Over the past few decades, popular culture depictions in movies and television has helped elevate the idea that gambling rackets and mob crime are the sort of thing that occurs in places like New Jersey, New York, Nevada or Chicago.
The truth is, New England has seen plenty of it over the years, and some of it quite a bit closer to home than the locales in Scorcese's "The Departed." Over the course of the past century, central Berkshire County has several times been the site of organized crime activity, from petty book-making to major scandals involving local officials and prominent mafia affiliates.
As a center of population, commerce and government in the county, the city of Pittsfield has perhaps naturally also often been the epicenter of much of its major criminal conspiracies. Repeatedly, investigation of such wrongdoing has also been characterized by allegations of corruption among the city's police department, politicians and other influential citizens.
As early as the 1930s, such corruption had already been intimated, when then City Councilor Daniel Casey first sought to launch a probe of the local police department. In April of 1936, Councilor Casey introduced a motion stating that "an investigation is necessary to determine what manner various forms of illegal gambling flourish throughout the city without interference or suppression by the police department," petitioning the council to launch a probe of the department.
At the time, Casey's motion was defeated in a tie vote, though it was not the last time the budding politician would raise the issue.
"Something is rotten in Denmark," reiterated Casey 11 years later, as state representative, again in reference to the belief that corruption in the department had stymied efforts to crack down on a growing gambling trade in the city.
His comment came after the February 1947 acquittal of Daniel Caligian on the first charge of attempted bribery in the history of the Police Department.
Caligian, a counterman for North Street's Majestic Restaurant, allegedly tried to pay Sgt. Raymond Coakley $500 to look the other way on his "bookie" activities, for which he had two previous convictions already.
According to Casey, Coakley "probably didn't report the first alleged bribery offer to some superior officers at headquarters because he was afraid of a leak in the department."
The Berkshire Eagle also voiced concerns over the not-guilty verdict, suggesting that local law enforcement had become "politics-ridden" and "susceptible to corruption, and that the case amounted to "a sad commentary on respect for law and order, and a severe indictment of the Pittsfield Police Department."
Not long after, Caligian went into the pinball machine business with Peter G. Arlos, a controversial figure who would later become the city's longest reigning city councilor. Together, they ran Automatic Vendors Inc. until 1950, when Arlos severed ties to begin his own pinball machine distribution business, Pace Merchandising Co. When their respective licenses to sell the machines expired at the end of 1951, their re-application to the Licensing Board launched the dramatic "Pinball Hearings," which dragged on before the board for the first several months of 1952.
Pinball machines had been a matter of local controversy for a number of years at that time and the licensing authority had been a matter of some legal gray area. In North Adams, all pinball machines had been removed, along with slot machines, in 1937, but by early 1938 the popular entertainment devices were already creeping back into circulation there.
In March 1946, the Supreme Judicial Court had ruled that only pinball machines that did not have a cash pay-off of any kind attached were legal in the commonwealth, and in October of that year, Pittsfield's Chief John Sullivan issued an order to local establishments for the removal of such gaming apparatus, even five taverns that had been issued permits by the city's Licensing Board just three months earlier.
Subsequent legislation from Boston in 1949 further clarified the legality of non-gambling pinball machines, though local authorities were still very much of the opinion that the industry surrounding their use was being used as some kind of front for other forms of illegal gambling, probably because of the reputation of their primary distributor as a known bookie.
The administration of the time at City Hall was adamant about the need to crack down on such infraction fand, at the start of 1952, the local Licensing Board enacted a far-reaching policy that no permit to supply the machines would be granted unless the applicant was willing to submit all records of their business, and submit to any questioning the board saw fit.
A provision that any attempt by the applicant to invoke the constitutional 5th Amendment to such questioning would be grounds for denial gave these hearings a much broader leeway to conduct fishing expeditions than any court of law could have. It was thought that the implementation of such strict procedure would automatically drive Caligian out of the business. "But Mr. Caligian along with his former associate in AVI, Peter Arlos, astonished the trappers by swallowing the bait and applying for the licenses," wrote Roger Linscott in The Berkshire Eagle.
A series of proceedings commenced, with City Solicitor Francis Quirico summoning records from telephones and business transactions, and conducting probing questioning of a multitude of witnesses. Many stone-walled the attorney under examination, as unlike the applicants themselves, they were under no obligation to waive their right to silence. Several of these witnesses would eventually be arrested on various charges by the anti-gambling vice squad formed by Mayor Robert Capeless later that year.
The Pinball Hearings, which played to packed audiences in City Hall chambers, lasted from February to early May. Sparks flew as Quirico repeatedly contended that the operations of the two applicants were being used as fronts for horse-betting and lottery schemes, while in response accusations of witch-hunting were lobbed by Thomas Noonan, a high profile Albany lawyer who'd won Caligian's case in '46 and joined these proceedings as additional counsel to local attorney Anthony Ruberto in March.
Considerable testimony from police officers and other witnesses alleged instances of book-making and other "questionable enterprises" had been occurring at places rented by Caligian and Arlos, and the board ultimately denied their permits.
Over the rest of the decade, local authorities continued efforts to rein in feared "organized gambling" in the county, with periodic raids on local businesses and private homes, such as one in Dalton in 1951 at which 31 high-stakes card players from around the Berkshires were arrested.
As the 1960s dawned, however, a new venture would introduce the involvement of major mafia figures to the Berkshires on a level never seen before.
In 1960, the Berkshire Downs racetrack was opened in Hancock by B.A. Dario of Rhode Island, who was also proprietor of the Lincoln Downs racetrack just north of Providence. Licensed pari-mutuel betting on horse races had been legal in the commonwealth since the 1930s, and at the time, state government permitted 90 days worth of racing in Massachusetts. The bulk of those days went to Suffolk Downs, but Berkshire Downs ran a 24-day cycle during its short period of operation as a track.
For most of its time in business, Berkshire Downs lost money as a venue, at least on paper, but it held a certain appeal for both locals and visitors and was often well attended. It also attracted the interest of some high-profile individuals, and a general reputation of being "mobbed up."
Within its first couple of seasons, the track had become the subject of investigation by state gaming authorities, who suspected that it was largely controlled by mafia don Raymond Patriarca Sr., boss of the New England "family" operating out of Providence and Boston. Later, FBI wiretapping helped substantiate Patriarca's involvement, and a 1973 congressional committee report ultimately concluded he was a key investor in the Berkshire venture.
Singer Frank Sinatra was another major investor, though he would later testify before the House committee that he had no idea the reputed mafia don was involved, and had withdrawn his $55,000 investment in the venue after finding he had been named vice president of the business without his knowledge.
The involvement of the New England mafia in Berkshire Downs may have helped, in part, to explain a perceived rise in apparent organized crime in nearby Pittsfield which would last throughout the 1960s.
Illegal activity was on the rise, ranging from the proliferation of bookies to the suspicious deaths of two Berkshire County men within a six-month period in 1962. Harold Boland, of Pittsfield, was found in a canal off Onota Lake in May, having had his wrists tied to a heavy stone. Joseph Klein, a West Stockbridge native who worked in Pittsfield, was found beaten to death outside his car by an assailant who had apparently struck after waiting for him to exit a bar in Canaan, N.Y. While the cases remained unsolved, suspicions ran high that the two men may have gotten in over their head in gambling and run awry of mob enforcers.
Local police were also under the lens again for possible corruption, with a state police probe initiated after three patrolmen were convicted in the robbery of a local hardware store, and allegations that other officers may have also been involved in illegal activities, including tips that had arisen from investigation of activity at the nearby race track.
The state police probe began in March 1963, and grew more intense as local media got wind of some of vague but sensational rumors stemming from the investigation. On April 3, the North Adams Transcript wrote that connections between the recent deaths and "a possible tieup between some city police officials and the criminal underworld stunned the city of Pittsfield today with the announcement that the alleged connections between gangsters, gamblers and city officials was under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police."
According to Commissioner Frank Giles, state police investigators had received information that more than one ranking officer had been taking bribes from bookies, and that a "high ranking police official" had been the liaison between the department and a "gaming rackets czar." After several months of surveying the department during which lurid headlines were rampant in newspapers from Pittsfield to Boston, the probe concluded that many of the tips had proven false, while others could not be substantiated.
In November, Giles admitted that there was no "positive information of wrongdoing by Pittsfield police." Later that month, the City Council approved a higher-than-requested raise for all department personnel.
Implied associations between law-enforcement officials and perceived underworld activity — particularly at the questionable racetrack — continued to trouble area residents, though, and the sense that corruption was still a problem would not soon dissipate. Even in 1976, when Berkshire Downs was all but dismantled, an editorial in The Eagle voiced concerns about this underlying perception.
"There is nothing illegal about Judge John A. Barry's serving as director and spokesman for a third-rate agricultural fair that serves as an excuse for a fourth-rate racing operation in Hancock. The same can be said in defense of Carmen C. Massimiano, the chief probation officer of the Berkshire Superior Court, who is evidently moonlighting at Berkshire Downs, too," wrote the Eagle's editor. "But there is a very serious question as to the good judgement of law-enforcement officials who allow themselves to be identified with any race track - and particularly a track so economically marginal that jockeys have to be saintly to stay honest."
While no indictments came out of the 1963 probe, not every cop on the force at the time turned out to be squeaky clean; in early 1968, a 17-year veteran of the force was charged as one of seven conspirators in a local stolen car ring connected to a major underboss in the Patriarca mafia.
Car thefts had been rampant throughout Berkshire County in the late '60s, and by 1967 authorities began to suspect a coordinated effort was involved in some of these. After months of investigation by state police and the FBI, they zeroed in on Edmund Crown, an automobile salesman from Lanesborough, arresting him on Dec. 21 in connection with the transport and sale of at least 31 stolen cars. Four more Berkshire residents were soon arrested in the stolen car conspiracy, including Pittsfield patrolmen Anthony Crea, and three eastern Massachusetts suspects, including Vincent Teresa of North Reading.
All but the latter were tried, convicted, and already paroled from jail less than two years later; though Crown had been charged with as many as 62 counts for which the maximum sentence could have been up to 20 years. Two and a half years was the maximum that inmates could be sentenced to the local House of Correction, which prosecutor William R. Flynn urged for Crown's safety "because of the people he has been involved with."
The sort of people he referred to were no doubt associates of Vincent "Fat Vinnie," Teresa, believed the be the ringleader of the car ring, who was also by his own admission the No. 3 man in the New England mafia.
Teresa's own trial in Pittsfield did not begin until July 1969, and ultimately resulted in a mistrial after it was realized that one of the jurors was a relative of the prosecutor. A new trial was planned for February 1970, by which time Teresa was already serving a brief sentence on an unrelated offence in Maryland.
Something changed in Teresa's perspective during this time, a change that was part of an emerging shift in the internal culture of the mob that would ultimately grow to become a serious Achilles' heel to its entire internal structure.
In earlier years, when a "made" man went to jail, he was well looked after by his associates. His legal fees were paid, his family well looked after, and in the case of major players, his territory and financial interests were protected by colleagues on the outside. At the time of Teresa's incarceration, both Patriarca and underboss Henry Tameleo, who controlled the Boston branch of the New England family, were already serving time. With the organization in the hands of younger, less respectful mobsters, Teresa found his family neglected, his secretary the victim of an attempted murder, and millions of dollars he'd gathered in various scams taken.
This and the probable consequences of his impending retrial in Pittsfield was enough to make him turn state's evidence, one of the first accredited mafia members who opted to "rat," in what would soon become an epidemic for crime families around the country. A $500,000 price was placed on his head, and while his sentence was commuted in 1971, he and his wife and children spent the next few years under witness protection. Later, he published three books based on his days in the mafia.
While at the time, Lucchese family soldier Joe Valachi was the most prominent Cosa Nostra informant in the public mind, Teresa's decision to "sing" for the Feds was far more significant. From his position as one of Patriarca's key lieutenants, he provided information that devastated the Patriarca family and did damage to other mafia families as well. His testimony led to the indictment of at least 50 mob figures, and valuable leads in the pursuit of hundreds of others.
While Teresa's turn on his compatriots dealt a disastrous blow to the mafia in the Northeast, it was not the last time that mob influence would be felt locally, nor was it the last time Pittsfield officials would become implicated in illegal gambling activity.
In the mid-1980s, organized crime was still reaping major profits from gambling activity in Berkshire County, primarily in the form of sports betting. A multiple-year investigation coordinated by District Attorney Anthony Ruberto, in which the local DA's office utilized wiretaps for the first time, led to a number of indictments but narrowly missed netting "major sports betting figures in Massachusetts."
It did result in the 1983 arrest of Pittsfield Police officer William Zoitos and his wife, who authorities alleged had allowed their home and phones to be used for registering bets. The following year, Ruberto's office led a 13-home raid in which suspects were arrested across Western Massachusetts and into Connecticut.
Ruberto told The Eagle that the proceeds from these rackets "ultimately ends up in the coffers of organized crime, which uses that money to infiltrate other areas of society."
These profits fueled the booming narcotics trade, which by then was firmly established as the mafia's most lucrative enterprise, and left ample funds for exerting influence over law enforcement and political figures.
"If anybody in this town doesn't know that organized crime is here, then shame on them," Pittsfield Police Sgt. Richard Henault, head of the department's special investigations unit, told The Eagle.
Police Chief Stanley Stankiewicz concurred, adding that "mob related beatings" were not uncommon in the city.
According to newspaper reporting at the time, a bookie could be found as easily as hanging around any one of a number of local bars, and these individuals almost always paid a cut on to the larger latticework of the New England mafia.
In early 1986, one such bar in particular was the site of a police sting that sent major ripples through the community. On Jan. 11, the three-member SIU conducted a raid on the Beer Garden on Wahconah Street, during which then City Council President Angelo C. Stracuzzi was arrested along with several other members of his family on charges of allowing gambling on the premises.
Stracuzzi and fellow councilors denounced the raid as an act of political retribution for his push to disband the special unit and establish an independent committee to review the department's operation. The city councilor was ultimately acquitted of charges during a jury trial after testifying that he had sold his interest in the bar to his father and brother weeks prior to the raid. Three other family members plead guilty, with father Angelo R. and sister Donna Stracuzzi Smith paying fines, while brother Anthony Stracuzzi served a sentence of 10 days in the local jail.
The controversy following the raid made headlines in the New York Times, with allegations of racism, falsified pay records, and on duty drunkeness by its chief leveled at the Pittsfield Police Department. Chief Stankiewicz was hospitalized for chest pains during the ensuing scandal, ultimately resigning and moving to Florida later that year.
The SIU was immediately disbanded, and an ordinance establishing the Police Advisory Committee was passed by the council just days after the Beer Garden raid. According to the ordinance, the committee's role is "to advise the Mayor and the City Council on non-operational and non-investigatory matters relative to the Police Department in the City, and in advising with regard to rules and regulations in conformity with law."
By the late 1980s, the role of organized crime in Berkshire County was diminishing, as the New England mafia family has continued to decline following the 1984 death of Raymond Patriarca Sr., its most successful boss. Today, its membership of full-fledged "made" men has dwindled to less than a third of what it was during its peak, and those members that now remain are largely elderly, and increasingly being snapped up for prosecution. Patriarca family boss Peter Limone was placed on five years probation with an ankle bracelet in 2011, followed by the arrest of his successor Anthony DiNunzio the following year. Antonio Spagnolo, the next acting boss in line, is currently awaiting trial following his arraignment this past fall, along with another longtime member, on extortion charges.
Occasional incidents of local gambling activity and alleged organized crime have occurred sporadically in recent years, such as the 1998 prosecution of Dalton resident Shaun Delmolino, and the 2003 money-laundering conviction of Giovanna Trotti, a Pittsfield man with purported ties to Springfield mob auspices. More recently, the owner of the former Hermann Alexander's bar was sentenced to probation for illegal gambling machines and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, following an April 2012 raid that also led to the arrest of eight other individuals.
Overall, though, the age of gambling rackets and traditional "mob" crime has all but died off in the Berkshires over the past quarter century. Today, concerns about mafia infiltration have been replaced by a new, arguably more troubling kind of "organized crime," in the form of youth street gangs. Affiliation with these, say many officials as well as local educators, has seen a dramatic rise of late, ushering in a new kind of danger which community leaders have only just begun to confront.
Thanks to Joe Durwin.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church
AN INVESTIGATION OF EPIC FINANCIAL INTRIGUE, RENDER UNTO ROME EXPOSES THE SECRECY AND DECEIT THAT RUN COUNTER TO THE VALUES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
In Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church, the Sunday collection in every Catholic church throughout the world is as familiar a part of the Mass as the homily and even Communion. There is no doubt that historically the Catholic Church has been one of the great engines of charity in history
. But once a dollar is dropped in that basket, where does it go? How are weekly cash contributions that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars accounted for? Where does the money go when a diocese sells a church property for tens of millions of dollars? And what happens when hundreds of millions of dollars are turned over to officials at the highest ranks, no questions asked, for their discretionary use? The Roman Catholic Church is the largest organization in the world. The Vatican has never revealed its net worth, but the value of its works of art, great churches, property in Rome, and stocks held through its bank easily run into the tens of billions. Yet the Holy See as a sovereign state covers a mere 108 acres and has a small annual budget of about $280 million.
No major book has examined the church’s financial underpinnings and practices with such journalistic force. Today the church bears scrutiny by virtue of the vast amounts of money (nearly $2 billion in the United States alone) paid out to victims of clergy abuse. Amid mounting diocesan bankruptcies, bishops have been selling off whole pieces of the infrastructure—churches, schools, commercial properties—while the nephew of one of the Vatican’s most powerful cardinals engaged in a lucrative scheme to profiteer off the enormous downsizing of American church wealth.
In Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church, the Sunday collection in every Catholic church throughout the world is as familiar a part of the Mass as the homily and even Communion. There is no doubt that historically the Catholic Church has been one of the great engines of charity in history
. But once a dollar is dropped in that basket, where does it go? How are weekly cash contributions that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars accounted for? Where does the money go when a diocese sells a church property for tens of millions of dollars? And what happens when hundreds of millions of dollars are turned over to officials at the highest ranks, no questions asked, for their discretionary use? The Roman Catholic Church is the largest organization in the world. The Vatican has never revealed its net worth, but the value of its works of art, great churches, property in Rome, and stocks held through its bank easily run into the tens of billions. Yet the Holy See as a sovereign state covers a mere 108 acres and has a small annual budget of about $280 million.No major book has examined the church’s financial underpinnings and practices with such journalistic force. Today the church bears scrutiny by virtue of the vast amounts of money (nearly $2 billion in the United States alone) paid out to victims of clergy abuse. Amid mounting diocesan bankruptcies, bishops have been selling off whole pieces of the infrastructure—churches, schools, commercial properties—while the nephew of one of the Vatican’s most powerful cardinals engaged in a lucrative scheme to profiteer off the enormous downsizing of American church wealth.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
U.S. Air Force Veteran, Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, Charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIL
U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch of the Eastern District of New York, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, Assistant Director in Charge Diego G. Rodriguez of the FBI’s New York Field Office and Commissioner William J. Bratton of the New York City Police Department announced that a federal grand jury in New York City returned a two-count indictment charging Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, an American citizen and veteran of the U.S. Air Force, with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a foreign terrorist organization, and obstruction and attempted obstruction of justice. The defendant will be arraigned on the indictment on March 18, at 11 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York.
“Born and raised in the United States, Pugh allegedly turned his back on his country and attempted to travel to Syria in order to join a terrorist organization,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch. “We will continue to vigorously prosecute extremists, whether based here or abroad, to stop them before they are able to threaten the United States and its allies.” U.S. Attorney Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which comprises a large number of federal, state, and local agencies from the region. U.S. Lynch also thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey, the Asbury Park, New Jersey Police Department and the Neptune, New Jersey, Police Department for their assistance.
“Pugh, an American citizen and former member of our military, allegedly abandoned his allegiance to the United States and sought to provide material support to ISIL,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Identifying and bringing to justice individuals who provide or attempt to provide material support to terrorists is a key priority of the National Security Division.”
“As alleged, Pugh, an American citizen, was willing to travel overseas and fight jihad alongside terrorists seeking to do us harm,” said Assistant Director in Charge Rodriguez. “U.S. citizens who offer support to terrorist organizations pose a grave threat to our national security and will face serious consequences for their actions. We will continue to work with our partners, both here and abroad, to prevent acts of terrorism. This investigation demonstrates the importance of law enforcement coordination and collaboration here and around the world.”
“We thank the members of the NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force and our Federal law enforcement partners for their work in this case and for their tireless efforts to identify threats of terrorism here and abroad,” said Commissioner Bratton. “It is this type of collaboration that results in swift investigative work to stop individuals such as this from making any further contribution to terrorist organizations such as ISIL.”
As alleged in the complaint, indictment and other court filings, the defendant served in the Air Force as an avionics instrument system specialist and received training in the installation and maintenance of aircraft engine, navigation and weapons systems. After leaving the Air Force, the defendant worked for a number of companies in the United States and Middle East as an avionics specialist and airplane mechanic. The defendant lived abroad for over a year before his arrest in this case.
Earlier this year, weeks after being fired from his last job as an airplane mechanic based in the Middle East, the defendant attempted to join ISIL. On Jan. 10, 2015, the defendant traveled from Egypt to Turkey in an effort to cross the border into Syria to join ISIL and fight violent jihad. Turkish authorities denied the defendant entry, however, and sent him on a return flight to Egypt. Upon his arrival in Egypt, the defendant was carrying multiple electronic devices, including four USB thumb drives that had been stripped of their plastic casings and an iPod that had been wiped clean of data. The defendant also had a cellular telephone that contained, among other things, a photograph of a machine gun. The defendant was soon thereafter deported to the United States.
On Jan. 14, 2015, JTTF agents obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s electronic devices, including his laptop computer. Subsequent exploitation of the laptop revealed, among other things, the following:
The defendant was arrested pursuant to a federal complaint on Jan. 16, 2015, in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and he has been in custody ever since. After the defendant’s arrest, JTTF agents seized and later obtained warrants to search two backpacks that the defendant had when he was overseas. Agents recovered from the backpacks, among other things: two compasses, a solar-powered flashlight, a solar-powered power source, shards of broken USB thumb drives, a fatigue jacket and camping clothes.
“Born and raised in the United States, Pugh allegedly turned his back on his country and attempted to travel to Syria in order to join a terrorist organization,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch. “We will continue to vigorously prosecute extremists, whether based here or abroad, to stop them before they are able to threaten the United States and its allies.” U.S. Attorney Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which comprises a large number of federal, state, and local agencies from the region. U.S. Lynch also thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey, the Asbury Park, New Jersey Police Department and the Neptune, New Jersey, Police Department for their assistance.
“Pugh, an American citizen and former member of our military, allegedly abandoned his allegiance to the United States and sought to provide material support to ISIL,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Identifying and bringing to justice individuals who provide or attempt to provide material support to terrorists is a key priority of the National Security Division.”
“As alleged, Pugh, an American citizen, was willing to travel overseas and fight jihad alongside terrorists seeking to do us harm,” said Assistant Director in Charge Rodriguez. “U.S. citizens who offer support to terrorist organizations pose a grave threat to our national security and will face serious consequences for their actions. We will continue to work with our partners, both here and abroad, to prevent acts of terrorism. This investigation demonstrates the importance of law enforcement coordination and collaboration here and around the world.”
“We thank the members of the NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force and our Federal law enforcement partners for their work in this case and for their tireless efforts to identify threats of terrorism here and abroad,” said Commissioner Bratton. “It is this type of collaboration that results in swift investigative work to stop individuals such as this from making any further contribution to terrorist organizations such as ISIL.”
As alleged in the complaint, indictment and other court filings, the defendant served in the Air Force as an avionics instrument system specialist and received training in the installation and maintenance of aircraft engine, navigation and weapons systems. After leaving the Air Force, the defendant worked for a number of companies in the United States and Middle East as an avionics specialist and airplane mechanic. The defendant lived abroad for over a year before his arrest in this case.
Earlier this year, weeks after being fired from his last job as an airplane mechanic based in the Middle East, the defendant attempted to join ISIL. On Jan. 10, 2015, the defendant traveled from Egypt to Turkey in an effort to cross the border into Syria to join ISIL and fight violent jihad. Turkish authorities denied the defendant entry, however, and sent him on a return flight to Egypt. Upon his arrival in Egypt, the defendant was carrying multiple electronic devices, including four USB thumb drives that had been stripped of their plastic casings and an iPod that had been wiped clean of data. The defendant also had a cellular telephone that contained, among other things, a photograph of a machine gun. The defendant was soon thereafter deported to the United States.
On Jan. 14, 2015, JTTF agents obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s electronic devices, including his laptop computer. Subsequent exploitation of the laptop revealed, among other things, the following:
- Recent Internet searches for “borders controlled by Islamic state”,
- Recent Internet searches for “who controls kobani,” “kobani border crossing,” and “jarablus border crossing,” all references to Syrian cities under ISIL’s control near the Turkish border,
- A chart of crossing points between Turkey and Syria indicating the areas on the Syrian side of the border controlled by ISIL and other groups, and
- Internet searches for “Flames of War,” an ISIL propaganda video, as well as downloaded videos, including one showing ISIL members executing prisoners.
The defendant was arrested pursuant to a federal complaint on Jan. 16, 2015, in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and he has been in custody ever since. After the defendant’s arrest, JTTF agents seized and later obtained warrants to search two backpacks that the defendant had when he was overseas. Agents recovered from the backpacks, among other things: two compasses, a solar-powered flashlight, a solar-powered power source, shards of broken USB thumb drives, a fatigue jacket and camping clothes.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Firearm Owner Identification Cards Application Moving Online
The Illinois State Police will begin accepting online applications for firearm owner identification cards beginning March 16 in an attempt to streamline and modernize the process.
The current FOID paper applications will not be accepted after Monday, the agency said Friday. Like the concealed-carry license, the new FOID application will be available through the ISP's website, isp.state.il.us, or through the call center at 217-782-7980 for people who do not have computer access. Applicants who are Amish or younger than 21 and do not have an Illinois driver’s license or state ID card will be required to complete an alternative call-in paper application.
The ISP also has made changes to the login for both permits. Applicants won't have to obtain a digital state ID through the Department of Central Management Services. Instead, they will need to register with Illinois State Police by providing key identifiers from their Illinois driver’s license or identification card, create a username and password, and answer four security questions. The CCL website will be unavailable from 5 p.m. March 13 to 7 a.m. March 16 while the new FOID system is activated.
Federal Firearm Licensed dealers also will have access to the web-based portal so they can conduct the required background checks of anyone who wants to buy a firearm. All FFLs in Illinois are required to register at ispffl.com or 217-524-3847 to continue to perform background checks after the launch of the new system. The Firearm Transfer Inquiry Program will close at 4 p.m. March 15 to allow data to be transferred to the new system. Beginning at 8:30 a.m. March 16, firearm dealers will be able to submit firearm background transactions via the website and follow up on previously requested checks based upon a transaction number.
The traditional $2 transaction fee is being waived for firearm dealers who use the web-portal during its first 30 days. Dealers will still have the option of using the 800-number dial-up process, which will cost a $2 processing fee.
The current FOID paper applications will not be accepted after Monday, the agency said Friday. Like the concealed-carry license, the new FOID application will be available through the ISP's website, isp.state.il.us, or through the call center at 217-782-7980 for people who do not have computer access. Applicants who are Amish or younger than 21 and do not have an Illinois driver’s license or state ID card will be required to complete an alternative call-in paper application.
The ISP also has made changes to the login for both permits. Applicants won't have to obtain a digital state ID through the Department of Central Management Services. Instead, they will need to register with Illinois State Police by providing key identifiers from their Illinois driver’s license or identification card, create a username and password, and answer four security questions. The CCL website will be unavailable from 5 p.m. March 13 to 7 a.m. March 16 while the new FOID system is activated.
Federal Firearm Licensed dealers also will have access to the web-based portal so they can conduct the required background checks of anyone who wants to buy a firearm. All FFLs in Illinois are required to register at ispffl.com or 217-524-3847 to continue to perform background checks after the launch of the new system. The Firearm Transfer Inquiry Program will close at 4 p.m. March 15 to allow data to be transferred to the new system. Beginning at 8:30 a.m. March 16, firearm dealers will be able to submit firearm background transactions via the website and follow up on previously requested checks based upon a transaction number.
The traditional $2 transaction fee is being waived for firearm dealers who use the web-portal during its first 30 days. Dealers will still have the option of using the 800-number dial-up process, which will cost a $2 processing fee.
Monday, March 09, 2015
Imperial Gangster Leader Convicted in 5 Murders, 1 Attempted Murder and Other Gang-Related Crimes
A leader of the Imperial Gangsters street gang was convicted by a federal jury in the Northern District of Indiana of five counts of murder in aid of racketeering, one count of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, one firearms count related to the attempted murder, one count of engaging in a RICO conspiracy, one count of engaging in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and related offenses.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David A. Capp of the Northern District of Indiana made the announcement.
Juan Briseno aka “Tito”, 25, of Hammond, Indiana, was part of a 24-defendant indictment alleging that members of the Imperial Gangsters committed 13 homicides in East Chicago, Hammond and Gary, Indiana. The indictment also charged a decade-long racketeering conspiracy that involved 19 additional attempted murders and the large scale distribution of cocaine and marijuana. Sentencing is scheduled for June 15, before Chief Judge Philip P. Simon of the Northern District of Indiana.
According to evidence presented at trial, the Imperial Gangsters had a standing rule to shoot on sight any rival gang member. They also had a policy to shoot anyone selling drugs in their neighborhood without their permission. Briseno was convicted of five murders, which the evidence demonstrated were committed pursuant to the gang’s policies and in furtherance of the 149th Street Imperial Gangsters, a violent clique of the Imperial Gangsters based in East Chicago.
The evidence further demonstrated that Briseno exercised a leadership role in the gang, in which he supervised the “shorties, or prospective members of the 149th Street Imperial Gangsters. Briseno expressed no remorse for his participation in various murders, and indeed bragged about killings and encouraged others to do the same.
With regard to the specific murders, the evidence at trial demonstrated that Briseno knocked on Luis Ortiz’s apartment door in Hammond, Indiana, on Sept. 26, 2007, and shot him dead in the doorway to the apartment. Briseno targeted Ortiz because he was a member of the rival Latin King Street Gang.
Additionally, the evidence demonstrated that Briseno committed the double murder of Miguel Mejias, a Latin King living in Imperial Gangster territory, and Michael Sessum, an associate of Mejias, while they were unarmed and bringing takeout food to their pregnant girlfriends on June 3, 2008. During that murder, multiple shots fired by Briseno entered Mejias’ residence, striking a female victim in the arm while she was holding her infant child. Another pregnant female victim and multiple minor victims were also in the apartment at the time of the shooting. According to testimony at trial, Mejias implored another individual to tell Briseno that he was no longer “gangbanging” and did not want any trouble. In response to this message, Briseno said, “[explecetive] him, he was going to bring [Latin] Kings into our neighborhood.”
The evidence at trial also demonstrated that Briseno and his associates murdered rival Two-Six gang member, Miguel Colon, on Feb. 7, 2010, as Colon came out of a party. In this incident, Briseno and Colon exchanged gunfire, endangering numerous innocent individuals who were in the vicinity.
Finally, the evidence at trial demonstrated that Briseno murdered Latroy Howard on June 19, 2010, for selling drugs in an Imperial Gangster-controlled neighborhood without the permission of the gang. A video introduced at trial showed Briseno circling the block in his car and then walking up on foot and shooting the unarmed Howard twice in the head at point-blank range.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David A. Capp of the Northern District of Indiana made the announcement.
Juan Briseno aka “Tito”, 25, of Hammond, Indiana, was part of a 24-defendant indictment alleging that members of the Imperial Gangsters committed 13 homicides in East Chicago, Hammond and Gary, Indiana. The indictment also charged a decade-long racketeering conspiracy that involved 19 additional attempted murders and the large scale distribution of cocaine and marijuana. Sentencing is scheduled for June 15, before Chief Judge Philip P. Simon of the Northern District of Indiana.
According to evidence presented at trial, the Imperial Gangsters had a standing rule to shoot on sight any rival gang member. They also had a policy to shoot anyone selling drugs in their neighborhood without their permission. Briseno was convicted of five murders, which the evidence demonstrated were committed pursuant to the gang’s policies and in furtherance of the 149th Street Imperial Gangsters, a violent clique of the Imperial Gangsters based in East Chicago.
The evidence further demonstrated that Briseno exercised a leadership role in the gang, in which he supervised the “shorties, or prospective members of the 149th Street Imperial Gangsters. Briseno expressed no remorse for his participation in various murders, and indeed bragged about killings and encouraged others to do the same.
With regard to the specific murders, the evidence at trial demonstrated that Briseno knocked on Luis Ortiz’s apartment door in Hammond, Indiana, on Sept. 26, 2007, and shot him dead in the doorway to the apartment. Briseno targeted Ortiz because he was a member of the rival Latin King Street Gang.
Additionally, the evidence demonstrated that Briseno committed the double murder of Miguel Mejias, a Latin King living in Imperial Gangster territory, and Michael Sessum, an associate of Mejias, while they were unarmed and bringing takeout food to their pregnant girlfriends on June 3, 2008. During that murder, multiple shots fired by Briseno entered Mejias’ residence, striking a female victim in the arm while she was holding her infant child. Another pregnant female victim and multiple minor victims were also in the apartment at the time of the shooting. According to testimony at trial, Mejias implored another individual to tell Briseno that he was no longer “gangbanging” and did not want any trouble. In response to this message, Briseno said, “[explecetive] him, he was going to bring [Latin] Kings into our neighborhood.”
The evidence at trial also demonstrated that Briseno and his associates murdered rival Two-Six gang member, Miguel Colon, on Feb. 7, 2010, as Colon came out of a party. In this incident, Briseno and Colon exchanged gunfire, endangering numerous innocent individuals who were in the vicinity.
Finally, the evidence at trial demonstrated that Briseno murdered Latroy Howard on June 19, 2010, for selling drugs in an Imperial Gangster-controlled neighborhood without the permission of the gang. A video introduced at trial showed Briseno circling the block in his car and then walking up on foot and shooting the unarmed Howard twice in the head at point-blank range.
Friday, March 06, 2015
Bipartisan Majority of the U.S. House Opposes Obama Administration’s Ammo Ban
In an overwhelming show of bipartisan opposition, 238 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed a letter to the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, opposing the Obama Administration’s attempt to ban commonly used ammunition for the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15. The National Rifle Association worked closely with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) to gather signatures on this critical effort.
“This letter sends a clear message to President Obama that Congress opposes his attempt to use his pen and phone to thwart the will of the American people,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Obama said he would enact his gun control agenda ‘with or without Congress.’ He is now trying to make good on that promise. The NRA would like to thank Chairman Goodlatte and all who signed the letter for opposing this unconstitutional attack on our Second Amendment freedom.”
The NRA is working with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on a similar letter of opposition from the U.S. Senate.
“This letter sends a clear message to President Obama that Congress opposes his attempt to use his pen and phone to thwart the will of the American people,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Obama said he would enact his gun control agenda ‘with or without Congress.’ He is now trying to make good on that promise. The NRA would like to thank Chairman Goodlatte and all who signed the letter for opposing this unconstitutional attack on our Second Amendment freedom.”
The NRA is working with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on a similar letter of opposition from the U.S. Senate.
Al Qaeda Operative, Abid Naseer, Convicted for Role in International Terrorism Plot Targeting Shopping Mall
Following a two-week trial, Abid Naseer, a Pakistani national who joined al-Qaeda and plotted to commit a terrorist attack in the United Kingdom, was found guilty by a jury in Brooklyn federal court of providing material support to al-Qaeda, conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda, and conspiring to use a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence. The evidence at trial established that the defendant and his accomplices came within days of executing a plot to conduct an attack on a busy shopping mall located in the city center of Manchester, United Kingdom in April 2009. The planned attack, which also targeted the New York City subway system and a newspaper office in Copenhagen, Denmark, had been directed by and coordinated with senior al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan. Naseer is the eighth defendant to face charges, and the fourth to be convicted, in Brooklyn federal court related to the al-Qaeda plot, which also involved Adis Medunjanin, Najibullah Zazi, and Zarein Ahmedzay, the three members of the cell that targeted New York City.
The verdicts were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).
“This al-Qaeda plot was intended by the group’s leaders to send a message to the United States and its allies,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Today’s verdict sends an even more powerful message in response: the United States will stop at nothing in order to hold those who plot to kill and maim on behalf of terrorist groups accountable for their grievous crimes.” Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which led the investigation and comprises a large number of federal, state, and local agencies from the region. She also sent her appreciation to the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, New York, the U.S. Marshal Service, Brooklyn, and the law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom and Norway, including the Greater Manchester Police, the British Security Service, and the Norwegian Police Security Service, for their outstanding assistance with the case.
“Abid Naseer was part of an Al Qaeda conspiracy that targeted Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, for terrorist attack,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “His conviction reflects our dedication to identifying and holding accountable those who seek to target the United States and its allies. I want to thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this successful result.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez stated, “Naseer knowingly and willingly conspired with others to carry out a destructive plot on behalf of al-Qaeda. The wheels were set in motion, and he and his accomplices were prepared to execute their plan. Those who pledge allegiance to terrorists and terrorist organizations throughout the world will be brought to justice, and every effort will be made to protect Americans and our interests throughout the world. The FBI will continue to work with our local and international partners to mitigate the threat of global terrorism.”
“The Abid Naseer case demonstrates that terrorists who target the U.S. and its allies will be brought to justice, no matter where they are. This investigation involved leads from the streets of Manchester, England, to New York City, to Usama Bin Laden’s hidden lair in Pakistan. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District and the members of the N.Y. FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force for the work that led to this successful prosecution,” said Police Commissioner Bratton.
In approximately September 2008, al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan recruited Medunjanin, Zazi, and Ahmedzay, three friends from New York City, to conduct a suicide bombing attack in New York City. Those al-Qaeda leaders, including Adnan El-Shukrijumah and Saleh al-Somali, communicated with Zazi about the plot through an al-Qaeda facilitator named “Ahmad,” who was located in Peshawar, Pakistan. In early September 2009, after Medunjanin, Zazi, and Ahmedzay had selected the New York City subway system as their target, Zazi e-mailed with “Ahmad” in Pakistan about the proper ingredients for the main charge explosive, which included flour and oil. Zazi pleaded guilty to his role in the plot on February 22, 2010; Ahmedzay pleaded guilty on April 23, 2010; and Medunjanin was convicted after trial on May 1, 2012.
The investigation by authorities in the United States and United Kingdom revealed that “Ahmad” had also been communicating with the defendant earlier in 2009. The evidence at trial demonstrated that the defendant and his Pakistani accomplices had been dispatched by al-Qaeda to the U.K. in 2006 in order to begin preparations for an attack in that country. The defendant and his co-conspirators entered the U.K. on student visas but then immediately dropped out of the university in which they had enrolled. The defendant, like Zazi, returned briefly to Peshawar in November 2008, at the same time Zazi and his co-conspirators were receiving weapons and explosives training from al-Qaeda in that region. After returning to the U.K., the defendant sent messages back and forth to the same e-mail account that “Ahmad” was also using to communicate with the American-based al-Qaeda cell on behalf of Saleh al-Somali, al-Qaeda’s then-head of external operations. In the messages, the defendant used coded language to refer to different types of explosives. At the culmination of the plot, in early April 2009, the defendant told “Ahmad” that he was planning a large “wedding” for numerous guests during the upcoming Easter weekend, and that “Ahmad”—whom he called “Sohaib”—should be ready. Notably, Zazi testified that Ahmad had instructed him to use the same code of “marriage” to refer to the planned attack on the New York City subway, and that Zazi e-mailed Ahmad that “the marriage is ready” just before he drove to New York in early September 2009 to conduct the attack.
On April 8, 2009, the defendant and several associates were arrested in the United Kingdom. In connection with these arrests, U.K. authorities conducted searches of the plotters’ homes as well as an Internet café used by the defendant to send his messages to Ahmad, where they seized a large volume of electronic media. As demonstrated at trial, a forensic review of that electronic media revealed that the defendant had downloaded several jihadi nasheeds, or anthems, calling for “death in large numbers.” A document recovered from the raid on Usama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011 contained a letter from Saleh al-Somali to Bin Laden, written on April 16, 2009, that discussed the defendant and his accomplices’ arrests in the U.K.
On January 30, 2012, three defendants were also convicted in a Norwegian court of plotting a similar terrorist attack in Denmark as part of the same overall multinational al-Qaeda conspiracy. During that trial, the United States made available to the Norwegian prosecutors three witnesses who also pleaded guilty to terrorism offenses in the Eastern District of New York: Zazi, Ahmedzay, and Bryant Neal Vinas. Zazi and Ahmedzay again testified in the trial against Naseer.
The defendant faces up to life imprisonment when he is sentenced by the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie.
The verdicts were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).
“This al-Qaeda plot was intended by the group’s leaders to send a message to the United States and its allies,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Today’s verdict sends an even more powerful message in response: the United States will stop at nothing in order to hold those who plot to kill and maim on behalf of terrorist groups accountable for their grievous crimes.” Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which led the investigation and comprises a large number of federal, state, and local agencies from the region. She also sent her appreciation to the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, New York, the U.S. Marshal Service, Brooklyn, and the law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom and Norway, including the Greater Manchester Police, the British Security Service, and the Norwegian Police Security Service, for their outstanding assistance with the case.
“Abid Naseer was part of an Al Qaeda conspiracy that targeted Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, for terrorist attack,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “His conviction reflects our dedication to identifying and holding accountable those who seek to target the United States and its allies. I want to thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this successful result.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez stated, “Naseer knowingly and willingly conspired with others to carry out a destructive plot on behalf of al-Qaeda. The wheels were set in motion, and he and his accomplices were prepared to execute their plan. Those who pledge allegiance to terrorists and terrorist organizations throughout the world will be brought to justice, and every effort will be made to protect Americans and our interests throughout the world. The FBI will continue to work with our local and international partners to mitigate the threat of global terrorism.”
“The Abid Naseer case demonstrates that terrorists who target the U.S. and its allies will be brought to justice, no matter where they are. This investigation involved leads from the streets of Manchester, England, to New York City, to Usama Bin Laden’s hidden lair in Pakistan. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District and the members of the N.Y. FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force for the work that led to this successful prosecution,” said Police Commissioner Bratton.
In approximately September 2008, al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan recruited Medunjanin, Zazi, and Ahmedzay, three friends from New York City, to conduct a suicide bombing attack in New York City. Those al-Qaeda leaders, including Adnan El-Shukrijumah and Saleh al-Somali, communicated with Zazi about the plot through an al-Qaeda facilitator named “Ahmad,” who was located in Peshawar, Pakistan. In early September 2009, after Medunjanin, Zazi, and Ahmedzay had selected the New York City subway system as their target, Zazi e-mailed with “Ahmad” in Pakistan about the proper ingredients for the main charge explosive, which included flour and oil. Zazi pleaded guilty to his role in the plot on February 22, 2010; Ahmedzay pleaded guilty on April 23, 2010; and Medunjanin was convicted after trial on May 1, 2012.
The investigation by authorities in the United States and United Kingdom revealed that “Ahmad” had also been communicating with the defendant earlier in 2009. The evidence at trial demonstrated that the defendant and his Pakistani accomplices had been dispatched by al-Qaeda to the U.K. in 2006 in order to begin preparations for an attack in that country. The defendant and his co-conspirators entered the U.K. on student visas but then immediately dropped out of the university in which they had enrolled. The defendant, like Zazi, returned briefly to Peshawar in November 2008, at the same time Zazi and his co-conspirators were receiving weapons and explosives training from al-Qaeda in that region. After returning to the U.K., the defendant sent messages back and forth to the same e-mail account that “Ahmad” was also using to communicate with the American-based al-Qaeda cell on behalf of Saleh al-Somali, al-Qaeda’s then-head of external operations. In the messages, the defendant used coded language to refer to different types of explosives. At the culmination of the plot, in early April 2009, the defendant told “Ahmad” that he was planning a large “wedding” for numerous guests during the upcoming Easter weekend, and that “Ahmad”—whom he called “Sohaib”—should be ready. Notably, Zazi testified that Ahmad had instructed him to use the same code of “marriage” to refer to the planned attack on the New York City subway, and that Zazi e-mailed Ahmad that “the marriage is ready” just before he drove to New York in early September 2009 to conduct the attack.
On April 8, 2009, the defendant and several associates were arrested in the United Kingdom. In connection with these arrests, U.K. authorities conducted searches of the plotters’ homes as well as an Internet café used by the defendant to send his messages to Ahmad, where they seized a large volume of electronic media. As demonstrated at trial, a forensic review of that electronic media revealed that the defendant had downloaded several jihadi nasheeds, or anthems, calling for “death in large numbers.” A document recovered from the raid on Usama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011 contained a letter from Saleh al-Somali to Bin Laden, written on April 16, 2009, that discussed the defendant and his accomplices’ arrests in the U.K.
On January 30, 2012, three defendants were also convicted in a Norwegian court of plotting a similar terrorist attack in Denmark as part of the same overall multinational al-Qaeda conspiracy. During that trial, the United States made available to the Norwegian prosecutors three witnesses who also pleaded guilty to terrorism offenses in the Eastern District of New York: Zazi, Ahmedzay, and Bryant Neal Vinas. Zazi and Ahmedzay again testified in the trial against Naseer.
The defendant faces up to life imprisonment when he is sentenced by the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie.
Thursday, March 05, 2015
Fraud Allegations that Close to $3,000,000 paid by City of Chicago to Car-Charging Startup Company
Owners of a green tech startup company that installed and maintained charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles were indicted for allegedly engaging in a scheme to fraudulently obtain federal and state grant funds, from the City of Chicago, the State of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and two California entities: the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Association of Bay Area Governments.
Defendants Mariana Gerzanych, 36, and Timothy Mason, 58, both of California, were coowners of 350Green LLC of Los Angeles, California, which purported to install and maintain charging stations for plug in electric vehicles. Between 2010 and 2012, 350Green obtained over $2.9 million in grants from the City of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, to install and maintain public electric vehicle charging stations.
Gerzanych and Mason were each charged with five counts of wire fraud in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury. They will appear before U.S. District Court for arraignment at a later date. According to the indictment, between August 2010 and September 2012, as principals of 350Green, Mason and Gerzanych applied for and received over $2.9 million in grants from the City of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The grant funds were intended to support installation and operation of charging stations for electric vehicles. In particular, the indictment alleges that, in order to obtain grant funds, Mason and Gerzanych falsely claimed that a company called Actium Power had supplied Level 3 DC fast chargers to 350Green and that 350Green had paid Actium Power for those chargers, when in fact Actium Power did not supply the chargers, and the actual manufacturer of the chargers was never paid. Further, the indictment alleges that, in order to obtain the grant funds, 350Green submitted claims to the City of Chicago falsely representing that subcontractors and vendors had been paid when in fact, they had not.
As a result of Mason and Gerzanych’s false claims, the City of Chicago and the State of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection paid 350Green. In order to cover up the scheme, the indictment further alleges that Mason and Gerzanych made false statements to 350Green’s governmental partners regarding 350Green’s financial status and reasons for 350Green’s financial difficulties.
Each count of the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $1.9 million.
“These grant funds were intended to help communities live in a more eco-friendly way. The Department of Justice will not tolerate fraud at the expense of such an important mission,” said Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
“There will always be those who see innovation as just another mark for fraud and deception, so we are gratified by the continuing collaboration with our federal partners in stopping old school exploitation of new programs directed at tomorrow’s challenges,” said Inspector General Joseph Ferguson.
Defendants Mariana Gerzanych, 36, and Timothy Mason, 58, both of California, were coowners of 350Green LLC of Los Angeles, California, which purported to install and maintain charging stations for plug in electric vehicles. Between 2010 and 2012, 350Green obtained over $2.9 million in grants from the City of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, to install and maintain public electric vehicle charging stations.
Gerzanych and Mason were each charged with five counts of wire fraud in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury. They will appear before U.S. District Court for arraignment at a later date. According to the indictment, between August 2010 and September 2012, as principals of 350Green, Mason and Gerzanych applied for and received over $2.9 million in grants from the City of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The grant funds were intended to support installation and operation of charging stations for electric vehicles. In particular, the indictment alleges that, in order to obtain grant funds, Mason and Gerzanych falsely claimed that a company called Actium Power had supplied Level 3 DC fast chargers to 350Green and that 350Green had paid Actium Power for those chargers, when in fact Actium Power did not supply the chargers, and the actual manufacturer of the chargers was never paid. Further, the indictment alleges that, in order to obtain the grant funds, 350Green submitted claims to the City of Chicago falsely representing that subcontractors and vendors had been paid when in fact, they had not.
As a result of Mason and Gerzanych’s false claims, the City of Chicago and the State of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection paid 350Green. In order to cover up the scheme, the indictment further alleges that Mason and Gerzanych made false statements to 350Green’s governmental partners regarding 350Green’s financial status and reasons for 350Green’s financial difficulties.
Each count of the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $1.9 million.
“These grant funds were intended to help communities live in a more eco-friendly way. The Department of Justice will not tolerate fraud at the expense of such an important mission,” said Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
“There will always be those who see innovation as just another mark for fraud and deception, so we are gratified by the continuing collaboration with our federal partners in stopping old school exploitation of new programs directed at tomorrow’s challenges,” said Inspector General Joseph Ferguson.
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
Are you ready to become the best shooter athlete you can be?
I Am Forever | Episode 1: "Baseline"
Fitness expert Isaiah Truyman and veteran Green Beret John Wayne Walding introduce a new training program for the shooter athlete. This season, train with high school senior Reagan Tyler and watch your shooting and athletic abilities improve.
Tuesday, March 03, 2015
Owner of American Collision & Automotive Center Sentenced to Prison for Hiring Hitman and Related Crimes
A Philadelphia business owner was sentenced to 271 months in prison for arranging a murder for hire that led to a shooting in Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Ronald Galati, 64, was previously found guilty of all four counts in the indictment against him: conspiracy to commit murder for hire; conspiracy to possess and use a firearm during a crime of violence; murder for hire; and aiding and abetting the possession and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. Galati was convicted following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez, who imposed the sentence in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
Beginning sometime before June 2013, Galati began saying that he was going to kill Andrew Tuono. Galati told witnesses he would “kill him myself, I will strangle him, I will poke his eyes out” and “I am going to stab him right in the forehead with this thing,” referring to a pointed object. In June 2013, Galati, members of Galati’s family and associates had dinner with Tuono at a restaurant in Northfield, New Jersey. During dinner, Galati took Tuono into the kitchen and threatened to kill him.
Galati owned and operated American Collision & Automotive Center in Philadelphia, where Jerome Johnson, 46, also of Philadelphia, sometimes worked for him. Galati and Johnson approached two associates, Ronald Walker, 49, of Philadelphia, and Alvin Matthews, 47, of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, and enlisted them to kill Tuono in a manner that would not implicate Galati. Galati promised to pay Walker $20,000 to shoot and kill Tuono.
Galati provided Johnson with several addresses associated with the intended victim. Johnson gave Matthews a Colt .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun he had obtained near 60th Street in Philadelphia. On Nov. 30, 2013, Johnson telephoned Walker and Matthews and arranged to meet them. Galati called Johnson and told him that Tuono was in New Jersey.
Johnson drove Walker and Matthews to the area where Tuono lived in Atlantic City. During the drive, Johnson told Walker and Matthews that if there was a woman with Tuono, she was not to be harmed. While in Johnson’s vehicle, Matthews gave Walker the gun Johnson had given Matthews the day before. Johnson then dropped Walker and Matthews off around the corner from Tuono’s home.
Walker and Matthews then stalked Tuono from an alley adjacent to the residence. When Tuono and a woman came out of the house, Walker and Matthews approached them and got Tuono’s attention. Walker shot Tuono multiple times. The victim was transported by ambulance from the scene of the shooting to Atlantic City Medical Center for emergency surgery, where he spent six days.
Walker and Matthews were arrested as they fled from the scene.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced Galati to serve five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $15,427.94.
Walker, Matthews and Johnson have each pleaded guilty to related offenses and await sentencing.
Ronald Galati, 64, was previously found guilty of all four counts in the indictment against him: conspiracy to commit murder for hire; conspiracy to possess and use a firearm during a crime of violence; murder for hire; and aiding and abetting the possession and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. Galati was convicted following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez, who imposed the sentence in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
Beginning sometime before June 2013, Galati began saying that he was going to kill Andrew Tuono. Galati told witnesses he would “kill him myself, I will strangle him, I will poke his eyes out” and “I am going to stab him right in the forehead with this thing,” referring to a pointed object. In June 2013, Galati, members of Galati’s family and associates had dinner with Tuono at a restaurant in Northfield, New Jersey. During dinner, Galati took Tuono into the kitchen and threatened to kill him.
Galati owned and operated American Collision & Automotive Center in Philadelphia, where Jerome Johnson, 46, also of Philadelphia, sometimes worked for him. Galati and Johnson approached two associates, Ronald Walker, 49, of Philadelphia, and Alvin Matthews, 47, of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, and enlisted them to kill Tuono in a manner that would not implicate Galati. Galati promised to pay Walker $20,000 to shoot and kill Tuono.
Galati provided Johnson with several addresses associated with the intended victim. Johnson gave Matthews a Colt .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun he had obtained near 60th Street in Philadelphia. On Nov. 30, 2013, Johnson telephoned Walker and Matthews and arranged to meet them. Galati called Johnson and told him that Tuono was in New Jersey.
Johnson drove Walker and Matthews to the area where Tuono lived in Atlantic City. During the drive, Johnson told Walker and Matthews that if there was a woman with Tuono, she was not to be harmed. While in Johnson’s vehicle, Matthews gave Walker the gun Johnson had given Matthews the day before. Johnson then dropped Walker and Matthews off around the corner from Tuono’s home.
Walker and Matthews then stalked Tuono from an alley adjacent to the residence. When Tuono and a woman came out of the house, Walker and Matthews approached them and got Tuono’s attention. Walker shot Tuono multiple times. The victim was transported by ambulance from the scene of the shooting to Atlantic City Medical Center for emergency surgery, where he spent six days.
Walker and Matthews were arrested as they fled from the scene.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced Galati to serve five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $15,427.94.
Walker, Matthews and Johnson have each pleaded guilty to related offenses and await sentencing.
Monday, March 02, 2015
Saturday, February 28, 2015
U.S. Marshals Complete Phase 2 of Operation Desert Snow
The Marshals Service has been diligently working with state and local law enforcement officers to arrest violent fugitives in all 33 counties in New Mexico. Operation Desert Snow has five phases which have already been implemented throughout the entire state of New Mexico. The operation is building partnerships between state, county, local and tribal agencies in order to develop an emergency response strategy throughout the entire state. Phases I and II have already been completed. Phases III, IV and V will be implemented on an established schedule throughout 2015.
Phase I began in the Farmington, New Mexico Four-Corners Area which extends to the Arizona border and encompasses the Navajo Nation. From December 11-14, 2014 the Marshals Service and several of its law enforcement partners began serving warrants in this region. During the two-day operation, law enforcement officers endeavored to serve more than 60 warrants. They were successful in arresting 22 fugitives. All of these fugitive cases targeted violent fugitives.
Phase II of the operation continued February 19-22, 2015, in the Southwest corner of the state, which includes Luna County, Sierra County, Dona Ana County, Otero County and Lincoln County. The Marshals Service and combined local law enforcement task force members endeavored to serve over 100 warrants. They were successful in arresting 24 violent fugitives and clearing 33 warrants in this two- day operation.
Phase III will soon commence throughout the Northern New Mexico area. This operation will focus on the violent offenders who continue to evade apprehension which will make the area safer by protecting the public from these repeat offenders. This opportunity will also offer the entire taskforce an advantage to gain a better understanding of the area’s critical infrastructure, and to survey nearby areas of national interest for potential threats.
Phase I began in the Farmington, New Mexico Four-Corners Area which extends to the Arizona border and encompasses the Navajo Nation. From December 11-14, 2014 the Marshals Service and several of its law enforcement partners began serving warrants in this region. During the two-day operation, law enforcement officers endeavored to serve more than 60 warrants. They were successful in arresting 22 fugitives. All of these fugitive cases targeted violent fugitives.
Phase II of the operation continued February 19-22, 2015, in the Southwest corner of the state, which includes Luna County, Sierra County, Dona Ana County, Otero County and Lincoln County. The Marshals Service and combined local law enforcement task force members endeavored to serve over 100 warrants. They were successful in arresting 24 violent fugitives and clearing 33 warrants in this two- day operation.
Phase III will soon commence throughout the Northern New Mexico area. This operation will focus on the violent offenders who continue to evade apprehension which will make the area safer by protecting the public from these repeat offenders. This opportunity will also offer the entire taskforce an advantage to gain a better understanding of the area’s critical infrastructure, and to survey nearby areas of national interest for potential threats.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Vito Corleone's Home from "The Godfather" is for Sale.
The Staten Island movie home of Vito Corleone in “The Godfather” is for sale.
Rated as one of the best movies of all time, “The Godfather,” the blockbuster crime film produced in 1972, ran away with the Oscars winning Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. The portrayals of an extended New York crime family by its cast of Marlon Brando, then unknown Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton showed the personal lives of the Mafia during their heyday years of the 1940s and 50s. Most of the movie’s scenes were filmed in New York City locations including Bellevue Hospital, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Calvary Cemetery and a 1930 Tudor that was the stately home of Vito Corleone.
The movie home chosen for Vito Corleone
, played by Marlon Brando, was the longtime family home of Edward and Mary Norton in the Todt Hill neighborhood of Staten Island. It was recommended by Gianni Russo who grew up in the area and played the role of Vito’s traitor son-in-law, Carlos Rizzi. The Norton home was large, but unpretentious enough to blend in seamlessly with five neighboring homes to look like one big compound on movie screens during the 18 months of the film's production. “Godfather” fans will probably remember the home best for the movie’s opening garden party wedding reception for Vito’s daughter, Connie Corleone, while bobby-sox pop singer Johnny Fontane pleaded for the Godfather’s help to land a coveted Hollywood movie role. The home was also a good place for the Corleone family and associates to hunker down during the Mafia Wars.
Now for sale after a complete renovation in 2012, the 6,248-square-foot natural stone Tudor is sited on over a half acre of lawns, mature trees and landscaping that invites any size garden party and now enhanced further with an in-ground saltwater pool and infrared grill. No longer is the kitchen the small 1940’s-style where the cauldron of “Sunday gravy” simmered, but is now a modern day cook’s kitchen and breakfast room where friends and family gather in comfort. With five bedrooms and seven baths, the house is perfect for a large family and their guests with entertaining made easy in the formal rooms. There are also two offices, gym, playroom and two fireplaces. The basement features an English pub and man cave area with a game room, storage room with bath and four-car garage. Also a sound system, intercom, radiant heat, natural gas generator and, of course, a state-of-the-art security system.
The Staten Island home of the fabled Vito Corleone, seen around the world in the film “The Godfather” that grossed $245 million, is for sale after a complete renovation priced at $2.895 million. The listing agent is Connie Profaci of Profaci Realty in Staten Island, New York.
Rated as one of the best movies of all time, “The Godfather,” the blockbuster crime film produced in 1972, ran away with the Oscars winning Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. The portrayals of an extended New York crime family by its cast of Marlon Brando, then unknown Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton showed the personal lives of the Mafia during their heyday years of the 1940s and 50s. Most of the movie’s scenes were filmed in New York City locations including Bellevue Hospital, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Calvary Cemetery and a 1930 Tudor that was the stately home of Vito Corleone.
The movie home chosen for Vito Corleone
, played by Marlon Brando, was the longtime family home of Edward and Mary Norton in the Todt Hill neighborhood of Staten Island. It was recommended by Gianni Russo who grew up in the area and played the role of Vito’s traitor son-in-law, Carlos Rizzi. The Norton home was large, but unpretentious enough to blend in seamlessly with five neighboring homes to look like one big compound on movie screens during the 18 months of the film's production. “Godfather” fans will probably remember the home best for the movie’s opening garden party wedding reception for Vito’s daughter, Connie Corleone, while bobby-sox pop singer Johnny Fontane pleaded for the Godfather’s help to land a coveted Hollywood movie role. The home was also a good place for the Corleone family and associates to hunker down during the Mafia Wars.
Now for sale after a complete renovation in 2012, the 6,248-square-foot natural stone Tudor is sited on over a half acre of lawns, mature trees and landscaping that invites any size garden party and now enhanced further with an in-ground saltwater pool and infrared grill. No longer is the kitchen the small 1940’s-style where the cauldron of “Sunday gravy” simmered, but is now a modern day cook’s kitchen and breakfast room where friends and family gather in comfort. With five bedrooms and seven baths, the house is perfect for a large family and their guests with entertaining made easy in the formal rooms. There are also two offices, gym, playroom and two fireplaces. The basement features an English pub and man cave area with a game room, storage room with bath and four-car garage. Also a sound system, intercom, radiant heat, natural gas generator and, of course, a state-of-the-art security system.
The Staten Island home of the fabled Vito Corleone, seen around the world in the film “The Godfather” that grossed $245 million, is for sale after a complete renovation priced at $2.895 million. The listing agent is Connie Profaci of Profaci Realty in Staten Island, New York.
Vikings Exhibition Opens Today at the @FieldMuseum, Only US Stop on International Tour
What does the word Viking bring to mind? Ruthless warriors and merciless invaders? Or prosperous farmers, enterprising merchants, and caring families? Vikings, the latest exhibition at The Field Museum, explores the truth behind Scandinavia’s ancient—and infamous—seafaring raiders.
Opening February 27 and running through October 4, The Field Museum’s presentation of Vikings is the only US stop on an international tour. The exhibition was organized by the Swedish History Museum in Sweden, in partnership with Museums Partner in Austria. Major sponsors: Discover, Viking Cruises.
The exhibition transports visitors to the Viking Age (8th-11th centuries) brought to light through modern archaeological discoveries. Nearly 500 ancient artifacts—many never before seen outside of Scandinavia—reveal new insights into the legendary people characterized as heartless marauders.
Artifacts on display in the exhibition reveal glimpses into family and community, religion and rituals, travel and trade, aristocracy and slavery and the roles of women. The exhibition provides insight into the significance of Norse craftsmanship, the power of their mythology, and the symbolism of their ships. A highlight of the exhibition is the Krampmacken, a replica Viking ship from Sweden based on historical and archaeological sources.
The exhibition will also explore some of the misconceptions surrounding these early Scandinavians. Though there is a Viking helmet replica in the exhibition, visitors won’t find any horned helmets on display. In fact, no Viking helmet has ever been discovered with horns; this image emerged in the 19th century, popularized by authors and artists who romanticized Norse culture. Another myth is that the Vikings called themselves “Vikings.” Generally, the people of early Scandinavia named themselves after the farm, village, or region in which they lived. The word “Viking,” derives from Old Norse, and meant a trade ship or a raid. During the Viking era, people were not always out on these expeditions; most lived as farmers, merchants, and craftsmen.
Striking examples of Viking craftsmanship are on display including exquisitely wrought brooches, depictions of Norse gods, as well as gold and silver pendants—including the oldest known Scandinavian crucifix, highlighting the transition between Old Norse religious practices and Christianity. Viking Age swords and other weapons will also be on display, highlighting the Vikings’ exceptional metal working technologies.
Vikings features a number of interactives, allowing Museum visitors to take part in the excavation of a virtual boat grave, spell a name in runes, explore Norse mythology, and play an early Scandinavian board game. Visitors can pick up an accurate replica of a Viking Age sword and test the weight and balance between handle and blade, discovering the skill it takes to master sword handling.
Vikings brings a new appreciation for the people remembered mainly for their plundering ways. And while raiding and pillaging were mainstays of their culture, Viking society was much more complex and multifaceted; Vikings were skilled craftsmen, successful merchants, and hard-working farmers. Like society today, no one thing defined the Vikings, and research continues to teach us how nuanced these northern people were.
Opening February 27 and running through October 4, The Field Museum’s presentation of Vikings is the only US stop on an international tour. The exhibition was organized by the Swedish History Museum in Sweden, in partnership with Museums Partner in Austria. Major sponsors: Discover, Viking Cruises.
The exhibition transports visitors to the Viking Age (8th-11th centuries) brought to light through modern archaeological discoveries. Nearly 500 ancient artifacts—many never before seen outside of Scandinavia—reveal new insights into the legendary people characterized as heartless marauders.
Artifacts on display in the exhibition reveal glimpses into family and community, religion and rituals, travel and trade, aristocracy and slavery and the roles of women. The exhibition provides insight into the significance of Norse craftsmanship, the power of their mythology, and the symbolism of their ships. A highlight of the exhibition is the Krampmacken, a replica Viking ship from Sweden based on historical and archaeological sources.
The exhibition will also explore some of the misconceptions surrounding these early Scandinavians. Though there is a Viking helmet replica in the exhibition, visitors won’t find any horned helmets on display. In fact, no Viking helmet has ever been discovered with horns; this image emerged in the 19th century, popularized by authors and artists who romanticized Norse culture. Another myth is that the Vikings called themselves “Vikings.” Generally, the people of early Scandinavia named themselves after the farm, village, or region in which they lived. The word “Viking,” derives from Old Norse, and meant a trade ship or a raid. During the Viking era, people were not always out on these expeditions; most lived as farmers, merchants, and craftsmen.
Striking examples of Viking craftsmanship are on display including exquisitely wrought brooches, depictions of Norse gods, as well as gold and silver pendants—including the oldest known Scandinavian crucifix, highlighting the transition between Old Norse religious practices and Christianity. Viking Age swords and other weapons will also be on display, highlighting the Vikings’ exceptional metal working technologies.
Vikings features a number of interactives, allowing Museum visitors to take part in the excavation of a virtual boat grave, spell a name in runes, explore Norse mythology, and play an early Scandinavian board game. Visitors can pick up an accurate replica of a Viking Age sword and test the weight and balance between handle and blade, discovering the skill it takes to master sword handling.
Vikings brings a new appreciation for the people remembered mainly for their plundering ways. And while raiding and pillaging were mainstays of their culture, Viking society was much more complex and multifaceted; Vikings were skilled craftsmen, successful merchants, and hard-working farmers. Like society today, no one thing defined the Vikings, and research continues to teach us how nuanced these northern people were.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Details on the Insufficient Evidence, Exonerating George Zimmerman from Civil Rights Charges
The Justice Department announced that the independent federal investigation found insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. Prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, officials from the FBI, and the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service met today with Martin’s family and their representatives to inform them of the findings of the investigation and the decision.
“The death of Trayvon Martin was a devastating tragedy. It shook an entire community, drew the attention of millions across the nation, and sparked a painful but necessary dialogue throughout the country,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “Though a comprehensive investigation found that the high standard for a federal hate crime prosecution cannot be met under the circumstances here, this young man’s premature death necessitates that we continue the dialogue and be unafraid of confronting the issues and tensions his passing brought to the surface. We, as a nation, must take concrete steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.”
Following the shooting, a team of some of the department’s most experienced civil rights prosecutors and FBI agents conducted a comprehensive, independent investigation of the events of Feb. 26, 2012. The federal investigation was opened and conducted separately from the state of Florida’s investigation of the shooting under local laws. Once the state initiated the second-degree murder prosecution, federal investigators began monitoring the state’s case and halted active investigation in order not to interfere with the state’s trial. Federal investigators provided reports of interviews and other evidence they obtained to the state’s prosecution team.
Shortly after Zimmerman’s acquittal in state court on July 13, 2013, federal investigators resumed active investigation. Federal investigators reviewed all of the material and evidence generated by the state of Florida in connection with its investigation and prosecution of Zimmerman, including witness statements, crime scene evidence, cell phone data, ballistics reports, reconstruction analysis, medical and autopsy reports, depositions, and the trial record. Federal investigators also independently conducted 75 witness interviews and obtained and reviewed the contents of relevant electronic devices. The investigation included an examination of police reports and additional evidence that was generated related to encounters Zimmerman has had with law enforcement in Florida since the state trial acquittal. In addition, federal authorities retained an independent biomechanical expert who assessed Zimmerman’s descriptions of the struggle and the shooting.
The federal investigation sought to determine whether the evidence of the events that led to Martin’s death were sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman’s actions violated the federal criminal civil rights statutes, specifically Section 3631 of Title 42 of the U.S. Code or Section 249 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, as well as other relevant federal criminal statutes. Section 3631 criminalizes willfully using force or threat of force to interfere with a person’s federally protected housing rights on account of that person’s race or color. Section 249 criminalizes willfully causing bodily injury to a person because of that person’s actual or perceived race. Courts define “willfully” to require proof that a defendant knew his acts were unlawful, and committed those acts in open defiance of the law. It is one of the highest standards of intent imposed by law.
The federal investigation examined whether Zimmerman violated civil rights statutes at any point during his interaction with Martin, from their initial encounter through the fatal shooting. This included investigating whether there is evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman violated Section 3631 by approaching Martin in a threatening manner before the fatal shooting because of Martin’s race and because he was using the residential neighborhood. Investigators also looked at whether there is evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman violated Section 3631 or Section 249, by using force against Martin either during their struggle or when shooting Martin, because of Martin’s race.
“Although the department has determined that this matter cannot be prosecuted federally, it is important to remember that this incident resulted in the tragic loss of a teenager’s life,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “Our decision not to pursue federal charges does not condone the shooting that resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin and is based solely on the high legal standard applicable to these cases.”
After a thorough and independent investigation into the facts surrounding the shooting, federal investigators determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a violation of these statutes. Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed. This decision is limited strictly to the department’s inability to meet the high legal standard required to prosecute the case under the federal civil rights statutes; it does not reflect an assessment of any other aspect of the shooting.
“The death of Trayvon Martin was a devastating tragedy. It shook an entire community, drew the attention of millions across the nation, and sparked a painful but necessary dialogue throughout the country,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “Though a comprehensive investigation found that the high standard for a federal hate crime prosecution cannot be met under the circumstances here, this young man’s premature death necessitates that we continue the dialogue and be unafraid of confronting the issues and tensions his passing brought to the surface. We, as a nation, must take concrete steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.”
Following the shooting, a team of some of the department’s most experienced civil rights prosecutors and FBI agents conducted a comprehensive, independent investigation of the events of Feb. 26, 2012. The federal investigation was opened and conducted separately from the state of Florida’s investigation of the shooting under local laws. Once the state initiated the second-degree murder prosecution, federal investigators began monitoring the state’s case and halted active investigation in order not to interfere with the state’s trial. Federal investigators provided reports of interviews and other evidence they obtained to the state’s prosecution team.
Shortly after Zimmerman’s acquittal in state court on July 13, 2013, federal investigators resumed active investigation. Federal investigators reviewed all of the material and evidence generated by the state of Florida in connection with its investigation and prosecution of Zimmerman, including witness statements, crime scene evidence, cell phone data, ballistics reports, reconstruction analysis, medical and autopsy reports, depositions, and the trial record. Federal investigators also independently conducted 75 witness interviews and obtained and reviewed the contents of relevant electronic devices. The investigation included an examination of police reports and additional evidence that was generated related to encounters Zimmerman has had with law enforcement in Florida since the state trial acquittal. In addition, federal authorities retained an independent biomechanical expert who assessed Zimmerman’s descriptions of the struggle and the shooting.
The federal investigation sought to determine whether the evidence of the events that led to Martin’s death were sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman’s actions violated the federal criminal civil rights statutes, specifically Section 3631 of Title 42 of the U.S. Code or Section 249 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, as well as other relevant federal criminal statutes. Section 3631 criminalizes willfully using force or threat of force to interfere with a person’s federally protected housing rights on account of that person’s race or color. Section 249 criminalizes willfully causing bodily injury to a person because of that person’s actual or perceived race. Courts define “willfully” to require proof that a defendant knew his acts were unlawful, and committed those acts in open defiance of the law. It is one of the highest standards of intent imposed by law.
The federal investigation examined whether Zimmerman violated civil rights statutes at any point during his interaction with Martin, from their initial encounter through the fatal shooting. This included investigating whether there is evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman violated Section 3631 by approaching Martin in a threatening manner before the fatal shooting because of Martin’s race and because he was using the residential neighborhood. Investigators also looked at whether there is evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman violated Section 3631 or Section 249, by using force against Martin either during their struggle or when shooting Martin, because of Martin’s race.
“Although the department has determined that this matter cannot be prosecuted federally, it is important to remember that this incident resulted in the tragic loss of a teenager’s life,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “Our decision not to pursue federal charges does not condone the shooting that resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin and is based solely on the high legal standard applicable to these cases.”
After a thorough and independent investigation into the facts surrounding the shooting, federal investigators determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a violation of these statutes. Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed. This decision is limited strictly to the department’s inability to meet the high legal standard required to prosecute the case under the federal civil rights statutes; it does not reflect an assessment of any other aspect of the shooting.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Revolutionary New Shooting Technology now Available in USA
UTM RBT has announced the new Civilian Target Ammunition and Kit are now available to the public on their website www.utmworldwide.com, after revealing the new consumer product at SHOT Show, Las Vegas, NV in January. The CTA product line product utilizes core technology only previously available to Military, Law Enforcement and Professional Training Organizations.
UTM Reality Based Training (UTM RBT) has made the Civilian Target Ammunition (CTA) Target Shooting Kit and Ammunition for AR-15 Style weapons available for pre-orders on their website. “Due to the demand we expected and have seen since making the product available, customers may not receive their ammunition and kits for up to 60 days, although we are striving to ensure that orders are delivered as soon as possible, with many having already been delivered,” says Tony Lambraia, UTM RBT, USA Chief of Operations. “We feel that this is a product that will revolutionize the industry because of its realism, educational and training benefits for novice to professional shooters across the board. For nearly a decade, the U.S. Military, Special Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies have been using our products for training, in their operational weapons and making this core technology available to all consumers will address many of the issues facing the Firearms and Shooting industries today, such as safety, accurate and reliable alternatives to live fire, ammunition shortages and environmental concerns - it just seemed like a natural step.”
“Most people know us as the manufacturer of the safest, most accurate and reliable Force-on-Force (FOF) products and innovative training solutions for Law Enforcement and Military. The Civilian Target Ammunition is based on the same basic core technology used in all of our training ammunition, to include the UTM RBT Man Marker Round (MMR), but is designed entirely for Target use ONLY. It is not designed or intended for Force-on-Force (shooting opponents) like the MMR. We replaced the soft plastic energy dissipating cruciform dome, containing the marking compound in the MMR projectile, with an aluminum projectile covered with a hard plastic dome - making the CTA unsuitable for FOF. The 5.56/.223 CTA round is perfect for short range target use with an accuracy of 1.18in at 32 yds. The round is only powered by primers, making it quiet (113db) - allowing you to practice with your own AR-15 style weapon without the restrictions of a live fire range. It is a great tool for training new shooters on the AR/M4 platform as a practice aid or as a prelude to live fire. For more experienced shooters, they are able to train with their own converted weapon on more advanced skills that are not typically permitted on a public live fire range, like the use of 360° targets, moving and shooting, shooting steel, immediate action drills etc. It is a great training tool for any level of shooting enthusiast - from simple target shooting fun to complex gun competitions or CQB (Close Quarter Battle) type training on targets,” says Steven Didier, UTM RBT, International Chief of Operations.
UTM Reality Based Training (UTM RBT) has made the Civilian Target Ammunition (CTA) Target Shooting Kit and Ammunition for AR-15 Style weapons available for pre-orders on their website. “Due to the demand we expected and have seen since making the product available, customers may not receive their ammunition and kits for up to 60 days, although we are striving to ensure that orders are delivered as soon as possible, with many having already been delivered,” says Tony Lambraia, UTM RBT, USA Chief of Operations. “We feel that this is a product that will revolutionize the industry because of its realism, educational and training benefits for novice to professional shooters across the board. For nearly a decade, the U.S. Military, Special Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies have been using our products for training, in their operational weapons and making this core technology available to all consumers will address many of the issues facing the Firearms and Shooting industries today, such as safety, accurate and reliable alternatives to live fire, ammunition shortages and environmental concerns - it just seemed like a natural step.”
“Most people know us as the manufacturer of the safest, most accurate and reliable Force-on-Force (FOF) products and innovative training solutions for Law Enforcement and Military. The Civilian Target Ammunition is based on the same basic core technology used in all of our training ammunition, to include the UTM RBT Man Marker Round (MMR), but is designed entirely for Target use ONLY. It is not designed or intended for Force-on-Force (shooting opponents) like the MMR. We replaced the soft plastic energy dissipating cruciform dome, containing the marking compound in the MMR projectile, with an aluminum projectile covered with a hard plastic dome - making the CTA unsuitable for FOF. The 5.56/.223 CTA round is perfect for short range target use with an accuracy of 1.18in at 32 yds. The round is only powered by primers, making it quiet (113db) - allowing you to practice with your own AR-15 style weapon without the restrictions of a live fire range. It is a great tool for training new shooters on the AR/M4 platform as a practice aid or as a prelude to live fire. For more experienced shooters, they are able to train with their own converted weapon on more advanced skills that are not typically permitted on a public live fire range, like the use of 360° targets, moving and shooting, shooting steel, immediate action drills etc. It is a great training tool for any level of shooting enthusiast - from simple target shooting fun to complex gun competitions or CQB (Close Quarter Battle) type training on targets,” says Steven Didier, UTM RBT, International Chief of Operations.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Leadership of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Gang Convicted of Racketeering and Drug-Trafficking Charges
After a four-month trial, a federal jury in the Eastern District of Michigan convicted six members of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Gang, including the national president, national vice president and national warlord, for their participation in various criminal acts, including violent crimes in aid of racketeering, methamphetamine production and trafficking, illegal firearms offenses, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling and other federal offenses.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan and Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office made the announcement.
“For too many years the Devils Diciples spread fear and violence throughout Michigan and the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “This outlaw motorcycle gang thrived on intimidation and its ability to avoid prosecution – but no longer. Through these convictions, we have decimated the gang and its leadership and helped secure justice for the communities they harmed.”
"These defendants were responsible for violence and trafficking in methamphetamine in Macomb County and across the country,” said U.S. Attorney McQuade. “We are grateful for the work of the investigating agencies and the jury to bring them to justice."
“The defendants in this case perpetrated a broad range of violent criminal activities in support of their illegal enterprise,” said Special Agent in Charge Abbate. “Today’s convictions, which targeted the leadership of this criminal organization, reflect the hard work and dedication of federal, state and local law enforcement, the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.”
Devils Diciples national President Jeff Garvin Smith, aka “Fat Dog,” 60, of Mt. Clemens, Michigan; National Vice President Paul Anthony Darrah, aka “Pauli,” 50, of Macomb Township, Michigan; and National Warlord Cary Dale Vandiver, aka “Gun Control,” 56, of Sand Mountain, Alabama, were all found guilty by a jury of engaging in a RICO conspiracy, methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct justice, violent crimes in aid of racketeering and various substantive charges. Another prominent leader, Vincent John Witort, aka “Holiday,” 64, of Fontana, California, and a methamphetamine cook, Patrick Michael McKeoun, aka “Magoo,” 60, of Birmingham, Alabama, were found guilty of engaging in a RICO conspiracy and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. David Randy Drozdowski, aka “D,” 38 of Fair Haven, Michigan, was found guilty by a jury of committing violent crimes in aid of racketeering and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Scott William Sutherland, aka “Scotty Z,” 49, of Redford, Michigan, was acquitted by the jury of various charges, but previously pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled at a later date before U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland of the Eastern District of Michigan.
According to evidence presented at trial, the Devils Diciples (which is intentionally misspelled) is a motorcycle gang with its national headquarters in Clinton Township, Michigan. The Devils Diciples operated regional chapters in cities throughout Michigan, Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere, and engaged in criminal activities for financial gain.
Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that membership in the Devils Diciples is based in part on successful completion of a probationary period, followed by formal approval by one or more members or leaders. Members, commonly referred to as “full patched members,” are required to own Harley Davidson motorcycles and are required to follow orders from the gang’s leadership, including orders to assault, threaten and intimidate others, to transport and distribute drugs, to lie to law enforcement and to hide or destroy evidence. Members are also required to follow the Devils Diciples by-laws and attend regular meetings referred to as “church.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Smith was the National President and Darrah was the National Vice President of the gang. In those roles, they were responsible for overall management of the activities of the other Devils Diciples members and chapters, including giving final approval to any activity generally affecting the gang as a whole. Vandiver was the National Warlord – or enforcer – of the gang. With other gang members, the leaders also participated directly in criminal activities both for financial gain on behalf of the Devils Diciples, and to protect the gang and its members.
Specifically, the evidence showed that in late 2007, Smith and Darrah were involved in the shooting of a Devils Diciples member who failed to abide by the gang’s rules. And, in August 2008, Smith violently assaulted the girlfriend of another Devils Diciples member because he believed she disrespected him and the gang.
Additionally, the evidence showed that Smith possessed state and federal law enforcement manuals regarding outlaw motorcycle gangs marked “For Official Use Only” and “Law Enforcement Sensitive,” and numerous documents related to criminal matters involving members of the Devils Diciples, including police reports, search warrants, affidavits, indictments and witness interview transcripts. The evidence showed that the documents were used for the purposes of counter-surveillance and to identify suspected informants.
The other defendants were also full patched members of the gang, who committed several other acts of violence.
For example, in August 2003, Witort and other gang members robbed, kidnapped and attempted to murder members of the gang’s Arizona Chapter for violating the gang’s rules. Inside the Arizona clubhouse, the victims were bound with duct tape and zip ties, and severely beaten with firearms, tasers, knives, and other weapons. The victims were then loaded into the bed of a pick-up truck, driven out into the desert, dumped into ravines, and left to die. The evidence showed that Witort and Smith helped to plan the beatings and that Smith later congratulated one of the participants, telling him in a letter that the Devils Diciples were “all proud of you.”
Additionally, the evidence demonstrated that in 2012, at a bar in Chesterfield Township, Michigan, Drozdowski and another Devils Diciples member assaulted a perceived rival motorcycle gang member for being present in Devils Diciples territory. The victim was knocked unconscious and suffered multiple fractures to his face and jaw. Drozdowski and the other Devils Diciples member then ripped the leather vest off of the unconscious victim.
In addition to the defendants convicted today, 21 members and associates of the Devil’s Diciples have been pleaded guilty to various crimes as result of this investigation. The investigation further resulted in the seizure of more than 60 firearms and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition and the dismantling of eight methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories across the country.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan and Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office made the announcement.
“For too many years the Devils Diciples spread fear and violence throughout Michigan and the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “This outlaw motorcycle gang thrived on intimidation and its ability to avoid prosecution – but no longer. Through these convictions, we have decimated the gang and its leadership and helped secure justice for the communities they harmed.”
"These defendants were responsible for violence and trafficking in methamphetamine in Macomb County and across the country,” said U.S. Attorney McQuade. “We are grateful for the work of the investigating agencies and the jury to bring them to justice."
“The defendants in this case perpetrated a broad range of violent criminal activities in support of their illegal enterprise,” said Special Agent in Charge Abbate. “Today’s convictions, which targeted the leadership of this criminal organization, reflect the hard work and dedication of federal, state and local law enforcement, the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.”
Devils Diciples national President Jeff Garvin Smith, aka “Fat Dog,” 60, of Mt. Clemens, Michigan; National Vice President Paul Anthony Darrah, aka “Pauli,” 50, of Macomb Township, Michigan; and National Warlord Cary Dale Vandiver, aka “Gun Control,” 56, of Sand Mountain, Alabama, were all found guilty by a jury of engaging in a RICO conspiracy, methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct justice, violent crimes in aid of racketeering and various substantive charges. Another prominent leader, Vincent John Witort, aka “Holiday,” 64, of Fontana, California, and a methamphetamine cook, Patrick Michael McKeoun, aka “Magoo,” 60, of Birmingham, Alabama, were found guilty of engaging in a RICO conspiracy and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. David Randy Drozdowski, aka “D,” 38 of Fair Haven, Michigan, was found guilty by a jury of committing violent crimes in aid of racketeering and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Scott William Sutherland, aka “Scotty Z,” 49, of Redford, Michigan, was acquitted by the jury of various charges, but previously pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled at a later date before U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland of the Eastern District of Michigan.
According to evidence presented at trial, the Devils Diciples (which is intentionally misspelled) is a motorcycle gang with its national headquarters in Clinton Township, Michigan. The Devils Diciples operated regional chapters in cities throughout Michigan, Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere, and engaged in criminal activities for financial gain.
Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that membership in the Devils Diciples is based in part on successful completion of a probationary period, followed by formal approval by one or more members or leaders. Members, commonly referred to as “full patched members,” are required to own Harley Davidson motorcycles and are required to follow orders from the gang’s leadership, including orders to assault, threaten and intimidate others, to transport and distribute drugs, to lie to law enforcement and to hide or destroy evidence. Members are also required to follow the Devils Diciples by-laws and attend regular meetings referred to as “church.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Smith was the National President and Darrah was the National Vice President of the gang. In those roles, they were responsible for overall management of the activities of the other Devils Diciples members and chapters, including giving final approval to any activity generally affecting the gang as a whole. Vandiver was the National Warlord – or enforcer – of the gang. With other gang members, the leaders also participated directly in criminal activities both for financial gain on behalf of the Devils Diciples, and to protect the gang and its members.
Specifically, the evidence showed that in late 2007, Smith and Darrah were involved in the shooting of a Devils Diciples member who failed to abide by the gang’s rules. And, in August 2008, Smith violently assaulted the girlfriend of another Devils Diciples member because he believed she disrespected him and the gang.
Additionally, the evidence showed that Smith possessed state and federal law enforcement manuals regarding outlaw motorcycle gangs marked “For Official Use Only” and “Law Enforcement Sensitive,” and numerous documents related to criminal matters involving members of the Devils Diciples, including police reports, search warrants, affidavits, indictments and witness interview transcripts. The evidence showed that the documents were used for the purposes of counter-surveillance and to identify suspected informants.
The other defendants were also full patched members of the gang, who committed several other acts of violence.
For example, in August 2003, Witort and other gang members robbed, kidnapped and attempted to murder members of the gang’s Arizona Chapter for violating the gang’s rules. Inside the Arizona clubhouse, the victims were bound with duct tape and zip ties, and severely beaten with firearms, tasers, knives, and other weapons. The victims were then loaded into the bed of a pick-up truck, driven out into the desert, dumped into ravines, and left to die. The evidence showed that Witort and Smith helped to plan the beatings and that Smith later congratulated one of the participants, telling him in a letter that the Devils Diciples were “all proud of you.”
Additionally, the evidence demonstrated that in 2012, at a bar in Chesterfield Township, Michigan, Drozdowski and another Devils Diciples member assaulted a perceived rival motorcycle gang member for being present in Devils Diciples territory. The victim was knocked unconscious and suffered multiple fractures to his face and jaw. Drozdowski and the other Devils Diciples member then ripped the leather vest off of the unconscious victim.
In addition to the defendants convicted today, 21 members and associates of the Devil’s Diciples have been pleaded guilty to various crimes as result of this investigation. The investigation further resulted in the seizure of more than 60 firearms and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition and the dismantling of eight methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories across the country.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Superseding Indictment Against Westbank Gang Members Returned by Grand Jury
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced the return of a second superseding Indictment charging members of a violent Westbank gang associated with the Harvey Hustlers with violating federal drug and firearm laws, including multiple murders and shootings. A federal grand jury returned the second superseding Indictment against Harry Smoot, 30, Frankie Hookfin, 23, Ray Woodruff, 21, Andre Addison, a/k/a “Dooda,” 23, Lance Singleton, a/k/a “Life Taker,” 24, Terrance Kelley,a/k/a “Streets,” 28, Isaac Smith, a/k/a “Ike,” 21, Joequell Lewis, a/k/a “Blow,”27, Chris Brown,a/k/a “Ten,” 32, Richard Thomas, a/k/a “Stizzle,” 39, Terrell Wade, a/k/a “T-Dog,” 39, andClifford Sonnier a/k/a “Dut,” 25, all of Jefferson Parish. This Indictment is a product of an ongoing investigation into the violent acts in furtherance of the drug trafficking by this violent Westbank gang.
The second superseding Indictment charges all defendants with conspiracy to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin and over 280 grams of crack cocaine, six defendants with three counts of murder in furtherance of drug trafficking activities, four defendants with two counts of discharging firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, as well as multiple counts of other firearms violations. All defendants are presently in custody pending trial.
If convicted of any of the murders in furtherance of drug trafficking, the defendants will face a maximum sentence of life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release. If convicted of any additional shootings in furtherance of drug trafficking, the defendants face a mandatory sentence of 10 years of imprisonment to be served consecutive with any other sentence, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release. All defendants are facing 10 years to life, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release if convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine.
The second superseding Indictment charges all defendants with conspiracy to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin and over 280 grams of crack cocaine, six defendants with three counts of murder in furtherance of drug trafficking activities, four defendants with two counts of discharging firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, as well as multiple counts of other firearms violations. All defendants are presently in custody pending trial.
If convicted of any of the murders in furtherance of drug trafficking, the defendants will face a maximum sentence of life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release. If convicted of any additional shootings in furtherance of drug trafficking, the defendants face a mandatory sentence of 10 years of imprisonment to be served consecutive with any other sentence, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release. All defendants are facing 10 years to life, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release if convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine.
Leader of Hells Angels Pleads Guilty to Federal Crimes in Connection with Brutal Assault
The leader of the Salem Chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to criminal charges in connection with the assault and maiming of a former member of the Red Devils Motorcycle Club.
Sean Barr, 50, of Lynn, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to conspiring to commit violent crimes in aid of racketeering, maiming in aid of racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and assault resulting serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering. On Feb. 5, 2015, three co-defendants, Marc Eliason, 37, of Lynn; Robert DeFronzo, 47, of Saugus; and Brian Weymouth, 42, of Danvers, pleaded guilty to similar charges. Eliason and DeFronzo were members of the Salem Hells Angels and Weymouth was a member of the Red Devils. The Red Devils Motorcycle Club is a support club of the Hells Angels.
Barr, Eliason, DeFronzo and Weymouth were involved in luring the victim, who was targeted for failing to follow orders issued by the Salem Hells Angels, and assaulting the victim. The victim was targeted because he failed to assault a former member of the Salem Hells Angels, who had been “put out bad” from the Hells Angels. At the Byfield clubhouse, the victim was surrounded by the defendants and beaten. During the assault, Barr used a ballpeen hammer, a favored weapon of the Hells Angels, to maim the victim by breaking a number of bones in the victim’s hand. Eliason and Weymouth then stole the victim’s motorcycle.
The charging statutes provide a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the charge of conspiring to commit violent crimes in aid of racketeering; 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the charge of maiming in aid of racketeering; 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering; and 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering. Pursuant to their respective plea agreements with the government, and pending acceptance by the district court at sentencing, Barr and Eliason have each agreed to sentences of 97 months in prison, and DeFronzo and Weymouth have each agreed to sentences of 57 months in prison.
Sean Barr, 50, of Lynn, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to conspiring to commit violent crimes in aid of racketeering, maiming in aid of racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and assault resulting serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering. On Feb. 5, 2015, three co-defendants, Marc Eliason, 37, of Lynn; Robert DeFronzo, 47, of Saugus; and Brian Weymouth, 42, of Danvers, pleaded guilty to similar charges. Eliason and DeFronzo were members of the Salem Hells Angels and Weymouth was a member of the Red Devils. The Red Devils Motorcycle Club is a support club of the Hells Angels.
Barr, Eliason, DeFronzo and Weymouth were involved in luring the victim, who was targeted for failing to follow orders issued by the Salem Hells Angels, and assaulting the victim. The victim was targeted because he failed to assault a former member of the Salem Hells Angels, who had been “put out bad” from the Hells Angels. At the Byfield clubhouse, the victim was surrounded by the defendants and beaten. During the assault, Barr used a ballpeen hammer, a favored weapon of the Hells Angels, to maim the victim by breaking a number of bones in the victim’s hand. Eliason and Weymouth then stole the victim’s motorcycle.
The charging statutes provide a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the charge of conspiring to commit violent crimes in aid of racketeering; 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the charge of maiming in aid of racketeering; 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering; and 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering. Pursuant to their respective plea agreements with the government, and pending acceptance by the district court at sentencing, Barr and Eliason have each agreed to sentences of 97 months in prison, and DeFronzo and Weymouth have each agreed to sentences of 57 months in prison.
Two Street Gang Leaders Plead Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm Charges #OperationConcord
Alexis Hidalgo and Jonathan DaSilva, the respective leaders of two Boston street gangs—the Hendry Street Gang and the Woodward Avenue Gang—pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and firearm charges.
Hidalgo, 34, and DaSilva, 31, both of Boston, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine, marijuana, and oxycodone, as well as firearm related charges. In January 2013, Hidalgo and DaSilva were two of 29 defendants charged with drug trafficking and firearm charges arising out of Operation Concord, a joint investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, and Homeland Security Investigations that focused on gang violence and drug dealing in the Henry Street and Woodward Avenue areas of Boston. During the course of Operation Concord, law enforcement officials seized approximately $400,000 in cash, guns, jewelry, gold and silver bars, and several luxury vehicles.
From August 2011 through January 2013, Hidalgo and DaSilva, the respective heads of the Hendry Street and Woodward Avenue gangs, ran a lucrative drug trafficking business distributing crack cocaine, cocaine, marijuana, and oxycodone which was in turn distributed in Boston, Brockton, and Maine.
Hidalgo and DaSilva operated their drug business out of two primary locations: a house at 37 Hendry Street in Boston and a house known as “the Trap” at 36 Woodward Avenue in Boston. Customers seeking crack and marijuana would go to 37 Hendry Street to purchase drugs from gang members who stored the drugs and cooked cocaine into crack in the second floor apartment. In August 2012, 37 Hendry Street was shut down by the City of Boston as a result of numerous neighborhood complaints of drug and gang activity.
“The Trap” at 36 Woodward Avenue, which was run by DaSilva, operated as a round-the-clock distribution center for crack, oxycodone, cocaine and marijuana. When 37 Hendry Street was shut down, Hidalgo transferred his crack business to 36 Woodward Avenue.
Hidalgo and DaSilva used gang members to distribute and store drugs, drug proceeds, and to carry out gang-related missions. For example, on Oct. 23, 2012, DaSilva directed gang member Patrick “Pistol” Gomes to obtain a firearm and go to Roxbury District Courthouse to assist a fellow gang member who was “trapped” by a rival gang member. Gomes asked DaSilva if he had a “greenlight” to shoot if necessary and DaSilva gave Gomes the go-ahead. Investigators had Gomes stopped in his rental car by the police outside of the Roxbury courthouse where officers seized a fully loaded Ruger P89 semiautomatic handgun from the glove box. On Feb. 4, 2015, Gomes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and marijuana and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The charging statutes provide a sentence of no less than 10 years and up to a lifetime in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $10 million on the charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $10 million on the charges of distribution of controlled substances; no greater than 10 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Pursuant to their respective plea agreements with the government, and pending acceptance by the district court at sentencing, Hidalgo has agreed to a sentence of 144-168 months in prison and DaSilva has agreed to a sentence of 120-168 months in prison. Both defendants also agreed to the forfeiture of cash, jewelry, and luxury vehicles.
Hidalgo, 34, and DaSilva, 31, both of Boston, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine, marijuana, and oxycodone, as well as firearm related charges. In January 2013, Hidalgo and DaSilva were two of 29 defendants charged with drug trafficking and firearm charges arising out of Operation Concord, a joint investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, and Homeland Security Investigations that focused on gang violence and drug dealing in the Henry Street and Woodward Avenue areas of Boston. During the course of Operation Concord, law enforcement officials seized approximately $400,000 in cash, guns, jewelry, gold and silver bars, and several luxury vehicles.
From August 2011 through January 2013, Hidalgo and DaSilva, the respective heads of the Hendry Street and Woodward Avenue gangs, ran a lucrative drug trafficking business distributing crack cocaine, cocaine, marijuana, and oxycodone which was in turn distributed in Boston, Brockton, and Maine.
Hidalgo and DaSilva operated their drug business out of two primary locations: a house at 37 Hendry Street in Boston and a house known as “the Trap” at 36 Woodward Avenue in Boston. Customers seeking crack and marijuana would go to 37 Hendry Street to purchase drugs from gang members who stored the drugs and cooked cocaine into crack in the second floor apartment. In August 2012, 37 Hendry Street was shut down by the City of Boston as a result of numerous neighborhood complaints of drug and gang activity.
“The Trap” at 36 Woodward Avenue, which was run by DaSilva, operated as a round-the-clock distribution center for crack, oxycodone, cocaine and marijuana. When 37 Hendry Street was shut down, Hidalgo transferred his crack business to 36 Woodward Avenue.
Hidalgo and DaSilva used gang members to distribute and store drugs, drug proceeds, and to carry out gang-related missions. For example, on Oct. 23, 2012, DaSilva directed gang member Patrick “Pistol” Gomes to obtain a firearm and go to Roxbury District Courthouse to assist a fellow gang member who was “trapped” by a rival gang member. Gomes asked DaSilva if he had a “greenlight” to shoot if necessary and DaSilva gave Gomes the go-ahead. Investigators had Gomes stopped in his rental car by the police outside of the Roxbury courthouse where officers seized a fully loaded Ruger P89 semiautomatic handgun from the glove box. On Feb. 4, 2015, Gomes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and marijuana and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The charging statutes provide a sentence of no less than 10 years and up to a lifetime in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $10 million on the charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $10 million on the charges of distribution of controlled substances; no greater than 10 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Pursuant to their respective plea agreements with the government, and pending acceptance by the district court at sentencing, Hidalgo has agreed to a sentence of 144-168 months in prison and DaSilva has agreed to a sentence of 120-168 months in prison. Both defendants also agreed to the forfeiture of cash, jewelry, and luxury vehicles.
Gang Member Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Heroin Trafficking #OperationWhiplash
A gang member was sentenced to 10 years in prison for heroin trafficking.
Jairo Fernandez, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to ten years in prison and four years of supervised release. In November 2014, Fernandez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and distributing heroin. At that hearing, Fernandez admitted responsibility for over 100 grams of heroin.
The case was part of Operation Whiplash, an investigation of several street gangs in and around Lynn and Revere. Over the past two years, Operation Whiplash has resulted in federal and state charges against 47 leaders, members and associates of gangs, including Money Over Broken Bitches (MOBB), the Crips and Deuce Boyz in Lynn and the Bloods in Revere. As part of the investigation, law enforcement identified Fernandez as a member of the Deuce Boyz gang.
Jairo Fernandez, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to ten years in prison and four years of supervised release. In November 2014, Fernandez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and distributing heroin. At that hearing, Fernandez admitted responsibility for over 100 grams of heroin.
The case was part of Operation Whiplash, an investigation of several street gangs in and around Lynn and Revere. Over the past two years, Operation Whiplash has resulted in federal and state charges against 47 leaders, members and associates of gangs, including Money Over Broken Bitches (MOBB), the Crips and Deuce Boyz in Lynn and the Bloods in Revere. As part of the investigation, law enforcement identified Fernandez as a member of the Deuce Boyz gang.
Is the Mafia Still Alive Today?
In mid-1950s, the Italian-American criminal organization known as Cosa Nostra was enjoying the peak of its political influence and economic success. At the time, many questioned the organization’s presence. J. Edgar Hoover completely denied its existence for years. And unfortunately for the criminals describing themselves as “businessmen,” their reign atop the criminal underworld was swiftly coming to a close. Why did the power of Cosa Nostra begin to decline? Is this decline indicative of the death of the mob? And what does today’s mob look like?
The factors that led to this near cessation of overwhelming power are numerous, but two stand out as the most influential. The first is the death of omertà , the code of silence, and the resulting convictions. The second factor involved other criminal organizations pushing Cosa Nostra to the periphery as a result of competition. In spite of these factors, though, the mafia is still very much alive.
A Death in the Family
The downsizing of the mafia began in 1959 with the arrest of Joe Valachi
. Valachi was associated with the Genovese family of New York, which was prominent in Cosa Nostra. Offered a deal in which he could either testify about the mafia or face the death penalty, Valachi decided to talk. In an interview with the HPR, Jeffrey Robinson, author of The Merger: How Organized Crime is Taking Over the World, claimed that this was a pivotal point in the history of the Italian mob: “He broke omertà . That’s really a very important moment because until then nobody talked … the FBI realized that they could get inside Italian organized crime.” According to Robinson, FBI agents began approaching mob figures and offer protection from prosecution in exchange for information on other mobsters. It was an overwhelmingly successful approach.
This strategy leveled serious blows to the structure of Cosa Nostra, culminating in the Mafia Commission Trials of 1987 that indicted each head of New York’s Five Families. In 1992, even John Gotti, known as “Teflon Don” because charges never seemed to stick to him, was convicted on charges related to his organized crime activities. Omertà was dead for Cosa Nostra. According to Robinson, so many people flipped that the Sicilian mafia was able to enter the scene and take control of three of the Five Families of New York. They have maintained control to this day.
Ending an Illegal Monopoly
Cosa Nostra’s peaceful cooperation with other criminal organizations also contributed to the group’s decline. Traditionally, moving onto another group’s territory ensured a war. But according to Robinson, as Russian fraudsters relocated to Miami (Colombian territory)—followed by Italians interested in the heroin market—nobody was being killed. Law enforcement soon came to believe that this was because of collaboration between the organizations. When crack cocaine became readily available, many new criminal organizations got involved, and their quickly expanding influence muscled Cosa Nostra into the periphery. This loss of total power, coupled with the end of omertà , forced the Cosa Nostra into a largely successful effort to downsize.
Several criminal organizations, such as the Russian mob and the Mexican cartels, have filled Cosa Nostra’s power void in the United States.
New York University professor Mark Galeotti told the HPR that Russian operations in the United States consist mainly of fraud, including schemes that target the U.S. government. He explains, “There are millions upon millions [of dollars] being looted from Medicare and Medicaid [by Russian organized crime].” Similarly, law enforcement has largely failed in stopping the Mexican drug cartels. In an interview with the HPR, Ioan Grillo, author of El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency, argued that despite efforts by law enforcement to stop the cartels, “you still have a drug industry, you still have thousands and thousands of people working for organized crime, you still have millions of consumers of drugs, and you still have high levels of violence.” Grillo also acknowledged the success of other organizations in exporting their gangs to the United States, particularly Colombian gangs and Jamaican “posses.” These organizations may have supplanted the former power and influence of Cosa Nostra. However, despite their reduced influence, the Italians continue to operate.
Into the Modern Era
In the wake of September 11, the FBI’s focus on organized crime has decreased sharply in favor of counterterrorism operations. In a government document titled “10 Years After: The FBI After 9/11,” the FBI acknowledged that it shifted resources from criminal matters to counterterrorism. The document notes that the number of counterterrorist intelligence analysts has doubled. According to current New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton in a 2007 Policing article, “As law enforcement reacted to the aftermath of 9/11, and the United States’ federal dollars and priorities shifted, organized crime groups were able to exploit the reduction in law enforcement attention and moved aggressively to establish new ‘trade routes’ and alliances.” In a 2011 interview with CUNY TV, former New York Times reporter Selwyn Raab claimed that there were once 500 members of law enforcement working on organized crime in New York City. Now, he said, there are around 50, enabling the survival of Cosa Nostra.
According to Robinson, Italian-American organized crime has found a niche role in construction, extortion and protection rackets. In the construction industry, he explains, Cosa Nostra profits by winning bids to do contract work and then fraudulently collecting revenue for unnecessary or absent employees. According to a close friend of Robinson’s who is now in the witness protection program, five percent of all construction funds in the city of New York go to the mafia. Joseph Pistone, a former FBI agent who infiltrated Cosa Nostra in New York, told Quebec’s Charbonneau Commission, which was investigating construction bid corruption, that the mob controls the construction industry via unions. He said that the mafia bosses control unions and subsequently threaten to strike if the company doesn’t relinquish a “fee.” Robinson adds that the mafia still operates protection rackets, in which a business owner will be threatened and then asked to pay a fee for “protection” from this threat.
Despite its reduced influence, Italian-American organized crime is unquestionably alive. The death of omertà , combined with a crowded criminal market, resulted in a downsizing of Cosa Nostra’s criminal operations. It has transformed from a monopoly on the criminal underworld to another small player in a global network. Despite its diminished influence, it has successfully downsized its operations, paving the way for a sustainable, albeit smaller, operation. Cosa Nostra is not dead, and won’t be anytime soon.
Thanks to Jack Boyd.
The factors that led to this near cessation of overwhelming power are numerous, but two stand out as the most influential. The first is the death of omertà , the code of silence, and the resulting convictions. The second factor involved other criminal organizations pushing Cosa Nostra to the periphery as a result of competition. In spite of these factors, though, the mafia is still very much alive.
A Death in the Family
The downsizing of the mafia began in 1959 with the arrest of Joe Valachi
. Valachi was associated with the Genovese family of New York, which was prominent in Cosa Nostra. Offered a deal in which he could either testify about the mafia or face the death penalty, Valachi decided to talk. In an interview with the HPR, Jeffrey Robinson, author of The Merger: How Organized Crime is Taking Over the World, claimed that this was a pivotal point in the history of the Italian mob: “He broke omertà . That’s really a very important moment because until then nobody talked … the FBI realized that they could get inside Italian organized crime.” According to Robinson, FBI agents began approaching mob figures and offer protection from prosecution in exchange for information on other mobsters. It was an overwhelmingly successful approach.This strategy leveled serious blows to the structure of Cosa Nostra, culminating in the Mafia Commission Trials of 1987 that indicted each head of New York’s Five Families. In 1992, even John Gotti, known as “Teflon Don” because charges never seemed to stick to him, was convicted on charges related to his organized crime activities. Omertà was dead for Cosa Nostra. According to Robinson, so many people flipped that the Sicilian mafia was able to enter the scene and take control of three of the Five Families of New York. They have maintained control to this day.
Ending an Illegal Monopoly
Cosa Nostra’s peaceful cooperation with other criminal organizations also contributed to the group’s decline. Traditionally, moving onto another group’s territory ensured a war. But according to Robinson, as Russian fraudsters relocated to Miami (Colombian territory)—followed by Italians interested in the heroin market—nobody was being killed. Law enforcement soon came to believe that this was because of collaboration between the organizations. When crack cocaine became readily available, many new criminal organizations got involved, and their quickly expanding influence muscled Cosa Nostra into the periphery. This loss of total power, coupled with the end of omertà , forced the Cosa Nostra into a largely successful effort to downsize.
Several criminal organizations, such as the Russian mob and the Mexican cartels, have filled Cosa Nostra’s power void in the United States.
New York University professor Mark Galeotti told the HPR that Russian operations in the United States consist mainly of fraud, including schemes that target the U.S. government. He explains, “There are millions upon millions [of dollars] being looted from Medicare and Medicaid [by Russian organized crime].” Similarly, law enforcement has largely failed in stopping the Mexican drug cartels. In an interview with the HPR, Ioan Grillo, author of El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency, argued that despite efforts by law enforcement to stop the cartels, “you still have a drug industry, you still have thousands and thousands of people working for organized crime, you still have millions of consumers of drugs, and you still have high levels of violence.” Grillo also acknowledged the success of other organizations in exporting their gangs to the United States, particularly Colombian gangs and Jamaican “posses.” These organizations may have supplanted the former power and influence of Cosa Nostra. However, despite their reduced influence, the Italians continue to operate.Into the Modern Era
In the wake of September 11, the FBI’s focus on organized crime has decreased sharply in favor of counterterrorism operations. In a government document titled “10 Years After: The FBI After 9/11,” the FBI acknowledged that it shifted resources from criminal matters to counterterrorism. The document notes that the number of counterterrorist intelligence analysts has doubled. According to current New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton in a 2007 Policing article, “As law enforcement reacted to the aftermath of 9/11, and the United States’ federal dollars and priorities shifted, organized crime groups were able to exploit the reduction in law enforcement attention and moved aggressively to establish new ‘trade routes’ and alliances.” In a 2011 interview with CUNY TV, former New York Times reporter Selwyn Raab claimed that there were once 500 members of law enforcement working on organized crime in New York City. Now, he said, there are around 50, enabling the survival of Cosa Nostra.
According to Robinson, Italian-American organized crime has found a niche role in construction, extortion and protection rackets. In the construction industry, he explains, Cosa Nostra profits by winning bids to do contract work and then fraudulently collecting revenue for unnecessary or absent employees. According to a close friend of Robinson’s who is now in the witness protection program, five percent of all construction funds in the city of New York go to the mafia. Joseph Pistone, a former FBI agent who infiltrated Cosa Nostra in New York, told Quebec’s Charbonneau Commission, which was investigating construction bid corruption, that the mob controls the construction industry via unions. He said that the mafia bosses control unions and subsequently threaten to strike if the company doesn’t relinquish a “fee.” Robinson adds that the mafia still operates protection rackets, in which a business owner will be threatened and then asked to pay a fee for “protection” from this threat.
Despite its reduced influence, Italian-American organized crime is unquestionably alive. The death of omertà , combined with a crowded criminal market, resulted in a downsizing of Cosa Nostra’s criminal operations. It has transformed from a monopoly on the criminal underworld to another small player in a global network. Despite its diminished influence, it has successfully downsized its operations, paving the way for a sustainable, albeit smaller, operation. Cosa Nostra is not dead, and won’t be anytime soon.
Thanks to Jack Boyd.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
3 MS-13 Members Sentenced to Prison for a Gang-Related Murder and Shooting
Three MS-13 gang members were sentenced to federal prison for violent crimes that they committed on behalf of the gang, including the 2006 murder of a rival gang member and 2008 shooting of a teenage boy, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney John A. Horn of the Northern District of Georgia.
Miguel Guevara, aka Blacky, 31, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Irvin Mejia Cruz, aka Triste, Lil Triste, 24, of Duluth, Georgia; and Walter Aldana, aka Goofy, 24, of Norcross, Georgia, were sentenced to 30 years in prison, nine years in prison, and 10 years in prison, respectively. U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story of the Northern District of Georgia imposed the sentences. The defendants each pleaded guilty in October 2013 to RICO conspiracy, and Guevara also pleaded guilty to using a firearm in relation to the commission of a crime of violence.
According to admissions made in connection with the defendants’ guilty pleas, the charges and other information presented in court, Mara Salvatrucha 13, or MS-13, is an international gang that originated in El Salvador and Honduras and spread to the United States. MS-13 members are organized into regional “cliques” within the larger gang. Each clique has a leader, often referred to as “the first word,” who conducts weekly meetings. At these meetings, members discuss their crimes and their plans to retaliate against rival gang members. The clique leaders collect dues from the gang members, which they use to buy guns and post bail for jailed gang members. Clique leaders often send money back to MS-13 leaders in their home countries, and report back to the same leaders about the clique’s activities on behalf of the gang.
MS-13 has operated in the greater Atlanta area since at least 2005. The gang staked out Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties as their home territory, where they committed murders, attempted murders and armed robberies, among other crimes.
According to admissions in connection with his guilty plea, Guevara was a member of MS-13, but in 2006, he decided to become less active in the gang and sought permission to “calm down” from the leader of his clique, Miguel Alvarado-Linares, aka Joker. Alvarado-Linares discussed this with other members at a meeting of the clique on Dec. 23, 2006, and the other gang members agreed that Guevara would have to shoot at a suspected rival gang member before he could become inactive. Guevara admitted that he and other gang members went to a nightclub in the early morning hours of Dec. 24, 2006 to hunt for rival gang members. Guevara admitted that he saw two rival gang members walk out of the night club and get into a car. Guevara and the other MS-13 members then followed the rival gang members. As the rival gang members exited the freeway, the MS-13 gang members pulled alongside, and Guevara fired multiple shots at the rival gang members. Guevara killed one of the gang members and wounded the other.
In connection with their guilty pleas, Cruz and Aldana admitted that they belonged to the same MS-13 clique. They further admitted that Mejia Cruz advised Aldana to shoot someone if he wanted to earn more respect within MS-13, and, on Aug. 21, 2008, Mejia Cruz gave Aldana a gun for the task. Aldana admitted that he left Mejia Cruz’s house with the gun, and encountered a group of teenagers, some of whom were playing basketball. Aldana challenged the teenagers, “Who do you claim,” asking to which gang they claimed allegiance. He then started firing into the crowd and struck a 14 year-old boy in the back. Aldana called out “Mara Salvatrucha” as he fled on foot. He later returned the firearm to Mejia Cruz.
Miguel Guevara, aka Blacky, 31, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Irvin Mejia Cruz, aka Triste, Lil Triste, 24, of Duluth, Georgia; and Walter Aldana, aka Goofy, 24, of Norcross, Georgia, were sentenced to 30 years in prison, nine years in prison, and 10 years in prison, respectively. U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story of the Northern District of Georgia imposed the sentences. The defendants each pleaded guilty in October 2013 to RICO conspiracy, and Guevara also pleaded guilty to using a firearm in relation to the commission of a crime of violence.
According to admissions made in connection with the defendants’ guilty pleas, the charges and other information presented in court, Mara Salvatrucha 13, or MS-13, is an international gang that originated in El Salvador and Honduras and spread to the United States. MS-13 members are organized into regional “cliques” within the larger gang. Each clique has a leader, often referred to as “the first word,” who conducts weekly meetings. At these meetings, members discuss their crimes and their plans to retaliate against rival gang members. The clique leaders collect dues from the gang members, which they use to buy guns and post bail for jailed gang members. Clique leaders often send money back to MS-13 leaders in their home countries, and report back to the same leaders about the clique’s activities on behalf of the gang.
MS-13 has operated in the greater Atlanta area since at least 2005. The gang staked out Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties as their home territory, where they committed murders, attempted murders and armed robberies, among other crimes.
According to admissions in connection with his guilty plea, Guevara was a member of MS-13, but in 2006, he decided to become less active in the gang and sought permission to “calm down” from the leader of his clique, Miguel Alvarado-Linares, aka Joker. Alvarado-Linares discussed this with other members at a meeting of the clique on Dec. 23, 2006, and the other gang members agreed that Guevara would have to shoot at a suspected rival gang member before he could become inactive. Guevara admitted that he and other gang members went to a nightclub in the early morning hours of Dec. 24, 2006 to hunt for rival gang members. Guevara admitted that he saw two rival gang members walk out of the night club and get into a car. Guevara and the other MS-13 members then followed the rival gang members. As the rival gang members exited the freeway, the MS-13 gang members pulled alongside, and Guevara fired multiple shots at the rival gang members. Guevara killed one of the gang members and wounded the other.
In connection with their guilty pleas, Cruz and Aldana admitted that they belonged to the same MS-13 clique. They further admitted that Mejia Cruz advised Aldana to shoot someone if he wanted to earn more respect within MS-13, and, on Aug. 21, 2008, Mejia Cruz gave Aldana a gun for the task. Aldana admitted that he left Mejia Cruz’s house with the gun, and encountered a group of teenagers, some of whom were playing basketball. Aldana challenged the teenagers, “Who do you claim,” asking to which gang they claimed allegiance. He then started firing into the crowd and struck a 14 year-old boy in the back. Aldana called out “Mara Salvatrucha” as he fled on foot. He later returned the firearm to Mejia Cruz.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality is stuffed into Corrupt Illinois #WheresMine
Public funds spent on jets and horses. Shoeboxes stuffed with embezzled cash. Ghost payrolls and incarcerated ex-governors. Illinois' culture of "Where's mine?" and the public apathy it engenders has made our state and local politics a disgrace.
In Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality, veteran political observers Thomas J. Gradel and Dick Simpson take aim at business-as-usual. Naming names
, the authors lead readers through a gallery of rogues and rotten apples to illustrate how generations of chicanery have undermined faith in, and hope for, honest government. From there, they lay out how to implement institutional reforms that provide accountability and eradicate the favoritism, sweetheart deals, and conflicts of interest corroding our civic life.
Corrupt Illinois lays out a blueprint to transform our politics from a pay-to-play–driven marketplace into what it should be: an instrument of public good.
"Corrupt Illinois is the most comprehensive account of corruption in our state ever published. It proposes cures, which will take decades to implement fully, but which deserve our attention now."--Governor Jim Edgar, from the foreword
"Gradel and Simpson have chronicled corruption in Illinois for decades. Here they sum up their findings in distressing, damning detail. The authors propose important steps to tamp down this corruption."--James A. Nowlan, former state representative and co-author of Fixing Illinois: Politics and Policy in the Prairie State
"Corrupt Illinois documents the vast scope and depth of corruption in Illinois politics, which is a monumental achievement in itself. Of equal importance, it explores the underlying roots of that corruption, building an understanding of its dynamics and the policy changes necessary to address it."--Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science, University of Illinois at Springfield
Thomas J. Gradel spent 35 years as a media consultant and served on the staff of Governor Dan Walker. He is a freelance writer and political researcher. Dick Simpson is a professor, former head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, former Chicago alderman and congressional candidate. His books include Rogues, Rebels, And Rubber Stamps: The Politics Of The Chicago City Council, 1863 To The Present (Urban Policy Challenges), and The Struggle for Power and Influence in Cities and States.
In Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality, veteran political observers Thomas J. Gradel and Dick Simpson take aim at business-as-usual. Naming names
, the authors lead readers through a gallery of rogues and rotten apples to illustrate how generations of chicanery have undermined faith in, and hope for, honest government. From there, they lay out how to implement institutional reforms that provide accountability and eradicate the favoritism, sweetheart deals, and conflicts of interest corroding our civic life.Corrupt Illinois lays out a blueprint to transform our politics from a pay-to-play–driven marketplace into what it should be: an instrument of public good.
"Corrupt Illinois is the most comprehensive account of corruption in our state ever published. It proposes cures, which will take decades to implement fully, but which deserve our attention now."--Governor Jim Edgar, from the foreword
"Gradel and Simpson have chronicled corruption in Illinois for decades. Here they sum up their findings in distressing, damning detail. The authors propose important steps to tamp down this corruption."--James A. Nowlan, former state representative and co-author of Fixing Illinois: Politics and Policy in the Prairie State
"Corrupt Illinois documents the vast scope and depth of corruption in Illinois politics, which is a monumental achievement in itself. Of equal importance, it explores the underlying roots of that corruption, building an understanding of its dynamics and the policy changes necessary to address it."--Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science, University of Illinois at Springfield
Thomas J. Gradel spent 35 years as a media consultant and served on the staff of Governor Dan Walker. He is a freelance writer and political researcher. Dick Simpson is a professor, former head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, former Chicago alderman and congressional candidate. His books include Rogues, Rebels, And Rubber Stamps: The Politics Of The Chicago City Council, 1863 To The Present (Urban Policy Challenges), and The Struggle for Power and Influence in Cities and States.
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