Imprisoned Chicago hit man and 84-year-old mob boss Joey Lombardo will remain in solitary confinement.
In Wednesday's ruling, US District Judge James Zagel denied Lombardo's request to get out of what is commonly known as "the hole" saying "this court has no jurisdiction" to make that decision. In Judge Zagel's order, he suggests Lombardo file a lawsuit in North Carolina where he is currently locked up.
His attorneys accuse the government of "elder abuse."
For decades, Joey Lombardo has been known in mob circles as "the clown." But on Monday, his courthouse hijinks and comedic banter with the media have given way to a tear-jerking motion for mercy. Or at least that is what Mr. Lombardo might like you to believe. Attorneys for the aged Chicago outfit boss say he is just a sick old man in a wheelchair and should be removed from solitary confinement, where he has been locked up 24 hours a day as a violent menace.
Long gone are the days when Joey the Clown wore a newspaper mask to court, or led news crews on a sprint through downtown. Since Lombardo was sentenced to life in prison during the landmark Family Secrets mob murders case, he has been locked up at the Butner North Carolina penitentiary under what are known as "special administrative measures" -- shorthand for solitary confinement.
Lombardo's lawyers say the lockdown was meant to keep international terrorists from plotting attacks.
In their motion to release Lombardo from solitary, they say "the imposition of these draconian conditions against an 84-year-old, chronically ill, wheelchair-user can only be an attempt to appear 'tough on crime' by engaging in 'elder abuse' against a man who once had a reputation (deserved or not) as a major player in the Chicago 'Mob.'"
Lombardo was convicted of personally murdering those who crossed the outfit even while overseeing the Chicago mob. He is a career hoodlum having risen through the ranks from syndicate soldier. But at 84, his lawyers say keeping his on lockdown is "unduly restrictive on Petitioner's physical well-being and his mental health, especially given his advanced age." And they contend "punitive confinement for more than 30 days constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment."
In the government's response on file Monday, they pay homage to Lombardo's moniker "the clown" then ridicule his effort to escape lockdown, stating: "defendant does not even properly allege that this matter is ripe for federal court review in any forum, let alone this one. In addition to the obvious jurisdictional problem noted above, the defendant does not contend that he has exhausted his administrative remedies."
Prosecutors say Lombardo has already been denied a similar request once before. These special administrative measures are generally imposed by the Bureau of Prisons and have been used on terror suspects, but other Chicago mob bosses have been put in solitary as well.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Details on Bonanno Family Captain Vincent Asaro Indictment for Participating in the 1978 Lufthansa #Goodfellas Heist Plus Murder
Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed charging five members of the Bonanno organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the Bonanno family) variously with racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to murder, robbery and extortion, and other crimes. Bonanno family administration members and captains Vincent Asaro and Thomas Di Fiore; Bonanno family captain Jerome Asaro; Bonanno family acting captain Jack Bonventre; and Bonanno family soldier John Ragano were arrested earlier today and are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marilyn D. Go at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn.
The charges and arrests were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.
“As alleged, Vincent Asaro devoted his adult life to the Bonanno crime family, with a criminal career that spanned decades. Far from a code of honor, theirs was a code of violence and brute force. Those suspected of cooperating with law enforcement paid with their lives. Asaro helped pull off the 1978 Lufthansa robbery—still the largest bank robbery in New York history. Neither age nor time dimmed Asaro’s ruthless ways, as he continued to order violence to carry out mob business in recent months. The arrests and charges announced today are a testament to the relentless pursuit of justice by law enforcement,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI for its extraordinary work in bringing these defendants to account for the charged crimes.
“These ‘goodfellas’ thought they had a license to steal, a license to kill, and a license to do whatever they wanted. However, today’s arrests of the five members of the Bonanno crime family brings an end to their violent and ruthless ways. As alleged in the indictment, Vincent Asaro and his co-conspirators were not only involved in typical mob activities of extortion and murder, but Asaro himself was in on one of the most notorious heists—the Lufthansa robbery in 1978. It may be decades later, but the FBI’s determination to investigate and bring wiseguys to justice will never waver,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos.
As alleged in the indictment and a detention memorandum filed by the government, over the last 45 years, Vincent Asaro and various co-conspirators, including his son Jerome Asaro, engaged in a pattern of violence and threats of violence in order to profit from their illegal activity and evade prosecution. The indictment announced today is the result of a long-term investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that utilized, among other law enforcement techniques, consensual recordings, cooperating witnesses and confidential sources, and electronic and visual surveillance.
1978 Lufthansa Heist
Vincent Asaro is charged for his participation in the 1978 robbery at the Lufthansa Terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport of more than $5 million in United States currency and approximately $1 million in jewelry. Asaro, Lucchese crime family associate James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke, and their co-conspirators each expected to receive approximately $750,000 in cash and large quantities of gold jewelry from the proceeds of the robbery.
Murder of Paul Katz
Vincent Asaro is charged with the murder of Paul Katz, who disappeared in 1969, and Asaro and his son Jerome are also charged with accessory after the fact for their roles in moving Katz’s body to prevent its discovery by law enforcement. Vincent Asaro and Burke allegedly strangled Katz with a dog chain because they believed he was cooperating with law enforcement. They then buried his body in the basement of a vacant home in Queens, New York, where it remained until the mid-1980s when, alerted to a state law enforcement investigation into Katz’s murder, Vincent Asaro directed Jerome Asaro and another individual to dig up Katz’s body and move it. Almost 35 years later, in June 2013, the FBI executed a search warrant at the Queens residence, which was still owned by the Burke family, and recovered remnants of Katz’s remains buried in the basement. Katz’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing.
Solicitation to Murder
Vincent Asaro and Jerome Asaro are charged with solicitation to murder their cousin, identified in the indictment as John Doe #1, because he was perceived to be a “rat” for testifying against another family member in a federal trial on fraud charges.
Armed Robberies
Vincent Asaro and Jerome Asaro are charged variously with participating in additional armed robberies and armed robbery conspiracies, including the robbery of approximately $1 million in gold salts.
Extortion
All five defendants, including Thomas Di Fiore, the highest ranking member of the Bonanno family at liberty, are charged with using and conspiring to use extortionate means to collect an extension of credit from a Bonanno family associate. During an April 26, 2013 consensual recording of Vincent Asaro and John Ragano, Ragano asked Asaro, “When do we stab this guy...in the neck? That’s what I want to know.” Asaro responded, “Stab him today.” Asaro continued, “I told you to give him a...beating. Give him a...beating, I told you that. Listen, I sent three guys there to give him a beating already, so it won’t be the first time he got a beating from me.”
The case has been assigned to United States Senior District Judge Allyne R. Ross. If convicted, Vincent Asaro faces life imprisonment, and each of his co-defendants faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole M. Argentieri and Alicyn Cooley.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendants:
Vincent Asaro
Age: 78
Howard Beach, New York
Jerome Asaro
Age: 55
Bethpage, New York
Jack Bonventre
Age: 45
Campbell Hall, New York
Thomas Di Fiore, also known as “Tommy D”
Age: 70
Commack, New York
John Ragano, also known as “Bazoo”
Age: 52
Rockaway, New York
The charges and arrests were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.
“As alleged, Vincent Asaro devoted his adult life to the Bonanno crime family, with a criminal career that spanned decades. Far from a code of honor, theirs was a code of violence and brute force. Those suspected of cooperating with law enforcement paid with their lives. Asaro helped pull off the 1978 Lufthansa robbery—still the largest bank robbery in New York history. Neither age nor time dimmed Asaro’s ruthless ways, as he continued to order violence to carry out mob business in recent months. The arrests and charges announced today are a testament to the relentless pursuit of justice by law enforcement,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI for its extraordinary work in bringing these defendants to account for the charged crimes.
“These ‘goodfellas’ thought they had a license to steal, a license to kill, and a license to do whatever they wanted. However, today’s arrests of the five members of the Bonanno crime family brings an end to their violent and ruthless ways. As alleged in the indictment, Vincent Asaro and his co-conspirators were not only involved in typical mob activities of extortion and murder, but Asaro himself was in on one of the most notorious heists—the Lufthansa robbery in 1978. It may be decades later, but the FBI’s determination to investigate and bring wiseguys to justice will never waver,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos.
As alleged in the indictment and a detention memorandum filed by the government, over the last 45 years, Vincent Asaro and various co-conspirators, including his son Jerome Asaro, engaged in a pattern of violence and threats of violence in order to profit from their illegal activity and evade prosecution. The indictment announced today is the result of a long-term investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that utilized, among other law enforcement techniques, consensual recordings, cooperating witnesses and confidential sources, and electronic and visual surveillance.
1978 Lufthansa Heist
Vincent Asaro is charged for his participation in the 1978 robbery at the Lufthansa Terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport of more than $5 million in United States currency and approximately $1 million in jewelry. Asaro, Lucchese crime family associate James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke, and their co-conspirators each expected to receive approximately $750,000 in cash and large quantities of gold jewelry from the proceeds of the robbery.
Murder of Paul Katz
Vincent Asaro is charged with the murder of Paul Katz, who disappeared in 1969, and Asaro and his son Jerome are also charged with accessory after the fact for their roles in moving Katz’s body to prevent its discovery by law enforcement. Vincent Asaro and Burke allegedly strangled Katz with a dog chain because they believed he was cooperating with law enforcement. They then buried his body in the basement of a vacant home in Queens, New York, where it remained until the mid-1980s when, alerted to a state law enforcement investigation into Katz’s murder, Vincent Asaro directed Jerome Asaro and another individual to dig up Katz’s body and move it. Almost 35 years later, in June 2013, the FBI executed a search warrant at the Queens residence, which was still owned by the Burke family, and recovered remnants of Katz’s remains buried in the basement. Katz’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing.
Solicitation to Murder
Vincent Asaro and Jerome Asaro are charged with solicitation to murder their cousin, identified in the indictment as John Doe #1, because he was perceived to be a “rat” for testifying against another family member in a federal trial on fraud charges.
Armed Robberies
Vincent Asaro and Jerome Asaro are charged variously with participating in additional armed robberies and armed robbery conspiracies, including the robbery of approximately $1 million in gold salts.
Extortion
All five defendants, including Thomas Di Fiore, the highest ranking member of the Bonanno family at liberty, are charged with using and conspiring to use extortionate means to collect an extension of credit from a Bonanno family associate. During an April 26, 2013 consensual recording of Vincent Asaro and John Ragano, Ragano asked Asaro, “When do we stab this guy...in the neck? That’s what I want to know.” Asaro responded, “Stab him today.” Asaro continued, “I told you to give him a...beating. Give him a...beating, I told you that. Listen, I sent three guys there to give him a beating already, so it won’t be the first time he got a beating from me.”
The case has been assigned to United States Senior District Judge Allyne R. Ross. If convicted, Vincent Asaro faces life imprisonment, and each of his co-defendants faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole M. Argentieri and Alicyn Cooley.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendants:
Vincent Asaro
Age: 78
Howard Beach, New York
Jerome Asaro
Age: 55
Bethpage, New York
Jack Bonventre
Age: 45
Campbell Hall, New York
Thomas Di Fiore, also known as “Tommy D”
Age: 70
Commack, New York
John Ragano, also known as “Bazoo”
Age: 52
Rockaway, New York
Simon Abou Raad Sentenced for Extortion and Mail Fraud
An automobile service station owner who conspired with a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle (RMV) project manager to extort other service station owners who wanted to obtain a license to conduct vehicle safety inspections was sentenced yesterday.
Simon Abou Raad, 51, of Tyngsborough, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole to three years in prison, two years of supervised release, and a $10,000 fine and was ordered to forfeit $360,000 in illegal proceeds. In December 2013, Abou Raad pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy to extort money under color of official right.
Abou Raad owned service stations in Tewksbury and Tyngsboro. His co-defendant, Mark LaFrance, project manager for Vehicle Safety and Compliance Services at the RMV, had oversight responsibilities for the entire motor vehicle inspection program within Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, applications to obtain a license to conduct motor vehicle safety inspections are intended to be granted off a waiting list with consideration given to geographic location. An applicant for a vehicle inspection license must pay a $100 fee, and the actual equipment costs about $2,500. The inspection network was at its capacity; therefore, the RMV was not granting new licenses off the waiting list.
LaFrance and Abou Raad operated what was essentially “a black market” for such licenses through the use of LaFrance’s official position. LaFrance provided to Abou Raad a list of vehicle inspection stations that had a low volume of inspections and/or were planning to surrender their license and sell the inspection equipment. Abou Raad then contacted the service station owner and offered to buy the inspection license and equipment for prices usually in the range of $5,000 to $6,000. Abou Raad offered for sale such licenses and equipment to service station owners desirous of acquiring a license for prices between $50,000 to $75,000. Abou Raad then arranged the transaction to appear as if the service station owners selling and buying the license were merging as a new business entity or with a change in ownership. Although he was aware that these purported mergers were not bona fide, LaFrance either approved the issuing of a new license or permitted others in the RMV to approve the new license. After the fraudulent transaction resulting in the issuance of a vehicle inspection licenses was completed and payment was made to Abou Raad, he split the illegal proceeds with LaFrance. Through this illegal scheme, Abou Raad sold at least 10 inspection licenses and/or machines for approximately $657,000 in total.
In November 2013, LaFrance was sentenced to three years in prison.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Theodore Merritt and Robert Fisher of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.
Simon Abou Raad, 51, of Tyngsborough, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole to three years in prison, two years of supervised release, and a $10,000 fine and was ordered to forfeit $360,000 in illegal proceeds. In December 2013, Abou Raad pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy to extort money under color of official right.
Abou Raad owned service stations in Tewksbury and Tyngsboro. His co-defendant, Mark LaFrance, project manager for Vehicle Safety and Compliance Services at the RMV, had oversight responsibilities for the entire motor vehicle inspection program within Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, applications to obtain a license to conduct motor vehicle safety inspections are intended to be granted off a waiting list with consideration given to geographic location. An applicant for a vehicle inspection license must pay a $100 fee, and the actual equipment costs about $2,500. The inspection network was at its capacity; therefore, the RMV was not granting new licenses off the waiting list.
LaFrance and Abou Raad operated what was essentially “a black market” for such licenses through the use of LaFrance’s official position. LaFrance provided to Abou Raad a list of vehicle inspection stations that had a low volume of inspections and/or were planning to surrender their license and sell the inspection equipment. Abou Raad then contacted the service station owner and offered to buy the inspection license and equipment for prices usually in the range of $5,000 to $6,000. Abou Raad offered for sale such licenses and equipment to service station owners desirous of acquiring a license for prices between $50,000 to $75,000. Abou Raad then arranged the transaction to appear as if the service station owners selling and buying the license were merging as a new business entity or with a change in ownership. Although he was aware that these purported mergers were not bona fide, LaFrance either approved the issuing of a new license or permitted others in the RMV to approve the new license. After the fraudulent transaction resulting in the issuance of a vehicle inspection licenses was completed and payment was made to Abou Raad, he split the illegal proceeds with LaFrance. Through this illegal scheme, Abou Raad sold at least 10 inspection licenses and/or machines for approximately $657,000 in total.
In November 2013, LaFrance was sentenced to three years in prison.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Theodore Merritt and Robert Fisher of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.
Stolen Hurricane Sandy Disaster Funds Results in Arrest of 4 in @FEMA Fraud Scheme
A joint investigation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) resulted in the arrest of four individuals earlier this morning for allegedly submitting false and fraudulent applications to obtain Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief funds. Darnell Ellis, Diana Shkolnik, Robert Gesuele, and Edward Valentin (the defendants) independently submitted fraudulent disaster relief applications and received benefits from the federal government, which they would not otherwise be entitled.
The arrests were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, FBI, New York Field Office; and FEMA Regional Administrator Jerome Hatfield.
Disaster relief assistance
is made available after the president of the United States declares that a major disaster has occurred in a specified area. Assistance to individuals is available under the Individuals and Household Assistance Program (IHP), which provides grants funded by the United States government to people in the affected area when losses are not covered by insurance and property has been damaged or destroyed. To qualify for disaster assistance, in addition to registering with FEMA, the applicant must provide basic personal data and the location of the damaged dwelling. The applicant is also asked to verify that the damaged dwelling was in fact his or her primary residence and that he or she was unable to live in his or her primary residence due to disaster-related conditions.
As detailed in their respective complaints, each defendant claimed in their FEMA relief applications that their primary residences were affected by Hurricane Sandy, and as a result, they were seeking financial assistance. Contrary to their claims, the investigation identified that at the time they submitted their FEMA applications, defendants Ellis, Shkolnik, and Valentin were not living in the storm-affected residences identified in their paperwork. The fourth defendant, Gesuele, submitted a FEMA application for a residence he was illegally occupying and did not rent or own. In total, the defendants received tens of thousands of dollars in disaster relief funding to which they were not entitled.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos stated, “At a time when individuals were displaced from their primary residences and businesses due to the affects of Hurricane Sandy, the defendants saw an opportunity to make money. They submitted false claims to FEMA and lined their pockets with money intended to help those who legally qualified for assistance under the IHP. The FBI, along with its law enforcement partners, to include FEMA, will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who defraud the government for their own personal gain.”
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, FEMA Region 2 responded to those affected and provided both material and financial support. Relief funds meant to assist individuals, businesses, and communities are essential in order to restore normalcy. This process is hampered by those few who wish to defraud and siphon relief and disaster funds away from those who were most at need. FEMA R2 will continue to work with our close federal partners, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security-Office of the Inspector General, to identify fraud and misuse of disaster relief funds and to leverage each such violation as a clear message of deterrence to anyone considering the misuse of relief and disaster funds,” said FEMA Regional Administrator Jerome Hatfield.
The arrests were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, FBI, New York Field Office; and FEMA Regional Administrator Jerome Hatfield.
Disaster relief assistance
is made available after the president of the United States declares that a major disaster has occurred in a specified area. Assistance to individuals is available under the Individuals and Household Assistance Program (IHP), which provides grants funded by the United States government to people in the affected area when losses are not covered by insurance and property has been damaged or destroyed. To qualify for disaster assistance, in addition to registering with FEMA, the applicant must provide basic personal data and the location of the damaged dwelling. The applicant is also asked to verify that the damaged dwelling was in fact his or her primary residence and that he or she was unable to live in his or her primary residence due to disaster-related conditions.As detailed in their respective complaints, each defendant claimed in their FEMA relief applications that their primary residences were affected by Hurricane Sandy, and as a result, they were seeking financial assistance. Contrary to their claims, the investigation identified that at the time they submitted their FEMA applications, defendants Ellis, Shkolnik, and Valentin were not living in the storm-affected residences identified in their paperwork. The fourth defendant, Gesuele, submitted a FEMA application for a residence he was illegally occupying and did not rent or own. In total, the defendants received tens of thousands of dollars in disaster relief funding to which they were not entitled.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos stated, “At a time when individuals were displaced from their primary residences and businesses due to the affects of Hurricane Sandy, the defendants saw an opportunity to make money. They submitted false claims to FEMA and lined their pockets with money intended to help those who legally qualified for assistance under the IHP. The FBI, along with its law enforcement partners, to include FEMA, will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who defraud the government for their own personal gain.”
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, FEMA Region 2 responded to those affected and provided both material and financial support. Relief funds meant to assist individuals, businesses, and communities are essential in order to restore normalcy. This process is hampered by those few who wish to defraud and siphon relief and disaster funds away from those who were most at need. FEMA R2 will continue to work with our close federal partners, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security-Office of the Inspector General, to identify fraud and misuse of disaster relief funds and to leverage each such violation as a clear message of deterrence to anyone considering the misuse of relief and disaster funds,” said FEMA Regional Administrator Jerome Hatfield.
Top Ten Highlights of The Chris Christie Press Conference
Top Ten Highlights of The Chris Christie Press Conference
10. Shocking revelation of corruption in New Jersey?
9. Blamed the whole thing on getting drunk with Dennis Rodman
8. More profanity than "The Wolf of Wall Street"
7. Claimed his heart was broken, but acknowledged it might be obesity-related
6. Said he wasn't a bully, then put Chris Matthews in a headlock
5. Christie's claim he had no idea a bridge connected New Jersey and New York
4. An appearance by the fake sign language guy
3. Boldly took responsibility by blaming everyone but himself
2. Announced plans to execute his uncle
1. Interrupted press conference to smoke crack
10. Shocking revelation of corruption in New Jersey?
9. Blamed the whole thing on getting drunk with Dennis Rodman
8. More profanity than "The Wolf of Wall Street"
7. Claimed his heart was broken, but acknowledged it might be obesity-related
6. Said he wasn't a bully, then put Chris Matthews in a headlock
5. Christie's claim he had no idea a bridge connected New Jersey and New York
4. An appearance by the fake sign language guy
3. Boldly took responsibility by blaming everyone but himself
2. Announced plans to execute his uncle
1. Interrupted press conference to smoke crack
"Women in Gaming" A Courtroom Conversation to be Hosted by @TheMobMuseum
On Wednesday, February 19, The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, will host “Women in Gaming” in its historic courtroom. Part of the Museum’s ongoing Courtroom Conversation educational programming series, the event will take place at 7 p.m. and feature a panel discussion among three of the top women in the global gaming industry: Patricia Becker, president, Patricia Becker & Associates and former executive director, UNLV’s International Gaming Institute as well as first and only woman to be appointed to the Nevada Gaming Control Board; Jan Jones Blackhurst, executive vice president, communications and government relations, Caesars Entertainment; and Elaine Wynn, director, Wynn Resorts, and president, Nevada State Board of Education. Moderating the discussion will be Marybel Batjer, secretary, California Government Operations and past vice president, public policy, Caesars Entertainment.
Community partners helping present the event include Global Gaming Women and the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN). In addition, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Lied Library Special Collections will display archival material relevant to the topic and Vegas PBS will record the event for future broadcast consideration.
These women will come together for one evening at The Mob Museum to discuss the world of gaming from their own unique perspectives. Sure to be among the topics that evening: the highs and lows, challenges and successes of operating as prominent figures in a largely male-dominated gaming industry.
Patricia Becker is the President of Patricia Becker & Associates, a gaming consulting firm that specializes in compliance and regulatory issues. In addition, she currently serves as chair of the compliance committee at Bally Technologies, Inc. She previously served as executive director of UNLV International Gaming Institute, and was the first woman to be appointed to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Previously, Becker held numerous executive positions including roles with Aladdin Gaming and Harrah’s. She also served as chief of staff to Nevada Gov. Bob Miller from 1993 to 1995 and on the board of directors for Cash Systems Inc., Fitzgerald’s Gaming Corp. and Powerhouse Technologies. In 2004, Becker was the first woman to be inducted into the International Association of Gaming Advisors and has served as the organization’s president.
Jan Jones Blackhurst is Executive Vice President of Communications and Government Relations for Caesars Entertainment, Corp. In that capacity, she oversees all worldwide government affairs, corporate communications, community relations and corporate-social responsibility programs for the $9 billion corporation. Those programs include Caesars industry-leading responsible-gaming systems and its various initiatives aimed at enhancing diversity and promoting environmental stewardship companywide.
Prior to joining Caesars in November 1999, Jones Blackhurst served two terms as Mayor of the City of Las Vegas. She was the city’s first woman chief executive, and among the most popular mayors in its history, having won reelection in 1995 by a 72 percent margin. While in office, Jones Blackhurst presided over an unprecedented period of economic, social and cultural expansion, one in which the city’s population increased 66 percent, making Las Vegas the fastest-growing major metropolitan area in America throughout much of the 1990s.
In 2011, Jones Blackhurst was the first woman to be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Gaming Communications by the American Gaming Association. She was also honored by the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada as a mentor and leader in Las Vegas and honored by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Nevada for the ATHENA International Award for leadership. In 2012 Jones Blackhurst received the Americanism Award from the Anti-Defamation League in recognition of her outstanding leadership, dedication to diversity, and commitment to her community. In 2013, she was awarded the Free Enterprise Award by the Nevada Taxpayers Association, Employers Association of Southern Nevada, and the Metro Chamber as a distinguished community leader who has made a significant and lasting impact on the Southern Nevada economy. She also received the William Andrews Clark – Lifetime Achievement Award honoring her extraordinary distinction in lifetime success and a tribute to her years of commitment, dedication, and service to the Southern Nevada community.
Elaine Wynn has served as Director of Wynn Resorts since 2000 and has helped guide the company’s expansion from the opening of Wynn Las Vegas in April 2005 and Wynn Macau in September 2006 to the unveiling of Encore in December 2008.
In her role, Wynn has overseen a multitude of details that have contributed to the creation of the “Wynn lifestyle.” These range from the selection of staff uniforms, luxury shops and spa amenities to playing a key role in special events and the company’s charitable involvement. Prior to her current position, Wynn served in a similar capacity as Director of Mirage Resorts from 1976 to 2000.
Wynn is personally and actively involved in a variety of community organizations and civic bodies dedicated to the enrichment of children, including serving as president of the Nevada Board of Education, chairman of the national board of the Communities In Schools drop-out prevention organization and co-chair of the Greater Las Vegas After-School All Stars, among others.
Wynn has also been a strong supporter of the arts. Her role as a business leader in Nevada led to her appointments to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees and the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board. In 2011 she established the Elaine Wynn Studio for Arts Education at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. The Elaine Wynn Studio includes classrooms, conference rooms and offices for education program staff, interns, and artists in residence. The building’s two performance spaces, a “black box” theater and cabaret theater, are also used for children’s theater and educational programming.
Her dedication to the community has garnered numerous awards and accolades including the Governor’s Philanthropist of the Year in 2005 and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1986. She was awarded one of seven National Promise of America Founder’s Awards for improving children’s lives at a ceremony at the White House. She is especially proud of the dedication of the Elaine Wynn Elementary School in 1991.
Seating for this once-in-a-lifetime event is extremely limited. VIP tickets are $250; preferred seating tickets are $125 and include a private reception prior to the event. General admission entry is $40. Dessert and refreshments will be available following the event for all attendees.
Community partners helping present the event include Global Gaming Women and the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN). In addition, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Lied Library Special Collections will display archival material relevant to the topic and Vegas PBS will record the event for future broadcast consideration.
These women will come together for one evening at The Mob Museum to discuss the world of gaming from their own unique perspectives. Sure to be among the topics that evening: the highs and lows, challenges and successes of operating as prominent figures in a largely male-dominated gaming industry.
Patricia Becker is the President of Patricia Becker & Associates, a gaming consulting firm that specializes in compliance and regulatory issues. In addition, she currently serves as chair of the compliance committee at Bally Technologies, Inc. She previously served as executive director of UNLV International Gaming Institute, and was the first woman to be appointed to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Previously, Becker held numerous executive positions including roles with Aladdin Gaming and Harrah’s. She also served as chief of staff to Nevada Gov. Bob Miller from 1993 to 1995 and on the board of directors for Cash Systems Inc., Fitzgerald’s Gaming Corp. and Powerhouse Technologies. In 2004, Becker was the first woman to be inducted into the International Association of Gaming Advisors and has served as the organization’s president.
Jan Jones Blackhurst is Executive Vice President of Communications and Government Relations for Caesars Entertainment, Corp. In that capacity, she oversees all worldwide government affairs, corporate communications, community relations and corporate-social responsibility programs for the $9 billion corporation. Those programs include Caesars industry-leading responsible-gaming systems and its various initiatives aimed at enhancing diversity and promoting environmental stewardship companywide.
Prior to joining Caesars in November 1999, Jones Blackhurst served two terms as Mayor of the City of Las Vegas. She was the city’s first woman chief executive, and among the most popular mayors in its history, having won reelection in 1995 by a 72 percent margin. While in office, Jones Blackhurst presided over an unprecedented period of economic, social and cultural expansion, one in which the city’s population increased 66 percent, making Las Vegas the fastest-growing major metropolitan area in America throughout much of the 1990s.
In 2011, Jones Blackhurst was the first woman to be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Gaming Communications by the American Gaming Association. She was also honored by the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada as a mentor and leader in Las Vegas and honored by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Nevada for the ATHENA International Award for leadership. In 2012 Jones Blackhurst received the Americanism Award from the Anti-Defamation League in recognition of her outstanding leadership, dedication to diversity, and commitment to her community. In 2013, she was awarded the Free Enterprise Award by the Nevada Taxpayers Association, Employers Association of Southern Nevada, and the Metro Chamber as a distinguished community leader who has made a significant and lasting impact on the Southern Nevada economy. She also received the William Andrews Clark – Lifetime Achievement Award honoring her extraordinary distinction in lifetime success and a tribute to her years of commitment, dedication, and service to the Southern Nevada community.
Elaine Wynn has served as Director of Wynn Resorts since 2000 and has helped guide the company’s expansion from the opening of Wynn Las Vegas in April 2005 and Wynn Macau in September 2006 to the unveiling of Encore in December 2008.
In her role, Wynn has overseen a multitude of details that have contributed to the creation of the “Wynn lifestyle.” These range from the selection of staff uniforms, luxury shops and spa amenities to playing a key role in special events and the company’s charitable involvement. Prior to her current position, Wynn served in a similar capacity as Director of Mirage Resorts from 1976 to 2000.
Wynn is personally and actively involved in a variety of community organizations and civic bodies dedicated to the enrichment of children, including serving as president of the Nevada Board of Education, chairman of the national board of the Communities In Schools drop-out prevention organization and co-chair of the Greater Las Vegas After-School All Stars, among others.
Wynn has also been a strong supporter of the arts. Her role as a business leader in Nevada led to her appointments to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees and the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board. In 2011 she established the Elaine Wynn Studio for Arts Education at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. The Elaine Wynn Studio includes classrooms, conference rooms and offices for education program staff, interns, and artists in residence. The building’s two performance spaces, a “black box” theater and cabaret theater, are also used for children’s theater and educational programming.
Her dedication to the community has garnered numerous awards and accolades including the Governor’s Philanthropist of the Year in 2005 and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1986. She was awarded one of seven National Promise of America Founder’s Awards for improving children’s lives at a ceremony at the White House. She is especially proud of the dedication of the Elaine Wynn Elementary School in 1991.
Seating for this once-in-a-lifetime event is extremely limited. VIP tickets are $250; preferred seating tickets are $125 and include a private reception prior to the event. General admission entry is $40. Dessert and refreshments will be available following the event for all attendees.
Precious House, Brian Huges, Michael Turner, and Keith Foster Indicted in Alleged $1.4 Million Automobile Loan Fraud Scheme
Four Chicago and area defendants were indicted on federal bank fraud charges for allegedly engaging in a scheme to fraudulently obtain 46 automobile loans totaling approximately $1.4 million without ever intending that the borrowers would purchase the high-end luxury cars that they claimed to be buying. As a result, various credit union lenders, Including Great Lakes Credit Union, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, and Sherwin-Williams Credit Union, incurred losses totaling at least $914,000, the charges allege.
One defendant, Precious W. House, 47, of Chicago, the president of Rolling Auto Inc., a Plymouth, Indiana wholesale auto dealership that purported to be selling many of the autos, was arrested yesterday. He pleaded not guilty to five counts of bank fraud and one count making false statements on a loan application and is scheduled to have a detention hearing at 9:15 a.m. next Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier in U.S. District Court.
Another defendant, Brian K. Huges, 41, of Homewood, was arrested January 9 and was ordered detained in federal custody. He was charged with four counts of bank fraud and one count of making false statements on a loan application.
Co-defendants Michael O. Turner, 44, of Richton Park, who was charged with one count of bank fraud, and Keith B. Foster, 46, of Harvey, who was charged with one count each of bank fraud and making false statements on a loan application, were not arrested and will be arraigned next Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
The six-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $914,511 from all four defendants.
According to the indictment, between February and November 2013, the defendants fraudulently obtained at least 28 automobile loans of the 46 they fraudulently applied for and obtained approximately $914,000 of $1.4 million they sought in loan proceeds. They made and caused others to make false representations in documents submitted to lenders, including loan applications, vehicle purchase orders, and verifications of employment, concerning the individuals’ income, employment, credit history, intent to use the loan proceeds to purchase automobiles, and the existence of contracts obligating the borrowers to purchase vehicles from House and Rolling Auto.
House, Hughes, and Turner allegedly recruited individuals seeking auto and personal loans and agreed to find loans for them in exchange for a fee of 20 to 30 percent of the loan. Then, they submitted false information in the borrowers’ loan applications, their income, employment, and credit history, as well as their intent to use the loan proceeds to purchase autos from Rolling Auto and other dealerships, and the existence of contracts obligating them to purchase luxury automobiles made by BMW, Chevrolet, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Porsche, the indictment alleges.
If the individual borrowers refused to cash checks obtained as part of the scheme, Hughes allegedly threatened them with civil lawsuits and criminal prosecutions. House allegedly deposited the loan proceeds into bank accounts he controlled in Illinois, California, and Georgia.
The indictment 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 government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. McFadden.
Each count of bank fraud and making false statements on loan applications carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may impose an alternate fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
One defendant, Precious W. House, 47, of Chicago, the president of Rolling Auto Inc., a Plymouth, Indiana wholesale auto dealership that purported to be selling many of the autos, was arrested yesterday. He pleaded not guilty to five counts of bank fraud and one count making false statements on a loan application and is scheduled to have a detention hearing at 9:15 a.m. next Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier in U.S. District Court.
Another defendant, Brian K. Huges, 41, of Homewood, was arrested January 9 and was ordered detained in federal custody. He was charged with four counts of bank fraud and one count of making false statements on a loan application.
Co-defendants Michael O. Turner, 44, of Richton Park, who was charged with one count of bank fraud, and Keith B. Foster, 46, of Harvey, who was charged with one count each of bank fraud and making false statements on a loan application, were not arrested and will be arraigned next Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
The six-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $914,511 from all four defendants.
According to the indictment, between February and November 2013, the defendants fraudulently obtained at least 28 automobile loans of the 46 they fraudulently applied for and obtained approximately $914,000 of $1.4 million they sought in loan proceeds. They made and caused others to make false representations in documents submitted to lenders, including loan applications, vehicle purchase orders, and verifications of employment, concerning the individuals’ income, employment, credit history, intent to use the loan proceeds to purchase automobiles, and the existence of contracts obligating the borrowers to purchase vehicles from House and Rolling Auto.
House, Hughes, and Turner allegedly recruited individuals seeking auto and personal loans and agreed to find loans for them in exchange for a fee of 20 to 30 percent of the loan. Then, they submitted false information in the borrowers’ loan applications, their income, employment, and credit history, as well as their intent to use the loan proceeds to purchase autos from Rolling Auto and other dealerships, and the existence of contracts obligating them to purchase luxury automobiles made by BMW, Chevrolet, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Porsche, the indictment alleges.
If the individual borrowers refused to cash checks obtained as part of the scheme, Hughes allegedly threatened them with civil lawsuits and criminal prosecutions. House allegedly deposited the loan proceeds into bank accounts he controlled in Illinois, California, and Georgia.
The indictment 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 government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. McFadden.
Each count of bank fraud and making false statements on loan applications carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may impose an alternate fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Details on Conrad Ulz's Indictment in Alleged $3.2 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme Involving Properties in Chicago’s Englewood Community
A Lake County man who operated two real estate–related firms was indicted on federal mortgage fraud charges. The defendant, Conrad Ulz, allegedly engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain 13 residential mortgage loans, totaling approximately $3.2 million, from lenders to purchase properties in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. The indictment alleges that Ulz paid buyers to purchase the properties and promised them no out-of-pockets costs and then made false statements to lenders on their behalf. As a result, the lenders incurred losses totaling more than $3.1 million because the amount of the mortgage loans was not fully recovered through subsequent sale or foreclosure.
Ulz, 73, of Libertyville, who operated Citywide Financial Group and Metro Realty Services, was charged with five counts of wire fraud and three counts of making false statements to financial institutions in an indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of at least $3.1 million. Ulz will be arraigned on a date to be determined in U.S. District Court.
According to the indictment, between August 2007 and May 2009, Ulz caused buyers to fraudulently obtain 13 mortgage loans from various lenders for properties on South Sangamon, South Carpenter, South Morgan, South May, and South Ada streets, among others, in Englewood on the city’s south side. The alleged fraud involved false representations in documents, including loan applications and HUD-1 settlement statements concerning sales prices and the buyers’ employment, assets, income, and intention to occupy the property.
Ulz allegedly recruited buyers with good credit, promising to pay them for purchasing the properties and promising that they would not have to pay any of their own money toward the purchases, including down payments and mortgage payments.
The charges were 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 government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Renai Rodney.
Each count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and making false statements on loan applications carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may impose an alternate fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ulz, 73, of Libertyville, who operated Citywide Financial Group and Metro Realty Services, was charged with five counts of wire fraud and three counts of making false statements to financial institutions in an indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of at least $3.1 million. Ulz will be arraigned on a date to be determined in U.S. District Court.
According to the indictment, between August 2007 and May 2009, Ulz caused buyers to fraudulently obtain 13 mortgage loans from various lenders for properties on South Sangamon, South Carpenter, South Morgan, South May, and South Ada streets, among others, in Englewood on the city’s south side. The alleged fraud involved false representations in documents, including loan applications and HUD-1 settlement statements concerning sales prices and the buyers’ employment, assets, income, and intention to occupy the property.
Ulz allegedly recruited buyers with good credit, promising to pay them for purchasing the properties and promising that they would not have to pay any of their own money toward the purchases, including down payments and mortgage payments.
The charges were 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 government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Renai Rodney.
Each count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and making false statements on loan applications carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may impose an alternate fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Kamalu Gonzales Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for Investment Fraud Scheme
A former loan officer from Henderson, Nevada, who convinced at least 16 victims to give him money for a high-yield investment scheme involving the foreign currency exchange market was sentenced today to six-and-a-half years in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $830,000 in restitution for his guilty pleas to federal fraud and money laundering charges, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Kamalu Gonzales, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro and was permitted to self-report to federal prison by April 17, 2014. Gonzales pleaded guilty in August 2013 to two counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering.
“Prosecuting persons who commit financial fraud crimes is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Many of these persons target elderly and other vulnerable victims. If someone promises you an investment opportunity with unusually high rates of return, it is likely that the opportunity is fraudulent and that you will lose your money.”
During 2007, Gonzales worked as a loan officer for Meridias Capital in Henderson. Gonzales helped persons refinance their homes and placed false information in the loan applications so the individuals could obtain refinancing and cash to which they would not have otherwise been entitled. Gonzales also told individuals that he was a successful investor and trader in the foreign currency exchange market. Gonzales recruited individuals to invest with him in the market, telling them that they could earn high rates of return on their investments in a short period of time. Some of the victims wired money to Gonzales, and others borrowed money from their retirement funds or lines of credit. Gonzales also convinced some of the persons who refinanced their houses to give him some of the cash they received from refinancing for his investment fraud scheme. None of the victims agreed to pay Gonzales any commissions or fees or agreed that he could use their investments for personal or business expenses or to pay other investors.
In order to continue the scheme and to keep victims from discovering the crime, Gonzales lied to the victims repeatedly and told them their investments were doing well. As a result of the lies, some victims gave Gonzales more money to invest. Gonzales also made payments to some of the victims using money he received from other victims.
Gonzales received approximately $1 million total from at least 16 victims in 2007 and 2008. Gonzales did not invest the victims’ funds as promised and diverted approximately $410,000 for his own personal purposes.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Henderson Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn C. Newman and Kimberly M. Frayn.
Kamalu Gonzales, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro and was permitted to self-report to federal prison by April 17, 2014. Gonzales pleaded guilty in August 2013 to two counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering.
“Prosecuting persons who commit financial fraud crimes is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Many of these persons target elderly and other vulnerable victims. If someone promises you an investment opportunity with unusually high rates of return, it is likely that the opportunity is fraudulent and that you will lose your money.”
During 2007, Gonzales worked as a loan officer for Meridias Capital in Henderson. Gonzales helped persons refinance their homes and placed false information in the loan applications so the individuals could obtain refinancing and cash to which they would not have otherwise been entitled. Gonzales also told individuals that he was a successful investor and trader in the foreign currency exchange market. Gonzales recruited individuals to invest with him in the market, telling them that they could earn high rates of return on their investments in a short period of time. Some of the victims wired money to Gonzales, and others borrowed money from their retirement funds or lines of credit. Gonzales also convinced some of the persons who refinanced their houses to give him some of the cash they received from refinancing for his investment fraud scheme. None of the victims agreed to pay Gonzales any commissions or fees or agreed that he could use their investments for personal or business expenses or to pay other investors.
In order to continue the scheme and to keep victims from discovering the crime, Gonzales lied to the victims repeatedly and told them their investments were doing well. As a result of the lies, some victims gave Gonzales more money to invest. Gonzales also made payments to some of the victims using money he received from other victims.
Gonzales received approximately $1 million total from at least 16 victims in 2007 and 2008. Gonzales did not invest the victims’ funds as promised and diverted approximately $410,000 for his own personal purposes.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Henderson Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn C. Newman and Kimberly M. Frayn.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control Continues to Target #SinaloaCartel with Support from DEA
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman announced that the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reported the designation of Jose Guadalupe Tapia Quintero, a Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico based senior lieutenant of the Sinaloa Cartel. Jose Guadalupe Tapia Quintero was designated for his role in the drug trafficking activities of Ismael "Mayo" Zambada Garcia and for playing a significant role in international drug trafficking.
"DEA and its OFAC partners will not allow these dangerous cartels and their associates to exploit the U.S. financial system," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman. "We're relentlessly following the financial trail to deprive these traffickers of their assets, draining the lifeblood from their criminal enterprises."
Tapia Quintero oversees the transportation of cocaine and marijuana for the Zambada Garcia drug trafficking organization and is responsible for coordinating the purchase and transportation of cocaine and methamphetamine from Sinaloa into the U.S., specifically Arizona and California, on a monthly basis. Tapia Quintero also transports methamphetamine on behalf of a drug trafficking cell affiliated with Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera from Sinaloa to Tijuana, Baja California via tractor trailers. The President identified Joaquin Guzman Loera, Ismael Zambada Garcia, and the Sinaloa Cartel as significant foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act in 2001, 2002 and 2009, respectively.
Pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), this designation generally prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with Tapia Quintero, and also freezes any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction.
"We will continue to target all aspects of the narcotics trade," said Treasury's Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Adam J. Szubin. "Our actions will focus on their financial nerve points as well as the underlying logistics which are essential to their day to day operations such as the transportation network that we are taking action against today."
This action would not have been possible without the support of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), specifically the Phoenix Field Division, and the multi-agency OCDETF Strike Force.
Since June 2000, the President has identified 103 drug kingpins, and OFAC has designated more than 1300 entities and individuals, pursuant to the Kingpin Act. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals could face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.
"DEA and its OFAC partners will not allow these dangerous cartels and their associates to exploit the U.S. financial system," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman. "We're relentlessly following the financial trail to deprive these traffickers of their assets, draining the lifeblood from their criminal enterprises."
Tapia Quintero oversees the transportation of cocaine and marijuana for the Zambada Garcia drug trafficking organization and is responsible for coordinating the purchase and transportation of cocaine and methamphetamine from Sinaloa into the U.S., specifically Arizona and California, on a monthly basis. Tapia Quintero also transports methamphetamine on behalf of a drug trafficking cell affiliated with Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera from Sinaloa to Tijuana, Baja California via tractor trailers. The President identified Joaquin Guzman Loera, Ismael Zambada Garcia, and the Sinaloa Cartel as significant foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act in 2001, 2002 and 2009, respectively.
Pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), this designation generally prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with Tapia Quintero, and also freezes any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction.
"We will continue to target all aspects of the narcotics trade," said Treasury's Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Adam J. Szubin. "Our actions will focus on their financial nerve points as well as the underlying logistics which are essential to their day to day operations such as the transportation network that we are taking action against today."
This action would not have been possible without the support of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), specifically the Phoenix Field Division, and the multi-agency OCDETF Strike Force.
Since June 2000, the President has identified 103 drug kingpins, and OFAC has designated more than 1300 entities and individuals, pursuant to the Kingpin Act. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals could face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.
Considering Realities Before Passing More #GunControl Laws
The new year has brought yet more gun-control regulations. President Obama announced new executive orders on background checks. Connecticut citizens stood in long lines to register their guns, and, next door in New York City, registration lists are used to confiscate them.
While the research by criminologists and economists keeps showing that gun control doesn't work, technological advances and practical problems mean the laws are increasingly likely only to disarm the law-abiding.
In the era of 3D printing, you won't be able to ban guns and it will be even more difficult to stop unapproved people from obtaining them. A part metal/part plastic gun printed from a 3D printer will be completely indistinguishable from a traditionally made gun, even down to whatever serial number you want.
3D printers have consequences for the gun-control laws Obama and other Democrats are pushing. If AR-15s are banned, anyone could borrow a 3D printer and make one. If magazines holding more than 10 rounds are banned, and you don't have access to a very simple set of tools, print one off.
Can the government stop 3D-printed guns? Unfortunately, no. Even if the government registered every printer, criminals could simply steal one. How about requiring prior government permission for every item printed? That seems unenforceable, especially since printers will soon become ubiquitous.
Software is also impossible to control. When Cody Wilson, the 25-year-old founder of Defense Distributed, announced his design of a virtually all-plastic gun in May, the software blueprint from his website was quickly downloaded around the world. In just two days, 100,000 downloads were made, with most coming from Spain, followed by the United States and heavily regulated Brazil and Germany. Within two weeks, the software could be downloaded from more than 4,000 servers around the world.
There is also a practical problem in stopping these attacks. As Interpol Secretary General Ron Noble noted in November, there are two ways to protect people: "One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you're going to have to pass through extraordinary security."
Noble points to the real problem: "How do you protect soft [civilian] targets? That's really the challenge. You can't have armed police forces everywhere. . . . It makes citizens question their views on gun control. You have to ask yourself, 'Is an armed citizenry more necessary now than it was in the past with an evolving threat of terrorism?' "
Noble's comments came shortly after the terrorist attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, where 68 people were killed. Kenya bans both open and concealed carrying of firearms by civilians. Yet, obviously, those bans didn't stop the terrorists.
In the United States, the vast majority of mass public shootings have been extensively planned beforehand - often many months or even years in advance. An example is Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary School killer, who spent more than two years studying everything about previous mass shootings: the weapons used, the number of people killed, and even how much media coverage each attack received. Some police even likened his careful study to a doctoral dissertation.
Another careful planner was James Holmes, who is charged with the Aurora, Colo., massacre. According to police, he started buying items 21/2 months in advance. He visited neighboring theaters, buying his ticket almost two weeks before his attack. To help himself prepare, he photographed the layout of the theater.
Holmes appears to have carefully selected the theater. There were seven movie theaters within a 20-minute drive of his apartment showing the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. He didn't choose the one closest to his apartment or the one prominently advertising the largest auditoriums in Colorado. He chose the only one with signs saying permitted concealed guns were banned.
The decision to pick the one theater that posted a gun ban would not surprise Noble. He notes: "Where would you have wanted to be? In a city where there was gun control and no citizens armed if you're in a Westgate Mall, or in a place [with lots of people armed]?"
The importance of armed citizens was demonstrated just days before the Sandy Hook attack, at the Clackamas Town Center Mall in Portland, Ore. In the crowded mall, a likely mass shooting was halted after two people were killed. It ended because one brave person, Nick Meli, a concealed-permit holder, stopped the attack simply by pointing his gun at the shooter. Alas, as is all too typical, the national news media all but ignored how an armed citizen prevented a large-scale killing spree.
Noble's statements and the ruckus over 3D printing show the frustration in stopping criminals and terrorists from getting guns. Before more gun-control measures are enacted, policymakers and the public need to understand that so-called gun-free zones shouldn't be places where only victims are disarmed.
Thanks to John R. Lott Jr., president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and the author of "More Guns, Less Crime".
While the research by criminologists and economists keeps showing that gun control doesn't work, technological advances and practical problems mean the laws are increasingly likely only to disarm the law-abiding.
In the era of 3D printing, you won't be able to ban guns and it will be even more difficult to stop unapproved people from obtaining them. A part metal/part plastic gun printed from a 3D printer will be completely indistinguishable from a traditionally made gun, even down to whatever serial number you want.
3D printers have consequences for the gun-control laws Obama and other Democrats are pushing. If AR-15s are banned, anyone could borrow a 3D printer and make one. If magazines holding more than 10 rounds are banned, and you don't have access to a very simple set of tools, print one off.
Can the government stop 3D-printed guns? Unfortunately, no. Even if the government registered every printer, criminals could simply steal one. How about requiring prior government permission for every item printed? That seems unenforceable, especially since printers will soon become ubiquitous.
Software is also impossible to control. When Cody Wilson, the 25-year-old founder of Defense Distributed, announced his design of a virtually all-plastic gun in May, the software blueprint from his website was quickly downloaded around the world. In just two days, 100,000 downloads were made, with most coming from Spain, followed by the United States and heavily regulated Brazil and Germany. Within two weeks, the software could be downloaded from more than 4,000 servers around the world.
There is also a practical problem in stopping these attacks. As Interpol Secretary General Ron Noble noted in November, there are two ways to protect people: "One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you're going to have to pass through extraordinary security."
Noble points to the real problem: "How do you protect soft [civilian] targets? That's really the challenge. You can't have armed police forces everywhere. . . . It makes citizens question their views on gun control. You have to ask yourself, 'Is an armed citizenry more necessary now than it was in the past with an evolving threat of terrorism?' "
Noble's comments came shortly after the terrorist attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, where 68 people were killed. Kenya bans both open and concealed carrying of firearms by civilians. Yet, obviously, those bans didn't stop the terrorists.
In the United States, the vast majority of mass public shootings have been extensively planned beforehand - often many months or even years in advance. An example is Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary School killer, who spent more than two years studying everything about previous mass shootings: the weapons used, the number of people killed, and even how much media coverage each attack received. Some police even likened his careful study to a doctoral dissertation.
Another careful planner was James Holmes, who is charged with the Aurora, Colo., massacre. According to police, he started buying items 21/2 months in advance. He visited neighboring theaters, buying his ticket almost two weeks before his attack. To help himself prepare, he photographed the layout of the theater.
Holmes appears to have carefully selected the theater. There were seven movie theaters within a 20-minute drive of his apartment showing the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. He didn't choose the one closest to his apartment or the one prominently advertising the largest auditoriums in Colorado. He chose the only one with signs saying permitted concealed guns were banned.
The decision to pick the one theater that posted a gun ban would not surprise Noble. He notes: "Where would you have wanted to be? In a city where there was gun control and no citizens armed if you're in a Westgate Mall, or in a place [with lots of people armed]?"
The importance of armed citizens was demonstrated just days before the Sandy Hook attack, at the Clackamas Town Center Mall in Portland, Ore. In the crowded mall, a likely mass shooting was halted after two people were killed. It ended because one brave person, Nick Meli, a concealed-permit holder, stopped the attack simply by pointing his gun at the shooter. Alas, as is all too typical, the national news media all but ignored how an armed citizen prevented a large-scale killing spree.
Noble's statements and the ruckus over 3D printing show the frustration in stopping criminals and terrorists from getting guns. Before more gun-control measures are enacted, policymakers and the public need to understand that so-called gun-free zones shouldn't be places where only victims are disarmed.
Thanks to John R. Lott Jr., president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and the author of "More Guns, Less Crime".
Should Joey #TheClown Lombardo be Released from Solitary Confinement?
Imprisoned Chicago hit man and 84-year-old mob boss Joey Lombardo says he wants out of solitary confinement. His attorneys are accusing of the government of "elder abuse."
For decades, Joey Lombardo has been known in mob circles as "the clown." But on Monday, his courthouse hijinks and comedic banter with the media have given way to a tear-jerking motion for mercy. Or at least that is what Mr. Lombardo might like you to believe. Attorneys for the aged Chicago outfit boss say he is just a sick old man in a wheelchair and should be removed from solitary confinement, where he has been locked up 24 hours a day as a violent menace.
Long gone are the days when Joey the Clown wore a newspaper mask to court, or led news crews on a sprint through downtown.
Since Lombardo was sentenced to life in prison during the landmark Family Secrets mob murders case, he has been locked up at the Butner North Carolina penitentiary under what are known as "special administrative measures" -- shorthand for solitary confinement.
Lombardo's lawyers say the lockdown was meant to keep international terrorists from plotting attacks.
In their motion to release Lombardo from solitary, they say "the imposition of these draconian conditions against an 84-year-old, chronically ill, wheelchair-user can only be an attempt to appear 'tough on crime' by engaging in 'elder abuse' against a man who once had a reputation (deserved or not) as a major player in the Chicago 'Mob.'"
Lombardo was convicted of personally murdering those who crossed the outfit even while overseeing the Chicago mob. He is a career hoodlum having risen through the ranks from syndicate soldier. But at 84, his lawyers say keeping his on lockdown is "unduly restrictive on Petitioner's physical well-being and his mental health, especially given his advanced age." And they contend "punitive confinement for more than 30 days constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment."
In the government's response on file Monday, they pay homage to Lombardo's moniker "the clown" then ridicule his effort to escape lockdown, stating: "defendant does not even properly allege that this matter is ripe for federal court review in any forum, let alone this one. In addition to the obvious jurisdictional problem noted above, the defendant does not contend that he has exhausted his administrative remedies."
Prosecutors say Lombardo has already been denied a similar request once before. These special administrative measures are generally imposed by the Bureau of Prisons and have been used on terror suspects, but other Chicago mob bosses have been put in solitary as well.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie.
For decades, Joey Lombardo has been known in mob circles as "the clown." But on Monday, his courthouse hijinks and comedic banter with the media have given way to a tear-jerking motion for mercy. Or at least that is what Mr. Lombardo might like you to believe. Attorneys for the aged Chicago outfit boss say he is just a sick old man in a wheelchair and should be removed from solitary confinement, where he has been locked up 24 hours a day as a violent menace.
Long gone are the days when Joey the Clown wore a newspaper mask to court, or led news crews on a sprint through downtown.
Since Lombardo was sentenced to life in prison during the landmark Family Secrets mob murders case, he has been locked up at the Butner North Carolina penitentiary under what are known as "special administrative measures" -- shorthand for solitary confinement.
Lombardo's lawyers say the lockdown was meant to keep international terrorists from plotting attacks.
In their motion to release Lombardo from solitary, they say "the imposition of these draconian conditions against an 84-year-old, chronically ill, wheelchair-user can only be an attempt to appear 'tough on crime' by engaging in 'elder abuse' against a man who once had a reputation (deserved or not) as a major player in the Chicago 'Mob.'"
Lombardo was convicted of personally murdering those who crossed the outfit even while overseeing the Chicago mob. He is a career hoodlum having risen through the ranks from syndicate soldier. But at 84, his lawyers say keeping his on lockdown is "unduly restrictive on Petitioner's physical well-being and his mental health, especially given his advanced age." And they contend "punitive confinement for more than 30 days constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment."
In the government's response on file Monday, they pay homage to Lombardo's moniker "the clown" then ridicule his effort to escape lockdown, stating: "defendant does not even properly allege that this matter is ripe for federal court review in any forum, let alone this one. In addition to the obvious jurisdictional problem noted above, the defendant does not contend that he has exhausted his administrative remedies."
Prosecutors say Lombardo has already been denied a similar request once before. These special administrative measures are generally imposed by the Bureau of Prisons and have been used on terror suspects, but other Chicago mob bosses have been put in solitary as well.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
The Political Economy of Human Happiness: How Voters' Choices Determine the Quality of Lif
This book is devoted to applying the data, methods, and theories of contemporary social science to the question of how political outcomes in democratic societies determine the quality of life that citizens experience. Benjamin Radcliff seeks to provide an objective answer to the perennial debate between Left and Right over what public policies best contribute to human beings leading positive and rewarding lives. The book thus offers an empirical answer to this perpetual question, relying on the same canons of reason and evidence required of any other issue amenable to study through social-scientific means. The analysis focuses on the consequences of three specific political issues: the welfare state and the general size of government, labor organization, and state efforts to protect workers and consumers through economic regulation. The results indicate that in each instance, the program of the Left best contributes to citizens leading more satisfying lives, and, critically, that the benefits of greater happiness accrue to everyone in society, rich and poor alike.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Four US Navy SEALS departed one clear night in early July 2005 for the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border for a reconnaissance mission. Their task was to document the activity of an al Qaeda leader rumored to be very close to Bin Laden with a small army in a Taliban stronghold. Five days later, only one of those Navy SEALS made it out alive.
This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing, SEAL fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history. His squadmates fought valiantly beside him until he was the only one left alive, blasted by an RPG into a place where his pursuers could not find him. Over the next four days, terribly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell crawled for miles through the mountains and was taken in by sympathetic villagers who risked their lives to keep him safe from surrounding Taliban warriors.
A born and raised Texan, Marcus Luttrell takes us from the rigors of SEAL training, where he and his fellow SEALs discovered what it took to join the most elite of the American special forces, to a fight in the desolate hills of Afghanistan for which they never could have been prepared. His account of his squadmates' heroism and mutual support renders an experience that is both heartrending and life-affirming. In this rich chronicle of courage and sacrifice, honor and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers a powerful narrative of modern war.
This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing, SEAL fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history. His squadmates fought valiantly beside him until he was the only one left alive, blasted by an RPG into a place where his pursuers could not find him. Over the next four days, terribly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell crawled for miles through the mountains and was taken in by sympathetic villagers who risked their lives to keep him safe from surrounding Taliban warriors.
A born and raised Texan, Marcus Luttrell takes us from the rigors of SEAL training, where he and his fellow SEALs discovered what it took to join the most elite of the American special forces, to a fight in the desolate hills of Afghanistan for which they never could have been prepared. His account of his squadmates' heroism and mutual support renders an experience that is both heartrending and life-affirming. In this rich chronicle of courage and sacrifice, honor and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers a powerful narrative of modern war.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Did Ex Chicago Cop, Steven Mandell, Plan Assassinations to Take Over Strip Club?
The former cop and death row inmate was callous and calculated, quoting military tactics as he considered which of two targets it made the most sense to kill in order to take over their chunk of a lucrative strip club, federal authorities allege.
"You chop the snake's head off. Pow," Steven Mandell allegedly told an undercover informant in September 2012 as a hidden video recorder rolled. "I still don't think you have a clear path on how it plays out, but at least we'd be on our way, wouldn't we?"
In the end, Mandell decided to kill the more vulnerable of the two — and his wife if necessary — then place a threatening phone call to the second target's wife to convince him to walk away, according to transcripts of the secret recordings filed recently in federal court. And in case anyone thought the Chicago Outfit's infamous Elmwood Park crew didn't have muscle anymore, Mandell had a special message.
"Tell that (expletive) husband to leave this situation alone, or else," Mandell said he would tell the wife, according to the government filing. "'Cause I'll show you what Elmwood Park really looks like. I can get really nasty."
On the FBI video, Mandell then drew a hand across this throat and made a "slitting sound," the filing said.
The chilling new details have emerged a month before Mandell, 63, is set to go on trial in U.S. District Court in connection with a series of alleged plots, including a gruesome scheme to kidnap and extort a local businessman, then kill him and dismember the body.
Now, through details provided in the court record, the Tribune has confirmed that the strip club associate Mandell had allegedly planned to kill, identified in the government filing only as "Victim 2," was Anthony Quaranta, a former Franklin Park cop known as "Tony Q." He also allegedly targeted Quaranta's associate, Demitri Stavropoulos, a highly paid "consultant" at the Polekatz strip club in suburban Bridgeview who was identified in the court record only as "Associate 1."
The court document also paints a more detailed picture of just how reckless and daring Mandell — formerly known as Steven Manning — had allegedly become before his sensational arrest in October 2012.
According to the government filing, for several weeks that fall, Mandell and his alleged associate, Gary Engel, were conducting cloak-and-dagger surveillance of Victim 2's pregnant wife while at the same time outfitting a vacant Northwest Side storefront with the industrial equipment needed to chop up a body as part of the separate plot to kill the businessman.
At one point, the FBI was conducting aerial surveillance as Mandell crouched down next to a car in a suburban mall parking lot, allegedly to install a tracking device on the car of one of his girlfriends, according to court records.
In recent months, Mandell's case has also been linked to the suspicious death of Giacomo Ruggirello, a Lake County restaurateur who perished in a fire in September 2012. The Tribune has previously reported that someone had broken into Ruggirello's Highwood restaurant on the same day as the fire and taken the office safe. Mandell's attorneys have subpoenaed the records from the suspected arson investigation.
Authorities have alleged that Mandell's schemes didn't stop with his arrest. Days later, he called his wife — an 82-year-old Buffalo Grove woman — from a federal Loop jail and asked her to get rid of evidence in the case, his indictment alleged. Prosecutors have also alleged that Mandell tried from jail to arrange the murder of the FBI's key informant in the case — a man previously identified by the Tribune as Northwest Side real estate mogul George Michael.
Originally from the Italian section of Chicago's Near West Side known as "The Patch," Mandell's criminal history goes back to his days as a Chicago cop in the 1970s and '80s. After he was booted from the force for insurance fraud, Mandell was accused of taking part in a mob-connected jewelry theft ring and other alleged schemes, including the kidnapping and extortion of several drug dealers in Kansas City, records show.
Mandell was eventually sent to death row for the drug-related 1990 slaying of a trucking firm owner, and at his sentencing prosecutors linked Mandell to two additional unsolved murders, including the 1986 killing of his own father, Boris, according to court records.
Both his murder and Missouri kidnapping convictions were overturned on appeal after Mandell alleged authorities fabricated evidence and used a notorious jailhouse snitch to frame him. He sued the FBI and won a landmark $6.5 million in damages from a federal jury in 2005. However, a judge later threw out the award, and Mandell did not receive any money.
Records show that after the jury verdict, Mandell moved to Florida, married and started a lock and safe company out of his wife's home. When he returned to Chicago, he had changed his last name from Manning to Mandell, records show.
Mandell's trial in February will focus on a series of undercover recordings made in fall 2012 at Michael's Northwest Side realty office and the storefront on West Devon Avenue jokingly referred to in recordings as "Club Med," where Mandell and Engel allegedly planned to dismember the businessman's body.
While much of the transcripts have been blacked out for undisclosed reasons, the portions that have been made public in court filings highlight the allegedly disturbing nature of the conversations that jurors in Mandell's trial are likely to hear.
Prosecutors allege Mandell and Engel planned to wage "psychological warfare" on the kidnapping victim to coerce him to turn over his assets. In an undercover FBI recording made at Club Med in the days before the planned kidnapping, the two discussed everything from how to instill the most fear in their victim to how best to drain his body of blood.
According to one prosecution filing, Mandell was referring to the victim's genitals when he asked his alleged accomplice, "You going to put a little blade there?"
"It's like slicing a banana split," the filing quoted Engel as responding.
Following his arrest in October, Engel was found hanged in his jail cell in McHenry County, a death that has been ruled a suicide.
According to court records, Mandell was also captured talking extensively about Quaranta and Stavropoulos and their stake in Polekatz, a multimillion-dollar strip club in the south suburbs that has been engulfed in controversy over its murky finances and alleged ties to felons and organized crime associates.
Stavropoulos, identified by the Chicago Crime Commission as an organized crime associate, was brought on as a $5,000-a-week consultant at the club about a year after his release from prison for running a multistate bookmaking ring, according to court records.
A 2010 Tribune investigation also documented how Stavropoulos partnered with another alleged underworld figure, Michael "Jaws" Giorango, and borrowed millions from the family bank of former Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who at the time was running for the U.S. Senate. Giorango and Stavropoulos used the money to launch their own lending business that made high-interest, short-term loans to questionable borrowers, the Tribune found.
Quaranta, meanwhile, quit the Franklin Park police in late 2002 at about the time prosecutors dropped charges that he had illegal steroids delivered to his house, records show. He later lent about $500,000 to Polekatz and became a highly paid consultant to the club. Records show that in addition to his interest in Polekatz, Quaranta either owns or has a financial interest in four other strip clubs and taverns from suburban Bedford Park to Indiana and Texas.
Quaranta did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. His attorney, Ed Wanderling, returned a message left on Quaranta's cellphone and said he could not comment on a pending investigation or "what Steve Mandell's ideas or plans were." Wanderling said he was not aware of any plans by prosecutors to use Quaranta as a witness in Mandell's trial.
Reached by telephone recently, Stavropoulos declined to speak about the case. When asked about Mandell, Stavropoulos responded, "Who?"
According to the filing by federal prosecutors, to move in on the Polekatz action, Mandell decided that it made more sense to kill Quaranta, who has no criminal record and would therefore have an easier time fighting the takeover in court if he was left alive.
On the recordings quoted in the government filing, Mandell ruminated how Stavropoulos understood muscle and would step aside once he saw that Mandell meant business.
"Although he's got a big ego, when he sees what happens to (Quaranta) and his old lady … he might (expletive) all over himself, too," Mandell allegedly said of Stavropoulos.
Mandell developed a plot to kill Quaranta and his wife at home while their children were in school, according to the government filing. He lamented it might be a "rush job" but was ready to ad lib if necessary, according to the undercover recordings.
"I know from military strategy what George Patton said, battle plans are as good as the first shot fired," the government filing quoted Mandell as saying. "Once that first shot's fired, you're almost into improvisation, right?"
Mandell's attorneys had sought to have the wiretaps barred from trial, arguing the FBI could have used normal investigative techniques to stop the alleged schemes. In denying the request last month, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve quoted snippets of a wiretapped conversation from almost a month before Mandell's arrest that showed he had planned to act dumb and lawyer up if authorities came around asking about Quaranta's murder.
"How can I help you with this (expletive)?" Mandell said he would tell investigators, according to the government filing. 'Wow — he was — this is a murder investigation? … I have a lawyer to attend to this. They'll gladly handle all your questions."
Mandell then planned to point investigators in another direction by remarking on Quaranta's background as a strip club operator.
"Italian guy, Franklin Park cop who runs five joints? That smells like organized crime," Mandell said he would say. "I think you're in the wrong neighborhood. Go beat on someone else's door."
Thanks to Jason Meisner and Joseph Ryan.
"You chop the snake's head off. Pow," Steven Mandell allegedly told an undercover informant in September 2012 as a hidden video recorder rolled. "I still don't think you have a clear path on how it plays out, but at least we'd be on our way, wouldn't we?"
In the end, Mandell decided to kill the more vulnerable of the two — and his wife if necessary — then place a threatening phone call to the second target's wife to convince him to walk away, according to transcripts of the secret recordings filed recently in federal court. And in case anyone thought the Chicago Outfit's infamous Elmwood Park crew didn't have muscle anymore, Mandell had a special message.
"Tell that (expletive) husband to leave this situation alone, or else," Mandell said he would tell the wife, according to the government filing. "'Cause I'll show you what Elmwood Park really looks like. I can get really nasty."
On the FBI video, Mandell then drew a hand across this throat and made a "slitting sound," the filing said.
The chilling new details have emerged a month before Mandell, 63, is set to go on trial in U.S. District Court in connection with a series of alleged plots, including a gruesome scheme to kidnap and extort a local businessman, then kill him and dismember the body.
Now, through details provided in the court record, the Tribune has confirmed that the strip club associate Mandell had allegedly planned to kill, identified in the government filing only as "Victim 2," was Anthony Quaranta, a former Franklin Park cop known as "Tony Q." He also allegedly targeted Quaranta's associate, Demitri Stavropoulos, a highly paid "consultant" at the Polekatz strip club in suburban Bridgeview who was identified in the court record only as "Associate 1."
The court document also paints a more detailed picture of just how reckless and daring Mandell — formerly known as Steven Manning — had allegedly become before his sensational arrest in October 2012.
According to the government filing, for several weeks that fall, Mandell and his alleged associate, Gary Engel, were conducting cloak-and-dagger surveillance of Victim 2's pregnant wife while at the same time outfitting a vacant Northwest Side storefront with the industrial equipment needed to chop up a body as part of the separate plot to kill the businessman.
At one point, the FBI was conducting aerial surveillance as Mandell crouched down next to a car in a suburban mall parking lot, allegedly to install a tracking device on the car of one of his girlfriends, according to court records.
In recent months, Mandell's case has also been linked to the suspicious death of Giacomo Ruggirello, a Lake County restaurateur who perished in a fire in September 2012. The Tribune has previously reported that someone had broken into Ruggirello's Highwood restaurant on the same day as the fire and taken the office safe. Mandell's attorneys have subpoenaed the records from the suspected arson investigation.
Authorities have alleged that Mandell's schemes didn't stop with his arrest. Days later, he called his wife — an 82-year-old Buffalo Grove woman — from a federal Loop jail and asked her to get rid of evidence in the case, his indictment alleged. Prosecutors have also alleged that Mandell tried from jail to arrange the murder of the FBI's key informant in the case — a man previously identified by the Tribune as Northwest Side real estate mogul George Michael.
Originally from the Italian section of Chicago's Near West Side known as "The Patch," Mandell's criminal history goes back to his days as a Chicago cop in the 1970s and '80s. After he was booted from the force for insurance fraud, Mandell was accused of taking part in a mob-connected jewelry theft ring and other alleged schemes, including the kidnapping and extortion of several drug dealers in Kansas City, records show.
Mandell was eventually sent to death row for the drug-related 1990 slaying of a trucking firm owner, and at his sentencing prosecutors linked Mandell to two additional unsolved murders, including the 1986 killing of his own father, Boris, according to court records.
Both his murder and Missouri kidnapping convictions were overturned on appeal after Mandell alleged authorities fabricated evidence and used a notorious jailhouse snitch to frame him. He sued the FBI and won a landmark $6.5 million in damages from a federal jury in 2005. However, a judge later threw out the award, and Mandell did not receive any money.
Records show that after the jury verdict, Mandell moved to Florida, married and started a lock and safe company out of his wife's home. When he returned to Chicago, he had changed his last name from Manning to Mandell, records show.
Mandell's trial in February will focus on a series of undercover recordings made in fall 2012 at Michael's Northwest Side realty office and the storefront on West Devon Avenue jokingly referred to in recordings as "Club Med," where Mandell and Engel allegedly planned to dismember the businessman's body.
While much of the transcripts have been blacked out for undisclosed reasons, the portions that have been made public in court filings highlight the allegedly disturbing nature of the conversations that jurors in Mandell's trial are likely to hear.
Prosecutors allege Mandell and Engel planned to wage "psychological warfare" on the kidnapping victim to coerce him to turn over his assets. In an undercover FBI recording made at Club Med in the days before the planned kidnapping, the two discussed everything from how to instill the most fear in their victim to how best to drain his body of blood.
According to one prosecution filing, Mandell was referring to the victim's genitals when he asked his alleged accomplice, "You going to put a little blade there?"
"It's like slicing a banana split," the filing quoted Engel as responding.
Following his arrest in October, Engel was found hanged in his jail cell in McHenry County, a death that has been ruled a suicide.
According to court records, Mandell was also captured talking extensively about Quaranta and Stavropoulos and their stake in Polekatz, a multimillion-dollar strip club in the south suburbs that has been engulfed in controversy over its murky finances and alleged ties to felons and organized crime associates.
Stavropoulos, identified by the Chicago Crime Commission as an organized crime associate, was brought on as a $5,000-a-week consultant at the club about a year after his release from prison for running a multistate bookmaking ring, according to court records.
A 2010 Tribune investigation also documented how Stavropoulos partnered with another alleged underworld figure, Michael "Jaws" Giorango, and borrowed millions from the family bank of former Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who at the time was running for the U.S. Senate. Giorango and Stavropoulos used the money to launch their own lending business that made high-interest, short-term loans to questionable borrowers, the Tribune found.
Quaranta, meanwhile, quit the Franklin Park police in late 2002 at about the time prosecutors dropped charges that he had illegal steroids delivered to his house, records show. He later lent about $500,000 to Polekatz and became a highly paid consultant to the club. Records show that in addition to his interest in Polekatz, Quaranta either owns or has a financial interest in four other strip clubs and taverns from suburban Bedford Park to Indiana and Texas.
Quaranta did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. His attorney, Ed Wanderling, returned a message left on Quaranta's cellphone and said he could not comment on a pending investigation or "what Steve Mandell's ideas or plans were." Wanderling said he was not aware of any plans by prosecutors to use Quaranta as a witness in Mandell's trial.
Reached by telephone recently, Stavropoulos declined to speak about the case. When asked about Mandell, Stavropoulos responded, "Who?"
According to the filing by federal prosecutors, to move in on the Polekatz action, Mandell decided that it made more sense to kill Quaranta, who has no criminal record and would therefore have an easier time fighting the takeover in court if he was left alive.
On the recordings quoted in the government filing, Mandell ruminated how Stavropoulos understood muscle and would step aside once he saw that Mandell meant business.
"Although he's got a big ego, when he sees what happens to (Quaranta) and his old lady … he might (expletive) all over himself, too," Mandell allegedly said of Stavropoulos.
Mandell developed a plot to kill Quaranta and his wife at home while their children were in school, according to the government filing. He lamented it might be a "rush job" but was ready to ad lib if necessary, according to the undercover recordings.
"I know from military strategy what George Patton said, battle plans are as good as the first shot fired," the government filing quoted Mandell as saying. "Once that first shot's fired, you're almost into improvisation, right?"
Mandell's attorneys had sought to have the wiretaps barred from trial, arguing the FBI could have used normal investigative techniques to stop the alleged schemes. In denying the request last month, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve quoted snippets of a wiretapped conversation from almost a month before Mandell's arrest that showed he had planned to act dumb and lawyer up if authorities came around asking about Quaranta's murder.
"How can I help you with this (expletive)?" Mandell said he would tell investigators, according to the government filing. 'Wow — he was — this is a murder investigation? … I have a lawyer to attend to this. They'll gladly handle all your questions."
Mandell then planned to point investigators in another direction by remarking on Quaranta's background as a strip club operator.
"Italian guy, Franklin Park cop who runs five joints? That smells like organized crime," Mandell said he would say. "I think you're in the wrong neighborhood. Go beat on someone else's door."
Thanks to Jason Meisner and Joseph Ryan.
Corruption of Power and Politics, Prohibition Era, Hit Series @BoardwalkEmpire is Coming to an End
HBO’s popular hit series Boardwalk Empire is coming to an end. The upcoming fifth season will be its last. The show’s creator Terence Winter said, “We’re thrilled to get the go-ahead for a fifth season of Boardwalk Empire. After much discussion with my creative team and HBO, we’ve decided to wrap up the series after such a great run and look forward to bringing it to a powerful and exciting conclusion.”
The show takes place in 1920s and 30s Atlantic City, NJ. It features Steve Buscemi as power-hungry millionaire Nucky Thompson. The drama examines the corruption of power and politics during the prohibition era when many politicians were just as crooked as mobsters.
The show is not ending because of a lack of popularity or ratings. Although the period drama never reached the heights of The Sopranos or the critical acclaim of The Wire, it has been a steady earner for HBO and currently ranks third in the ratings to Game of Thrones and True Blood. The show has won a total of five Emmy Awards.
There are plenty of loose ends for season five to tie-up. Nucky’s brother Eli, who ratted him out to the Feds, has been sent to Chicago where he’ll meet up with the likes of Al Capone. Gillian is in prison and suffering from a nervous breakdown. Chalky will certainly look to avenge the death of his daughter. What’s to become of the evil Dr. Narcisse? How far will J. Edgar Hoover go in his war on the mob?
Winter and company will have to complete their series arc in just 12 episodes. The final season will air this fall.
The show takes place in 1920s and 30s Atlantic City, NJ. It features Steve Buscemi as power-hungry millionaire Nucky Thompson. The drama examines the corruption of power and politics during the prohibition era when many politicians were just as crooked as mobsters.
The show is not ending because of a lack of popularity or ratings. Although the period drama never reached the heights of The Sopranos or the critical acclaim of The Wire, it has been a steady earner for HBO and currently ranks third in the ratings to Game of Thrones and True Blood. The show has won a total of five Emmy Awards.
There are plenty of loose ends for season five to tie-up. Nucky’s brother Eli, who ratted him out to the Feds, has been sent to Chicago where he’ll meet up with the likes of Al Capone. Gillian is in prison and suffering from a nervous breakdown. Chalky will certainly look to avenge the death of his daughter. What’s to become of the evil Dr. Narcisse? How far will J. Edgar Hoover go in his war on the mob?
Winter and company will have to complete their series arc in just 12 episodes. The final season will air this fall.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Derek Jackson Sentenced to Federal Prison for Armed Pharmacy Robbery
United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty, II announced that U.S. District Court Judge George Z. Singal, sitting in Portland, sentenced Derek Jackson, 38, to two years in federal prison for robbing the Hannaford pharmacy.
Court records reveal that on March 23, 2013, at approximately 2:11 p.m., Jackson approached the pharmacy counter of the Hannaford in Windham, Maine and demanded a large amount of Dilaudid, a scheduled narcotic opioid pain medication commonly known in generic form as hydromorphone. At the time of the robbery, Jackson had a knife tucked in the waistband of his pants which he displayed to pharmacy employees in the course of the robbery. Jackson left the pharmacy with 250 hydromorphone pills and swallowed them within an hour of committing the robbery.
In imposing the sentence, the judge stated that he took into account the fact that Jackson suffers from a chronic disease and was attempting to end his life by ingesting the drugs that he stole from the pharmacy. Following his incarceration, Jackson will be on federal supervised release for three years.
The investigation was conducted by the Windham Police Department, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court records reveal that on March 23, 2013, at approximately 2:11 p.m., Jackson approached the pharmacy counter of the Hannaford in Windham, Maine and demanded a large amount of Dilaudid, a scheduled narcotic opioid pain medication commonly known in generic form as hydromorphone. At the time of the robbery, Jackson had a knife tucked in the waistband of his pants which he displayed to pharmacy employees in the course of the robbery. Jackson left the pharmacy with 250 hydromorphone pills and swallowed them within an hour of committing the robbery.
In imposing the sentence, the judge stated that he took into account the fact that Jackson suffers from a chronic disease and was attempting to end his life by ingesting the drugs that he stole from the pharmacy. Following his incarceration, Jackson will be on federal supervised release for three years.
The investigation was conducted by the Windham Police Department, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Nicholas Alexander Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Prison for Conspiring to Commit Pharmacy Robbery
United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty, II announced that Nicholas Alexander, 23, of Dresden, Maine, was sentenced in United States District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to 28 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to rob a Walgreens pharmacy in Bath. Alexander pleaded guilty to the charge on September 24, 2013.
According to court records, Alexander and other individuals participated in the June 14, 2013 robbery of the Bath Walgreens. Alexander handed a note to a pharmacist that read, "You have 20 seconds to give me all your Oxycodone 15mg tablets and 30s or I will blow your [expletive] brains out." As a result, Alexander was given a bag containing 11 bottles of Oxycodone tablets. Alexander was later found at a motel in Wiscasset, where investigators found almost 600 Oxycodone tablets. In a subsequent interview, Alexander admitted robbing the store, using some of the stolen tablets, and selling others.
The investigation was conducted by the Bath Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. United States Attorney Delahanty praised the cooperative actions of the local, county, state, and federal agencies. "The United States Attorney’s Office has put a special emphasis on the investigation and prosecution of pharmacy robberies in the state of Maine. I am pleased that the cooperative effort of law enforcement at all levels resulted in the successful conclusion of this case."
According to court records, Alexander and other individuals participated in the June 14, 2013 robbery of the Bath Walgreens. Alexander handed a note to a pharmacist that read, "You have 20 seconds to give me all your Oxycodone 15mg tablets and 30s or I will blow your [expletive] brains out." As a result, Alexander was given a bag containing 11 bottles of Oxycodone tablets. Alexander was later found at a motel in Wiscasset, where investigators found almost 600 Oxycodone tablets. In a subsequent interview, Alexander admitted robbing the store, using some of the stolen tablets, and selling others.
The investigation was conducted by the Bath Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. United States Attorney Delahanty praised the cooperative actions of the local, county, state, and federal agencies. "The United States Attorney’s Office has put a special emphasis on the investigation and prosecution of pharmacy robberies in the state of Maine. I am pleased that the cooperative effort of law enforcement at all levels resulted in the successful conclusion of this case."
Crime Syndicate Human Trafficking: A Fast Growing Industry
Human trafficking is a lucrative industry that is controlled by crime syndicates who are in cahoots with corrupt politicians and law enforcement authorities.
In fact, it is the world's fastest growing organized crime that has remained unsolved for many generations now. As a result, this criminal act has destroyed the lives of millions of innocent victims, including children, who were either duped, forced or sold, by reason of poverty, to work as prostitutes in brothels, child laborers or slaves in big farms.
Statistics shows that at least 20.9 million people are trafficked each year. Sexual abuses account 22 percent of this total. In America alone, an estimated 100,000 innocent girls, aged 12 to 14, have become victims of human trafficking. This illegal trade has generated about US$22 million in online sex transactions annually. This figure doesn't include the revenues that could have been earned from street sex solicitation, using these young girls.
Second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable illegal industry in the world, the total annual revenue for trafficking in persons were estimated to be between USD$5 billion and $9 billion in 2004, a Wikipedia report said. But the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated the annual global profits of trafficking to have reached $31.6 billion in 2005. But some critics said the figures were grossly inflated for the purpose of international advocacy.
As part of his crusade, prior to the forthcoming elections, President Barack Obama has committed to issue a policy that will strengthen the government's resolve to end human trafficking across the globe.
In 2000, the United Nations adopted in Palermo, Italy, the Trafficking Protocol, otherwise known as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. It is the first global, legally binding instrument on trafficking in over half a century and the only one that sets out an agreed definition of trafficking in persons, that is attached to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Under its provisions, the Protocol defines human trafficking as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."
Despite the strict issuance of protocols in agreement with other countries, many people are asking as to why the illegal trafficking of humans is still proliferating? Of course, there are no immediate solutions to this societal malady. it has been around for many decades, and the traffickers are always advanced in creating strategies that will outwit effective plans of government operatives. And apprehending the criminals was even made more difficult in situations where the human traffickers had established rapport with government authorities, in exchange for huge bribes.
Thanks to Randolph Altarejos.
In fact, it is the world's fastest growing organized crime that has remained unsolved for many generations now. As a result, this criminal act has destroyed the lives of millions of innocent victims, including children, who were either duped, forced or sold, by reason of poverty, to work as prostitutes in brothels, child laborers or slaves in big farms.
Statistics shows that at least 20.9 million people are trafficked each year. Sexual abuses account 22 percent of this total. In America alone, an estimated 100,000 innocent girls, aged 12 to 14, have become victims of human trafficking. This illegal trade has generated about US$22 million in online sex transactions annually. This figure doesn't include the revenues that could have been earned from street sex solicitation, using these young girls.
Second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable illegal industry in the world, the total annual revenue for trafficking in persons were estimated to be between USD$5 billion and $9 billion in 2004, a Wikipedia report said. But the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated the annual global profits of trafficking to have reached $31.6 billion in 2005. But some critics said the figures were grossly inflated for the purpose of international advocacy.
As part of his crusade, prior to the forthcoming elections, President Barack Obama has committed to issue a policy that will strengthen the government's resolve to end human trafficking across the globe.
In 2000, the United Nations adopted in Palermo, Italy, the Trafficking Protocol, otherwise known as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. It is the first global, legally binding instrument on trafficking in over half a century and the only one that sets out an agreed definition of trafficking in persons, that is attached to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Under its provisions, the Protocol defines human trafficking as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."
Despite the strict issuance of protocols in agreement with other countries, many people are asking as to why the illegal trafficking of humans is still proliferating? Of course, there are no immediate solutions to this societal malady. it has been around for many decades, and the traffickers are always advanced in creating strategies that will outwit effective plans of government operatives. And apprehending the criminals was even made more difficult in situations where the human traffickers had established rapport with government authorities, in exchange for huge bribes.
Thanks to Randolph Altarejos.
Top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in America
New UN Campaign Raises Awareness between #OrganizedCrime and Counterfeit Business
A new global campaign by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was launched yesterday to raise awareness among consumers of the $250 billion a year illicit trafficking of counterfeit goods. The campaign – ‘Counterfeit: Don’t buy into organized crime’ – informs consumers that buying counterfeit goods could be funding organized criminal groups, puts consumer health and safety at risk and contributes to other ethical and environmental concerns.
The campaign is centered around a new Public Service Announcement which launched on the NASDAQ screen in New York’s Times Square on January 14th and aired on several international television stations from January. The campaign urges consumers to ‘look behind’ counterfeit goods to boost understanding of the serious repercussions of this illicit trade.
The illicit trafficking and sale of counterfeit goods provides criminals with a significant source of income and facilitates the laundering of other illicit proceeds. Additionally, monies received from the sale of counterfeit products can be channelled towards the further production of fake goods or other illicit activities.
As a crime which touches virtually everyone in one way or another, counterfeit goods pose a serious risk to consumer health and safety. With no legal regulation and very little recourse, consumers are at risk from unsafe and ineffective products and faulty counterfeit goods can lead to injury and, in some cases, death. Tyres, brake pads and airbags, aeroplane parts, electrical consumer goods, baby formula and children’s toys are just some of the many different items which have been counterfeited.
Fraudulent medicines also present a serious health risk to consumers. . Criminal activity in this area is big business: the sale of fraudulent medicines from East Asia and the Pacific to South-east Asia and Africa alone amounts to $5 Billion per year. At the very least, fraudulent medicines have been found to contain no active ingredients, while at their worst they can contain unknown and potentially harmful chemicals. The list of fraudulent medicines is extensive, and can range from ordinary painkillers and antihistamines, to ‘lifestyle’ medicines, such as those taken for weight loss and sexual dysfunction, to life-saving medicines including those for the treatment of cancer and heart disease.
A wide range of ethical issues can also be overlooked when considering the impact of counterfeiting. Labour exploitation is also an aspect of producing counterfeit goods, with low paid workers facing safety and security concerns with little or no benefits and unregulated conditions. The problem of migrant smuggling is also further exacerbated by the counterfeit business, with reports that a number of those smuggled are coerced into selling counterfeit goods to pay off smuggling debts.
From an environmental standpoint counterfeiting poses a significant challenge: with no regulations in place, there is a real chance that harmful toxic dyes, chemicals, and unknown components used in counterfeit electrical goods are not disposed of properly, leading to serious environmental pollution.
As UNODC’s Executive Director Yury Fedotov notes, “In comparison to other crimes such as drug trafficking, the production and distribution of counterfeit goods present a low-risk/high profit opportunity for criminals. Counterfeiting feeds money laundering activities and encourages corruption. There is also evidence of some involvement or overlap with drug trafficking and other serious crimes.”
Criminal groups use similar routes and modi operandi to move counterfeit goods as they do to smuggle illicit drugs, firearms and people. In 2013, the joint UNODC / World Customs Organization Container Control Programme (CCP) detected counterfeit goods in more than one-third of the seized containers, despite being set up initially to intercept drugs.
The campaign is centered around a new Public Service Announcement which launched on the NASDAQ screen in New York’s Times Square on January 14th and aired on several international television stations from January. The campaign urges consumers to ‘look behind’ counterfeit goods to boost understanding of the serious repercussions of this illicit trade.
The illicit trafficking and sale of counterfeit goods provides criminals with a significant source of income and facilitates the laundering of other illicit proceeds. Additionally, monies received from the sale of counterfeit products can be channelled towards the further production of fake goods or other illicit activities.
As a crime which touches virtually everyone in one way or another, counterfeit goods pose a serious risk to consumer health and safety. With no legal regulation and very little recourse, consumers are at risk from unsafe and ineffective products and faulty counterfeit goods can lead to injury and, in some cases, death. Tyres, brake pads and airbags, aeroplane parts, electrical consumer goods, baby formula and children’s toys are just some of the many different items which have been counterfeited.
Fraudulent medicines also present a serious health risk to consumers. . Criminal activity in this area is big business: the sale of fraudulent medicines from East Asia and the Pacific to South-east Asia and Africa alone amounts to $5 Billion per year. At the very least, fraudulent medicines have been found to contain no active ingredients, while at their worst they can contain unknown and potentially harmful chemicals. The list of fraudulent medicines is extensive, and can range from ordinary painkillers and antihistamines, to ‘lifestyle’ medicines, such as those taken for weight loss and sexual dysfunction, to life-saving medicines including those for the treatment of cancer and heart disease.
A wide range of ethical issues can also be overlooked when considering the impact of counterfeiting. Labour exploitation is also an aspect of producing counterfeit goods, with low paid workers facing safety and security concerns with little or no benefits and unregulated conditions. The problem of migrant smuggling is also further exacerbated by the counterfeit business, with reports that a number of those smuggled are coerced into selling counterfeit goods to pay off smuggling debts.
From an environmental standpoint counterfeiting poses a significant challenge: with no regulations in place, there is a real chance that harmful toxic dyes, chemicals, and unknown components used in counterfeit electrical goods are not disposed of properly, leading to serious environmental pollution.
As UNODC’s Executive Director Yury Fedotov notes, “In comparison to other crimes such as drug trafficking, the production and distribution of counterfeit goods present a low-risk/high profit opportunity for criminals. Counterfeiting feeds money laundering activities and encourages corruption. There is also evidence of some involvement or overlap with drug trafficking and other serious crimes.”
Criminal groups use similar routes and modi operandi to move counterfeit goods as they do to smuggle illicit drugs, firearms and people. In 2013, the joint UNODC / World Customs Organization Container Control Programme (CCP) detected counterfeit goods in more than one-third of the seized containers, despite being set up initially to intercept drugs.
Armed Citizen Halts Carjacking
A resident of Henrico County, Va. travelled to a housing complex to look at a car that had been listed for sale. When the resident arrived, he was met by a pair of men who robbed him of his car keys and cash at gunpoint. But before the thieves were able to make off with his car, the resident was able to retrieve a shotgun from his vehicle and force the criminals to flee. (WTVR, Richmond, Va. 01/11/14)
Francisco Ponce, a #MS13 Gang Leader, Pleads Guilty to Racketeering
Francisco Ponce, a leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13 street gang (MS-13), pleaded guilty at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York, to racketeering, including predicate acts relating to the February 15, 2009 armed robbery of the Pollo Campero restaurant in Lindenhurst, New York, and the September 12, 2009 armed robbery of Los Hermanos Grocery in Brentwood, New York, which resulted in the murder of Miguel Peralta, an employee of that grocery. When sentenced, Ponce faces up to life in prison.
The guilty plea 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.
“Ponce was in charge of the MS-13 'brand' in New York and sought to strengthen it with acts of mayhem. Seeking funds to fuel their violent lifestyle in New York and abroad, he and his cohorts robbed and terrorized Long Island neighborhoods. Miguel Peralta fell victim to their thirst for blood and money when he unknowingly walked in on a robbery at the store at which he worked,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “This office and our law enforcement partners will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute gang members, especially those who terrorize our communities and, as demonstrated in the tragic murder of Mr. Peralta, kill innocent victims.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “Rather than function as a productive member of society, the defendant instead chose a life of crime, intent on spreading fear and violence throughout our community. The FBI is committed to removing these violent criminals from our streets. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to dismantle MS-13 and bring to justice every gang member who victimizes the public.”
According to court filings and facts presented during the plea proceeding, Ponce and two other MS-13 members, Joyser Velasquez, also known as “Baby Boy,”1 and Carlos Chicas, also known as “Flaco,” carried out the September 12, 2009 armed robbery of Los Hermanos Grocery and the murder of Miguel Peralta. Shortly before midnight, Velasquez and Chicas, who were armed with semi-automatic handguns, entered the store while Ponce waited as the getaway driver. Peralta, who was sweeping a storeroom in the back of the store, heard the commotion, entered the front of the store, and came face to face with Velasquez, who shot him once in the side. Peralta then ran down an aisle where he was confronted by Chicas, who shot him in the head. The robbers then rifled through the cash register, took cash and checks, and fled to the awaiting getaway car that was driven by Ponce.
Several months prior to the Peralta murder, Ponce, Velasquez, and two other MS- 13 members, Wilmer Granillo, also known as “Chele,” and Freddy Fuentes-Gonzalez, also known as “Pitufo,”2 committed an armed robbery of the Pollo Campero restaurant in Lindenhurst, New York. Specifically, on February 15, 2009, Velasquez—who was armed with a semi-automatic handgun—Granillo,and Fuentes-Gonzalez entered the Pollo Campero restaurant wearing hooded sweatshirts and ski masks, held the employees at gunpoint, and forced the manager to open the safe by holding a knife to his throat. The MS-13 members stole approximately $15,000 from the safe and then fled to the car, where Ponce was waiting to drive them away.
Ponce’s conviction further demonstrates the strong connection between members of the MS-13 gang in New York, El Salvador, and elsewhere. As set forth in prior court filings and testimony introduced during two recent MS-13 racketeering trials, between 2009 and 2010, Ponce was the New York leader of “The Program,” an initiative by the MS-13’s leadership in El Salvador to exercise greater control over the international MS-13 enterprise, including the MS- 13 cliques and members in New York, enforce discipline and adherence to the gang’s rules, and cause more money to be sent to MS-13 members in El Salvador and other parts of Central America. Ponce functioned as a liaison between the MS-13 clique leaders in New York and the gang’s hierarchy in El Salvador, organizing “universal meetings,” which were meetings attended by the leaders of the New York cliques of the MS-13, and collecting money from the New York cliques to purchase firearms and ammunition, which were used in furtherance of MS-13’s violent agenda and to send money to gang leaders in El Salvador.
Chicas and Granillo, two of Ponce’s co-conspirators in the Peralta murder and Pollo Campero robbery, respectively, are believed to have fled the jurisdiction and remain fugitives.3 The FBI requests that anyone with information regarding their whereabouts telephone (212) 384-1000. Chicas and Granillo should be considered armed and dangerous.
Ponce’s conviction is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13, a violent international street gang comprised primarily of immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. With numerous branches, or “cliques,” the MS-13 is the largest street gang on Long Island. Since 2002, more than 200 MS-13 members, including more than two dozen clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. More than 100 of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges. Since 2010 alone, this office has convicted more than 30 members of the MS-13 on charges relating to their participation in one or more murders. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, comprising agents and officers of the FBI, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Suffolk County Probation, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, Rockville Centre Police Department, and Suffolk County Police Department.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John J. Durham, Raymond A. Tierney, and Carrie N. Capwell.
The guilty plea 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.
“Ponce was in charge of the MS-13 'brand' in New York and sought to strengthen it with acts of mayhem. Seeking funds to fuel their violent lifestyle in New York and abroad, he and his cohorts robbed and terrorized Long Island neighborhoods. Miguel Peralta fell victim to their thirst for blood and money when he unknowingly walked in on a robbery at the store at which he worked,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “This office and our law enforcement partners will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute gang members, especially those who terrorize our communities and, as demonstrated in the tragic murder of Mr. Peralta, kill innocent victims.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “Rather than function as a productive member of society, the defendant instead chose a life of crime, intent on spreading fear and violence throughout our community. The FBI is committed to removing these violent criminals from our streets. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to dismantle MS-13 and bring to justice every gang member who victimizes the public.”
According to court filings and facts presented during the plea proceeding, Ponce and two other MS-13 members, Joyser Velasquez, also known as “Baby Boy,”1 and Carlos Chicas, also known as “Flaco,” carried out the September 12, 2009 armed robbery of Los Hermanos Grocery and the murder of Miguel Peralta. Shortly before midnight, Velasquez and Chicas, who were armed with semi-automatic handguns, entered the store while Ponce waited as the getaway driver. Peralta, who was sweeping a storeroom in the back of the store, heard the commotion, entered the front of the store, and came face to face with Velasquez, who shot him once in the side. Peralta then ran down an aisle where he was confronted by Chicas, who shot him in the head. The robbers then rifled through the cash register, took cash and checks, and fled to the awaiting getaway car that was driven by Ponce.
Several months prior to the Peralta murder, Ponce, Velasquez, and two other MS- 13 members, Wilmer Granillo, also known as “Chele,” and Freddy Fuentes-Gonzalez, also known as “Pitufo,”2 committed an armed robbery of the Pollo Campero restaurant in Lindenhurst, New York. Specifically, on February 15, 2009, Velasquez—who was armed with a semi-automatic handgun—Granillo,and Fuentes-Gonzalez entered the Pollo Campero restaurant wearing hooded sweatshirts and ski masks, held the employees at gunpoint, and forced the manager to open the safe by holding a knife to his throat. The MS-13 members stole approximately $15,000 from the safe and then fled to the car, where Ponce was waiting to drive them away.
Ponce’s conviction further demonstrates the strong connection between members of the MS-13 gang in New York, El Salvador, and elsewhere. As set forth in prior court filings and testimony introduced during two recent MS-13 racketeering trials, between 2009 and 2010, Ponce was the New York leader of “The Program,” an initiative by the MS-13’s leadership in El Salvador to exercise greater control over the international MS-13 enterprise, including the MS- 13 cliques and members in New York, enforce discipline and adherence to the gang’s rules, and cause more money to be sent to MS-13 members in El Salvador and other parts of Central America. Ponce functioned as a liaison between the MS-13 clique leaders in New York and the gang’s hierarchy in El Salvador, organizing “universal meetings,” which were meetings attended by the leaders of the New York cliques of the MS-13, and collecting money from the New York cliques to purchase firearms and ammunition, which were used in furtherance of MS-13’s violent agenda and to send money to gang leaders in El Salvador.
Chicas and Granillo, two of Ponce’s co-conspirators in the Peralta murder and Pollo Campero robbery, respectively, are believed to have fled the jurisdiction and remain fugitives.3 The FBI requests that anyone with information regarding their whereabouts telephone (212) 384-1000. Chicas and Granillo should be considered armed and dangerous.
Ponce’s conviction is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13, a violent international street gang comprised primarily of immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. With numerous branches, or “cliques,” the MS-13 is the largest street gang on Long Island. Since 2002, more than 200 MS-13 members, including more than two dozen clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. More than 100 of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges. Since 2010 alone, this office has convicted more than 30 members of the MS-13 on charges relating to their participation in one or more murders. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, comprising agents and officers of the FBI, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Suffolk County Probation, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, Rockville Centre Police Department, and Suffolk County Police Department.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John J. Durham, Raymond A. Tierney, and Carrie N. Capwell.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Senators Kirk, Brown And Durbin Introduce Bipartisan Resolution To Honor Famed Prohibition Agent, Eliot Ness
U.S. Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced a bipartisan resolution to honor Ohio resident and Illinois native Eliot Ness, the legendary law enforcement agent who fought to bring Chicago mob boss Al Capone to justice. The senators’ resolution would name the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) headquarters in Washington D.C., the Eliot Ness ATF Building.
“America’s fight against dangerous drug gangs is far from over, but in honoring Eliot Ness’ public service and his tireless crime fighting we reaffirm our commitment to safe streets and ensure that justice is brought to the Illinois families who have suffered,” Kirk said.
“Eliot Ness is perhaps best known as the man who helped to bring Al Capone to justice,” Brown said. “But Eliot Ness was more than just a Chicago prohibition agent. He fought for law and justice in Ohio, and fought for peace and freedom in World War II. He was a public servant and an American hero who deserves to be remembered.”
“Chicago gangster Al Capone believed that every man had his price,” Durbin said. “But for Eliot Ness and his legendary law enforcement team ‘The Untouchables,’ no amount of money could buy their loyalty or sway their dedication to Chicago’s safety. That steadfast commitment to public service is why it is so fitting that we remember Eliot Ness with this honor.”
In 1926, Ness was appointed as an agent in the federal Prohibition Bureau, the predecessor to today’s BATFE. He worked to combat bootlegging in the Midwest during prohibition and was the Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago division that brought down gangster Al Capone with indictments on over 5,000 prohibition violations. This story is recounted in a book he authored with Oscar Fraley called The Untouchables, as well as a television series and movie by the same name.
When prohibition ended in 1933, Ness transferred from Chicago to Cincinnati and then Cleveland to serve as the Special Agent in Charge of the northern district of Ohio’s Alcohol and Tobacco Unit. In 1936, he left federal investigations to become the Cleveland Public Safety Director.
“America’s fight against dangerous drug gangs is far from over, but in honoring Eliot Ness’ public service and his tireless crime fighting we reaffirm our commitment to safe streets and ensure that justice is brought to the Illinois families who have suffered,” Kirk said.
“Eliot Ness is perhaps best known as the man who helped to bring Al Capone to justice,” Brown said. “But Eliot Ness was more than just a Chicago prohibition agent. He fought for law and justice in Ohio, and fought for peace and freedom in World War II. He was a public servant and an American hero who deserves to be remembered.”
“Chicago gangster Al Capone believed that every man had his price,” Durbin said. “But for Eliot Ness and his legendary law enforcement team ‘The Untouchables,’ no amount of money could buy their loyalty or sway their dedication to Chicago’s safety. That steadfast commitment to public service is why it is so fitting that we remember Eliot Ness with this honor.”
In 1926, Ness was appointed as an agent in the federal Prohibition Bureau, the predecessor to today’s BATFE. He worked to combat bootlegging in the Midwest during prohibition and was the Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago division that brought down gangster Al Capone with indictments on over 5,000 prohibition violations. This story is recounted in a book he authored with Oscar Fraley called The Untouchables, as well as a television series and movie by the same name.
When prohibition ended in 1933, Ness transferred from Chicago to Cincinnati and then Cleveland to serve as the Special Agent in Charge of the northern district of Ohio’s Alcohol and Tobacco Unit. In 1936, he left federal investigations to become the Cleveland Public Safety Director.
Ever greater numbers of women are buying and learning to use guns for self-defense
According to Gallup poll data, the percentage of American women who own a firearm nearly doubled from 2005-2011, rising from 13 percent to 23 percent.
In August, the National Shooting Sports Foundation reported that 37 percent of new target shooters are female, though they comprise only 22 percent of the established target-shooting population.
In August, the National Shooting Sports Foundation reported that 37 percent of new target shooters are female, though they comprise only 22 percent of the established target-shooting population.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Christopher Helt Named Recipient of FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award
Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that Christopher W. Helt, a Chicago immigration lawyer, has been named the recipient of the FBI’s Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA) for the Chicago Division.
The FBI presents the DCLA annually on behalf of its Director, James B. Comey. The award was established in 1990 as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their efforts to prevent crime, terrorism, drugs, and violence and to further law enforcement efforts in their communities. Each year, the special agent in charge of each of the FBI’s 56 field offices selects an honoree that has made a significant difference in the lives of others.
Mr. Helt was selected by the Chicago Division for playing an instrumental role in the establishment of the division’s Explorer Post. Formally known as the Edwin C. Shanahan Memorial Post #1920, the program provides an opportunity for approximately 30 local high school students to engage with special agents and other FBI personnel to develop leadership, teamwork, discipline, and socialization skills while learning more about a possible future law enforcement career. Mr. Helt has been a dedicated supporter of the Post since its inception. He serves as a member of the Post’s Board of Directors, he obtained non-profit status for the Post, and he has led fundraising efforts to benefit the Post. In addition, he has used his position as a community leader to recruit others to support the Post and has raised awareness of the Post through social media.
Mr. Helt is a 2011 graduate of the FBI Chicago Citizens Academy, and, as an active member of the Citizens Academy Alumni Association, he serves as an advocate for the FBI and law enforcement in general.
Mr. Helt will be honored at an awards luncheon scheduled for 11:30 a.m. tomorrow at Loyola University’s Corboy Law Center at 25 East Pearson Street in Chicago. He will also join DCLA recipients selected by the other FBI field offices across the nation at an awards ceremony to be held in Washington, D.C., in April, where he will be personally recognized and honored by Director Comey.
The FBI presents the DCLA annually on behalf of its Director, James B. Comey. The award was established in 1990 as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their efforts to prevent crime, terrorism, drugs, and violence and to further law enforcement efforts in their communities. Each year, the special agent in charge of each of the FBI’s 56 field offices selects an honoree that has made a significant difference in the lives of others.
Mr. Helt was selected by the Chicago Division for playing an instrumental role in the establishment of the division’s Explorer Post. Formally known as the Edwin C. Shanahan Memorial Post #1920, the program provides an opportunity for approximately 30 local high school students to engage with special agents and other FBI personnel to develop leadership, teamwork, discipline, and socialization skills while learning more about a possible future law enforcement career. Mr. Helt has been a dedicated supporter of the Post since its inception. He serves as a member of the Post’s Board of Directors, he obtained non-profit status for the Post, and he has led fundraising efforts to benefit the Post. In addition, he has used his position as a community leader to recruit others to support the Post and has raised awareness of the Post through social media.
Mr. Helt is a 2011 graduate of the FBI Chicago Citizens Academy, and, as an active member of the Citizens Academy Alumni Association, he serves as an advocate for the FBI and law enforcement in general.
Mr. Helt will be honored at an awards luncheon scheduled for 11:30 a.m. tomorrow at Loyola University’s Corboy Law Center at 25 East Pearson Street in Chicago. He will also join DCLA recipients selected by the other FBI field offices across the nation at an awards ceremony to be held in Washington, D.C., in April, where he will be personally recognized and honored by Director Comey.
Hundreds of Armed Civilian Vigilantes Seize Town from #KnightsTemplar Drug Cartel
Vigilantes seized a drug cartel's bastion in western Mexico on Sunday, sparking a shootout as the civilian militia gained new ground in their struggle against the gang in a violence-plagued region.
Hundreds of armed civilians riding in more than 100 pickup trucks rolled into the Michoacan state town of Nueva Italia and were met by gunfire from presumed Knights Templar cartel members when they reached the municipal office.
"They shot at us from two locations and the clash lasted around an hour and a half," Jaime Ortiz, a 47-year-old farmer and vigilante leader from the town of La Ruana, told AFP.
Two members of the self-defense unit were wounded, he said, standing in the 40,000-population town's main square, surrounded by hundreds of men armed with AK-47 assault rifles, bulletproof vests and radios.
Some sidewalks were soaked in blood in the town's empty streets.
Later, on a highway leading to the town, authorities found two men hanging from a bridge, though it was not immediately known if the killings were related to the vigilantes' advance. Mexican cartels have hanged many victims in recent years.
Michoacan's growing civilian militia movement, which first emerged nearly a year ago, has seized more communities in recent weeks in its bid to rout the Templars.
The turmoil in Michoacan has become the biggest security challenge of President Enrique Pena Nieto's 13-month-old administration, which inherited a drug war that has killed more than 77,000 people in the past seven years.
Pena Nieto deployed thousands of troops and federal police to the state in May, but the reinforcements have failed to contain the violence.
Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong has said the self-defense units are illegal. Yet some critics charge the government is protecting them.
The Templars have accused the vigilantes of being a proxy force for the rival Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, a charge the militias deny.
The militias have now surrounded Apatzingan, a city of 123,000 people considered the main Templar stronghold in Michoacan's lime- and avocado-growing region known as Tierra Caliente, or Hot Country.
Vigilante leaders say Apatzingan is a key target because of its importance to the cartel and because it is a vital trade hub for their limes, avocados and mangos.
In October, hundreds of self-defense militia members marched into Apatzingan unarmed and fled after being welcomed with gun shots in the main square. "It is very close. We want to seize it but we don't have a date yet. It will be in the next few days," said Hipolito Mora, a prominent vigilante leader from the town of La Ruana.
In Nueva Italia, the streets were empty, restaurants and shops closed their doors and residents shut their windows after the vigilante incursion.
The vigilantes met with the mayor and residents to explain their strategy against organized crime. "At first we supported the Templars because we believed that they were protecting Michoacan," said a mother of two who attended the meeting and requested anonymity. "But now the economy is very weak, they don't let us work and they charge protection money," she said.
Towns began to form vigilante forces in February 2012, saying they were fed up with the local police's inability or unwillingness to stop the cartel's murders, kidnappings and extortion rackets. But some see the self-defense forces with suspicion.
Opponents of the vigilantes have burned trucks and buses in the past week to protest the militias' incursions in the region. The vigilantes say the protesters are coerced or paid by the Templars.
Michoacan Governor Fausto Vallejo said new "coordinated actions" with the federal government would be announced on Monday to deal with the unrest.
Critics say Michoacan has become a "failed state," with local authorities powerless to control the situation. "What we are observing is the absence of the state, the absence of governability," the head of the National Human Rights Commission, Raul Plascencia, told El Universal newspaper.
Thanks to Leticia Pineda.
Hundreds of armed civilians riding in more than 100 pickup trucks rolled into the Michoacan state town of Nueva Italia and were met by gunfire from presumed Knights Templar cartel members when they reached the municipal office.
"They shot at us from two locations and the clash lasted around an hour and a half," Jaime Ortiz, a 47-year-old farmer and vigilante leader from the town of La Ruana, told AFP.
Two members of the self-defense unit were wounded, he said, standing in the 40,000-population town's main square, surrounded by hundreds of men armed with AK-47 assault rifles, bulletproof vests and radios.
Some sidewalks were soaked in blood in the town's empty streets.
Later, on a highway leading to the town, authorities found two men hanging from a bridge, though it was not immediately known if the killings were related to the vigilantes' advance. Mexican cartels have hanged many victims in recent years.
Michoacan's growing civilian militia movement, which first emerged nearly a year ago, has seized more communities in recent weeks in its bid to rout the Templars.
The turmoil in Michoacan has become the biggest security challenge of President Enrique Pena Nieto's 13-month-old administration, which inherited a drug war that has killed more than 77,000 people in the past seven years.
Pena Nieto deployed thousands of troops and federal police to the state in May, but the reinforcements have failed to contain the violence.
Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong has said the self-defense units are illegal. Yet some critics charge the government is protecting them.
The Templars have accused the vigilantes of being a proxy force for the rival Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, a charge the militias deny.
The militias have now surrounded Apatzingan, a city of 123,000 people considered the main Templar stronghold in Michoacan's lime- and avocado-growing region known as Tierra Caliente, or Hot Country.
Vigilante leaders say Apatzingan is a key target because of its importance to the cartel and because it is a vital trade hub for their limes, avocados and mangos.
In October, hundreds of self-defense militia members marched into Apatzingan unarmed and fled after being welcomed with gun shots in the main square. "It is very close. We want to seize it but we don't have a date yet. It will be in the next few days," said Hipolito Mora, a prominent vigilante leader from the town of La Ruana.
In Nueva Italia, the streets were empty, restaurants and shops closed their doors and residents shut their windows after the vigilante incursion.
The vigilantes met with the mayor and residents to explain their strategy against organized crime. "At first we supported the Templars because we believed that they were protecting Michoacan," said a mother of two who attended the meeting and requested anonymity. "But now the economy is very weak, they don't let us work and they charge protection money," she said.
Towns began to form vigilante forces in February 2012, saying they were fed up with the local police's inability or unwillingness to stop the cartel's murders, kidnappings and extortion rackets. But some see the self-defense forces with suspicion.
Opponents of the vigilantes have burned trucks and buses in the past week to protest the militias' incursions in the region. The vigilantes say the protesters are coerced or paid by the Templars.
Michoacan Governor Fausto Vallejo said new "coordinated actions" with the federal government would be announced on Monday to deal with the unrest.
Critics say Michoacan has become a "failed state," with local authorities powerless to control the situation. "What we are observing is the absence of the state, the absence of governability," the head of the National Human Rights Commission, Raul Plascencia, told El Universal newspaper.
Thanks to Leticia Pineda.
Larry Kyle Richardson Arrested and Accused of Running an Online Gambling Site
A Boulder County man has been arrested after a grand jury indicted him on racketeering charges for allegedly running an online gambling website for at least three years.
Larry Kyle Richardson, 62, was indicted on one charge of violation of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act -- a Class 2 felony -- according to an indictment released.
According to court documents, Richardson is suspected of running an online gambling website from Jan. 1 2010 through Jan. 8, 2013, "in, or triable in, Boulder County." Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said while he could not discuss the details of the case, for it to be "triable" in Boulder County it must have some connection to the district. "That could include all kinds of things from the defendant living here, to having bank accounts here to an exchange taking place here," Garnett said.
The indictment lists 195 instances in which search warrants executed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation obtained checks from suspected gamblers to Richardson in amounts ranging from $50 to $11,000. The sum of the checks collected by the CBI totals almost $300,000.
The indictment claims Richardson was part of a gambling enterprise which "unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly conducted or participated, directly or indirectly, in the enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity."
The indictment says Richardson would pay a percentage of the income he received through the site to a Richard "Dick" Hancock. The indictment says Teddy Mitchell, Gary Gibb, Dryden Mitchell, Roger "Dodger" Antablin also were involved in bookmaking operations related to the enterprise.
Names of the suspected gamblers who wrote checks to Richardson were also referenced in the indictment. While Garnett could not comment on whether the other people named in the document were facing indictments in other jurisdictions, he said none of them were facing charges in Boulder County.
A warrant for Richardson's arrest was issued and Richardson was arrested Friday by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and is being held at the Boulder County Jail on $50,000 bond.
Court records show Richardson pleaded guilty to DUI-related charges in 1985 and 1995 in Boulder County.
Thanks to Mitchell Byers.
Lone Star Joint Task Force Executes 25 Year Old Warrant
Larry Lou McCumber, 66, was arrested by the United States Marshals Service Oklahoma City Metro Fugitive Squad (OCMFS) in Oklahoma City, OK. An arrest warrant was issued pursuant to an investigation by the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), where more than 25 years ago McCumber was indicted on allegations of robbery and threat to a business.
On January 8, 2014, members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force initiated an investigation in the search for McCumber. Subsequent to the investigation, task force officers discovered that McCumber had previously fled from San Antonio, TX to Oklahoma City, OK. Members of the LSFTF then contacted members of the OCMFS in Oklahoma City, OK for assistance in locating and apprehending McCumber. Yesterday, task force officers determined through investigative efforts that McCumber was residing at a house in the 3800 block of Hiddleston Circle, in Oklahoma City, OK. Task force officers conducted a brief surveillance and approached the residence. Task force officers made contact with McCumber’s spouse, identified themselves, entered the residence, made contact with McCumber, and took him into custody without incident.
On April 20, 1988, McCumber was formally indicted by a Grand Jury in Bexar County on allegations of robbery and threat to a business. A warrant for McCumber’s arrest was issued the same day. On January 22, 1988, McCumber allegedly entered a hotel in San Antonio, walked to the front desk, and handed a note to the clerk demanding money. McCumber then placed his hand in his jacket pocket and motioned to indicate he had a weapon. Once the clerk handed McCumber the money, he verbally threatened her not to do anything, and he ran from the hotel.
Robert R. Almonte, United States Marshal for the Western District of Texas, stated, “More than 25 years ago a warrant was issued for McCumber’s arrest and more than 25 years later he’s finally in custody. The collaborative effort between the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and the Oklahoma City Metro Fugitive Squad proves that our task force officers are good at what they do…pursue fugitives and put them behind bars.”
Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force:
New Braunfels Police Department
San Antonio Police Department
San Antonio Independent School District Police Department
Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
Comal County Sheriff’s Office
Bexar County Fire Marshal’s Office
Bexar County District Attorney’s Office
Texas Office of The Attorney General
Texas Department of Public Safety
Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of the Inspector General
Immigration & Customs Enforcement – Office of Detention & Removal
U.S. Marshals Service
On January 8, 2014, members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force initiated an investigation in the search for McCumber. Subsequent to the investigation, task force officers discovered that McCumber had previously fled from San Antonio, TX to Oklahoma City, OK. Members of the LSFTF then contacted members of the OCMFS in Oklahoma City, OK for assistance in locating and apprehending McCumber. Yesterday, task force officers determined through investigative efforts that McCumber was residing at a house in the 3800 block of Hiddleston Circle, in Oklahoma City, OK. Task force officers conducted a brief surveillance and approached the residence. Task force officers made contact with McCumber’s spouse, identified themselves, entered the residence, made contact with McCumber, and took him into custody without incident.
On April 20, 1988, McCumber was formally indicted by a Grand Jury in Bexar County on allegations of robbery and threat to a business. A warrant for McCumber’s arrest was issued the same day. On January 22, 1988, McCumber allegedly entered a hotel in San Antonio, walked to the front desk, and handed a note to the clerk demanding money. McCumber then placed his hand in his jacket pocket and motioned to indicate he had a weapon. Once the clerk handed McCumber the money, he verbally threatened her not to do anything, and he ran from the hotel.
Robert R. Almonte, United States Marshal for the Western District of Texas, stated, “More than 25 years ago a warrant was issued for McCumber’s arrest and more than 25 years later he’s finally in custody. The collaborative effort between the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and the Oklahoma City Metro Fugitive Squad proves that our task force officers are good at what they do…pursue fugitives and put them behind bars.”
Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force:
New Braunfels Police Department
San Antonio Police Department
San Antonio Independent School District Police Department
Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
Comal County Sheriff’s Office
Bexar County Fire Marshal’s Office
Bexar County District Attorney’s Office
Texas Office of The Attorney General
Texas Department of Public Safety
Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of the Inspector General
Immigration & Customs Enforcement – Office of Detention & Removal
U.S. Marshals Service
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