VIOLENT STREET CRIME

British Consulate Open Day to be held in Algorfa - 6th February 2012

2012-02-11T17:23:00.001Z

The British Consulate in Alicante will be holding an Open day on 22nd February in Algorfa, the town with the highest percentage of British residents in the Alicante province.UK in Spain The event is being jointly organised by the town hall, who have kindly organised the venue, and the Consulate and is open to any British resident or visitors in the area. The Mayor, Antonio Lorenzo Paredes will open the event and it will also be attended by the local councillor for European residents, Samantha Biddles. The British Consul, Paul Rodwell, will start the consular presentation talking about what the Consulate can and cannot do as well as giving some tips and information on living in Spain. This will be followed by a presentation from the Pension, Benefit and Healthcare team aiming to dispel any myths that people might have heard about how to access healthcare in Spain, or who can claim which benefits whilst living in Spain. Those attending will also have the opportunity to ask the team questions after the presentation if they have any issues that have not been covered in the main talk. Samantha Biddles will be there also to answer any questions that relate to the town hall. The Consul said ‘I’m looking forward to finally going to Algorfa and seeing this town where so many British citizens have chosen to live. I am sure that people who live in Algorfa already know that they can turn to their town hall if they have any questions about living in Spain, but I hope this meeting will help to make that happen even more and also understand how the Consulate can help.’ The open day is being held at: La Finca Golf and Spa Resort Ctra. Algorfa Los Montesinos Km 3 03169 Algorfa Event starts 11:00am (doors open from 10:30) Those who wish to attend should register for a place as space is limited. Registration is done through the British Embassy website www.ukinspain.fco.gov.uk. Those who do not have access to the internet can also book by calling 902 109 356.

drug gang threatened to kill an officer per day

2012-02-11T16:29:00.001Z

2,000 police are hunkering down in hotels in Mexico's most violent city of Ciudad Juarez after a drug gang threatened to kill an officer per day if their chief refused to resign. Eleven police officers, including four commanders, have already been killed in the city across from El Paso, Texas, since the start of the year. The city's mayor this week ordered police to use several local hotels as temporary barracks to protect themselves from attacks on the way home from work in the city at the heart of Mexican drug violence that has left 50,000 dead in five years. Mayor Hector Murguia said Tuesday that they would stay in hotels for at least three months, with 1.5 million dollars put aside to pay for it. Murguia stood by his police chief, Julian Leyzaola, a controversial former soldier who has also been asked to resign by human rights groups for his alleged heavy-handed policing. "The chances that he (Leyzaola) resigns or that they force him to resign are zero percent," the mayor told journalists. At the entrance to the Rio motel, on Las Torres avenue, several patrols stand guard to protect access to the improvised barracks, as others monitor vehicles passing by. Last week, several banners signed by the "New Cartel of Juarez" appeared around the city of 1.3 million, to announce the killing of a police officer each day as long as Leyzaola stayed in charge of the local police. Some of the messages also accused the police chief of protecting another group, "New Generation," allied to powerful Sinaloa drug cartel of fugitive billionaire Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. According to the mayor, the threats only showed how concerned the drug gangs were in the face of Leyzaola. Murders fell to less than 2,000 in the city in 2011 -- the year Leyzaola took control -- from 3,100 in 2010. Key leaders of city gangs like the "Aztecas" were also captured. Leyzaola already provoked controversy when he led police in another Mexican border city, Tijuana in northwest Mexico. Authorities lauded him for reducing crime there but organizations such as Amnesty International sought to put him on trial for the alleged torture of prisoners, backed by witness accounts from at least 25 police. Since Leyzaola took over the local police in Ciudad Juarez in March 2011, the Chihuahua state human rights commission has recorded 37 complaints against him, including for abuse of authority and arbitrary detentions. Gustavo de la Rosa, a commission member, told AFP that the police "were told to arrest anyone who looked like a criminal or became nervous on seeing someone in uniform." The business community of Ciudad Juarez -- the base of almost 20 percent of Mexico's manufacturing industry -- support the police chief, however. "It's clear that we have to stop the violence continuing, particularly murders of police. We have to look for means to reinforce the local police," said Alejandro Seade, director of the city's chamber of commerce.

Twenty seconds of shooting, 432 bullets, five dead policemen.

2012-02-11T16:23:00.001Z

Four of the corpses are sprawled over a shiny new Dodge Ram pickup truck that has been pierced so many times it resembles a cheese grater. The bodies are contorted in the unnatural poses of the dead - arms arched over spines, legs spread out sideways. The bloodied fifth man is lying three metres from the pickup. His eyes are wide open, his right hand stretched upward clasping a 9mm pistol - a death pose that could have been set up for a Hollywood film. It is a balmy evening in Culiacan, Sinaloa, near Mexico's Pacific Coast. The policemen had stopped at a red light when the gunmen attacked, shooting from the side and back, unleashing bullets in split seconds. A customized Kalashnikov can fire 100 rounds in 10 seconds. This is a lightning war. I arrive 10 minutes after the shooting and a crowd of onlookers is already thickening. "That one is a Kalashnikov bullet. That one is from an AR15," says a skinny boy in a baseball cap, pointing at a long silvery shell next to a shorter gold one. Besides them, middle-aged couples, old men and mothers with small children gawk at the morbid display. The local press corps huddles together, checking photos on their viewfinders. They are relaxed, cheery; this is their daily bread. A battered Ford Focus speeds through the crowd. The wife of one of the victims jumps out and starts screaming hysterically. Her swinging arms are held back by her brother, his eyes red with tears. It is only when I see the pained look on their faces that the loss of human life really sinks in. Anyone with half an eye on the news knows that Mexico is in the midst of a drug war, with rival cartels battling for control of a multibillion-dollar trade in the United States. The country is so deep in blood it is getting harder to shock the locals. Even the kidnapping and killing of nine policemen, or a pile of craniums in a town plaza, isn't big news. Only the most sensational atrocities now grab media attention: a grenade attack on revellers celebrating Independence Day; an old silver mine filled with 56 decaying corpses, some of the victims thrown in alive; the kidnapping and shooting of 72 migrants, including a pregnant woman. In the five years of President Felipe Calderon's administration, the government admitted earlier this month, the drug war has claimed 47,500 lives, including 3,000 public servants - policemen, soldiers, judges, mayors and dozens of federal officials. Such a murder rate compares to the most lethal insurgent forces in the world - and is certainly more deadly than Hamas, Eta, or the IRA in its entire three decades of armed struggle. The nature of the attacks is even more intimidating. Mexican gangsters regularly shower police stations with bullets and rocket-propelled grenades; they carry out mass kidnappings of officers and leave their mutilated bodies on public display; they even kidnapped one mayor, tied him up and stoned him to death on a main street. I originally travelled to Latin America with the goal of being a foreign correspondent in exotic climes. The Oliver Stone film Salvador inspired me with its story of reporters dodging bullets in the Central American civil wars. But by the turn of the millennium, the days of military dictators and communist insurgents were no more. We were now, apparently, in a golden age of democracy and free trade. I arrived in Mexico in 2000 the day before Vicente Fox, the former Coca-Cola executive president, was sworn into office, ending 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. This was a titanic moment in Mexican history, a seismic shift in its political plates, a time of optimism and celebration. The clique who ravaged the country and lined their pockets for most of the 20th century had fallen from power. Ordinary Mexicans looked forward to enjoying the fruit of their hard work along with freedom and human rights. In the first years of the decade, no one saw the crisis ahead. The American media heaped high expectations on the cowboy-boot-wearing Fox as he entertained Kofi Annan and became the first Mexican to address a joint U.S. session of Congress. The first wave of serious cartel warfare began in the autumn of 2004 on the border with Texas and spread across the country. When Calderon took power in 2006 and declared war on these gangs, the violence multiplied overnight. The same system that promised Mexico hope was weak in controlling the most powerful mafias on the continent. The old regime may have been corrupt and authoritarian, but it could manage organized crime by taking down a token few gangsters and taxing the rest. Mexico's drug war is inextricably linked to the democratic transition. Its special-force soldiers became mercenaries for gangsters. Businessmen who used to pay off corrupt officials had to pay off mobsters. Police forces turned on one another - sometimes breaking into shootouts. Following the rise of the Mexican drug cartels has been a surreal - and tragic - journey. I have stumbled up mountains where drugs are born as pretty flowers; dined with lawyers who represent the biggest capos on the planet; and I got drunk with American undercover agents who infiltrate the cartels. I also sped through city streets to see too many bleeding corpses - and heard the words of too many mothers who had lost their sons, and with them their hearts. I have met the assassins, too; men like Jose Antonio from Ciudad Juarez, probably the most murderous city on the planet - just 11 kilometres from the border with the U.S. Jose stands just five foot six and has chocolate coloured skin, earning the nickname "frijol" or bean. He has a mop of black curly hair and bad acne, like many 17-year-olds. But despite his harmless demeanour, he has seen more killings than many soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Frijol came of age in a war zone. When Mexico's two most powerful gangs, the Zetas and Sinaloa cartels, began fighting in 2004, he was just 12 and joined a street gang in his slum. At 14, he was already involved in armed robberies, drug dealing and regular gun battles with rival gangs. At 16, police nabbed him for possession of a small arsenal of weapons and being an accessory to a drug-related murder. Frijol is typical of thousands of teenagers and young men. His parents hail from a country village, but joined the wave of immigrants that flocked to work in Juarez. They sweated on production lines making Japanese TV sets, American cosmetics and mannequins, for an average of $6 a day. It was a step up from growing corn in their village. But it was also a radical change in their lives. Frijol's parents still celebrated peasant folk days and macho country values. But he grew up in a sprawling city of 1.3 million where he could tune into American TV and see the skyscrapers of El Paso over the river. Contraband goods and guns flooded south and drugs went north. He was in between markets and in between worlds. While Frijol's parents slaved for long days in the factories, he was left for hours at home alone. He soon found company as part of a Juarez street gang or "barrio," the Calaberas, or skulls. "The gang becomes like your home, your family. It is where you find friendship and people to talk to. It is where you feel part of something. And you know the gang will back you up if you are in trouble." These barrios had been in Juarez for decades. New generations filled the ranks while veterans grew out of them. They had always fought rival gangs with sticks, stones, knives and guns. But a radical change occurred when the barrios were swept up into the wider drug cartel war. Frijol learned to use guns in the Calaberas. Arms moved around Juarez streets freely and every barrio had its arsenal. "There was a guy who had been in the barrio a few years before and was now working with the big people," explains Frijol. "He started offering jobs to the youngsters. The first jobs were just as lookouts or guarding tienditas (little drug shops). Then they started paying people to do the big jobs ... to kill." I ask how much the mafia pays to carry out murders. Frijol says one thousand pesos - about $77. The figure seems so ludicrous that I ask other active and former gang members. The price of a human life in Juarez is just $77. To traffic drugs is no huge step to the dark side. All kinds of people move narcotics and don't feel they crossed a red line. But to take a life for what amounts to enough to buy some tacos and a few beers over the week shows a terrifying degradation in society. I ask Frijol what it is like to be in fire fights, to see your friends die and to be an accessory to a murder. He answers unblinking. "Being in shootouts is pure adrenalin. But you see dead bodies and you feel nothing. There is killing every day. Some days, there are 10 executions; other days, there are 30. It is just normal now." I speak to Elizabeth Villegas, a psychologist. The teenagers with whom she works have murdered and raped. I ask, how does this hurt them psychologically? She stares at me as if she has not thought about it before. "They don't feel anything," she replies. "They just don't understand the pain that they have caused others. Most come from broken families. They don't recognize rules or limits." The teenagers know that, under Mexican law, minors can be sentenced to a maximum of only five years in prison no matter how many murders, kidnappings or rapes they have committed. Many convicted killers will be back on the streets before they turn 20. Frijol himself will be out when he is 19. But the law is the least of their worries; the mafias administer their own justice. Juarez cartel gunmen went to neighbourhoods where gang members had been recruited for the Sinaloans. It didn't matter that only two or three kids from the barrio had joined the mob; a death sentence was passed on the whole barrio. The Sinaloan mafia returned the favour on barrios that had joined the Juarez Cartel. Frijol recognizes that youth prison may be hard. But it is a lot safer there than on the streets now. "I keep hearing about friends who have been killed out there. Maybe I would be dead too. Prison could have saved my life." On the streets of Mexico, death was never far away. Five sources whose interviews helped to shape my book were later murdered or disappeared. One of them, the Honduran anti-drug chief Julian Aristides Gonzalez, gave me an interview in his office in the capital Tegucigalpa. The officer chatted for hours about the growth of Mexican drug gangs in Central America and the Colombians who provide them with narcotics. In his office were 140 kilos of seized cocaine and piles of maps and photographs showing clandestine landing strips and narco mansions. I was impressed by how open and frank Gonzalez was about his investigations and the political corruption they showed. Four days later, he gave a news conference showing his latest discoveries. Next day, he dropped his sevenyear-old daughter off at school. Assassins drove past on a motorcycle and fired 11 bullets into him. It turned out he had planned to retire in two months and move his family to Canada.

FISH and chip chain said today it would save the original Harry Ramsden’s restaurant in West Yorkshire with a £500,000 investment.

2012-02-07T10:48:00.001Z

Rival chips in with £500,000 to restore the original Harry Ramsden’s

Harry Ramsden's at Guiseley

A FISH and chip chain said today it would save the original Harry Ramsden’s restaurant in West Yorkshire with a £500,000 investment.

Harry Ramsden’s announced last year that it was to close its original Guiseley branch - the first restaurant it opened in the UK - after 83 years in business.

Today, the Wetherby Whaler fish and chip group revealed it would take over the premises and return the restaurant to its “glory days”.

In November, Harry Ramsden’s said its flagship restaurant, which opened in Guiseley, Leeds, in 1928, was losing money and needed a considerable investment before it could become profitable again.

The branch, which led to the chain of 35 restaurants across the UK, was originally run out of a wooden “shed” before moving into its famous art nouveau-style building, complete with chandeliers, in 1931.

Now, the Wetherby Whaler group, which has four restaurants and takeaways in Yorkshire, said it would invest £500,000 on refurbishing the restaurant to become its flagship branch.

A spokeswoman for the group said the famous chandeliers would be updated with new fittings and it was hoped that the original “shed” could be preserved.

Phillip Murphy, who launched the Wetherby Whaler with his wife Janine in 1989, said: “The famous fish and chip restaurant in Guiseley is the spiritual home of fish and chips in England. It would be a national scandal if it were to close at this time of economic uncertainty.

“Our investment has saved a Yorkshire landmark and will ensure the tradition of fine fish and chips continues at this important location.

“The new Wetherby Whaler in Guiseley will be our flagship restaurant. We expect it to recapture the atmosphere and flavours of Harry Ramsden’s best years.

“We are confident that with the right investment, careful attention to detail, great-tasting fish and chips and excellent value for money, we will make a lasting success of this new venture and return the restaurant to its glory days.

“Our family-owned business is built on solid foundations and this has given us the confidence to invest. It fits perfectly with our business strategy of controlled growth and accentuates our belief that Yorkshire is a great place to do business.”

Sex on Las Yucas Beach gets a council no

2012-02-07T08:58:00.001Z

RESIDENTS living near Las Yucas Beach in Benalmadena Costa are hopeful that they can now use the beach without fear of bumping into people engaging in sexual acts. Benalmadena Council has installed cameras and signs by the entry point to Las Yucas, prohibiting nudism and sexual activity on the beach. People caught breaking the rules face fines of up to €3,000, according to Benalmadena Councillor for Safety, Manuel Arroyo. “Local Police officers have been told to act immediately.” For years this beach had become a popular meeting place for people engaging in ‘dogging’, sexual acts in public places – or watching others doing so. Websites exist promote dogging locations, and people travel from all over the Costa del Sol to these places, one of which was Las Yucas. The properties above this beach are luxury apartments and people living there say they have not been able to enjoy the beach due to these sex romps. “It started about 10-years ago, and has escalated since then. The past two summers were the worst,” explained one resident who lives by Las Yucas, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. “They are quite aggressive, and I am sure they would come after me personally,” he said. “These people are disgusting degenerates.” “Often I would look down from the terrace and see children on the beach come running away from behind rocks because they had come upon two men in the act,” he said. The beach next to Las Yucas is a nudist beach, which is governed by rules, so people who wish to fulfill their sexual desires often hop across the rocky outcrop that separates them. “There used to be a sign that said ‘end of nudist beach’, but it was torn down and then never put back,” said the resident. Ana Boss who for six years has lived in La Sirena apartment building, overlooking the beach said there has always been this problem. “It is disgraceful; they have no respect for anybody. Children playing in the community pool can see them.” Residents had been trying for years to get the police and the Town Hall to do something about the situation, she said. Finally they approached the Tourism office and explained how detrimental this situation was. “The situation had become so bad that many owners no longer came to spend their holidays at their second homes,” said Mario Cordero, administrator of the Puerta del Mar building next to La Sirena. She confirmed that since officials installed the security cameras and signs there has been less of this sexual activity. “There are still some of these men who come to see what is going on,” said Ms Boss. Although the CCTV cameras are trained on the entrance to the beach Ms Boss believes they should also put cameras looking onto the beach, as a greater deterrent. Meanwhile, the unnamed resident said, “it is so much better now, for the first time in years I see normal couples walking around and I have not noticed any sexual acts.” “For the most part these perverts have been scared away.”

Benalmadena Council has installed cameras and signs by the entry point to Las Yucas, prohibiting nudism and sexual activity on the beach

2012-02-07T08:53:00.001Z

RESIDENTS living near Las Yucas Beach in Benalmadena Costa are hopeful that they can now use the beach without fear of bumping into people engaging in sexual acts.

Benalmadena Council has installed cameras and signs by the entry point to Las Yucas, prohibiting nudism and sexual activity on the beach. People caught breaking the rules face fines of up to €3,000, according to Benalmadena Councillor for Safety, Manuel Arroyo.

“Local Police officers have been told to act immediately.”

For years this beach had become a popular meeting place for people engaging in ‘dogging’, sexual acts in public places – or watching others doing so.

Websites exist promote dogging locations, and people travel from all over the Costa del Sol to these places, one of which was Las Yucas.

The properties above this beach are luxury apartments and people living there say they have not been able to enjoy the beach due to these sex romps.

“It started about 10-years ago, and has escalated since then. The past two summers were the worst,” explained one resident who lives by Las Yucas, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

“They are quite aggressive, and I am sure they would come after me personally,” he said.

“These people are disgusting degenerates.”

“Often I would look down from the terrace and see children on the beach come running away from behind rocks because they had come upon two men in the act,” he said.

The beach next to Las Yucas is a nudist beach, which is governed by rules, so people who wish to fulfill their sexual desires often hop across the rocky outcrop that separates them.

“There used to be a sign that said ‘end of nudist beach’, but it was torn down and then never put back,” said the resident. Ana Boss who for six years has lived in La Sirena apartment building, overlooking the beach said there has always been this problem.

“It is disgraceful; they have no respect for anybody.

Children playing in the community pool can see them.” Residents had been trying for years to get the police and the Town Hall to do something about the situation, she said. Finally they approached the Tourism office and explained how detrimental this situation was.

“The situation had become so bad that many owners no longer came to spend their holidays at their second homes,” said Mario Cordero, administrator of the Puerta del Mar building next to La Sirena.

She confirmed that since officials installed the security cameras and signs there has been less of this sexual activity.

“There are still some of these men who come to see what is going on,” said Ms Boss. Although the CCTV cameras are trained on the entrance to the beach Ms Boss believes they should also put cameras looking onto the beach, as a greater deterrent.

Meanwhile, the unnamed resident said, “it is so much better now, for the first time in years I see normal couples walking around and I have not noticed any sexual acts.”

“For the most part these perverts have been scared away.”

Costa del Sol cold weather warning

2012-02-07T08:42:00.001Z

THE big freeze which has gripped Europe is due to reach the Costa del Sol tonight (Thursday). Temperatures in Marbella will plummet overnight tonight (Thursday) to 0C with highs on tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday of 7C and 9C. Similar temperatures will be seen on the rest of the coast, as well as Mijas and Coin. Residents further inland in towns including Ronda should prepare for bitter cold, the Spanish Met office AEMET predicts temperatures will plunge to -2C over the weekend. Charity ‘Age UK’ has warned people to wrap up warm as the cold can kill, especially the elderly. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of elderly Expats living inland in Malaga Province which are vulnerable. Michelle Mitchell, charity director general at Age UK said: "Low temperatures raise blood pressure which puts people at a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes as well as increasing the likelihood and severity of flu and other respiratory problems.” People are advised to check local weather forecasts on the radio or via the internet, these can be seen in English on Spain’s met office website www.aemet.es (click on the word ‘welcome’ on the top right). An icy cold weather front originating in Siberia (Russia) has caused thermometers to drop as low as -33C in some parts of Europe where dozens have been killed, mainly Ukraine and Poland. Yesterday (Wednesday) there were severe weather warnings in parts of Britain. Temperatures in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia fell to -20C, the lowest recorded in 50 years.

TWO southside members of the Odins Warriors Outlaw Motorcycle Gang have been charged with firearm and drug offences

2012-02-06T22:27:00.001Z

TWO southside members of the Odins Warriors Outlaw Motorcycle Gang have been charged with firearm and drug offences after police raided two industrial sheds in Boniface St, Archerfield, last week.

Police said a 58-year-old member of the Odins Warriors, of Algester, who owned the building, allegedly declared a shotgun to police.

Police allegedly found an amount of of methylamphetamine, a double barrel shotgun, a revolver and a .22 calibre rifle. More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were also located.

Police searched a second building occupied by a 53-year-old member of the Odins Warriors, from Archerfield, and allegedly located an amount of methylamphetamine and cash.

The 58-year-old man was charged with possessing a dangerous drug, possessing firearms, possessing ammunition and possessing tainted property.

The 53-year-old man was charged with possess dangerous drug.

Both men are scheduled to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on February 16.

The operation was conducted by police from State Crime Operations Command's Firearms Investigation Team along with detectives from Task Force Hydra, the State Drug Investigation Unit and the Vehicle Crime Unit.

Customs and Border Protection also assisted with their firearms and explosive detector dogs.

Gangster 'Mad Dog' in savage beating of murder supergrass

2012-02-05T02:17:00.001Z

A BRUTAL gangland thug was spared even more jail time after he admitted his role in a savage assault on a criminal who became a supergrass in a high profile murder trial. Crumlin gangster Ian 'Mad Dog' Maloney (25) repeatedly kicked Joey O'Brien in the head as he lay semi-conscious in Charlie's Restaurant, Dame Street, on January 4, 2009. sickening Maloney -- who was connected to 'Fat' Freddie Thompson's mob -- is currently serving a 12-year sentence for the €1.2m armed robbery of Paul Sheeran Jewellers in Dundrum Town Centre on September 3, 2008. Just four months after that robbery he subjected Joey O'Brien -- the State's 'star witness' in a murder trial last summer -- to a beating which a judge yesterday described as "sickening". Self-confessed Crumlin drug dealer O'Brien -- who is now in the witness protection programme -- gave the key testimony that helped secure the conviction of gangland killer Peter Kenny (30), from Rialto, for the savage murder of Johnny 'Champagne' Carroll in February, 2009. A source explained: "A lot of people want O'Brien dead -- there is a contract on his head. "Mad Dog hated him because he used to bully him when he was a young fella -- he was delighted to get a chance to batter him. "The beating that O'Brien got was very severe -- Maloney was calling him a rat as he danced on his head." Yesterday, Dublin Circuit Court heard O'Brien woke up the next morning in hospital with a broken jaw, smashed teeth and a broken eye socket. He was badly concussed and could not remember much about the attack. Pieter Le Vert, defending Maloney, submitted that his client has offered a full apology. He said Maloney's brother had died several years ago shortly after been released from garda custody and he blames the authorities for this. He said this led to his client starting to drink and use drugs before becoming involved in crime. Mr Le Vert said Maloney is now drug free and the recent birth of his son has "changed him entirely". Judge Nolan called it a "sickening assault" and said it appears Maloney inflicted most of the injuries. assault However, he said there is some hope he will reform and that he would not extend his prison term. He sentenced Maloney to four years to run alongside his current sentence. Mad Dog's friend, Jonathon Murray (22), was jailed for 18 months for his role in the assault. The court heard that Maloney has 73 previous convictions and Murray has 48, including four for drug dealing.

NYC authorities hunt for leader of Folk Nation gang blamed for bloodshed

2012-02-02T00:17:00.001Z

It’s one of the more colorful street gang names around: Six Tre Outlaw Gangsta Disciples Folk Nation — or Folk Nation, for short. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn allege that a particularly violent faction of the gang was behind at least four murders, three attempted murders and other mayhem that harmed innocent bystanders and terrorized the Ebbets Field Apartments housing complex, located where the storied ballpark once stood. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare ( FBI / Associated Press ) - In this undated photo provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Devon Rodney is shown. Wanted by the FBI, Rodney is the leader of the Brooklyn, N.Y. based Folk Nation gang, which they say is responsible for a series for armed robberies and shootings. A day after announcing charges against the faction’s upper echelon, the FBI and the New York Police Department sought the public’s help in a search Wednesday for a top lieutenant and another member still on the run. The fugitives were identified as 24 year-old Devon Rodney and 19-year-old Rahleek Odom. An undisclosed reward was offered for tips leading to their capture. The Folk Nation “claimed its turf by force ... leaving a trail of victims in its wake,” said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. Said Janice Fedarcyk, head of the FBI’s New York office: “The defendants’ ruthlessness was matched by their recklessness.”

The girlfriend who could finally endure no more

2012-01-28T06:32:00.001Z

There is an old proverb which says: "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." Tammy Kingdon's folly was to return to Troy Mercanti on more than a dozen occasions during their tumultuous 16-year relationship. The final result was that she became, at least as far as the underworld is concerned, a dog - the derogatory term reserved for anyone who gives information to police. It was the prolonged brutality of Mr Mercanti's alleged attack on January 6 which turned the unerringly loyal Ms Kingdon against him. Her lawyers told the Perth District Court last year, after Ms Kingdon was convicted of stealing, that she was a victim of regular physical abuse and had once had her teeth knocked out and an eye socket broken. But she stayed with him anyway. This time it was different. She wasn't beaten because of a drunken quip or because of an argument. Police sources say Mr Mercanti believed Ms Kingdon had been cheating on him with another man. She was allegedly beaten mercilessly and degraded. Mr Mercanti went to Queensland to meet fellow Finks bikies after the incident, while Ms Kingdon stewed about it. Last Friday, she took the two boys she bore to Mr Mercanti and disappeared into police protection. When Mr Mercanti discovered Ms Kingdon and the children were missing, he went on a massive bender which ended when he was arrested on Sunday morning while trying to smash through the sliding glass door of a Duncraig home. He is in custody at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, under armed guard, and requires dialysis after his kidneys shut down. In the long-term, he needs a kidney transplant. But the next move is Ms Kingdon's. She has given police a statement in which she alleges Mr Mercanti bashed her three times in five years, including the attack on January 6. Will she continue with the claim or will she return to him as she has so many times before? The ramifications of her decision are dire. Bikies don't appreciate those who testify against them. And they rarely forgive and forget. Making matters worse for Ms Kingdon is that she has no visible means of support. Her assets consist of two properties - in Jurien Bay and Balga. Both are heavily mortgaged and the Balga property is the headquarters of the Finks. It's difficult to see them paying the rent while she is having their WA leader prosecuted. Just why Ms Kingdon continually returned to an allegedly abusive partner is something that a psychiatrist examined last year as part of the sentencing process after she was convicted of stealing. Dr Sam Febbo's report has been kept private, but the details of Ms Kingdon's life were revealed by her lawyer Stephen Shirrefs in court. Born on July 16, 1976, Tammy Cherie Kingdon grew up in Denmark, but her parents Norman and Faye separated when she was five. Ms Kingdon went to live with her father on a farm about 20km out of town and the District Court was told she was beaten and tormented by her stepmother. She had panic attacks at school because she feared going home. Ms Kingdon finished her schooling to Year 10 in Denmark before completing Year 11 at Albany. She then left to live on the Abrolhos Islands, near Geraldton, where she had a two-year relationship with a crayfisherman. When the relationship ended, Ms Kingdon, aged 18, moved to Perth and worked at the Wanneroo Tavern before moving to Kalgoorlie. There she met Mr Mercanti, then a nominee of the Coffin Cheaters bikie gang. They have been on-and-off ever since she was 19 and now have two children, aged 11 and 10. For a time, Ms Kingdon worked as a stripper, but these days she rarely works. Though she had said during last year's court case that she was leaving him and moving down south to be with family, she did not leave and has since travelled to the Gold Coast and Adelaide to be with Mr Mercanti. Few believe she could now return to Mr Mercanti after making the complaint to police. One said: "He's not the type to let sleeping dogs lie."

Decapitated man John Grainger in Stockport 'was shot first' as two men quizzed

2012-01-27T14:20:00.001Z

Mr Grainger's body was found by Greater Manchester firefighters as they tackled a blaze shortly after 5am in Wellington Street, near the Gala Casino. The 32-year-old's decapitated corpse, which is also thought to have suffered burns injuries, was found in the street - with his head nearby. A post-mortem examination has now concluded that Mr Grainger died from a blunt force head injury and a 'shotgun wound to the head'. John Grainger's decapitated body was discovered on a grass verge (Picture: PA) Two men, aged 29 and 31, are being held at a Greater Manchester police station, where they are still being quizzed on the circumstances surrounding the discovery. Police have said they were initially arrested on suspicion of possessing shotgun cartridges, before the body was found.. Superintendent Pete Matthews, from Greater Manchester Police, said: 'We have a team of dedicated detectives who are working hard to establish the exact circumstances surrounding John's death, so we can provide his family with some much-needed answers. 'We will be continuing with our inquiries and speaking to local residents. 'We also have extra officers in the area to offer reassurance and assist with the investigation.'

Psycho gang boss set for arrest over Maria killing

2012-01-26T18:23:00.001Z

THE net is closing in on the 30-year-old criminal who is suspected of murdering Romanian teenager Maria Rostas. Sources say that gardai should be able to re-arrest the psychotic south city gangster "within weeks" after the discovery of the body of the tragic 18-year-old in the Dublin Mountains on Monday. The criminal is in Cloverhill Prison where he is on remand and facing trial for a number of serious criminal offences. He is also the chief suspect for a number of other serious crimes including a pub murder last year. The development comes as authorities in Romania contact-ed the family of the Roma teenager who gardai believe was savagely sexually abused before being shot in the head. It is understood that the family of Maria (Marioara) Rostas, including her father Dimitri, will travel to Ireland to bring her body back home to Romania for burial. Sources are still unsure whether the victim was taken to a house near Newry to be violated by a notorious underworld figure or whether her ordeal involved being assaulted over a number of days in a house in Pimlico before being shot dead and her body dumped. The chief suspect, along with some of his closest associates, was arrested in December, 2008. But they were all released without charge. When arrested, the chief suspect was wearing a bulletproof vest in bed. Gardai have always worked on the theory that Maria was shot dead in the upstairs room of a derelict house in Brabazon Street just days after being abducted as she begged on East Lombard Street on January 6, 2008. The Brabazon Street property was later gutted in a fire which was started by criminals in a bid to destroy evidence. CANDLES The chief suspect is the number one target for gardai and it is understood that a strong case is being built against him. "This maniac is one of the most dangerous criminals in the country. Certain information has been received which indicates that he saw the devil in her eyes which caused him to freak out and shoot her," a source said. "Despite being an absolutely evil individual, he has some kind of strange religious beliefs and is very afraid of the devil. He is all into candles and altars and stuff like that." The investigation has been helped because the victim's remains were very well preserved after being so tightly wrapped in plastic bags. The Herald revealed that two major south Dublin criminals helped the chief suspect bury the body of the tragic teenager. Sources have revealed that the south city gangster enlisted one of his closest associates to help dispose of her body after he shot her. The suspect's pal was so terrified that the gangster would murder him after burying Maria that he brought a close relative with him to help in the dig.

Bulgarian gangster Tihomir Georgiev has contract on his head

2012-01-26T18:15:00.001Z

Tihomir Georgiev — known as the Butcher Of Bulgaria for his reputation for slicing off fingers and ears of his enemies — is due to be extradited this week. He is suspected of two murders in Bulgaria and could face at least 18 years in jail if convicted. But crime bosses — furious he tried to cut a deal by giving evidence against his former paymasters before going on the run — are taking bets that he will not see out the year. They have issued orders Georgiev, 43 — caught at a gym in Bermondsey, South London, after a tip-off from The Sun — must be killed behind bars. A source said: "His chances are slim to say the least."

Gangster gets four years for drug stash

2012-01-25T15:26:00.001Z

A CAREER criminal branded as “extraordinarily dangerous” has been jailed for four years after being caught with heroin worth £50,000 during a police raid. Detectives believe that Ronald Aldred was peddling the Class A drug in Edinburgh and West Lothian after recovering the stash kept at his Kirkliston home. The 44-year-old was jailed for 12 years in 2002 as the ringleader of a gang that took part in a campaign of kidnapping, assault and extortion, which a judge described as being like “something out of a 1930s Hollywood gangster movie”. Aldred had been hired by dealers to recover a kilo of stolen cocaine, and at one point the gang tried to put a loaded gun into a victim’s mouth during a vicious interrogation. In 1992, he was jailed for nine years for two attempted murders after launching an attack with a sword and knife at The Royal Nip pub in Albert Street, Leith. Detective Sergeant Jim Robertson, from the force’s Serious Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), worked on the drug investigation against Aldred, which saw him jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday. DS Robertson said that Aldred was caught with half a kilo of heroin at his home in Marshall Road, Kirkliston. Aldred, who has a total of five previous convictions, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin on October 6 last year, and prosecutors have already begun steps to seize his assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Police raided his home after a tip-off and found five packages of heroin along with phones, scales, sandwich bags and more than £700 in cash. Prosecutors said that if the heroin had been broken down and sold on as “tenner bags” then it had the potential value of £50,000. His defence counsel, Frank Gallagher, told the court that during his last period in prison Aldred had developed a drug problem and built up debts. Mr Gallagher said that his client agreed to the drugs being in his home in return for the debt being reduced. DS Robertson told the Evening News: “This conviction shows our commitment to tackling serious and organised crime. The drugs were being stored at that address and we’re confident Aldred was involved in dealing. “We welcome this four-year sentence, both as a deterrent to Aldred and to anyone else involved in drug dealing.” In early 2002, Aldred’s gang was recruited to hunt down stolen cocaine, abducting one man from outside a Scottish court who was handcuffed and forced to hand over £7000. Sentencing them for that offence, Lord Dawson told Aldred and his two accomplices: “I regard all three of you as extraordinarily dangerous men against whom the public must be protected.” But Aldred’s 12-year sentence was later cut to eight years by appeal judges. In May 1992, Aldred was found guilty after a five-day trial for attempting to murder two men and seriously assaulting two others. Aldred attempted to murder Thomas Brown by stabbing him with a knife and striking him with a sword, and assaulted Thomas Monaghan with the sword in The Royal Nip in September 1991. He also attempted to murder David McKinlay with a knife in Ardshiel Avenue, Drumbrae, on October 19, 1991 and struck Kevin Smith on the head with a knife in Easter Road on August 3, 1991.

Fury erupts over bikie 'war' claims

2012-01-25T15:18:00.001Z

A GOLD Coast nightclub owner says it's time to clear the air on "sensationalised" reports of bikie gang violence in Surfers Paradise. But the club owner blasted police for allowing bikies to parade through the Glitter Strip wearing gang patches. "The police at Surfers Paradise should hang their heads in shame as they are the ones unable to control these sorts of incidents," the club owner said. "They don't see trouble walk past the station at 2.30am on a weekend with gang members wearing full colours?

Troy Mercanti To Have Bedside Hearing

2012-01-25T15:13:00.001Z

Finks motorcycle gang member Troy Mercanti will have a bedside court hearing this afternoon due to his "significantly deteriorating" mental and physical state, a Perth court was told. Mr Mercanti was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning, charged with aggravated assault and trespassing following a home invasion in Duncraig. He has also been charged with assault charges in relation to another incident earlier this month, and police are yet to lay charges over the alleged discovery of drugs and ammunition in his home. Advertisement: Story continues below Mr Mercanti has been under police guard in a Perth hospital since his arrest in the early hours of Sunday, and was suffering from significant physical trauma which may include amphetamine abuse, the court heard on Monday. His lawyer Laurie Levy said today that Mr Mercanti's condition had deteriorated significantly, and he successfully applied for a bedside hearing this afternoon. Mr Mercanti was arrested and taken to hospital after police were called to the home of a Duncraig couple at 4.15am on Sunday, where they allegedly found Mr Mercanti bashing on the door. Police from the organised crime squad then carried out a raid on his home - less than one kilometre away - where it is alleged drugs and ammunition were found. Mr Mercanti was charged with one count of acts intended to cause bodily harm, three aggravated assaults occasioning bodily harm and one aggravated indecent assault. Those charges related to separate incidents which took place earlier this month. He was also charged with trespassing and damage, relating to the incident on Sunday. Mr Mercanti was due to have a bedside hearing on Monday, but the matter was postponed to this morning due to his ailing health. The court was told on Monday that Mr Mercanti had "significant physical trauma" but there was not any issues regarding his mental capacity at the moment. Mr Levy today argued that Mr Mercanti's current custody condition prevented him access from family and friends who could advise over the types of medical treatment that he needed. Police prosecutor Sergeant Andy Elliott did not oppose holding a bedside hearing so the gang crime detectives could be put back on the street and Serco guards put in their place at the hospital. Mr Mercanti's medical records have not yet been presented before the courts. He was not expected to apply for bail, however he will be read the full list of charges in relation to the incident on Sunday. Mr Mercanti was released from prison in August last year after he was jailed for causing grievous bodily harm in 2007. His defection to the Finks in 2008 sparked a feud between the two outlaw motorcycle gangs who have since engaged in violent clashes, including a brawl at the Kwinana Motorplex in 2010 in which a Finks member lost three fingers.

Arrest made after prison van escape in West Midlands

2012-01-24T09:15:00.001Z

Detectives hunting an "extremely dangerous" murder suspect, who escaped from a prison van following a "well-orchestrated armed ambush", have arrested a man. Officers from West Midlands Police detained the suspect on Monday just hours after Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke ordered an inquiry into how John Anslow was able to be sprung from custody. The 31-year-old escaped after a gang of three masked men stopped the prison van, smashed its windows with sledgehammers and punched its driver. The van was taking inmates from Hewell Prison in Redditch to Stafford Crown Court on Monday morning. Instead of being transferred in a high-security prison service van with a police escort, Anslow was with other inmates in a van run by a private contractor. His status was only upgraded after he was charged with the murder of businessman Richard Deakin last week.

Expect more gang violence in London

2012-01-23T22:30:00.001Z

As the news filtered out -- a series of suspicious fires at shops, parlours and clubs connected to biker gangs, along with a shooting outside a suspected Hells Angels clubhouse -- it seemed logical to conclude that London had unwittingly found itself in the middle of a biker war. That seemed upsetting, but understandable. After all, we've seen this kind of stuff before. It seemed familiar and, in some strangely perverse fashion, almost reassuring. But then London police Chief Brad Duncan revealed police believed the violence was the work of street gangs. Street gangs? Taking on the Hells Angels? That's crazy, right? Yes, it is. And that, as one expert warns, is precisely the problem. "It is audacious," says Irvin Waller. "But street gangs tend to be audacious." A founding executive director of the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime, current president of the U.S.-based International Organization for Victims' Assistance, longtime professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa and the author of several books -- including the influential Less Law, More Order: The Truth About Reducing Crime -- Waller has advised officials in more than 40 countries about how to prevent violence. And when told about our police chief's view that London is seeing a battle between gangs and bikers, Waller issues a dour warning. "None of this," he says, "is good news." Shootings and suspicious fires are, of course, never welcome. But Waller says the very make-up of a street gang -- young men typically, he says, between the ages of 15 and 25 -- is a recipe for recklessness. "These are basically young men who likely dropped out of school, or are not involved in jobs," says Waller. "If they've started to get involved in the drug trade, which would be consistent with what your police chief said, then they're probably carrying handguns for their own protection. And once you start carrying handguns for your own protection, you're living a risky life." Whereas members of the Hells Angels tend to be older, wiser and more dependent on a well-organized hierarchy with established procedures, Waller says street gangs are, by their very nature, more careless and impulsive. This local conflict has likely been triggered, he says, by a desire for a larger share of the lucrative drug market. "Your typical street gang does not have links to Colombia or Mexico, so they are basically retailers of drugs," says Waller. "The Hells Angels may also be retailers, but they've been involved in importing and distributing drugs... The Hells Angels are usually higher up the drug food chain." Waller, who has studied street gangs in Canada and Mexico, adds gang violence often escalates. "Youth gangs are not good news because they end up shooting each other, and other people get hurt," he says. "And there's no doubt there's a lot more violence associated with gang activity in Canada now than there was 15 years ago... Dramatically more." Waller says street gangs and handguns go hand-in-hand. "Now, roughly 20% of homicides are (committed) with a handgun," says Waller. "But if you go back 15 years, it was almost none that were (committed with) handgun." "What will the Hells Angels do?" asks Waller. "I don't know. But these are dangerous acts. And my concern is, where is this going to stop?"

Mention of Mafia at hearing for Hells Angel murder

2012-01-18T13:11:00.001Z

References to the Mafia surfaced Tuesday as prosecutors and public defenders argued whether names of some witnesses should be kept secret at the upcoming murder trial for a Vagos motorcycle gang member accused of killing a high-ranking Hells Angel during a shootout at a Nevada casino. Ernesto Gonzalez, a Vagos member from San Francisco, is accused of fatally shooting the president of the rival Hells Angels' San Jose chapter, Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, during the Sept. 23 melee at John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks. Lawyers for Gonzalez and two other men charged in connection with the killing asked Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer to order prosecutors to release the name of another Vagos member who testified confidentially before the grand jury that indicted all three men in November. But police testified Tuesday that the unidentified Vagos member fears for his life and is bound for a witness protection program. "The Hells Angels are a well-known, outlaw motorcycle gang, as are the Vagos, and people are scared of them," Deputy District Attorney Karl Hall said. Police Sgt. Eric Bennett, an investigator from San Bernardino, Calif., said yet another Vagos member who was wounded during the casino shootout - Leonard Rameriz of Garden Grove, Calif. - met with a member of the Mafia in the weeks after the killing. "We know a member of the Vagos met with the Mafia and gave him copies of affidavits for search warrants," Bennett said. He said that while the confidential witness is identified only as a number in the grand jury transcripts made public, there may have been clues to his identity in the search warrants. Rameriz, who was shot in the stomach but survived, also visited the residence of the secret witness and attempted to contact one of his friends, Bennett said. "He's afraid for his safety," he said. "Some (Vagos) members do know who he is." Steinheimer said she would consider the arguments and rule in the coming days whether the names of the confidential witnesses should be provided to the defense lawyers. Gonzalez, who police said is the president of a Vagos chapter in Nicaragua, appeared in court under heavy security Tuesday along with co-defendants who face the equivalent of murder charges for their role in the brawl that led to the fatal shooting. Gary Rudnick, the vice president of the Vagos Los Angeles chapter, is accused of instigating the fight by provoking Pettigrew. Cesar Villagrana, a Hells Angel member and friend of Pettigrew's, is accused of shooting Rameriz and another Vagos wounded that night. Gonzalez and Rudnick, whose nickname is "Jabbers," both wore bullet proof vests, shackles and handcuffs in court Tuesday. They're being represented by public defenders and are being held in the Washoe County jail awaiting their trial set to begin Oct. 29. Villagrana, who claims he was acting in self-defense and is free on $300,000 bail, is represented by David Chesnoff, a high-profile defense lawyer from Las Vegas. Chesnoff said Villagrana's rights are being violated because he doesn't have a chance to question the witness whose name remains secret and whose testimony was key to the grand jury indictment. He tried to make his point by asking two police officers testifying Tuesday whether they would want their defense lawyer to be able to question all the witnesses if they were accused of a crime they didn't commit. The officers acknowledged they would. "This isn't done in secret," Chesnoff said. "I want equal protection under the law here." The confidential witness told the grand jury he had been a member of the Vagos for 27 years and been part of its "higher echelon" of leadership "before this event." He said "Jabbers" is known for having a "big mouth" and was responsible for provoking a fight with Pettigrew that turned the casino floor into a shooting gallery. Rudnick had refused to back down even after national Vagos officers were summoned and talks with Hells Angels' leaders had calmed the volatile situation shortly after 10 p.m., the grand jury witness said. But about an hour later, Rudnick again was taunting Pettigrew, who the witness said "in the Hells Angels world is one of the most important guys in the United States." Finally, he said Pettigrew had enough and punched Rudnick in the face, touching off a series of fights that led to the gunfire. "All hell broke loose," the witness testified. "Just bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam." Other witnesses who testified before the grand jury on condition of confidentiality included the director of security and the director of surveillance at the Nugget. Gonzalez was arrested in San Francisco on Sept. 30. He told arresting officers that the Hells Angels were after him and asked them to get him out of the area as fast as possible when he was nabbed sitting in a rental car near campus police headquarters at the University of San Francisco, police said.

Bikie dispute leads to car park shooting

2012-01-18T09:03:00.001Z

dispute between Comanchero motorcycle gang members led to a shooting in Adelaide's west on Monday night, police believe. Two shots were fired in the car park of the Findon Hotel about 10:00pm (ACDT). Detective Inspector Paul Yeomans says two men were arguing in the car park before one of them fired the shots at a dark-coloured sedan. "We don't think this is a random attack," he said. "We think that the two males are known to each other. We do think, even though it's early in the investigation, we do think it is linked to outlaw motorcycle gangs, in particular the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang." The cars sped-off after the shooting and police have not said why they suspect Comanchero members. The shooting is the latest instance of bikie-related violence in the past two months. But Attorney-General John Rau insists the situation is not out of control. "There are always going to be lunatics who go out there and break the law as these people have done and when they're caught up with the law will deal with them," he said. There is no sign anyone was injured in the incident.

Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police

2012-01-18T09:00:00.001Z

Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police just prior to a search of a St. Andrews home that netted drugs, ammunition and gang paraphernalia. Police said at about 3 p.m. Friday, Shane Allen Fischer, 31, and Nicole Joy Nykorak, 26, were arrested during a traffic stop at Highway 8 and Grassmere Road. The stop came about two hours prior to police executing two search warrants at the same alleged drug house on Lockport Road as part of a ongoing street crime investigation, police said Sunday. Police seized nearly $10,000 worth of cocaine and hash, along with coke-cutting agent, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, a bullet-proof vest and gang attire, Const. Jason Michalyshen said. The seizure of the armoured vest is significant, as it may prove to become the first test of provincial legislation that came into force Jan. 1 outlawing their use by the general public without a permit. Anyone unauthorized to have body armour and is caught with it faces a fine of up to $10,000, three months in jail or both. Michalyshen said he was unaware of any other pending arrests in the case. Fischer was out on bail at the time and was supposed to be living elsewhere, said police. Nykorak was out on statutory release from prison and is facing parole revocation, Michalyshen said. Police didn’t identify the gang involved, but said it was an outlaw motorcycle group. A police source said both have ties to the Rock Machine gang. Both suspects face “numerous” drug and weapons charges, police said. They are being held at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

Movie fans must boycott Paul Ferris film..

2012-01-18T08:50:00.001Z

SENIOR policeman has urged film fans to shun a new drama about Scottish gangster Paul Ferris. Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan spoke out after a promotional trailer for the film was leaked online. And he said he believed few people in Scotland would have any sympathy for the production, made by a London-based company and shot down south. The sympathetic trailer shows Ferris, known as “the enforcer”, as a victim who was bullied as a child and whose road into vicious career criminality came as a reaction against the “monsters” of his youth. It also contains scenes similar to the 1980s classic childhood friendship film Stand By Me. One shows Ferris as a young boy sitting around a fire with his childhood pals saying: “When we’re old, we’ll always be together. “We’ll live in huge castles and be kings. We’ll fight monsters and demons.” DCS Carnochan, head of Strathclyde Police’s Violence Reduction Unit, said last night it was wrong that people should seek to profit from Ferris’s criminal career. He added: “There comes a point in our understanding of the importance of the effect of early years has on later life when you’re beyond the point of saying, ‘You’re worthy of our empathy.’ “I’ve seen nothing of the film, so it’s hard to comment completely, but I understand why people will have a problem with this. “I don’t think that anyone should profit from criminality. Whoever they are and at whatever stage, I think it’s wholly inappropriate.” The film stars Greenock-born Sweet Sixteen actor Martin Compston in the lead role, with support from Hollywood Scots John Hannah and Denis Lawson. Hannah plays Ferris’s former enemy Tam “The Licensee” McGraw, while Lawson plays his father. Opening scenes see the young child Ferris climbing walls around his home in Blackhill in Glasgow’s east end, walking his dog and making “forever friends” pacts. Compston then emerges as the snarling adult Ferris, hell-bent on retribution against his childhood oppressors, growling: “Every single day of my life those b******s have bullied me. They sucked the life out of me. No f*****g more.” The scenes are played out against a sentimental score of plaintive folk guitar. No one from producers Carnaby Films was available last night.

highranking member of the United Nation gang who had direct contact with Mexican cartels,

2012-01-18T08:45:00.001Z

British Columbia man executed in Mexico this week was a highranking member of the United Nation gang who had direct contact with Mexican cartels, the Vancouver Sun has learned. Salih Abdulaziz Sahbaz, 36, had spent much of the last three years in Mexico and was the key cartel contact for the notorious B.C. gang, police sources confirmed. But he also returned regularly to Surrey, B.C., where he had family ties. Sahbaz was shot nine times with a .45-calibre handgun early Monday and was found at an intersection in Culiacan, capital city of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Sahbaz had taken over the Mexican end of business after two other UN gang members, Ahmet (Lou) Kaawach and Elliott (Taco) Castenada, were gunned down in Guadalajara in July 2008. He is believed to have owed money to at least one cartel after losing a shipment of cocaine and was working off his debt.

Whistle-blower links Serbian drug lords, SA gangs

2012-01-18T08:39:00.001Z

The head of a Balkan cocaine and crime syndicate is hiding out in South Africa under the protection of local gang bosses, underworld sources reveal. Fugitive Darko Savic – one of the world’s most wanted drug smugglers – is living under a different alias here, right under the noses of the authorities. And local crime bosses are helping him avoid detection by using their network of corrupt cop contacts. The revelation comes after the Daily Voice last week revealed how Serbian hitman Dobrosav Gavric lived in the Mother City for three years under the protection of slain crime boss Cyril Beeka. Beeka’s murder lifted the lid on the shadowy links between international crime syndicates and local mobsters. Today in an exclusive interview with the Daily Voice, a veteran former gangster turned whistle-blower confirms long-suspected links between SA crime gangs and Serbian drug lords. And he provides a chilling insight into a series of high-profile murders – including Beeka’s killing in March last year. In an interview with the Daily Voice, the terrified ex-dik ding reveals how: n He is now on the run and fears for his life after his mob bosses turned against him; n Someone “very near” to Cyril Beeka would have murdered him if the other attempt on his life failed; n Hitmen use their cop contacts to confirm the identities of targets before having them whacked; n International fugitive Darko Savic is hiding out in Gauteng with the help of local crime bosses. Savic has been linked to Czech criminal Radovan Krejcir, 42, a convicted fraudster who is also being investigated for Beeka’s murder. Krejcir was friends with both Beeka and Gavric, but it is understood he fell out with Beeka over a business deal. When the Hawks raided Krejcir’s Gauteng home after Beeka’s assassination in March last year, they found a “hit list” with Beeka’s name on it. At one stage Gavric – who was seriously injured in the shooting – was rumoured to also be a suspect in the hit. But in a sworn affidavit obtained by the Daily Voice, Gavric insists he was close friends with Beeka and that he is prepared to act as a future witness for the State. The hitman is wanted in Serbia where he was convicted for the murders of notorious warlord Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic and two others. Gavric will on Monday find out if his bail application is successful when he appears before Cape Town Magistrates’ Court. In an interview with the Daily Voice from his hideaway in George, Eastern Cape, the whistle-blower who identifies himself only as “Uncle Sam”, says Gavric is not the only wanted Serbian using this country to escape justice. “Serbian drug lord Darko Savic is hiding in Gauteng and protected by [local] underworld bosses,” he says. Uncle Sam, 65, also gave a detailed insider’s account of Beeka’s execution: “If the assassination had failed to eliminate Beeka, then someone else very near to him would have carried out the murder on that very same day.” He was also able to provide exact details about the cold-blooded murder of Yuri “The Russian” Ulianitski who was gunned down outside a restaurant in May 2007. “A half-hour before Yuri left the restaurant, a prominent businessman linked to the mob called the hitmen and told them that Yuri will be approaching the intersection of Otto du Plessis Drive and Loxton Road just before 10.30pm,” Uncle Sam says. Ulianitski was indirectly linked with Jerome Booysen, the alleged leader of the Sexy Boys who was last week named in court as a suspect in Beeka’s murder. “The Russian” had dealings with Beeka, but they too later had a fall-out – both were killed in similar shootings. Uncle Sam is himself currently on the run after he fell foul of his mob bosses who were indirectly linked to the Beeka killing and the Serbian fugitives hiding out here. He also counts convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti as a contact. During our interview, he gave our reporter a phone number which he said was that of Agliotti. When we rang the number, a male voice confirmed he was Agliotti before asking to be handed back to Uncle Sam. The whistle-blower admits he ran a car fraud scheme that turned sour when the syndicate chiefs failed to pay his R790 000 fee for buying 30 luxury cars in his name. But he has kept a detailed diary of his criminal activities and those of his former mob colleagues. And he has threatened to use the 116-page hand-written diary to put them behind bars if they come after him. “I’ve got nothing to lose,” he says. “I need to warn the public that the mafia is running the country with the help of cops and top politicians and that they have ruthless killers who will take out anyone who threatens them.”