Billionaire Mafia Founder Loves Attention from "Vegas High Rollers"

Addicted to reality TV villains? Odds are good you'll love or loathe Russian diva Lana Fuchs of TLC's "Vegas High Rollers."

She's clearly running out of friends after storming out of a cocktail reception during a weekend film shoot.

Just three weeks into a three-month shoot with the local socialites, the fireworks erupted Friday when the fashion designer's cast mates, concerned about her bad-mouthing, confronted her to clear the air.

Fuchs walked out, with cameras - and eyes - rolling.

"She seems to have an issue with everybody," a source said.

Fuchs appears to love the attention. At their opening shoot at the Hard Rock Hotel's pools, she arrived with an entourage of little people and bodyguards for the Black and White Party, an AIDS benefit.

Fuchs, who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., after leaving Russia, is the founder of Billionaire Mafia and Lana Fuchs Couture.

Billionaire Mafia has been a hit with the hip-hop crowd and club scenesters.

The shooting has been taking place throughout the city, from staid Las Vegas Country Club to restaurant hot spots Firefly and Marche Baccus to Rain nightclub at the Palms for a pole dancing expo.

Thanks to Norm Clarke.

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Anthony DiNunzio, Head of New England Mafia, Pleads Guilty to Racketeering

The head of the New England Mafia pleaded guilty to racketeering in federal court in Rhode Island, in yet another blow to organized crime in the region.

Anthony DiNunzio, 53, of East Boston, could serve to 63 to 78 months in prison through an agreement he reached with federal prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit racketeering and is slated to be sentenced Nov. 14.

Outside the courthouse in Providence this morning, Rhode Island US Attorney Peter Neronha said the case was the product of a strong investigation that has already led to convictions of DiNunzio’s underlings in Rhode Island. “We have driven a stake through the heart of organized crime in Rhode Island and we have cut off its head in Boston,” Neronha said.

During a brief hearing this morning, Assistant US Attorney William Ferland told the court that DiNunzio assumed control of the area’s faction of La Cosa Nostra, which oversees eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, after former boss Luigi Manocchio stepped down in 2009.

DiNunzio quickly sought to continue Manocchio’s operations in Rhode Island, including the extortion of protection payments from area strip clubs. “He ultimately assumed a leadership role in the enterprise,” Ferland said

DiNunzio, wearing olive green prison garb and glasses, looked to his lawyer for answers as the proceedings continued. He answered loudly “guilty” when asked how he would plead.

Outside the courtroom, Neronha promised that the investigation into organized crime and the New England Mafia will continue, targeting anyone looking to assume DiNunzio‘s position. “When there’s money to be made, the criminal element will step up to take their place,” he said.

Thanks to Milton J. Valencia.

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Jerry Castaldo Discusses "Brooklyn New York: A Grim Retrospective" on Crime Beat Radio

On September 20, Comedian Jerry Castaldo discusses his fascinating memoir Brooklyn New York: A Grim Retrospective, on Crime Beat Radio.

On the air since January 28, 2011, Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. 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 currently averaging 130,000 listeners plus each week, and the figure is growing. Crime Beat is hosted by award-winning crime writer and documentary producer Ron Chepesiuk (www.ronchepesiuk.com) and broadcast journalist and freelance writer Will Hryb.

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Dixie Mafia Flashback - The Assassination of Judge Vincent Sherry

This month marks the 25th anniversary of the murder of Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, whose deaths at the hands of the so-called Dixie Mafia exposed the lawlessness and corruption that had overtaken Mississippi’s Gulf Coast in the 1980s.

“It was out of control,” said retired Special Agent Keith Bell, referring to the level of corruption in Biloxi and Harrison County—so much so that in 1983 federal authorities would designate the entire Harrison County Sheriff’s Office as a criminal enterprise. Special Agent Royce Hignight initiated the investigation of the sheriff and was soon joined by Bell.

“They were doing anything and everything illegal down here,” said Bell, who grew up on the Gulf Coast. “For money, the sheriff and officers loyal to him would release prisoners from the county jail, safeguard drug shipments, and hide fugitives. Anything you can think of, they were involved in.”

Bell is quick to point out that there were plenty of honest officers on the force, and some would later help the FBI put an end to the culture of corruption in Biloxi. But for a long time, Sheriff Leroy Hobbs and his Dixie Mafia associates held sway.

The Dixie Mafia had no ties to La Cosa Nostra. They were a loose confederation of thugs and crooks who conducted their criminal activity in the Southeastern United States. When word got out that Biloxi—with its history of strip clubs and illicit gambling—was a safe haven, the criminals settled in.

At the same time, members of the organization incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola were running a “lonely hearts” extortion scam with associates on the street. The scam targeted homosexuals and brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars—money they entrusted to their lawyer, Pete Halat. But Halat, who would later become mayor of Biloxi, spent the money. When it came time to hand it over to the crooks, he said the cash had been taken by his former law partner, Vincent Sherry. So the mob ordered a hit on Sherry, a sitting state circuit judge who had no direct ties to the criminals. On September 14, 1987, Sherry and his wife were murdered in their home.

“Gulf Coast residents were shocked by the murders,” Bell said. Local authorities worked the case unsuccessfully for two years. The FBI opened an investigation in 1989, and Bell was assisted in the investigation by Capt. Randy Cook of the revamped sheriff’s office—Leroy Hobbs was convicted of racketeering in 1984 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The federal investigation into the Sherry murders lasted eight years. In the final trial in 1997, Pete Halat was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Kirksey McCord Nix—the Dixie Mafia kingpin at Angola who ordered the hits—as well as the hit man who killed the Sherrys each received life sentences.

As a result of the cases, Bell said, “Gulf Coast citizens started demanding more professional law enforcement and better government.” Bell—who wanted to be an FBI agent since he first watched The FBI television series as a child—added, “It meant a lot to me to return to my home and do something about the corruption that had worked its way into government and law enforcement there.” He added, “The majority of citizens realized that if the FBI had not stepped in, the lawlessness and corruption would likely have continued unabated.”

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In Remembrance of September 11th

In Remembrance: September 11th Anniversary Collection

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