Senate Bill 424 by Senator Tom Lee (R-Brandon) is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Tuesday, January 14, at 2:00 pm.
SB-424 is a bill to stop insurance companies from discriminating against gun owners. Click here to view the bill text SB-424
Please E-MAIL Committee members and ask them to SUPPORT SB-424
IN THE SUBJECT LINE PUT: SUPPORT SB-424 -- Stop Discrimination of Gun Owners
(To send your message to all just Block and Copy All email addresses into the "Send To" box)
simmons.david.web@flsenate.gov,
benacquisto.lizbeth.web@flsenate.gov,
clemens.jeff.web@flsenate.gov,
detert.nancy.web@flsenate.gov,
portilla.miguel.web@flsenate.gov,
hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov,
lee.tom.web@flsenate.gov,
margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov,
montford.bill.web@flsenate.gov,
negron.joe.web@flsenate.gov,
richter.garrett.web@flsenate.gov,
ring.jeremy.web@flsenate.gov,
Committee members need to hear from you. There are cases of insurance companies refusing to provide insurance to gun owners because they own guns, as well as cases where applications for insurance contain questions about gun ownership. SB-424 will stop such practices.
Please e-mail Committee Members today.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Lush Life - Constructing Organized Crime in the UK
Lush Life: Constructing Organized Crime in the UK opens 'the box marked do not open, too difficult to deal with', in the words of one Assistant Chief Constable, to explore the contested notion of British organized crime. The first book to trace the history and policing of British organized crime, it addresses how the interlocking processes of de-industrialisation, globalisation and neo-liberalism have normalised activity that was previously the exclusive domain of professional criminals.
With both historical and sociological analyses, informed by the author's long term connection to an ethnographic site called 'Dogtown', a composite of several overlapping neighbourhoods in East London, this book critically addresses cliches such as criminal underworlds and the notion of the criminal firm. It considers the precursors to British organized crime, as well as the careers of famous crime families such as the Krays and the Richardsons, alongside the emergence of specialised law enforcement institutions to deal with this newly discovered threat. It also focuses on the various ways in which violence functions within organised crime, the role of rumour in formulating order within crime networks, the social construction of organised crime, the development of the cosmopolitan criminal and the all-inclusive nature of the contemporary criminal community of practice. Permeating throughout is a discussion of the flexible nature of the criminal market, the constructed nature of the notion of organised crime, and the normalisation of criminality.
Underpinned by rich, context-specific examples, case studies, stories, and other qualitative evidence based on ethnographic research and interviews, Lush Life follows on from the author's work on normal crime (DOING THE BUSINESS
), and professional crime (Bad Business: Professional Crime in Modern Britain
).
With both historical and sociological analyses, informed by the author's long term connection to an ethnographic site called 'Dogtown', a composite of several overlapping neighbourhoods in East London, this book critically addresses cliches such as criminal underworlds and the notion of the criminal firm. It considers the precursors to British organized crime, as well as the careers of famous crime families such as the Krays and the Richardsons, alongside the emergence of specialised law enforcement institutions to deal with this newly discovered threat. It also focuses on the various ways in which violence functions within organised crime, the role of rumour in formulating order within crime networks, the social construction of organised crime, the development of the cosmopolitan criminal and the all-inclusive nature of the contemporary criminal community of practice. Permeating throughout is a discussion of the flexible nature of the criminal market, the constructed nature of the notion of organised crime, and the normalisation of criminality.
Underpinned by rich, context-specific examples, case studies, stories, and other qualitative evidence based on ethnographic research and interviews, Lush Life follows on from the author's work on normal crime (DOING THE BUSINESS
), and professional crime (Bad Business: Professional Crime in Modern Britain).Sunday, January 12, 2014
DEA Official Joins Newly Formed National Commission on Forensic Sciences
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced appointments to a newly created National Commission on Forensic Science.
Members of the commission will work to improve the practice of forensic science by developing guidance concerning the intersections between forensic science and the criminal justice system. The commission also will work to develop policy recommendations for the U.S. Attorney General, including uniform codes for professional responsibility and requirements for formal training and certification.
The commission is co-chaired by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Patrick D. Gallagher. Nelson Santos, deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Forensic Sciences at the Drug Enforcement Administration, and John M. Butler, special assistant to the NIST director for forensic science, serve as vice-chairs.
“I appreciate the commitment each of the commissioners has made and look forward to working with them to strengthen the validity and reliability of the forensic sciences and enhance quality assurance and quality control,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole. “Scientifically valid and accurate forensic analysis supports all aspects of our justice system.”
The commission includes federal, state and local forensic science service providers; research scientists and academics; law enforcement officials; prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges; and other stakeholders from across the country. This breadth of experience and expertise reflects the many different entities that contribute to forensic science practice in the U.S. and will ensure these broad perspectives are represented on the commission and in its work.
“This new commission represents an extremely broad range of expertise and skills,” said Under Secretary Gallagher. “It will help ensure that forensic science is supported by the strongest possible science-based evidence gathering, analysis and measurement.
“This latest and most impressive collaboration between the Department of Justice and the National Institute of Standards and Technology will help ensure that the forensic sciences are supported by the most rigorous standards available—a foundational requirement in a nation built on the credo of ‘justice for all,’” said John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The following commissioners were chosen from a pool of more than 300 candidates:
Suzanne Bell, Ph.D., Associate Professor, West Virginia University; Frederick Bieber, Ph.D., Medical Geneticist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School;
Thomas Cech, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder; Cecelia Crouse, Ph.D., Director, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Crime Laboratory; Gregory Czarnopys, Deputy Assistant Director, Forensic Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; M. Bonner Denton, Ph.D., Professor, University of Arizona; Vincent Di Maio, M.D., Consultant in Forensic Pathology; Troy Duster, Ph.D., Chancellor’s Professor and Senior Fellow, Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, University of California, Berkeley; Jules Epstein, Associate Professor of Law, Widener University; Stephen Fienberg, Ph.D., Maurice Falk University Professor of Statistics and Social Science, Carnegie Mellon University; Andrea Ferreira-Gonzalez, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Director Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Virginia Commonwealth University; John Fudenberg, Assistant Coroner, Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner, Clark County, Nevada; S. James Gates, Jr., Ph.D., University System Regents Professor and John S. Toll Professor of Physics, University of Maryland; Dean Gialamas, Crime Laboratory Director, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Scientific Services Bureau; Paul Giannelli, Distinguished University Professor and Albert J Weatherhead III and Richard W. Weatherhead Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University; Hon. Barbara Hervey, Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; Susan Howley, Public Policy Director, National Center for Victims of Crime; Ted Hunt, Chief Trial Attorney, Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Kansas City, Missouri; Linda Jackson, Director, Virginia Department of Forensic Science; John Kacavas, United States Attorney, District of New Hampshire; Pamela King, Assistant State Public Defender, Minnesota State Public Defender Office; Marc LeBeau, Ph.D., Senior Forensic Scientist, Scientific Analysis Section, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Julia Leighton, General Counsel, Public Defender Service, District of Columbia; Hon. Bridget Mary McCormack, Justice, Michigan Supreme Court; Peter Neufeld, Co-Director, Innocence Project, Benjamin Cardozo School of Law; Phil Pulaski, Chief of Detectives, New York City Police Department; Hon. Jed Rakoff, Senior United States District Judge, Southern District of New York; Matthew Redle, Sheridan County and Prosecuting Attorney, Sheridan, Wyoming; Michael “Jeff” Salyards, Ph.D., Executive Director, Defense Forensic Science Center, Department of the Army; and Ryant Washington, Sheriff, Fluvanna County Sherriff’s Office, Fluvanna, Virginia.
Ex-Officio Members:
David Honey, Ph.D., Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Science and Technology and Director of Science and Technology, Office of the Director of National Intelligence; Marilyn Huestis, Ph.D., Chief, Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health; Gerald LaPorte, Acting Director, Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences, National Institute of Justice; Patricia Manzolillo, Laboratory Director, Forensic Laboratory Services, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Frances Schrotter, Senior Vice President and Chief Operation Officer, American National Standards Institute; Kathryn Turman, Program Director, Office for Victim Assistance, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Mark Weiss, Ph.D., Division Director, Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, National Science Foundation.
The first meeting of the Commission will be held February 3-4, 2014, at 810 7th Street, N.W., Washington, DC.
Members of the commission will work to improve the practice of forensic science by developing guidance concerning the intersections between forensic science and the criminal justice system. The commission also will work to develop policy recommendations for the U.S. Attorney General, including uniform codes for professional responsibility and requirements for formal training and certification.
The commission is co-chaired by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Patrick D. Gallagher. Nelson Santos, deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Forensic Sciences at the Drug Enforcement Administration, and John M. Butler, special assistant to the NIST director for forensic science, serve as vice-chairs.
“I appreciate the commitment each of the commissioners has made and look forward to working with them to strengthen the validity and reliability of the forensic sciences and enhance quality assurance and quality control,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole. “Scientifically valid and accurate forensic analysis supports all aspects of our justice system.”
The commission includes federal, state and local forensic science service providers; research scientists and academics; law enforcement officials; prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges; and other stakeholders from across the country. This breadth of experience and expertise reflects the many different entities that contribute to forensic science practice in the U.S. and will ensure these broad perspectives are represented on the commission and in its work.
“This new commission represents an extremely broad range of expertise and skills,” said Under Secretary Gallagher. “It will help ensure that forensic science is supported by the strongest possible science-based evidence gathering, analysis and measurement.
“This latest and most impressive collaboration between the Department of Justice and the National Institute of Standards and Technology will help ensure that the forensic sciences are supported by the most rigorous standards available—a foundational requirement in a nation built on the credo of ‘justice for all,’” said John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The following commissioners were chosen from a pool of more than 300 candidates:
Suzanne Bell, Ph.D., Associate Professor, West Virginia University; Frederick Bieber, Ph.D., Medical Geneticist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School;
Thomas Cech, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder; Cecelia Crouse, Ph.D., Director, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Crime Laboratory; Gregory Czarnopys, Deputy Assistant Director, Forensic Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; M. Bonner Denton, Ph.D., Professor, University of Arizona; Vincent Di Maio, M.D., Consultant in Forensic Pathology; Troy Duster, Ph.D., Chancellor’s Professor and Senior Fellow, Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, University of California, Berkeley; Jules Epstein, Associate Professor of Law, Widener University; Stephen Fienberg, Ph.D., Maurice Falk University Professor of Statistics and Social Science, Carnegie Mellon University; Andrea Ferreira-Gonzalez, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Director Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Virginia Commonwealth University; John Fudenberg, Assistant Coroner, Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner, Clark County, Nevada; S. James Gates, Jr., Ph.D., University System Regents Professor and John S. Toll Professor of Physics, University of Maryland; Dean Gialamas, Crime Laboratory Director, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Scientific Services Bureau; Paul Giannelli, Distinguished University Professor and Albert J Weatherhead III and Richard W. Weatherhead Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University; Hon. Barbara Hervey, Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; Susan Howley, Public Policy Director, National Center for Victims of Crime; Ted Hunt, Chief Trial Attorney, Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Kansas City, Missouri; Linda Jackson, Director, Virginia Department of Forensic Science; John Kacavas, United States Attorney, District of New Hampshire; Pamela King, Assistant State Public Defender, Minnesota State Public Defender Office; Marc LeBeau, Ph.D., Senior Forensic Scientist, Scientific Analysis Section, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Julia Leighton, General Counsel, Public Defender Service, District of Columbia; Hon. Bridget Mary McCormack, Justice, Michigan Supreme Court; Peter Neufeld, Co-Director, Innocence Project, Benjamin Cardozo School of Law; Phil Pulaski, Chief of Detectives, New York City Police Department; Hon. Jed Rakoff, Senior United States District Judge, Southern District of New York; Matthew Redle, Sheridan County and Prosecuting Attorney, Sheridan, Wyoming; Michael “Jeff” Salyards, Ph.D., Executive Director, Defense Forensic Science Center, Department of the Army; and Ryant Washington, Sheriff, Fluvanna County Sherriff’s Office, Fluvanna, Virginia.
Ex-Officio Members:
David Honey, Ph.D., Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Science and Technology and Director of Science and Technology, Office of the Director of National Intelligence; Marilyn Huestis, Ph.D., Chief, Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health; Gerald LaPorte, Acting Director, Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences, National Institute of Justice; Patricia Manzolillo, Laboratory Director, Forensic Laboratory Services, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Frances Schrotter, Senior Vice President and Chief Operation Officer, American National Standards Institute; Kathryn Turman, Program Director, Office for Victim Assistance, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Mark Weiss, Ph.D., Division Director, Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, National Science Foundation.
The first meeting of the Commission will be held February 3-4, 2014, at 810 7th Street, N.W., Washington, DC.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
#Chicago is a Legal Loser on the Gun Front, Again #GunRights
Since the death of communism in most of the places where it once prevailed, North Korea and Cuba function mainly as educational exhibits for an irrelevant and unsuccessful ideology. When it comes to the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, the city of Chicago fills a similar role.
The city is famous for some of the strictest gun laws in the country. In 1982, it approved a near-total ban on handguns. In 1992, it outlawed "assault weapons." Mayors and aldermen never tired of railing against firearms.
In 2008, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in Washington, D.C., it was clear that Chicago was on what liberals often refer to, in other contexts, as the wrong side of history. But the people in City Hall were either not smart enough or not honest enough to make peace with change. They preferred to emulate the cavalry troops in "The Charge of the Light Brigade," who rallied to the call, "Charge for the guns!" despite the certainty of defeat.
In the 2008 verdict, the justices said the Second Amendment upholds an individual right to possess firearms for self-defense. But the city fought a legal challenge to its handgun ban — only to lose, predictably, in the Supreme Court.
Besides being a legal and policy setback, it was a loss for taxpayers, who had to pay not only the cost of defending the ordinance but the cost of challenging it. Chicago was obliged to pay $1.4 million to the National Rifle Association, which won the lawsuit.
Did this expensive indignity persuade then-Mayor Richard M. Daley to abandon the fight? Ha. He pushed through a new ordinance intended to demonize and discourage gun ownership as much as he could get away with — which, as became apparent, was not very much.
The measure required gun owners to get at least five hours of training, including one hour at a shooting range. In a novel twist, though, it outlawed "shooting galleries, firearm ranges or any other place where firearms are discharged." The city claimed proper training is vital while hindering residents from getting it.
This section prompted another lawsuit, which argued that the right to own a gun for protection was of limited value if owners had no chance to achieve and maintain proficiency in using one — and that they shouldn't have to leave the city to comply with the city's very own rules. A federal appeals court agreed.
Judge Ilana Rovner said, "The ordinance admittedly was designed to make gun ownership as difficult as possible." But she noted pointedly that the Supreme Court has upheld "the Second Amendment right to possess a gun in the home for self-defense and the city must come to terms with that reality."
The same ordinance dictated that every gun be registered (even though Illinois already required every gun owner to register with the state). The courts never got to consider the constitutionality of that requirement, because the General Assembly passed a law overruling it.
A federal appeals court, however, did order the state to grant permits to carry concealed handguns, as every other state does. In short order, Chicago went from completely banning handguns to having to let licensed owners pack them in public.
Defeats don't get much more total than that. But like the Washington Generals, who get beat by the Harlem Globetrotters every night, the city stubbornly insists on entering contests it is bound to lose.
The latest was Monday, when a federal district judge invalidated the city's ban on the sale or transfer of firearms. The ordinance makes it illegal to operate a federally licensed gun shop or even for a father to give a gun to his son.
As usual with Chicago gun laws, it went too far. "The ban on gun sales and transfers," wrote Judge Edmond Chang, "prevents Chicagoans from fulfilling, within the limits of Chicago, the most fundamental prerequisite of legal gun ownership — that of simple acquisition."
This should come as no surprise to anyone who has paid attention to the Supreme Court's reasoning on the Second Amendment. But Chicago politicians have let their hostility toward guns and gun owners blind them to the obvious.
The old proverb says there's no education in the second kick of a mule. But for some people, once is not enough.
Thanks to Steve Chapman.
The city is famous for some of the strictest gun laws in the country. In 1982, it approved a near-total ban on handguns. In 1992, it outlawed "assault weapons." Mayors and aldermen never tired of railing against firearms.
In 2008, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in Washington, D.C., it was clear that Chicago was on what liberals often refer to, in other contexts, as the wrong side of history. But the people in City Hall were either not smart enough or not honest enough to make peace with change. They preferred to emulate the cavalry troops in "The Charge of the Light Brigade," who rallied to the call, "Charge for the guns!" despite the certainty of defeat.
In the 2008 verdict, the justices said the Second Amendment upholds an individual right to possess firearms for self-defense. But the city fought a legal challenge to its handgun ban — only to lose, predictably, in the Supreme Court.
Besides being a legal and policy setback, it was a loss for taxpayers, who had to pay not only the cost of defending the ordinance but the cost of challenging it. Chicago was obliged to pay $1.4 million to the National Rifle Association, which won the lawsuit.
Did this expensive indignity persuade then-Mayor Richard M. Daley to abandon the fight? Ha. He pushed through a new ordinance intended to demonize and discourage gun ownership as much as he could get away with — which, as became apparent, was not very much.
The measure required gun owners to get at least five hours of training, including one hour at a shooting range. In a novel twist, though, it outlawed "shooting galleries, firearm ranges or any other place where firearms are discharged." The city claimed proper training is vital while hindering residents from getting it.
This section prompted another lawsuit, which argued that the right to own a gun for protection was of limited value if owners had no chance to achieve and maintain proficiency in using one — and that they shouldn't have to leave the city to comply with the city's very own rules. A federal appeals court agreed.
Judge Ilana Rovner said, "The ordinance admittedly was designed to make gun ownership as difficult as possible." But she noted pointedly that the Supreme Court has upheld "the Second Amendment right to possess a gun in the home for self-defense and the city must come to terms with that reality."
The same ordinance dictated that every gun be registered (even though Illinois already required every gun owner to register with the state). The courts never got to consider the constitutionality of that requirement, because the General Assembly passed a law overruling it.
A federal appeals court, however, did order the state to grant permits to carry concealed handguns, as every other state does. In short order, Chicago went from completely banning handguns to having to let licensed owners pack them in public.
Defeats don't get much more total than that. But like the Washington Generals, who get beat by the Harlem Globetrotters every night, the city stubbornly insists on entering contests it is bound to lose.
The latest was Monday, when a federal district judge invalidated the city's ban on the sale or transfer of firearms. The ordinance makes it illegal to operate a federally licensed gun shop or even for a father to give a gun to his son.
As usual with Chicago gun laws, it went too far. "The ban on gun sales and transfers," wrote Judge Edmond Chang, "prevents Chicagoans from fulfilling, within the limits of Chicago, the most fundamental prerequisite of legal gun ownership — that of simple acquisition."
This should come as no surprise to anyone who has paid attention to the Supreme Court's reasoning on the Second Amendment. But Chicago politicians have let their hostility toward guns and gun owners blind them to the obvious.
The old proverb says there's no education in the second kick of a mule. But for some people, once is not enough.
Thanks to Steve Chapman.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Did Gun Control Cause the Holocaust? - Gun Control in the Third Reich Disarming the Jews and “Enemies of the State”
Based on newly-discovered, secret documents from German archives, diaries and newspapers of the time, Gun Control in the Third Reich presents the definitive, yet hidden history of how the Nazi regime made use of gun control to disarm and repress its enemies and consolidate power. The countless books on the Third Reich and the Holocaust fail even to mention the laws restricting firearms ownership, which rendered political opponents and Jews defenseless. A skeptic could surmise that a better-armed populace might have made no difference, but the National Socialist regime certainly did not think so—it ruthlessly suppressed firearm ownership by disfavored groups.
Gun Control in the Third Reich spans the two decades from the birth of the Weimar Republic in 1918 through Kristallnacht in 1938. The book then presents a panorama of pertinent events during World War II regarding the effects of the disarming policies. And even though in the occupied countries the Nazis decreed the death penalty for possession of a firearm, there developed instances of heroic armed resistance by Jews, particularly the Warsaw ghetto uprising.
Gun Control in the Third Reich spans the two decades from the birth of the Weimar Republic in 1918 through Kristallnacht in 1938. The book then presents a panorama of pertinent events during World War II regarding the effects of the disarming policies. And even though in the occupied countries the Nazis decreed the death penalty for possession of a firearm, there developed instances of heroic armed resistance by Jews, particularly the Warsaw ghetto uprising.
Tax Preparer Verlean Hollins Pleads Guilty and Sharon Anzaldi Sentenced to Five Years in Prison in Separate Federal Income Tax Fraud Cases
A former Chicago tax preparer pleaded guilty to filing nearly 3,200 false federal income tax returns for clients, while in a separate case in federal court yesterday, a suburban tax preparer was sentenced to 63 months in prison for fraudulently claiming more than $8 million in tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. The unrelated federal prosecutions serve as a reminder to tax preparers and taxpayers alike to comply with the law as the 2013 tax season gets underway.
“With tax season upon us,
I want to assure taxpayers that the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division is focused on protecting revenue by identifying and investigating abusive tax return preparers. While most return preparers are honest and provide excellent service, a few unscrupulous tax preparers file false returns to defraud their clients and the United States government,” said James C. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.
“Today, we remind dishonest tax preparers: we are watching your activities. These cases should send a loud message to any dishonest return preparers who might be thinking of engaging in criminal activity, and taxpayers should choose carefully when hiring a tax preparer,” Mr. Lee added.
The guilty plea and sentencing were announced by Mr. Lee; Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In one case, Verlean Hollins, who owned Taxes Etc. Inc., a tax preparation business located in the 2300 block of East 71st Street, between at least 2010 and 2012, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false federal income tax returns. Hollins, 43, of South Holland, who was charged on December 19, faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a fine of nearly $800,000 when she is sentenced on April 22 by U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan.
Hollins admitted that for calendar years 2009 through 2011, she filed a total of 3,193 individual income tax returns for clients, each of which falsely claimed higher education tax credits. As a result, she falsely claimed refunds totaling more than $3.372 million for her clients, the majority of whom paid her approximately $125 to prepare their returns, although her fee ranged between $25 and $400. The vast majority of Hollins’ clients never indicated that they or a dependent were eligible for a college tuition credit, and among the small number of her clients who were eligible for the tax credit, none provided any documents to support eligibility.
Hollins’ plea agreement anticipates an advisory federal sentencing guidelines range of 46 to 57 months in prison, and she agreed to a fine of $798,250. Each count of assisting in the preparation of a false federal income tax return carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine or an alternate fine of twice the gain or twice the loss, whichever is greater. In addition, defendants convicted of tax offenses must pay the costs of prosecution and remain liable for any taxes and interest, as well as a civil penalty up to 75 percent of the taxes owed. The court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaarina Salovaara.
In a separate case, Sharon Anzaldi, 67, of Elmwood Park, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $851,142 in restitution to the IRS for filing 13 false federal income tax returns for herself, friends, and family that fraudulently claimed refunds totaling more than $8 million and caused the IRS to actually pay more than $1 million in bogus refunds.
Anzaldi, who represented herself and was convicted at trial last summer, is associated with the sovereign citizen movement. She was ordered to begin serving her sentence on February 25 by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber. Evidence at trial showed that in one instance, Anzaldi charged a couple $31,000 for her “services” for filing a fraudulent tax return that they simply went along with and did not really understand. The couple returned the bulk of their fraudulent refund but continue to accrue penalties and interest on the amount they spent before returning the money.
Convicted at trial with Anzaldi were her son, Phillip DeSalvo, 42, of Bartlett, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison, and Steven Latin, 51, of Crystal Lake, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Cannon and Dylan Smith.
“With tax season upon us,
I want to assure taxpayers that the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division is focused on protecting revenue by identifying and investigating abusive tax return preparers. While most return preparers are honest and provide excellent service, a few unscrupulous tax preparers file false returns to defraud their clients and the United States government,” said James C. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.“Today, we remind dishonest tax preparers: we are watching your activities. These cases should send a loud message to any dishonest return preparers who might be thinking of engaging in criminal activity, and taxpayers should choose carefully when hiring a tax preparer,” Mr. Lee added.
The guilty plea and sentencing were announced by Mr. Lee; Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In one case, Verlean Hollins, who owned Taxes Etc. Inc., a tax preparation business located in the 2300 block of East 71st Street, between at least 2010 and 2012, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false federal income tax returns. Hollins, 43, of South Holland, who was charged on December 19, faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a fine of nearly $800,000 when she is sentenced on April 22 by U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan.
Hollins admitted that for calendar years 2009 through 2011, she filed a total of 3,193 individual income tax returns for clients, each of which falsely claimed higher education tax credits. As a result, she falsely claimed refunds totaling more than $3.372 million for her clients, the majority of whom paid her approximately $125 to prepare their returns, although her fee ranged between $25 and $400. The vast majority of Hollins’ clients never indicated that they or a dependent were eligible for a college tuition credit, and among the small number of her clients who were eligible for the tax credit, none provided any documents to support eligibility.
Hollins’ plea agreement anticipates an advisory federal sentencing guidelines range of 46 to 57 months in prison, and she agreed to a fine of $798,250. Each count of assisting in the preparation of a false federal income tax return carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine or an alternate fine of twice the gain or twice the loss, whichever is greater. In addition, defendants convicted of tax offenses must pay the costs of prosecution and remain liable for any taxes and interest, as well as a civil penalty up to 75 percent of the taxes owed. The court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaarina Salovaara.
In a separate case, Sharon Anzaldi, 67, of Elmwood Park, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $851,142 in restitution to the IRS for filing 13 false federal income tax returns for herself, friends, and family that fraudulently claimed refunds totaling more than $8 million and caused the IRS to actually pay more than $1 million in bogus refunds.
Anzaldi, who represented herself and was convicted at trial last summer, is associated with the sovereign citizen movement. She was ordered to begin serving her sentence on February 25 by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber. Evidence at trial showed that in one instance, Anzaldi charged a couple $31,000 for her “services” for filing a fraudulent tax return that they simply went along with and did not really understand. The couple returned the bulk of their fraudulent refund but continue to accrue penalties and interest on the amount they spent before returning the money.
Convicted at trial with Anzaldi were her son, Phillip DeSalvo, 42, of Bartlett, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison, and Steven Latin, 51, of Crystal Lake, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Cannon and Dylan Smith.
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Nashville Fugitive, Corey Taylor, Arrested by Chicago Police
Chicago police Wednesday night apprehended a fugitive from Nashville who was wanted for terrorizing a family inside their Glenrose Avenue apartment on Monday evening in Nashville.
Corey Taylor, 26, was spotted by a Chicago officer inside the victim’s 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. He was taken into custody without incident and is being held on Nashville warrants charging five counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of aggravated robbery.
The 71-year-old victim reported that he met a man, known to him only as Corey (subsequently identified as Corey Taylor) at a bus station downtown a few weeks prior. He had allowed Taylor to sleep on his couch for a few days prior to a fight breaking out Monday. During the fight, Taylor was alleged to have pulled a knife, threatened to kill the 71-year-old and his family and prevented them from leaving the apartment. Taylor ultimately took several watches, a cell phone, cash and the victim’s car keys before fleeing.
Follow up investigation by Detectives Dennis Shepherd and Rick Heiman led to the positive identification of Corey Taylor as the suspect. It was learned that Taylor had ties to Chicago, which prompted an alert being sent to Illinois authorities.
Taylor’s return to Nashville is pending.
Corey Taylor, 26, was spotted by a Chicago officer inside the victim’s 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. He was taken into custody without incident and is being held on Nashville warrants charging five counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of aggravated robbery.
The 71-year-old victim reported that he met a man, known to him only as Corey (subsequently identified as Corey Taylor) at a bus station downtown a few weeks prior. He had allowed Taylor to sleep on his couch for a few days prior to a fight breaking out Monday. During the fight, Taylor was alleged to have pulled a knife, threatened to kill the 71-year-old and his family and prevented them from leaving the apartment. Taylor ultimately took several watches, a cell phone, cash and the victim’s car keys before fleeing.
Follow up investigation by Detectives Dennis Shepherd and Rick Heiman led to the positive identification of Corey Taylor as the suspect. It was learned that Taylor had ties to Chicago, which prompted an alert being sent to Illinois authorities.
Taylor’s return to Nashville is pending.
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Robert Gates is Strikingly Candid with "Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War"
From the former secretary of defense, a strikingly candid, vividly written account of his experience serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Before Robert M. Gates received a call from the White House in 2006, he thought he’d left Washington politics behind: after working for six presidents in both the CIA and the National Security Council, he was happy in his role as president of Texas A&M University. But when he was asked to help a nation mired in two wars and to aid the troops doing the fighting, he answered what he felt was the call of duty. Now, in this unsparing memoir, meticulously fair in its assessments, he takes us behind the scenes of his nearly five years as a secretary at war: the battles with Congress, the two presidents he served, the military itself, and the vast Pentagon bureaucracy; his efforts to help Bush turn the tide in Iraq; his role as a guiding, and often dissenting, voice for Obama; the ardent devotion to and love for American soldiers—his “heroes”—he developed on the job.
In relating his personal journey as secretary, Gates draws us into the innermost sanctums of government and military power during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, illuminating iconic figures, vital negotiations, and critical situations in revealing, intimate detail. Offering unvarnished appraisals of Dick Cheney, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Presidents Bush and Obama among other key players, Gates exposes the full spectrum of behind-closed-doors politicking within both the Bush and Obama administrations.
He discusses the great controversies of his tenure—surges in both Iraq and Afghanistan, how to deal with Iran and Syria, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” Guantánamo Bay, WikiLeaks—as they played out behind the television cameras. He brings to life the Situation Room during the Bin Laden raid. And, searingly, he shows how congressional debate and action or inaction on everything from equipment budgeting to troop withdrawals was often motivated, to his increasing despair and anger, more by party politics and media impact than by members’ desires to protect our soldiers and ensure their success.
However embroiled he became in the trials of Washington, Gates makes clear that his heart was always in the most important theater of his tenure as secretary: the front lines. We journey with him to both war zones as he meets with active-duty troops and their commanders, awed by their courage, and also witness him greet coffin after flag-draped coffin returned to U.S. soil, heartbreakingly aware that he signed every deployment order. In frank and poignant vignettes, Gates conveys the human cost of war, and his admiration for those brave enough to undertake it when necessary.
Duty tells a powerful and deeply personal story that allows us an unprecedented look at two administrations and the wars that have defined them.
Before Robert M. Gates received a call from the White House in 2006, he thought he’d left Washington politics behind: after working for six presidents in both the CIA and the National Security Council, he was happy in his role as president of Texas A&M University. But when he was asked to help a nation mired in two wars and to aid the troops doing the fighting, he answered what he felt was the call of duty. Now, in this unsparing memoir, meticulously fair in its assessments, he takes us behind the scenes of his nearly five years as a secretary at war: the battles with Congress, the two presidents he served, the military itself, and the vast Pentagon bureaucracy; his efforts to help Bush turn the tide in Iraq; his role as a guiding, and often dissenting, voice for Obama; the ardent devotion to and love for American soldiers—his “heroes”—he developed on the job.
In relating his personal journey as secretary, Gates draws us into the innermost sanctums of government and military power during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, illuminating iconic figures, vital negotiations, and critical situations in revealing, intimate detail. Offering unvarnished appraisals of Dick Cheney, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Presidents Bush and Obama among other key players, Gates exposes the full spectrum of behind-closed-doors politicking within both the Bush and Obama administrations.
He discusses the great controversies of his tenure—surges in both Iraq and Afghanistan, how to deal with Iran and Syria, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” Guantánamo Bay, WikiLeaks—as they played out behind the television cameras. He brings to life the Situation Room during the Bin Laden raid. And, searingly, he shows how congressional debate and action or inaction on everything from equipment budgeting to troop withdrawals was often motivated, to his increasing despair and anger, more by party politics and media impact than by members’ desires to protect our soldiers and ensure their success.
However embroiled he became in the trials of Washington, Gates makes clear that his heart was always in the most important theater of his tenure as secretary: the front lines. We journey with him to both war zones as he meets with active-duty troops and their commanders, awed by their courage, and also witness him greet coffin after flag-draped coffin returned to U.S. soil, heartbreakingly aware that he signed every deployment order. In frank and poignant vignettes, Gates conveys the human cost of war, and his admiration for those brave enough to undertake it when necessary.
Duty tells a powerful and deeply personal story that allows us an unprecedented look at two administrations and the wars that have defined them.
Christmas Eve Homicide Suspect Captured
Maurice Jamar Bentley, a Savannah man wanted for Murder and Aggravated Assault by the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department (SCMPD), was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service Savannah Office of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and members of the SCMPD Precinct 3 Tactical Investigations Unit.
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
Over 100 Retired New York Cops, Firefighters, and Correction Officers Charged in Massive 9/11 Fraud, Indictment Says
More than 100 retired New York City cops, firefighters and correction officers were charged today with falsely claiming to be suffering from depression and anxiety as a result of the 9/11 terror attacks, New York prosecutors said today.
The alleged scam won awards up to $500,000 for the uniformed personnel and cost taxpayers millions of dollars, according to the indictment.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said the suspects "cynically manufactured claims of mental illness as a result of Sept 11th... dishonoring the first responders."
Police Commissioner William Bratton said, "The retired members of the NYP indicted in this case have disgraced all first responders who perished during the search and rescue efforts on Sept. 11, 2001."
The prosecution backed up its case with recorded phone calls of the suspects being coached on how to behave in front of a medical board and photos of the suspects doing vigorous activity like jet skiing, doing mixed martial arts, and going on cruises after convincing doctors they were unable to leave their homes.
Today's arrests cap a two year investigation, aided by federal investigators, the city's Department of Investigation and the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau.
The alleged fraud cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in improper Social Security benefits.
The indictment charges four men with masterminding the alleged fraud, including attorney Raymond Lavellee, 81, Thomas Hale, 89, Joseph Esposito, 70, and John Minerva, 59.
Hale is president of a firm that determines eligibility for Social Security disability. Esposito is a former NYPD employee and Minerva is an ex-cop who is currently a disability consultant for the Detectives Endowment Association.
None of the accused actually suffered from debilitating stress, officials claim. Many were caught working after retirement, a violation of disability benefits. And some of the retired officers retained their gun permits. Retired officers cannot possess guns if they are being treated for stress.
Court papers included what prosecutors said were recorded phone calls in which Esposito "coached" the officers how to dress and behave and now to muff questions to show that lacked concentration.
"They're liable to say... spell the word 'world,' so you go 'W-R-L-D.' Then they're gonnna say 'Spell it backwards.' You think about it, and you can't spell it backwards," Esposito was recorded saying.
He allegedly told officers claiming that their debilitating anxieties stemmed from the 9/11 attacks to tell examiners they were "afraid of planes and entering large buildings."
The 9/11 attacks took a heavy toll on the city's cops, called "New York's Finest," and firefighters, dubbed "New York's Bravest." The casualty count from the terror attacks included 23 police officers and 343 firefighters.
Most of the arrests in the fraud sweep took place in the city, with others being busted in Florida and elsewhere in New York State.
It was the second 9/11 scam to be revealed this week. On Monday, two New Jersey men pleaded guilty to raising and keeping $50,000 for a Sept. 11 charity that was supposed to help families who lost loved one in the catastrophe. Thomas Scalgione and Mark Niemczyk never gave any of the more than $50,000 in proceeds to the victims' families or to charities as promised, they told the court.
Thanks to Aaron Katersky.
The alleged scam won awards up to $500,000 for the uniformed personnel and cost taxpayers millions of dollars, according to the indictment.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said the suspects "cynically manufactured claims of mental illness as a result of Sept 11th... dishonoring the first responders."
Police Commissioner William Bratton said, "The retired members of the NYP indicted in this case have disgraced all first responders who perished during the search and rescue efforts on Sept. 11, 2001."
The prosecution backed up its case with recorded phone calls of the suspects being coached on how to behave in front of a medical board and photos of the suspects doing vigorous activity like jet skiing, doing mixed martial arts, and going on cruises after convincing doctors they were unable to leave their homes.
Today's arrests cap a two year investigation, aided by federal investigators, the city's Department of Investigation and the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau.
The alleged fraud cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in improper Social Security benefits.
The indictment charges four men with masterminding the alleged fraud, including attorney Raymond Lavellee, 81, Thomas Hale, 89, Joseph Esposito, 70, and John Minerva, 59.
Hale is president of a firm that determines eligibility for Social Security disability. Esposito is a former NYPD employee and Minerva is an ex-cop who is currently a disability consultant for the Detectives Endowment Association.
None of the accused actually suffered from debilitating stress, officials claim. Many were caught working after retirement, a violation of disability benefits. And some of the retired officers retained their gun permits. Retired officers cannot possess guns if they are being treated for stress.
Court papers included what prosecutors said were recorded phone calls in which Esposito "coached" the officers how to dress and behave and now to muff questions to show that lacked concentration.
"They're liable to say... spell the word 'world,' so you go 'W-R-L-D.' Then they're gonnna say 'Spell it backwards.' You think about it, and you can't spell it backwards," Esposito was recorded saying.
He allegedly told officers claiming that their debilitating anxieties stemmed from the 9/11 attacks to tell examiners they were "afraid of planes and entering large buildings."
The 9/11 attacks took a heavy toll on the city's cops, called "New York's Finest," and firefighters, dubbed "New York's Bravest." The casualty count from the terror attacks included 23 police officers and 343 firefighters.
Most of the arrests in the fraud sweep took place in the city, with others being busted in Florida and elsewhere in New York State.
It was the second 9/11 scam to be revealed this week. On Monday, two New Jersey men pleaded guilty to raising and keeping $50,000 for a Sept. 11 charity that was supposed to help families who lost loved one in the catastrophe. Thomas Scalgione and Mark Niemczyk never gave any of the more than $50,000 in proceeds to the victims' families or to charities as promised, they told the court.
Thanks to Aaron Katersky.
2013 Saw the Fewest Police Deaths Involving Firearms since 1887
The number of law-enforcement officers killed by firearms in 2013 fell to levels not seen since the 19th century, according to a report released last week.
The annual report from the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund also found that deaths in the line of duty generally fell by 8 percent and were the fewest since 1959.
According to the report, 111 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty nationwide this past year, compared to 121 in 2012.
Forty-six officers were killed in traffic related accidents, and 33 were killed by firearms.
The number of firearms deaths fell 33 percent in 2013 and was the lowest since 1887.
The report credits an increased culture of safety among law-enforcement agencies, including increased use of bulletproof vests, that followed a spike in law-enforcement deaths in 2011.
Since 2011, officer fatalities across all categories have decreased by 34 percent, and firearms deaths have dropped by 54 percent.
Fourteen officers died from heart attacks that occurred while performing their duties.
The report found that Texas and California had the highest number of fatalities, with 13 and 10, respectively.
The annual report from the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund also found that deaths in the line of duty generally fell by 8 percent and were the fewest since 1959.
According to the report, 111 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty nationwide this past year, compared to 121 in 2012.
Forty-six officers were killed in traffic related accidents, and 33 were killed by firearms.
The number of firearms deaths fell 33 percent in 2013 and was the lowest since 1887.
The report credits an increased culture of safety among law-enforcement agencies, including increased use of bulletproof vests, that followed a spike in law-enforcement deaths in 2011.
Since 2011, officer fatalities across all categories have decreased by 34 percent, and firearms deaths have dropped by 54 percent.
Fourteen officers died from heart attacks that occurred while performing their duties.
The report found that Texas and California had the highest number of fatalities, with 13 and 10, respectively.
Mark Lepage Pleads Guilty to Robbing Eastern Bank
An East Boston man pleaded guilty to armed robbery of a bank in Peabody.
Mark Lepage, 51, pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2014.
On April 4, 2011, at approximately 1:14 p.m., Lepage walked into the Eastern Bank in Peabody brandishing a handgun, wearing sunglasses and a grey hooded sweatshirt pulled up over his head. He grabbed a male customer, held the gun to the customer’s neck, and demanded money. After three bank tellers handed him $21,709, he fled the bank. He was arrested in East Boston two days later and indicted that month.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Peabody Police Chief Robert St. Pierre made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by David G. Tobin and Carlos A. López of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
Mark Lepage, 51, pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2014.
On April 4, 2011, at approximately 1:14 p.m., Lepage walked into the Eastern Bank in Peabody brandishing a handgun, wearing sunglasses and a grey hooded sweatshirt pulled up over his head. He grabbed a male customer, held the gun to the customer’s neck, and demanded money. After three bank tellers handed him $21,709, he fled the bank. He was arrested in East Boston two days later and indicted that month.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Peabody Police Chief Robert St. Pierre made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by David G. Tobin and Carlos A. López of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
Monday, January 06, 2014
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force Arrests Homicide Suspect Johnny Garriga
United States Marshal Martin J. Pane announced that the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Fugitive Task Force arrested Johnny Garriga, a 23-year old man, in York, Pennsylvania.
Garriga was being sought for a homicide that occurred on December 26, 2013 in Brooklyn, New York. The incident left an individual dead after sustaining gunshot wounds. On December 27, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) requested the assistance of the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force (NY/NJ RFTF) in locating and apprehending Garriga.
NY/NJ RFTF members believed that Garriga fled the area to the York, Pennsylvania region. An investigative lead was sent to the Middle District of Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force (M/PA) for assistance in locating Garriga.
On December 30, Garriga was arrested without incident by M/PA in the 200 block of South Queen Street in York, Pennsylvania. Garriga was turned over to local authorities for processing.
United States Marshal Martin J. Pane stated, “Our top priority is to arrest violent offenders, especially those who use guns against our citizens. This arrest takes a murder suspect off the street and it is my sincere hope that this will bring the victims family some measure of justice.”
The USMS worked jointly in this investigation with officers from the York City Police Department, York County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania State Police Fugitive Unit, New York City Police Department, and the NY/NJ RFTF. The concept of all USMS-led fugitive task forces is to seek out and arrest the nation’s most dangerous offenders.
Garriga was being sought for a homicide that occurred on December 26, 2013 in Brooklyn, New York. The incident left an individual dead after sustaining gunshot wounds. On December 27, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) requested the assistance of the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force (NY/NJ RFTF) in locating and apprehending Garriga.
NY/NJ RFTF members believed that Garriga fled the area to the York, Pennsylvania region. An investigative lead was sent to the Middle District of Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force (M/PA) for assistance in locating Garriga.
On December 30, Garriga was arrested without incident by M/PA in the 200 block of South Queen Street in York, Pennsylvania. Garriga was turned over to local authorities for processing.
United States Marshal Martin J. Pane stated, “Our top priority is to arrest violent offenders, especially those who use guns against our citizens. This arrest takes a murder suspect off the street and it is my sincere hope that this will bring the victims family some measure of justice.”
The USMS worked jointly in this investigation with officers from the York City Police Department, York County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania State Police Fugitive Unit, New York City Police Department, and the NY/NJ RFTF. The concept of all USMS-led fugitive task forces is to seek out and arrest the nation’s most dangerous offenders.
Federal Judge Sentences #JihadJane to Serve 10 Years in Prison for Role in Plot to Commit Murder Overseas
Colleen R. LaRose, aka “Jihad Jane,” 50, was sentenced today to serve 10 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements, and attempted identity theft. LaRose, a former resident of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to the charges on February 1, 2011. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Petrese B. Tucker.
The sentencing result was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Zane David Memeger, and Special Agent in Charge Ed Hanko of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.
“Today, Colleen LaRose is being held accountable for her efforts to provide support to terrorists and encourage violence against individuals overseas,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “I want to thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who helped bring about today’s result.”
“This case clearly underscores the evolving nature of the terrorist threat we now face in this country,” said U.S Attorney Memeger. “The Internet has made it easier for those who want to attack the American way of life to identify like-minded individuals to carry out their terroristic plans. While today’s significant sentence will help protect the community from any future threat posed by the defendant, we as a nation must remain vigilant in identifying and stopping others who are susceptible to engaging in acts of homegrown violent extremism.”
“Today’s sentence sends a strong message to those attracted to a terrorist ideology,” said Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Hanko. “Our Joint Terrorism Task Forces and partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities remain committed to tracking terrorists at every level, whomever and wherever they are.”
LaRose was charged by indictment in March 2010. A superseding indictment was filed in April 2010, adding co‑defendant Jamie Paulin Ramirez, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Colorado. Ramirez pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on January 8, 2014.
According to documents filed with the court, LaRose and her co‑conspirators recruited men on the Internet to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe and recruited women on the Internet who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad.
LaRose and her co‑conspirators used the Internet to establish relationships with one another and to communicate regarding their plans, which included martyring themselves, soliciting funds for terrorists, soliciting passports, and avoiding travel restrictions (through the collection of passports and through marriage) in order to wage violent jihad. LaRose also stole another individual’s U.S. passport and transferred it in an effort to facilitate an act of international terrorism.
In addition, LaRose received a direct order to kill a citizen and resident of Sweden and to do so in a way that would frighten “the whole Kufar [non‑believer] world.” LaRose agreed to carry out her murder assignment, and she and her co‑conspirators discussed that her appearance and American citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out their plans. LaRose later traveled to Europe and tracked the intended target online in an effort to complete her task.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Philadelphia, the FBI Field Division in New York, the FBI Field Division in Denver, and the FBI Field Office in Washington, D.C. Authorities in Ireland and Sweden provided assistance in this matter. The Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division also provided assistance. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Matthew F. Blue, Trial Attorney from the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The sentencing result was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Zane David Memeger, and Special Agent in Charge Ed Hanko of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.
“Today, Colleen LaRose is being held accountable for her efforts to provide support to terrorists and encourage violence against individuals overseas,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “I want to thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who helped bring about today’s result.”
“This case clearly underscores the evolving nature of the terrorist threat we now face in this country,” said U.S Attorney Memeger. “The Internet has made it easier for those who want to attack the American way of life to identify like-minded individuals to carry out their terroristic plans. While today’s significant sentence will help protect the community from any future threat posed by the defendant, we as a nation must remain vigilant in identifying and stopping others who are susceptible to engaging in acts of homegrown violent extremism.”
“Today’s sentence sends a strong message to those attracted to a terrorist ideology,” said Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Hanko. “Our Joint Terrorism Task Forces and partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities remain committed to tracking terrorists at every level, whomever and wherever they are.”
LaRose was charged by indictment in March 2010. A superseding indictment was filed in April 2010, adding co‑defendant Jamie Paulin Ramirez, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Colorado. Ramirez pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on January 8, 2014.
According to documents filed with the court, LaRose and her co‑conspirators recruited men on the Internet to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe and recruited women on the Internet who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad.
LaRose and her co‑conspirators used the Internet to establish relationships with one another and to communicate regarding their plans, which included martyring themselves, soliciting funds for terrorists, soliciting passports, and avoiding travel restrictions (through the collection of passports and through marriage) in order to wage violent jihad. LaRose also stole another individual’s U.S. passport and transferred it in an effort to facilitate an act of international terrorism.
In addition, LaRose received a direct order to kill a citizen and resident of Sweden and to do so in a way that would frighten “the whole Kufar [non‑believer] world.” LaRose agreed to carry out her murder assignment, and she and her co‑conspirators discussed that her appearance and American citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out their plans. LaRose later traveled to Europe and tracked the intended target online in an effort to complete her task.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Philadelphia, the FBI Field Division in New York, the FBI Field Division in Denver, and the FBI Field Office in Washington, D.C. Authorities in Ireland and Sweden provided assistance in this matter. The Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division also provided assistance. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Matthew F. Blue, Trial Attorney from the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Sunday, January 05, 2014
La Bella Mafia Book Signing at @TheMobMuseum
La Bella Mafia Book Signing
Saturday, January 11th from 1-5pm in The Mob Museum Retail Store.
The time had finally come for Bella Capo to tell her story. It wasn’t an easy decision because it meant digging up memories that were so painful many had been smashed down as though in a trash compactor, never to be released.
It is not for the faint of heart, and reliving the life of an abused child of a crime boss, almost losing her life many times, stalked by a man who turned from a perfect husband to a perfect threat, and her life in “the Hood” is just part of it.
Many thanks to her mentor Tony “Nap” Napoli, formerly of the Genovese family, for encouraging Bella to tell her story to help other abused women. Learn about how after the glamour days when she ran after-hours clubs on Sunset Strip, she wound up in the Hood, conquered her fear and became a white woman boss in the Crips, who incidentally saved her life more than once.
Bella’s baring of her soul will bring tears to your eyes as you cheer this beautiful, courageous woman on and applaud her dedication to helping others who are enduring what she did despite severe PTSD and traumatic brain injury from the beatings she received earlier in life.
Bella Capo, the sexually and physically abused daughter of a powerbroker, whose close associates included politicians and organized crime figures, and a drug-addicted mother, spent much of her youth in foster homes and rehabilitation facilities. As a young adult she became a force on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, running clubs and after-hours clubs.
After a failed marriage to an abusive husband, Bella became a boss in the Crips—the only white female to hold such a position of power in the gang at that time. She later fled Los Angeles in fear for her life when her ex-husband and his associates stalked her and threatened her with death.
Although she could have died many times, Bella survived and overcame the obstacles to co-found La Bella Mafia, an online group that provides assistance and counseling to abuse victims—especially those in life-threatening situations. It is gaining an international following.
This courageous woman has now come out of hiding to share her story. It will serve as an inspiration to the hundreds of thousands of abuse victims who suffer in silence.
Saturday, January 11th from 1-5pm in The Mob Museum Retail Store.
The time had finally come for Bella Capo to tell her story. It wasn’t an easy decision because it meant digging up memories that were so painful many had been smashed down as though in a trash compactor, never to be released.
It is not for the faint of heart, and reliving the life of an abused child of a crime boss, almost losing her life many times, stalked by a man who turned from a perfect husband to a perfect threat, and her life in “the Hood” is just part of it.
Many thanks to her mentor Tony “Nap” Napoli, formerly of the Genovese family, for encouraging Bella to tell her story to help other abused women. Learn about how after the glamour days when she ran after-hours clubs on Sunset Strip, she wound up in the Hood, conquered her fear and became a white woman boss in the Crips, who incidentally saved her life more than once.
Bella’s baring of her soul will bring tears to your eyes as you cheer this beautiful, courageous woman on and applaud her dedication to helping others who are enduring what she did despite severe PTSD and traumatic brain injury from the beatings she received earlier in life.
Bella Capo, the sexually and physically abused daughter of a powerbroker, whose close associates included politicians and organized crime figures, and a drug-addicted mother, spent much of her youth in foster homes and rehabilitation facilities. As a young adult she became a force on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, running clubs and after-hours clubs.
After a failed marriage to an abusive husband, Bella became a boss in the Crips—the only white female to hold such a position of power in the gang at that time. She later fled Los Angeles in fear for her life when her ex-husband and his associates stalked her and threatened her with death.
Although she could have died many times, Bella survived and overcame the obstacles to co-found La Bella Mafia, an online group that provides assistance and counseling to abuse victims—especially those in life-threatening situations. It is gaining an international following.
This courageous woman has now come out of hiding to share her story. It will serve as an inspiration to the hundreds of thousands of abuse victims who suffer in silence.
Friday, January 03, 2014
Trouble in Paradise Mob Movie is Now in Production
“Trouble In Paradise,” a period crime thriller set in the tropical hotbed of 1950's Havana, brings the story of Meyer Lansky, the brains behind the mob, to life. High stakes gambling and political intrigue are the backdrop for the rise and fall of the most notorious mafia empire in U.S. history.
Fast paced and taut, it follows in the tradition of The Godfather Trilogy, Casino, and Goodfellas.
“Trouble In Paradise” with five major stars attached is scheduled to go into production in Puerto Rico in 2014.
Synopsis:
The saga plunges deeply into the high octane brew of criminals and political intrigue,
bringing alive the lust for gambling and the quest for power. Meyer Lansky, Cuba’s gambling czar, pursues his dream, remaking Havana into the world’s premier tourist destination. Meyer plans “The Grand Havana” from a most unlikely spot…the Saratoga County jail. Serving a ninety day sentence for a minor gambling violation, he makes the best of a bad situation. At a high cost to Meyer, his jail cell is a customized suite with telephone and all the amenities. Taking over the reins in Havana, Meyer begins developing the world’s most lavish gambling mecca. But he faces a worthy adversary in Santo Trafficante, former gambling czar ousted for running crooked casinos that kept the high-rollers away. Meyer looks at Santo with disdain, a common criminal in a thousand dollar suit and himself as a renaissance man, without peer in the world of organized crime. Meanwhile, rogue FBI Agent Sean O'Brien, harbors a personal vendetta against Meyer, pursuing him with a vengeance from New York to Havana. He vows to nail Meyer Lansky at any cost. Meyer needs the financial support of men who understand the casino business... He summons an elite group of Mafia Dons from the hubs of organized crime: New York, Cleveland, Chicago and Las Vegas. But the Vegas mob bosses feel Meyer’s Havana dream will cut into their gambling revenues…So there’s trouble in paradise. When the threats and bullets start flying, Meyer calls on an ex-CIA operative known for his creativity. Trained in undercover assaults, his elusiveness makes him the ultimate weapon against Santo. Meyer survives two attempted hits and sends his family to Miami for safety. Then begins a deadly game of cat and mouse. As the tension mounts, Meyer falls for a beautiful Cuban National. His passion for her grows as his enemies draw closer. President Batista remains Meyer's only link to political protection, but his regime is on the verge of collapse. If Havana falls, Meyer’s dream crumbles with it.
Fast paced and taut, it follows in the tradition of The Godfather Trilogy, Casino, and Goodfellas.
“Trouble In Paradise” with five major stars attached is scheduled to go into production in Puerto Rico in 2014.
Synopsis:
The saga plunges deeply into the high octane brew of criminals and political intrigue,
bringing alive the lust for gambling and the quest for power. Meyer Lansky, Cuba’s gambling czar, pursues his dream, remaking Havana into the world’s premier tourist destination. Meyer plans “The Grand Havana” from a most unlikely spot…the Saratoga County jail. Serving a ninety day sentence for a minor gambling violation, he makes the best of a bad situation. At a high cost to Meyer, his jail cell is a customized suite with telephone and all the amenities. Taking over the reins in Havana, Meyer begins developing the world’s most lavish gambling mecca. But he faces a worthy adversary in Santo Trafficante, former gambling czar ousted for running crooked casinos that kept the high-rollers away. Meyer looks at Santo with disdain, a common criminal in a thousand dollar suit and himself as a renaissance man, without peer in the world of organized crime. Meanwhile, rogue FBI Agent Sean O'Brien, harbors a personal vendetta against Meyer, pursuing him with a vengeance from New York to Havana. He vows to nail Meyer Lansky at any cost. Meyer needs the financial support of men who understand the casino business... He summons an elite group of Mafia Dons from the hubs of organized crime: New York, Cleveland, Chicago and Las Vegas. But the Vegas mob bosses feel Meyer’s Havana dream will cut into their gambling revenues…So there’s trouble in paradise. When the threats and bullets start flying, Meyer calls on an ex-CIA operative known for his creativity. Trained in undercover assaults, his elusiveness makes him the ultimate weapon against Santo. Meyer survives two attempted hits and sends his family to Miami for safety. Then begins a deadly game of cat and mouse. As the tension mounts, Meyer falls for a beautiful Cuban National. His passion for her grows as his enemies draw closer. President Batista remains Meyer's only link to political protection, but his regime is on the verge of collapse. If Havana falls, Meyer’s dream crumbles with it.Latest Gun Poll Shows Nearly 7 in 10 Feel Safer in an Armed Neighborhood
An overwhelming seven in 10 Americans say they would feel safer living in a neighborhood where individuals could own a gun for self defense, the latest indication that support for comprehensive gun control is fading. Rasmussen Reports found that 68 percent of voters polled would feel safer in an armed neighborhood. Just 23 percent said they'd feel safer in “a neighborhood where nobody was allowed to own a gun.”
Fake Suicide Banker Aubrey Lee Price Appears in Federal Court to Face Multi-Million Dollar Wire Fraud Charges
Yesterday, Aubrey Lee Price was presented at the federal courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, near where he was arrested. The defendant, who sent acquaintances a suicide note stating that he planned to kill himself by throwing himself off a high speed ferry boat in Florida, has been wanted since June 27, 2012, when the Honorable Viktor V. Pohorelsky, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York, issued a warrant for Price’s arrest based on a complaint filed by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. At the time, Price was charged with wire fraud in connection with his use of brokerage accounts in New York to misappropriate millions of dollars belonging to a bank in southern Georgia where Price was a director. A grand jury in Brooklyn later expanded the charges against Price to include securities fraud in connection with Price’s theft of funds from both the bank and other investors in investment funds controlled by Price. The defendant also faces a charge in the Southern District of Georgia.
The arrest was 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).
According to the indictment, Price managed investment funds PFG LLC (“PFG”) and the Montgomery Growth Fund (“Montgomery Growth”). Starting in or about June 2009, PFG raised approximately $40 million from approximately 115 investors from across the nation. Price unsuccessfully invested PFG funds in various equity securities, options, and real estate, including farms in South America. To cover up his losses, Price allegedly lied to his investors by posting fake account statements on a secure PFG website that fraudulently reflected fictitious assets and fabricated investment returns.
The indictment further states that, starting in or about January 2011, Price became a director of Montgomery Bank & Trust (“MB&T”), a financial institution in Ailey, Georgia. After telling MB&T that he would invest the bank’s capital in U.S. Treasury securities, Price instead lost much of the bank’s money by investing in risky equity securities and options. Price also embezzled MB&T money to pay redemptions to some PFG investors. The indictment charges that Price covered up his embezzlement and losses of MB&T’s funds by giving the bank’s management fabricated documents falsely indicating that approximately $17 million was on deposit in the bank’s name at a large financial services firm in New York.
“Aubrey Lee price created a life and death out of whole cloth, telling hundreds of investors and a Georgia bank that their money was safe when he was flying high, and telling the world he was dead when his lies crashed down around him,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “But Price proved as unsuccessful at faking his own death as he was at faking his victims’ investments. Every person who seeks to harm our financial markets through fraud should be on notice. With the help of our law enforcements partners, both federal and local, we will find you, and we will hold you accountable for your behavior in a court of law.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Atlanta Regional Office, and the Lowndes County Georgia Sheriff’s Department for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation. She also thanked the Glynn County Georgia Sheriff’s Department, who arrested the defendant following a traffic stop.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David C. Woll, Jr. and Brian Morris.
The arrest was 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).
According to the indictment, Price managed investment funds PFG LLC (“PFG”) and the Montgomery Growth Fund (“Montgomery Growth”). Starting in or about June 2009, PFG raised approximately $40 million from approximately 115 investors from across the nation. Price unsuccessfully invested PFG funds in various equity securities, options, and real estate, including farms in South America. To cover up his losses, Price allegedly lied to his investors by posting fake account statements on a secure PFG website that fraudulently reflected fictitious assets and fabricated investment returns.
The indictment further states that, starting in or about January 2011, Price became a director of Montgomery Bank & Trust (“MB&T”), a financial institution in Ailey, Georgia. After telling MB&T that he would invest the bank’s capital in U.S. Treasury securities, Price instead lost much of the bank’s money by investing in risky equity securities and options. Price also embezzled MB&T money to pay redemptions to some PFG investors. The indictment charges that Price covered up his embezzlement and losses of MB&T’s funds by giving the bank’s management fabricated documents falsely indicating that approximately $17 million was on deposit in the bank’s name at a large financial services firm in New York.
“Aubrey Lee price created a life and death out of whole cloth, telling hundreds of investors and a Georgia bank that their money was safe when he was flying high, and telling the world he was dead when his lies crashed down around him,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “But Price proved as unsuccessful at faking his own death as he was at faking his victims’ investments. Every person who seeks to harm our financial markets through fraud should be on notice. With the help of our law enforcements partners, both federal and local, we will find you, and we will hold you accountable for your behavior in a court of law.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Atlanta Regional Office, and the Lowndes County Georgia Sheriff’s Department for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation. She also thanked the Glynn County Georgia Sheriff’s Department, who arrested the defendant following a traffic stop.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David C. Woll, Jr. and Brian Morris.
Gregg Pierleoni Indicted on Charges He Embezzled $5.7 Million from Moving and Storage Company
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced yesterday that a grand jury sitting in White Plains has returned a two-count Indictment charging GREGG PIERLEONI with mail fraud and wire fraud.
The Indictment alleges that PIERLEONI embezzled more than $5.7 million over a period of more than six years from a Westchester-based moving and storage company where he had served as the Chief Financial Officer from 1987 to April 2013.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “As alleged, Pierleoni abused the trust placed in him by his employer to steal a substantial amount of money so that he could enjoy a lavish lifestyle. He now faces having to pay the real price for that lifestyle.”
Assistant FBI Director George Venizelos stated: “As alleged in the Indictment, motivated by personal greed, Pierleoni stole millions of dollars from his long-time employer. He lived beyond his means while repeatedly betraying his company’s trust. The FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable individuals who steal and line their pockets with their victim’s hard-earned money.”
According to allegations in the Indictment unsealed earlier today: PIERLEONI moved funds from the moving company’s operating account to other accounts held by the moving company and a related entity. He then wrote checks from those other accounts to pay his personal American Express bills. PIERLEONI used the funds he embezzled to pay for collectible items, sports memorabilia, airline tickets and other travel expenses, artwork, tickets to sporting events and meals in restaurants.
PIERLEONI, 59, of New Fairfield, CT, faces upon conviction maximum sentences of 20 years' imprisonment on the mail fraud count and 20 years' imprisonment on the wire fraud count. Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney James McMahon is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Indictment alleges that PIERLEONI embezzled more than $5.7 million over a period of more than six years from a Westchester-based moving and storage company where he had served as the Chief Financial Officer from 1987 to April 2013.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “As alleged, Pierleoni abused the trust placed in him by his employer to steal a substantial amount of money so that he could enjoy a lavish lifestyle. He now faces having to pay the real price for that lifestyle.”
Assistant FBI Director George Venizelos stated: “As alleged in the Indictment, motivated by personal greed, Pierleoni stole millions of dollars from his long-time employer. He lived beyond his means while repeatedly betraying his company’s trust. The FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable individuals who steal and line their pockets with their victim’s hard-earned money.”
According to allegations in the Indictment unsealed earlier today: PIERLEONI moved funds from the moving company’s operating account to other accounts held by the moving company and a related entity. He then wrote checks from those other accounts to pay his personal American Express bills. PIERLEONI used the funds he embezzled to pay for collectible items, sports memorabilia, airline tickets and other travel expenses, artwork, tickets to sporting events and meals in restaurants.
PIERLEONI, 59, of New Fairfield, CT, faces upon conviction maximum sentences of 20 years' imprisonment on the mail fraud count and 20 years' imprisonment on the wire fraud count. Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney James McMahon is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Thursday, January 02, 2014
Condolences to Family of Victor J. Cacciatore Sr. Real Estate Magnate Testified at #OperationFamilySecrets Trial
Victor J. Cacciatore Sr. made the family name larger than life. Just take a drive past the iconic Jos. Cacciatore & Co. Real Estate sign that greets drivers just before the Chicago Stock Exchange on Congress, marking one of Chicago’s oldest and most successful real estate companies.
Much of what Mr. Cacciatore did was on a large scale. He raised a large family — 10 children — in the River Forest home he shared with his wife of 57 years, his high school sweetheart Charlotte. And he’d grow the family’s business empire beyond real estate to law, street sweeping, and banking.
Mr. Cacciatore, 83, died Monday after a long battle with cancer.
The son of a humble immigrant who came from Sicily at age 13, Mr. Cacciatore had big dreams for his family.
“I remember him saying, many times, ‘mediocrity should not be in your vocabulary,’” his daughter Susan Lasek. “He said ‘never be a procrastinator.’ He taught us that if you needed to do something, do it right away or it’s not going to get done. ‘Part of a successful person,’ he would say, ‘is that you do things. You’re a doer.’ My dad is a doer.”
“Everybody knew Vic,” said longtime friend John Turner, attorney at the Law Offices of Victor J. Cacciatore since 1963. “He always was a businessman, starting out with parlay cards in high school. His first big business adventure was selling chances on portable radios. He was a great raffle guy.”
But his youth wasn’t just fun and games. Mr. Cacciatore spent much of his time as a teen in his father’s real estate office, learning the tricks of the trade.
After graduating from DePaul University where he earned both his undergraduate and law degrees, he served in the U.S. Army as a Counterintelligence Corps Special Agent in France.
His ambitions upon returning led him to follow in his father’s footsteps, taking over his real estate firm Jos. Cacciatore & Co. and expanding it. But with financial success came some trouble. In 2007, he testified in the Operation Family Secrets trial about being extorted by the mob during the early 1980s. He was the victim of mob threats, including having his back windshield shot out and receiving threatening phone calls. He said he was initially extorted for $5 million and wound up paying $200,000 to get the Outfit off his back.
The threats were something he discussed with his closest friends, but it was a matter they kept in confidence. “It was extortion because he was doing so well. He was really doing well, and of course, he was one of the hits,” Turner said. “It didn’t matter that he was a good Italian boy. Vic was right in the middle. It was a perfect mark. When we found out [about the extortion], we couldn’t believe it.”
Turner called that time in Mr. Cacciatore’s life a “terrible, unfortunate thing.” “He was relieved when it was all put behind him, all finished,” Turner said.
Above all, Mr. Cacciatore’s home life was at the core of his success, friends and family say.
He met his wife Charlotte at age 15. They got married in 1956. “It was a beautiful strong marriage. They respected each other. They went through ups and downs but they loved each other,” Susan Lasek said. It was a great partnership, son Philip Cacciatore said: “My parents never had help . . . it’s pretty amazing. They’re amazing people.”
Charlotte was Polish. He was Italian. And she knew she had to learn a key thing to make him happy. “He loved my mom and my mom made him his favorite, homemade spaghetti and meatballs. That was his thing,” daughter Susan said. “She learned how to cook when they first got married. She didn’t know how to cook a lot of Italian dishes, so she learned from my grandmother Cacciatore. That’s how you win a man’s heart. Through the tummy.”
Mr. Cacciatore himself became a pancake maker, whipping up flapjacks for his family every Sunday. He took all 10 kids on fishing trips in Canada, and to an island in South Carolina. He talked about them in nearly all of his public speeches at charity and civic events. “There is one word that Vic used more than anything in the world, family,” Turner said. “He harped on that. Family was the basis, was the keystone, was the word he used every time he gave a speech. . . . He never failed to mention the fact that family was behind everything. And it wasn’t phony. It wasn’t just a catchphrase to use.”
Mr. Cacciatore was also a philanthropist, donating to his alma maters Mount Carmel High School and DePaul University, where he personally gave funds to construct Cacciatore Stadium, which serves as the athletic field at the Lincoln Park campus.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations are sent in memory of Victor J. Cacciatore to Misericordia Heart of Mercy, a nonprofit the family is very involved with.
In addition to his daughter Susan Lasek and son Philip Cacciatore, Mr. Cacciatore is survived by his wife Charlotte, his other sons Victor Jr., Joseph, Peter, Chris, and Danny; his other daughters Cynthia Bickel, Mary Beth Cacciatore and Gloria Turan; 21 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Visitation will be Friday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church in River Forest.
The funeral mass is to start at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Vincent. Burial to follow at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside.
Thanks to Tina Sfondeles.
Much of what Mr. Cacciatore did was on a large scale. He raised a large family — 10 children — in the River Forest home he shared with his wife of 57 years, his high school sweetheart Charlotte. And he’d grow the family’s business empire beyond real estate to law, street sweeping, and banking.
Mr. Cacciatore, 83, died Monday after a long battle with cancer.
The son of a humble immigrant who came from Sicily at age 13, Mr. Cacciatore had big dreams for his family.
“I remember him saying, many times, ‘mediocrity should not be in your vocabulary,’” his daughter Susan Lasek. “He said ‘never be a procrastinator.’ He taught us that if you needed to do something, do it right away or it’s not going to get done. ‘Part of a successful person,’ he would say, ‘is that you do things. You’re a doer.’ My dad is a doer.”
“Everybody knew Vic,” said longtime friend John Turner, attorney at the Law Offices of Victor J. Cacciatore since 1963. “He always was a businessman, starting out with parlay cards in high school. His first big business adventure was selling chances on portable radios. He was a great raffle guy.”
But his youth wasn’t just fun and games. Mr. Cacciatore spent much of his time as a teen in his father’s real estate office, learning the tricks of the trade.
After graduating from DePaul University where he earned both his undergraduate and law degrees, he served in the U.S. Army as a Counterintelligence Corps Special Agent in France.
His ambitions upon returning led him to follow in his father’s footsteps, taking over his real estate firm Jos. Cacciatore & Co. and expanding it. But with financial success came some trouble. In 2007, he testified in the Operation Family Secrets trial about being extorted by the mob during the early 1980s. He was the victim of mob threats, including having his back windshield shot out and receiving threatening phone calls. He said he was initially extorted for $5 million and wound up paying $200,000 to get the Outfit off his back.
The threats were something he discussed with his closest friends, but it was a matter they kept in confidence. “It was extortion because he was doing so well. He was really doing well, and of course, he was one of the hits,” Turner said. “It didn’t matter that he was a good Italian boy. Vic was right in the middle. It was a perfect mark. When we found out [about the extortion], we couldn’t believe it.”
Turner called that time in Mr. Cacciatore’s life a “terrible, unfortunate thing.” “He was relieved when it was all put behind him, all finished,” Turner said.
Above all, Mr. Cacciatore’s home life was at the core of his success, friends and family say.
He met his wife Charlotte at age 15. They got married in 1956. “It was a beautiful strong marriage. They respected each other. They went through ups and downs but they loved each other,” Susan Lasek said. It was a great partnership, son Philip Cacciatore said: “My parents never had help . . . it’s pretty amazing. They’re amazing people.”
Charlotte was Polish. He was Italian. And she knew she had to learn a key thing to make him happy. “He loved my mom and my mom made him his favorite, homemade spaghetti and meatballs. That was his thing,” daughter Susan said. “She learned how to cook when they first got married. She didn’t know how to cook a lot of Italian dishes, so she learned from my grandmother Cacciatore. That’s how you win a man’s heart. Through the tummy.”
Mr. Cacciatore himself became a pancake maker, whipping up flapjacks for his family every Sunday. He took all 10 kids on fishing trips in Canada, and to an island in South Carolina. He talked about them in nearly all of his public speeches at charity and civic events. “There is one word that Vic used more than anything in the world, family,” Turner said. “He harped on that. Family was the basis, was the keystone, was the word he used every time he gave a speech. . . . He never failed to mention the fact that family was behind everything. And it wasn’t phony. It wasn’t just a catchphrase to use.”
Mr. Cacciatore was also a philanthropist, donating to his alma maters Mount Carmel High School and DePaul University, where he personally gave funds to construct Cacciatore Stadium, which serves as the athletic field at the Lincoln Park campus.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations are sent in memory of Victor J. Cacciatore to Misericordia Heart of Mercy, a nonprofit the family is very involved with.
In addition to his daughter Susan Lasek and son Philip Cacciatore, Mr. Cacciatore is survived by his wife Charlotte, his other sons Victor Jr., Joseph, Peter, Chris, and Danny; his other daughters Cynthia Bickel, Mary Beth Cacciatore and Gloria Turan; 21 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Visitation will be Friday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church in River Forest.
The funeral mass is to start at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Vincent. Burial to follow at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside.
Thanks to Tina Sfondeles.
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
New Year Brings New Laws
The new year will add Illinois to the list of 20 states that permit marijuana to be used for medical reasons, and motorists will be allowed to go faster on some state highways but face greater restrictions on using their cellphones while driving, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
Buyers of pets also will get new rights to get refunds for sick animals. School districts that teach sex education will be required to include the teaching of contraception. And tougher criminal penalties await those who use electronic communications to create flash mobs.
Those wide-ranging legislative initiatives represent some of the 201 new state laws passed and signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn during 2013 that take effect Jan. 1.
Some of the biggest legislative accomplishments from the past year, however, like the legalization of same-sex marriage and changes to state pension benefits, won't take effect until the summer, and the pension law is expected to be held up in legal challenge by public-sector unions.
Of the new laws taking effect at the start of 2014, the medical marijuana law is the most high-profile of the bunch, but those Illinoisans sick enough to qualify for using the drug may have to wait months before they can begin doing so.
That's because three state agencies — the Department of Public Health, the Department of Agriculture, and Department of Financial and Professional Regulation — are writing rules that have to be submitted to a bipartisan legislative panel by May 1 to clarify the new law.
The fine-tuning will cover everything from what ailments are covered beyond the 40 explicit conditions spelled out in the law, who can apply for licenses to open a dispensary or cultivation center, and what constitutes a physician-patient relationship.
"There are a lot of moving parts to this," said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health. She predicted the law wouldn't be fully implemented until perhaps "fall or winter."
Meanwhile, state transportation officials are preparing to increase speed limits to 70 mph on some rural interstates under a law that passed in May. That legislation was sponsored by Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, and Rep. Jerry Costello II, D-Smithton.
The Illinois Department of Transportation on Friday announced where higher speeds will be allowed, and the agency will start posting new signs sometime in early January. While speeds on most interstates throughout the state will increase, just some smaller stretches of in northern Lake, western Kane, and southern and western Will counties got the bump. The law allows counties in the Chicago area and Metro East near St. Louis to establish expressway speed limits lower than the 70-mph threshold sought statewide by Oberweis.
Motorists also will be affected by a new law barring the use of handheld cellphones for any purpose while driving. The legislation was carried by Rep. John D'Amico, D-Chicago, and Sen. John Mulroe, D-Chicago.
The law, which allows cellphones to be used in hands-free mode or with a headset, establishes a series of graduated fines for violators, ranging from $75 for the first offense up to $150 for the fourth and subsequent offenses. The first ticket a driver receives is not considered a moving violation, though later ones are.
Illlinois pet owners were given new consumer-protection safeguards under what was called the "puppy lemon" law that takes effect Jan. 1. That legislation allows buyers of dogs and cats from pet shops to obtain refunds or reimbursement of veterinarian bills for serious, undisclosed illnesses at the time of sale.
State lawmakers also took aim at sex-education curricula across the state. A new law applying to public school districts that offer sex education requires them to teach students between the 6th and 12th grades about contraception. The law also requires the "medically accurate" teaching of abstinence, a change from law that encouraged the teaching of abstinence "until marriage."
Another law takes aim at mob attacks organized with help from social media sites like Twitter or Facebook and targeted random pedestrians along North Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile and other tourist areas. The law doubles the maximum prison term to six years for anyone who uses social media and text messaging to organize violent "flash mobs."
Buyers of pets also will get new rights to get refunds for sick animals. School districts that teach sex education will be required to include the teaching of contraception. And tougher criminal penalties await those who use electronic communications to create flash mobs.
Those wide-ranging legislative initiatives represent some of the 201 new state laws passed and signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn during 2013 that take effect Jan. 1.
Some of the biggest legislative accomplishments from the past year, however, like the legalization of same-sex marriage and changes to state pension benefits, won't take effect until the summer, and the pension law is expected to be held up in legal challenge by public-sector unions.
Of the new laws taking effect at the start of 2014, the medical marijuana law is the most high-profile of the bunch, but those Illinoisans sick enough to qualify for using the drug may have to wait months before they can begin doing so.
That's because three state agencies — the Department of Public Health, the Department of Agriculture, and Department of Financial and Professional Regulation — are writing rules that have to be submitted to a bipartisan legislative panel by May 1 to clarify the new law.
The fine-tuning will cover everything from what ailments are covered beyond the 40 explicit conditions spelled out in the law, who can apply for licenses to open a dispensary or cultivation center, and what constitutes a physician-patient relationship.
"There are a lot of moving parts to this," said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health. She predicted the law wouldn't be fully implemented until perhaps "fall or winter."
Meanwhile, state transportation officials are preparing to increase speed limits to 70 mph on some rural interstates under a law that passed in May. That legislation was sponsored by Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, and Rep. Jerry Costello II, D-Smithton.
The Illinois Department of Transportation on Friday announced where higher speeds will be allowed, and the agency will start posting new signs sometime in early January. While speeds on most interstates throughout the state will increase, just some smaller stretches of in northern Lake, western Kane, and southern and western Will counties got the bump. The law allows counties in the Chicago area and Metro East near St. Louis to establish expressway speed limits lower than the 70-mph threshold sought statewide by Oberweis.
Motorists also will be affected by a new law barring the use of handheld cellphones for any purpose while driving. The legislation was carried by Rep. John D'Amico, D-Chicago, and Sen. John Mulroe, D-Chicago.
The law, which allows cellphones to be used in hands-free mode or with a headset, establishes a series of graduated fines for violators, ranging from $75 for the first offense up to $150 for the fourth and subsequent offenses. The first ticket a driver receives is not considered a moving violation, though later ones are.
Illlinois pet owners were given new consumer-protection safeguards under what was called the "puppy lemon" law that takes effect Jan. 1. That legislation allows buyers of dogs and cats from pet shops to obtain refunds or reimbursement of veterinarian bills for serious, undisclosed illnesses at the time of sale.
State lawmakers also took aim at sex-education curricula across the state. A new law applying to public school districts that offer sex education requires them to teach students between the 6th and 12th grades about contraception. The law also requires the "medically accurate" teaching of abstinence, a change from law that encouraged the teaching of abstinence "until marriage."
Another law takes aim at mob attacks organized with help from social media sites like Twitter or Facebook and targeted random pedestrians along North Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile and other tourist areas. The law doubles the maximum prison term to six years for anyone who uses social media and text messaging to organize violent "flash mobs."
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
"Chefs to the Max" Dinner Series to Launch at @RxBoilerRoom on Sunday, January 19th #SavetheDate
WHAT: An array of the most prestigious chefs will be joining together to launch “Chefs to the Max,” an ongoing dinner series designed to benefit critically injured longtime food journalist Max Jacobson.
The news release with the chef line-up, ticket information and more will be sent later this week.
WHO: Two days before Christmas, Jacobson was struck by a car while in the crosswalk at Windmill Parkway and Pecos Road as he walked from home to the gym. He sustained severe brain trauma from the accident. He is currently in critical condition at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.
Jacobson, whose 64th birthday is on New Year’s Eve, is currently Vegas Seven’s restaurant reviewer. Prior to that, he covered Orange County for the Los Angeles Times for 15 years. He moved to Las Vegas in 1999 to be the lead critic for Las Vegas Life. He has also written for numerous national culinary publications including Saveur and Gourmet. Jacobson recently co-authored “Eating Las Vegas” with fellow food critics Al Mancini and John Curtas.
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 19
6 to 10 p.m.
WHERE: Rx Boiler Room at Mandalay Bay
3930 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89119
The news release with the chef line-up, ticket information and more will be sent later this week.
WHO: Two days before Christmas, Jacobson was struck by a car while in the crosswalk at Windmill Parkway and Pecos Road as he walked from home to the gym. He sustained severe brain trauma from the accident. He is currently in critical condition at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.
Jacobson, whose 64th birthday is on New Year’s Eve, is currently Vegas Seven’s restaurant reviewer. Prior to that, he covered Orange County for the Los Angeles Times for 15 years. He moved to Las Vegas in 1999 to be the lead critic for Las Vegas Life. He has also written for numerous national culinary publications including Saveur and Gourmet. Jacobson recently co-authored “Eating Las Vegas” with fellow food critics Al Mancini and John Curtas.
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 19
6 to 10 p.m.
WHERE: Rx Boiler Room at Mandalay Bay
3930 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Monday, December 30, 2013
Delanio Benford Sentenced to 113 Months in Federal Prison for the Robberies of Rockford-Area Banks and Credit Union
A Rockford, Illinois man was sentenced in federal court before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala to 113 months in prison without parole, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for robbing two Rockford-area banks and a credit union. Delanio Benford, 34, pled guilty on March 22, 2013, to the robbery of Associated Bank, 3333 N. Rockton Ave., on June 22, 2010; PNC Bank, 6709 E. Riverside Blvd., on July 15, 2010; and Members Alliance Credit Union, 6951 Olde Creek Rd., on July 28, 2010 and September 11 , 2010. Benford was also ordered to pay restitution of $38,771 to the banks and credit union. Benford will not be eligible for parole.
Two other individuals have also pled guilty and been sentenced in related cases:
Prince Williams, 27, of Rockford, pled guilty on April 19, 2012, to six counts of bank/credit union robbery and one count of armed bank robbery, all in Rockford, including: First Northern Credit Union, 2235 12th St., Rockford, on May 3, 2010; National City Bank (now PNC Bank), 1551 Sandy Hollow Rd., on June 10, 2010, while armed with a handgun; Associated Bank, 3333 N. Rockton Ave., on June 22, 2010; PNC Bank, 6709 E. Riverside Blvd., on July 15, 2010; Harris N.A., 1275 Bennington Rd., on July 22, 2010; and Members Alliance Credit Union, 6951 Olde Creek Rd., on July 28, 2010 and on September 11 , 2010, while using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. Williams was sentenced by Judge Kapala on December 4, 2013, to 128 months in federal prison without parole and five years of supervised release following imprisonment and was ordered to pay restitution of $56,644.35 to the banks and credit unions.
Michael Buck, 28, also of Rockford, pled guilty on October 3, 2013, to the robbery of Members Alliance Credit Union on September 11, 2013, and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard to 125 months in federal prison without parole, three years of supervised release following his release from prison, and ordered pay restitution of $12,180 to Members Alliance.
The sentencing was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Rockford Police Department and Rockton Police Department assisted in the investigation.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
Two other individuals have also pled guilty and been sentenced in related cases:
Prince Williams, 27, of Rockford, pled guilty on April 19, 2012, to six counts of bank/credit union robbery and one count of armed bank robbery, all in Rockford, including: First Northern Credit Union, 2235 12th St., Rockford, on May 3, 2010; National City Bank (now PNC Bank), 1551 Sandy Hollow Rd., on June 10, 2010, while armed with a handgun; Associated Bank, 3333 N. Rockton Ave., on June 22, 2010; PNC Bank, 6709 E. Riverside Blvd., on July 15, 2010; Harris N.A., 1275 Bennington Rd., on July 22, 2010; and Members Alliance Credit Union, 6951 Olde Creek Rd., on July 28, 2010 and on September 11 , 2010, while using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. Williams was sentenced by Judge Kapala on December 4, 2013, to 128 months in federal prison without parole and five years of supervised release following imprisonment and was ordered to pay restitution of $56,644.35 to the banks and credit unions.
Michael Buck, 28, also of Rockford, pled guilty on October 3, 2013, to the robbery of Members Alliance Credit Union on September 11, 2013, and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard to 125 months in federal prison without parole, three years of supervised release following his release from prison, and ordered pay restitution of $12,180 to Members Alliance.
The sentencing was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Rockford Police Department and Rockton Police Department assisted in the investigation.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
Reputed Mafia Boss of Canada, Vito Rizzuto, Dies at 67
Vito Rizzuto, the reputed Mafia boss of Canada, whose dapper outfits and ability to avoid prison led the authorities to call him the John Gotti of Montreal, died on Dec. 23 in Montreal. He was 67.
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Mr. Rizzuto died of natural causes, Maude Hébert-Chaput, a spokeswoman for Sacré-Coeur Hospital, told The Associated Press. There were widespread reports that he had been receiving treatment for lung cancer.
Working with the Bonanno crime family in New York, Mr. Rizzuto ran an international drug smuggling operation that imported heroin and cocaine and distributed it in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, the authorities said. His father ran the operation before him.
“Compared to what New York-based authorities were used to looking at, the breadth of geography and intertwining connections of the Rizzuto organization surprised even seasoned investigators,” Lee Lamothe and Adrian Humphreys wrote in the book “The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto.”
In a 2004 column on his website, then called This Week in Gang Land, Jerry Capeci, an expert on the Mafia, compared Mr. Rizzuto to Mr. Gotti, the longtime head of the Gambino crime family in New York, who died in 2002.
But Mr. Rizzuto’s luck ran out in 2004, when he was arrested in Montreal on racketeering charges related to a gangland shooting in Brooklyn that inspired a bloody scene in the 1997 film “Donnie Brasco,” starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.
In the shooting, on May 5, 1981, Mr. Rizzuto and three other men burst from the closet of a Brooklyn social club and shot three Bonanno captains who had been challenging the family’s leadership, the authorities said. The shooters wore ski masks to make the killing look like a robbery, but the authorities said it had been ordered by Joseph Massino, then a senior Bonanno captain.
Mr. Rizzuto was extradited to the United States in 2006. He pleaded guilty in 2007 and was sent to prison in Florence, Colo.
While he was in prison, organized crime in Montreal fell into chaos and many of his relatives were murdered. His father was killed by a sniper while standing in his kitchen, and his eldest son, Nicolo, was shot and killed. His brother-in-law disappeared, the keys still in the ignition of his Infiniti.
Before his death, Mr. Rizzuto had been working to reclaim control of the mob and exact revenge, experts said. Since his return to Canada in 2012, there have been nine mob-connected murders there, Mr. Capeci said on his website.
“Vito Rizzuto gets out, and this immediately happens,” Pierre de Champlain, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police intelligence analyst and author of a book about the Mafia, told The Globe and Mail after one such killing in 2012. “If it’s a coincidence, it would be a very strange one.”
Victor Rizzuto was born in the village of Cattolica Eraclea in Sicily on Feb. 21, 1946. His family moved to Canada in the mid-1950s, and Mr. Rizzuto married Giovanna Cammalleri in 1966. Survivors include his wife; a sister, Maria Renda; and two children, Leonardo and Bettina, both lawyers.
Despite the spate of killings after he left prison, Mr. Rizzuto once had a reputation as a peacemaker in mob circles.
Mr. Lamothe credited him with “bringing calm to an underworld that at times was out of control” in the 1970s by, for example, arranging an end to a dispute between the Hells Angels and a rival motorcycle gang.
“Mr. Rizzuto’s management style was pretty unique, at least compared to American crime figures, who went to violence as an instant default,” Mr. Lamothe wrote in an email. “He was born into the Mafia and, from his father, inherited the ‘Sicilian view’: Better to share than to shoot.”
Thanks to Daniel E. Slotnik.
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Mr. Rizzuto died of natural causes, Maude Hébert-Chaput, a spokeswoman for Sacré-Coeur Hospital, told The Associated Press. There were widespread reports that he had been receiving treatment for lung cancer.
Working with the Bonanno crime family in New York, Mr. Rizzuto ran an international drug smuggling operation that imported heroin and cocaine and distributed it in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, the authorities said. His father ran the operation before him.
“Compared to what New York-based authorities were used to looking at, the breadth of geography and intertwining connections of the Rizzuto organization surprised even seasoned investigators,” Lee Lamothe and Adrian Humphreys wrote in the book “The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto.”
In a 2004 column on his website, then called This Week in Gang Land, Jerry Capeci, an expert on the Mafia, compared Mr. Rizzuto to Mr. Gotti, the longtime head of the Gambino crime family in New York, who died in 2002.
“Like Gotti in his heyday, Rizzuto is known as a flashy dresser who was tough to convict,” Mr. Capeci wrote. “He beat two major drug smuggling cases between 1987 and 1990 and his only jail time was a two-year bit for arson in 1972. As a result, he has often been compared to the Dapper Don by the Montreal press, and police.”
But Mr. Rizzuto’s luck ran out in 2004, when he was arrested in Montreal on racketeering charges related to a gangland shooting in Brooklyn that inspired a bloody scene in the 1997 film “Donnie Brasco,” starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.
In the shooting, on May 5, 1981, Mr. Rizzuto and three other men burst from the closet of a Brooklyn social club and shot three Bonanno captains who had been challenging the family’s leadership, the authorities said. The shooters wore ski masks to make the killing look like a robbery, but the authorities said it had been ordered by Joseph Massino, then a senior Bonanno captain.
Mr. Rizzuto was extradited to the United States in 2006. He pleaded guilty in 2007 and was sent to prison in Florence, Colo.
While he was in prison, organized crime in Montreal fell into chaos and many of his relatives were murdered. His father was killed by a sniper while standing in his kitchen, and his eldest son, Nicolo, was shot and killed. His brother-in-law disappeared, the keys still in the ignition of his Infiniti.
Before his death, Mr. Rizzuto had been working to reclaim control of the mob and exact revenge, experts said. Since his return to Canada in 2012, there have been nine mob-connected murders there, Mr. Capeci said on his website.
“Vito Rizzuto gets out, and this immediately happens,” Pierre de Champlain, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police intelligence analyst and author of a book about the Mafia, told The Globe and Mail after one such killing in 2012. “If it’s a coincidence, it would be a very strange one.”
Victor Rizzuto was born in the village of Cattolica Eraclea in Sicily on Feb. 21, 1946. His family moved to Canada in the mid-1950s, and Mr. Rizzuto married Giovanna Cammalleri in 1966. Survivors include his wife; a sister, Maria Renda; and two children, Leonardo and Bettina, both lawyers.
Despite the spate of killings after he left prison, Mr. Rizzuto once had a reputation as a peacemaker in mob circles.
Mr. Lamothe credited him with “bringing calm to an underworld that at times was out of control” in the 1970s by, for example, arranging an end to a dispute between the Hells Angels and a rival motorcycle gang.
“Mr. Rizzuto’s management style was pretty unique, at least compared to American crime figures, who went to violence as an instant default,” Mr. Lamothe wrote in an email. “He was born into the Mafia and, from his father, inherited the ‘Sicilian view’: Better to share than to shoot.”
Thanks to Daniel E. Slotnik.
Friday, December 20, 2013
$20,000 Reward Issued for FBI Fugitive Yaser Abdel Said
The FBI is now offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest of Yaser Abdel Said. Said is wanted for the murders of his two teenage daughters. He is believed to have ties to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, the New York City area, Canada, and Egypt.
On January 1, 2008, Said took his daughters Amina and Sarah for a ride in his taxi cab, under the guise of taking them to get something to eat. He drove them to Irving, Texas, where he allegedly shot both girls to death inside the taxi cab. They died of multiple gunshot wounds.
In January 2008, based on an investigation by the Irving Police Department, a capital murder-multiple warrant was issued for Said’s arrest. On August 21, 2008, a federal unlawful flight to avoid prosecution warrant was issued by the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas.
Said’s last confirmed sighting was in Irving, Texas, in 2008. He is 56 years old, 6’2” tall, and 180 pounds with a medium complexion. He has brown eyes and black hair; however, his physical features may vary in order to conceal his identity. He may or may not wear a mustache or shave his head.
Said was born in Egypt and may seek shelter in communities with Egyptian ties. He frequents diners, including Denny’s and IHOP, and smokes Marlboro Lights 100s cigarettes. He may work as a taxi driver.
Said is believed to be armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New York FBI at 212-384-1000, the Dallas FBI at 972-559-5000, or submit tips online at http://tips.fbi.gov. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
On January 1, 2008, Said took his daughters Amina and Sarah for a ride in his taxi cab, under the guise of taking them to get something to eat. He drove them to Irving, Texas, where he allegedly shot both girls to death inside the taxi cab. They died of multiple gunshot wounds.
In January 2008, based on an investigation by the Irving Police Department, a capital murder-multiple warrant was issued for Said’s arrest. On August 21, 2008, a federal unlawful flight to avoid prosecution warrant was issued by the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas.
Said’s last confirmed sighting was in Irving, Texas, in 2008. He is 56 years old, 6’2” tall, and 180 pounds with a medium complexion. He has brown eyes and black hair; however, his physical features may vary in order to conceal his identity. He may or may not wear a mustache or shave his head.
Said was born in Egypt and may seek shelter in communities with Egyptian ties. He frequents diners, including Denny’s and IHOP, and smokes Marlboro Lights 100s cigarettes. He may work as a taxi driver.
Said is believed to be armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New York FBI at 212-384-1000, the Dallas FBI at 972-559-5000, or submit tips online at http://tips.fbi.gov. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Awesome Lego Video Recreation of #BluesBrothers Shopping Mall Car Chase
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Ahmad Abousamra Added to the FBI’s #MostWantedTerrorists List
Vincent S. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division, announced today the addition of wanted fugitive Ahmad Abousamra to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List (MWTL). The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading directly to the capture and return of Abousamra to the United States.
With the inclusion of Ahmad Abousamra, there are currently 30 individuals on the FBI’s MWTL, which was created in October 2001 to highlight individuals indicted for various acts of terrorism against the United States. The list remains a worldwide tool that assists the FBI in its efforts to apprehend alleged terrorists and bring them to justice.
Ahmad Abousamra was indicted after taking multiple trips to Pakistan and Yemen, where he allegedly attempted to obtain military training for the purpose of killing American soldiers overseas. On November 5, 2009, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Abousamra in the United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, after he was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists; conspiracy to kill in a foreign country; conspiracy; and false statements. Abousamra was indicted on a total of nine charges and should be considered armed and dangerous.
“The FBI’s top priority is to protect and defend the United States against terrorist threats, both foreign and domestic,” said SAC Lisi. “The Most Wanted Terrorists List is another example of the FBI continuing to pursue those individuals accused of criminal conduct. In this case, Ahmad Abousamra advocates violent extremism and boldly promotes violence against United States citizens and military personnel.”
SAC Lisi goes on to say, “We believe the international exposure the Most Wanted Terrorists List provides will assist the FBI in Abousamra’s apprehension and his return to the United States to face justice.”
The Boston Division first announced and publicized the $50,000 reward in October 2012. It is still believed Abousamra may be living in Aleppo, Syria, with extended family, his wife, and at least one child, a daughter.
Abousamra is of Syrian descent and has dual citizenship in the United States and Syria. He was born in France on September 19, 1981, and is currently 32 years old. He is 5’11” tall and, from the time that he fled, weighed approximately 170 pounds, had a slim build, dark brown hair, and brown eyes. He speaks, reads, and writes fluently in English and Arabic. He has a college degree related to computer technology and was previously employed at a telecommunications company. He has a number of known aliases, to include Ahmad Abou-Samra, Ahmad Abou, Ahmad Abou Samira, Ahmad Samra, Ahmad Abu Samra, and Ahmad Abou Samra.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI’s Boston Division at (617) 742-5533, on the Internet at https://tips.fbi.gov, or by calling their local FBI office or nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
With the inclusion of Ahmad Abousamra, there are currently 30 individuals on the FBI’s MWTL, which was created in October 2001 to highlight individuals indicted for various acts of terrorism against the United States. The list remains a worldwide tool that assists the FBI in its efforts to apprehend alleged terrorists and bring them to justice.
Ahmad Abousamra was indicted after taking multiple trips to Pakistan and Yemen, where he allegedly attempted to obtain military training for the purpose of killing American soldiers overseas. On November 5, 2009, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Abousamra in the United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, after he was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists; conspiracy to kill in a foreign country; conspiracy; and false statements. Abousamra was indicted on a total of nine charges and should be considered armed and dangerous.
“The FBI’s top priority is to protect and defend the United States against terrorist threats, both foreign and domestic,” said SAC Lisi. “The Most Wanted Terrorists List is another example of the FBI continuing to pursue those individuals accused of criminal conduct. In this case, Ahmad Abousamra advocates violent extremism and boldly promotes violence against United States citizens and military personnel.”
SAC Lisi goes on to say, “We believe the international exposure the Most Wanted Terrorists List provides will assist the FBI in Abousamra’s apprehension and his return to the United States to face justice.”
The Boston Division first announced and publicized the $50,000 reward in October 2012. It is still believed Abousamra may be living in Aleppo, Syria, with extended family, his wife, and at least one child, a daughter.
Abousamra is of Syrian descent and has dual citizenship in the United States and Syria. He was born in France on September 19, 1981, and is currently 32 years old. He is 5’11” tall and, from the time that he fled, weighed approximately 170 pounds, had a slim build, dark brown hair, and brown eyes. He speaks, reads, and writes fluently in English and Arabic. He has a college degree related to computer technology and was previously employed at a telecommunications company. He has a number of known aliases, to include Ahmad Abou-Samra, Ahmad Abou, Ahmad Abou Samira, Ahmad Samra, Ahmad Abu Samra, and Ahmad Abou Samra.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI’s Boston Division at (617) 742-5533, on the Internet at https://tips.fbi.gov, or by calling their local FBI office or nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
California Congressman and House GOP Watch Dog @DarrellIssa vows tenacious fight for #OperationFastandFurious truths
Rep. Darrell E. Issa is vowing to keep up the heat in the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, which led to the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry, until accountability is affixed and the family can get closure.
Six Indicted in International Investment Fraud Scheme
Six individuals have been indicted for their role in an investment scam perpetrated from the United States and Switzerland, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada, and Special Agent in Charge Laura A. Bucheit of the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office announced.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has unsealed indictments against Antony Brandel, 46, of Las Vegas; Joseph Micelli, 59, of Las Vegas; James Warras, 67, of Waterford, Wisconsin; Sean Finn, 44, of Whitefish, Montana; Martin Schlaepfer, 55, of Zurich, Switzerland; and Hans-Jurg Lips, 50, of Zurich, Switzerland. Brandel and Micelli were arrested on December 12, 2013, in Las Vegas, and Warras was arrested on December 13, 2013, in Wisconsin. Finn, Schalepfer and Lips remain at large.
According to court documents, from October 2009 through October 2013, the defendants used a Swiss corporation known as Malom Group AG to promote investments in European equities and debt offerings, which they said would yield high rates of return. The indictment alleges that the defendants created and provided to investors fake bank statements representing that Malom Group AG had large deposit balances at prominent European banks. The defendants collected payments of between $200,000 and $1.2 million per investor but did not put the funds toward the advertised investments. Instead, the defendants used the money for their own purposes. Court documents allege that Brandel, Micelli, Finn, and Warras attempted to conceal the proceeds of the conspiracy by not filing tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to allegations in the indictment, the investments that the defendants promoted did not yield any returns to their victims. When victims complained, the defendants told investors that the Malom Group AG would refund their money with the proceeds of pending transactions the defendants knew were fictitious and would not generate any proceeds. Despite the defendants’ promises of refunds, court documents allege that none of the investors identified in the indictment received a refund. The indictment alleges that Micelli, Warras, and Lips went so far as to submit to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court declarations they knew contained false statements about a transaction that the Malom Group AG had promoted to an investor who had an interest in a company that had filed for bankruptcy protection.
According to the indictment, Anthony Brandel acted as the director of MY Consultants Inc., a Nevada corporation that purported to review potential investments for the Malom Group AG. Micelli, a disbarred former attorney, identified himself to victims as Malom Group AG’s “compliance officer.” Warras served as Malom Group AG’s executive vice president for U.S. Operations and Finn acted as a broker who recruited victims and referred them to Malom Group AG. Schlaepfer was Malom Group AG’s chief executive officer, and Lips identified himself as the head of Malom Group AG’s Structured Finance Group. Schlaepfer and Lips presently reside in Switzerland.
The case was investigated by the Las Vegas Field Office of the FBI. The Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which referred the matter to the Department of Justice, provided valuable assistance and is conducting a parallel civil enforcement investigation. The Public Prosecutor of the Canton of Zurich State Attorney’s Office assisted with the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Brian R. Young, Stephen J. Spiegelhalter, and Anna Kaminska of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Today's guilty plea was a result of efforts by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the Task Force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has unsealed indictments against Antony Brandel, 46, of Las Vegas; Joseph Micelli, 59, of Las Vegas; James Warras, 67, of Waterford, Wisconsin; Sean Finn, 44, of Whitefish, Montana; Martin Schlaepfer, 55, of Zurich, Switzerland; and Hans-Jurg Lips, 50, of Zurich, Switzerland. Brandel and Micelli were arrested on December 12, 2013, in Las Vegas, and Warras was arrested on December 13, 2013, in Wisconsin. Finn, Schalepfer and Lips remain at large.
According to court documents, from October 2009 through October 2013, the defendants used a Swiss corporation known as Malom Group AG to promote investments in European equities and debt offerings, which they said would yield high rates of return. The indictment alleges that the defendants created and provided to investors fake bank statements representing that Malom Group AG had large deposit balances at prominent European banks. The defendants collected payments of between $200,000 and $1.2 million per investor but did not put the funds toward the advertised investments. Instead, the defendants used the money for their own purposes. Court documents allege that Brandel, Micelli, Finn, and Warras attempted to conceal the proceeds of the conspiracy by not filing tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to allegations in the indictment, the investments that the defendants promoted did not yield any returns to their victims. When victims complained, the defendants told investors that the Malom Group AG would refund their money with the proceeds of pending transactions the defendants knew were fictitious and would not generate any proceeds. Despite the defendants’ promises of refunds, court documents allege that none of the investors identified in the indictment received a refund. The indictment alleges that Micelli, Warras, and Lips went so far as to submit to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court declarations they knew contained false statements about a transaction that the Malom Group AG had promoted to an investor who had an interest in a company that had filed for bankruptcy protection.
According to the indictment, Anthony Brandel acted as the director of MY Consultants Inc., a Nevada corporation that purported to review potential investments for the Malom Group AG. Micelli, a disbarred former attorney, identified himself to victims as Malom Group AG’s “compliance officer.” Warras served as Malom Group AG’s executive vice president for U.S. Operations and Finn acted as a broker who recruited victims and referred them to Malom Group AG. Schlaepfer was Malom Group AG’s chief executive officer, and Lips identified himself as the head of Malom Group AG’s Structured Finance Group. Schlaepfer and Lips presently reside in Switzerland.
The case was investigated by the Las Vegas Field Office of the FBI. The Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which referred the matter to the Department of Justice, provided valuable assistance and is conducting a parallel civil enforcement investigation. The Public Prosecutor of the Canton of Zurich State Attorney’s Office assisted with the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Brian R. Young, Stephen J. Spiegelhalter, and Anna Kaminska of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Today's guilty plea was a result of efforts by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the Task Force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Three reputed #Gangsters plead not guilty in fatal gang-related #mobaction
Three reputed gang members charged with the late November stabbing death of a Wheaton man pleaded innocent Monday to all charges against them, including first-degree murder.
Jonathan Jimenez, 19, of Aurora; Alejandro Martinez, 17, of West Chicago; and Anthony Rios, 18, of West Chicago, each face first-degree murder charges in the death of Thomas Tecuatl, who was found beaten and stabbed early Nov. 17 along Route 59 in West Chicago.
Jimenez, who is alleged to have stabbed Tecuatl, could face natural life in prison if convicted. Rios and Martinez each face 20 to 100 years in prison because prosecutors allege the murder happened during a gang-related mob action.
All three are expected back in court on Jan. 29.
Jonathan Jimenez, 19, of Aurora; Alejandro Martinez, 17, of West Chicago; and Anthony Rios, 18, of West Chicago, each face first-degree murder charges in the death of Thomas Tecuatl, who was found beaten and stabbed early Nov. 17 along Route 59 in West Chicago.
Jimenez, who is alleged to have stabbed Tecuatl, could face natural life in prison if convicted. Rios and Martinez each face 20 to 100 years in prison because prosecutors allege the murder happened during a gang-related mob action.
All three are expected back in court on Jan. 29.
Holiday Crackdown on Drunk and Drugged Driving #DriveSoberorGetPulledOver
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland today kicked off the annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” winter holiday crackdown on drunk and drugged driving, along with representatives from local law enforcement, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). To further deter drunk driving, NHTSA today released a “Model Guideline for State Ignition Interlock Programs” that will help states develop and implement a breath alcohol ignition interlock program based on highly successful practices from the U.S. and around the world.
“With the help of our law enforcement partners, we’re sending a message across the country, today and throughout the holiday season – Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” said Secretary Foxx. “And this year, with the release of our model guidelines for ignition interlock programs, we’re helping states improve their efforts to enforce safe driving among convicted offenders, which is crucial to ending these unnecessary deaths.”
Last year, deaths in crashes involving drunk drivers increased 4.6 percent, taking 10,322 lives compared to 9,865 in 2011. The majority of those crashes involved drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15 or higher – nearly double the legal limit. During last year’s holiday season alone, 830 lives were lost in drunk driving crashes.
Previous NHTSA research of convicted drunk drivers show that those with interlocks installed are 75 percent less likely to repeat the behavior compared to those who do not. The guideline emphasizes several key program features to maximize effectiveness – including legislation, education, program administration, and implementation.
“It is unacceptable and downright offensive that anyone would get behind the wheel drunk, let alone at twice the legal limit,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “I urge the states to adopt our new guidelines to protect sober motorists and ensure that individuals convicted of drunk driving learn from their mistakes.”
According to NHTSA’s latest issue of Safety 1n Num3ers, the holiday enforcement on drunk drivers comes at a time of year when crashes involving alcohol increase. Over the past decade, almost two of every five (41 percent) deaths that occur around the New Year’s holiday and the Christmas holiday (37 percent) were alcohol-impaired, compared to 31 percent nationally over the past ten years.
The crackdown runs from December 13 – January 1, 2014, and is supported by $7.5 million in national advertising in TV and radio advertising featuring NHTSA’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. The ads are designed to raise awareness and support law enforcement activities in every state in an effort to reduce drunk driving deaths. NHTSA's Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over message will also be featured in a new public service announcement featuring Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures' RoboCop, in theaters February 12, 2014.
“With the help of our law enforcement partners, we’re sending a message across the country, today and throughout the holiday season – Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” said Secretary Foxx. “And this year, with the release of our model guidelines for ignition interlock programs, we’re helping states improve their efforts to enforce safe driving among convicted offenders, which is crucial to ending these unnecessary deaths.”
Last year, deaths in crashes involving drunk drivers increased 4.6 percent, taking 10,322 lives compared to 9,865 in 2011. The majority of those crashes involved drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15 or higher – nearly double the legal limit. During last year’s holiday season alone, 830 lives were lost in drunk driving crashes.
Previous NHTSA research of convicted drunk drivers show that those with interlocks installed are 75 percent less likely to repeat the behavior compared to those who do not. The guideline emphasizes several key program features to maximize effectiveness – including legislation, education, program administration, and implementation.
“It is unacceptable and downright offensive that anyone would get behind the wheel drunk, let alone at twice the legal limit,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “I urge the states to adopt our new guidelines to protect sober motorists and ensure that individuals convicted of drunk driving learn from their mistakes.”
According to NHTSA’s latest issue of Safety 1n Num3ers, the holiday enforcement on drunk drivers comes at a time of year when crashes involving alcohol increase. Over the past decade, almost two of every five (41 percent) deaths that occur around the New Year’s holiday and the Christmas holiday (37 percent) were alcohol-impaired, compared to 31 percent nationally over the past ten years.
The crackdown runs from December 13 – January 1, 2014, and is supported by $7.5 million in national advertising in TV and radio advertising featuring NHTSA’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. The ads are designed to raise awareness and support law enforcement activities in every state in an effort to reduce drunk driving deaths. NHTSA's Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over message will also be featured in a new public service announcement featuring Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures' RoboCop, in theaters February 12, 2014.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Mexican, U.S. Women Leading Law Enforcement Efforts Against #FARC and #TransnationalCrime
DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart and Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that IOANNIS VIGLAKIS, a/k/a “Pablo,” pled guilty yesterday in Manhattan federal court to attempting to provide material support to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (“FARC”), a Colombian terrorist organization. VIGLAKIS, a citizen of Greece, was arrested in Panama City, Panama, in coordination with Panamanian authorities during August 2012. He waived extradition and was subsequently turned over to the custody of the United States. VIGLAKIS pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest.
“This investigation clearly demonstrates DEA’s unique ability to disrupt and dismantle the arms-trafficking networks that supply weapons to the most significant global narco-terror organizations," Leonhart said. "DEA will continue to aggressively pursue international arms dealers and narco-terrorists who are focused on harming our nation's security.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “By providing functioning rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other military-grade weapons to an individual he believed to be a FARC associate, Ioannis Viglakis was attempting to arm a known terrorist organization that he understood would use those weapons against Americans and Colombians.”
According to the Indictment previously unsealed in this case:
Beginning in November 2011, VIGLAKIS had a series of meetings with a DEA confidential source (the “CS”) who represented himself to be an associate of the FARC. During those meetings, which took place in Europe and Central America, the CS informed VIGLAKIS that he was seeking weapons for use by the FARC to attack American forces in Colombia.
VIGLAKIS offered to provide the FARC with functional, bona fide, military-grade weapons – including assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (“RPG”) launchers and surface-to-air missiles – in exchange for cocaine and cash. During the meetings, VIGLAKIS and the CS also discussed the FARC’s use of these weapons to fight the Colombian and American governments, including by shooting down American aircraft in Colombia.
During the following months, VIGLAKIS indicated that he would provide the CS with several RPG launchers as a sample. On July 18, 2012, VIGLAKIS successfully arranged for the delivery in Europe of six live RPGs and three working RPG launchers, which were received by a DEA undercover agent.
VIGLAKIS, 53, pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to the FARC. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Forrest on April 11, 2014, at 11:00 a.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the Special Operations Division of the DEA, as well as the DEA Panama Country Office, the DEA Madrid Country Office, and the DEA Copenhagen Country Office. Mr. Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and National Security Division, the U.S. Department of State, and the Government of the Republic of Panama.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian R. Everdell, Aimee Hector, and Michael Lockard are in charge of the prosecution.
“This investigation clearly demonstrates DEA’s unique ability to disrupt and dismantle the arms-trafficking networks that supply weapons to the most significant global narco-terror organizations," Leonhart said. "DEA will continue to aggressively pursue international arms dealers and narco-terrorists who are focused on harming our nation's security.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “By providing functioning rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other military-grade weapons to an individual he believed to be a FARC associate, Ioannis Viglakis was attempting to arm a known terrorist organization that he understood would use those weapons against Americans and Colombians.”
According to the Indictment previously unsealed in this case:
Beginning in November 2011, VIGLAKIS had a series of meetings with a DEA confidential source (the “CS”) who represented himself to be an associate of the FARC. During those meetings, which took place in Europe and Central America, the CS informed VIGLAKIS that he was seeking weapons for use by the FARC to attack American forces in Colombia.
VIGLAKIS offered to provide the FARC with functional, bona fide, military-grade weapons – including assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (“RPG”) launchers and surface-to-air missiles – in exchange for cocaine and cash. During the meetings, VIGLAKIS and the CS also discussed the FARC’s use of these weapons to fight the Colombian and American governments, including by shooting down American aircraft in Colombia.
During the following months, VIGLAKIS indicated that he would provide the CS with several RPG launchers as a sample. On July 18, 2012, VIGLAKIS successfully arranged for the delivery in Europe of six live RPGs and three working RPG launchers, which were received by a DEA undercover agent.
VIGLAKIS, 53, pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to the FARC. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Forrest on April 11, 2014, at 11:00 a.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the Special Operations Division of the DEA, as well as the DEA Panama Country Office, the DEA Madrid Country Office, and the DEA Copenhagen Country Office. Mr. Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and National Security Division, the U.S. Department of State, and the Government of the Republic of Panama.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian R. Everdell, Aimee Hector, and Michael Lockard are in charge of the prosecution.
“This investigation clearly demonstrates DEA’s unique ability to disrupt and dismantle the arms-trafficking networks that supply weapons to the most significant global narco-terror organizations," Leonhart said. "DEA will continue to aggressively pursue international arms dealers and narco-terrorists who are focused on harming our nation's security.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “By providing functioning rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other military-grade weapons to an individual he believed to be a FARC associate, Ioannis Viglakis was attempting to arm a known terrorist organization that he understood would use those weapons against Americans and Colombians.”
According to the Indictment previously unsealed in this case:
Beginning in November 2011, VIGLAKIS had a series of meetings with a DEA confidential source (the “CS”) who represented himself to be an associate of the FARC. During those meetings, which took place in Europe and Central America, the CS informed VIGLAKIS that he was seeking weapons for use by the FARC to attack American forces in Colombia.
VIGLAKIS offered to provide the FARC with functional, bona fide, military-grade weapons – including assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (“RPG”) launchers and surface-to-air missiles – in exchange for cocaine and cash. During the meetings, VIGLAKIS and the CS also discussed the FARC’s use of these weapons to fight the Colombian and American governments, including by shooting down American aircraft in Colombia.
During the following months, VIGLAKIS indicated that he would provide the CS with several RPG launchers as a sample. On July 18, 2012, VIGLAKIS successfully arranged for the delivery in Europe of six live RPGs and three working RPG launchers, which were received by a DEA undercover agent.
* * *
VIGLAKIS, 53, pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to the FARC. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Forrest on April 11, 2014, at 11:00 a.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the Special Operations Division of the DEA, as well as the DEA Panama Country Office, the DEA Madrid Country Office, and the DEA Copenhagen Country Office. Mr. Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and National Security Division, the U.S. Department of State, and the Government of the Republic of Panama.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian R. Everdell, Aimee Hector, and Michael Lockard are in charge of the prosecution.
“This investigation clearly demonstrates DEA’s unique ability to disrupt and dismantle the arms-trafficking networks that supply weapons to the most significant global narco-terror organizations," Leonhart said. "DEA will continue to aggressively pursue international arms dealers and narco-terrorists who are focused on harming our nation's security.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “By providing functioning rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other military-grade weapons to an individual he believed to be a FARC associate, Ioannis Viglakis was attempting to arm a known terrorist organization that he understood would use those weapons against Americans and Colombians.”
According to the Indictment previously unsealed in this case:
Beginning in November 2011, VIGLAKIS had a series of meetings with a DEA confidential source (the “CS”) who represented himself to be an associate of the FARC. During those meetings, which took place in Europe and Central America, the CS informed VIGLAKIS that he was seeking weapons for use by the FARC to attack American forces in Colombia.
VIGLAKIS offered to provide the FARC with functional, bona fide, military-grade weapons – including assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (“RPG”) launchers and surface-to-air missiles – in exchange for cocaine and cash. During the meetings, VIGLAKIS and the CS also discussed the FARC’s use of these weapons to fight the Colombian and American governments, including by shooting down American aircraft in Colombia.
During the following months, VIGLAKIS indicated that he would provide the CS with several RPG launchers as a sample. On July 18, 2012, VIGLAKIS successfully arranged for the delivery in Europe of six live RPGs and three working RPG launchers, which were received by a DEA undercover agent.
* * *
VIGLAKIS, 53, pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to the FARC. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Forrest on April 11, 2014, at 11:00 a.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the Special Operations Division of the DEA, as well as the DEA Panama Country Office, the DEA Madrid Country Office, and the DEA Copenhagen Country Office. Mr. Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and National Security Division, the U.S. Department of State, and the Government of the Republic of Panama.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian R. Everdell, Aimee Hector, and Michael Lockard are in charge of the prosecution.
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