As Illinois becomes the fourth and most populous state to give illegal immigrants permission to drive, nagging concerns remain about whether there are enough safeguards to avoid the identity fraud and other pitfalls other states faced.
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signed Illinois' measure into law Sunday in Chicago. Backers, including Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and some of the state's top Republicans, tout it as a public-safety measure. They argue that required facial recognition technology is reliable enough to prevent fraud.
They hailed it as an important step for immigrant rights in Illinois, which approved its own Dream Act in 2010 to create a privately-funded scholarship program for immigrant students. President Barack Obama plans to discuss his plan to overhaul the immigration system during a trip to Las Vegas on Tuesday.
"This was a bipartisan effort to pass an important law," Quinn said. "When the president speaks on Tuesday, he can say about his home state of Illinois ... we not only passed the Dream Act last year, we passed driver's licenses for those who are undocumented ."However, the law's opponents have pointed to hundreds of fraudulent cases in New Mexico, Washington and Utah after those states began giving illegal immigrants permission to drive. Illinois will not require applicants to be fingerprinted, for fear that would discourage immigrants from applying.
"How many people would apply for this document knowing that fingerprints will be going to (federal authorities)? Probably not all that many," said Fred Tsao, policy director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a driving-force behind the measure.
Proponents say it will allow an estimated 250,000 people unlawfully residing in the state to apply for a three-year temporary driver's license and require them to get training and insurance. The Illinois secretary of state's office said the licenses will be available starting in October.
Those ready for the change include 45-year-old Victoria Chavez. "I need to get my driver's license because I have two kids," the Chicago woman said. "They need my support. This is a victory for all of us in the immigrant community."
The licenses will be like those already issued to certain foreign-born, legal visitors. Applicants will be photographed, and their photo will be entered into the state's facial recognition database - like the rest of Illinois' licensed drivers- to verify their identity. But other states' driving programs for illegal immigrants have been abused. New Mexico and Washington both issue licenses, while Utah issues a permit.
An Associated Press investigation last year found a striking pattern in New Mexico, suggesting immigrants tried to game the system to obtain a license. In one instance, 48 foreign-born individuals claimed to live at a smoke shop in Albuquerque to fulfill a residency condition.
Authorities also busted a fraud ring last year that forged documents for illegal immigrants to use after driving from as far as Illinois and North Carolina to obtain a New Mexico license. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has vowed for years to repeal the decade-old measure, but the Legislature has rejected such efforts.
Washington's requirements attracted national attention when Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, revealed his illegal immigration status in an essay for the New York Times Magazine in 2011. Vargas chronicled how he obtained his Washington license. State authorities conducted an investigation that revealed Vargas did not reside at the address he stated in his application and canceled his license.
Utah's permit is not valid for identification. Illinois' law follows suit.
Utah's Republican-controlled Legislature amended the state's law in 2011 to require illegal immigrants to be fingerprinted, and mandates that the state notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if an applicant's fingerprint check yields a felony on record. If the applicant has a misdemeanor warrant outstanding, the state must notify the agency that is seeking the person's arrest.
That kind of information-sharing between state and immigration authorities worries Illinois' immigrant-rights advocates, such as Tsao, who pushed for the legislation without a fingerprinting requirement. They say fingerprinting could deter potential licensees from applying for fear of being identified and deported.
Local law enforcement officials argue in favor of fingerprinting. "We could see if they have committed a crime; it could be a crime in another state or it could be a crime in their home country," said John Kennedy, executive director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.
The Illinois secretary of state's office says its facial recognition database is highly sophisticated and accurate. The program uses an algorithm to match more than a dozen facial features that are not easy to alter, such as eye sockets and sides of the mouth. "The integrity of our driver's license system is a priority," said Henry Haupt, a spokesman for the office.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Edward Acevedo, a Chicago Democrat, said state roads will be safer because illegal immigrants will receive training and be tested before obtaining a license. They also will be required to purchase insurance, Acevedo said.
Tsao's organization estimates uninsured illegal immigrant drivers cause $64 million in damage claims each year, an expense currently covered by increased premiums.
Thanks to Regina Garcia Cano and Michelle Jayane Nealy.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Andrew Vale Named FBI's Special Agent in Charge for Albany Division
Director Robert S. Mueller, III has named Andrew W. Vale special agent in charge of the FBI’s Albany Division. Mr. Vale most recently served as special assistant to the deputy director at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Vale began his career as a special agent with the FBI in September 1991. He first reported to the Newark Division, where he investigated terrorism, background, and civil rights matters. In October 1998, Mr. Vale was promoted to supervisor of the Joint Terrorism Task Force to oversee domestic and international terrorism investigations.
In November 2001, he transferred to the Domestic Terrorism Operations Unit at FBI Headquarters and provided program management oversight for all domestic terrorism investigations in the Northeast region of the United States. He was promoted to chief of the unit in August 2003. In January 2005, Mr. Vale was appointed unit chief of the Director’s Research Group, where he reviewed, edited, and approved briefing materials for Director Mueller’s congressional testimony, domestic and international travel, and meetings.
Mr. Vale transferred to the Albany Division in August 2006 as the assistant special agent in charge of the National Security Branch. In this capacity, he provided program management oversight for the Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Intelligence programs. Mr. Vale returned to FBI Headquarters in September 2011 as the special assistant to the deputy director.
Prior to his appointment with the FBI, Mr. Vale spent four years with the Buffalo District of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service as an immigration inspector and immigration detention officer.
Mr. Vale began his career as a special agent with the FBI in September 1991. He first reported to the Newark Division, where he investigated terrorism, background, and civil rights matters. In October 1998, Mr. Vale was promoted to supervisor of the Joint Terrorism Task Force to oversee domestic and international terrorism investigations.
In November 2001, he transferred to the Domestic Terrorism Operations Unit at FBI Headquarters and provided program management oversight for all domestic terrorism investigations in the Northeast region of the United States. He was promoted to chief of the unit in August 2003. In January 2005, Mr. Vale was appointed unit chief of the Director’s Research Group, where he reviewed, edited, and approved briefing materials for Director Mueller’s congressional testimony, domestic and international travel, and meetings.
Mr. Vale transferred to the Albany Division in August 2006 as the assistant special agent in charge of the National Security Branch. In this capacity, he provided program management oversight for the Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Intelligence programs. Mr. Vale returned to FBI Headquarters in September 2011 as the special assistant to the deputy director.
Prior to his appointment with the FBI, Mr. Vale spent four years with the Buffalo District of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service as an immigration inspector and immigration detention officer.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
John Burke, Gambino Organized Crime Family Associate, Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Racketeering and Murder
John Burke, a longtime associate of the Gambino organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Gambino family”), was sentenced today to life imprisonment without parole plus 10 years for the murder of a rival drug dealer in aid of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, and other charges. On June 8, 2012, following a four-week trial before United States District Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. in Brooklyn federal court, Burke was convicted of all charges in the superseding indictment. The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
As established at trial, Burke was a trusted Gambino family enforcer and drug dealer for nearly three decades. As part of the racketeering conspiracy, Burke participated in numerous acts of violence, including fatal shootings and home-invasion robberies, as well as drug trafficking involving cocaine and marijuana. Burke was convicted of two murder predicate acts, including the 1991 murder of Bruce Gotterup, who was shot in the back of the head on the boardwalk in the Rockaways, and the 1996 murder of John Gebert, who was slain under a pool table in a Woodhaven bar. The jury also found Burke guilty of the murder of John Gebert in aid of racketeering, murdering John Gebert as part of a continuing criminal enterprise, and a firearms charge.
Ms. Lynch expressed her appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, and the other members of the law enforcement community for their efforts in the investigation and prosecution of this case.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Evan M. Norris, and Whitman G.S. Knapp.
As established at trial, Burke was a trusted Gambino family enforcer and drug dealer for nearly three decades. As part of the racketeering conspiracy, Burke participated in numerous acts of violence, including fatal shootings and home-invasion robberies, as well as drug trafficking involving cocaine and marijuana. Burke was convicted of two murder predicate acts, including the 1991 murder of Bruce Gotterup, who was shot in the back of the head on the boardwalk in the Rockaways, and the 1996 murder of John Gebert, who was slain under a pool table in a Woodhaven bar. The jury also found Burke guilty of the murder of John Gebert in aid of racketeering, murdering John Gebert as part of a continuing criminal enterprise, and a firearms charge.
Ms. Lynch expressed her appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, and the other members of the law enforcement community for their efforts in the investigation and prosecution of this case.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Evan M. Norris, and Whitman G.S. Knapp.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Is the Russian Mob Dead?
One of the last mafia kingpins from Russia’s wild 1990s has died. Rather than marking the end of an era, the event is reminding Russians just how much their government has occupied the role once played by organized crime.
Grandpa Hassan, as the mafia don was known, spent his last day holding court in the downtown Moscow cafe that served as his headquarters. At 2:30 p.m., he emerged to catch two bullets in the head and back, from a sniper on a roof across the street. Within hours, “GrandpaHassan” was a trending topic on Twitter. In the very act of dying, a figure from a freer, more lawless era thrust the nation into an examination of its criminal past and present.
Grandpa, whose passport identified him as Aslan Usoyan, 75, was a legend in his own time. An ethnic Kurd, he was “crowned” in 1966 as a “vor v zakone” -- a Russian crime boss of the highest rank. He survived at least three assassination attempts, outliving most of the ranking mobsters of his generation and staying on in Russia as others left for warmer shores in Spain or Bulgaria. His livelihood involved mediating mob conflicts and running a network of shadowy interests, primarily in the south of Russia.
“Only one remained in Russia, one who was known to all without exception,” journalist Maxim Kononenko eulogized in the newspaper Izvestia. “A figure from an earlier time, a Loch Ness monster, a yeti, a real fossil -- someone who connected us to our past.”
As if in recognition of Usoyan’s importance, police immediately posted guards at the Botkin Hospital morgue where his body was delivered after doctors failed to revive him. “They should have called in the honorary guard from Lenin’s tomb,” wrote blogger Sergei Averin on Twitter.
Versions of why Usoyan finally met a violent death abounded. He was reported to be skimming off the multibillion- dollar budgets earmarked for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held on his home turf, in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi. Some said his old enemy Tariel Oniani, an opponent in gangland wars since the 1980s, must have been involved in the killing. Others suggested that he had been selling weapons to Kurdish separatists in Turkey, and the hit was punishment from the Turkish special services. Still others blamed younger mobsters fed up with Hassan’s old-school methods and abnormally long reign.
“I’m sick of this Hassan already,” blogger Sergei Nikolaev commented on Twitter. “It’s as if half the country has just got out of jail.”
Since the early 2000s, mobsters had faded from public view in Russia. Stories of the “Russian mafia” were for naive foreigners. In that context, some commentators portrayed Usoyan’s demise as a benefit of Putin’s authoritarian rule.
“The murder of Grandpa Hassan has put a full stop at the end of the ’accursed ’90’s’ story, unless he somehow manages to rise from the dead,” Vladimir Novikov wrote on the state- controlled site RAPSInews.ru.
“Such murders and a well-developed criminal underworld are features of market democracies such as the U.S. or Italy,” Alexei Pushkov, head of the Russian parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee, commented in his microblog.
Others, though, see less difference between the current regime and the organized crime of old. Under Putin’s tight clique of former KGB officers, law enforcement agencies have become more powerful than any mafia. Extortion and racketeering are now largely the turf of tax inspectors and economic-crime police.
“Private business is still deprived of effective protection on the part of the law enforcement system and the courts,” wrote journalist Mikhail Kozyrev on the opinion website Slon.ru. “If there is demand for fair solutions to problems, there will also be supply” from bureaucrats, police, special services and even crime bosses. “Quite law-abiding businessmen reach out to them for protection.”
In short, the mobsters are not really gone. They have merely been forced to share the market with other protection peddlers. Albeit less visible, they are just as wealthy and well-connected.
“I have met some mobster-businessmen with close ties” to state-owned companies, bureaucrats and special services, investigative journalist Irina Reznik wrote in a Facebook comment. “Very often these businessmen have run errands too shady for government-appointed managers and officials.”
Grandpa Hassan’s cafe office, after all, was just a mile from the Kremlin.
(Leonid Bershidsky, an editor and novelist, is Moscow and Kiev correspondent for World View. Opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer of this column: bershidsky@gmail.com.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Mob Museum Offers Opportunity to Take a Blood Oath
HELP SAVE LIVES BY TAKING THE BLOOD OATH AT THE MOB MUSEUM
WHAT: As part of the upcoming celebration to mark its first anniversary this February, The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement is teaming up with the United Blood Services to encourage guests to take the blood oath… by donating.
Donors are encouraged to make an appointment for the Museum’s anniversary blood drive online at https://www.bloodhero.com/index.cfm?group=op&step=2&opid=533493 or by calling (877) 827-4376. Sponsor code: MobMuseum.
As part of its commitment to the community, the Museum is pleased to offer two complimentary tickets to everyone who registers at this event.
FACT: The “blood oath” originated with the Mafia. To become a full member of La Cosa Nostra, aspiring members had to pass initiation rituals, which included pricking the finger with a needle by an officiating member with a few drops of blood spilled onto a card bearing the likeness of a saint. The card was then set on fire and while it burned, the oath of loyalty was taken.
Inside The Mob Museum, visitors can witness a “blood oath” ceremony for themselves. The video representation of the ceremony on view in the exhibition was created based upon court testimony and legal evidence.
WHO: Marking its first anniversary this Valentine’s Day, The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is a world-class destination in downtown Las Vegas dedicated to the thrilling story of organized crime and law enforcement. It presents an exciting and authentic view of the mob’s impact on Las Vegas history and its unique imprint on the world. True stories of mob history are brought to life in a bold and contemporary style via engaging exhibits, high-tech theater presentations and more than 600 artifacts, the largest collection of Mob and related law enforcement memorabilia under one roof.
Founded in 1963, United Blood Services of Las Vegas, a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization, provides blood and blood products for hospitals in Southern Nevada, California and Northern Arizona. Its programs exist to make a difference in people’s lives by inspiring individuals to donate blood, producing a safe and ample blood supply, advancing cutting-edge research and embracing continuous quality improvement. The United Blood Services network is one of the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit blood service organizations and is a founding member of America's Blood Centers and the American Association of Blood Banks. Nationally, United Blood Services serves more than 500 hospitals in 18 states, contributing to more than 25 million people.
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: The Mob Museum’s multi-purpose room
300 East Stewart Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89101
WHAT: As part of the upcoming celebration to mark its first anniversary this February, The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement is teaming up with the United Blood Services to encourage guests to take the blood oath… by donating.
Donors are encouraged to make an appointment for the Museum’s anniversary blood drive online at https://www.bloodhero.com/index.cfm?group=op&step=2&opid=533493 or by calling (877) 827-4376. Sponsor code: MobMuseum.
As part of its commitment to the community, the Museum is pleased to offer two complimentary tickets to everyone who registers at this event.
FACT: The “blood oath” originated with the Mafia. To become a full member of La Cosa Nostra, aspiring members had to pass initiation rituals, which included pricking the finger with a needle by an officiating member with a few drops of blood spilled onto a card bearing the likeness of a saint. The card was then set on fire and while it burned, the oath of loyalty was taken.
Inside The Mob Museum, visitors can witness a “blood oath” ceremony for themselves. The video representation of the ceremony on view in the exhibition was created based upon court testimony and legal evidence.
WHO: Marking its first anniversary this Valentine’s Day, The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is a world-class destination in downtown Las Vegas dedicated to the thrilling story of organized crime and law enforcement. It presents an exciting and authentic view of the mob’s impact on Las Vegas history and its unique imprint on the world. True stories of mob history are brought to life in a bold and contemporary style via engaging exhibits, high-tech theater presentations and more than 600 artifacts, the largest collection of Mob and related law enforcement memorabilia under one roof.
Founded in 1963, United Blood Services of Las Vegas, a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization, provides blood and blood products for hospitals in Southern Nevada, California and Northern Arizona. Its programs exist to make a difference in people’s lives by inspiring individuals to donate blood, producing a safe and ample blood supply, advancing cutting-edge research and embracing continuous quality improvement. The United Blood Services network is one of the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit blood service organizations and is a founding member of America's Blood Centers and the American Association of Blood Banks. Nationally, United Blood Services serves more than 500 hospitals in 18 states, contributing to more than 25 million people.
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: The Mob Museum’s multi-purpose room
300 East Stewart Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Preliminary Crime Reports Show Violent Crimes Up 1.9% and Property Crimes Up 1.5%
According to statistics from our Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January-June 2012, the number of violent crimes reported by law enforcement for the first six months of 2012 increased 1.9 percent over figures from the same period in 2011. Property crimes also rose 1.5 percent overall.
Violent Crime.
Two of the four offenses in the violent crime category actually showed overall decreases when compared with data from the first six months of 2011—murders dropped 1.7 percent and forcible rapes fell 1.4 percent. But the number of robberies increased 2.0 percent and aggravated assaults 2.3 percent.
At a regional level, the West saw the largest overall jump in violent crime—up 3.1 percent—followed by a rise of 2.5 percent in the Midwest and 1.1 each percent in the South and the Northeast. Despite these increases, the number of murders fell 4.8 percent in the South and 2.4 percent in the Northeast.
The only violent crime offense category that showed increases in all four regions of the country was aggravated assault, which was up 4.4 percent in the Midwest, 2.4 percent in the West, 1.7 percent in the South, and 0.8 percent in the Northeast.
Property crime.
On the property crime front, all three offense categories showed overall increases—1.9 percent for larceny-theft, 1.7 percent for motor vehicle theft, and 0.1 percent for burglary.
Regionally, the West saw the largest rise in property crime—up 4.7 percent, followed closely by the Northeast at 4.0 percent. The Midwest was up 1.3 percent, but the South actually showed a decrease of 1.4 percent.
For individual property crime offense categories, statistics indicate that the West had the largest increase in the number of burglaries (up 6.7 percent) and motor vehicle thefts (up 8.1 percent). And the Northeast had the largest rise in the number of larceny-thefts, which were up 4.5 percent.
The statistics for arson, collected separately from other property crimes because of varying degrees of reporting among law enforcement agencies, showed an overall jump of 3.2 percent during the first six months of 2012. Three of the four regions of the country reported increases—up 11.0 percent in the Midwest, 6.4 percent in the West, and 5.7 percent in the Northeast. The South saw a 5.6 decrease in arson offenses.
New offense categories.
On the heels of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month this January, our UCR program will begin collecting human trafficking data this year in two categories—commercial sex acts and involuntary servitude. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 requires the data collection, and with input from our law enforcement partners, the UCR program began developing specific definitions and data collection guidelines for these offenses. Stay tuned for more details on implementation.
Preliminary crime stats for the full year—contained in UCR’s Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, January-December 2012—should be available in six months, and final figures are scheduled to be released by the end of the year.
Violent Crime.
Two of the four offenses in the violent crime category actually showed overall decreases when compared with data from the first six months of 2011—murders dropped 1.7 percent and forcible rapes fell 1.4 percent. But the number of robberies increased 2.0 percent and aggravated assaults 2.3 percent.
At a regional level, the West saw the largest overall jump in violent crime—up 3.1 percent—followed by a rise of 2.5 percent in the Midwest and 1.1 each percent in the South and the Northeast. Despite these increases, the number of murders fell 4.8 percent in the South and 2.4 percent in the Northeast.
The only violent crime offense category that showed increases in all four regions of the country was aggravated assault, which was up 4.4 percent in the Midwest, 2.4 percent in the West, 1.7 percent in the South, and 0.8 percent in the Northeast.
Property crime.
On the property crime front, all three offense categories showed overall increases—1.9 percent for larceny-theft, 1.7 percent for motor vehicle theft, and 0.1 percent for burglary.
Regionally, the West saw the largest rise in property crime—up 4.7 percent, followed closely by the Northeast at 4.0 percent. The Midwest was up 1.3 percent, but the South actually showed a decrease of 1.4 percent.
For individual property crime offense categories, statistics indicate that the West had the largest increase in the number of burglaries (up 6.7 percent) and motor vehicle thefts (up 8.1 percent). And the Northeast had the largest rise in the number of larceny-thefts, which were up 4.5 percent.
The statistics for arson, collected separately from other property crimes because of varying degrees of reporting among law enforcement agencies, showed an overall jump of 3.2 percent during the first six months of 2012. Three of the four regions of the country reported increases—up 11.0 percent in the Midwest, 6.4 percent in the West, and 5.7 percent in the Northeast. The South saw a 5.6 decrease in arson offenses.
New offense categories.
On the heels of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month this January, our UCR program will begin collecting human trafficking data this year in two categories—commercial sex acts and involuntary servitude. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 requires the data collection, and with input from our law enforcement partners, the UCR program began developing specific definitions and data collection guidelines for these offenses. Stay tuned for more details on implementation.
Preliminary crime stats for the full year—contained in UCR’s Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, January-December 2012—should be available in six months, and final figures are scheduled to be released by the end of the year.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Jimmy Hoffa Buried in Detroit Suburbs According to Reputed Mafia Capo Tony Zerilli
A man convicted of crimes as a reputed Mafia captain is claiming missing Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa was buried in suburban Detroit.
Tony Zerilli was in prison when Hoffa disappeared from a Detroit-area restaurant in 1975, but tells New York TV station WNBC he was informed about Hoffa's whereabouts after his release. The ailing 85-year-old took a reporter to a field near Rochester, north of Detroit, but no exact location was disclosed. The report was also aired on Detroit's WDIV.
"The master plan was ... they were going to put him in a shallow grave here," Zerilli said. "Then, they were going to take him from here to Rogers City upstate. There was a hunting lodge and they were going to bury in a shallow grave, then take him up there for final burial. Then, I understand, that it just fell through."
Zerilli did not say during the aired interview why he chose to make his claims now. WNBC reported he is promoting an upcoming book titled "Hoffa Found," the website for which promises to reveal details about Hoffa's death.
No listed phone number for Zerilli could be found Monday by The Associated Press.
The FBI declined to comment when asked if Zerilli's claims were credible. Former Detroit FBI head Andrew Arena said the remarks deserve serious consideration."Anthony Zerilli was reputed to be the underboss of the Detroit organized crime family, so he would have been in the know," Arena said.
Zerilli's criminal record includes a 2002 conviction for conspiracy and extortion. He was sentenced to six years in prison.
Hoffa, Teamsters president from 1957-71, was an acquaintance of mobsters and adversary to federal officials. The day he disappeared, he was supposed to meet with a New Jersey Teamsters boss and a Detroit Mafia captain.
In September, police took soil from a suburban backyard after a tip Hoffa had been buried there. It was just one of many fruitless searches. Previous tips led police to a horse farm northwest of Detroit in 2006, a Detroit home in 2004 and a backyard pool two hours north of the city in 2003.
Tony Zerilli was in prison when Hoffa disappeared from a Detroit-area restaurant in 1975, but tells New York TV station WNBC he was informed about Hoffa's whereabouts after his release. The ailing 85-year-old took a reporter to a field near Rochester, north of Detroit, but no exact location was disclosed. The report was also aired on Detroit's WDIV.
"The master plan was ... they were going to put him in a shallow grave here," Zerilli said. "Then, they were going to take him from here to Rogers City upstate. There was a hunting lodge and they were going to bury in a shallow grave, then take him up there for final burial. Then, I understand, that it just fell through."
Zerilli did not say during the aired interview why he chose to make his claims now. WNBC reported he is promoting an upcoming book titled "Hoffa Found," the website for which promises to reveal details about Hoffa's death.
No listed phone number for Zerilli could be found Monday by The Associated Press.
The FBI declined to comment when asked if Zerilli's claims were credible. Former Detroit FBI head Andrew Arena said the remarks deserve serious consideration."Anthony Zerilli was reputed to be the underboss of the Detroit organized crime family, so he would have been in the know," Arena said.
Zerilli's criminal record includes a 2002 conviction for conspiracy and extortion. He was sentenced to six years in prison.
Hoffa, Teamsters president from 1957-71, was an acquaintance of mobsters and adversary to federal officials. The day he disappeared, he was supposed to meet with a New Jersey Teamsters boss and a Detroit Mafia captain.
In September, police took soil from a suburban backyard after a tip Hoffa had been buried there. It was just one of many fruitless searches. Previous tips led police to a horse farm northwest of Detroit in 2006, a Detroit home in 2004 and a backyard pool two hours north of the city in 2003.
Monday, January 14, 2013
David Tresch and Nicholas Demars Indicted in $4.8 Million Billing Fraud and Kickback Scheme
The former chief information officer of a Chicago-based international law firm who was charged previously and the president of a company that provided contract technology workers who was charged for the first time and arrested were indicted for allegedly engaging in a fraudulent billing and kickback scheme that netted each of them more than $2 million. Nicholas Demars, the president of NS Mater, a defunct firm that provided contract employees and technology to assist in office automation, web and database development, and general information technology, was arrested and indicted with David Tresch, the former law firm officer who supervised the work and billing related to the contract employees.
For the first six years of the scheme that began in 2004, Demars allegedly paid Tresch a portion of the profits that NS Mater made from work its contract employees performed at the victim law firm. During the last two years and ending in June 2012, Tresch allegedly received kickbacks totaling nearly all of the false billings that the law firm paid NS Mater for work that was not performed.
Tresch, 51, and Demars, 57, both of Itasca, were each charged with 10 counts of mail fraud in an indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed after Demars was arrested. Demars was released on bond after appearing this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney Schenkier in U.S. District Court. Tresch, who was released on bond after he was arrested in August, will be arraigned at a later date in federal court.
The indictment also seeks forfeiture of $4,819,253 representing the combined net proceeds that both men allegedly obtained from the scheme, as well as their respective homes; Demars’ condominium in Chicago; a residence in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; and more than $225,000 that was seized from Tresch along with his camping trailer, a van, and a luxury automobile.
The charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas R. Trautmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to the initial complaint, the victim law firm, which was not identified by name, reported Tresch’s alleged criminal activity and cooperated in the investigation. The firm, which has offices worldwide, hired Tresch in May 2004, and he held several positions in the information technology department before he was promoted in July 2011 to chief information officer.
The indictment alleges that between November 2004 and March 2011, the law firm issued checks totaling approximately $7.68 million to NS Mater, and Demars, in turn, kicked back $1.14 million to Tresch. In 2004 and 2005, Demars allegedly paid kickbacks directly to Tresch after paying legitimate NS Mater contract employees and payroll administrators for work they had performed for the law firm. Beginning in April 2006, allegedly to conceal the kickbacks, Demars began paying Tresch by issuing checks to Tresch’s wife and treating her as an employee of NS Mater, even though both defendants knew that she was not an employee and had not performed any work, according to the indictment. Tresch’s wife is not a defendant.
Subsequently, in late 2010, Tresch learned that that the law firm would soon stop using NS Mater contract employees, and, in February 2011, the firm directed Tresch to no longer permit NS Mater to provide personnel for the information technology department. Between November 2011 and June 2012, Demars allegedly continued submitting invoices to Tresch totaling more than $1.1 million, falsely representing that NS Mater performed work that both defendants knew was not performed. Tresch submitted the false invoices, which the firm paid, and of the $1.1 million paid during this period, Demars kicked back approximately $970,000 to Tresch, while retaining the remainder for himself, the indictment alleges.
Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may impose an alternative fine totaling twice the loss to the victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Reynolds.
The public is reminded that an indictment 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.
For the first six years of the scheme that began in 2004, Demars allegedly paid Tresch a portion of the profits that NS Mater made from work its contract employees performed at the victim law firm. During the last two years and ending in June 2012, Tresch allegedly received kickbacks totaling nearly all of the false billings that the law firm paid NS Mater for work that was not performed.
Tresch, 51, and Demars, 57, both of Itasca, were each charged with 10 counts of mail fraud in an indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed after Demars was arrested. Demars was released on bond after appearing this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney Schenkier in U.S. District Court. Tresch, who was released on bond after he was arrested in August, will be arraigned at a later date in federal court.
The indictment also seeks forfeiture of $4,819,253 representing the combined net proceeds that both men allegedly obtained from the scheme, as well as their respective homes; Demars’ condominium in Chicago; a residence in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; and more than $225,000 that was seized from Tresch along with his camping trailer, a van, and a luxury automobile.
The charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas R. Trautmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to the initial complaint, the victim law firm, which was not identified by name, reported Tresch’s alleged criminal activity and cooperated in the investigation. The firm, which has offices worldwide, hired Tresch in May 2004, and he held several positions in the information technology department before he was promoted in July 2011 to chief information officer.
The indictment alleges that between November 2004 and March 2011, the law firm issued checks totaling approximately $7.68 million to NS Mater, and Demars, in turn, kicked back $1.14 million to Tresch. In 2004 and 2005, Demars allegedly paid kickbacks directly to Tresch after paying legitimate NS Mater contract employees and payroll administrators for work they had performed for the law firm. Beginning in April 2006, allegedly to conceal the kickbacks, Demars began paying Tresch by issuing checks to Tresch’s wife and treating her as an employee of NS Mater, even though both defendants knew that she was not an employee and had not performed any work, according to the indictment. Tresch’s wife is not a defendant.
Subsequently, in late 2010, Tresch learned that that the law firm would soon stop using NS Mater contract employees, and, in February 2011, the firm directed Tresch to no longer permit NS Mater to provide personnel for the information technology department. Between November 2011 and June 2012, Demars allegedly continued submitting invoices to Tresch totaling more than $1.1 million, falsely representing that NS Mater performed work that both defendants knew was not performed. Tresch submitted the false invoices, which the firm paid, and of the $1.1 million paid during this period, Demars kicked back approximately $970,000 to Tresch, while retaining the remainder for himself, the indictment alleges.
Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may impose an alternative fine totaling twice the loss to the victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Reynolds.
The public is reminded that an indictment 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.
Carl Brandon "Moo" Smith Pleads Guilty to Bringing Minor to Illinois for Prostitution; Admits Forced Sex Trafficking of 4 Victims
A Chicago man is facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison after pleading guilty to transporting a minor from Wisconsin to Illinois for prostitution. The defendant, Carl Brandon Smith, also admitted that he engaged in forced sex trafficking of the victim, as well as of a second minor and two young adult women. Between 2010 and early 2012, Smith forced his victims to engage in commercial sex acts, used physical violence, and threatened to kill them if they ever left him. The guilty plea was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas R. Trautmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Smith, also known as “Moo,” 25, of Chicago, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5 by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve. Smith has remained in federal custody since he was arrested last April last and charged with two counts of sex trafficking of a minor and by force, two counts of sex trafficking by force, and one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in prostitution.
According to a plea agreement, Smith met Victim B in December 2010 and began contacting her via phone, text, and social media, asking her to move to Chicago, intending that she be his “girlfriend” and also engage in prostitution. In February 2011, Smith drove from Chicago to Victim B’s residence in Wisconsin and then drove her from Wisconsin to his apartment in Chicago, acknowledging that she was under 18 at the time.
Once in Chicago, Smith “dated” Victim B for approximately a week before Victim B began working as a prostitute under his employ. Between February and July 2011, Victim B engaged in commercial sex acts at Smith’s direction. Smith acted as Victim B’s pimp, advertised her for commercial sex on Internet sites, and instructed her to have sex with customers in his apartment and in area motels. Victim B had sex with numerous men per week and gave a portion of the money she earned to Smith.
As part of the guilty plea, Smith stipulated that he acted as a pimp for Victim A, also a minor, and forced her to engage in prostitution during 2010. Smith inflicted physical violence on Victim A when she gave him “attitude” or when she indicated that she no longer wanted to work as a prostitute. On one occasion, Smith beat Victim A so severely that one eye swelled shut.
Similarly, Smith stipulated to using and threatening violence against both Victims C and D, both adults, while acting as their pimp and forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts in 2011 and early 2012.
The Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force assisted in the investigation. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Grohman and Felicia Manno Alesia.
Smith, also known as “Moo,” 25, of Chicago, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5 by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve. Smith has remained in federal custody since he was arrested last April last and charged with two counts of sex trafficking of a minor and by force, two counts of sex trafficking by force, and one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in prostitution.
According to a plea agreement, Smith met Victim B in December 2010 and began contacting her via phone, text, and social media, asking her to move to Chicago, intending that she be his “girlfriend” and also engage in prostitution. In February 2011, Smith drove from Chicago to Victim B’s residence in Wisconsin and then drove her from Wisconsin to his apartment in Chicago, acknowledging that she was under 18 at the time.
Once in Chicago, Smith “dated” Victim B for approximately a week before Victim B began working as a prostitute under his employ. Between February and July 2011, Victim B engaged in commercial sex acts at Smith’s direction. Smith acted as Victim B’s pimp, advertised her for commercial sex on Internet sites, and instructed her to have sex with customers in his apartment and in area motels. Victim B had sex with numerous men per week and gave a portion of the money she earned to Smith.
As part of the guilty plea, Smith stipulated that he acted as a pimp for Victim A, also a minor, and forced her to engage in prostitution during 2010. Smith inflicted physical violence on Victim A when she gave him “attitude” or when she indicated that she no longer wanted to work as a prostitute. On one occasion, Smith beat Victim A so severely that one eye swelled shut.
Similarly, Smith stipulated to using and threatening violence against both Victims C and D, both adults, while acting as their pimp and forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts in 2011 and early 2012.
The Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force assisted in the investigation. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Grohman and Felicia Manno Alesia.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Human Trafficking Awareness Targeting Traffickers, Helping Victims
Last month, a Kentucky cardiologist and his ex-wife pled guilty to recruiting a Bolivian woman to work as their domestic servant and holding her unlawfully for nearly 15 years. The couple took her passport, threatened her with deportation, and falsely promised that her wages were being put in a bank account.
Trafficking in persons is a widespread form of modern-day slavery, and as we observe National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we’d like to update you on what the FBI—with its partners—is doing to go after the traffickers and help the victims.
Human trafficking is a top investigative priority of the Bureau’s civil rights program.
During fiscal year 2012, they opened 306 human trafficking investigations around the nation involving forced labor or forced household service as well as sex trafficking of international victims (young and old) and adult U.S. citizen victims.
Along the same lines, the sex trafficking of U.S. children is also a priority within their crimes against children program. During fiscal year 2012, they opened 363 investigations into the commercial sexploitation of domestic minors. Fortunately, they were also able to locate more than 500 young victims of sex traffickers.
They participate in 88 human trafficking task forces and working groups around the country. Their efforts include not only investigating cases where they find them, but also proactively using intelligence to drive and support these cases, looking at known areas of human trafficking activities, and developing liaison relationships within communities to promote awareness of these crimes.
Help for victims.
The Bureau also has a robust assistance program in place for victims of human trafficking—as well as other federal crimes investigated by the FBI. Their Office for Victim Assistance (OVA) oversees the work of victim specialists located throughout our 56 field offices.
These specialists—experienced in crisis intervention, social services, and victim assistance—work closely with agents to ensure that potential victims of trafficking are rescued, transferred to safe locations, and provided with referrals for medical, mental health, housing, legal, and other necessary services. And this past year, representatives from OVA and their civil rights program developed a protocol for human trafficking investigations that was implemented in all FBI field offices. The protocol highlights a victim-centered approach and the need for collaboration between the investigating agent, the local victim specialist, non-governmental agencies, and other law enforcement partners.
OVA oversees their child/adolescent forensic interviewers who work with Crimes Against Children task forces and provide training for agents and task force officers working human trafficking cases. These interviewers also collaborated with partner agencies to develop an interview protocol for minor victims of sexploitation for use by professionals working against human trafficking.
Their training and awareness efforts were significant.
During fiscal year 2012, they conducted training around the country focused on defining, detecting, and investigating human trafficking cases. The audiences included law enforcement—both U.S. and international—along with government employees, religious and civic organizations, ethnic advocacy groups, schools, social service agencies, medical personnel, legal aid agencies, domestic violence services, etc.—in short, anyone in a position to make a difference in the life of a trafficking victim.
Multi-agency investigations, intelligence, victim assistance, training - the FBI's putting their tools and capabilities to work to help combat the scourge of human trafficking.
Trafficking in persons is a widespread form of modern-day slavery, and as we observe National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we’d like to update you on what the FBI—with its partners—is doing to go after the traffickers and help the victims.
Human trafficking is a top investigative priority of the Bureau’s civil rights program.
During fiscal year 2012, they opened 306 human trafficking investigations around the nation involving forced labor or forced household service as well as sex trafficking of international victims (young and old) and adult U.S. citizen victims.
Along the same lines, the sex trafficking of U.S. children is also a priority within their crimes against children program. During fiscal year 2012, they opened 363 investigations into the commercial sexploitation of domestic minors. Fortunately, they were also able to locate more than 500 young victims of sex traffickers.
They participate in 88 human trafficking task forces and working groups around the country. Their efforts include not only investigating cases where they find them, but also proactively using intelligence to drive and support these cases, looking at known areas of human trafficking activities, and developing liaison relationships within communities to promote awareness of these crimes.
Help for victims.
The Bureau also has a robust assistance program in place for victims of human trafficking—as well as other federal crimes investigated by the FBI. Their Office for Victim Assistance (OVA) oversees the work of victim specialists located throughout our 56 field offices.
These specialists—experienced in crisis intervention, social services, and victim assistance—work closely with agents to ensure that potential victims of trafficking are rescued, transferred to safe locations, and provided with referrals for medical, mental health, housing, legal, and other necessary services. And this past year, representatives from OVA and their civil rights program developed a protocol for human trafficking investigations that was implemented in all FBI field offices. The protocol highlights a victim-centered approach and the need for collaboration between the investigating agent, the local victim specialist, non-governmental agencies, and other law enforcement partners.
OVA oversees their child/adolescent forensic interviewers who work with Crimes Against Children task forces and provide training for agents and task force officers working human trafficking cases. These interviewers also collaborated with partner agencies to develop an interview protocol for minor victims of sexploitation for use by professionals working against human trafficking.
Their training and awareness efforts were significant.
During fiscal year 2012, they conducted training around the country focused on defining, detecting, and investigating human trafficking cases. The audiences included law enforcement—both U.S. and international—along with government employees, religious and civic organizations, ethnic advocacy groups, schools, social service agencies, medical personnel, legal aid agencies, domestic violence services, etc.—in short, anyone in a position to make a difference in the life of a trafficking victim.
Multi-agency investigations, intelligence, victim assistance, training - the FBI's putting their tools and capabilities to work to help combat the scourge of human trafficking.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
The Dollar Cost of a Single Gun Death
Gun violence takes an economic toll as well as an emotional one. The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation used 2010 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to estimate the dollar cost of a single gun death. The amount exceeded $5.1 Million dollars!
- $3,100,000 in relatives pain and suffering
- $1,600,000 in lost wages
- $395,000 in criminal justice expenses
- $29,000 in medical care for the victim
- $11,000 in mental health treatment for relatives
- $9,000 in losses to the victim's employers
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Mob Kingpin Mickey Cohen Played by Sean Penn in Gangster Squad
Public enemy number one, Mickey Cohen, is brought to life on the big screen by two-time Oscar-winner Sean Penn in Warner Bros.’ epic, action-thriller, “Gangster Squad.”
“I thought it would be a fun old-school gangster picture with a cast I have great admiration for,” Penn says on what drew him to the film. “And upon meeting director Ruben Fleischer, I was sold.”
Set in Los Angeles, 1949, “Gangster Squad” revolves around ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen who runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and—if he has his way—every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians he has under his thumb. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
Mickey Cohen may be an underworld figure, but his very public image and commanding presence make him a man not to be crossed…in business or pleasure. He goes beyond merciless; any breach is a betrayal for which one pays the ultimate price. But he also has the undeniable charisma that comes with great power.
According to producer Dan Lin, “Cohen, in real life, was over the top. He was a gangster, but a Hollywood gangster. He was funny, he loved talking to reporters and, in public, he really wanted to entertain people, as if he were one of the movie stars he was always trying to woo. Of course, in private, he was doing dark, evil things.”
Fleischer cites, “When I imagined bringing the movie to the screen, the one character that everything seemed to hinge on was Cohen, the villain, this larger-than-life personality. I immediately thought of Sean Penn, so having him in the role was huge. Mickey is such a dynamic, memorable, menacing character and Sean has the gravitas, the intensity and the humor to pull it off.”
Though only remotely familiar with the real man, Penn says that for his interpretation of the character, “I tried to ignore the literal. The real Mickey Cohen so resembled Al Capone, who I thought De Niro had done so indelibly in ‘The Untouchables,’ that I felt, for a wide audience who largely would not have been aware of Mickey Cohen, mimicking Cohen in looks or behavior would have been unnecessarily burdened with baggage. I thought it was interesting to approach it and let it grow from just a few pieces of Cohen’s background. He was a prize fighter, but the style of fighting was more primitive than today, and Cohen was more primitive in many ways.”
“Sean really brought to life this guy who, in reality and in our somewhat fictionalized account of him, has a huge ego and is very colorful,” producer Kevin McCormick relates. “Cohen had his own publicists, spreads in Life Magazine, owned his own haberdashery and never wore the same suit twice, and had a collection of beautiful, statuesque ladies on his arm all the time. Sean’s interpretation of the man is fascinating. In the heyday of gangster movies, those guys were always such seductive characters, and I think Sean has that same ability to mesmerize us.”
“There’s something very appealing about the way Sean plays Mickey Cohen,” co-star Josh Brolin echoes. “Watching him during a scene, I couldn’t help but like him, even though my character despises him and everything he stands for. Sean really brought out the charm in him, even when he was doing something deadly.”
“Gangster Squad” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
“I thought it would be a fun old-school gangster picture with a cast I have great admiration for,” Penn says on what drew him to the film. “And upon meeting director Ruben Fleischer, I was sold.”
Set in Los Angeles, 1949, “Gangster Squad” revolves around ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen who runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and—if he has his way—every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians he has under his thumb. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
Mickey Cohen may be an underworld figure, but his very public image and commanding presence make him a man not to be crossed…in business or pleasure. He goes beyond merciless; any breach is a betrayal for which one pays the ultimate price. But he also has the undeniable charisma that comes with great power.
According to producer Dan Lin, “Cohen, in real life, was over the top. He was a gangster, but a Hollywood gangster. He was funny, he loved talking to reporters and, in public, he really wanted to entertain people, as if he were one of the movie stars he was always trying to woo. Of course, in private, he was doing dark, evil things.”
Fleischer cites, “When I imagined bringing the movie to the screen, the one character that everything seemed to hinge on was Cohen, the villain, this larger-than-life personality. I immediately thought of Sean Penn, so having him in the role was huge. Mickey is such a dynamic, memorable, menacing character and Sean has the gravitas, the intensity and the humor to pull it off.”
Though only remotely familiar with the real man, Penn says that for his interpretation of the character, “I tried to ignore the literal. The real Mickey Cohen so resembled Al Capone, who I thought De Niro had done so indelibly in ‘The Untouchables,’ that I felt, for a wide audience who largely would not have been aware of Mickey Cohen, mimicking Cohen in looks or behavior would have been unnecessarily burdened with baggage. I thought it was interesting to approach it and let it grow from just a few pieces of Cohen’s background. He was a prize fighter, but the style of fighting was more primitive than today, and Cohen was more primitive in many ways.”
“Sean really brought to life this guy who, in reality and in our somewhat fictionalized account of him, has a huge ego and is very colorful,” producer Kevin McCormick relates. “Cohen had his own publicists, spreads in Life Magazine, owned his own haberdashery and never wore the same suit twice, and had a collection of beautiful, statuesque ladies on his arm all the time. Sean’s interpretation of the man is fascinating. In the heyday of gangster movies, those guys were always such seductive characters, and I think Sean has that same ability to mesmerize us.”
“There’s something very appealing about the way Sean plays Mickey Cohen,” co-star Josh Brolin echoes. “Watching him during a scene, I couldn’t help but like him, even though my character despises him and everything he stands for. Sean really brought out the charm in him, even when he was doing something deadly.”
“Gangster Squad” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Friday, January 04, 2013
HBO's Profugos - Fugitives from the Law and Mafia
A FAILED drug trafficking operation that sparks a frantic pursuit of four men in Chile as they flee both the Mafia and the law is the gripping premise of new 13-episode actioner Profugos which will premiere on Astro’s Cinemax channel 412 on Jan 4 at 11pm.
The four ‘profugos’, which means fugitive, had been contracted to transport a liquid cocaine shipment from the border of Bolivia to the Chilean port of Iquique but in the midst of the final delivery, a shot rings out from a nearby terrace, unleashing a violent ambush.
This brand new original series produced by HBO Latin America, was filmed over six months entirely in Chile, and heading the cast as the four fugitives are Nestor Cantillana, Benjamin Vicuna, Francisco Reyes and Luis Gnecco.
A complex web of ambitions, interests and corruption move the threads of this story where no one is who they appear to be, everyone hides a past and sheer desperation unites the foursome who flee without knowing exactly who’s pursuing them while doing everything possible to protect their loved ones.
Scenic locations in Chile serving as backdrop include Iquique, Valparaiso, Santiago, Farellones, Puerto Montt and desert regions bordering Bolivia.
Thursday, January 03, 2013
46 Years Ago Today - Jack Ruby Dies of Cancer
On January 3, 1967, Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner who killed the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, dies of cancer in a Dallas hospital. The Texas Court of Appeals had recently overturned his death sentence for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald and was scheduled to grant him a new trial.
On November 24, 1963
, two days after Kennedy's assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald was brought to the basement of the Dallas police headquarters on his way to a more secure county jail. A crowd of police and press with live television cameras rolling gathered to witness his departure. As Oswald came into the room, Jack Ruby emerged from the crowd and fatally wounded him with a single shot from a concealed .38 revolver. Ruby, who was immediately detained, claimed he was distraught over the president's assassination. Some called him a hero, but he was nonetheless charged with first-degree murder.
Jack Ruby, originally known as Jacob Rubenstein, operated strip joints and dance halls in Dallas and had minor connections to organized crime. He also had a relationship with a number of Dallas policemen, which amounted to various favors in exchange for leniency in their monitoring of his establishments. He features prominently in Kennedy assassination theories, and many believe he killed Oswald to keep him from revealing a larger conspiracy. In his trial, Ruby denied the charge, maintaining that he was acting out of patriotism. In March 1964, he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
The official The Warren Commission Report: The Official Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy of 1964 concluded that neither Oswald nor Ruby were part of a larger conspiracy, either domestic or international, to assassinate President Kennedy. Despite its seemingly firm conclusions, the report failed to silence conspiracy theories surrounding the event, and in 1978 the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded in a preliminary report that Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy" that may have involved multiple shooters and organized crime. The committee's findings, as with the findings of the Warren Commission, continue to be widely disputed.
Thanks to The History Channel.
On November 24, 1963
, two days after Kennedy's assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald was brought to the basement of the Dallas police headquarters on his way to a more secure county jail. A crowd of police and press with live television cameras rolling gathered to witness his departure. As Oswald came into the room, Jack Ruby emerged from the crowd and fatally wounded him with a single shot from a concealed .38 revolver. Ruby, who was immediately detained, claimed he was distraught over the president's assassination. Some called him a hero, but he was nonetheless charged with first-degree murder.Jack Ruby, originally known as Jacob Rubenstein, operated strip joints and dance halls in Dallas and had minor connections to organized crime. He also had a relationship with a number of Dallas policemen, which amounted to various favors in exchange for leniency in their monitoring of his establishments. He features prominently in Kennedy assassination theories, and many believe he killed Oswald to keep him from revealing a larger conspiracy. In his trial, Ruby denied the charge, maintaining that he was acting out of patriotism. In March 1964, he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
The official The Warren Commission Report: The Official Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy of 1964 concluded that neither Oswald nor Ruby were part of a larger conspiracy, either domestic or international, to assassinate President Kennedy. Despite its seemingly firm conclusions, the report failed to silence conspiracy theories surrounding the event, and in 1978 the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded in a preliminary report that Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy" that may have involved multiple shooters and organized crime. The committee's findings, as with the findings of the Warren Commission, continue to be widely disputed.
Thanks to The History Channel.
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Urgent International Action Deemed Required to Combat Unprecedented Levels of Transnational Organized Crime
From Central America’s drug cartels and human trafficking in Australia to money laundering and financial fraud in Switzerland, organized crime has “embraced globalization” and is causing national security issues around the world. But why are multilateral, global governance bodies and international leaders not taking more action?
A new conference report from The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) looks at how the constructive powers initiative (CPI) can play a greater role in addressing the security and institutional challenges that organized crime inflicts upon regional and global security.
“The current geographical breadth, level of sophistication and broad array of markets and activities that transnational organized criminals are involved in is unprecedented,” the report says. “[Organized crime] is constantly on the lookout for new markets, new routes to smuggle its products and weak states where it can set up operations.” Moreover, the dimensions and impact of transnational organized crime are not exclusive to law enforcement; contrary to what many governments believe, this type of crime undermines national institutions more broadly.
The report points out that member states of universal organizations such as the United Nations do not treat the issue with the urgency it requires, which inhibits progress on policy coordination. In addition, policy advisers, who are responsible for anticipating items for their national leaders, are challenged by the speed at which transnational issues are emerging and evolving in a post-Cold War world. The report calls for greater leadership and partnerships in policy coordination and capacity-building to tackle these challenges and transnational organized crime.
The report notes that, to tackle transnational organized crime, countries with shared interests will need to generate momentum with “the strategic decision to make coordinating their crime policies a priority.” Hence, there is functional role for the CPI, which is made up of government and non-government representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey: countries that are “democratic, politically influential, economically significant, non-nuclear-armed … with a proven track record of active and creative diplomacy at both the regional and global levels.” The CPI, with its independence of thought and research, combined with its composition, allows for it to identify emerging security issues, and also influence and play a useful role in global governance bodies such as the G20, the report states.
To access a free, online copy of "Global Governance and the Challenge of Transnational Organized Crime: The Role of the Constructive Powers," please click here. The report is based on workshop discussions held in Mexico City, during September 2012, organized by the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, A.C., the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI), and CIGI, with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. This was the second CPI workshop, following up on an event held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 2011.
A new conference report from The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) looks at how the constructive powers initiative (CPI) can play a greater role in addressing the security and institutional challenges that organized crime inflicts upon regional and global security.
“The current geographical breadth, level of sophistication and broad array of markets and activities that transnational organized criminals are involved in is unprecedented,” the report says. “[Organized crime] is constantly on the lookout for new markets, new routes to smuggle its products and weak states where it can set up operations.” Moreover, the dimensions and impact of transnational organized crime are not exclusive to law enforcement; contrary to what many governments believe, this type of crime undermines national institutions more broadly.
The report points out that member states of universal organizations such as the United Nations do not treat the issue with the urgency it requires, which inhibits progress on policy coordination. In addition, policy advisers, who are responsible for anticipating items for their national leaders, are challenged by the speed at which transnational issues are emerging and evolving in a post-Cold War world. The report calls for greater leadership and partnerships in policy coordination and capacity-building to tackle these challenges and transnational organized crime.
The report notes that, to tackle transnational organized crime, countries with shared interests will need to generate momentum with “the strategic decision to make coordinating their crime policies a priority.” Hence, there is functional role for the CPI, which is made up of government and non-government representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey: countries that are “democratic, politically influential, economically significant, non-nuclear-armed … with a proven track record of active and creative diplomacy at both the regional and global levels.” The CPI, with its independence of thought and research, combined with its composition, allows for it to identify emerging security issues, and also influence and play a useful role in global governance bodies such as the G20, the report states.
To access a free, online copy of "Global Governance and the Challenge of Transnational Organized Crime: The Role of the Constructive Powers," please click here. The report is based on workshop discussions held in Mexico City, during September 2012, organized by the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, A.C., the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI), and CIGI, with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. This was the second CPI workshop, following up on an event held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 2011.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Kenneth Conley, Bank Robber Who Escaped the Federal Prison in Chicago Still At Large, #WeHaveAFugitive
The FBI is still searching for Kenneth Conley, 38, 
one of two convicted bank robbers who escaped last week from a high-rise jail in downtown Chicago by lowering themselves on a makeshift rope nearly 20 stories to the street.
Conley and his cellmate, Joseph Jose Banks, 37, escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center early on the morning of December 18. The pair apparently broke a window in the cell they shared, squeezed through the opening and lowered themselves to the street.
They then hailed a cab to make their getaway.
Banks was captured two days later, but Conley remains at large.
"There is no information or recent sightings," said FBI spokeswoman Joan Hyde. "Given the amount of time that has passed given Mr. Conley's history of traveling, we believe he has left the area."
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for Conley's capture. He is described as white, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds.
The two convicts, who had been awaiting sentencing in the federal detention facility, made their rope from bed sheets and dental floss, according to local media reports.
Conley pleaded guilty to bank robbery in October. He is considered armed and dangerous, the FBI said.
Escape carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
one of two convicted bank robbers who escaped last week from a high-rise jail in downtown Chicago by lowering themselves on a makeshift rope nearly 20 stories to the street.Conley and his cellmate, Joseph Jose Banks, 37, escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center early on the morning of December 18. The pair apparently broke a window in the cell they shared, squeezed through the opening and lowered themselves to the street.
They then hailed a cab to make their getaway.
Banks was captured two days later, but Conley remains at large.
"There is no information or recent sightings," said FBI spokeswoman Joan Hyde. "Given the amount of time that has passed given Mr. Conley's history of traveling, we believe he has left the area."
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for Conley's capture. He is described as white, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds.
The two convicts, who had been awaiting sentencing in the federal detention facility, made their rope from bed sheets and dental floss, according to local media reports.
Conley pleaded guilty to bank robbery in October. He is considered armed and dangerous, the FBI said.
Escape carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Mario Puzo's Family Settles Lawsuit with Paramount Over New Godfather Book
The studio that made "The Godfather" movies has settled a lawsuit with the estate of author Mario Puzo, who created the Mafia family saga. Paramount Pictures Corp sued in February in an attempt to block a new book in the "Godfather" series, which it said was being published without its permission and in violation of copyright agreements.
Notice of the settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court in New York, but terms were not disclosed as the "parties have agreed that the terms of the settlement are confidential," said Richard Kendall, a lawyer for Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc.
"We're very pleased with the settlement," said Bertram Fields, a lawyer for the Puzo estate.
Puzo, who died in 1999, was the author of the 1969 bestseller "The Godfather" and other novels on the same theme.
Paramount sued Puzo's estate in February, saying it had approved sequels without the movie studio's permission and in violation of its copyrights. The family had received Paramount's permission for the publication of only one sequel, "The Godfather Returns," by Mark Winegardner, in 2004.
The Puzo family moved ahead with a second sequel, "The Godfather's Revenge," by Winegardner in 2006, without Paramount's permission, the lawsuit said.
A third book, a prequel called "The Family Corleone" by Ed Falco, was released by Grand Central Publishing in May. An interim settlement agreement provided that funds earned from the book would go into escrow, according to a September court decision.
In the lawsuit, Paramount also claimed its agreements with Pu zo a utomatically gave it motion picture rights to "The Family Corleone" and any other sequels.
The estate filed a counterclaim in March seeking $10 million and accusing the studio of breaching a 1969 agreement with Puzo. It also asked the court to cancel Paramount's rights to the original "The Godfather" book.
In September, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan denied a motion by Paramount to dismiss the estate's counterclaim, but dismissed the attempt to cancel the book rights.
The case is Paramount Pictures Corporation v. Anthony Puzo, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-1268.
Notice of the settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court in New York, but terms were not disclosed as the "parties have agreed that the terms of the settlement are confidential," said Richard Kendall, a lawyer for Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc.
"We're very pleased with the settlement," said Bertram Fields, a lawyer for the Puzo estate.
Puzo, who died in 1999, was the author of the 1969 bestseller "The Godfather" and other novels on the same theme.
Paramount sued Puzo's estate in February, saying it had approved sequels without the movie studio's permission and in violation of its copyrights. The family had received Paramount's permission for the publication of only one sequel, "The Godfather Returns," by Mark Winegardner, in 2004.
The Puzo family moved ahead with a second sequel, "The Godfather's Revenge," by Winegardner in 2006, without Paramount's permission, the lawsuit said.
A third book, a prequel called "The Family Corleone" by Ed Falco, was released by Grand Central Publishing in May. An interim settlement agreement provided that funds earned from the book would go into escrow, according to a September court decision.
In the lawsuit, Paramount also claimed its agreements with Pu zo a utomatically gave it motion picture rights to "The Family Corleone" and any other sequels.
The estate filed a counterclaim in March seeking $10 million and accusing the studio of breaching a 1969 agreement with Puzo. It also asked the court to cancel Paramount's rights to the original "The Godfather" book.
In September, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan denied a motion by Paramount to dismiss the estate's counterclaim, but dismissed the attempt to cancel the book rights.
The case is Paramount Pictures Corporation v. Anthony Puzo, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-1268.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Federal Racketeering, Drug, Prostitution, and Fraud Charges Filed Against Limo Company Owner and Employees
Federal authorities this morning arrested nine persons, including the owner and eight employees or associates of a prominent limousine service in Las Vegas, following their indictment on federal racketeering charges related to the distribution of controlled substances, the facilitation of illegal prostitution, and the commission of credit card and bank fraud crimes, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
“Persons who use legitimate businesses to shield their criminal activities will get the attention of law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden. “In addition to promoting prostitution and selling drugs, these defendants are accused of defrauding customers, many of whom were undoubtedly tourists to Las Vegas. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our federal and state law enforcement partners, will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute persons who participate in such criminal enterprises.”
“The arrests today disrupted a major racketeering enterprise that has negatively impacted the citizens, safety, and image of Las Vegas,” said Kevin Favreau, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI for Nevada. “The success of this long term investigation was due to the efforts of the Las Vegas Safe Streets Task Force, comprised of the FBI and LVMPD.”
Arrested were Charles Horky, 52, the primary owner of CLS Transportation; Kimberly Flores, 42, the manager of CLS; Archie Granata, 69, a financial advisor for CLS; Dawit Moszagi, 47, Clarence Adams, 38, James Reda, 38, Mikhail Maleev, 48, limousine drivers for CLS; and Solomon Zemedhun, 39, and Olive Toli, 48, associates of the enterprise who allegedly supplied and aided in the distribution of controlled substances. They are charged with conspiring to participate in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activities including wire fraud, access device fraud, bank fraud, distribution of controlled substances, and the use of facilities of interstate commerce to promote, facilitate, and distribute the proceeds of prostitution. They face sentences of up to life in prison and fines of up to twice the gross profits or proceeds from their criminal activity. A complete list of the defendants and the charges they face can be found at the end of this release.
According to the indictment that was returned by the grand jury on November 27, 2012 and unsealed this morning, CLS Transportation operates limousines in and around Las Vegas. Beginning no later than September 2008 and continuing through November 2012, the defendants are accused of using the limousine service to conduct and facilitate a broad range of criminal activities, including selling controlled substances, facilitating illegal prostitution, credit card fraud, bank fraud, and check-kiting. Horkey, the owner of CLS, allegedly encouraged and directed the criminal activity, and required drivers to pay him a cut of the money they were receiving from the criminal activities. In addition to the distribution of drugs and the facilitation of prostitution, CLS offered limousines for hire to its customers whom often paid for services with credit cards. The defendants allegedly devised and executed a scheme to defraud American Express and American Express card holders of more than $2.8 million through fraudulent and unauthorized charges. Many of the card holders disputed the charges, and American Express notified CLS of the fraudulent transactions and executed charge-backs. American Express eventually cancelled the CLS Transportation account. Horky and Granata allegedly perpetuated the fraudulent scheme by fraudulently opening successive additional American Express merchant accounts under false names, aliases and nominees. Horky, Flores, and Granata also devised a check-kiting scheme in which they drew checks on CLS Transportation’s payroll account knowing that the account did not contain sufficient funds. Horky, Flores, and Granata knowingly issued themselves and their associates thousands of checks on the account without sufficient funds to honor the checks. The indictment alleges that in 2010 alone, the conspirators issued and cashed more than 1,500 checks and obtained more than $2.4 million through the fraudulent check-kiting scheme.
A number of the defendants are expected to make their initial appearances before a federal magistrate judge at 3:00 p.m. today.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department through the Safe Streets Task Force. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy S. Vasquez.
An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defendant and Case Information
Case No: 02:12-CR-00440
All defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to conduct or participate in an enterprise engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity.
Horky, Flores, and Adams are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce (telephone and wire) to facilitate unlawful activity (prostitution). Granata is also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Reda is also charged with one count of conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce (telephone and wire) to facilitate unlawful activity (prostitution).
“Persons who use legitimate businesses to shield their criminal activities will get the attention of law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden. “In addition to promoting prostitution and selling drugs, these defendants are accused of defrauding customers, many of whom were undoubtedly tourists to Las Vegas. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our federal and state law enforcement partners, will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute persons who participate in such criminal enterprises.”
“The arrests today disrupted a major racketeering enterprise that has negatively impacted the citizens, safety, and image of Las Vegas,” said Kevin Favreau, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI for Nevada. “The success of this long term investigation was due to the efforts of the Las Vegas Safe Streets Task Force, comprised of the FBI and LVMPD.”
Arrested were Charles Horky, 52, the primary owner of CLS Transportation; Kimberly Flores, 42, the manager of CLS; Archie Granata, 69, a financial advisor for CLS; Dawit Moszagi, 47, Clarence Adams, 38, James Reda, 38, Mikhail Maleev, 48, limousine drivers for CLS; and Solomon Zemedhun, 39, and Olive Toli, 48, associates of the enterprise who allegedly supplied and aided in the distribution of controlled substances. They are charged with conspiring to participate in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activities including wire fraud, access device fraud, bank fraud, distribution of controlled substances, and the use of facilities of interstate commerce to promote, facilitate, and distribute the proceeds of prostitution. They face sentences of up to life in prison and fines of up to twice the gross profits or proceeds from their criminal activity. A complete list of the defendants and the charges they face can be found at the end of this release.
According to the indictment that was returned by the grand jury on November 27, 2012 and unsealed this morning, CLS Transportation operates limousines in and around Las Vegas. Beginning no later than September 2008 and continuing through November 2012, the defendants are accused of using the limousine service to conduct and facilitate a broad range of criminal activities, including selling controlled substances, facilitating illegal prostitution, credit card fraud, bank fraud, and check-kiting. Horkey, the owner of CLS, allegedly encouraged and directed the criminal activity, and required drivers to pay him a cut of the money they were receiving from the criminal activities. In addition to the distribution of drugs and the facilitation of prostitution, CLS offered limousines for hire to its customers whom often paid for services with credit cards. The defendants allegedly devised and executed a scheme to defraud American Express and American Express card holders of more than $2.8 million through fraudulent and unauthorized charges. Many of the card holders disputed the charges, and American Express notified CLS of the fraudulent transactions and executed charge-backs. American Express eventually cancelled the CLS Transportation account. Horky and Granata allegedly perpetuated the fraudulent scheme by fraudulently opening successive additional American Express merchant accounts under false names, aliases and nominees. Horky, Flores, and Granata also devised a check-kiting scheme in which they drew checks on CLS Transportation’s payroll account knowing that the account did not contain sufficient funds. Horky, Flores, and Granata knowingly issued themselves and their associates thousands of checks on the account without sufficient funds to honor the checks. The indictment alleges that in 2010 alone, the conspirators issued and cashed more than 1,500 checks and obtained more than $2.4 million through the fraudulent check-kiting scheme.
A number of the defendants are expected to make their initial appearances before a federal magistrate judge at 3:00 p.m. today.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department through the Safe Streets Task Force. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy S. Vasquez.
An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defendant and Case Information
Case No: 02:12-CR-00440
- Charles Horky, 52, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Kimberly Flores, 42, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Archie Granata, 69, Reno, Nevada
- Dawit Moszagi, 47, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Solomon Zemedhun, 39, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Clarence Adams, 38, Las Vegas, Nevada
- James Reda, 38, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Mikhail Maleev, 48, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Olive Toli, 48, Las Vegas, Nevada
All defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to conduct or participate in an enterprise engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity.
Horky, Flores, and Adams are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce (telephone and wire) to facilitate unlawful activity (prostitution). Granata is also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Reda is also charged with one count of conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce (telephone and wire) to facilitate unlawful activity (prostitution).
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Frank Calabrese Sr Dies in Federal Prison
Authorities say Chicago mob hitman Frank Calabrese Sr. died this week in federal prison. He was 75.
According to NBC Chicago, Calabrese Sr., one of several reputed mobsters convicted in 2007 in a racketeering conspiracy that included murder, extortion and loansharking, died Tuesday at the Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina.
A spokesman for the prison said while no cause of death has been determined as of yet, Calabrese suffered from several ailments, including heart disease. The former mobster’s body is expected to be delivered later Wednesday to the chief medical examiner’s office at the University of North Carolina where an autopsy can be performed.
Prior to his death, Calabrese was serving a life prison sentence for his involvement as a hit man with the Chicago Mafia.
Known as “the Outfit,” the most heinous of the Chicago mob’s crimes investigated were the 18 murders and one attempted murder that took place over the span between the years 1970 and 1986. Calabrese was blamed for 13 of the Chicago Outfit murders.
All of the murders and other crimes were allegedly committed to further the Outfit’s illegal activities such as loansharking, bookmaking and protecting the enterprise from law enforcement.
In addition to the jail-time, Calabrese was ordered to pay over $24 million, including millions in restitution to the families of murder victims.
Speaking on his father’s death, Frank Calabrese Jr. — who risked his life and secretly recorded Calabrese Sr. in prison as he bragged about mob murders — told Fox Chicago News he had “a lot of emotions” running through him.
“I believe he was taken on Christmas Day for a reason,” Calabrese Jr. said. “I hope he made peace. I hope he’s up above looking down on us.”
According to NBC Chicago, Calabrese Sr., one of several reputed mobsters convicted in 2007 in a racketeering conspiracy that included murder, extortion and loansharking, died Tuesday at the Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina.
A spokesman for the prison said while no cause of death has been determined as of yet, Calabrese suffered from several ailments, including heart disease. The former mobster’s body is expected to be delivered later Wednesday to the chief medical examiner’s office at the University of North Carolina where an autopsy can be performed.
Prior to his death, Calabrese was serving a life prison sentence for his involvement as a hit man with the Chicago Mafia.
Known as “the Outfit,” the most heinous of the Chicago mob’s crimes investigated were the 18 murders and one attempted murder that took place over the span between the years 1970 and 1986. Calabrese was blamed for 13 of the Chicago Outfit murders.
All of the murders and other crimes were allegedly committed to further the Outfit’s illegal activities such as loansharking, bookmaking and protecting the enterprise from law enforcement.
In addition to the jail-time, Calabrese was ordered to pay over $24 million, including millions in restitution to the families of murder victims.
Speaking on his father’s death, Frank Calabrese Jr. — who risked his life and secretly recorded Calabrese Sr. in prison as he bragged about mob murders — told Fox Chicago News he had “a lot of emotions” running through him.
“I believe he was taken on Christmas Day for a reason,” Calabrese Jr. said. “I hope he made peace. I hope he’s up above looking down on us.”
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Angela Wood's "Things Not Seen"
Rockford author Angela Wood is celebrating the nationwide release of her historical novel Things Not Seen.
The novel takes readers to 1939 as Elisabeth Muldern’s dream of teaching needy children is about to come true
. She has settled in the poorest section of Chicago to do exactly that.
Kenneth Derrin finally finishes medical school, but before he can begin a country practice, his father, owner of Derrin Steel Consolidated, dies, leaving Kenneth to run the vast enterprise.
With the world on the brink of another Great War, the Chicago mob sees a lucrative opportunity to seize the steel mill industry across the country. Believing Elisabeth to be a spy for the Feds and Kenneth an uncontrollable liability, the mob seeks to eliminate all threats to the Chicago plants.
In Things Not Seen, readers learn how Elisabeth’s and Kenneth’s lives become entwined for survival by Providence.
Published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, the book is available through bookstores nationwide.
As an English teacher for nearly 30 years, Wood has been encouraging her students to love the art and enjoyment of writing. As a professional pianist, she has broadened her outreach to others through public performance and private instrumental tutoring. She lives with her husband and children in Rockford.
The novel takes readers to 1939 as Elisabeth Muldern’s dream of teaching needy children is about to come true
. She has settled in the poorest section of Chicago to do exactly that.Kenneth Derrin finally finishes medical school, but before he can begin a country practice, his father, owner of Derrin Steel Consolidated, dies, leaving Kenneth to run the vast enterprise.
With the world on the brink of another Great War, the Chicago mob sees a lucrative opportunity to seize the steel mill industry across the country. Believing Elisabeth to be a spy for the Feds and Kenneth an uncontrollable liability, the mob seeks to eliminate all threats to the Chicago plants.
In Things Not Seen, readers learn how Elisabeth’s and Kenneth’s lives become entwined for survival by Providence.
Published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, the book is available through bookstores nationwide.
As an English teacher for nearly 30 years, Wood has been encouraging her students to love the art and enjoyment of writing. As a professional pianist, she has broadened her outreach to others through public performance and private instrumental tutoring. She lives with her husband and children in Rockford.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
A Lesson Learned From The Election: Civility In Politics Needs To Be Restored
The Stevenson family has a unique place in American political history. The first Adlai E. Stevenson, Vice President of the U.S., collected stories, jokes and aphorisms in a loose-leaf binder throughout his long career. They were jotted on napkins, cards -- anything at hand. If it was worth keeping, it went in the binder which became known as “the black book.” His son, Lewis Stevenson, Illinois Secretary of State, contributed little, but his grandson Adlai II expanded the black book in his career as a lawyer, senior official in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, Governor of Illinois, Presidential candidate and Ambassador to the UN.
Adlai E. Stevenson III inherited the black book, including contributions from friends and supporters around the world, and augmented it from his career as a Marine, lawyer, State Representative, State Treasurer, United States Senator, candidate for governor, international investment banker and ever the hereditary global sojourner and public policy activist. The black book was continuously organized and reorganized as a ready source of wit and wisdom for their speeches.
While a lack of civility is a symptom of today’s money-driven politics of ideology, tactics, religiosity and ignorance, the author believes Americans today yearn for the politics and culture which created America and made it great.
In Adlai Stevenson III’s The Black Book, he records American politics, culture and history as these men knew it. Since few, if any, American families have been as actively involved in public office and politics for as long as the Stevensons – beginning in the 1840’s with great-great-grandfather Jesse Fell who sponsored Abraham Lincoln for President -- it is a unique history covering finance and economics, law and justice, the media, politics, religion, education, war, and so much more. In order to see the future you must see the past, from The Black Book.
Adlai E. Stevenson III has lectured widely, authored numerous articles and is the recipient of many honors, including Japan’s Order of the Sacred Treasure with Gold and Silver Star, and is an Honorary Professor of Renmin University in Beijing. He is Chairman of the Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy which aims to bring practitioners from the world together to address systemic challenges to democratic systems and also Chairman of SC&M Investment Management Corp., an international financial intermediary. A graduate of Harvard College and Law School, he maintains an office in Chicago and a home with his wife, Nancy, on a farm near Galena, Illinois.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Dying Mafia Don Gives Advice to His Grandson
An old Italian Mafia Don is dying and he called his grandson to his bed and said, "Grandson I wanta you to listen to me. I wanta you to take mya 45 automatic pistol, so you will always remember me." Grandson replied, "But grandpa I really don't like guns, how about you leaving me your Rolex watch instead."
The old man replied: "You lisina to me, some day you goina run da bussiness, you goina have a beautiful wife, lotsa money, a biga home and maybe a couple of bambino, some day you goina come home and maybe finda you wife in bed with another man. Whata you gonna do then? Pointa to you watch and say, "Times Up"?
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Federal Arrest Warrants & $50,000 Reward Issued for Joseph Jose Banks and Kenneth Conley, #WeHaveAFugitive
Federal arrest warrants were issued late today for two men who were charged with escaping this morning from the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in downtown Chicago. Joseph Jose Banks and Kenneth Conley were each charged with escape in a criminal complaint filed this afternoon in U.S. District Court. A widespread manhunt for both men continues under the coordination of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, together with numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Banks, described as male/black, age 37, 5’8” tall, 160 pounds, and Conley, described as male/white, age 38, 6’0” tall, 185 pounds, were believed to be traveling together and were reportedly last seen this morning in the Tinley Park area. Both men are considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about them is encouraged to contact local law enforcement or the Chicago FBI Field Office at 312-421-6700.
According to the complaint affidavit, Banks and Conley were cellmates and were present during a physical head count at 10 p.m. last night. MCC employees arriving for work at approximately 7 a.m. today observed what appeared to be a rope hanging from a window on the south side of the building. A physical head count was conducted, and neither Banks nor Conley were present in their cell. The window in the cell was broken and had a makeshift rope tied to its bars.
The high-rise MCC in Chicago, located at 71 West van Buren St., is a federal detention facility operated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Escape carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statues and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas R. Trautmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office. The U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Chicago Police Department are assisting in the investigation, along with other law enforcement agencies.
A complaint contains merely allegations 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.
Banks, described as male/black, age 37, 5’8” tall, 160 pounds, and Conley, described as male/white, age 38, 6’0” tall, 185 pounds, were believed to be traveling together and were reportedly last seen this morning in the Tinley Park area. Both men are considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about them is encouraged to contact local law enforcement or the Chicago FBI Field Office at 312-421-6700.
According to the complaint affidavit, Banks and Conley were cellmates and were present during a physical head count at 10 p.m. last night. MCC employees arriving for work at approximately 7 a.m. today observed what appeared to be a rope hanging from a window on the south side of the building. A physical head count was conducted, and neither Banks nor Conley were present in their cell. The window in the cell was broken and had a makeshift rope tied to its bars.
The high-rise MCC in Chicago, located at 71 West van Buren St., is a federal detention facility operated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Escape carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statues and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas R. Trautmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office. The U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Chicago Police Department are assisting in the investigation, along with other law enforcement agencies.
A complaint contains merely allegations 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.
Manhunt Continues for Escaped Bank Robbers from Chicago High-Rise Jail, #WeHaveAFugitive
Two bank robbers pulled off a daring escape from downtown Chicago's high-rise jail Tuesday by apparently scaling down about 20 stories using a makeshift rope tied to the bars in a cell window.
Police helicopters and canine units swarmed the area, but not until more than three hours after Joseph "Jose" Banks and Kenneth Conley went unaccounted for during a 5 a.m. headcount, U.S. Marshal's Service spokeswoman Belkis Cantor said.
Both men were still at large late Tuesday night.
Investigators found a broken window in the men's cell, where window bars were found inside a mattress, according to an FBI affidavit filed late Tuesday. Fake metal bars also were found in the men's cell, a rope was tied to a window bar, and each man's bed was stuffed with clothing and sheets to resemble a body, the affidavit said.
It appeared to illustrate a meticulously planned escape from the 27-story facility that came a week after Banks made a courtroom vow of retribution. Both men are facing hefty prison sentences, and the FBI said they should be considered armed and dangerous.
SWAT teams stormed at least one home in Tinley Park, a suburb south of the city. Although neither man was found, evidence suggested that both had been at the home just hours earlier, according to the FBI.
Some schools went on lockdown after being inundated with calls from nervous parents. Mike Byrne, a superintendent in Tinley Park, said "our parents are so emotionally charged right now" because of the school shootings in Connecticut.
Hours after the escape, a rope possibly made of bed sheets could be seen dangling down the side of the Metropolitan Correctional Center. At least 200 feet long and knotted about every 6 feet, the rope was hanging from a window that was 6 feet tall but only 6 inches in diameter.
The facility is one of the only skyscraper lockups in the world, and experts say its triangular shape was meant to make it easier to guard, theoretically reducing blind spots for guards. The only other escape from the nearly 40-year-old facility occurred in the mid-1980s, Cantor said.
Exactly when Banks, 37, and Conley, 38, escaped remains unclear. Shop owners across the street from the wall the men scaled said police suddenly flooded into the area around 8:30 a.m., hours after they missed a headcount. Police initially said the men escaped sometime between 5 a.m. and 8:45 a.m.
Both men were wearing orange jumpsuits, but police believe they may have quickly changed into white T-shirts, gray sweat pants and white gym shoes. The FBI believes both men were in Tinley Park, a heavily wooded area about 25 miles south of Chicago. Authorities were scouring a local forest preserve in the afternoon.
Banks, known as the Second-Hand Bandit because he wore used clothes during his heists, was convicted last week of robbing two banks and attempting to rob two others. Authorities say he stole almost $600,000, and most of that still is missing.
During trial, he had to be restrained because he threatened to walk out of the courtroom. He acted as his own attorney and verbally sparred with the prosecutor, at times arguing that that U.S. law didn't apply to him because he was a sovereign citizen of a group that was above state and federal law.
After he was convicted by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, he said he would "be seeking retribution as well as damages," the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune reported.
When the judge asked how long he needed to submit a filing, Banks replied: "No motion will be filed, but you'll hear from me."
Pallmeyer, a prominent federal judge who oversaw the corruption trial of now imprisoned former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, appeared to stick to her regular schedule Tuesday and there were no signs of extra security. Her office declined comment.
Conley pleaded guilty last October to robbing a Homewood Bank last year of nearly $4,000. Conley, who worked at the time at a suburban strip club, wore a coat and tie when he robbed the bank, and had a gun stuffed in his waistband.
Both men were being held in the Chicago lockup, which houses around 700 inmates awaiting trial in the Dirksen Federal Building a few blocks away. It is one of the only skyscraper jails in the world, said Jennifer Lucente of Chicago Architecture Foundation.
Architect Harry Weese designed the building in the mid-1970s shortly after notorious prison riots in Attica, N.Y., and was asked to design a "more humane" lockup, Lucente said. That was one reason Weese ensured each cell had a window, she said.
The brother of Hollywood director Christopher Nolan also tried to escape in 2010. Matthew Nolan, who was being held pending an extradition request, was sentenced to 14 months in jail for plotting to escape from by hiding a rope made out of bed sheets in his cell.
Police helicopters and canine units swarmed the area, but not until more than three hours after Joseph "Jose" Banks and Kenneth Conley went unaccounted for during a 5 a.m. headcount, U.S. Marshal's Service spokeswoman Belkis Cantor said.
Both men were still at large late Tuesday night.
Investigators found a broken window in the men's cell, where window bars were found inside a mattress, according to an FBI affidavit filed late Tuesday. Fake metal bars also were found in the men's cell, a rope was tied to a window bar, and each man's bed was stuffed with clothing and sheets to resemble a body, the affidavit said.
It appeared to illustrate a meticulously planned escape from the 27-story facility that came a week after Banks made a courtroom vow of retribution. Both men are facing hefty prison sentences, and the FBI said they should be considered armed and dangerous.
SWAT teams stormed at least one home in Tinley Park, a suburb south of the city. Although neither man was found, evidence suggested that both had been at the home just hours earlier, according to the FBI.
Some schools went on lockdown after being inundated with calls from nervous parents. Mike Byrne, a superintendent in Tinley Park, said "our parents are so emotionally charged right now" because of the school shootings in Connecticut.
Hours after the escape, a rope possibly made of bed sheets could be seen dangling down the side of the Metropolitan Correctional Center. At least 200 feet long and knotted about every 6 feet, the rope was hanging from a window that was 6 feet tall but only 6 inches in diameter.
The facility is one of the only skyscraper lockups in the world, and experts say its triangular shape was meant to make it easier to guard, theoretically reducing blind spots for guards. The only other escape from the nearly 40-year-old facility occurred in the mid-1980s, Cantor said.
Exactly when Banks, 37, and Conley, 38, escaped remains unclear. Shop owners across the street from the wall the men scaled said police suddenly flooded into the area around 8:30 a.m., hours after they missed a headcount. Police initially said the men escaped sometime between 5 a.m. and 8:45 a.m.
Both men were wearing orange jumpsuits, but police believe they may have quickly changed into white T-shirts, gray sweat pants and white gym shoes. The FBI believes both men were in Tinley Park, a heavily wooded area about 25 miles south of Chicago. Authorities were scouring a local forest preserve in the afternoon.
Banks, known as the Second-Hand Bandit because he wore used clothes during his heists, was convicted last week of robbing two banks and attempting to rob two others. Authorities say he stole almost $600,000, and most of that still is missing.
During trial, he had to be restrained because he threatened to walk out of the courtroom. He acted as his own attorney and verbally sparred with the prosecutor, at times arguing that that U.S. law didn't apply to him because he was a sovereign citizen of a group that was above state and federal law.
After he was convicted by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, he said he would "be seeking retribution as well as damages," the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune reported.
When the judge asked how long he needed to submit a filing, Banks replied: "No motion will be filed, but you'll hear from me."
Pallmeyer, a prominent federal judge who oversaw the corruption trial of now imprisoned former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, appeared to stick to her regular schedule Tuesday and there were no signs of extra security. Her office declined comment.
Conley pleaded guilty last October to robbing a Homewood Bank last year of nearly $4,000. Conley, who worked at the time at a suburban strip club, wore a coat and tie when he robbed the bank, and had a gun stuffed in his waistband.
Both men were being held in the Chicago lockup, which houses around 700 inmates awaiting trial in the Dirksen Federal Building a few blocks away. It is one of the only skyscraper jails in the world, said Jennifer Lucente of Chicago Architecture Foundation.
Architect Harry Weese designed the building in the mid-1970s shortly after notorious prison riots in Attica, N.Y., and was asked to design a "more humane" lockup, Lucente said. That was one reason Weese ensured each cell had a window, she said.
The brother of Hollywood director Christopher Nolan also tried to escape in 2010. Matthew Nolan, who was being held pending an extradition request, was sentenced to 14 months in jail for plotting to escape from by hiding a rope made out of bed sheets in his cell.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Convicted Bank Robbers Escape from Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago, #WeHaveaFugitive
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with its federal, state, and local partners, is seeking the public’s assistance in locating and apprehending two individuals who escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago early this morning. They are currently the subject of a widespread manhunt under the coordination of the FBI.
The escapees are
The two, believed to be traveling together, were reportedly last seen earlier this morning in the Tinley Park area.
Banks and Conley, both convicted bank robbers, should be considered armed and dangerous. If you see them, contact local law enforcement or the Chicago Field Office of the FBI at 312-421-6700.
The escapees are
- Jose Banks: male/black, age 37, 5’8” tall, 160 pounds
- Kenneth Conley male/white, age 38, 6’0” tall, 185 pounds
- (Photos)
The two, believed to be traveling together, were reportedly last seen earlier this morning in the Tinley Park area.
Banks and Conley, both convicted bank robbers, should be considered armed and dangerous. If you see them, contact local law enforcement or the Chicago Field Office of the FBI at 312-421-6700.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Stolen Sewer Covers Allegedly Purchased by Junk Yard Tied to Reputed Mob Boss
This story is courtesy of the Better Government Association:
Thieves descend on suburbs to steal municipal sewer covers. How did they end up at a mob-linked scrap yard?
For weeks, thieves have been making off with sewer covers from a slew of western suburbs – a likely by-product of a limp economy and relatively high resale prices for metal.
Last week, police revealed where at least some of those heavy grates ended up: in a Melrose Park scrap yard that’s been linked to reputed mob figures.
The yard on Lake Street is home to two sister companies: D&P Construction and JKS Ventures. Both are, on paper, run by Josephine DiFronzo, wife of Peter DiFronzo, who the FBI has identified as a “made” member of the Chicago mob. But the FBI has long contended that Peter DiFronzo and his brother John “No Nose” DiFronzo, a reputed mob leader, are really in charge of the operation.
The complex pays money for scrap metal, and apparently had been buying the stolen municipal items from thieves – by one account for $6 each, by another for 10 cents a pound, authorities said.
Forest Park police said that over the weekend they arrested a man who was spotted stealing sewer caps and grates, which can weigh upwards of 50 or 60 pounds. Officers found a number of them in the back of his SUV, and he told police he was headed to the scrap yard to cash in, authorities said. The village ultimately recovered other stolen pieces from the scrap yard.
A few days ago, acting on a “tip,” police from Westchester recovered more than 30 of their sewer caps and grates at JKS Ventures, each valued between $150 and $200 new.
Westchester Police Chief April Padalik said there was a large pile of stolen metal – perhaps 100 or more sewer caps and the like.
Other nearby towns that have suffered thefts include: Bellwood, Berkeley, Elmhurst, Hillside, Itasca, La Grange Park, Northlake, Western Springs and Wood Dale. At least some of those communities, alerted to the find, have since visited the Melrose Park scrap yard looking for – and finding – their missing items.
A police investigation is ongoing, with more arrests possible, authorities said.
Whether the DiFronzo operation could face trouble for buying stolen gear – unwittingly or otherwise – is unclear.
Josephine DiFronzo was reached on the phone Thursday night, but after a reporter identified himself the phone went dead. She did not respond to subsequent inquiries.
Another woman in the D&P/JKS office told a FOX 32 reporter the company helped police by alerting authorities to a suspicious sales attempt. However, Padalik said that “help” came after police had found stolen items at the scrap yard.
Despite its reputed (and well-publicized) mob connections, D&P has secured an alarming amount of government-related business in recent years through its waste-hauling operation, as detailed in previous BGA and FOX 32 reports. D&P was one of the sponsors of a village festival in Melrose Park just this past summer.
In 2007 testimony at the “Family Secrets” mob trial, John DiFronzo was implicated in the murders of mobster-brothers Anthony and Michael Spilotro, but he never was charged with their deaths.
In a rare interview several years ago, after cameras found John DiFronzo frequenting D&P/JKS offices in Melrose Park, he was asked about his role there. “Nothing,” he said.
This story was written and reported by the Better Government Association’s Katie Drews, Patrick Rehkamp and Robert Herguth, and FOX 32’s Dane Placko. To reach them, email kdrews@bettergov.org or call (312) 821-9027.
Help the BGA shine a light on government and hold public officials accountable by becoming a member, contributor or tipster. Details at www.bettergov.org.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Revolutionary War Newspapers Give Readers a Glimpse into The Boston Tea Party and Other Historic Events
December 16th marks the anniversary of The Boston Tea Party – an iconic political protest that marked a key turning point in the march toward American Revolution.
Readers can now experience these events as they were reported in newspapers throughout the colonies thanks to collector and author Todd Andrlik, and his new book, Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News.
Andrlik has compiled one of the largest collections of newspapers published between 1763 and 1783. Reporting the Revolutionary War features a variety of article excerpts from The Boston Tea Party through the Battle of Bunker Hill along with essays by noted historians detailing newspapers’ historical impact on the American Revolution.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
New Kings of Organized Crime Said to Support Al-Qaeda
Although they are organized, the new mob in town doesn't look like the old one.
The new faces of organized crime in Chicago, according to law enforcement officials, are not necessarily from the traditional Italian mob. "Organized crime is not limited to one sort of ethnic group, it's an equal opportunity corrupter," said Jack Blakey, CCSA chief of special prosecutions.
Chicago's new kings of crime are more likely to hail from Eastern Europe, South America, Mexico or the Middle East- unlike their predecessors in the traditional Italian mob.
Their end game is the same: profits. They are making box loads of money- including cash seized in a recent Cook County raid.
Authorities say there are two primary schemes. The first is retail theft, but not large expensive items. The new mobs steal necessities such as bottled water- enough to fill a warehouse that was recently busted.
"Baby formula is always a hot product, razors, anything that everybody needs that is expensive...we have cases where they are bringing in tons and tons, literally tons of property and then shipping it in containers," said David Williams, Cook County Organized Crime Task Force.
Some stolen goods are sold in the US, and some are sent overseas- all undercutting legitimate Chicago merchants and driving up prices. The Assistant Cook County States Attorney, who leads a regional organized crime task force, says the loss of state sales tax hurts everyone. "In Illinois last year, approximately $77 million could have gone to firemen, policemen, hospitals, teacher," said David Williams, Cook County Organized Crime Task Force.
The second racket according to investigators is food stamp fraud. It involves loose networks of convenience stores that allow recipients of Illinois link cards to use them for cash. "It's not hard to cash in a link card, it's not hard... That's been going on forever but that's common in every neighborhood," said Eric Burns, Englewood resident.
In November, three suburban men were arrested and their South Side stores were shut down for allegedly taking kickbacks from cashing out link cards. "The store owner will swipe the card for a hundred dollars, as a ruse that they're purchasing groceries. They'll give the individual recipient $50 back and then keep $50 for their own profit& The government is the one that is funding the program, so these are our tax dollars that are flowing out of these stores for this fraud," said Williams.
In Al Capone's day, the flow was illegal liquor. From Tony Accardo and Sam Giancana through Joey the Clown Lombardo and current boss John DiFronzo, the traditional mob's rackets were labor union corruption, gambling and other lucrative public vices.
As a rule, victims were only those involved with the mob. This is not the case for the new kings of crime. "The ability of these groups to target some of our most vulnerable communities is something that we can't let stand," said Jack Blakey, CCSA chief of special prosecutions.
Fourty-six million Americans are on food stamps. For these new organized crime groups, that provides an almost endless cash stream.
Other rackets operated by the new kings of crime are vexing authorities: from pilfering ATMs to forgery and ID theft. With federal law enforcement focused on terrorism, Cook County prosecutors have taken the lead with their task force that now includes the Midwest.
There is a connection between terrorism and the new kings of crime. Authorities say some of their profits support Al-Qaeda.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie.
The new faces of organized crime in Chicago, according to law enforcement officials, are not necessarily from the traditional Italian mob. "Organized crime is not limited to one sort of ethnic group, it's an equal opportunity corrupter," said Jack Blakey, CCSA chief of special prosecutions.
Chicago's new kings of crime are more likely to hail from Eastern Europe, South America, Mexico or the Middle East- unlike their predecessors in the traditional Italian mob.
Their end game is the same: profits. They are making box loads of money- including cash seized in a recent Cook County raid.
Authorities say there are two primary schemes. The first is retail theft, but not large expensive items. The new mobs steal necessities such as bottled water- enough to fill a warehouse that was recently busted.
"Baby formula is always a hot product, razors, anything that everybody needs that is expensive...we have cases where they are bringing in tons and tons, literally tons of property and then shipping it in containers," said David Williams, Cook County Organized Crime Task Force.
Some stolen goods are sold in the US, and some are sent overseas- all undercutting legitimate Chicago merchants and driving up prices. The Assistant Cook County States Attorney, who leads a regional organized crime task force, says the loss of state sales tax hurts everyone. "In Illinois last year, approximately $77 million could have gone to firemen, policemen, hospitals, teacher," said David Williams, Cook County Organized Crime Task Force.
The second racket according to investigators is food stamp fraud. It involves loose networks of convenience stores that allow recipients of Illinois link cards to use them for cash. "It's not hard to cash in a link card, it's not hard... That's been going on forever but that's common in every neighborhood," said Eric Burns, Englewood resident.
In November, three suburban men were arrested and their South Side stores were shut down for allegedly taking kickbacks from cashing out link cards. "The store owner will swipe the card for a hundred dollars, as a ruse that they're purchasing groceries. They'll give the individual recipient $50 back and then keep $50 for their own profit& The government is the one that is funding the program, so these are our tax dollars that are flowing out of these stores for this fraud," said Williams.
In Al Capone's day, the flow was illegal liquor. From Tony Accardo and Sam Giancana through Joey the Clown Lombardo and current boss John DiFronzo, the traditional mob's rackets were labor union corruption, gambling and other lucrative public vices.
As a rule, victims were only those involved with the mob. This is not the case for the new kings of crime. "The ability of these groups to target some of our most vulnerable communities is something that we can't let stand," said Jack Blakey, CCSA chief of special prosecutions.
Fourty-six million Americans are on food stamps. For these new organized crime groups, that provides an almost endless cash stream.
Other rackets operated by the new kings of crime are vexing authorities: from pilfering ATMs to forgery and ID theft. With federal law enforcement focused on terrorism, Cook County prosecutors have taken the lead with their task force that now includes the Midwest.
There is a connection between terrorism and the new kings of crime. Authorities say some of their profits support Al-Qaeda.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Bully Bandit Reward Offered
Thomas R. Trautmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is asking for the public’s help in identifying the individual believed responsible for up to four robberies in and around Chicago over a two-week period. Mr. Trautmann also announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the individual responsible for the robberies.
This robber, who has been dubbed the Bully Bandit for his aggressive demeanor in his encounters with both bank employees and customers, first struck on November 28, 2012, at a North Community Bank branch at 1600 West Chicago Avenue in Chicago. On this occasion as well as the three subsequent robberies he is believed to have carried out, the robber approached the teller window and demanded cash in a shouting, threatening manner. During the course of some of the robberies, he has even pushed customers out of his way to get to the teller window or to get out the door after getting cash from the tellers. To date, he has not displayed a weapon, nor have injuries been reported during the heists.
The same individual is also believed to have struck a Chase Bank branch twice in the span of a week. The bank, located at 4440 West North Avenue, was robbed on November 30 and again by the same person just six days later, on December 6. The latest robbery occurred December 11 at the PNC Bank branch located at 6620 West Ogden, in Berwyn.
Each time, the robber has worn a black jacket with a black hoodie underneath. He wore the hood pulled over his head and cinched tight around his face in an effort to conceal his identity. Witnesses reported that he kept the strings that tighten the hood in his mouth.
The Bully Bandit is described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s to early 30s, with black hair, brown eyes, and a mustache, 5’7” to 5’8” tall, with a medium build.
Anyone recognizing this individual or having any information about the robberies is asked to call the Chicago office of the FBI at (312) 421-6700. This case is being investigated by the FBI in coordination with local authorities.
This robber, who has been dubbed the Bully Bandit for his aggressive demeanor in his encounters with both bank employees and customers, first struck on November 28, 2012, at a North Community Bank branch at 1600 West Chicago Avenue in Chicago. On this occasion as well as the three subsequent robberies he is believed to have carried out, the robber approached the teller window and demanded cash in a shouting, threatening manner. During the course of some of the robberies, he has even pushed customers out of his way to get to the teller window or to get out the door after getting cash from the tellers. To date, he has not displayed a weapon, nor have injuries been reported during the heists.
The same individual is also believed to have struck a Chase Bank branch twice in the span of a week. The bank, located at 4440 West North Avenue, was robbed on November 30 and again by the same person just six days later, on December 6. The latest robbery occurred December 11 at the PNC Bank branch located at 6620 West Ogden, in Berwyn.
Each time, the robber has worn a black jacket with a black hoodie underneath. He wore the hood pulled over his head and cinched tight around his face in an effort to conceal his identity. Witnesses reported that he kept the strings that tighten the hood in his mouth.
The Bully Bandit is described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s to early 30s, with black hair, brown eyes, and a mustache, 5’7” to 5’8” tall, with a medium build.
Anyone recognizing this individual or having any information about the robberies is asked to call the Chicago office of the FBI at (312) 421-6700. This case is being investigated by the FBI in coordination with local authorities.
"Kidnapped in Gaza" and "Murder in the Mountains" on Crime Beat Radio
On December 20th, Journalist David Aikman (www.davidaikman.com) discusses his new novel, Kidnapped in Gaza, and Michael Crisp, discusses his book, Murder in the Mountains on Crime Beat Radio.
Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST., on the Artist First World Radio Network at artistfirst.com/crimebeat.
Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.
Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST., on the Artist First World Radio Network at artistfirst.com/crimebeat.
Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Reputed Mob Ties and Janitor Layoffs Have Chicago Aldermen Calling for O'Hare Maintenance Contract to be Rebid
Some Chicago aldermen said Tuesday that the city’s janitorial contract at O’Hare International Airport should be rebid, over concerns about the layoffs the contract would mean for union janitors, as well as the company’s ties to mob figures.
WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports about 300 union custodians who work for Scrub, Inc., are being pushed out, after the Emanuel administration awarded a new janitorial contract at O’Hare to United Maintenance, a non-union firm.
“It’s just not right, like 10 days before Christmas, you give somebody a letter saying that they’re going to be laid off. It’s just not right,” said janitor Jermaine Samples.
The current janitors’ union, SEIU Local 1, has said the jobs the company is offering have much lower salaries, and fewer benefits. But the company said Tuesday it has offered jobs to roughly 380 people, including more than 100 current O’Hare custodians who have filled out job applications.
It claimed the health insurance, dental and vision coverage, and pension plans it will provide are superior to those workers’ current benefits. For example it said its health plan has no limit on medical claims, and covers 70 to 90 percent of the costs for out-of-network claims, while current O’Hare janitors have a $400,000 limit on claims, and no coverage for out-of-network claims.
United also said some Scrub, Inc., employees who have been hired will be making $2 to $4.60 more per hour.
The city has said United will work with the current custodians to find them jobs, but there are no guarantees those workers will keep their jobs, and if they did, it would most likely be for much lower pay and fewer benefits.
Ald. Rick Munoz (22nd) was incensed that many veteran custodians at O’Hare are being laid off so close to the holidays. “What’s going on over at O’Hare … socially is irresponsible, because these men and women who have been laboring day in and day out are being let go right before the holiday season, and being replaced by employees who make less,” Munoz said. “Are we in favor of the bottom line that simply saves money and rushes to the bottom, and races and pushes contractors to pay the lowest wage possible? Or are we looking at a bottom line that helps middle-class Chicago be a better Chicago?”
The switch in janitorial companies at O’Hare means no holiday for 7-year janitor Mildred Rueda. “I mean, I’m grateful because I do have my family, but as far as celebrating, there isn’t any,” Rueda said. But United Maintenance said in a news release Tuesday that neither Rueda nor Samples has applied for a job with the company.
Munoz and Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) are among a number of aldermen who have said the custodial contract at O’Hare should be rebid. “It’s not only very un-Chicagoan, but it’s very un-American to essentially bring in companies that decide that they’re going to cut wages in order to provide a more so-called efficient and fair contract,” Waguespack.
Aldermen have also raised concerns about the mob ties of some of top executives at the new custodial contractor.
Paul Fosco, the executive vice president of United Maintenance’s parent firm, United Service, served time in federal prison on mob racketeering charges, along with co-defendant and former Chicago mob boss Anthony Accardo. The Chicago Crime Commission has an entire file on Fosco. And United Maintenance owner Richard Simon was once business partners with reputed mob figure William Daddano, Jr.
“What we’ve seen is allegations about mob ties that is really unsettling for the people of Chicago, and for City Council members,” Waguespack said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has defended the contract with United Maintenance, saying it was competitively bid.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Chicago Police Commander Leo Schmitz Video with CBS National News
There is a war going on -- not overseas, but right here on the streets of America. A gang war has taken over parts of Chicago. Over the weekend, 14 people were shot. Two were killed.
So far this year, there have been more than 2,364 shootings and 487 homicides.
CBS News National Correspondent Dean Reynolds rode along with Commander Leo Schmitz of Chicago Police Department's 7th district. The area is a gang-related swath of the city's South Side. They started to drive as children were leaving school for the day.
"When you have them coming out of school, and there's any kind of gang conflicts, you've got a mix like fire and gasoline," Schmitz said. The gangs are fighting a war over turf, drugs and money. "It's crazy," he said. "What used to be a fist fight now turns into, 'Let's go to the guns,'" Schmitz said.
Shooting deaths are up 20 percent in the city this year, though in the 7th district Schmitz and his team have managed to cut homicides by 30 percent.
He credits better intelligence from informants, increased patrols and a citywide crime-tracking database. "We use the knowledge," Schmitz said. "So, if there's a shooting right here, we know that the retaliation will be a block down."
The police gave us a bulletproof vest for the trip, and within minutes it because crystal clear why. A block away, a man walking was a target. The suspect was fleeing the scene.
"He done shot at me right here!" the man said.
The commander and his men ran down the suspected shooter, 21-year-old Julian Gayles. Police think the shooting was probably gang-related.
The police also received the weapon. Schmitz described it as a 9mm Beretta. "If you can see the hammer's already (up)," he said. "That means he just shot it."
Chicago has seized more guns this year than New York and Los Angeles combined. The violence is so bad that the heavily armed police now attend gang funerals to prevent revenge killings. Schmitz said he doesn't just want to maintain a level of clam.
"I want to win," Schmitz said. "So, we're going to always try to do better than we did before."
It didn't get much better this weekend. Among the victims was an off-duty cop.
Hate Crime Statistics Report for 2011 Released by FBI
In 2011, U.S. law enforcement agencies reported 6,222 hate crime incidents involving 7,254 offenses, according to the FBI's just-released Hate Crime Statistics, 2011 report. These incidents included offenses like vandalism, intimidation, assault, rape, murder, etc.
The data contained in this report, which is a subset of the information that law enforcement submits to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program, includes the following categories: offense type, location, bias motivation, victim type, number of individual victims, number of offenders, and race of offenders.
Highlights from the 2011 Report:
- Of the 6,222 reported hate crimes, 6,216 were single-bias incidents—46.9 percent were racially motivated, 20.8 percent resulted from sexual orientation bias, 19.8 percent were motivated by religious bias, 11.6 stemmed from ethnicity/national origin bias, and 0.9 percent were prompted by disability bias.
- Law enforcement agencies reported 7,713 victims of hate crime—victims can be individuals, businesses, institutions, or society as whole. Sixty percent of these 7,713 were victims of crimes against persons, while 39.8 were victims of crimes against property.
- Thirty-two percent of the 6,222 hate crime incidents reported took place in or near residences; 18 percent took place on highways, roads, and alleys; and 9.3 percent took place at schools or colleges. The remaining percentage took place at locations like houses of worship, parking lots, bars, government and office buildings, etc.
New in Hate Crime Reporting
Beginning in 2013, law enforcement agencies reporting hates crimes will be able to get even more specific when reporting bias motivation.
For example, the new bias categories of gender and gender identity—which added four new bias types—were added to the FBI’s hate crime data collection as a result of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Other bias types were modified to comply with the race and ethnicity designations specified by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Data submitted under these new specifications will be part of the UCR program’s new system, scheduled to go online next year. (The 2013 crime data will be published in 2014).
FBI’s Role in Investigating Hate Crimes
Hate crimes continue to be the highest priority of the Bureau’s civil rights program because of their heinous nature and their impact on victims and communities (see sidebar for case examples). They investigate hate crimes that fall under federal jurisdiction, assist state and local authorities during their own investigations, and in some cases—with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division—monitor developing situations to determine if federal action is appropriate.
In addition to responding to hate crimes, they’re also taking a proactive approach to hate crimes overall. They’re integrating a cadre of analysts with their experienced investigators to not only establish a national threat picture but to identify risk factors that can be used by FBI field offices to assess the potential for hate crimes at the local level.
Increasing Hate Crime Awareness
Most of all, they’re working to increase awareness of these crimes by establishing liaisons with civic and religious leaders and credible community organizations. Through their UCR program, they offer training to help law enforcement recognize hate crimes and also assist their partners in developing their own hate crimes training programs.
Sunday, December 09, 2012
Is Michael Spatero Innocent of Killing Mobster Joseph Campanella?
On December 13th, The case of Michael Spatero: A Miscarriage of Justice? Spatero was convicted of the killing of mobster Joseph Campanella but many people believe he is innocent. A discussion with investigator Mike Pizzi and members of the Spatero family takes place on Crime Beat Radio.
Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST., on the Artist First World Radio Network at artistfirst.com/crimebeat.
Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.
Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST., on the Artist First World Radio Network at artistfirst.com/crimebeat.
Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.
Friday, December 07, 2012
Playboy Bloods Gangster Pleads Guilty to Racketeering
A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise as a member of the Playboy Bloods criminal street gang, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.
Steven Booth, 27, aka “Stevie-P,” pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Phillip Pro in the District of Nevada to one count of conspiracy to engage in a racketeering enterprise.
According to court documents, the Bloods is a criminal street organization whose members engage in drug trafficking and acts of violence. The Playboy Bloods is a local affiliate of the Bloods, with control and operation within the Las Vegas metropolitan area. A subset of the Playboy Bloods is Full Throttle Clique, a group made up of Playboy Bloods members who engage in acts of violence, including murder.
According to Booth’s plea agreement, he is a member of the Playboy Bloods and the Full Throttle Clique. Booth pleaded guilty to conspiring to conduct and participate in the conduct of the affairs of the Playboy Bloods through a pattern of racketeering activity.
According to court documents, Booth aided and abetted the murder of security guard Brian Wilcox in the Jets housing complex located in Playboy Blood controlled territory in Las Vegas. On approximately January 20, 2004, Wilcox and another security guard approached Booth and several other Playboy Bloods and told them they had to leave the property. An argument ensued, and the security guards rode away on their bicycles to call for backup. According to court documents, a Playboy Blood fired a gun at Wilcox, hitting him three times, and Booth and the others fled the scene. On January 21, 2004, Wilcox was pronounced dead.
Booth also pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the murder of Billy Thomas. On October 31, 2004, Playboy Bloods and Full Throttle member Quazi Burns was murdered, and Playboy Bloods members believed that a rival Crips gang member was responsible for the crime. That night, according to court documents, several Playboy Bloods members, including the defendant, met at the Jets complex and discussed retaliating against the Crips. Booth and the other Playboy Bloods members got into two cars and spotted Billy Ray Thomas, who was working on his car, at Pecos Terrace Apartments in Las Vegas. According to court documents, several Playboy Bloods’ members got out of the cars carrying firearms, approached Thomas, and shot and killed him, believing that he was a Crips gang member.
At sentencing, scheduled for April 5, 2013, Booth faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Booth is one of 10 defendants charged in October 2008 with conducting racketeering activity through the Playboy Bloods criminal enterprise. To date, six defendants have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison on this indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith, Jr. of the District of Nevada and Trial Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Steven Booth, 27, aka “Stevie-P,” pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Phillip Pro in the District of Nevada to one count of conspiracy to engage in a racketeering enterprise.
According to court documents, the Bloods is a criminal street organization whose members engage in drug trafficking and acts of violence. The Playboy Bloods is a local affiliate of the Bloods, with control and operation within the Las Vegas metropolitan area. A subset of the Playboy Bloods is Full Throttle Clique, a group made up of Playboy Bloods members who engage in acts of violence, including murder.
According to Booth’s plea agreement, he is a member of the Playboy Bloods and the Full Throttle Clique. Booth pleaded guilty to conspiring to conduct and participate in the conduct of the affairs of the Playboy Bloods through a pattern of racketeering activity.
According to court documents, Booth aided and abetted the murder of security guard Brian Wilcox in the Jets housing complex located in Playboy Blood controlled territory in Las Vegas. On approximately January 20, 2004, Wilcox and another security guard approached Booth and several other Playboy Bloods and told them they had to leave the property. An argument ensued, and the security guards rode away on their bicycles to call for backup. According to court documents, a Playboy Blood fired a gun at Wilcox, hitting him three times, and Booth and the others fled the scene. On January 21, 2004, Wilcox was pronounced dead.
Booth also pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the murder of Billy Thomas. On October 31, 2004, Playboy Bloods and Full Throttle member Quazi Burns was murdered, and Playboy Bloods members believed that a rival Crips gang member was responsible for the crime. That night, according to court documents, several Playboy Bloods members, including the defendant, met at the Jets complex and discussed retaliating against the Crips. Booth and the other Playboy Bloods members got into two cars and spotted Billy Ray Thomas, who was working on his car, at Pecos Terrace Apartments in Las Vegas. According to court documents, several Playboy Bloods’ members got out of the cars carrying firearms, approached Thomas, and shot and killed him, believing that he was a Crips gang member.
At sentencing, scheduled for April 5, 2013, Booth faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Booth is one of 10 defendants charged in October 2008 with conducting racketeering activity through the Playboy Bloods criminal enterprise. To date, six defendants have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison on this indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith, Jr. of the District of Nevada and Trial Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
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