3 Missing Students Have Body Dissolved in Acid After Mexican Gangsters Beat Them to Death

Three missing students are dead after criminals in Mexico beat them to death and dissolved their bodies in acid, according to police.

Mexican authorities in Jalisco state announced that the mystery around the three students’ fate had finally been solved weeks after their disappearance triggered massive protests. The film students went missing in the municipality of Tonala after they were forced into a car by between six and eight gang members.

“Subsequently their bodies were dissolved in acid so that no trace of them remained," the state prosecutors office said, according to Reuters.

Drug cartels have used the violent tactic to erase evidence in the past and police believe gang members falsely assumed the three victims were from a rival gang.

According to witnesses, heavily armed men posing as police officers accosted the students after their car broke down. They were never seen again, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The victims—Salomon Aceves Gastelum, Daniel Diaz and Marco Avalos—journeyed outside the city of Guadalajara to shoot a project for the University of Audiovisual Media, AFP reported. Police have stressed that the students had no known link to organized crime.

Police believe that Gastelum, Diaz and Avalos were taken to a property outside Guadalajara for interrogation, during which at least one of them was being beaten to death. The fact that the other two had witnessed a homicide could have convinced the kidnappers to execute them.

Authorities have arrested two suspects in connection with the crime. The investigation is continuing as more potential culprits may be at large, the Jalisco state attorney general, Raul Sanchez said in a news conference.

More than 33,000 people are currently missing in Mexico and organized crime is expected to be a major issue in the current presidential campaign.

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Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme Jury Selection Will Begin for The Trial of the Former #Mafia Boss

Attorneys are preparing for trial in the case of a former New England mafia boss accused of killing a nightclub owner in 1993.

Jury selection in Boston’s federal court will begin Tuesday for the trial of ex-mafia boss Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme.

Salemme and co-defendant Paul Weadick are accused of killing federal witness Steven DiSarro to prevent him from talking to authorities about illegal activities by Salemme and others. DiSarro’s remains were found in March 2016 behind a mill in Providence, Rhode Island. The men have denied participating in DiSarro’s killing.

The trial is scheduled to begin May 9.

Salemme led the New England family of La Cosa Nostra in the early 1990s and entered witness protection in 1999.

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Gang Member Indicted for Murder and Racketeering for Shooting Victim at Strip Club #Bloods

A seven-count indictment was unsealed in federal court in Central Islip charging Bloods gang member Lawrence Lewis, also known as “L Boogs,” with the July 29, 2017 murder of John Birt, firearms offenses, and narcotics possession and distribution.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York, Timothy D. Sini, District Attorney for Suffolk County, and Geraldine Hart, Acting Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the charges.

“As alleged, this Bloods member committed a senseless murder in furtherance of his violent gang,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “The defendant’s arrest should send a loud and clear message that this Office, working collaboratively with our federal and local law enforcement partners, is committed to eradicating gang violence on Long Island and throughout our district, to make our communities safer.”

“The simple act of taking a photo ended in a man losing his life, all because a gang member was allegedly offended and decided to retaliate,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “It’s hard to fathom how the suspect in this case weighed exposing his illegal drug trade, and his illegal weapons because he wanted to prove how tough he is to his rivals. The FBI Long Island Gang Task Force is committed to rooting out the violent gangs and their destructive behavior in our communities.”

“Once murder is added to the list of allegations against Lewis, it is evident that the alleged distribution of large amounts of cocaine and heroin in Long Island neighborhoods was only the tip of his criminal activity,” stated HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Melendez. “We will not stand by while violent gang members roam free in our communities. Lewis had little regard for the life he took or the lives he affected by dealing drugs, and he will now need to face the consequences of his crimes.”

“It is a top priority of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office to prosecute members of dangerous, violent street gangs to the fullest extent of the law,” stated Suffolk County District Attorney Sini. “This individual showed a total disregard for human life and for the law, which will not be tolerated. Today’s indictment is a reinforcement of our Office’s commitment to combating gang violence in our communities and our dedication to working collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to keep Suffolk County residents safe.”

“The Suffolk County Police Department will continue working with our law enforcement partners to bring criminal gang members and their associates to justice,” stated SCPD Acting Commissioner Hart. “The arrest of this murderer will send yet another powerful message to gangs across Long Island that illegal activities will not be tolerated.”

According to the indictment and statements made during the arraignment, between January 2016 and March 2018, Lewis utilized his membership in the Bloods street gang to distribute large quantities of cocaine base and heroin in Suffolk County. In order to protect his supply of narcotics and secure his ability to distribute his narcotics, Lewis possessed a number of firearms, including a Mossberg .22 caliber rifle and a Ruger .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.

On July 29, 2017, Birt and several friends were posing for a photo at the Illusions Gentlemen’s Club in Deer Park when they were approached by an associate of Lewis who was also a member of the Bloods. The associate attempted to display a Bloods gang hand signal in the photo and a dispute ensued. Lewis pulled out a handgun and fatally shot Birt.

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Codes of the Underworld: How Criminals Communicate

Bada-bing. For some people, The Godfather is no mere movie but a manual – a guide to living the gangster's life. They lap up all that stuff about going to the mattresses and sleeping with the fishes. The famous scene in which a mafia refusenik wakes up next to a horse's head may be macabre make-believe, but in some quarters it's treated like a tutorial.

So who are these apparent innocents taking their cues from Hollywood? None other than the mafia themselves, writes Diego Gambetta in his new book, Codes of the Underworld: How Criminals Communicate. The Oxford sociologist offers example upon example of gangsters apeing Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece – or what he calls "lowlife imitating art".

There's the Don who took over a Sicilian aristocrat's villa for his daughter's wedding – with 500 guests revelling to the film's soundtrack; the building contractors of Palermo who receive severed horse's heads if they get in the mob's way; and John Gotti's former lieutenant, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, who confessed that plagiarism ranked among his (lesser) crimes: "I would always tell people, just like in The Godfather, 'If you have an enemy, that enemy becomes my enemy.'"

Yet Mario Puzo, The Godfather's inventor, admitted that he "never met a real honest-to-God gangster", while many of the film's most quotable lines (remember "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli"?) were improvised. So what accounts for its influence not just among the mafia but with Hong Kong triads, Japanese yakuza and Russian mobsters?

Well, strip away the mystique and organised crime is a business – one with big handicaps. It may be called "the Firm", but managing a poorly educated, violent workforce is a challenge, advertising job vacancies only attracts the law, and appraisals for underperforming staff can err on the brusque side. The Godfather and other gangster movies plug those holes, says Gambetta. They give criminals an easy-to-follow protocol and a glamour that serves as both corporate feelgood and marketing tool. Uncomfortable though it may be to acknowledge, the underworld is not above taking its cues from the upperworld.

Thanks to Aditya Chakrabortty

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Scarface Reunion with Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, @TheStevenBauer and Brian De Palma at #Tribeca2018

Old "Scarface (Limited Edition)" friends said hello again at a 35th anniversary screening Thursday that reunited stars Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer and Steven Bauer and filmmaker Brian De Palma for an evening full of reflection on how the ferocious and garish gangster epic — like Tony Montana's rise from dishwasher to drug lord — has grown in stature.

The reunion, held at New York's Beacon Theatre, was one of the main events of the just kicked-off Tribeca Film Festival. The festival has made such anniversaries a regular feature in recent years, many of them celebrating classics of Tribeca co-founder Robert De Niro. But the "Scarface" event was for a movie De Niro reportedly turned down, and which now lives on as one of Pacino's maximum performances.

De Palma, the celebrated 77-year-old filmmaker of "Carlito's Way" and "The Untouchables," suggested the arc of Montana in "Scarface" was reminiscent of President Donald Trump's.

"I've always been interested about making movies about people who start rather humbly and then acquire a great deal of power and then ultimately isolate themselves and live in their own world. Could that be anything we're experiencing now?" said De Palma with a laugh.

The reunion wasn't without its hitches. When the post-screening panel moderator Jesse Kornbluth — as seemingly an opening to discuss Pfeiffer's character's gaunt, cocaine-snorting habits — asked the actress how much she weighed when making the film, boos echoed around the theater. But the affection the crowd had for "Scarface" was palpable throughout the evening, with applause bursting out frequently during the nearly three-hour film for favorite scenes and cherished lines.

De Palma's 1983 film, penned by Oliver Stone, was a remake of the Howard Hawks-directed 1932 gangster film of the same name. (De Palma even dedicated the film to Hawks and screenwriter Ben Hecht.) The project began with Pacino being enthralled by the original.

"I was completely taken with Paul Muni's performance," said Pacino. "After I saw that, I thought: I want to be Paul Muni. I want to act like that."

The idea to update the immigrant story to Cuban refugees in Miami came from filmmaker Sidney Lumet, who was briefly attached to direct. The Mariel boatlift in 1980 brought some 125,000 refugees to Florida from Fidel Castro's Cuba. (An updated, Los Angeles-set remake to "Scarface" has been rumored, with "Training Day" filmmaker Antoine Fuqua recently attached to direct a script by David Ayer, Jonathan Herman and Joel and Ethan Coen.)

De Palma's film was a box office hit, the 16th highest grossing film of the year. But it received mixed reviews. Though some, including Roger Ebert, raved about it, critics like David Ansen of Newsweek called it "grand, shallow, decadent entertainment." Yet for many, its reputation has grown over the years, especially on dorm-room walls and in hip-hop, where "Scarface" became a revered influence.

"It's caught on in such a way, and we have experienced it," said Pacino. "This wasn't the way it started. When 'Scarface' first came out, it was extremely controversial."

The hyper-violent film initially received an "X'' rating from the Motion Picture Association of America's ratings board. De Palma said he went through three edits on the film without receiving an "R'' rating before he and producer Martin Bregman decided to withdraw any changes.

"Marty said, 'We'll go to war with these people,'" said De Palma, still relishing the battle. "And that's what we did."

Some also took issue with how the film depicted Cuban immigrants as vicious drug-dealers at a time when many were trying to get a foothold in the United States.

"A lot of the old-school Cubans were concerned with me almost to the point that they weren't really sure that my participation in a Hollywood movie was worth me downgrading or degrading or tainting the image of their accomplishments in the new society," said the Cuban-born Bauer. "What I tried to convey to them was: Relax, man. It's a movie."

Pfieffer, too, said she's been asked over the years about playing a female character with so little agency in "Scarface."

"I felt that by allowing people to observe who this character is and the sacrifices that she's made said more (than) getting up on any soap box and preaching to people," said Pfeiffer.

The actress added that her experience acting alongside Pacino was life-changing.

"One of the things that hit me the strongest was watching him fiercely protect character, really at all costs and without any sort of apology," said Pfeiffer. "I have always tried to emulate that. I try to be polite about it. I think that's what really makes great acting."

Pacino also shared one of his most vivid memories. While filming the final shootout, he burned his hand badly enough to shut shooting down for two weeks. "I grabbed the barrel of the gun I just fired. My hand stuck to it. It just stuck to it," said Pacino. Pacino promptly left the set to be bandaged at a hospital.

"This nurse comes up to me later and she says, 'You're Al Pacino.' I said 'Yeah.' And she said, 'I thought you were some scumbag,'" Pacino recalled chuckling. "There's something there."

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