Gangster found slain in Mexico fled B.C. after Bacon shooting

Slain B.C. resident Tom Gisby left for Mexico in late January after learning he might be targeted in retaliation for the August shooting in Kelowna, B.C., that left gangster Jonathan Bacon dead, the Vancouver Sun has learned. And Gisby knew of the threat against him even before his motorhome was firebombed Jan. 16 near Whistler, B.C., an attack in which the 47-year-old suffered superficial burns. Gisby was gunned down in a Starbucks in Nuevo Vallarta Friday night by two armed gunman who fled the scene. Now police in B.C. are on high alert, fearing a gang war that started in the Vancouver area is spilling over into Mexico. The January attempt on Gisby's life came the same day that a B.C. gangster in the United Nations gang, Salih Abdulaziz Sahbaz, was shot to death in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Just a day later, gangster Sandip Duhre was gunned down in the lobby of the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver. All three dead men had connections to a loose group of gangsters known as the Dhak-Duhre-UN group that was blamed for the Kelowna shooting by a rival alliance made up of Bacon's Red Scorpions, some Hells Angels and some in the Independent Soldiers. Supt. Dan Malo, head of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said Sunday that Gisby did have links to the deadly dispute that has left several dead and injured across B.C. and in Mexico in recent months. And Malo confirmed that some associates of Gisby's were among the high-profile gangsters who have been warned by police in recent weeks that they could be targeted. Asked specifically if police in B.C. had intelligence about a plot to kill Gisby, Malo said: "I am not going to share that." Malo did speak out about Gisby's shooting to warn the public of escalating gang tensions that could result in more violence. And Malo wanted those involved in the violence to know that gang specialists within his agency will be targeting them with stepped-up surveillance and enforcement. Despite the possibility that Gisby was killed in response to other B.C. gang slayings, Malo said the motive is still unknown. Gisby, a major international drug trafficker, had connections with several criminal organizations and a multitude of enemies, Malo said. "Is it a case of a hit and miss and then they kept on him?" Malo said. "Were they hunting him? I am sure he had more than one enemy." Malo said the RCMP's E Division would be following up with Mexican police to see if they want any assistance in the probe. And the CFSEU will be increasing resources in gathering intelligence on the gang scene in B.C., as well as stepping up enforcement against those willing to use violence in the lengthy local dispute. "We have visited many of these high-profile gang members and had discussions with them," Malo said, adding police intervention has prevented shootings in B.C. in recent weeks. Gisby was born in the Fraser Valley, but owned property in downtown Vancouver. He had been involved in the B.C. drug trade for more than 20 years and had connections with major crime figures from the Hells Angels to the Dhak group. In fact, the late Gurmit Dhak, who was gunned down outside Metrotown mall in Burnaby, B.C., in October 2010, was very close to Gisby. It was Dhak's 2010 murder that led to a series of tit-for-tat shootings across B.C. as traffickers broke into two loosely formed rival groups. Gisby had connections on both sides in the conflict, so felt he would not be targeted. But that all changed after the Kelowna shooting when Hells Angel Larry Amero was wounded and the niece of a Hells Angel chapter president was paralyzed from the neck down. Gisby had connections in Mexico that made him feel secure despite the drug-fuelled violence in that country. "Gisby has been dealing with Mexicans and Colombians directly for over 20 years," a police source said. "It is very unlikely he didn't know how to stay on their good side in business after that long. He was a good businessman and experienced in the cocaine importation world."

Liverpool gangster John Haase not trusted by police officer he first 'informed' to

THE police officer to who Liverpool gangster John Haase first turned informant told a court he “wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him”. City crimelord Haase was arrested in 1992 less than 12 months after being released from a 14-year sentence for armed robbery, Kingston crown court was told yesterday. He was arrested at his Clubmoor home by then-Det Sgt Kevin Clague, part of Merseyside police’s serious crime squad, after being found with a gun. Yesterday in the trial of Paul Cook – who was later Haase’s Customs handler – Mr Clague, now retired from the force, said within hours Haase was talking about offering information in return for bail and a reduction in any possible sentence. Mr Clague said when Haase was given bail by the court the next day, he began informing. Within days Haase was ringing Mr Clague, the court heard, to tell him about a deal involving a black Austin Maestro in the car park of Oscar’s pub in Prescot Road, Fairfield. When police searched the car, they found two sub-machine guns and a silencer but despite watching the area, no-one ever went near the car or was ever arrested. Haase later told police where they could find the cash bags, clothes and gun from a Co-op robbery in Page Moss where a guard was shot and also about explosives hidden in the compost heap at the back of a Bootle house. In return, the court heard, when Haase came to be sentenced in May 1993 over the gun he was caught with, the judge was given a letter outlining his co-operation. Instead of being sent to jail, he was given a two-year suspended sentence. Gibson Grenfell QC, prosecuting, asked Mr Clague: “At the time Haase was sentenced, did you have any doubts about the genuineness of the information he was supplying?” Mr Clague replied: “I thought the information was solid and genuine.”

B.C. gangster with international crime connections killed in Mexico

A British Columbia gangster who police say had criminal connections across Canada and the world has been shot dead in Mexico. RCMP Chief Supt. Dan Malo said Thomas Gisby was killed in a Starbucks in Nuevo Vallarta on Friday night. He said police are now concerned about retaliation against enemies of the 50-year-old man who was from the Fraser Valley, east of Vancouver. "We wanted to get our message to the community that this wasn't an individual who was simply on holidays," Malo said Saturday. "This is a well-known target, a well-known organized crime figure here in British Columbia." Gisby led what police called the Gisby Crime Group, which was well connected to other criminal organizations, although Malo declined to name them. "He has networks internationally to be able to bring illegal commodities into Canada for distribution," Malo said, adding guns and drugs were among the goods Gisby traded. Mounties were aware that Gisby had travelled to Mexico, said Malo, who is in charge of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. "Even though Thomas Gisby, in his own right, thought that he was at a high-enough level in organized crime that he would be isolated from violence, it's clearly not the case."

Reputed Gangster Robert Gentile, Suspected Of Having Info About 1990 Gardner Museum Art Heist, Back In Court On New Charges

Reputed gangster Robert Gentile, who authorities suspect has information about the irreplaceable art that vanished in a sensational theft from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Hartford Monday to three new weapons charges. The 75-year-old Gentile, white-haired, overweight and apparently in frail health, needed help from his lawyer to hoist himself to his feet in court before he pleaded not guilty to two charges of possession of handguns and ammunition by a felon and one of possession of unregistered silencers. FBI agents found the weaponry during a search of Gentile's suburban Manchester home on Feb. 10, the same day they accused him of selling illegally obtained prescription pain medication to a law enforcement informant. USA Gentile's lawyer, A. Ryan McGuigan, claims his client knows nothing about the March 18, 1990, heist — which included three Rembrandts, a Vermeer, a Manet and five drawings by Degas — and that federal authorities are "piling" charges on Gentile to put pressure on him. [Sample Our Free Breaking News Alert And 3 P.M. News Newsletters] "The government is torturing an old man in poor health in a futile attempt to extract information that doesn't exist," McGuigan said. The Gardner heist, the largest and most expensive ever, devastated the art world. Over the ensuing 22 years, investigators around the world have developed nothing but theories about who was involved. What happened to $500 million or more of art is a mystery. Federal authorities began watching Gentile in the 1990s when he became associated with a crew of drug dealers and armored car hijackers operating in the Boston area, according to a variety of sources and FBI records. In 1998, Gentile became a sworn member of a mob crew in Boston that was affiliated with the dominant mafia family in Philadelphia, the sources said. For years, the FBI and other investigators have pressed an investigative theory that Gentile was associated with criminals who may have had information about some of the paintings after the heist. FBI agents and federal prosecutors in Boston and New Haven has been questioning Gentile for years. He has consistently denied knowledge of the Gardner job, according to the sources. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is prosecuting Gentile on the drug and weapons charges, refused Monday to link Gentile to the Gardner paintings. During an earlier court appearance, Durham said of Gentile: "The government has reason to believe that Mr. Gentile had some involvement with stolen property out of the District of Massachusetts." Gentile could face dozens of years in prison as a previously convicted felon if sentenced to maximum terms on the drug and weapons charges. Gentile, who has an arrest record for relatively minor offenses dating back decades, has claimed through his lawyers to be in the used car business.

Gerbil killed in a hail of 13 bullets

GANGSTER Kevin ‘Gerbil’ Carroll was killed in a hail of 13 bullets, a murder trial heard yesterday. Firearms expert Ronald Withers, 67, said Carroll was shot in the forehead as he sat in his Audi in an Asda car park. The witness told the High Court in Glasgow how Carroll was also blasted twice in the jaw as two gunmen opened fire on him. Mr Withers said all three bullets first went through his wrists and fingers as he tried in vain to protect himself with his hands. Carroll was also hit in the chest and groin during the 25-second gun attack in Robroyston, Glasgow. Mr Withers said he was present when Carroll’s body was searched at a police garage. He said: “As his clothing was being removed two bullets fell out. They had entered his body, exited and then fell from the clothing.” Eight of the 13 fatal bullets were fired from a black self-loading pistol, with the rest coming from a silver revolver. A 14th bullet missed. A jury heard murder accused Ross Monaghan’s DNA was found on the pistol. But the trial also heard the weapon had the DNA of a forensic lab technician who worked three floors above where the gun was stored. Monaghan, 30, denies killing Carroll in January 2010. The trial continues.

Alleged gangster faces assault charges

An alleged street gang leader who was at the centre of an investigation that shut the doors of a downtown strip club has been ordered to go on trial on charges he used a firearm to threaten a former employee. After hearing evidence during a preliminary inquiry at the Montreal courthouse Wednesday morning, Quebec Court Judge Manon Ouimet determined there was enough evidence to have Richard Goodridge, 43, tried on three counts. The charges stem from an incident where Konstantinos Gantias, a man who used to work as a deejay at Club Temptation, the former strip club on Ste. Catherine St. W., alleges Goodridge assaulted him and threatened to kill him on Oct. 6, 2010. The strip club was closed by the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux in April 2010 on a request from the Montreal police. Investigators who probe the city's street gangs had evidence that suggested people loyal to Ducarme Joseph, a reputed street gang leader, were preparing an "imminent reply" to an attempt to murder Joseph on March 18, 2010. Gunmen fired several shots inside Joseph's Flawnego clothing boutique in Old Montreal. Joseph survived the shooting but two of his associates died in a hail of gunfire. Two men, including one believed to have ties to Goodridge, have since been arrested and charged with the double murder and a third is still being sought. Goodridge was never charged with the two murders but, during hearings before the Régie des alcools, investigators testified that a rivalry between Goodridge and Joseph, which dated back to 2004, was heating up. Part of the investigation included the seizure of a machine gun and grenade launcher. Goodridge and Joseph were part of a street gang based in northern Montreal called the 67s but had a falling out in 2004. Police investigators feared Goodridge would be shot inside Club Temptation because it appeared to them that he controlled it and was frequently seen there hosting street gang members. One investigator testified that sources told police Goodridge was believed to be a silent partner in the club with members of the Mafia in Montreal. The club's liquor permit was temporarily revoked in 2010 and the Régie decided to permanently revoke the permit in 2011. Weeks after Club Temptation's door were shut in 2010, someone broke in and stole a variety of items. During the preliminary inquiry, Gantias testified that Goodridge suspected he had stolen the items from him. He said Goodridge summoned him to a gym on Ste. Catherine St. W. under the pretence that he had a new job for him. But, Gantias said during the hearing, when he arrived he was forced inside the gym's office and Goodridge confronted him. "He said that apparently a lot of people were saying that it was me who stole from his club and he wasn't happy about that," Gantias said. "After that I said 'I'm sorry but I'm going to leave.' These things usually don't end well." Gantias also said that at some point Goodridge told him "You're not leaving here alive. You're leaving in a body bag." He also alleged that at one point Goodridge pulled out a firearm and struck him on the jaw and took an expensive cellphone from him. During cross-examination, Goodridge's lawyer, Stéphane Beaudin, brought up a few contradictions between statements Gantias gave to police and his testimony. The most glaring is that Gantias initially alleged that Goodridge chased him, with a gun in hand, after he bolted from the gym while Goodridge made a phone call. Gantias admitted on Wednesday that he wasn't sure if Goodridge actually pursued him outside the gym. Goodridge entered a notguilty plea to all three of the charges he faces and decided to be tried before a judge alone. The next date in the case, a formality hearing, has been set for May 15.

Gangster 'rented gun for £250'

 Police believe Nathaniel Grant, known as “Killa Buzz”, rented the .22 silver semi automatic gun which paralysed Thusha for just £250. It shows how easily gangs can acquire cheap, lethal weapons to enforce their dominance in the drug trade and intimidate rivals. Grant, 21, is regarded as a senior or “elder” in the GAS gang, which stands for Guns and Shanks (knives). The gang is believed to be responsible for 80% of all the violent crime in the Brixton area. Much of it is made up of revenge attacks on rival gangs such as ABM (all about money) from Stockwell and TNI (trust no one) from Tulse Hill. Grant coordinated robberies, drug deals and recruitment of fresh, younger blood who treated him with awe. Anthony McCalla, 20, is the son of a Brixton electrician and crack addicted mother and was brought up by his grandmother. He headed off into crime when he turned his back on school at 11. He was on bail at the time Thusha was shot after being arrested over a bus brawl and during the trial injured a prison guard in a punch up. Kazeem Kolawole, 19, considered himself an enforcer and was on an electronic tag after being caught carrying a knife during the Thusha shooting. Known as Kaz he would mock his rivals or “pagans” for their failure to kill. The two most notorious GAS gang murders were revenge attacks. In August 2008 innocent teenager Ryan Bravo was shot – in an echo of Thusha’s traged – when shots were fired into a shop in Walworth aimed at a rival gang member. The attack was mounted in revenge for McCalla’s elder brother Jayden being kneecapped. Grant, a friend of Jayden, was cleared by an Old Bailey judge on a legal technicality of being involved in the murder. Schoolboy Zac Olumegbon, 15, was stabbed to death on his way to school in West Norwood, in retaliation for an attack on a GAS member by the TN1 gang.

Bulgaria: Sofia Latest Murder Victim - Mastermind of 'Loan Sharks' Gang

The pawnbroker, who was found shot dead in his Sofia home, was the mastermind of a criminal group dealing with illegal banking services and blackmailing clients, according to unconfirmed information. Dragomir Bitsov, 40, though did not have a criminal record. Bitsov was killed with two shots in the head during the Easter holidays in one of the luxurious houses that he owned in the district of Gorublyane. His dead body was found by a friend of his on April 14. There were no signs of violence at the crime scene, but the autopsy showed the man died of two gun shots. A check in the public registry shows that the murdered man is sole owner of the company "Yves-Trade", which offers gold-secured loans and operated with a number of pawnshops. Bitsov is believed to be one of the men behind an organized criminal group, which was busted during a special operation at the end of May 2010, code-named "The Money Lenders", in the capital Sofia and the small northwestern town of Berkovitsa. Ten suspects were detained. They had no permit for the banking services they offered and blackmailed their clients. That was the third money-lenders gang that local police cracked down on that month.

Gangster sought in kidnapping

A Prince George gangster is wanted by the RCMP for kidnapping and assault. Prince George RCMP are looking for Francois (Frankie) Meerholz, 24, who police say is linked to the Game Tight Soldiers and Renegades biker gangs. The are also seeking his brother, Dillan Meerholz, 22. Responding to a report of a kidnapping, Mounties went to a rural area east of Prince George Sunday and found a man suffering from serious injuries. It is believed the victim was held for several days in a house in the rural area. A 32-year-old suspect was arrested at the house, and a small marijuana-growing operation was found. A second suspect, a 35 year-old man, was arrested Monday. The brothers remain at large.

Gangster ordered to forfeit £2.2m

A gangster who ordered road mending machinery belonging to business rivals of his Truro-based firm be stolen or destroyed has been ordered to forfeit more than £2.2 million he made through his criminal activities. Jack Harvey, 70, who was jailed for more than 13 years in 2010 for arson attacks on rival plant hire firms and for handling stolen goods, was ordered to pay the money after a judge ruled it was made as a direct result of his unlawful actions, a court official confirmed. Devon and Cornwall Police said the order made by Judge Christopher Elwen at Truro Crown Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act marked the culmination of a three-year investigation into a man who ran an "organised crime network". Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Michele Slevin, the senior investigating officer in the case, said: "For many years Jack Harvey thought he was above the law and would never be caught. "Today is the final part of the prosecutions case and has clearly outlined how since 2003 and beyond Jack Harvey has been living from the proceeds of crime. "He and the defence team have tried to argue that when calculating his criminal benefits, there have been legitimate earnings accrued during that time too. However it is clear that those earnings have been made through the use of stolen plant and machinery. "What was also highlighted is that contracts have been awarded to his company, JFL Harvey Ltd which, had the (other) companies including the local authority known were to be carried out using the stolen plant, or had (been) aware of the intimidation and sabotage that has been proved was used by Harvey, would not have been awarded, so he has again benefited from his crime." Harvey, whose original sentence of 13 years and three months was cut to nine years and six months at the Court of Appeal last year, has been ordered to pay £2,275,454.40p, plus £6,250 in court costs. He orchestrated attacks carried out by two associates on rival firms, including Devon-based road maintenance firm Tetlaw, after his family-run company, based at Buckshead on the edge of Truro, began to lose council contracts to them. Police said at the time of his conviction that in one of the arson attacks, a man was asleep in the cab of the vehicle at the time and could have died.

Gangster 'killed in 25 seconds'

 

A murder trial has heard how gunmen took just 25 seconds to shoot dead gangland figure Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll. The jury at the High Court in Glasgow was shown footage of the gunmen's VW Golf arriving at Asda in Robroyston, Glasgow, at 13:23 and 17 seconds. The car parked across Mr Carroll's black Audi A3 before someone is seen exiting then getting back in before the car drove off 25 seconds later. Ross Monaghan denies killing Mr Carroll in the Asda car park in January 2010. The 10 men and five women of the jury were also shown CCTV clips which showed Mr Carroll's last journey from Lennoxtown to Asda. Arresting officer The court heard from Det Con John Richmond, 43, who spent four months viewing CCTV footage following the murder. Det Con Richmond said he had arrested Mr Monaghan on 30 July 2010 and charged him with murder. The court heard that police - including firearms officers - arrived at the door of Mr Monaghan's home in Penilee at 04:00. Mr Monaghan's long-term partner was in the house at the time, and an ambulance had been called because of her long-term health problems. Mr Monaghan denies charges related to guns found in North Lanarkshire The jury was also shown footage taken from the police helicopter which arrived on the scene of the shooting at 13:42pm. The film showed Francis 'Fraggle' Green twice going into the car in which his friend Mr Carroll was lying dead on the back seat. Armed response The defence QC asked: "Would it have been evident to anyone that Gerbil is dead? Can you think of any first aid reason for Mr Green to go into the car twice?" and DC Richmond replied: "No, none at all." At 13:43 the first police officer was seen arriving and then armed response officers appeared within seconds and began cordoning off the area around the black Audi. Two paramedics were also seen on the footage heading towards the car. It is alleged that while masked and acting with others, Mr Monaghan murdered 29-year-old Mr Carroll by repeatedly discharging loaded handguns at him, shooting him on the head and body. Mr Monaghan is accused of - while acting with others - attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of a revolver, pistol and ammunition within undergrowth in Coatbridge and Airdrie, both North Lanarkshire. It is also claimed a car - bearing false number plates YF 55 EZZ - was set on fire. Mr Monaghan also faces a number of firearms charges. He denies all the charges against him and has lodged a special defence of incrimination against eight people. The trial before judge Lord Brailsford continues.

SUR-13 Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Trafficking

 Jamaica is a member of SUR–13, a transnational Hispanic street gang. Neil H MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; James W McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Charlie T Deane, Prince William County Chief of Police; and Douglas W Keen, Manassas City Chief of Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge T S Ellis, III. Indicted on March 8, 2012, Jamaica pled guilty on April 12, 2012 to sex trafficking of a minor. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison when he is sentenced on July 13, 2012. “We have a zero-tolerance, one-strike policy toward juvenile sex trafficking in this District,” said United States Attorney MacBride. “Anyone we find who entices or forces a young girl into the vile world of prostitution will pay a very heavy price for their actions.” “This case demonstrates how an individual can prey upon young girls and lure them into prostitution,” said Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin. “The FBI is committed to apprehending and prosecuting individuals who sexually exploit children, and we will continue to work to identify these predators and their victims.” According to court documents, Jamaica, a Mexican-born United States citizen, harbored a runaway 14-year-old girl for purposes of prostitution in early 2011. Jamaica admitted that he escorted the young girl to a prostitution appointment, used his sublet bedroom for a prostitution appointment, and provided the girl with alcohol to help her have sex with a client. Jamaica is the first SUR-13 gang member to be convicted of child sex trafficking. In addition to SUR-13, since 2011, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has charged and convicted members of MS-13 and the Underground Gangster Crips with the sex trafficking of juveniles. This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the Prince William County Police Department, the Manassas City Police Department, and the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Terwilliger and Special Assistant United States Attorney A Marisa Chun are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. Founded in 2004, the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies—along with non-governmental organizations—dedicated to combating human trafficking and related crimes.

Wiseguy's Brooklyn basement got makeover after 2 gangland hits, mob rat says at trial

It was the mob’s version of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Testimony in a Brooklyn Mafia trial turned Tuesday from retribution to renovation as the jury was walked through the “dungeon” where two Colombo wiseguys were allegedly whacked. Mob rat David Gordon took the stand to talk about how defendant Dino (Little Dino) Saracino gave the basement of his Bensonhurst home a face-lift after two hits in the 1990s. The jury had already heard from two previous witnesses how Colombo family associate Richard Greaves was executed in the room in 1995 with a bullet to the back of the head. His body was hog-tied, wrapped with trash bags and duct tape and buried at an industrial park in Farmingdale, L.I., while Little Dino’s parents were on an Italian cruise. They also heard that four years later, then-underboss William (Wild Bill) Cutolo was whacked in the basement, similarly packaged and buried in the same mob graveyard. Those witnesses described a bloodbath that had to be cleaned up with towels and bleach — but the feds never found any traces of the slays. An FBI photo of the basement shows post-it notes on the walls and floor where investigators sprayed a chemical to detect blood but came up empty. That may be because the Saracinos “re-did the whole basement” one year after Cutolo’s murder — replacing the floors and walls, Gordon testified. “That’s the new tile when he did the basement over,” Gordon said, pointing to an FBI photo of ceramic flooring. Other photos of the modest, semi-detached two-family showed the staircase the victims would have descended to meet their grisly fate. At the entrance sat a chicken that you might say laid golden eggs. It was a plastic white hen where Saracino’s loanshark clients were instructed to leave their cash payments, Gordon said. Gordon and other members of the “20th Street Boys” gang of mob wanna-bes knew the basement as “the dungeon.” “Who called it that?” asked Assistant U.S. Attorney James Gatta. “Dino called it that,” Gordon recalled. Gordon, a former mortician who worked at Torregrossa Funeral Home, said Saracino gave him a taste of the room’s macabre secrets after Greaves disappeared. “He said, ‘One day when we get older, I’ll tell you what happened. We did Richie in the dungeon. Me and the cuz (Saracino’s cousin, Dino Calabro),” Gordon said. When mobsters weren’t meeting their maker, the basement served as living quarters. There were two bedrooms where Little Dino, his brother Sebastian and his now-late brother Frankie slept, along with a kitchen, living room and bathroom. Gordon recalled a china cabinet in the living room and a table where the brothers ate — feet away from where Greaves and Cutolo were allegedly slain. Saracino is charged with three murders, and his co-defendant, reputed Colombo boss Thomas (Tommy Shots) Gioeli, is charged with six. Gordon also said the Saracinos kept a cache of handguns in their garage, strung together on a clothesline and covered with a bedsheet. He referred to them as the “(Colombo) family guns.”

Gangster 'trapped while being shot'

A murdered gangland figure was trapped in a car and repeatedly shot at while his two associates made their escape, a court has heard. Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll was in the back seat of a parked black Audi A3 when two masked gunmen set upon him outside Asda in Robroyston, Glasgow, and fired 38 bullets. Stephen McLaggan, 25, said he was in the front passenger seat but got out the moment he saw the black Volkswagen Golf pull up in front of them and he saw men with masks getting out. He said when he returned to the three-door car, it was locked. Another man, John Bonner, was in the driver's seat of the vehicle but Mr McLaggan said he could not recall when Mr Bonner got out. Mr McLaggan was giving evidence at the trial of Ross Monaghan, 30, who denies repeatedly shooting and murdering Mr Carroll, while acting with others, on January 13 2010. He has lodged a special defence of incrimination, blaming a man who cannot be named for legal reasons and seven others. Derek Ogg, Monaghan's defence QC, said it was "miraculous" that Mr McLaggan and Mr Bonner had managed to get away and said it was as if they had known the attack was going to happen. The lawyer also said surveillance officers had suggested Mr Carroll characteristically sat in the front passenger seat and so being in the back was "breaking a pattern". The High Court in Glasgow heard that Mr Carroll was "paranoid" about being followed because he had been shot twice in the past. Mr Bonner had also been shot before, when he was driving Mr Carroll around. Mr McLaggan told police that when he got back to the car, he saw Mr Carroll's eyes and mouth were open and, assuming he was dead, phoned the gangster's partner's brother Francis Green to tell him: "Ger's been shot. He's dead." Mr Green, nicknamed "Fraggle", arrived at the scene, before the police, and he was handed the keys to the car before leaning in and "holding" Mr Carroll. Mr Ogg put it to the court that Mr Green had actually been searching his body and took his mobile phone, a suggestion Mr McLaggan denied. When asked by the lawyer if Fraggle was "the boss", Mr McLaggan said he was not. He also denied a conversation about getting rid of Sim cards when he, Mr Green, Mr Bonner and another man were placed in Mr Green's red Audi by armed police until cars arrived to take them away for questioning. Mr McLaggan admitted placing his own Sim card in a tub of Vaseline, which the court heard would not damage it, so police would not take it away because he needed phone numbers from it. Mr Ogg said this showed he was a "calm, calculating" person and that he had "presence of mind", something which would not be expected in someone who was "shocked" at losing their friend.

The Krays? They were both gay - and both brainless

Eddie Richardson is standing outside London’s Old Vic theatre. From a distance, he looks a twinkly old chap in a smart suit, with wild eyebrows and a drift of dandruff, and is proudly clutching a copy of his autobiography in a crumpled Tesco carrier bag.

But this is the man once described by not one but two Home Secretaries as ‘one of the most dangerous men in Britain’. He was the dark lord of the Sixties London gangland scene and, together with his brother Charlie, was as infamous as Ronnie and Reggie Kray and ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser. 

Under cover of his scrap metal business, he dabbled in torture, drug dealing, protection and extortion rackets and was sentenced to a total of 46 years in prison.

Gangland boss Eddie Richardson lived a good life in the 1960s, and is seen here with his Rolls-Royce

Today, he is 75, lives in a £2.5 million house in Beckenham, Kent, drives a big, fat silver Mercedes, holidays in Marbella, organises charity golf competitions and paints pricey portraits of friends and, occasionally, their dogs (‘so much easier than people’).

He also hires himself out for ‘nostalgia lunch dates’ — £300 for a slap-up fish and chip lunch and a ‘nice chat about the good old days’ — courtesy of a bizarre website called Gangland Memorabilia. 

This online shrine to Sixties gangland sells everything from Ronnie Kray’s personal prison radio (£500) to a ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser autographed U.S. dollar note. Business is alarmingly brisk and lunch with ‘the legend who is Eddie Richardson’ is the star attraction. 

Today I am Eddie’s lunch date. He grins wolfishly, kisses me on both cheeks and escorts me to ‘the best fish and chips in London’ and what he promises will be a ‘good chat’.

He is true to his word. 

Over our (very excellent) fish and chips, we veer from the Wild West that was London in the Sixties and Seventies — ‘people think things are bad now, but back then the police were so corrupt that a straight copper would never have made it onto the Flying Squad’ — to the £70 million drugs deal that earned him a 35-year prison sentence in 1990. ‘That was a bit daunting, aged 54. That’s when I took up art.’

Daily Mail writer Jane Fryer gets the lowdown on London gangster life from Eddie Richardson

We have a gossip about some of Eddie’s pals. There are the Kray brothers (‘both gay and both brainless of Britain’ he says. ‘Reggie used to get The Times every day, but never once opened it’). And Frankie Fraser (‘Game for anything you asked him and now in an old people’s home in Nunhead’).

Not forgetting the Great Train robbers (‘really nice men’), the prison reformer Lord Longford (‘always scruffy but he never rammed religion down your throat’) and Brian Keenan, then head of the armed council of the IRA (‘lovely fellow but not brilliant at bridge’).

It’s all a bit surreal and disconcerting — chatting cosily about hardened criminals who wrecked countless lives and terrorised great swathes of London.

The only thing he isn’t too keen to discuss is the ‘torture chamber’ where ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser (the Richardsons’ enforcer) allegedly punished anyone who crossed the brothers, using pliers, electrodes, nails, electric fires, knives, axes and anything else he could lay his hands on.

‘It’s ridiculous!’ Eddie growls, suddenly not quite so twinkly or cosy. ‘There was no torture. How can you pull a tooth out with a pair of pliers?’

With a great deal of force, presumably. Fraser, who has admitted murder, was given a ten-year prison sentence for torture in 1966 and, with typical rogueishness, charges royally to tell of his horrific deeds.

But Eddie’s favourite subject, other than his autobiography (‘it’s so good some people have read it 20 times’) is prison. Which isn’t surprising given he’s spent over a third of his life behind bars (or ‘away’, as he calls it) as a Double Category ‘A’ prisoner. 

Eddie Richardson called Ronnie and Reggie Kray 'brainless of Britain'

‘That’s one step up from Category ‘A’,’ he says, absurdly proudly. ‘You have to have two screws with you everywhere you go. They were scared of me. I was always working out how to crack the system.’

Which he did. And soon boasted an array of special privileges that included his own TV, constant access to the prison yard and a steady stream of epicurean delights and post prandial brandies.

‘A few of us took turns to cook for ourselves — I once did a Christmas dinner for 16 with a 20lb turkey and I always had an after-dinner brandy. In one prison we had so much food —legs of lamb, joints of beef, chickens — that we couldn’t get it all in the prison fridge. I had to apply to the governor for permission to buy another fridge.’

Permission was granted.

There were the endless bridge games with IRA man Brian Keenan.

‘We’d be playing a nice game of bridge and someone would come rushing in and Brian would have to leave the table and go and sort out some crisis in Ireland.’

Frankie Fraser was game for anything, now he's in an old people's home in Nunhead'

And football matches, jellied eels and strawberries and cream with the Great Train robbers. Not to mention countless teas and biscuits with the Krays (‘though they were both so brainless you couldn’t have a decent conversation with them’) — until Ronnie was certified and sent off to Broadmoor.

He was also involved in a prison mutiny, a six-week hunger strike, countless assaults and a failed escape attempt which left two guards in hospital. ‘We were supposed to be making a nice wooden cabinet in the woodwork class, but actually made two 26ft ladders and no one noticed’ — until the bungled break-out.

Eleven years later, including an extra 450 days for bad behaviour, Eddie returned home to his scrap metal business, all his old friends and, funnily enough, sufficient funds to pay for a glamorous life skiing, bobsleighing and jet-setting around the world.

It was only a matter of time before he was caught out again — when cashflow slowed down and a £70 million cocaine and cannabis heist caught his eye.

‘I used to turn down loads, but this one looked too good. I knew the people this end, I knew the South Americans. I thought I could trust them. If we’d got away with it, we’d have made a lot of money. But c’est la vie.’

Instead, he got 35 years (eventually commuted to 13), bringing his total served years to 26.

Does he feel any remorse, as he tucks into his cod and chips?

Charlie Richardson can been seen 2nd right, with associates Eddie Richardson (3rd right-holding face). Also in the picture are Alfred Berman (right) and Lawrence Bradbury (extreme left)

‘Remorse? No!’ he looks outraged, leg jiggling in protest. ‘I’ve been given more than enough punishment.’

Would he ‘go near’ anything again, aged 75, or has he finally retired?

‘No. I don’t need the money. At least I don’t think I would . . .’ 

He’d be risking a lot. Today he leads a very genteel life in Beckenham. He lives with his beloved 85-year-old Auntie Dorothy (‘She can’t cook so I do all that’), eats in expensive Italian restaurants with his 56-year-old girlfriend June, meets up with some of the Great Train Robbers once a month. It all seems rather outrageous.

Aren’t those paid-for nostalgia lunches morally repugnant, I ask him. ‘So what? I don’t care. I really don’t,’ he snaps.

And despite all his cosy chat about his Auntie and his doggy portraits, I get a unpleasant glimpse of the thug glowering beneath. So was he really one of the most dangerous men in Britain?

Eddie lives a more genteel life these days, and has even taken to painting, which he took up in prison

‘I probably was. I was full of adrenaline and dangerous. I wouldn’t want now to meet myself as I was then. And the daft thing is, I was a bright boy — not like most of the others. If I’d put my mind to it I bet I could have made more money honestly than I did through crime. But I’m not complaining.

‘I’ve been to some of the best restaurants in the world and I’ve been in some of the worst solitary confinement blocks. So I’ve had a bit of variety.’

And with that he gives me a big dandruffy hug and a scratchy kiss on both cheeks and I try very hard not to think about pliers and electrodes and all the crimes that he wasn’t caught for.

Murdered gangster Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll 'was a nutcase'

 

The trial of a man accused of shooting dead Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll has heard the deceased described as a "nutcase" and major Glasgow gangland figure. Retired police officer George Gallacher told the High Court in Glasgow that Mr Carroll was "high up" in drug dealing. The 54-year-old was giving evidence at the trial of Ross Monaghan. The 30-year-old denies murdering Mr Carroll, who was 29, at the Asda car park in Robroyston, Glasgow, on 13 January 2010. Mr Gallacher told the court that he had seen Mr Carroll in the passenger seat of an Audi A3 car at Anniesland Cross, Glasgow, days before he died. 'Hollywood movie' He said he recognised him because for the last seven years of his 30-year police service he had been involved with the drugs and surveillance unit. Mr Gallacher added: "He (Mr Carroll) had been the subject of a couple of operations." Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote I would imagine his fellow drug dealers would not have been happy to deal with him. He was not a nice person” George Gallacher Witness The former policeman also told advocate depute Iain McSporran, prosecuting, that he saw a Volkswagen Golf in the same area being driven all over the place like in a "Hollywood movie". He noted part of the car's registration which was 55 EZZ. Under cross-examination by defence QC Derek Ogg, Mr Gallacher said that both cars were in front of him, but he could not say what their positions were relative to each other. Mr Ogg asked: "What was the Gerbil's reputation, you were involved in drugs surveillance?" Mr Gallacher replied: "I was aware of him. He was a nutcase, basically." "I would imagine his fellow drug dealers would not have been happy to deal with him. He was not a nice person." Drugs trade Mr Ogg then asked: "We may hear people saying they feared being abducted by him." Mr Gallacher replied: "He was at that level of criminality. There is no doubt at all." Mr Monaghan faces charges in relation to firearms recovered in Coatbridge Mr Ogg added: "If we hear from other drug dealers they were terrified of the Gerbil does that give you some insight." Mr Gallacher replied: "It is quite possible that could happen." He was then asked if Mr Carroll was high up in drug dealing in Glasgow and replied: "Yes, high up." The former policeman was then asked if Mr Carroll was violent towards those he fell out with and replied said: "I can't answer that honestly." The jury heard that Mr Carroll was sitting in the back seat of a three-door Audi A3 when he was shot dead. Although Mr Gallacher said he had seen him in the front passenger seat of a similar car some days earlier Mr Ogg then asked: "Were you aware he had been shot on previous occasions." Mr Gallacher replied: "I wasn't aware he had been." Car park meeting The trial later heard from 26-year-old Steven Glen who said he saw two men shoot Mr Carroll. Mr Glen revealed that minutes earlier he had met with Mr Carroll. He told Mr McSporran that he left Mr Carroll and his two associates and walked back to where his car was parked. Mr Carroll, he said, walked back with his two colleagues to the black Audi A3 he had arrived in. Mr Glen said: "I was reversing back. I heard three or four cracks. I never thought anything about the first few." He said that when he glanced towards Mr Carroll's car there was a Volkswagen Golf parked in front of it blocking it in. Mr Glen said: "I saw two people shooting. One was on the driver's side and one on the passenger side. My main interest was in getting away, but it was as if I forgot how to get out the car park." He said the Golf drove past him at speed and he then drove off. Threatening text Earlier, Mr Glen told the jury that he had been phoned the night before by Mr Carroll demanding to see him. Mr Glen said he had chosen the time - 12:30 - and the venue Asda car park because he wanted to meet somewhere where there were a lot of people. He told Mr McSporran that initially he had tried to ignore Mr Carroll's demand that they meet and had not answered subsequent calls and texts. But he added that changed when he woke up to find a text from Mr Carroll saying: "You have no manners. If you don't phone me today I'll come to your door and I'll be using my feet to get in." Mr Glen said he was frightened of what might happen to him so he told Mr Carroll he would meet him at the cash machines at the front of Asda in Robroyston and added: "It was just basically somewhere for me where I felt safe. It was a busy area." He told the court that a friend also went to the supermarket in a taxi and was to phone for help if anything happened to Mr Glen. The jury was told that a couple of months before the shooting Mr Glen had been dealing drugs on a small scale and working for Allan Johnston. Mr Glen said by January 2010 he was not working for anyone. 'Working for me' The court heard that when he got to the supermarket just before 12:30 there was no sign of Mr Carroll. He arrived after 13:00 and according to Mr Glen told him: "You're working for me now." Mr Glen said that after a brief discussion they went their separate ways and then he heard the sound of shooting. He was asked by Mr McSporran if he had had anything to do with the shooting of Mr Carroll and replied: "No." Earlier the jury was shown photographs of the crime scene. Bullets and cartridges were found near to Mr Carroll's car and the rear side windows were smashed. Jurors were also shown photographs of the bullet-damaged interior of the car and a folder with a bullet lodged in it. It is alleged that while masked and acting with others, Mr Monaghan murdered Mr Carroll by repeatedly discharging loaded handguns at him, shooting him on the head and body. Mr Monaghan is also accused, while acting with others, of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of a revolver, pistol and ammunition within undergrowth in Coatbridge and Airdrie, both North Lanarkshire. It is also claimed a car - bearing false number plates YF 55 EZZ - was set on fire. Mr Monaghan also faces a number of firearms charges. He denies all the charges against him and has lodged a special defence of incrimination, blaming Mr X, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and seven others.

Mafia banker Vito Palazzolo 'held in Thailand'

An Italian banker convicted for having links to the mafia has been arrested in Thailand, authorities say. Vito Palazzolo, 64, was given nine years in jail for laundering money for the Sicily-based Cosa Nostra. He was implicated in the so-called Pizza Connection, a mafia operation that smuggled drugs into the US during the 1970s and early 1980s, and used pizza restaurants as a front. Palazzolo has always denied the charges and says he will fight extradition. He has spend decades on the run, most of the time in South Africa. The South African government had refused to allow his extradition back to Italy. The Italian authorities say they tracked him to Thailand by monitoring his family's use of social-networking websites. The authorities say he laundered tens of millions of dollars for the Cosa Nostra while he was working as a banker in Switzerland. Palazzolo has previously said he processed funds for the mafia group in 1982, but argued that he had been threatened.

In Godfather We Trust,In one room, a ghastly photo wall of bloody, uncensored images showcases the mob's greatest hits.

 

In one room, a ghastly photo wall of bloody, uncensored images showcases the mob's greatest hits. In another, visitors are taught to load a revolver. And for when a gun just won't do, an oddball collection of household items - a shovel, a hammer, a baseball bat and an ice pick - show the creative side of some of America's most notorious killers. Sin City is honoring one of its earliest relationships with a museum dedicated to the mobsters that made this desert town. There are tommy guns, money stacks and a bullet-riddled brick wall from the 1929 massacre that saw Al Capone seize control of the Chicago mob. Las Vegas has long been enamored with its gangster roots. But the publicly funded, $42 million Mob Museum represents a new height in Sin City's lawlessness devotion. Even the local FBI agents are in on it. "We wanted to make sure the truth came out," said Ellen Knowlton, a former special agent brought on to legitimize the downtown attraction. It's the second mob-themed attraction to open in Las Vegas in the past year. The Mob Experience at the Tropicana casino on the Las Vegas Strip quickly shut down because of slow ticket sales and other problems. It's slated to reopen this year under the name Mob Attraction Las Vegas. City officials said their version will perform better because it's an authentic examination of the decisions and circumstances that made Las Vegas an international symbol of debauchery and excess. The museum is housed in a former courthouse where a U.S. Senate hearing on organized crime was held in the 1950s. The proceedings ntroduced the mob to most Americans. Nevadans and mobsters have a long, storied history. Casino workers and longtime visitors alike are known to wax nostalgic about the days when mob bosses kept drink prices low and streets violence-free. Their casinos became celebrity playgrounds and architectural icons. The Stardust, El Cortez, Tropicana, Dunes Hotel, Desert Inn, Flamingo and Fremont hotel were all backed by the mob at one point. Elvis and Priscilla Presley tied the knot at the mob-controlled Aladdin resort and Wayne Newton later purchased it. More recently, Las Vegans thrice made former mob attorney Oscar Goodman their mayor. And when he was term-limited from running again last year, they gave the job to his wife. The mob, the story goes, helped build out the remote highway that would become the Las Vegas Strip. Gangsters took over resorts, skimmed the profits and built nightclubs, country clubs, housing tracts and shopping centers. Increased law enforcement scrutiny and competition from business titans such as Howard Hughes saw Las Vegas turn corporate in the late 1960s. These days, Las Vegas feels more like a raunchy version of Disney World than a mob hangout. Museum officials deny they are sensationalizing the mob experience to sell tickets, which cost up to $18 each. One exhibit shows the modern reach of organized crime through the drug cartels of Mexico, money laundering schemes in the Bahamas, counterfeit rings in China and human trafficking in Brazil. The museum attempts to show the personal motivations behind the mug shots. There are pictures of a baby-faced Anthony Spilotro marking his First Communion, Frank Costello relaxing in a hammock at home and Meyer Lansky with his daughter at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. All three were among the mob's most powerful men. But the museum's photography collection depicting cratered heads, imploded cars and full body bags likely will be its biggest draw among fans expecting a hefty dose of mob violence. There's Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn, his body splayed out in a Chicago bowling alley in 1939. Another photo depicts the death of Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria, assassinated in a New York restaurant in 1931. A small gift store also plays up the mob's bloodthirsty reputation. The shelves lined with novelty items feature mobster paper dolls and gangster teddy bears dressed in striped suits and armed with plastic machine guns. A T-shirt reads: "In Godfather We Trust."

Gangster Tony Richardson has jail term reduced for attack in city restaurant

A GANGSTER jailed for battering a boxer with a crook lock in a city restaurant had his sentence reduced. Anthony Mark Richardson was jailed for eight years and four months last December after admitting wounding with intent. Yesterday three judges granted Richardson a sentence reduction of four months after concluding the original sentence failed to properly reflect his guilty plea. Richardson, 32 of Sherwood’s Lane, Fazakerley, was one of three raiders who stormed Kimos , on Myrtle Street, in a revenge attack on boxer Lee Siner. The other members of the gang were armed with a knife and a baseball bat and they stopped Mr Siner as he tried to leave. Mr Justice Coulson, sitting with Lord Justice Gross and Mr Justice Cranston also noted Richardson’s previous good character and remorse.

Tribute for dead mobster, Crazy Joe Gallo

 

On the night of his murder inside a Little Italy clam bar, “Crazy Joey” Gallo was a dues-paying member of the Knights of Columbus — not that his killers cared. Forty years later, that affiliation remains a big deal for mob maven Artie Nash. Gallo’s membership card, dated Dec. 31, 1971, and signed with perfect penmanship, is among the artifacts in an exhibit recalling the legendary gangster whose last meal came with a lead dessert. The mob anti-hero “was someone who captured our imagination,” said Nash, who runs the MOB Scene museum on Broome St. “Joey didn’t believe in anybody holding power over him. He felt the rules of ‘The Life’ didn’t apply to him.” It was the mob life that cost Gallo his own: Gunned down on April 7, 1972, inside Umberto’s Clam House at 5 a.m. after an all-night 43rd birthday celebration. His new bride and 10-year-old stepdaughter watched in horror as the bullets flew on Mulberry St. Earlier in the evening, the Gallos partied with actor Jerry Orbach — later Detective Lenny Briscoe on “Law & Order.” Gallo’s widow provided Nash with an assortment of photos and other personal items. There are shots of Gallo’s wedding, letters sent from prison, a prayer card from his wake — and a condolence message from his parole officer. “In my short acquaintance with your husband, Joe impressed me as a fine human being,” wrote Ben Lichtenstein. Gallo was a cooler, smarter version of John Gotti — media-savvy, quick with a quip, fearless. The gangster was a hipster, appearing before a congressional organized crime committee in black Ray-Bans. He once cracked that the carpet in future Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy’s office was perfect for a craps game. Gallo was a cinematic presence, his wardrobe patterned after movie gangster George Raft and his attitude clipped from actor Richard Widmark in “Kiss of Death.” Which is not to say Joey wasn’t the real thing: Gallo was reportedly the lead shooter in the barbershop murder of boss Albert Anastasia in 1957. Twenty-four years later, he was suspected of arranging the shooting of another boss, Joe Colombo. The death of one of Joey’s henchman was responsible for one of the great movie scenes from “The Godfather.” When Joseph (Joe Jelly) Gioiello was murdered, his clothes were stuffed with fish and tossed outside a favorite Gallo restaurant from a moving car. Yes, Joe Jelly slept with the fishes. Jailed for extortion in 1962, he returned to Brooklyn in 1971 as a Renaissance man. Gallo became a painter while behind bars and delved into the works of Balzac, Sartre, Camus and Kafka. “You couldn’t imagine Al Capone talking Nietzsche in the corner,” author Pete Hamill said. Gallo was muscling his way back into the mob business when he hit the town for his birthday. His killer was never arrested. These days, his younger brother still runs a Little Italy eatery. From its window, Albert (Kid Blast) Gallo can see the spot where his sibling died. Bob Dylan immortalized Gallo in his 1975 song “Joey,” offering a version of the Umberto killing where the doomed mobster “pushed the table over to protect his family/Then he staggered out into the streets of Little Italy.” Nash says Gallo’s reputation as the Robin Hood of Red Hook isn’t quite accurate. “They were heroes in the neighborhood — unless you owed them money or something,” Nash said. “Bob Dylan is easily accused of waxing sentimental about the Gallos.”