The Mob Museum Offers Opportunity to Take a Blood Oath

HELP SAVE LIVES BY TAKING THE BLOOD OATH AT THE MOB MUSEUM
 
WHAT: As part of the upcoming celebration to mark its first anniversary this February, The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement is teaming up with the United Blood Services to encourage guests to take the blood oath… by donating.

Donors are encouraged to make an appointment for the Museum’s anniversary blood drive online at https://www.bloodhero.com/index.cfm?group=op&step=2&opid=533493 or by calling (877) 827-4376. Sponsor code: MobMuseum.

As part of its commitment to the community, the Museum is pleased to offer two complimentary tickets to everyone who registers at this event.

FACT: The “blood oath” originated with the Mafia. To become a full member of La Cosa Nostra, aspiring members had to pass initiation rituals, which included pricking the finger with a needle by an officiating member with a few drops of blood spilled onto a card bearing the likeness of a saint. The card was then set on fire and while it burned, the oath of loyalty was taken.

Inside The Mob Museum, visitors can witness a “blood oath” ceremony for themselves. The video representation of the ceremony on view in the exhibition was created based upon court testimony and legal evidence.

WHO: Marking its first anniversary this Valentine’s Day, The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is a world-class destination in downtown Las Vegas dedicated to the thrilling story of organized crime and law enforcement. It presents an exciting and authentic view of the mob’s impact on Las Vegas history and its unique imprint on the world. True stories of mob history are brought to life in a bold and contemporary style via engaging exhibits, high-tech theater presentations and more than 600 artifacts, the largest collection of Mob and related law enforcement memorabilia under one roof.

Founded in 1963, United Blood Services of Las Vegas, a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization, provides blood and blood products for hospitals in Southern Nevada, California and Northern Arizona. Its programs exist to make a difference in people’s lives by inspiring individuals to donate blood, producing a safe and ample blood supply, advancing cutting-edge research and embracing continuous quality improvement. The United Blood Services network is one of the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit blood service organizations and is a founding member of America's Blood Centers and the American Association of Blood Banks. Nationally, United Blood Services serves more than 500 hospitals in 18 states, contributing to more than 25 million people.

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: The Mob Museum’s multi-purpose room
300 East Stewart Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89101

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Preliminary Crime Reports Show Violent Crimes Up 1.9% and Property Crimes Up 1.5%

According to statistics from our Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January-June 2012, the number of violent crimes reported by law enforcement for the first six months of 2012 increased 1.9 percent over figures from the same period in 2011. Property crimes also rose 1.5 percent overall.

Violent Crime.

Two of the four offenses in the violent crime category actually showed overall decreases when compared with data from the first six months of 2011—murders dropped 1.7 percent and forcible rapes fell 1.4 percent. But the number of robberies increased 2.0 percent and aggravated assaults 2.3 percent.

At a regional level, the West saw the largest overall jump in violent crime—up 3.1 percent—followed by a rise of 2.5 percent in the Midwest and 1.1 each percent in the South and the Northeast. Despite these increases, the number of murders fell 4.8 percent in the South and 2.4 percent in the Northeast.

The only violent crime offense category that showed increases in all four regions of the country was aggravated assault, which was up 4.4 percent in the Midwest, 2.4 percent in the West, 1.7 percent in the South, and 0.8 percent in the Northeast.

Property crime.

On the property crime front, all three offense categories showed overall increases—1.9 percent for larceny-theft, 1.7 percent for motor vehicle theft, and 0.1 percent for burglary.

Regionally, the West saw the largest rise in property crime—up 4.7 percent, followed closely by the Northeast at 4.0 percent. The Midwest was up 1.3 percent, but the South actually showed a decrease of 1.4 percent.

For individual property crime offense categories, statistics indicate that the West had the largest increase in the number of burglaries (up 6.7 percent) and motor vehicle thefts (up 8.1 percent). And the Northeast had the largest rise in the number of larceny-thefts, which were up 4.5 percent.

The statistics for arson, collected separately from other property crimes because of varying degrees of reporting among law enforcement agencies, showed an overall jump of 3.2 percent during the first six months of 2012. Three of the four regions of the country reported increases—up 11.0 percent in the Midwest, 6.4 percent in the West, and 5.7 percent in the Northeast. The South saw a 5.6 decrease in arson offenses.

New offense categories.

On the heels of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month this January, our UCR program will begin collecting human trafficking data this year in two categories—commercial sex acts and involuntary servitude. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 requires the data collection, and with input from our law enforcement partners, the UCR program began developing specific definitions and data collection guidelines for these offenses. Stay tuned for more details on implementation.

Preliminary crime stats for the full year—contained in UCR’s Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, January-December 2012—should be available in six months, and final figures are scheduled to be released by the end of the year.

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Jimmy Hoffa Buried in Detroit Suburbs According to Reputed Mafia Capo Tony Zerilli

A man convicted of crimes as a reputed Mafia captain is claiming missing Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa was buried in suburban Detroit.

Tony Zerilli was in prison when Hoffa disappeared from a Detroit-area restaurant in 1975, but tells New York TV station WNBC he was informed about Hoffa's whereabouts after his release. The ailing 85-year-old took a reporter to a field near Rochester, north of Detroit, but no exact location was disclosed. The report was also aired on Detroit's WDIV.

"The master plan was ... they were going to put him in a shallow grave here," Zerilli said. "Then, they were going to take him from here to Rogers City upstate. There was a hunting lodge and they were going to bury in a shallow grave, then take him up there for final burial. Then, I understand, that it just fell through."

Zerilli did not say during the aired interview why he chose to make his claims now. WNBC reported he is promoting an upcoming book titled "Hoffa Found," the website for which promises to reveal details about Hoffa's death.

No listed phone number for Zerilli could be found Monday by The Associated Press.

The FBI declined to comment when asked if Zerilli's claims were credible. Former Detroit FBI head Andrew Arena said the remarks deserve serious consideration."Anthony Zerilli was reputed to be the underboss of the Detroit organized crime family, so he would have been in the know," Arena said.

Zerilli's criminal record includes a 2002 conviction for conspiracy and extortion. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

Hoffa, Teamsters president from 1957-71, was an acquaintance of mobsters and adversary to federal officials. The day he disappeared, he was supposed to meet with a New Jersey Teamsters boss and a Detroit Mafia captain.

In September, police took soil from a suburban backyard after a tip Hoffa had been buried there. It was just one of many fruitless searches. Previous tips led police to a horse farm northwest of Detroit in 2006, a Detroit home in 2004 and a backyard pool two hours north of the city in 2003.

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David Tresch and Nicholas Demars Indicted in $4.8 Million Billing Fraud and Kickback Scheme

The former chief information officer of a Chicago-based international law firm who was charged previously and the president of a company that provided contract technology workers who was charged for the first time and arrested were indicted for allegedly engaging in a fraudulent billing and kickback scheme that netted each of them more than $2 million. Nicholas Demars, the president of NS Mater, a defunct firm that provided contract employees and technology to assist in office automation, web and database development, and general information technology, was arrested and indicted with David Tresch, the former law firm officer who supervised the work and billing related to the contract employees.

For the first six years of the scheme that began in 2004, Demars allegedly paid Tresch a portion of the profits that NS Mater made from work its contract employees performed at the victim law firm. During the last two years and ending in June 2012, Tresch allegedly received kickbacks totaling nearly all of the false billings that the law firm paid NS Mater for work that was not performed.

Tresch, 51, and Demars, 57, both of Itasca, were each charged with 10 counts of mail fraud in an indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed after Demars was arrested. Demars was released on bond after appearing this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney Schenkier in U.S. District Court. Tresch, who was released on bond after he was arrested in August, will be arraigned at a later date in federal court.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of $4,819,253 representing the combined net proceeds that both men allegedly obtained from the scheme, as well as their respective homes; Demars’ condominium in Chicago; a residence in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; and more than $225,000 that was seized from Tresch along with his camping trailer, a van, and a luxury automobile.

The charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas R. Trautmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the initial complaint, the victim law firm, which was not identified by name, reported Tresch’s alleged criminal activity and cooperated in the investigation. The firm, which has offices worldwide, hired Tresch in May 2004, and he held several positions in the information technology department before he was promoted in July 2011 to chief information officer.

The indictment alleges that between November 2004 and March 2011, the law firm issued checks totaling approximately $7.68 million to NS Mater, and Demars, in turn, kicked back $1.14 million to Tresch. In 2004 and 2005, Demars allegedly paid kickbacks directly to Tresch after paying legitimate NS Mater contract employees and payroll administrators for work they had performed for the law firm. Beginning in April 2006, allegedly to conceal the kickbacks, Demars began paying Tresch by issuing checks to Tresch’s wife and treating her as an employee of NS Mater, even though both defendants knew that she was not an employee and had not performed any work, according to the indictment. Tresch’s wife is not a defendant.

Subsequently, in late 2010, Tresch learned that that the law firm would soon stop using NS Mater contract employees, and, in February 2011, the firm directed Tresch to no longer permit NS Mater to provide personnel for the information technology department. Between November 2011 and June 2012, Demars allegedly continued submitting invoices to Tresch totaling more than $1.1 million, falsely representing that NS Mater performed work that both defendants knew was not performed. Tresch submitted the false invoices, which the firm paid, and of the $1.1 million paid during this period, Demars kicked back approximately $970,000 to Tresch, while retaining the remainder for himself, the indictment alleges.

Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may impose an alternative fine totaling twice the loss to the victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Reynolds.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Carl Brandon "Moo" Smith Pleads Guilty to Bringing Minor to Illinois for Prostitution; Admits Forced Sex Trafficking of 4 Victims

A Chicago man is facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison after pleading guilty to transporting a minor from Wisconsin to Illinois for prostitution. The defendant, Carl Brandon Smith, also admitted that he engaged in forced sex trafficking of the victim, as well as of a second minor and two young adult women. Between 2010 and early 2012, Smith forced his victims to engage in commercial sex acts, used physical violence, and threatened to kill them if they ever left him. The guilty plea was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas R. Trautmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Smith, also known as “Moo,” 25, of Chicago, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5 by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve. Smith has remained in federal custody since he was arrested last April last and charged with two counts of sex trafficking of a minor and by force, two counts of sex trafficking by force, and one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in prostitution.

According to a plea agreement, Smith met Victim B in December 2010 and began contacting her via phone, text, and social media, asking her to move to Chicago, intending that she be his “girlfriend” and also engage in prostitution. In February 2011, Smith drove from Chicago to Victim B’s residence in Wisconsin and then drove her from Wisconsin to his apartment in Chicago, acknowledging that she was under 18 at the time.

Once in Chicago, Smith “dated” Victim B for approximately a week before Victim B began working as a prostitute under his employ. Between February and July 2011, Victim B engaged in commercial sex acts at Smith’s direction. Smith acted as Victim B’s pimp, advertised her for commercial sex on Internet sites, and instructed her to have sex with customers in his apartment and in area motels. Victim B had sex with numerous men per week and gave a portion of the money she earned to Smith.

As part of the guilty plea, Smith stipulated that he acted as a pimp for Victim A, also a minor, and forced her to engage in prostitution during 2010. Smith inflicted physical violence on Victim A when she gave him “attitude” or when she indicated that she no longer wanted to work as a prostitute. On one occasion, Smith beat Victim A so severely that one eye swelled shut.

Similarly, Smith stipulated to using and threatening violence against both Victims C and D, both adults, while acting as their pimp and forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts in 2011 and early 2012.

The Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force assisted in the investigation. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Grohman and Felicia Manno Alesia.

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