Monday, June 11, 2012
Vatican Bank Mafia Link Investigated by Prosecutors
The official request was made more than a month ago but so far the Vatican Bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works, has refused to disclose any records of the account held by father Ninni Treppiedi – who is currently suspended from serving as a priest.
Investigators want to know more about vast sums of money that are said to have passed through his account to establish if they were money laundering operations by on the run Mafia Godfather, Matteo Messina Denaro.
The reports emerged in the Italian media and came just two weeks after the head of the Vatican Bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was sacked amid claims of power struggles and corruption within the Holy See which have been linked to the leaking of sensitive documents belonging to Pope Benedict XVI.
More in line with a Dan Brown thriller, it is not the first time that the Vatican Bank has been embroiled in claims of Mafia money laundering. Thirty years ago this month financier Roberto Calvi was found hanging under London's Blackfriars Bridge with cash and bricks stuffed into his pockets.
Initially City of London police recorded the death as suicide but Italian authorities believe it was murder after it emerged Calvi, known as God's Banker because of his links to the Vatican Bank, had been trying to launder millions of pounds of mob money via its accounts and through his own Banco Ambrosiano which had collapsed spectacularly.
Father Treppiedi, 36, was serving as a priest in Alcamo, near Trapani, said to be the richest parish on the Mafia's island stronghold of Sicily, and he was suspended after a series of questionable transactions of church funds and which has also led to his local bishop Francesco Micciche being sacked.
Trapani prosecutor Marcello Viola made the request six weeks ago for details of the account held by Father Treppiedi at the Institute of Religious Works to be disclosed but according to reports in Italian media, as yet the go ahead has still not been given by the Vatican.
In particular prosecutors are said to be looking at financial transactions made through Father Treppiedi's account at the Vatican Bank between 2007 and 2009 and which came to almost one million euros but paperwork explaining the source of the money is said to be missing.
Attention is also focusing on several land and property deals made by the parish which is in Messina Denaro's heartland in the area around Trapani and where he still commands fear and respect.
There is speculation that Gotti Tedeschi was aware of the possible Mafia link and was about to name names and police seized paperwork from his home which is said to detail his suspicions and which he had prepared for a handful of trusted sources as he feared his life was possible in danger.
In a statement prosecutor Viola said:"We have made a request for information to the Vatican City State in the spirit of collaboration with regard to an investigation into sums of money in financial transactions undertaken by the Diocese of Trapani."
Transactions by the Vatican Bank are already under the spotlight with leading Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera saying Gotti Tedeschi was aware of accounts held by "politicians, shady intermediaries, contractors and senior (Italian) officials, as well as people believed to be fronts for Mafia bosses."
Of particular interest are said to be property investments and property sales that could potentially have been used to disguise money transfers and launder money – all this in the light of report earlier this year that the Vatican Bank was not completely transparent in its dealings despite efforts to be so.
The latest development comes as prosecutors in the Vatican continue to question the Pope's butler Paolo Gabriele, 46, in connection with the leaking of documents which then ended up in a whistle blowing book published by an Italian journalist called His Holiness.
No-one from the Vatican was immediately available to comment.
Thanks to Nick Pisa
Death Sentence for Art Rachel?
During his decades as thief extraordinaire for the Chicago Outfit, 74-year-old Art Rachel has been known as "The Brain" or "The Genius" due to his brilliant burglary skills.
In federal court on Thursday though, it appeared Mr. Rachel didn't have the smarts to show sufficient remorse to the judge who was about to sentence him for his latest crime spree.
"We were bored and had nothing to do," Rachel explained to Judge Harry Leinenweber when the time came for him to make a final plea for leniency. "We weren't serious" about robbing banks, armored cars or the home of a late mob boss Rachel said. Then, almost as an afterthought, Rachel said he "could do better."
Judge Leinenweber, unimpressed by the Genius or his recitation, agreed that the allegedly ailing-gangster "could have done better." Leinenweber then handed Rachel a sentence of almost 8 1/2 years in federal prison. At Rachel's age, that could amount to a death sentence.
Earlier, Rachel's attorney Terry Gillespie told the judge that he was saddened to think that his client would "spend most or all the rest of his life in jail. There is a side of Arthur Rachel you haven't seen" Gillespie stated, "he should have something left of his life."
Rachel's life is marked by one case of skullduggery that stands out in the annals of Chicago mob history: the Great Marlborough Diamond Theft.
On Sept. 11, 1980 Rachel and his longtime Outfit partner Jerry "Monk" Scalise broke into this high-end jewelry store in London, England. They escaped with millions of dollars in gems including the once-royal Marlborough diamond-a 45 carat sparkler.
In a botched ending to one of the mob's greatest heists, Rachel and Scalise were nabbed at O'Hare Airport on the way back from Britain&although they didn't have the diamond and it has never been found.
Rachel's sentencing hearing in federal court on Thursday was against that historical backdrop. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet S. Bhachu noted the notorious diamond theft, Rachel's other "multiple convictions" for robbery and forgery and said he deserved no mercy.
"This thug has the gall to ask for leniency when he does the same thing over and over" Bhachu told the judge. "He is a parasite. He lives off of others. The public needs to be protected from this man."
Rachel, sporting a snow-white goatee, glasses and court-designer manacles, had no family members or friends present for the sentencing-although several had written letters on his behalf to the judge.
His Outfit partner Jerry Scalise was also charged in the current case along with Mob associate Robert "Bobby" Pullia. Scalise and Pullia pleaded guilty and have yet to be sentenced. Rachel took his case to trial and was convicted.
After the court sentencing, Rachel's attorney said he "found it to be a very sad hearing, maybe more than most because despite what the prosecutor said and the name calling I found him to be a very decent kind man." Lawyer Terry Gillespie told ABC7 that Rachel has "been always a gentleman, bright. I just got a sense that it's such a waste. He spent half his life in jail and now he's going to die there, but he had no excuses. He didn't allow me to present any excuses."
Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Whitey Bulger's Girlfriend, Catherine Greig, Should Get 10 Years in Prison Says the Feds
The longtime girlfriend of Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger should spend a decade in federal prison because she knowingly protected one of the Northeast’s most violent fugitives for more than 16 years, prosecutors said.
In a sentencing memo filed in U.S. District Court, prosecutors say Catherine Greig not only concealed Bulger’s identity, but made it possible for him to live in hiding — paying bills, picking up prescription medication, and targeting people whose identities she and Bulger could later steal. The pair were finally discovered last year in Santa Monica.
“This is no garden variety harboring case,” First Assistant U.S. Atty. Jack Pirozzolo wrote in the filing, submitted Friday in Boston. “It is the most extreme case of harboring this District has seen.”
Greig is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.
Bulger, 82, pleaded not guilty to charges linked to 19 slayings from the 1970s and '80s during his time as the leader of the Winter Hill Gang, an Irish American crime ring in Boston, prosecutors say. He also worked as an FBI informant. Bulger is awaiting trial.
Greig, 61, pleaded guilty in March to charges of identify fraud, conspiracy to commit identify fraud and conspiracy to harbor a fugitive.
Although the charges Greig faces could result in a maximum of 15 years in prison, prosecutors have said she could get as little as 32 months. The prosecution recommended a longer prison term and asked that Greig pay a $150,000 fine.
“High-profile defendants such as Bulger require substantial assistance if they are to remain fugitives,” Pirozzolo wrote. “… Greig must know that there is a high price to be paid for choosing personal affection and loyalty over their legal obligations.”
After an FBI agent warned Bulger in late 1994 that he was about to be indicted, the mob boss fled Massachusetts with one girlfriend in tow, prosecutor say. He came back to Boston a few weeks later. He dropped off the first girlfriend and picked up Greig, who left her car and poodles with the first girlfriend, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say Bulger and Greig spent the first year on the run posing as a married couple, traveling to Chicago, New York and Louisiana. They settled in Santa Monica, where they lived in a rent-controlled apartment not far from the Pacific Ocean. Behind a secret wall in the two-bedroom apartment, Bulger stashed 30 weapons and more than $820,000 in cash, prosecutors say.
Bulger spent years on the FBI's "10 most wanted fugitives" list. He and Greig were arrested in June 2011 in Santa Monica after a tipster recognized them.
Thanks to Laura J. Nelson.
In a sentencing memo filed in U.S. District Court, prosecutors say Catherine Greig not only concealed Bulger’s identity, but made it possible for him to live in hiding — paying bills, picking up prescription medication, and targeting people whose identities she and Bulger could later steal. The pair were finally discovered last year in Santa Monica.
“This is no garden variety harboring case,” First Assistant U.S. Atty. Jack Pirozzolo wrote in the filing, submitted Friday in Boston. “It is the most extreme case of harboring this District has seen.”
Greig is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.
Bulger, 82, pleaded not guilty to charges linked to 19 slayings from the 1970s and '80s during his time as the leader of the Winter Hill Gang, an Irish American crime ring in Boston, prosecutors say. He also worked as an FBI informant. Bulger is awaiting trial.
Greig, 61, pleaded guilty in March to charges of identify fraud, conspiracy to commit identify fraud and conspiracy to harbor a fugitive.
Although the charges Greig faces could result in a maximum of 15 years in prison, prosecutors have said she could get as little as 32 months. The prosecution recommended a longer prison term and asked that Greig pay a $150,000 fine.
“High-profile defendants such as Bulger require substantial assistance if they are to remain fugitives,” Pirozzolo wrote. “… Greig must know that there is a high price to be paid for choosing personal affection and loyalty over their legal obligations.”
After an FBI agent warned Bulger in late 1994 that he was about to be indicted, the mob boss fled Massachusetts with one girlfriend in tow, prosecutor say. He came back to Boston a few weeks later. He dropped off the first girlfriend and picked up Greig, who left her car and poodles with the first girlfriend, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say Bulger and Greig spent the first year on the run posing as a married couple, traveling to Chicago, New York and Louisiana. They settled in Santa Monica, where they lived in a rent-controlled apartment not far from the Pacific Ocean. Behind a secret wall in the two-bedroom apartment, Bulger stashed 30 weapons and more than $820,000 in cash, prosecutors say.
Bulger spent years on the FBI's "10 most wanted fugitives" list. He and Greig were arrested in June 2011 in Santa Monica after a tipster recognized them.
Thanks to Laura J. Nelson.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Christopher Varlesi Indicted for Allegedly Causing 15 Investors to Lose Approximately $600,000 in Ponzi-Type Fraud Scheme
A Chicago man who operated an investment trading pool allegedly fraudulently obtained approximately $1.4 million and caused some 15 individual investors to lose about $600,000, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The defendant, Christopher Varlesi, was charged with six counts of mail and wire fraud in an indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury. Varlesi allegedly misappropriated a substantial portion of investor funds for his own benefit, including misusing $99,750 in May 2010 to pay for a year’s rent for an apartment in the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago and to make Ponzi-type payments to other investors.
Varlesi, 53, of Chicago, will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court. He was the sole proprietor of Gold Coast Futures & Forex, which purported to buy and sell securities and commodities and operate a pool of investor money for trading purposes but was not actually registered or licensed to do so. The indictment seeks forfeiture of approximately $600,000.
The charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Illinois Securities Department assisted in the investigation, as did the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which filed a civil enforcement lawsuit against Varlesi in March of this year.
According to the indictment, between July 2008 and January 2012, Varlesi made false representations to clients about using their money to trade gold, commodity futures, and foreign currency, the expected return on their investments, and the security of their money. He fraudulently retained investors’ funds and concealed the scheme by creating and distributing false account statements and making Ponzi-type payments to investors, the charges allege. Varlesi also allegedly told clients that their investments were guaranteed to be profitable, with no risk of losing principal. As part of the scheme, the charges allege that he provided promissory notes to certain investors, falsely promising to return the entire principal amount of their investment, as well as guaranteed interest ranging between five to 7.5 percent per month.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Streicker.
Each count of wire and mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may also impose a fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The investigation falls under the umbrella of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit: www.stopfraud.gov.
An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Varlesi, 53, of Chicago, will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court. He was the sole proprietor of Gold Coast Futures & Forex, which purported to buy and sell securities and commodities and operate a pool of investor money for trading purposes but was not actually registered or licensed to do so. The indictment seeks forfeiture of approximately $600,000.
The charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Illinois Securities Department assisted in the investigation, as did the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which filed a civil enforcement lawsuit against Varlesi in March of this year.
According to the indictment, between July 2008 and January 2012, Varlesi made false representations to clients about using their money to trade gold, commodity futures, and foreign currency, the expected return on their investments, and the security of their money. He fraudulently retained investors’ funds and concealed the scheme by creating and distributing false account statements and making Ponzi-type payments to investors, the charges allege. Varlesi also allegedly told clients that their investments were guaranteed to be profitable, with no risk of losing principal. As part of the scheme, the charges allege that he provided promissory notes to certain investors, falsely promising to return the entire principal amount of their investment, as well as guaranteed interest ranging between five to 7.5 percent per month.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Streicker.
Each count of wire and mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may also impose a fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The investigation falls under the umbrella of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit: www.stopfraud.gov.
An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Fidel Urbina of Chicago is Added to FBI's Ten Most Wanted List
Fidel Urbina, age 37, whose last known address was in the 2100 block of South Fairfield, has been the subject of a nationwide manhunt since 1999 after being charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution following the aggravated criminal sexual assault of a Chicago woman.
In March 1998, Urbina was arrested by the CPD and later charged with kidnapping, brutally beating, and raping a woman in Chicago. Subsequent to his arrest, Urbina was released on bond pending his trial in Cook County Circuit Court. While out on bond, Urbina was also suspected of assaulting and bludgeoning to death 22-year-old Gabriella Torres. Her body was found in the trunk of an automobile, which had been abandoned in an alley in the 2300 block of West 50th Street in Chicago. The vehicle had been set on fire and Torres’ body was badly burned. Urbina has since been charged with this crime as well. Attempts to locate and apprehend Urbina by local police were unsuccessful, as he had apparently fled the state.
On July 20, 1999, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Urbina and on August 26, 2006, a provisional arrest warrant was signed by a Mexican Federal Magistrate. Despite extensive investigation, including the case being profiled nationally on “America’s Most Wanted” and locally on “Chicago’s Most Wanted,” Urbina remains at large and his whereabouts are unknown. As such, the FBI is renewing its request for assistance from the public in locating and apprehending this wanted fugitive.
In making this announcement, Mr. Grant noted the continued threat to the community that Urbina poses. Said Mr. Grant, “Fidel Urbina is wanted for his alleged role in two brutal attacks directed against innocent women. These crimes have demonstrated his violent nature and the need to locate and apprehend Urbina before he can strike again. We are hoping that the publicity associated with this case, along with the significant reward being offered, will lead to his arrest.”
Urbina, who is a Mexican national, is described as a Hispanic male, 37 years of age, 6’0” tall, having a medium build, and weighing approximately 170 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes, and a severely pockmarked right cheek. He has been known to use numerous aliases, including the names Lorenzo Maes, Fernando Ramos, and Fidel Urbina Aquirre.
The search for Urbina is being coordinated by the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF), which is comprised of FBI special agents, detectives from the Chicago Police Department, and Cook County Sheriff’s Police investigators.
Urbina is the 497th person to be placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which was established in 1950. Urbina replaces Adam Christopher Mayes, who was wanted for the murder of a woman and her daughter and the kidnapping of her two small children from their home in Tennessee.
A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information leading to the location and arrest of Urbina. Anyone recognizing him or having any information as to his current whereabouts is asked to call the Chicago FBI at (312) 421-6700 or the nearest law enforcement agency.
Given the nature of the charges filed against him, Urbina should be considered armed and dangerous.
Additional information about this case and the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program can be found online at www.fbi.gov.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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