Cops & Bloggers

NYC authorities hunt for leader of Folk Nation gang blamed for bloodshed

2012-02-02T00:17:00.001Z

It’s one of the more colorful street gang names around: Six Tre Outlaw Gangsta Disciples Folk Nation — or Folk Nation, for short. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn allege that a particularly violent faction of the gang was behind at least four murders, three attempted murders and other mayhem that harmed innocent bystanders and terrorized the Ebbets Field Apartments housing complex, located where the storied ballpark once stood. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare ( FBI / Associated Press ) - In this undated photo provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Devon Rodney is shown. Wanted by the FBI, Rodney is the leader of the Brooklyn, N.Y. based Folk Nation gang, which they say is responsible for a series for armed robberies and shootings. A day after announcing charges against the faction’s upper echelon, the FBI and the New York Police Department sought the public’s help in a search Wednesday for a top lieutenant and another member still on the run. The fugitives were identified as 24 year-old Devon Rodney and 19-year-old Rahleek Odom. An undisclosed reward was offered for tips leading to their capture. The Folk Nation “claimed its turf by force ... leaving a trail of victims in its wake,” said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. Said Janice Fedarcyk, head of the FBI’s New York office: “The defendants’ ruthlessness was matched by their recklessness.”

Members of Drug Smuggling Organization Sentenced

2012-01-31T13:02:00.001Z

United States Attorney Robert E O’Neill announces that earlier this week, United States District Judge Elizabeth A Kovachevich sentenced Elias Estupinan Rengifo (48, Colombia, South America) to 135 months in federal prison for conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine on board vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Rengifo pled guilty on October 12, 2011. Rengifo had three co-conspirators—Horacio Aguirre Perea (42), Vicente Aguirre Perea (45), and Wilson Vallejo (41)—all of Colombia, South America. All three were arrested in Colombia, extradited to the United States, subsequently pled guilty to the same drug conspiracy charge, and were previously sentenced. Horacio Aguirre Perea was arrested in Colombia on August 5, 2009 and pled guilty on October 27, 2010. On January 28, 2011, he was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison. Vicente Aguirre Perea was arrested in Colombia on August 6, 2009 and pled guilty on January 26, 2011. On April 13, 2011, he was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison. Wilson Vallejo was arrested in Colombia on March 16, 2010 and pled guilty on March 29, 2011. He was sentenced on June 17, 2011 to 135 months in federal prison. According to court documents, Rengifo and his co-conspirators were knowing and willing participants in an on-going maritime cocaine smuggling organization operating along Colombia’s southern coast. Between 2005 and 2009, Rengifo and his co-conspirators organized multiple maritime cocaine smuggling trips, including: (1) the stateless go-fast vessels interdicted by the United States in the Pacific Ocean on February 19, 2005 and December 2, 2006; and (2) the stateless self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessels interdicted by the United States in the Pacific Ocean on March 1, 2008 and June 16, 2008. Coast Guard officers seized more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from both of the interdicted go-fast vessels. The SPSS vessels were also carrying cocaine, but were scuttled before Coast Guard officers could recover any cocaine. The mariners on the four interdicted vessels were first brought into the United States in the Middle District of Florida. This case was investigated by OCDETF’s Panama Express Strike Force South. The strike force includes agents and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and Joint Interagency Task Force South. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F Murray.

Marine admits hazing California Marine who committed suicide in Afghanistan

2012-01-31T12:21:00.001Z

One of three Marines accused of hazing a California Marine before he committed suicide pleaded guilty Monday to an assault charge as part of a plea bargain. In exchange, other charges were dropped. Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby admitted that he punched and kicked Lance Cpl. Harry Lew out of anger because Lew kept falling asleep while on guard duty in Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press. Jacoby was sentenced to 30 days confinement and reduction in rank to private first-class. Two other Marines are also charged with hazing Lew, who committed suicide April 3 at an outpost in Helmand province. The 21-year-old Lew, from Santa Clara, was the nephew of Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park). Chu and the dead Marine's father, Allen Lew, attended the court-martial proceeding at the base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. "I want to make sure that there is justice for Harry," Chu told the AP. Lew killed himself with his machine gun. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, based in Hawaii. Before killing himself, Lew scrawled a message on his arm: "May hate me now but in the long run this was the right choice. I'm sorry my mom deserves the truth."

Bikie gang member shot dead in Adelaide

2012-01-29T23:00:00.003Z

The shooting of a bikie gang member and his club president father has been declared a major crime as the South Australian police minister says some outlaw gangs have no regard for the law or the community. Giovanni Focarelli, 22, is dead and his father, Comanchero club president Vince Focarelli, is in Royal Adelaide Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds after the shooting on Sunday night. Police Minister Jennifer Rankine said the state has tough laws to deal with the "scourge" of outlaw motorcycle gangs but some just shun the law."I am sure the police are as frustrated as what I am about what is occurring," she told ABC radio.

Bikie gang member shot dead in Adelaide

2012-01-29T23:00:00.001Z

Canada has joined Colombia as a leading exporter of synthetic or designer drugs, flooding the global market on an almost unprecedented scale

2012-01-29T22:48:00.001Z

Canada has joined Colombia as a leading exporter of synthetic or designer drugs, flooding the global market on an almost unprecedented scale, police say. The RCMP have seized tonnes of illicit synthetic drugs that include Ecstasy and methamphetamine being shipped abroad after being “cooked” in make-shift labs in apartments, homes and businesses in the GTA. Police are now seizing more chemicals and synthetic drugs, which they say is favoured by young people, at Canadian border checks rather than the traditional cocaine, heroin or hashish that officers call drugs of “a last generation.” Most of the Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), meth or ketamine, a hallucinogenic used in “drug cocktails,” are smuggled from Canada by trucks, air cargo, human couriers or courier services to a network of traffickers. The U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan are the world-wide targets of these highly organised criminal syndicates, the Mounties said. Two Japanese students were arrested at Vancouver International Airport in 2009 after 47,000 Ecstasy pills with the “Chanel” logo were seized from their luggage. And, in November that year 400,000 tablets and 45 kgs of pot were seized in Michigan as it was being transferred from a small Canadian aircraft to a vehicle. The RCMP is working to stamp out the problem and have created a Chemical Diversion Unit (CDU) to target “rogue chemical brokers” who import and sell chemicals to organized crime cells to “bake” synthetic drugs for export. The force also created a Synthetic Drug Operations (SDO) whose members target clandestine drug labs in the GTA that are operated by crime cells and traffickers. “We execute search warrants once we locate a clandestine lab,” said SDO Sgt. Doug Culver. “These labs are dangerous with toxic chemicals and our members are specially trained to handle them.” His officers use hazardous material suits to enter a suspicious lab to ensure it is safe from corrosive chemicals before uniformed officers can enter. Police said an Ecstasy tablet, that usually features a harmless-looking logo, is sold for up to $15 each at Toronto nightclubs and the potency can last for about 10 hours. The tablets used to sell on the street for about $40 each two years ago. Supt. Rick Penney, who is in charge of an RCMP-GTA Drug Squad, said tonnes of chemicals and synthetic drugs are being seized by his officers. “We are talking tonnes and not kilograms,” Penney said. “This is becoming a matter of routine for us and it concerns me.” Penney said Canadian-made Ecstasy and meth are popular in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the U.S. and some European countries. “Canada is a player on the global market,” he said. “We see a lot of synthetic chemicals passing through the Canadian border or going out of province.” He said some of the chemicals are purchased by criminals on the Internet from suppliers in China or India. “The majority of the drugs we seize in Ontario are for export,” Penney said. “This is a global problem and Canada is a big player.” The drug officers said Canada exports as much Ecstasy and chemical drugs as Colombia ships out cocaine. Police said synthetic drugs are the choice of young people because it is cheap, with a pill being made for 50-cents and sold for up to $15; lasts a long time; can be easily hidden and a tablet appears relatively harmless with a “cute” imprinted logo. Sgt. Brent Hill, of the Chemical Diversion Unit, said rogue brokers use fake names, companies or addresses to import the chemicals into Canada. Some use the name of legitimate companies and give fake delivery addresses, he said. He said the imported chemicals are resold by rogue brokers at exorbitant profits to organized crime groups originating from China, Vietnam and India, including criminal bike gangs in Canada. The chemicals are “cooked” into synthetic drugs. The CDU monitors more than 100 chemicals entering the country. Some are for legitimate industrial uses ranging from industrial cleaners to pharmaceutical products. Others are strictly for “baking” drugs. Hill shows a make-shift laboratory that was seized in a 2007 Scarborough bust in which three people were arrested. Officers seized two million units of Ecstasy and bags of chemicals at a residence on Pipers Green Ave., in the Brimley Rd. and Finch Ave. E. area. Jian Yao Quan, 24, and Yan Shi, 46, both of Scarborough, and Wan Shun Ling, 55, of Brooklyn, New York, were convicted of drug-related offences and will be sentenced on Feb. 14. A warrant has been issued for Wei Quan Ma, 43, of Toronto, who’s believed to have fled to China. During that raid, police found a 22-litre round-bottom heating mantle filled with chemicals being baked as vapors flowed through a hose taped at the top of the container to a large can filled with cat litter, that helps to absorb toxic gases to avoid leaving smells behind, police said. Hill said the mixture leaves a cloud of corrosive chemical hanging over the area that is harmful to people and is the reason why officers wear haz-mat suits to enter drug houses. “These labs pose a serious threat to the safety of the public and emergency first responders such as police, fire and ambulance workers,” Hill said. “Most chemicals in a clandestine drug lab are highly toxic, corrosive, explosive or flammable “ He said some unsafe labs can cause a fire or explosion that can lead to environmental pollution. Police said its common to find an Ecstasy pill containing a combination of controlled substances including methamphetamine or other controlled or non-regulated psychoactive substances. Some doses can be lethal and kill users. Officers point to the deaths of five B.C. young people since last August from Ecstasy laced PMMA, the same lethal chemical linked to deaths in the Calgary area. There have been about 18 Ecstasy-related deaths in B.C. in two years. “Some of these drugs are dangerous cocktails,” Hill said. “Crime groups are putting more addictive chemicals in some of the mixtures to get kids coming back for more. “These brokers are aggressively targeting the legitimate chemical industry. They continue to expand in a highly-lucrative market selling legal chemicals, regulated precursors and non-regulated psychoactive substances.” Officers said some unscrupulous brokers establish fake front companies, or claim to be legitimate companies to import chemicals into Canada. They fill out paperwork required by the Canada Border Services Agency but usually provide false information, police said. “The acquisition of chemicals is the choke point,” Hill said. “We are fully engaged with the legitimate Canadian chemical industry and monitor suspicious chemical transactions.” He said its a crime under Bill C-475 to possess, produce, sell or import “anything” if the person involved knows it will be used to produce methamphetamine or Ecstasy. “Crime groups with links to south-east Asia continue to dominate chemical-brokering operations,” the Mounties said. “There are criminal enterprises including individual operators and semi-legitimate companies that are brokering or procuring chemicals for synthetic drug production.” Police said some chemical shipments imported into Canada for industrial use are stolen by crime gangs to produce drugs. “Global demand for Ecstasy remains high,” Hill said. “Ecstasy continues to be the most sought-after and widely available controlled synthetic drug in the Canadian illicit market.”

Probe after 'shredded' papers found

2012-01-27T10:35:00.001Z

Missing documents which caused the collapse of a multi-million pound police corruption trial have been discovered by investigators - despite claims they were shredded. Ten people, including eight former police officers, were accused of fabricating a case which led to the wrongful jailing of three innocent men for the 1988 murder of prostitute Lynette White. All were acquitted last month after Swansea Crown Court heard that a top cold-case detective at South Wales Police (SWP) had ordered the destruction of files containing evidence relating to the case. Mr Justice Sweeney discharged the jury telling them the accused could not get a fair trial. However, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the collapse, on Thursday revealed the missing files had been found in the hands of SWP. The revelation prompted Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, to order an independent probe into the disclosure exercise conducted by prosecutors involved in the case. Stephen Miller, who was wrongly jailed for the murder, reacted angrily to the development describing it as "ridiculous". He told the Independent: "There has to be a public inquiry. Some of my co-accused have now passed away - where is the justice for them?" IPCC commissioner Sarah Green confirmed documents that the Lynette White trial was told may have been destroyed had been discovered, "and were not shredded as first thought". She said: "The court was told that some inquiries had been made about documents relating to complaints made to the IPCC itself and that it seemed that these documents may have been shredded on the orders of SWP senior investigating officer Chris Coutts. The documents were found in the original boxes that the IPCC had sent those files to SWP as part of the trial disclosure process in 2009. These boxes were still in the possession of SWP and have subsequently been verified." The IPCC said its ongoing investigation would seek to establish what happened to the two files of documents, while liaising with officals from the Crown Prosecution Service. Miss White's body was found with more than 50 stab wounds. Detectives arrested Mr Miller, Yusef Abdullahi, Tony Paris and cousins Ronnie and John Actie for murder. The cousins were cleared but the three other men went on to serve two years in prison before being released on appeal. Mr Abdullahi, 49, died last year. In 2003, Jeffrey Gafoor, a client of Miss White, admitted murdering her and is now serving life behind bars.

Ex-worker of Stanford tells jurors at fraud trial he saw ex-financier fudge numbers for bank

2012-01-26T11:41:00.001Z

former employee of Texas financier R. Allen Stanford told jurors at Stanford’s fraud trial Wednesday that he believes he saw the former billionaire making up accounting figures used in an annual report to woo investors. Leo Mejia, who worked for an advertising company created by Stanford to promote his various businesses, testified that he became uneasy working for the financier because he lost confidence in the accuracy of financial information he was given to include in advertising materials. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare Prosecutors allege Stanford bilked investors out of more than $7 billion through a scheme centered on sales of certificates of deposit from a bank Stanford owned on the Caribbean island of Antigua, which promised substantially higher rates of return on the CDs than U.S. banks and promised investors their money was safe. The financier’s businesses were headquartered in Houston. Authorities say Stanford, 61, sank investors’ money in a variety of his own businesses, including two airlines, and that he used up to $2 billion of investors’ money as personal loans to buy homes and yachts and fund cricket matches. Stanford’s attorneys contend he was a savvy businessman whose financial empire was legitimate and who never failed to pay what was owed to investors. Stanford is on trial for 14 counts, including mail and wire fraud, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He was once considered one of the United States’ wealthiest people, with an estimated net worth of more than $2 billion. Mejia testified that one of his responsibilities was to help put together the bank’s annual report, which was used to promote the bank and attract new customers. He said that when he was preparing the bank’s 1988 annual report, he saw Stanford and his chief financial officer, James Davis, use a calculator to make various faulty changes to figures related to the bank’s finances just before the report was sent off to be printed. “Did you notice any problem with the numbers Stanford was getting by punching into the calculator?” prosecutor Gregg Costa asked Mejia. “Yes. When I was working I noticed very easily that some of those numbers didn’t add up correctly. I mentioned they didn’t add up. They laughed and corrected those numbers,” Mejia said. At the time, the bank was in Caribbean island nation of Montserrat. It later moved to neighboring Antigua. Mejia described the errors he saw as an “obvious mistake. Like nine plus one does not give you five.” Davis has pleaded guilty in the case and is expected to testify against Stanford. Mejia also told jurors he was surprised that after those figures were submitted to the bank’s auditor, they were approved and sent back to him in 15 minutes. “It took me more to do my checkbook. I thought that was quick,” he said. Prosecutors allege Stanford bribed the auditor as well as Antiguan regulators to hide the true condition of the bank’s financial health and promote the fraud. Mejia also told jurors Stanford described investors as “greedy” and that the bank’s office in Montserrat was mostly an empty building that had a couple of computers that were not plugged in. Mejia said he was fired in 1992 for receiving an overpayment of $750. The prosecution’s first witness, Michelle Chambliess, who had worked for Stanford selling CDs to investors, testified earlier Wednesday that she had also become uneasy with how the financier ran the bank, including using deposits for personal loans. She also said the bank’s insurance policy was from a company set up by Stanford. Ali Fazel, one of Stanford’s attorneys, tried to suggest to jurors that both Mejia and Chambliess, who was also fired, were not experts in the complexities of the financier’s various businesses and were not qualified to assess if there was any wrongdoing. “You’re just guessing? You’re just speculating?” Your entire testimony is speculation,” Fazel told Mejia. Testimony resumes Thursday in Stanford’s trial, which will likely last at least six weeks.

Gangster gets four years for drug stash

2012-01-25T15:26:00.001Z

A CAREER criminal branded as “extraordinarily dangerous” has been jailed for four years after being caught with heroin worth £50,000 during a police raid. Detectives believe that Ronald Aldred was peddling the Class A drug in Edinburgh and West Lothian after recovering the stash kept at his Kirkliston home. The 44-year-old was jailed for 12 years in 2002 as the ringleader of a gang that took part in a campaign of kidnapping, assault and extortion, which a judge described as being like “something out of a 1930s Hollywood gangster movie”. Aldred had been hired by dealers to recover a kilo of stolen cocaine, and at one point the gang tried to put a loaded gun into a victim’s mouth during a vicious interrogation. In 1992, he was jailed for nine years for two attempted murders after launching an attack with a sword and knife at The Royal Nip pub in Albert Street, Leith. Detective Sergeant Jim Robertson, from the force’s Serious Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), worked on the drug investigation against Aldred, which saw him jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday. DS Robertson said that Aldred was caught with half a kilo of heroin at his home in Marshall Road, Kirkliston. Aldred, who has a total of five previous convictions, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin on October 6 last year, and prosecutors have already begun steps to seize his assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Police raided his home after a tip-off and found five packages of heroin along with phones, scales, sandwich bags and more than £700 in cash. Prosecutors said that if the heroin had been broken down and sold on as “tenner bags” then it had the potential value of £50,000. His defence counsel, Frank Gallagher, told the court that during his last period in prison Aldred had developed a drug problem and built up debts. Mr Gallagher said that his client agreed to the drugs being in his home in return for the debt being reduced. DS Robertson told the Evening News: “This conviction shows our commitment to tackling serious and organised crime. The drugs were being stored at that address and we’re confident Aldred was involved in dealing. “We welcome this four-year sentence, both as a deterrent to Aldred and to anyone else involved in drug dealing.” In early 2002, Aldred’s gang was recruited to hunt down stolen cocaine, abducting one man from outside a Scottish court who was handcuffed and forced to hand over £7000. Sentencing them for that offence, Lord Dawson told Aldred and his two accomplices: “I regard all three of you as extraordinarily dangerous men against whom the public must be protected.” But Aldred’s 12-year sentence was later cut to eight years by appeal judges. In May 1992, Aldred was found guilty after a five-day trial for attempting to murder two men and seriously assaulting two others. Aldred attempted to murder Thomas Brown by stabbing him with a knife and striking him with a sword, and assaulted Thomas Monaghan with the sword in The Royal Nip in September 1991. He also attempted to murder David McKinlay with a knife in Ardshiel Avenue, Drumbrae, on October 19, 1991 and struck Kevin Smith on the head with a knife in Easter Road on August 3, 1991.

Hell's Lovers gang infiltrated in Denver

2012-01-25T14:49:00.001Z

Investigators raided a Hell's Lovers motorcycle gang in Denver Friday night. Many of the motorcycle gang suspects are now in jail awaiting a court hearing Monday. The arrests come after a near three-year investigation by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF agents raided the home and arrested at least 15 gang members for "violent crime." "We are not talking about traditional gang violence with younger youth that are from 17 to 24, which make up the bulk of gang violence. We are talking about...grandfathers even; some of them have different professions," says Terrance Roberts, a gang expert. The gang was formed in Chicago in the late 1960's, and has now spread to Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas. Agents say the gang has been associated with cocaine trafficking and use of weapons and explosives.

Saravy Sok, 22, of 88 Forthill Ave., Lowell, who was identified by prosecutors as a member of the Tiny Rascals Gang-Grey, a violent street gang with ties to California, was arraigned on gun charges

2012-01-25T14:14:00.001Z

Saravy Sok, 22, of 88 Forthill Ave., Lowell, who was identified by prosecutors as a member of the Tiny Rascals Gang-Grey, a violent street gang with ties to California, was arraigned on gun charges and a charge of armed assault to murder after the Sunday morning shooting outside 12 Benefit St. According to police and Assistant District Attorney Roberta O’Brien, a 28-year-old man was at a party at 12 Benefit St. when he got into a minor verbal argument with another partygoer. The 28-year-old man decided to leave the party, but outside the man he had argued with challenged him to a fight. The two men had begun to fight when Mr. Sok arrived to help his friend, Ms. O’Brien said. “As they were fighting, this man pulled out a gun and started shooting,” she said in court yesterday. The 28-year-old was shot once in the shoulder and twice in the leg. The injuries were not life-threatening, but the victim may suffer nerve damage, Ms. O’Brien said. The victim walked into the emergency room at St. Vincent Hospital just after midnight Sunday with the gunshot wounds. Police were called to the hospital and spoke to the victim. He told police he recognized the shooter’s girlfriend, and police were able to identify the suspect. Lowell police told city investigators that Mr. Sok was a member of the TRG-Grey gang and gave them a booking photograph from a previous arrest. Mr. Sok was identified as the suspect through witnesses, detectives and members of the Shooting Response Team. Lowell police located Mr. Sok Monday night and arrested him on a warrant for the shooting. In 2008, Mr. Sok was among a large group of gang members in the Lowell area arrested on a variety of charges. Mr. Sok was charged in federal court with weapons offenses. In mid-2009, he was sentenced to serve 32 months in prison with three years of supervised release. Ms. O’Brien said Mr. Sok was still on supervised release in the federal case when last weekend’s shooting occurred. Federal authorities said members of the TRG-Grey gang are responsible for many acts of violence in Lowell over the past decade. Mr. Sok was charged with armed assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card, carrying a loaded firearm without a license and using a firearm during a felony. Not guilty pleas were entered. Bail was set at $50,000 cash, and the case was continued to Feb. 23.

Spanish Cleanup Plan May Backfire on Banks

2012-01-25T12:10:00.001Z

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s proposal to force banks to recognize further losses from real estate holdings may backfire by saddling healthy lenders with the bill. “The plan is for a massive effort in provisioning of real estate and consolidation, and that has to be paid for,” said Daragh Quinn, a Madrid-based analyst at Nomura International. By refusing to use public funds to help purge a system burdened with 176 billion euros ($228 billion) of what the Bank of Spain calls “troubled” assets linked to real estate, Rajoy may not do the job properly or he may hurt solvent banks by leaving them with the costs, said David Moss, director of European equities at F&C Investments in London. Rajoy wants to make banks accurately value assets piled up on their books as part of his efforts to lower Spain’s borrowing costs and free up the flow of credit in the economy. Investors demand about 763 basis points more yield to hold Bankia SA (BKIA)’s senior unsecured bonds maturing in 2017 than similar German bunds, up from about 46 basis points when the securities were sold in 2007. Since Rajoy was elected on Nov. 20, the rate on 10-year Spanish debt has declined 124 basis points to 5.45 percent. Rajoy wants to avoid committing public funds as he battles to bring down a deficit that was 8 percent of gross domestic product in 2011, exceeding the 6 percent target from the outgoing Socialist government. He announced 15 billion euros of immediate spending cuts and tax increases last month to narrow the gap. “If the public purse doesn’t get used at all, this can only mean this whole process happens more slowly and it might take longer to make the impact that’s needed,” Moss said.

Venezuela on Tuesday deported three suspected drug smugglers wanted in the United States, Canada and Colombia

2012-01-25T12:00:00.001Z

Venezuela on Tuesday deported three suspected drug smugglers wanted in the United States, Canada and Colombia, touting the moves as proof the government of President Hugo Chavez is making strides in fighting trafficking. Those deported include Luc Letourneau, a Canadian wanted in his homeland on drug trafficking charges, Oscar Martinez Hernandez, an American wanted in Puerto Rico on charges including cocaine and heroin smuggling, and Colombian Adalberto Bernal Arboleda.Arboleda, known by his nickname “El Cali,” faces drug smuggling charges in Colombia and the United States. Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami trumpeted the deportations as evidence Venezuela is cracking down on drug trafficking. Venezuela is a major hub for gangs that smuggle Colombian cocaine to the United States and Europe, and U.S. officials have accused Chavez’s government of being lax in anti-drug efforts. Last year, President Barack Obama’s administration classified Venezuela as a country that has “failed demonstrably” to effectively fight drug trafficking. El Aissami dismissed that accusation, accusing U.S. officials of “defaming” Venezuela’s counter-drug efforts. Letourneau, 53, was captured in May on Margarita Island, a popular tourist destination. At the time of his arrest, Letourneau was planning to smuggle 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of cocaine into Canada, El Aissami said. Hernandez, a 44-year-old man who was nabbed by police on Jan. 4 in the western city of Maracaibo, faces numerous criminal charges ranging from drug trafficking to illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Arboleda was captured in the town of Mariara, in central Carabobo state, on Jan. 11. U.S.-Venezuelan counter-drug cooperation has been sharply scaled back since 2005, when Chavez suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and accused it of being a front for espionage.

Rapist TV psychic Martin Smith found hanged in cell

2012-01-25T10:55:00.001Z

A convicted paedophile, whose partner is accused of murdering their children in Spain, has been found hanged in his cell at HMP Manchester. Former TV psychic Martin Smith, 46, originally from North Shields, was jailed for 16 years in March 2011 for raping a girl aged under 16 in Cumbria. His partner Lianne Smith is in custody accused of murdering their two children in Lloret de Mar, Spain. Greater Manchester Police said his death was not thought to be suspicious. A spokesman said his body was found in his cell on Monday evening. Smith, who appeared on television as a medium five years ago on the Living Channel's Most Haunted programme, was extradited to the UK from Spain in spring 2010. After his return his daughter Rebecca, five, and Daniel, 11 months, were found dead in a hotel in Catalonia, north-east Spain. The couple, who share the same name but are not related, left the UK for Spain with Rebecca while Daniel was born in Spain. Smith was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of 11 counts of rape, attempted rape and indecent assault on his victim over a period of 10 years. His trial was told he used hypnotism and violence to groom and sexually abuse his victim. A Prison Service spokesman said the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman was investigating his death. No date has been set yet for Lianne Smith's murder trial in Spain, a spokeswoman for the Catalonia judiciary said.

Spain’s Two Finance Ministers Clash on Budget Amid Recession

2012-01-25T07:29:00.001Z

Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Spain is sticking to its deficit goal even as the economy shrinks, underlining a rift in the month-old Cabinet over whether the nation can halve its shortfall during a recession. De Guindos said the government’s commitment to budget cuts is “total” and there’s “no change” to this year’s target. His comments in Brussels today came after reporters asked him about Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro’s call on Jan. 22 for the European Union to ease Spain’s 2012 deficit goal to take its shrinking economy into account. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy divided the Finance Ministry in two after coming to power in December, putting People’s Party veteran Montoro in charge of the budget and giving de Guindos, a former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. banker, responsibility for the economy. Rajoy didn’t make either of them deputy prime minister, as the last two finance chiefs were, saying he would oversee economic issues himself. “It’s a trial of strength to see who’s really in charge of economic issues, and Rajoy will just let it happen,” said Ismael Crespo, a political scientist at the Fundacion Ortega- Maranon research institute in Madrid, who was head of the state polling unit when the PP was last in power. “Montoro is speaking more to the public and Guindos is speaking more to the foreigners,” he said in a telephone interview. Economy Contracting Spain’s government needs to rein in its borrowing costs and convince investors it can cut the euro region’s third-largest budget deficit even as the economy enters its second recession in two years. The Bank of Spain said yesterday the economy contracted in the fourth quarter and may shrink 1.5 percent in 2012, adding to pressure on Rajoy, who won the Nov. 20 election on a pledge of creating jobs. Budget Minister Montoro, a 61-year-old public-finance professor and lawmaker for Seville, said on Jan. 22 the EU should ease Spain’s budget target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product this year as the goal was set by the previous government, which expected the economy to grow 2.3 percent. The deficit amounted to 8 percent of GDP last year, overshooting the 6 percent target. “If Brussels doesn’t adapt the stability program to the new scenario of a recession, it won’t be realistic and not only will Spain sink but the whole of Europe,” Montoro said in an interview with La Vanguardia newspaper in comments confirmed by a Budget Ministry spokeswoman. Austerity Commitment EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn rejected Montoro’s comments today after a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels, saying it’s “essential” that Spain meets the target, and must take more measures to do so. De Guindos, 52, who described Montoro in December as his “mentor” and “friend,” said Spain would keep its promises. The task of attending the European meetings falls to de Guindos, who speaks fluent English, while Montoro stays in Spain. “The government’s deficit target is 4.4 percent and there is no change in this respect,” de Guindos said after the meeting today. It isn’t the first time the pair has given differing messages in the past week. De Guindos, who is not a member of parliament, wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 19 that budget cuts were “not a choice.” The same day Montoro was quoted as telling the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper that the nation may miss its budget goal. The two gave conflicting reports of the 2011 deficit on Jan. 2, as de Guindos said the overshoot may have been even greater than the government’s first estimate. De Guindos’ position on this year’s shortfall is backed up by Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, who said on Jan. 20 that the government was “determined” to meet the existing target. Rajoy holds a news conference later today after meeting Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho at 5 p.m. in Lisbon.

Cannabis taxation: a win-win all round, Richard Branson tells MPs

2012-01-24T23:53:00.001Z

The market for cannabis in Britain should be regulated and taxed, and responsibility for drug policy moved from the Home Office to the health department, Sir Richard Branson has told MPs. The Virgin Group head said the 20% of police time and £200m spent on giving criminal sentences to 70,000 young people for possession of illegal drugs in Britain each year would be better spent going after the criminal gangs at the centre of the drugs trade. "It's win-win all round,'' he told the Commons home affairs select committee. Asked about his personal history of drug use, Branson replied: "I would say 50% of my generation has smoked cannabis. I would say 75% of my children's generation has smoked cannabis … If I was smoking cigarettes, I would be very worried." He said that in his own Virgin companies he did not think staff who were found to be taking drugs should be dismissed but instead treated as having a problem, and helped. "There are many people in companies with drink problems or smoking problems," he said. Branson was part of a global commission on drug policy, which includes five ex-presidents and Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general. The body concluded last year that the war on drugs had failed and called for experiments in decriminalisation. He was the first witness at the Commons home affairs inquiry into drug policy. Branson argued that the policy of switching responsibilty for drug policy from the Home Office to the health department had worked in Portugal, where nobody had been jailed for using or possessing drugs in the last 10 years. Portugal was the only country that had decriminalised all drugs. As a result of treating drug users rather than imprisoning them, he said, heroin use and heroin-related deaths had fallen by more than 50%. In Britain, 100,000 young people a year were arrested for drug offences, and 75,000 of them were given criminal records, which meant they had problems in later life in travelling to some countries, he said. "If next year those 100,000 people are not prosecuted for taking drugs, but they are helped, I think the commission would welcome Britain doing that." He said if the sale of cannabis and other drugs were regulated and taxed, then the quality of what was being taken could be controlled. He contrasted the lack of deaths in Portugal with the recent deaths of three teenagers in Britain from taking tablets they wrongly thought were ecstasy, citing the fatalities as an example of the consequences of failing to regulate the illegal market. The Virgin chief admitted he had not read the UK Home Office drug policy statement, which emphasises diverting drug users from prison, but said the 100,000 arrests each year were evidence the policy was not working in practice. Pressed by some Conservative MPs on the committee to come down on one side or the other in the debate over methadone maintenance versus abstinence, Branson said he was no expert, and it was for the MPs to establish what worked best.

Gang killings review welcomed by barrister

2012-01-23T13:23:00.001Z

A top Bradford barrister has welcomed proposals to simplify the law on gang-related killings. Stephen Wood, who is based at the Broadway barristers’ chambers, said there were miscarriages of justice due to the complexities of the ‘joint enterprise’ rule, which allows groups or gangs to be charged with murder, even if only one person delivers the fatal blow. MPs on the Commons Justice Select Committee last week said a new, less complex law on such killings was needed to ensure justice for victims and defendants. A change in the law would also cut the number of appeals, the committee said. It claimed the law surrounding gang murder cases was now so complicated juries might find it impossible to understand how to reach the right verdict.

Former Hells Angels leader sues wrong government for seizing home

2012-01-23T13:09:00.001Z

The former leader of the Manitoba Hells Angels says he's been the victim of a crime — the government allegedly stole his house. Ernie Dew has filed a unique civil lawsuit, claiming his property in St. Andrews, Man., was illegally seized and sold following his arrest on drug charges. Dew, 53, seeks unspecified financial damages. "The government has misused and/or exceeded the power of its public office," says a statement of claim filed in Court of Queen's Bench. "This was a reckless, wanton and egregious disregard of his rights." There's just one small problem with Dew's lawsuit, which was specifically filed against the provincial government. "It wasn't us that seized his house," a provincial spokesperson told the Winnipeg Free Press Tuesday afternoon. It was the federal government who took action, meaning Dew's lawsuit will likely fall quickly. He would have the option of re-filing it and naming Ottawa in the lawsuit. The provincial government did seize the Hells Angels clubhouse two years ago, which the spokesman said may have left Dew confused. But they had absolutely no role in the seizing of his property. Dew, 52, was convicted at trial last year of cocaine trafficking and possession of goods obtained by crime stemming from a 2006 arrest. He is to be sentenced on Jan. 18. However, Dew was acquitted of another drug-related offence that specifically involved selling his home. Dew claims — wrongly, as it turns out — the provincial government's criminal forfeiture unit jumped the gun by taking possession of his property under proceeds of crime legislation. "This was misfeasance of public office," Dew claims. He says the government is guilty of "conversion, trespass to chattels, unjust enrichment, misfeasance of public office and negligence," Dew never denied getting involved in several illegal transactions, but offered a unique explanation for his actions at trial. He claimed he only agreed to sell drugs to his friend, Franco Atanasovic, because the man said he was deep in debt and desperate for money to pay back several people who were after him. Atanasovic was working at the time as a police agent and helped capture the deals on audio and video. Dew insists he never made a cent from the transactions and was simply acting as a middle man between Atanasovic and the drug supplier — and a peacemaker between those looking to collect from Atanasovic. Dew said Atanasovic was in trouble and began pestering him at work, eventually convincing him to set up three different drug deals. The deals were done at Dew's workplace, while a fourth one allegedly happened at his home just north of Winnipeg. Dew always insisted he had nothing to do with that one, which he was ultimately found not guilty of and which is now the subject of his lawsuit. The judge found Dew was away hunting at the time a kilogram of cocaine was exchanged between Hells associate Jerome Labossiere and Dew's wife, Vera. Both Labossiere and Dew's wife ultimately pleaded guilty for their roles in that transaction. "My house would be the last place I'd do a drug deal. That would be grounds to have my home seized. I've seen it happen before," Dew told court.

A young member of the Native Syndicate street gang will spend the next eight months behind bars after beating a stranger unconscious with a fence post

2012-01-23T12:39:00.001Z

A young member of the Native Syndicate street gang will spend the next eight months behind bars after beating a stranger unconscious with a fence post in an apparently unmotivated attack. The youth, 14, was handed a sentence of 18 months of secure custody and supervision under the Youth Criminal Justice Act last week after admitting responsibility for an unprovoked summertime attack at a children’s park near Spence Street and Cumberland Avenue. Judge Heather Pullan credited the teen with six months of time already served, meaning he has eight months of jail left to be followed by a period of community supervision and probation. Details of the July 8, 2011 attack were described in court by the Crown as “gratuitous violence against complete strangers.” Prosecutor Sheila Seesahai said the boy approached a group of youths drinking in the park and started attacking them after striking up a short conversation over a “gang scarf.” While two youths managed to escape relatively uninjured, the teen pounced on a 15-year-old boy, knocked him down and repeatedly hit him in the head with the fence picket. “He hit the victim so hard that it shattered … the police just find pieces of it,” Seesahai said. Someone called 911 to report a “bludgeoning,” and officers arrived to find the victim passed out and bleeding from the face, court heard. His attacker was arrested not far from the scene. The youth was granted two shots at bail after his arrest but breached each time, Seesahai said. Since being in custody, he’s had to be transferred to a maximum-security youth lockup twice because of his behaviour, Pullan was told. The teen suffers from impulse issues and has had negative family influences, his lawyer told court. The youth said he “kind of felt bad for the people that I hurt.” “I’m sick and tired of the cockamamie in and out of this place,” he said. Pullan said she recognized the teen came from difficult circumstances, but it didn’t excuse his actions. “It’s not all about you,” said Pullan. “In the end, it’s about protection of the public.”

Police investigating three murders arrested 43 feuding New York gang members

2012-01-23T12:30:00.001Z

Police investigating three murders arrested 43 feuding New York gang members on Thursday based on evidence collected from monitoring what the gang members were saying about the cases on Twitter and Facebook, authorities said. The 25 accused members of the Wave Gang and 18 accused members of rival Hoodstarz have been terrorizing streets in Brooklyn with shootouts that led to the killing of three people and wounding of several others, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. The gang members, ages 15 to 21, bragged about the shootings on the social media sites Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, he said. "By linking their postings and boastings to active cases and other crimes, these officers were able to build their case," Kelly said. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said authorities will next be going after gangs in other Brooklyn neighborhoods. "We know who you are. We know how you operate," he said. "Make no mistake about it. We're coming after you next." Hynes said the feud that started in August between Wave Gang and Hoodstarz resulted in the death of an innocent bystander, and the wounded included a 9-year-old boy and his father. Wave Gang members often robbed 13- and 14-year-olds by threatening to steal their bikes and electronics to intimidate them into joining their gangs, Hynes said. The 43 gang members were indicted on Thursday on charges including murder, assault, reckless endangerment, robbery and weapon possession, with potential sentences ranging from a year to life in prison.

Mexican Cartels Moving Drugs in Armored Vehicles

2012-01-22T08:53:00.001Z

Mexican drug cartels are using improvised armored vehicles known as "monsters" to protect their narcotics shipments from rival gangs, a military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity told Efe. The officer is assigned to the 8th Military Zone based in the northeastern border state of Tamaulipas, where troops have seized around 110 armored cars, including more than 20 monsters that evoke scenes from the 1979 film "Mad Max." Most are heavy trucks that were equipped with armor at clandestine workshops, mostly located in Tamaulipas. Some of the vehicles can carry 12 gunmen, the officer said. Soldiers dismantled one workshop in the Tamaulipas town of Camargo in a June 2011 operation, seizing two armored vehicles and nearly three-dozen more - including 23 tractor-trailers and other heavy trucks - that had not yet been plated. One monster seized last year weighed more than 30 tons because it was covered in thick steel plates and further reinforced with railroad tracks. The officer said troops also confiscated a cargo van dubbed the "pope-mobile" that had an elevated cabin similar to the "room" in the Roman Catholic pontiff's vehicle, although the Mexican van was secured with metal plating instead of bullet-proof glass. "The vehicles are built with steel plates at least an inch thick. Small-caliber projectiles, such as bullets from assault rifles, have a hard time penetrating the armor. They can only be destroyed with heavy weapons or anti-tank shells," the officer added. "They don't circulate on roads or in the cities, but instead operate on byways, which are the routes used to take drugs to the border with the United States," the source said. The brutal turf war being waged in Tamaulipas between the Gulf and Los Zetas gangs - former allies turned arch-enemies - has forced both organizations to develop these armored vehicles to run their businesses. The officer noted that the state has vast semi-arid plains with hundreds of small side roads and byways where the traffickers transport their drugs in light vehicles escorted by the monsters. A ranch where suspected Zetas hit men killed 72 undocumented migrants in August 2010 - apparently after they had refused to work for the gang as enforcers or couriers - was located on one of these unpaved side roads in Tamaulipas. "The cartels are fighting to control and protect these routes both for drug- and people-trafficking and in the opposite direction for the smuggling of weapons to Mexico, as well as to bring in a large quantity of merchandise illegally," the source said.

Man charged in shooting death of Inglewood nightclub owner

2012-01-22T08:41:00.001Z

An alleged gang member was charged Tuesday with capital murder in the robbery-related shooting death of an Inglewood nightclub owner who was gunned down as he returned home in his Rolls-Royce last May. Dennis Roy "Junebug" Brown, 31, is accused in the slaying of Ester Alonzo, who was killed as he pulled the 2007 luxury car into the driveway of his Baldwin Hills home about 2:45 a.m. May 13. Prosecutors allege the murder occurred during the commission of a robbery, which could make Brown eligible for the death penalty if convicted. The criminal complaint also alleges gang and gun use allegations, along with allegations that Brown was convicted in 1999 of attempted robbery and in 2004 of second-degree robbery. Brown was arrested Thursday by the Los Angeles Police Department's South Bureau homicide team and is set to be arraigned Jan. 30 at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.

A parolee and reputed gang member was charged with capital murder Tuesday in the May 2011 slaying of an Inglewood nightclub owner

2012-01-22T08:37:00.001Z

A parolee and reputed gang member was charged with capital murder Tuesday in the May 2011 slaying of an Inglewood nightclub owner, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Dennis Roy Brown, 31, was charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation that the killing occurred during a robbery. The criminal complaint also includes gang and gun allegations.

Prosecutors said Brown could face the death penalty, but no decision to pursue a capital case has been made.

A reputed Rollin 20’s Blood gang member known as “Junebug,” Brown is accused of gunning down Alonzo Ester, 67, a real estate entrepreneur and Inglewood nightclub owner, about 2:45 a.m. May 13 as he sat inside his Rolls-Royce in the driveway of his Baldwin Hills mansion

Police believe the assailant approached the driver’s-side door and fired one or two shots. Ester owned a black Rolls-Royce and a white one. He was driving the $300,000 white car, which rolled into a neighbor's house across the street after the shooting.

Witnesses heard the shots and saw a man leaving the scene in a sedan.

At first, LAPD South Bureau homicide detectives believed that the killing could be related to the victim's business. But after painstaking investigation, they determined that the crime was one of opportunity and that the suspect targeted Ester because of his lifestyle.

Prosecutors said Brown had two previous convictions -- a 2004 second-degree robbery and a 1999 attempted second-degree robbery. Both offenses took place in Los Angeles County.

Half-baked Vancouver-Sydney drug smuggle ends in arrests

2012-01-22T04:33:00.001Z

Five Australian men have been arrested after trying to smuggle $8 million worth of drugs Down Under from Vancouver International Airport. On Dec. 30, 2011, Canadian border officers found the drugs - six kilograms of cocaine, 12 kg of MDMA (ecstasy) and nearly two kilograms of meth – after they examined a commercial oven and range destined for Australia Service Agency. The shipment was tracked to Sydney airport on Jan. 7, and on Thursday to locations in two suburbs north of Sydney, where eight search warrants were issued and the five men arrested. The Australian Federal Police also seized small stashes of drugs, $17,900 in cash and a large number of weapons including throwing knives and a Taser. The men – who range in age from 24 years old to 54 – were scheduled to appear in Sydney-area courts yesterday for charges of importing, attempting to possess and supplying a border-controlled drug. Each face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or a $825,000 fine.

Fatal shooting spree 'settling of beefs' between Bacon and Dhak-Duhre gangs,

2012-01-22T04:29:00.001Z

With one man shot dead and another still clinging to life, police say Surrey’s latest homicide Thursday night was likely part of the ongoing settling accounts between rival gangs following the murder of Gurmit Singh Dhak in October of 2010. “I think it is fair to say that it is a settling of beefs related to the murder of Gurmit Dhak last year,” said Sgt. Bill Whalen spokesman for B.C.’s Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit, which targets organized crime in the province. “[The] Dhak-Duhre group is in conflict with the Bacon brothers . . . and this is just another iteration of that,” Whalen said. In this latest gang-related shooting, two men in their late 20s were fired on while outside a residence in Surrey in the 13900-block 56th Ave. just after 11 p.m., in Panorama Ridge. One was declared dead at hospital and the other injured. He under went surgery in local hospital and was reportedly in critical condition. The wounded man remained alive as of Saturday afternoon, according to police. The Province has learned the deceased was a low-level Dhak-Duhre group member named Sean Beaver. The second man shot Thursday is reportedly related to another Dhak-Duhre member killed by a balaclava-wearing gunman Oct. 22 at a strip mall in central Surrey. Police are not confirming the names of the victims due to the risk of reprisal. “We know that one guy is still in the hospital, so . . . we don’t want to identify him to the shooters,” RCMP Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said Saturday. “We’ve gone out there and told people we’re protecting the general public and we’re protecting the staff at the hospital.” The shooting comes just days after well-known Surrey gang member Sandip (Dip) Duhre, 36, was gunned down execution-style at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver Tuesday night. He and his two brothers, associates of deceased gangster Bindy Johal, were known to be involved in the Fraser Valley drug trade and allied with the Dhak group. They have been feuding with rival gangs, including members of the Bacon brothers’ Red Scorpions. Gurmit Singh Dhak was gunned down at Metrotown in the fall of 2010 and his associate Jujhar Khun-Khun critically injured. There was another attempt on Khun-Khun’s life in Surrey in September 2011. Dhak’s younger brother Sukhveer also has a history of gang involvement. Since October he’s been in custody pending trial on 2008 trafficking and conspiracy charges. Jonathan Bacon was shot and killed — and three associates, including a Hells Angel and Independent Soldiers member, were injured — in a targeted hit in Kelowna in August. In September 2011, the Gang Task Force issued a public warning that anyone connected with the Dhaks or the Duhres, who were trying to extend their territory, were at risk of violence and retaliation. When asked if Thursday’s shooting was related to the attack in Kelowna, Sgt. Whalen said, “it’s a possibility. That possibility is being investigated.”

Moving to synthetic drugs

2012-01-22T02:34:00.001Z

The creation of clandestine laboratories for the development and transfer of synthetic drugs has shifted to the cultivation of marijuana and poppy from the drug cartels, mainly the Sinaloa, according to data from the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA). The federal agency estimated that the creation of these laboratories has grown 200 percent in a thousand. Only so far the current federal government, and the Mexican army has dismantled 645 clandestine laboratories, while the previous administration closed only 60. Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco and Michoacan are the states where such facilities have been found. Cartels move to the synthetic drug The Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) states that the cartels, mainly the Sinaloa, have ceased to grow marijuana and opium poppy for the creation of clandestine laboratories for the development and transfer of synthetic drugs. The analysis determined that the Department of Defense business transformation of the drug to Mexican cartels originated in the price, under the conditions of production, transportation and safe profits. Therefore estimated that the creation of these facilities could have grown up in a thousand 200 percent, as the cultivation and planting of narcotics has diminished considerably. However, it has been the destruction of plantations that are still grown in humid places and geographical areas to evade detection wild, mostly in the so-called Golden Triangle comprising the states of Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila, as well as in regions Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla and Chiapas. Through eradication, National Defence has destroyed 635 000 120 marijuana plants equivalent to 89 000 726 hectares. Regarding the poppy has been made to exterminate 410 000 925 crops, equivalent to 71 000 911 hectares. Currently the Department of Defense uses a restricted use chemical for the destruction of such plantations. The cartel of El Chapo According to the areas of intelligence federal institution for criminal organizations profit by synthetic drugs is greater than the narcotics. In just six years so far the Army has been the dismantling of 645 clandestine laboratories, while in the previous six years only 60 such facilities were closed down. According to the geographical area where they were seized laboratories has been established with the greatest presence in Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, and Michoacan, which indicates a clear route traffic of synthetic drugs and, fundamentally, is operated by the Sinaloa cartel, among others, leading Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. In a relationship of convenience with the organization La Familia Michoacana , and now with the Knights Templar , the Sinaloa cartel, together with some members of the organization of The Valencia- trafficking synthetic drugs using the same path where laboratories have been found . For drug dealers, business transformation for higher profits and security has generated since 2007. Earnings For organized crime is much easier to invest in a laboratory than in the planting of drugs, since the laboratory can be kept indoors without much risk of being detected by satellite photography or any other form of inspection. Most of the reasons for the evolution of the drug business, is to grow it to make, is profit. According to the Department of Defense, of drugs called “synthetic” are available from 200 to two thousand per cent more income than marijuana. In addition to criminal organizations linked to the transfer, transportation of synthetic substances are much more portable than marijuana or poppies, because the pills as methamphetamine or heroin are hidden better. Environmental Appeal Clandestine drug laboratories also affect residents adjacent to the facility. The construction of clandestine laboratories in the cities or conurbations can bring multiple health problems, but not only those who produce the synthetic drug, but also to neighboring residential areas adjacent to these facilities houses improvised. According to what has determined the Forensic Services Division of the Attorney General’s Office, the contamination with chemical precursors to produce synthetic drugs can cause severe central nervous system damage, which could cause death.

Nigerian sect kills over 100 in deadliest strike yet

2012-01-21T22:10:00.001Z

100 people were killed in bomb attacks and gunbattles in the Nigerian city Kano late on Friday, a local government security source said, in the deadliest strike claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram to date. "Definitely more than 100 have been killed," the senior source, who could not be named, told Reuters. "There were bombs and then gunmen were attacking police and police came back with attacks." Hospital staff said there were still bodies arriving at morgues in Kano. Boko Haram claimed responsibility on Saturday for the wave of strikes. The sect has killed hundreds in the north of Africa's most populous nation in the last year. The attacks late on Friday prompted the government to announce a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the city of more than 10 million people, the country's second biggest. President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been criticized for failing to act quickly and decisively enough against Boko Haram, said the killers would face "the full wrath of the law." Kano and other northern cities have been plagued by an insurgency led by Boko Haram, which is blamed for scores of bombings and shootings. These have taken place mostly in the Muslim-dominated north of Africa's top oil producer, whose main oil-producing facilities are located to the south. Aimed mainly at government targets, the Boko Haram attacks have been growing in scale and sophistication. A spokesman for Boko Haram contacted reporters in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, where the sect is based, to claim responsibility for Friday's bombings. Copies of a letter apparently from the group were also dropped around Kano.

'Kings of Dust' Gang Suspected of Murders and Shootings, Police Say

2012-01-21T21:59:00.001Z

Members of the "Kings of Dust" drug gang that terrorized a Harlem public housing complex are suspected of carrying out several murders and half-a-dozen shootings while controlling their $1 million-a-year PCP and narcotics empire, police sources said. Prosecutors on Wednesday released a 268-count indictment against the 35-member drug gang, which investigators said put an 8-year-old boy to work keeping watch for cops as older members peddled massive quantities of PCP and other drugs. The indictment charged gang members with conspiracy and drug sales, but police sources said Thursday the gang resorted to murder on several occasions. Tenants at the New York City Housing Authority's Milbank Frawley Houses at 1780 Madison Avenue said Thursday they lived in fear for months as the alleged drug dealers ran rampant, intimidating locals. The alleged drug gang members urinated in the elevator and in hallways, fought at night, and fired a gun at the housing complex at least once, residents told DNAinfo. Tenants said they watched helplessly from their windows as the gang took over the complex, gathering nightly in a courtyard that served as a hub for their drug trade. Prosecutors said the gang hid 2.5 gallons of PCP, which is sold both in liquid form and crystallized as Angel Dust, in Hawaiian Punch bottles. The gang was made up of men, women, and some "very small" children, residents said. "Every day I'd see them out the window," said Luis Pena, 43, whose apartment overlooks the courtyard. "Every hour there'd be more people." Maxine, a 65-year-old resident, said she was afraid to go out late at night, when the gang seemed most active. "We were scared of getting robbed," she said. Some said the drug activity seemed to increase about a year and a half ago, then intensified in the past five months. Residents said they wondered why it seemed to take police so long to stop the gang's criminal activity. "There were mad dustheads in the building and on the corner," said Marcella, a 56-year-old resident. "I don't know how the cops took so long." Investigators tracked the drug gang's activity for 15 months, prosectors said Wednesday. The probe was sparked by residents' complaints, but some said Thursday that officials seemed to brush off their concerns. "I was scared," said a 60-year-old resident named Yolanda. "We went to (the New York City Housing Authority) to say it was very dangerous and there were people outside. They didn’t do anything. They just fixed the door. They said call the police." A NYCHA spokesperson said the agency worked closely with the NYPD and was aware of the drug activity at the Milbank Frawley Houses. NYCHA was working to evict the residents who were involved, a NYCHA spokesperson said. "We will continue to assist residents in working with the NYPD in any way that we can, and periodic meetings have taken place with...police officers regarding criminal activity," the spokeswoman said.

The G-Shyne Bloods are a Richmond-area subset of the Bloods national street gang.

2012-01-21T21:55:00.001Z

Henrico County jury found a gang enforcer guilty on all counts for ordering a robbery that resulted in a murder, and recommended a sentence of life in prison plus 23 years. After deliberating about four hours Friday, the jury of six men and six women found Merwin Raheem Herbert "Poncho" White, 21, guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and two related firearm charges. Authorities say White ordered two other members of the G-Shyne Bloods to rob drug dealer Quondell Pringle because Pringle had been holding himself up falsely as a member of the gang. Authorities say that during the robbery, James B. Pryor shot and killed Pringle, 22. The G-Shyne Bloods are a Richmond-area subset of the Bloods national street gang. White stared impassively at the jury's forewoman as she announced the panel's recommended sentence, ending a three-day trial in Henrico Circuit Court. Formal sentencing was set for March 7. After a deputy placed White in handcuffs, he nodded solemnly to supporters in the courtroom gallery. One woman could be heard crying softly. Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor, who was elected in November, said the sentence shows that her office won't put up with gang violence and noted that the case was unusual because it involved a murder prosecution of a man who set the events in motion by giving an order but didn't pull the trigger. "This gang culture is something that's real," Taylor said. "Gangs in Henrico County are not tolerated, and law enforcement is committed 100 percent to the public and going after gang activity." Taylor praised Henrico investigators and prosecutors Toni M. Randall and Thomas L. Johnson Jr. for their handling of the case. After Taylor was elected, she removed several veteran Henrico prosecutors and hired Randall and Johnson from Richmond to serve as deputies in her new administration. After Friday's verdict, White's attorney declined to comment. Supporters of the defendant said it was unfair he was convicted of murder when he didn't carry out the shooting himself. "He's not a menace to society as everyone is trying to make him out to be," said White's sister, Roderica White, 20, adding that her brother is the father of four daughters and one son. Prosecutors said White ordered two fellow affiliates of the G-Shyne Bloods, Pryor and William D. Hargrove, to set Quondell Pringle up to be robbed last April. In his closing arguments Friday, Johnson described a meeting White had with Pryor and Hargrove to plan the robbery of Pringle by setting up a drug deal to buy marijuana from him. Johnson said White told Pryor and Hargrove, "If he bucks, then you know what to do." "Those were the last words given to James Pryor before he and William Hargrove left the apartment in Newbridge to complete their mission," Johnson said. Johnson said the gang's message to Pringle would be this: "You're going to be robbed. You're going to stop reppin' for G-Shyne." Pryor, a G-Shyne initiate, told associates that he shot Pringle after Pringle grabbed for a gun White had provided. White's attorney, William Linka, had urged the jury to disregard the testimony of prosecution witnesses who were deeply involved with the gang. One of the witnesses was granted immunity for her testimony, and two others admitted they expected some form of leniency on criminal charges they face. One of the men, Deshon Randolph, is facing a gang-participation charge for his role in a shooting of two other gang members in Powhatan County shortly after Pringle died. One of the victims was killed and the other critically wounded. Richmonder Joe Lewis Harris III, known as Savage and who drove the getaway car in the Pringle case, has pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the Powhatan double shooting.

Man shot in Surrey was the half-brother of previously slain gang-associate

2012-01-21T21:50:00.001Z

One of two men gunned down in Surrey late Thursday was the half-brother of a Dhak associate shot to death there in October, The Vancouver Sun has learned. And police are bracing for more violence as the death toll rises in a bloody ongoing conflict between two rival groups of gangsters. Sgt. Bill Whelan, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said heads of organized crime and homicide teams met Friday to strategize about what to do in the aftermath of a string of gang murders, including the execution at the Sheraton Wall Centre Tuesday of high-profile gangster Sandip (Dip) Duhre. “They are obviously concerned about the public shootings,” Whalen said. “Certainly in the last 24 hours, enforcement has been stepped up. There will be a significant increase in covert units tasked with working on this.” And he said the Uniformed Gang Task Force will be out in greater numbers throughout the weekend. The latest casualty, Sean Beaver, is from Montreal and was not well-known to police in B.C. before he was targeted in the driveway of a house in the 13900-block of 56 Ave. about 11 p.m. Thursday. A second man shot Thursday is fighting for his life in hospital. A second man shot Thursday and critically wounded is the sibling of Stephen Leone, a member of the Dhak-Duhre group who was fatally shot by a masked gunman as he sat in his black Acura sedan in a strip mall at 100th Avenue and King George Highway last Oct. 22. Another associate was wounded in the shooting. The Dhak-Duhre gang has been marked for months by a loose criminal alliance made up of Red Scorpions, Independent Soldiers and some Hells Angels. The conflict between the two sides bubbled into public view in October 2010, when Gurmit Dhak was gunned down at Metrotown mall by hit men suspected of being linked to the other side. Several retaliatory shootings followed in late 2010 and early 2011. And things spun out of control after Red Scorpion Jon Bacon was executed by masked gunmen outside of the Delta Grand hotel in Kelowna last August. A Hells Angel and an Independent Soldier were also wounded in that attack. The fallout led Gang Task Force leader Supt. Tom McCluskie to issue an extraordinary public warning telling people to stay away from anyone connected to the Dhak-Duhre group. And on Friday, McCluskie reiterated that plea. “If you are near or around any of these guys, then you are putting yourself or whoever you are with in serious, serious danger,” McCluskie said. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is in charge of Beaver’s murder. “Although it is in the very early stages, at this point this shooting appears to be targeted and gang related,” Sgt. Jennifer Pound said Friday. IHIT investigators canvassed the area around the palatial Panorama Ridge home where the shooting took place Friday, looking for evidence and speaking with potential witnesses. The oceanview house with an indoor pool sits on more than four acres and was purchased last August for $3.5 million by a person named Hua Deng. The new owner then rented the property out to a Dhak associate. Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said politicians and police throughout the region are concerned about the escalation in violence. “I think with the shooting in Vancouver the other day, we thought there would be some retaliation,” Watts said. “I think it is something we are very, very concerned about.” Watts said if necessary Surrey RCMP could bring in resources from out of province to help as they did in 2009 when gang murders escalated. “We have that capability. If it escalates again, we are prepared to do that,” she said. “I would hope that things calm down."

News International faces FBI phone hacking probe

2012-01-20T09:38:00.001Z

Yesterday the company paid the actor £130,000 after accepting that it had published stories gleaned from hacking his phone. One of the articles News International accepted had come from phone hacking was a 2003 story in the News of the World which referred to telephone calls Law’s assistant Ben Jackson had made to him when he arrived at an airport. It is believed the airport was John F. Kennedy airport in New York. News International’s admission has led the US authorities to investigate whether a crime took place on American soil. It is thought the possibility that Law’s phone was using an American network at the time could lead to offences having been committed under US law.

Machete-wielding bank boss ‘received death threats from Sunderland gangster’

2012-01-19T19:52:00.001Z

BANK sales manager armed himself with two machetes after underworld loan sharks torched his home and threatened to “make his life a misery”, he told a court. Debt-ridden David Baker turned to the criminal fraternity to borrow £5,000 in cash, despite holding down a £30,000-a-year job with Barclays. But, when he was unable to repay the loan given to him by a “well-known” Wearside gangster, his Audi A5 was torched on the driveway of his Seaham home and he later received death threats. Just 24 hours later – on Christmas Eve last year – arsonists set his front door alight as his partner and young daughter sat upstairs. Fearing for his life, he armed himself with two foot-long machetes and stashed them in the footwell of his partner’s car as they drove to meet an acquaintance who might be able to end his problem. And, after discovering his home had been targeted, he flew into a rage at passing motorist Lee Atkinson and brandished the blades, screaming: “Do you want some you little ****.” David Wilkinson, prosecuting, said: “Mr Atkinson was driving along the Coast Road when the defendant and his partner Vicky Barnes were driving behind his vehicle. They overtook the vehicle and pulled in front. Mr Atkinson saw that the defendant was holding a knife that had a blade of about a foot in length and a width of about two inches. “He shouted: ‘Do you want some of this you little ****?’. “He had acted out of the misapprehension that Mr Atkinson was linked to the incident at his home. “Officers recovered two machetes, which were 15ins in length. In an interview, he said he was in debt to a gangster he was not going to name. “He heard from third parties that the person concerned was going to make his life a misery and he then bought the two machetes for his own protection.” Baker had applied for a loan at his work after deciding that he wanted to buy a second car for him and his family. But, after building up debt during his youth, his credit history was shot and they rejected his request. In September last year, he opted to take a four-month break from work to spend more time with his family. At the same time, he claimed he was making £10,000 a month working as a professional gambler on internet gaming sites. His friend had told him that he could get him a loan and he was eventually given a £5,000 pay-out. However, after he failed to make the repayments he said that he began receiving threats and his house and car were both set on fire. Following the attack on his home, his partner received a phone call from the Sunderland gangster and she told police he was calling to follow up his threats. Baker, 23, from Seaham, appeared at Durham Crown Court yesterday after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon and using threatening and abusive behaviour. But Judge Michael Cartlidge adjourned the case after questioning Baker’s legal team, led by Lewis Kerr, and saying he wanted Baker to prove that he had applied for a loan. The judge said: “He must have though at some point that this was all sounding a bit rubbish.”

Carnival says caring for cruise disaster victims

2012-01-19T03:03:00.001Z

Carnival Corp & plc, whose luxury liner Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy last week, said it was providing lodging, refunds and other support to people affected by the accident, even as some public relations executives criticized the company's handling of the situation. "I give my personal assurance that we will take care of each and every one of our guests, crew and their families affected by this tragic event," Carnival Chief Executive Micky Arison said in a statement late on Wednesday - five days after the incident that left 11 people dead and 22 missing. Costa Cruise Lines, a unit of Carnival and operator of the ship, has been arranging lodging and transportation for passengers and crew members to return home, and has offered assistance and counseling as needed. It has also begun refunding passengers their cruise fares and all costs incurred while on board. The company also said it was contacting every passenger and crew member or their family and will be addressing personal possessions lost on board. Public relations experts have chastised Carnival for being slow to address the disaster and vague about its response and efforts to prevent similar incidents in the future. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being "outstanding," Carnival's public relations strategy in the immediate wake of the disaster gets a four, said Allyson Stewart-Allen, director of International Marketing Partners, a consulting firm. "It wasn't quick, it wasn't specific, it wasn't reassuring," Stewart-Allen said, noting that Carnival's first statement, released on Saturday nearly 24 hours after the Costa Concordia liner struck rock causing it to capsize, did not quote a specific person. Subsequent statements on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday quoted Arison, who has been in continuous contact with executives in Italy, but has not flown there himself. Arison, who also owns the Miami Heat NBA team, has written six messages on Twitter mentioning the tragedy, but Evan Nierman, founder of Florida public relations firm Red Banyan Group said that was not enough. "If he's the point person, I would want a constant flow of information - Twitter, Facebook, talking to reporters, letting them know what's going on. I would have him out there in a real way. He needs to be in front of cameras, he needs to be meeting with people, he needs to show that he's in charge of the situation." A statement on Wednesday from Costa Cruises, owned by Carnival, said the Italian company commissioned salvage experts in the hours after the accident to draw up a plan to recover the fuel reserves from the ship before they leak into the water.

Doctors may strike over cuts to their pension pots

2012-01-18T23:43:00.001Z

The British Medical Association, which represents 130,000 doctors and medical students, said two thirds of its members support industrial action which could cripple hospitals and GP surgeries throughout the country. The association rejected cuts to doctor’s pensions despite warning that some hospitals are so financially stretched that patient safety can no longer be guaranteed and that “accidents will happen”. Senior government figures said the reductions in their pensions were “modest” and in line with other public sector staff. A government source said: “It seems a bit rich for doctors to be complaining about cuts and patient care when they leave the NHS as millionaires.” Over the past decade, the average consultant has seen their pay rise by 54 per cent, with less qualified doctors enjoying a rise of 30 per cent. Their pay has recently been frozen, with the average GP now earning about £110,000.

Meat causes cancer. It’s been said so many times that you’d have to be an idiot not to believe it, right?

2012-01-18T17:34:00.001Z

The latest confirmation of this apparent common sense was a report published last week in the British Journal of Cancer Research. The authors, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, brought together 11 studies - published between 1993 and 2011 - that assessed the risk of pancreatic cancer from eating red meat and ‘processed’ meat. From this meta-analysis, the authors found that red meat increased the risk of pancreatic cancer for men, but not for women, and that the risk of pancreatic cancer rose by 19 per cent for every 50 grams of processed meat consumed. The simple claim that ‘processed meat causes cancer’ was widely reported after the study was published. However, it would be wrong to assume that such claims about risk are all they are cracked up to be. First, there is the question of whether the association claimed is real. Epidemiological studies like the ones brought together by the Swedish researchers will typically find out what participants ate for a day or a week using a questionnaire or a food diary. Then, the participants will be checked some years later to see who has succumbed to the disease in question. Did people correctly remember what they ate? And did they accurately recall how much they consumed? It would be unusual for anyone to have weighed the food, so the amounts could be inaccurate, too. What else did the participants eat? Did they change their eating habits in subsequent months or years? And what the hell is ‘processed’ meat, anyway? Unless you slaughter your own animals, your meat will have been processed to one degree or another. At what point does meat that has been processed become ‘processed meat’? There are so many ways in which the crude tools of epidemiology could screw up the result of studies like this that it is normal for fairly small risks - like the 19 per cent increase in this case - to be treated with a massive pinch of salt. The authors of this study even note: ‘All studies controlled for age and smoking, but only a few studies adjusted for other potential confounders such as body mass index and history of diabetes.’ Secondly, even if the association is not simply a product of the way in which the study was designed, we still don’t know if correlation equals causation. The best we could say is that the kind of people who like to eat processed meat are a bit more likely to get pancreatic cancer than the kind of people who don’t eat meat at all. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist - or a professor of epidemiology - to realise that vegetarians live, on average, quite different lifestyles from people who tuck into burgers and kebabs. Thirdly, even if this study has somehow managed to be supremely accurate and found a real risk, we have to ask if such an increase is of any practical significance in the real world. Cancer Research UK gives the following statistics on pancreatic cancer: for the UK, the age-standardised rate is 9.3 cases per 100,000 people per year - roughly one person in every 10,000. So even those people who really like processed meat and eat 150g per day would have about a 50 per cent increased risk - or about 15 cases per 100,000. To express that in terms of odds, instead of it being 10,000-to-one that these kebab-and-burger lovers develop pancreatic cancer in any particular year, it would be 6,667-to-one. So, to sum up: the association between processed meat and pancreatic cancer is so weak it might well be a mirage; the increased risk might not be caused by the processed meat itself; and even if it is, the risk is so low that it’s really not worth bothering about. Yet still we are advised to consider cutting down on our red meat and processed meat consumption. Life is, frankly, too short to miss out on such tasty foods on the slim chance that we might lose a few years of life in old age. Still, that won’t stop people being harangued anyway. A particularly unsavoury example of this appeared in Sunday’s Observer. Illiberal Liberal of the Week contender, columnist Barbara Ellen, declared that the bovine attitude of recent governments towards smokers and drinkers should apply to meat-eaters, too. Now that a precedent has been set - that people should be harangued for doing things that are legal but disapproved of by Those Who Know Better - Ellen is simply following through this logic by attacking those who like sausages, bacon and pies. Here’s the argument: people (like smokers and drinkers) who deliberately do things that are bad for them, despite being told time and again that they should not, are now lectured, restricted and even have their basic rights taken away; eating meat - and particularly ‘processed’ meat - increases your risk of getting cancer and is bad for you; therefore, people who eat meat should now be lectured, restricted and even have their basic rights taken away. This is a shocking but perfectly logical argument, if you accept the petty-authoritarian mindset that flourished under New Labour and is still going strong under the Lib-Con coalition (and, indeed, around the world). Given the tone of Ellen’s piece, you might hope that she would end by saying: ‘Of course, telling people not to eat meat is stupid - every bit as stupid as telling them not to drink or smoke or telling them not to be fat. The government should just butt out.’ Sadly, there is no note of irony anywhere. She really does want to stick it to meat-eaters. So, of the supposed risks of eating meat, Ellen declares: ‘This information has popped up regularly for years in all forms of popular media. Indeed, in this era of info overload, if you’ve never come across the “burgers and kebabs are unhealthy” revelation, one would have to presume you’ve been lying in a coma. With this in mind, isn’t it time to ask, exactly how thick, how hard to educate, are meat-eaters and why aren’t they held accountable in the same way everyone else is?’ She continues: ‘Sympathy is in short supply these days. You can’t move for people being blamed for their own miserable situations: smokers who “burden” the NHS; alcoholics who don’t “deserve” liver transplants; obese people who “should” pay more for flights. Even those poor terrified women with the faulty breast implants are said to have “brought it on themselves”. By this logic, people who’ve been regularly informed of the dangers of meat, particularly the cheap processed variety, but who continue to wolf it down should be held just as accountable.’ Now that the precedent has been set for the government to lambast those who engage in unapproved habits, it’s open season on any habit that a campaigner or columnist disapproves of. Ban it! Tax it! Make them get a prescription for it! Deny them medical care! Ellen’s article is objectionable but it only follows the remorseless logic of so many others. There is another lesson from the meat-and-cancer story: at a time when all sorts of dubious claims are made based on junk science and dodgy statistics, only some panics get wide publicity; others just pop up and disappear again in a matter of hours. The difference is that some play to an existing political or media agenda and some do not. The idea that meat causes cancer appeals to health busybodies, politicians scrabbling around for a sense of purpose, vegetarians who can’t win a moral argument about animal rights, and environmentalists who have failed to convince us that increasing the ‘human footprint’ - by wanting to eat more meat, for example - is killing the planet. It’s not quite possessed of the same force as religious fervour - do the ‘right thing’ or live in agony for eternity - but the idea that if you do something naughty like enjoy bacon then you might die in agony before your time, is the best that many such claims-makers have got going for them right now. The only proper response to this junkscience-based illiberalism is to be extremely sceptical of any such claims and to defend everyone’s right to indulge in these petty vices.

Bikie dispute leads to car park shooting

2012-01-18T09:04:00.001Z

dispute between Comanchero motorcycle gang members led to a shooting in Adelaide's west on Monday night, police believe. Two shots were fired in the car park of the Findon Hotel about 10:00pm (ACDT). Detective Inspector Paul Yeomans says two men were arguing in the car park before one of them fired the shots at a dark-coloured sedan. "We don't think this is a random attack," he said. "We think that the two males are known to each other. We do think, even though it's early in the investigation, we do think it is linked to outlaw motorcycle gangs, in particular the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang." The cars sped-off after the shooting and police have not said why they suspect Comanchero members. The shooting is the latest instance of bikie-related violence in the past two months. But Attorney-General John Rau insists the situation is not out of control. "There are always going to be lunatics who go out there and break the law as these people have done and when they're caught up with the law will deal with them," he said. There is no sign anyone was injured in the incident.

Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police

2012-01-18T09:01:00.001Z

Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police just prior to a search of a St. Andrews home that netted drugs, ammunition and gang paraphernalia. Police said at about 3 p.m. Friday, Shane Allen Fischer, 31, and Nicole Joy Nykorak, 26, were arrested during a traffic stop at Highway 8 and Grassmere Road. The stop came about two hours prior to police executing two search warrants at the same alleged drug house on Lockport Road as part of a ongoing street crime investigation, police said Sunday. Police seized nearly $10,000 worth of cocaine and hash, along with coke-cutting agent, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, a bullet-proof vest and gang attire, Const. Jason Michalyshen said. The seizure of the armoured vest is significant, as it may prove to become the first test of provincial legislation that came into force Jan. 1 outlawing their use by the general public without a permit. Anyone unauthorized to have body armour and is caught with it faces a fine of up to $10,000, three months in jail or both. Michalyshen said he was unaware of any other pending arrests in the case. Fischer was out on bail at the time and was supposed to be living elsewhere, said police. Nykorak was out on statutory release from prison and is facing parole revocation, Michalyshen said. Police didn’t identify the gang involved, but said it was an outlaw motorcycle group. A police source said both have ties to the Rock Machine gang. Both suspects face “numerous” drug and weapons charges, police said. They are being held at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

Mexico drug gangs targeting gov’t choppers, at least 28 hit in 5 years

2012-01-16T22:26:00.001Z

The Mexican armed forces and prosecutors have suffered at least 28 gunfire attacks on helicopters in the five years since the government launched an offensive against drug cartels, according to official documents made public Monday. The attacks show the increasing ferocity of Mexico’s drug gangs, and also suggest support for what the Mexican government has said in the past: that 2010 may have been the worst year for the upward spiral in violence. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare In the first two years of the drug war, reporting government agencies such as the air force, navy and Attorney General’s Office reported no chopper attacks. But in 2008, four helicopters were hit by gunfire, wounding at least one officer aboard. In 2009, bullets struck six government helicopters in the rotors, side doors or motor compartments. All the craft were apparently able to land safely. 2010 was the worst year for helicopter attacks, with 14 hit and one crew member wounded. Some craft had as many as seven bullet holes in them when they landed, with rounds going through windshields, fuselages, rotors and even landing gear. In 2011, only three helicopters were hit by gunfire, but the number is almost certainly higher. The federal police refused to release data on attacks on its craft, but publicly acknowledged that on May 24, suspected cartel gunmen opened fire on a federal police chopper, hitting two officers and forcing the craft to land, though officials insisted it had not been shot down. Federal police said the pilot in that incident landed “to avoid any accident.” The Russian-made Mi-17 touched down about 3.5 miles (6 kilometers) from the shooting scene in the western state of Michoacan. Two officers aboard suffered non-life-threatening wounds. Mexico has long used helicopters in anti-drug operations. While security forces have updated their helicopter fleet in recent years, they has also retired some older craft, so the total number of choppers would not account for the variation in attacks. The newspaper Milenio originally requested the attack reports through a freedom of information request, and the reports were independently accessed by The Associated Press. Mexican drug gangs have long strung steel cables around opium and marijuana plantations to try to bring down police and military helicopters. In 2003, in what prosecutors said was the first fatal attack of its kind by drug traffickers in Mexico, gunmen guarding an opium-poppy plantation shot down two police helicopters, killing all five agents aboard. But those attacks were infrequent compared to what’s occurred since 2008. Overall Drug-related killings rose 11 percent in the first nine months of 2011, when 12,903 people were killed, compared to 11,583 in the same period of 2010, the office said. But the Attorney General’s Office found one small consolation: “It’s the first year (since 2006) that the homicide rate increase has been lower compared to the previous years.” Drug-related killings jumped by 70 percent for the same nine-month period of 2010 compared to January to September 2009, when 6,815 deaths were recorded. The carnage continued Monday, when seven gunmen were killed in a pre-dawn shootout with police on a highway in the city of Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City. A federal police officer was recovering from a gunshot wound to the foot following the confrontation. The prosecutors office in the central Mexican state of Morelos says the gunmen belonged to an organized crime gang, but did not say which one. “Organized crime” in Mexico generally refers to drug cartels, and remnants of the Beltran Leyva cartel have been fighting for control of Cuernavaca. Prosecutors said the gunmen were traveling in three stolen vehicles when police confronted them early Monday.

Shark attack at South Africa's deadliest beach

2012-01-16T15:50:00.001Z

Mr Msungubana was swimming with a group of friends in shallow water off Second Beach in Port St Johns, a town on the country’s southeastern coast, when the attack took place. John Costello, local station commander for the National Sea Rescue Institute, said he sustained “multiple traumatic lacerations to his torso, arms and legs” where the shark bit him repeatedly. His death marks the sixth in just over five years at the beach, making it the most dangerous in the world for fatal shark attacks. In South Africa, one in five attacks by the ocean predators ends in the death but every single attack at Second Beach has proved fatal. Zambezi or bull sharks, known as the “pitbulls of the ocean” for their ferocity, have been blamed for most of the incidents. Experts from the nearby Natal Sharks Board have been brought in to investigate the phenomenon and the town authorities have closed the beach to swimmers. Pictures taken on Sunday show lifeguards wading nervously into the sea to pull the badly-injured Mr Msungubana to safety. They placed him on a surfboard to bring him to shore where, Mr Costello said, he was treated by a doctor who had been on the beach before paramedics arrived.

Tax adviser guilty of fraud scheme

2012-01-16T06:09:00.001Z

A professional tax adviser from Bedfordshire has been convicted of trying to defraud honest taxpayers of £70 million, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said. David Perrin spent his cut of the stolen cash on expensive second homes, exotic holidays, works of art and luxury cars, a spokeswoman said. The 46-year-old, of Leagrave, Luton, Bedfordshire, was found guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court and will be sentenced next month, she added. Perrin, deputy managing director at Vantis Tax Ltd, devised and operated a tax avoidance scheme which he sold to wealthy taxpayers in order to exploit the law on giving shares to charity, she said. The scheme allowed him to pocket more than £2 million in fees from unsuspecting clients. He used a network of finance professionals to advise more than 600 wealthy clients to buy shares, worth a few pence each, in four new companies he had set up, the spokeswoman said. He then listed the companies on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange and paid people money from an offshore account to buy and sell the shares simply to inflate their price. The share owners then donated 329 million shares to various unsuspecting registered charities and tried to claim £70 million tax relief on a total of £213 million of income and company profits. This was based on the shares being worth up to £1 each, rather than the pennies they were originally bought for. Perrin also used the bogus scheme to claim money back, the spokeswoman said. The scheme proved so popular that Vantis employees performed a smug celebratory song at their annual conference, to the tune of I will Survive, she said. It included the verse: "They should have changed that stupid law, they should have buggered charity, but they have left that lovely tax relief, for folks to pay to me." Jim Graham, HMRC criminal investigator, said: "With his knowledge of the tax system, Perrin thought that he was one step ahead of both HMRC and the law. "This cynical fraud not only stole millions of pounds from taxpayers, but also conned innocent charities into accepting gifts of virtually worthless shares, just so Perrin could inflate his own criminal earnings." Perrin was charged with cheating the revenue by dishonestly submitting and dishonestly facilitating and inducing others to submit claims for tax relief which falsely stated values of shares which were gifted to charities. He will be sentenced on February 9 and confiscation proceedings are under way, the spokeswoman said.

Top former art dealer faces 87 charges after fraud probe

2012-01-16T06:04:00.001Z

One of Australia's former leading art dealers, Ronald Coles, faces up to 10 years in jail after being charged today with 87 offences relating to an alleged multimillion-dollar investment art fraud scheme. Mr Coles, 64, was ordered to appear at Gosford police station at 10am today. Fraud Squad detectives formally charged him following an "extremely protracted and legally intricate" two-year investigation into his business affairs. Under the Crimes Act, Mr Coles was charged with 77 counts of "larceny as a bailee" and a further 10 counts of "director/officer cheat or defraud". For more than 30 years, Mr Coles specialised in fine art by some of Australia's most celebrated artists, including Sir Arthur Streeton, Eugene von Guerard, Brett Whiteley and Norman Lyndsay. Advertising on national radio and television, he offered clients an opportunity to boost their life savings through the purchase of investment art, which he bought and sold on their behalf, using their superannuation funds. NSW Police launched Strike Force Glasson in January 2009 after a Fairfax investigation unearthed dozens of investors who were missing millions of dollars in lost art and money, all allegedly retained by Mr Coles. Today's police charges relate to more than $8 million in financial loss to a total of 43 clients nationwide. Mr Coles failed to make conditional bail of $50,000. It is understood he offered a car and paintings as surety but they were refused. He is due to appear at Gosford Local Court shortly.

Thousands of children are being "needlessly dumped in prison" because of Britain's failing youth justice system

2012-01-15T16:36:00.001Z

Thousands of children are being "needlessly dumped in prison" because of Britain's failing youth justice system, a think-tank has warned. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) said courts and prisons were being used to "parent children" and were expected to sweep up problem youngsters inadequately dealt with by other departments, such as social services. In a new report, the group called for a radical overhaul in the way the Government deals with young offenders. It said there needed to be a drastic cut in the 5,000 children a year currently given custodial sentences, arguing the imprisonment of youths between the age of 10 and 17 should be limited to the "critical few" guilty of the most serious or violent crimes. The CSJ said too many children are being taken before the youth courts for trivial reasons. The report cited one example where a child who had thrown a bowl of Sugar Puffs at his care worker, jumped out of the window, then climbed back in, was held in a police cell over a weekend on suspicion of assault and attempted burglary. The independent think-tank, set up in 2004 by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, urged a return to a "common-sense" approach to minor incidents with parents and teachers using their judgment to deal with them at a home or school level. It also criticised the widespread use of short sentences for young offenders, arguing they undermine justice and disrupt attempts to educate and rehabilitate them. Gavin Poole, executive director of the CSJ, said: "Many young people fall into the system unnecessarily and do not receive the help they need to free themselves from it. Custody is sometimes neither a protective nor a productive place for children, and community orders can be equally ineffective. Moreover, despite years of good intentions, many young people leaving custody are still not being provided with the basic support they need for rehabilitation." Among a series of recommendations, the CSJ said there should be no sentences shorter than six months and an emphasis should be placed on non-custodial punishments where underlying behavioural problems can be tackled more effectively. The group also said measures to prevent lawbreaking by young people should be the primary responsibility of child welfare services rather than the youth justice system. It added local services needed to work together to ensure that young people and their families receive the help they need early.

Days of the Costa del Crime could soon be over

2012-01-15T11:16:00.001Z

THE days of the Costa del Crime could be seriously numbered. Or at least, so say the Spanish police. Detectives in Malaga have revealed that a year-long crackdown on British and Irish fugitives is paying off and Malaga is no longer an ideal hideout for wanted criminals. The clampdown, which came in a series of on-the-spot raids on pubs, bars and shops on the Costa del Sol, has drawn considerable success. In total, dozens of wanted fugitives have been caught in the raids after six roving teams of national police were set up at the end of 2010. The teams entered establishments closing off exits and demanded identification from all those present. In one day alone, last year, they made a staggering four arrests, while in total 117 Irishmen were arrested last year, using the method. The moves were spurred on by the murder of Irish tourist John O’Neill, 40, who was shot near a pub in Benalmadena by a man wanted by British police. Police insist that due to the crackdown there were fewer gangland shootings and ‘settling of accounts’ last year. “The recession could also have had an influence but things are definitely a lot quieter,” said a spokesman for the UDYCO organised crime unit.

Michael Brown: From £1.6m villa to prison yard, downfall of the Lib Dem fraudster

2012-01-15T02:07:00.001Z

The knock at the door did not unduly disturb the man relaxing on the terrace of the £1.6 million villa overlooking the Caribbean. Even when his wife opened it to discover members of the Dominican Republic’s armed police outside, Darren Patrick Nally was unfazed. He was sure his secret was safe: he was not Nally, a man who said he was an Irish singer and had already been detained in prison on charges of failing to pay his debts. In fact he was Michael Brown, a 45-year-old British fraudster whose web of lies and deceit had made him millions – £2.4 million of which he had donated to the Liberal Democrats for their 2005 election campaign, becoming their biggest single donor. As he was arrested for unpaid rent at a former apartment, Brown was nonchalant. At the police station he told the local assistant prosecutor, Elizabeth Rijo, that he would pay the debt and be back home in time for dinner.

celebrity gangster-turned-author has been banned from the road after being caught more than one-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit

2012-01-14T22:24:00.001Z

David Courtney

A celebrity gangster-turned-author has been banned from the road after being caught more than one-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit.

David Courtney, 52, was pulled over on the M6 in the early hours.

He was driving a borrowed Vauxhall Vectra after his wife, the rapper JennyBean, had taken his car following an argument, a court heard.

Debbie Byrne, prosecuting, told Macclesfield magistrates court that Courtney had been spotted travelling southbound on the M6 in excess of 70mph.

Courtney, who was alone, was pulled over near Knutsford services and spoken to by officers.

A roadside breath test proved positive so he was arrested and taken to a police station in Middlewich.

There he gave two samples of breath, the lowest of which was 53 microgrammes of alcohol, in 100ml of breath, more than one and a half times the legal limit of 35.

Stuart Page, defending, said Courtney had a domestic dispute and his wife had taken all his belongings, including his car.

He spoke to one of his friends who owns a car hire company, who agreed to lend him the Vectra. He said he then drove to Chorley in Lancashire to see some friends and whilst talking to them, he had a couple of drinks.

He said he thought he was below the limit and OK to drive at the time of the offence on December 22.

Courtney, of Chestnut Rise, Plumstead, London, pleaded guilty to drink-driving.

He has a previous conviction for drink-driving in 2006, meaning he was subject to a minimum driving ban of three years.

He was also fined £100 and ordered to pay £40 costs as well as a £15 victim surcharge.

Courtney, is an ex-London gangster well known for his friendships with other hard men, such as the Kray twins, which saw him dubbed ‘the yellow pages of the underworld’.

He previously worked as a debt collector and claims he has been shot, stabbed and had his nose bitten off.

He also boasts to have been the inspiration for Vinnie Jones’s character in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

He has so far written four books about gangland violence and written, produced and starred in his own film called Hell to Pay.

He refers to himself as David Courtney OBE, which stands for ‘one big ego’.

The Italian captain of a ship that sank off the coast of Tuscany was placed under arrest after one of the most dramatic holiday cruise disasters

2012-01-14T20:45:00.001Z

The Costa Concordia lies on its side after running aground off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island. Photograph: Reuters

The Italian captain of a ship that sank off the coast of Tuscany was placed under arrest after one of the most dramatic holiday cruise disasters ever seen in the Mediterranean. Three passengers died and 69 were still unaccounted for after the 114,000-tonne Costa Concordia smashed into rocks amid scenes of panic and chaos.

Local prosecutors said Francesco Schettino was being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship following reports his stricken vessel failed to raise a mayday alert as the disaster unfolded.

There was speculation that a power failure on board the ship could have led to it losing navigational control and crashing into the rocks. Experts said that passenger reports of a power blackout and large blast indicated the vessel could have suffered an explosion in the engine room.

As the ship came to rest half submerged on its side, yards from the coast of the island of Giglio late on Friday, anger rose among the thousands of passengers who had swum or been ferried and flown to safety over what they described as a botched evacuation by crew members who panicked.

Italian police confirmed that two French tourists and a Peruvian crew member drowned in the accident. About 30 people were reported injured, with three critically hurt.

A British embassy official said not all the Britons on board the vessel had yet been accounted for. He said consular officials had so far confirmed that "around 20" survived.

Survivors described extraordinary scenes of panic, confusion and fear as the ship tilted on its side following what sounded like a loud explosion. Kirsty Cook, one of eight British dancers working on the cruise, said she was "lucky to be alive" after using a rope ladder to climb down to a waiting rescue boat. Another dancer, Rosie Metcalf, 22, from Dorset, had to cling to a fire hose before being winched to safety by a helicopter crew.

The Costa Concordia, which was built in Italy and launched in 2006, set off from Civitavecchia on Friday for a Mediterranean cruise, carrying 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew. As the ship slid between Giglio and the coast, passengers sitting down for their first dinner on board felt a shudder before the lights went out.

Russian ship suspected of carrying munitions to Syria appears near Turkish port

2012-01-14T17:32:00.001Z

Authorities say a Russian ship suspected of delivering weapons to Syria has anchored off Turkey’s coast. A Foreign Ministry official said Turkish coast guard and customs officials would board the Chariot on Saturday before allowing it to dock at the port of Iskenderun. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare The ship had made an unscheduled stop in Cyprus, technically violating an EU embargo on arms shipments to Syria. Cypriot authorities allowed it to leave Wednesday after the ship’s owners said it would not head for Syria. Turkey, citing navy intelligence, said the ship nevertheless made its way to the Syrian port of Tartus after leaving Cyprus. U.S. officials said Friday they had expressed concerns to both Russia and Cyprus.

The head of the Hell’s Angels in Iceland was arrested yesterday and remand in custody for a week

2012-01-14T15:25:00.001Z

The head of the Hell’s Angels in Iceland was arrested yesterday and remand in custody for a week, accused of having ordered attacks on a woman. A total of five people connected to the Hell’s Angels are in custody over the case.

In the early hours of the 22nd December a physical assault in a residential building in Hafnarfjörður, near Reykjavík, was reported to police. Initial stories about the attack stated that a couple in their 30s had burst into the woman’s flat and attacked her violently. She was later transported, unconscious, to hospital. The police arrested the couple and put them in custody.

As the investigation progressed, the spotlight started to pan wider and according to RÚV sources putting the couple behind bars clearly did not work, because the woman was violently attacked again. Extra resources were quickly applied to the investigation and two more people were arrested and put behind bars.

Yesterday the case’s fifth arrested suspect, the head of the Hell’s Angels Iceland organisation, was also remand in custody for one week. According to sources, he is accused of ordering the attacks on the woman – reportedly as revenge for something.

All five in custody while the police continue their investigation are in isolation for the good of the case, so they cannot consult each other on their alibis.

Street gangs with outside muscle, targeting the Hells Angels

2012-01-13T11:10:00.001Z

- Street gangs with outside muscle, targeting the Hells Angels, have sparked the outburst of violence that's left five adult businesses in flames and two people shot, London police said Wednesday.

Police vowed to end the violence, even as organized-crime analysts and criminal sources disputed if the Hells had the clout in London to battle back.

Late Wednesday, three of the men police arrested -- two from London, one from Brampton -- appeared in court by video to answer early charges related to the shooting. All three men are black, giving credence to the police theory biker gangs -- which don't usually allow black members -- aren't responsible for the recent violence.

Whoever is responsible for the fires and shootings, they'll have to answer for it, Chief Brad Duncan vowed at a news conference.

"You are priority No. 1," Duncan warned. "We will not tolerate this open display of violence. This shooting has taken place in a residential area, in close proximity to a public school, and notwithstanding the time of day that it occurred, it has put our citizens at grave risk."

The weapon involved in the shooting hasn't been found, police said.

Police held the news conference partly to quell rumours the violence was a result of a battle between the Hells Angels and their traditional rivals, the Outlaws, another biker gang.

"There is not information at this time to support such an assumption," Duncan said.

But street gangs "can be every bit as dangerous as the more traditional outlaw motorcycle clubs," he warned. "They are associated with the drug trade. Guns and firearms are involved. They are every bit as organized."

Street gangs have no fear of the Hells Angels or any outlaw motorcycle club, biker analyst Yves Lavigne told QMI Agency.

In London, the street gangs have taken over the drug-trafficking market because traditional biker clubs lost their power, said Lavigne, author and co-author of several books about outlaw bikers and drug trafficking.

In December, the revived Hells Angels chapter in London began leaning on the street-gang members to start working for them, he said.

"What you've seen the past five days is the street gangs telling the Hells Angels, 'Screw you.' "

Full of new members with little hardcore experience, the London Hells Angels don't have the backbone to retaliate, Lavigne said.

"They don't have what it takes."

But another organized crime analyst and author, James Dubro, disagreed.

"The Hells Angels have to hit back. It's a total lack of respect," he said. "There has to be retaliation and serious retaliation."

Dubro said the news that a street gang, not the Outlaws, is targeting the Hells Angels could spell even more trouble in London.

"In the end, it leads to more violence and more chaos in the underworld," he said. "Hells Angels has it all. You couldn't possibly take them on."

Two sources with knowledge of London's criminal world said they're expecting the London Hells Angels will bring in supporters from out of town to deal with the matter.

"You've got all the boys coming in. It's going to go on until someone gets killed," said one long-time associate of bikers.

The outburst of violence began Saturday morning, when a tattoo parlour on Hamilton Road owned by a member of the Outlaws, was set ablaze. That was followed by fires at a strip club owned by a Hells Angels leader, and two massage parlours, Sunday morning.

The sequence of fires suggested the Outlaws and Hells Angels were in the early stages of a war.

The violence escalated Wednesday morning, just after midnight, when two people were shot outside a purported clubhouse of the Hells Angels on Grey Street.

A female victim was treated for gunshot wounds and released. A male victim remains in hospital in serious condition, police said.

Police wouldn't release the names of the victims, but said the man was a known member of the Hells Angels and the woman an associate of his.

Sources told QMI Agency the male victim is Diamond Ialenti, a full-patch member of the Hells Angels.

The victim "has had ongoing issues with street gangs," Duncan said.

Asked if it's unusual for London street gangs to hire outside muscle, Duncan noted many other shootings in the city have involved drug dealers and gang members from the Greater Toronto Area and other areas.

"In many of our previous investigations, shooting investigations and homicide investigations, that fact has come out fairly clear."

Duncan said police were still trying to figure how an Outlaws-associated business got mixed up with a battle between street gangs and the Hells Angels.

founder of Saskatoon's notorious Terror Squad street gang is out of prison and back on the streets

2012-01-13T11:06:00.001Z

founder of Saskatoon's notorious Terror Squad street gang is out of prison and back on the streets of his hometown. Darren Harper was set free Dec. 19 on statutory release, having served twothirds of a six-year federal sentence for cocaine trafficking, according to documents obtained by The StarPhoenix from the Parole Board of Canada (PBC). The 40-year-old, who has a long history of violent and drug-related crimes dating to the early 1990s, will remain under supervision by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) until his sentence expires in December 2013. "This form of conditional release does not result from an assessment and decision by the PBC but rather is essentially automatic as provided for by law," PBC spokesperson Amy Wood said in a letter accompanying the documents. However, she noted the board does have the authority to add special conditions to a statutory release if they are considered reasonable and necessary to manage risk to the community and help the offender reintegrate. In Harper's case there are three such conditions: No alcohol, no illicit drugs and no contact with certain kinds of people. "Any meeting and/or communication, except by chance, with any person that you know or have reasons to believe has a criminal record is forbidden," says the Dec. 2 decision sheet outlining his release terms. The prohibition also extends to people who are "related to criminal activities, including criminal organizations or gangs," it adds. The document notes Harper was "officially identified as the founder" of an "aboriginal street gang." The name of the gang was redacted from the document before it was released to the newspaper, along with the names of the various institutions where he served his time, all specific references to Saskatoon and the names of other individuals. "The board notes that you will return to live with your spouse and children in (redacted)," it says. "Despite the fact that this is where your gang operates, you remain confident that the current members will accept your desire to disaffiliate as they did with (redacted). The board notes that you will be supervised by the enhanced supervision unit (ESU) in (redacted). "While you have expressed a desire to change, you may underestimate the continued influence they may have on you," the board warned, referring to current members of the gang. "For this reason it is vital that you not associate with criminalized individuals and continue to distance yourself from former criminal associates." Saskatoon police are aware of Harper's presence in the city, but reluctant to make any public comment on it. "We will assist in assuring his conditions are followed, as we would with any other individual on conditions in our community," spokesperson Const. TishaRae Stonehouse said. Harper made a failed bid for early release last March. The parole board's April 21, 2011, decision sheet denying his application noted his "reintegration potential" had been rated as low and a psychological assessment in 2008 had identified him as having an anti-social personality disorder. "There are some concerns regarding your behaviour during the current sentence. You are the subject of an important number of security intelligence reports. Information associated you with institutional trafficking and involvement in a serious altercation between rival gangs," it noted. The April 2008 incident was a "brutal confrontation" involving about 30 inmates, according to the document. That's likely a reference to a brawl among gang-affiliated medium-security inmates in a gymnasium and yard at Saskatchewan Penitentiary on April 23, 2008, that sent 11 inmates to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, prompting media coverage and a lengthy lockdown of the institution. "You did not participate directly in the altercation but you are identified as having orchestrated and supported it," the parole board document states. "This serious incident increased your security level to maximum and led to your emergency transfer and placement to (redacted)." A CSC security intelligence report written in October 2010 said Harper was still involved in gang activities, which was "corroborated by police information stating that you are still present and very influential within that group," it adds. October 2010 was the same month Saskatoon police began investigating the slaying of Jackson McKenzie, a high-ranking Terror Squad member who was stabbed to death outside a Ruth Street bar by Randy Merasty, who had recently been ousted by the same gang. Merasty is now serving nine years for manslaughter in the killing. Officers investigating McKenzie's death obtained wiretaps on the phones of several high-ranking Terror Squad members, intercepting about two months worth of conversations in late 2010 that eventually led to the breakup of a major cocaine trafficking ring in Saskatoon. Those recorded phone calls - discussed in detail last spring at court hearings related to the drug charges that resulted against numerous people - included conversations between Terror Squad leaders and Harper, who had been transferred to a penitentiary in Quebec by then. Less than three months after those calls took place, Harper was seeking early release and the CSC's security department told the parole board he was not considered to be a "person of interest," according to the parole board documents. His case management team advised against releasing Harper at the time, but felt he was "on the right track" and showing more effort to take control of his life since his transfer to a different region. CSC staff reported that he was co-operative and participating in his "correctional planning." An aboriginal liaison officer and elder both spoke in his favour, saying they believed he was ready for day parole. Their presentations to the board "focused on your newly developed spirituality. They also told the board about your work with other offenders and the positive impact you appear to have had on others in difficulty," the decision sheet noted. "However, these changes when placed in the perspective of your long and serious criminal history remain recent. . While you deny any involvement in organized criminal activities, recent information indicates the contrary." Harper told the board he wanted to return to his home province to be with his family. "The (redacted) police department considers that you present a high risk of re-offending and danger to society, and is strongly opposed to your release in (redacted). There is fear that your return would lead to the re-emergence of violence within street gangs, as well as repercussions on the population," the board's April 2011 decision sheet says. "The community shares this opinion and is opposed to your release in the (redacted) area. In fact, the impact of your potential return in (redacted) is a matter of concern for CSC and partners."

Free booze for alcoholics makes perfect logic, but no sense

2012-01-13T03:30:00.001Z

As the old adage has it, if you live long enough, you see everything. In the world of substance abuse and addiction, “everything” was in the news today. A group from Vancouver’s notorious hub of drug addiction and policy experimentation, the Downtown East Side, is proposing that a publicly funded, peer-run drinker’s lounge dispensing free legal alcohol to alcoholics be instituted as a means of harm reduction. The Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education, whose spokesman, Rob Morgan, an alcoholic from a First Nations reserve near Terrace, B.C, sees the idea as the natural next step in Vancouver’s famous harm reduction movement. The lounge would be modeled on Insite, the safe injection site whose mandate is not to rehabilitate addicts, but to reduce the rates of disease and death caused by unhygienic consumption and unsupervised overdoes. Mr. Morgan’s logic is impeccable. Desperate alcoholics will drink anything with alcohol in it; they will drink hand sanitizer acquired from “dealers” who steal them from hospitals, as Mr Morgan has; they will share disease-ridden bottles; they sometimes freeze to death in an alcoholic stupor; and for only $3, and some water dilution, will consume 30 standard drinks from a 250 ml bottle of 95% rubbing alcohol. The ravages produced on the body by such a regime certainly rival any depredations short of AIDS suffered by drug addicts.

Goodwin Sentenced to 25 Years for Child's Rape

2012-01-12T23:58:00.001Z

A member of the Bandidos biker gang is headed to prison for 25 years following his conviction on multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Wednesday jurors started considering the punishment for Ira Goodwin, 67, who was wheelchair bound and hooked up to an oxygen tank in court. Goodwin faced up to 99 years in prison for raping a runaway 12-year-old girl who was staying at his home. The jury heard testimony from the victim and Goodwin's wife about the girl being given methamphetamine and alcohol before the assaults. Marcia Goodwin is serving a 10-year sentence for her role in the sexual assaults Ira Goodwin is no stranger to prison with multiple convictions in his past, including a 30-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter back in 1984.

Five men have been arrested on suspicion of fraudulent transactions from accounts held at Bristol-based stockbroker Rowan Dartington

2012-01-12T12:54:00.001Z

The arrests have been confirmed by Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which said that the men aged 45, 36, 49, 57 and 23 have all been bailed pending further enquiries but not charged.

The arrests are in connection with high value fraudulent transactions that saw money leave accounts held at Rowan Dartington. The events are understood to have taken place prior to the management buyout headed by current chief Graham Coxell (pictured), who is not one of the five arrested, in February of last year.

A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset police said the investigation expanded beyond the Bristol area, with the Cumbria police force also involved. She was unable to confirm if any of the five suspects were former Rowan Dartington employees.

She stressed that Rowan Dartington was the victim in the investigation rather than a suspect and ‘substantial’ amounts of money were involved.

The FSA declined to comment and said it was unable to confirm or deny whether Rowan Dartington was the subject of an investigation by the regulator.

In a separate incident, Rowan Dartington was previously fined £511,000 by the FSA in June 2010 for failing to protect and properly segregate client accounts over a two-year period, following a settlement system failure dating back to 2007. This caused the firm’s back office to be saddled with more than 150,000 unreconciled trades and eventually led to a £1.4 million black hole in the stockbroker’s accounts.

Since Coxell took over the business in February last year, he has sought to position the business to benefit from the retail distribution review and announced plans to launch a platform. He has also sought to rebuild the investment management team with the hires of Ashcourt Rowan’s head of collective research Tim Cockerill and Oliver Cowell from Redmayne-Bentley.

Rowan Dartington declined to comment.

Sydney's western suburbs came under siege again on Thursday about 12.30am (AEDT) when shots rang out in Bankstown

2012-01-12T09:55:00.001Z

Police have declared war on the gangs responsible for four Sydney shootings in as many days. And any would-be vigilantes and copycats have also been warned to butt out. Sydney's western suburbs came under siege again on Thursday about 12.30am (AEDT) when shots rang out in Bankstown Witnesses told police they saw a man wielding a rifle in a neighbourhood where a bullet hit a bedroom window in a home. A woman and her four children, aged between two months and 10, were in the room but no one was injured. Acting Commissioner Nick Kaldas labelled as cowards the people responsible for a string of shootings since Monday. "A lot of the conflicts that occur between these criminal groups is drug-related, unfortunately," Mr Kaldas told reporters on Thursday. "It's a combination of many ethnic-based groups as well as criminal types." Police launched Operation Spartan on Thursday and will deploy extra resources to the affected suburbs from the Public Order and Riot Squad, Dog Squad, Gangs Squad and the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad. Gangs Squad head Arthur Katsogiannis said the nature of the crimes was keeping vital information from getting to police. "Our frustration as investigators and police officers on the front line is the lack of assistance we're getting from both the victims and the witnesses," Superintendent Katsogiannis said at the same media conference. Police also warned would-be vigilantes and others to stay away. "One thing I hope that doesn't occur is any sort of copycat attraction," Mr Kaldas said. "Others may feel they want to take the law into their own hands. And my advice to those people is all you'll simply do is turn yourself from a victim into an offender." Mr Kaldas denied suggestions that gun crime was on the increase and said the incidents since Monday were a "spike" in shooting crimes. Around 2am (AEDT) on Wednesday the occupants of two cars were involved in a gun battle in Greenfield Park, in western Sydney. On Monday night, two drive-by attacks occurred in Auburn and Arncliffe, in Sydney's west and south respectively. Around 25 people were inside the two homes when the properties were sprayed with up to 35 bullets. Police are confident they will make arrests over some of the shootings. Asked if the shootings were all related, Mr Kaldas replied, "I have to say the bulk of them are not." NSW opposition emergency spokesman Nathan Rees said tweaking tough anti-bikie laws would be one way to help put an end to "gang warfare". As premier in the former Labor government, Mr Rees gave the Supreme Court powers to outlaw bikie gangs and prevent members from contacting each other. But the Crimes (Criminal Organisation Control) Act was struck out in June 2011 after Sydney Hells Angel Derek Wainohu challenged it in the High Court. The National Coalition for Gun Control has called on NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and the government to strengthen gun control laws. Police seized 6155 guns in the 2010/11 financial year and have seized 3663 guns in the first half of the current financial year. Most guns used in crimes are stolen from legitimate sources.

Turf war feared as Gypsy Joker bikies descend on Brisbane hotel

2012-01-12T02:43:00.001Z

ONE of Australia's most notorious bikie gangs is poised to expand its presence in Queensland, prompting fears of a turf war. But Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson says the public will be warned first if there's real danger of conflict. The Gypsy Jokers are this week expected to gather at an inner-city Brisbane hotel, catching the attention of police. The fears follow a spate of bikie violence and a subsequent police crackdown resulting in more arrests and almost 40 people being banned from Surfers Paradise's party precinct.

Cargo ship runs aground off Sweden, crew suspected drunk

2012-01-12T00:08:00.001Z

The captain and helmsman are both suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and we have launched an inquiry," coast guard spokeswoman Lotta Brandstroem told AFP. It was not immediately known why the Anke Angela, an 82-metre (270-foot) ship loaded with timber, ran aground around 0100 GMT in the Kalmarsund strait between the Swedish mainland and the island of Oeland. "The captain is a German national and the helmsman is Russian, and the other four crew members are from Ukraine and Cape Verde," Brandstroem said, adding that the vessel was en route from Moensteraas to Ireland with a cargo of wood. The ship was listing slightly on Wednesday and the coast guard was assessing the damage.

Wonga stops targeting students after Twitter protests

2012-01-12T00:01:00.001Z

Short-term lender Wonga.com has announced that it is taking down information on student finances from its website following accusations it was encouraging undergraduates to take out one of its high-interest loans. Earlier Wonga.com came under severe criticism after its website claimed that its loans can offer students "a little more financial freedom and independence". The claim attracted outrage on Twitter. One user, Neale Gilhooley, tweeted: "A pox on loan company #Wonga offering students loans at a sharking 4,214pc APR." On the "student loans" section of its website, Wonga.com says these government-backed loans – despite their very low interest rates – could encourage people to borrow too much. Student loans currently attract interest at 1.5pc or 5.3pc, depending on when they were taken out. "It's pretty hard not to get carried away when you're a student on a budget and have the option to borrow large amounts of money with a student loan. But the problem with student loans is that they potentially encourage you to live beyond your means," the website says. "They're intended for living and education costs, but it's all too easy to fritter away the money once you have it. Wonga encourages responsible borrowing because, depending on your trust rating, you can borrow as little as £1 up to £1000, as long as you can repay it within a month."

Outspoken Moroccan rapper awaits assault verdict

2012-01-11T23:40:00.001Z

A Moroccan rapper who has become one of the monarchy's boldest critics on Wednesday awaited a verdict after a trial on assault charges which his lawyers and right activists said were a ploy to muzzle the popular singer. Mouad Belrhouat, better known as El-Haqed, or "The Sullen One", has become the singing voice of a protest movement inspired by Arab uprisings, demanding a constitutional monarchy, an independent judiciary and a crackdown on corruption. The judge adjourned the case on Wednesday after an all-night hearing to consider his verdict, expected on Thursday. The 24-year-old rapper has been in jail since his arrest in September after a brawl with a monarchist. Bail requests by his defence team have been rejected and the trial has been adjourned six times. "The charges are a farce. El Haqed is being persecuted for his critical songs. The state is keeping him in jail and repeatedly adjourning his trial to silence him," said Khadija Ryadi, who chairs Morocco's main human rights group, AMDH. The rapper's cutting lyrics telling Moroccans to "wise up" have angered many monarchists. In one song he raps that the king spends so much time giving orders that he has little time to count his money in Switzerland. However, he has struck a chord with young Moroccans who are disenchanted with poor or non-existent jobs and one song "Bite just as much as you can chew" has received more than 600,000 hits on Youtube. ALL-NIGHT SESSION Belrhouat's trial is a test for the Justice and Development Party PJD.L, which like its Tunisian peers is a moderate Islamist party leading a government for the first time after it won elections in November. In a Casablanca court packed with Belrhouat supporters, the judge begun to hear the case in an unusually late session on Tuesday which continued through the night. Mohamed Bouawine, one of the 24 lawyers who have volunteered to defend the rapper, said his client faces up to three years in jail if found guilty. AMDH's Ryadi says Belrhouat has become yet another case among "dozens of prisoners of conscience" in Morocco. Local and international right groups say hundreds of Islamists have been jailed in what they said were politically-motivated trials rushed through after suicide attacks in Casablanca in 2003, that killed 45 people. Morocco's judiciary is meant to be given more independence under reforms crafted last year by the Arab world's longest-serving monarchy as it sought to preempt a popular revolt. The man whom Belrhouat is alleged to have assaulted said the injury left him incapacitated for 45 days but defence lawyers produced evidence suggesting he recovered far more quickly and was being used as a political pawn. Belrhouat's father Mohamed told Reuters he would not be supporting his son in court had the rapper done anything wrong. "My son was set up. The police and the ambulance turned up five minutes after the incident: This never happens here."

Officer finds own parents Avtar and Carole Kolar killed in ‘revenge attack’

2012-01-11T23:31:00.001Z

The unnamed son went round to see Avtar Kolar, 62, and his wife Carole, 58, after they failed to answer his morning phone call. ‘It was obvious from the scene the couple had been assaulted and had more than likely died of their injuries,’ said Dep Supt Richard Baker, who is leading the inquiry. When asked if it might be a revenge attack linked to their son’s police work, Mr Baker replied: ‘We are definitely looking at that as a possibility but we have no information to suggest it is the case at this stage.’ Mr Baker added: ‘At 7.15 on Tuesday night, a family member spoke to Carole and there were no issues. At 8am yesterday, their son went round to find the couple dead at the scene.’ Detectives were keeping an open mind about what kind of weapon was used. ‘We have a full team of experts and forensic scientists now at the address,’ said Mr Baker. The couple, who had four sons and eight grandchildren and had been married for 40 years, had lived in Birmingham for most of their lives. ‘The local community – and the family – have been extremely supportive in what they are telling us and how they are co-operating with us,’ Mr Baker added. ‘We will catch the people responsible but we would like to make an appeal for information at this very early stage.’ More than 60 detectives, as well as uniformed offiers, from the West Midlands force are working on the case. Post-mortem examinations will be carried out on Thursday or Friday.

Iran car explosion kills nuclear scientist in Tehran

2012-01-11T16:55:00.001Z

BBC's Mohsen Asgari: "It seems a motor cyclist pasted a bomb to his car which he was in with two other passengers Continue reading the main story Iran nuclear crisis Undeclared pursuit? Q&A: Nuclear issue Key nuclear sites Sanctions' impact Watch A university lecturer and nuclear scientist has been killed in a car explosion in north Tehran. Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, an academic who also worked at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, and the driver of the car were killed in the attack. The blast happened after a motorcyclist stuck an apparent bomb to the car. Several Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated in recent years, with Iran blaming Israel and the US. Both countries deny the accusations. Continue reading the main story Analysis Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent The assassination on Wednesday of another Iranian nuclear scientist may now prompt Iran to try to respond in kind. The murder in Tehran of Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan comes on top of a sophisticated cyber sabotage programme and two mysterious explosions at Iranian military bases, one of which in November killed the general known as 'the godfather' of Iran's ballistic missile programme. No-one is claiming responsibility for these attacks but Iran blames its longstanding enemy, Israel, and occasionally the US. Whoever is behind them, Iran is clearly being subjected to an undeclared campaign to slow down its nuclear programme. Frank Gardner's analysis in full Iran's Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi told state television that the attack against Mr Ahmadi-Roshan would not stop "progress" in the country's nuclear programme. He called the killing "evidence of [foreign] government-sponsored terrorism". Local sources said Wednesday's blast took place at a faculty of Iran's Allameh Tabatai university. Two others were reportedly also injured in the blast, which took place near Gol Nabi Street, in the north of the capital

5 UK men on trial for allegedly distributing leaflets calling for gay people to be killed

2012-01-11T16:22:00.001Z

Five men are on trial in Britain for allegedly distributing leaflets calling for gay people to be killed, charged under a new law that makes such actions a hate crime. The men allegedly gave out flyers titled “The Death Penalty” that showed a noose and said gay people would be punished. Two other leaflets were used to publicize a protest against a gay pride march in the central English city of Derby in 2010. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare The Crown Prosecution Service said Wednesday this was the first prosecution for stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, under the law that took effect in March 2010. It has long been illegal to incite hatred over disability, race or religion. The maximum penalty for the crime is seven years in jail. Prosecutors said Ihjaz Ali, 42, Mehboob Hussain, 45, Umar Javed, 38, Razwan Javed, 27, and Kabir Ahmed, 28, handed out leaflets near a mosque in Derby and also stuffed them into mailboxes. Prosecutor Bobbie Cheema called the leaflets “frightening and nasty.” “These five defendants were part of a small group of men who distributed horrible, threatening literature, with quotations from religious sources and with pictures on them, which were designed to stir up hatred and hostility against homosexual people,” she said.

Once powerful Mexican drug lord Benjamin Arellano Felix pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court on Wednesday to drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering charges

2012-01-11T07:02:00.001Z

. Arellano Felix, 58, was the head of the feared Tijuana cartel run by his brothers and operated on the Mexico-U.S. border near San Diego until his capture in Mexico in early 2002. He was extradited to the United States last April, and prosecutors said his guilty plea marked the demise of the violent cartel that dominated smuggling on the California-Mexico border in the 1980s and 1990s. "Arellano Felix led the most violent criminal organization in this part of the world for two decades. Today's guilty plea marks the end of his reign of murder, mayhem and corruption," U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said. "His historic admission of guilt sends a clear message to the Mexican cartel leaders operating today: The United States will spare no effort to investigate, extradite and prosecute you for your criminal activities," she added. As part of a 17-page plea agreement, Arellano Felix admitted smuggling tons of cocaine and marijuana into California and conspiring to launder hundreds of millions of dollars. He also agreed to forfeit $100 million in profits under the plea deal, which is expected to land him 25 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on April 2. "It was a favorable deal to my client who faced a minimum of 40 years and a maximum of 140 years under the extradition agreement," defense attorney Anthony Colombo Jr. said. CARTEL A SHADOW OF FORMER SELF President Barack Obama's administration has worked closely with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in his army-led battle to crush warring drug gangs in a conflict that has claimed more than 46,000 lives since late 2006. At the height of his power in the 1990s, Arellano Felix smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars in narcotics through a 100-mile wide corridor stretching from Tijuana, south of San Diego, to Mexicali, south of Calexico. But after the death and capture of many of its leaders over the past decade, including three of Benjamin Arellano Felix's brothers, the Tijuana cartel, also known as the Arellano Felix Organization, is a shadow of its former self. Arellano Felix's brother Ramon, the cartel's flamboyant enforcer, died in a shoot-out in 2002. Francisco Javier is serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison after being captured on a fishing boat in 2006, and Eduardo is in jail in Mexico awaiting extradition. With the downfall of the Arellano Felix brothers, the rival Sinaloa cartel run by Mexico's most-wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, has largely taken over the cartel's valuable turf in Tijuana. Appearing before U.S. District Judge Larry Burns at the hearing, Arellano Felix was neatly groomed and dressed in an orange jumpsuit. He said he took medication for migraine headaches, but when asked by the judge if it affected his decision to plead, he replied, "no." Among the former kingpins serving time in U.S. jails is former Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas, who was extradited to the United States by Mexico in 2007 and is serving a 25-year sentence in Texas without chance of parole.

Drug smuggling bid foiled

2012-01-11T06:59:00.001Z

Customs at the airport foiled an attempt by one Egyptian expatriate arriving from Cairo to smuggle 1,000 narcotic pills into the country. The concerned officers said the suspect had kept the contraband hidden in his shoes when they discovered it. He has since been handed over to Drug Prosecution. In a statement following discovery of the illicit drug, the Director General of Customs Ibrahim Al-Ghanim commended efforts exerted by customs men to uncover complicated smuggling cases.

Drug smuggling compartment specialist sentenced to 24 years

2012-01-11T06:55:00.001Z

A California man who specialized in building secret compartments in vehicles used to smuggle drugs received a 24-year sentence in what prosecutors said was one of the first cases against a specialist who worked for drug dealers but didn’t directly handle the drugs. Alfred Anaya, 40, a native of San Fernando, CA, was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison and forfeiture of $3.2 million. Anaya, said a Jan. 6 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas, operated in the state. “Evidence showed the defendant installed sophisticated hidden compartments in dozens of vehicles,” said U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom. “He knew he was working for drug traffickers.” Anaya was convicted on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, as well as methamphetamine and marijuana, and two counts of attempting to intimidate a witness, said the statement. Convicted in the case along with Anaya were James Clark, 29, of Overland Park, KS, who was given a sentence identical to Anaya’s on the same charges. Curtis Crow, 30, of Leawood, KS, was sentenced to 147 months on conspiracy and drug distribution charges. Anaya and Clark were convicted in Feb. 2011 and Crow pleaded guilty, said the statement. Prosecutors showed the men were members of a California-based drug trafficking organization that operated a drug distribution center in Kansas between 2008 and 2009 that distributed cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in Kansas and Missouri. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Anaya installed secret compartments including a 20-kilogram compartment in a Ford F-150, a 10-kilogram compartment in a Honda Ridgeline, a 3-kilogram compartment in a Toyota Camry and a 10-kilogram compartment in a Toyota Sequoia.

Mexico: Reporter Gunned Down In Los Zetas Stronghold

2012-01-10T23:30:00.001Z

Raúl Régulo Garza Quirino, a reporter for the weekly La Última Palabra in Cadereyta, in the northeastern state of Nuevo León, became the first Mexican journalist to be killed in 2012 when he was gunned down after a car chase on 6 January. Garza was also a Cadereyta municipal employee. “We hope the number of Mexican journalists killed in the space of a decade does not reach the grim total of 100 in 2012, an election year,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Mexico could prevent this from happening by taking measures to combat impunity for those responsible for violent crime against journalists. “That was the message that we and the Centre for Journalism and Public Ethics (CEPET) tried to transmit when we gave the families of slain and disappeared journalists a platform in the capital on 10 December. “The current show of good intentions by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) and its head, Gustavo Salas Chávez, must be rapidly translated into reinforcement of its personnel and clarification of its jurisdiction. If the senate approves the bill that the lower house adopted on 11 November making attacks on freedom of information a federal crime, the FEADLE must have enough resources to handle all these cases.” Garza was driving his car near his home when he found himself being pursued by gunmen in another car. He was gunned down when he tried to seek refuge in a garage owned by relatives. Sixteen impacts from 16 mm bullets were found at the scene. Investigators have so far not suggested any motive for the murder. Located 37 km from Monterrey, the state capital, Cadereyta is home to one of northern Mexico’s biggest oil refineries and is rife with contraband in stolen petroleum products as well as drug trafficking. It is a stronghold of Los Zetas, a paramilitary group that worked for the Gulf Cartel before becoming an independent criminal organization. A total of 38 employees of the state oil company PEMEX have been reported missing in the region in recent months. It was in this area that radio journalist Marco Aurelio Martínez Tirejina was kidnapped and killed in July 2010 in a still unsolved murder. According to the Reporters Without Borders tally, 80 journalists have been killed in the past decade and 14 others have disappeared. Most of these killings have gone unpunished.

the secret of the Costa del Sol got out to the world, in a big, big way

2012-01-10T22:51:00.001Z

.The mid-Andalusian coastline began to lure Northern European types, weary of their long, dark winters and eager to bask in the region's ever-present sunshine. First came the super-rich and famous (think Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Laurence Olivier), after Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg opened the aristocratic Marbella Club in 1954. The demi-rich and B celebs followed, and gradually the masses—as is their wont—caught wind of the fun and sun, subsequently descending in droves. Through it all, the gays came too, establishing their beachhead at Torremolinos in the 1960s and 70s. Unfortunately, the switch from sleepy-fishing-village-dotted seashore to frolicksome touristic playground proved too rapid for the area to bear seamlessly. Unsavory types like on-the-lam Brits, the Russian mob, and Arab arms traffickers crept in, earning the region the unwelcome nickname Costa del Crime in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Unsavory Marbella politicians meanwhile took advantage of the instability, pushing through scores of corrupt construction projects before being stopped and ultimately jailed. Now, however, with a clean political slate and hot on the heels of a highly publicized summer 2010 visit to the area by Michelle Obama, the Costa del Sol is back with a vengeance. A new generation of hip tourists, a large faction of them gay, are now discovering the 300-plus days of sun, the warm Mediterranean beaches, the bargain-to-luxury shopping, the excellent spas, the delectable food, the rich history, the effervescent culture, and yes, those scrumptious southern Spanish men of the delightful Costa del Sol. By far, most international visits to the Costa del Sol start in Málaga, and more specifically at its Pablo Ruiz Picasso International Airport. Low-cost carriers like Ryanair and EasyJet have turned this into Spain's fourth busiest airfield, with scores of carriers now serving over 60 countries. The airport's newly opened third terminal is expected to accommodate the growing number of travelers in the coming years. Thanks to an extension of Spain's high-speed AVE train line in 2007, it's now also possible to get from Madrid to Málaga by rail in just about two and a half hours. While many Málaga arrivers scurry off to nearby beachside resort towns, any proper visit to the area requires a healthy dose of the beautiful city itself. With about 570,000 inhabitants, this is Europe's southernmost metropolis, not to mention one of the world's oldest towns, with an historical center dating back more than 3,000 years. In this now fully modern and vibrant city, remnants of previous civilizations are around every bend, with Phoenician, Roman, Moorish, and Reconquista Christian sites especially visible—and more still being found all the time. In 1951, during the construction of a new library, a fantastic first century B.C.E. Roman Theater was unearthed, and it's now one of Málaga's main attractions. More recently, during the construction of the Vincci Selección Posada del Patio Hotel on Pasillo Santa Isabel, remains of both the Roman and Arab walls of the city were found, and can be viewed by all from a specially designed underground walkway. THE INSIDERS GUIDE WHERE TO STAY WHERE TO PLAY WHERE TO EAT WHAT TO DO Pablo Picasso and Antonio Banderas are two of Málaga's most famous sons, and while you have a slight chance of seeing the latter on one of his frequent visits to town, you certainly won't miss homages to the former, known to his mother and many a modern tour guide as Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso. The fabulous Museo Picasso, while just one of three major museums devoted exclusively to the artist's work (the others are in Barcelona and Paris), contains perhaps the most intimate and revealing collection, with more than 220 works donated directly by Picasso's daughter-in-law and grandson. Also worth a visit is the Museo Casa Natal (Birthplace House Museum), which features thousands of works by Picasso, his contemporaries, and those he influenced. Just up the hill from the Roman Theater is the Alcazaba, a Moorish fort started in the eighth century but mostly taking its present form in the mid-11th century. Farther up the hill (but further forward in time) is the Castillo de Gibralfaro, where the Moorish people of Málaga famously waged a three-month battle (albeit ultimately unsuccessfully) against the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, in 1487. Inside the castle is a small but interesting archaeological museum, but most visitors come for what's outdoors: breathtaking views of the city below. For a royal hotel stay, the Parador de Málaga Gibralfaro, part of Spain's exceptional state-owned Paradores system, is actually attached to the castle itself. Continuing onward chronologically, Málaga's post-Reconquista city center Cathedral is known locally as La Manquita, or "one-armed lady," thanks to her clearly missing second tower, a victim of depleted coffers in the 18th century. She's still stunning, and her one beautiful outstretched arm manages to crop up in photos all around the old town. CLICK FOR SLIDESHOW OF COSTA DEL SOL When you're ready for a break and some Málaga tapas, the nearby La Moraga is unparalleled, the local outpost of Michelin-starred chef Dani García's growing gastronomic family. Once sustained, try out Málaga's plentiful shopping options, especially the city center pedestrian street Calle Marqués de Larios, which is lined with chic shops, boutiques, and cafés. Málaga also has a Corte de Inglés (part of the much-beloved, Spanish, one-stop, department store chain), as well as several malls and countless specialty stores spread across the city. One of Málaga's most famed festivals is its vivid Holy Week (or Semana Santa), during which massive ornate tronos (thrones, or floats), made of gold and silver and often weighing more than five tons, are carried through the streets, accompanied by music and song. Things turn especially dramatic on Good Friday, when shops and streetlights go dark to better showcase the solemn procession. Antonio Banderas sometimes still takes part in the festivities, as he did here in his youth. The festival dates back more than 500 years to the Catholic Reconquista, and its long history is commemorated at the Museo de la Semana Santa (Holy Week Museum). Somewhat less holy but even more famous is the Feria de Málaga, a nine-day, mid-August festival that's one of Spain's largest. Shops and offices close so everyone can enjoy the food and drink. Meanwhile, traffic is stopped so the streets can fill with music and dancing. Traditional costumes are everywhere, with many women in colorful flamenco dresses and many men dressed as sexy vaqueros (or cowboys). While it's not nearly as big as Holy Week or Feria, Málaga has its own Pride event as well called Hoy Málaga es Gay (Today Málaga is Gay), taking place annually in late June. LGBT life is thriving in Málaga, which boasts a growing number and variety of gay bars and clubs, many situated around Plaza de la Merced. For a fun dip into the local queer scene, start out with the lively Bohemian loungy-ness of El Carmen, then move on to the throbbing disco action of Reinas (Queen). The refreshingly small (just 50 rooms) and colorful Room Mate Lola Hotel is a great place to lay your head in Málaga, with cool design, a central location, a hip clientele, and a friendly staff. Even more centrally located (right next to the Cathedral) is the AC Málaga Palacio Hotel, which boasts a rooftop pool and restaurant/bar with 360-degree views of the city, making it a consummate setting for that impromptu Spanish same-sex wedding. For venturing beyond Málaga proper and onward to the splendid Costa del Sol, your best bet is to rent a car. This can be ridiculously cheap, as low as $60 a week depending on when you travel, your vehicle preference, and Euro conversion rates. Taxis are plentiful, but distances between towns are fairly large, so fares can be high. Buses are available as well, but they run sporadically. Trains, running about every 30 minutes, also connect Málaga to Torremolinos and Fuengirola, but the latter is only about halfway to Marbella, so you'll still need a cab or car to take you the full distance there. Less than ten miles south of Málaga lies Torremolinos, long the gay capital of the Costa del Sol region. Though it began like many towns in the area as a sleepy fishing village, people were here and queer as early as the late 1950s. By 1962, Toni's Bar, Spain's first-ever gay bar, had opened. Even during the oppressive Franco regime, homosexuals were mostly given wide berth to behave as they liked in Torremolinos—as long as they spent their tourist pesetas while doing so. By the early 1970s, gay life was booming here, centered (as it still is) around La Nogalera in the heart of town. Torremolinos lost much of its cachet in the mid-70s when down-the-coast Marbella came into full bloom, but with the decriminalization of homosexuality in Spain later in the decade, the town began to attract more and more gays from all over the country, and eventually from across Europe. After an upswing in the 1980s and much of the 90s, another downturn followed just before the millennium, as Eurogays bored of a destination that'd become too routine and gone stale. Somewhat surprisingly, Torremolinos has undergone yet another powerful resurgence in the last few years, proving it a gay Spanish phoenix that simply refuses to go quietly. As Spain's magnetism draws in more and more international LGBT travelers, Torremolinos, virtually unknown to Amerigays until recently, is now finally being discovered by those looking beyond the tried and true Madrid-to-Barcelona-and-Sitges route. Interestingly, Torremolinos also draws many heterosexual Nordic and British types, leading to odd amalgams like a Finnish bar atop a gay disco, as in the case of the popular and very fun Home. Other current LGBT hotspots (among some 20 in Torremolinos) include Parthenon and Passion discos, both always packed on weekends. Since Torremolinos isn't yet exactly teeming with upscale lodging options, many visitors choose to stay in Málaga and make the journey by taxi at club time—in fact, it's what many Malagueños themselves do every weekend. For those who'd rather be able to stumble home, Hostal Guadalupe is a solid Torremolinos choice. Beyond the packed nightclubs and visible renovations around town, another clear indication that Torremolinos' star is again on the rise was the 2010 debut of Expo Gays, an international gay business expo that drew some 180 exhibitors and 15,000 visitors to the city's 60,000-square-foot Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions over three days in mid-October. Of course, one of the main reasons people flock to Costa del Sol is to soak up the ever-present local sun. Torremolinos itself has several lovely stretches of sand, including the once gay but now mixed Poseidon Beach. Most locals will assure you, however, that the best gay beach in Costa del Sol is farther down the coast, between Calahonda and Marbella at Cabopin. While this naturist beach isn't exclusively gay, it boasts a large pink stretch (commencing about 200 yards to the west of the parking lot) that includes a very cruisy and action-packed dune area. Whether you lay or play, Cabopin makes for a nice rejuvenating stop on the journey south from Torremolinos or Málaga to Marbella.

Undercover agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, working with their Mexican counterparts, helped transfer millions of dollars in drug cash and even escorted a shipment of cocaine via Dallas to Spain

2012-01-10T22:45:00.001Z

The covert activities were undertaken as part of an operation to infiltrate and prosecute a major Colombian-Mexican narco-trafficking organization moving cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and the United States. The undercover operation, detailed in Mexican government documents obtained by the New York Times, first came to light via a Monday dispatch by Times reporter Ginger Thompson. The documents "describe American counternarcotics agents, Mexican law enforcement officials and a Colombian informant working undercover together over several months in 2007," Thompson reported. "Together, they conducted numerous wire transfers of tens of thousands of dollars at a time, smuggled millions of dollars in bulk cash—and escorted at least one large shipment of cocaine from Ecuador to Dallas to Madrid." The documents "show that in 2007 the authorities infiltrated" the operations of an accused major Colombian cocaine trafficker, named Harold Mauricio Poveda-Ortega, Thompson wrote. Poveda-Ortega, also known as the Rabbit, "was considered the principal cocaine supplier to the Mexican drug cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva." Leyva was killed in 2008 in a shootout with Mexican naval forces. Poveda-Ortega was arrested in Mexico City in November 2010. The Mexican government documents include testimony from a DEA special agent "who oversaw a covert money laundering investigation" into Poveda-Ortega, Thompson reported. The documents form part of the file supporting a Mexican Foreign Ministry extradition order for Poveda-Ortega from last May 2011. The United States, however, has declined to indicate whether Poveda-Ortega was extradited to the United States, Thompson writes. A Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney similarly told Yahoo News Monday that the department is "not in a position to comment on the specific matter." The Drug Enforcement Administration defended the undercover operation in a written statement given to Thompson. "Transnational organized groups can be defeated only by transnational law enforcement cooperation," the agency wrote. "Such cooperation requires that law enforcement agencies — often from multiple countries — coordinate their activities, while at the same time always acting within their respective laws and authorities." Former DEA agent Robert Mazur, who posed as a money launderer in a similar undercover DEA investigation targeting the banks supporting the Medellin drug cartel, said such undercover operations are necessary and legitimate. Covert drug stings are critical, he says, in lining up evidence to successfully prosecute the top command and control figures of organized crime cartels. "This is a law enforcement technique that has been used for decades," Mazur told Yahoo News in a telephone interview Monday. "If we were to embrace the concept that these undercover money laundering operations shouldn't be conducted because in a small way, they for a brief period of time create a short term benefit for the criminal, we would be doing criminal organizations around the world the greatest favor they could get. We would be closing door to one of the most effective methods available to attack what law enforcement calls the command and control of these global organizations." The organizations targeted in these intricate DEA stings "are not people selling dime bags of crack on the street, but people trying to create terrorists states around the world," continued Mazur (Mazur, who retired from the DEA in 1998, has recounted his experience infiltrating the BCCI bank accused of money laundering for the Colombian drug cartel, in a book, The Infiltrator.) Mazur also disputed any comparison between the undercover DEA case exposed by the Times Monday and the recent controversy over "Fast and Furious," the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) program that allegedly put guns in the hands of Mexican drug gangs. "I would never agree in any circumstances it's worthwhile to put 2,000 weapons in the hands of criminals," he said. "Each of these operations needs to be professionally managed and individually scrutinized. This one, from what I read, is very common place, and I don't see anything in there that disturbs me in the least." Recent DEA undercover operations have led to the apprehension and successful prosecution of two major global arms traffickers, including the Russian-born, so-called "merchant of death" Viktor Bout, who was convicted in November on four counts of plotting to sell anti-aircraft guns and other weapons to Colombia's FARC rebels; and the Syrian-born "Prince of Marbella," Monzer al-Kassar, who was sentenced by a New York court in 2009 to 30 years in prison.

Alleged Imperial Gangster pleads not guilty to gun charge

2012-01-10T22:27:00.001Z

reputed member of the Imperial Gangsters pleaded not guilty Monday to a gun charge linked to a shooting last month. Armando Jose Velasquez, 24, of East Chicago, is charged in federal court with being a felon in possession of a firearm. At Velasquez's detention hearing, U.S. Attorney David Nozick said the government plans to include Velasquez in the racketeering indictment that swept a dozen alleged Imperial Gangsters off the streets last fall. The 20-count federal indictment in the fall included five charges for murder in the aid of racketeering. During the alleged incident Dec. 3, witnesses said Velasquez approached the victim, Terrance Rios, who was driving a green 1998 Nissan, after Rios stopped at the intersection of 150th Street and Baring Avenue in East Chicago. Rios' two passengers said Velasquez pulled a chrome gun from his waistband and fired nine rounds. According to court records, Velasquez shot Rios twice in the head and once in the back. Rios survived, but Velasquez had a prior conviction for voluntary manslaughter. A teenager at the time in 2005, Velasquez was sentenced to 12 years for the crime, and he was on parole at the time of the December shooting. Velasquez, who has a tattoo on the right side of his neck and said he dropped out of school after sixth grade, waved hello to his family with shackled hands before the hearing. After entering his not guilty plea, he was taken back into custody, where he will remain pending a March trial before Chief Judge Philip P. Simon. His attorney, Sheldon Nagelberg, declined to comment.

A one-time member of the Portsmouth Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang was sentenced Monday to life in prison

2012-01-10T22:23:00.001Z

A one-time member of the Portsmouth Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang was sentenced Monday to life in prison for gunning down two brothers in a Cradock home invasion robbery. Jamyia Rashad Brothers, 24, and his lawyers pleaded for a sentence of 35 years in prison, but U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson, calling the killings "one of the most heinous crimes a man can commit in American society," gave him life. Brothers and another Blood went to the home of Ronnie Trollinger on Gillis Road one night in December 2007 with the intention of robbing him. Upon entering, Brothers almost immediately began shooting. Trollinger, 51, was shot in the chest and died. His brother, John Trollinger, 49, was shot in the chest and head and died. A third man was shot in the abdomen and survived. Brothers read a rambling letter to the court stating that the crimes have led him to find Christ. He apologized to the Trollinger family, the court and to Jesus. He said he wished he "could have listened to the voice of my dear grandmother." Brothers was raised by his grandparents but was expelled from high school and had numerous arrests before this case. John Trollinger's widow testified that she continues to suffer physically and emotionally. "I live with fear, loneliness and emptiness," she said. The high school sweethearts were married for 31 years and had two children and two grandchildren. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Muhr said Brothers fired his gun for no good reason. "It was just cold-blooded murder," he said. "They did nothing to him." He said the Bloods gang terrorized Cradock and other neighborhoods in Portsmouth, Suffolk and Chesapeake. "They are a scourge on society," he said. In calling for a life prison term, Muhr cited Brothers' arrest record, which includes convictions for assault, drug dealing near a school, escape, firearm possession and drunken driving. Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Earle C. Mobley, who sat through the sentencing, said the case never could have been prosecuted without the joint federal-state effort. The initial case in state court fell apart because of witness problems. James Theuer, one of Brothers' attorneys, argued for a 35-year prison term, telling the judge his client "is a different man today." "Where was that individual," Judge Jackson wondered aloud, "when you walked in that house?" Jackson also denied a request that Brothers be housed in a prison close to his family. "It's unfortunate," the judge said. "It's a tragedy on all sides."

The Goodfellas gangsters may live again at AMC

2012-01-10T22:19:00.001Z

"Goodfellas" might be becoming a made man again. AMC is developing a series adapted from the acclaimed 1990's film's source material, Nicholas Pileggi's nonfiction book "Wiseguy," about the rise and fall of a mid-20th century gangster. Pileggi wrote the 1990 film adaptation, which was directed by Martin Scorsese ("Taxi Driver," "Hugo"), and has signed on to co-write the TV series adaptation along with "Homicide: Life On The Street" vet Jorge Zamacona. The film version's producer Irwin Winkler, with son David, will act as co-executive producers, according to Deadline.com. 1990' s "Goodfellas" chronicles the violent, rags-to-riches tale of gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as he gets deeper into a world of crime over a period of thirty years, along with his friends and fellow wiseguys, played by Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Paul Sorvino. It was nominated for several Oscars, including best picture and director. Pesci won in the supporting actor category. Pileggi also has "Ralph Lamb" in development at CBS with director James Mangold. AMC is home to such acclaimed dramas as "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead."

Members of the Mad Cowz and Manitoba Warriors have been at odds for several weeks as they battle for turf and the lucrative profits

2012-01-10T22:06:00.001Z

Members of the Mad Cowz and Manitoba Warriors have been at odds for several weeks as they battle for turf and the lucrative profits that come from selling drugs, sources told the Free Press. Enlarge Image Police investigate after a Victor Street house was shot up and set afire Wednesday. Mohamed Ali Omar The two groups are believed responsible for several shootings this week that have residents of the West End and North End on edge. Police have beefed up their resources in the neighbourhoods as they struggle to predict and prevent the next attack. Between Sunday morning and Thursday morning, there were five reported shootings and/or firebombings of homes on Aberdeen Avenue, Victor Street and Simcoe Street. Sources say the residences all have ties to gang activity and were deliberately targeted. There have been no reported injuries and no arrests. "This is strictly to do with impeding each other's crack sales," a justice source said Friday. Police are still probing whether there is a connection between those incidents and a New Year's Eve shooting on Selkirk Avenue that left a 46-year-old man dead. A 30-year-old woman also suffered serious injuries after being shot in the eye inside the home, which sources say was a known drug house with connections to gang activity. No arrests have been made. "As of late, we've had several violent instances where firearms have been involved. Any time we have these types of incidents occurring -- whether it's days apart, weeks apart or months apart -- of course we're concerned," Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said this week. "There's a concern for public safety and there's a concern that these incidents may repeat themselves, but we're making every effort to investigate these matters thoroughly." Sources told the Free Press tensions between the Mad Cowz -- a predominantly African gang -- and the Manitoba Warriors -- a predominantly native gang -- began to rise following an unsolved shooting death late last October in the parking lot of a McPhillips Street hotel. Mohamed Ali Omar, 28, was gunned down as he stood outside the Lincoln Motor Inn. Police say a man in an SUV pulled up and opened fire on a group of people, killing Omar and injuring a 17-year-old. Omar's family have described him as a loving father of four who worked as a hospital cleaner. But police have confirmed he had ties to gang activities, and sources say that gang was the Mad Cowz. No arrests have been made, but there is speculation on the streets that the Manitoba Warriors may have been involved. "That's always a tricky area for police when we're describing gang associations. I don't think we're prepared to go any further than stating that they do have associations to a local street gang," police Const. Natalie Aitken said at the time. Winnipeg has seen its share of gang battles play out in public, most recently with associates of the Hells Angels and Rock Machine trading bullets and firebombs. There were more than a dozen incidents last summer and fall, including several where people narrowly avoided serious injury or death. Police and justice officials publicly declared a biker war was brewing and warned citizens to be vigilant. Officers took the unusual step of going door to door in some neighbourhoods, warning people of the potential for violence. Relations between the two gangs have calmed in recent months, but a source warned there might be more violence to come. "There are a lot of scores to be settled," the source told the Free Press last month. Now, it appears, the Manitoba Warriors and Mad Cowz have decided to stir things up.

Among the funeral attendees were members of several Northwest Washington gangs

2012-01-10T21:58:00.001Z

Marcellus E. Jackson, 23, and Kier M. Johnson, 21, were arrested Monday in connection with the 2010 slaying of Jamal Coates, D.C. police announced. Investigators count Coates’s killing as among crimes by rival gang members in the U Street NW neighborhood. Coates was shot to death on Sept. 28, 2010, after he attended a funeral for a young woman who was killed earlier that month and whose boyfriend was charged in her death, police said. Among the funeral attendees were members of several Northwest Washington gangs, authorities said.

Man sentenced to 12 years for gang-related shootings

2012-01-10T21:56:00.001Z

21-year-old Winnipeg man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for two gang-related shootings in the city's West End, including one that unintentionally injured a 10-year-old girl. Paramedics take the girl, who was 10 years old at the time, to hospital following the May 26, 2010, shooting on Victor Street. (CBC) The man pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of discharging a firearm in connection with the May 2010 incidents, including the May 26 shooting of a house on Victor Street. Court heard that the man, who was then a 19-year-old member of the Indian Posse street gang, fired three shots at the home as an act of retaliation for a drive-by shooting that killed a fellow gang member the day before. Inside the house was the girl, who was hit in the knee by a bullet that went through the front window. Her sister, who was eight at the time, was superficially injured by flying glass and debris. Neighbours and the man's own younger brother told police they saw him with a rifle at the time of the incident. The man was arrested two days later at The Forks, with a machete hidden in his pants. A teenage co-accused pleaded guilty in September 2010 to aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in connection to the attack.

Trial begins in giant Spanish corruption scandal

2012-01-10T21:39:00.001Z

top Spanish former official went on trial Monday at the start of legal proceedings into a raft of corruption scandals in which King Juan Carlos' son-in-law is also accused. Jaume Matas, the ex-head of the regional government of the Balearic islands who had also served as environment minister, appeared at a court in Palma de Majorca alongside three other suspects. They have been charged with embezzlement, fraud, falsifying documents and influence peddling. Matas was charged in March 2010 and was released after paying a record bail of 3.0 million euros ($3.8 million). Prosecutors are demanding an eight and a half years jail term. Matas served as president of the government of the Balearic Islands between 1996-1999 and then between 2003-2007. He was environment minister between 2000-2003. The so-called "Palma Arena affair" as the Spanish press has dubbed the corruption scandal centres on the suspected embezzlement of public funds during the construction of a velodrome in Palma de Majorca between 2005-2007. An investigation concluded that the cycling track had an unjustified cost overrun of 41 million euros. That led authorities on the archipelago to uncover other cases of suspected embezzlement of public funds, including one allegedly involving royal son-in-law Inaki Urdangarin. The 43-year-old ex-Olympic handball player is scheduled to appear in court on February 25 as part of a probe into corruption at a non-profit organisation, Instituto Noos, which he headed between 2004 and 2006. The probe centres notably on a payment of 2.3 million euros to Instituto Noos for organising a tourism and sports conference in 2005 and 2006. Urdangarin, who has the title Duke of Palma and is married to the king's youngest daughter, Princess Cristina, has denied any wrongdoing. Last month the royal family suspended the the duke from official engagements and the palace's highest official, Rafael Spottorno, gave an unprecedented rebuke, telling Spanish media his behaviour "does not seem exemplary".

violent felon who allegedly shot a parole officer in the face, prompting a four-hour manhunt in Lake View Terrace

2012-01-08T15:54:00.001Z

violent felon who allegedly shot a parole officer in the face, prompting a four-hour manhunt in Lake View Terrace Wednesday triggered a similar standoff with police in Sylmar nearly a decade before.

Steven Hoff, 43, was taken into custody Wednesday after a search that shut down the Foothill (210) Freeway and led authorities to lock down a 3-square-mile area.

Parole agents, working with Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies, had been looking for Hoff for an alleged parole violation. As they approached a trailer near the 11000 block of Foothill Boulevard about 1:30 p.m. in search of Hoff, the suspect allegedly fired at one of the agents. The injured parole officer's partner fired back, but the shooter fled.

Shooting suspect Steven Hoff in a May 17, 2011 mug shot.

Hoff was found about 6 p.m. hiding in an empty swimming pool, sniffed out by a K-9 unit dog, authorities said.

"The K-9 bit him and then we went in and handcuffed him and brought him out," said Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore. "The situation was very volatile, and for a while unknown."

Both Hoff and the injured parole agent, whose name was not released, were hospitalized in serious but stable condition on Thursday. Hoff won't be booked until he is medically ready, Whitmore said.

Hoff was released from prison in January 2011 after after being convicted in San Fernando Courthouse for attempted burglary, according to state and county records. He stopped reporting for parole meetings in July and has been wanted since then, authorities said.

He has been in and out of prison for drug, burglary and weapons convictions beginning in 1989.

Hoff often served half of his sentence because state law allows non-violent criminals -- including those convicted for possession of firearms -- to get double credit for each day behind bars, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Luis Patino said.

The shorter amount of time Hoff served and his release last year are not the result of Gov. Jerry Brown's controversial realignment program, which shifts responsibility for many nonviolent inmates from state prison to county jails, Patino said.

On Wednesday, Hoff was the target of the California Parole Apprehension Team, which was created in 2009 to focus on at-large parolees who pose the greatest risk to public safety, according to the statement.

The manhunt, which led to major freeway delays that spilled over onto surface streets, was similar to a dramatic, nine-hour police standoff in 2002 that ended when police fired tear gas canisters into the Sylmar home where Hoff was barricaded.

At the time, Hoff was wanted for allegedly fatally shooting Diablos motorcycle gang member Richard Dierking in California City. Hoff shot Dierking for "disrespecting" him during his initiation into the notorious gang, authorities said at the time.

However, Hoff went free less than four months after his arrest when charges of first-degree murder and robbery were dismissed, according to Kern County court records. A spokeswoman for the Kern County District Attorney's Office said details of the case were not immediately available.

"This dude has a long and storied history with us," a corrections department spokesman told the Daily News when Hoff was arrested in 2002.

On Thursday, corrections Secretary Matthew Cate said employees were "relieved" that the parole agent who had been shot was recovering after surgery.

"Watching video and pictures of this agent sitting up and giving information to his brother law enforcement officer, even after he had been shot in the face, reminded us all of the valor and determination that our agents exhibit out in the field every day. ...," Cate said in a written statement.

The department has sent a deadly-force investigation team, required under state law, to review the shootings.

HE WAS the target of a gunman's midnight ambush and his alleged associates engaged in a gunfight at a North Adelaide cafe.

2012-01-08T15:41:00.001Z

Alleged member of the New Boys street gang Vincenzo Focarelli outside the Adelaide Magistrates Court.

Yesterday Comanchero chief Vince Focarelli denied his outlaw club was being torn apart from the inside.

Focarelli broke his silence to counter rumours that the Comanchero Motorcycle Club is plagued by infighting.

In a statement signed by him and released yesterday, he called for privacy.

"Mr Focarelli denies there is any disharmony or in-house fighting within the Comancheros Motorcycle Club," it said.

He "has been released from hospital and wishes to express his sincere gratitude to the medical staff who provided specialist treatment and acted with complete professionalism at all times.

"Mr Focarelli confirms that he is expected to make a full recovery.

"Mr Focarelli calls upon the media and community to please respect the privacy of his wife and five children."

Focarelli, 36, was the target of an attack at a Munno Para West home on December 15.

He was showered with bullets, one which hit him in the upper leg, then escaped by smashing a window of a nearby home, crawling through it and fleeing through a back door.

He left a trail of blood and it is believed the lacerations to his arm were serious.

Focarelli underwent surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and was in medical care for at least two weeks.

Days after Focarelli was shot, alleged Comancheros associates opened fire on one another at Caffe Paesano on a busy Sunday evening.

The gunfight started at 9.30pm when a man entered the restaurant, drew a gun and fired at three men sitting at an outside table.

At least one returned fire, hitting their target in the leg before he fled the premises.

On Thursday police arrested a Salisbury North man, 24, in relation to the incident. He was charged him with one aggravated count of endangering life and was remanded in custody.

Meanwhile, an alleged Comanchero will be extradited to South Australia on Monday. He was arrested in Port Melbourne over a stabbing that happened in Adelaide in 2008.

Victoria Police arrested the Para Hills man, 23, on Thursday evening.

Mexican footballer arrested on kidnappings

2012-01-08T15:36:00.001Z

Mexican goalkeeper Omar 'The Cat' Ortiz has been arrested for his alleged role in a group of kidnappers whose victims included the husband of singer Gloria Trevi. The 35-year-old - capped once by Mexico in 2002 - is alleged to have singled out potential targets for the gang, who are apparently linked to the Gulf drugs cartel. "He (Ortiz) was an accomplice to the gang and his role was to target future victims," a spokesperson for Nuevo Leon security department said on Sunday. "He was paid for that. He has confessed to being implicated in at least two kidnappings and receiving for that more than 100,000 pesos (about $A7000)." The spokesperson refused to say whether Ortiz - whose chequered playing career included a two-year doping ban back in 2010 - was involved in the kidnapping of Trevi's husband in October last year.

Christmas massacre

2011-12-30T17:18:00.001Z

It's only natural that throughout our lives certain encounters, experiences automatically trigger certain memories. Looking around at all that's presently going on in Chattanooga brings back certain memories, personal experiences, conversations with family members etc., many unpleasant ones.

I'm reminded of another quote by Maya Angelou who once said, "People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did (to them), but (good or bad) people will never forget how you made them feel."

There are problems in Chattanooga, perhaps with its youth. The question, however, should be who, what and why might be behind triggering those problems? Now, the original story of the "Christmas massacre" as Mr. Roy has called it, and the the original cause presented by members of Chattanooga's "finest" police department turns out to be a tad or even heavily exaggerated. Purposely. It looks that way. Even the exaggeration of a situation still makes it a lie. Makes the exaggerators less trust worthy.

My dad wasn't a very educated man, but he was wise beyond some of your most educated scholars. When someone would come to us and tell us something that just didn't sit right, he'd always tell us, "Shhhsh! chi'le, sit back and wait for the truth." The truth, may have taken some time, but the truth always prevailed.

The truth, as it turns out, was there were no rival gangs shooting it up with one another. The truth is no one really knows for sure where the shots came from. If they don't know where the shots came from, then they don't know who fired the shots. If they don't know who they can't say for sure if the shots were gang related, or someone(s) (even a law-abiding, upstanding pillar of the community licensed gun owner) trying to trigger a situation where gang would be blamed.

What we do know is there are elements in the city making every attempt to take the city back to a time and period where certain areas of the city were exclusive and others weren't allowed, unless they worked in the area. Even then they had to be out by sundown. Hence, the term sundowning was coined.

For personal reason, I don't trust some members of the CPD to be upfront and honest about these situation any further than I could throw them. In fact, from personal experience, it wouldn't be at all surprising if to learn some of the more roguish sides of the department are either directly or indirectly behind many of these disturbances and outbreaks of violence. I won't go into how it works here, but I've personally experienced it in action.

Yet as our young men and women of all colors, religions, nationalities, gender and class have fought and died together in conflicts and wars around the world, some continue to play these silly games at attempts to segregate the masses in America again. Which triggered a memory of a story my oldest brothers once related to me about an experience that left a profound effect on him while serving his first tour of duty in Vietnam and a brief encounter with General Westmoreland.

His experience, in his own words: "When I first went to Viet Nam, I was assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. Our base camp was in An Kie, South Viet Nam. During the latter part of Dec 1965, our entire division went on Operation White Horse, which was one of the largest military operations in the Central Highlands in Bong Song Viet Nam. The native Vietnamese people in that area had not seen an American since possibly when American Advisors were over there when the French was there. Well to make a long story short, In January 1966, my unit came under heavy attack from the North Vietnamese Regular Army. Those (North Vietnamese) knew how to fight a battle. Although my unit suffered heavy casualties, who were killed in or wounded in action. But our unit out fought the North Vietnamese unit, by inflicting heavy casualties. We fought so well until General Westmoreland, who was the top American military commander in Soputh Viet Nam, personally came out to our field location to view the damages we had inflicted on the North Vietnamese unit. He went around to greet and shake the hands of some of the soldiers in our unit. I was one of the soldiers. I put my hand out to shake his hand and (he) passed me by as though I was not standing there. And I said to myself (Screw HIM). True story."

All I can say is, if these people want to make downtown exclusive for only a select class and, yes, ethnicity or race, then screw 'em. Let'em have it. Uplift yourselves. Reach out to your young. Help them to master the skills, knowledge and power needed to sustain themselves and where they live. But whatever you do, don't seek to isolate yourselves in the way these others are attempting. Don't make your accomplishments exclusive for only a select few.

It isn't that people can't forget the past, but the past never really became the past in America. The past continues to rear its ugly head in various ways. Today the past is rearing its ugliness in the form of shouting gangs when the truth might be more sinister.

Salford Murder: Family Of Anuj Bidve Learn Of His Murder On Facebook

2011-12-30T17:08:00.001Z

Police have admitted that the family of an Indian student murdered in Salford on Boxing Day found out about his death on Facebook. Anuj Bidve, 23, was shot in the head at point-blank range as he walked with friends near their hotel in the Ordsall district of Salford early on December 26. His murder is being treated by detectives as a hate crime which may have been racially motivated. Anuj's father Subhash has complained that he heard about his son's death via Facebook rather than an official channel. He told Sky News: "It has been very, very difficult to understand why no authorities - from the British government, police or anyone - could give this news to me." Greater Manchester Police confirmed that "sadly that was the case" and apologised for not breaking the news in person. The family found out about the student's death on Facebook Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley, who has overall command for the operation, said: "That is not the way anyone should have to find out something so devastating and we completely understand how upset the family are." She explained that a family liaison officer had been trying to contact the family to inform them when a post was put up on the website. "Social networking is instantaneous and we have no control over when and what people post on such sites, but no-one should hear such tragic news in this way," she said. ACC Copley stressed that two officers have since been in regular contact with the family and are working on bringing them to Manchester as soon as possible. On the release of the student's body, she said: "We understand how important this is for the family and we are working closely with the coroner to ensure the family can bring Anuj's body home as soon as possible. "The body cannot be released at this stage of the investigation but we are doing everything we can to respect the family's wish." She continued: "I want to reassure the family that staff across the whole of Greater Manchester Police are working on this investigation night and day to bring those responsible for Anuj's murder to justice." That is not the way anyone should have to find out something so devastating and we completely understand how upset the family are. Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley A 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old man are still in custody as investigations continue but police have released three other teenagers, two aged 17 and one 16, pending further inquiries. Detectives are now offering a £50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for the killing. The murder weapon, believed to be a small handgun, has yet to be found. Forensic and ballistics investigations are being carried out and police are trawling through CCTV along with house-to-house inquiries. According to a Facebook page set up in Mr Bidve's memory, he "was killed for not answering a simple question: 'What's the time?"'. REWARD OFFERED ON SALFORD MURDER Police have said they are treating the murder as a hate crime, although at this stage they are unsure whether it was racially motivated. The student, who arrived in the UK in September and had been studying at Lancaster University, had been with a large group of friends on a Christmas visit to Manchester. They were walking from their hotel early on Boxing Day when they became aware of two men on the other side of the street. The gunman then walked across the road, spoke briefly to Mr Bidve and then shot him at close range in the side of the head. He then ran back across the street before the pair fled. Armed response units were sent to the scene but Mr Bidve died in hospital a short time later.

Murder squad detectives today offered a £50,000 reward for information as they investigated the "horrific" murder of an Indian student blasted to death on Boxing Day.

2011-12-30T17:04:00.001Z

Anuj Bidve, 23, was shot in the head at point-blank range as he walked with friends near their hotel in the inner-city Ordsall district of the city, in the early hours of December 26.

The murder of the Indian student is being treated by detectives at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) as a "hate crime" which may have been racially motivated.

Today senior officers from the force announced the cash reward and said they hoped it would help get the killer gunman caught as soon as possible.

Det Chief Supt Mary Doyle, leading the murder inquiry, said: "It is an extremely unusual, savage and motiveless attack, an absolutely horrific crime, which is why we are taking the step of issuing it (the reward) a bit earlier than we normally would.

"We absolutely understand the need to take whoever is responsible for this off the streets.

"That's the reason we are issuing it now at such an early stage."

Often rewards are offered by the police weeks or months after the crime.

Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley, from GMP, speaking at a news conference at the force HQ in Manchester, said: "We are going to issue a reward here and now, for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Anuj's murder.

"That reward is £50,000.

Two alleged associates of the Hells Angels have been charged after a police officer was put in a headlock and punched several times

2011-12-29T22:13:00.001Z

Two alleged associates of the Hells Angels have been charged after a police officer was put in a headlock and punched several times in front of a Kelowna nightclub Tuesday.

Shortly after 2 a.m. two uniformed Kelowna RCMP members were on patrol when they saw a fight break out between several men on Leon Avenue. When they moved in to arrest the main aggressor, one of the officers was jumped from behind and attacked.

The officer who was punched ended up with swelling and bruising.

Kelowna RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Ann Morrison was unable to say what caused the fight.

“I can confirm we are having difficulty receiving cooperation from the parties involved,” she said.

Kelowna’s Pedro Amestica, 39, was charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. He does not have a criminal record and police say he is a known associate of the Mission City chapter of the Hells Angels.

Thomas Volker, a 37-year-old from Mission, is charged with assaulting a police officer. He has a criminal record and police say he is a member of the Mission City Hells Angels.

Both men have appeared before a justice of the peace and have been released from custody. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 12 in Kelowna

Suspect in Juárez consulate killings extradited

2011-12-29T13:42:00.001Z

An alleged prison gang member wanted in connection with the killing of a U.S. consulate employee, her husband and another employee's spouse has been extradited to the United States, Mexican authorities have announced. Joel Abraham Caudillo was handed over to FBI agents Dec. 20 in Veracruz at the same time that Julian “El Piolin” Zapata Espinoza, wanted in the February killing of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata, was extradited. Mexican authorities announced Caudillo's extradition this week. He's one of 35 people charged in a drug conspiracy case that alleges that the Barrio Azteca prison gang, working with the Juárez Cartel, engaged in drug trafficking and murder on both sides of the Rio Grande. Officials say that gang members in Ciudad Juárez on March 13, 2010, killed U.S. consulate employee Leslie Ann Enriquez Catton; her husband, Arthur Redelf, an El Paso County jailer; and Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, the husband of a consulate employee. Caudillo is accused of destroying one of the vehicles used in Ceniceros' killing. Extraditions in the case have been done surreptitiously during holidays. Near Labor Day weekend in 2010, Jesus Ernesto “El Camello” Chávez Castillo, a suspect in the killings, was brought to San Antonio for a closed court hearing. Court records in his case remain sealed.

all is quiet on Calgary’s gang front.

2011-12-29T13:40:00.001Z

With no killings between FOB and FK in nearly three years and the biggest case of them all — the 2009 triple murder at Bolsa Restaurant — resulting in at least two convictions, it would be tempting to assume all is quiet on Calgary’s gang front. That assumption would be wrong. As detailed in a recent article, no small amount of effort goes into monitoring the gang members who aren’t either dead or in jail to prevent any further violence. However, we live in a society that values quantifiable results: while it’s easy to tally the number of bad guys who have been arrested, the amount of drugs seized or illegal guns taken off the street, it’s much harder to measure how many murders police may have prevented. It has happened, however, and only continued pressure will keep the violence in check. But that’s not the only unfinished business for Calgary police: there are at least 20 homicides connected to the gang war which remain unsolved — investigations police have been able to devote more time to, thanks to the relatively low number of homicides recorded in Calgary during 2011. Prior to the Bolsa massacre, when innocent restaurant patron Keni Su’a was slaughtered trying to flee the eatery, it was common for Calgarians to be indifferent to the death toll as long as gangsters kept killing each other. Bolsa exposed the fundamental flaw in that indifference: allow criminals with little regard for human life to run loose and it’s only a matter of time before an innocent is hurt or killed. The public may not be clamouring for police to solve the murders of 20 people who were either gangsters or people who made the poor choice of hanging out with criminals, but Bolsa demonstrated why all Calgarians have a vested interest in getting their killers off the street. For homicide investigators, an unsolved case is a case that needs solving — no matter if the victim was a criminal himself. “We are looking at cold case homicides, and included in that is, of course, are all the organized crime ones,” Staff Sgt. Grant Miller of the homicide unit said recently. “We’re motivated to solve them.” We live in a country where the rule of law is supreme, and it dictates justice must be available to all — justice that’s meted out in a courtroom, not at the end of the barrel of a gun.

3 people wounded in drive-by shooting on Hudson

2011-12-29T13:35:00.001Z

Three people are being treated at local hospitals after a drive-by shooting on Hudson Avenue this afternoon. According to Rochester police Capt. Peter Leach, officers responded to Hudson Avenue near Weeger Street at 4:20 p.m. for a report of people shot. Upon arrival, they found three people shot outside of a grocery store. Leach said the shots were fired by people driving by in a gray minivan. After the shootings, the minivan drove away on Weeger Street and struck another vehicle, at which point the van’s occupants got out and ran away. Leach said the victims were a 28-year-old Greece woman, a 23-year-old city man and a 25-year-old city man. All the victims’ injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening, he said. The woman is being treated at Strong Memorial Hospital; the men at Rochester General Hospital, he said. Police are searching for the suspects.

Snakes on a plane (almost) in Argentina

2011-12-29T13:33:00.001Z

Snakes on a plane (almost) in Argentina Authorities in Argentina caught a man trying to board a plane with almost 250 poisonous snakes and endangered reptiles.

San Jose police say a man who allegedly shot a fellow Hells Angel at an October funeral for the club's president has recently resurfaced after weeks of hiding

2011-12-28T15:06:00.001Z

San Jose police say a man who allegedly shot a fellow Hells Angel at an October funeral for the club's president has recently resurfaced after weeks of hiding and are asking for the public's help in locating him.

Police have been searching for Steve Ruiz, 38, since the Oct. 15, when authorities said he got into a fight with Steve Tausun, 52, at the Oak Hill Cemetery during a funeral for Jeff Pettigrew, president of the San Jose Hells Angels chapter.

Police said Pettigrew was shot and killed Sept. 23 by Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, an alleged member of the rival Vagos motorcycle gang, at John Ascuaga's Nugget casino in Sparks, Nev. Gonzalez, 53, of San Jose was arrested by a UCSF police officer in San Francisco six days later.

Sarah Haley told ABC15 she left for California over the weekend. She received a call on December 17 that her home had been burglarized.

2011-12-23T19:41:00.001Z

Sarah Haley told ABC15 she left for California over the weekend. She received a call on December 17 that her home had been burglarized. When she returned, she said the crooks had taken her motorcycle, clothes, electronics and even food from her refrigerator.

"Every cupboard was opened, every drawer was opened and overturned," Haley said.

The burglars apparently broke in through the front door of her home, near 35th and Southern avenues.

"They had a great time cleaning out my house," Haley said.

While she is out an estimated $22,000 in stolen items, it's what the burglars left for her that's left a lingering fear. On a mirror near her front door, she said the crooks used a marker and drew a gang sign along with a message, which read 'We'll be back soon, honey, love you."

"It's almost scary enough to need to move out of your house," she said.

Haley said she has since bought a security door, alarm system and weapons, and is left to hope the criminals are caught.

"This has been almost harder than anything I've had to deal with in my life," she said.

Authorities are investigating the incident. If you have any information, you are urged to call Phoenix police.

Police in Jamaica say three people including a woman eight months pregnant have been shot to death in the Caribbean island’s southern region.

2011-12-17T00:04:00.001Z

Senior Police Superintendent Anthony Castell says unidentified gunmen broke into a house in Spanish Town before dawn Thursday and opened fire. It is unclear if the three victims were related.

No motive has been given, although some legislators speculate the killings were politically motivated.

On Sunday, two buses carrying supporters of the governing Jamaica Labor Party were shot up in the Spanish town area. One man was seriously wounded.

China has executed a South African woman for drug smuggling

2011-12-12T23:45:00.001Z

China has executed a South African woman for drug smuggling, after rejecting appeals by the South African government to spare her life.

Janice Linden was convicted in 2009 of attempting to smuggle three kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in luggage through an airport in the southern city of Guangzhou. She later argued her innocence, saying the drugs had been planted in her suitcase.

South African news reports say several government appeals had been lodged with Beijing to have Linden's death sentence commuted to life in prison. Those reports say Linden, 35, only learned a few hours before her execution that her final appeal had failed.

The French news agency quotes Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin as saying that Chinese law had been followed in the case.

The execution is the second death sentence imposed by China on a foreigner in recent days.

Last week, a 35-year-old Filipino man convicted of drug smuggling was put to death after a court in Guangxi province rejected an appeal from Philippine President Benigno Aquino to commute the death sentence to life in prison.

Gunman walking down the middle of Vine Street near Sunset Boulevard, firing at least nine shots into the air and at passing cars

2011-12-10T16:31:00.001Z

A 26-year-old man walked down the middle of a street in Hollywood, firing on passing cars with no clear target until police shot and killed him, authorities said. A passing driver was injured.

Investigators are trying to determine a motive for the attack, which some people thought was part of a movie.

"This is Hollywood, and they do film stuff all the time," Greg Watkins, who was walking along the street yesterday when the shooting began, told the Los Angeles Times. "I honestly thought they were filming something."

There were amateur cameras on the man, who in video clips had short hair and wore jeans and a white tank top as he paced back and forth near the busy intersection.

Chris Johns captured video of the gunman from his apartment window several stories above the street, and tried to distract and divert the gunman from shooting anyone on the street.

"Hey why don't you come up here! Come up here buddy!" Johns yelled.

Johns told KABC-TV he saw a plainclothes officer shoot the man.

"I started shouting out to the officer, saying 'take him out, that's the guy!"' Johns said.

The gunman was pronounced dead at the scene, Los Angeles police Officer Cleon Joseph said. No officers were hurt.

The area was cordoned off and the gunman lay under a white sheet in the street hours after the gunfire, leaving traffic tangled on busy Hollywood streets, an area packed with stores and restaurants.

The 40-year-old male driver of a Mercedes-Benz was wounded in his upper body and taken to a hospital in unknown condition. A truck and another car were struck by bullets.

Oscar Herrera, a witness, said he saw the gunman walking down the middle of Vine Street near Sunset Boulevard, firing at least nine shots into the air and at passing cars.

"People were running all over," Herrera told KABC. "People was ducking."

The gunman eventually ran out of ammunition and pulled a knife before a policeman fired at him four or five times, Herrera said.

He was a 26-year-old from Los Angeles, police spokeswoman Norma Eisenman said. Police said they aren't immediately releasing his name at his family's request until other family members could be contacted.

Dave Pepper told KCAL-TV that he was in his car when the gunman came at him.

"This guy came running across the street and he put the gun right up to this window," Pepper said as he sat in the car. "Why he didn't pull the trigger I don't know."