The Black Mafia Family, a nationwide ring of high-volume cocaine distributors

The Black Mafia Family, a nationwide ring of high-volume cocaine distributors, better known as BMF, has been sold to DuBose Entertainment.Announced today, the terms of the sale were not made public. However, a statement from the company declared that a TV series, similar to The Wire, was being scripted. The statement also alluded to a film script in development as well.Per DuBose' report, "Brothers Demetrious 'Big Meech' Flenory and Terry Flenory were sentenced to 30 years in prison for operating a multi-state criminal enterprise involving cocaine distribution. 'Big Meech,' the leader of the notorious BMF, lived a lavish lifestyle that he generously shared with his members garnering him a level of notoriety and celebrity status usually reserved for hip hop royalty. Authorities estimate the operation began in Detroit during the 1990s and eventually expanded to Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, California and Texas
"This is a complex crime story that weaves elements of humanity, a strong family bond, street-level survival and opulence with real consequences," says James DuBose. "The acquisition of the Black Mafia Family story reflects my mission to pursue contemporary and authentic stories."DuBose also recently announced a partnership with Disturbing Tha Peace's Chaka Zulu and Jeff Dixon on their own venture Ebony Son Entertainment.

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Gaetano Milano who killed underboss William "The Wild Guy" Grasso had seven years shaved off his sentence

mob soldier who killed underboss William "The Wild Guy" Grasso in a failed attempt to hijack the Patriarca crime family two decades ago had seven years shaved off his sentence Wednesday.U.S. District Judge Alan H. Nevas reduced Gaetano Milano's sentence from 33 to 26 years, approving a deal negotiated by defense attorney Craig Raabe and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Jongbloed. The deal bases the sentence reduction on the assertion that Milano was not provided effective assistance by his trial lawyer F. Mac Buckley — an assertion Buckley denies.The reduction in his sentence means that Milano could be released within eight years.
Milano had been fighting since the middle 1990s to have the sentence reduced on a variety of grounds. The claim resulting in the most prolonged litigation was Milano's argument that FBI agents in Boston wrongly withheld informant reports from Buckley in 1990 and '91 that could have permitted him to mount a more effective trial defense.Milano's informant claim has grown increasingly persuasive over the past decade with disclosures in federal court in Boston that FBI agents engaged in criminal behavior with what the bureau classifies as its "top echelon" informants.
The informant who Milano said could have helped his defense was Angelo "Sonny" Mercurio, a sworn member of the Patriarca crime family who died two years ago in the federal witness protection program. Former FBI agent John Connolly recruited Mercurio as an informant. Connolly is now on trial for murder in Florida, accused of leaking information that led two of his other "top echelon" informants to kill potential witnesses against them.Milano said — and some federal law enforcement officials in Boston agree — that Mercurio was involved in a conspiracy that incited a factional war within the Patriarca crime family and resulted in Grasso's murder. Milano said — after his conviction — that he was forced by his position in the factional dispute to kill Grasso. Had he not, Milano says, Grasso or some other gangster would have killed him.Milano's lawyers and federal prosecutors battled over the Mercurio claim for years. With no resolution in sight, the parties entered a settlement conference in September.The settlement says that Buckley should have asked the judge to instruct trial jurors that Milano could have been convicted of manslaughter rather than murder — even without the Mercurio information. Jurors presumably could have reached that conclusion if they had believed Milano was suffering from extreme emotional duress due to a belief that he had to kill Grasso in order to save himself. At his sentencing in November 1991, Milano broke down in tears. He renounced the Mafia and, reversing his claim of innocence during the trial, tearfully confessed that he had to kill Grasso to avoid being killed himself. The settlement agreement asserts that Buckley again was ineffective by failing to postpone the sentencing and win time to prepare an argument that reflected Milano's "extraordinary change of position."Buckley said this week that he supports the reduction in Milano's sentence, but disagrees that his trial defense was ineffective. He said a jury instruction on an emotional duress defense would have contradicted Milano's categorical claim of innocence at trial. And he said Milano's post-conviction "change of position" was known to the FBI and federal prosecutors weeks before he was sentenced.In return for the reduced sentence, Milano agreed to drop further legal claims concerning Mercurio.Raabe suggested in court that the sentence reduction may have been based on ineffective assistance of counsel for expediency."There were a wide range of issues that were in play. Ineffective assistance was a negotiated settlement," Raabe said. "It would be a shame if the upshot of today was that Mac Buckley performed ineffectively."He called Buckley "a great trial lawyer" who "performed well."Buckley, a former federal prosecutor, was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2000 for stealing from clients and was placed on probation in 2002 for failing to file income tax returns. At the time of his convictions, he was diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder. He agreed to give up his law practice and now operates a boxing program for Hartford youths.
Milano was one of seven Patriarca crime family members and associates convicted in 1991 of racketeering, murder and other offenses following the longest and most sensational Mafia trial ever in Connecticut. Among other things, prosecutors introduced as evidence the first ever recording of a Mafia initiation ceremony.After the seven convictions in Hartford and another dozen or so in Boston, federal officials said that they had decimated the Patriarca family, which since World War II had been the dominant criminal organization in New England.

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The Black Mafia Family,WANTED Paul Buford suave charmer with plenty of charisma

members of the Detroit-based gang "The Black Mafia Family" have found themselves under the suspicion of law enforcement for dozens of crimes committed throughout the nation. The leaders of the gang, brothers Terry and Demetrius Flenory, have been arrested, pled guilty, and sentenced to decades in prison for the felonies they've masterminded.According to Marshals, the Flenory brothers operated the Black Mafia Family under the guise of the rap label "BMF Entertainment."BMF Entertainment acted as a legitimate facade for their operation, in an attempt to keep cops from noticing the large amounts of money flowing in and out of their organization. But nothing could hide the flash of their bling or the gold on their grills: federal agents aren't stupid, and they knew that, sooner or later, the BMF would come undone.
Since the Flenorys will be imprisoned for years to come, the baton has been passed, and the leadership of the criminal organization has changed hands.
As of April 2008, an investigation spearheaded by the Detroit office of the DEA has resulted in the indictments of 64 BMF members, as well as the seizure of approximately $20 million in assets. It all stems from charges alleging their cooperation and participation in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute thousands of kilograms of cocaine, among other improprieties.While 64 'Family' members have been taken down in the first wave of arrests, one man has managed to evade the wide net cast by DEA officials. His name is Paul Buford, and Marshals need your help to take him off the streets once and for all.
They describe Buford as a suave charmer with plenty of charisma.
Dangerous Felon Known To Live Life Of Luxury
While Buford isn't the high-profile BMF ringleader like Terry and Demetrius Flenory were, police say he's still a big player in the crime syndicate and needs to be put behind bars, according to U.S. Marshals in Detroit.

Buford is currently wanted on a federal warrant for conspiracy to sell large quantities of cocaine, and another for conspiracy to launder money.

But not surprisingly, these aren't the first crimes he's ever been wanted for. In his past, Buford's been charged with assault & battery, assault with a firearm, domestic violence, and multiple counts of larceny, to name just a few of his prior alleged indiscretions.

Now, he's wanted for more of the same, only this time, the charges would land him in prison for a substantially longer time than he's ever faced before: up to 20 years.

Deputy U.S. Marshals on the Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team tell us that Buford's eluded them for nearly two years, and they hope this latest push for publicity will help them nail him down for good.

They describe Buford as a suave charmer with plenty of charisma who's known to drive expensive cars and wear top-of-the-line threads. He has expensive taste, and cops say he's one of the top members of the BMF's west coast bureau.

If you've seen this dangerous felon, you've got to call our hotline right away at 1-800-CRIME-TV.

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Funeral wreath bearing a threatening note with the names of two of the dead and other officers was left outside the Chihuahua state police headquarter

commander and two other members of a state auto-theft investigations unit were killed in two attacks by hit squads this week in Juárez, said Chihuahua state officials.After the gangland-style killings, a funeral wreath bearing a threatening note with the names of two of the dead and other officers was left outside the Chihuahua state police headquarters in Juárez.Tuesday evening, Cmdr. Rodolfo Barragan Marrufo was in a Dodge Ram 2500 when he was fatally shot by masked gunmen in the parking lot of Los Cedros Hotel, officials said.An unknown number of shooters opened fire after getting out of a white Dodge Durango or Cadillac Escalade.Thirty bullet casings were found at the scene.Officials said Barragan had training from U.S. authorities, including having taken a course to identify stolen vehicles by the National Insurance Crime Bureau and a crime scene investigation workshop in Albuquerque.Wednesday evening, two auto-theft agents in their official Dodge Ram 2500 were at a stop light when they were fired at from a van, officials said.The agents drove into an incoming traffic lane to try to escape but crashed into a car.
Agents Luis Carlos Rodri guez Saldaña, 33, and Mario Saldaña Ramirez, 39, died at the scene, where investigators found 41 bullet casings.Seven other homicides also occurred Wednesday in Juárez.More than 1,060 slayings have been reported in the border city so far this year.

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Bernardino Terracciano, who played local mob boss Uncle Bernardino in the movie "Gomorra," arrested.

Police in the Naples area arrested seven alleged mobsters on Saturday, including an actor who played a boss in an award-winning movie denouncing the mafia.The pre-dawn raids targeting the Camorra crime syndicate netted alleged members of a clan responsible for the gangland-style killing of six African immigrants last month, said police in the town of Caserta, near Naples.Those arrested were not directly linked to the deadly shooting, but were suspects in other attacks and crimes. The clan's alleged boss, Giuseppe Setola, escaped arrest and was being sought along with three others, police said in a statement.The Sept. 18 shooting of the Africans sparked rioting in an area already rife with lawlessness and violence, prompting the government to deploy 500 soldiers to set up checkpoints and help police.Investigators believe the Camorra orchestrated the slayings to punish the Africans for getting involved in drug trafficking, one of the syndicate's lucrative activities. At least four men accused in the killings have been arrested in sweeping anti-mafia raids over the last weeks.Among those netted in Saturday's sweeps around Caserta was Bernardino Terracciano, who played local mob boss Uncle Bernardino in the movie "Gomorra," said police official Rodolfo Ruperti.Terracciano, 53, is accused of extortion and associating with the mafia, Ruperti said.Director Matteo Garrone's study of the Naples-based Camorra won second place at the Cannes Film Festival this spring and is Italy's hopeful for a best foreign language film at the Academy Awards in the United States.The movie is based on a book by Roberto Saviano, whose expose on the Camorra's hold on everything from fashion to waste disposal forced him to go under police protection.

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Oceanside street gang six people arrested

Six people were arrested and six others already in custody were named yesterday in federal complaints resulting from a three-year investigation targeting an Oceanside street gang, authorities said. During the investigation, authorities seized 26 firearms and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition in the Oceanside area, U.S. Attorney Karen Hewitt said in a statement.
Many of the defendants are members or associates of the Varrio Posole Locos gang, Hewitt said. She said the crimes alleged in the complaint include purchase, theft and possession of multiple firearms by convicted felons; robbery of a heroin dealer who was forced from a moving vehicle; conspiracies to distribute heroin at the Vista jail and at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe; and street sales of methamphetamine and heroin.

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Gangsters are flocking to the millionaires' playground of Dubai

Gangsters are flocking to the millionaires' playground of Dubai. "Enforcer" Graeme Pearson - former head Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency - says the Middle East desert kingdom attracts global organised crime bosses. He said: "Dubai is a place of great interest to criminals internationally. It's a bit like an owners' club where they talk about the new places in the world. "Once it was Amsterdam then places such as Portugal and the Costa del Sol but now it's Dubai."
One Dubai exile from Scotland is playboy Imran Hussain, of Glasgow, who is being probed over a billion-pound carousel fraud perpetrated against UK taxpayers.
Others include security firm couple Paul and Marie Johnston who brag about rubbing shoulders with Prince Andrew. European organised crime gangs and the Russian Mafia flock to the United Arab Emirates state. They're attracted by its opulent hotels, lack of scrutiny from Western authorities and tax-free status. But Pearson believes other countries will eventually force the Dubai authorities to get tough.
He said: "It will come because there will be global pressure as there has been in other places such as Switzerland."

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Two men who opened fire on a pair of people at an apartment complex Friday were shot at in retaliation as they fled

Two men who opened fire on a pair of people at an apartment complex Friday were shot at in retaliation as they fled, but police believe no one was struck by the gunfire, police said. Police received a call about the shootout around 9:30 p.m. in the 1100 block of Post Street. The victims, a man and woman, were standing in a carport when two men approached and shot at them, but missed, said Redlands spokesman Carl Baker. The shooters then fled the scene. A witness told police he saw a man fire a gun at the shooters while they were running. Police are investigating the incident as a gang-related shooting because the man who was shot at first is a documented Redlands gang member, Baker said.

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Jason Cardoza,Ronald Montoya two stolen guns were recovered

Two stolen guns were recovered over the weekend at the end of a short chase in which police arrested two suspected gang members.
Officers were called just before midnight Saturday because of a suspicious car parked in an alley behind Domino's Pizza at 345 W. Pearl Ave.
The brown 2001 Chevrolet Malibu was pulling out as police arrived and the driver refused to stop, instead leading officers through a shopping center parking lot on Orange Street. A passenger threw a loaded semiautomatic handgun that had been stolen from Yucaipa out the window during the chase, according to a police news release.
Jason Cardoza, a 31-year-old San Bernardino man, was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of stolen property.
The driver, Ronald Montoya, 35, of Bloomington, was arrested on suspicion of evading police and being a felon in possession of ammunition. Jose Ramirez, 36, of San Bernardino was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Police said they found a loaded semiautomatic handgun stolen from San Bernardino on him.

The fourth passenger, a suspected Redlands gang member, was not arrested.

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Jose Arreola, 20, Bryan Padilla, 18, and Omar Vargas, 18 wounded in a gang-related shooting

Three Fontana men were wounded in a gang-related shooting outside a house party Sunday, police said. Paramedics took Jose Arreola, 20, Bryan Padilla, 18, and Omar Vargas, 18, to an area hospital for treatment. Police received several reports of shots fired in the 1400 block of Altissimo Lane at 12:43 a.m. Officers said the shooting occurred following a party in the neighborhood. Members of two gangs got into an argument in the street, and a 17-year-old boy shot at the victims, police said. The boy, whose name wasn't released because of his age, was arrested and booked into juvenile hall.

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Ramon Guerra was shot multiple times in the head and then his car crashed into a tree

Ramon Guerra was shot multiple times in the head and then his car crashed into a tree around 10 p.m. in the 15000 block of Rose Avenue, said police Sgt. Jeff Decker.
26-year-old Fontana man was shot and killed Sunday night inside his Jaguar.
A witness saw a dark Chevrolet Tahoe or similar vehicle drive away from the scene, Decker said. He said a motive was not known but that investigators thought it was not an accident. "It sounds like an intended target," he said. Guerra was the only person in the car and was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Lee Dotson, a member of an O'Donnell Heights gang engaged in a vicious, weeks-long turf war.

Lee Dotson, a member of an O'Donnell Heights gang engaged in a vicious, weeks-long turf war.But the bullet hit his 16-year-old girlfriend, Estefany Gonzalez. Dotson, the only eyewitness to the crime, refused to name her killer.Yesterday Juan Hernandez, the man prosecutors believe killed the former Patterson High School student, entered an Alford plea - an acknowledgment that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict but not an admission of guilt - to second-degree murder and handgun charges. He made the plea as part of a deal with prosecutors for a five-year prison sentence.Hernandez's defense attorney, William Purpura, told Circuit Judge John Addison Howard that a five-year sentence normally would not be "anywhere close to appropriate" for murder. But in this case, because of the lack of witnesses, it was, he said.Estefany Gonzalez Dotson "refused to cooperate in any way with the Baltimore City Police Department," prosecutor Lisa Phelps said. Phelps said the state's second witness did not see the crime but overheard Dotson say that "Juan" had "shot at" him.The second witness was subsequently shot with the same gun used to kill Gonzalez. He is paralyzed from the waist down."The state had difficult evidentiary issues, but if they overcame those, my client faced life in prison," Purpura said.Phelps said that in March 2007 a violent turf war broke out after members of a gang called the Untamed Gorillas beat up a member of the Toone Street Bangers.Prosecutors say the Toone Street gang retaliated, with Hernandez attempting to kill Dotson, a member of the Untamed Gorillas, as he walked through a nearly empty public housing project on the far eastern edge of the city.The bullet struck Gonzalez in the shoulder and then went into her chest. Dotson left her there. A passer-by discovered her in a parking lot in the 6200 block of Toone Street.
Yesterday, Gonzalez's guardian, Gennette Washington, wept as she told Howard that she forgave Hernandez but couldn't forgive herself for allowing Gonzalez to move to Baltimore to live with her father a few months before her death.
"I'm so lost without her," Washington said. "She wasn't my child, but it felt as though she was my baby."Washington's mother, Elba Ortega, took Gonzalez in when she was an infant. When Ortega died in 2001, Washington took guardianship of the 10-year-old. But she wanted to leave her school in Newark, Del., so Washington allowed her to move in with her father on Eastern Avenue, where he had moved after Ortega's death.By the time of the shooting, Gonzalez had been expelled from Patterson High School and was staying with a girlfriend in O'Donnell Heights."She's not my biological sister," Washington said. "My mother raised her, but I wanted to give her the life my mother couldn't give us. A family. A home. I wanted her to be able to grow up ... to graduate from high school, to go to prom, to do things I never got to do. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time.""Maybe he'll change his life," Washington added. "Everyone should get a second chance."Hernandez declined to say anything to the judge, but he was escorted out of the courtroom in tears.Hernandez's five-year sentence will be served without parole, followed by five years of probation. If he violates probation, he could face up to 25 years in prison.

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John Gizzi is serving five-and-a-half-years for violent offences must repay over £2m

£875,000 offer was being considered by an enforcement receiver handling John Gizzi's affairs magistrates in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, were told. Gizzi is serving five-and-a-half-years for violent offences. The criminal builder must repay over £2m of his criminal gains by December, or face an extra seven years in prison.
Gizzi was said by police to have "ruled" Rhyl through threats and intimidations, and he was jailed in 2006 for causing grievous bodily harm and other offences.
His former home, Bronwylfa Hall in St Asaph, was valued at £1.8m in March 2007, when a crown court ordered that he repay £2.6m. It has been reduced twice already. On Wednesday, the court heard he had repaid £318,000 and still owed £2.3m. His solicitor said Gizzi's Rolex watch was to be sold at a specialist auction and his parents had put in an offer for four personalised number plates, originally valued at £45,000. A decision on giving the receiver more time to sell some of the assets was adjourned until December by District Judge Andrew Shaw.

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Andrew Pritchard the ‘fixer’ behind Britain’s largest ever drugs smuggling operation

Customs and Excise in London had labelled Andrew Pritchard the ‘fixer’ behind Britain’s largest ever drugs smuggling operation - half a ton of cocaine, “enough to keep London’s clubland snorting for months”.Held behind bars for 18 months, doing time for a crime he insisted he did not commit, Pritchard was subsequently exonerated. He was allowed to walk away from Her Majesty’s prison with all charges formally dropped against him. And that, he says, was the start of his transformation.

Andrew Pritchard signing a copy of his book. (Photos: Joseph Wellington)
Pritchard chronicles his experience in the no-holds-barred novel, Urban Smuggler, a book which will be made into a film, with some of the scenes shot on location here in Jamaica.“Oh yes, I was a smuggler,” Pritchard admits without reservation, in an interview the day after the local launch held recently in the gardens of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.His smuggling escapades, however, were limited to Cuban cigars and those of the counterfeit variety - never cocaine or any such drug, he emphasises, his British accent sounding thick.Born in Britain to a Jamaican mother who migrated to that country in the 50s, in the book, Pritchard says that his introduction to smuggling came as a child on his return trip from Jamaica to England. He recalls wondering why the suitcases he and his sister were taking home were so heavy.
“When our suitcases were opened, they revealed dozens of bottles of white rum. I remember being amused, if not shocked. This, then was to be my first experience in smuggling.”And, if smuggling is to be defined as taking steps to import a legal substance without paying the customs and excise duties, then Pritchard here has quite casually opened a can of worms. Which traveller can honestly say they have never tried to ‘hide’ an item from the prying eyes of Customs officials in order to avoid paying duties? So, does that make us all smugglers? (Those of you without sin cast the first stone.)The author guilelessly recounts his chequered past - starting out in 1988 as a promoter for ‘warehouse parties’ - illegal, all-night events - through to 2004 when he became intimately involved with the Cuban cigar smuggling ring. The Foreword says it all. “Andrew was known to the police and the underworld from early 1980s when he was at the centre of the rave scene which transformed youth culture and drug use in the UK.”So, making strides in his career, Pritchard finds more lucrative ways to earn a living. “We brought top-end Cuban cigars and found a way to circumvent the excise and duties, which were ridiculously high at the time,” he told the Observer. “We later started smuggling counterfeit cigars through Cayman into England as well,” he added
And, crucial to the success of this smuggling enterprise was the Fast Team of Customs officials on Pritchard’s payroll, whose job it was to send through his containers of cigars without them being searched.It was while on his way to pick up one such sealed container that Pritchard’s neatly stacked deck of smuggling cards came tumbling down. He was arrested and charged with smuggling half a ton of premium grade cocaine with a street value of $100m, as that was what was allegedly found in the container, not cigars.The nightmare which followed saw a court case which cost nine million pounds, two hung juries and a final acquittal.
Surely the stuff of which books and films are made. And also the stuff from which the smuggler-turned-author made tons of cash. (”Oh, yes, smuggling was quite a lucrative enterprise,” he told us.)Casting is now being done for the international feature film

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Tuan Ky Quach, 38, was allegedly bound with duct tape in a Windsor motel room in February by three armed men who stole about $200,000 in marijuana.

Tuan Ky Quach, 38, was allegedly bound with duct tape in a Windsor motel room in February by three armed men who stole about $200,000 in marijuana. Another man was pistol-whipped with a 357 Magnum in a case that resulted in seven arrests after police were alerted to people in ski masks lurking outside.Quach was charged with possession of 24 kilograms of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.
Details of that incident came out yesterday when Quach — a small, clean-cut man with glasses — was denied bail on charges related to a Kitchener home-grow operation.
Quach was among five suspects arrested at gunpoint Sept. 11 during an alleged drug deal in the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant in suburban Toronto. Police fired five shots in the afternoon takedown when the driver of a car allegedly tried to speed away and hit one of the officers in the knee.
Waterloo Regional Police doing surveillance based on a public tip had followed a blue van from a home in the Doon South area of Kitchener. The blue van allegedly met up in the restaurant parking lot with a car and a white van.According to allegations outlined in court, $24,000 was transferred from the car to the white van, and 11 kilograms of marijuana worth $100,000 were moved from the blue van to the car.
Quach, the alleged car driver, is charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, assault with a weapon and dangerous driving.The day after the arrests, police searched 366 Pine Valley Dr. and found more than 1,000 marijuana plants worth an estimated $1 million.It was one of four major marijuana seizures in the same suburban neighbourhood in a month.Court heard Quach was released on $30,000 bail in the Windsor case and went to live with his parents in Markham. Two months later, he was charged in Toronto with possession of marijuana and breaching the terms of his bail. He was then freed again.Defence lawyer Nana Kato applied to have him released for the third time yesterday, proposing his father and his sister as sureties. They said they were willing to put up $150,000 each and would watch Quach around-the-clock."We admit he was deceiving us," his sister, Ngoc Quach, said of his two prior releases. "We did not supervise him close enough."Trung Quach said through a Cantonese interpreter that his son likes gambling and began getting in trouble after he lost his girlfriend and his job in a machine shop a few years ago.
Kato suggested Quach might have thought it was another drug rip-off and panicked when confronted by armed undercover officers in the parking lot.Federal prosecutor Kathleen Nolan opposed his release, stressing Quach's track record of alleged breaches since his first arrest."Why should we have any confidence he is going to follow the terms if he is released?" she asked.Justice of the peace Andrew Marquette agreed, denying bail on even strict terms of house arrest.Two of five suspects in the Pine Valley Drive case were granted bail of $140,000 and $100,000. Two other suspects have not had bail hearings yet.

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Bosses of the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate formally acknowledged their "employers' liability" for the death of one of three bystanders killed

Bosses of the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate formally acknowledged their "employers' liability" for the death of one of three bystanders killed when members of an affiliate gang shot up a bar in Maebashi in 2003. The admission was part of a settlement reached Friday in a lawsuit filed by the family of one of the victims.
According to an attorney for the plaintiffs, Shigeo Nishiguchi and Hareaki Fukuda--Sumiyoshi-kai's top two leaders--agreed to pay 97.5 million yen in compensation to the plaintiffs, promised to prevent similar incidents and expressed regret to the victims' relatives. It is believed to be the first time that gang bosses have formally acknowledged their liability as employers for a crime committed by subordinates. On Jan. 25, 2003, two members of a gang affiliated with Sumiyoshi-kai fired a number of shots inside and outside a bar in Maebashi, killing four people and severely wounding two. A man formerly linked to a gang affiliated with the rival Inagawa-kai crime syndicate was killed along with three customers of the bar. One of the two people wounded was a former leader of the gang affiliated with Inagawa-kai.
The two attackers and their boss, who ordered the shooting, were arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. They have lodged an appeal with higher courts. In November 2006, three family members of one of the murdered bystanders filed a 197.6 million yen lawsuit against the two attackers, the senior member of the affiliate gang who ordered the attack, Nishiguchi and Fukuda. One of the two attackers agreed to pay his portion. The other attacker and the senior gang member were ordered by the high court to pay 88 million yen. The decision was finalized. The suit against Nishiguchi and Fukuda was separated as it involved employer liability. Earlier in the trial, Nishiguchi and Fukuda denied their employers' liability and sought to have the case dismissed. The court proposed a settlement in respect of the case in April.
The plaintiffs said they would accept the court-mediated settlement if the defendants would acknowledge their liability as employers. The defendants presented a settlement proposal earlier this month. Speaking at a press conference after the settlement was finalized, the eldest daughter of the victim said: "Since we sued gangsters, we've been fearful that we may lose more family members. We'll continue to be terrified, but now I'll tell my [late] father at the home altar that the Sumiyoshi-kai bosses acknowledged their responsibility." She was accompanied by her husband, who held a portrait of the victim. The plaintiffs' lawyers said in a statement, "The ruling will bring significant results in terms of relief from gang crimes and prevention of such crimes."

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INSIDE LATIN KINGS

INSIDE LATIN KINGS
• Scope: National
• Criminal Activity: Narcotics, weapons, extortion, assaults, intimidation, beatings, stabbing, shootings, murder and graffiti.
• Propensity for Violence: The Latin Kings’ reputation continues today as evidenced by the violence in correctional facilities in various communities.
The Latin Kings are known to beat, stab or shoot members who have not conformed to the gang’s rules of obedience, resulting in serious physical injury up to and including death.
Individuals and rival gangs who possess a threat to the Latin Kings have also been targeted for violence.
• Finances: The main source of income for the Latin Kings is funds derived from drug trade. Though members are not to use drugs, they may sell and distribute drugs to make money for themselves and the organization.
Recently, this group has been seen developing legitimate business enterprises as fronts to their criminal activities; this will include medical offices, law offices and more.

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Harry Christopher, 28, was shot five times in the back as he walked to his Buenos Aires hotel on Friday

Harry Christopher, 28, was shot five times in the back as he walked to his Buenos Aires hotel on Friday.Officers are now investigating whether his murder was the result of a bungled robbery or if he was killed as part of a drugs gangland hit.
Mr Christopher, who said he was from Belfast but is from Luton, had been in the South American country for a month and had an Argentine girlfriend.He was carrying a backpack containing his laptop computer and a mobile phone when he was shot near his hotel in the Moron area.But these items were left at the scene leading police to believe robbery was less of a motive.
One witness told police the killers drove up to Mr Christopher on a Gilera 125 moped and tried to grab his backpack but he fought back and began to run off with it.
Detectives found 'elements for cutting up drugs and various knives' in his hotel room and his girlfriend told police he was 'involved in drugs' and had recently been scared by some people from the drugs scene.A police source said: 'We are checking the veracity of many of the facts obtained as everything is very confusing.'Police are treating the crime as an 'attempted robbery and homicide'.The Argentine authorities have previously been accusing of using the drugs trade to cover up the murder of a British backpacker in Buenos Aires.Laura Hill, a 25-year-old dental nurse, was found dead outside her apartment in the city last October.Argentina's Justice and Security Minister Anibal Fernandez claimed she was part of a drugs trafficking gang and died from a overdose.But her parents, Kevin and Alison Hill, from Eastbourne, believe she was sexually assaulted and then murdered.A Foreign Office spokeswoman said Mr Christopher's had been informed and consular assistance was being provided.

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Police say Lloyd Best tried running from officers, and his car then hit a tree. The man then got out of the vehicle with a pistol in his hand

Police say Lloyd Best tried running from officers, and his car then hit a tree. The man then got out of the vehicle with a pistol in his hand, and police say he began running on foot. Officers caught the suspect on New River Drive.
Police also say he had drugs in his vehicle, and had altered the serial numbers on the firearm he was carrying. Best's bond is set at $175,000.

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Finnish police have confirmed that 10 people and the gunman died in Tuesday's shooting at the Seinajoki vocational centre in western Finland.

Finnish police have confirmed that 10 people and the gunman died in Tuesday's shooting at the Seinajoki vocational centre in western Finland. The college, in the small town of Kauhajoki, about 300km (205 miles) north-west of the capital, Helsinki, has around 150 students. The gunman, Matti Juhani Saari, entered the building at around 1100 local time carrying a Walther P22 pistol and wearing a ski mask. After randomly shooting students writing an exam, Saari was cornered by armed police. He died later in hospital from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Police said the 22-year-old had left a handwritten note explaining his hatred forthe human race and that he had been planning the shooting since 2002.
It is unclear how many people were injured in the incident. Last November, a student shot eight people dead at a school in the town of Jokela, north of the capital, Helsinki. This incident in Kauhajoki is eerily reminiscent of those killings, with a similar weapon being used and a similar video being posted on the internet by the suspect prior to the killings. Police admit they interviewed Saari on Monday in connection with three videos that were posted on the YouTube website last week.
One of the videos shows a young man firing a pistol before pointing the weapon at the camera and declaring in English "you will die next". But no action was taken by the authorities to confiscate Saari's legally held pistol or to hold him into custody.

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O. J. Simpson faces a dozen charges, including kidnapping, which carries a life sentence, armed robbery, coercion, assault with a deadly weapon

O.J. Simpson told one of his companions to "put the guns away," when Simpson and his entourage had a run-in with two collectibles dealers on Sept. 13, 2007, at a Las Vegas hotel, a witness in Simpson's robbery/kidnapping trial testified Monday afternoon.Also, another prosecution witness — a collectibles dealer who was on the witness stand for three days — revealed he had personally made $210,000 as a result of his involvement with the case.

O. J. Simpson faces a dozen charges, including kidnapping, which carries a life sentence, armed robbery, coercion, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy, to name just a few, for the September incident in a Las Vegas hotel room in which he allegedly sought to retrieve items that belonged to him, including photographs of his children and late parents.Co-defendant Clarence “C. J.” Stewart, who was in Simpson’s group, faces the same charges. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
Charles B. Ehrlich, another of the men who joined O. J. Simpson on Sept. 13 to the Las Vegas Palace Station Hotel & Casino to retrieve the items from two sports memorabilia dealers, testified Monday that the former NFL star well knew that one of his associates was armed.Simpson has been adamant that he did not know anyone in his posse was carrying a gun.Ehrlich however told the judge and jury that he heard Simpson tell one of the associates, “Put the gun away,” during the confrontation, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. Ehrlich has pleaded guilty to lesser charges, agreeing to testify for the prosecution against Simpson and Stewart.
Bruce Fromong, one of the two alleged victims, also testified last week that he remembered how at one point Simpson was waving his arm up and down as someone asked for the gun to be put away.There is no consensus among witnesses though, as Thomas Riccio, the collectibles broker who arranged the meeting and who was inventive enough to hide a recorder in the hotel room (which recorded everything that was said there, including what police investigators called to the scene commented), has testified that he never heard any of the men present during the confrontation mention anything about a gun.Riccio also revealed during questioning that he made more than $210,000 from media deals he arranged, with the secret recordings as object of desire. He received $150,000 from celebrity gossip site TMZ.com, another $15,000 from ABC News and $25,000 more from “Entertainment Tonight.” Howard Stern’s radio show provided him with an additional $20,000 through a sponsor, he testified, as quoted by the Times.
Riccio’s piggy bank was further filled up when in April of this year he published “Busted: The Inside Story of the World of Sports Memorabilia, O.J. Simpson and the Vegas Arrests,” about last year’s incident. This reportedly earned him $20,000.

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Jordan Eske and Nicolas Foster are in Lancaster County Jail

Jordan Eske and Nicolas Foster, both 21, are in Lancaster County Jail pending an October 1st arraignment. They're each charged with four counts of theft by deception, and one count of computer fraud, for allegedly pulling cash from privately owned ATMs at four stores in the area. The pair allegedly reprogrammed the machines to believe they were loaded with one-dollar bills instead of tens and twenties. A withdrawal of $20 would thus net $380. Cash machine reprogramming scams first became public in 2006 when a cyber thief strolled into a gas station in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and, with no special equipment, persuaded the Tranax ATM that it had $5.00 bills in its dispensing tray, instead of $20.00 bills. Threat Level later confirmed that default administrative passcodes for ATMs manufactured by industry leaders Tranax and Triton were printed in owner's manuals easily found online. Both companies said they were surprised by the scam, but an industry association of which they are members privately spotted the capers and warned members over a year earlier. Since then, the scam has also surfaced in Derry, Pennsylvania. But the Nebraska case marks the first reported arrests for the keypad capers. Lincoln Police DepartmentEske and Foster were busted on their fourth visit to Lobo's City Mex in August. Manager Raul Omar Lobo, the owner's son, was waiting for them -- he'd been tipped off by the company that services the restaurant's Tranax ATM that someone had swiped $1,400 from the machine in three earlier midday visits. When the two men entered, Lobo recognized them from the surveillance tapes. "So I locked the doors and told them not to move while I had one of the employees call the cops," says Lobo.
According to police, Lobo pulled a gun on the men, who nonetheless managed to wrench the door open and bolt. Lobo grabbed one of them in a headlock, and a wild shot was fired in the scuffle before the men broke free and sped away in their rented Pontiac Grand Prix. An administrative passcode opens hidden functions on common models of retail ATMs, like this screen on the Tranax Mini Bank that sets the denomination of bills the machine thinks it's dispensing. Lobo says he jumped in his car and gave chase, eventually getting the attention of the police, who took over the pursuit. The suspects pulled over and "ran into a building and tried going out the other side to lose the police, but we were waiting for them," says Lincoln Police Department spokeswoman Katie Flood. Police found $10,000 in cash in the car. The defendants are suspected of stealing $13,600 in the Lincoln area, and pulling an unknown amount from ATMs in New Orleans, where they're from. Asked by police how they did it, "They said it's well-known on the internet," says Flood.
In 2006, both Tranax and Triton issued software patches for new ATMs that force operators to change the default passcodes on first use.

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Officer Patrick McDonald, 30, was shot in the chest, rushed to Temple University Hospital in critical condition and later died

Officer Patrick McDonald, 30, was shot in the chest, rushed to Temple University Hospital in critical condition and later died, authorities said. He was single and an eight-year veteran of the department.Philadelphia Highway Patrol officer was shot dead and a second officer was wounded Tuesday afternoon when a chase and gun battle resulted from a car stop in North Philadelphia.Police said the alleged gunman was also shot and killed during the incident that occurred around 1:45 p.m. near the 2200 block of North Colorado Street.Officer Richard Bowes, 35, was struck in the hip and reported to be in stable condition. He has 12 years on the force and is a married father of three. Daniel Giddings, was wanted in connection with an August assault on four Philadelphia police officers.Police are still looking for Giddings' girlfriend, who police said was also in the car stopped by McDonald.
Officer Called For Backup During Car StopDeputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross said Tuesday afternoon that McDonald called dispatch for assistance on the 2100 block of Bouvier Street. McDonald apparently stopped a late-model, burgundy Buick occupied by a man and a woman, whom the officer was questioning. When the man took off running, McDonald gave chase and got into an altercation with the man.
Sources say Giddings stood over McDonald's body and fired at least seven and perhaps as many as nine shots into his body. The bullets from went through the officer's vest.Police questioned one woman who witnessed the shooting, but officers are also on the lookout for Giddings' girlfriend, who drove off in the Buick.Ross said officers responding to back-up McDonald spotted a man running toward them on the 2200 block of North Colorado Street and gave chase. Bose exchanged gunfire with the man at Colorado and Dauphin streets and was shot.The suspect then ran to the 2300 block of North 17th Street, where he fell and died of his wounds, Ross said.
The first officers at the scene could not see McDonald and did not initially know what had happened to him, Ross said.Investigators said the slide lock was pulled back on the .45-caliber, semi-automatic weapon recovered at the scene. The entire clip had been fired.McDonald was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:08 p.m.

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Troy Davis have called for a new trial as seven of the nine witnesses who helped put him on death row recanted their testimony.

Troy Davis have called for a new trial as seven of the nine witnesses who helped put him on death row recanted their testimony. Protesters had arrived by the busload to protest the execution, carrying signs with slogans like "Justice for Troy Davis" and wearing blue T-shirts emblazoned with "I am Troy Davis." A crowd of about 50 erupted in cheers when the stay, granted around 5:20 p.m., was announced.The Rev. Al Sharpton had accompanied members of Davis' family to the protest, including Davis' mother, Virginia.Prosecutors have labeled the witness statements "suspect," and courts had previously refused requests for a new trial.The execution had been scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT.The stay will remain in effect while the court considers Davis' appeal. Davis wants the high court to order a judge to hear from the witnesses who recanted their testimony and others who say another man confessed to the crime.Influential advocates, including former President Jimmy Carter and South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu, insist that there's enough doubt about his guilt to merit a new trial.A divided Georgia Supreme Court has twice rejected his request for a new trial, and had rejected his appeal to delay the execution Monday afternoon. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles also turned down his bid for clemency.
Davis was convicted of the murder of 27-year-old officer Mark MacPhail, who was working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station.MacPhail had rushed to help a homeless man who had been pistol-whipped at a nearby parking lot, and was shot twice when he approached Davis and two other men.Witnesses identified Davis as the shooter, and at the 1991 trial, prosecutors said he wore a "smirk on his face" as he fired the gun.But Davis' lawyers say new evidence proves their client was a victim of mistaken identity. Besides those who have recanted their testimony, three others who did not testify have said Sylvester "Red" Coles — who testified against Davis at his trial — confessed to the killing.Coles refused to talk about the case when contacted by The Associated Press during a 2007 Chatham County court appearance and has no listed phone number.Prosecutors have contended in court hearings the case is closed. They also say some of the witness affidavits simply repeat what a trial jury has already heard, while others are irrelevant because they come from witnesses who never testified.Meanwhile, a man was set to be executed Tuesday in Florida barring a last-minute intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court. Richard "Ric Ric" Henyard, 34, was convicted of the 1993 shooting deaths of two sisters — 7-year-old Jamilya Lewis and Jasmine Lewis, 3.Their mother, Dorothy Lewis, survived after she was raped and shot several times during a carjacking. Both girls, with their mother when they were seized by Henyard and an accomplice, were shot in the head when they cried out for her.

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Michael Barrett charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of hollow point bullets

Jamar Richardson of Wilingboro, and the passenger, Michael Barrett of Mount Holly, were lodged in Burlington County Jail on $100,000 bail, police said. Richardson was operating the vehicle with a suspended driver’s license, according to police.
Richardson was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession and with the intent to distribute CDS in a school zone. Barrett was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of hollow point bullets, police said.At this time there is no connection between this incident and the incident which occurred on Monday involving Deion Madison, police said.

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Omhari Sengstackewas apparently intoxicated but not armed when he was arrested about 6:30 a.m. as he neared the barriers a block from the Obama home

Omhari Sengstacke, 31, of Chicago, member of a prominent Chicago family faces a felony gun charge after being arrested Tuesday when he approached security barriers outside Barack Obama's home. The U.S. Secret Service said he never posed a threat to the Democratic presidential candidate.He was apparently intoxicated but not armed when he was arrested about 6:30 a.m. as he neared the barriers a block from the Obama home, police spokesman Daniel O'Brien said.Police found a gun and a bulletproof vest in his car nearby.Sengstacke did not utter any threats against Obama or make any threatening gestures, U.S. Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said.Sengstacke also is charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing for approaching security barriers near Obama's home. The more serious charge accuses him of possessing a firearm while being a felon.Omhari Sengstacke is the grandson of John Sengstacke, publisher of the black-owned Chicago Defender for decades until his death in 1997.Obama was believed to be home at the time of the incident

Barack Obama has had another security scare after a gun was found in the car of a man arrested outside the Presidential hopeful's home yesterday.The man, who was apparently intoxicated, was arrested after approaching security barriers in a no-access area outside Obama's Chicago home.Police say they then found a gun when they searched the suspect's car.Both Chicago police and Secret Service agents continued to question the man, who has not been named, last night.Obama was believed to be home at the time although officials would not confirm it.U.S. Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said the man did not utter any threats against Obama or make any threatening gestures before his arrest.He did not detail what the man did to prompt his arrest in the first place.Obama left the house later in the day to take a flight to Florida, where he will be preparing for Friday's presidential debate.
Obama recently had a separate scare when three men were arrested with weapons allegedly intended for an assassination plot.

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police have seized guns, and more than $500,000 worth of drugs in raids that resulted in more than 70 arrests

Detective Senior Sergeant Darrin Thomson, who headed Operation Viper, said 73 arrests were made over the past eight days and followed three months of intelligence gathering.More than half of those arrested have been charged with drug dealing offences involving cannabis, ecstasy, LSD .Wellington police have seized guns, and more than $500,000 worth of drugs in raids that resulted in more than 70 arrests

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Stephen Flemmi was a feared gangster and former paratrooper they called ''The Rifleman''

Stephen Flemmi was a feared gangster and former paratrooper they called ''The Rifleman'' around South Boston. The same Stevie who murdered Hussey's daughter.
Hussey once knew him well he spit in Flemmi's face when he found out the gangster was sleeping with his wife.
Flemmi cold-cocked him but let him live. Decades later, Thomas Hussey's daughter, Deborah Hussey, met a different -- and final -- fate.On Monday, Flemmi was not on trial. His 2004 conviction for strangling Deborah is just one of 10 murder charges that put him in prison for life.Instead, Flemmi was there to testify against former Boston FBI agent John Connolly, 68, who stands accused of being corrupted by Flemmi's gang and leaking vital information that led to the 1982 murder of a gambling executive in South Florida.''He's really aged,'' Hussey, 74, whispered as the diminutive Flemmi, also 74, walked in, sporting glasses, thinning gray hair parted to the side and an olive prison suit.And with that, Flemmi began his day recounting his decades-long criminal career in Boston. Hussey watched calmly, nodding at points, remembering names and places as though he were watching a familiar movie.Hussey has been a court regular since the Connolly trial began last week. A plumber, he moved to South Florida in 1973 to escape the danger around South Boston.His then-wife, Marion Hussey, had taken up with Flemmi, who along with Winter Hill gang leader James ''Whitey'' Bulger ran an unchecked criminal enterprise in Boston.The last time Hussey saw Flemmi was during a party for Deborah's high school graduation in 1976. Deborah's life spiraled into drugs and booze. Eight years later, Deborah accused Flemmi of sexual molestation. She went missing soon after.Flemmi took Deborah shopping for clothes, then strangled her and yanked out her teeth to make identifying her body difficult. Her corpse was not unearthed from a Boston marsh until January 2000.''I'm glad he didn't get the death penalty,'' Hussey said of Flemmi. ``I want him to suffer. Death penalty is too quick.''Minutes before Flemmi arrived Monday and outside the jury's presence, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stanford Blake expressed his condolences to Hussey. Then he politely asked Hussey to step outside if emotions took over. ''I can handle it,'' Hussey assured the judge. Flemmi never looked his way.He did face the jury, however, telling them how he and Bulger gave Connolly more than $200,000 in gifts over the years.''Hey, I'm one of the gang,'' Flemmi recalled Connolly saying after receiving $25,000 in drug money.
He recalled Connolly telling them of a bookmaker named Richard Castucci, who had informed the feds about the hiding place of a fugitive pal. The gang murdered him.
They also killed fellow gangster Brian Halloran, who ratted to the FBI that Bulger's gang killed Oklahoma millionaire Roger Wheeler in 1981 over a business dispute involving Miami's World Jai-Alai.Hussey watched, getting up only to get a closer look at blow-up photos of South Boston and its players. ''Most of those guys are from South Boston, where I lived. Tough neighborhood,'' he whispered.In the years since his daughter disappeared, Hussey has battled alcohol addiction but little anger. He hopes Connolly gets convicted but wants to see him receive a light sentence.Flemmi is scheduled to testify about the disgraced FBI agent on Tuesday.
As for Flemmi, Hussey watched with the detached eye of a Red Sox analyst.
''I hope they put him in the jail's general population,'' Hussey said, affably. ``He'll have a heinous death. He's a pedophile and a snitch -- they'll kill him, very brutally.''

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Gangster Killer Bloods leader Victor "Little Vic" Lopez, 26, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the shooting death of Edwin "Dino"Andino

Gangster Killer Bloods leader Victor "Little Vic" Lopez, 26, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the March 25, 2005, shooting death of Edwin "Dino" Andino. Andino, 19, was gunned down at Walnut and Houghton avenues in Trenton. Lopez, a captain in the Gangster Killer Bloods, said he told two co-defendants who were soldiers in the gang to open fire on the corner while he waited in a van. But Lopez, answering questions posed by his lawyer, Bruce Throckmorton, the judge and assistant prosecutor, said he had a personal dispute with people hanging around on that corner, rather than a gang-related vendetta. Asked by Assistant Prosecutor Skylar Weissman what his rank was in the gang, Lopez said that he was a "five star."
Lopez will be sentenced in February to 15 years in prison and must serve at least 12 3/4 years before he can be released, Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly said. The sentence will run concurrently with a 71-month federal sentence Lopez incurred in 2005 for carrying an Uzi semi-automatic weapon and wearing a bulletproof vest.
"He could have gotten 30 to life (in prison) or he could have been found guilty of aggravated manslaughter as well," said Weissman. "In a situation like this there are no winning sides. A 19-year-old young man was killed. You see the fact all the young players who played a part in this have their lives ruined and there's no winners on either side. And he'll be spending 15 long, hard years in jail. Hopefully, he'll think every day of the pain and suffering he brought to the victim's family."
After a hearing Friday, Kelly had ruled that damaging audiotapes of phone calls made by another inmate on Lopez' behest to tamper with witnesses could be played to the jury at the trial. Weissman argued the tapes showed evidence Lopez realized his guilt. Meanwhile, murder charges remain pending against alleged shooters Bruce "Black Magic" Duette, 27, and Anthony "Ace" Coleman, 21, both of Trenton. Their trial date is set for Dec. 1. While Lopez will not be required to testify against Duette or Coleman, he told Kelly he ordered them to open fire on the street corner knowing that someone might be killed. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he will also not testify for the defense.

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Rayful Edmond III is now part of the United States Federal Witness Protection Program and his place of incarceration is confidential.

Rayful Edmond III is largely credited with introducing crack cocaine into the Washington, D.C. area. Columbians was alleged to have moved In an indictment involving two of Edmond's associates, it said that they bought between 1000 and 2,000 kilos over a 1 week period at a time. In 1992 from the Trujillo-Blanco brothers, who were associated with the Medellin cartel, and sold the drugs to Washington area wholesalers. He was known to have spent some $457,619 in an exclusive Georgetown store (Linea Pitti, specializing in Italian men's clothing) owned by Charles Wynn who was later convicted on 34 counts of money laundering.Edmond was arrested in 1989 at the age of 24. His arrest and subsequent trial were widely covered by local and national media. Judicial officials, fearful of reprisals from members of Edmond's gang, imposed unprecedented security during the trial. Jurors' identities were kept secret before, during, and after trial, and their seating area was enclosed in bulletproof glass. Edmond was jailed at the maximum security facility at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia and flown to the Federal Court House in Washington, D.C. by helicopter each day for his trial. Authorities took this unusual step due to heightened fears of an armed escape attempt. This gang was believed to have committed over 40 murders including the attempted murder of a local pastor, the Reverend Mr. Bynum, who was shot 12 times during an anti-drug march in his Orleans Place neighborhood.[citation needed]Rayful continued to deal after being incarcerated in Lewisburg, PA federal prison. In 1996, Edmond and another drug dealer from Atlanta, named Lowe, were convicted after conducting drug business from a federal prison phone. Edmond received an additional 30-year sentence. Edmond's case is one of the most notorious abuses of such phone privileges and an embarrassment for the Bureau of Prisons. In an interview with the Bureau of Prisons, Edmond said he had spent several hours every day on the telephone, occasionally using two lines simultaneously to conduct his drug business.Following this conviction, Edmond became a government informant in order to secure his mother's release from prison and a reduced sentence. Edmond is still incarcerated but is now part of the United States Federal Witness Protection Program and his place of incarceration is confidential.

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