Pasadena Denver Lane set of the Bloods gang 30 people rounded up as part of a racketeering indictment targeting Maryland and California leadership

Frank Williams, 25, also known as Lee Kelly, was one of more than 30 people rounded up as part of a racketeering indictment targeting Maryland and California leadership of the Pasadena Denver Lane set of the Bloods gang.Court papers from that indictment allege that the gang's members are responsible for a host of violent incidents, and Baltimore police announced Tuesday that they have placed a detainer on Williams linking him to the Sept. 3, 2008, shooting of 26-year-old Tyrone Bowie.Federal court papers indicate that Bloods leadership in California had become dissatisfied with him and ordered other members to harm him. In turn, he came up with his own revenge plot against a Maryland leader of the gang, records show.In February, law enforcement listening on a wiretap heard Emiliano Aguas, the Baltimore leader of the PDL Bloods, discussing his desire to demote Williams and assume control of people under his command.On April 29, California PDL leader James McCuin ordered Williams to "physically discipline" another member, according to court records. That same day, records show, McCuin got on a speaker phone and ordered multiple members to beat Williams for taking too long to carry out his orders. Federal prosecutors say Williams was attacked that day.After that incident, authorities say they listened as Williams recruited an unknown man to retaliate against Aguas. He instructed the man not to shoot through the door but to "get up close and personal," court records show
Baltimore police say Williams was one of two men who shot and killed Bowie as he stood outside a liquor store in the 2100 block of Ashland Ave. in East Baltimore. Bowie was shot in the back of the head and died at an area hospital the next day.
Williams, as Lee Kelly, was also charged in 2007 with first-degree murder, but was found not guilty of all charges by a jury in March 2008, according to court records. He also received probation before judgment on two separate drug distribution cases in 2004.

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Salvador Perez leader of a Mexican Mafia prison gang has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in San Diego federal court.

leader of a Mexican Mafia prison gang has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in San Diego federal court. Prosecutors say 31-year-old Salvador Perez was sentenced Friday in District Court, after pleading guilty two years ago to racketeering conspiracy charges. The charges followed a lengthy investigation of San Diego street gangs with ties to the Mexican Mafia. Perez is the last of 35 defendants to be sentenced after that probe. In October 2007, Perez admitted participating in the June 2002 murder of inmate Jabila Barragan in Susanville.
U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt says Perez also acknowledged that the Mexican Mafia engages in murder, attempted murder, drug sales, robbery and money laundering.

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Parinder Singh Adiwal was sprayed with gunfire in the underground parking lot of his Burnaby high-rise

Parinder Singh Adiwal was sprayed with gunfire in the underground parking lot of his Burnaby high-rise about 10 p.m. Tuesday.RCMP Cpl. Alexandra Mulvihill said the shooting “appears to be a targeted hit and has all the earmarks of being gang-related.”“Investigators will spend today continuing to speak with witnesses and to start to piece together the information they have,” she said. “It is the Burnaby RCMP's intention to be as factual and accurate as possible with the information we release. For this reason, aside from what has already been released, there will no further updates on this file until late this afternoon.”Several Vancouver police and Burnaby RCMP cars were outside the hospital throughout Wednesday morning. Officers could be seen coming and going to the hospital, as well as friends and relatives of Adiwal.Adiwal and his twin brother Mike have held leadership roles in the Independent Soldiers gang. And they have also been associated over the last year to Barzan Tilli-Choli, the de facto leader of the United Nations gang now in jail charged with conspiracy to kill Abbotsford’s Bacon brothers.Another close associate of the Adiwal twins has been Sandip Singh Duhre, who was identified last Friday as the target of a foiled murder-for-hire plot.Just in March Peter Adiwal told a Port Coquitlam judge that he was forced to hold drugs while inside the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre while serving a kidnapping sentence.He pleaded guilty to a single count of cocaine trafficking and got a nine-month conditional sentence.
Correctional officers found seven grams of heroin, 0.5 grams of cocaine, 129 grams of marijuana, two tablets of ecstacy and various steroids hidden throughout Parminder Adiwal's cell, including in Kraft Dinner boxes and other food packages, on July 11, 2006.Adiwal told the guards he was only holding the drugs for another inmate and wasn't selling them himself.Adiwal's lawyer Peter Wilson told the court that his client had no choice because “it's a different world in jail. I was asked in circumstances where I couldn't really say no and he just happened to be kind of holding the ball at the time when the items were discovered,” Wilson said. "He just happened to have it in his possession at the time when it was discovered by authorities."Both Adiwal twins pleaded guilty in October 2005 to a brutal drug-related kidnapping in which the victim was rescued by police who had been clandestinely following the twins in another multiple-murder investigation.

Peter Adiwal told the kidnapping victim that he would kill him and dump his body in Richmond near the spot where two of the man's friends had been found bound and shot in 2001

Sukhjit Singh Basi, who was grabbed late on the evening of Feb. 12, 2003, begged his captors for a glass of water after he had already been bound and beaten over several hours.The twins were among the subjects of a multi-million dollar investigation by the former Indo-Canadian Gang Task Force that involved months of wiretap and surveillance designed to collect evidence in a series of unsolved slayings.But the investigation ended prematurely and dramatically when police overheard Basi's moans and cries and broke down the Burnaby apartment door to rescue him.
Court was told that Peter Adiwal was particularly brutal with Basi, hitting him several times, binding his arms and repeatedly threatening to kill him.
In a Feb. 11, 2003 conversation captured on a listening device police had planted in the apartment, Peter Adiwal blamed Basi for stealing 68 kilograms of marijuana from a friend and then pointing the finger at Adiwal.Adiwal is heard on the wiretap saying 'kick him in the throat' and when Basi starts weeping, Adiwal said 'he's breaking. I told you guys. I told you he'd start crying, didn't I?"

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Los Angeles Police detectives are investigating a gang drive-by shooting that claimed the life of 18-year-old Christopher Herrera

Los Angeles Police detectives are investigating a gang drive-by shooting that claimed the life of 18-year-old Christopher Herrera and wounded another.On Saturday, May 23, 2009, at around 2:50 a.m., Christopher Herrera and his friend, a 16-year-old girl, were walking in the 700 block of South Normandie Avenue in Koreatown when they were approached by an unknown vehicle. Multiple shots were fired at them, striking both of them. The suspects were only described as male Hispanics who drove away after the shooting. Herrera died from his injuries and his friend underwent surgery and is listed in stable condition at a local hospital.The motive for the shooting is gang-related.

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Chief suspect for Ireland's biggest ever tiger raid has left the country

Chief suspect for Ireland's biggest ever tiger raid has left the country but his €5.8m haul remains untouched.Gardai now believe that the man, in his late 30s and from Dublin's north inner city, is hiding out in Britain, and have liaised with UK police in efforts to trace his whereabouts.He emerged at the chief suspect for the College Green robbery in the 48 hours after the crime, when suspects for the raid were observed entering the home of the man's sister on Dublin's northside.Detectives believe that the man planned the robbery with the assistance of a family-based north inner city crime gang, who are themselves related to a well-known armed robber.
The mastermind has been involved in armed robbery for the past 20 years, and first came to garda attention following a number of raids in Munster in the 1990s. He is regarded by officers as volatile when confronted but otherwise calm in the planning of his crimes.He has a number of previous convictions and his immediate family have also been involved in crime in the past. A close relative shot and injured a man during a raid.According to garda intelligence sources, neither the man, nor the other members of the College Green gang, have attempted to move the haul of cash which they are suspected of stashing in the hours after the raid on February 27 last. The robbery, which was Ireland's biggest ever haul from a tiger raid, was pulled off when bank worker Shane Travers was forced to take cash from a vault at the Bank of Ireland, College Green, hours after his girlfriend and two members of her family were held up at their Co Kildare home.No one was injured in the raid, which ended when Mr Travers dropped off the cash at a designated point in Clontarf. The raiders are believed to have moved the cash to an as-yet-unknown location on the city's northside immediately afterwards.Some of the money was then moved, and €1.8m of the cash was later recovered.Gardai suspect that the money was taken to a location in north Dublin, and is likely to have remained there ever since. A number of individuals suspected of involvement in the robbery have been placed under heavy surveillance since the incident and have "laid low" as a result, sources say.

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Dirty White Boys prison gang ,William Harigan Rambo III wife is 39-year-old Grace Kopacz. She is a law partner with Mokaram Freeman Kopacz.

Investigators say while working undercover, they bought the drug ecstasy from Rambo. He then allegedly told them about his wife and how they were able to hide drug money. Police say that is when they began to investigate. Rambo’s wife is 39-year-old Grace Kopacz. She is a law partner with Mokaram Freeman & Kopacz. Their offices are located in the Galleria area, where on Friday afternoon, police came and arrested Kopacz. Kopacz and her husband have been charged with money laundering and are scheduled to appear before a judge in the Harris County Criminal Justice Center this week. Kopacz has also been charged with insurance fraud. The DEA says she recently filed an insurance claim stating that one of her vehicles had been stolen, but she allegedly had arranged for her vehicle to disappear. We don’t know how Kopacz originally met her husband, but he has been in trouble with the law before.
The DEA says he is a member of the Dirty White Boys prison gang, a group that associates itself with the Aryan Brotherhood.

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Finks bikies will soon be subject to control orders after the first use of South Australia's controversial anti-bikie laws

An unnamed Finks bikie has become the first person to have a control order enforced by the courts under SA's anti-bikie laws, introduced last year.Finks bikies will soon be subject to control orders after the first use of South Australia's controversial anti-bikie laws, SA Premier Mike Rann says.Police successfully applied for the order in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, preventing the man from associating or communicating with other Finks members.The man faces a five-year jail term if he breaches the order, which also bans him from possessing certain items and from entering the club headquarters.The bikie has 14 days to lodge an appeal against the order, which Mr Rann says is the first of many to be sought for Finks members.
"That process has started and I think there will be a lot more to come," he told reporters on Tuesday.The Finks motorcycle club was the first group to be declared a criminal organisation under the SA laws, now being considered interstate.Bikie gangs have vowed to fight the laws in the High Court, but the SA government maintains the legislation will pass any legal scrutiny.Police Minister Michael Wright said on Tuesday control orders aimed to break up associations of the gangs."These gangs are often made up of dangerous offenders who are heavily involved in the manufacture and sale of drugs, murder, extortion and intimidation," Mr Wright said

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Elvin Payton, 26, and Beatrice Rosado, 24, both of the 700 block of North Avers Avenue, are both charged with first-degree murder

Elvin Payton, 26, and Beatrice Rosado, 24, both of the 700 block of North Avers Avenue, are both charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Michael Norton, 55, of unincorporated DuPage County near Glen Ellyn. Rosado also faces an unrelated battery charge.Cook County Criminal Court Judge Adam Bourgeois today ordered them both held without bond. Norton was killed on May 14 around 7 p.m. at his store in the 4700 block of West North Avenue, according to police.The corner store uses an address of 1555 N. Cicero Ave.Although police said that the slaying was related to a robbery of the store, residents of the building and neighbors had said Norton was threatened by gangbangers after he evicted a woman from the building, which he owned, about two weeks before his slaying.Today, Asst. State’s Atty. Joy Tolbert Nelson said Rosado, who apparently had the lease on the apartment, was evicted two weeks before the slaying, along with Payton, who lived with her.Payton is an admitted member of the Latin Styler street gang, according to court records.
A witness saw Payton and another man enter the store, lock the door and later leave, Tolbert Nelson said. As the two left, they removed masks that covered their faces and Rosado was seen at a van in the area about the time of the slaying, Tolbert Nelson said.Police officers responding to a robbery call found Norton, with his hands and feet bound, face down on floor, shot once in the back of the head.
The two were arrested after a police radio band alert saying they were wanted in connection with the slaying. After their arrest, both were identified in lineups and gave statements, Tolbert Nelson said. Payton admitted to participating in the robbery and shooting of Norton and Rosado admitted to being involved in the slaying, Tolbert Nelson said.Defense attorneys provided no employment information on Payton but said he stayed home and watched a child the couple had had together and Rosado’s three older children.Payton appeared in court in a red hoodie, and Rosado wore a black-and-white striped jacket.Daisy Rodriguez, Rosado’s mother, said her daughter was “terrified” of Payton. “He made her do this,” she said.Her family said Rosado and Payton had been together for about two years.

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Three dots,tres puntos in Spanish represented: the three words Mi Vida Loca. My Crazy Life.

Three dots,tres puntos in Spanish represented: the three words Mi Vida Loca. My Crazy Life.The tattoo is often seen on the hands of members of MS-13, the gang known internationally as La Mara Salvatrucha.The police gang unit began to log its contacts with the man, Jose Adolfo Aldana-Ramirez, an immigrant from El Salvador. Officers noted his clothing and his companions, some of whom were MS-13 members alreadydocumented by the unit.This month, Aldana-Ramirez pleaded guilty to participating in a criminal gang, a charge that state lawmakers enacted 10 years ago to crack down on gang crimes.Since then, the charge has been used in 116 felony cases in Franklin County, including 25 times against juveniles, a review of court records shows.Though not used frequently, the law has helped lock up some of the 1,000 or so gang members in Columbus, police and prosecutors say. It carries a sentence of up to eight years in prison.''That's a pretty big hammer to hit somebody with,'' said James Sandford, a Columbus police detective who specializes in the MS-13 gang.Defense attorneys, on the other hand, say the law is vague and prejudicial.The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio thinks that it unfairly skews enforcement toward urban areas, education director Shakyra Diaz said. The risk for guilt by association is great and could land innocent people on watch lists, she said.
To establish a person as an active gang member, police use criteria such as dress, hangouts, associates and the person's own admissions.''It starts out as something that simple,'' Sgt. Chantay Boxill of the Columbus police gang unit said of Aldana-Ramirez's tattoos. After Boxill's unit began keeping track of him, police obtained a threatening voice-mail message that Aldana-Ramirez had left for a rival: ''You'll realize the Salvatruchas. No one laughs at the MS-13.''When Aldana-Ramirez was caught with a loaded .38 under his driver's seat in August, the gang unit also charged him with participating in a criminal gang.Ramirez pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and the gang charge on May 13 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court and was sent to prison for four years. When he is released, he will be deported.Though Aldana-Ramirez pleaded guilty, he got his dot tattoos at age 15 and denies being a member of MS-13 today, his attorney, Joseph L. Mas, said.
Mas also questioned whether the gang law is constitutional.''We usually find a police officer or a task force that studies a community and then brings charges,'' he said. ''Then, they act as their own witnesses to support the existence of a gang. . . . I don't think the appeals courts have had an ample opportunity to study the matter.''Both the Franklin County Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court have upheld gang statutes. At least 18 states have anti-gang laws.''It's been helpful,'' Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said. ''But often we face a situation where we know he's a gang member, he knows he's a gang member, and the police know he's a gang member, but we can't prove it in a court of law.''
Usually, he said, gang members are tied to other crimes so prosecutors don't need to rely on just the gang charge to obtain a conviction.In 2002, Ohio added the so-called gang specification, in which more prison time can be imposed by a judge for any felony if the offender commits that crime while participating in a criminal gang.

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67-year-old Rosario Gambino arrived at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport on a flight from Miami.

67-year-old Rosario Gambino arrived at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport on a flight from Miami. Wearing a gray jumpsuit and looking frail he sat in a wheelchair as he was escorted out by police officers.Gambino, an Italian-born New Jersey resident, was considered a top mobster in the New York-based crime family led by his late cousin Carlo Gambino.In 1984 he was convicted in a multi-million-dollar conspiracy to sell heroin in southern New Jersey and sentenced to 45 years in jail.Gambino was linked to the "Pizza Connection" probe, which broke a $1.6 billion heroin and cocaine smuggling operation that used pizzerias as fronts from 1975 to 1984.He was released in 2007 and transferred to an immigrant detention center in California to await expulsion, Italian police said in a statement. It was not immediately clear why the sentence had been reduced.Gambino has been wanted in Italy since 1980 on separate drug and Mafia-connected charges, and he is expected to face trial. Calls to a lawyer representing him in Italy were not answered Saturday afternoon.
Before being transferred to a Rome jail, Gambino was served the original 1980 arrest warrant signed by Giovanni Falcone, one of Italy's top anti-Mafia prosecutors.
Falcone was killed by the Sicilian mob in a 1992 bomb attack, and Gambino's return coincided with the anniversary of the murder, which was being commemorated across Italy. Salvatore "Toto" Riina, then the Mafia's boss of bosses, was arrested in 1993 and later convicted with others of plotting the hit.

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Andre D. Trott a high-ranking member of the Bloods street gang, but have declined to say whether the killing was gang-related

Cadre Williams, 31, of Georgia, hung himself with a sheet in a high-security cell in the jail.Cicchi said Williams was found by jail staff in his one-man, locked cell, but declined to release further details, saying the investigation is continuing.Earlier authorities called his death an apparent suicide and gave no details.Cicchi said Williams showed no signs of being troubled when a psychologist did a face-to-face interview with him a day earlier."He presented no suicidal ideations during the interview," Cicchi said.Cicchi said the investigation has shown there were no violations of the jail's procedures when Williams was dealt with.
Security in William's unit, known as C-Pod, is the highest at the jail.Williams, who had an extensive criminal record in Georgia, was charged May 8 with killing Shakir McCray, 31, of Roselle. McCray was shot several times the morning before outside the Hearthwood development on Boice Drive in North Brunswick.Authorities said Williams confessed to the murder after being captured in Edison not long after the slaying occurred. He faced life behind bars without the possibility of parole if convicted.
Another man charged in the murder, Andre D. Trott, 29, of Bermuda, remains in the correction center in lieu of $1.5 million bail.Prosecutors called Trott a high-ranking member of the Bloods street gang, but have declined to say whether the killing was gang-related. They have not released a motive.

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Cortez Brown “killing machine,” sentenced the admitted Gangster Disciple to death.

Cortez Brown “killing machine,” sentenced the admitted Gangster Disciple to death.

On Friday, a different judge in the same courthouse — citing “staggering” and “damning” new evidence — overturned Brown’s murder conviction and ordered a new trial.

Cheers erupted in the courtroom, and Brown clenched his fists as Judge Clayton Crane sided with Brown’s attorneys, who said their client confessed to murder in 1990 only after being beaten by detectives working under former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge.In making his ruling, Crane said he was at a disadvantage because all three of the detectives who originally interrogated Brown took the stand this week, only to invoke their Fifth Amendment right not to testify.“My advantage is I have some additional evidence as to the behavior of some, if not all, of the detectives in this case,” Crane said. “That evidence is staggering. That evidence is damning.”Crane did not cite specific evidence and declined to elaborate after his ruling. Brown’s attorneys referred to “massive, massive documentation that these particular detectives were corrupt.”“This is a wonderful victory, not only for [Brown], but for the entire human rights movement and the entire movement against police torture in this city,” said Flint Taylor, one of Brown’s attorneys.
Victoria Safforld, Brown’s 18-year-old daughter, said, “I’m just real happy because I ain’t never had the chance to be with my father. ... I stay with a positive attitude because my daddy always stays with a positive attitude.”It was unclear Friday if Brown will be retried. He remains in the Cook County Jail. Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office is handling several cases that include allegations of police brutality overseen by Burge.“Our goal all along has been, and continues to be, to ensure that justice is served by carefully reviewing the merits of each of these [Burge-related] cases,” said Robyn Ziegler, a Madigan spokeswoman. Ziegler said Madigan’s office has not yet made a decision about the next step in the Brown case.Brown says he is innocent. He contends detectives beat him with their fists and a metal flashlight, forcing him to confess to the 1990 gang-related murders of Delvin Botler and Curtis Sims. Brown was initially sentenced to 35 years for Botler’s murder.He was later convicted and sentenced in 1992 to death for Sims’ murder.Former Gov. George Ryan commuted Brown’s death sentence to life in prison.
During this week’s hearing, prosecutors told Crane that if Brown was truly beaten, he would have had marks on his body and he would have reported the abuse much earlier. Prosecutors described Brown as an admitted gang banger who can’t keep his stories straight.On Friday, Crane said Brown — who testified about the alleged abuse this week — was “not a good witness,” and said he has changed his stories about how he was allegedly beaten.But Crane also said he paid particular attention to the fact that none of the detectives who interrogated Brown would answer questions on the witness stand.

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Latino street gang has waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from a Southern California city through attempted murders and other crimes.

"(Varrio Hawaiian Gardens) gang members take pride in their racism and often refer to the VHG Gang as the 'Hate Gang,'" the main indictment states. "VHG gang members have expressed a desire to rid the city of Hawaiian Gardens of all African-Americans and have engaged in a systematic effort to achieve that result by perpetrating crimes against African-Americans."Latino street gang has waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from a Southern California city through attempted murders and other crimes.
Five indictments charged a total of 147 members and associates of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang, and federal and local agencies arrested 63 of them by early Thursday, U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien told a press conference.O'Brien asserted it was "the largest gang takedown in United States history," but he did not immediately elaborate. The indictments detail attempted murder, kidnapping, firearms, narcotics and other charges related to attacks by the gang, which primarily operates in Hawaiian Gardens, a city of about 15,000 people in southeastern Los Angeles County. The indictment alleges a string of attacks on black residents, including a shooting into a home with eight people inside. The indictment does not say if anyone was hit. In another instance, two gang members allegedly chased a black man, yelled a racist epithet at him and then beat him with a garden rake. The same man was later repeatedly stabbed by two gang members, according to the indictment, which charges them with his attempted murder. In the 2000 Census, the latest data available, Hawaiian Gardens was roughly 73 percent Hispanic and 4 percent black. The city was incorporated in 1964 and, according to local lore, was named after a bamboo snack shack built in 1927. The indictments mark at least the second time in less than two years that federal authorities have alleged that Latino gang members in Southern California attacked black residents because of their race. In 2007, agents arrested dozens of members of the Florencia 13 gang in South Los Angeles and said the gang had, in some instances, killed black people purely because of the color of their skin. The extent to which race is driving the area's gang conflicts last year sparked an argument between the region's two top cops, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton. Baca said racial bias was a significant factor in gang crime while Bratton, pointing to statistics showing cross-racial crime to be rare, downplayed any tension.
The investigation of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang has been under way for almost four years since the June 2005 murder of Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Luis Gerardo "Jerry" Ortiz. Jose Luis Orozco, a member of the gang, was sentenced to death in 2007 for the killing. Ortiz, 35, died as he searched for Orozco, who had shot and wounded a man while he did yard work. Orozco was later found guilty of attempted murder in that case. "Following the murder of Deputy Ortiz, the Sheriff's Department sought federal and local assistance to help destroy the Hawaiian Gardens gang," the U.S. attorney said. Florencia 13 and Varrio Hawaiian Gardens aren't the only Latino gangs linked to racial attacks. In 2007, four members of The Avenues, a gang from the Highland Park area northeast of downtown Los Angeles, were convicted of hate crimes for killing a black man in what prosecutors called a campaign to drive blacks from that neighborhood. Authorities have also announced a crackdown on the 204th Street gang following the killing of a 14-year-old black girl. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, an author and racial commentator, said racial bias among gang members is high in transitioning neighborhoods where black residents are moving out and Latinos are moving in. "There is a deep-seated animosity between some Latino gangs and African-Americans," he said. "There is no way around it, it is driven by racial animus."

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Jorge Andrade faces a sentence of life in prison after being found guilty Wednesday of murder

Jorge Andrade faces a sentence of life in prison after being found guilty Wednesday of murder and committing a felony while an active participant in a street gang.
Prosecutors say the 25-year-old Andrade and two fellow gang members kidnapped, then fatally shot 16-year-old Innocente Barrera in August 2004. They say Andrade then ordered that Barrera be left in a car and the vehicle set afire. The two alleged accomplices are awaiting trial.

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Atkinson and Mitchell both members of the Indian Posse street gang believed rival gang members were selling drugs out of the Mountain Avenue house

A judge has sentenced 28-year-old Riel Mitchell to eight years in prison for the arson death of 14-year-old Nathan Starr. Mitchell, who was originally charged with second-degree murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last week in the midst of his preliminary hearing. Starr died of smoke inhalation after the Mountain Avenue home he was staying in was set on fire Dec. 4, 2007. A second accused, 17-year-old Dylan Atkinson, pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this year and was sentenced as an adult to seven years in prison. Mitchell claimed -- and the Crown was in no position to disprove -- that he accompanied Atkinson and another male to the home with the intention of confronting or assaulting a man Atkinson said had previously beaten him. Defence lawyer Zaheel Zaman told court Mitchell was intoxicated and "couldn't rule out whether there was a discussion as to an arson happening." "The tragedy cannot be measured here," said Judge Wanda Garreck. "This was a crime fuelled by anger and retaliation ... without care for who was home at the time." Mitchell was given double credit of 35 months for time served, reducing his remaining sentence to 61 months. The sentence was a joint recommendation of the Crown and defence. Crown attorney Brent Davidson told court at an earlier hearing the case against Mitchell was weak and circumstantial and that Mitchell stood a good chance of being acquitted had the matter gone to trial. Atkinson and Mitchell -- both members of the Indian Posse street gang -- believed rival gang members were selling drugs out of the Mountain Avenue house and decided "some sort of message had to be sent," Davidson said. Gasoline was poured on the front porch and set on fire at about 1:30 a.m. Police patrolling the area saw two males running from the home which was quickly engulfed in flames. The fire blocked the only regular exit from the house as the back door was fortified from the inside. Rather than run after the suspects, the officers remained at the house, helping six adults and four children escape through a window. Starr, a visitor to the home, was found lying on a bed in an upstairs bedroom. Paramedics rushed him to Health Sciences Centre, where he was pronounced dead. "Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Mitchell were callous in their disregard for anyone in that house, not just Mr. Starr," Davidson said. "Because the Indian Posse street gang simply wanted to send a message, Nathan Starr is no longer alive."

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Italian police on Thursday seized millions of counterfeit dollars, an arsenal of weapons and a fake police uniform from a top Cosa Nostra family

Italian police on Thursday seized millions of counterfeit dollars, an arsenal of weapons and a fake police uniform from a top Cosa Nostra family.
They said the operation indicated the clan was gearing up for a war for control of organised crime in the Sicilian capital.Two sawn-off shotguns, a pump-action shotgun, a .357 magnum revolver and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found stashed inside walls in two Palermo homes.
The ten million of fake dollar bills are believed to have been stockpiled by late boss Gaetano Lo Presti to fund a looming war, police said.There have been several recent sweeps that have provided evidence of moves to claim the Palermo throne from the jailed dons once commanded by ex-boss of bosses Bernardo Provenzano.Provenzano was arrested three years ago after 43 years in hiding.
Cosa Nostra is not thought to have elected a supreme boss to replace him but the Palermo post is up for grabs, police say.Thursday's operation was hailed by Anti-Mafia Commission member Carlo Vizzini who said it showed evidence of links with Cosa Nostra in the United States but also ''signs of desperation''.''We want to see poor Mafiosi on the outside and the others in jail under the new toughened high-security regime,'' he said.The former head of the parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission, Giuseppe Lumia, also praised the police for an ''excellent'' operation.But Lumia, a member of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, urged the government to crack down harder by making it compulsory for businesses to report Mafia attempts to obtain 'protection' money.He also said police should be able to key into Mafia bosses' bank accounts and other asset records as envisaged by a new European Union directive which Italy has yet to incorporate into law.

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Arrested 15 members of the Merced Gangster Crips on charges of conspiracy, drug-trafficking, and weapons sales.

Arrested;
- Randy Tyler, 23, of Merced, a suspected leader of the gang,
- Frederick Mays, 21, of Merced also a suspected leader of the gang,
- Lamont Lavell Andres, 35, of Merced;
- Michael Buddy Barret, Jr., 31, of Atwater;
- Eric Devon Beavers, 23, of Merced;
- Antoine Lee Briggs, 27, of Merced;
- Jaray Julius Jaso, 30, of Merced;
- Sudi Dumaka Johnson, 23, of Modesto;
- Jose Ascencio Magana, 24, of Merced
- Patrick McMurray, 22, of Merced
- Lutricia Marie Moore, 23, of Atwater
- Damien Ricardo Perry, 26, of Merced
- Denicio Taylor Ramos, 22, of Merced
- Mckinley Jabree Sims III, 32, of Merced
- Lester Archie Turner, 24, of Merced; and
- Alejandro Joseph Zavala, 28, of Turlock.Arrested 15 members of the Merced Gangster Crips on charges of conspiracy, drug-trafficking, and weapons sales. "For too long, the notorious and violent Merced Gangster Crips have terrorized Merced with their extreme violence, street drugs and powerful weaponry," Brown said. "A member of this gang brutally killed Merced police officer Stephan Gray in a spasm of violence five years ago. Today, we strike a blow against this vicious street gang and help reclaim the streets of Merced."In January, Brown's office initiated a multi-agency investigation into the gang's criminal activity. Posing as a drug dealer, an undercover officer with the San Pablo Police Department was able to gain the confidence of the gang members and was able to obtain nearly a pound of rock cocaine, over 400 ecstasy pills, half a pound of marijuana and three handguns.The five-month investigation concluded with the Merced County grand jury returning a 31-count indictment against 15 members of the Merced Gangster Crips that charged conspiracy, sale of controlled substances - primarily rock cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana - weapons sales, and criminal street gang enhancements.During the investigation, agents seized 11 1/2 ounces of rock cocaine, seven ounces of marijuana, 448 ecstasy pills, and six loaded handguns.In April 2004, Merced Gangster Crips gang member Cuitliachuac (Toa) Rivera killed Merced Police Officer Stephan Gray during a routine traffic stop. Rivera was later convicted of the murder and received a death sentence."Having prosecuted the MGC gangster who murdered Merced Police Officer Stephan Gray, I know how dangerous this street gang can be. No one, not even members of law enforcement, is immune. This joint investigation has removed some very ruthless individuals from our streets," said Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse.Agencies involved in today's arrests include: the Attorney General's Office Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement Gang Suppression Enforcement Team, the Merced Police Department, Merced Multi-Agency Gang Task Force, Merced Multi-Agency Narcotics Task Force, Madera County Narcotics Enforcement Team, Madera Gang Enforcement Team, West Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration, and agents from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

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Kenneth Lavon Jones, 34, is charged with possession of a firearm

Kenneth Lavon Jones, 34, is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and a parole violation.
A gang intelligence unit with the Barrow County Sheriff's Office received a tip about Jones' alleged affiliation with the gangster disciples. Deputies set up surveillance and interview witnesses before a SWAT team moved in early Monday morning. Police found Jones in possession of a loaded .40 caliber pistol and marijuana, Sheriff's Office spokesman Investigator Matt Guthas said.
"Given the threat that criminal street gangs pose to the community, (the Sheriff's Office) has committed to rigorously pursuing gang members and gang-related activity," he said.Gwinnett police assisted by providing a narcotics-sniffing K-9 unit, Guthas said.

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Bobby Speirs sentenced at Manchester Crown Court .

Mr Justice Griffith Williams sentenced Bobby Speirs, 41,to serve a minimum term of 23 years in jail at Manchester Crown Court today.Bobby Speirs, 41, showed no reaction as he was convicted of his part in organising the bloody Brass Handles pub shootout in Salford three years ago. Speirs believed he had the 'perfect alibi' when he went to the game between Manchester United and Newcastle United at the time of the horrific shooting. He was watching the game from an executive box as he organised the 'hit' during half-time.He was using mobile phones to oversee a plot to send two gunmen to the pub and carry out a 'planned execution', according to the prosecution. The gunmen went into the pub and opened fire, wounding two victims in a volley of shots one Sunday afternoon in March 2006. But the 'hit' backfired as the would-be assassins were overpowered by other people in the pub. It is thought they were disarmed and shot dead with their own guns.
Speirs was instrumental in planning the operation and kept in touch with two others involved by mobile phone leading up to the shootings. Within days, Speirs fled to Spain but he was extradited several months later. Speirs, who at the time lived in Butterstile Avenue, Prestwich, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to murder but was unanimously found guilty after four hours of deliberations by the jury.
Two others, Ian McLeod, an infamous Manchester gang leader, and Constance Howarth, had already been convicted at an earlier hearing of roles in the murder plot.
The two would-be assassins, Richard Austin, 19, and Carlton Alveranga, 20, died after being shot in the chest. They had gone to the pub on the Langworthy Estate to kill but ended up losing their own lives. Among the customers in the Brass Handles at the time were David Totton and Aaron Travers, who were said to be the 'possible' targets. The gunmen went to the pub with McLeod while Howarth was inside acting as a 'spotter' to point out the victim or victims. Mr Totton and Mr Travers were seriously injured as shots were fired but survived. Some customers fought back and Austin and Alveranga were disarmed and shot during the botched assassination.
No-one has ever been brought to justice for the murders of Austin and Alveranga. Speirs was trapped by police thanks to so-called 'cell site analysis' which plotted the movements of mobile phones associated with the defendant and others involved in the plot. He was tracked down in Benidorm. Speirs will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday.

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Dilun Heng, 26, wanted on a Canada-wide warrant

Dilun Heng, 26, wanted on a Canada-wide warrant since being charged last Friday with plotting to kill the Bacon brothers of Abbotsford.Seven others also charged in the massive conspiracy case have already made their first court appearances and will be returning to Vancouver Provincial Court on June 9.On Tuesday, four other accused -- Ion (Johnny K-9) Kroitoru, Daniel Ronald Russell, Soroush Ansari and Yong Sung (John) Lee -- squished into the prisoners' box at Vancouver Provincial Court for their first appearance after the charge against them was laid Friday.Last month, two other UN members and one associate - Barzan Tilli-Choli, Karwan Ahmet Saed and Aram Ali - were also charged with plotting to kill Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon and their Red Scorpion associates.Prosecutor Ralph Keefer said he intended to proceed by direct indictment, meaning the case will move straight to B.C. Supreme Court, bypassing the preliminary inquiry process.Several plainclothes police officers sat in courtroom 101 Tuesday for the brief appearance. Four sheriffs crowded into the small prisoners’ box along with the four accused.Outside court, Ansari’s mother turned her back without saying a word when a Vancouver Sun reporter asked about the charges against her son.Another son, Sasan Ansari, was convicted of manslaughter last fall for stabbing his friend to death in the parking lot of a West Vancouver country club.Kroitoru’s spouse also refused to comment.“I’m not married,” she said in response to a Sun reporter’s question about her husband, a former professional wrestler and biker boss well-known to police in Ontario.But on a twitter page registered to a Tracy Kroitoru, a woman has posted several comments about being almost due with a baby daughter and references to her husband “ex-wrestler Johnny K-9.”“Pregnant, but wishing I could ride on the back on my man’s pro-one chopper,” Tracy Kroitoru wrote April 28.The murder conspiracy case is believed to be one of the largest in B.C. history with eight defendants charged on a single indictment.And the arrests of senior members of the notorious UN gang have been hailed by police as a major victory in their fight against gang violence.
And UN founder Clay Roueche may still be charged, both police and the Crown have said. He is so far listed in the case as an unindicted co-conspirator along with someone identified only as “Frankie.”The conspiracy is alleged to have unfolded between Jan. 1, 2008 and Feb. 17, 2009 in Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, as well as in Montreal.

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Dave Courtney Gangster, actor and author has been made bankrupt owing the HM Revenue & Customs, an estimated £250,000.

Dave Courtney Gangster, actor and author has been made bankrupt owing the HM Revenue & Customs, an estimated £250,000.The published author, whose books include Dodgy Dave’s Little Black Book and The Ride’s Back On is understood to owe an estimated £400,000 to creditors.It is believed the taxman called time on Courtney’s debts and applied for the insolvency order against him. It is believed the case could focus on the book rights that Courtney retains his main asset as a way of settling creditor’s debts.Courtney had a small part in the 1990 film The Krays, and supplied the security at Ronnie Kray’s funeral. He is also reported as being the inspiration behind the character played by Vinnie Jones in the Guy Richie movie Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.Papers lodged on the Individual Insolvency Register show that Louise Brittain, head of personal insolvency at Baker Tilley, has been appointed the bankruptcy trustee in Courtney’s case. The papers reveal he will not be discharged from bankruptcy automatically until 18 February 2010.Courtney’s registered address is a house in south east London, known as Camelot, decked out with union jacks and a large knuckle duster on the gate.

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Sivajodi Anantharaja, 41, organised the brutal retaliation after his cousin was injured by the 'East Side Boys' based in East Ham.

Sri Lankan gang master in Britain who led revenge attacks against two rivals that left one man dead and another disabled has been jailed for at least 24 years.
Sivajodi Anantharaja, 41, organised the brutal retaliation after his cousin was injured by the 'East Side Boys' based in East Ham.The first victim Mathiraj Mathiyaparanam, 24, was repeatedly slashed on the head and arm with a samurai sword in a shop in broad daylight.When he survived, the gang ambushed and killed Maheswaran Kaneshan, 26, in the street using an axe, swords and a cricket bat.
Anantharaja fled to Sri Lanka after the murder in January 2004 and returned to the UK last year. He was convicted of murder and attempted murder by an Old Bailey jury and jailed for life with a minimum of 24 years behind bars.His follower Sivaprakasam Rajeskanna, 34, was convicted of the murder and jailed for life with a minimum of 14 years behind bars.Fellow gang leader Sivaungham Sivakumar, a 35-year-old businessman known as 'The Master', is already serving a life sentence for his role in the same attacks

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Dilun Heng United Nations gang member, who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for conspiracy to commit murder, turned himself in

United Nations gang member, who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for conspiracy to commit murder, turned himself in to authorities Wednesday.Dilun Heng is charged with conspiring to kill Abbotsford's Bacon brothers and their associates in the Red Scorpions gang, according to a news release.Heng is the last person to be arrested after police announced the charges against eight UN gang members and their associates on Friday.Dilun Heng turned himself in to Vancouver Provincial Court Sheriffs. His surrender means Lower Mainland police have now arrested all five of the alleged gang members wanted on charges of plotting to kill the notorious Bacon brothers.
Heng was considered to be armed and dangerous. Police announced Friday that five additional United Nations gang members or associates now face charges of conspiracy to murder Jonathan, Jamie and Jarrod Bacon as well as their associates.Besides Heng, police named senior UN members Daniel Ronald Russell as well as members or associates Soroush Ansari, Yong Sung John Lee and John William Croitoru.
The four were located and arrested shortly after the announcement.New charges were also laid against three other alleged UN members already in jail – Barzan Tilli-Choli, Karwan Ahmet Saed and Aram Ali, who are accused of plotting to wipe out the Bacons.The new charges are related to the May 2008 killing of a car stereo installer who was driving a Bacon vehicle, police said.Jamie Bacon and other associates are in jail awaiting trial on murder charges in connection with the 2007 "Surrey Six" slayings.

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Rafael Alvarez, Wander Espinal, Danny Joel Rodriguez and Carlos Hilario, all born in the Dominican Republic, have been charged with murder

Manhattan District Federal prosecutor Robert Morgenthau yesterday announced the indictment of four Dominicans on five charges of murder carried out by hit men in the Dominican Republic, and whom for years trafficked drugs across borders using New York as their base. The official said Rafael Alvarez, Wander Espinal, Danny Joel Rodriguez and Carlos Hilario, all, said Morgenthau, born in the Dominican Republic, have been charged on 25 counts of murder, conspiracy, money laundering and conspiracy to distribute cocaine in New York. He said the accused hired several hit men to murder five Dominicans in Santiago (north) and San Francisco (northeast), to consolidate their criminal ties with drug traffickers and eliminate their rivals.
They were all living in the United States without legal documents, an Immigration official said in the press conference, adding that they are being held in local jails, but once they serve out their time, "papers will be given them but to be deported to their country and that is obviously going to take a few years."
If found guilty, Alvarez and Espinal face up to 20 years in prison and possible life imprisonment, whereas Rodriguez and Hilario could face 1 and 20 years in jail, respectively.

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Arrested Larry A. Pina, 17, of New Bedford over the weekend

Reputed Monte Park gang member is charged with being an accessory to a shooting earlier this month near New Bedford District Court and the Hastings Keith Federal Building, reports the Standard-Times.Police arrested Larry A. Pina, 17, of New Bedford over the weekend after witnesses said they saw him with two other suspects running from the scene.On May 1, witnesses reported hearing multiple gun shots in the downtown area. Three unoccupied cars were struck by bullets. Police found six shell casings. There were no reported injuries.Witnesses said they saw three black, teenage boys running from the scene. One of the suspects was described as having short hair and was seen walking into the McDonald’s on County Street.

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Vinh Truong is out on $25,000 bail.

Police arrested Truong on Wednesday, charging him in connection with a shooting in Sandstone on New Year's Eve 2007.In the incident, disguised gunmen walked up to a jeep and opened fire on two men who both survived.The Calgary Sun reports, one of the men who escaped injury in that attack was Matthew Chubak. Police had pegged him as an associate of the "Fresh off the Boat" gang.Chubak was killed in January. The charges against Truong come on the heels of four men accused of attempted murder after a shooting in Chinatown last November.purported gang member charged in connection with a New Year’s Eve 2007 shooting has been released on bail.Justice of the Peace Will Shiplett today agreed to free Vinh Truong pending trial on two attempted murder charges and an allegation of discharging a firearm with intent to endanger life.Shiplett agreed with defence lawyer Charlie Stewart to release Truong on a $25,000, non-cash bail, providing his parents post a surety to ensure his attendance in court.Crown prosecutor Brian Holtby opposed Truong’s release, arguing his detention was necessary for the protection, or safety of the general public.
Truong was arrested Wednesday and charged in connection with a Dec. 31, 2007, shooting in Sandstone, where disguised gunmen walked up to a Jeep and opened fire, riddling it with near two dozen bullets.One of the two men who escaped injury in the attack was Matthew Chubak — said to be an associate of the Fresh off the Boat gang — who was slain this past January.Chubak was also one of the targets of an alleged attempted murder last Nov. 16, in Chinatown, when four men in a car were shot at.
The other man who escaped injury in the Sandstone shooting is said to be a gang associate who was shot while with gangster Roger Chin at a Falconridge gas bar about two months later. In July 2008, 23-year-old Chin was gunned down in a deadly drive-by on Centre St. N.Although police have made many recent inroads in the fight against gangs — seizing drugs, firearms and ammunition as well as keeping tabs on them while they are in the community pending upcoming court charges — arrests for more serious crimes are relatively rare.The charges against Truong on the heels of four men being accused of attempted murder after a November 2008 shootout in Chinatown.That case is still before the courts.Truong returns to court on June 11, when Holtby is supposed to present Stewart with Crown disclosure

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Jon Croitoru, a 43-year-old former professional wrestler known as Johnny K-9, who also is allegedly linked to a double-murder

Eight men linked to the United Nations gang have been charged in Canada with plotting to kill members of a rival gang, officials said.The Vancouver Sun reported Saturday the men are accused of planning to kill brothers Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon of Abbotsford and other members in their Red Scorpion gang.The newspaper reported that five of the gang members were arrested Friday. Among them is Jon Croitoru, a 43-year-old former professional wrestler known as Johnny K-9, who also is allegedly linked to a double-murder and a police station bombing in Ontario.Authorities said U.N. gang founder Clay Roueche, who just pleaded guilty to trafficking charges in the United States, was also involved in the murder conspiracy, but has yet to be indicted.Prosecutor Ralph Keefer said there is evidence to charge Roueche."Before we decide whether it is in the public interest to proceed with a conspiracy charge against Clay Roueche, we want to await the outcome of his drug charges south of the border in Seattle," Keefer was quoted by the newspaper as saying

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Trial for the leading members and associates of the Aryan Warriors is scheduled to start Monday under heavy security.

Trial for the leading members and associates of the Aryan Warriors is scheduled to start Monday under heavy security.Federal authorities say members of a white supremacist prison gang are expected to disrupt the federal trial of six members and associates who face racketeering charges.A federal judge last week issued an order to allow prosecutors to keep the names and statements of 10 witnesses from the defense until just before they testify. Prosecutors say threats were made against some of the witnesses and the judge ruled that the gang is capable of carrying out the threats.Prosecutors have said the gang was responsible for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine and marijuana in Nevada prisons and in the cities of Las Vegas, Reno and Pahrump

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Barrio Azteca Members are said to have been bringing large amounts of cocaine and marijuana into the United States

Barrio Azteca Members are said to have been bringing large amounts of cocaine and marijuana into the United States, crossing it in from Ciudad Juarez. The only thing more surprising than their 3,000 members is the way the gang is organized. "They have structure, they have different ranks. They have different command levels. They have the people that give the orders, and then they have the people that carry out the orders" said Robert Almonte, Executive Director, Texas Narcotic Officers Association.

With titles, such as sergeant and lieutenant it was the arrest of the ring's alleged leader, Jaime Velasco-the so called boss-that may make the most impact in bringing an end to the gang. According to a federal court affidavit Velasco would cross shipments over the bridges, and supply the drugs to alleged distributors, Gualberto Marquez and Raul Cabral. The drugs would then allegedly be sent to lieutenant Jose Montes.

Like a well trained army, there is a unique form of communication used by those involved. In conversations intercepted by authorities the members used food to reference narcotics. In an conversation between supposed drug runner Michael Torres and Marquez, Torres said "I got seven onions from this guy... Ruben lent me seven onions... You want me to put one in the oven?" Marquez's reply according to the document is "put one in the oven, just one." investigators translate that to seven ounces of cocaine, and put one in the oven refers to making crack cocaine. "the hold up because you're going on the experience of the law enforcement officers that are monitoring these conversations, and that's not all you have, they have other evidence that's going to come out in court that's going to coroberate the testimony from the law enforcement experts" said Almonte.The experts say the drugs don't say in town long. According to this investigation, the drugs would enter from Juarez into El Paso, then be transferred to midland more than 300 miles away. From their they would be distributed to other us cities. "There is a potential for violence, so that's something else this investigation did. It removed the potential for violence, by removing this drug trafficking organization from the streets of El Paso" said Almonte. Federal officials are still looking for Michael Torres. Those already arrested are scheduled to make their first federal court appearance Monday morning.

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Three people associated with the Latin Kings pleaded guilty in Lubbock federal court.

Three people associated with the Latin Kings pleaded guilty in Lubbock federal court. Cecily Dominique Juarez admits to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. She faces up to life in prison. Eliseo Perez also pleads guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. He faces as much as life in prison. And Hiluterio Chavez admits to being a felon in possession of firearms. Chavez had a small arsenal, 14 handguns, some of which were stolen. Court records say it was his job to collect and distribute firearms to other gang members. He faces up to 25 years in prison. All three will be sentenced at a later date.

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