in a random attack by paranoid gang members who wanted police to swarm the Granton area to protect them from further reprisals.
That same gang are alleged to have carried out the shooting at the Gauntlet on Broomhouse Grove, using two pistols and a shotgun after arriving in a silver car. A burnt-out car found in Morningside is believed to be the vehicle the gunmen used to escape the scene.Superintendent Mark Williams said today: "We are now investigating the strong possibility that Tuesday night's firearms incident at the Gauntlet pub in Broomhouse is linked to the firearms incident involving the taxi in Royston Mains Road last week, and the recovery of a burnt-out vehicle in Balcarres Street late on Tuesday night. The force is treating these incidents very seriously and I would like to reassure the public that we are dedicating significant resources towards finding those responsible and bringing them to justice."The police said the three other shooting incidents alleged to have taken place between the warring groups had not been reported to them. But a criminal source said: "This is not a drugs turf war. This is a feud which has got out of control. "But these are young guys with guns and they don't think twice about jumping into a car or onto a motorbike and going out to kill people."The guys from Granton and Drylaw are best described as scum really. The folk from the Inch and Gilmerton are far more serious, however."The dispute was said to have arisen a year ago when members of the two gangs were drinking together at a city centre nightclub. A fight broke out between two men, one from Niddrie and connected to the Gilmerton/Inch crew, and another man from Broomhouse, a friend of the Granton gang.The feud between the factions allegedly grew after messages and photographs were posted on a Bebo website by one of the north Edinburgh gang promising revenge. The dispute deepened in Broomhouse Loan around five weeks ago when the man, in his 20s, was said to have been shot at.Sources say two men on a motorbike from Gilmerton pulled up next to his Ford Transit van and fired three shots from a semi-automatic pistol. Three weeks ago, the motorbike gunmen took to the road again and went after an alleged heroin dealer in Craigmillar, reportedly firing two shots through his front window.A week later, members of the Granton gang are understood to have ventured into Gilmerton in a car, apparently looking for rivals to target in an act of bravado. When word reached the Gilmerton gang that the enemy had ventured on to their patch, motorcycle gunmen were dispatched to retaliate for the "insult" of treading on their turf.Hours later, a man in his early 20s was said to have been hit with a shotgun blast, leaving four pellets lodged in his head. Again, the victim survived.The Granton gang are understood to have gone to ground in the wake of their friend being shot, hiding out in Royston amid fears of fresh reprisals. Growing increasingly paranoid, they decided to stage a shooting in a bid to bring a wave of police officers into the area and protect themselves from the Gilmerton gunmen.A passing private hire cab was reportedly picked out and blasted with a shotgun in Royston Mains Road in the early hours of last Monday. Members of the gang finally came out of hiding on Tuesday night to reportedly carry out the latest gun attack at the Gauntlet Bar.Sources say the target was a man in his 20s from Broomhouse with connections to the Gilmerton/Inch group who was drinking inside the pub. Four shots are believed to have been fired during the incident.
Armed officers carried out searches in and around the Morningside Park area yesterday with sniffer dogs following the discovery of a burnt-out car in Morningside's Balcarres Street.A police spokesman said: "We are investigating the possibility that the vehicle may be linked to the shooting, and as a result officers have been searching the area where it was discovered."
TWO friends emerged from the shadow of jailed gangsters Marc Webley and James Tant – once their close associates – to control much of the sale of heroin and crack in Granton and surrounding areas.The men – both aged around 30 – are utilising a network of young addicts to deal the drugs while other even more vulnerable users are charged with storing supplies in their houses. One of the dealers – who enhanced his reputation for violence by threatening others with a samurai sword – had his house raided recently by police who came up empty-handed. Both men are associated with the Granton area gang feuding with south Edinburgh counterparts, although they are believed to be on the fringes, content to continue their money-making.
FROM their base, two ringleaders of a gang in Gilmerton and The Inch are believed to control much of the supply of cocaine across the Capital.Both are known to be ruthless, and until a recent crackdown by police they were involved in the feud themselves.The area is known to harbour a number of young gangsters in their late teens or early 20s. Police say these people have ready access to firearms and an easy willingness to use them. They favour using motorcycles to carry out their hits.
The cocaine trade is known to have made them very wealthy, with cash put into property and even hidden under floorboards when it got too much.
THE suspected heroin dealer targeted in the botched hit in Craigmillar is believed to be one of the biggest dealers of the Class A drug in Edinburgh.The man escaped when a pair of motorcycle gunmen fired two shots through his front window around three weeks ago.The man was a known associate of an infamous family from the Niddrie area who once controlled the supply of heroin in the area. The family's activities have been broken up by police, with at least two brothers currently serving prison sentences. The Niddrie gang were notorious for using swords and baseball bats to terrorise people into silence.THE two shootings in Broomhouse in recent weeks have highlighted the continuing drug problem in the area.The estate has divided loyalties among its dealers, with some linked to the Gilmerton and Inch gang, and others to the north Edinburgh criminals.Along with ties to the Granton area group, the man who was shot at while he sat in his van is friends with a notorious member of another Gilmerton crime family. That family has been locked in intense and often violent rivalry with criminals in the Inch, which included a number of shootings around three years ago.
That same gang are alleged to have carried out the shooting at the Gauntlet on Broomhouse Grove, using two pistols and a shotgun after arriving in a silver car. A burnt-out car found in Morningside is believed to be the vehicle the gunmen used to escape the scene.Superintendent Mark Williams said today: "We are now investigating the strong possibility that Tuesday night's firearms incident at the Gauntlet pub in Broomhouse is linked to the firearms incident involving the taxi in Royston Mains Road last week, and the recovery of a burnt-out vehicle in Balcarres Street late on Tuesday night. The force is treating these incidents very seriously and I would like to reassure the public that we are dedicating significant resources towards finding those responsible and bringing them to justice."The police said the three other shooting incidents alleged to have taken place between the warring groups had not been reported to them. But a criminal source said: "This is not a drugs turf war. This is a feud which has got out of control. "But these are young guys with guns and they don't think twice about jumping into a car or onto a motorbike and going out to kill people."The guys from Granton and Drylaw are best described as scum really. The folk from the Inch and Gilmerton are far more serious, however."The dispute was said to have arisen a year ago when members of the two gangs were drinking together at a city centre nightclub. A fight broke out between two men, one from Niddrie and connected to the Gilmerton/Inch crew, and another man from Broomhouse, a friend of the Granton gang.The feud between the factions allegedly grew after messages and photographs were posted on a Bebo website by one of the north Edinburgh gang promising revenge. The dispute deepened in Broomhouse Loan around five weeks ago when the man, in his 20s, was said to have been shot at.Sources say two men on a motorbike from Gilmerton pulled up next to his Ford Transit van and fired three shots from a semi-automatic pistol. Three weeks ago, the motorbike gunmen took to the road again and went after an alleged heroin dealer in Craigmillar, reportedly firing two shots through his front window.A week later, members of the Granton gang are understood to have ventured into Gilmerton in a car, apparently looking for rivals to target in an act of bravado. When word reached the Gilmerton gang that the enemy had ventured on to their patch, motorcycle gunmen were dispatched to retaliate for the "insult" of treading on their turf.Hours later, a man in his early 20s was said to have been hit with a shotgun blast, leaving four pellets lodged in his head. Again, the victim survived.The Granton gang are understood to have gone to ground in the wake of their friend being shot, hiding out in Royston amid fears of fresh reprisals. Growing increasingly paranoid, they decided to stage a shooting in a bid to bring a wave of police officers into the area and protect themselves from the Gilmerton gunmen.A passing private hire cab was reportedly picked out and blasted with a shotgun in Royston Mains Road in the early hours of last Monday. Members of the gang finally came out of hiding on Tuesday night to reportedly carry out the latest gun attack at the Gauntlet Bar.Sources say the target was a man in his 20s from Broomhouse with connections to the Gilmerton/Inch group who was drinking inside the pub. Four shots are believed to have been fired during the incident.
Armed officers carried out searches in and around the Morningside Park area yesterday with sniffer dogs following the discovery of a burnt-out car in Morningside's Balcarres Street.A police spokesman said: "We are investigating the possibility that the vehicle may be linked to the shooting, and as a result officers have been searching the area where it was discovered."
TWO friends emerged from the shadow of jailed gangsters Marc Webley and James Tant – once their close associates – to control much of the sale of heroin and crack in Granton and surrounding areas.The men – both aged around 30 – are utilising a network of young addicts to deal the drugs while other even more vulnerable users are charged with storing supplies in their houses. One of the dealers – who enhanced his reputation for violence by threatening others with a samurai sword – had his house raided recently by police who came up empty-handed. Both men are associated with the Granton area gang feuding with south Edinburgh counterparts, although they are believed to be on the fringes, content to continue their money-making.
FROM their base, two ringleaders of a gang in Gilmerton and The Inch are believed to control much of the supply of cocaine across the Capital.Both are known to be ruthless, and until a recent crackdown by police they were involved in the feud themselves.The area is known to harbour a number of young gangsters in their late teens or early 20s. Police say these people have ready access to firearms and an easy willingness to use them. They favour using motorcycles to carry out their hits.
The cocaine trade is known to have made them very wealthy, with cash put into property and even hidden under floorboards when it got too much.
THE suspected heroin dealer targeted in the botched hit in Craigmillar is believed to be one of the biggest dealers of the Class A drug in Edinburgh.The man escaped when a pair of motorcycle gunmen fired two shots through his front window around three weeks ago.The man was a known associate of an infamous family from the Niddrie area who once controlled the supply of heroin in the area. The family's activities have been broken up by police, with at least two brothers currently serving prison sentences. The Niddrie gang were notorious for using swords and baseball bats to terrorise people into silence.THE two shootings in Broomhouse in recent weeks have highlighted the continuing drug problem in the area.The estate has divided loyalties among its dealers, with some linked to the Gilmerton and Inch gang, and others to the north Edinburgh criminals.Along with ties to the Granton area group, the man who was shot at while he sat in his van is friends with a notorious member of another Gilmerton crime family. That family has been locked in intense and often violent rivalry with criminals in the Inch, which included a number of shootings around three years ago.
Armando Jose Rodriguez, 32, was shot Tuesday at 1:48 p.m. as he was visiting someone near a food truck on Illinois Street between 24th and 25th streets, an industrial area. The gunman shot Rodriguez several times, then ran down the block to a white Ford Mustang driven by another suspect, investigators said. Police have made no arrests and have given only a vague description of the killer.Police sources said Rodriguez was a local leader in the Norteños and may have decided which of the gang's enemies would be targeted for violence. Police say they are gearing up in the Mission District and elsewhere for possible gang retaliatory attacks in response to his killing.The Norteños, or northerners, are based in Northern California and have ties to the Nuestra Familia prison gang. Their main rivals, the Sureños, or southerners, were originally based in Southern California and grew out of another prison gang, the Mexican Mafia.The Mission District, where the Norteños and Sureños are concentrated locally, has been the scene of eight homicides since the beginning of August. Police believe that several of those killings were the result of warfare among Latino gangs. After three men were fatally shot the evening of Sept. 4, police increased the number of beat officers on Mission Street and added car patrols to other parts of the neighborhood.Rodriguez, known as "Chappo," was free on bond stemming from a drug case filed last year, court records show. San Francisco narcotics officers and federal agents raided a home on Revere Street in May 2007, found a marijuana-growing operation and arrested Rodriguez and three other men.
Rodriguez's attorney in the case, John Runfola, had no comment Thursday about his client's slaying.Around the time of the San Francisco raid, authorities searched a home in Vacaville where Rodriguez was living with his wife. Offices allegedly found a gun there, prompting federal prosecutors to file charges against him.Rodriguez could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison under federal law had he been found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He had a felony accessory conviction stemming from a 2001 bar fight and stabbing on Cortland Avenue, police said. That case was originally charged as an attempted murder, but was resolved with the lesser charge.Rodriguez also had a conviction for being a felon in possession of ammunition, records show. That felony charge grew out of the May 2007 raids in San Francisco and Vacaville. Members of Rodriguez's family have declined to talk about his killing. His defense lawyer in the federal case, Randy Montesano, said Rodriguez had jobs and was married, with children, and was never accused in court of being associated with any gang.Montesano called the federal weapons case against Rodriguez "marginal," saying his client did not have the long felony rap sheet typical of people charged under the weapons possession law.
He called Rodriguez a "stand-up guy" who was "very respectful, polite, courteous."
"It's unbelievable," Montesano said of Rodriguez's killing. "I don't know whether he got caught up in something."
Rodriguez's attorney in the case, John Runfola, had no comment Thursday about his client's slaying.Around the time of the San Francisco raid, authorities searched a home in Vacaville where Rodriguez was living with his wife. Offices allegedly found a gun there, prompting federal prosecutors to file charges against him.Rodriguez could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison under federal law had he been found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He had a felony accessory conviction stemming from a 2001 bar fight and stabbing on Cortland Avenue, police said. That case was originally charged as an attempted murder, but was resolved with the lesser charge.Rodriguez also had a conviction for being a felon in possession of ammunition, records show. That felony charge grew out of the May 2007 raids in San Francisco and Vacaville. Members of Rodriguez's family have declined to talk about his killing. His defense lawyer in the federal case, Randy Montesano, said Rodriguez had jobs and was married, with children, and was never accused in court of being associated with any gang.Montesano called the federal weapons case against Rodriguez "marginal," saying his client did not have the long felony rap sheet typical of people charged under the weapons possession law.
He called Rodriguez a "stand-up guy" who was "very respectful, polite, courteous."
"It's unbelievable," Montesano said of Rodriguez's killing. "I don't know whether he got caught up in something."
The founder of the Mongols Motorcycle Club's Oregon chapters, who was ordered not to associate with the organization after a June conviction for menacing a pair of outlaw biker investigators, has absconded to California, police said today.
Justin "Mooch" DeLoretto, 27, flew from Portland to California three weeks ago, according to Detective Dave Burroughs, a Eugene Police Department gang expert.
Keyvan Abdollahijan, 31, remains in jail, and a next appearance date in Vancouver Provincial Court was set for Sept. 3.He is charged with uttering a threat to hurt or kill the woman in the wheelchair.Co-accused Tanya Lynn Evans, who is charged with assault causing bodily harm, also appeared by video.The victim suffered a broken nose and broken finger.Police allege Abdollahijan is a member of the UN gang. Its reputed leader, Clayton Roueche, is in jail in Washington State awaiting trial on drug charges.U.S. court documents describe the gang as a violent, multi-ethnic group that trafficks and smuggles cocaine and marijuana.It is rooted in the Fraser Valley but is believed to operate in Canada as far east as Montreal.
Solntsevskaya Bratva top a list of worldwide organised crime, pushing the US-based Mafia to the number 10 spot, according to a new report.It says: "From its home base in Moscow, this syndicate runs rackets in extortion, drug trafficking, car theft, stolen art, money laundering, contract killing, arms deals, trading nuclear material, prostitution and oil deals."Ex-FBI agent Bob Levinson warned: "They're the most dangerous people on earth, a terrifying notion if you consider they may be 300,000 strong."Japan's Yamaguchi-gumi took second place, followed by the Ndrangheta in southern Italy.D-Company which operates in India and the United Arab Emirates came fourth. According to the US Treasury, its most wanted boss Dawood Ibrahim has ties to al-Qaeda.Hong Kong's 14k Triad came fifth followed by the Sicilian Mafia of 100 crime families. In seventh place was the Dai Huen Jai of China, followed by the violent North Mexican Tijuana Cartel then Taiwan's United Bamboo.The legendary Five Families came last. The Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese mobs were infamous in 1930s New York. But the survey, for showbiz website askmen.com, added: "They aren't what they used to be, thanks to a devoted effort to shut them down."
All four are at the Floyd County Jail. Munoz, Cruz-Aranda and Delgado-Ayala are accused of dealing cocaine. Funes-Maderas is accused of trafficking cocaine.
“It’s a significant arrest. They are significant traffickers,” Allen said. “But they’re one of many out there, unfortunately.”
One of the four men arrested in New Albany Tuesday, accused of dealing cocaine, is involved in the notorious gang Latin Kings, according to Michael Allen, resident agent in charge at Louisville’s DEA office.He said the other three are at least affiliated with the gang and possibly members too.Armando Munoz, 19, who lives in Columbus, Ind., is the suspected gang member. He is the only legal resident of the United States out of the four.Two of the illegal residents — Jose L. Cruz-Aranda, 23, and Julio C. Funes-Maderas, 27 — live in Clarksville, in the Hamlet Apartments. Funes-Maderas also has a home in Louisville, off Preston Highway, according to Allen.
The third, Jorge Delgado-Ayala, 30, lives in Columbus. He is of Mexican descent and the other two illegal residents are of Honduran descent, according to Allen.
Allen said Delgado-Ayala allegedly ran an autoshop business in Columbus as a front to sell drugs and has already served prison time for a prior felony conviction of trafficking marijuana.The four were arrested Tuesday afternoon on Spring Street when more than a dozen officers swarmed the area, to stop their cars.Allen said Funes-Maderas tried to flee on foot, only making it a few feet before being caught. The others were arrested without incident.He said 4.5 ounces of cocaine was found in the vehicles, which is worth about $15,000. Allen said this is a small amount compared to what he said he knows the group was dealing.“We’d rather get them in custody with what we have than wait and get them with more dope,” he said.Allen said this arrest shows the Latin Kings is starting to filter down to this area.Tod Burke, a criminal justice professor at Radford University, Va., is a former police officer and has done extensive research into gangs. He said the Latin Kings is one of the longest running, most organized crime groups around.He said the group started in some of the major cities back in the 1930s, but has been seen recently moving to the suburbs and more rural areas.Burke said all gangs can be dangerous, but the difference with the Latin Kings is that they have strict rules.“They have rules, regulations and codes that they follow,” he said. “We may not understand it, but they do. They don’t kill at random. A lot of times, they do it because they have been disrespected.
“If you disrespect them, whatever that means, they get revenge and a lot of times that’s not pretty.”Burke said they are also powerful in the correctional system.
“The gangs don’t disband because they’ve been arrested,” he said. “They form tighter groups and they also recruit in the prison setting because they have the extra time to do that.”Allen said this arrest is part of a bigger problem of people from Columbia and Peru getting cocaine into the United States through people in other countries, such as Mexico, who enter America illegally.He said this investigation was completed by the Louisville DEA, Indianapolis DEA, Floyd County Sheriff’s Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Department of Homeland Security/ICE.
Liverpool man shot five times in Puerto Banus in a bungled assassination attempt .
The expat, in his 30s and thought to be from Liverpool, was blasted in the face, leg, arm, pelvis and genitals as he left a restaurant.It was the third shooting in the Costa del Sol resort in five weeks, and took place just yards from packed bars and shops.The victim was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery but amazingly survived.
Blood stains can be seen on the road outside Solly's Diner where the British man was shot five times.He had just left Solly's Diner, a British restaurant in Puerto Banus, and was about to get into his dark blue BMW when he was shot in broad daylight at 7.30pm last night.The gunman approached him, pulled out a weapon and shot him five times before walking calmly away, witnesses said.The victim collapsed on the floor in a pool of blood as panic broke out among people drinking or shopping nearby.
Incredibly, he was still conscious and able to mutter a few words when an ambulance arrived 15 minutes later. One witness told a local newspaper: "We thought they were fireworks until we saw the victim on the ground, with his face destroyed, full of blood."It was like a film his body was convulsing, but he managed to utter a few words." A police source said it was "a miracle" that he had survived the shooting.
One report said the gunman was also thought to be British.He walked away "in complete calm" then got into a waiting getaway car, a witness said.The shooting is being investigated by police from Malaga's Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit UDYCO.
Forensic teams spent yesterday evening searching the scene for clues while detectives began studying CCTV footage.Local reports said the victim had lived in Marbella for several years.
One witness said the victim had sat drinking coffee for several hours on the terrace of Solly's Diner before he was shot.
He said: "He sat on his own with a coffee. He was talking constantly on his mobile. Once in a while he got up, walked up and down the street and then sat down again."
A spokeswoman for the Costa del Sol hospital said: "The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds in his right leg, pelvis, genitals, right arm and right eye.
"He was operated on during Wednesday night and he in now in intensive care in a serious but stable condition."
A spokesman for the National Police in Marbella said: "We are investigating a shooting in Puerto Banus but cannot give out any more information at this stage."
Detectives are investigating possible links to two recent shootings in Marbella.
Three people were injured in a shootout in the Aloha Gardens restaurant on 21 August.
And two more were injured in another shooting at the Nikki Beach nightclub on 22 August.
The expat, in his 30s and thought to be from Liverpool, was blasted in the face, leg, arm, pelvis and genitals as he left a restaurant.It was the third shooting in the Costa del Sol resort in five weeks, and took place just yards from packed bars and shops.The victim was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery but amazingly survived.
Blood stains can be seen on the road outside Solly's Diner where the British man was shot five times.He had just left Solly's Diner, a British restaurant in Puerto Banus, and was about to get into his dark blue BMW when he was shot in broad daylight at 7.30pm last night.The gunman approached him, pulled out a weapon and shot him five times before walking calmly away, witnesses said.The victim collapsed on the floor in a pool of blood as panic broke out among people drinking or shopping nearby.
Incredibly, he was still conscious and able to mutter a few words when an ambulance arrived 15 minutes later. One witness told a local newspaper: "We thought they were fireworks until we saw the victim on the ground, with his face destroyed, full of blood."It was like a film his body was convulsing, but he managed to utter a few words." A police source said it was "a miracle" that he had survived the shooting.
One report said the gunman was also thought to be British.He walked away "in complete calm" then got into a waiting getaway car, a witness said.The shooting is being investigated by police from Malaga's Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit UDYCO.
Forensic teams spent yesterday evening searching the scene for clues while detectives began studying CCTV footage.Local reports said the victim had lived in Marbella for several years.
One witness said the victim had sat drinking coffee for several hours on the terrace of Solly's Diner before he was shot.
He said: "He sat on his own with a coffee. He was talking constantly on his mobile. Once in a while he got up, walked up and down the street and then sat down again."
A spokeswoman for the Costa del Sol hospital said: "The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds in his right leg, pelvis, genitals, right arm and right eye.
"He was operated on during Wednesday night and he in now in intensive care in a serious but stable condition."
A spokesman for the National Police in Marbella said: "We are investigating a shooting in Puerto Banus but cannot give out any more information at this stage."
Detectives are investigating possible links to two recent shootings in Marbella.
Three people were injured in a shootout in the Aloha Gardens restaurant on 21 August.
And two more were injured in another shooting at the Nikki Beach nightclub on 22 August.
accused cocaine kingpin who allegedly bragged about supplying $30 million of drugs to Australia's A-list of rockers, sports stars and TV personalities will be returned to Australia under heavy guard.The man, whose identity has been suppressed by Victorian courts, is said to have a $1 million bounty on his head. Yesterday he lost his fight against extradition from the Netherlands, where he has been in jail under maximum security since December. It is believed armed police are set to travel to Europe to bring him back to Melbourne. The 40-year-old supergrass fled Australia in May 2004 after becoming a police informant and secretly taping accused murderer Tony Mokbel and others. He told the Supreme Court in the Netherlands yesterday that his life would be in danger if he returned to Australia, not only from former cocaine clients but from corrupt police whom he helped expose. But the court rejected his claim. His extradition is expected within weeks. He can ask for an injunction pending an appeal, but it is unlikely to be granted. Sources close to the supergrass told the Herald Sun yesterday he was considering a new fight to have his case heard in the Netherlands. "He is afraid he will be killed in Australia," a friend said. "The danger comes from both sides. His co-operation with police led to arrests of officers there, so police are not interested in offering him any witness protection. There is a $1 million bounty on his head."
His lawyer yesterday declined to comment but said he could appeal under Article 2 of the United Nations' human rights charter, which protects people from inhumane, degrading and other treatments that threaten life. Australian Federal Police arrested the supergrass in the Netherlands last year as he tried to board a flight to Thailand on a fake passport. He was allegedly the head of a cocaine ring running drugs between Thailand, Canada and Australia.
His lawyer yesterday declined to comment but said he could appeal under Article 2 of the United Nations' human rights charter, which protects people from inhumane, degrading and other treatments that threaten life. Australian Federal Police arrested the supergrass in the Netherlands last year as he tried to board a flight to Thailand on a fake passport. He was allegedly the head of a cocaine ring running drugs between Thailand, Canada and Australia.
murder conspiracy investigation and culminate in GTA-wide raids on a suspected local faction of the MS-13, which stands for Mara Salvatrucha-13, one of the world's most vicious gangs. Eventually the case would build to 13,000 pages of evidence against 17 suspected gang members, including surveillance reports, arrest and occurrence reports, synopses of each facet of the case, digital number recorders that detail the calls made between cellphones and the criminal histories of all of those involved – but no transcripts or tapes of intercepted conversations."There are no conversations in which anyone agreed to do anything," said criminal lawyer Jeffry House, who represents Luis Salas Reyes, one of the accused."I've dealt with more than 60 conspiracy cases in my 30-year career and that's commonly done to build a case."That case has now all but fallen apart. Conspiracy to commit murder charges have been stayed for Hector Sanhueza, 32, Manual Pasos, 19, Ronald Morataya-Cruz, 27, and Luis Salas-Reyes, 32. Only Jorge Salas, 29, the man involved in the initial conversation at Maplehurst, remains charged in the murder plot and for uttering death threats. During a series of pre-dawn raids across the GTA on June 5, those five individuals and another four people were charged with participating in a criminal organization. All of those charges have been stayed, the Ontario Crown attorney's office confirmed yesterday. All that remains of the once sweeping investigation are a handful of drug offences, such as simple possession, and a number of firearms offences. Court documents say the conspiracy came to light in March when a jailhouse informant told a correctional officer of a plan to murder him, his wife or his children. On Jan. 8, the documents say, the officer had taken pictures of Salas' tattoos. At the time, that didn't seem to be a problem.
But on March 20, the documents say, the informant, an inmate named Maxwell Robinson, told the officer Salas said he had spoken to his "boss," who was angry that his tattoos had been photographed. To appease his boss, Salas said, he had to "deal with" the officer who took the pictures. Robinson then asked, the documents say: "What do you mean, do you have to kill him or his family?" And the accused responded, "That's it, I'll have to kill him or a member of his family." "How real is this threat?" House asked yesterday. "This doesn't prove anything. And jailhouse informants are generally known to be quite deceptive. It all comes down to just the words of this one guy in jail."
According to House, court documents also show that while Robinson "asked for nothing in return for the statement," he was an agricultural labourer and Jamaican immigrant with no legal status in Canada, possibly fighting deportation.
Robinson was in jail for assaulting his girlfriend with a weapon, House said.
In terms of evidence linking his client or any of the others to membership in the MS-13, there was "nothing" contained in the voluminous evidence file that proved anything more than a tenuous connection, House said. More than 100 surveillance and search videos contain little more than the odd frame of the word "MS-13" written on the wall of a home, or on the side of a building.
But on March 20, the documents say, the informant, an inmate named Maxwell Robinson, told the officer Salas said he had spoken to his "boss," who was angry that his tattoos had been photographed. To appease his boss, Salas said, he had to "deal with" the officer who took the pictures. Robinson then asked, the documents say: "What do you mean, do you have to kill him or his family?" And the accused responded, "That's it, I'll have to kill him or a member of his family." "How real is this threat?" House asked yesterday. "This doesn't prove anything. And jailhouse informants are generally known to be quite deceptive. It all comes down to just the words of this one guy in jail."
According to House, court documents also show that while Robinson "asked for nothing in return for the statement," he was an agricultural labourer and Jamaican immigrant with no legal status in Canada, possibly fighting deportation.
Robinson was in jail for assaulting his girlfriend with a weapon, House said.
In terms of evidence linking his client or any of the others to membership in the MS-13, there was "nothing" contained in the voluminous evidence file that proved anything more than a tenuous connection, House said. More than 100 surveillance and search videos contain little more than the odd frame of the word "MS-13" written on the wall of a home, or on the side of a building.
Jayvion Galloway, 18, and Zecorey Marcus, 19, both Gardena residents, are accused of killing Hae Sook roh, 51, who was shot to death May 12 as she worked behind the counter of her business, Julie's Fashion at 2300 W. Rosecrans Ave."She put up no defense or anything," Gardena police Lt. Uikilifi Niko said. "Talking to people in the community, she was very well liked. They could come into her shop and if they didn't have any money, she would say, 'Just bring it up when you can.'"
A surveillance camera captured the crime on tape. Investigators called it "ruthless" and unprovoked.Just before the gunman walked in, Roh was counting money and putting it away. The gunman shouted "Give me the money." When she backed away, he shot her.
As she screamed and collapsed, he shot her three more times.Investigators issued the video to the media, and the city offered a $10,000 reward.A tipster provided information that five days earlier, the same pair robbed Stue's Dairy, 13126 South Western Ave. in Gardena, Niko said.A tape of that crime allowed police to identify the suspects, Niko said.Marcus was arrested on a robbery charge on May 23. Galloway fled California, but was caught June 4 in La Canada, Minn. He was arrested on suspicion of robbery.On Sept. 8, Galloway and Marcus wwere charged
A surveillance camera captured the crime on tape. Investigators called it "ruthless" and unprovoked.Just before the gunman walked in, Roh was counting money and putting it away. The gunman shouted "Give me the money." When she backed away, he shot her.
As she screamed and collapsed, he shot her three more times.Investigators issued the video to the media, and the city offered a $10,000 reward.A tipster provided information that five days earlier, the same pair robbed Stue's Dairy, 13126 South Western Ave. in Gardena, Niko said.A tape of that crime allowed police to identify the suspects, Niko said.Marcus was arrested on a robbery charge on May 23. Galloway fled California, but was caught June 4 in La Canada, Minn. He was arrested on suspicion of robbery.On Sept. 8, Galloway and Marcus wwere charged
Owen 'Father Fowl' Clarke, reputed millionaire, cocaine-dealing leader of the British Link-up crew, who was described by the judge who sentenced him as one of the most dangerous men in England.There was Vivian Blake who ran the Shower Posse in the States during the 1980s and 1990s with a three-tiered organisational structure that the Mafia would have been proud of. In fact, the name 'don' (a Spanish term denoting rank and authority) draws on the idea of the mafia don. Early dons, were Claudius 'Claudie' Massop and Aston 'Bucky' Marshall who came to prominence in the 1970s as a result of the birth of political garrisons and signalled don-man influence on the Jamaican voters.Scott. was found in a big plastic bag buried near a tree What is common among most dons is that they all become extremely wealthy, by international standards, and have a major influence on our culture. Remember Donald "Zekes" Phipps? Recall the millions in cash he had lying around when the police raided his home? Recall the lockdown and barricading of downtown Kingston shops and the riots that started hours after his arrest by his supporters? Riots happened after the murder of the alleged head of the One Order Gang, Andrew 'Bun Man' Hope. Common, too, is the fact that most dons die violently.
"The dons, in short, have carved out small fiefdoms for themselves where they can pretty much operate with impunity. As such, they post a more serious challenge to the sovereignty of the Jamaican state than any foreign power ever did." (Charles Price, Urban Anthropology & Studies of Cultural Systems & World Economic Development, 2003).And while dons are known to provide social welfare for members of their community, they have, too, the reputation of being ruthless against those who act against them. Posse members are known for ritualised killings of members who "rip off" profits on drugs. The killing ritual usually involves the shooting of the individual five times; four to the chest and one to the head. Other ritual violent acts have included the use of laundry irons, chainsaws, hammer and nails and butcher's knives.Posse members have little regard for public safety or human life. As part of their code, extreme violence is directed at anyone they feel has disrespected them or is in their way.The last line alone makes me wonder about the vicious weekend killing of 11-year-old Aakim Scott, whose sodomised and dismembered body - arms legs and head separated from the torso, torso cut in two - was found in a big plastic bag buried near a tree. Five teenagers have been held in connection with the death after one of them produced a cellphone belonging to Aakim. I wonder if Aakim, in his childhood innocence, 'disrespected' any one of these teenaged boys.
"The dons, in short, have carved out small fiefdoms for themselves where they can pretty much operate with impunity. As such, they post a more serious challenge to the sovereignty of the Jamaican state than any foreign power ever did." (Charles Price, Urban Anthropology & Studies of Cultural Systems & World Economic Development, 2003).And while dons are known to provide social welfare for members of their community, they have, too, the reputation of being ruthless against those who act against them. Posse members are known for ritualised killings of members who "rip off" profits on drugs. The killing ritual usually involves the shooting of the individual five times; four to the chest and one to the head. Other ritual violent acts have included the use of laundry irons, chainsaws, hammer and nails and butcher's knives.Posse members have little regard for public safety or human life. As part of their code, extreme violence is directed at anyone they feel has disrespected them or is in their way.The last line alone makes me wonder about the vicious weekend killing of 11-year-old Aakim Scott, whose sodomised and dismembered body - arms legs and head separated from the torso, torso cut in two - was found in a big plastic bag buried near a tree. Five teenagers have been held in connection with the death after one of them produced a cellphone belonging to Aakim. I wonder if Aakim, in his childhood innocence, 'disrespected' any one of these teenaged boys.
Latvian Organized Crime Enforcement Department have reported that the organization has already arrested two drug gangs so far this month. Police have detained a total of six people -- all of whom were in their 20s -- on suspicion of distributing large amounts of drugs. The first gang was found with more than 50 grams of heroin and eight grams of MDMA, the active ingredient in the popular club drug ecstasy. The second gang was found with more than 100 grams of methamphetamine.
Sostenes Alberto "Al" Dempsey, 21, and Hendrick Miguel Morales, 20, were held without bail under a new state law aimed at getting tough on gang-related offenses. County Judge Steven Rogers agreed with the recommendations during first-appearance hearings Tuesday morning.Officials identified the men as members of the 103 Street gang.According to Marion County Sheriff's detectives, Ocala police Officer Matthew Sams was at a birthday party in the 8400 block of S.W. 101st on Saturday around 11:15 p.m. when Dempsey approached him.Dempsey reportedly placed his arm around the officer's shoulder in a friendly gesture and talked with him before going outside.
Sams was asked if he was a police officer and he told Dempsey yes, according to the report. Dempsey then grabbed the officer's left arm and asked what he knew about him. The officer told Dempsey that he knew his name and to let him go.
At that time, the report said, Morales punched the officer on the left side of his head and repeatedly struck him in the face. The officer said he managed to run to his vehicle, which was parked nearby, retrieve his firearm, place it in the back of his pants and call 911.A witness told detectives that he was standing by the officer when he heard Dempsey ask if Sams was a cop. When the officer said yes, Morales punched the officer and Dempsey joined the fray, according to the report.
Dempsey told detectives that he was confronted by the officer and that Sams hit him in the face with a gun. He said his tooth was cracked.Officials said no one could corroborate Dempsey's story.During an interview at the jail, Dempsey denied hitting the officer. Weeping, he said that, while at the party, one of his cousins told him an officer was investigating whether he was in a gang. Dempsey said he went to the officer and asked if he could talk with him.Dempsey said he asked the officer why he was saying he's in a gang.Dempsey said a crowd gathered, and the next thing he knew he was struck in the mouth by either the officer's gun or his hands."It happened so quickly," said Dempsey, adding that he didn't hit Sams.Dempsey said he doesn't know any gang members. As for the 103rd Street gang, Dempsey said he's not associated with it nor does he know its members. He said that every time something happens the authorities come looking for him."My name always gets mentioned. I used to live off 103rd, but I moved," Dempsey said.Dempsey said he has known Morales for six or seven years and that his friend is not affiliated with a gang.
Sams was asked if he was a police officer and he told Dempsey yes, according to the report. Dempsey then grabbed the officer's left arm and asked what he knew about him. The officer told Dempsey that he knew his name and to let him go.
At that time, the report said, Morales punched the officer on the left side of his head and repeatedly struck him in the face. The officer said he managed to run to his vehicle, which was parked nearby, retrieve his firearm, place it in the back of his pants and call 911.A witness told detectives that he was standing by the officer when he heard Dempsey ask if Sams was a cop. When the officer said yes, Morales punched the officer and Dempsey joined the fray, according to the report.
Dempsey told detectives that he was confronted by the officer and that Sams hit him in the face with a gun. He said his tooth was cracked.Officials said no one could corroborate Dempsey's story.During an interview at the jail, Dempsey denied hitting the officer. Weeping, he said that, while at the party, one of his cousins told him an officer was investigating whether he was in a gang. Dempsey said he went to the officer and asked if he could talk with him.Dempsey said he asked the officer why he was saying he's in a gang.Dempsey said a crowd gathered, and the next thing he knew he was struck in the mouth by either the officer's gun or his hands."It happened so quickly," said Dempsey, adding that he didn't hit Sams.Dempsey said he doesn't know any gang members. As for the 103rd Street gang, Dempsey said he's not associated with it nor does he know its members. He said that every time something happens the authorities come looking for him."My name always gets mentioned. I used to live off 103rd, but I moved," Dempsey said.Dempsey said he has known Morales for six or seven years and that his friend is not affiliated with a gang.
The powerful Casalesi Camorra clan is believed to have been behind Thursday's massacre at the town of Castelvolturno, which began with the shooting of an amusement arcade's 53-year-old Italian owner, known to have had links with the Casalesi. Twenty minutes later, in another part of town, the six immigrants were mown down in a 120-round hail of fire from semi-automatic pistols and kalashnikovs. Three Ghanaians, two Liberians and a Togo national were shot dead at an ethnic clothing shop where local residents often brought clothes for minor adjustments. A third Liberian died in hospital on Friday morning. One suspect, 29-year-old Alfonso Cesarano, was arrested on Monday in connection with the murders and police are seeking two fugitives. Police said the murders were drug-related but also ''a signal'' that the Casalesi were still strong in the area despite a raft of recent arrests. The Casalesi clan is one of the most feared Camorra outfits. Its criminal empire was exposed in Roberto Saviano's worldwide bestseller Gomorra, now also a film that won the second prize at Cannes this year.La Russa also said Monday that the deployment of 3,000 troops in major Italian cities will be extended for another six months ''in light of the great success'' of the initiative - part of a wider government crackdown on crime.The soldiers were sent in August to join police on patrols of nine cities and to guard sensitive sites such as embassies, government buildings and immigration holding centres across the country for a provisional six-month period.new task force of 500 soldiers who will be deployed in cases of ''criminal emergency'' in response to a recent wave of Mafia crime.Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said ''the majority'' of the troops would be sent to help fight the Neapolitan Mafia in a bloody fief north of Naples following the worst ever Camorra massacre last week. The soldiers will flank the 400 extra policemen sent to the province of Caserta on Monday to beef up protection after a string of Mafia murders this year which culminated in the shooting of six West African immigrants and an Italian on Thursday.Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa stressed that the 500 troops will be in addition to the 3,000 soldiers deployed alongside police in major Italian cities this summer.''The troops (in Caserta) could be deployed for three months and (perform) the functions of manning check points,'' La Russa explained.
Italy's anti-mafia prosecutor, Piero Grasso, hailed the decision.''We need to put into play everything that can be useful in resolving the problem,'' he said.
But the opposition Democratic Party's deputy House whip, Marina Sereni, described the decision as ''belated'' following Thursday's massacre.
''This government continues to use cosmetic stunts for dealing with crime such as deploying soldiers in the big cities, but it has abandoned whole areas of our country to organised crime,'' Sereni said.This will be the second time since the 1990s that the army has been sent in to combat Mafia crime in southern Italy. Some 150,000 soldiers were sent to Sicily in 1992 following the murder of anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. They stayed on the southern island until 1998 in an operation dubbed Sicilian Vespers. The Italian government weighed sending the army to stop a turf war in Naples itself two years ago, but eventually decided against it.
Italy's anti-mafia prosecutor, Piero Grasso, hailed the decision.''We need to put into play everything that can be useful in resolving the problem,'' he said.
But the opposition Democratic Party's deputy House whip, Marina Sereni, described the decision as ''belated'' following Thursday's massacre.
''This government continues to use cosmetic stunts for dealing with crime such as deploying soldiers in the big cities, but it has abandoned whole areas of our country to organised crime,'' Sereni said.This will be the second time since the 1990s that the army has been sent in to combat Mafia crime in southern Italy. Some 150,000 soldiers were sent to Sicily in 1992 following the murder of anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. They stayed on the southern island until 1998 in an operation dubbed Sicilian Vespers. The Italian government weighed sending the army to stop a turf war in Naples itself two years ago, but eventually decided against it.
Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana, a/k/a "Wizard" and "Lobo," intentionally killed brothers Ruben Garcia Salinas and Manuel Garcia Salinas on Dec. 8, 2007, in Guilford County, N.C., in aid of an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity. The Department filed a notice of intent today to seek the death penalty against Umana for the killing of these two individuals in aid of racketeering and during and in relation to a crime of violence. Also according to the additional criminal counts, Elvin Pastor Fernandez-Gradis, a/k/a "Tigre" and "Flaco," intentionally caused serious bodily injury that resulted in the death of Ulises Mayo on April 12, 2008, in Mecklenburg County, N.C., in aid of an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity.
The first superseding indictment, with an additional fifteen counts, was returned today by a federal grand jury in Charlotte, N.C., and alleges that the 26 defendants conspired to commit violent crimes in aid of racketeering, resulting in murder during the course of their alleged participation in a racketeering enterprise, MS-13, in the United States and El Salvador.
The superseding indictment also carries new charges including: use and carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; use and carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or death; murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or death; use and possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or death; accessory after the fact to murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; reentry after deportation, which carries a maximum prison sentence of two years; felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison; illegal alien in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum prison sentence of ten years; and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
As alleged in the superseding bill of indictment, the murders committed by MS-13 members occurred in Greensboro, N.C., and Charlotte. Those involved in the murders allegedly received assistance from other MS-13 members in avoiding detection from law enforcement. In addition, MS-13 members are alleged in the superseding indictment to have discussed plans to murder an individual who they believed was cooperating with law enforcement.
Those charged in the 70-count superseding indictment include: Umana; Fernandez-Gradis; Manuel de Jesus Ayala, a/k/a "Chacua"; Heverth Ulises Castellon, a/k/a "Misterio" and "Sailor"; Julio Cesar Rosales Lopez, a/k/a "Stiler"; Juan Gilberto Villalobos, a/k/a "Smoke" and "Smokey," "Juan Alberto Irias" and "Freddy"; Juan Ruben Vela Garcia, a/k/a "Mariachi"; Jose Amilcar Garcia-Bonilla, a/k/a "Psicopata," "Sicario" and "Lucio Caesario"; Yelson Olider Castro-Licona, a/k/a "Diablo"; Carlos Ferufino-Bonilla, a/k/a "Tigre"; Nelson Hernandez-Ayala, a/k/a "Sixteen"; Mario Melgar-Diaz, a/k/a "Nino"; Alexi Ricardo Ramos, a/k/a "Pajaro"; Carlos Roberto Figueroa-Pineda, a/k/a "Drogo"; Cesar Yoaldo Castillo, a/k/a "Chino"; Edgar Miguel Granados-Alvarez, a/k/a "Gorilon" and "Alexander Granados"; Michael Steven Mena, a/k/a "Cholo"; Johnny Elias Gonzalez, a/k/a "Solo"; Jaime Sandoval, a/k/a "Pelon"; Santos Canales-Reyes, a/k/a "Chicago"; Jose Efrain Ayala-Urbina, a/k/a "Peligroso"; Oscar Manuel Moral-Hernandez, a/k/a "Truchon"; Santos Anibal Caballero Fernandez, a/k/a "Garra"; Manuel Cruz, a/k/a "Silencioso"; Javier Molina, a/k/a "Big Psycho" and "Gringo"; and Mario Guajardo-Garcia, a/k/a "Speedy," "Iran Guerro-Gomez" and "Luis Angel Galindo." All of the defendants except for Ayala, Castro-Licona and Ferufino-Bonilla, who remain fugitives, are currently in federal custody where they have remained since being arrested on the original indictment charges in June 2008.
An indictment is merely an allegation. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The charges that resulted from the alleged conspiracy span two countries, three states, four federal districts and several North Carolina cities. The charges stem from a long-term investigation initiated by the FBI "Safe Streets" Gang Task Force from North Carolina, which is composed of the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department; and the Gastonia, N.C., Police Department. Additional law enforcement investigative support was provided by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Greensboro Police Department and the Durham, N.C., Police Department. Substantial assistance has been afforded by the U.S. Marshals Service for the Western District of North Carolina; the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office; the Raleigh, N.C., Police Department; the Durham County Sheriff's Office and the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
The FBI's MS-13 National Gang Task Force played a significant role in coordinating the international aspects of this case, with additional critical assistance provided by the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Center. TAG was created in 2007 by the Department of Justice, including the FBI's MS-13 National Gang Task Force and the El Salvador National Civilian Police (PNC) with funding provided by the Department of State. TAG is comprised of experienced FBI anti-gang agents and PNC investigators in El Salvador. FBI anti-gang agents serve at the TAG center in San Salvador, side-by-side with PNC officers and analysts and El Salvadoran prosecutors, to combat transnational gang activity that affects the United States and countries in the Central American region.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Zolot, Jill Rose and Adam Morris from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Sam Nazzaro from the Criminal Division's Gang Squad Unit.
The first superseding indictment, with an additional fifteen counts, was returned today by a federal grand jury in Charlotte, N.C., and alleges that the 26 defendants conspired to commit violent crimes in aid of racketeering, resulting in murder during the course of their alleged participation in a racketeering enterprise, MS-13, in the United States and El Salvador.
The superseding indictment also carries new charges including: use and carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; use and carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or death; murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or death; use and possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or death; accessory after the fact to murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; reentry after deportation, which carries a maximum prison sentence of two years; felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison; illegal alien in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum prison sentence of ten years; and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
As alleged in the superseding bill of indictment, the murders committed by MS-13 members occurred in Greensboro, N.C., and Charlotte. Those involved in the murders allegedly received assistance from other MS-13 members in avoiding detection from law enforcement. In addition, MS-13 members are alleged in the superseding indictment to have discussed plans to murder an individual who they believed was cooperating with law enforcement.
Those charged in the 70-count superseding indictment include: Umana; Fernandez-Gradis; Manuel de Jesus Ayala, a/k/a "Chacua"; Heverth Ulises Castellon, a/k/a "Misterio" and "Sailor"; Julio Cesar Rosales Lopez, a/k/a "Stiler"; Juan Gilberto Villalobos, a/k/a "Smoke" and "Smokey," "Juan Alberto Irias" and "Freddy"; Juan Ruben Vela Garcia, a/k/a "Mariachi"; Jose Amilcar Garcia-Bonilla, a/k/a "Psicopata," "Sicario" and "Lucio Caesario"; Yelson Olider Castro-Licona, a/k/a "Diablo"; Carlos Ferufino-Bonilla, a/k/a "Tigre"; Nelson Hernandez-Ayala, a/k/a "Sixteen"; Mario Melgar-Diaz, a/k/a "Nino"; Alexi Ricardo Ramos, a/k/a "Pajaro"; Carlos Roberto Figueroa-Pineda, a/k/a "Drogo"; Cesar Yoaldo Castillo, a/k/a "Chino"; Edgar Miguel Granados-Alvarez, a/k/a "Gorilon" and "Alexander Granados"; Michael Steven Mena, a/k/a "Cholo"; Johnny Elias Gonzalez, a/k/a "Solo"; Jaime Sandoval, a/k/a "Pelon"; Santos Canales-Reyes, a/k/a "Chicago"; Jose Efrain Ayala-Urbina, a/k/a "Peligroso"; Oscar Manuel Moral-Hernandez, a/k/a "Truchon"; Santos Anibal Caballero Fernandez, a/k/a "Garra"; Manuel Cruz, a/k/a "Silencioso"; Javier Molina, a/k/a "Big Psycho" and "Gringo"; and Mario Guajardo-Garcia, a/k/a "Speedy," "Iran Guerro-Gomez" and "Luis Angel Galindo." All of the defendants except for Ayala, Castro-Licona and Ferufino-Bonilla, who remain fugitives, are currently in federal custody where they have remained since being arrested on the original indictment charges in June 2008.
An indictment is merely an allegation. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The charges that resulted from the alleged conspiracy span two countries, three states, four federal districts and several North Carolina cities. The charges stem from a long-term investigation initiated by the FBI "Safe Streets" Gang Task Force from North Carolina, which is composed of the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department; and the Gastonia, N.C., Police Department. Additional law enforcement investigative support was provided by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Greensboro Police Department and the Durham, N.C., Police Department. Substantial assistance has been afforded by the U.S. Marshals Service for the Western District of North Carolina; the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office; the Raleigh, N.C., Police Department; the Durham County Sheriff's Office and the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
The FBI's MS-13 National Gang Task Force played a significant role in coordinating the international aspects of this case, with additional critical assistance provided by the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Center. TAG was created in 2007 by the Department of Justice, including the FBI's MS-13 National Gang Task Force and the El Salvador National Civilian Police (PNC) with funding provided by the Department of State. TAG is comprised of experienced FBI anti-gang agents and PNC investigators in El Salvador. FBI anti-gang agents serve at the TAG center in San Salvador, side-by-side with PNC officers and analysts and El Salvadoran prosecutors, to combat transnational gang activity that affects the United States and countries in the Central American region.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Zolot, Jill Rose and Adam Morris from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Sam Nazzaro from the Criminal Division's Gang Squad Unit.
Police were called out to yet another shooting in the streets of Copenhagen overnight after a moped pulled up outside a kiosque on Åboulevarden and opened fire with an automatic weapon. Police have no indications as to whom carried out the attack or why, despite the fact that patrol cars were quickly at the scene. Several young poeple were arrested in the vicinity - some of whom were wearing bullet-proof vests. None of them, however, seemed to have anything to do with the attack. Officers believe they have found the moped involved in the attack in a bush on Herman Triers Plads (Ed: Herman Trier's Square), a few metres from the scene.
The motive for the attack remains unclear. The 21-year-old Bulgarian shop assistant in the kiosque threw himself on the fllor when the attack began and has been unable to give any indication as to why anyone would want to attack him.
The shooting took place a few hours after several hundred people from the Nørrebro quarter walked through the area in a torch-lit demonstration against the mounting violence in their district.
Quanan Hutchinson, a former member of the Gangster Disciples gang, was sentenced Monday.Hutchinson had originally been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jermaine Southers. But he pleaded guilty to facilitation of second-degree murder in April.Forensic evidence showed the bullets that killed Southers weren't fired from Hutchinson's gun. Prosecutors have said multiple shots were fired and that made it hard to determine who fired the fatal shots.Authorities say the shooting was retaliation for another man's shooting death.
James Willis was convicted Thursday in Sacramento Superior Court and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 17 by Judge Lloyd G. Connelly.
According to Deputy District Attorney Leland Washington, Willis, a reputed north area gang member, shot and killed 19-year-old Rajneel Kamal Sharma on Dec. 27, 2006 in the course of robbing him. Sharma, who also was armed, was able to shoot back and hit Willis once, wounding him, before falling dead at the scene of the Norwood Avenue homicide.
According to Deputy District Attorney Leland Washington, Willis, a reputed north area gang member, shot and killed 19-year-old Rajneel Kamal Sharma on Dec. 27, 2006 in the course of robbing him. Sharma, who also was armed, was able to shoot back and hit Willis once, wounding him, before falling dead at the scene of the Norwood Avenue homicide.
Africans were shot to death gangland style Thursday night in a town near Caserta. Police say the Camorra crime syndicate might have engineered the slayings to punish the Africans for getting involved in drug trafficking, one of the Camorra's criminal activities.The interior ministry said Saturday it ordered the police reinforcements to increase investigations and intelligence-gathering to find the killers and deal a blow to mobsters.Angered by the killings, immigrants rioted on Friday, smashing car windows and stoning police vehicles.Separately, Spanish police announced Saturday that they have arrested a suspected Camorra leader, working in cooperation with Italian authorities.Mario Santafede, 55, is wanted for suspected cocaine smuggling from Colombia and Ecuador to the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy, and in connection with at least three murders, the Spanish Interior Ministry said.
Manuel Casabielle started on Boston hit man John Martorano, an admitted 20-time killer, who testified that he was "doing the right thing" when he agreed to cooperate with the prosecution. A day earlier, he said Connolly was the source of confidential FBI intelligence that Martorano's Winter Hill Gang used to kill potential witnesses against its members.
"Were you doing the right thing by shooting Herbert Smith, Elizabeth Dixon and Douglas Barrett?" Casabielle asked Martorano."I don't know what you call the right thing," Martorano said. "It's regrettable. But it happened."
Timeline Of Case Regrettable, perhaps, because the killings of two of the three victims were tragically unnecessary — even under the upside-down code of gang justice Martorano expounded as the day wore on. Martorano had been stalking Smith, manager of Boston's Basin Street nightclub, in 1968 because, he said, Smith had "given a friend of mine a beating."He found Smith in a parked car and opened fire. Then he noticed Dixon, 19, and Barrett, 17, a couple of unknowns who happened to be along for a ride. Acting either out of instinct or an abundance of caution, he shot them, too. Although Martorano was not charged until years later, when he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, he was known for a while as The Basin Street Butcher.
"You said you were doing the right thing by testifying here," Casabielle said. "I want to find out what your definition is of the right thing."
"Were you doing the right thing by shooting Herbert Smith, Elizabeth Dixon and Douglas Barrett?" Casabielle asked Martorano."I don't know what you call the right thing," Martorano said. "It's regrettable. But it happened."
Timeline Of Case Regrettable, perhaps, because the killings of two of the three victims were tragically unnecessary — even under the upside-down code of gang justice Martorano expounded as the day wore on. Martorano had been stalking Smith, manager of Boston's Basin Street nightclub, in 1968 because, he said, Smith had "given a friend of mine a beating."He found Smith in a parked car and opened fire. Then he noticed Dixon, 19, and Barrett, 17, a couple of unknowns who happened to be along for a ride. Acting either out of instinct or an abundance of caution, he shot them, too. Although Martorano was not charged until years later, when he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, he was known for a while as The Basin Street Butcher.
"You said you were doing the right thing by testifying here," Casabielle said. "I want to find out what your definition is of the right thing."
Men from the One Order gang are warring over extortion money ... It started about a week-and-a half ago when a group of men from the gang went and collected money from the sites without informing the other members," an officer from the St Catherine North Division explained. One high-ranking member of the gang denied the claims when contacted yesterday. "No man! Nuttin like that. Wi nuh have no internal thing a gwaan, di whole a wi good," he stated simply. However, the St. Catherine North police have linked at least two recent incidents to the squabble, the latest being the murder of a carpenter on Sunday. Vivian Douglas, 43, of Tredegar Park in the parish, was shot dead on Sunday in a section of that community. Police say about 8 a.m., Douglas was attacked by a group of gunmen as he walked through a dirt track on his way to a hardware store. The men opened fire, killing him on the spot. The police say Douglas was employed to one of the work sites from which the gang collected extortion fees. They believe he was murdered because he was close to the set of gang members who are said to have collected money from the site.
A Decade-long boom in motorcycle gang recruitment and a northern push by gangs like the Mongols, primarily based in Southern California, into territories once traditionally held by their rivals.The San Jose chapter of the Hells Angels, established in the 1960s, Schlim said, has reluctantly had to share its turf in the past 10 years with the Mongols."Like all of the other gangs, all of them, they have all spread dramatically in the last 10 years," he said.For the Hells Angels, said Timothy McKinley, a retired FBI agent who specialized in outlaw motorcycle gangs, this general expansion by rival clubs has meant war not just with the Mongols, but with other groups, even in places like Britain and Scandinavia, far from the dust and grit of the Central and San Fernando valleys.Some of the clubs, both Schlim and Gleysteen said, have turned to recruiting members of street gangs, Surenos and Nortenos and others, to serve as soldiers in these ongoing wars. Schlim said that's been especially true of the Hells Angels and Mongols."Both have resorted to recruiting street gang members — some of them who don't even own a motorcycle," Schlim said with a chuckle. "They need cannon fodder. If you can hire three guns and I can hire three guns, let them fight it out."But as much as turf wars might be motivating these gangs' clashes, Schlim said, it's the personal vendettas, the bad blood over fallen brothers and that now-ancient battle over the patch that provide the most potent fuel for bloodshed."All those guys involved in those original shootings are still members,'' he said. "These guys are 24/7, 365 days — for life. They know they're at war.''
Francesco Del Balso and five other men who pleaded guilty Thursday to a series of criminal charges, are alleged by the RCMP to be top kingpins in the organization of Montreal Mafia Godfather Vito Rizzuto.Mr. Rizzuto was arrested in January of 2004 and extradited to the United States where he is serving a 10-year sentence for racketeering.Police wiretaps filed in court reveal that, in his absence, his underlings were increasingly under threat from other criminal groups.Mr. Del Balso and another gang captain, Lorenzo Giordano, come across as short-tempered men who scuffle and get into gunfights on the slightest provocation from bikers or street gangs.And despite their fierce reputation, the Montreal Mafia captains met their match in a dispute with an little-known group from small-town Granby, Que.
Police wiretaps document a money feud where the D'Amico family of Granby, in alliance with francophone bikers, rattled the Montreal kingpins over a $900,000 debt owed to the D'Amicos.Seething with rage, the interim boss of the Rizzuto organization, Francesco Arcadi, is heard on wiretap recalling how he went to Granby to meet one of D'Amicos, lecturing him and calling him a “damn wanker.”
The other man defiantly replied: “Don't worry, new Montreal godfather, we'll collect with me, with a gang of wankers.”In a brazen provocation, members of the D'Amicos strolled through the Consenza café that served as headquarters for the Rizzutos, then drove out in a convoy.The two sides tried to set up conciliatory meetings. One wiretap recorded the mobsters musing about buying $400 plane tickets so they could meet in a departure lounge. They reasoned it would be a safe spot because everyone had to pass through airport security checks.It is unclear from the court evidence how the feud was settled.But violence continued to erupt.On Aug. 22, 2006, a scuffle outside a downtown restaurant between Mr. Del Balso and Hells Angels supporter Charles Huneault ended with the Mafia men opening fire on Mr. Huneault's Porsche.
When an underling urged him to cool off, Mr. Del Balso said: “So why does this guy (Mr. Huneault) have the honours of grabbing my throat?”A week later, the gang was flustered further when one member, Domenico Macri, was shot dead by two motorcyclists as he was motoring towards Mr. Arcadi's home.Thereafter, the Montreal kingpins constantly had bodyguards and kept a stash of guns – police found two M-16-style rifles, a sawed-off shotgun, a submachine gun and a pistol and bulletproof vests.It was during that time that police recorded Mr. Del Balso ordering two armoured cars.A month later, the gang members were hit instead by another threat they hadn't foreseen. The RCMP issued arrests warrants for them and nearly 90 other gang members.
Police wiretaps document a money feud where the D'Amico family of Granby, in alliance with francophone bikers, rattled the Montreal kingpins over a $900,000 debt owed to the D'Amicos.Seething with rage, the interim boss of the Rizzuto organization, Francesco Arcadi, is heard on wiretap recalling how he went to Granby to meet one of D'Amicos, lecturing him and calling him a “damn wanker.”
The other man defiantly replied: “Don't worry, new Montreal godfather, we'll collect with me, with a gang of wankers.”In a brazen provocation, members of the D'Amicos strolled through the Consenza café that served as headquarters for the Rizzutos, then drove out in a convoy.The two sides tried to set up conciliatory meetings. One wiretap recorded the mobsters musing about buying $400 plane tickets so they could meet in a departure lounge. They reasoned it would be a safe spot because everyone had to pass through airport security checks.It is unclear from the court evidence how the feud was settled.But violence continued to erupt.On Aug. 22, 2006, a scuffle outside a downtown restaurant between Mr. Del Balso and Hells Angels supporter Charles Huneault ended with the Mafia men opening fire on Mr. Huneault's Porsche.
When an underling urged him to cool off, Mr. Del Balso said: “So why does this guy (Mr. Huneault) have the honours of grabbing my throat?”A week later, the gang was flustered further when one member, Domenico Macri, was shot dead by two motorcyclists as he was motoring towards Mr. Arcadi's home.Thereafter, the Montreal kingpins constantly had bodyguards and kept a stash of guns – police found two M-16-style rifles, a sawed-off shotgun, a submachine gun and a pistol and bulletproof vests.It was during that time that police recorded Mr. Del Balso ordering two armoured cars.A month later, the gang members were hit instead by another threat they hadn't foreseen. The RCMP issued arrests warrants for them and nearly 90 other gang members.
Jason Viet Quoc Luong, 20, died of gunshot wounds, RCMP said Thursday. Police allege a marijuana grow operation was found in his home and that Luong had gang affiliations. Luong was shot just before midnight on Tuesday in the Westlake subdivision where he lived with his family in the town of Chestermere, east of Calgary. A neighbour, who asked not to be identified, said Wednesday she thinks she saw the shooter, but couldn't identify him because she didn't see his face and he was dressed in black. "We woke up last night at about midnight to gunfire," she said. "And ran to the window and saw the guy take off." She ventured outside, but didn't see anything unusual, she said. "As we were heading back inside the house we heard a woman screaming: 'My brother's been shot'." She said she knows most of her neighbours, but not that family. Police said they searched for the suspect and but made no arrests. The homicide was the third shooting in the Calgary area in 14 hours. A man suffered a minor gunshot wound in southeast Calgary around noon Wednesday, while a pedestrian was shot in the face in downtown Calgary on Tuesday night. Both shooting victims were taken to hospital.
feuding biker gangs: the Mongols Motorcycle Club and the Hells Angels.authorities were looking into any possible link to the Sept. 2 murder of San Francisco Hells Angels' chapter president Mark "Papa" Guardado outside a Mission District bar near 24th Street and Treat Avenue.
San Jose police identified the target in the 3:38 a.m. blasts as Robert Rios, an upper-echelon member of the Mongols' San Jose chapter, and confirmed that suspicion is falling heavily on their often bloody rivals, the notorious Hells Angels. Mark "Papa" Guardado, 46, president of the Frisco Hells Angels chapter, was gunned down Sept. 2; the suspect, a Mongol from Modesto, remains at large.
"It's either the Hells Angels are sending a message, or this is a calculated, but ill-advised move," said Sgt. Larry Day, the San Jose Police Department's in-house expert on outlaw motorcycle gangs.Federal law enforcement officials are assisting San Jose's investigation into Thursday's attack, described by shaken neighbors as a series of blasts that roused them from their beds. Officials are probing for any links between the two incidents and how they might fit into the wider, ongoing clash between the Mongols, primarily based in Southern California, and the Hells Angels, long an iconic group in Northern California.No one was injured and no one is in custody, San Jose police spokesman Jermaine Thomas said, but two vehicles parked in the driveway outside Rios' Several other explosives were found outside the house in the 700 block of Melannie Court, where bomb-squad officers and federal agents spent hours searching for evidence.A woman who left the home, as well a man inside the home, declined to comment Thursday afternoon. Children's toys including a red tricycle, plastic bats and balls were strewed across the front lawn and driveway near a bubble-top Chevrolet Deluxe and a black Chevy Silverado with a Harley Davidson logo, scuffed in the blasts.Throughout the morning, members of San Jose's bomb squad and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) could be seen entering and exiting the house. ATF agent Doug Dacosta said much of the evidence collected at the scene will be further examined at an ATF facility in Walnut Creek.Some neighbors on the working-class strip of mostly tidy ranch houses described Rios' home as a hotbed of motorcycle activity, with one next-door neighbor, Fernando Robles, saying that men wearing Mongols jackets were frequent visitors to the house."There's a lot of motorcycles," another neighbor, Carlos Lomeli, said through his girlfriend, Diana Martinez, in Spanish. "It's not all of the time, but it's most of the time. Sometimes there's 40 or 50 motorcycles out there."Linda Rodriguez, whose family has lived at the cul-de-sac's palm-framed entrance for 47 years, said her mother woke up before she did. "She said she heard two booms and then, five seconds later — a third boom." When they went outside to look, however, they saw nothing at all, she said.Rodriguez said police told her the explosive was a pipe bomb. They interviewed her Thursday morning. "That's what they said for sure," she told the Mercury News. She also noted that one of the men who lived in the house likes to ride a motorcycle but that he always took care to ride quietly when coming or going from his home.The street was reopened to traffic about 1 p.m. as investigators rolled out and officers began taking down the orange police tape that had been stretched across the street. Soon after, nearly a dozen children who had been kept inside because of the investigation emerged, some riding bicycles, and a garbage truck was able to pick up trash cans that had been lying idle.
Tim McKinley, the FBI's guru on biker gangs until he retired from the agency in 2002, said the attack looked like one more skirmish in a bloody war between the gangs that's been going on for a decade.But the lack of damage — and blood — in Thursday's attack struck him as suspiciously "incompetent.""When the Hells Angels place a bomb, they destroy the house," he said, recalling a similar, but fatal, 1992 pipe bomb attack in San Leandro. "This is some Hells Angel who's going to be in some big problems with the bosses, or more likely it's some Mongol looking for some self-aggrandizement."
San Jose police identified the target in the 3:38 a.m. blasts as Robert Rios, an upper-echelon member of the Mongols' San Jose chapter, and confirmed that suspicion is falling heavily on their often bloody rivals, the notorious Hells Angels. Mark "Papa" Guardado, 46, president of the Frisco Hells Angels chapter, was gunned down Sept. 2; the suspect, a Mongol from Modesto, remains at large.
"It's either the Hells Angels are sending a message, or this is a calculated, but ill-advised move," said Sgt. Larry Day, the San Jose Police Department's in-house expert on outlaw motorcycle gangs.Federal law enforcement officials are assisting San Jose's investigation into Thursday's attack, described by shaken neighbors as a series of blasts that roused them from their beds. Officials are probing for any links between the two incidents and how they might fit into the wider, ongoing clash between the Mongols, primarily based in Southern California, and the Hells Angels, long an iconic group in Northern California.No one was injured and no one is in custody, San Jose police spokesman Jermaine Thomas said, but two vehicles parked in the driveway outside Rios' Several other explosives were found outside the house in the 700 block of Melannie Court, where bomb-squad officers and federal agents spent hours searching for evidence.A woman who left the home, as well a man inside the home, declined to comment Thursday afternoon. Children's toys including a red tricycle, plastic bats and balls were strewed across the front lawn and driveway near a bubble-top Chevrolet Deluxe and a black Chevy Silverado with a Harley Davidson logo, scuffed in the blasts.Throughout the morning, members of San Jose's bomb squad and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) could be seen entering and exiting the house. ATF agent Doug Dacosta said much of the evidence collected at the scene will be further examined at an ATF facility in Walnut Creek.Some neighbors on the working-class strip of mostly tidy ranch houses described Rios' home as a hotbed of motorcycle activity, with one next-door neighbor, Fernando Robles, saying that men wearing Mongols jackets were frequent visitors to the house."There's a lot of motorcycles," another neighbor, Carlos Lomeli, said through his girlfriend, Diana Martinez, in Spanish. "It's not all of the time, but it's most of the time. Sometimes there's 40 or 50 motorcycles out there."Linda Rodriguez, whose family has lived at the cul-de-sac's palm-framed entrance for 47 years, said her mother woke up before she did. "She said she heard two booms and then, five seconds later — a third boom." When they went outside to look, however, they saw nothing at all, she said.Rodriguez said police told her the explosive was a pipe bomb. They interviewed her Thursday morning. "That's what they said for sure," she told the Mercury News. She also noted that one of the men who lived in the house likes to ride a motorcycle but that he always took care to ride quietly when coming or going from his home.The street was reopened to traffic about 1 p.m. as investigators rolled out and officers began taking down the orange police tape that had been stretched across the street. Soon after, nearly a dozen children who had been kept inside because of the investigation emerged, some riding bicycles, and a garbage truck was able to pick up trash cans that had been lying idle.
Tim McKinley, the FBI's guru on biker gangs until he retired from the agency in 2002, said the attack looked like one more skirmish in a bloody war between the gangs that's been going on for a decade.But the lack of damage — and blood — in Thursday's attack struck him as suspiciously "incompetent.""When the Hells Angels place a bomb, they destroy the house," he said, recalling a similar, but fatal, 1992 pipe bomb attack in San Leandro. "This is some Hells Angel who's going to be in some big problems with the bosses, or more likely it's some Mongol looking for some self-aggrandizement."
Daniel Joseph Egan, also known as "Dano," was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson to 200 months in prison and six years of supervised release.
The 33-year-old Egan was originally indicted in July 2007 and pleaded guilty in July 2008 to two counts of violent crime in aid of racketeering.Egan admitted that he was a leader in the Aryan Warriors, a criminal gang that seeks to control the Nevada prison system and to operate throughout Nevada, including Las Vegas, Reno and Pahrump, 60 miles west of Las Vegas.The Aryan Warriors -- made up of white men who espouse racial purity -- corrupt prison guards, distribute narcotics, extort money from people through threats and the use of violence, run illegal gambling operations and assault other inmates.Egan admitted that he stabbed an inmate to become a member of the Aryan Warriors. Then, as a gang leader, he approved of and ordered assaults on other inmates.Egan admitted to ordering the October 2004 assault on Mark Fechtman, a rival prison gang member housed at High Desert State Prison. Fechtman was slashed with a razor type weapon and was cut on the face, head and back.Egan also admitted to ordering the January 2005 assault on inmate Cody Dunn, who ran gambling operations for the Aryan Warriors at Ely State Prison and High Desert State Prison and was believed to be an informant. Five Aryan Warrior prospects stabbed Dunn 16 times.Egan's sentence was enhanced because of the seriousness of the injuries to the victims, because the assaults were motivated in order to increase his position in the gang and because he is an organizer or leader of the gang.Egan also has a lengthy criminal history including numerous drug, dangerous weapons and theft offenses.The Nevada federal case against the Aryan Warriors includes 12 other defendants. Ten of those are awaiting trial on viiolent crime, racketeering and drug charges. Two other defendants, Robert Allen Young, also known as "Lil Rob," and Kory Allen Crossman, also known as "Lobes," have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The 33-year-old Egan was originally indicted in July 2007 and pleaded guilty in July 2008 to two counts of violent crime in aid of racketeering.Egan admitted that he was a leader in the Aryan Warriors, a criminal gang that seeks to control the Nevada prison system and to operate throughout Nevada, including Las Vegas, Reno and Pahrump, 60 miles west of Las Vegas.The Aryan Warriors -- made up of white men who espouse racial purity -- corrupt prison guards, distribute narcotics, extort money from people through threats and the use of violence, run illegal gambling operations and assault other inmates.Egan admitted that he stabbed an inmate to become a member of the Aryan Warriors. Then, as a gang leader, he approved of and ordered assaults on other inmates.Egan admitted to ordering the October 2004 assault on Mark Fechtman, a rival prison gang member housed at High Desert State Prison. Fechtman was slashed with a razor type weapon and was cut on the face, head and back.Egan also admitted to ordering the January 2005 assault on inmate Cody Dunn, who ran gambling operations for the Aryan Warriors at Ely State Prison and High Desert State Prison and was believed to be an informant. Five Aryan Warrior prospects stabbed Dunn 16 times.Egan's sentence was enhanced because of the seriousness of the injuries to the victims, because the assaults were motivated in order to increase his position in the gang and because he is an organizer or leader of the gang.Egan also has a lengthy criminal history including numerous drug, dangerous weapons and theft offenses.The Nevada federal case against the Aryan Warriors includes 12 other defendants. Ten of those are awaiting trial on viiolent crime, racketeering and drug charges. Two other defendants, Robert Allen Young, also known as "Lil Rob," and Kory Allen Crossman, also known as "Lobes," have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Paul Moreno-Gutierres, 18, was booked into Sonoma County Jail for attempted murder as well as attempted murder in furtherance of a criminal street gang, Det. Sgt. Tim Duke of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department Violent Crimes Investigation Unit said in a statement released Saturday.
The fight, which occurred in Lucas Avenue’s 18000 block around 2 a.m., sent one teenager to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after one assailant hit him with a garden hoe.
“I don’t think my son ever saw it coming,” the victim’s mother said Tuesday morning. “This was a hit from behind.”
By the mother’s account, her two sons, age 23 and 17, had returned earlier in the evening from a trip to Vacaville and were standing outside with a 15-year-old friend who was waiting for a ride home when beer bottles, cans and shouted gang slogans came flying out of the darkness.
As the case is still under investigation, Duke couldn’t comment on particulars when contacted Tuesday. He expressed sympathy for the victim’s family but said deputies talked to a variety of people following Saturday’s incident.
“We had independent witnesses, as well as other people who came forward with statements who were indirectly involved in the crime itself,” Duke said. “My heart goes out to her, and her son particularly. But I feel comfortable that we have both sides (of the story).”
A witness at the scene told deputies that a light-colored Cadillac sedan left the area right after the fight. At 2:18 a.m., a two-person California Highway Patrol unit stopped a white Cadillac sedan traveling westbound on Bennett Valley Road toward Santa Rosa. Sheriff’s deputies also responded, and Duke said information from those in the car led to Moreno-Gutierres being taken without incident to sheriff’s headquarters in Santa Rosa where he was interrogated and booked.
Duke said physical evidence was also found in the Cadillac that connected it to the crime scene. He would not elaborate beyond saying it was not the assault weapon.
The victim’s mother said her son remained in stable condition Tuesday, and was to be recognized during a Mass on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at St. Francis Solano Church.
The fight, which occurred in Lucas Avenue’s 18000 block around 2 a.m., sent one teenager to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after one assailant hit him with a garden hoe.
“I don’t think my son ever saw it coming,” the victim’s mother said Tuesday morning. “This was a hit from behind.”
By the mother’s account, her two sons, age 23 and 17, had returned earlier in the evening from a trip to Vacaville and were standing outside with a 15-year-old friend who was waiting for a ride home when beer bottles, cans and shouted gang slogans came flying out of the darkness.
As the case is still under investigation, Duke couldn’t comment on particulars when contacted Tuesday. He expressed sympathy for the victim’s family but said deputies talked to a variety of people following Saturday’s incident.
“We had independent witnesses, as well as other people who came forward with statements who were indirectly involved in the crime itself,” Duke said. “My heart goes out to her, and her son particularly. But I feel comfortable that we have both sides (of the story).”
A witness at the scene told deputies that a light-colored Cadillac sedan left the area right after the fight. At 2:18 a.m., a two-person California Highway Patrol unit stopped a white Cadillac sedan traveling westbound on Bennett Valley Road toward Santa Rosa. Sheriff’s deputies also responded, and Duke said information from those in the car led to Moreno-Gutierres being taken without incident to sheriff’s headquarters in Santa Rosa where he was interrogated and booked.
Duke said physical evidence was also found in the Cadillac that connected it to the crime scene. He would not elaborate beyond saying it was not the assault weapon.
The victim’s mother said her son remained in stable condition Tuesday, and was to be recognized during a Mass on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at St. Francis Solano Church.
200 mafia suspects were arrested Wednesday in an international operation conducted by authorities in Italy, the United States, Mexico, Panama and Guatemala, Italy's anti-mafia department said. The bust included the arrests - six in the US and 10 in Italy's southern Calabria region - of 16 alleged members of a notorious crime family of the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian version of the mafia, the Rome-based National Anti-Mafia Directorate said in a statement. Authorities also seized more than 15 tons of cocaine and 57 million dollars in cash, the statement said. The operation was led by the Italy's Carabinieri paramilitary police's special anti-organized crime unit ROS with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). US authorities in Washington said 175 of the arrests were of individual suspected of participating in the drug smuggling ring, including three alleged leaders of the Gulf Cartel. The three men, Ezequiel Cardenas-Guillen, Heriberto Lazcano and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, have been charged with conspiring to ship drugs into the United States from Mexico, the Justice Department said. Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni congratulated the Carabinieri for their work saying the operation also 'shows the excellent co-operation' that exists between the Italian law enforcement agencies and those of other countries.
Authorities believe that Aquino-Colluccio 'Ndrangheta crime family members, based in Italy, the United States and Latin America, controlled a large cocaine-smuggling ring together with the so- called Cartel del Golfo (Gulf Cartel), a Mexican drug trafficking organization. A major breakthrough in the investigation came when 'Ndrangheta boss Giuseppe Coluccio - one of Italy's top 30 most-wanted criminals - was arrested in Toronto and extradited to Italy in August. Coluccio is suspected of drug-trafficking, blackmail and establishing a criminal alliance involving the 'Ndrangheta and the Sicilian Cosa Nostra mafia. Far less known than the notorious Cosa Nostra, the 'Ndrangheta has grown in recent years to expand its activities beyond its heartland in Calabria, the 'toe' of boot-shaped Italy.
The August 2007 killing of six Italians in Duisburg, Germany, believed to be part of a feud between to 'Ndrangheta crime families, made international headlines
Authorities believe that Aquino-Colluccio 'Ndrangheta crime family members, based in Italy, the United States and Latin America, controlled a large cocaine-smuggling ring together with the so- called Cartel del Golfo (Gulf Cartel), a Mexican drug trafficking organization. A major breakthrough in the investigation came when 'Ndrangheta boss Giuseppe Coluccio - one of Italy's top 30 most-wanted criminals - was arrested in Toronto and extradited to Italy in August. Coluccio is suspected of drug-trafficking, blackmail and establishing a criminal alliance involving the 'Ndrangheta and the Sicilian Cosa Nostra mafia. Far less known than the notorious Cosa Nostra, the 'Ndrangheta has grown in recent years to expand its activities beyond its heartland in Calabria, the 'toe' of boot-shaped Italy.
The August 2007 killing of six Italians in Duisburg, Germany, believed to be part of a feud between to 'Ndrangheta crime families, made international headlines
The Mongols Motorcycle Club states on their website that they have a chapter in Italy. The Mongols Motorcycle Club, shortened to “Mongols MC” is a motorcycle gang headquartered in southern California that was originally formed in Montebello, California in the 1970s. The Mongols motorcycle club is named after the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia, the Mongols that conquered the largest contiguous empire in world history. The Mongols Motorcycle Club, considered one of the nation’s most violent biker gangs, astonished authorities last fall when it quietly chartered the first of four chapters in Oregon. The man’s body lay crumpled in a ditch, face down, unidentifiable except for a blood-soaked leather jacket bearing the Mongols Motorcycle Club insignia. Burly, tattooed bikers stood around admiring their work, taking digital photographs under a blazing sun. Among them was Jay “Jaybird” Dobyns, who had told Arizona Hells Angels associates in advance that he and a companion were going to Mexico to kill a rival Mongols gang member.
Police in north-east England say they have prevented a bloody turf war by locking up members of a major Jamaican drug dealing gang. The alleged leader, Albert Thoms otherwise known as ‘Papa', was on Monday jailed for 10 years at Teesside Crown Court, after admitting conspiracy to supply controlled drugs. The 32-year-old alleged gang leader was nabbed by police after they found the name ‘Donna' in the cellular phones of several addicts.Donna was another Jamaican, Claudine Neil, 38, who was given a reduced sentence of just two years, because she agreed to give evidence against the gang. Three others were jailed for terms ranging from four to seven years and three more given community sentences.
Florencia Mafia or F-13: The group is based out of South Central Los Angeles, but has an increasing presence in Memphis. The gang tagged an abandoned home on Tennyson.
"These are one of the only Hispanic gangs, to my knowledge, which are pretty much racist. They target African-Americans."The detective went on to say the F-13 gang acts in retaliation for crimes and violence committed against Hispanics by African-Americans.The Street Crimes Unit continues to keep an eye on other gangs that have been in operation for several years in the Mid-South.The detective said many African-American gangs in Memphis fall under two separate alliances, "People" and the "Folk Nation". "People" includes the Bloods and Vice Lords. The detective says the signature color for both gangs is red, and their symbol is a five-point star."Folk Nation" includes the Gangster Disciples and the Crips. Their symbol is an upright pitchfork, and both gangs are known for wearing blue. Investigators say the markings for the Gangster Disciples often include the number 74. Detectives say the numbers seven and four corresponds to the letters "G" and "D" in the alphabet.Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 is a Hispanic gang, whose markings were found in the Nutbush community of Memphis. Investigators say the gang's weapon of choice is the machete.
Surenos-13 or SUR-13 gang, Latin Kings, and the Memphis-based Krazy A-- Latinos (KAL's) also have a presence in Memphis. The groups also tagged the railroad bridge located near Chelsea and Orchi.The detective warns that a lot of gangs are steering clear from using colors and obvious tattoos, so parents will need to keep a closer eye on their kids' behavior. He said new gang members will often practice drawing their gang's symbol and logos. He said the new members will also practice hand signs and handshakes.
"The new gangs are going to be real aggressive and try to recruit our younger kids so they can get their numbers up, so they can attack the larger gangs that are already established here in the city."
"These are one of the only Hispanic gangs, to my knowledge, which are pretty much racist. They target African-Americans."The detective went on to say the F-13 gang acts in retaliation for crimes and violence committed against Hispanics by African-Americans.The Street Crimes Unit continues to keep an eye on other gangs that have been in operation for several years in the Mid-South.The detective said many African-American gangs in Memphis fall under two separate alliances, "People" and the "Folk Nation". "People" includes the Bloods and Vice Lords. The detective says the signature color for both gangs is red, and their symbol is a five-point star."Folk Nation" includes the Gangster Disciples and the Crips. Their symbol is an upright pitchfork, and both gangs are known for wearing blue. Investigators say the markings for the Gangster Disciples often include the number 74. Detectives say the numbers seven and four corresponds to the letters "G" and "D" in the alphabet.Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 is a Hispanic gang, whose markings were found in the Nutbush community of Memphis. Investigators say the gang's weapon of choice is the machete.
Surenos-13 or SUR-13 gang, Latin Kings, and the Memphis-based Krazy A-- Latinos (KAL's) also have a presence in Memphis. The groups also tagged the railroad bridge located near Chelsea and Orchi.The detective warns that a lot of gangs are steering clear from using colors and obvious tattoos, so parents will need to keep a closer eye on their kids' behavior. He said new gang members will often practice drawing their gang's symbol and logos. He said the new members will also practice hand signs and handshakes.
"The new gangs are going to be real aggressive and try to recruit our younger kids so they can get their numbers up, so they can attack the larger gangs that are already established here in the city."
The Russian Mafia have blasted their way to the top of the global organised crime league. Moscow's Solntsevskaya Bratva, known as the Brotherhood, have just been named the worst criminal gang in the world in a major survey. And the planet's most famous mobsters, the "Five Families" of the New York Mafia, barely scrape into the top 10. The Brotherhood took over the underworld of south-west Moscow in the 1980s after godfather Sergei Mikhailov learned his criminal trade in the Siberian labour camps.Then, by linking up with other gangs, they built an empire worth tens of billions of pounds across Russia and beyond. The survey says: "From its base in Moscow, this syndicate runs rackets in extortion, drug trafficking, car theft, stolen art, money laundering, contract killings, arms dealing, trading nuclear material, prostitution and oil deals." Anyone who threatens the Brotherhood's business tends to end up dead. They murdered a string of rival hoods in Moscow in the early 1990s and a bid to put Mikhailov on trial in Switzerland in 1996 had to be abandoned after several witnesses were shot or blown up. Former FBI agent Bob Levinson says the Russian Mafia are "the most dangerous people on earth".
But the survey, compiled by online men's mag askmen.com, reveals that they have rivals in every corner of the world. No 2 in the gangland top 10 are the Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate, the biggest of Japan's Yakuza crime clans. Based in the city of Kobe and run by mastermind Shinobu Tsusaka, the 40,000- strong Yamaguchi-gumi run extortion, gambling, vice, drugs and loan-sharking scams. They also take kickbacks from building projects and peddle online porn. Third place in the poll goes to an Italian Mafia gang - but not the Sicilian Cosa Nostra or the Camorra of Naples.
The little-known "'Ndrangheta", based in the southern district of Calabria, have ties to Colombian drug barons. Some believe they are responsible for 80 per cent of Europe's cocaine trade. While other Mafia gangs have been crippled by informers, the 'Ndrangheta have kept their vows of silence because the mob is built on close family ties. Most gangs only care about cash. But the fourth mob on the list, India's D Company, have sinister ties to Islamic terror. Boss of bosses Dawood Ibrahim masterminded a wave of bombings that killed 257 people in Mumbai in 1993.
Ibrahim has links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban and is widely believed to be hiding in Pakistan. He is rumoured to have had plastic surgery to alter his face. Fifth on the list are the ruthless 14K triad from Hong Kong, who trade in human beings as well as drugs and assassinations. The Sicilian Mafia only make sixth place in the poll after a string of high-profile arrests of their bosses. Seventh are the Chinese Dai Huen Jai gang, many of whom are veterans of Chairman Mao's Red Guards. One of the world's most violent mobs, the Mexican Tijuana Cartel, take eighth place. Turf wars between the Cartel, led by Eduardo Arellano-Felix, and other gangs have killed hundreds in recent years. Ninth spot goes to Taiwan's United Bamboo triad. And despite their Hollywood reputation, the five New York Mafia families are left bringing up the rear. The Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese clans have been relentlessly harried by the FBI.
But the survey, compiled by online men's mag askmen.com, reveals that they have rivals in every corner of the world. No 2 in the gangland top 10 are the Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate, the biggest of Japan's Yakuza crime clans. Based in the city of Kobe and run by mastermind Shinobu Tsusaka, the 40,000- strong Yamaguchi-gumi run extortion, gambling, vice, drugs and loan-sharking scams. They also take kickbacks from building projects and peddle online porn. Third place in the poll goes to an Italian Mafia gang - but not the Sicilian Cosa Nostra or the Camorra of Naples.
The little-known "'Ndrangheta", based in the southern district of Calabria, have ties to Colombian drug barons. Some believe they are responsible for 80 per cent of Europe's cocaine trade. While other Mafia gangs have been crippled by informers, the 'Ndrangheta have kept their vows of silence because the mob is built on close family ties. Most gangs only care about cash. But the fourth mob on the list, India's D Company, have sinister ties to Islamic terror. Boss of bosses Dawood Ibrahim masterminded a wave of bombings that killed 257 people in Mumbai in 1993.
Ibrahim has links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban and is widely believed to be hiding in Pakistan. He is rumoured to have had plastic surgery to alter his face. Fifth on the list are the ruthless 14K triad from Hong Kong, who trade in human beings as well as drugs and assassinations. The Sicilian Mafia only make sixth place in the poll after a string of high-profile arrests of their bosses. Seventh are the Chinese Dai Huen Jai gang, many of whom are veterans of Chairman Mao's Red Guards. One of the world's most violent mobs, the Mexican Tijuana Cartel, take eighth place. Turf wars between the Cartel, led by Eduardo Arellano-Felix, and other gangs have killed hundreds in recent years. Ninth spot goes to Taiwan's United Bamboo triad. And despite their Hollywood reputation, the five New York Mafia families are left bringing up the rear. The Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese clans have been relentlessly harried by the FBI.
Police said they believe that a violent robbery of a jewelry traveling salesman in suburban Chicago was the work of Colombian gangs, according to media reports.
On Sept. 11 a 51-year-old jewelry dealer was robbed by at least three men of $1.5 million in broad daylight outside of a Hampton Inn in the village of Schiller Park, just west of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reports.When the dealer from Florida resisted, the men slashed his wrist and stabbed him in the thigh, Schiller Park police told the newspaper, adding that it appeared they were trying to cut major veins and arteries and he may not have survived the attack if was not for Hampton Inn employees who rushed to his aid, wrapping his slashed arms in towels and sheets and slowing the bleeding by applying pressure and lifting his arms.
The dealer, who lost a lot of blood, was in serious but stable condition and was scheduled to go into surgery on Friday.Schiller Park police said they have heard from law enforcement around the country who believe they have crimes that are related to the attack.Police said they suspect the dealer may have been followed to Chicago from Florida or that the crooks worked in teams, one following the victim in Florida and another team following him in Chicago, the Tribune reports.The dealer took precautions to avoid being followed, including routinely checking his rental cars for tracking devices and driving in circuitous routes, police told the newspaper.The dealer arrived at O'Hare International Airport on Sept. 11, rented a car and drove straight to a jewelry store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, police told the newspaper. Security guards accompanied him back to his car from the store.
The dealer told police he was careful to watch for people following him but he noticed nothing amiss Thursday, the newspaper reports.
On Sept. 11 a 51-year-old jewelry dealer was robbed by at least three men of $1.5 million in broad daylight outside of a Hampton Inn in the village of Schiller Park, just west of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reports.When the dealer from Florida resisted, the men slashed his wrist and stabbed him in the thigh, Schiller Park police told the newspaper, adding that it appeared they were trying to cut major veins and arteries and he may not have survived the attack if was not for Hampton Inn employees who rushed to his aid, wrapping his slashed arms in towels and sheets and slowing the bleeding by applying pressure and lifting his arms.
The dealer, who lost a lot of blood, was in serious but stable condition and was scheduled to go into surgery on Friday.Schiller Park police said they have heard from law enforcement around the country who believe they have crimes that are related to the attack.Police said they suspect the dealer may have been followed to Chicago from Florida or that the crooks worked in teams, one following the victim in Florida and another team following him in Chicago, the Tribune reports.The dealer took precautions to avoid being followed, including routinely checking his rental cars for tracking devices and driving in circuitous routes, police told the newspaper.The dealer arrived at O'Hare International Airport on Sept. 11, rented a car and drove straight to a jewelry store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, police told the newspaper. Security guards accompanied him back to his car from the store.
The dealer told police he was careful to watch for people following him but he noticed nothing amiss Thursday, the newspaper reports.
Respects paid to Mark "Papa" Guardado, 46, who was killed Sept. 2 outside a Mission District bar in San Francisco. At the time, he was president of the Frisco Hells Angels and was considered by many members as royalty of the outlaw biker gang.
Hell's Angels history is known for their on going criminal activity of drug dealing, prostitution, gun running and money laundering along with more and more legitimate business enterprises. The FBI reports that the Angels are believed to now be working with the Mexican drug cartels and their gangs. But their focus was on Mark "Papa" Guardado and the local police reported the Angels were Angels this day of mourning.
The vigil began Sunday evening; mourners packed the main room at Duggan's and several smaller rooms, where they watched on closed circuit television. Big bear type men in black leather openly wept as one of them sang Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground," accompanying himself on saxophone. An astonishingly long funeral procession sped through San Francisco. The massive group of mourners led what police say may have been the largest motorcycle procession ever in the San Francisco Bay area from Daly City to the Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, creating a deafening uproar of engines and a spectacle that stopped traffic in its tracks on both sides of Interstate 280.Hells Angel’s chapters from Alaska to Maine, from Rhode Island to Hawaii, and from overseas including- Norway, Germany, England, Australia, Italy and others. And not just Hells Angels showed up. Duggan's parking lot hosted a collection of motorcycle clubs rarely seen outside events in Hollister or Sturgis, S.D., - the Mecca and Medina of biker culture. Top Hatters and Henchmen, Vampires and Devil Dolls, representatives of large groups and small, they all slapped leather-clad shoulders and shared tears and tales of Papa Guadardo, or just exchanged stories from the road.
“We don't get along with the press,” said one member, guarding the parking lot. “And if you stick a camera in someone's face, you're asking for trouble.” Police estimated mourners numbered over 2000 with at least 1000 bikers accompanying the hearse carrying the remains of murdered Frisco Hells Angel president. Papa's final ride was a Viking type funeral, his body road to his final resting place by a storm of thunder and flashes of chrome as the Angel’s colors flu proudly in the whispering breeze of an otherwise beautiful day.
San Francisco police said he was shot to death, by Christopher Ablett, 37, of Modesto, a member of the hated rival Mongols Motorcycle gang, whose bad blood with the Hells Angels goes back a long way. Ablett is still
Three men -- described by police as MS-13 gang members -- have been charged with first-degree gang assault in connection with the attack on Marin Morales, which took place around at Antojitos Bar on Main Street, police said.Marin Morales was stabbed around 3:20 a.m. Sunday after he went outside the bar to help a friend who was getting beat up by a group, Det. Sgt. Gregory Quinn of the Homicide Squad said at a news conference.Part of the group then turned on Marin Morales, ripping off his shirt and chasing him into the bar's kitchen, Quinn said."Our victim exited the kitchen area a short time after and collapsed," he said. Marin Morales sustained stab wounds to the torso and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The assailants fled the bar and ran north on Main Street to a parking lot at Fulton Avenue, where they victimized a third man, smashing a broken bottle into his temple, police said. The victim, in his early 20s, is hospitalized at Nassau University Medical Center. His injuries are not considered life-threatening, police said.
The identity of the first assault victim is as yet unknown to police, Quinn said.David Sosa, 25, of 218 Lincoln Ave., Roosevelt, and Josue Gallegos, 21, of Hempstead, were each charged with one count of gang assault. Juan Cardona, 19, of 200 Hempstead Ave., West Hempstead, faces two counts of gang assault, the second in connection with the attack on the third victim, police said. They are scheduled to be arraigned Monday at First District Court in Hempstead.
About 30 to 40 people were in Antojitos bar at the time of the crime, Quinn said.
"We believe that this bar is a hangout for members of MS-13," he said, asking anyone with information about the case to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS.Marin Morales was a former Hempstead High School student, and was believed to have been working for a Hempstead contractor at the time of his death, police said.
The assailants fled the bar and ran north on Main Street to a parking lot at Fulton Avenue, where they victimized a third man, smashing a broken bottle into his temple, police said. The victim, in his early 20s, is hospitalized at Nassau University Medical Center. His injuries are not considered life-threatening, police said.
The identity of the first assault victim is as yet unknown to police, Quinn said.David Sosa, 25, of 218 Lincoln Ave., Roosevelt, and Josue Gallegos, 21, of Hempstead, were each charged with one count of gang assault. Juan Cardona, 19, of 200 Hempstead Ave., West Hempstead, faces two counts of gang assault, the second in connection with the attack on the third victim, police said. They are scheduled to be arraigned Monday at First District Court in Hempstead.
About 30 to 40 people were in Antojitos bar at the time of the crime, Quinn said.
"We believe that this bar is a hangout for members of MS-13," he said, asking anyone with information about the case to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS.Marin Morales was a former Hempstead High School student, and was believed to have been working for a Hempstead contractor at the time of his death, police said.
The leaders of a multi-state cocaine trafficking ring known as the Black Mafia Family were sentenced in Detroit federal court Friday to 30 years in prison, reports the Detroit Free Press.
Brothers Terry Flenory, 38 of Los Angeles and Demetrius Flenory, 40, of Atlanta, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn. Formerly of southwest Detroit. The siblings pleaded guilty to operating a continuing criminal enterprise involving the high volume distribution of cocaine throughout the U.S. from 1990 through 2005.
Authorities said their operation began in Detroit during the early 1990s and eventually expanded to include Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, California and Texas. They used vehicles equipped with secret compartments to transport cocaine and cash.
Since 2000, authorities have seized more than 476 kilograms of cocaine and $5 million in cash. Members of the ring used drug proceeds to buy luxury cars, real estate and jewelry. They also purchased winning Michigan lottery tickets from the real winners to conceal the source of income. Some 65 people have been indicted in the case, including celebrity Manhattan jeweler Jacob Arabov, 43, who was sentenced in Detroit in June to 2-1/2 years in prison and fined $50,000 for lying to federal agents about the true ownership of jewelry seized from the ring.
Most of the defendants have pleaded guilty and half have been sentenced, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The government has seized more than $19 million in assets from ring members, including 13 homes, 35 vehicles, over $5 million in cash, and millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
Brothers Terry Flenory, 38 of Los Angeles and Demetrius Flenory, 40, of Atlanta, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn. Formerly of southwest Detroit. The siblings pleaded guilty to operating a continuing criminal enterprise involving the high volume distribution of cocaine throughout the U.S. from 1990 through 2005.
Authorities said their operation began in Detroit during the early 1990s and eventually expanded to include Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, California and Texas. They used vehicles equipped with secret compartments to transport cocaine and cash.
Since 2000, authorities have seized more than 476 kilograms of cocaine and $5 million in cash. Members of the ring used drug proceeds to buy luxury cars, real estate and jewelry. They also purchased winning Michigan lottery tickets from the real winners to conceal the source of income. Some 65 people have been indicted in the case, including celebrity Manhattan jeweler Jacob Arabov, 43, who was sentenced in Detroit in June to 2-1/2 years in prison and fined $50,000 for lying to federal agents about the true ownership of jewelry seized from the ring.
Most of the defendants have pleaded guilty and half have been sentenced, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The government has seized more than $19 million in assets from ring members, including 13 homes, 35 vehicles, over $5 million in cash, and millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
Daly City police Sgt. David Mackriss said about 1,000 members and associates of the Hells Angels club turned out at Duggan's Serra Mortuary for the 10 a.m. funeral of Mark Guardado. A similar number attended a vigil in Daly City last night. The funeral for the slain president of the San Francisco chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club took place this morning in Daly City without incident, a Daly City police spokesman said. Mackriss said the event was "a little chaotic with just the sheer number of people," but that no problems were reported, and attendees began leaving before 11 a.m. Guardado, 46, was shot dead around 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 2 outside a bar in San Francisco's Mission District, allegedly by a member of the rival Mongols motorcycle group. The suspect in the killing, 35-year-old Christopher Ablett, of Modesto, is still at large. Police, armed with a $5 million warrant for murder and possession by an ex-felon of a firearm, searched Ablett's home Thursday and seized a motorcycle and other potential evidence.
Security for today's funeral service was comprised of members of the Daly City, San Francisco and Colma police departments, as well as the California Highway Patrol, Mackriss said. Guardado's funeral was to be followed by processions to Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, and to the Hells Angels clubhouse in San Francisco Potrero Hill District.
Security for today's funeral service was comprised of members of the Daly City, San Francisco and Colma police departments, as well as the California Highway Patrol, Mackriss said. Guardado's funeral was to be followed by processions to Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, and to the Hells Angels clubhouse in San Francisco Potrero Hill District.
Paul Moreno-Gutierres, 18, was booked into Sonoma County Jail. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and committing attempted murder in furtherance of a criminal street gang, Sgt. Tim Duke said.The victim, an unidentified young man in his late teens, remained hospitalized Sunday in stable condition.Deputies were sent to Lucas Avenue in Boyes Hot Springs at about 2 a.m.Saturday for a reported fight involving as many as 15 people.They found the victim on the ground with major injuries to the left side of his face. The weapon later was determined to be a garden hoe, Duke said.Witnesses told deputies about a light colored Cadillac sedan leaving the scene and an alert went out to area law enforcement.About 15 minutes later, two CHP officers working on Bennett Valley Road spotted a white Cadillac, stopped it and called deputies.Information from the occupants led deputies to believe they might have been involved and they were taken to the Sheriff’s Department for further questioning, Duke said.With information from witnesses and evidence at the scene, detectives arrested Moreno-Gutierres. Gang detectives were able to gather more evidence that led to the second suspected crime that the suspect was acting as a gang member
A gang in the United Kingdom (UK) has been ordered by a British court to pay back more than ₤330,000 netted during its days of illegal drug dealing.The 13 gang members, mainly Jamaicans, were arrested in 2006.The judge told the gangsters that failure to repay the sum could result in longer jail terms.The drug dealers were dubbed the "Night Express Gang" because of their tactic of using trains to travel between the Black Country and Scotland.Their illegal trade sometimes netted around ₤40,000 a-week.The members, who were jailed for up to 12 years each, must pay back a total of ₤338,000 within 18 months or face additional imprisonment.A probe by the elite West Midlands Police economic crime team, found the crooks had ploughed their drugs money into properties in the UK and Jamaica, as well as cars, motorbikes and designer clothes.
24-year-old man was shot in Byrne's Bookmaker's on Killester Avenue in Donneycarney. Witnesses said a man on a motorbike pulled up and went inside the bookmakers just before 3pm. They described hearing a number of shots, possibly up to five. Gardaí said the gunman fled the scene on the motorbike, which was later found burnt out nearby. The victim's body is still at the scene of the shooting and the area has been sealed off. Gardaí have appealed for any witnesses to the shooting to contact them.Two men have been arrested at Tallaght South Dublin in connection with the shooting and a van has been seized by gardai and will undergo detailed examination. The victim is believed to have been known to Gardaí and had been a subject of the Operation Anvil investigation into serious crime. Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis, has arrived at the scene to carry out a preliminary examination. The scene has been sealed off and Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to contact them. A Garda spokeswoman said the 24-year-old man was killed in Byrne's Bookmakers on Killester Avenue shortly after 3.00pm. The dead man has been named locally as Christopher Barry. He is believed to be from the Killester area.
It is understood a gunman walked into the shop beside the Ramble Inn and singled out his victim before shooting him at least once in the head. The attacker then made off on a motorbike. The area has been sealed off and uniformed gardaí are on the scene interviewing locals. The Garda Technical Bureau has arrived to carry out a technical examination. Mr Barry's body remains at the scene. A number of floral wreaths have been left outside the bookmakers. A burnt-out motorbike, believed to have been used by the gunman in the getaway, was found abandoned just off La Vista Avenue, a few streets from the where the killing took place. It was the second gun murder in the area in six months. Anthony Russell was shot dead in Artane's Ardlea Inn in April. The killing was linked to a feud between drug dealing and crime gangs in the north inner city. Fine Gael’s justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan today called on the Government to ensure Garda resources are not affected by cutbacks in the forthcoming Budget. “Indiscriminate gangland attacks have become a regular feature of Irish weekends at a time when the Government is preparing a series of cost-cutting measures,” he said. “Unless the Garda budget is secured, the cutbacks will have an effect on key measures aimed at tackling gangland.
“The Government’s main objective must be to end the spiral of gangland killings and put those responsible behind bars.”
It is understood a gunman walked into the shop beside the Ramble Inn and singled out his victim before shooting him at least once in the head. The attacker then made off on a motorbike. The area has been sealed off and uniformed gardaí are on the scene interviewing locals. The Garda Technical Bureau has arrived to carry out a technical examination. Mr Barry's body remains at the scene. A number of floral wreaths have been left outside the bookmakers. A burnt-out motorbike, believed to have been used by the gunman in the getaway, was found abandoned just off La Vista Avenue, a few streets from the where the killing took place. It was the second gun murder in the area in six months. Anthony Russell was shot dead in Artane's Ardlea Inn in April. The killing was linked to a feud between drug dealing and crime gangs in the north inner city. Fine Gael’s justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan today called on the Government to ensure Garda resources are not affected by cutbacks in the forthcoming Budget. “Indiscriminate gangland attacks have become a regular feature of Irish weekends at a time when the Government is preparing a series of cost-cutting measures,” he said. “Unless the Garda budget is secured, the cutbacks will have an effect on key measures aimed at tackling gangland.
“The Government’s main objective must be to end the spiral of gangland killings and put those responsible behind bars.”
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