A northwest suburban man was sentenced for engaging in a lengthy investment fraud scheme in which he and a co-defendant swindled approximately $105 million from 455 investors who invested in funds they purported to operate. The defendant, DANIEL SPITZER, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of mail fraud last July on the day his trial was scheduled to begin in Federal Court. Spitzer misused the money he raised from investors for his own benefit and to make Ponzi-type payments to investors, resulting in a loss of $33.98 million to at least 279 victims, many of them elderly.
Spitzer, 55, of North Barrington and formerly of the U.S. Virgin Islands, caused “very substantial damage,” U.S. District Judge James Zagel said in imposing the sentence today, a day after he ordered Spitzer into federal custody. The judge also ordered restitution of $33.98 million.
Spitzer engaged in an “extended act of greed,” between late 2004 and early 2010, Assistant U.S. Attorney Madeleine Murphy argued at today’s hearing.
According to court records, Spitzer was the principal officer and sole shareholder of Kenzie Financial Management; the sole manager and member of Kenzie Services, LLC; the president of Draseena Funds Group, Corp.; the manager of DN Management Company, LLC; and the manager of Nerium Management Company.
Co-defendant ALFRED GEREBIZZA, 59, formerly of Crystal Lake and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., was the secretary and a director of Draseena and a sales agent for the Kenzie Funds, who also held himself out as a trader. Gerebizza was convicted at trial last July of 10 counts of mail fraud and six counts of federal income tax fraud. He is in federal custody awaiting sentencing.
Through these entities, Spitzer controlled 12 investment funds collectively known as the “Kenzie Funds.” Spitzer and Gerebizza offered and sold to the public investments in the various Kenzie Funds in the form of membership interests and limited partnerships. Through sales agents and various marketing materials, they informed investors and potential investors that their investments would be used primarily in foreign currency trading, that the Kenzie Funds had never lost money, and that they had achieved profitable historical returns. The defendants had to continually raise funds through the solicitation of new investors in the Kenzie Funds to make payments on investments made by earlier investors, all of which they concealed and intentionally failed to disclose to both new and earlier investors. Although Spitzer and Gerebizza falsely represented to prospective investors and current investors that different Kenzie Funds had different levels of risk and different investment strategies, they commingled the money invested in all 12 Kenzie Funds, then misappropriated a significant portion, and only invested less than one-third of the approximately $105 million raised from investors.
The defendants represented to investors that the Kenzie Funds had rates of returns ranging from 4.52 percent to 13.54 percent over the prior five years, although the bank accounts for the Kenzie Funds reflected that the total net return during that period was less than one percent. As of June 30, 2009, they represented that the Kenzie Funds were worth approximately $250 million when, in fact, the Funds collectively had only approximately $4 million in their bank accounts.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Distributor for Atlantic City Dirty Block Gang Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
An Atlantic City, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 120 months in prison for engaging in a conspiracy to distribute heroin with Mykal Derry, a leader of the “Dirty Block” criminal street gang that allegedly used threats, intimidation and violence to maintain control of the illegal drug trade in Atlantic City, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Aree Toulson, a/k/a “Beyah,” a/k/a “Beyeazz,” 26, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of public housing, 100 grams or more of heroin. Judge Irenas imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Toulson acted as a distributor on behalf of Mykal Derry, 34, of Atlantic City, helping Dirty Block distribute heroin in and around the public housing apartment complexes of Stanley Holmes, Carver Hall, Schoolhouse, Adams Court and Cedar Court in Atlantic City.
Toulson was arrested on March 26, 2013. He and others travelled with Mykal Derry to a shooting range in Lakewood, New Jersey, on Oct. 18, 2012, where Toulson—a previously convicted felon—used, possessed, and discharged a firearm. According to filed documents, members of the group also participated in a violent altercation with rival drug traffickers at an Atlantic City casino in December 2012.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Irenas sentenced Toulson to serve eight years of supervised release.
Aree Toulson, a/k/a “Beyah,” a/k/a “Beyeazz,” 26, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of public housing, 100 grams or more of heroin. Judge Irenas imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Toulson acted as a distributor on behalf of Mykal Derry, 34, of Atlantic City, helping Dirty Block distribute heroin in and around the public housing apartment complexes of Stanley Holmes, Carver Hall, Schoolhouse, Adams Court and Cedar Court in Atlantic City.
Toulson was arrested on March 26, 2013. He and others travelled with Mykal Derry to a shooting range in Lakewood, New Jersey, on Oct. 18, 2012, where Toulson—a previously convicted felon—used, possessed, and discharged a firearm. According to filed documents, members of the group also participated in a violent altercation with rival drug traffickers at an Atlantic City casino in December 2012.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Irenas sentenced Toulson to serve eight years of supervised release.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Ghazi Nasr Al-Din added to FBI's Seeking Information – Terrorism List
The FBI is seeking information on the whereabouts of Ghazi Nasr Al-Din, who was added today to the FBI’s Seeking Information – Terrorism list.
He is wanted for questioning regarding his fundraising efforts with Hizballah contributors.
Al-Din is approximately 5’7” tall and weighs about 175 pounds with a medium build. He has black hair, brown eyes, and an olive complexion. Al-Din speaks Arabic and Spanish. He has dual citizenship in Lebanon and Venezuela.
If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate or call the FBI’s toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800- 225-5324) or contact your local FBI office.
He is wanted for questioning regarding his fundraising efforts with Hizballah contributors.
Al-Din is approximately 5’7” tall and weighs about 175 pounds with a medium build. He has black hair, brown eyes, and an olive complexion. Al-Din speaks Arabic and Spanish. He has dual citizenship in Lebanon and Venezuela.
If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate or call the FBI’s toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800- 225-5324) or contact your local FBI office.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Pedro and Margarito Flores Cooperation Against Sinaloa Cartel Yields 14-Year Prison Terms; New Charges Target Cartel Top Echelon
Twin brothers Pedro and Margarito Flores, regarded as Chicago’s most significant drug traffickers who rose from street level dealers to the highest echelons of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel and a rival cartel before they began providing unparalleled cooperation to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), were each sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. The sentencing marked the Flores brothers’ first public court appearance since they entered protective federal custody in 2008. Their August 2012 guilty pleas to a narcotics distribution conspiracy were unsealed in November 2014. Also, federal law enforcement officials announced the unsealing of an expanded eighth superseding indictment in the case in which the Flores brothers and leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel were initially indicted here in 2009. The eighth superseding indictment and three separate new indictments announced today, add significant new defendants, including two alleged cartel money laundering associates who were arrested in the United States and extend the government’s efforts in Chicago and elsewhere to dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel under Joaquin Guzman Loera, 60, also known as “Chapo,” and Ismael Zambada Garcia, 67, aka “Mayo.”
“The persistent determination of DEA special agents and leadership in Chicago, coupled with the efforts of those in DEA offices worldwide, is having a significant impact on the global operations of the Sinaloa Cartel,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois. “This case put an end to the Flores brothers’ Chicago hub for transshipment of cartel narcotics nationwide. Our investigation and prosecution of cartel members is continuing,”
“The extraordinary work in this investigation continues,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Wichern of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA. “Agents, investigators, prosecutors and our worldwide law enforcement partners continue to expand this investigation against members of the Sinaloa Cartel ― working to bring them to justice and in doing so ― helping to make the great city of Chicago a safer place.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to working together with the DEA and the United States Attorney’s Office to fight the war on drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge James C. Lee of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS CI) in Chicago. “IRS CI brings, and will continue to bring, its financial expertise to disrupt and dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking organization.”
Flores Brothers Sentencing
In sentencing of the 33-year-old Flores brothers, U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo said that but for the Flores brothers’ cooperation, he would have imposed a life sentence and noted that because of the peril their ongoing cooperation poses to them and their families, they effectively “are going to leave here with a life sentence.” If the city of Chicago had walls, Judge Castillo said the brothers’ operation “devastated the walls of this city,” adding that their operation “became just a highway of drugs into this city.” But, Judge Castillo added, “it is never too late to cooperate,” which is what earned the Flores brothers a significant discount in their sentences.
Judge Castillo ordered the Flores brothers to forfeit more than $3.66 million that was seized from them and a sport utility vehicle. In addition, more than $400,000 worth of assorted jewelry, several luxury automobiles and smaller amounts of cash and electronics equipment were seized and forfeited in administrative proceedings by the DEA. The brothers left behind millions of dollars in additional assets in Mexico after they began cooperating.
The judge also placed each of the brothers on court supervision for five years when they are released from prison after serving at least 85 percent of their sentences.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Flores brothers and their crew operated a Chicago-based wholesale distribution cell for the Sinaloa Cartel and a rival drug trafficking organization controlled by Arturo Beltran Leyva, receiving on average 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine per month. Approximately half of this cocaine was distributed to the Flores’ customers in the Chicago area, while the other half was distributed to customers in Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Vancouver, among other cities. In total, the brothers admitted to facilitating the transfer of approximately $1.8 billion of drug proceeds from the United States to Mexico, primarily through bulk cash smuggling.
At great personal risk to themselves and their families, the Flores brothers began cooperating with the government in October 2008 and recorded conversations, including two directly with Chapo Guzman. Their cooperation resulted in indictments against leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltran Leyva organization, as well as the complete dismantling of the brothers’ own Chicago-based criminal enterprise. In late 2008 alone, their cooperation facilitated approximately a dozen seizures in the Chicago area totaling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin and more than $15 million in cash, as well as the seizure of more than 1,600 kilograms of cocaine in the Los Angeles area that was bound for Chicago.
Further cooperation by the Flores brothers and members of their dismantled crew resulted in the convictions of more than a dozen of their high-level customers who received on average 50 to 100 kilos of cocaine per month.
“While not as high-profile as the cartel figures, the successful prosecution of these defendants made a very real difference in combating the scourge of drug trafficking that fuels so much violence and the destruction of communities in Chicago,” said the prosecutors in recommending a sentence at or near the low end of the agreed 10- to 16-year sentencing range.
“The Flores brothers (and their families) will live the rest of their lives in danger of being killed in retribution,” prosecutors stated in a sentencing memo. “The barbarism of the cartels is legend, with a special place reserved for those who cooperate.”
In 2009, the brothers’ father was kidnapped and presumed killed when he reentered Mexico despite the U.S. government warning him not to do so.
The Primary ― Eighth Superseding ― Indictment
The eighth superseding indictment unsealed today charges a total of nine defendants, including Chapo Guzman, Mayo Zambada and Guzman’s son, Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, 31, aka “Alfredillo” and “Jags,” each of whom was among the initial group of co-defendants in the original indictment in 2009. Zambada and Salazar are fugitives, while Guzman remains in Mexican custody following his arrest last February.
Co-defendant, Jesus Raul Beltran Leon, 31, aka “Trevol” and “Chuy Raul,” was arrested in Mexico this past November and remains in Mexican custody. The remaining co-defendants, all fugitives, Heriberto Zazueta Godoy, 54, aka “Capi Beto,” Victor Manuel Felix Beltran, 27, aka “Lic Vicc,” Hector Miguel Valencia Ortega, 33, aka “Mv,” Jorge Mario Valenzuela Verdugo, 32, aka “Choclos” and Guadalupe Fernandez Valencia, 54, aka “Don Julio” and “Julia.”
This indictment alleges that all nine defendants conspired between May 2005 and December 2014, when the indictment was returned under seal, to import and distribute narcotics and to commit money laundering. They allegedly conspired to smuggle large quantities of cocaine from Central and South America, as well as heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana from Mexico to the United States and through Chicago for distribution nationwide. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $2 billion.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control today announced the designation of Felix Beltran, who is Salazar’s brother-in-law, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, freezing all of his assets in the U.S. or in the control of U.S. persons and generally prohibiting any U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with him. A second designation was announced today against Alfonso Limon Sanchez, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel associate under federal indictment with Zambada and others in San Diego. Other alleged cartel leaders, including Chicago defendants Guzman, Zambada, Salazar and Godoy, were previously designated drug kingpins.
Charges brought in earlier versions of this primary indictment remain pending against three additional co-defendants: Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, 44, who is in custody in Mexico; German Olivares, age unknown and a fugitive; and Edgar Manuel Valencia Ortega, 27, aka “Fox,” and Hector Miguel Valencia Ortega’s brother, who was arrested last year in the United States and is in federal custody in Chicago. His next court date is Feb. 19, 2015 for a status hearing.
In addition to the Flores brothers, Alfredo Vasquez Hernandez, 59, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last November to 22 years in prison. Two other co-defendants, Mayo Zambada’s son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, 39, and Tomas Arevalo Renteria, 45, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing in Chicago. Altogether, 18 defendants have been charged in the primary case in Chicago.
Three New Indictments
Those 18 are among a total of 62 defendants, most of whom have been convicted and sentenced, who were indicted in nearly two dozen related cases in Chicago since 2009. Two new defendants, Alvaro Anguiano Hernandez, 38, aka “Panda,” and Jorge Martin Torres, 38, were arrested separately in the U.S. in November and are facing separate indictments here alleging they were high-level money laundering associates of the Sinaloa Cartel and participated in money laundering conspiracies. Anguiano Hernandez’s indictment seeks forfeiture of $950,000.
Torres allegedly conspired to launder in excess of $300,000 of drug proceeds from Mexico to the United States to purchase, refurbish, and transfer from Ohio to Mexico, a 1982 Cessna Turbo 210 to promote the cartel’s alleged narcotics conspiracy. His indictment seeks forfeiture of $1 million.
A third separate indictment announced today charges Venancio Covarrubias, 26, aka “Benny,” of Elgin, who was arrested last October, with being a high-level cartel customer in the Chicago area. In September 2013, law enforcement, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Laredo, Texas, seized 159 kilograms of cocaine that was allegedly destined for a warehouse in Elgin leased by Covarrubias. The cocaine, wrapped in 118 brick-shaped packages, was hidden in a tractor-trailer containing a shipment of fresh tomatoes from a fictitious Mexican business called Tadeo Produce. The charges allege that during the prior year, Covarrubias wire transferred drug proceeds to Tadeo Produce while receiving narcotics disguised as tomato shipments. His indictment seeks forfeiture of $2.89 million.
The money laundering conspiracy charges against Anguiano Hernandez, Torres and Covarrubias carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, or an alternate fine totaling twice the amount of the funds involved in illegal activity. The narcotics importation and distribution conspiracy charges against Covarrubias and each defendant in the primary indictment carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States sentencing guidelines. The defendants against whom charges are pending are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Total Seizures Since 2008
Overall, the Chicago-based investigation of the Sinaloa Cartel has resulted in seizures of approximately $30.8 million, approximately 11 tons of cocaine, 265 kilograms of methamphetamine and 78 kilograms of heroin. Law Enforcement in Chicago has worked closely with federal agents and prosecutors in San Diego to target the senior leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel. This partnership yielded the prosecutions here as well as 14 indictments announced this month in San Diego against 60 alleged Sinaloa leaders, lieutenants and associates, including Zambada, two of his four sons and another of Guzman’s sons.
“The persistent determination of DEA special agents and leadership in Chicago, coupled with the efforts of those in DEA offices worldwide, is having a significant impact on the global operations of the Sinaloa Cartel,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois. “This case put an end to the Flores brothers’ Chicago hub for transshipment of cartel narcotics nationwide. Our investigation and prosecution of cartel members is continuing,”
“The extraordinary work in this investigation continues,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Wichern of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA. “Agents, investigators, prosecutors and our worldwide law enforcement partners continue to expand this investigation against members of the Sinaloa Cartel ― working to bring them to justice and in doing so ― helping to make the great city of Chicago a safer place.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to working together with the DEA and the United States Attorney’s Office to fight the war on drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge James C. Lee of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS CI) in Chicago. “IRS CI brings, and will continue to bring, its financial expertise to disrupt and dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking organization.”
Flores Brothers Sentencing
In sentencing of the 33-year-old Flores brothers, U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo said that but for the Flores brothers’ cooperation, he would have imposed a life sentence and noted that because of the peril their ongoing cooperation poses to them and their families, they effectively “are going to leave here with a life sentence.” If the city of Chicago had walls, Judge Castillo said the brothers’ operation “devastated the walls of this city,” adding that their operation “became just a highway of drugs into this city.” But, Judge Castillo added, “it is never too late to cooperate,” which is what earned the Flores brothers a significant discount in their sentences.
Judge Castillo ordered the Flores brothers to forfeit more than $3.66 million that was seized from them and a sport utility vehicle. In addition, more than $400,000 worth of assorted jewelry, several luxury automobiles and smaller amounts of cash and electronics equipment were seized and forfeited in administrative proceedings by the DEA. The brothers left behind millions of dollars in additional assets in Mexico after they began cooperating.
The judge also placed each of the brothers on court supervision for five years when they are released from prison after serving at least 85 percent of their sentences.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Flores brothers and their crew operated a Chicago-based wholesale distribution cell for the Sinaloa Cartel and a rival drug trafficking organization controlled by Arturo Beltran Leyva, receiving on average 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine per month. Approximately half of this cocaine was distributed to the Flores’ customers in the Chicago area, while the other half was distributed to customers in Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Vancouver, among other cities. In total, the brothers admitted to facilitating the transfer of approximately $1.8 billion of drug proceeds from the United States to Mexico, primarily through bulk cash smuggling.
At great personal risk to themselves and their families, the Flores brothers began cooperating with the government in October 2008 and recorded conversations, including two directly with Chapo Guzman. Their cooperation resulted in indictments against leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltran Leyva organization, as well as the complete dismantling of the brothers’ own Chicago-based criminal enterprise. In late 2008 alone, their cooperation facilitated approximately a dozen seizures in the Chicago area totaling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin and more than $15 million in cash, as well as the seizure of more than 1,600 kilograms of cocaine in the Los Angeles area that was bound for Chicago.
Further cooperation by the Flores brothers and members of their dismantled crew resulted in the convictions of more than a dozen of their high-level customers who received on average 50 to 100 kilos of cocaine per month.
“While not as high-profile as the cartel figures, the successful prosecution of these defendants made a very real difference in combating the scourge of drug trafficking that fuels so much violence and the destruction of communities in Chicago,” said the prosecutors in recommending a sentence at or near the low end of the agreed 10- to 16-year sentencing range.
“The Flores brothers (and their families) will live the rest of their lives in danger of being killed in retribution,” prosecutors stated in a sentencing memo. “The barbarism of the cartels is legend, with a special place reserved for those who cooperate.”
In 2009, the brothers’ father was kidnapped and presumed killed when he reentered Mexico despite the U.S. government warning him not to do so.
The Primary ― Eighth Superseding ― Indictment
The eighth superseding indictment unsealed today charges a total of nine defendants, including Chapo Guzman, Mayo Zambada and Guzman’s son, Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, 31, aka “Alfredillo” and “Jags,” each of whom was among the initial group of co-defendants in the original indictment in 2009. Zambada and Salazar are fugitives, while Guzman remains in Mexican custody following his arrest last February.
Co-defendant, Jesus Raul Beltran Leon, 31, aka “Trevol” and “Chuy Raul,” was arrested in Mexico this past November and remains in Mexican custody. The remaining co-defendants, all fugitives, Heriberto Zazueta Godoy, 54, aka “Capi Beto,” Victor Manuel Felix Beltran, 27, aka “Lic Vicc,” Hector Miguel Valencia Ortega, 33, aka “Mv,” Jorge Mario Valenzuela Verdugo, 32, aka “Choclos” and Guadalupe Fernandez Valencia, 54, aka “Don Julio” and “Julia.”
This indictment alleges that all nine defendants conspired between May 2005 and December 2014, when the indictment was returned under seal, to import and distribute narcotics and to commit money laundering. They allegedly conspired to smuggle large quantities of cocaine from Central and South America, as well as heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana from Mexico to the United States and through Chicago for distribution nationwide. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $2 billion.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control today announced the designation of Felix Beltran, who is Salazar’s brother-in-law, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, freezing all of his assets in the U.S. or in the control of U.S. persons and generally prohibiting any U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with him. A second designation was announced today against Alfonso Limon Sanchez, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel associate under federal indictment with Zambada and others in San Diego. Other alleged cartel leaders, including Chicago defendants Guzman, Zambada, Salazar and Godoy, were previously designated drug kingpins.
Charges brought in earlier versions of this primary indictment remain pending against three additional co-defendants: Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, 44, who is in custody in Mexico; German Olivares, age unknown and a fugitive; and Edgar Manuel Valencia Ortega, 27, aka “Fox,” and Hector Miguel Valencia Ortega’s brother, who was arrested last year in the United States and is in federal custody in Chicago. His next court date is Feb. 19, 2015 for a status hearing.
In addition to the Flores brothers, Alfredo Vasquez Hernandez, 59, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last November to 22 years in prison. Two other co-defendants, Mayo Zambada’s son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, 39, and Tomas Arevalo Renteria, 45, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing in Chicago. Altogether, 18 defendants have been charged in the primary case in Chicago.
Three New Indictments
Those 18 are among a total of 62 defendants, most of whom have been convicted and sentenced, who were indicted in nearly two dozen related cases in Chicago since 2009. Two new defendants, Alvaro Anguiano Hernandez, 38, aka “Panda,” and Jorge Martin Torres, 38, were arrested separately in the U.S. in November and are facing separate indictments here alleging they were high-level money laundering associates of the Sinaloa Cartel and participated in money laundering conspiracies. Anguiano Hernandez’s indictment seeks forfeiture of $950,000.
Torres allegedly conspired to launder in excess of $300,000 of drug proceeds from Mexico to the United States to purchase, refurbish, and transfer from Ohio to Mexico, a 1982 Cessna Turbo 210 to promote the cartel’s alleged narcotics conspiracy. His indictment seeks forfeiture of $1 million.
A third separate indictment announced today charges Venancio Covarrubias, 26, aka “Benny,” of Elgin, who was arrested last October, with being a high-level cartel customer in the Chicago area. In September 2013, law enforcement, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Laredo, Texas, seized 159 kilograms of cocaine that was allegedly destined for a warehouse in Elgin leased by Covarrubias. The cocaine, wrapped in 118 brick-shaped packages, was hidden in a tractor-trailer containing a shipment of fresh tomatoes from a fictitious Mexican business called Tadeo Produce. The charges allege that during the prior year, Covarrubias wire transferred drug proceeds to Tadeo Produce while receiving narcotics disguised as tomato shipments. His indictment seeks forfeiture of $2.89 million.
The money laundering conspiracy charges against Anguiano Hernandez, Torres and Covarrubias carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, or an alternate fine totaling twice the amount of the funds involved in illegal activity. The narcotics importation and distribution conspiracy charges against Covarrubias and each defendant in the primary indictment carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States sentencing guidelines. The defendants against whom charges are pending are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Total Seizures Since 2008
Overall, the Chicago-based investigation of the Sinaloa Cartel has resulted in seizures of approximately $30.8 million, approximately 11 tons of cocaine, 265 kilograms of methamphetamine and 78 kilograms of heroin. Law Enforcement in Chicago has worked closely with federal agents and prosecutors in San Diego to target the senior leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel. This partnership yielded the prosecutions here as well as 14 indictments announced this month in San Diego against 60 alleged Sinaloa leaders, lieutenants and associates, including Zambada, two of his four sons and another of Guzman’s sons.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Jack Smith, Top Corruption Prosecutor at the Justice Department, is Moving to Nashville
The head of the Justice Department’s public corruption unit, which in recent years prosecuted former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and former Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi, is transferring out of Washington.
Jack Smith, who became chief of the Public Integrity Section in 2010, is leaving the post for the U.S. attorney’s office in Nashville, where he will be second-in-command, according to lawyers familiar with the move. His last day in the Justice Department’s headquarters is Jan. 29, an agency spokesman said. A permanent successor hasn’t been named. Mr. Smith wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Mr. Smith, a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and war crimes prosecutor at The Hague, took over a unit reeling from the implosion of its case against former Sen. Ted Stevens and the death of a well-regarded young prosecutor who worked on the case.
“Jack came in at a troubling time,” said Lanny Breuer, the former head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division who hired Mr. Smith. “I was looking for a real leader, someone who could both inspire the folks at Public Integrity and build up morale.”
“On every front, in my view, Jack knocked it out of the park,” said Mr. Breuer, who is now a partner at Covington & Burling LLP.
Mr. Smith focused on building the unit’s trial skills. The Stevens case revealed inexperience. Evidence the prosecution team failed to turn over to Mr. Stevens’s defense team surfaced after he was found guilty of failing to disclose gifts, leading Attorney General Eric Holder to dismiss the charges.
After handling a few trials a year in the early years of the Obama administration, the Public Integrity Section’s court work began to pick up soon after Mr. Smith’s arrival. The section tried 17 cases in 2011, and 12 the next year.
There were setbacks, including a mistrial in the campaign-finance prosecution of John Edwards. But in 2013, Mr. Renzi was sentenced to three years in prison, after he was found guilty of misusing his office in a fraudulent land deal.
Last year, Public Integrity prosecutors were in the courtroom again for the prosecution of Mr. McDonnell, who was found guilty in September of 11 counts — including conspiracy and fraud from 2011 to 2013 — and sentenced this month to two years in prison.
Jack Smith, who became chief of the Public Integrity Section in 2010, is leaving the post for the U.S. attorney’s office in Nashville, where he will be second-in-command, according to lawyers familiar with the move. His last day in the Justice Department’s headquarters is Jan. 29, an agency spokesman said. A permanent successor hasn’t been named. Mr. Smith wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Mr. Smith, a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and war crimes prosecutor at The Hague, took over a unit reeling from the implosion of its case against former Sen. Ted Stevens and the death of a well-regarded young prosecutor who worked on the case.
“Jack came in at a troubling time,” said Lanny Breuer, the former head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division who hired Mr. Smith. “I was looking for a real leader, someone who could both inspire the folks at Public Integrity and build up morale.”
“On every front, in my view, Jack knocked it out of the park,” said Mr. Breuer, who is now a partner at Covington & Burling LLP.
Mr. Smith focused on building the unit’s trial skills. The Stevens case revealed inexperience. Evidence the prosecution team failed to turn over to Mr. Stevens’s defense team surfaced after he was found guilty of failing to disclose gifts, leading Attorney General Eric Holder to dismiss the charges.
After handling a few trials a year in the early years of the Obama administration, the Public Integrity Section’s court work began to pick up soon after Mr. Smith’s arrival. The section tried 17 cases in 2011, and 12 the next year.
There were setbacks, including a mistrial in the campaign-finance prosecution of John Edwards. But in 2013, Mr. Renzi was sentenced to three years in prison, after he was found guilty of misusing his office in a fraudulent land deal.
Last year, Public Integrity prosecutors were in the courtroom again for the prosecution of Mr. McDonnell, who was found guilty in September of 11 counts — including conspiracy and fraud from 2011 to 2013 — and sentenced this month to two years in prison.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Michael Moore Continues to Hate American Heroes
LaRue Tactical, manufacturer of precision rifles, optics mounts, and other rifle accessories, is well-known for their bumper stickers saying, “God Bless Our Troops, Especially Our Snipers.”
That’s because LaRue understands that military snipers place themselves at immense risk to protect the rest of our troops. This has included--during the Global War on Terror--making it dangerous for adversaries to try to hide improvised explosive devices and mines along our troops’ lines of travel when a disciplined, highly-trained man behind a telescopically-equipped rifle is watching.
Many other Americans apparently understand this as well. American Sniper, Clint Eastwood’s new movie about Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (who holds the record for the confirmed number of enemy personnel killed), is setting box office records and has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Unfortunately, some Americans don’t appreciate the sacrifice and service of brave warriors like Chris Kyle. One such person is Michael Moore.
You’ll recall that, in 2002, Moore disparaged America generally and the NRA in particular in his movie, Bowling for Columbine. This week, he demonstrated that NRA members aren't the only armed Americans he despises by marking the release of American Sniper with a tweet suggesting that Kyle and other snipers are “cowards,” adding, “Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse.”
To make sure people knew who he meant by “invaders,” Moore continued, “if you’re on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who've come 7K miles [roughly the distance from the U.S.A. to Afghanistan or Iraq], you are not a sniper, u are brave, u are a neighbor.”
Chief Petty Officer Kyle, who received, among other military awards, two Silver Stars and Five Bronze Stars with “V” for valor, died in 2013. Thus, even if he were inclined to have dignified Moore’s comments with a response, which is doubtful, he is unable to do so. Instead, Kyle is being defended, and Moore is being criticized, by Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer (USMC), former Army sniper Sgt. Nicholas Irving, Kid Rock, Whoopi Goldberg, Laura Ingraham and many others from varying walks of American life. Sgt. Irving, apparently taking Moore’s “neighbor” comment at face value, even suggested that Moore be airlifted to Afghanistan to see those neighbors for himself.
That’s because LaRue understands that military snipers place themselves at immense risk to protect the rest of our troops. This has included--during the Global War on Terror--making it dangerous for adversaries to try to hide improvised explosive devices and mines along our troops’ lines of travel when a disciplined, highly-trained man behind a telescopically-equipped rifle is watching.
Many other Americans apparently understand this as well. American Sniper, Clint Eastwood’s new movie about Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (who holds the record for the confirmed number of enemy personnel killed), is setting box office records and has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Unfortunately, some Americans don’t appreciate the sacrifice and service of brave warriors like Chris Kyle. One such person is Michael Moore.
You’ll recall that, in 2002, Moore disparaged America generally and the NRA in particular in his movie, Bowling for Columbine. This week, he demonstrated that NRA members aren't the only armed Americans he despises by marking the release of American Sniper with a tweet suggesting that Kyle and other snipers are “cowards,” adding, “Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse.”
To make sure people knew who he meant by “invaders,” Moore continued, “if you’re on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who've come 7K miles [roughly the distance from the U.S.A. to Afghanistan or Iraq], you are not a sniper, u are brave, u are a neighbor.”
Chief Petty Officer Kyle, who received, among other military awards, two Silver Stars and Five Bronze Stars with “V” for valor, died in 2013. Thus, even if he were inclined to have dignified Moore’s comments with a response, which is doubtful, he is unable to do so. Instead, Kyle is being defended, and Moore is being criticized, by Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer (USMC), former Army sniper Sgt. Nicholas Irving, Kid Rock, Whoopi Goldberg, Laura Ingraham and many others from varying walks of American life. Sgt. Irving, apparently taking Moore’s “neighbor” comment at face value, even suggested that Moore be airlifted to Afghanistan to see those neighbors for himself.
Richard "Two Gun" Hart - Long lost brother of Al Capone
Few knew that Al Capone
, the most infamous gangster in the world, had a long-lost brother on the opposite side of the law. Born Vincenzo Capone in 1892, he ran away from home as a teenager, joined the circus, then the army, and returned from the Great War a decorated hero. When Prohibition began in 1920, he became a Federal officer and fought crime dressed as a cowboy with two six-shooters on his hips while riding a horse. He was known as Two Gun Hart: Law Man, Cowboy, and Long-Lost Brother of Al Capone, which is the title of the new book by Jeff McArthur and Bandwagon Books.
The book follows Richard’s life all the way from his birth in Italy, to his youth in Brooklyn, his time in a wild-west show and World War I, and then all the way through his storied career as a Prohibition officer, and finally into his reunion with his estranged family, including his infamous criminal brother Al, and finally to his death in the 1950s. Based in the small town of Homer, Nebraska, Hart covered territory from Iowa all the way to Washington State. He worked both with the treasury department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, becoming one of the most successful law men in the country. The entire time, neither his friends nor even his wife and children knew of his connection to the infamous mob boss in Chicago.
Two Gun Hart also covers the lives of the rest of the Capones, providing an in-depth look into this famous, yet little understood family. Never before seen photographs and details are included that explore their lives in Italy, their moves to New York and Chicago, and what happened to them after Prohibition ended.
Jeff McArthur is the author of The Great Heist, Pro Bono, and the Relic Worlds science fiction series. He lives in southern California where he writes books, designs games, and produces videos for Youtube.
, the most infamous gangster in the world, had a long-lost brother on the opposite side of the law. Born Vincenzo Capone in 1892, he ran away from home as a teenager, joined the circus, then the army, and returned from the Great War a decorated hero. When Prohibition began in 1920, he became a Federal officer and fought crime dressed as a cowboy with two six-shooters on his hips while riding a horse. He was known as Two Gun Hart: Law Man, Cowboy, and Long-Lost Brother of Al Capone, which is the title of the new book by Jeff McArthur and Bandwagon Books.The book follows Richard’s life all the way from his birth in Italy, to his youth in Brooklyn, his time in a wild-west show and World War I, and then all the way through his storied career as a Prohibition officer, and finally into his reunion with his estranged family, including his infamous criminal brother Al, and finally to his death in the 1950s. Based in the small town of Homer, Nebraska, Hart covered territory from Iowa all the way to Washington State. He worked both with the treasury department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, becoming one of the most successful law men in the country. The entire time, neither his friends nor even his wife and children knew of his connection to the infamous mob boss in Chicago.
Two Gun Hart also covers the lives of the rest of the Capones, providing an in-depth look into this famous, yet little understood family. Never before seen photographs and details are included that explore their lives in Italy, their moves to New York and Chicago, and what happened to them after Prohibition ended.
Jeff McArthur is the author of The Great Heist, Pro Bono, and the Relic Worlds science fiction series. He lives in southern California where he writes books, designs games, and produces videos for Youtube.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Peter Castillo, Top 15 Wanted Fugitive for the Murder of U.S. Army Veteran, Captured in Dominican Republic
U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Top 15 Most Wanted fugitive Peter Castillo, wanted in Massachusetts for the killing of U.S. Army combat veteran Stephen Perez, was captured in the Dominican Republic. USMS Investigative Operations Division-International Investigations Branch (IOD-IIB) and Interpol Washington played a significant role in Castillo’s capture. Without the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice, and without inter-agency communication between Interpol Washington and Interpol Santo Domingo, Dominican authorities would not have taken Castillo into custody. Additionally, USMS/Interpol Washington coordinated the logistics surrounding Castillo’s overseas arrest, with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)-Office of International Affairs (OIA).
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Eliot Ness: The Rise and Fall of an American Hero
Eliot Ness: The Rise and Fall of an American Hero presents the true story of Eliot Ness, the legendary lawman who led the Untouchables, took on Al Capone, and saved a city’s soul
Eliot Ness is famous for leading the Untouchables against the notorious mobster Al Capone
. But it turns out that the legendary Prohibition Bureau squad’s daring raids were only the beginning. Ness’s true legacy reaches far beyond Big
Al and Chicago.
Eliot Ness follows the lawman through his days in Chicago and into his forgotten second act. As the public safety director of Cleveland, he achieved his greatest success: purging the city of corruption so deep that the mob and the police were often one and the same. And it was here, too, that he faced one of his greatest challenges: a brutal, serial killer known as the Torso Murderer, who terrorized the city for years.
Eliot Ness presents the first complete picture of the real Eliot Ness. Both fearless and shockingly shy, he inspired courage and loyalty in men twice his age, forged law-enforcement innovations that are still with us today, and earned acclaim and scandal from both his professional and personal lives. Through it all, he believed unwaveringly in the integrity of law and the basic goodness of his fellow Americans.
Eliot Ness is famous for leading the Untouchables against the notorious mobster Al Capone
. But it turns out that the legendary Prohibition Bureau squad’s daring raids were only the beginning. Ness’s true legacy reaches far beyond BigAl and Chicago.
Eliot Ness follows the lawman through his days in Chicago and into his forgotten second act. As the public safety director of Cleveland, he achieved his greatest success: purging the city of corruption so deep that the mob and the police were often one and the same. And it was here, too, that he faced one of his greatest challenges: a brutal, serial killer known as the Torso Murderer, who terrorized the city for years.
Eliot Ness presents the first complete picture of the real Eliot Ness. Both fearless and shockingly shy, he inspired courage and loyalty in men twice his age, forged law-enforcement innovations that are still with us today, and earned acclaim and scandal from both his professional and personal lives. Through it all, he believed unwaveringly in the integrity of law and the basic goodness of his fellow Americans.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Playboy Bloods Street Gang Leader Sentenced to Prison
A leader of the Las Vegas Playboy Bloods street gang was sentenced to 23 years in prison for engaging in a racketeering conspiracy and possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute it, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.
Markette Tillman, 31, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty on July 29, 2014, two days into his jury trial, before U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson of the District of Nevada.
According to Tillman’s plea agreement and evidence presented at trial
, the Bloods is a nationally-known criminal street gang whose members engage in drug trafficking and acts of violence. The Playboy Bloods is a local “set” or affiliate of the national Bloods gang with local control and operation within the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Playboy Bloods operate primarily in the Sherman Gardens Annex, a Las Vegas public housing complex commonly called the “Jets.”
Tillman admitted that on Jan. 20, 2004, he aided and abetted the murder of a security guard at the Jets. The guard approached Tillman and several other Playboy Bloods and told them to leave the property. An argument ensued and the guard rode away on his bicycle to get help. One of the Playboy Bloods fired a gun at the guard, hitting him two times and killing him.
Tillman further admitted that he agreed with other members of the Playboy Bloods to manufacture and distribute narcotics, primarily crack cocaine, and to operate drug houses within the Playboy Bloods’ turf. Tillman specifically admitted to distributing in excess of 280 grams of crack cocaine over the course of the racketeering conspiracy.
Tillman was the last of 10 gang members charged in the indictment filed in 2008 to be sentenced. The nine other convicted gang members received the following sentences:
Markette Tillman, 31, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty on July 29, 2014, two days into his jury trial, before U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson of the District of Nevada.
According to Tillman’s plea agreement and evidence presented at trial
, the Bloods is a nationally-known criminal street gang whose members engage in drug trafficking and acts of violence. The Playboy Bloods is a local “set” or affiliate of the national Bloods gang with local control and operation within the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Playboy Bloods operate primarily in the Sherman Gardens Annex, a Las Vegas public housing complex commonly called the “Jets.”Tillman admitted that on Jan. 20, 2004, he aided and abetted the murder of a security guard at the Jets. The guard approached Tillman and several other Playboy Bloods and told them to leave the property. An argument ensued and the guard rode away on his bicycle to get help. One of the Playboy Bloods fired a gun at the guard, hitting him two times and killing him.
Tillman further admitted that he agreed with other members of the Playboy Bloods to manufacture and distribute narcotics, primarily crack cocaine, and to operate drug houses within the Playboy Bloods’ turf. Tillman specifically admitted to distributing in excess of 280 grams of crack cocaine over the course of the racketeering conspiracy.
Tillman was the last of 10 gang members charged in the indictment filed in 2008 to be sentenced. The nine other convicted gang members received the following sentences:
- Jacorey Taylor, aka “Mo-B,” 31, was sentenced to life in prison on Oct. 21, 2013, after being convicted by a jury of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, committing violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity, using a firearm during a crime of violence, engaging in a drug-trafficking conspiracy and possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute it.
- Steven Booth, aka “Stevie-P,” 27, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on April 10, 2013, after pleading guilty to engaging in a racketeering conspiracy involving two murders.
- Reginald Dunlap, aka “Bowlie,” 30, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on April 9, 2013, after pleading guilty to engaging in a racketeering conspiracy involving one murder.
- Demichael Burks, aka “Mikey P,” 29, was sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison on Dec. 3, 2010, after pleading guilty to engaging in a racketeering conspiracy.
- Anthony Mabry, aka “Akim Slim,” 43, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Oct. 20, 2010, after pleading guilty to engaging in a racketeering conspiracy.
- Delvin Ward, aka “D-Luv,” 37, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Sept. 17, 2010, after pleading guilty to engaging in a racketeering conspiracy.
- Terrence Thomas, aka “Seven,” 40, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on June 16, 2010, after pleading guilty to engaging in a drug-trafficking conspiracy.
- Sebastian Wigg, aka “Rock,” 36, was sentenced to five years in prison on March 29, 2010, after pleading guilty to engaging in a drug-trafficking conspiracy.
- Fred Nix, aka “June P,” 36, was sentenced to five years in prison on March 29, 2010, after pleading guilty to engaging in a drug-trafficking conspiracy.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
New Technology Set to Revolutionize U.S. Shooting Industry at @nssfshotshow
Core technology only previously available to Military, Law Enforcement and Professional Training Organizations is now being made available to consumers in the U.S.
. UTM RBT will announce the introduction of the Civilian Target Ammunition Shooting Kit at SHOT Show in Las Vegas next week and says it will change the face of the shooting industry.
UTM Reality Based Training (UTM RBT) will be unveiling the Civilian Target Ammunition (CTA) Target Shooting Kit and Ammunition for AR-15 Style weapons at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show and Conference at the Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas, NV January 19-23, 2015. UTM RBT will be holding demonstrations of this new product, available to all consumers for the first time ever, which uses core technology previously only available to Military, Law Enforcement and Professional Training Organizations, on Industry Day (19 January, 2015) and will be on display at booth #6503 for the remainder of the expo (20-23 January).
“For nearly a decade, the U.S. Military, Special Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies have been using our products for training, in their operational weapons and we wanted to make this core technology available to all consumers to address many of the issues facing the Firearms and Shooting industries today, such as safety, accurate and reliable alternatives to live fire, ammunition shortages and environmental concerns. Our .223 Civilian Target Ammunition has an outstanding accuracy of a 1.18” group at 32 yards, an unprecedented consistent velocity of 375fps at the muzzle and the cartridge technology has a 99% reliability rating certified by the U.S. Army’s Picatinny Arsenal. There is also no gunpowder in the rounds, as its a patented primer actuated system, which means it’s a lead free, non-toxic, environmentally friendly round that leaves your weapon clean, with virtually no fouling. You can convert your weapon in under 60 seconds with a simple Bolt Carrier Group Exchange and it gives you normal weapon function, recoil and realistic and consistent cyclic rates. So we feel this product is the solution to those issues,” says Tony Lambraia, UTM RBT, USA Chief of Operations.
“Safety lies at the core of all our products and the CTA Target Shooting Kit offers that in spades. Once converted, the weapon will not fire a standard .223/5.56mm round - mitigating accident, injury and potentially catastrophic incidents - making this a perfect tool to train those new to firearms in weapon safety and basics. This kit allows both recreation and professional shooters the ability to improve their accuracy skills, trigger and breath control, sight alignment, clearing malfunctions, magazine reloads and so much more in complete safety. The biggest benefits of the CTA Target Shooting Kit is that you don’t need to go to the range - you can use this virtually anywhere without all the restrictions of live fire and because it’s only 113 db, you don’t need hearing protection - more importantly, you get all the accuracy and realism of live fire without having to use a single round of your live ammunition. It is the safest, most accurate and reliable target ammunition available today. It’s completely revolutionary,” stated Steven Didier, UTM RBT, International Chief of Operations.
. UTM RBT will announce the introduction of the Civilian Target Ammunition Shooting Kit at SHOT Show in Las Vegas next week and says it will change the face of the shooting industry.
UTM Reality Based Training (UTM RBT) will be unveiling the Civilian Target Ammunition (CTA) Target Shooting Kit and Ammunition for AR-15 Style weapons at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show and Conference at the Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas, NV January 19-23, 2015. UTM RBT will be holding demonstrations of this new product, available to all consumers for the first time ever, which uses core technology previously only available to Military, Law Enforcement and Professional Training Organizations, on Industry Day (19 January, 2015) and will be on display at booth #6503 for the remainder of the expo (20-23 January).
“For nearly a decade, the U.S. Military, Special Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies have been using our products for training, in their operational weapons and we wanted to make this core technology available to all consumers to address many of the issues facing the Firearms and Shooting industries today, such as safety, accurate and reliable alternatives to live fire, ammunition shortages and environmental concerns. Our .223 Civilian Target Ammunition has an outstanding accuracy of a 1.18” group at 32 yards, an unprecedented consistent velocity of 375fps at the muzzle and the cartridge technology has a 99% reliability rating certified by the U.S. Army’s Picatinny Arsenal. There is also no gunpowder in the rounds, as its a patented primer actuated system, which means it’s a lead free, non-toxic, environmentally friendly round that leaves your weapon clean, with virtually no fouling. You can convert your weapon in under 60 seconds with a simple Bolt Carrier Group Exchange and it gives you normal weapon function, recoil and realistic and consistent cyclic rates. So we feel this product is the solution to those issues,” says Tony Lambraia, UTM RBT, USA Chief of Operations.
“Safety lies at the core of all our products and the CTA Target Shooting Kit offers that in spades. Once converted, the weapon will not fire a standard .223/5.56mm round - mitigating accident, injury and potentially catastrophic incidents - making this a perfect tool to train those new to firearms in weapon safety and basics. This kit allows both recreation and professional shooters the ability to improve their accuracy skills, trigger and breath control, sight alignment, clearing malfunctions, magazine reloads and so much more in complete safety. The biggest benefits of the CTA Target Shooting Kit is that you don’t need to go to the range - you can use this virtually anywhere without all the restrictions of live fire and because it’s only 113 db, you don’t need hearing protection - more importantly, you get all the accuracy and realism of live fire without having to use a single round of your live ammunition. It is the safest, most accurate and reliable target ammunition available today. It’s completely revolutionary,” stated Steven Didier, UTM RBT, International Chief of Operations.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
New U.S. Policy with Cuba Could Hurt Russian Crime Syndicates in Caribbean
Following President Barack Obama's recent decision to overhaul U.S. policy toward Cuba, American national security experts see an opportunity to enhance intelligence-gathering, step up the fight against corruption and crime, and improve America's geopolitical standing.
Starting in the mid-20th century, Cold War tensions pitted the United States against its island neighbor just 90 miles south. Now, as the relationship thaws, intelligence experts are eager to explore a corner of the world that has been relatively closed off for over fifty years.
“It may seem old-school in an era of cyber warfare and drones, but the most important intel assets are still human,” said Ken Sofer, the associate director for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress. “And it'll be easier to collect information when Americans in Cuba are the norm, not the exception.”
Although the U.S. and Cuba have not had diplomatic relations for five decades, the two countries' relationship has not been totally devoid of cooperation. As The Washington Post pointed out on Tuesday, the countries have worked together for years to combat the drug trade in the Caribbean. But now, with the Obama administration's reforms to Cuba policy, experts say those efforts in the drug war could become a foundation for a more collaborative partnership.
Take, for instance, the Russian Organized Crime syndicate, which operates throughout the Caribbean and is comparable to other major organized crime syndicates such as the mafia in the U.S. and in Sicily, the Triads in China and the Yakuza in Japan. According to Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to Colin Powell during his time as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state, the ROC is involved in everything from the drug trade to human trafficking, contraband, smuggling and money laundering. Cuba, he noted, has worked surprisingly closely with the U.S. in combating the ROC.
"Our best partner in fighting that crime over the past 15 years has been Cuba,” Wilkerson, a retired U.S. Army colonel, told The Huffington Post. But now that U.S.-Cuba relations are improving, he said, the expectation is that the sides will work collaboratively and share intelligence more freely.
Wilkerson noted that Cuba has been more likely to pass information to the United States than the other way around. He now expects that to change.
“[The relationship] was already pretty good," he said. "It was fairly one-sided, though. It was all us and none of them. I think now we will be helping them as much as they help us. That’s the way I read it, anyway ... Any crime that’s fought and taken care of is good, in my view. So, if the Cubans do it on their watch it’s a help to us because invariably that crime would make its way to us, since we’re the bigger, richer target.”
In addition to countering the ROC's influence, better U.S-Cuban relations could help with America's efforts to push back against North Korea's counterfeiting operations and arms smuggling efforts in the Caribbean, which date back years.
Obama's new policy has the potential to help U.S. intelligence cooperation not just with Cuba, but also with the surrounding region. The Cuba embargo has been an impediment to closer operational ties between the U.S. and many countries in Latin America that dislike America's Cuba policy. Improvements to those relationships could yield fruitful intelligence and national security gains as well, said Sofer.
“The policy change on Cuba will hopefully open up new possibilities for U.S. relations throughout the region,” he said. But perhaps the biggest geopolitical boon when it comes to better relations with Cuba will come years down the road. By enhancing its standing in the Caribbean, analysts say, the United States could end up in a much better position to fend off the influence of other world powers -- namely, China.
China, the United States' chief economic rival, has been looking to expand its influence in the Western Hemisphere and has recently spotted an opening to accomplish just that -- an opportunity to join in on the financing of the Mariel port in Cuba, about 25 miles west of Havana. Wilkerson says he isn't necessarily convinced that this will be a major problem, so long as China's involvement remains limited to economic investment. The longer-term concern is that investing in the port could become a vehicle for China's military influence.
“Personally, I would have no problem with the Chinese putting money into it as long as it was development, period,” Wilkerson said. “[As long as China] wasn’t trying to get a place where they could sail their ships and put their soldiers.”
The concept of a communist country using Cuba as an entry point for influence over the West may seem like a relic of the Cold War era. But Wilkerson warned that China might decide it has the right to start sailing its vessels in the Gulf of Mexico in response to the U.S. sailing intelligence vessels in the South China Sea.
Improved relations with Cuba could negate some of this, pulling the island nation closer towards the Western Hemisphere.
As far as Cuba is concerned, with better ties to the United States come better ties with European nations as well. Thus far, companies in France, Germany and England have been hesitant to do business in Cuba out of deference to U.S. trade policy. That, too, may start to change now, aided by Cuba's own need for benefactors -- particularly as two of the island's main allies, Russia and Venezuela, are struggling economically.
But with tangible gains in these areas come risks in others. Conservatives in the United States, for example, have begun worrying that a better U.S.-Cuba relationship will result in the U.S. giving away the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, which has been leased by the U.S. since 1903 and serves as a controversial prison site for many high-value detainees.
A senior Obama administration official told HuffPost, however, that the president's new policy would have no impact on the base.
Thanks to Donte Stallworth.
Starting in the mid-20th century, Cold War tensions pitted the United States against its island neighbor just 90 miles south. Now, as the relationship thaws, intelligence experts are eager to explore a corner of the world that has been relatively closed off for over fifty years.
“It may seem old-school in an era of cyber warfare and drones, but the most important intel assets are still human,” said Ken Sofer, the associate director for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress. “And it'll be easier to collect information when Americans in Cuba are the norm, not the exception.”
Although the U.S. and Cuba have not had diplomatic relations for five decades, the two countries' relationship has not been totally devoid of cooperation. As The Washington Post pointed out on Tuesday, the countries have worked together for years to combat the drug trade in the Caribbean. But now, with the Obama administration's reforms to Cuba policy, experts say those efforts in the drug war could become a foundation for a more collaborative partnership.
Take, for instance, the Russian Organized Crime syndicate, which operates throughout the Caribbean and is comparable to other major organized crime syndicates such as the mafia in the U.S. and in Sicily, the Triads in China and the Yakuza in Japan. According to Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to Colin Powell during his time as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state, the ROC is involved in everything from the drug trade to human trafficking, contraband, smuggling and money laundering. Cuba, he noted, has worked surprisingly closely with the U.S. in combating the ROC.
"Our best partner in fighting that crime over the past 15 years has been Cuba,” Wilkerson, a retired U.S. Army colonel, told The Huffington Post. But now that U.S.-Cuba relations are improving, he said, the expectation is that the sides will work collaboratively and share intelligence more freely.
Wilkerson noted that Cuba has been more likely to pass information to the United States than the other way around. He now expects that to change.
“[The relationship] was already pretty good," he said. "It was fairly one-sided, though. It was all us and none of them. I think now we will be helping them as much as they help us. That’s the way I read it, anyway ... Any crime that’s fought and taken care of is good, in my view. So, if the Cubans do it on their watch it’s a help to us because invariably that crime would make its way to us, since we’re the bigger, richer target.”
In addition to countering the ROC's influence, better U.S-Cuban relations could help with America's efforts to push back against North Korea's counterfeiting operations and arms smuggling efforts in the Caribbean, which date back years.
Obama's new policy has the potential to help U.S. intelligence cooperation not just with Cuba, but also with the surrounding region. The Cuba embargo has been an impediment to closer operational ties between the U.S. and many countries in Latin America that dislike America's Cuba policy. Improvements to those relationships could yield fruitful intelligence and national security gains as well, said Sofer.
“The policy change on Cuba will hopefully open up new possibilities for U.S. relations throughout the region,” he said. But perhaps the biggest geopolitical boon when it comes to better relations with Cuba will come years down the road. By enhancing its standing in the Caribbean, analysts say, the United States could end up in a much better position to fend off the influence of other world powers -- namely, China.
China, the United States' chief economic rival, has been looking to expand its influence in the Western Hemisphere and has recently spotted an opening to accomplish just that -- an opportunity to join in on the financing of the Mariel port in Cuba, about 25 miles west of Havana. Wilkerson says he isn't necessarily convinced that this will be a major problem, so long as China's involvement remains limited to economic investment. The longer-term concern is that investing in the port could become a vehicle for China's military influence.
“Personally, I would have no problem with the Chinese putting money into it as long as it was development, period,” Wilkerson said. “[As long as China] wasn’t trying to get a place where they could sail their ships and put their soldiers.”
The concept of a communist country using Cuba as an entry point for influence over the West may seem like a relic of the Cold War era. But Wilkerson warned that China might decide it has the right to start sailing its vessels in the Gulf of Mexico in response to the U.S. sailing intelligence vessels in the South China Sea.
Improved relations with Cuba could negate some of this, pulling the island nation closer towards the Western Hemisphere.
As far as Cuba is concerned, with better ties to the United States come better ties with European nations as well. Thus far, companies in France, Germany and England have been hesitant to do business in Cuba out of deference to U.S. trade policy. That, too, may start to change now, aided by Cuba's own need for benefactors -- particularly as two of the island's main allies, Russia and Venezuela, are struggling economically.
But with tangible gains in these areas come risks in others. Conservatives in the United States, for example, have begun worrying that a better U.S.-Cuba relationship will result in the U.S. giving away the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, which has been leased by the U.S. since 1903 and serves as a controversial prison site for many high-value detainees.
A senior Obama administration official told HuffPost, however, that the president's new policy would have no impact on the base.
Thanks to Donte Stallworth.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
"C-1 and the Chicago Mob" Provides an Insider’s Look at the War on Organized Crime
In 1957, J. Edgar Hoover instituted the Top Hoodlum Program in response to the raid on the New York State Police in Apalachin, NY in 1957. This was a time for unchartered territory in the FBI in the war against organized crime.
Retired FBI Special Agent Vincent L. Inserra was at the forefront of this war, heading Chicago’s organized crime unit known as the C-1 Squad from 1957-1976. As tribute to these agents, “C-1 and the Chicago Mob” shares the resourcefulness, ingenuity and determination these agents displayed during a time when the FBI did not have the necessary tools or legislation to combat organized crime.
“These agents were pioneers
,” Inserra said. “They were required to wage war against one of the most powerfully entrenched organized crime organizations in the country since the days of Al Capone.”
“C-1 and the Chicago Mob” shares the unique challenges confronting these dedicated agents and the incomparable results achieved which resulted in severely disrupting and curtailing the activities of the Chicago mob. It was at a time when the FBI did not have all the tools or legislation necessary to combat organized crime but they accomplished their goals aggressively with whatever means were available.
In addition to Inserra’s insights on the Chicago Mob during this period in history, readers are exposed to one of America’s great-unsolved mysteries from 1966 and to Warren Commission’s findings that determined the killing of President Kennedy was not a conspiracy.
“Many of the C-1 agents have passed away, but their unbelievable accomplishments against the corruptive and destructive forces of the Chicago crime syndicate should never be forgotten, Inserra said. “This book is a tribute to them.” “C-1 and the Chicago Mob” by Vincent L. Inserra
Vincent L. Inserra, a first generation Italian, was born and raised in the Boston area. He served as a Navy Fighter pilot during World War II and achieved the rank of Lieutenant. He graduated from Boston College with a degree in Business Administration. In 1951, he joined the FBI as a Special Agent and served for 25 years. In 1957, he was assigned to Organized Crime matters for 19 years combatting the Chicago Crime Syndicate. He was in charge of the C-1 Organized Crime Squad for a period of 13 years where they compiled an impressive record of convictions against the Chicago mob. He received more than 100 personal letters of commendation from the Director of the FBI for outstanding investigative achievements. Following retirement from the FBI, he became Corporate Security Director for Kemper Insurance in Long Grove, Illinois for 27 years. He has had two profoundly successful careers.
Retired FBI Special Agent Vincent L. Inserra was at the forefront of this war, heading Chicago’s organized crime unit known as the C-1 Squad from 1957-1976. As tribute to these agents, “C-1 and the Chicago Mob” shares the resourcefulness, ingenuity and determination these agents displayed during a time when the FBI did not have the necessary tools or legislation to combat organized crime.
“These agents were pioneers
,” Inserra said. “They were required to wage war against one of the most powerfully entrenched organized crime organizations in the country since the days of Al Capone.”
“C-1 and the Chicago Mob” shares the unique challenges confronting these dedicated agents and the incomparable results achieved which resulted in severely disrupting and curtailing the activities of the Chicago mob. It was at a time when the FBI did not have all the tools or legislation necessary to combat organized crime but they accomplished their goals aggressively with whatever means were available.
In addition to Inserra’s insights on the Chicago Mob during this period in history, readers are exposed to one of America’s great-unsolved mysteries from 1966 and to Warren Commission’s findings that determined the killing of President Kennedy was not a conspiracy.
“Many of the C-1 agents have passed away, but their unbelievable accomplishments against the corruptive and destructive forces of the Chicago crime syndicate should never be forgotten, Inserra said. “This book is a tribute to them.” “C-1 and the Chicago Mob” by Vincent L. Inserra
Vincent L. Inserra, a first generation Italian, was born and raised in the Boston area. He served as a Navy Fighter pilot during World War II and achieved the rank of Lieutenant. He graduated from Boston College with a degree in Business Administration. In 1951, he joined the FBI as a Special Agent and served for 25 years. In 1957, he was assigned to Organized Crime matters for 19 years combatting the Chicago Crime Syndicate. He was in charge of the C-1 Organized Crime Squad for a period of 13 years where they compiled an impressive record of convictions against the Chicago mob. He received more than 100 personal letters of commendation from the Director of the FBI for outstanding investigative achievements. Following retirement from the FBI, he became Corporate Security Director for Kemper Insurance in Long Grove, Illinois for 27 years. He has had two profoundly successful careers.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Mafia Insane Vice Lords Gang Leader Sentenced to 346 Months in Prison
A leader of a street gang that operated on the east side of Detroit was sentenced to 346 months in prison for aiding and abetting an armed robbery of a Little Caesars pizza restaurant, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan and Special Agent in Charge Steven Bogdalek of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Detroit.
Christopher LaJuan Tibbs, 38, of Detroit, was convicted on Aug. 29, 2014, of aiding and abetting an armed robbery after a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman of the Eastern District of Michigan.
The evidence at trial established that Tibbs, also known as “Chief Fatah,” was the leader of the Michigan branch of the Mafia Insane Vice Lords, a violent street gang that operated primarily on the east side of Detroit. The Mafia Insane Vice Lords was a local faction of the national Vice Lord gang that originated in Chicago. The evidence at trial further showed that, during his leadership of the Mafia Insane Vice Lords, Tibbs recruited and used young adults and children to commit crimes for the gang, and ordered the murder of a witness in connection with this case.
The evidence at trial showed that Tibbs helped plan an armed robbery of a Little Caesars restaurant in Redford, Michigan, in September 2013. Tibbs “blessed” it as a mission for the gang, and sent four subordinate members to commit the crime. As part of the planning for the robbery, Tibbs instructed the robbers to disable the cameras and phones in the Little Caesars. Tibbs also told the robbers what to wear, had them diagram the Little Caesars, and instructed them how to use the gun during the robbery. During the robbery, one of the robbers brandished a gun and forced the employees, including a pregnant woman, inside the store, where the robbers tore down the surveillance cameras. At the robbers’ direction, the employees disabled the alarm and opened the safe. Although he was not present for the robbery itself, Tibbs took a majority of the proceeds, some of which were spent on the gang.
Christopher LaJuan Tibbs, 38, of Detroit, was convicted on Aug. 29, 2014, of aiding and abetting an armed robbery after a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman of the Eastern District of Michigan.
The evidence at trial established that Tibbs, also known as “Chief Fatah,” was the leader of the Michigan branch of the Mafia Insane Vice Lords, a violent street gang that operated primarily on the east side of Detroit. The Mafia Insane Vice Lords was a local faction of the national Vice Lord gang that originated in Chicago. The evidence at trial further showed that, during his leadership of the Mafia Insane Vice Lords, Tibbs recruited and used young adults and children to commit crimes for the gang, and ordered the murder of a witness in connection with this case.
The evidence at trial showed that Tibbs helped plan an armed robbery of a Little Caesars restaurant in Redford, Michigan, in September 2013. Tibbs “blessed” it as a mission for the gang, and sent four subordinate members to commit the crime. As part of the planning for the robbery, Tibbs instructed the robbers to disable the cameras and phones in the Little Caesars. Tibbs also told the robbers what to wear, had them diagram the Little Caesars, and instructed them how to use the gun during the robbery. During the robbery, one of the robbers brandished a gun and forced the employees, including a pregnant woman, inside the store, where the robbers tore down the surveillance cameras. At the robbers’ direction, the employees disabled the alarm and opened the safe. Although he was not present for the robbery itself, Tibbs took a majority of the proceeds, some of which were spent on the gang.
Pawn Shop Loan Shark Sentenced for Extortion
A former Palm Beach County resident was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison for charging an undocumented worker an annual interest rate of 180% on a $10,000.00 loan.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.
The evidence at trial revealed that in September 2009, Francisco Aletto, Sr., 60, worked at a pawn shop in Boca Raton, Florida. An undocumented worker entered the pawn shop to pawn a gold chain for his gas station business located nearby. Instead of accepting the chain as collateral, Aletto loaned the worker $10,000 and charged him $375 interest per week (180% annually). After the worker made several weekly payments, Aletto introduced him to several of Aletto’s friends who subsequently loaned the victim an additional $30,000. After 13 months, the victim paid over $57,000 in interest and lost to Aletto a 2004 Dodge Ram truck on a $3,000 pawn. When the victim was unable to continue to pay the mounting debt, Aletto and his friends threatened to kill him. Based on information received from a confidential source, the FBI located the victim and prevented him from being harmed. Four of Aletto’s accomplices have pled guilty and also have been sentenced for their roles in making and collecting extortionate extensions of credit.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.
The evidence at trial revealed that in September 2009, Francisco Aletto, Sr., 60, worked at a pawn shop in Boca Raton, Florida. An undocumented worker entered the pawn shop to pawn a gold chain for his gas station business located nearby. Instead of accepting the chain as collateral, Aletto loaned the worker $10,000 and charged him $375 interest per week (180% annually). After the worker made several weekly payments, Aletto introduced him to several of Aletto’s friends who subsequently loaned the victim an additional $30,000. After 13 months, the victim paid over $57,000 in interest and lost to Aletto a 2004 Dodge Ram truck on a $3,000 pawn. When the victim was unable to continue to pay the mounting debt, Aletto and his friends threatened to kill him. Based on information received from a confidential source, the FBI located the victim and prevented him from being harmed. Four of Aletto’s accomplices have pled guilty and also have been sentenced for their roles in making and collecting extortionate extensions of credit.
Former Judge Pleads Guilty for Accepting Bribe During Campaign to be Elected to the Court of Appeals
A former state circuit judge in Arkansas pleaded guilty for accepting a bribe in exchange for reducing a negligence jury verdict against a Conway, Arkansas, company.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick C. Harris of the Eastern District of Arkansas made the announcement.
Michael A. Maggio, 53, of Conway, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. A sentencing hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller of the Eastern District of Arkansas will be scheduled at a later date.
As part of his plea agreement, Maggio admitted that in 2013, he served as an elected circuit judge for the state of Arkansas, Twentieth Judicial District, Second Division, presiding over a civil matter in Faulkner County Circuit Court. The plaintiff in that matter, the estate of a decedent, filed a complaint alleging, among other things, that a company, its owner, and others had neglected and mistreated the decedent leading to the decedent’s death while the decedent was in their care. On May 16, 2013, a jury returned a verdict in the plaintiff’s favor, awarding damages against the sole-remaining defendant, the company, in the amount of $5.2 million. Approximately one month later, the company filed a motion for new trial or to reduce the amount of damages awarded by the jury to the plaintiff.
Maggio further admitted that he formally announced his candidacy for the Arkansas Court of Appeals on June 27, 2013, while the post-trial motions were pending. On July 10, 2013, Maggio entered an order reducing the verdict against the company to $1 million. Prior to that order, a fundraiser for Maggio’s campaign told Maggio that the company’s owner had committed money to support Maggio’s campaign. The fundraiser also communicated with Maggio regarding the pending post-trial motions. On July 9, 2013, the owner donated approximately $24,000 to Maggio’s campaign. As part of his plea, Maggio admitted that his decision to remit the judgment was improperly influenced by the donations that his campaign received from the company’s owner. Maggio further acknowledged that he attempted to delete text messages between the fundraiser and himself after the media became aware of the illicit contributions to his campaign.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick C. Harris of the Eastern District of Arkansas made the announcement.
Michael A. Maggio, 53, of Conway, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. A sentencing hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller of the Eastern District of Arkansas will be scheduled at a later date.
As part of his plea agreement, Maggio admitted that in 2013, he served as an elected circuit judge for the state of Arkansas, Twentieth Judicial District, Second Division, presiding over a civil matter in Faulkner County Circuit Court. The plaintiff in that matter, the estate of a decedent, filed a complaint alleging, among other things, that a company, its owner, and others had neglected and mistreated the decedent leading to the decedent’s death while the decedent was in their care. On May 16, 2013, a jury returned a verdict in the plaintiff’s favor, awarding damages against the sole-remaining defendant, the company, in the amount of $5.2 million. Approximately one month later, the company filed a motion for new trial or to reduce the amount of damages awarded by the jury to the plaintiff.
Maggio further admitted that he formally announced his candidacy for the Arkansas Court of Appeals on June 27, 2013, while the post-trial motions were pending. On July 10, 2013, Maggio entered an order reducing the verdict against the company to $1 million. Prior to that order, a fundraiser for Maggio’s campaign told Maggio that the company’s owner had committed money to support Maggio’s campaign. The fundraiser also communicated with Maggio regarding the pending post-trial motions. On July 9, 2013, the owner donated approximately $24,000 to Maggio’s campaign. As part of his plea, Maggio admitted that his decision to remit the judgment was improperly influenced by the donations that his campaign received from the company’s owner. Maggio further acknowledged that he attempted to delete text messages between the fundraiser and himself after the media became aware of the illicit contributions to his campaign.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia
From New York Times bestselling author and “one of the most respected crime reporters in the country”
, comes the inside story of the John Gotti and Gambino families, told through the unique vantage point of notorious mob hit-man John Alite, a close associate of Junior Gotti, who later testified against him.
Anastasia’s new book, Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia, is a very rare glimpse into the Gotti family, from an insider’s perspective through the figure of John Alite, who was Gotti Jr.’s friend and protector. Until now, no one has given up the kind of personal details about the Gottis — including the legendary “Gotti Rules” of leadership — that Anastasia has uncovered here, through his exclusive access to and interviews with mob-enforcer-turned-government-witness Alite
, comes the inside story of the John Gotti and Gambino families, told through the unique vantage point of notorious mob hit-man John Alite, a close associate of Junior Gotti, who later testified against him.Anastasia’s new book, Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia, is a very rare glimpse into the Gotti family, from an insider’s perspective through the figure of John Alite, who was Gotti Jr.’s friend and protector. Until now, no one has given up the kind of personal details about the Gottis — including the legendary “Gotti Rules” of leadership — that Anastasia has uncovered here, through his exclusive access to and interviews with mob-enforcer-turned-government-witness Alite
Friday, January 09, 2015
Joseph Caffarello Dies from Shot by Off-duty Police Officer
A clouted Rosemont man who came to local attention when he was photographed sleeping on the job as a tollway supervisor was shot and killed Wednesday in a domestic incident, officials said.
Joseph Caffarello, 31, was shot at noon on Scott Street just south of Granville Avenue, authorities said — the second homicide in less than a week in the normally quiet northwest suburb of just 4,000 residents, the Sun-Times is reporting.
An off-duty Rosemont police officer allegedly shot and killed Caffarello, so Rosemont turned the investigation over to the Illinois State Police, according to a news release from Rosemont police. The police officer, who has been on the job for four years, has been put on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
State police spokeswoman Monique Bond confirmed ISP was investigating but declined to provide details. Rosemont village spokesman Gary Mack said the shooting was a “domestic incident” that occurred in the street.
Caffarello was two years ago photographed on the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times, sleeping on the job while he worked as an Illinois Tollway garage supervisor.
He'd twice previously been fired, only to win his job back, before underlings in 2013 finally secured his dismissal by photographing him asleep in his office. And he wasn't shy about bragging that he had clout that protected him, authorities said at the time. He was also accused of intimidating tollway employees and threatening to bring down the tollway's inspector general.
Caffarello “did threaten to get anyone who was opposing him, including me,” Tollway Inspector General James Wagner said in 2013. “There were reports from the employees that he referred to his clout being able to take care of him.”
Caffarello's attorney disputed the allegations, but Cafarello did have ties to people with mob or political connections, public records show.
Though Caffarello wasn't accused himself of being in the Mob, he once wrote that his uncle — the late mob street tax collector Anthony “Jeep” Daddino — had been like a father to him. Daddino has been described by the Chicago Crime Commission as an Outfit member who was friends with the first mayor of Rosemont, Donald Stephens, and was a village employee. Daddino also worked for the late, feared mob killer Frank “The German” Schweihs, court records show.
When Stephens died in 2007, Daddino was at the funeral and told the Sun-Times he “lost a very good friend.”
The following year, after Daddino died from cancer, Caffarello asked the tollway for bereavement leave — something normally reserved for the deaths of immediate relatives. “I consider my uncle immediate family due to the fact that he raised me from a baby,” Caffarello wrote in a letter to tollway officials. “I do not have a relationship with my father, and my uncle was the closes [sic] thing to a father.”
When he wasn't working at the tollway, Caffarello found work at D & P Construction, which has been tied to the family of reputed Chicago Outfit boss John DiFronzo.
Caffarello also was married to the daughter of the clerk of the village of Rosemont. In 2013, Caffarello became a father.
He said he was “screwed” by the tollway after he was fired the third time. Beyond that, he didn't want to discuss his dismissal with the Sun-Times in 2013, telling a reporter he was about to enjoy a dinner of orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe cooked by his mom, whom he described as “the best.”
Relatives could not be reached Wednesday.
Mack could not provide further details of the shooting.
Cafarello's murder is the second this year in the Northwest suburb, which until Friday had not seen a murder in more than a decade.
On Friday, a 14-year-old Des Plaines student was killed in what police said was a gang-related murder.
Mack said the cases are not related.
Thanks to Fox Chicago.
Joseph Caffarello, 31, was shot at noon on Scott Street just south of Granville Avenue, authorities said — the second homicide in less than a week in the normally quiet northwest suburb of just 4,000 residents, the Sun-Times is reporting.
An off-duty Rosemont police officer allegedly shot and killed Caffarello, so Rosemont turned the investigation over to the Illinois State Police, according to a news release from Rosemont police. The police officer, who has been on the job for four years, has been put on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
State police spokeswoman Monique Bond confirmed ISP was investigating but declined to provide details. Rosemont village spokesman Gary Mack said the shooting was a “domestic incident” that occurred in the street.
Caffarello was two years ago photographed on the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times, sleeping on the job while he worked as an Illinois Tollway garage supervisor.
He'd twice previously been fired, only to win his job back, before underlings in 2013 finally secured his dismissal by photographing him asleep in his office. And he wasn't shy about bragging that he had clout that protected him, authorities said at the time. He was also accused of intimidating tollway employees and threatening to bring down the tollway's inspector general.
Caffarello “did threaten to get anyone who was opposing him, including me,” Tollway Inspector General James Wagner said in 2013. “There were reports from the employees that he referred to his clout being able to take care of him.”
Caffarello's attorney disputed the allegations, but Cafarello did have ties to people with mob or political connections, public records show.
Though Caffarello wasn't accused himself of being in the Mob, he once wrote that his uncle — the late mob street tax collector Anthony “Jeep” Daddino — had been like a father to him. Daddino has been described by the Chicago Crime Commission as an Outfit member who was friends with the first mayor of Rosemont, Donald Stephens, and was a village employee. Daddino also worked for the late, feared mob killer Frank “The German” Schweihs, court records show.
When Stephens died in 2007, Daddino was at the funeral and told the Sun-Times he “lost a very good friend.”
The following year, after Daddino died from cancer, Caffarello asked the tollway for bereavement leave — something normally reserved for the deaths of immediate relatives. “I consider my uncle immediate family due to the fact that he raised me from a baby,” Caffarello wrote in a letter to tollway officials. “I do not have a relationship with my father, and my uncle was the closes [sic] thing to a father.”
When he wasn't working at the tollway, Caffarello found work at D & P Construction, which has been tied to the family of reputed Chicago Outfit boss John DiFronzo.
Caffarello also was married to the daughter of the clerk of the village of Rosemont. In 2013, Caffarello became a father.
He said he was “screwed” by the tollway after he was fired the third time. Beyond that, he didn't want to discuss his dismissal with the Sun-Times in 2013, telling a reporter he was about to enjoy a dinner of orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe cooked by his mom, whom he described as “the best.”
Relatives could not be reached Wednesday.
Mack could not provide further details of the shooting.
Cafarello's murder is the second this year in the Northwest suburb, which until Friday had not seen a murder in more than a decade.
On Friday, a 14-year-old Des Plaines student was killed in what police said was a gang-related murder.
Mack said the cases are not related.
Thanks to Fox Chicago.
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
Edward Walsh, County Conservative Party Chairman, Charged with Scheme to Defraud Sheriff’s Office
Suffolk County Conservative Party Chairman Edward M. Walsh, Jr. was arrested on charges that he engaged in a scheme to steal wages for regular and overtime hours in connection with his employment with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office (“SCSO”). He was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson at the federal courthouse in Central Islip.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
As alleged in the criminal complaint, from January 2011 to April 2014, Walsh, a SCSO Correction Officer III Investigator, falsely represented to the SCSO that he had worked certain regular and overtime hours when, in fact, he did not. Contrary to his representations, Walsh was, among other things, playing golf, gambling at Foxwoods Casino, or performing work on behalf of the Suffolk County Conservative Party. In reliance on Walsh’s false representations, the SCSO paid Walsh approximately $80,000 in wages for regular and overtime hours he did not work. To conceal his scheme, Walsh allegedly lied to FBI agents, claiming that he worked flex time or was on the telephone regarding his work at the SCSO even while at the golf course.
“Instead of upholding the law, Edward Walsh abused his position and authority and robbed from taxpayers to fund his personal and political activities,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We and our partners in the FBI will continue to root out government fraud wherever we find it.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos stated, “Mr. Walsh shook down county government for hours he never worked. In reality, he was often on the ninth hole practicing his putting, among other things. Mr. Walsh today finds himself in serious trouble with the law for allegedly defrauding Suffolk County.”
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
As alleged in the criminal complaint, from January 2011 to April 2014, Walsh, a SCSO Correction Officer III Investigator, falsely represented to the SCSO that he had worked certain regular and overtime hours when, in fact, he did not. Contrary to his representations, Walsh was, among other things, playing golf, gambling at Foxwoods Casino, or performing work on behalf of the Suffolk County Conservative Party. In reliance on Walsh’s false representations, the SCSO paid Walsh approximately $80,000 in wages for regular and overtime hours he did not work. To conceal his scheme, Walsh allegedly lied to FBI agents, claiming that he worked flex time or was on the telephone regarding his work at the SCSO even while at the golf course.
“Instead of upholding the law, Edward Walsh abused his position and authority and robbed from taxpayers to fund his personal and political activities,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We and our partners in the FBI will continue to root out government fraud wherever we find it.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos stated, “Mr. Walsh shook down county government for hours he never worked. In reality, he was often on the ninth hole practicing his putting, among other things. Mr. Walsh today finds himself in serious trouble with the law for allegedly defrauding Suffolk County.”
Son of Gulf Cartel boss arrested in ammo-smuggling case
The son of one of the biggest Mexican drug lords to ever face justice in the United States has been arrested for allegedly trying to sneak military-grade ammunition south of the border.
Osiel Cardenas Jr., known as "Mini Osiel," appeared before a federal magistrate in Brownsville this week following his arrest by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
He is charged with attempting to smuggle almost 500 rifle bullets and "tactical weapons gear" in his black 2015 Cadillac Escalade. He was allegedly driving the luxury sport utility vehicle toward an international bridge that spans the Rio Grande and connects Brownsville with the Mexican city of Matamoros when he was stopped by the U.S. officers spot-checking traffic leaving the country, according to an affidavit filed in federal court to support his arrest.
Cardenas, who is a U.S. citizen, admitted that he knew about the bullets and that he was trying to smuggle them into Mexico, contends the federal agent who signed the affidavit.
Most ammunition and firearms are illegal for civilians in Mexico, but they are prized by organized-crime groups there who for years have been battling each other and government security forces. Texas, with its high concentration of gun stores, has been described by U.S. federal authorities as a steady ready source of Mexico's illegal weaponry.
His father, Osiel Cardenas, 47, was convicted in Houston in 2009 on an array of drug trafficking and money laundering charges in connection with being the chief leader of the Gulf Cartel. He is locked up in the so-called Supermax prison in Colorado, which is also home to such inmates as "Unabomber" Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski and Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols.
The younger Cardenas now faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, but would likely get far less time than that.
His lawyer, who also represented his father, did not respond to a request for comment. His next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday, when Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III is to decide if Cardenas should be temporarily released on bail pending trial.
His arrest marks perhaps the first time his name has been made public in connection with an international crime, but he is known by U.S. law enforcement officers to be trying to follow in this father's footsteps, said Mike Vigil, retired chief of international operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"He is what is referred to in Mexico as a narco junior," said Vigil, who is the author of "DEAL," a memoir of his 31-year career with the agency. "He has enlisted other narco juniors," as the adult children of drug traffickers are known,"to go along with him, and he loves to emulate his father," Vigil said. "He likes to drive around Matamoros and that area with an entourage like his father used to do."
The younger man's cousin, Rafael Cardenas, 41, was convicted in 2012 in Brownsville for being one of the cartel's new leaders and got 20 years. Osiel Cardenas Jr.'s uncle, Antonio Cardenas, was killed in 2010 a gun battle with the Mexican military.
The ammunition seized Friday in Brownsville is just a drop compared to the 26,157 rounds of ammunition seized last year in South Texas by Customs and Border Protection. "A lot of that is military grade ammunition," Vigil said. "He was certainly not taking that ammunition back to hunt deer or elk, but human beings."
Thanks to Dane Schiller.
Osiel Cardenas Jr., known as "Mini Osiel," appeared before a federal magistrate in Brownsville this week following his arrest by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
He is charged with attempting to smuggle almost 500 rifle bullets and "tactical weapons gear" in his black 2015 Cadillac Escalade. He was allegedly driving the luxury sport utility vehicle toward an international bridge that spans the Rio Grande and connects Brownsville with the Mexican city of Matamoros when he was stopped by the U.S. officers spot-checking traffic leaving the country, according to an affidavit filed in federal court to support his arrest.
Cardenas, who is a U.S. citizen, admitted that he knew about the bullets and that he was trying to smuggle them into Mexico, contends the federal agent who signed the affidavit.
Most ammunition and firearms are illegal for civilians in Mexico, but they are prized by organized-crime groups there who for years have been battling each other and government security forces. Texas, with its high concentration of gun stores, has been described by U.S. federal authorities as a steady ready source of Mexico's illegal weaponry.
His father, Osiel Cardenas, 47, was convicted in Houston in 2009 on an array of drug trafficking and money laundering charges in connection with being the chief leader of the Gulf Cartel. He is locked up in the so-called Supermax prison in Colorado, which is also home to such inmates as "Unabomber" Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski and Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols.
The younger Cardenas now faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, but would likely get far less time than that.
His lawyer, who also represented his father, did not respond to a request for comment. His next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday, when Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III is to decide if Cardenas should be temporarily released on bail pending trial.
His arrest marks perhaps the first time his name has been made public in connection with an international crime, but he is known by U.S. law enforcement officers to be trying to follow in this father's footsteps, said Mike Vigil, retired chief of international operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"He is what is referred to in Mexico as a narco junior," said Vigil, who is the author of "DEAL," a memoir of his 31-year career with the agency. "He has enlisted other narco juniors," as the adult children of drug traffickers are known,"to go along with him, and he loves to emulate his father," Vigil said. "He likes to drive around Matamoros and that area with an entourage like his father used to do."
The younger man's cousin, Rafael Cardenas, 41, was convicted in 2012 in Brownsville for being one of the cartel's new leaders and got 20 years. Osiel Cardenas Jr.'s uncle, Antonio Cardenas, was killed in 2010 a gun battle with the Mexican military.
The ammunition seized Friday in Brownsville is just a drop compared to the 26,157 rounds of ammunition seized last year in South Texas by Customs and Border Protection. "A lot of that is military grade ammunition," Vigil said. "He was certainly not taking that ammunition back to hunt deer or elk, but human beings."
Thanks to Dane Schiller.
Monday, January 05, 2015
Operation Team Player nets more than $25,000 worth of fake goods prior to 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic
The 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic netted a win not only for the Washington Capitals, but also for intellectual property rights (IPR) advocates. Law enforcement seized $25,130 worth of counterfeit National Hockey League (NHL) gear and other merchandise leading up to the New Year’s Day outdoor game that featured the Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The operation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department.
The $25,130 value is based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the 680 items of counterfeit NHL gear and other sportswear seized by law enforcement.
The operation, dubbed Operation Team Player, resulted in seizures of jerseys, hats, t-shirts and posters. Although most of the seized items were fake NHL merchandise, agents also seized other counterfeit items bearing the trademarks of professional sports teams. The seizures were part of a crackdown on IPR violators leading up to the NHL Winter Classic. Operation Team Player is an effort by the HSI-led IPR Center that targets counterfeit sports merchandise from all of the major sports leagues.
“Major sporting events across the country attract counterfeiters who sell unauthorized and poorly made knock-off merchandise for discounted rates,” said Clark E. Settles, special agent in charge of HSI Washington, D.C. “What most people don’t realize is the sale of those counterfeit products costs their fellow Americans jobs and results in a loss of revenue for legitimate American businesses.”
“The NHL very much appreciates HSI's efforts to protect hockey fans from being victimized by counterfeiters and to ensure that legitimate businesses playing by the rules will not be harmed by these illicit activities,” said Tom Prochnow, group vice president, legal and business affairs for the NHL.
As the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, HSI plays a leading role in targeting criminal organizations responsible for producing, smuggling and distributing counterfeit products. HSI focuses not only on keeping counterfeit products off U.S. streets, but also on dismantling the criminal organizations behind this activity.
The HSI-led IPR Center is one of the U.S. government's key weapons in the fight against criminal counterfeiting and piracy. Working in close coordination with the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property, the IPR Center uses the expertise of its 23 member agencies to share information, develop initiatives, coordinate enforcement actions and conduct investigations related to intellectual property theft. Through this strategic interagency partnership, the IPR Center protects the public's health and safety and the U.S. economy.
The $25,130 value is based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the 680 items of counterfeit NHL gear and other sportswear seized by law enforcement.
The operation, dubbed Operation Team Player, resulted in seizures of jerseys, hats, t-shirts and posters. Although most of the seized items were fake NHL merchandise, agents also seized other counterfeit items bearing the trademarks of professional sports teams. The seizures were part of a crackdown on IPR violators leading up to the NHL Winter Classic. Operation Team Player is an effort by the HSI-led IPR Center that targets counterfeit sports merchandise from all of the major sports leagues.
“Major sporting events across the country attract counterfeiters who sell unauthorized and poorly made knock-off merchandise for discounted rates,” said Clark E. Settles, special agent in charge of HSI Washington, D.C. “What most people don’t realize is the sale of those counterfeit products costs their fellow Americans jobs and results in a loss of revenue for legitimate American businesses.”
“The NHL very much appreciates HSI's efforts to protect hockey fans from being victimized by counterfeiters and to ensure that legitimate businesses playing by the rules will not be harmed by these illicit activities,” said Tom Prochnow, group vice president, legal and business affairs for the NHL.
As the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, HSI plays a leading role in targeting criminal organizations responsible for producing, smuggling and distributing counterfeit products. HSI focuses not only on keeping counterfeit products off U.S. streets, but also on dismantling the criminal organizations behind this activity.
The HSI-led IPR Center is one of the U.S. government's key weapons in the fight against criminal counterfeiting and piracy. Working in close coordination with the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property, the IPR Center uses the expertise of its 23 member agencies to share information, develop initiatives, coordinate enforcement actions and conduct investigations related to intellectual property theft. Through this strategic interagency partnership, the IPR Center protects the public's health and safety and the U.S. economy.
Sunday, January 04, 2015
Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of @UCILAW, Presents "The Case Against the Supreme Court" #SCOTUS
Most Americans share the perception that the Supreme Court is objective
, but Erwin Chemerinsky, one of the country’s leading constitutional lawyers, shows that this is nonsense and always has been. The Court is made up of fallible individuals who base decisions on their own biases. Today, the Roberts Court is promoting a conservative agenda under the guise of following a neutral methodology, but notorious decisions, such as Bush vs. Gore and United Citizens, are hardly recent exceptions. This devastating book details, case by case, how the Court has largely failed throughout American history at its most important tasks and at the most important times.
Only someone of Chemerinsky’s stature and breadth of knowledge could take on this controversial topic. Powerfully arguing for term limits for justices and a reassessment of the institution as a whole, The Case Against the Supreme Court
is a timely and important book that will be widely read and cited for decades to come.
, but Erwin Chemerinsky, one of the country’s leading constitutional lawyers, shows that this is nonsense and always has been. The Court is made up of fallible individuals who base decisions on their own biases. Today, the Roberts Court is promoting a conservative agenda under the guise of following a neutral methodology, but notorious decisions, such as Bush vs. Gore and United Citizens, are hardly recent exceptions. This devastating book details, case by case, how the Court has largely failed throughout American history at its most important tasks and at the most important times.Only someone of Chemerinsky’s stature and breadth of knowledge could take on this controversial topic. Powerfully arguing for term limits for justices and a reassessment of the institution as a whole, The Case Against the Supreme Court
is a timely and important book that will be widely read and cited for decades to come.Saturday, January 03, 2015
History of Mob Rumors Around Mario Cuomo
Thanks to Nicholas Pileggi from the November 2, 1987 issue of New York Magazine:
Last month, when Mario Cuomo was in Anaheim, California, to address the National Association of Broadcasters, he was approached in a hotel lobby by a smiling, enthusiastic woman. As the governor listened in shock, the woman urged him to run for president — even though, she explained, she’d heard that a member of his family was “involved” with the mob. “That’s them, not you,” Cuomo recalled the woman saying.
“I asked her where she heard such things," Cuomo said in a recent interview, "and she said it was the scuttlebutt around her husband's office.”
And who was her husband? Douglas Edwards, the veteran CBS radio and TV anchor.
“I know it’s all around the place,” Cuomo said, “but what do you do about it?”
One of the things Cuomo did was complain to the New York Times. Twenty-two days after Anaheim and the day after CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl asked him about rumors of “skeletons in his family closet,” Cuomo called E.J. Dionne Jr. of the Times to say he suspected that an organized campaign was at work spreading malicious stories, particularly about his in-laws. The Times printed an article about the phone call (Cuomo belatedly claimed he'd been speaking off the record), but even that public exposure has done little to quiet the storm.
The governor is right on one count: The rumors about him and his family are everywhere. In fact, so many are in the air that several major news organizations have hired private detectives and former city cops to help investigative reporters sort out the stories.
No one, however, has yet turned up anything of substance against Cuomo, even though journalists have been looking, off and on, for several years. “We scrubbed him pretty good [a year and a half ago] and didn’t come up with anything,” said a reporter for one major out-of-town newspaper.
Of course, no one can be scrubbed completely clean. The best that can be said so far is that the most prevalent rumors about the “mob” skeletons in Cuomo’s family closet turn out to be misleading or false.
For example, Edward McDonald, head of the Organized Crime Strike Force of the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, said he’s received dozens of calls from reporters about a rumor that Cuomo met with a mob capo a decade or so ago after his appointment as secretary of state under Governor Hugh Carey. The rumor, McDonald said, can probably be traced to a report by agents who had been tailing John “Sonny” Franzese, a capo in the Colombo crime family. At a big wedding in the mid-'70s, Franzese was one of a score of people who shook Cuomo’s hand. McDonald added that there’s no evidence that Cuomo even knew who Franzese was. "Aside from that," said McDonald, "I have never heard of Cuomo connected with any wise guys in any way whatever. It shouldn't be worth denying, but still, the calls keep coming in.”
The governor's suspicion that there’s an organized campaign of slander against him doesn't seem to be borne out, however. Many of the rumors are traceable to idle gossip, some of it coming from a Brooklyn bar that’s a hangout for cops and ex-cops. Some of the stories are linked to specific incidents in Cuomo’s past — the mysterious mugging of his father-in-law three years ago in Brooklyn, for example, and the bitter lawsuit that has developed between Cuomo and his former partners over the distribution of legal fees. But reporters in search of Cuomo’s skeletons also come across political gadflies and adversaries of the governor who breezily pass out misinformation. One of these sources is a man who worked in public relations for the Right to Life candidate in the last gubernatorial campaign; another is a veteran, politically conservative legislative aide who has long been a source for the press on organized-crime matters. Neither man seemed aware that the information he offered was largely inaccurate, though neither sounded particularly upset when told of the inaccuracies.
Besides the story of the supposed meeting with Sonny Franzese, the other major rumors about Cuomo making the rounds these days are:
Several of these rumors can be dispelled with one or two phone calls. Others — particularly those involving Raffa — are more complex, though it should be emphasized that nothing substantial has come out to link Raffa with organized crime or, for that matter, with any wrongdoing more serious than a 1973 misdemeanor arrest for offering an improper gratuity. Except for an NBC report two years ago on campaign contributions, none of the rumors (or anything close to them) has yet been printed or broadcast. But the stories continue to be passed around by cops, media people, and others in a kind of shadow network of gossip and loose talk.
Here, for example, is what the legislative aide (who was speaking on a not-for-attribution basis) said when asked whether Cuomo was linked to the mob: “No question Cuomo [is] linked. He represented organized-crime guys when he was with his law firm. He also accepted campaign money from mob guys who ripped the Feds and state out of millions of dollars in a gasoline-tax scam. And his ex-law partners have the story that will show how the firm was used to pay off Carmine Gualtieri, the guy who got arrested for killing the undercover cop in Queens about a year ago. The law-firm payroll was used like a wash.”
None of that stands up to close scrutiny.
Though the rumors about Cuomo have been circulating for some time, the talk picked up dramatically last February, after he announced that he wouldn’t seek the presidency. To some people, his withdrawal was support for the notion that he had something to hide: Why else would an ambitious and popular politician refuse to go after the top prize? Paradoxically, Cuomo said that one reason he hasn’t made an absolute statement ruling out a candidacy is that such an announcement would “invite enemies who like to take shots at Italian-Americans in particular to say, ‘Oh, see, the reason he did that is because he has a skeleton in the closet.’
“Let me deal with [purported] skeletons in the full view of the American people,” the governor said. “Let me show them my father-in-law, let me show them my mother. Let me talk about my family, tell the story of my family, put an end to these rumors and the bums who are spreading them. My family would not only not be an impediment to my running, it would probably be my biggest asset.”
Certainly, Cuomo has made his humble roots a major part of his political appeal. His father, Andrea Cuomo, emigrated from Salerno as a young man and supported his family working long hours at his small grocery store in Queens. His mother, Immaculata, also emigrated from Salerno. Mario was the youngest of three children. Today his brother Frank is in the food-retail business, and his sister Marie is a librarian.
Cuomo got his undergraduate and law degrees from St. John's. After finishing first in his law-school class, Cuomo has said, he sent letters to 60 Wall Street firms asking for job interviews but got no responses. He then clerked for Judge Adrian Burke of the New York State Court of Appeals and went into private practice in Brooklyn. He came to public attention in 1970, when he saved the homes of 69 Italian-Americans in Corona, Queens, from demolition by the city. In fact, he got such good press for his conciliatory talents that in 1972, Mayor John Lindsay asked him to resolve a housing controversy in Forest Hills that pitted middle-income sites against a low-income housing project. In 1975, Governor Hugh Carey appointed him secretary of state. Two years later, he lost to Ed Koch in the Democratic mayoral primary, but in 1978, he was elected lieutenant governor, and in 198, he beat Koch in the gubernatorial primary and went on to be elected governor. He won reelection last year by the biggest margin ever for a governor in New York.
In 1954, Cuomo married Matilda Raffa, one of five children of Charles and Mary Raffa, who are both of Sicilian descent. The Cuomos have five children: Margaret, 32, is a doctor and is married to Robert Perpignano, an architect-engineer. Andrew, 29, is a lawyer. Maria, 25, is in public relations and recently married shoe designer Kenneth Cole; Madeline, 23, is a law student; and Christopher, 17, is a high-school student living at home.
The most persistent and serious rumors involve Cuomo’s father-in-law, Charles Raffa, now 83. The stories grow out of a real crime. On the morning of May 22, 1984, Raffa, who owns several buildings and vacant lots in Brooklyn, drove to an empty supermarket he owned at 804 Stanley Avenue, in the East New York section. Earlier, he had placed an ad in the Times to rent the building, and at 10 he showed the space to a man named Severano Estedes, who later told police he toured the building but decided against taking it.
At about noon, the owners of a dry cleaner’s and a food store across the street told police they saw Raffa emerge from his building onto the sidewalk in front. When they got there, they found Raffa so severely beaten that they recognized him only from his clothes. They told police that his head had been sliced open and his scalp was covering his eyes. The store owners, who had known Raffa for years, said he was mumbling incoherently but indicated that he wanted to drive home. Instead, he was taken to Baptist Medical Center and later by helicopter to NYU Medical Center.
Raffa underwent plastic surgery and has made repeated trips to the hospital for treatment. Andrew Cuomo, the governor’s son, said recently that his grandfather has never completely recovered from the beating and has had difficulty speaking and focusing his mind ever since.
The case was investigated by detectives from the 75th Precinct and the Crimes Against Senior Citizens Unit. From the start, they were hampered because no witnesses to the assault turned up and because Raffa couldn’t speak coherently for the first ten days he was in the hospital. Even after that, his accounts were confused.
“Raffa was questioned by detectives on at least seven occasions, including July 11, when he returned to the crime scene with Patrol Lieutenant Michael Murray and other officers,” said Deputy Inspector Charles Prestia, who has been handling press inquiries on the case. “But his responses were confused, and he gave contradictory statements about what happened to him.” During various interviews, Prestia explained, “Raffa described his assailants as a white, Hispanic, and black. Sometimes he said there was one man and sometimes he said there were two. He said he was hit. Detectives did find Raffa’s blood at the top and bottom of the basement steps. But aside from that, he was confused about how he was beaten.”
Working the streets, the police came up with the names of several local toughs who were suspected of assaulting the elderly. “Several suspects were brought in for questioning,” Prestia said, “but there were no other witnesses to the beating, and Raffa’s description of his attacker was so inconsistent that the investigation eventually died.”
Stories about the incident soon began making the rounds of the city’s police stations and courthouses. There was talk that Raffa was an arsonist and his beating a mob hit; that five gallons of kerosene had been found in his car and had somehow disappeared from the station house; that “every cop in Brooklyn” knows the name of Raffa’s assailant but higher-ups refuse to arrest him; that the car containing the combustible evidence was driven away from the scene by Cuomo’s detective-bodyguard, who’s a relative of the Cuomo family; that the police reports (DD5s) on the case were missing from headquarters; and that the governor was at the scene shortly after the incident and had used state troopers to erase any evidence of his father-in-law’s possible criminality.
Prestia said that none of this is true. “I suspect the rumor about combustible materials being found in either his car of the building probably comes from the fact that detectives found a white plastic antifreeze can, three quarters full, in the building, and that the police lab report identified the fluid as a petroleum distillate, a solvent, like paint thinner.” This inspector said it’s not clear how the antifreeze got there or what it was for, but considering the size of the building, it’s unlikely that the liquid would have been used to start a fire.
Prestia also said that there were no flammable liquids found in Raffa's car and that the car was "safeguarded" by police during the day until it was removed by the governor's detective-bodyguard, Benjamin Pepitone — who is not related to the Cuomo family. Prestia also said that, far from there being no police reports at headquarters, the file on the case contains over 300 DD5s covering the lengthy investigation.
Cuomo couldn’t have been at the scene because he was in Albany all day on May 22 and didn’t come to the city until the next day. Andrew Cuomo, however, did go to the hospital and then the precinct on the day of the attack.
“There was a very thorough police investigation, and they found nothing to substantiate the rumors,” he said. “Still, they persist.” The suggestion that his grandfather planned to burn the building is ridiculous, he claimed, since Raffa had scheduled meetings to show the building to prospective tenants. What’s more, Cuomo said, the supermarket contained valuable refrigeration equipment and the building was not insured for fire.
State police officials said that Raffa’s name has not been erased from the computer; indeed, officials said, the computer shows that Raffa was arrested in 1973 on a misdemeanor charge of offering an illegal gratuity. Details of the alleged crime aren’t clear, but police said charges of that sort typically involve giving small gifts or tips to city or state employees. In this case, the charge against Raffa was dismissed in 1974. Andrew Cuomo said he did not know of the arrest until told by reporters tracking Raffa rumors.
The state police officials added that there’s no evidence of any effort to tamper with the computer about Raffa. What’s more, all arson arrests are also placed in the FBI computer, and as of last week, the FBI had no record of Raffa being arrested for anything.
Prestia said that inquiries about the case died down not long after the mugging, but they were revived in late winter and have continued through the summer and fall. “The questions always seem to coincide with stories about Cuomo’s candidacy,” he said, “and the questions are always the same. They seem to be coming from the same source.”
One of the people passing on stories about Raffa is Harry Daley, a 51-year-old part-time writer and public-relations man. Last year, he worked in the campaign of Nassau County district attorney Denis Dillon, who ran for governor on the Right to Life ticket. Daley, who lives in Lynbrook, on Long Island, said he heard the rumors about Raffa at a bar near the 75th Precinct, which is frequented by off-duty cops who are friends of his. One sergeant (now retired) from the 75th Precinct told Daley that Cuomo's father-in-law was an arsonist and that Cuomo had personally interfered with the investigation by isolating the father-in-law from detectives and by erasing his arson record from the state computer. Daley said his “source” — whom he refused to identify — worked in the precinct at the time of the incident and “swears that Cuomo was at the scene, personally squashing the investigation.”
The story so outraged Daley that he took the sergeant to Dillon, who at the time was running for governor against Cuomo and Andrew O'Rourke, the Republican Party candidate.
“Daley walked into the office with this sergeant who had information about Raffa,” Dillon said. “They had the information that Raffa’s mugging was related to an argument over an arson, that Cuomo was at the scene himself, and that he participated in a cover-up. Because of the awkwardness of the campaign, I didn't want to use my investigators at such a time. However, I did turn the information over to Peter King, who was the Republican Party candidate for state comptroller at the time. Peter checked it out and there was nothing to it. And that, for a while, was that.”
Last March, however, Daley showed up at Dillon’s office again. This time, Dillon said, Daley had got a copy of a tape recording made by a private detective who had been working on a civil case being investigated by Dillon’s office. On the tape, a confessed arsonist claimed that in the '50s and '60s, he and Charles Raffa had turned back utility meters, presumably to help people and businesses cheat on gas and electric bills. “It is totally uncorroborated,” Dillon said. “It’s just a guy boasting about knowing someone.”
Dillon said he had his office check the tape and talk to various parties in the case. When he realized he didn’t have jurisdiction, he turned the information and tape over to Andrew Maloney, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which covers Brooklyn, and to Brooklyn district attorney Elizabeth Holtzman. “And that’s all I know about it,” Dillon said.
Neither Maloney nor Holtzman would officially confirm or deny that Dillon had turned over information involving Raffa. But sources indicated that the material had indeed come in. What's more, the sources said they thought the material had come from Dillon in secrecy, but within a day, each office got several calls from reporters asking whether Raffa was under investigation.
Meanwhile, Daley had passed the material on Raffa to the Cable News Network. “I had the tape, and I took the tape to CNN,” said Daley. “Off the record, I’d been feeding the story piecemeal to keep them interested. They checked out the tape and found that there were no flaws in it at all. It’s an explosive tape.” He added, “CNN was inches away from using the story.” But a TV reporter who worked on the story said, “So far, I’ve got nothing airable. The tape is basically hearsay. The standard of proof has to be exceptionally high. You need evidence that would stand up in court.”
Other journalists working on the story question the relevance to Cuomo — even if Raffa had been involved in illegalities 20 or 30 years ago.
Daley, who was interviewed three times for this story, said he was disappointed when Dillon turned the investigation over to Maloney and Holtzman, and he added that he was also disappointed that nothing came of the information he brought to Dillon’s office a year and a half ago. “It was great information,” Daley said. “It was worth checking out.”
In a final interview on October 12, he was asked if the sergeant, who was his source for the original Raffa story, was certain that Mario Cuomo had been at the scene. “Absolutely,” said Daley. When told that Cuomo had been in Albany that day, Daley paused momentarily and said that he would have to “check it out,” but that the sergeant was living out of state and was difficult to reach. Daley also admitted that the source had no firsthand knowledge of the Raffa beating.
“I’m not looking to smear anybody,” Daley said. “If there’s nothing there, fine. All I feel is that nobody’s really taking a look at this stuff. That’s why I’ve not only helped CNN but other reporters as well.”
Some of the rumors that link Mario Cuomo with the mob seem to come from the veteran legislative aide, who had been a background source for reporters working on investigations of organized crime. Traditionally, under the ground rules for his briefings, the aide can be quoted but not identified by name, and those were the terms under which he was interviewed for this story. To back his claims that Cuomo had once represented mob figures, accepted campaign contributions from mobsters, and used his law firm to pay a wise guy, the aide produced several documents to corroborate his leads. But interviews with Cuomo, law-enforcement officials, FBI agents, Cuomo’s campaign committee, Cuomo’s former law partners, and the lawyers who were present at the congressional hearing suggest that none of these leads turns into anything substantial.
For example, the legislative aide claimed that as a young lawyer, Cuomo represented Joseph “Joey Narrows” Laratro, a capo in the Luchese crime family. Cuomo said that in the early 1960s, not long after he started to practice law, he took over the representation of an association of about 15 junkyard dealers after the group’s previous lawyer, Michael Castaldi, became a judge. The case involved fighting a condemnation order for the junkyard dealers in connection with the Shea Stadium development. At the time, Laratro, who was running the Luchese crime family’s numbers operation in Queens, was a part owner of one of the junkyard, police said. Today, the police said, he’s 71 and living in Florida, having sold his interest in the junkyard in 1967.
Cuomo acknowledged having met Laratro during the litigation. But, Cuomo said, he never represented him as an individual. “I remember I won the case for [the association], and I got stiffed on the fee,” he said. “They never paid.
“I never represented wise guys,” Cuomo added. “I was asked thousands of times to do appeals for this guy and that guy, but I never did one. I had friends who were prosecutors, detectives, and FBI men, and if I wasn't sure, I could go to them and they'd warn me about who anyone was.”
The aide’s lead on the campaign contribution was a copy of a transcript of a hearing on July 15, 1985, before the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. The hearing involved an investigation of gasoline-tax fraud, and one of the main government witnesses was a man named Lawrence Iorizzo, a former associate of Michael Franzese. Franzese, a member of the Colombo crime family, was convicted in 1986 in a major gas-tax-fraud case.
In the course of the questioning at the hearing, Representative Richard T. Schulze, a Pennsylvania Republican, told Iorizzo that he had heard that there were “several contributions made to Governor Cuomo’s campaign” from tax-scam funds. Iorizzo responded that contributions were made at the direction of “people above me.”
Andrew Cuomo, who has run his father's two gubernatorial campaigns, said he first heard of the alleged Franzese contribution when he was called by NBC News in late 1985. “I checked our computerized contribution list,” Andrew Cuomo said. “We had 16,000 names. I couldn’t find any Franzese name. Then [NBC] said we took the money from Franzese's ex-partner, Larry Iorizzo, who was then a government witness. We checked that and couldn't find Iorizzo either. Then NBC came back with some corporate names, and we found that we had received five $1,000 checks from five corporations: the Northbrook Assets, Inc.; Lesez Petroleum Corporation; Houston Holdings, Inc.; Future Positions Corporation; and CMC Corporation; all of Long Island.”
Law-enforcement authorities have said these firms were paper companies set up to avoid paying gasoline taxes. The checks were for tickets to a fund-raising dinner for Governor Cuomo held November 26, 1984, at the Sheraton Centre.
“We had raised $1.2 million for the dinner alone,” Andrew Cuomo continued. “There was no way of checking out every corporate check we got. In fact, as soon as we found out what happened, we tried to send the money back, but it turned out the companies were already out of business. We sent the money to charity.”
On December 4, 1985, NBC Nightly News ran a story that said, “NBC News has found that at least five companies now identified by authorities as mob fronts have made contributions to a campaign fund for New York governor Mario Cuomo.” A transcript provided by NBC shows that the broadcast went on to say, “Federal witness Iarizzo [sic] told authorities he was ordered by his mob boss, Michael Francesi [sic] to write a check to the Cuomo campaign.”
“The implication was clear,” Andrew Cuomo said. “It was unfair, it was wrong, but there it was on national television.”
Finally, the legislative aide handed over a copy of the records of Corner, Finn, Nicholson & Charles, the law firm that Cuomo belonged to from 1962 to 1974. The records showed two checks listing the names LoBosco and Gualtieri, dated July 25, 1977. The aide said that the checks had been made out from LoBosco to Gualtieri and that the man listed was Carmine Gualtieri, a reputed associate of the Genovese crime family, who was acquitted in August of murdering an undercover detective outside a diner in Queens.
When two of Cuomo’s former law partners, Diane and Michael Nicholson, were asked about this payment, they were surprised. Diane Nicholson explained that the checks had actually been from someone named Gualtieri, not to him, and that the payments had been made three years after Cuomo had left the firm. What’s more, Diane Nicholson said, there’s no way to know whether the Gualtieri on the check is the mob associate Carmine Gualtieri.
When the legislative aide was told that the Nicholsons could not substantiate the rumor about Gualtieri, he said, “Oh, I see.”
When told that Cuomo’s only link to Laratro was in connection with the 15 junkyard, the aide said, “You can’t hold [Cuomo] responsible for that.”
When told that none of the campaign-contribution checks had been made out by Franzese or his partner, but in corporate names, the aide said, “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m asking why Michael Franzese is writing the checks in the first place.”
Finally, when asked what he thought about reporters walking around with erroneous information that he’d supplied, the aide laughed. “I’m not talking to strangers,” he said. “Reporters come in here. That’s all.”
Last month, when Mario Cuomo was in Anaheim, California, to address the National Association of Broadcasters, he was approached in a hotel lobby by a smiling, enthusiastic woman. As the governor listened in shock, the woman urged him to run for president — even though, she explained, she’d heard that a member of his family was “involved” with the mob. “That’s them, not you,” Cuomo recalled the woman saying.
“I asked her where she heard such things," Cuomo said in a recent interview, "and she said it was the scuttlebutt around her husband's office.”
And who was her husband? Douglas Edwards, the veteran CBS radio and TV anchor.
“I know it’s all around the place,” Cuomo said, “but what do you do about it?”
One of the things Cuomo did was complain to the New York Times. Twenty-two days after Anaheim and the day after CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl asked him about rumors of “skeletons in his family closet,” Cuomo called E.J. Dionne Jr. of the Times to say he suspected that an organized campaign was at work spreading malicious stories, particularly about his in-laws. The Times printed an article about the phone call (Cuomo belatedly claimed he'd been speaking off the record), but even that public exposure has done little to quiet the storm.
The governor is right on one count: The rumors about him and his family are everywhere. In fact, so many are in the air that several major news organizations have hired private detectives and former city cops to help investigative reporters sort out the stories.
No one, however, has yet turned up anything of substance against Cuomo, even though journalists have been looking, off and on, for several years. “We scrubbed him pretty good [a year and a half ago] and didn’t come up with anything,” said a reporter for one major out-of-town newspaper.
Of course, no one can be scrubbed completely clean. The best that can be said so far is that the most prevalent rumors about the “mob” skeletons in Cuomo’s family closet turn out to be misleading or false.
For example, Edward McDonald, head of the Organized Crime Strike Force of the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, said he’s received dozens of calls from reporters about a rumor that Cuomo met with a mob capo a decade or so ago after his appointment as secretary of state under Governor Hugh Carey. The rumor, McDonald said, can probably be traced to a report by agents who had been tailing John “Sonny” Franzese, a capo in the Colombo crime family. At a big wedding in the mid-'70s, Franzese was one of a score of people who shook Cuomo’s hand. McDonald added that there’s no evidence that Cuomo even knew who Franzese was. "Aside from that," said McDonald, "I have never heard of Cuomo connected with any wise guys in any way whatever. It shouldn't be worth denying, but still, the calls keep coming in.”
The governor's suspicion that there’s an organized campaign of slander against him doesn't seem to be borne out, however. Many of the rumors are traceable to idle gossip, some of it coming from a Brooklyn bar that’s a hangout for cops and ex-cops. Some of the stories are linked to specific incidents in Cuomo’s past — the mysterious mugging of his father-in-law three years ago in Brooklyn, for example, and the bitter lawsuit that has developed between Cuomo and his former partners over the distribution of legal fees. But reporters in search of Cuomo’s skeletons also come across political gadflies and adversaries of the governor who breezily pass out misinformation. One of these sources is a man who worked in public relations for the Right to Life candidate in the last gubernatorial campaign; another is a veteran, politically conservative legislative aide who has long been a source for the press on organized-crime matters. Neither man seemed aware that the information he offered was largely inaccurate, though neither sounded particularly upset when told of the inaccuracies.
Besides the story of the supposed meeting with Sonny Franzese, the other major rumors about Cuomo making the rounds these days are:
- That the mugging of Cuomo’s father-in-law, Charles Raffa, was a mob beating that grew out of a dispute over arson.
- That Cuomo interfered with the police investigation of the beating.
- That the record of a Raffa arrest for arson has been erased from the state computer.
- That early in his career, Cuomo represented organized-crime hoods in Queens.
- That mob capo Michael Franzese (Sonny Franzese’s stepson) gave Cuomo $30,000 during his 1983 gubernatorial campaign.
- That Cuomo’s former law firm paid money through an escrow account to a mobster who was later acquitted of murdering an undercover detective in Queens.
Several of these rumors can be dispelled with one or two phone calls. Others — particularly those involving Raffa — are more complex, though it should be emphasized that nothing substantial has come out to link Raffa with organized crime or, for that matter, with any wrongdoing more serious than a 1973 misdemeanor arrest for offering an improper gratuity. Except for an NBC report two years ago on campaign contributions, none of the rumors (or anything close to them) has yet been printed or broadcast. But the stories continue to be passed around by cops, media people, and others in a kind of shadow network of gossip and loose talk.
Here, for example, is what the legislative aide (who was speaking on a not-for-attribution basis) said when asked whether Cuomo was linked to the mob: “No question Cuomo [is] linked. He represented organized-crime guys when he was with his law firm. He also accepted campaign money from mob guys who ripped the Feds and state out of millions of dollars in a gasoline-tax scam. And his ex-law partners have the story that will show how the firm was used to pay off Carmine Gualtieri, the guy who got arrested for killing the undercover cop in Queens about a year ago. The law-firm payroll was used like a wash.”
None of that stands up to close scrutiny.
Though the rumors about Cuomo have been circulating for some time, the talk picked up dramatically last February, after he announced that he wouldn’t seek the presidency. To some people, his withdrawal was support for the notion that he had something to hide: Why else would an ambitious and popular politician refuse to go after the top prize? Paradoxically, Cuomo said that one reason he hasn’t made an absolute statement ruling out a candidacy is that such an announcement would “invite enemies who like to take shots at Italian-Americans in particular to say, ‘Oh, see, the reason he did that is because he has a skeleton in the closet.’
“Let me deal with [purported] skeletons in the full view of the American people,” the governor said. “Let me show them my father-in-law, let me show them my mother. Let me talk about my family, tell the story of my family, put an end to these rumors and the bums who are spreading them. My family would not only not be an impediment to my running, it would probably be my biggest asset.”
Certainly, Cuomo has made his humble roots a major part of his political appeal. His father, Andrea Cuomo, emigrated from Salerno as a young man and supported his family working long hours at his small grocery store in Queens. His mother, Immaculata, also emigrated from Salerno. Mario was the youngest of three children. Today his brother Frank is in the food-retail business, and his sister Marie is a librarian.
Cuomo got his undergraduate and law degrees from St. John's. After finishing first in his law-school class, Cuomo has said, he sent letters to 60 Wall Street firms asking for job interviews but got no responses. He then clerked for Judge Adrian Burke of the New York State Court of Appeals and went into private practice in Brooklyn. He came to public attention in 1970, when he saved the homes of 69 Italian-Americans in Corona, Queens, from demolition by the city. In fact, he got such good press for his conciliatory talents that in 1972, Mayor John Lindsay asked him to resolve a housing controversy in Forest Hills that pitted middle-income sites against a low-income housing project. In 1975, Governor Hugh Carey appointed him secretary of state. Two years later, he lost to Ed Koch in the Democratic mayoral primary, but in 1978, he was elected lieutenant governor, and in 198, he beat Koch in the gubernatorial primary and went on to be elected governor. He won reelection last year by the biggest margin ever for a governor in New York.
In 1954, Cuomo married Matilda Raffa, one of five children of Charles and Mary Raffa, who are both of Sicilian descent. The Cuomos have five children: Margaret, 32, is a doctor and is married to Robert Perpignano, an architect-engineer. Andrew, 29, is a lawyer. Maria, 25, is in public relations and recently married shoe designer Kenneth Cole; Madeline, 23, is a law student; and Christopher, 17, is a high-school student living at home.
The most persistent and serious rumors involve Cuomo’s father-in-law, Charles Raffa, now 83. The stories grow out of a real crime. On the morning of May 22, 1984, Raffa, who owns several buildings and vacant lots in Brooklyn, drove to an empty supermarket he owned at 804 Stanley Avenue, in the East New York section. Earlier, he had placed an ad in the Times to rent the building, and at 10 he showed the space to a man named Severano Estedes, who later told police he toured the building but decided against taking it.
At about noon, the owners of a dry cleaner’s and a food store across the street told police they saw Raffa emerge from his building onto the sidewalk in front. When they got there, they found Raffa so severely beaten that they recognized him only from his clothes. They told police that his head had been sliced open and his scalp was covering his eyes. The store owners, who had known Raffa for years, said he was mumbling incoherently but indicated that he wanted to drive home. Instead, he was taken to Baptist Medical Center and later by helicopter to NYU Medical Center.
Raffa underwent plastic surgery and has made repeated trips to the hospital for treatment. Andrew Cuomo, the governor’s son, said recently that his grandfather has never completely recovered from the beating and has had difficulty speaking and focusing his mind ever since.
The case was investigated by detectives from the 75th Precinct and the Crimes Against Senior Citizens Unit. From the start, they were hampered because no witnesses to the assault turned up and because Raffa couldn’t speak coherently for the first ten days he was in the hospital. Even after that, his accounts were confused.
“Raffa was questioned by detectives on at least seven occasions, including July 11, when he returned to the crime scene with Patrol Lieutenant Michael Murray and other officers,” said Deputy Inspector Charles Prestia, who has been handling press inquiries on the case. “But his responses were confused, and he gave contradictory statements about what happened to him.” During various interviews, Prestia explained, “Raffa described his assailants as a white, Hispanic, and black. Sometimes he said there was one man and sometimes he said there were two. He said he was hit. Detectives did find Raffa’s blood at the top and bottom of the basement steps. But aside from that, he was confused about how he was beaten.”
Working the streets, the police came up with the names of several local toughs who were suspected of assaulting the elderly. “Several suspects were brought in for questioning,” Prestia said, “but there were no other witnesses to the beating, and Raffa’s description of his attacker was so inconsistent that the investigation eventually died.”
Stories about the incident soon began making the rounds of the city’s police stations and courthouses. There was talk that Raffa was an arsonist and his beating a mob hit; that five gallons of kerosene had been found in his car and had somehow disappeared from the station house; that “every cop in Brooklyn” knows the name of Raffa’s assailant but higher-ups refuse to arrest him; that the car containing the combustible evidence was driven away from the scene by Cuomo’s detective-bodyguard, who’s a relative of the Cuomo family; that the police reports (DD5s) on the case were missing from headquarters; and that the governor was at the scene shortly after the incident and had used state troopers to erase any evidence of his father-in-law’s possible criminality.
Prestia said that none of this is true. “I suspect the rumor about combustible materials being found in either his car of the building probably comes from the fact that detectives found a white plastic antifreeze can, three quarters full, in the building, and that the police lab report identified the fluid as a petroleum distillate, a solvent, like paint thinner.” This inspector said it’s not clear how the antifreeze got there or what it was for, but considering the size of the building, it’s unlikely that the liquid would have been used to start a fire.
Prestia also said that there were no flammable liquids found in Raffa's car and that the car was "safeguarded" by police during the day until it was removed by the governor's detective-bodyguard, Benjamin Pepitone — who is not related to the Cuomo family. Prestia also said that, far from there being no police reports at headquarters, the file on the case contains over 300 DD5s covering the lengthy investigation.
Cuomo couldn’t have been at the scene because he was in Albany all day on May 22 and didn’t come to the city until the next day. Andrew Cuomo, however, did go to the hospital and then the precinct on the day of the attack.
“There was a very thorough police investigation, and they found nothing to substantiate the rumors,” he said. “Still, they persist.” The suggestion that his grandfather planned to burn the building is ridiculous, he claimed, since Raffa had scheduled meetings to show the building to prospective tenants. What’s more, Cuomo said, the supermarket contained valuable refrigeration equipment and the building was not insured for fire.
State police officials said that Raffa’s name has not been erased from the computer; indeed, officials said, the computer shows that Raffa was arrested in 1973 on a misdemeanor charge of offering an illegal gratuity. Details of the alleged crime aren’t clear, but police said charges of that sort typically involve giving small gifts or tips to city or state employees. In this case, the charge against Raffa was dismissed in 1974. Andrew Cuomo said he did not know of the arrest until told by reporters tracking Raffa rumors.
The state police officials added that there’s no evidence of any effort to tamper with the computer about Raffa. What’s more, all arson arrests are also placed in the FBI computer, and as of last week, the FBI had no record of Raffa being arrested for anything.
Prestia said that inquiries about the case died down not long after the mugging, but they were revived in late winter and have continued through the summer and fall. “The questions always seem to coincide with stories about Cuomo’s candidacy,” he said, “and the questions are always the same. They seem to be coming from the same source.”
One of the people passing on stories about Raffa is Harry Daley, a 51-year-old part-time writer and public-relations man. Last year, he worked in the campaign of Nassau County district attorney Denis Dillon, who ran for governor on the Right to Life ticket. Daley, who lives in Lynbrook, on Long Island, said he heard the rumors about Raffa at a bar near the 75th Precinct, which is frequented by off-duty cops who are friends of his. One sergeant (now retired) from the 75th Precinct told Daley that Cuomo's father-in-law was an arsonist and that Cuomo had personally interfered with the investigation by isolating the father-in-law from detectives and by erasing his arson record from the state computer. Daley said his “source” — whom he refused to identify — worked in the precinct at the time of the incident and “swears that Cuomo was at the scene, personally squashing the investigation.”
The story so outraged Daley that he took the sergeant to Dillon, who at the time was running for governor against Cuomo and Andrew O'Rourke, the Republican Party candidate.
“Daley walked into the office with this sergeant who had information about Raffa,” Dillon said. “They had the information that Raffa’s mugging was related to an argument over an arson, that Cuomo was at the scene himself, and that he participated in a cover-up. Because of the awkwardness of the campaign, I didn't want to use my investigators at such a time. However, I did turn the information over to Peter King, who was the Republican Party candidate for state comptroller at the time. Peter checked it out and there was nothing to it. And that, for a while, was that.”
Last March, however, Daley showed up at Dillon’s office again. This time, Dillon said, Daley had got a copy of a tape recording made by a private detective who had been working on a civil case being investigated by Dillon’s office. On the tape, a confessed arsonist claimed that in the '50s and '60s, he and Charles Raffa had turned back utility meters, presumably to help people and businesses cheat on gas and electric bills. “It is totally uncorroborated,” Dillon said. “It’s just a guy boasting about knowing someone.”
Dillon said he had his office check the tape and talk to various parties in the case. When he realized he didn’t have jurisdiction, he turned the information and tape over to Andrew Maloney, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which covers Brooklyn, and to Brooklyn district attorney Elizabeth Holtzman. “And that’s all I know about it,” Dillon said.
Neither Maloney nor Holtzman would officially confirm or deny that Dillon had turned over information involving Raffa. But sources indicated that the material had indeed come in. What's more, the sources said they thought the material had come from Dillon in secrecy, but within a day, each office got several calls from reporters asking whether Raffa was under investigation.
Meanwhile, Daley had passed the material on Raffa to the Cable News Network. “I had the tape, and I took the tape to CNN,” said Daley. “Off the record, I’d been feeding the story piecemeal to keep them interested. They checked out the tape and found that there were no flaws in it at all. It’s an explosive tape.” He added, “CNN was inches away from using the story.” But a TV reporter who worked on the story said, “So far, I’ve got nothing airable. The tape is basically hearsay. The standard of proof has to be exceptionally high. You need evidence that would stand up in court.”
Other journalists working on the story question the relevance to Cuomo — even if Raffa had been involved in illegalities 20 or 30 years ago.
Daley, who was interviewed three times for this story, said he was disappointed when Dillon turned the investigation over to Maloney and Holtzman, and he added that he was also disappointed that nothing came of the information he brought to Dillon’s office a year and a half ago. “It was great information,” Daley said. “It was worth checking out.”
In a final interview on October 12, he was asked if the sergeant, who was his source for the original Raffa story, was certain that Mario Cuomo had been at the scene. “Absolutely,” said Daley. When told that Cuomo had been in Albany that day, Daley paused momentarily and said that he would have to “check it out,” but that the sergeant was living out of state and was difficult to reach. Daley also admitted that the source had no firsthand knowledge of the Raffa beating.
“I’m not looking to smear anybody,” Daley said. “If there’s nothing there, fine. All I feel is that nobody’s really taking a look at this stuff. That’s why I’ve not only helped CNN but other reporters as well.”
Some of the rumors that link Mario Cuomo with the mob seem to come from the veteran legislative aide, who had been a background source for reporters working on investigations of organized crime. Traditionally, under the ground rules for his briefings, the aide can be quoted but not identified by name, and those were the terms under which he was interviewed for this story. To back his claims that Cuomo had once represented mob figures, accepted campaign contributions from mobsters, and used his law firm to pay a wise guy, the aide produced several documents to corroborate his leads. But interviews with Cuomo, law-enforcement officials, FBI agents, Cuomo’s campaign committee, Cuomo’s former law partners, and the lawyers who were present at the congressional hearing suggest that none of these leads turns into anything substantial.
For example, the legislative aide claimed that as a young lawyer, Cuomo represented Joseph “Joey Narrows” Laratro, a capo in the Luchese crime family. Cuomo said that in the early 1960s, not long after he started to practice law, he took over the representation of an association of about 15 junkyard dealers after the group’s previous lawyer, Michael Castaldi, became a judge. The case involved fighting a condemnation order for the junkyard dealers in connection with the Shea Stadium development. At the time, Laratro, who was running the Luchese crime family’s numbers operation in Queens, was a part owner of one of the junkyard, police said. Today, the police said, he’s 71 and living in Florida, having sold his interest in the junkyard in 1967.
Cuomo acknowledged having met Laratro during the litigation. But, Cuomo said, he never represented him as an individual. “I remember I won the case for [the association], and I got stiffed on the fee,” he said. “They never paid.
“I never represented wise guys,” Cuomo added. “I was asked thousands of times to do appeals for this guy and that guy, but I never did one. I had friends who were prosecutors, detectives, and FBI men, and if I wasn't sure, I could go to them and they'd warn me about who anyone was.”
The aide’s lead on the campaign contribution was a copy of a transcript of a hearing on July 15, 1985, before the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. The hearing involved an investigation of gasoline-tax fraud, and one of the main government witnesses was a man named Lawrence Iorizzo, a former associate of Michael Franzese. Franzese, a member of the Colombo crime family, was convicted in 1986 in a major gas-tax-fraud case.
In the course of the questioning at the hearing, Representative Richard T. Schulze, a Pennsylvania Republican, told Iorizzo that he had heard that there were “several contributions made to Governor Cuomo’s campaign” from tax-scam funds. Iorizzo responded that contributions were made at the direction of “people above me.”
Andrew Cuomo, who has run his father's two gubernatorial campaigns, said he first heard of the alleged Franzese contribution when he was called by NBC News in late 1985. “I checked our computerized contribution list,” Andrew Cuomo said. “We had 16,000 names. I couldn’t find any Franzese name. Then [NBC] said we took the money from Franzese's ex-partner, Larry Iorizzo, who was then a government witness. We checked that and couldn't find Iorizzo either. Then NBC came back with some corporate names, and we found that we had received five $1,000 checks from five corporations: the Northbrook Assets, Inc.; Lesez Petroleum Corporation; Houston Holdings, Inc.; Future Positions Corporation; and CMC Corporation; all of Long Island.”
Law-enforcement authorities have said these firms were paper companies set up to avoid paying gasoline taxes. The checks were for tickets to a fund-raising dinner for Governor Cuomo held November 26, 1984, at the Sheraton Centre.
“We had raised $1.2 million for the dinner alone,” Andrew Cuomo continued. “There was no way of checking out every corporate check we got. In fact, as soon as we found out what happened, we tried to send the money back, but it turned out the companies were already out of business. We sent the money to charity.”
On December 4, 1985, NBC Nightly News ran a story that said, “NBC News has found that at least five companies now identified by authorities as mob fronts have made contributions to a campaign fund for New York governor Mario Cuomo.” A transcript provided by NBC shows that the broadcast went on to say, “Federal witness Iarizzo [sic] told authorities he was ordered by his mob boss, Michael Francesi [sic] to write a check to the Cuomo campaign.”
“The implication was clear,” Andrew Cuomo said. “It was unfair, it was wrong, but there it was on national television.”
Finally, the legislative aide handed over a copy of the records of Corner, Finn, Nicholson & Charles, the law firm that Cuomo belonged to from 1962 to 1974. The records showed two checks listing the names LoBosco and Gualtieri, dated July 25, 1977. The aide said that the checks had been made out from LoBosco to Gualtieri and that the man listed was Carmine Gualtieri, a reputed associate of the Genovese crime family, who was acquitted in August of murdering an undercover detective outside a diner in Queens.
When two of Cuomo’s former law partners, Diane and Michael Nicholson, were asked about this payment, they were surprised. Diane Nicholson explained that the checks had actually been from someone named Gualtieri, not to him, and that the payments had been made three years after Cuomo had left the firm. What’s more, Diane Nicholson said, there’s no way to know whether the Gualtieri on the check is the mob associate Carmine Gualtieri.
When the legislative aide was told that the Nicholsons could not substantiate the rumor about Gualtieri, he said, “Oh, I see.”
When told that Cuomo’s only link to Laratro was in connection with the 15 junkyard, the aide said, “You can’t hold [Cuomo] responsible for that.”
When told that none of the campaign-contribution checks had been made out by Franzese or his partner, but in corporate names, the aide said, “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m asking why Michael Franzese is writing the checks in the first place.”
Finally, when asked what he thought about reporters walking around with erroneous information that he’d supplied, the aide laughed. “I’m not talking to strangers,” he said. “Reporters come in here. That’s all.”
Friday, January 02, 2015
Police Vice Unit Arrest 14 in Backpage.com Sting
The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Vice Unit arrested 14 men during an undercover operation targeting johns.
The men answered ads on Backpage.com and met with women who they believed were prostitutes at a Mannheim Road hotel in the western suburbs on Tuesday, Dec.30. The women were actually undercover Cook County Sheriff’s Police officers.
The men were cited for a violation of the Cook County public morals nuisance ordinance and later released.
The Sheriff’s Police’s Vice Unit arrested more than 130 men in 2014 using Backpage.com. Since 2009, Sheriff’s Police have arrested approximately 700 people from ads on Backpage.com
The men answered ads on Backpage.com and met with women who they believed were prostitutes at a Mannheim Road hotel in the western suburbs on Tuesday, Dec.30. The women were actually undercover Cook County Sheriff’s Police officers.
The men were cited for a violation of the Cook County public morals nuisance ordinance and later released.
The Sheriff’s Police’s Vice Unit arrested more than 130 men in 2014 using Backpage.com. Since 2009, Sheriff’s Police have arrested approximately 700 people from ads on Backpage.com
Vladimir Putin Named Organized Crime Man of the Year
Vladimir Putin has been named the 2014 Person of the Year by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an award given annually to the person who does the most to enable and promote organized criminal activity.
Putin was recognized for his work in turning Russia into a major money-laundering center; for enabling organized crime in Crimea and in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine; for his unblemished record of failing to prosecute criminal activity; and for advancing a government policy of working with and using crime groups as a component of state policy.
“Putin has been a finalist every year so you might consider this a lifetime achievement award,” said Drew Sullivan, editor of OCCRP. “He has been a real innovator in working with organized crime. He has created a military-industrial-political-criminal complex that furthers Russia’s and Putin’s personal interests. I think Putin sees those interests as one and the same.”
Putin, a former KGB bureaucrat, began arresting most major organized crime figures in Russia several years ago, but then quietly released them. That was the start of Russia’s state policy of working with organized crime. OCCRP believes that Putin agreed to tolerate criminality in exchange for criminals’ support in advancing what he defined as Russian interests.
"Vladimir Putin and his siloviki fused a Cold War mentality with modern organized crime strategies and technology to create a new level of transnational organized crime,” said Paul Radu, executive director of OCCRP. “The Russian-backed money laundering platforms have exploited the lack of transparency in the global financial and offshore company registrations systems to create a new criminal financial infrastructure used by crime groups from as far away as Mexico and Vietnam".
Vladimir Putin has been named the 2014 Person of the Year by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an award given annually to the person who does the most to enable and promote organized criminal activity.
For example, OCCRP looked at a sophisticated money-laundering system set up with the help of Russian and Moldovan organized crime that used Russian banks (including one connected to Vladimir Putin’s cousin Igor), fake bank loans, and corrupt Moldovan judges. The system moved the money of oligarchs, crooked government officials and organized crime into Europe through a Latvian bank. Money moved through the system was used to support Putin’s political interests.
In another project, OCCRP's partners aired a documentary which looked at the links between the state owned Russian Railways (which is close to Putin), a notorious banker known as the Black Banker who was shot in London, a slew of organized crime figures and hired assassins and a Russian/Moldovan businessman who also ran a pro-Russian political party in Moldova. The video was responsible in part for a decision by the Moldovan government to ban the Patria party on the eve of the elections because they received illegal financial assistance from Russia. Patria’s leader, fearing arrest, fled to Russia where Russian officials defended him publicly.
Organized crime figures have served as intermediaries for weapons transfers between the Russian army and Russian-backed separatist rebels in Ukraine. Working undercover, OCCRP reporters bought weapons from organized crime figures in Moldova; the weapons originated with the Russian 14th army in the breakaway region of Moldova known as Transnistria.
Putin’s government has forced the closure of media and civil society groups that have looked at its corrupt practices and ended the year in ironic fashion by finding its fiercest critic, blogger Alexey Navalny, guilty of corruption.
Putin was chosen as Person of the Year by more than 125 OCCRP-affiliated investigative reporters and 20 investigative reporting organizations in countries from Europe to Central Asia.
“For years Putin has created buffer states run by organized crime thugs, like Transnistria, Ossetia, Abkhazia and now Crimea and the Donbass,” Sullivan said. “While there is a long history of criminal groups working with governments around the world, both in the West and in the former Soviet Union, Putin has institutionalized these connections in ways never seen before.”
Runners up to Putin this year were Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic. Previous winners include theRomanian Parliament for its role in legalizing crime in 2013 and Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, in 2012 for his role in taking large cuts of state business.
Thanks to The People's Cube.
Putin was recognized for his work in turning Russia into a major money-laundering center; for enabling organized crime in Crimea and in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine; for his unblemished record of failing to prosecute criminal activity; and for advancing a government policy of working with and using crime groups as a component of state policy.
“Putin has been a finalist every year so you might consider this a lifetime achievement award,” said Drew Sullivan, editor of OCCRP. “He has been a real innovator in working with organized crime. He has created a military-industrial-political-criminal complex that furthers Russia’s and Putin’s personal interests. I think Putin sees those interests as one and the same.”
Putin, a former KGB bureaucrat, began arresting most major organized crime figures in Russia several years ago, but then quietly released them. That was the start of Russia’s state policy of working with organized crime. OCCRP believes that Putin agreed to tolerate criminality in exchange for criminals’ support in advancing what he defined as Russian interests.
"Vladimir Putin and his siloviki fused a Cold War mentality with modern organized crime strategies and technology to create a new level of transnational organized crime,” said Paul Radu, executive director of OCCRP. “The Russian-backed money laundering platforms have exploited the lack of transparency in the global financial and offshore company registrations systems to create a new criminal financial infrastructure used by crime groups from as far away as Mexico and Vietnam".
Vladimir Putin has been named the 2014 Person of the Year by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an award given annually to the person who does the most to enable and promote organized criminal activity.
For example, OCCRP looked at a sophisticated money-laundering system set up with the help of Russian and Moldovan organized crime that used Russian banks (including one connected to Vladimir Putin’s cousin Igor), fake bank loans, and corrupt Moldovan judges. The system moved the money of oligarchs, crooked government officials and organized crime into Europe through a Latvian bank. Money moved through the system was used to support Putin’s political interests.
In another project, OCCRP's partners aired a documentary which looked at the links between the state owned Russian Railways (which is close to Putin), a notorious banker known as the Black Banker who was shot in London, a slew of organized crime figures and hired assassins and a Russian/Moldovan businessman who also ran a pro-Russian political party in Moldova. The video was responsible in part for a decision by the Moldovan government to ban the Patria party on the eve of the elections because they received illegal financial assistance from Russia. Patria’s leader, fearing arrest, fled to Russia where Russian officials defended him publicly.
Organized crime figures have served as intermediaries for weapons transfers between the Russian army and Russian-backed separatist rebels in Ukraine. Working undercover, OCCRP reporters bought weapons from organized crime figures in Moldova; the weapons originated with the Russian 14th army in the breakaway region of Moldova known as Transnistria.
Putin’s government has forced the closure of media and civil society groups that have looked at its corrupt practices and ended the year in ironic fashion by finding its fiercest critic, blogger Alexey Navalny, guilty of corruption.
Putin was chosen as Person of the Year by more than 125 OCCRP-affiliated investigative reporters and 20 investigative reporting organizations in countries from Europe to Central Asia.
“For years Putin has created buffer states run by organized crime thugs, like Transnistria, Ossetia, Abkhazia and now Crimea and the Donbass,” Sullivan said. “While there is a long history of criminal groups working with governments around the world, both in the West and in the former Soviet Union, Putin has institutionalized these connections in ways never seen before.”
Runners up to Putin this year were Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic. Previous winners include theRomanian Parliament for its role in legalizing crime in 2013 and Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, in 2012 for his role in taking large cuts of state business.
Thanks to The People's Cube.
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