Universal Aryan Brotherhood Main Council Leader and Associate Plead Guilty to Racketeering Charges

One member of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood (UAB) prison gang pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced Assistant Attorney General ­­­­­­­Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Danny C. Williams Sr. of the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Anthony Ramon Hall, 39, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Claire V. Eagan of the Northern District of Oklahoma. In addition, on June 2, 2015, UAB associate Carl Matthew Smith, 37, of Tulsa, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On June 4, 2015, UAB associate Robert Allen Paul Bryan, 40, of Tulsa, pleaded guilty to one count of violence in aid of racketeering connected to the maiming of a former UAB member. Hall’s sentencing is set Sept. 24, 2015, Smith’s sentencing is set for Sept. 3, 2015.  Bryan’s sentencing is set for Sept. 22, 2015.

In connection with their guilty pleas, Hall and Smith acknowledged their membership in or association with the UAB, a violent, “whites only” prison-based gang with members and associates operating inside and outside of state prisons throughout Oklahoma. Hall also admitted that he held a leadership position in the UAB’s “main council,” which is the supreme governing body of the UAB. The main council has the authority to issue direct orders, vote on the admission of new members or prospects, declare war on rival gangs and mete out punishment for violation of UAB bylaws.

Hall and Smith further admitted to advancing the UAB enterprise by selling methamphetamine. Specifically, Hall admitted to using smuggled cell phones to coordinate the delivery, receipt and sale of methamphetamine from prison by UAB members and associates outside of prison who would then return profits to him. Hall also admitted to coordinating the firebombing of a car belonging to a person he believed had stolen from UAB’s methamphetamine enterprise. Smith admitted to selling methamphetamine and marijuana for the benefit of the UAB as well, and to delivering drug proceeds to UAB members in prison.

During his plea proceedings, Bryan admitted to participating in the May 2013 maiming of a former UAB member. Specifically, Bryan admitted that he and UAB members, operating on orders from the main council, restrained the victim while additional gang members used a heated knife to burn off the victim’s UAB neck tattoo.

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Nicholas DeGidio of the DeCavalcante crime family admits selling cocaine to undercover FBI agent

An associate of the DeCavalcante organized crime family admitted in federal court that he sold more than half a kilo of cocaine for $78,000 to an undercover FBI agent.

Nicholas DeGidio, 37, of Union, faces a potential prison term of up to 40 years, although it will likely be considerably less under federal sentencing guidelines.

A U.S. District Court judge in Newark scheduled him to be sentenced on Sept. 29, although that could change depending on whether authorities want him to testify against nine other members of the DeCavalcante family who were charged in the investigation two months ago.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, the N.J. State Commission of Investigation, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office for making the case, being handled by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O’Malley Sr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.

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Bakken Organized Crime Strike Force Created

Federal, state and local authorities are marshaling more than 50 agents to target human traffickers, illegal drugs and weapons, white-collar criminals and other organized crime in the oil-producing regions of North Dakota and Montana, officials said Wednesday.

The Bakken Organized Crime Strike Force consists of existing law enforcement officers assigned to four task forces – each with its own state-federal prosecutor – that will coordinate investigations from Bismarck, Dickinson, Minot and Williston.

“The focus is going to change,” said Chris Myers, acting U.S. attorney for North Dakota. “We are going to focus on the worst of the worst criminal organizations in the Bakken.”

The effort pools existing resources to attack criminal enterprises that have become more sophisticated and violent, changing the face of western North Dakota and eastern Montana, Myers said.

“We are doing what we can with our existing resources, recognizing that we need additional resources to battle this issue,” he said.

While no new money was earmarked and no new positions were specifically created for the task force, North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said the strike force is a redoubling of efforts to take down criminal organizations. The number of local law enforcement officers in North Dakota has increased nearly 83 percent since 2005, and state lawmakers approved eight new agents for the Bureau of Criminal Investigation just this year, he noted.

“I can guarantee you, you are going to see results,” he said.

Myers said the strike force adopts the model of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, whose director, Bruce Ohr, joined officials in Bismarck and Williston for Wednesday’s announcement.

Ohr said reports suggest much of the Bakken crime is fueled by illegal drug trafficking, especially of methamphetamine and heroin. “And we have seen documented connections between some of the cases that are being worked here and larger drug organizations, and those are the ones that we want to focus on,” he said.

North Dakota has seen an “alarming” increase in drug and human trafficking, Stenehjem said, with the number of drug cases skyrocketing from 385 in 2010 to 1,269 in 2014, according to preliminary figures. The nature of the drug activities also is “much more serious than they have been before,” with direct pipelines from drug suppliers and heavily armed distributors, he said.

In addition to the roughly 50 strike force members in North Dakota, two FBI agents will spend extended periods of time in Sidney, Mont., along with two Montana Division of Criminal Investigation agents who will be sworn as federal officers and able to work across state lines, Montana U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter said.

In the last two years, Montana has seen nine drug trafficking organizations disrupted, 210 people indicted and/or convicted on federal narcotics charges and another 50 under investigation, Cotter said, adding a downturn in oil drilling hasn’t meant less crime.

“The fact that rigs are stacked (idle), that is having no effect on the level of criminal activity that is occurring in the Bakken,” he said.

The strike force also will investigate fraud and other economic crimes, environmental crimes and workplace injuries caused by employers’ criminal conduct, Cotter said.

A new FBI office being built in Williston will supplement the strike force, officials said.

The strike force comes on the heels of Project Safe Bakken, a program created in 2013 that joined federal, state and tribal law enforcement agencies in North Dakota and Montana to fight criminal activity in the Bakken.

Thanks to Mike Nowatzki.

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U.S. Marshals Arrest Matthew Dion, “15 Most Wanted” Fugitive, Wanted for Killing Parents

The search for 15 Most Wanted fugitive Matthew Dion is over. U.S. Marshals located and arrested him at an Orange Park, Florida, hotel where he was allegedly living and working.

Dion, 39, is wanted for allegedly killing his elderly parents, Robert and Constance Dion, in March 2014 and setting their New Hampshire home on fire. On Sept. 3, 2014, the Manchester Police Department charged Dion with two counts of second-degree murder and arson. These criminal charges were in addition to an April 4, 2014, child pornography charge Dion was facing. On Nov. 22, 2014, Dion was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, allowing the Marshals to join the manhunt.

“The arrest of Matthew Dion is a testament to the extraordinary trust and support given to the Marshals Service by the public,” said U.S. Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton. “Their tips and information were crucial in helping us locate and arrest this malicious fugitive. I am greatly appreciative of their support and proud of the dedicated men and women who tirelessly worked on this case to ensure Dion faces justice for his heinous crimes.”

The fugitive investigation for Dion gained momentum Tuesday when the U.S. Marshals initiated a media blitz with the help of news outlets in Florida and Georgia where he was last seen. Within hours an anonymous tip helped the Marshals develop significant information about the fugitive’s whereabouts.

Today, members of the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force-Jacksonville and Tampa division, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office converged on the Astoria Hotel in Orange Park where they found Dion working. When Deputy U.S. Marshals asked him to identify himself, Dion gave the name “Cameron Bouchard,” but later gave his real name confirming he was the person they were looking for. He was then arrested and taken into custody without incident.

“Countless hours of collaborative investigative work and sheer determination have finally brought Dion to justice,” said District of New Hampshire U.S. Marshal David Cargill, Jr. “The senseless murder of Robert and Constance Dion back in 2014 remained at the forefront for everyone working this case. We hope today’s arrest brings some comfort to their friends and family.”

William “Bill” Berger, U.S. Marshal of the Middle District of Florida, agreed and reiterated the effectiveness of the U.S. Marshals’ strong law enforcement partnerships. “Dion’s capture sends a strong, clear message to anyone attempting to avoid answering for their crimes,” Berger said. “With the help of our federal, state and local partners, it’s not a matter of if we catch you; it is when.”

Dion is currently being held at the Clay County Jail in Florida awaiting extradition.

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Islamic State Group Gains Support in Africa, Asia per @Interpol

A growing number of extremist groups from Africa to southeast Asia are shifting their allegiance to the Islamic State group, leading to greater risks for "cross-pollination" among conflicts beyond Syria and Iraq, the head of Interpol said.

Jurgen Stock cited this shift as an emerging trend at a U.N. Security Council meeting along with changing travel methods being used by foreign fighters seeking to join groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Stock was a keynote speaker at a meeting attended by half a dozen ministers including U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to assess progress in implementing a U.S.-sponsored resolution adopted last September requiring all countries to prevent the recruitment and transport of would-be foreign fighters preparing to join extremist groups.

Johnson said the United States will be developing a new passenger data-screening and analysis system within the next 12 months which will be made available to the international community at no cost for both commercial and government organizations to use.

In a report obtained by The Associated Press on April 1, the panel of experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against al-Qaida said the number of fighters leaving home to join al-Qaida and the Islamic State group in Iraq, Syria and other countries has spiked to more than 25,000 from over 100 nations. The panel said its analysis indicated the number of "foreign terrorist fighters" worldwide increased by 71 percent between mid-2014 and March 2015.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said most are young men motivated by extremist ideologies but he called for an examination of the reasons why more women and girls are joining the groups as well. He said he plans to present a plan of action to prevent violent extremism to the General Assembly later this year.

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