AFP: 'Old school' Montreal gangster gunned down

AFP: 'Old school' Montreal gangster gunned down: "reputed Montreal gangster with ties to the Rizzuto crime family was gunned down in a brazen daylight shooting, police said Wednesday.
Agostino Cuntrera, 66, and his 48-year-old bodyguard were shot Tuesday afternoon outside an east-end Montreal restaurant said to be owned by Cuntrera.
Two men in a black Chevrolet Impala similar to one spotted leaving the scene were arrested shortly after the slayings. One of them was released while the other is still being held on unrelated charges, police told AFP.
Cuntrera was believed to have taken over the helm of the Rizzuto clan after the 2006 extradition to the United States of crime boss Vito Rizzuto on murder charges, according to public broadcaster CBC.
Described by local media as being 'old school,' low-key and shy of the limelight, he is the fourth Mafioso to be murdered since Rizzuto's arrest in 2004.
Vito Rizzuto is currently serving a 10-year sentence in Colorado for racketeering, related to three underworld murders in Brooklyn in 1981."

Italian police arrest alleged Mafia kingpin | Earth Times News

Italian police arrest alleged Mafia kingpin | Earth Times News: "Carabinieri officers arrested Umberto Onda, considered the head of the Gionta clan of the Camorra Mafia, in the southeastern port of Brindisi on the Adriatic coast as he disembarked from a ferry arriving from Greece.
Onda initially showed his unexpected 'reception committee' false papers, but later gave himself over to the special forces without resisting, according to the reports.
Onda, who has been on the run since July 2007, is alleged to have been active in the Camorra in Torre Annunziata in Naples. He has already been sentenced to 17 years in prison for association with the mafia, murder, robbery and handling stolen goods.
His arrest follows that of another alleged wanted Mafia boss, Giuseppe Falsone, in the French city of Marseille on Friday. Falsone, who is suspected of having led mafia operations in Agrigento in Sicily was wanted for murder and drug dealing. He had evaded arrest for over a decade."

Blood Trade: The Story of Craig Petties » The Commercial Appeal

Blood Trade: The Story of Craig Petties » The Commercial Appeal: "story of Petties' alleged rise from petty drug peddler to international trafficker illustrates how the drug business works and Memphis' role as a distribution hub. It also shows how an enterprise built on American demand for marijuana and cocaine can spread violence and mayhem from Mexico all the way to middle-class Memphis suburbs.
While in Mexico -- a nation wracked by drug-related violence -- Petties allegedly was ordering the killings of rivals, suspected informants and others in the Memphis area.
The victims include a 28-year-old man who was shot and killed in his garage near Shelby Drive and Hacks Cross while his young children were in the home. Later, assassins executed two men in a car in Hickory Hill, and fatally wounded a man in an afternoon shooting in a restaurant."

The Associated Press: Italian mobster nabbed in France

The Associated Press: Italian mobster nabbed in France: "Italian officials say a mobster and one of the country's top 30 most wanted fugitives has been arrested in the south of France.
The Interior Ministry says Giuseppe Falsone was arrested Friday in Marseille.
Interior Minister Roberto Maroni says in a statement that Falsone had been a fugitive for over a decade and must serve a life sentence.
The ANSA news agency says Falsone is close to Bernardo Provenzano, a top mobster who was arrested in 2006 after decades on the run.
ANSA says Falsone was wanted for Mafia association, murder and drug trafficking."

Terry Adams, Britain’s most feared gangster, leaves jail

Terry Adams, Britain’s most feared gangster, leaves jail: "Terry Adams, Britain’s most feared gangster, yesterday walked to freedom after serving just half of a seven-year sentence for money laundering.
In what could have been a scene from The Godfather, he was greeted by a glamorous brunette in black and two sidekicks.
Wearing an open-necked white shirt tucked into khaki trousers, Adams looked relaxed as the attractive young woman stepped out of a £60,000 black Range Rover wearing dark glasses, a black skirt and jacket and high heels.
She was joined by two powerfully built men in an £80,000 red Porsche Cayenne 4×4, who whisked the mobster away when he appeared in the car park at Spring Hill Open Prison near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire at breakfast-time.
Adams, 55, built up an estimated fortune of £200million through a vast racketeering and drug trafficking empire, which has been linked to 25 murders.
Potential witnesses have been too terrified to testify against the gangster but he was jailed for seven years in March 2007 for the relatively minor charge of money laundering."

Reputed gang leader sentenced » Times Record News

Reputed gang leader sentenced » Times Record News: "founder of a Wichita Falls street gang was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to more than 27 years in prison, according to a news release.
The Department of Justice announced in the Wednesday release Michael Gene Williams, 38, was sentenced to 327 months in a federal prison by U. S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in connection with firearms and drug charges.
According to the release:
Members of the Wichita Falls Police Department SWAT team prepared a search warrant September 2009 for a house on Sullivan Street, “Based on information that Williams was selling crack cocaine out of the residence,” the release states."

Christopher 'Dudus' Coke: profile - Telegraph

Christopher 'Dudus' Coke: profile - Telegraph: "son of one of the Caribbean island's most legendary dons, Coke built his own name as a businessman, a political player - and chief of the 'Shower Posse,' a group named not for cleanliness but for showering bullets on foes.
Coke's gang effectively controlled Tivoli Gardens, a ramshackle part of western Kingston where he created a mini-economy providing both livelihoods and protection to residents desperately seeking both.

Mexican drug cartel murders 12 federal agents'They see him as a Robin Hood or even a Jesus - someone who stands up for them and is willing to die for them, even if he is an evil Messiah,' said the Reverend Earlmont Williams, the pastor of a local church.
'The Jamaican people are very religious and also creative. We tend to combine different religious practices and theologies,' he said.
The Shower Posse and other gangs' reach extended well into mainstream Kingston. Businesses quietly paid money to ensure safety and some politicians enlisted self-described thugs to drum up votes when elections rolled around.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding himself represents Tivoli Gardens, where the Shower Posse supported the ruling Jamaica Labour Party.
But after months of hesitation, Mr Golding unleashed the offensive to capture Coke that left at least 73 dead - raising hopes among many Jamaicans that the island's nexus between politics and gangs has finally been broken."

Notorious Jamaican gang leader under arrest, reports say - Americas - MiamiHerald.com

Notorious Jamaican gang leader under arrest, reports say - Americas - MiamiHerald.com: "Christopher ``Dudus'' Coke, the Jamaican drug don at the center of a prolonged and lethal manhunt, is under arrest, the Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner reported late Tuesday.
The government's attempts to arrest and extradite Coke to the United States on drugs and weapons charges in May led to a violent clash in West Kingston that resulted in the deaths of at least 73 civilians and gang members and three security officers.
Despite a bounty and the nationwide search for the gang leader, who has strong ties to the ruling Jamaican Labour Party, he had managed to elude capture."

Jamaican gang boss arrested on way to American embassy | World news | The Guardian

Jamaican gang boss arrested on way to American embassy | World news | The Guardian: "Jamaican police have captured the once powerful gang leader, Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, as he was on his way to surrender to the US embassy in Kingston weeks after leading a bloody urban battle to avoid deportation for trial to New York.
Coke appears to have wanted to hand himself in to the Americans out of concern for his safety after his father died in a mysterious prison cell fire that some Jamaicans believe was intended to prevent him talking in court about the close links between the island's criminal gangs and leading politicians.
The authorities declared a curfew in large parts of Kingston after warning that further violence by Coke's powerful Shower Posse gang was 'expected imminently' following their leader's arrest.
Last night, Coke, 42, who was described as the 'don of criminal dons' and until recently widely regarded as the most powerful man in Jamaica, was being held in a police station near Kingston that was heavily fortified by police guards."

Fatal shooting was gang-related; teen targeted, Salinas police say - MontereyHerald.com :

Fatal shooting was gang-related; teen targeted, Salinas police say - MontereyHerald.com :: "15-year-old boy who was shot and killed outside a Salinas market has been identified by police as Jorge Alberto Mendez Barrera.
Police said that about 7p.m. Sunday, Mendez went to the Fairway Market at 323 Williams Road with friends. He was returning to their vehicle when a man with a gun approached and shot him several times.
'We don't have any reasons as to why at this time,' Salinas Police spokesman Lalo Villegas said Monday.
Police have determined the shooting was gang-related, and it appears Mendez was singled out and targeted by the shooter.
'We know that he associated with gangs,' Villegas said.
After he was shot, Mendez was taken to a Salinas hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said."

Violent extortion attempt lands gangster in prison - Winnipeg Free Press

Violent extortion attempt lands gangster in prison - Winnipeg Free Press: "mother of an imprisoned Winnipeg gang member was terrorized at gunpoint by several of her son's criminal colleagues during a violent attempt to extort $40,000 from her.
Details of the February 2007 incident emerged for the first time Monday at the sentencing hearing for one of the attackers. The victim -- who immigrated from South Africa -- described her ordeal as comparable to the violence she witnessed in refugee camps prior to coming to Canada.
'This day brought it all back to her. This was a horrible, unprovoked assault,' Crown attorney Carla Dewar said.
The single mother of four suffered extensive physical and emotional injuries and was placed in the federal witness-protection program.
She moved out of the province, court was told.
Cory Amyotte, 23, pleaded guilty to numerous offences including aggravated assault and extortion. On Monday, he was given four years in prison under a joint recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers.
Amyotte had known the victim for years and was involved in the Mad Cowz street gang, along with the woman's son."

Only evidence agreed facts as gangster found guilty | Winnipeg | News | Winnipeg Sun

Only evidence agreed facts as gangster found guilty | Winnipeg | News | Winnipeg Sun: "Raymond Bruce Brown, a former president of the Zig-Zag Crew street gang, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in marijuana but not guilty to conspiracy to participate in a criminal organization and conspiracy to launder proceeds of crime.
Brown, 44, stood trial on the conspiracy charges. Justice Glenn Joyal heard no witnesses.
“The accused is accepting the facts as laid out by the Crown ... and is not calling any evidence,” defence lawyer Neil Kravetsky told Joyal. “I have been instructed not to make any submissions to you. (Brown) understands the consequences of his actions.”
Joyal said the evidence against Brown was overwhelming and found him guilty of conspiring to recruit new members to the Zig-Zag Crew and conspiring to launder drug money on behalf of the Hells Angels.
Joyal sentenced Brown to a total of 56 months in prison, minus credit for five months time served."

FOXNews.com - Five Federal Lands in Arizona Have Travel Warnings in Place

FOXNews.com - Five Federal Lands in Arizona Have Travel Warnings in Place: "southern Arizona, where parts of five federal lands -- including two designated national monuments -- continue to post travel warnings or be outright closed to Americans who own the land because of the dangers of 'human and drug trafficking' along the Mexican border.
Roughly 3,500 acres of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge -- about 3 percent of the 118,000-acre park -- have been closed since Oct. 6, 2006, when U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials acknowledged a marked increase in violence along a tract of land that extends north from the border for roughly three-quarters of a mile. Federal officials say they have no plans to reopen the area.
Elsewhere, at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which shares a 32-mile stretch of the border with Mexico, visitors are warned on a federally-run website that some areas are not accessible by anyone.
'Due to our proximity to the International Boundary with Mexico, some areas near the border are closed for construction and visitor safety concerns,' the website reads."

The Santa Barbara Independent Mize Trial, Day 12

The Santa Barbara Independent Mize Trial, Day 12: "Detective Gary Siegel took the stand Tuesday, June 15, to discuss the gang involvement of the defendants in the murder trial of Lorenzo Carachure. Being charged are Ruben Mize, Brian Medinilla, Ricardo Nava, and Raul Diaz, all of whom are on trial for murder – Mize is also being charged with other offenses. The four also face charges of being active participants in a criminal street gang, the focus of Tuesday's testimony from Siegel.
In February of 2008, a red notebook with the moniker “Chiko” written on it was allegedly seized from Mize’s residence. Siegel said that in the notebook were 23 to 30 pages of lyrics, and Mize’s gang name, Chiko, was written throughout the book. The detective expressed his opinion that the writing is a match to the defendant’s, and believes that the notebook and rap lyrics belong to Ruben Mize. “I’ve learned that a lot of the songs are based off of true events,” said Siegel, explaining that many of the writings discuss violent acts and assaults, as well as promote the Eastside gangs. Lyrics in the notebook included “step up, you’ll get stuck,” and “filling up the mortuaries, making families go insane” – lines that Siegel listed, exemplifying the sentiment of Mize’s rap songs."

Life without parole for gangster who killed guard | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun

Life without parole for gangster who killed guard | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun: "Jamar Thomas, 21, was found guilty in April of first-degree murder and other charges stemming from the June 9, 2007, attack on Bower Security Co. guard Wallace Brown near Rosa Parks Road and El Dorado Boulevard.The jury that convicted Thomas spared him the death penalty, deciding instead that he should spend his life in prison.Judge James Hawkins formalized the panel's recommendation.Thomas looked back at family members one last time before being led from the courtroom.His attorney, John Hemmer, planned to file an appeal later Friday.“I am still very happy the jury didn't go for the death penalty,” the defense attorney said.The victim's family did not attend the hearing."

Neil Green, 36, is sergeant-at-arms of the Nomads outlaw motorcycle chapter

Neil Green, 36, is sergeant-at-arms of the Nomads outlaw motorcycle chapter in Riverstone, in Sydney's northwest, police say.

Detectives believe he was last seen on the afternoon of April 16, when he and another man drove to a premises in Wiltona Place, Girraween, in the city's west.

Witnesses in the area at the time claim they heard a verbal argument and gunshots.

Gangs Squad detectives are appealing for public assistance into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a high-ranking Outlaw Gangster

Gangs Squad detectives are appealing for public assistance into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a high-ranking Outlaw Motorcycle Gang member.

Police are seeking assistance from anyone who may have information about the disappearance of 36-year-old Neil Green on Friday 16 April this year.

The Northmead man is the Sergeant at Arms of the Riverstone Chapter of the Nomads Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

Gangs Squad detectives became aware of his disappearance by virtue of information received and subsequent investigations conducted.

Strike Force Devine comprises detectives from the State Crime Command’s Gangs Squad and was launched on 3 May this year to investigate the disappearance.

Police are continuing to conduct extensive investigations in an effort to determine the circumstances of the incident.

From the information to date, detectives believe Neil Green was last seen on Friday 16 April 2010 when he and another man drove to a premises on Wiltona Place at Girraween.

Neil Green has not been seen since 16 April, nor made any contact with his family, friends or associates. Police are currently following a number of lines of inquiry including the possibility he may have met with foul play.

A canvass of the surrounding area identified witnesses who heard a verbal argument on the 16th April 2010, as well as a number of gunshots.

Police are seeking assistance from anyone who may have seen two men driving a blue 2002 Ford laser sedan in the Girraween and surrounding areas, around 1.30pm on Friday 16 April.

An image of a car similar to that driven by the men has today been issued by police. The NSW registration of the vehicle police are seeking is YRW-378.

Police wish to speak with anyone who may have seen the vehicle in and around Girraween at the time, or who has information about its current whereabouts.

A crime scene warrant was executed by police at the Girraween address on Thursday 6 May this year, where police located and seized a large amount of forensic material and five firearms, which are undergoing forensic analysis.

Salinas has 3,500 gang members — six times the national average — and a four-decade history of gang violence.

Salinas has 3,500 gang members — six times the national average — and a four-decade history of gang violence.

"The gangster element has become so embedded and well-organized that it's just been operating with impunity," said Louis Fetherolf, 64, who became police chief last year. "An aquifer of organized criminality runs under this city, moving tons of narcotics. And I'm concerned that the scope and depth of that is lost on the public."

Azahel's death came in the midst of one of the most aggressive gang crackdowns in Salinas history.

It began with the arrival of Fetherolf, a fluent Spanish speaker with broad experience in law enforcement that included stints with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Fetherolf called a summit of law enforcement officials in Salinas, and this year police launched a local version of Operation Ceasefire, a program first used in Boston in the 1990s.

Gang members are called in for daylong, tough-love sessions at police headquarters. They are told to give up the gang or face the fierce attention of the authorities — and are offered job counseling, tattoo removal and other social services.

In addition, counter-insurgency experts at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey have been analyzing gang-related crime in Salinas and will suggest ways to disrupt the violence and address its causes.

"We're not gang experts," said Hy Rothstein, an NPS professor and retired Army colonel who spent three decades in the Special Forces. "But we know a lot about irregular warfare, and these gangs have a lot of similarities with terrorist groups. They are clandestine, nested within the population and engaged in violence."

Since the late 1960s, Latino gangs have been a fact of life in Salinas, an agricultural center half an hour's drive from the mansions, golf courses and tourist haunts of the Monterey Peninsula.

In recent years, Salinas and smaller cities in the fertile, windswept valley captured so memorably in John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" have become a battleground for two storied Latino gangs — the Norteños, a coalition of Northern California gangs, and the Sureños, originally from Southern California.

The gangs have been linked to many crimes, but authorities say their main business is moving drugs and weapons from Southern to Northern California.

"It's very disciplined," Fetherolf said. "You don't see people walking around stoned out of their heads. Youngsters who do start using are the ones who become expendable. Those are most of the homicides we see."

Ex-Mafia capo Anthony (Tony D) Palumbo indicted in '92 Bronx whack

Ex-Mafia capo Anthony (Tony D) Palumbo indicted in '92 Bronx whack: "aging ex-Genovese crime family capo, already facing charges of extortion and gambling, was indicted in Manhattan Federal Court Tuesday on charges related to a 1992 murder ordered on his behalf.
Anthony (Tony D) Palumbo, 61, charged this year with shaking down the owners of area bartending schools, was arraigned yesterday and charged with getting a fellow mobster who was stealing from him, Angelo Sangiuolo, whacked in a Bronx parking lot.
Palumbo, an acting capo in the early 1990s, complained to mob boss Vinny (The Chin) Gigante that Sangiuolo was ripping him off."

Crime Scene - Va. indictment against biker gang

Crime Scene - Va. indictment against biker gang: "Twenty-three members of the Outlaws motorcycle gang have been indicted by a grand jury in Virginia on charges they were part of a complex criminal enterprise that engaged in assaults, kidnapping, drug dealing, illegal gambling and even attempted murder, federal authorities announced Tuesday.
Among those charged are Mark Steven Fiel, known as 'Snuff,' who officials say is president of the gang’s Manassas/ Shenandoah Valley Chapter. Four other alleged members of that Virginia chapter were indicted. So was Jack Rosga, or “Milwaukee Jack” the gang’s national boss.
The 50-page indictment, handed down June 10 and unsealed Tuesday, provides a window into a highly organized and violent gang that authorities said operates using a well-defined chain of command and a strict code."

Mobster's rat son tried to make money off 'Oldfather' alleged life of crime: defense - NYPOST.com

Mobster's rat son tried to make money off 'Oldfather' alleged life of crime: defense - NYPOST.com: "The rat son of legendary Colombo mob boss tried to write a book about his gangster dad in the hopes of profiting off the story and was even called up to help as a consultant on a realty TV show about mob life.
The theory -- put forward by a defense lawyer for of one of Colombo underboss John 'Sonny' Franzese's co-defendants -- argued in Brooklyn federal court that John Franzese Jr. wrote an 80-page book proposal that he was peddling.
A former wiseguy-turned-FBI informant, Franzese defended himself on the stand, saying he was not trying to make money off his father's alleged life of crime."

Police arrest mafia clan boss

Police arrest mafia clan boss: "Nicola Schiavone, 32, is thought to have replaced his father, Francesco, who is serving a life term in a high-security prison for several murders as well as extorsion and drug trafficking as head of the Camorra's Casalesi clan.
He is suspected of ordering the killings of three associates who were thought to be working secretly for another clan led by Francesco Bidognetti.
Schiavone did not resist arrest at his luxury villa in Casal di Principe north of Naples, the Sky TG24 news channel said, adding that like his father he was an avid painter and had a studio at the villa.
The father, nicknamed Sandokan, was a central figure in the best-selling expose on the Camorra, Gomorra by Roberto Saviano.
Schiavone's arrest 'inflicts a hard setback, including psychologically, to the Casalesi clan and the entire Camorra organisation,' Italian Justice Minister Angelino Alfano said in a satatement. Schiavone had been on the run since June 2009, a month after the discovery of the bodies of the three 'deserters,' police said."

B92 - News - Politics - “Croatia could extradite gangster”

B92 - News - Politics - “Croatia could extradite gangster”: "Kalinić is a fugitive Đinđić assassination conspirator, who was shot and wounded last week in Zagreb. But despite the fact he was tried and convicted in Serbia in absentia, as a Croatian citizen, he currently cannot be extradited.

“I hope that Croatia will adopt the constitutional changes this week in order to introduce a set of new elements to the Croatian Constitution. These changes include elements that will enable the extradition of Croatian citizens according to European arrest warrants, to EU member-states and also countries that we have bilateral extradition agreements with,” Deputy Speaker Neven Mimica Mimica said.

“Our relations are improving not only at the highest level and between parliaments. We believe that the parliaments must be the motor for all-encompassing cooperation between the two countries,” his host Dragoljub Mićunović said."

Bulgaria: Bulgaria Mafia Bosses Acquittal Kills Hopes for Change - Interior - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

Bulgaria: Bulgaria Mafia Bosses Acquittal Kills Hopes for Change - Interior - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency: "acquittal of two men, reputed to be the biggest mafia bosses in Bulgaria, by a Sofia court will make society believe there is no hope for a change in this country, the interior minister has said.
“In situations like this the society loses the little hope that it has for some kind of change, for settling the scores with the figures from the transition period, who brought the country to such a helpless state,” Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov commented a day after the ruling.
“It is all a question of mentality and responsibility, a question that continues to lie heavy on the shoulders of the justice system. What is important for me is the European Commission, Europol and Eurojust. I pray to God that the key figures that should be arrested get caught across Europe so that Bulgaria becomes part of the justice that the European Union aspires to,” the minister said.
Tsvetanov pointed out that the arguments of the country should be carefully considered and called on all Bulgarian citizens to make “their own conclusions about the Bulgarian justice system.”
Krasimir and Nikolay Marinov, also known as the Marguin brothers, were charged with plotting three murders. The prosecutor's office had demanded the maximum prison sentence for each of them - 22 years in prison."

Gangster Domenyk Noonan in rape arrest - Manchester Evening News

Gangster Domenyk Noonan in rape arrest - Manchester Evening News: "Gangster Domenyk Noonan has been arrested on suspicion of rape. He is accused of carrying out a sex attack on a woman in a Stockport hotel room after celebrating his 46th birthday on Sunday.
Noonan was arrested shortly after 6am on Monday at the two-star Saxon Holme Hotel on Wellington Road North.
He was being questioned by police last night. Noonan strongly denies the accusation. The woman who made the allegation has yet to give detectives a full statement.
A police spokesman said: 'Shortly before 6am on Monday, June 14, police were called following a report a woman had been raped in Stockport.
'A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of rape and is in police custody for questioning. Inquiries are ongoing.'"

Winnipeg gangster who killed bystander avoids max sentence

Winnipeg gangster who killed bystander avoids max sentence: "judge has refused to hand down the maximum sentence to a Winnipeg gangster who killed a teenage bystander during a gunfight with a drug-dealing rival.
Jeffrey Cansanay was convicted last month of second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence with no parole eligibility for at least 10 years.
But the Crown wanted Justice Shawn Greenberg to order Cansanay to spend at least 25 years behind bars — the same punishment a person convicted of first-degree murder would face and the most severe sentence in the Criminal Code.
The judge said Thursday she would only raise parole eligibility to 15 years, despite the nature of the crime and Cansanay's lack of remorse and bleak chances at rehabilitation."

Police crack down on Calabrian mafia - UPI.com

Police crack down on Calabrian mafia - UPI.com: "Italian police said Tuesday they arrested 52 members of the Calabrian mafia suspected of skimming money off the construction contract for expanding a motorway.
The organization, the 'Ndrangheta mafia, also illegally supplied concrete for the A3 motorway expansion from Salerno to Reggio Calabria, one of Italy's largest infrastructure projects and one that has been behind schedule for years, the ANSA news agency reported."

The South Asian Link News Paper : The oldest Indo Canadian Newspaper

The South Asian Link News Paper : The oldest Indo Canadian Newspaper: "trial of Indo-Canadian gangster Raminder Singh (Mindy) Bhander began this week with a dramatic outline of victim Tejvir Singh (Sunny) Bains scrambled up the stairs of his Surrey townhouse trying to escape the gunman who the prosecution alleges was Bhander, who fired at him on Jan. 28, 2008 at a Surrey apartment complex.
According to the prosecutor, forensic evidence, video surveillance and witnesses will all show that it was in fact Bhandher who shot and killed the 24-year-old Bains on that fateful a snowy night.
The shooting apparently followed a fight at a Keg restaurant on Scott Road earlier in the evening between Bhander and Bains’ live-in common-law Ripy Kaur Jubbal, who 'had a troubled history' with Bhandher.
The prosecution said there was a heated exchange between Jubbal and Bhandher and Jubbal was loud and confrontational."

Gangster shot in Far South Side park :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Chicago Crime

Gangster shot in Far South Side park :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Chicago Crime: "“self admitted” gang member was shot while in a Far South Side park with several companions Thursday night in the South Chicago neighborhood, police said.
About 10:15 p.m. police saw a man who was shot walking at 3250 E. 83rd St., near Russell Square Park, according to a South Chicago District police sergeant.
While police found no crime scene, the man told officers he was in the park with several companions talking when someone walked up and shot him in the buttocks, according to the sergeant.
The man shot, who is in his mid 20s, was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was in “very stable” condition, according the sergeant who said the wounded man is a “self admitted” gang member."

KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona Mexican Mafia leader sentenced to 18 years in prison

KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona Mexican Mafia leader sentenced to 18 years in prison: "sentencing of John Frederick Farinas, 39, of Phoenix to 18 years in prison for assisting a criminal street gang and possession of prison contraband. The State alleged at trial that Farinas was a lieutenant in the Mexican Mafia prison gang and had conspired to introduce prison contraband for the profit of gang members in the 4th Avenue Jail in Phoenix."

Cops target likely site of gangster's murder | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun

Cops target likely site of gangster's murder | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun: "Vietnamese gangster Quang Lu, known as Hak Quai Ming or Black Ghost, was murdered in 2007.
Lu’s body was found in May, entombed in a barrel of cement that was dumped into Lake Ontario off Sherbourne St.
Lu, 47, of Thornhill, disappeared in October 2007 and police believe he was at this home when he was murdered, most likely in the basement, and then stuffed into a barrel in the garage.
“Investigations led to this address as to what I believe is the murder scene,” homicide Det. Justin Vander Heyden said.
“It’s still a working theory at this point, but I believe that given the weight of that barrel (600 pounds),” that putting the body and cement into it happened in the garage, he said."

Two charged over gangland crimes - The Irish Times - Sat, Jun 05, 2010

Two charged over gangland crimes - The Irish Times - Sat, Jun 05, 2010: "Two men have today been charged in connection with an investigation into organised crime.
The men aged 27 and 30 were arrested by gardaí as part of a major inquiry into drug and gun crime in the west of Ireland.
They will appear before a special sitting of Galway District Court at 5pm this evening.
Another man arrested as part of the operation remains in custody in Gort.
Twelve men were arrested in total as part of the operation and these are the last three remaining in custody."

Arturo Beltran Leyva, shot dead during a shootout with security forces

Arturo Beltran Leyva, shot dead during a shootout with security forces, was one of Mexico's most wanted men, with a $2.3m reward on his head.
Known as "the boss of bosses", he headed the cartel that bears his name, the Beltran Leyva Organisation (BLO).
This was formed as as a gang in its own right after a 2008 split from the notorious and powerful Sinaloa cartel headed by Joaquin Shorty Guzman.
The area of operations of the two gangs along Mexico's Pacific coast overlap to some extent and the two gangs are fighting for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the US market.
In the fluctuating and violent alliances between Mexico's drug gangs, the Beltran Leyva cartel has teamed up with Los Zetas in their deadly feud with the Sinaloa cartel.
Los Zetas are a group of former soldiers hired by the Gulf Cartel as hitmen but now a gang in its own right.
The Beltran Leyva Organisation has been around for a long time and has perhaps the most sophisticated intelligence of any of the gangs, according to a recent report by Stratfor Global Intelligence.
The gang has penetrated every level of Mexican government

MS13 Gang Leader To Be Deported | Street Gangs Resource Center – Los Angeles and California | The Gang Experts | Crips | Bloods | Mara Salvatrucha | 18th Street

MS13 Gang Leader To Be Deported | Street Gangs Resource Center – Los Angeles and California | The Gang Experts | Crips | Bloods | Mara Salvatrucha | 18th Street: "Salvadoran national suspected of being a high-ranking member of a violent street gang was arrested Friday by Santa Cruz police and federal authorities, and likely will be deported, officials announced Wednesday.
Jose Abrego-Galdamez, 30, is due in federal court Thursday to face a charge he re-entered the United States after being deported. He has been deported three times in the past eight years, most recently in August 2005 after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Santa Cruz County, according to the affidavit filed in federal court."

AFP: Mafia's waste disposal business flourishes in Italy in 2009

AFP: Mafia's waste disposal business flourishes in Italy in 2009: "mafia's waste disposal and illegal dumping business in Italy continued to flourish in 2009, defying the global economy's woes, environmental organisation Legambiente said on Friday.
Circumventing environmental regulations is 'the only business that is immune from crises,' Legambiente said in a statement, estimating the crime syndicates' turnover in 2009 at 20.5 billion euros (24.5 billion dollars), virtually unchanged compared to 2008.
'The environmental mafia proves again to be solid and powerful holding,' said Legambiente President Vittorio Cogliati Dezza."

The Santa Barbara Independent Family Secrets

The Santa Barbara Independent Family Secrets: "Ruben Mize, on trial for the murder of 16-year-old Lorenzo Carachure.
First, his cousin, Christopher Diaz, took the stand to testify that Mize admitted to stabbing the victim. Then he listened to a tape from a secret wire Diaz — a confidential informant for authorities for some time — wore, on which Mize says he “stuck” the victim in the neck. Mize also seems to indicate on the recording that he participated in another stabbing, as well."

Strip bar's ownership scrutinized at hearing

Strip bar's ownership scrutinized at hearing: "Montreal man’s alleged extensive ties to organized crime groups is being explored in detail as the Montreal police continue their effort to have the license of a Montreal strip club revoked.
On paper, Club Temptation on Ste. Catherine St. W. is owned by Joseph Vallera, a 61-year-old Montreal man with no criminal convictions. But over the past two years Montreal police investigators have gathered evidence indicating it is actually owned by Richard Goodridge, 41, a man with alleged ties to several street gang members, said Montreal police Constable Yves Rousseau while testifying during a hearing before the provincial liquor board Tuesday morning. The Montreal police have also alleged Goodridge is a silent partner in the club with members of the Montreal Mafia."