GANGLAND

Admitted hit man testifies in federal drug trial that he killed on orders from Craig Petties

2012-02-25T21:21:00.001Z

A confessed hit man testified Thursday that he was paid in cash and cocaine for gunning down two drug thieves and a suspected police informant on orders from drug kingpin Craig Petties. Clarence Broady also testified that Petties told him Clinton Lewis and Martin Lewis committed murders for Petties' Memphis-based drug organization, which is accused of smuggling millions of dollars-worth of cocaine from Mexico into the United States for sale in Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina. The Lewises, who are cousins, are on trial on charges including racketeering-murder, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and money laundering. They have pleaded not guilty, but face life in prison if convicted. Petties has already pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering and hiring hit men to kill four people who were threats to the organization. He is awaiting sentencing. Broady and about 30 other members of Petties' organization also have pleaded guilty to various drug and murder-related charges. Petties fled to Mexico after his indictment in 2002 but continued to run his drug ring, which gang members testified had ties to the Beltran Leyva drug cartel in Mexico. Petties was placed on the U.S. Marshals' 15 most wanted list. He was captured in January 2008 and returned to Memphis. Prosecutors have questioned gang members about whether Clinton Lewis, 36, and Martin Lewis, 34, were also members of the Petties ring in order to prove the racketeering charges against the cousins. Prosecutors have described it as the largest federal drug trial in West Tennessee. In a monotone voice, Broady showed little emotion as he testified about three killings and a kidnapping. Broady told jurors how an intermediary informed him that Petties wanted Latrell Small and Kalonji Griffin dead after finding out that they stole drugs from one of the ring's stash houses. Broady — whose nickname is "Killer" — said he asked Small and Griffin to join him on a robbery. After they met up, Broady jumped into the backseat of a car driven by Griffin. Small was in the passenger seat. Broady said he then pulled out two guns and aimed. "I shot both of them in the back of the head," he said. Broady said he received more than two pounds of cocaine for killing Small and Griffin in August 2004. Broady, who made of living of selling drugs and robbing other drug dealers, said he also was ordered by Petties to kill Mario Stewart in March 2005. Stewart had been suspected of wearing a wire during a conversation with a gang member. Broady said he hid in Stewart's garage for about an hour before Stewart entered. Broady then shot him four times. For the Stewart killing, Broady was paid $40,000, he testified. Broady also testified that he assisted Clinton Lewis, also known as "Goldie," in the kidnapping of Marcus Turner in September 2006. Broady said he left Turner in a house with Clinton Lewis and another gang member. The next day, Broady spoke with Petties, who was on a cell phone in Mexico. "Craig told me that Goldie had took care of it," Broady said. Prosecutor Greg Gilluly then asked what Broady thought that meant. "That Goldie killed him," Broady said. The other defendant, Martin Lewis, also known as "M," is charged with killing Mario McNeal while McNeal was eating at a Memphis restaurant in March 2007. Broady testified that Petties told him Martin Lewis had done the shooting. Defense attorneys have questioned the credibility other gang members who have testified, and are expected to do so when they cross-examine Broady on Monday. They say that the government's case is based on testimony from men who have admitted being gang members and could receive reduced charges and sentences in return for their cooperation. Earlier Thursday, a former gang member testified that he defied Petties by stealing about 370 pounds of cocaine from the organization and avoided Petties' attempt to kill him. Bobby Craft said he made about $4 million by selling the cocaine in Arkansas. Craft said he had returned to Memphis to pick up his 6-year-old son when he was approached by several vehicles outside of a home. Craft said he saw Clinton Lewis and Martin Lewis in the vehicles and suspected they were there to kill him. Craft began shooting and was able to escape, with his son in the backseat. He then led the Lewises and other members of the Petties gang to the interstate, using a semi-automatic handgun and a pistol in a shootout that lasted for 50 miles. "I knew what I was up against, so I was prepared," Craft said.

One of three Atlanta gang members who allegedly committed a hate crime against a 20-year-old gay man has been identified

2012-02-25T06:08:00.001Z

One of three Atlanta gang members who allegedly committed a hate crime against a 20-year-old gay man has been identified, the Atlanta Crime Examiner reported. Federal investigators say Dareal Damare Williams, 17, has fled Georgia, however. A week after the crime took place, two other men who are believed involved in the attack were caught. Christopher Cain, 19, was arrested and on Feb. 17 Dorian Morange turned himself into the authorities. FBI agents in Pittsburg, Pa., say that Williams is hiding out in the state and the agency issued an alert earlier this week. "Williams, a known member of the ’Pittsburgh Jack City Gang’, is believed to be staying with friends and relatives in the Erie Area," officials said. "The "Pittsburgh Jack City Gang" also known as "Jack City 1029" is a violent street gang based out of Atlanta, Georgia." Brandon White was brutally attacked outside a grocery store in Atlanta’s Pittsburg community. The incident was caught on camera and was uploaded to the Internet, which caused the video to go viral across the web. The gang members beat White while someone yelled, "No faggots in Jack City." The victim was kicked and punched until he fell to the ground. Another person then dropped a tire on him. .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... Several local LGBT activists were appalled by the hate crime, including Devin Barrington-Ward. "There were gay slurs thrown toward him," Barrington-Ward told the local media. "There were punches. There were kicks. These young men committed a hate crime. There shouldn’t be a debate about that." White spoke about the incident in a news conference earlier this month. He said that he left home soon after the attack and has not returned due to his fear. "If a straight person can walk to the store and not have a problem then I should be able to feel the same," White said. "I could have died that day. Anyone could have died that day. They don’t know what they do to people. They’re monsters," he said about his attackers. "He is doing what a lot of us would never do. He is standing up with courage," Greg Smith, the executive director of the HIV Intervention Project told members of the Atlanta Black LGBT said. "Understand this, he is saying, ’I want to do something. Don’t treat me like a victim.’ His issue is everybody keeps looking at him like he was weak. He is not weak. Don’t treat him like he is weak. Don’t treat him like he is broken. Ain’t nothing wrong with him besides his courage being broken. He wants to stand up and do something," Smith told the crowd.

25-year-old man fatally shot on Burrell Street in Roxbury; fourth slaying in a week

2012-02-25T06:05:00.001Z

25-year-old man was shot to death in Roxbury on Thursday night as a spate of deadly violence continues to rock several of Boston’s communities. The man was shot in the head at 91 Burrell St. shortly after 11 p.m. and was later pronounced dead, police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said. No arrests have been made in the attack. Detectives were looking for evidence early this morning in front of Chin’s Bar and Grill at the corner of Burrell Street and Norfolk Avenue. A section of Burrell Street was blocked off with crime scene tape. It was the fourth homicide in the past week, extending a spate of violence that has alarmed community activists. The police commissioner has suggested that the warmer weather may be a factor. Antiviolence activist Emmett Folgert, executive director of the Dorchester Youth Collaborative, said Thursday before the most recent slaying that the amount of violence was anomalous. “We are looking at several different kinds of homicides all occurring within a short time span,’’ Folgert said. “There is what appears to be gang-related, but then you have several odd ones that really are extremely difficult to prevent because they are unconnected occurrences, not predictable and the motives vary. One thing we can do is work with the families of the victims, deal with the aftermath, so that violence doesn’t arise from what has happened in the past week.’’ Last year there were two homicides through today but this year there have been six, according to Boston police. The homicide victims range in age from 18 to 72. The first homicide of the year occurred on Jan. 14. Christopher Pichard, 18, of Lynn was fatally shot on Trull Street in Dorchester. The second homicide was on Feb. 9 in an apartment on Tremont Street in the South End, where a 50-year-old man was apparently bludgeoned to death. The other three homicides were in the past week. Mary Miller, the oldest victim, was stabbed to death inside her Codman Hill Avenue residence in Dorchester on Tuesday. Her upstairs neighbor, Tu Nguyen, 28, was arraigned on a murder charge in her killing and ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation. On Sunday, Keisha Gilmore, 25, was fatally shot at 26 Alabama St. in Mattapan as she sat in a car. Moments later, in an unrelated case in Blackstone Square Park in the South End, Mohammed Hassan, 21, of Boston was fatally shot. Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said Thursday before the latest homicide: “This week was a bad week, no question. . . . We had a couple of gang-related incidents and a couple of shootings outside of that, and we’ve been able to make some arrests. We’re satisfied that we are taking the right tack with these incidents.’’ Davis said police had cracked down on gang activity in the Blackstone area last year and are prepared to make more arrests in that area if warranted. Davis hinted that weather may be a factor. “We were under a heavy blanket of snow last year, and we don’t have that this year,’’ he said.

10th Street Gang member gets 6 1/2-year prison term

2012-02-25T06:04:00.001Z

Renel Velazquez, a member of the notorious 10th Street Gang, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to serve 6z years in prison on his RICO conspiracy conviction in connection with the gang’s activities. Velazquez, 27, was involved in a violent assault and robbery Feb. 1, 2008, and sold marijuana in territory controlled by the gang on Buffalo’s West Side, U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. and trial prosecutor Joseph M. Tripi said Thursday. Hochul said Velazquez also permitted other 10th Street Gang members to store cocaine, firearms and ammunition in his apartment. Prosecutors said Velazquez and other gang members and associates carried out a robbery plan in 2008, breaking into their victim’s Buffalo apartment and waiting for him. While they waited, prosecutors said, Velazquez kept in cellphone contact with a woman who was with the victim. When the man arrived, Velazquez and the others beat, punched, choked and kicked him repeatedly. Prosecutors said Velazquez also beat the victim over the head with a hammer. The victim, who required hospitalization, was stripped of his clothing and his leather jacket, cellphone and more than $600 in cash.

Machete-Wielding MS-13 Leader Convicted on Sex Trafficking Charges

2012-02-25T06:00:00.001Z

A member of the gang MS-13 from Springfield was found guilty of sex trafficking underage girls Thursday. A federal jury found Rances Ulices Amaya, 23, guilty of three counts of sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a child. Because of minimum sentencing guidelines, Amaya should receive at least 10 years in prison for each count. He could receive as much as life in prison when he is sentenced on June 1. Amaya went by the nicknames "Murder" and "Blue," according to court documents reported earlier by Patch, and he eventually rose to lead the Guanacos Lokotes Salvatrucha clique in the gang. He used his MS-13 contacts to find customers and underage girls to prostitute, while also using the gang's reputation for violence to deter customers from making off with the girls. Amaya prosituted five girls between 14 and 17 years old, forcing them to have sex with as many as 10 customers a day. Many of the customers were solicited from construction sites and convenience stores popular with day laborers. Amaya charged between $30 and $120 for sex with his victims, according to prosecutors. "Customers were required to pay more for 'unusual' sex acts," according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office. If a girl refused Amaya's demands, gang members would 'run a train' on the victim — having sex with her in rapid succession, according to the USAO. Amaya also reportedly hit one victim in the face.

Police Catch Gang Member Wanted in Colorado

2012-02-25T05:58:00.001Z

Local authorities had a brief standoff on Whittier Street with a man wanted in Colorado earlier this week, according to myfoxboston.com. The US Marshalls and Colorado authorities had been investigating John Paolo Pedroia, a man believed to be a member of the Surenos 13 street gang. Police found a handgun during the arrest on Tuesday and said he had been in Andover for roughly two weeks. Pedroia was wanted on numerous charges. In Jefferson County, Colorado, where Pedroia was being charged, he had allegeldly called the prosecuting district attorney multiple times, threatening to kill her.

Gang Member Pleads Not Guilty In Stabbing Death

2012-02-25T05:54:00.001Z

documented gang member accused of stabbing a transient 19 times after the defendant issued a gang challenge to the victim pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge. Josue Hernandez Gutierrez, 20, was ordered held in lieu of $1 million bail in connection with the slaying of 48-year-old Emiliano Cortez of San Diego. Gutierrez was arrested Monday outside a friend's College area home. Deputy District Attorney Kristian Trocha told Judge David Szumowski that Gutierrez and a 14-year-old boy attacked Cortez about 4:45 a.m. Saturday as he was walking in the 3700 block of T Street, about a half-mile from the home where the victim lived with relatives. Gutierrez issued a gang challenge, and for some reason, the victim responded that he was from a rival gang, the prosecutor said. The defendant then stabbed the victim 19 times, including 10 to the back, Trocha said. Cortez died Saturday night, according to the prosecutor. The 14-year-old was arrested Tuesday at a Chula Vista residence. His case is being handled in Juvenile Court. Police disclosed no suspected motive for the slaying, except that it was believed to be gang-related. There was no evidence that a robbery or other crime was involved, San Diego police Lt. Kevin Rooney said. Residents of the area where the killing happened told investigators a loud argument and a man's screams prompted them to look outside, at which point they saw someone lying on a sidewalk and two people running off to the east. It was unclear why Cortez was walking through the inner-city neighborhood just east of downtown San Diego, though he apparently was not on his way home. Gutierrez was charged with murder, a gang allegation and the use of a knife. He faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted. A status conference was set for March 1 and a preliminary hearing for March 7.

Hip-hop mugol faces murder charges for the killing of 50 Cent's buddy

2012-02-25T05:15:00.001Z

hip-hop mogul is facing federal murder-for-hire charges - which could lead to the death penalty - for ordering the murder of an associate of rapper 50 Cent, a prosecutor disclosed Friday. James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond, already indicted in Brooklyn federal court on drug trafficking charges, faces the death-penalty rap in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Kaminsky said Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court. The prosecutor did not reveal details of the murder case, but sources said it was the 2009 rubout of Lowell “Lodi Mack” Fletcher. Rosemond has long been suspected of putting a contract on Fletcher in retaliation for slapping Rosemond’s then 14-year-old son. Two years before he was gunned down on a Bronx street, Fletcher pleaded guilty to assaulting the teen, but investigators believed he took the fall for Tony Yayo, a member of Fiddy’s G-Unit, who had slapped the kid. Fletcher was a member of Yayo's posse. Fletcher was murdered shortly after he was released from prison for a drug conviction and for assaulting Rosemond's son. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan indicted Rodney Johnson and Brian McCleod for the murder. The indictment claims they did the killing in exchange for drugs. Rosemond, who repped rapper The Game, has been charged with running a coast-to-coast, multi-million dollar cocaine ring. He has been engaged in plea negotiations with the feds in Brooklyn which could be complicated by the upcoming murder charge.

Inmates riot in same Mexican prison where 44 were massacred

2012-02-24T12:11:00.001Z

Inmates set fire to mattresses and trash Tuesday after officials announced that three prisoners would be moved from the prison where 44 gangs members were massacred this week to a maximum security jail in western Mexico. Thick gray smoke rose from inside the Apodaca prison shortly after several federal police officers went in. Outside, about 50 women related to inmates clashed with police and set fire to a pile of cardboard and wood at a gate. Crying women threw stones at officers when they poured water on the fire from behind the mesh gate, while others tried to climb the fence. The women told a local television station they were desperate for information about their imprisoned loved ones. Nuevo Leon state public security spokesman Jorge Domene Zambrano said a federal judge ordered that three inmates be transferred to the Puente Grande federal prison in Guadalajara. He said he couldn't identify the men until they arrived in Puente Grande. Earlier Tuesday, three inmates were killed in a prison a few miles (kilometers) from the Apodaca prison, where authorities say 44 prisoners who belonged to the Gulf drug cartel were bludgeoned and stabbed to death by inmates from the rival Zetas cartel. The latest victims, two men and a woman, had been booked into the Topo Chico Advertisement prison Monday on suspicion of kidnapping, Domene said. He said the men were stabbed to death in the prison's observation area and the woman in the infirmary. At the time the three suspects were presented to the media in early February, Domene described them as members of the Gulf cartel. Sunday's massacre at Apodoca may have been the deadliest prison killing in at least a quarter century in Mexico. The prison's director and 40 guards are being held on suspicion of allowing imprisoned Zetas members to escape before the massacre. Nuevo Leon Gov. Rodrigo Medina said 16 guards have confessed to aiding the escape. Of the 47,000 federal inmates in Mexico, about 29,000 are held in state prisons. That has drawn complaints from Medina and other state governors, who say their jails aren't equipped to hold members of powerful and highly organized drug cartels. Interior Department Alejandro Poire said the federal government plans to build six new federal prisons to add to the six the country already has. He said the federal government plans to house all federal inmates in its facilities by the end of the year. Fighting between the Zetas and Gulf drug cartels has brought a surge of violence and other crimes to the Monterrey region, which is Mexico's third largest. On Tuesday, gunmen opened fire on a group of taxi drivers waiting at a taxi stand outside a shopping center in Monterrey, killing five. Witnesses told police the gunmen fired from a passing car, Domene said. He said authorities were trying to determine if the attack was related to the prison violence. Taxi drivers are often hired by drug cartels to distribute drugs or work as lookouts.

Mainland Gang Member Indicted in Isle Drug Case

2012-02-24T12:09:00.001Z

San Francisco woman facing federal drug trafficking charges is affiliated with a Bay Area street gang that sold drugs and committed murder here in 2009-10, according to court records. Sulu “Pinkie” Lefiti, 38, was ordered held without bail by U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright today. Lefiti is affiliated with the “Down Below” gang of the Visitacion Valley area of San Francisco, according to portions of a 2009 federal Drug Enforcement Administration report read in court by Seabright. Another member of the gang, Calvin Burton, was identified in the report as Lefiti’s boyfriend and pimp. Lefiti refused to answer questions about her boyfriend when questioned by federal authorities earlier this month after she was indicted by a Honolulu federal grand jury and arrested in the Bay Area. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Brady, who is prosecuting the case here, said in court papers that Lefiti “was a member of a San Francisco gang that fought with local gangs” in Honolulu over Chinatown drug sales. The San Francisco gang “was responsible” for the March 2009 street corner murder of Joseph Peneueta, 35, Brady said in court papers. Peneueta “was associated with a rival Samoan gang here in Hawaii,” Brady said. Lefiti will be arraigned on the drug charges here in mid-March. U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright ordered Lefiti held without bail after Brady argued that she poses a flight risk and danger to the community. Lefiti’s lawyers, Joseph O’Sullivan of San Francisco and Lynn Panagakos of Honolulu, argued that Lefiti is neither dangerous nor a flight risk. O’Sullivan said Lefiti, a mother of three children, is studying cosmetology and has an “insignificant” criminal record. Panagakos said the DEA report about Lefiti was dated and contained vague, unsubstantiated allegations about her. Seabright noted that Lefiti has a criminal record dating back to her juvenile years that includes a number of relatively minor offenses. “I don’t consider it inconsequential or insignificant,” Seabright said. “It spans a long period of time.” Two San Francisco men, Iosefa Pasene, 24, and Zorro Rye, 27, are charged with murdering Peneueta. Iosefa Pasene Trial in that case is scheduled to begin in state court in May. Witnesses said Pasene, armed with an automatic rifle, and Rye, firing a shotgun, murdered Peneueta while he stood on a Chinatown street corner shortly after 4 a.m. March 28, 2009. Pasene had argued with Peneueta earlier and returned with Rye in a blue Buick Regal sedan, according to court records. Two other men affiliated with the San Francisco group, Cedro Muna and Antonius Toloai, were arrested with Pasene the day before the murder in a drug case. Toloai and Muna disappeared in 2010 and warrants for their arrests have been outstanding since then. According to court records, Muna was the registered owner of the Buick Regal until just days before the Zorro Rye Peneueta murder, when ownership was transferred to a mentally handicapped woman. The woman, who was incapable of driving a car, later told police that men she didn’t know took her to the downtown Satellite City Hall office where they made her sign papers she couldn’t understand. The burned-out shell of the car was later found near Haleiwa on Oahu’s North Shore.

Yakuza Godfather Targeted in Obama Crackdown on Crime Gangs

2012-02-24T12:07:00.001Z

Japan’s yakuza organized-crime groups, having operated openly in their home country for more than a century, are facing tougher treatment by an overseas foe: the U.S. Obama administration. The largest of Japan’s yakuza organizations, the Yamaguchi- gumi, and two of its leaders will have their U.S. assets frozen and transactions barred under sanctions announced yesterday by the Treasury Department. The group earns “billions of dollars” a year from crimes in Japan and abroad, including drug and human trafficking, prostitution, money laundering and fraud, the department said in a statement. The U.S. move represents “a slap in the face of the Japanese government” for failing to rein in organized crime, said Jake Adelstein, a Tokyo-based writer who covers the yakuza. “The U.S. government feels that the Japanese government is very tolerant toward organized crime,” Adelstein said today by telephone. It’s telling Japanese authorities, “Start doing something about your problem,” he said. The Yamaguchi-gumi’s leaders targeted by the sanctions are its “godfather,” Kenichi Shinoda, 70, and his deputy Kiyoshi Takayama, 64, the Treasury Department said in its statement. The U.S. also imposed sanctions against seven “key members and associates” of a syndicate called the Brothers’ Circle, based in Central Asia, Russia and the Middle East. First Targets They are the first targets under an executive order issued by Obama last year “to target transnational criminal organizations and isolate them from the global financial system,” David S. Cohen, U.S. undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement. A man who answered a phone call today from Bloomberg News to the Yamaguchi-gumi’s headquarters in the western city of Kobe hung up when asked to make a spokesperson available. Calls to the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., and to the department’s attache at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo weren’t immediately returned. “The Japanese government has been watching the situation closely with interest and has been exchanging information with the U.S.,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters today. “We should promote stronger measures against organized crime gangs.” Overseas Assets The Yamaguchi-gumi, which operates out of a two-building complex in a residential neighborhood, was estimated to represent 44 percent of Japan’s yakuza with 34,900 members as of December 2010, according to the National Police Agency. The group has “significant” overseas assets, Adelstein said. In 2005, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement seized almost $600,000 from accounts belonging to Susumu Kajiyama, a yakuza member who was sentenced in Japan for loan-sharking, the Associated Press reported in 2009. In 2003, Swiss authorities said they seized 61 million Swiss francs ($68 million) from accounts in Kajiyama’s name. “While this is more of a sting than a blow, it certainly won’t make them happy,” Adelstein said of the U.S. action. Shinoda was released in April from a Japanese prison, where he had served a six-year term related to firearms possession, according to the National Police Agency. Shinoda and Takayama are “the top two representatives of the Yamaguchi-gumi,” Adelstein said. “Everyone knows who they are.” Police ‘Doubling’ Efforts The yakuza have been a force in Japanese society since at least the pre-1868 Edo period. While the group is linked to criminal activities including gambling and prostitution, yakuza also have been hailed for community service. In 1995, its members aided earthquake-hit neighborhoods of Kobe. Japanese police are “doubling” efforts to crack down on the yakuza, the National Police Agency said in its 2010 White Paper, published last July. In 2010, 68 top members of the Yamaguchi-gumi and its affiliates, including Takayama, were arrested, compared with 23 arrests a year earlier. The yakuza is increasingly turning to businesses such as construction, finance, waste disposal and securities markets to supplement their more traditional income sources, the agency said in the 2010 statement. Olympus Japanese officials investigated whether Olympus Corp., which admitted to a 13-year cover-up to conceal losses, worked with organized-crime members, the New York Times reported in November. The fraud has also been investigated by U.S. and U.K. authorities. A panel of external examiners hired by Olympus to investigate said it found no evidence that money was funneled to criminal gangs. “Today’s action casts a spotlight on key members of criminal organizations that have engaged in a wide range of serious crimes across the globe,” Cohen said in the Treasury Department’s statement. “We will continue to work with our international partners to target those who deal in violence, narcotics, money laundering, and the exploitation of women and children.”

Sweden's Chicago grapples with deadly wave of shootings

2012-02-22T16:56:00.001Z

A wave of execution-style shootings and a police station bombing in Sweden's third largest city have sparked fears that gangster violence is taking hold in a Nordic country widely seen as one of the world's safest places. Only minutes into the new year, a 15-year-old was found with gunshots to his chest and one to his head outside an apartment block in one of Malmo's poorest and most troubled districts, where firefighters have occasionally sought police protection. Eight killings have occurred across the city since a 36-year-old with links to organised crime was gunned down in a parking lot in May last year. The latest victim, a 48-year-old man, was found shot in a car at the end of January. None of the murders have been solved, and now some newspapers are calling Malmo "Sweden's Chicago". "Why don't police have better control?" national daily Svenska Dagbladet asked in an opinion piece, suggesting Malmo look to New York which slashed its crime rates in recent decades. For their part, police refuse to reach the conclusion that the bomb at the police station and the killings were definitely linked, which would gangland violence is out of control. "We believe it's linked to the prevalence of weapons. It is big. But I can't say why we have a larger share here than in Stockholm," Hans Nordin, Deputy Chief Commissioner of Police in the Skane region of southern Sweden, told Reuters. With a population of just 300,000, Malmo is one of Sweden's roughest cities, long a base for smugglers because of its proximity to Denmark, with which it has been connected by a bridge since July 2000. Roughly 40 percent of Malmo's population are first- or second-generation immigrants and one in three is unemployed, compared with a national rate under nine percent. Among young immigrants, the rate is nearly 40 percent. Formerly a prosperous industrial town, much of the old industry has declined and jobs have vanished. Gangs took root here decades ago, starting with motorcycle groups and increasingly dominated by immigrants, at first thanks to an influx in the 1990s of refugees of Balkan wars and then, over the past 20 years, immigrants from the Middle East, Africa and eastern Europe. SHAKING SWEDEN Along with the July 2011 killings of 77 people in Norway by right-wing fanatic Anders Breivik, the city's problems have helped to shatter the cherished image of Sweden as a refuge of safety and peace, sparking a national media debate, soul-searching throughout Sweden and street protests. Dozens of police reinforcements sent in this year are still in the city. "I'm thinking of leaving Malmo because it is getting more and more dangerous," said Henrik Hammar, 28, who stocks shelves at a grocery store and was awakened when a small bomb exploded at the police station in his neighbourhood at the end of January, close to where the latest victim was found. "When it comes to shooting, we are used to that in Malmo. But not bombs," Hammar said outside the police station with a shattered window and a hole torn in its brick wall. The bombing happened in Fosie district, a centre of the violence. The wave of killings since May is not the first to shake Malmo. Peter Mangs was arrested in 2010 on suspicion of three murders and 13 attempted murders over a seven-year period, a string of shootings on Malmo's streets targeting immigrants. Luciano Astudillo, a Chilean-born former MP who was moved by the New Year's Day shooting to launch a campaign to say "Enough is enough," compared the crime wave to the violence that plagues Mexican border towns. "We have the same problem here as in the north of Mexico though on a smaller scale," he said, pointing to the drug and weapons smuggling that pass through Malmo from Denmark on their way to the rest of Scandinavia. "So it is logical for the gangs to gather here and fight each other," he said. Astudillo said he hopes the protests he has helped lead, including a street demonstration by more than 6,000 people on January 6, will make politicians notice what is happening. "I don't think murders will become more and more frequent in the near future, but there is nothing that indicates things will improve a bit longer-term," said Tobias Barkman, a crime reporter at regional daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet. "Society has fallen behind - with regards to the police and to the social situation. It's hard to see any rays of hope."

South Side gang ‘wannabe’ gets 75 years for murder of 10-year-old girl caught in crossfire

2012-02-22T16:27:00.001Z

A South Side man was sentenced to 75 years in prison Tuesday for the murder of a 10-year-old girl caught in gang crossfire. Raymond Jones, 22, was described by Cook County prosecutors as the gang banger “wannabe” who stored the .380 semiautomatic used in the 2008 Labor Day crime. Killed in the fatal shooting was Nequiel “Nee-Nee” Fowler. Nequiel was walking with her younger blind sister when she was hit once in the chest from a gunshot coming from an alley in the 8700 blocks of South Exchange and South Escanaba avenues. Jones’ co-defendant Antoine Lacy, the Latin Dragon who ordered the shooting, was sentenced to 60 years in prison last week for Nequiel’s death. Joseph Chico, the getaway driver, also faced murder charges in the little girl’s slaying but he cut a deal with prosecutors and agreed to testify against the others in exchange for a 14-year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit murder. Luis Pena, the Latin Dragon who prosecutors said pulled the trigger, hoping to fire at rival Latin Kings, is awaiting sentencing.

Mexican drug gang goes on trial in San Diego court

2012-02-22T16:24:00.001Z

A trial in San Diego will determine whether two alleged members of a violent Mexican drug gang are guilty of murder. A prosecutor says two victims had their bodies dissolved in acid. Opening statements are scheduled Wednesday for Jose Leonel Olivera Beritan and David Valencia. They are charged in five of nine murders tied to "Los Palillos" - or "The Toothpicks" in English. Prosecutors say the gang moved to the San Diego area around 2002 from Tijuana, Mexico. Victims were allegedly abducted by men dressed in police uniforms and wearing badges while walking down the streets or in their driveways, then held in rented homes and sometimes killed. The two defendants are the first to go on trial among 17 people charged in state court in 2009.

Members of Los Zeta cartel are among the 30 convicts who escaped from a prison in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon

2012-02-22T08:39:00.001Z

Members of Los Zeta cartel are among the 30 convicts who escaped from a prison in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, it was reported on Tuesday. Among the fugitives are former officials, ex corrupt police officers and drug distributors from that dangerous criminal gang, whose captures were considered important achievements by federal forces at the time. Bosses Oscar Manuel Bernal Soriano, known as La Araña, and Rogelio Chacha Quintanilla, aka El Yeyo, are included in that group, the newspaper Milenio reported. Also on the list are Hector Rousvel Huerta, known as El Chester, accused of collecting prohibited weapons and drug trafficking, and Francisco Javier Puente, known as El Choco, former chief of Los Zetas hired assassin group. The mass escape from the prison of Apodaca, near the city of Monterrey, took place after a fight in which 44 inmates were killed. The fight was caused to cover the prison break. Prison security agents are involved in those events, which occurred at daybreak on Sunday, according to the investigations.

Gunmen Kill 5 Taxi Drivers in Northern Mexico

2012-02-22T08:37:00.001Z

Gunmen killed five taxi drivers Tuesday in the streets of the northern Mexican industrial city of Monterrey, the Nuevo Leon state Security Council said. “The attack happened at around 10:00 a.m. in the Solidaridad neighborhood” in the northern part of Monterrey, a council spokesman told Efe. Several men aboard an SUV opened fire on a taxi stand at a busy shopping center located at the intersection of Cabezada and Luis Donaldo Colosio avenues. The gunmen managed to get away, leaving the streets covered with bodies. The security forces cordoned off the area, with soldiers guarding the crime scene investigators sent to gather evidence. The shootings occurred just hours after three suspected Gulf cartel members – two men and a woman – were murdered at Monterrey’s Topo Chico prison by two killers from the rival Zetas drug cartel. On Sunday, Zetas gunmen massacred 44 Gulf cartel members imprisoned at the penitentiary in Apodaca, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, while 30 Zetas members escaped with the assistance of several guards. Monterrey and its suburbs have been battered by a wave of drug-related violence that has left about 2,500 people dead since March 2010. Los Zetas has been battling an alliance of the Gulf, Sinaloa and La Familia drug cartels, known as the Nueva Federacion, for control of the Monterrey metropolitan area and smuggling routes into the United States. Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as “El Lazca,” deserted from the Mexican army in 1999 and formed Los Zetas with three other soldiers, all members of an elite special operations unit, becoming the armed wing of the Gulf drug cartel. After several years on the payroll of the Gulf cartel, Los Zetas, considered Mexico’s most violent criminal organization, went into the drug business on their own account and now control several lucrative territories. Mexico’s drug war death toll stood at 47,515 from December 2006 to Sept. 30. The murder total has grown every year of President Felipe Calderon’s military offensive against the well-funded, heavily armed drug cartels. Unofficial tallies published in December by independent daily La Jornada put the death toll from Mexico’s drug war at more than 50,000

13 Zetas Members Arrested in Western Mexico

2012-02-22T08:32:00.001Z

A total of 13 suspected members of the Los Zetas drug cartel were arrested in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, officials said. The suspects, two of whom are women, were detained Monday morning in Tlajomulco, a city located about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, after several business owners complained about an extortion racket, the Public Safety Secretariat said. The group was recruited by a “Zetas boss,” known only as “Don Jose,” who took them to the city a few months ago to “execute some criminal activities,” Alfredo Vazquez, identified as the cell’s leader, told investigators. The cartel provided between 100,000 pesos and 150,000 pesos ($7,000 and $11,000) every two weeks to cover the payroll, Vazquez said. Seven of the suspects are from the central state of Guanajuato, four are from the northern state of Durango and two are from Jalisco, the secretariat said, adding that some of them have prior criminal records. State police seized an AR-15 assault rifle, five handguns and two SUVs with Durango tags in the raid, the secretariat said. Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as “El Lazca,” deserted from the Mexican army in 1999 and formed Los Zetas with three other soldiers, all members of an elite special operations unit, becoming the armed wing of the Gulf drug cartel. After several years on the payroll of the Gulf cartel, Los Zetas, considered Mexico’s most violent criminal organization, went into the drug business on their own account and now control several lucrative territories. Los Zetas has been blamed for several massacres in recent years. The cartel was accused of being behind the Aug. 23, 2010, massacre of 72 migrants, the majority of them from Latin America, at a ranch outside San Fernando, a city in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas. Los Zetas has also been blamed for the massacre of 27 peasants in May at a ranch in Guatemala’s Peten province, which borders Mexico and Belize. Zetas gunmen set fire to the Casino Royale in Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo Leon, on Aug. 25, killing 52 gamblers and employees trapped inside, most of whom died of smoke inhalation.

A Hells Angels member and a man said to be a gang associate were arrested and charged with knowingly taking part in the manufacture of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

2012-02-22T08:30:00.001Z

CAMDEN police and special units have seized 7.5 kilograms of the drug ice estimated to be worth $1 million from a Narellan property. Officers executed search warrants on Tuesday, February 14. A Hells Angels member and a man said to be a gang associate were arrested and charged with knowingly taking part in the manufacture of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug. The two, a Narellan man, 36, and a Catherine Field man, 41, faced Campbelltown Court last week. A Narellan woman, 30, was charged with two counts of possessing a prohibited drug in relation to cannabis and amphetamines found at the Narellan property. She will appear in Camden Court on March 12. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Richmond said two sophisticated laboratories had been found. "The two clandestine laboratories shut down by police this week were sophisticated and capable of making large quantities of prohibited drugs [methylamphetamine]," Chief Inspector Richmond said. "Those drugs will no longer be making their way to local streets and causing harm to members of the community." Large quantities of chemicals were also found and members of the Drug Squad's chemical operation team dismantled the laboratories.

Hells Angels member has sentencing moved

2012-02-22T08:27:00.001Z

Mark Duclos, 48, of Fairbanks, Ala., had his sentencing moved to coincide with fellow Hells Angels club member George Caruso, 58, of Shirley, Mass. Duclos and Caruso were involved in a stabbing that took place during last year's Sturgis motorcycle rally. Duclos, who was found guilty of aggravated assault, was scheduled to be sentenced today, Feb. 21, though his sentencing was moved to March 5 at 10:45 a.m. along with Caruso. The pair were involved in a fight between the Hells Angels and the Mongols motorcycle club on Aug. 10, which resulted in a stabbing, sending a Mongols member and a Hells Angels member to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Aggravated assault is a class three felony and carries a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine. Simple assault is a class one misdemeanor and carries a maximum punishment of up to one year in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.

Dartmouth shooting victim connected to Hells Angels

2012-02-22T08:24:00.001Z

A man found dead on a Halifax-area road Sunday night had a Hells Angels connection and was shot in the back of the head, thechronicleherald.ca has learned. Halifax RCMP identified James Alexander (Sandy) Lyle, 55, as the victim and have declared his death a homicide. It’s Halifax's second homicide this year. “He died of a gunshot wound and a weapon has been recovered,” Halifax RCMP spokeswoman Const. Tammy Lobb said Tuesday afternoon. “I’m not revealing where it was recovered because that’s part of the investigation." Lobb said police will analyze and trace the gun. Two separate sources told thechronicleherald.ca that Lyle was shot in the back of the head. Lobb would not talk about any possible motive or suspects in the killing. She said no arrests had been made by late Tuesday afternoon. Lyle had a long history of drug dealing and was arrested in a major operation against the now-defunct Halifax chapter of the Hells Angels. That Dec. 4, 2001 sweep, called Operation Hammer, took in half of the membership of the Halifax chapter, which ended up closing as a result. About 200 police officers took part in the raid, in which police stormed the gang’s Dutch Village Road clubhouse, plus other sites in Halifax, Kings County, Bible Hill and Sherbrooke, Que. They arrested a trio of Hells Angels – Clay Gordon MacRae, Jeffrey Albert Lynds and Arthur Daine Harrie – along with Lyle, well-known criminal James Melvin Sr., and 15 others. Lyle was charged with trafficking marijuana. Harrie was arrested in Quebec on the day of that raid. Lynds was found dead of an apparent suicide in his Montreal jail cell last month. He was awaiting trial for two murders in that province in 2010. In March 1991, Lyle received a five-year sentence – his only federal stint - for running a cocaine operation from his Maple Street home with his younger brother Martin Ellsworth Lyle. Lyle was also found guilty of possessing a loaded .45 calibre handgun. Martin Lyle was given three years. Around 10:45 p.m. on Sunday, a passing motorist saw a body on the side of Montague Road in Montague Gold Mines and called police. Emergency Health Services were called to the scene and tried unsuccessfully to revive the victim, Lobb said. On Monday morning, a number of police investigators went to a home on Dartmouth’s Cannon Terrace and confirmed it was connected to the suspicious death. Police were still at the home Tuesday. Provincial records name James Lyle and Carla Balsor as the home’s owners. Officers were seen working inside a garage at 14 Cannon Terrace and later removed a Honda SUV from the scene. Lobb said there were no drugs in the home, which has been searched since the killing. Neighbours said the home has a surprising amount of security, which includes surveillance cameras, frosted windows and an intercom at the front door. Lyle and Balsor used to live on nearby Sea King Drive, but sold that house in 2007. Balsor is the owner of the Rodeo Lounge and Restaurant in Burnside. The Mounties are asking anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in Montague Gold Mines or around the house on Cannon Terrace on Sunday to contact them. Lobb would not say if Lyle was at his home before he was found on Montague Road.

COMANCHERO bikie who kept his membership a secret from his father has become the eleventh man to be sentenced over Sydney's fatal airport brawl.

2012-02-21T22:36:00.001Z

Zoran Kisacanin, 25, was found not guilty of murder or manslaughter last November, but guilty of riot and affray in relation to the March 2009 brawl. Anthony Zervas, the brother of Hells Angel member Peter Zervas, was killed during the violence involving the rival motorcycle gangs. Justice Robert Allan Hulme jailed Kisacanin in the NSW Supreme Court for at least three years two months and a maximum of five years and three months. "The Comancheros and Hells Angels motorcycle gangs were, in effect, at war with each other," the judge said. "The offender was a nominee member of the Comancheros. "He was subject to its strict rules requiring loyalty and prohibiting cowardice." The judge said Kisacanin played a role in the fighting - which generally involved wrestling, punching and kicking - and also picked up a bollard. But there was no evidence as to what he did with it. The judge said the participants in the riot were prepared to "engage in wanton and significant violence regardless of the presence of many airline and airport staff and members of the public". In an affidavit, Kisacanin said he became involved with the Comancheros after meeting members at a local gym. He said that the gang "sounded like good fun hanging out with the guys and being part of a brotherhood". As his mother and brother were in Serbia, his only family in Australia was his father and he kept his involvement secret from him. The judge noted Kisacanin has been housed with his Comanchero colleagues in jail, saying he "had no idea what to do if (he) was alone in prison". After promising to cease association with the club on his release, his father has agreed to let him live and work with him in a painting business. Comanchero national president Mick Hawi is yet to be sentenced after being found guilty of murder, while another club member is to be sentenced for manslaughter in March. Eight other Comancheros and two Hells Angels members have already been sentenced for their roles in the brawl.

DNA link alleged to child shooting scene

2012-02-21T22:34:00.001Z

Police allege they have DNA evidence linking a prospective member of the Hells Angels to a home invasion during which an 11-year-old boy was shot at Semaphore in Adelaide. The man has been refused bail in the Magistrates Court. Former Fink Mark Sandery was enraged when his son was shot in their Military Road home last September. The boy was sleeping with his brother in a bedroom when the shots were fired, wounding him twice in the left leg. Five months later, Arron Cluse, 21, has been charged and faced court over the home invasion. Police have told the court they found Cluse's DNA on a hammer used to smash windows at the scene. Arron Cluse has been refused bail They also claim to have found two balaclavas at Cluse's house and glass fragments from the windows. The prosecutor has also revealed Cluse's now-former home was riddled by 14 gunshots last December, then set alight a month later. Fearing for his safety, Cluse fled interstate to stay with family. Defence lawyer Aaron Almeida has told the court Cluse will plead not guilty and there is no motive or evidence to link him to the shooting. Magistrate Robert Harrup refused bail, ruling the charges were too serious and the accused was a flight risk, a judgment that distressed his family and friends.

Rebels gang member on run

2012-02-21T22:31:00.001Z

A gang member released on electronic bail has ripped the monitoring device from his leg and gone on the run. Bernard Simon Monk, 32, is wanted for breaching electronic bail while facing a charge of possession of methamphetamine for supply. Northland police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said officers had been searching for Monk since he fled from a Whangarei house on February 12, after an electronic device was removed. Monk, a Rebels motorcycle gang member, is described as Caucasian, 1.8m tall and of medium to solid build. When the gang moved into a building in Porowini Ave in April last year, Monk acted as the gang spokesman. Preferring to be called "Guru", he told the Northern Advocate the club "wanted to cement itself in the community and have a positive impact". He said police claims the gang had Australian links and were known for manufacturing and dealing methamphetamine was propaganda and their club had a "no-drugs policy". At the time, Monk said: "Police have gone overboard, talking about drugs and crime when they have nothing to substantiate it. "We are here to make friends with the community and that won't happen by dealing drugs. It's not a gang. "We are motorcycle enthusiasts and we don't have any involvement in meth." The gang have since moved out of the Porowini Ave building. Police believe Monk has contacts in Whangarei and Auckland. Mrs Kennett said members of the public should not approach Monk. If anyone spotted him they should call police immediately.

Murdered man found in Abbotsford farm field

2012-02-21T21:31:00.001Z

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has confirmed it's investigating a murder after a man was found dead in a muddy Abbotsford field on Sunday morning. "It is too early to say whether this is gang-related or a targeted killing," said IHIT spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Pound in a press statement on Monday morning. Investigators' first priority is to identify the victim and confirm the cause of death, said Pound. The man, believed to be between 20 and 30 years old, was found in a field in the 33600 block of Farmer Road. Investigators are hopeful an autopsy Monday will shed some light on the victim's identity and the cause of death, said Pound. A man out on a Sunday morning drive discovered the dead man lying 10 metres off Farmer Road. He called police around 9:20 a.m. and then waited until officers arrived, said Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald on Sunday. IHIT was called out to the scene later in the day to investigate the strange circumstances. "Certainly it's suspicious for a person to be 10 metres off a roadway in the middle of a farm field and be dead," MacDonald said. However, at the time, police officers didn't see obvious signs as to whether they were dealing with a heart attack or a homicide, he said. Residents of the rural area said officers and a police dog spent Sunday scouring a raspberry field on the north side of Farmer Road close to the intersection with McCallum Road. Mark Vaandrager, the owner of a nearby nursery, said he and his family noticed the police combing the field for evidence when they went to church at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Although officers provided residents with few details, Vaandrager doesn't feel people living in the area are in danger. "It doesn't seem like it's somebody local, so I'm not scared it's some random thing," Vaandrager said, adding the victim is likely someone with ties to gangs or the drug trade. "It's an unfortunate thing that happens in the Fraser Valley," he said. "It seems to be tied to the drug mess." IHIT members will continue to canvass the area and conduct neighborhood inquiries, said Pound. The dead man is Abbotsford's second murder victim of 2012. Ryan Saint-Ange, 21, was found dead in a home on 56th Avenue near the Aldergrove border on Jan. 14. No arrests have been made in the case but investigators do not believe it was gang-related.

Dead gangster's assets seized

2012-02-21T08:02:00.001Z

Anti-mafia authorities impounded real estate, automobiles and financial assets from Domenico Campisi, who was shot dead last June in an ambush in the southern Calabria region. He was 44 years old. Campisi was a member of the 'Ndrangheta crime network based in Calabria, considered Italy's most violent and wealthy mafia groups. It was reportedly one of the first time police went after assets of a deceased mafioso.