Wanted:Bryan Campbell reportedly a gang leader and should be considered armed and dangerous.

Thirty-three-year-old Bryan Campbell has been the target of a nationwide manhunt since January. He's one of eight people charged in connection with a joint investigation between the FBI and Chicago police.
The FBI says Campbell is reportedly a gang leader and should be considered armed and dangerous.His last known address was in the 6400-block of North Claremont.

Marcell Castle Far South Side man was fatally shot Saturday evening in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood

Far South Side man was fatally shot Saturday evening in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood, Chicago police said.Witnesses saw Marcell Castle, 19, of the 300 block of West 118th Street riding in a van in the 7500 block of South Wabash Avenue shortly before 7 p.m. when an unknown man fired several shots at the vehicle from the street, Officer Laura Kubiak said.

Mobster Joey "the Clown" Lombardo was sentenced to life in prison

Mobster Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, one of the five Outfit associates convicted in the landmark Family Secrets trial that riveted Chicago for weeks with its lurid testimony about 18 decades-old gangland slayings, was sentenced to life in prison this afternoon.U.S. District Judge James Zagel levied the sentenc after the aging mob boss addressed the court in a gravelly voice and denied having anything to do with the Seifert murder.The judge said that unlike co-defendants in case, Lombardo showed some balance in judgment and some ability to charm people. But in the end, defendants must be judged by their actions, "not about our wit and our smiles," Zagel said."The worst things you have done are terrible, and I see no regret in you," the judge told Lombardo in handing down the life sentence.
Lombardo, the wisecracking elder statesman of the mob, and four other defendants were found guilty in 2007 of a racketeering conspiracy that stretched back to the 1960s and included extorting "street taxes," collecting high-interest "juice" loans, running illegal gambling operations and using violence and murder to protect the mob's interests. He also was found guilty of the 1974 murder of federal witness Daniel Seifert and of obstructing justice by fleeing from authorities after his indictment. He faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.Lombardo was sent to federal prison in the 1980s for conspiring with International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Roy Lee Williams and union pension fund manager Allen Dorfman to bribe Sen. Howard Cannon (D-Nev.) to help defeat a trucking deregulation bill. Cannon was never charged with any wrongdoing and the bill became law with his support.When Lombardo got out, he resumed life as the boss of the mob's Grand Avenue street crew, prosecutors said. He denied it. but his attorney, Rick Halprin, told the trial he ran "the oldest and most reliable floating craps game on Grand Avenue."
When the Family Secrets indictment was unsealed, Lombardo went on the lam for nine months. He ultimately was brought before U.S. District Judge James Zagel.
Two of Lombardo's co-defendants were sentenced last week. Paul "the Indian" Schiro got 20 years for the racketeering conviction, and Frank Calabrese Sr. got life for racketeering and for seven murders.James Marcello, once called Chicago's mob boss by authorities, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.

Raul Cortez, convicted this week of capital murder was a member of a violent street gang

Raul Cortez, convicted this week of capital murder was a member of a violent street gang while growing up in Chicago, witnesses told a Collin County jury Friday. The testimony came during the punishment phase in the trial of Raul Cortez, who was found guilty Thursday of killing four people inside a home here during a botched robbery plot. The same jury must decide whether Cortez should die for the crime or be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years. Cortez was convicted for the March 12, 2004, shooting deaths of Rosa Barbosa, 46; her nephew, Matthew Barbosa, 25; and his friends Austin York, 18, and Matthew Self, 17.On Friday, the jury saw photographs of gang symbols – as well as a Bible verse and a cross – tattooed on Cortez's body. Similar symbols and gang colors appeared on Cortez's MySpace page at the time of his arrest in 2007, McKinney police Detective Diana Tilton testified. Chicago police Officer James Vins testified that the group was that city's "No. 1 most violent street gang" and is involved in homicides, narcotics trafficking, extortion, robbery and other crimes.Cortez's ex-wife testified that Cortez was proud of his Chicago gang affiliation and became friendly with Mexican prison gang members after he moved to Texas. She told the jury Cortez had a "dark side" and told her he once led a raid of rival gang members' homes in Chicago. "They killed them all," said the woman who is not being identified because she is a victim of childhood molestation. On cross examination by defense attorney Doug Parks, the woman testified that Cortez had never mistreated her during their six-month marriage and that she had no proof he had ever killed anyone. After the prosecution rested its case, defense witness Dr. Mark Vigen, a psychologist who has studied Texas prisons, described prison life to jury members. He told them inmates serving life sentences are "probably the least problematic of inmates." Visiting state District Judge Webb Biard sent the jury home about 4:30 p.m. Friday and told them to bring an overnight bag Monday when they will probably begin their sentencing deliberations.

officers arrested a man, and the crowd—suspected gang members attending a funeral nearb, hit police with bottles and fists

An arrest Tuesday night of a man for a fight that hospitalized a cop sparked a crowd to attack police officers, Chicago police said.About 7:30 p.m., the officer responded to a fight in an alley near a funeral home in the 600 block of West 37th Street, Officer John Mirabelli said. When he approached, he was hit in the face, police said.Other officers arrested a man, and the crowd—suspected gang members attending a funeral nearby—hit police with bottles and fists, police said. Two other cops were hurt, police said.

15 lawmen charged with riding shotgun on ‘drug shipments’ in FBI sting

Duffel bags stuffed with cocaine were delivered by plane to an out-of-the-way suburban airport while two sheriff’s officers provided security. A police officer stood by to guard the cash and keep out the riffraff at a poker game where $100,000 changed hands. And a drug dealer was told squad cars marked “sheriff” and “sheriff’s police” might be available on a “freelance” basis to provide protection for his deliveries.Such tales of law enforcement gone awry emerged in court papers Tuesday as federal prosecutors unveiled a series of elaborate sting operations aimed at officers who hired out to ride shotgun for drug deals and other criminal activities.
15 lawmen charged with riding shotgun on ‘drug shipments’ in FBI sting
Feds Charge 15 Chicago Area Officers with Drug ConspiracyFifteen officers and two other men who had pretended to be law enforcement officers were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine or heroin or both.But the most spectacular pretending was done by the federal agents themselves.The pilots of the airplane were not drug runners but undercover agents. So were the gamblers who busily played hand after hand of high-stakes poker — all for show.
The drug broker who squired the officers to the airport to pick up the duffel bags was an agent. So was the drug dealer who stuffed the bags into his Mercedes-Benz.
U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said he was dismayed to find that so many law enforcement officers had “sold out their badge.”“When drug dealers deal drugs, they ought to be afraid of the police — not turn to them for help,” Fitzgerald said at a news conference.Officials paid homage to an unnamed FBI agent who moved into a business in Harvey more than a year ago and set up shop as a drug broker. He soon attracted the attention of police and the corruption grew, authorities said.They said the agent was sent in undercover because there had been reports of police corruption over the last several years in southern Cook County, including the Harvey police department. An investigation into allegations of robbery, extortion, narcotics offenses and weapons distribution is ongoing, officials said.
Those charged include 10 Cook County sheriff’s correctional officers, four Harvey police officers and one Chicago police officer.Of the 17 defendants, 14 were arrested or surrendered Tuesday and were being immediately brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Mason. Two sheriff’s officers are on active duty with Army National Guard units in Afghanistan, and warrants were issued for their arrest.
If convicted of conspiracy to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine or one kilogram of heroin, the defendants would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life. The maximum fine would be $4 million.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart called the alleged behavior “absolutely reprehensible.”
“The responsibility of watching over jail inmates is an important one and it’s a shame these men didn’t take that responsibility more seriously,” he said in a statement.Each of those charged has been suspended with pay pending a hearing next week, Dart said. “That step will then lead to a request for termination,” he said.

Colombian gangs $1.5 million jewelry dealer robbery

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.

Chicago Police officers will soon be equipped with M4 carbines to match the firepower of the street gangs they're up against

Chicago Police SWAT teams are already equipped with M4 carbines, but rank-and-file officers are out-gunned. They're only allowed to carry pistols. When you're up against a street gang member armed with an AK-47, that's like taking a BB-gun to a battle.Chicago Police officers will soon be equipped with M4 carbines to match the firepower of the street gangs they're up against, under a policy change in the works to stop the bloodshed on the city's streets.used by the U.S. Marine Corps, the M4 is an assault rifle that fires more shots in less time than a conventional handgun. The fully automatic version can fire up to 1,000 rounds a minute, although the magazines hold 20 to 30 shots.olice Supt. Jody Weis' decision to arm and train his 13,500 officers with more powerful weapons was disclosed as Mayor Daley emerged from a City Hall summit meeting with a plea to every Chicagoan who cares about children. "I don't want people to wait for Mayor Daley to call a meeting. I want you to call a meeting in your home, with your children and loved ones. I want you to . . . talk to those children next door. I want the parents on the block to say, 'This block will be free of violence. This summer, not one child will be [killed by] gangs and drug dealers,' " Daley told a City Hall news conference."Regardless of whether you live in a high-rise on Lake Shore Drive [or] poor housing or you're middle class or business leaders -- I want you to get energized about saving a child. . . . A mentoring position, a summer job. . . . Reach out to adopt a school. Reach out to a block club. Reach out to an ex-offender program. Let's do things that we've never done before collectively." Last week, police arrested a man suspected of using an AK-47 during a shoot-out with police just after he allegedly used the gun to kill a man at a South Side plumbing business. In October 2006, police were in a shoot-out with three gang members they thought were on their way to carry out a gang hit. Police fired at the men after one of the suspects raised an AK-47 at them. Some of the officers were armed with assault weapons and shotguns. Two of the suspects were killed. "That's a good example of why it's important for police to be equally armed," Police Department spokeswoman Monique Bond said. Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Donahue welcomed the change, as long as the Police Department pays for the weapons and officers are properly trained and given discretion in using the M4. "Many people have made statements that they feel outgunned on the street. In certain circumstances, that has been shown to be true," Donahue said.New York City police officers recently started patrolling subways with similar assault weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs. In the Chicago area, some suburban police departments have carried assault weapons since the mid-1990s.Timing and logistics of the change in firepower have not yet been ironed out. First, the weapons must be purchased -- and it's not yet clear who is going to pay. Officers currently chose from a list of authorized handguns and pay out of their own pockets. Second, they must be trained in how to use them. That would be a logistical nightmare that would require all officers to return to the police academy.Finally, the Police Department must determine whether the new weapons would remain in squad cars or be carried by officers.The firepower change is the latest show of force by Weis.This weekend, he plans to flood South and West Side neighborhoods plagued by violence with SWAT teams and Targeted Response Units in full battle dress, with two police helicopters hovering above.

Gangland Chicago bloody weekend

violent and deadly weekend continues in Chicago. At least 12 people have been shot, two of them killed, since Saturday morning. Two others were stabbed in a home invasion. This comes after at least 20 people were shot, four of them killed, from Friday night through early Saturday.
A 28-year-old man was shot and killed at an auto body repair shop on the Southwest Side Saturday morning. Raul Lemus was shot in the stomach at 2520 W. 59th St. at about 11:20 a.m. Lemus, of 4630 S. Talman Av., died several hours later at Stroger Hospital, making him the sixth person killed in Chicago since Friday night. Police said the shooting appeared to be gang related. Also Saturday morning, Michael Giles, 26, was shot and killed inside his home at 336 N. Avers Av. Harrison Area detectives are investigating. In another case, a suspect toting an AK-47 has been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder after allegedly killing a man and shooting at police. Bennie Teague, 39, was denied bond in the case Sunday afternoon.It’s amazing no one was hurt during the shootout between police and Teague, who was firing an assault rifle. Police say the gunman opened fire on them Friday night at 110th and South Union. They tracked him down after he allegedly shot and killed 34-year-old Marcus Hendricks inside a plumbing business a few blocks away.
The 34-year-old from Flossmoor died after being shot just blocks from a police-involved shooting on the Far South Side. He died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 8 p.m., a Cook County Medical Examiner’s office spokesman said.
“All I could say is he’s a nice guy,” said neighbor Amos Williams.
The recent gunfire has rattled nerves throughout the Roseland neighborhood.
“It’s not that all the area, all the streets are bad,” Williams said. “It’s that you get bad elements coming through your street.”
“My son is in 8th grade, about to go to high school. As a parent, I’m very concerned,” said neighbor Charles Thomas.
Also, Friday night, two teens were gunned down in front of a church in the 7500 block of South Phillips. Police say gunmen jumped out of a car and opened fire in front of the Free Salvation Methodist Baptist Church. One of the teens suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and back, the other was shot in the neck, police said. Melvin Thomas, of 14922 Washington Ave. in Harvey was pronounced dead at the Stein Institute at 1:20 a.m. Rhonell Savala, of 9750 S. Hoxie Ave. in Chicago, was pronounced dead at 12:50 a.m. Saturday at the Stein Institute.
“I was in my house and my friend came and got me and he said two boys was laying outside on the stairs…dead,” said neighbor Tamara Roberson.
Flowers and teddy bears now serve as a memorial to 18-year-olds, Thomas and Savala.
“I live just a block away on 77th, kids were still outside,” Roberson said.
“To put the shooting in perspective, you have to consider this was a 17-hour window,” said Chicago Police spokesperson Monique Bond about the number of shootings.
Chicago police are now stepping up patrols in areas that they call “hot zones.” Police blame the warmer temperatures for the spike in violence.
“We know that we’re approaching warmer weather, the summer season. We know that this is going to be a very busy season for the Chicago Police Department. There’s no doubt about that,” Bond said. Chicago Police have also recently started using helicopter patrols to try to curb gang violence. Choppers will be flying over areas prone to gang activity, especially on weekends when more shootings seem to occur.
Other shootings included, a 65-year-old man being shot dead outside his home on the Southeast Side during an attempted robbery. Ricardo Sanchez of 8439 S. Exchange Ave. was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Medical Examiner’s office.
Sunday morning, two people were critically injured when an intruder broke into their apartment in Ravenswood and stabbed them both. Police said a 26-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were stabbed in a home invasion at 1932 W. Winona St. about 6 a.m. Sunday.Both victims were in critical condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. The intruder was in custody Sunday morning, but no charges had been filed.
In most of the other shootings, the injuries were less serious, but the violence affected nearly every part of the city. Six of the people shot and wounded Saturday night were injured in two separate incidents less than a block away from each other and less than an hour apart. Three men were shot at about 10:50 p.m. near the intersection of Latrobe Avenue and Madison Street, police said. Two of the men were shot in their feet and one man was shot in the leg. All three men were taken to the hospital in “stable” condition. About 40 minutes later, three more people were shot less than a block away at 5361 W. Madison St. Authorities said a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old were among the victims. One of those victims was in critical condition; the other two were in fair condition. Grand Central Area detectives are investigating. Also Saturday night, a 19-year-old man was driving down the street in the South Side’s Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood Saturday night when shots were fired at his vehicle and he was hit in the arm, authorities said. The man was in “stable” condition at Stroger Hospital Saturday night. On the Far South Side, a 34-year-old man suffered a gunshot to his shoulder while standing in his yard Saturday night. The man was standing in his yard in the 10900 block of South Green Bay Avenue about 9 p.m. when someone began firing, hitting him in the left shoulder. Calumet Area detectives are investigating. In the Southeast Side’s South Chicago neighborhood, two men suffered minor gunshot wounds after hearing shots fired at about 8:15 p.m. The two men, aged 25 and 24, were driving south on the 8200 block of South Muskegon Avenue, when they heard shots fired and realized they had been hit.
Meantime, a 17-year-old male was in good condition early Sunday after he was shot on the 6800 block of South Parnell Avenue in an apparent drive-by. Wentworth Area detectives are investigating. A 24-year-old man was also shot early Sunday on the 1900 block of Howard Street in the Rogers Park neighborhood. A gunman approached the victim on the street and began firing, police said. The victim was shot in the leg and was listed in “stable” condition. Belmont Area detectives are investigating.
Friday night, three teens were shot near 70th and Wood streets in the West Englewood neighborhood. At least one of the victims was in critical condition.
Also Friday night, a 32-year-old man was shot in the 6400 block of South Morgan Street in the Englewood neighborhood. And at 9:42 p.m., a person was shot in the knee in the 11200 block of South State Street in the Roseland neighborhood.
Shortly before midnight, two teenage boys were shot, again in the West Englewood neighborhood. The boys, one 16-year-old and one 15-year-old, were shot in their legs at 6330 S. Damen Ave around 11:45 p.m. Their injuries were not considered serious.
And about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, a robbery victim was shot on the 7900 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue. The robber demanded money from the victim, police said. The victim ran away, but not before the robber got off one shot.
In the 1000 block of West Sunnyside Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood, a man was shot in his upper thigh around 11:35 p.m. Friday. Police said the victim was not cooperating with the investigation, and there were several conflicting stories about the shooting. On the Southwest Side, a man riding in a car in the 5100 block of South Christiana Avenue was wounded when someone fired shots inside around 10:45 p.m. Friday. The man, believed to be in his 30s, was shot in his left arm and taken in good condition to Holy Cross Hospital.
On the West Side, a man was shot multiple times and critically wounded in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The man was shot in the 700 block of North Drake Avenue just after 1:45 a.m., and taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.
Also on the West Side, 21-year-old man was in good condition early Saturday after he was shot in the right leg on the 4400 block of West Adams Street. The man was standing there abut 2:35 a.m. when someone in a passing car fired shots at him, police said. In broad daylight Friday evening, two teenage girls were shot in the thigh in separate incidents on the Southeast and Southwest sides.
In the first incident, a girl was shot and wounded in the arm in the 2700 block of West 66th Street. A Chicago Lawn District sergeant indicated that another person was also shot in the incident.
In the second incident, a 15-year-old girl was shot in the thigh in the 8700 block of South Euclid Avenue.
Just two blocks from the scene of the first shooting where a girl was wounded, a man was shot at 5:40 p.m., police said.
And around 6:30 p.m., a teenage boy was shot in the 6000 block of South Campbell Avenue. He was taken to the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital in serious condition, police said.