Gun tracker

Criminals don't sit still. They move from place to place, Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray s Cooperative police work among cities on the Route 222 corridor in recent years has helped track individual criminals and gangs, Gray said.And the guns they use, Gray said, also often don't stay in one place. New technology and cooperative efforts discussed at a conference this week in Baltimore can be used to track those guns on an even larger scale.Gray and mayors from 11 cities from New York to Annapolis met Wednesday and agreed to share ballistics information that could link guns to crimes used in different cities.A presentation to the mayors focused on shell casings from one handgun that showed it had been used in crimes in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, he said.A criminal caught with that gun could lead to multiple prosecutions against several individuals in several cities."It provides a wealth of information to law enforcement people," Gray said this morning.The meeting, organized by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, included mayors from New York City, Baltimore and Annapolis, Md.; Newark and Trenton, N.J.; Dover and Wilmington, Del.; and Lancaster, Reading and York. Philadelphia's mayor sent an aide.
They agreed to establish a computer database for information collected from police along the Interstate 95 corridor and the surrounding areas. It will combine data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with local police ballistics and interrogation information. The mayors hope to have the database in operation later this year.A fundamental part of the plan is new technology that can identify a firearm by markings left on shell casings. With matching marks, police can trace a firearm to crime scenes in different states even if the firearm itself has not been recovered."They said it's like a fingerprint. It's that unique," Gray said of a Newark police presentation on the marking identification technology."It seems to be a real tool that police can use to track illicit activity," he said.In a joint statement that came from the meeting, the mayors said it wouldn't cost much to develop the database and new personnel would not be needed to implement the program.Gray said the federal government should really be leading the interstate effort. He remains hopeful that the federal or state government will step in to cover the cost of acquiring the new technology for Lancaster police.A spokesman for the National Rifle Association commented after the meeting to the Associated Press that law enforcement already has more than enough tools to combat gun crimes and the project sounded more like a publicity stunt.

Read More

90 percent of the 500-euro notes in circulation outside Europe are being smuggled into Colombia.

Federal agents last year used their dogs Frankie and Sox to detect cocaine residue on euro shipments seized at the Miami airport. One seizure alone involved seven bags. One of the shipments contained 12,224 of the telltale 500-euro notes. The money is shipped in sealed, tamper-resistant plastic bags the size of duffel bags.Those seizures are now the subject of the U.S. forfeiture action, a civil action that requires the government only show that it's more likely than not that the money is ill-gotten.The Justice Department has received claims for the cash from casas de cambio in Colombia that say the money is legitimate. A judge will sort out those claims.
American Airlines Flight 914 takes off from Bogota, Colombia, at 8:20 a.m. and touches down at the Miami airport at noon. In the jet's cargo hold are usually bags and bags of euros that investigators say are part of a huge $1.4 billion cocaine money-laundering scheme.Crime is happening right on schedule in Miami, almost every day, federal prosecutors say. But so far, despite nearly four years of investigation, they have apparently been unable to build a strong enough case to stop it.Instead, they are attacking the problem piecemeal. The U.S. Justice Department this week went to federal court in Miami seeking forfeiture of nearly $11 million seized last June and July by federal agents, who used drug-sniffing dogs to find cocaine residue on some of the cash

.The money represents only a tiny fraction of a huge scheme to launder euros from the sale of Colombian cocaine in Europe, Justice Department attorney Lea Carlisle said in the document. She said the total coming through U.S. airports could reach 1 billion euros a year, or about $1.4 billion at current exchange rates."This seizure represents a small but telling snapshot," Carlisle said. She declined to comment beyond the court document filed Tuesday.The complex arrangement involves money exchange businesses in Colombia, commercial jetliners from the U.S. and Britain and financial firms in Miami and London. When the circle is complete, Colombian drug cartels cloak the true source of millions of dollars.Vast quantities of cocaine are smuggled each year from Colombia to Spain and then sold throughout Europe, where use is growing dramatically. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says cocaine sells in Europe for twice what it brings in this country, generating large amounts of cash."All of this means they have a new problem — laundering their euros," said Bruce Bagley, an expert on drug trafficking and chairman of international studies at the University of Miami. "This new problem has led them to these complex daisy-chain money laundering activities."Huge amounts of cash are moved around the globe all the time, most of it legitimate. But the DEA, Justice Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began investigating in 2004 after agents noticed astronomical amounts of euro notes coming into Miami from Bogota.Still, no business or person has been charged with a crime. Convicting someone requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, a tougher legal standard than the one for confiscating suspected drug money.

Moreover, to search a bulk cash shipment, U.S. investigators need a warrant. And they cannot get one unless they can show probable cause to believe it's dirty money.Bagley said the lack of criminal charges is a sign that investigators have yet to build enough evidence against any conspirators, something that often depends on inside informants or drug defendants looking to make deals for lighter sentences."The U.S. government is behind the curve on this," Bagley said. "This is a test case to see how far they can get."According to the U.S. government, here is how the laundering scheme works:
Euro notes generated by cocaine sales in Europe are first smuggled illegally into Colombia. Then, low-level couriers known as "smurfs" bring the cash in small amounts at various times to a number of different Colombian money exchanges known as "casas de cambio," or "houses of exchange."
The Colombian exchanges then fly the euros to the U.S., often after falsifying the paperwork. A good chunk of the money arrives aboard American Flight 914 each day under an arrangement with a Miami-based exchange business, InterTransfers Inc.

Once in Miami, the euros are transferred by armored car, counted, repackaged and put on a flight to London, where they are converted into dollars and eventually transferred back through Miami and on to Colombia. Ultimately, they become "clean" pesos for the cocaine traffickers, according to the court filing.The Colombian Embassy in Washington did not return a phone call seeking comment.Neither InterTransfers nor American, nor any of their employees, have been accused of any wrongdoing. American spokesman Tim Smith said the airline has "distinct security procedures" for currency shipments but declined to discuss them."American Airlines assists law enforcement authorities in any way possible any time we are asked to in cases such as this," Smith said.Ramiro Miqueli, InterTransfers president and chief executive, said his company has been assured in writing by the Justice Department that it is not a target of the investigation. He said about $1.5 million of the firm's money seized last summer is being returned without fine or penalty."InterTransfers has been found not to have violated any U.S. law," Miqueli said.A major red flag is the frequent appearance of the 500-euro note, which allows a lot of money to be shipped without taking up a lot of space. The 500-euro note — equal to about $700 — is rare in legitimate transactions and often turns up in suspicious real estate and financial deals in Spain.Colombian regulators recently concluded that 90 percent of the 500-euro notes in circulation outside Europe are being smuggled into Colombia.

Read More

My job as attorney general is to continually look for ways of improving our system of justice

The Ontario Criminal Lawyers' Association urged the province to abandon an appeal of a judge's ruling that stayed corruption charges against six former members of the Toronto police drug squad on the grounds the case was taking too long to come to trial. A group representing criminal lawyers in Ontario added its voice Tuesday to a chorus of demands for a public inquiry into how the provincial government bungled one of the largest cases of police corruption in Canadian history.
Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer stayed the charges last month, blaming the prosecution's "glacial pace" for violating the rights of the accused officers to a timely trial. Attorney General Chris Bentley launched an appeal of the stay last Friday.Political considerations, not the law, may have been the motive for Bentley's decision to appeal the ruling, said association director Peter Zaduk. The appeal has a limited chance of success, since Nordheimer was following well-recognized precedents, he added."This was a pretty clear case, but accepting that they do have an argument, it's a marginal, speculative argument. It's not outside the realm of possibility that political considerations may have been the deciding factor," Zaduk said."The Crown just didn't put forward anything in front of (Nordheimer) to justify any of these delays."Criminal lawyer Edward Sapiano, who alleged in 1999 that some Toronto cops were beating and robbing suspects and telling lies in court in order to obtain subpoenas to allow them to conduct illegal activities, said Tuesday the appeal should be abandoned."My personal opinion is that it's a no-hoper," he said.
"It's going to be really, really unfortunate if the attorney general spends more of our taxpayers' money, after delaying the proper inquiry still further, if they lose this appeal."Sapiano said the appeal allows the Liberal government to stave off a public inquiry, or any accountability for its actions, for at least two more years, even though Nordheimer directly criticized the Ministry of the Attorney General for the delay."The error that led to the staying of this prosecution, (that) type of error occurs over a long period of time. They had repeated warnings," said Sapiano.
"One must ask - what was the intention of the attorney general?"Ontario's justice system provides for the right of appeal, countered Bentley, who rejected suggestions Tuesday that the appeal was politically motivated.Bentley also dismissed the idea of a public inquiry, saying there have been many studies already and he'd rather get on with the job of making changes to the justice system instead of waiting for another report.
"My job as attorney general is to continually look for ways of improving our system of justice," Bentley said in an interview."I'll be making the necessary improvements to strengthen that independent system that we all cherish."
Conservative Leader John Tory called for an independent probe of allegations that the Crown or the ministry somehow dragged its feet and intentionally delayed the prosecution."I think the very fact that allegation is circulating is a reason why we need the public inquiry," Tory said."I think they can get on now with the public inquiry into certain aspects of the justice system not involving this case, while the appeal is pending, because there are lots of other instances."NDP Leader Howard Hampton also predicted the appeal's demise and suggested it was politically motivated."I think the announcement of an appeal was simply the (Liberal) government again trying to cover up the fact they've really blown it here," said Hampton.
"You need to have a public inquiry here because the police prosecution cases are the real test of the integrity of your justice system."Zaduk called it a "fundamental failure" of Ontario's legal system and warned it would likely have a "chilling effect" on anyone with legitimate complaints about police."It has to be a significant deterrent."

Read More

Lindstrom witness protection

Lindstrom has pleaded guilty to soliciting the murder of two witnesses who were due to give evidence against her boyfriend on serious drug charges.In return for a lighter sentence, she has vowed to testify against him and others, but as a result is kept in protective custody as "serious" threats on her life have been made. Speaking publicly for the first time since being locked up last May, Lindstrom made a heartfelt apology to the Supreme Court, saying she wished she could have her time over. During her short stint in the witness box, she also confessed to suffering anorexia from the age of 13 and said the illness still plagued her. Her barrister, Paul Byrne SC, asked if she had anything to say to the court about her offence. "Yes, I totally regret my actions and I'm sorry to the people that are suffering (as a result)," she said.
"I wish I could get a second chance at life but mostly I wish I could turn back time. It will not ever happen again."Lindstrom spoke softly, also thanking her family and friends for their ongoing support. She was facing a lengthy jail term but Justice Stephen Rothman agreed she was in no way the instigator of the murderous plan - instead describing her as an "administrator". Lindstrom is unlikely to receive anything like the maximum jail term of 25 years. Mr Byrne submitted special circumstances should be applied because, even after being granted parole, she would be held in witness protection as she testified against her former boyfriend and others in the drug case. Looking gaunt and occasionally wiping away tears, Lindstrom was supported by her father and friends as the court heard of two covertly recorded phone calls between her and her boyfriend - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - just prior to her arrest. In them, they discuss Lindstrom seeing "solicitors" - a reference to the hitmen who were to carry out the shooting deaths. Lindstrom's father Hans told the court he had met Charlotte's former boyfriend and did not think he was a good person to spend time with. According to the Crown case, Lindstrom met with an undercover policeman who pretended to be a hitman. In one conversation, she told him her boyfriend wanted the two witnesses "in a cemetery" rather than a hospital. Justice Rothman said he would pass sentence as soon as possible.

Read More

SOFAST and the Blood and Honour gang

Jason Gregg was arrested in Newark, and John Carr was taken into custody in Gahanna. Both suspects have been charged with felonious assault and abduction.
Two alleged white supremacists believed to have fired gunshots at an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent and another individual in August 2006 in Thornville were arrested Thursday by the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension and Strike Team (SOFAST).According to the U. S. Marshals Service, the suspects are known members of the threat group known as the Blood and Honour gang. The Blood and Honour gang is a white supremacist group that promotes anti-semitism and racism. It produces its own magazine based out of Salem. The neo-Nazi group was founded in the 1980s and has active chapters operating in various areas of Ohio.
SOFAST is a team comprised of law enforcement officers from federal, state and local agencies. The task force's objective is to seek out and arrest dangerous fugitives.Last year, U.S. Marshals task forces arrested more than 27,000 state and local fugitives on felony charges.

Read More

Investigation into the private security industry

THE Australian Crime Commission has launched a special investigation into the private security industry amid fears organised crime rings are using it to infiltrate businesses, sell drugs and launder money.Criminals no longer just use private security jobs to sell drugs and steal guns; they are now using it as a cover to get access to lucrative sectors such as insurance, finance and telecommunications, it warns."We're seeing criminal infiltration across a broad range of areas," commission chief executive Alastair Milroy said.
"The potential is (for) quite a broad range of criminal activity — access to business, business information, facilitating theft for others and access to things that business might be involved in."The jobs now carried out by security guards — such as surveillance, property protection and even fraud investigation — involve trust from the community, but some people might exploit that, Mr Milroy said.The commission began an investigation into the industry last September, after an intelligence assessment found that different job types and the kind of access they allowed provided opportunities for criminals.Intelligence gathered by the commission on organised crime suggests criminals are moving into business sectors with high profits and less risk of scrutiny from law enforcement, such as insurance and transport.Security licence holders have access to businesses such as banks, airports, hotels, shopping centres and government services.
"Security plays a significant part in those industries, to (get access to them) they would need to infiltrate within the security," Mr Milroy said.
"It's an issue of access to sensitive information.
"We are taking a very open mind to really look at the extent of criminal infiltration and the risks associated with that brings to all business.
"(It) increases the risk to business and it also raises the issue of the credibility of the agencies involved."
The Australian Crime Commission was using its coercive powers "quite extensively", Mr Milroy said. Intelligence was being passed on to state police. The investigation is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Read More

Never would hold back information if they believed doing so would put the public at risk.

It happens in an instant: A quiet suburb that most people living even just a few miles away couldn't find without a map becomes synonymous with the most grisly of crimes.It happened in Tinley Park, where a gunman went into a women's clothing store on a Saturday morning earlier this month and shot six women, killing five.Now authorities hunting for the man who executed the women during an attempted robbery Feb. 2 are under an unrelenting spotlight unlike anything the Chicago suburb has dealt with before. The department is being tested, as is its ability to at once investigate the crime, keep the public apprised of developments and try to control information -- and misinformation -- coming out about the case.As authorities continue to hunt for the man who executed five women in Tinley Park, the slayings have tested the department and its ability to at once investigate the crime, keep the public apprised of what it is doing and try to control the information that has come out. Like many crime stories, this one is made up of official accounts, anonymous tips and rumors, as both detectives and reporters track down leads.
But Tinley Park's case has from the beginning included something else: A conscious decision by police not to reveal that along with the five women who were killed, a sixth woman inside the Lane Bryant store had survived a gunshot wound to her neck.Not until three days after the shooting, and only after the survivor's family talked to the press, did police confirm her existence.Quietly, law enforcement officials said there was a very good reason, but the department wouldn't comment. On Thursday, Tinley Park's mayor explained the goal was not to deceive the public."But if the killer knew that he had killed all (the) people he would have been more liable to make a mistake, brag about it, as opposed to know someone's alive and go underground," Mayor Edward Zabrocki said.Police feared that if they released information on the survivor, the gunman might change his appearance, leave the area or otherwise make himself more difficult to find. And Police Commander Rick Bruno said the department never would hold back information if they believed doing so would put the public at risk.
"We were not necessarily trying to mislead anyone other than maybe the guy who pulled the trigger," Bruno said.
But at least one expert argues such a premise is misguided; that police are deceiving the public and not criminal suspects.
"You are keeping it from who? The people that already know," said Chris Ryan, who teaches law enforcement worldwide about how to deal with the media and the public.

Read More

Reports this morning say the victim may have been killed by the Real IRA on suspicion of being an informer.

Dissident republicans are reported to be the prime suspects in the murder of a young man whose body was found near the border in Co Donegal last night.
The victim, who was in his early 20s and from Strabane in Co Tyrone, was found shot dead in Donnyloop, near the village of Castlefin, at around 7.30pm.The scene has been preserved pending a technical examination today.Reports this morning say the victim may have been killed by the Real IRA on suspicion of being an informer.

Read More

Stockton police arrested Chanreasmey Prum

Stockton police arrested Chanreasmey Prum, 21, and booked him into the San Joaquin County Jail on suspicion of murder and street terrorism in the shooting death Friday of 13-year-old Aaron Kelly at Stockton's Louis Park. Prum also faces other felony and misdemeanor charges from a previous incident

Read More

Fugitive of the Week Jermaine McBee

U.S. marshals arrested fugitive Jermaine McBee about 12:30 p.m. today at a house in the 10500 block of Garfield Avenue.McBee, 36, was hiding in a closet and refused to come out, Marshal Pete Elliott said. "So he had to be Tasered," he said.McBee was a Fugitive of the Week last month. A tipster helped marshals locate him, Elliott said.McBee is accused of selling guns in Cleveland, including a Mac 10 submachine gun marshals confiscated during a previous arrest. He has convictions for felonious assault, burglary and drug trafficking, which makes it illegal for him to have a gun.

Read More

Joseph "Fat Joe" Agate,; Joseph "Joe Rackets" Casiere, 72, of Toms River; Cody Farrell,; Ronald Flam,Gotti associates

Joseph "Fat Joe" Agate, 60, of Manchester; Joseph "Joe Rackets" Casiere, 72, of Toms River; Cody Farrell, 29, of Manalapan; Ronald Flam, 35, of Jackson; and Michael King, 41, of Freehold.indicted are Gotti associates who prosecutors said were part of a committee that helped the crime family's heir, John A. "Junior" Gotti, run the operation during the initial years of his father's imprisonment.
John "Jackie the Nose" D'Amico of Hillsdale, the 71-year-old reputed to be the acting boss, was charged with being at the top of the broad racketeering conspiracy. Nicholas Corozzo, 67, was accused of extorting construction companies, running a major illegal gambling operation in Queens, and ordering a gangland hit that also took a bystander's life in 1996.
The allegations against the gang were the usual litany for a big Mafia case: skimming from unions, extorting tribute payments from construction companies, loan sharking, gambling. The allegations spanned decades, although prosecutors said many of the illegal acts took place just in the last few years.
The mob "still exists in the city and the state of New York," said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. "We like to think that it's a vestige of the past. It's not."
The U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, Benton Campbell, whose office spearheaded the case, told reporters the investigation had ensnared the remnants of the Gambino leadership and would bring "closure to crimes from the past."Most of the suspects were in custody late Thursday. Some have already been arraigned. Reputed Gambino consigliere Joseph Corozzo, 66, pleaded not guilty to charges that he distributed cocaine for 12 years in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
"He's never been involved in drugs," said his son, defense lawyer Joseph Corozzo Jr.
To little surprise, the case will feature a few Gottis too.The late don's younger brother, Vincent Gotti, and his nephew, Richard G. Gotti, were charged with distributing marijuana in the late 1990s and with planning a murder in the spring of 2003. Prosecutors said the intended victim was shot several times, but survived.Notably, there is no mention in the case of the "Teflon Don's" son, who recently beat a racketeering case by claiming to have left the Mafia for good while serving time for racketeering. His sentence expired in 2004.

As the mob's reach has deteriorated in recent years, many of the prosecutions targeting its remaining members have centered on its persistent influence in unions and various labor trades, and much of the new case is no different. It centers partly on an unnamed Staten Island construction executive who prosecutors said had been repeatedly extorted by the Gambinos.

There is blood in the indictment too.
Perhaps the most disturbing charges were lodged against Charles Carneglia, a 61-year-old reputed Mafia soldier who was recently released from prison. He was accused in five slayings dating back to the days when the crime family was still run by its namesake, Carlo Gambino.
Carneglia's victims included Albert Gelb, a New York state court officer gunned down in 1976, and Jose Delgado Rivera, a security guard killed during an armored car heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1990, prosecutors said.
He was also fingered in the death of reputed Gambino associate Louis DiBono, who was shot to death in the World Trade Center's parking garage in 1990. John Gotti and several underlings were later convicted of orchestrating the killing, which was related to DiBono's contract to install fireproofing at the Trade Center.
Carneglia, who was also charged with extortion, securities fraud, robbery and marijuana distribution, is the brother of John Carneglia, who was accused of being one of the triggermen who rubbed out Gambino boss Paul Castellano in the 1985 hit that propelled Gotti to power.
John Carneglia is now serving a 50-year sentence for racketeering and drug traffickin

Read More

shooting in northwest Jacksonville

man is at Shands Jacksonville with non life-threatening injuries following a shooting in northwest Jacksonville.Police say someone in a car drove up to man walking down Daniel Street near Kings Road and shot him in the face.Police have no witnesses or suspects.

Read More

Joshua K. Martin shooting into an occupied dwelling

Joshua K. Martin, 19, has been booked into the Shawnee County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and shooting into an occupied dwelling. Pankratz said police were called to the 300 block of S.E. 34th at about 2:20 a.m. on a report of shots fired at a residence. Their investigation led them to Martin. No one was injured in the shooting. Pankratz said police were called to the same residence at about 9:15 p.m. Monday on a report of shots fired. No one was injured and that case remains under investigation. Police also are investigating a report of a shooting into a residence at about 2:30 a.m. today in the 3400 block of S.W. Atwood. No one was injured.

Read More

Marcian Missick,Jeffier Nelson shot

Two men were shot in a drive-by shooting in the parking lot of the Tradewinds Apartments early Tuesday morning, police said.
According to Police Press Officer Superintendent Basil Rahming, around 12:20am, three males traveling inside a champagne coloured van pulled up in the parking lot of Tradewinds Apartments on Adventurers Way.
Before they were able to exit the vehicle, someone opened fire on the van from behind, shattering the windows and hitting two of the men, police said.
The trio pulled off and drove to the Central Police Station on the Mall, where they reported the incident, according to Mr. Rahming.
He said an ambulance transported the two injured males to hospital.
They were identified as Marcian Missick, 36, of Hawksbill and Jeffier Nelson, 33, of Bass Lane.Their injuries were reportedly non-life threatening and they were treated and discharged later during the afternoon.
Central Detective Unit officers were conducting an intensive investigation into the shooting, the motive for which had not yet been determined, Mr. Rahming said.

Read More

Tyriek M. Tyner stopped by police, and a .22-caliber handgun was recovered.

Tyriek M. Tyner, 18, was charged Monday.According to the charges:
Three people, described by police as victims, went to the Brookdale Library on the afternoon of Feb. 5 on Shingle Creek Parkway and were approached by three other people, one of them Tyner. The two groups began arguing inside the library.
The victims left the library and walked toward the Best Buy store across the street. Tyner and the other two in his group left the library in a white car.
As the first three walked past the Best Buy, the driver of the car shot at the victims. No one was hurt.
Tyner was stopped in the car several days later by police, and a .22-caliber handgun was recovered.

Read More

well-known hitman murders Dale George Henry has rocked the tight-knit expat community in Thailand

Dale George Henry, 48, was shot point blank in the head Feb. 3 in his home in Ranong, Thailand. His 27-year-old wife, a Thai woman who married him five years ago, is accused of hiring a hitman so she could collect on his $1-million life insurance policy.

Now, Mary-Jane Matheson is left worrying about making arrangements, not for funeral flowers, but her own safety.Hire security -- that's the first thing we'll want to do. I'm frightened of hitmen," Matheson said before boarding a flight Monday night to Vancouver"I've been told to go straight to the embassy. I'm going to ask them to have somebody pick me up."Family learned of Henry's death only last Tuesday, when his brother Richard was contacted by police at his home in Victoria.Richard has flown to the southeast Asian country and will sit inside a temple with his brother's body. A Thai funeral begins Wednesday.Henry had been living in Thailand for the past decade, frequently flying between there and Nigeria, where he worked for a U.S.-based oil drilling company.
His marriage to Manreet Nee, who is 20 years his junior, was his first.
Henry, a Canadian who spent much of his life in the Calgary area, worked about a decade ago as a firefighter and emergency medical technician in Cochrane before contracting as a safety consultant for oil companies.
"Our 10-hour days went by quick," said former Cochrane paramedic/firefighter Mike Lamacchia. He and Henry were partners in 1991 and 1992."He was a great health care provider, a lot of fun to be around. He wasn't a shy guy. He was definitely heard wherever he went."He could tell a ton of jokes. It was never boring being around Dale."Lamacchia said he was stunned when he learned of Henry's dramatic death.

In 1994, Henry started a Calgary-based consulting business, Panther Safety Services, specializing in safety audits, inspections, training and safety program development.

Henry was due to return to work in Nigeria Feb. 22 after recovering from a broken leg that became infected. The injury occurred during a fall while hiking in the jungle.
Looking back, Matheson said she believes that was the first attempt on her brother's life.
The crime has resulted in the arrest of Dale's wife, Manreet Nee, an alleged hitman and a third man, said to be Nee's lover.

It's believed the motive for the killing was a million-dollar-plus insurance policy Henry had through his company.
The murder has rocked the tight-knit expat community in Thailand, many of whom are speaking out online about what they say is a corrupt justice system.
Australian Mac McLeod said in a telephone interview Monday night that the alleged hitman has killed before.
"It is well-known that he is a hitman. That is his job," said McLeod, who left Thailand several years ago in fear for his own life after a run-in with the man accused of pulling the trigger on Henry.
He said the area where Henry lived, a town called Panong in the south, is not heavily populated by ex-pats.

"There are all sorts of nefarious characters. There are more hitmen around Thailand than anywhere. That's the way they do business there -- it's a buck a gun."
He joked that "Dracula once went and barely escaped with his fangs."
Henry is the second Canadian slain in Thailand in as many months. Calgary native Leo Del Pinto, 25, was shot to death Jan. 6 while he and a friend were walking home in Pai. A Thai police officer has been charged in that case.

Read More

Paddy Doyle gangland "soldier" from Dublin

Russian mafia hitmen shot dead Paddy Doyle on the Costa del Sol, senior gardai claimed this weekend.'Doyle was typical of the third generation of gangland "soldier" from Dublin. He was aggressive, showy and started fights at a whim. He and his ilk are unlike the older Irish criminal types on the Costa who live a very quiet life and just get on with their business. Our intelligence suggests Doyle simply crossed the people you don't cross on the Costa, the Russians.'
Doyle, the survivor of a vicious criminal turf war in south Dublin which has claimed at least 10 lives, was gunned down in Estepona last Monday. Veteran detectives with the Garda Siochana's 'Operation Anvil', the drive against Dublin's crime gangs, said the 27-year-old had beaten up a close relative of a Russian mafia leader based on the southern Spanish coastline.
'From what our Spanish colleagues have told us, this was a professional Russian hit. There were 13 shots and we don't think they wasted a bullet. It has a military-trained assassin written all over it, possibly ex-special forces,' a senior detective told The Observer. 'The intelligence coming back from the Costa del Sol is that Paddy Doyle crossed the Russian mafia, which is something you do there at your peril.'
The officer said shortly after Christmas Doyle got involved in a brawl with a young Russian man whom he severely beat up. Unknown to Doyle, the man was related to a senior Russian mafia figure. True to form, on a warm afternoon in one of Spain's most popular destinations for tourists and holiday-home owners, vengeance was exacted in a ruthless fashion.

Read More

Edwin G. Edgley, 54, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of second-degree assault-domestic violence.

Edwin G. Edgley, 54, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of second-degree assault-domestic violence.
Edgley's family members told deputies that he pointed a semiautomatic pistol at his wife and adult son and threatened to shoot everyone who got in the way of his shooting another adult son who was not at the house.
At around 8:30 p.m., deputies, along with members of the Tactical Detective Unit, the regional SWAT team and a tracking dog team, surrounded the house.
Edgley's wife and son had left the house, at 6511 N.E. 73rd Court, but Edgley remained inside. According to a sheriff's office bulletin, Edgley reportedly had access to a high-powered rifle and was making suicidal threats.
The sheriff's office hostage negotiator convinced Edgley to leave the house at 9:34.
Edgley then tried to run back inside the house, according to the bulletin. He was then arrested and taken to Southwest Washington Medical Center for injuries described as

Read More

firefighter drive-by shooting outside a Comfort Suites hotel.

Charles "Chucky" Whitaker is not coming back. And now, his wife, his teenage daughter, a stepson who recently joined the Navy, and an extended family of Dallas firefighters are left to wonder why.
The 38-year-old firefighter was put on life support after a drive-by shooting early Monday that seriously injured him and a colleague. Police in Peoria, Ariz., say that doctors pronounced Mr. Whitaker dead early Wednesday.
His family stood by his bedside as the life-support devices were removed, Dallas Fire Chief Eddie Burns said.
"We do not claim to understand the issues surrounding this tragic incident that led to the untimely demise of our brother," the chief said Wednesday. "What I can tell you is that Charles 'Chucky' Whitaker led a life rich in meaning. His contribution to the department and to the city has touched many lives."
A longtime friend, Eric McNairy, said Mr. Whitaker wasn't the type to be involved in a fight. He had spoken to Mr. Whitaker over the phone not long before the shooting, he said, and his friend was in high spirits.
"They were having a good time," Mr. McNairy said. "We were actually talking about how we could get back out there and play golf."
But then it happened at 1:50 a.m. Monday, after Mr. Whitaker and fellow firefighter Reginald Cuington watched the Super Bowl in a sports bar. They were walking back through the Phoenix suburb's entertainment district toward their room in a Comfort Suites hotel. Police say a car pulled up, and someone inside opened fire.
Mr. Whitaker was shot in the leg, chest and head. Lt. Cuington, who was shot in the leg, made his way back to their hotel to get help. Both were taken to area hospitals.
The bar's staff told investigators that the pair were good customers, and they did not appear to trade harsh words with anyone.
"We've gone back, re-interviewed people, everything, and we are not coming up with anything," said Mike Tellef of the Peoria police. "There doesn't seem to have been any arguments, disputes, no fights – nothing."
Lt. Cuington, a 17-year veteran of Dallas Fire-Rescue, remained in stable condition Wednesday.
Mr. Whitaker, a 14-year department veteran, had wanted to be a firefighter since growing up in southern Dallas, according to Mr. McNairy. Fun-loving and outgoing, he was a kid from a sometimes-rough neighborhood who grew up to be a positive force for his community.
"His sense of duty and mission to protect the citizens, and his fellow firefighters, and more importantly his family, will never be forgotten," Chief Burns said. "The city of Dallas and the Dallas Fire-Rescue department have lost a hero."
Mr. Whitaker still stayed connected in spirit to his old neighborhood. He would greet his friends loudly, "What the business is?" Then he'd

Read More

Sgt. Michael Ciresi is charged with 10 counts

Albert E. DeRobbio Jr., a former state trooper who is a son of the chief judge of Rhode Island District Court, testified in Superior Court that he struck up an acquaintance with informant Mark Pine while he was serving a 30-day sentence for violating a no-contact order. He said Pine told him he had been arrested after a home invasion in Pawtucket, where he tried to steal drugs and money.
“He told me he got the gun from a policeman’s glove compartment. He was laughing that the policeman didn’t know he had taken the gun from his car,” said DeRobbio, recalling a conversation he said took place in April 2005.
According to that conversation, Pine thought the break-in at the home of drug dealers on East Avenue, Pawtucket, would be an “easy score” because he believed no drug dealer would call the police, and decided to carry out the break-in by himself. “He was totally surprised that the female in the house called police,” DeRobbio said. “By calling police, they were turning themselves in and all three got arrested.”
DeRobbio’s testimony challenged one of the key allegations against Ciresi in his three-week trial: that Ciresi participated in the home invasion with Pine, gave him the gun and a mask, then fled before Pawtucket police arrived.
Judge Robert Krause is expected to give the case to the jury today.
Ciresi is charged with 10 counts, among them two counts of burglary, two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, two counts of receiving stolen goods, attempted larceny of currency from a stolen ATM machine, harboring and obstruction of justice.
Defense lawyers yesterday called North Providence Patrolman David A. Tessaris, who testified that in the fall of 2004, Ciresi told him at roll call that he had a generator that Tessaris might want to buy and he went to Ciresi’s house a few hours later to take a look at it.
Tessaris said he could not recall the make or model, but he was certain he saw it a “good two weeks” before another incident, on Dec. 17, 2004, involving a stolen ATM.
The timing is considered crucial because Ciresi is charged with accepting a generator that was stolen from a Cranston roofing company on Dec. 16.
Yesterday, revisiting a decision from Tuesday, Krause said he would reduce the stolen generator charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, saying it is unlikely the generator was worth more than $500 when Ciresi allegedly bought it from one of his informants, Darryl Streeper.
Yesterday, prosecuting attorneys Alan Goulart and Matthew Dawson asked DeRobbio why he hadn’t told law enforcement officials immediately when Pine told him about stealing Ciresi’s gun. DeRobbio said he never thought about it until he read a front page story in The Sunday Journal in October 2005 about allegations that Ciresi supplied a burglar with a gun.
“When I read it, I told my father, ‘This story isn’t right.’ ” DeRobbio said he passed the information to his attorney, John Cicilline, who assured him he would pass the information to authorities.
Also testifying yesterday was Pawtucket Detective Michael Demoranville, who acknowledged that he never took fingerprints of the glove compartment of Ciresi’s Ford Taurus because he was told by Detective Lt. Lance Trafford, an investigator in the Pawtucket case, that it wasn’t necessary.

Martin Briden, a retired Pawtucket police detective now working for the state sheriff’s office, said that even before the East Avenue house invasion, he had received information from Pine that his brother, Troy, was planning to burglarize the house.

The final witness, Col. Ernest Spaziano, police chief in North Providence, said he’s known Ciresi for 20 years and that he was an outstanding police officer who had numerous informants and had made a “prolific” number of arrests.
Spaziano said there were “no hard and fast rules” when it came to members of the patrol division conducting drug investigations, but generally patrol officers would advise a superior if they planned to pursue an investigation that went beyond their primary responsibility.
Because Ciresi had worked with the narcotics unit with the Drug Enforcement Administration and because he was a sergeant and a supervisor, Ciresi was generally given “more leeway” than other officers when pursuing tips from informants.
Under cross-examination, Spaziano conceded that much of his regard for Ciresi, a son of former North Providence town solicitor Robert Ciresi, derives from the number of arrests he has made and that he would have to alter his view if it were shown he did things that were wrong.

Read More

Collin Hawkins used a gun to carjack a man in Baltimore

Collin Hawkins used a gun to carjack a man in Baltimore on Nov. 22, 2006, and was arrested less than a month later after shooting a city police officer in Northeast Baltimore, according to city police.
In connection with the shooting of the officer, Hawkins was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon and using a firearm in a violent crime, according to prosecutors. He also was convicted of carjacking for the Nov. 22 incident.
Federal authorities said Hawkins had been previously convicted in state courts on five drug-related arrests in five years. That made him eligible for the "three strikes" law that enables prosecutors to see a long prison sentence for his recent conviction.

"We pursued this case in federal court because, as a result of Collin Hawkins' criminal record, this conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison with no probation and no parole," Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement. "Collin Hawkins will never again carry a gun, carjack or shoot anyone in Baltimore."
Hawkins was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial.
He was arrested in the shooting of Baltimore Police Officer Momodu Gondo, who was shot just after midnight Dec. 5, 2006, as the officer was getting out of his car at his home in the 5700 block of The Alameda. Police said two men, one armed with a gun, approached him.
The officer turned to flee, and Hawkins opened fire, striking him three times in the back, according to authorities. A police spokesman said Gondo returned fire before he fell to the ground. The officer was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
Gondo, who had graduated from the police academy in October, was wearing his police uniform and protective vest under an overcoat when he was shot.

Read More

Robert Allen Young, 24, guilty Wednesday of armed robbery and assault and battery with intent to kill

Jurors found Robert Allen Young, 24, guilty Wednesday of armed robbery and assault and battery with intent to kill after a three-day trial in Spartanburg. Prosecutors said Young shot Dixon "Dick" Ijioma, 48, twice in the head during a holdup at about midnight on Nov. 1, 2006.sentenced to 50 years in prison in the 2006 non-fatal shooting and robbery of a local cab driver
Circuit Judge Derham Cole levied the sentence, and Young must serve 85 percent of the prison term before he is eligible for release, according to the 7th Circuit Solicitor's Office.
Police said Young was riding in Ijioma's taxi when he attacked him near the corner of Longview Drive and Belmont Street, then stole his cab. Ijioma was able to run to Mamasun Cocktails and Dreams on Whitney Road, where employees called 911.
Ijioma told investigators he recognized the robber as a regular customer and later identified Young in a photo lineup, according to the solicitor's office. The clothing Young was wearing at the time was stained with Ijioma's blood.
In a prepared statement, Assistant Solicitor Derrick Bulsa said Young tried to kill Ijioma because he was a "regular" and believed the cab driver could identify him as the robber. Solicitor's office spokesman Murray Glenn said Ijioma later returned to driving a taxi in Spartanburg - although he is too afraid to drive at night - to help support family living in Nigeria.
"He's a good man," Glenn said. "We're glad he's still here."
Young's prior criminal record includes convictions for threatening the life of a public official and drug convictions, according to the State Law Enforcement Division.

Read More

Operation Trilogy

Armed police raided a "charity hostel" after it became linked with gang crime.
The intelligence-led operation targeting members of the notorious Ghetto Boys gang was launched last Wednesday morning.
Police from Lewisham police's proactive gang disruption team Operation Trilogy were backed up by officers from the Met's specialist firearms unit CO19.
They burst into St Christopher's Fellowship home in Boyne Road, Lewisham, at around 2am and recovered two handguns capable of firing 13 rounds of ammunition, and a silencer.
Seven people were arrested.
Detective Inspector Sarah Davies, from Operation Trilogy, said: "Since the turn of the year Operation Trilogy has taken five guns off the streets, which can only make our communities safer."
The suspects, all aged under 26, are being quizzed at a South London police station and remain in custody.
In the weeks leading up to the raid, Boyne Road residents had complained of a "crime wave" in their formerly peaceful street.
They said it had changed drastically in the space of a month since some new youngsters had moved into the home, which is for young people who have been in care.
Speaking before the police operation, Boyne Road resident John Cameron said: "We are not out to oust St Christopher's. The deterioration started just before Christmas. Cars are being broken into, houses burgled and there are fights between the teenagers. We have a suspicion that there may be drug dealing going on."
Mr Cameron said he and a number of other residents had complained to St Christopher's because they were concerned about the safety of their children, as well as youngsters at St Christopher's who are not involved.
He added: "We are now building up the pressure on them to have a resident warden, but they say they do not have enough money. We all get the sense that St Christopher's is not listening to us."


A St Christopher's spokesman said: "We are liaising with the police and other statutory agencies regarding the antisocial behaviour in the area, and the police safer neighbourhood team is currently setting up a meeting with residents to ensure all concerns are addressed."

Read More

Drive-by shooting in Desert Hot Springs.

Police arrested two men and two juveniles Sunday in connection to a drive-by shooting in Desert Hot Springs.
The suspects were spotted in a vehicle on Palm Drive at Third Street about 12 p.m., according to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.
Officers tried to pull them over, but the suspect vehicle sped off.
One of the passengers, Anthony Paez, ran from the vehicle but was later captured.
Police arrested the driver, Miguel Ruiz, on charges of felony evasion.
The juveniles were arrested on several felony charges, according to the police department. One of them had two loaded handguns.
They were taken to Riverside County Juvenile Hall in Indio.
The other suspects were booked into the Riverside County Jail in Indio.

Read More

Brandon Coffman, 17, was taken into custody by Columbus SWAT officers on Vendome Drive this afternoon.

Brandon Coffman, 17, was taken into custody by Columbus SWAT officers on Vendome Drive this afternoon.
The teen is charged with a delinquency count of murder in the shooting death of Kenyanna Bradley, 21.
Bradley was on her front porch on Kelton Avenue on Oct. 28, 2006, when four males in a car pulled up and one began shooting. She was shot in the back while trying to run into the front door, authorities said.
On Wednesday, Paul K. Hayes, 20, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Bradley's death. Christian Domis, assistant prosecutor, said that Hayes and Coffman fired several shots into the apartment building, the site of a previous confrontation, and that Bradley was not the intended target.
Coffman, whose address police didn't provide, became a suspect "during the investigation," according to a news release from homicide detectives after his capture. Homicide detectives didn't return phone calls seeking further explanation.

Read More

Rey Alberto Davis-Bell, 23, is accused of shooting to death Degene Berecha Deshasa

Rey Alberto Davis-Bell, 23, is accused of shooting to death Degene Berecha Deshasa, 31, an Ethiopian immigrant who owned the restaurant Philadelphia Cheese Steak at 23rd Avenue and East Union Street.
King County prosecutors say Davis-Bell also fired at a customer, seriously injuring him, and a restaurant employee.
Last Wednesday's shooting left Dashasa's friends and relatives mourning and questioning why anyone would want to hurt the man.
An owner of the same restaurant was shot to death a few blocks away in 2003; the case remains unsolved.
Police said Davis-Bell, who was also charged with illegally possessing a gun, is a gang member with a prison record. His alleged rampage began earlier that day, when police say he fired at least nine times through the window of his ex-girlfriend's West Seattle home.

Read More

You can do dial-a-gun in Glasgow. You can have a gun in a couple of hours to order.

"Gun crime is up and, if it is not parallel with London, it is not far behind. You can do dial-a-gun in Glasgow. You can have a gun in a couple of hours to order."
Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, of Strathclyde's Violence Reduction Unit, said: "Although knives are the weapon of choice, firearms are used in homicides and we are vigilant about emerging trends.
"The issue is not what weapon is used to kill but rather the loss of a life."

Read More

James Jackson of Crotona Park is facing charges for the Saturday attack on Tim Kim

A 44-year-old man was arrested in the shooting of an Athlete's Foot worker in the Bronx and was awaiting arraignment Tuesday night, officials said. James Jackson of Crotona Park is facing a slew of charges for the Saturday attack on Tim Kim, 17, in a Fordham store, police said.
The victim, who is brain-dead, remained on life support at St.Barnabas Hospital while doctors prepared to harvest his organs, said his girlfriend, Kerrylee Ways, 18

Read More

Patrick Doyle was hit by Costa del Sol gang in Estepona

Spanish police are investigating possible links between a massive cocaine seizure on the Costa del Sol yesterday and the murder of Irish drug dealer Patrick Doyle.
Eight men, including one Irishman, were arrested following the seizure of 115kg of the drug close to where Doyle was shot dead on Monday in Estepona.
Spanish officials say the men in custody may have links to the murder.
They also believe the 27-year-old Dubliner was shot dead by rival drugs traffickers in Spain rather than as a result of an Irish gangland feud.
Meanwhile, an Irishman who was with Doyle at the time of his murder is understood to have come forward to the police
Police hunting Doyle's killers yesterday arrested seven men after seizing an €8m cocaine shipment in Estepona.

A spokesman said they were investigating if there was a link between the shooting and the seizure.
But senior Police officers believe the two are not connected.
Four of those arrested are British, two are Moroccans and the seventh suspect gave the name of an Irishman from Dublin's north inner city.
However, Police are awaiting further confirmation that the man is Irish.
Doyle had been active in drug trafficking in Spain for the past two years.
He disappeared in late 2005 after he became the prime suspect for the murder of Noel Roche, who was shot dead in a car in Clontarf as part of the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud.
The 27-year-old, from Portland Row, in the north city, is believed by gardai to have fled initially to Liverpool and then moved to Spain, where he set up a new base.
He was regularly visited there by other Irish criminals, including Gary Hutch, who was driving the BMW off-road vehicle when it came under fire from the occupants of a similar vehicle on the outskirts of Estepona, 10 miles from Marbella.
Hutch and Doyle were on their way to collect an English companion when they found their way blocked by the other BMW in a narrow street in the Cancelada district.
Both men tried to run after their windscreen was shattered by four shots and their vehicle crashed into a lamp post.
The gunmen singled out Doyle, who was their target, and he was shot twice in the head at close range.
Hutch escaped with minor injuries and he was interviewed by Spanish police yesterday.
Earlier reports that Freddie Thompson, who is under regular garda surveillance here, had been in the back seat of the vehicle have now been discounted.
Gardai and Spanish police are both satisfied that Doyle was the intended victim of the gun gang.
Senior officers in Dublin said last night there was no intelligence to indicate that the Doyle murder was linked to the gang feud here and they believed that Doyle, who was known as a "heavy" in the criminal underworld, had probably clashed with another trafficking group operating on the Costa del Sol.
The Roche shooting was thought to have been a retaliatory hit by one of the feuding gangs for the double murder of Darren Geoghegan and Gavin Byrne in Firhouse.
However, the consensus view now is that one gang was responsible for the two attacks and that Doyle was involved in both of them.
Gardai believe that Doyle's murder will be a major blow to his gang leader as he was regarded as the most ruthless member of the group.
His mistake, detectives think, is that he believed he could earn a "hard man" reputation in Spain but was regarded as a minor criminal figure by the international traffickers using the Costa del Sol as their base.
A similar mistake was made by two other Dublin criminals, Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg, who also clashed with drug lords in Spain and paid the ultimate price.
Their bodies were found in a concrete grave on the Costa Blanca, following a tip-off from the Gardai, in 2006.

Read More

Dexter Cox

Dexter Cox has been charged with first degree murder. According to a Police Affidavit, Cox confessed to shooting Vidulich, taking his gun and his Ford Explorer - then setting the S-U-V on fire.
Another affidavit says Cox was arrested Wednesday in connection to a shooting outside Frayser High School. Police found him, searched a nearby home and found a gun they say was stolen from the Officer's home. Investigators then realized they had their guy.
Mack McKinna has some harsh words for Cox, calling him "a little 18 year-old punk, who killed a good policeman." McKinna, and other neighbors are happy to hear an arrest has been made. The crime scene tape is still outside Vidulich's home. Since Monday, there has been a constant police presence - squad cars, and the CSI Command Post is still across the street. Neighbors say they are relieved because an arrest has been made. But they also say this isn't over. Neighbor Archie Collins says a conviction or more arrests would add closure. Collins also says he'll be content when he hears "in detail, what happened in the death of Ed Vidulich." Collins has many questions for officers including, "why his (Vidulich) particular house?
A News Conference will take place Sunday February 3rd at 3p.m.
Police records show this isn't Cox's first run in with the law. In July of 2007, he was arrested for Aggravated Robbery and Evading Arrest.

Read More