SPANISH AUTHORITIES are seeking to extradite a Dublin man, Freddy Thompson, who they allege is a member of a international criminal gang involved in trafficking drugs and weapons. Mr Thompson (30), with an address at Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, was arrested by gardaí at that address yesterday afternoon on foot of a European extradition warrant issued by the authorities in Malaga, Spain in September 2010 and then brought before the High Court. The court heard the Spanish authorities are seeking his extradition on grounds alleging Mr Thompson is a member of a criminal organisation whose members include Irish, British and Spanish nationals. The warrant further claims Frederick James Thompson, said to have moved to Spain in 2008, is a member of an organisation alleged to have laundered the proceeds of illegal drugs and weapons trafficking through a complex network of companies. It is claimed Mr Thompson’s role was to secure weapons for the organisation and that he acted as a bodyguard and a chauffeur for the gang, based on Spain’s Costa Del Sol. The Spanish authorities also allege Mr Thompson is an associate of and has worked for other known criminals, some of whom were described as good friends of his. It is also claimed in the warrant that ongoing surveillance of Mr Thompson conducted by police in a number of countries revealed that on dates between 2008 and 2010 he travelled to locations including Morocco and Amsterdam. It is claimed he travelled either in the company of or to meet gang members or other criminals, and the trips were to organise criminal activity including the shipment of drugs. It is further claimed Mr Thompson has no movable or immovable assets, such as property, in Spain, and no legitimate means to support his lifestyle. Yesterday, Sgt Sean Fallon of the Garda extradition unit told the court Mr Thompson was arrested shortly before 3pm at Loreto Road. Sgt Fallon said when the charges contained in the warrant were read and a copy of the warrant was handed to Mr Thompson, he replied: “I can’t read, I am not taking that.” Mr Thompson was then taken to Kevin Street Garda station. Mr Justice Michael Peart said he was satisfied the individual before the court was the person sought in the warrant. He told Mr Thompson he had a right to professional legal advice as well as the right to consent to surrender at any time during the extradition process to the Spanish authorities. While no application for bail was made yesterday, Mr Thompson’s lawyers indicated one would be made in the future. The State indicated it would object to any such application. Mr Thompson’s lawyers told the court they would be applying for legal aid under the Attorney General’s scheme. Mr Thompson was remanded in custody by Mr Justice Peart to next Wednesday’s sitting of the High Court.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Friday, 14 October 2011
British man arrested with contraband tobacco in Cádiz
Guardia Civil has arrested a British man on the quay at Cádiz port after 5,800 cartons of contraband tobacco from the canaries were found in a false bottom of the van he was driving. A statement was released from the Guardia Civil saying the arrest took place last Monday when searches were carried out on vehicles which had arrived from the Canaries. The unit from the UAR, the Risks Analysis Unit, which is made up jointly by the Guardia Civil and the Agencia Tributaria, earmarked the van for an exhaustive inspection. They found the cigarettes behind wooden panels in the van which had been placed on the floor walls and even the ceiling of the vehicle. The arrested man has been named as 39 year old G.M.H. from Liverpool. He will appear before the Instruction Court Four in Cádiz.
Nine arrested for growing marihuana inside a luxury property in Zaragoza
Nine people have been arrested and 2,500 marihuana plants recovered from a luxury villa in a village of Zaragoza. The electrical installation to heat and supply light to the plants used as much power as 50 homes, and an illegal connection had been established to the grid. The facility had the capacity to produce 1,500 kilos of cannabis a year and had been established following the ‘Holland Model` of optimising plant growth by controlling the hours of light the plants receive. The chalet was found in Caspe, Zaragoza, and the nine arrested are accused of distributing all types of drugs including cocaine, hashish, amphetamine, methamphetamine and marihuana to bars and clubs in Tarragona. The swoop is the result of investigations which started five months ago. Six searches were carried out in different homes in Caspe, Tortosa, Amposta and Santa Bárbara where 40 grams of cocaine and different amounts of speed and crystal were recovered along with 11,500 € in cash.
Outlaw motorcycle clubs attempting to open clubhouses and tattoo parlours in Brisbane's West End and Fortitude Valley
Surfers Paradise nightclub had been a target for alleged bikie money laundering amid growing business links between powerful Gold Coast bikies and others interstate and overseas. Read more reports in the print edition of The Courier-Mail or explore the Bikie Inc web of intrigue diagrams or the detailed club profiles in our multimedia specials. But outlaw clubs are also targeting Brisbane, where they have tried to open clubhouses and tattoo parlours in West End and Fortitude Valley. Gold Coast's bikie tsars exposed Two hours and $2000 and a gun is yours Nightclub link to bikie money laundering A nascent chapter of Bandidos whose members do not even ride motorcycles is seeking a Valley clubhouse, according to police sources. The development has echoes of the "Notorious" gang in Sydney connected to organised crime figures John Ibrahim and the Sarkis brothers. That group styled itself as a motorcycle club but members - so-called "Nike Bikies" - failed to win recognition from outlaw clubs because they were not sufficiently interested in bikes. Fortitude Valley - despite its historical links to organised crime - was an "untapped area" for outlaw motorcycle clubs, the police source said. The Hells Angels tried last year to find a lease on a new clubhouse in West End. Hells Angels Brisbane president Mark Nelms declined to comment. "It wouldn't matter if you were the Queen of England, we don't comment to anybody," he said. The Bandidos' existing footprint in the Valley includes Valley Ink, a Brunswick St tattoo parlour opened by Gold Coast chapter president Sava Cvetkovic. An underworld source said that a senior member of Highway 61, a club with New Zealand roots, also had sought to open a parlour on West End's Boundary Street. Last week The Courier-Mail revealed that a multimillion-dollar Surfers Paradise nightclub deal had been thwarted after police warned the landlord that it was a front for bikies laundering cash. The bid was bankrolled by a Sydney financier with business and family links to a national franchise chain. The last known attempt at bikie infiltration of Gold Coast nightclubs was when Global Group Security looked at providing bouncers for several clubs about seven years ago.
Hells Angel in casino shooting to NV court
Washoe County prosecutors have agreed to postpone the preliminary hearing for the only member of the Hells Angels arrested in last month's fatal gun battle with a rival motorcycle gang at a Sparks casino. Cesar Villagrana had been scheduled to appear in Sparks Justice Court on Wednesday on three felony charges including assault with a deadly weapon. His new court date is Dec. 7. Police say the 36-year-old Gilroy, Calif., man was with San Jose Hells Angels President Jeff Pettigrew the night he was shot to death at John Ascuaga's Nugget. Police say security video shows Villagrana shooting into the crowd. He's currently free on $150,000 bail. A member of the rival Vagos gang is being held in San Francisco on a warrant for Pettigrew's murder.
Members of the Bandidos - who acquired four new chapters in Indonesia during "Bandidos Bali Bike Week" earlier this year - are looking to set up business as far afield as Japan
BIKIE Inc Australia is spreading its wings overseas. Local Hells Angels and Bandidos club members own nightspots in Thailand tourist centres that have become popular haunts for bikies worldwide. Not to be outdone, members of the notorious Gold Coast chapter of the Finks are trying to follow in their footsteps with their own Thai beachhead, according to police. Members of the Bandidos - who acquired four new chapters in Indonesia during "Bandidos Bali Bike Week" earlier this year - are looking to set up business as far afield as Japan, a Queensland police source told The Courier-Mail. Thailand was significant as a source of chemicals for drug manufacture and trafficking and scrutiny of Gold Coast bikies' travel would show "a lot of trips" to the country, the officer said. "A lot of them are looking into Thailand - it gives them the opportunity to source pharmaceuticals. Hells Angels and Bandidos have got premises in Thailand. "Of course, the Finks can't be left behind and they're looking too. "Nationally, the Bandidos are looking to get into Japan. They're already in Asia."
Thursday, 13 October 2011
A PLANNED bid for freedom by Melbourne identity Tony Mokbel has been sensationally scrapped.
Tony Mokbel is expected to use a legal loophole to try to beat charges against him. Supplied Mokbel was expected to use a police stuff-up to try to get off drug charges he has already admitted. Police sources yesterday revealed that Mokbel's lawyers would try to use a legal loophole to beat charges against the notorious gangland boss. Mokbel would have been the first of many criminals and suspects hoping to take advantage of a recent admission by Victoria Police that officers routinely failed to swear an oath when signing affidavits. The embarrassing blunder could render any evidence gained from affidavits used to execute search warrants, bug telephones or install listening and tracking devices unable to be used in prosecutions. The legal team was expected to seek an adjournment in the sentencing process to allow it to check the veracity of documents used by Victoria Police to gather evidence against Mokbel. But Mokbel's lawyer Peter Faris QC appeared before the Supreme Court this morning and said they no longer wished to proceed with an application for an adjournment. No reason was given for the change of plans. A plea hearing for Mokbel will now go ahead on Tuesday. Mokbel, 45, pleaded guilty in April to drug charges relating to him masterminding his drug gang while he was on the run in Victoria and Greece. Bugging and tracking his phones enabled Purana taskforce detectives to work out where Mokbel had fled to - resulting in him being arrested in the Definia seaside cafe near Athens in 2007 after 15 months on the run. Forensic accountants attached to Purana were able to establish that Mokbel made about $100 million through his gang, which he called The Company. Company members were involved in the manufacture and distribution of very large quantities of amphetamines and trafficking ecstasy and cocaine. The Company was formed largely to finance Mokbel's escape from Australia and pay for his life as a fugitive in Australia and Greece. In a deal between his lawyers and prosecutors, outstanding drug charges were dropped in return for him pleading guilty to trafficking a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine, trafficking a large commercial quantity of ecstasy and urging an undercover operative to import a commercial quantity of ecstasy. His fear of being charged over one or more underworld murders prompted him to disappear near the end of his March 2006 drug trial. He fully expected to be convicted on the cocaine smuggling charge, telling close associates he would cop it and do the five years he expected to be jailed for. What he couldn't stomach was the thought of a life sentence for murder. He was sentenced in his absence to a nine-year minimum term from the 2006 drug trial. With time served before sentencing, he would be eligible to be released in February 2014.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Iranians allegedly plotting the terrorist attack tried to hire the notorious Zeta’s drug cartel to carry it out.
The suspects offered $1.5 million and “multi-ton” quantities of opium as payment. This case illustrates that we live in a world where borders and boundaries are increasingly irrelevant. According to the criminal complaint the Iranian suspect wanted to hire the Zetas because the cartel had access to military grade weaponry including explosives. "I think the Zetas have the reputation of being the most ferocious and violent drug cartel in Mexico and so this Iranian agent may have thought the Zetas will do anything, that they’re cold blooded killers, and they’re capable of pulling something like this off." said Howard Campbell, author of the "Drug War Zone. The Zetas are behind some of the most brutal and brazen killings in Mexico including grenade attacks in public places, a casino fire in Monterrey that killed dozens of people and the murder of a U.S. federal agent working in San Luis Potosi. His partner was wounded. The suspect named in the criminal complaint traveled to Mexico on several occasions to work out the details of the terrorist attack. A source says one meeting happened in Reynosa on the Texas border. In the end, he was not dealing with the violent Zetas but a drug trafficker who is paid informant for the US government.
Los Zetas is depleted, after the capture of four of its top leaders and the dismantling of about 40 cells in that organization in the state of Veracruz
Los Zetas is depleted, after the capture of four of its top leaders and the dismantling of about 40 cells in that organization in the state of Veracruz in less than four months, officials in this port said.
It is said most of the Zetas are hiding and are not operating, so there is clearly a drop in kidnappings, "levantones" and derecho de pizo or cuota charges in Veracruz and Boca del Rio, mainly.
Military sources also believed that Los Zetas do not have enough people so their operations and finances are being depleted.
But officials warn a reinforcement of assassins may come from Tabasco, Chiapas and Oaxaca.
The dismantling of various cells of the criminal group, it was mainly due to the arrest of leaders and local police commanders who assure safety to the Zetas.
Sense August the Navy has arrested at least 30 members of various local corporations.
In July, seven police officers were arrested Tuxpan by the Navy, and presumed to be involved in the death of a sailor. Among them was a second in command.
A month later in Veracruz, the arrest of Francisco Bautista Carballo, "The Shark" and two of his accomplices, weakened the actions carried out by Los Zetas in the port and Boca del Rio in kidnapping and collecting derecho de pizo or cuotas.
Another cell was dismantled on August 14, when the Navy arrested five members of the cartel involved in the death of four sailors in retaliation for the Navy operating in the state.
In September, six Intermunicipal police officers from Veracruz-Boca del Rio were arrested for carrying out murders and kidnappings for Los Zetas.
In addition, 74 members of this criminal group were also arrested, among them Karim Muñoz Castillo, the plaza boss from Tuxpan.
At the end of the month Angel Manuel Mora, "Commander Devil," was arrested after a clash in Las Brisas, in the port of Veracruz.
Mora served as an alleged chief hitmen in the urban area of Veracruz-Boca del Rio, as well as the alleged person in charge to assure the safety of that criminal group in Ciudad Mendoza, Veracruz route.
On Thursday, the Navy arrested 12 alleged members of the criminal organization Los Zetas, including the alleged new leader in Veracruz.
In recent days, federal forces have killed seven suspected members of Los Zetas who have attacked military convoys.
In the port of Veracruz, the patrols of the Army, Navy and state police are frequent.
But the "hawks", are also in the look out.
Iranian-American used-car salesman who believed he was hiring assassins from a Mexican drug cartel for $1.5 million.
The United States on Tuesday accused Iranian officials of plotting to murder Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States in a bizarre scheme involving an Iranian-American used-car salesman who believed he was hiring assassins from a Mexican drug cartel for $1.5 million. The alleged plot also included plans to pay the cartel, Los Zetas, to bomb the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Saudi and Israeli Embassies in Argentina, according to a law enforcement official. The plotters also discussed a side deal between the Quds Force, part of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Los Zetas to funnel tons of opium from the Middle East to Mexico, the official said. * The plot evidently was discovered at a very early stage. One wonders: How? Through intercepts of phone conversations or emails? Eric Holder, widely believed to be a dead man walking in Washington as a result of Fast and Furious, was front and center at today’s news conference. Holder was a prominent critic of essentially everything the Bush administration did to discover and combat terrorist plots. It would be interesting to know whether the intelligence triumph that Holder celebrated today was yet another example of the wisdom of the Bush administration policies that Obama, Holder and their ilk endlessly demagogued before they found it expedient to adopt them. * One remembers liberal assurances, when a Republican administration was trying to keep us safe from terrorist attacks, that diverse anti-American groups could never cooperate. Democrats went so far as to claim that Shia and Sunni Muslims–who in fact work together in furtherance of terrorist plots all the time, as, to take just one example, when Iran supports Hamas–could never cooperate against America or our allies. Today, assuming the Obama administration is being truthful, we have the spectacle of Iran’s mullahcracy paying a Mexican drug cartel to carry out terrorist attacks. Do radical Muslims really care about technicalities like drug dealing when it comes time to advance their interests? Of course not! On the contrary, this plot represented an alliance of the world’s two major proponents of beheading. * Assuming that the administration’s account is correct, Iran had little doubt that a Mexican drug cartel would be able to get men and weapons across the border to carry out a terrorist attack in Washington. Presumably they were right. One wonders what it will take to get liberals to take border security seriously. If the Mexicans had blown up a D.C. restaurant and killed 100 Americans along with the Saudi ambassador, would liberals finally have started paying attention to the border? I doubt it. * One little detail has gotten lost in most reporting: The alleged plot also included plans to pay the cartel, Los Zetas, to bomb the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Saudi and Israeli Embassies in Argentina, according to a law enforcement official.
To the School Community: Due to the great insecurity we are living, and since authorities are not giving teachers, parents, students and the community in general the sufficient security
Parents and teachers hang up a banner on the gates of a school in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, Mexico on Monday. The banner reads in Spanish "To the School Community: Due to the great insecurity we are living, and since authorities are not giving teachers, parents, students and the community in general the sufficient security, we have decided to continue the work stoppage until security conditions are more favorable." Bernandino Hernandez/AP
Mexican kidnapping gang's leader arrested
The suspected leader of the Los Gitanos kidnapping gang, which operates across Mexico and abducted a number of businessmen, has been arrested, Nuevo Leon state officials said Tuesday. "Aaron Bosquez Montes, alias 'El Chico,' 28, was the leader of the Los Gitanos kidnapping gang and demanded ransoms that ranged from 20 million pesos ($1.5 million) to $4 million," Nuevo Leon Gov. Rodrigo Medina said. Bosquez Montes was arrested on Oct. 3 at the Mexico City international airport, Medina said. Twelve of the 15 members of the criminal organization, which had been collecting ransom payments for three years, have now been arrested, the governor said during an appearance at the Nuevo Leon State Investigations Agency, or AEI, headquarters. The gang staged at least nine kidnappings in Nuevo Leon, which is located in northern Mexico, reaping more than 52 million pesos (nearly $3.9 million) in ransom payments. Los Gitanos would conduct a "prior study of its victims" before kidnapping them, targeting "middle and upper class" businessmen and professionals, the governor said. The blow against the gang should "help us continue building confidence" among citizens, Medina said. Photographs of Bosquez Montes traveling overseas and recorded telephone conversations were released by officials. Authorities are asking victims of Los Gitanos to contact them and report the crimes. Kidnapping has become a widespread problem in Mexico in recent years, with gangs of different levels of sophistication targeting victims from various strata of society. In October 2010, Congress approved a bill that stiffens the penalties for kidnappers from 25 to 45 years behind bars when the victims are mutilated or if the criminals are retired or active-duty police officers, and from 40 to 70 years in prison if the victims are killed.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Mexican forces have arrested a man they say is a key figure in the country's most powerful drugs cartel.
Noel Salgueiro Nevarez is accused of running the Sinaloa cartel's operations in the northern state of Chihuahua, where drug violence is rampant. Defence officials said his arrest would seriously weaken the cartel in Mexico and abroad. The arrest was made on the same day as that of Martin Rosales Magana, who is accused of leading the La Familia gang. The army said Mr Salgueiro Nevarez was seized in a carefully planned military operation, without a shot being fired. Defence Ministry spokesman Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said Noel Salgueiro Nevarez was behind much of the extreme violence which has plagued Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's murder capital. He said the suspect, also known as El Flaco (The Skinny One), led a gang of hitmen who extorted local businessmen, kidnapped for ransom, and tortured and killed members of a rival gang, the Juarez cartel. 'Criminal career' The security forces say the bitter war between the two gangs was the trigger for most of the 3,000 killings in Ciudad Juarez last year. Prosecutors said Mr Salgueiro Nevarez started his criminal career 15 years ago, producing marijuana for the Sinaloa cartel. They said his gang had been exporting up to 15 tonnes of marijuana and two tonnes of cocaine per month to the United States. The government had offered a three-million-peso ($220,000; £130,000) reward for information leading to his capture. Security officials said his arrest, in the city of Culiacan in northwestern Sinaloa state, was a major blow to the Sinaloa cartel and its leader, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman. Mr Guzman, 54, is Mexico's most wanted man and thought to be one of the country's richest. Two years ago, he made Forbes magazine's list of the 67 World's Most Powerful People. At number 41, he was just below Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Crumbling cartel Mr Salgueiro Nevarez's arrest was announced at the same time as that of another top figure in the Mexican drugs trade. Martin Rosales Magana, 47, was seized in Mexico state on Tuesday. Police say he is one of the founders of the once-powerful La Familia cartel. Until the beginning of this year, La Familia ran much of the methamphetamine trade in Mexico. It claimed to protect local communities and promote family values, but also engaged in gruesome violence. The security forces say it has been almost entirely dismantled, with its top leaders either in jail or dead. They say Mr Rosales Magana lead a number of small cells still loyal to the cartel, which had holed themselves up in a rural area between Michoacan and Mexico state. At a news conference, federal police counter-narcotics chief Ramon Pequeno described how La Familia splintered after the security forces killed the cartel's then-leader Nazario Moreno in December 2010. He said part of the gang set up a rival cartel, which they named Knights Templar, and which quickly took over many of the methamphetamine labs in the west and south-west of the country. Mr Pequeno said Mr Rosales Magana and those loyal to him tried to regain control of the drugs trade in Michoacan state by forging an alliance with their long-time rivals, the Zetas cartel. He told reporters how "they met with the Zetas to ask for operational assistance, weapons and salaries [for gunmen] and expenses money, in order to recoup important cities held by the Knights Templar". However, according to police, the alliance soon faltered because Mr Rosales Magane no longer had access to the precursor chemicals needed to make methamphetamine, their main source of income. Mr Pequeno said with La Familia severely weakened, police would now focus their attention on taking down the Knights Templar.
Mexico Arrests Key Member Of Sinaloa Drug Cartel
Mexican security forces have arrested one of the top figures of the Sinaloa drug cartel in an operation carried out in the country's north, officials said on Wednesday. They said Noel Salgueiro Nevarez was arrested on Tuesday in Culiacan, capital of the north-western state of Sinaloa, in a carefully planned operation. He was captured "without any shots being fired," they added. Nevarez, alias El Flaco or The Skinny One, was the leader of a gang of hit-men working for the Sinaloa cartel led by Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman. He is accused of running the cartel's operations in the northern state of Chihuahua and involvement in kidnappings, torture, extortion and murders. Nevarez is said to be a close associate of Guzman. Mexican officials say his arrest was a major blow to Guzman and insist that it would weaken the operations of the cartel in Mexico and abroad. The Mexican government had offered a reward of about $220,000 for information leading to the capture of Nevarez. The Sinaloa cartel, based in Mexico's Pacific coast, is currently one of the most powerful organized criminal gangs in the Americas. Cartel leader Guzman has been on the run since he escaped from a Mexican prison ten years ago. The United States had declared a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. The Sinaloa cartel is presently engaged in a fierce turf battle with the Juarez cartel led by Vicente Carrillo Fuentes for the control of lucrative smuggling routes to the U.S. The two cartels are blamed for most of the recent drug-related violence in Chihuahua and other northern states. The Mexican government says that more than 34,600 people have died in drug-related violence in the country since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug gangs after taking office in December 2006. Besides fighting drug cartels, Calderon has deployed thousands of troops across the country to check drug-related violence and launched a massive anti-corruption drive named 'Operation Clean-up' to identify and punish public servants having links with drug cartels.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
WHOEVER shot the son of Mark Sandery broke "the paramount rule" of outlaw bikies, sources close to the gangs have warned.
Two men broke into this Semaphore house, smashed windows and shot the son of Finks club member Mark Sandery. Source: Sunday Mail (SA) A Finks member, right, who was at this Semaphore house where the son, 11, of notorious Fink Mark Sandery was shot on Friday night. Picture: Digitally enhanced imageSource: AdelaideNow The Advertiser has been told the shooting of the boy, 11, goes against the core values of bikies. "When it comes to dealing with rivals, there are no hard and fast rules except for two," a source said yesterday. "You try not to do it in public, and the paramount rule is that you never, ever hurt the wife or the kids. "To a lot of the guys, their children mean everything ... that's why you just don't do it." Sandery was a member of the Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Club, but there are conflicting reports on whether he remains a member. His son was injured when two male intruders burst into a home on Military Rd, Semaphore, on Friday night.
Drug-dealing killer: Chicago cop stopped DEA investigation of me
high-level drug trafficker admits he was involved in three killings after a Chicago Police officer scuttled a federal investigation into his illegal activities in the mid-1990s, according to a recent court filing. Saul Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty last month to federal drug conspiracy charges, was an informant for Officer Glenn Lewellen for years. But Rodriguez told authorities he and Lewellen were also longtime partners in crime. They allegedly worked together to rip off other drug dealers, splitting millions of dollars in loot. Lewellen recruited Rodriguez as a police informant in early 1996. Rodriguez’s undercover name was “Bill Pager.” From 1996 to 2001, the Chicago Police Department paid him $807,000 for information that led to seizures of drugs and cash, prosecutors said. All the while Rodriguez was making cases for the police, however, he was committing crimes. And Lewellen repeatedly stepped in to keep Rodriguez out of jail, prosecutors said. Rodriguez’s statements to authorities are included in a 188-page document containing evidence prosecutors intend to present against Lewellen and other defendants who face trial in the same case. Rodriguez has agreed to testify against them. According to the document, Lewellen in mid-1996 persuaded the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to stop investigating Rodriguez after 154 pounds of marijuana were seized from a secret compartment in his Buick. Lewellen told the DEA its investigation would harm ongoing Chicago Police Department cases, prosecutors said. Lewellen, who joined the police force in 1986, retired in 2002 to become a homebuilder. But he still managed to obstruct a separate DEA investigation of Rodriguez, prosecutors said. In 2006, Lewellen warned Rodriguez not to speak to a drug courier whose phone was wiretapped, Rodriguez said. At the time, the DEA was investigating Rodriguez’s ties to a cocaine wholesaler, prosecutors said. Lewellen told Rodriguez he got the information from an “agent” who previously worked in Colombia, but didn’t say what agency was involved in the investigation, according to Rodriguez. As Lewellen was allegedly protecting Rodriguez from the DEA, Rodriguez was involved in the murders of three men, prosecutors said. Rodriguez has confessed to orchestrating the slayings in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Rodriguez has also told authorities he arranged for a friend to “escape” from a prison in Mexico in 2003. He said he met with the prison warden while on vacation in Mexico and promised to pay him a $250,000 bribe in exchange for his friend’s freedom. In addition to his career as a drug dealer, Rodriguez became involved in managing boxers and developing real-estate in Chicago and Nevada, records show. The document detailing Rodriguez’s statements to federal prosecutors, filed last month, provides new details about Rodriguez’s relationship with Lewellen. For example, Rodriguez said he bought Lewellen a Ford Crown Victoria equipped with a siren. Lewellen allegedly drove the car while posing as a legitimate cop during drug rip-offs, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez has told authorities that another Chicago Police officer participated in at least one rip-off, but he believes the officer is now deceased. The prosecution’s evidentiary document also provides more information about the three murders in which Rodriguez admits to having a role. Rodriguez said he persuaded Lewellen to frame Juan Luevano with a drug case in 1999. Luevano, who was dating Rodriguez’s former girlfriend, was released from jail after posting bond in the case. Rodriguez said he then met with a high-ranking Satan Disciples gang member who was in prison. The gang leader was angry Luevano was dating his wife, Rodriguez told authorities. The gang leader asked Rodriguez to find someone to “get” Luevano. So Rodriguez said he hired a high-school pal, Manuel Uriarte, to kill Luevano. Uriarte and Andres Flores allegedly shot Luevano to death in 2000 near his home in Cicero, prosecutors said. They’re charged with murder in the same federal drug conspiracy case. Rodriguez also admitted he arranged for the 2001 murder of Michael Garcia. Rodriguez said he acted at the request of a friend who suspected Garcia had killed his brother, prosecutors said. And Rodriguez said he was involved in the 2002 murder of Miguel De La Torre. Rodriguez said he arranged the kidnapping of De La Torre to scare him into providing information about the location of cocaine and money. Rodriguez said he hired Miguel Uriate and his brother Jorge Uriate to squeeze the information from De La Torre, a drug dealer. If De La Torre refused to talk, they agreed the Uriates would kill him, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez admitted he provided Uriate brothers with an electrical cord they used to strangle De La Torre in a garage. Jorge Uriate also faces murder charges in the same case. Lewellen, who is free on $1 million bail awaiting trial, is not charged with any of the killings.
Feds indict 23 Texas Syndicate gang members
Federal authorities Tuesday announced the indictment of 23 reputed Texas Syndicate gang members and associates on charges including four murders, drug trafficking and extortion. Those charged are primarily in the Uvalde and Hondo areas, but the prison-born criminal group has members throughout the state. Their alleged crimes were committed over the past nine years, according to the indictment, which details the structure and goals the gang, which is led by officers with ranks. The indictment also delves into the gang's strict rules and penalties, including being killed, for going against the organization or disobeying orders. "The (Texas Syndicate) will not hesitate to kill anyone who interferes with the business of the gang or who commits a violation of Texas Syndicate rules. Among those charges under RICO, the acronym for Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization: Cristobal "Little Chris" Velasquez, 33, of Uvalde; Sotero Rodriguez Martinez "June", 41, of Uvalde; Chuco Mario "Mariachi" Martinez, 35, of Uvalde; Larry "Little Larry" Munoz, Jr.,36, of Uvalde; Brian "Tata" Esparza, 31, of Uvalde; Charles "Horse" Esparza, 32, of Uvalde; Ervey "Mad Max" Sanchez, 31, of Uvalde; Mark Anthony Vela, 35, of Hondo; Charles Olan Quintanilla, 32, of Hondo; George "Curious" Sanchez,36, of Uvalde; and, Inez "Bebito" Mata, 41, of Uvalde. Others charged in the case are not accused of violating the RICO law.
Dancehall star Vybz Kartel has been charged with the murder of Jamaican promoter Barrington Burton
Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel has been charged with murder. A police statement issued in Kingston on Monday said that the 35-year-old artist was charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and illegal possession of a firearm. Investigators accuse the rapper, whose real name is Adijah Palmer, of conspiring with others to kill a 27-year-old promoter who was murdered earlier this year. "The allegation is that on Monday, July 11, 2011, Palmer, along with other men, conspired to murder Barrington Burton o/c 'Bossie', a 27-year-old businessman/promoter of a Gregory Park address in St Catherine. Burton was murdered while he was standing with friends along Walkers Avenue in Gregory Park," the police release said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled to take place on Tuesday. Kartel's defence attorney was reported to have said that his client was prepared to fight the charges. Kartel was initially arrested on Friday for marijuana possession. Kartel has previously been arrested on charges including assault and illegal gun possession. Those charges were later dropped. A long-running feud with fellow artist Mavado is alleged to have fuelled mob attacks in inner-city neighbourhoods of Kingston. In December 2009, the two met government ministers in an attempt to calm the situation. Kartel has worked on collaborations and remixes with the likes of Jay-Z, Rihanna and MIA. His international hits include Ramping Shop, Dollar Sign and Clarks. The success of the latter song last year sent sales of the British shoes soaring in Jamaica. A businessman in his own right, Kartel also has his own brands of rum and condoms as well as his owncontroversial range of skin-lightening cosmetics. Recently, the singer also became the star of locally produced reality TV show Teacha's Pet. Officials from the telecommunications company that sponsors the show were said to be discussing the new charges levelled against Kartel last night.. Photograph: Scott Gries/Getty Images
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Witnesses recall Calgary restaurant gang shooting
Calgary court was back in session Thursday to address charges against two men in relation to a triple homicide at Bolsa Restaurant on New Year’s Day in 2009. Nathan Zuccherato and Michael Roberto have pleaded not guilty to three charges of first-degree murder for the killing of Sanjeev Mann, Aaron Bendle and innocent bystander Keni Su'a. Two others have been charged and will appear in court at a later date. Eye witness breaks down Later in the day, court watched a taped interview from a man who witnessed the death of Su’a. Scott Walker has health issues, so Justice Earl Wilson allowed the audio interview done with Calgary police just hours after the murders to be presented to court. Walker can be heard breaking down as he describes three people gunning down a man, later identified as Su’a. From his car that just pulled out of the Rona parking lot across the street, Walker said he saw Su’a run out of the restaurant followed by men who “started dumping shots into him. One guy never stopped firing.” The court also learned Walker was subjected to photo line-ups with Zuccherato’s and Roberto’s photo but marked no beside both, indicating he did not recognize the men. This information caused Zuccherato’s father, who has been on hand the entire trial, to smile and nod his head. Victim’s mother mourns loss Earlier in the afternoon, Bendle’s mother testified about the last time she saw her son alive the day before the murder. Bendle was kidnapped and used as bait to lure Mann, the real target and known gang member. In a handwritten letter to the media, Bendle's parents say they are proud of the young man their son was. The month-long trial for three murders that took place at the Bolsa Restaurant in southeast Calgary is currently hearing testimony. CBC The note also says they miss the love he shared so freely, as well as his quiet thoughtfulness and broad smile. ‘Fifth man’ testimony wraps For the last three days, the court has also heard testimony from the police informant M.M., whose identity is protected by a court order. Also known as the “fifth man,” M.M. told the court that he and his former friends — the defendants — are responsible for the execution of the three victims. In cross-examination, defence lawyers were trying to press the point that even though M.M. didn't pull the trigger he is equally responsible for the deaths by not informing police about the plot. During court Wednesday, M.M. said shortly after becoming an informant he had told police in November 2008 about the plans to kidnap Bendle, use him as bait and kill Mann in rival gang revenge plot. Kevin Brookwell from the Calgary Police Service told reporters Wednesday they had followed through on the tip by warning specific individuals, approaching families to ask for their cooperation and putting out a plea to the public for assistance. M.M. said he would also help police by wearing a wire to play an active role in helping police “bring down my group of friends in exchange for help turning my life around.” But as that fateful day in January 2009 approached, M.M. testified he was too scared to contact police. He did admit playing a role in kidnapping Bendle and then burning the clothes and evidence after the shooting that he implicates the defendants — Zuccherato and Roberto — in. M.M. not only provided the name and phone number of Bendle — the man used as bait to lure his associate Mann to the restaurant, who were then both killed — but also provided the home where he was taken while kidnapped. M.M. said he acted as a guard while his friends allegedly carried out the execution. While he was arrested for his connection to the incident, no charges were pressed and he has been given immunity from prosecution for his testimony.
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