Kenneth Conley, Bank Robber Who Escaped the Federal Prison in Chicago Still At Large, #WeHaveAFugitive

The FBI is still searching for Kenneth Conley, 38, one of two convicted bank robbers who escaped last week from a high-rise jail in downtown Chicago by lowering themselves on a makeshift rope nearly 20 stories to the street.

Conley and his cellmate, Joseph Jose Banks, 37, escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center early on the morning of December 18. The pair apparently broke a window in the cell they shared, squeezed through the opening and lowered themselves to the street.

They then hailed a cab to make their getaway.

Banks was captured two days later, but Conley remains at large.

"There is no information or recent sightings," said FBI spokeswoman Joan Hyde. "Given the amount of time that has passed given Mr. Conley's history of traveling, we believe he has left the area."

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for Conley's capture. He is described as white, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds.

The two convicts, who had been awaiting sentencing in the federal detention facility, made their rope from bed sheets and dental floss, according to local media reports.

Conley pleaded guilty to bank robbery in October. He is considered armed and dangerous, the FBI said.

Escape carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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Mario Puzo's Family Settles Lawsuit with Paramount Over New Godfather Book

The studio that made "The Godfather" movies has settled a lawsuit with the estate of author Mario Puzo, who created the Mafia family saga. Paramount Pictures Corp sued in February in an attempt to block a new book in the "Godfather" series, which it said was being published without its permission and in violation of copyright agreements.

Notice of the settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court in New York, but terms were not disclosed as the "parties have agreed that the terms of the settlement are confidential," said Richard Kendall, a lawyer for Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc.

"We're very pleased with the settlement," said Bertram Fields, a lawyer for the Puzo estate.

Puzo, who died in 1999, was the author of the 1969 bestseller "The Godfather" and other novels on the same theme.

Paramount sued Puzo's estate in February, saying it had approved sequels without the movie studio's permission and in violation of its copyrights. The family had received Paramount's permission for the publication of only one sequel, "The Godfather Returns," by Mark Winegardner, in 2004.

The Puzo family moved ahead with a second sequel, "The Godfather's Revenge," by Winegardner in 2006, without Paramount's permission, the lawsuit said.

A third book, a prequel called "The Family Corleone" by Ed Falco, was released by Grand Central Publishing in May. An interim settlement agreement provided that funds earned from the book would go into escrow, according to a September court decision.

In the lawsuit, Paramount also claimed its agreements with Pu zo a utomatically gave it motion picture rights to "The Family Corleone" and any other sequels.

The estate filed a counterclaim in March seeking $10 million and accusing the studio of breaching a 1969 agreement with Puzo. It also asked the court to cancel Paramount's rights to the original "The Godfather" book.

In September, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan denied a motion by Paramount to dismiss the estate's counterclaim, but dismissed the attempt to cancel the book rights.

The case is Paramount Pictures Corporation v. Anthony Puzo, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-1268.

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Federal Racketeering, Drug, Prostitution, and Fraud Charges Filed Against Limo Company Owner and Employees

Federal authorities this morning arrested nine persons, including the owner and eight employees or associates of a prominent limousine service in Las Vegas, following their indictment on federal racketeering charges related to the distribution of controlled substances, the facilitation of illegal prostitution, and the commission of credit card and bank fraud crimes, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

“Persons who use legitimate businesses to shield their criminal activities will get the attention of law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden. “In addition to promoting prostitution and selling drugs, these defendants are accused of defrauding customers, many of whom were undoubtedly tourists to Las Vegas. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our federal and state law enforcement partners, will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute persons who participate in such criminal enterprises.”

“The arrests today disrupted a major racketeering enterprise that has negatively impacted the citizens, safety, and image of Las Vegas,” said Kevin Favreau, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI for Nevada. “The success of this long term investigation was due to the efforts of the Las Vegas Safe Streets Task Force, comprised of the FBI and LVMPD.”

Arrested were Charles Horky, 52, the primary owner of CLS Transportation; Kimberly Flores, 42, the manager of CLS; Archie Granata, 69, a financial advisor for CLS; Dawit Moszagi, 47, Clarence Adams, 38, James Reda, 38, Mikhail Maleev, 48, limousine drivers for CLS; and Solomon Zemedhun, 39, and Olive Toli, 48, associates of the enterprise who allegedly supplied and aided in the distribution of controlled substances. They are charged with conspiring to participate in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activities including wire fraud, access device fraud, bank fraud, distribution of controlled substances, and the use of facilities of interstate commerce to promote, facilitate, and distribute the proceeds of prostitution. They face sentences of up to life in prison and fines of up to twice the gross profits or proceeds from their criminal activity. A complete list of the defendants and the charges they face can be found at the end of this release.

According to the indictment that was returned by the grand jury on November 27, 2012 and unsealed this morning, CLS Transportation operates limousines in and around Las Vegas. Beginning no later than September 2008 and continuing through November 2012, the defendants are accused of using the limousine service to conduct and facilitate a broad range of criminal activities, including selling controlled substances, facilitating illegal prostitution, credit card fraud, bank fraud, and check-kiting. Horkey, the owner of CLS, allegedly encouraged and directed the criminal activity, and required drivers to pay him a cut of the money they were receiving from the criminal activities. In addition to the distribution of drugs and the facilitation of prostitution, CLS offered limousines for hire to its customers whom often paid for services with credit cards. The defendants allegedly devised and executed a scheme to defraud American Express and American Express card holders of more than $2.8 million through fraudulent and unauthorized charges. Many of the card holders disputed the charges, and American Express notified CLS of the fraudulent transactions and executed charge-backs. American Express eventually cancelled the CLS Transportation account. Horky and Granata allegedly perpetuated the fraudulent scheme by fraudulently opening successive additional American Express merchant accounts under false names, aliases and nominees. Horky, Flores, and Granata also devised a check-kiting scheme in which they drew checks on CLS Transportation’s payroll account knowing that the account did not contain sufficient funds. Horky, Flores, and Granata knowingly issued themselves and their associates thousands of checks on the account without sufficient funds to honor the checks. The indictment alleges that in 2010 alone, the conspirators issued and cashed more than 1,500 checks and obtained more than $2.4 million through the fraudulent check-kiting scheme.

A number of the defendants are expected to make their initial appearances before a federal magistrate judge at 3:00 p.m. today.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department through the Safe Streets Task Force. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy S. Vasquez.

An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Defendant and Case Information
Case No: 02:12-CR-00440

• Charles Horky, 52, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Kimberly Flores, 42, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Archie Granata, 69, Reno, Nevada
• Dawit Moszagi, 47, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Solomon Zemedhun, 39, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Clarence Adams, 38, Las Vegas, Nevada
• James Reda, 38, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Mikhail Maleev, 48, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Olive Toli, 48, Las Vegas, Nevada

All defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to conduct or participate in an enterprise engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity.

Horky, Flores, and Adams are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce (telephone and wire) to facilitate unlawful activity (prostitution). Granata is also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Reda is also charged with one count of conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce (telephone and wire) to facilitate unlawful activity (prostitution).

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Frank Calabrese Sr Dies in Federal Prison

Authorities say Chicago mob hitman Frank Calabrese Sr. died this week in federal prison. He was 75.

According to NBC Chicago, Calabrese Sr., one of several reputed mobsters convicted in 2007 in a racketeering conspiracy that included murder, extortion and loansharking, died Tuesday at the Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina.

A spokesman for the prison said while no cause of death has been determined as of yet, Calabrese suffered from several ailments, including heart disease. The former mobster’s body is expected to be delivered later Wednesday to the chief medical examiner’s office at the University of North Carolina where an autopsy can be performed.

Prior to his death, Calabrese was serving a life prison sentence for his involvement as a hit man with the Chicago Mafia.

Known as “the Outfit,” the most heinous of the Chicago mob’s crimes investigated were the 18 murders and one attempted murder that took place over the span between the years 1970 and 1986. Calabrese was blamed for 13 of the Chicago Outfit murders.

All of the murders and other crimes were allegedly committed to further the Outfit’s illegal activities such as loansharking, bookmaking and protecting the enterprise from law enforcement.

In addition to the jail-time, Calabrese was ordered to pay over $24 million, including millions in restitution to the families of murder victims.

Speaking on his father’s death, Frank Calabrese Jr. ­— who risked his life and secretly recorded Calabrese Sr. in prison as he bragged about mob murders — told Fox Chicago News he had “a lot of emotions” running through him.

“I believe he was taken on Christmas Day for a reason,” Calabrese Jr. said. “I hope he made peace. I hope he’s up above looking down on us.”

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Angela Wood's "Things Not Seen"

Rockford author Angela Wood is celebrating the nationwide release of her historical novel Things Not Seen.

The novel takes readers to 1939 as Elisabeth Muldern’s dream of teaching needy children is about to come true. She has settled in the poorest section of Chicago to do exactly that.

Kenneth Derrin finally finishes medical school, but before he can begin a country practice, his father, owner of Derrin Steel Consolidated, dies, leaving Kenneth to run the vast enterprise.

With the world on the brink of another Great War, the Chicago mob sees a lucrative opportunity to seize the steel mill industry across the country. Believing Elisabeth to be a spy for the Feds and Kenneth an uncontrollable liability, the mob seeks to eliminate all threats to the Chicago plants.

In Things Not Seen, readers learn how Elisabeth’s and Kenneth’s lives become entwined for survival by Providence.

Published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, the book is available through bookstores nationwide.

As an English teacher for nearly 30 years, Wood has been encouraging her students to love the art and enjoyment of writing. As a professional pianist, she has broadened her outreach to others through public performance and private instrumental tutoring. She lives with her husband and children in Rockford.

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