Investigating the Russian Mafia

In the 1990s, the so-called Russian mafia dominated newspaper headlines, political analysis, and academic articles around the world. It was the new scourge, a threat so massive that it was believed to hold the Russian economy hostage. Former FBI Director Louis Freeh announced that the Russian mafia was a significant threat to the national security of the United States.

Before the end of the decade, Director Freeh reversed himself, saying that in reality the magnitude of the danger from the Russian mafia had been overestimated. Heading into the new millennium, the international hue and cry about gangsters from the former Soviet Union subsided dramatically, particularly after the terrorist attacks of September 11. Al-Qaeda shifted the spotlight from organized crime to terrorism and U.S. homeland security. Has the Russian mafia been eradicated or has it simply fallen below the radar?

Countless books and articles have reported on the Russian mafia in breathless terms bordering on hysteria. Casting a broad net, Serio brings a different, more analytical approach to his exploration of the subject. Investigating The Russian Mafia, Part I begins by asking a series of basic questions: What did the Soviets understand 'mafia' to mean? Was this a Russian phenomenon or more broadly-based, multi-ethnic groups? How did the media influence the perception of the Russian mafia? What does a close examination of the official statistics reveal about the nature of crime groups in the former Soviet Union?

In Part II, Serio discusses an overview of attitudes and practices of the criminal world, business, and policing, among others, in Russian history. He demonstrates that many of the forces at work in the 1990s did not originate in the Communist era or arise because of the collapse of the USSR. Part III presents a discussion of the crime groups that developed in the post-Soviet era, the challenges that faced the business world, and the law enforcement response.

This book is not simply a discussion of the Russian mafia. It is an exercise in critical thinking about one of the major developments in international crime over the past two decades. Readers will be challenged to examine information being presented by the media and government authorities, to put the current news stories in a broader historical and cultural context, and learn to ask questions and arrive at their own conclusions. Investigating the Russian Mafia is ideal for students, law enforcement, practitioners, and business people operating in the former Soviet Union, as well as the general reader.

Serio brings a unique perspective to his subject matter. He lived in the former Soviet Union for seven years, witnessing the country and culture from a variety of angles. In the Soviet era he was a tourist and student in Moscow. He also served in a unique internship in the Organized Crime Control Department of the Soviet police prior to the collapse of the USSR. In the 1990s, he worked as a media consultant to The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, BBC, the Chicago Tribune, and others. Serio became a security consultant to the global corporate investigation and business intelligence firm, Kroll Associates, and later served as director of Kroll's Moscow office overseeing investigations across the former Soviet Union.

Investigating The Russian Mafia.

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NanoCore Rat & Net Seal Developer Sentenced for Aiding and Abetting CyberCriminal Computer Intrusions

An Arkansas man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for aiding and abetting computer intrusions.

According to court documents, Taylor Huddleston, 27, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, developed, administered, marketed, and distributed two products that were extremely popular with cybercriminals around the world.

The first is the “NanoCore RAT,” which is a type of malicious software, or “malware,” that is used to steal information from victim computers, including sensitive information such as passwords, emails, and instant messages. The NanoCore RAT even allowed users to surreptitiously activate the webcams of infected computers in order to spy on the victims. Huddleston’s NanoCore RAT was used to infect and attempt to infect over 100,000 computers.

Huddleston’s other product, “Net Seal,” was a licensing software that he and his customers (co-conspirators) used to distribute malware for a fee. For instance, Huddleston used Net Seal to assist Zachary Shames in the distribution of malware to 3,000 people that was in turn used it to infect 16,000 computers.

In his guilty plea, Huddleston admitted that he intended his products to be used maliciously.

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Robert Acosta and Jose "Cano" Diaz Charged with 1997 Double Murder for Hire in #TheBronx over Stolen Drug Money

Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a federal indictment charging ROBERT ACOSTA and JOSE DIAZ, a/k/a “Cano,” with the December 22, 1997, murders of Alex Ventura, 25, and Aneudis Almonte, 20.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Today’s indictment alleges that more than two decades ago, Robert Acosta orchestrated, and Jose Diaz carried out, the murders of Alex Ventura and Aneudis Almonte. Now, thanks to the outstanding work of the NYPD and FBI, the long arm of the law has reached back over two decades to charge Acosta and Diaz with those terrible crimes.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “This case proves why there is no time limit on holding someone responsible for murder; taking a human life is the worst crime a person can commit. Our agents and law enforcement partners work daily, pursuing suspects in crimes that seem unsolvable. The time and dedication make it worth the effort.”

NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said:  “After more than twenty years on-the-run, NYPD detectives and FBI agents have arrested two defendants for a double homicide in the Bronx. The focus and precision this case embodies is what has enabled this city to become the safest city in America. We will continue rooting out crime and violence wherever we find it, until every neighborhood and block of this city is safe.”

According to the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court:

In late 1997, ACOSTA agreed with DIAZ and others to pay DIAZ and others to kill persons who had stolen drug money from ACOSTA. As a result of this agreement, Alex Ventura and Aneudis Almonte were murdered by DIAZ and others on December 22, 1997, in the vicinity of 2769 University Avenue in the Bronx, New York.

ACOSTA, 46, of Yonkers, New York, and DIAZ, 52, of the Bronx, New York, were arrested by the NYPD and the FBI. The defendants were presented later before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge P. Kevin Castel.

The Indictment charges each of the defendants in six counts: murder while engaged in a conspiracy to distribute five and more kilograms of cocaine and aiding and abetting the same (Counts One and Two); murder-for-hire conspiracy (Count Three); murder-for-hire and aiding and abetting the same (Counts Four and Five); and use of a firearm to commit murder in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and aiding and abetting the same (Count Six). ACOSTA and DIAZ each face a maximum sentence of life in prison or death. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by the judge

This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Laurie A. Korenbaum, Michael Kim Krouse, and Nicholas Chiuchiolo are in charge of the prosecution.

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Former Mob Boss of Colombo Crime Family, @MichaelFranzese, to speak at @Penn_State Berks Arts and Lecture Series

Former mob boss Michael Franzese will speak about his life in organized crime at 7 p.m. March 21, in Perkins Student Center Auditorium at Penn State Berks. This event is free and open to the public.

Franzese grew up as the son of the notorious Underboss of New York’s violent and feared Colombo crime family. He made his own mark, generating an estimated $5 to $8 million per week from legal and illegal businesses. In 1986, Vanity Fair named Franzese one of the biggest money earners the mob had seen since Al Capone. At the age of 35, Fortune Magazine listed him as No. 18 on its list of the “Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses.”

Despite his success, he wanted to make a change and today he is the only high ranking official of a major crime family to ever walk away, without protective custodies, and survive. Determined to use the compelling experiences of his former life for the benefit of anyone seeking the inspiration to beat the odds and make positive changes in their lives, he has become a highly regarded motivational speaker and a source of invaluable information.

He speaks about how he engaged bankers, corporate executives, union officials and professional and student athletes in a wide variety of financial scams. His open and honest true stories of his personal experiences in organized crime captivate audiences.

Penn State Berks reserves the right to limit the photography and/or recording of any program. The permitted or prohibited activities during a particular program will be announced at the beginning of the event and/or included in the printed program. All media requesting interviews and/or access to photograph and/or tape any program must contact the Office of Strategic Communications at 610-396-6053.

This event is sponsored by the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

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Leonardo Rizzuto and Stefano Sollecito, Alleged Mafia Leaders, Acquitted of Criminal Charges

Two men alleged to have been the leaders of the Mafia in Montreal were acquitted of criminal charges after a judge ruled the police illegally wiretapped them in the offices of their lawyer.

Leonardo Rizzuto and Stefano Sollecito were acquitted of charges of gangsterism and conspiracy to traffic cocaine by Quebec Superior Court Judge Eric Downs after the judge excluded the wiretap evidence gathered by a joint police task force in 2015 as a violation of the constitutional right to solicitor-client privilege. Most of the Crown’s evidence against the pair came from a conversation that was intercepted in a meeting room and in the reception area of the law office.

“The judge recognized that you don’t enter a law office like you do a warehouse” to conduct a wiretap operation, Daniele Roy, the lawyer representing Sollecito, said on Monday evening.

The wiretap was a first in Canada because the police installed hidden microphones around the law office, Roy said. The judge ruled in favour of Sollecito and Rizzuto’s request to have the evidence excluded because the authorities had not put in place sufficient measures to prevent the interception of conversations between lawyers and other clients at the office, she added.

Sollecito and Rizzuto were arrested in 2015.

Rizzuto, the son of Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, who died in 2013, had been detained since his arrest. Sollecito, whose father, Rocco Sollecito, was murdered in Laval in 2016, was granted bail by a court in 2016 to so he could undergo treatment for cancer.

Rizzuto is still facing charges of possession of a firearm and drug possession. However, he was expected to be released on bail to await the outcome of the other case.

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