Suleyman Ergun and his gang flooded Britain and Europe with heroin for five years.

By the time Suleyman Ergun was 21 years old, he was the world's most prolific and powerful seller of smack. Known throughout the junkie and police communities as the North London Turk, Ergun and his gang flooded Britain and Europe with heroin for five years.For his pains, the former factory worker got mansions filled with cash and unlimited underworld cachet. At the height of his powers he was a multimillionaire and his favorite tipple was a bottle of champagne with eight grams of cocaine dumped into it. Today, he is almost penniless and lives with his mum. He's 39. What happened?Vice: Tell me a fond memory of your drug-dealing days.Suleyman Ergun: There's nothing like the feeling you get when you've got 100 kilos of heroin in the trunk of your car. Just to be near it, to smell it. Driving along at 120 mph in France somewhere and thinking: "I know what I've got in the car." Police stopping beside you. A gun under my seat. Wouldn't think twice about shooting them. Taking the risk. At the end of the day that's why I became a drug dealer. Not the money or the power, but the buzz.

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Delphon Nicholas used a smuggled mobile phone to order hitman Trevor Dennie to shoot a hated rival.

Delphon Nicholas used a smuggled mobile phone to order hitman Trevor Dennie to shoot a hated rival. The pair were convicted of murder at the Old Bailey and sentenced to a minimum of 30 years.The court had heard how Nicholas, 29, of Sydenham, was in Belmarsh after an arrest on firearms charges later dropped when he arranged the killing of Andrew Wanoghu. Wanoghu, 26, a former boxer who fought under the nickname "The Assassin", was a drug dealer involved in a long-running dispute with the gangster.In April 2006 Wanoghu went to Brockley for a drugs deal and was shot dead in Pendrell Road by hooded gunman Dennie, 33, of Deptford.Passing sentence, Judge Richard Hone said: "You are two cold blooded killers. You both exude an aura of violence. There is no mitigation."He added nine months to Nicholas's term after the thug started beating up his girlfriend, Sereata Barrie, in the dock as the jury retired to consider their verdict. Barrie, 29, Erron Cato, 25, and Michael Williams, 28, were cleared of involvement in the murder.Wanoghu had been prime suspect in the shooting of Damien Cope, 22, whose mother Lucy went on to form the charity Mothers Against Guns.

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Sicilian Mafia's Stidda and Piscopo clans had a monopoly over the trafficking and pushing of hashish and cocaine in several Sicilian provinces.

Italian police have arrested 70 people across the country suspected of drug trafficking and money laundering.Police made the arrests in the northern business capital, Milan, and in another city in Lombardy, Varese, as well as in several cities in the southern Sicily, Calabria, Puglia and Campania regions.
'Operation Tsunami', which began in 2004, has uncovered two drug trafficking organisations, each with its own supply channels and extensive networks of drugs pushers who reportedly operated in city squares and streets as well as nightclubs and other youth hangouts. The two gangs are said to be close to the Sicilian Mafia's Stidda and Piscopo clans respectively and to have links to drug cartels in Colombia and criminal organisations in Germany.The gangs reportedly had a monopoly over the trafficking and pushing of hashish and cocaine in several Sicilian provinces.
The drugs were mainly acquired on the outskirts of Milan and in Reggio Calabria and transported south by outwardly respectable couriers.Italy's crime syndicates, the Sicilian Mafia, the Neapolitan Mafia, or Camorra and Calabria's 'Ndrangheta, all thrive on drug trafficking and other illegal activities including arms trafficking and prostitution.

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Necklace with a machine gun pendant LILY ALLEN condemned

LILY ALLEN has been condemned for glamorising guns by wearing a necklace with a machine gun pendant. The Smile hitmaker - who previously met with London mayor Boris Johnson to outline proposals to reduce knife crime - was photographed wearing the gold pendant on Friday (26Sep08). But the choice of jewellery has outraged anti-violence groups, who have branded Allen "irresponsible".Lyn Costello, from anti-violence group MAMAA, says: "She is glamorising the use of guns. It's totally irresponsible. "She's a role model and people look up to her. The last thing we want is people looking at her and thinking guns are fashionable. "I'm really disappointed in her. She had a meeting with the Mayor saying she's worried about knife crime but is she not worried about gun crime too. "If she's really worried about violent crime then she shouldn't wear a necklace that

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Guns are back with a vengeance on Bronx streets

Guns are back with a vengeance on Bronx streets - gun arrests are down in the double digits. In some precincts, gun arrests are down as much as 50% or more, while shootings there are up in the 30% range. The percentages are high, but the numbers are nowhere near as bad as the bad old days of the early '90s, when crack cocaine drug wars were littering the streets with bodies and emergency rooms with shooting victims. As of Oct. 5, there were 100 murders in the Bronx so far this year, compared to 88 for the same period last year - a 13.6% jump. Two years ago, murders were down 13%. Citywide, the numbers were 400 homicides versus 359 in 2007, up 11.4%. Two years ago, they were down 8.6%. Some 383 people have been shot in the borough, compared to 359 last year - a 6.6% jump. Citywide, shootings are up 7.2%, with 1,420 victims compared to 1,324 last year. Gun arrests are down 20.2% in the Bronx, and 12.3% citywide. That compares to a 25.6% Bronx decline, and a 16% citywide drop two years ago. "There was a time when the heat was on, and you'd leave your gun at home," said one veteran Bronx detective. "If you got into a beef, at least you couldn't pull it out right there on the street." One of the key questions police have to answer, experts say, is whether crime-fighting strategies have pushed crime as low as it can go, or if there may be a new trend, such as a rising youth population, that calls for new tactics. Hard economic times ahead, in a borough with a quarter of the population already living below the federal poverty line, could also create a whole set of crime problems. Robberies have already started creeping up in the borough, rising 5.6% so far this year, compared to a .3% increase two years ago. One possible police response could be to resurrect or bolster some crimefighting methods, such as the citywide street crime unit that focused on getting guns off the streets. One thing for certain, in police stationhouses and squadrooms across the Bronx, the general talk is that shootings are way out of hand, with guns now commonplace on the streets, particularly among youths and young men.
"These young kids are out of control," said one Bronx homicide detective. "It seems to be a trend every few years where you have younger kids involved, teenagers that are running the streets."

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loud music gave way to gunfire on East Chase Street in front of the Belvedere, leaving two people wounded by bullets, a third person stabbed

loud music gave way to gunfire on East Chase Street in front of the Belvedere, leaving two people wounded by bullets, a third person stabbed and a bartender using a towel to try and stop the flow of blood. City authorities said an argument led to a fight that led to the shootings, and that it involved patrons of Ultralounge.As city homicides decline, special police team gets most of the credit The establishment, which recently made a comeback from a police raid and criminal charges filed against the owner two years ago, has long been able to skirt scrutiny by city officials because of an odd zoning designation and its status as a "bottle club," which until just four months ago allowed it to operate outside the reach of the liquor board.A bottle club, explained liquor board Chairman Stephan Fogleman, "is a strange legal creature," essentially a BYOB bar. The only requirement was that the owner had to send a letter to the liquor board to register. "We had no oversight, nothing," Fogleman said.
But that has since changed. On June 1, a new state law took effect putting bottle clubs - the one at the Belvedere is the only one in the city - under the same liquor rules that govern bars. That means the owner can be held accountable for the actions of his patrons."This is just tragic, and I can't believe our worst-case scenario is coming together so fast," Fogleman said of the violence. "I don't know if this incident will lead to calls for the club's closing, but obviously if the people at the Belvedere sign a petition, we would accommodate a hearing."
Sammy Hyun Paik bought the Ultralounge's 6,000-foot space in the same way a resident buys a house. And the condo association cannot enforce rules that contradict existing city laws or prohibit uses allowed under zoning regulations.
The city managed to shut Paik's bottle club two years ago after city police raided the business and hauled out bottles of beer, brandy and wine and took Paik and his associate away in handcuffs. Paik was charged with liquor infractions, such as failing to register the bottle club and selling alcohol without a license. His associate, Louis L. Wood, was charged with liquor violations and a gun violation.
Prosecutors put the criminal charges on the inactive docket, and civil and criminal charges related to zoning violations have all but gone away. Explanations for this varied yesterday, but with city and state offices closed for Columbus Day, it was not possible to obtain court records and other documents. But the closure of the case and reopening of the club has angered Ken Pippin, the former head of the Belvedere's condo board."The guy caters to thugs; that's his basic clientele," he said of Paik. "If everyone had done what they were supposed to do, this place would be closed up as any kind of nightclub. It's frustrating because now it almost seems like we're starting all over again. And now it's worse. We've had people beaten up. We had a stabbing. We had people get mad at getting thrown out and come back and shoot a hole through the door."Wood, the manager of Ultralounge, said there was a verbal altercation before the club closed early Saturday and that the "aggressor was removed from the premises." A short time later, there was a shooting outside. "What happened, to me, was an isolated incident on public property that no one can foresee or stop," Wood said.The manager called descriptions of Ultralounge as a hip-hop club false, and he said the club fits in at the condominium complex. "From my understanding, the point in 2006 was not whether we belonged at the Belvedere, but over permits," Wood said, adding that the club is now in compliance. "Our establishment does not promote or advertise for one demographic versus another. We have held Sweet 16 parties. We have held 40th-birthday parties. ... We are not a hip-hop club or an urban club."Wood said the club even holds monthly Christian events.
The Ultralounge is not the Owl Bar. Variety is good, but violence isn't, and owners of bars and bottle clubs alike have to keep their establishments safe and civil for their patrons and their neighbors. The club attracted the people involved in the shooting; it can't take all the blame, and it can't shirk all the responsibility.
Breaking the law is part of the Belvedere's lore, its mystique - that long mahogany bar once served as a speak-easy during Prohibition. The Ultralounge is in the basement where casks of illegal whiskey were once stored, but that doesn't mean its owner doesn't need to keep an eye out for more modern transgressions."It's a very well-known building," Wood said of the Belvedere. "It's a very nice building. We're happy to be where we are."

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John Haase, 59, and Paul Bennett, 44, arranged for weapons to be found behind the Cheers pub

Southwark crown court heard that John Haase, 59, and Paul Bennett, 44, arranged for weapons to be found behind the Cheers pub, in Aigburth Road, so they could link them to the rival gangs.Liverpool drug barons blamed a stash of weapons on the Ungi and Fitzgibbon families so they could get their own sentences slashed, a court was told.
The jury was told the Ceska gun, automatic pistol and ammunition was one of 35 goods, drugs and guns hauls the pair organised so they could tip off the authorities and curry favour with a judge.Prosecutors claim the men cooked up the scheme while awaiting sentence for drug smuggling.They provided so much information they received a rare royal pardon and served just 11 months of their 18-year sentences. Gibson Grenfell QC, prosecuting, said police uncovered more than 150 weapons, including sub-machine guns, AK47s and hand grenades and 1,500 rounds of ammunition following tip-offs from the pair.Haase told HM Customs and Excise, to whom the pair supplied information through their solicitor, that weapons and ammunition could be found in a Fiat Strada parked outside the Cheers pub. And Haase claimed Liverpool was just weeks away from erupting into gang warfare.Mr Grenfell said the weapons were clearly “being put” in the context of trouble involving “the two notorious criminal families in Liverpool, the Fitzgibbons and the Ungis.”“The defendants warned the authorities they expected a lot of trouble.”Mr Grenfell said the following month, Bennett advised the authorities to search a Volkswagen Polo parked in Park Street, Toxteth. Police found two sawn-off shotguns, a pistol and ammunition inside.He said once again, the two families’ names were mentioned and the Ungis were said to be using nearby pubs to plot their revenge for the recent murder of David Ungi.Mr Grenfell said Paul Cook, the customs officer who oversaw the men’s information, appeared at that point to express his doubts about the authenticity of the haul.
He quoted Mr Cook as saying: “Nobody seems to have missed them [the guns]. Nobody has noticed them. They [the police] have towed the car away and placed it in a garage. Why hasn’t it caused a stir?”Both Haase and Bennett denied having anything to do with the guns, Mr Grenfell said.He told the jury it was not the first time the men, said to be orchestrating the scheme from prison on illicit mobile phones, attempted to link the hauls to other organised crime gangs.Prosecutors claim the pair had five pistols and ammunition stashed in a car parked in Holyhead, Anglesey, so they could tip off authorities they were bound for Ireland and the IRA.
Prosecutors believe several of the guns and the bags they were stored inside are linked to the men’s co-conspirators.Mr Grenfell said fingerprints belonging to Haase’s wife Deborah, 37, were found on some of the bags.He said: “The information supplied about the IRA was completely bogus when we know the prints on those binbags.”He told the jury that prosecutors also believe another accused, Sharon Knowles, 36, bought the ferry ticket to Ireland designed to be linked to the seizure.
Haase and Bennett are said to have orchestrated the hauls between October 1993 and August 1995, while they were awaiting their sentences for drug smuggling.Haase and Bennett, both of no fixed abode, Deborah Haase, of Teynham Avenue, Knowsley Village, and Sharon Knowles, of Wadeson Road, Walton, all deny conspiracy to pervert the course of public.Deborah Haase also denies one charge of possessing illegal firearms and one charge of possessing illegal ammunition.

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Chinese authorities say they dealt with 4,666 gun cases last year

Chinese authorities say they dealt with 4,666 gun cases last year. Officials often respond to sensational gun crimes in the U.S. and elsewhere by affirming the need to maintain tough laws.With guns often hard to buy, some criminals forge them instead. Late last year, Shanghai police responded to a call about a robbery in progress at a gritty scrap yard. According to a police spokesman, officers spotted a man fleeing the scene and yelled "freeze," but he pulled a crude homemade pistol from a bag.
Witnesses say the suspect was brought down after a gunfight that had shots echoing all around the neighborhood. A police spokesman said the suspect, identified as Tang Qingjie, was shot in the leg by an officer. He said Mr. Tang had never managed to fire his weapon, which in a police photo appeared to have been soldered together.
The handling of Mr. Tang's case also offers a possible indication of why gun crimes in China seem so rare. They sometimes aren't highlighted when criminal charges are made public. When Shanghai prosecutors formally arraigned Mr. Tang in September, they alleged he committed robbery -- a serious charge but not one that automatically suggests use of a weapon.Speaking generally about Chinese law, a court spokesman said evidence of a gun can be introduced during a robbery trial. But criminal trials in China aren't always open to the public, and evidence can be suppressed.The Communist Party lauds marksmanship enough to give freshmen college students basic training in it. Shooting produced a national hero for China in 1984, when Xu Haifeng became the country's first Olympic gold medalist by winning the 50-meter pistol event in Los Angeles. At this year's Beijing Games, China won five of its 51 gold medals in shooting events.Beijing's support for the sport has helped spur a rise of hobby enthusiasts. The government has sanctioned businesses such as the Shanghai East Shooting Club, a former bomb shelter where customers can have a drink and fire a variety of weapons. Owner Zhang Jiewei says his clients are looking to relax.
But increasingly, gun fans are gaining access to guns -- and hunting illegally. In rural Anhui province last year, a group of wealthy businessmen, gun-club owners and former army officers organized wild-fowl shoots. Feasting on game cooked in a spicy brown sauce, one of them toasted, "Guns have brought us together."Gun buffs can turn to Small Arms, a twice-monthly glossy magazine that claims 60,000 subscribers. The Beretta M9 semiautomatic pistol "is classic," said Zheng Zhoujian, an 18-year-old reader. "I envy people in other countries where guns are legal."

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James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, : Boston FBI agent on trial for murder was key to major New England Mafia investigations

Boston FBI agent on trial for murder was key to major New England Mafia investigations because of his skill at recruiting and handling top confidential gangster informants, a former mob prosecutor, now a federal judge, testified Tuesday,’ the Associated Press reports. ‘ Senior U.S. District Judge Edward F. Harrington, who was Boston’s U.S. attorney during the Carter administration, said ex-agent John Connolly’s contributions were “without parallel” in prosecutions that weakened the powerful Patriarca family. That included planting a listening device at the family’s Boston headquarters.’ “ “ John Connolly had great ability and he had a certain flair that attracted a confidence and trust of underworld figures,” said Harrington, the leadoff witness for Connolly’s defense.” ‘ Connolly, 68, was the FBI handler of James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, leaders of Boston’s violent Winter Hill Gang and rivals of the larger Mafia.’ He is now ‘ charged with conspiracy and murder. Prosecutors accuse him of telling Bulger and Flemmi that gambling executive John Callahan might implicate them in an Oklahoma businessman’s slaying.’ Callahan was shot and put into ‘his Cadillac at Miami International Airport in August 1982.’ The man who killed Callahan said he was did indeed do so after Connolly gave him information about Callahan(’s whereabouts).
Callah is currently already serving a 10-year prison term after being found guilty of racketeering. The story is a familiar one for those who watch mafia movies on a regular basis. Especially the movie Donnie Brasko tells the story of an FBI undercover agent who infiltrates in the mafia quite well. Brasko is, in the end, barely able to distance himself from his mafia bodies, and crosses the line on a variety of occasions. The movie was based on a true story; Brasko - or his actual name was: Joseph D. Pistone - is now enrolled in a witness protection program.

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Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal died in Florida on Monday

Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal died in Florida on Monday at age 79, according to family members and a source at his high-rise condominium complex in Miami Beach.Rosenthal was a minor celebrity confined to the world of gambling, organized crime and Las Vegas society until the 1995 movie "Casino," which was based on his life story, propelled him to a much higher level of fame.Rosenthal's passing marks the close of yet another chapter in the transformation of Las Vegas from a gambling destination of ill-repute to a global destination celebrated by everyday tourists, politicians and corporate leaders who invest billions of dollars in resorts."He was the innovator and creator of what we know today as the race and sports book in Las Vegas with all the modern accoutrements," said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a former attorney who represented Rosenthal in high-profile scrapes with Nevada regulators, including now-Sen. Harry Reid. "He was an uncanny bettor and won a lot more than he lost."Goodman painted Rosenthal as the type of boss who represented the best of Las Vegas, in terms of how to run a good casino."He was the kind of guy who, when working in the casino industry, would see a cigarette butt on the floor, pick it up himself and dispose of it," Goodman said. "And then he'd fire the employee whose job was to have picked it up in the first place."Rosenthal was also a controversial figure whose life story was entwined with the emergence of Las Vegas as a destination for money mobsters sought to launder through legal casinos.His childhood was spent learning the gambling trade through illegal bookmaking operations run by organized crime figures from the Midwest. He made connections that fueled his rise and instigated his downfall later in Las Vegas.Rosenthal was born June 12, 1929, in Chicago and spent the 1930s in Chicago. When he arrived in Nevada in 1968, he discovered that gambling could not only be profitable but a ticket to prominence in a place where his occupation was the subject of reverence, not scorn."When I was a kid growing up in Chicago, if you walked around with a ... card in your hand, you were subject to be arrested or harassed, at least," Rosenthal said in 1997 during an interview with the PBS program "Frontline." "On the other hand, if you want to go to Las Vegas, Nevada, you can do the same thing and be quite respectable."The word "respectable" was a loaded phrase when it came to Rosenthal.When he moved to Las Vegas, he had already gained some level of notoriety for an appearance in 1961 before a Senate hearing on gambling and organized crime during which he invoked Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination 38 times.An indictment in California in 1971 for conspiracy in interstate transportation in aid of racketeering helped prevent the bookmaker Rosenthal from getting a Nevada gaming license, a situation that angered him for years after he left Las Vegas. A 1963 conviction stemming from an attempt to bribe college basketball players later landed him on a short list of people excluded from Nevada casinos.But lack of a license didn't stop him from holding sway over operations at the Stardust, Hacienda, Fremont and Marina casinos when they were owned or controlled by the Argent Corp., and financier Allen Glick. Glick was the purported front man for Midwestern mob bosses who controlled the casinos through Argent, which was funded in part through loans from the Teamsters union. During an interview with a magazine reporter in 1975, the unlicensed Rosenthal landed himself in hot water with regulators when he said, "Glick is the financial end, but the policy comes from my office."Rosenthal's problems were exacerbated by personal and business connections to reputed mobster Tony Spilotro.Spilotro wound up being indicted in a skimming scheme, along with about 14 others, which also sealed Rosenthal's fate with gaming regulators, who ended up putting both men in Nevada's Black Book of persons excluded from casinos.
Spilotro also wound up having an affair with Rosenthal's estranged wife, Geri, a situation law enforcement authorities later claimed as evidence Spilatro tried to kill Rosenthal."Obviously there were things going on," Rosenthal told the Fort Lauderdale (Fla) Sun-Sentinel in 1995. "There are more tricks in the trade than I can ever describe to you. But I think some of it (the federal inquiry) was exaggerated."Later in the Sun-Sentinel story, Rosenthal acknowledged there was little chance he could escape the notorious shadow of Spilatro."In retrospect, his reputation and the fact that we were boyhood friends -- there was no way for me to overcome it," Rosenthal told the newspaper.

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Hekuran Billa, 28, shot Prel Marku, 22, through the head in front of revelers in a packed Albanian social club in Park Royal

Hekuran Billa, 28, shot Prel Marku, 22, through the head in front of revelers in a packed Albanian social club in Park Royal on October 14 2006 Billali was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder and the murder of Prel Marku, and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommended minimum term of 34 years.

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Two others were shot when gunman Billa and an accomplice sprayed the club with bullets. Club owner Musa Prahmani was also injured when he jumped from a second floor window to escape and luckily landed in a rubber dingy below.Billa fled to Denmark, but cops tracked him down and he was convicted of one murder, two attempted murders and wounding Mr Prahmani with intent. He had denied all charges.The rivals were raking in up to £10,000 a night emptying Westminster parking meters. Albanian gangs that had usually been involved in prostitution and people trafficking devised a lucrative simple scam to bust open the strong boxes of old fashioned meters which netted £1.25 million in £1 coins a year.Westminster Council was losing so much money it moved to cashless parking by text messages and phone this year.The dispute centred on who had control of meters on Connaught Square, the feud rumbled on for weeks of with verbal threats and escalating tensions. The two different factions were run by Petrit Brahoj, 31, and his rival Herland Bilali, 28, the Snaresbrook Crown court heard.
Kujtim Spahiu, 33, was jailed last year for 33 years in prison for his part in the shootings.Two other suspects, Mohammed Mehmeti and Lulzim Bici, who were waiting in the getaway car outside the club, were cleared of any involvement in the killing.
Shocked jurors were shown photographs of the bloodstained carpet, upturned tables where club members desperately sought cover, and the smashed windows through which others jumped for their lives when Billa pumped round after round into the crowd.

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Gyoku Ryuu Kai family:Three gangsters have been arrested

Three gangsters have been arrested after a three-city police task force followed their trail and involvement in the robbery of a recycling company business office.Police say they’re holding the three, including a member of the Gyoku Ryuu Kai family, on charges they went to a recycling business in the Noborikawa area and tried to get money from the office.Okinawa City, Uruma City and Urasoe City police teamed up, establishing checkpoints and area patrols, ultimately finding the three men’s car in the Noborikawa area. Okinawa Prefectural Police say the task force found a map of the area, and a pistol type spray, in the car.The three men are denying the charges they committed any crime.

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David Lebron facing trial next week on corruption charges accused his fellow officers and prosecutors today of setting him up on false charges.

suspended Spring Valley police officer facing trial next week on corruption charges accused his fellow officers and prosecutors today of setting him up on false charges.
Surrounded by advocates for black and Hispanic officers at a news conference, David Lebron provided a compact disc recording of his conversation in Spanish with a prosecution witness.Lebron and the witness, Juan Carlos, met in the Bronx in May, according to a 22-page transcript translated into English.Anthony Miranda of the national Latino Officers Associations of America said the audio recording had been given to prosecutors and other agencies. He said they wanted an independent investigation and would use the information against officers if they lied on the stand.The transcript outlines Carlos telling Lebron that Spring Valley police officers offered to assist him with his immigration problems if he would lie about Lebron.One of the underlying counts against Lebron is he coerced Carlos into filing a civilian complaint against a Spring Valley police officer.On the transcript provided by Lebron, Carlos contended that officers bribed and coerced him to lie about Lebron's involvement in the civilian complaint.Spring Valley police Chief Paul Modica and District Attorney Thomas Zugibe denied the accusations. Both said they could elaborate on grand jury testimony but add that a jury will some hear the evidence against Lebron and come to a verdict.Lebron, an officer for 10 years in Spring Valley and five years for the New York City Police Department, was charged with single felony counts of first-degree falsifying business records and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. He also was charged with two misdemeanors of official misconduct and sixth-degree conspiracy.Among Lebron's backers today were officials with the National Latino Officers Association, Westchester National Black Police Officers Association, the Grand Council of Guardians.

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Hassan J. Peters multiple gunshots were fired at Peters by the occupants of a passing vehicle.

Homicide detectives last night were still investigating the circumstances surrounding the slaying on Bellevue Avenue of Hassan J. Peters, but Detective Capt. Joseph Ju niak said preliminary information gathered from witnesses suggest that multiple gunshots were fired at Peters by the occupants of a passing vehicle.
No descriptions were available, however, of that vehicle or its two male occupants.
Juniak said last night that it is too early to tell if there is any gang connection to the killing. He said detectives will be looking into Pet ers' background and speaking to his family to learn more about why he might have been targeted.
It was about 6:15 p.m. when police received reports of a shooting on Bellevue Avenue, between Fowler and Calhoun streets. Officers and emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene within minutes to find Peters -- shot in the upper body -- in critical condition. Juniak said an autopsy will determine precisely how many times Peters was shot. Peters, a resident of nearby Fairway Drive, was rushed by am bulance to Capital Health System at Fuld hospital and pronounced dead a short time later, Juniak said. Immediately after they arrived, police shut down Bellevue Avenue and cordoned off the area sur rounding the shooting -- just a stone's thrown from the rear parking lot of Shiloh Baptist Church -- with crime scene tape.
"This is crazy. It don't make no sense. They're killing each other for nothing," one bystander said aloud, to no one in particular, as he watched detectives scan the street with flashlights in search of evi dence. On Feb. 19, 2002, a teenage Peters was injured in a freak accident involving a police car. According to The Times' archive, a police car traveling on Calhoun Street was struck by another car. The police car then jumped a sidewalk and stuck Peters, then 16, breaking his pelvis.
Yesterday's slaying was Trenton's 18th homicide of the year.

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Four teens were arrested Saturday evening in DeKalb County after a drive-by shooting

Four teens were arrested Saturday evening in DeKalb County after a drive-by shooting near a skating rink, police said.A 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg and taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.
The teens were riding in a black Honda Civic just after 6 p.m. when they pulled up to a bus stop in the 2700 block of Wesley Chapel Road, DeKalb police spokeswoman Keisha Williams said.They shot at another group of teens — including the victim — and then drove off, Williams said.Officers in a police helicopter soon spotted the car in the Autumn Lake neighborhood and saw four persons fleeing the vehicle, police said.Within an hour, Williams said, police captured two of the suspects on a nearby road. The other two were arrested in a house.The four youths, all juveniles, were charged with aggravated assault, Williams said. Police discovered their car had been stolen from the Virginia Highlands area, she said.The victim’s name was not released. The four suspects were not identified because they are minors. The case remained under investigation late Saturday night, but police believe the assailants knew the victim and the other teens at the bus stop, Williams said.

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Police in Avondale were searching for suspects in a drive-by shooting that left two men injured Saturday night.

Police in Avondale were searching for suspects in a drive-by shooting that left two men injured Saturday night.It happened near 111th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.
Police say a car drove past a home and two or three suspects inside fired several rounds.Two adult men were hit but are expected to be OK.Police say the car was involved in another shooting a few blocks away a few minutes before. No one at that location was injured.Police say they don't have a very good description of the vehicle.

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Salinas police arrested Pedro Coyt and recovered evidence, including a gun believed to have been used in the shooting.

Salinas police arrested Pedro Coyt, 34, in the 600 block of Countryside Drive at 11:22 p.m. and recovered evidence, including a gun believed to have been used in the shooting. Coyt was charged with shooting at an inhabited dwelling and possession of a loaded and concealed firearm. Search leads to man's arrest for drugs, guns
A search of a Salinas residence in the 700 block of Archer Street led to the arrest of the resident on suspicion of drug and firearm violations. Salinas police went to the house looking for Gerardo Yanez, 23, who was wanted on outstanding warrants. When officers searched the residence they found cocaine, gang indicia and several thousand dollars in cash. Yanez was lodged in Monterey County Jail on a variety of gang-related drug and firearms charges.

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Danielle Calbrese was taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore where she died a short time later.

The Suffolk County Police Department Homicide Squad is investigating the shooting of an Islip Terrace woman.Police were called to 1755 Stein Drive in Brentwood on Friday, October 10 at 10:45 p.m. after a 911 caller told police a woman had been shot.When police arrived, they found Danielle Calbrese, 20, of 11 Karp Drive, Islip Terrace, had been shot in the face. She was taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore where she died a short time later.Witnesses told police a group of friends was standing on the sidewalk when a number of shots came from a passing vehicle, which fled the scene.Danielle Calabrese stood with a group of friends on a Brentwood sidewalk in the warm autumn air Friday night, making plans to go out, police and friends said Saturday.Around 10:45 p.m., eyewitnesses said, a white, older model Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows slowly drove south past the group that was gathered across the street from a house on Stein Drive where Calabrese's boyfriend lives -- and then shots rang out."It just opened fire," said one friend of Calabrese's who saw the shooting and declined to give his name. As the group ducked for cover, the bullets seemed to last forever, he said. "They just kept shooting."
Calabrese, 20, of Islip Terrace, was shot multiple times and died from her injuries at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore shortly afterward, police said.One of her friends in the group, a man in his 20s, was shot in the leg, police said. The friend, who police did not identify, was treated at Southside Hospital and released.
Calabrese, a Suffolk County Community College student who wanted to be a nurse, was "young and beautiful and had a lot going for her," said former neighbor Lori LoCricchio, while gazing at the Islip Terrace house where she lived with her parents and younger brother. Her family declined to comment.Friends gathered Saturday at the Stein Drive house where Calabrese spent much of her free time, they said. Photos of a smiling Calabrese and a small bouquet of roses were laid against a light pole where she fell.The shooter or shooters did not say a word, said the witness. "Nobody said anything," he said. "Then they drove away slowly."The Jeep even paused at a red light at Candlewood Road, mere yards from the crime scene, before speeding away, according to the witness."The way they did it was just so cruel," said friend Matthew Ramos, 22.Police have no immediate suspects or descriptions of people they are seeking, authorities said, though they do not believe Calabrese was the target.
Calabrese was a "sweet, sweet girl" who worked two jobs while going to school, said Zoraida Fanduiz, who lives on Stein Drive.When she heard the shots Friday night, Fanduiz ran out of the house to aid Calabrese who was lying on the ground. Calabrese began choking on blood, so Fanduiz gently tilted her head so she could breathe, Fanduiz said.She was sick of the neighborhood's violence, Fanduiz said Saturday.

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Drive-by shooting at Eighteen Mile,Baryulgil on the weekend that left one man injured.

Police are hunting for four people involved in a drive-by shooting and car chase at Baryulgil on the weekend that left one man injured.
Police were called to the shooting at Eighteen Mile, near Baryulgil on Saturday around 4.30pm, following reports a white Ford Laser had allegedly pulled up outside a house on Eighteen Mile Road and its occupants opened fire on the home. A male and a female, believed to be inside the house at the time, escaped injury. After shots were fired, the white Laser was driven off. Police said a 49-year-old man left the house and jumped into a Holden ute and followed the Laser. Police believe there were four people in the white Laser, three male and one female, all of Aboriginal appearance. During the chase, shots were allegedly fired at the Holden ute.
The 49-year old man received an injury to an arm. When police arrived, they found the Holden ute abandoned on the road with bullet holes in it, and the 49-year-old man at the house on Eighteen Mile Road. Police said the man's injury was superficial and did not require treatment at hospital. Police were unable to confirm if the injury was sustained from shotgun fire or splintered glass from bullets shattering the ute's window. Last night police were searching for the white Ford Laser and the four people believed to be involved in the shooting. The ute, driven by the man from Eighteen Mile, has been impounded at the Grafton Police Station.
It will be checked for evidence, police said. A crime scene has been established at the house on Eighteen Mile Road. Police said investigations will continue today into the drive-by shooting incident.

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William Leslie Baptiste, 20, was arrested and charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon

William Leslie Baptiste, 20, was arrested and charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and placed on a $40,000 secured bond, according to police spokeswoman Lucy Crockett and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. Baptiste was convicted on several counts of larceny, credit card theft and fraud earlier this year, according to the N.C. Offender Database.Baptiste is now accused of robbing a male victim at gunpoint at the Krispy Kreme at 2822 S. College Road, Crockett said. The incident happened shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, and “before calling for help, the victim followed the robber’s vehicle, a white van, to an apartment complex in the 4500 block of Staffordshire Drive,” the police spokeswoman said. The victim left, and Wilmington police officers responded to the scene, she added.“Officers located the parked van, engine still warm, and spotted a handgun in plain view between the driver and front passenger seats,” Crockett said, adding that the handgun they recovered had been reported stolen in New Hanover County in 2004.

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Martin Ceaser brandished a handgun while driving in Cedar Rapids after earlier threatening an acquaintance.

Martin Ceaser was arrested on Friday night. Police say he brandished a handgun while driving in Cedar Rapids after earlier threatening an acquaintance.Police say they attempted to pull Ceaser over but he did not stop, instead bumping the driver's side of the police car with his car's front bumper. According to police, he then stopped his car and ran from officers who caught him a few blocks later.Police found a handgun in the front of Ceaser's car.He is charged with two counts of assault or display of a dangerous weapon, driving while barred, interference with official acts, and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle

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Antoine Armour was shot inside the club 2301 sending three others to the hospital

Club 2301 is a public nuisance, and soon may be shut down.Today at Club 2301, everything is quiet. showed up, employees inside the club locked the doors.
Around two this morning, three people were shot: Antoine Armour was shot inside the club -- a bullet piercing his head, arm and shoulder. Two others were wounded in the club's parking lot.Despite this, no one bothered to call authorities.
Jerri Weary of the Chattanooga Police Department related the details to Eyewitness News:"In this particular situation we had an officer who was responding to a call and overheard the gunfire and was able to respond as it unfolded. So I don't know if they had an opportunity to call in and report the situation, but even if they didn't call and report it after the fact, it's still a violation."Moments after the shooting, officers arrested three people. Investigators believe two of the arrested are directly connected to the shooting. One of them is a juvenile, and the other has been in trouble with the law before: Michael Owens-- who has five outstanding warrants. Chattanooga Police Department Public Information Officer Jerri Weary told us, "Quite honestly, we're wondering how was a gun brought into the establishment. They have security that works the club and were wondering how that gun was brought in if security was there."Investigators later found the gun across the street at a funeral home.Now that a shooting has happened inside, Club 2301 could be shut down for good. Chattanooga police tell us this club is now under investigation.
Jerri Weary commented on the final result of the actions of last night, saying, "That's a strong possibility. Like I said, they'll have to look into the violations -- if there are any. But quite certainly it will be looked at as a public nuisance.

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Steven Munoz 11-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were shot dead at the Staples Center, victims of a drive-by shooting

11-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were fatally wounded Sunday evening a few blocks from Staples Center, victims of a drive-by shooting that police said may have been gang-related.The victims were sitting on a lawn with others about 6:30 p.m. near Valencia and Connecticut streets when someone fired at the group multiple times from a passing gray Honda, police said.The group scattered. The 11-year-old, whom police identified as Steven Munoz, ran around the corner to an apartment building in the 1400 block of West 11th Street, where a police spokeswoman said she believed he lived. The 19-year-old, whom the spokeswoman did not identify pending notification of next of kin, collapsed in an alley.Both were taken to a local hospital where they died later Sunday.

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Sean Erez wheeler-dealer international Ecstasy trafficker

Sean Erez wounded in a botched Harbourfront transaction once masterminded America's largest Ecstasy smuggling ring, which employed naive Hasidic Jews as couriers. But the jury now deliberating whether Sean Erez, 38, is guilty of possession for the purposes of trafficking cocaine never heard of his past orchestration of a ring that exported a million pills from Amsterdam to New York and Miami in the 1990s. It was the largest Ecstasy importing ring uncovered in the U.S. at that time. Erez's couriers included teenaged Hasidic students -- some lured by a cover story of smuggling diamonds -- who transported tens of thousands of pills with Superman and yin and yang symbols on them. "He was a wheeler-dealer. But what he did was shocking to the Jewish community," said Lisa Sweetingham, author of Chemical Cowboys, a soon-to-be released book on international Ecstasy trafficking networks.
"He exploited these very naive youths, who were insulated from the modern, corrupt world. They had the opportunity to travel to Europe, make a lot of money, go to casinos and night clubs," said Sweetingham. Shimon Levita, then 17, was star-struck by Erez's flashy lifestyle, which included a beautiful apartment in a trendy Amsterdam neighbourhood near a casino and the city's notorious red-light district.
Erez was a legitimate entrepreneur as well as a drug importer. He owned a yogurt parlour in Israel and a Manhattan jean shop. But his greatest profits came from his Ecstasy ring, which he established after working for the late Ecstasy kingpin Oded Tuito. While working for Tuito, Erez was caught with 100 pills and jailed for two months in 1998. Tuito, who died at 42 of a heart attack in 2004 while in prison awaiting trial for charges of selling his signature "Tweedy Bird" tablets, used strippers as his drug mules and paid them $10,000 to $20,000 for each time they transported drugs. "In jail, that's where Erez hatched the idea of using the most unlikely of couriers, Hasidic Jews, instead of strippers as Tuito did. And Erez only paid these teens dying to see the world -- night clubs -- a fraction of what Tuito was paying the stripper-mules," said a Drug Enforcement Ad -ministration source, who was a key investigator on the case but now works undercover. Erez paid Shimon Levita, now 27, $200 for each Hasidic Jew he recruited as a courier. The couriers received up to $2,000 for each trip, some carrying the pills inside athletic socks or false-bottomed suitcases, said the source. Erez was arrested for the massive Esctasy operation in Amsterdam in 1999. Another of Erez's recruiters, Simcha Roth, now 27, said during Erez's sentencing hearing that he couldn't explain his actions.
"Sean Erez made everything seem so easy. I was living in a fantasy world," Roth told the court. The free-wheeling world of easy money and travel came crashing down on Erez as his couriers were picked off by DEA agents and police. Eighteen of Erez's underlings pleaded guilty. Erez was eventually ordered imprisoned for 15 years in New York in 2001 after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy. But the sentence was slashed to 10 years -- the Canadian maximum -- when he was transferred to the Canadian prison system in June 2005. Two months later he was paroled. Eleven months after he was paroled, Erez was shot three times at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel by bandits looking to rob either him or co-accused dealer, Evgene "Andy" Starchik of 4.5 kilos of cocaine in a gym bag, according to the Crown.

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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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