Alleged ties to Chinese organized crime may mean serious legal problems for American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, the Guardian website reported on Sunday.
Adelson owns the Israel Hayom newspaper in Israel and is a key supporter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Suspicions of bribery and ties to organized crime emerged last week during Adelson's four days of testimony before a Las Vegas court in a wrongful dismissal suit.
Steven Jacobs, former CEO of Adelson’s highly profitable casinos in the Chinese enclave of Macau, is suing Adelson's Las Vegas Sands conglomerate, claiming that he was sacked for trying to break links to organized crime groups, the triads, and for attempting to halt alleged influence peddling with Chinese officials.
Far from laying the allegations to rest, the Guardian wrote, "the billionaire’s answers threw up yet more questions which he is likely to have to return to court to answer."
Information from Jacobs prompted investigations by the United States Justice Department and federal financial regulators. If the allegations are shown to be true, Adelson’s gambling licenses could be in jeopardy.
The Las Vegas court hearing was called to decide whether the full case should be heard in the U.S. or in Macau. If the judge rules that the case belongs in an American court, Adelson will face some difficult questions raised by his testimony, the Guardian wrote.
Many of the allegations concern the Hong Kong-born leader of the Wo Hop To triad Cheung Chi Tai, who is barred from entering the U.S. due to his “affiliation to organized crime.”
Adelson repeatedly told the court that his company “was not doing business” with Cheung, testimony that directly contradicted the evidence of his own deputy on the witness stand.
A Sands internal document indicated that Cheung was admitted to the casino’s exclusive Chairman’s Club, which normally comes with a personal letter from Adelson. Among the benefits are “extremely large lines of credit,” according to court records filed by Jacobs.
Las Vegas Sands finally broke with Cheung in 2010 following a Reuters report identifying his triad links.
In any future trial, he is likely to face questions as to why Las Vegas Sands waited until the Reuters report to act when Jacobs has said in court submissions that “those ties were well known to … Adelson, well before the Reuters’ article.”
Thanks to Haaretz.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
Celebrate Frank Sinatra's 100th Birthday with a New 5-Film Collection on Blu-ray!
Celebrate Frank Sinatra’s 100th Birthday with a new 5-Film Collection, Frank Sinatra Collection (BD) [Blu-ray].
Featuring five classic movies on Blu-ray
, this collection includes newly re-mastered releases of Anchors Aweigh, On the Town and Robin and the 7 Hoods on Blu-ray and Digital HD along with favorites Ocean’s 11 and Guys and Dolls.
ANCHORS AWEIGH: Frank Sinatra stars along with Kathryn Grayson and Gene Kelly in this wartime tale of two sailors on leave in Hollywood. Gene Kelly's history-making choreography and beloved musical numbers make this a milestone of movie fantasy. Sinatra's "I Fall in Love Too Easily", the exuberant Kelly/Sinatra "We Hate to Leave" and other musical highlights helped Anchors Aweigh weigh in with a 1945 Academy Award® for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, plus four more Oscar® nominations, including Best Picture and Actor (Kelly).
ON THE TOWN: New York, New York, it's a wonderful town – especially when sailors Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin have a 24-hour shore leave to see the sights…and when those sights include Ann Miller, Betty Garrett and Vera-Ellen. Based on the Broadway hit and set to an Academy Award®-winning* score, On the Town changed the landscape of movie musicals by blending brilliant location and studio production numbers to up-and-at-'em perfection. The Bronx is up and the Battery's down, but no one can be down after going On the Town.
GUYS AND DOLLS: Hollywood legends Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine (from the original Broadway cast) are dazzling in this Frank Loesser (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) masterpiece. Featuring hits like "Luck Be a Lady" and "A Woman in Love", this smash film version of one of Broadway's most popular musicals is guaranteed rip-roaring "four-star entertainment" (New York Daily News).
OCEAN'S 11: New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. When the lights go out on the Vegas strip, it's the perfect time to steal a kiss or a $25 chip. But for Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) and 10 partners in crime, it's the ideal moment to steal millions. Also starring Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, and packed with location-lensed glamour, suspense, comedy and a stunning twist ending, Ocean's 11 is a sure bet.
ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS: Robin and the 7 Hoods gives the Robin Hood legend a Depression-era, mobtown Chicago spin. North Side boss Robbo (Frank Sinatra) sets himself up as a latter-day Robin Hood with philanthropic fronts enabling him to scam the rich, take his cut and then give to the poor. Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Falk and Barbara Rush join in the giddy, gangsterish fun. And the jazzy Sammy Cahn/James Van Heusen score (including Sinatra's classic "My Kind of Town") is the perfect match for this all-star cast.
Featuring five classic movies on Blu-ray
, this collection includes newly re-mastered releases of Anchors Aweigh, On the Town and Robin and the 7 Hoods on Blu-ray and Digital HD along with favorites Ocean’s 11 and Guys and Dolls.ANCHORS AWEIGH: Frank Sinatra stars along with Kathryn Grayson and Gene Kelly in this wartime tale of two sailors on leave in Hollywood. Gene Kelly's history-making choreography and beloved musical numbers make this a milestone of movie fantasy. Sinatra's "I Fall in Love Too Easily", the exuberant Kelly/Sinatra "We Hate to Leave" and other musical highlights helped Anchors Aweigh weigh in with a 1945 Academy Award® for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, plus four more Oscar® nominations, including Best Picture and Actor (Kelly).
ON THE TOWN: New York, New York, it's a wonderful town – especially when sailors Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin have a 24-hour shore leave to see the sights…and when those sights include Ann Miller, Betty Garrett and Vera-Ellen. Based on the Broadway hit and set to an Academy Award®-winning* score, On the Town changed the landscape of movie musicals by blending brilliant location and studio production numbers to up-and-at-'em perfection. The Bronx is up and the Battery's down, but no one can be down after going On the Town.
GUYS AND DOLLS: Hollywood legends Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine (from the original Broadway cast) are dazzling in this Frank Loesser (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) masterpiece. Featuring hits like "Luck Be a Lady" and "A Woman in Love", this smash film version of one of Broadway's most popular musicals is guaranteed rip-roaring "four-star entertainment" (New York Daily News).
OCEAN'S 11: New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. When the lights go out on the Vegas strip, it's the perfect time to steal a kiss or a $25 chip. But for Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) and 10 partners in crime, it's the ideal moment to steal millions. Also starring Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, and packed with location-lensed glamour, suspense, comedy and a stunning twist ending, Ocean's 11 is a sure bet.
ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS: Robin and the 7 Hoods gives the Robin Hood legend a Depression-era, mobtown Chicago spin. North Side boss Robbo (Frank Sinatra) sets himself up as a latter-day Robin Hood with philanthropic fronts enabling him to scam the rich, take his cut and then give to the poor. Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Falk and Barbara Rush join in the giddy, gangsterish fun. And the jazzy Sammy Cahn/James Van Heusen score (including Sinatra's classic "My Kind of Town") is the perfect match for this all-star cast.
Monday, May 04, 2015
Ex-Mobster John Alite Alleges Cyber Bullying Attack by Gotti Family #GottisRules
He’s no Facebook friend of ours.
Instead of using brickbats or Berettas, relatives of notorious Mafia boss John Gotti are delivering a beatdown to a former Gambino enforcer the 21st-century way — on the Internet.
“U go to war with one of us u go to war Witt [sic] all of us simple as that,” declared John “Junior” Gotti’s son John Gotti Jr. on Twitter March 25.
The tweet is just one example of an escalating and bizarre online barrage — which includes phony Twitter accounts
, altered Wikipedia pages and doctored YouTube videos — targeting John Alite, who says the Gottis have relentlessly bullied him online ever since he was featured in a book titled “Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia,” which came out Jan. 27.
“They are blatantly attacking me on every front,” says reformed tough guy Alite, 52, who spent 14 years in prison on charges and convictions that included six murders and at least 37 shootings.
In the book and in subsequent interviews, Alite paints John “Junior” Gotti — who inherited the role of Gambino boss when his father, “Teflon Don” John Gotti, was sent to the slammer in 1992 — as an insecure leader reluctant to get his hands dirty and quick to blame others if things got messy.
Junior says he quit the mob in 1999, but Alite contends it’s the former Gambino boss who ordered the cyber-hit.
Dummy accounts such as “@JohnAliteLies” and “@JohnAlettoRatted” have sprung up on Twitter to mock him.
“SOME PPL FIGHT ISIS SOME PPL FIGHT RATS,” @JohnAliteLies tweeted March 28.
“Guy’s walking around like a celebrity and really believes it. Proudest rat Facebook’s ever seen,” the account sniped on April 9.
On YouTube, videos purporting to be from John Alite alter the title of “Gotti’s Rules” to read, “A Story About John Alite and his Lies.” Another video also shows a picture of Alite with red tape over his mouth, with a caption, “FBI Gave Him $55,000 to Fix his Teeth to Look Presentable to the Jury.”
Alite, a free man since 2012, is now a motivational speaker who tackles topics such as bullying and domestic violence.
He says he has received prank phone calls and insulting texts and says his Wikipedia page was altered after the book came out.
“As of 2015, John Alite came out as gay,” reads the alleged Wiki-tweak, which has been removed.
Alite fingered Gotti for the latest sniping.
“He’s been called a ‘baby bully’ since he was a kid,” said Alite. “This is his new tactic of being a cyberbully.” But Junior Gotti said it’s Alite who is the bully.
“At one time, I admit, I was the wolf. My father was the lion. We’re now the lambs. We’re being preyed on,” he told The Post.
Gotti said he has no doubt his family has lashed out at Alite.
“He accused my ex-brother Carmine of raping two girls. He accused my father of being a swinger. He said I was hanging out with a transvestite,” Gotti said. “So I’m sure my son reacted to it. I am sure my sister, who is fiercely protective of this family, she reacted to it.”
“They shared everything with me, and I’m beside myself with anger. This guy is a demented, sick character. He’s been going on a campaign, looking for a platform. I know his book has been tanking,” he said. But Gotti said he never orchestrated any attacks.
“I’m not computer literate,” he said.
Gotti said the family cut off Alite in 1991 as a Gambino flag bearer and wants nothing to do with him.
“Believe me, if you were an earner or a capable guy, organized crime doesn’t give you up too easy,” he said.
Thanks to Gary Buiso.
Instead of using brickbats or Berettas, relatives of notorious Mafia boss John Gotti are delivering a beatdown to a former Gambino enforcer the 21st-century way — on the Internet.
“U go to war with one of us u go to war Witt [sic] all of us simple as that,” declared John “Junior” Gotti’s son John Gotti Jr. on Twitter March 25.
The tweet is just one example of an escalating and bizarre online barrage — which includes phony Twitter accounts
, altered Wikipedia pages and doctored YouTube videos — targeting John Alite, who says the Gottis have relentlessly bullied him online ever since he was featured in a book titled “Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia,” which came out Jan. 27.“They are blatantly attacking me on every front,” says reformed tough guy Alite, 52, who spent 14 years in prison on charges and convictions that included six murders and at least 37 shootings.
In the book and in subsequent interviews, Alite paints John “Junior” Gotti — who inherited the role of Gambino boss when his father, “Teflon Don” John Gotti, was sent to the slammer in 1992 — as an insecure leader reluctant to get his hands dirty and quick to blame others if things got messy.
Junior says he quit the mob in 1999, but Alite contends it’s the former Gambino boss who ordered the cyber-hit.
Dummy accounts such as “@JohnAliteLies” and “@JohnAlettoRatted” have sprung up on Twitter to mock him.
“SOME PPL FIGHT ISIS SOME PPL FIGHT RATS,” @JohnAliteLies tweeted March 28.
“Guy’s walking around like a celebrity and really believes it. Proudest rat Facebook’s ever seen,” the account sniped on April 9.
On YouTube, videos purporting to be from John Alite alter the title of “Gotti’s Rules” to read, “A Story About John Alite and his Lies.” Another video also shows a picture of Alite with red tape over his mouth, with a caption, “FBI Gave Him $55,000 to Fix his Teeth to Look Presentable to the Jury.”
Alite, a free man since 2012, is now a motivational speaker who tackles topics such as bullying and domestic violence.
He says he has received prank phone calls and insulting texts and says his Wikipedia page was altered after the book came out.
“As of 2015, John Alite came out as gay,” reads the alleged Wiki-tweak, which has been removed.
Alite fingered Gotti for the latest sniping.
“He’s been called a ‘baby bully’ since he was a kid,” said Alite. “This is his new tactic of being a cyberbully.” But Junior Gotti said it’s Alite who is the bully.
“At one time, I admit, I was the wolf. My father was the lion. We’re now the lambs. We’re being preyed on,” he told The Post.
Gotti said he has no doubt his family has lashed out at Alite.
“He accused my ex-brother Carmine of raping two girls. He accused my father of being a swinger. He said I was hanging out with a transvestite,” Gotti said. “So I’m sure my son reacted to it. I am sure my sister, who is fiercely protective of this family, she reacted to it.”
“They shared everything with me, and I’m beside myself with anger. This guy is a demented, sick character. He’s been going on a campaign, looking for a platform. I know his book has been tanking,” he said. But Gotti said he never orchestrated any attacks.
“I’m not computer literate,” he said.
Gotti said the family cut off Alite in 1991 as a Gambino flag bearer and wants nothing to do with him.
“Believe me, if you were an earner or a capable guy, organized crime doesn’t give you up too easy,” he said.
Thanks to Gary Buiso.
Parole Board Chief Gives Legal Advice to Tony Madafferi, Reputed Head of Mafia
Victorian parole board chief Bill Gillard has broken his silence about giving legal advice to the alleged head of Melbourne's mafia.
Mr Gillard submitted his resignation last week after The Age revealed his role in advising alleged crime figure Tony Madafferi, who was fighting a police ban from Crown casino. But Mr Gillard says he didn't actually know of Mr Madafferi's background when they first met as the meeting was set up by an acquaintance.
"I met him, but I had no idea that allegations had been made against him until about two months later," he told ABC television on Sunday night.
Mr Gillard had previously not responded to The Age's questions about his dealings with Mr Madafferi.
He told the ABC his meeting with Mr Madafferi lasted 20 minutes and he only provided the most basic of legal advice. He received fruit as thanks for his efforts, he said.
"I hope you're a good person because now, when I talk to anybody, I've got to find out."
Mr Gillard stepped down after intense pressure from the government. But he pointed out how he had previously extended his stay in the parole board role while the search continued for a replacement.
"I found the job very demanding, very tiring, but I didn't resign because it's important to have a head of the board," he said.
His resignation takes effect at the end of the week.
Thanks to Steve Lillebuen.
Mr Gillard submitted his resignation last week after The Age revealed his role in advising alleged crime figure Tony Madafferi, who was fighting a police ban from Crown casino. But Mr Gillard says he didn't actually know of Mr Madafferi's background when they first met as the meeting was set up by an acquaintance.
"I met him, but I had no idea that allegations had been made against him until about two months later," he told ABC television on Sunday night.
Mr Gillard had previously not responded to The Age's questions about his dealings with Mr Madafferi.
He told the ABC his meeting with Mr Madafferi lasted 20 minutes and he only provided the most basic of legal advice. He received fruit as thanks for his efforts, he said.
"I hope you're a good person because now, when I talk to anybody, I've got to find out."
Mr Gillard stepped down after intense pressure from the government. But he pointed out how he had previously extended his stay in the parole board role while the search continued for a replacement.
"I found the job very demanding, very tiring, but I didn't resign because it's important to have a head of the board," he said.
His resignation takes effect at the end of the week.
Thanks to Steve Lillebuen.
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