It’s pretty much common knowledge that the mob and boxing had a long standing connection. And, although gangsters are no longer known to dominate the fight game, names like Owney Madden and Frankie Carbo will always stand out for having tarnished the sport’s reputation. Now another famous gangster, or former gangster, has come out with some rather revealing stories and opinions regarding the sweet science and organized crime.
Sammy “The Bull”Gravano was about as big a mobster as one could find. Connected to nineteen murders, he stood as underboss of the powerful Gambino crime family up until he early 90s, when he decided to testify against his boss, notorious mobster John Gotti.
Now in his 70s, Gravano is out of jail and going public in a big way. He recently was the subject of a terrific, if not disturbing,interview with Patrick Bet-David, where he talked about Gotti actually putting a hit out on famed promoter Don King. As Gravano tells it, he had a fighter who he wanted to have face Mike Tyson during Tyson’s prime. “He was a tough fighter,” Gravano says of the possible opponent in the interview, “and he was a little bit over the hill.”
Someone Gravrano refers to as “a street guy” was sent to King, who was promoting Tyson at the time, in order to generate interest. To his credit, the controversial King, who had done time in prison himself, didn’t want to get involved with the Gambinos. “I’m not doing any of that bullshit,”Gravano quotes King as saying. Taking the news of King’s refusal back to family boss Gotti, Gravano was given a pat order. The “street guy” was “to go back,make another appointment (with King), and kill him.” Gravano expressed surprise, but Gotti claimed the “street guy” should return to King and “hit him with a proposal” that would essentially stand as an offer King couldn’t refuse.“If he says no,” Gravano quotes Gotti as saying, “take a gun out and shoot him.”
Fortunately for King and the world of boxing, the hit never went down. Gravano claimed the “street guy” got cold feet and disappeared. Left without a hit man, Gravano had no interest in pursuing a matter he wasn’t crazy about to begin with. “I’m definitely not going after him,” Gravano reflects with a laugh, “because this is insane now. We’re hitting a guy because he doesn’t want to do a deal? We’ll be hitting guys every other week.”
Yet Don King isn’t the only figure Gravano talks about inthe interview. “Teddy Atlas is an asshole,” the former hit man says to Bet-David. Gravano, who liked to box, was once questioned by Atlas: “Are you afraid?” Gravano said no. “He took it,” Gravano goes on to say, “to a different level, meaning that’s cowardice.” While admitting Atlas is “a tremendous trainer,” Gravano also presents a personal challenge on camera.
“Teddy,” he says, “come down and put the fucking gloves on with me, I’ll show you how scared I am of you. And you’re a fucking bitch.”
It ain’t Shakespeare – but it gets the point across.
Thanks to Sean Crose.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Friday, October 25, 2019
Member of #WhiteSupremacy Group, Vanguard America, Arrested on Federal Charges
United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Fred Arena, 41, of Salem, New Jersey was arrested and charged by Indictment with making false statements to government agents. The Indictment alleges that the defendant, who is an employee at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and as such is required to obtain a security clearance, lied to obtain the clearance. He also subsequently lied to federal investigators who asked him about his answers to questions on the security clearance paperwork.
According to the Indictment, on January 10, 2019, Arena completed the standard Form SF-86 to obtain a security clearance for his employment. On that form, he was required to disclose whether he had ever been a member of an organization that used, or advocated the use of, force or violence to prevent others from exercising their constitutional rights. He falsely answered that he had not. In fact, Arena was an avowed member of Vanguard America, a white supremacist group that fits that description. On the same application, Arena was asked whether he had property repossessed within the past seven years. He falsely answered that he had not. In fact, Arena had previously defaulted on a car loan, and his car was repossessed within the seven year window.
“Lying on federal security clearance forms and to government agents will land you in big trouble,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Further, the nature of the defendant’s alleged lies – attempting to conceal his affiliation with a white supremacist group in order to obtain federal employment – is extremely disturbing. I want to thank all of our law enforcement partners in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for their excellent work on this investigation.”
“Members of groups that sponsor hate and bias-motivated violence have no place in government employment,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito. “Knowing this, the defendant in this case, a New Jersey resident, lied to conceal his membership in a white supremacist organization. We are proud to join our colleagues from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in prosecuting him for those lies.”
“Membership in a group espousing extremist ideology is not itself illegal — but lying to the FBI is,” said Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Division. “If the people we interview feel they can deceive us with impunity, critical investigations will be compromised, threatening the very integrity of the justice system. Arena lied about his history in order to obtain a security clearance he should not have had, and he lied to federal agents questioning him. These charges are the consequences of his actions.”
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, and a $1,250,000 fine.
According to the Indictment, on January 10, 2019, Arena completed the standard Form SF-86 to obtain a security clearance for his employment. On that form, he was required to disclose whether he had ever been a member of an organization that used, or advocated the use of, force or violence to prevent others from exercising their constitutional rights. He falsely answered that he had not. In fact, Arena was an avowed member of Vanguard America, a white supremacist group that fits that description. On the same application, Arena was asked whether he had property repossessed within the past seven years. He falsely answered that he had not. In fact, Arena had previously defaulted on a car loan, and his car was repossessed within the seven year window.
“Lying on federal security clearance forms and to government agents will land you in big trouble,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Further, the nature of the defendant’s alleged lies – attempting to conceal his affiliation with a white supremacist group in order to obtain federal employment – is extremely disturbing. I want to thank all of our law enforcement partners in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for their excellent work on this investigation.”
“Members of groups that sponsor hate and bias-motivated violence have no place in government employment,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito. “Knowing this, the defendant in this case, a New Jersey resident, lied to conceal his membership in a white supremacist organization. We are proud to join our colleagues from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in prosecuting him for those lies.”
“Membership in a group espousing extremist ideology is not itself illegal — but lying to the FBI is,” said Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Division. “If the people we interview feel they can deceive us with impunity, critical investigations will be compromised, threatening the very integrity of the justice system. Arena lied about his history in order to obtain a security clearance he should not have had, and he lied to federal agents questioning him. These charges are the consequences of his actions.”
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, and a $1,250,000 fine.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Former Chicago Mob Boss Joey ‘The Clown’ Lombardo Dies in Federal Prison
Former Chicago mob boss Joey "The Clown" Lombardo died Saturday at a maximum security prison in Colorado.
Lombardo was serving life for his conviction in the 2007 Family Secrets case that pulled back the curtain on the Chicago Outfit.
He was the leader of the organized crime family and was behind the 1974 murder of government witness Daniel Seifert, who was hunted down and shot by masked gunman in a union pension fraud case.
Lombardo continued saying he was innocent, saying the government presented no evidence of his involvement in organized crime after serving time for a 1983 skimming and bribery conviction, according to the Chicago Tribune.
In the summer of 2007, then Chicago Tribune courts reporter Jeff Coen had a front row seat for one of the most historic mob trials in Chicago history.
Coen said Lombardo was known for keeping a sense of humor about him
. He was often described as a colorful character. “He’s famous for leaving court one time and cutting the paper, so his eyes could be seen, Coen said. “He’s seen looking through the paper as he’s leaving."
Coen later wrote the book “Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob."
Lombardo was 90 years old.
Lombardo was serving life for his conviction in the 2007 Family Secrets case that pulled back the curtain on the Chicago Outfit.
He was the leader of the organized crime family and was behind the 1974 murder of government witness Daniel Seifert, who was hunted down and shot by masked gunman in a union pension fraud case.
Lombardo continued saying he was innocent, saying the government presented no evidence of his involvement in organized crime after serving time for a 1983 skimming and bribery conviction, according to the Chicago Tribune.
In the summer of 2007, then Chicago Tribune courts reporter Jeff Coen had a front row seat for one of the most historic mob trials in Chicago history.
Coen said Lombardo was known for keeping a sense of humor about him
. He was often described as a colorful character. “He’s famous for leaving court one time and cutting the paper, so his eyes could be seen, Coen said. “He’s seen looking through the paper as he’s leaving."Coen later wrote the book “Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob."
Lombardo was 90 years old.
Operators of KSO MetalFab Charged with Illegally Hiring Undocumented Workers #IllegalAliens
The operators of a suburban Chicago manufacturing company have been charged in federal court with knowingly hiring and harboring undocumented workers.
DORA KUZELKA, 81, of Elgin, KENNETH KUZELKA, 62, of Chicago, KARI KUZELKA, 56, of Elgin, and KEITH KUZELKA, 58, of Elgin, are charged with one count of knowingly harboring an illegal alien and one count of knowingly engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring illegal aliens.
The Kuzelkas knowingly hired at least 18 undocumented workers at KSO MetalFab Inc., a sheet metal fabrication company in Streamwood, Ill., according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Keith Kuzelka left the company last year, while the three other Kuzelkas continue to serve in executive management positions, the complaint states.
Dora Kuzelka, Kenneth Kuzelka and Kari Kuzelka were arrested, while Keith Kuzelka self-surrendered to authorities. All four defendants made initial appearances in federal court in Chicago and were ordered released on recognizance bonds. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Finnegan scheduled status hearings for Oct. 29, 2019.
The complaint and arrests were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Social Security Administration provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Young and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Parente and Michelle Petersen.
According to the complaint, HSI’s Chicago office conducted a civil audit of KSO MetalFab in 2017 and determined that 36 of the company’s 67 employees were suspected of using fraudulent work authorization documents to verify their eligibility for employment. HSI served the company with a written notice of the suspected violations, and the company responded by attesting that it had terminated all 36 of the identified employees. KSO MetalFab later re-hired at least 18 of the previously terminated workers by utilizing a staffing agency, the complaint states. KSO MetalFab instructed the workers to go to the staffing agency so that they could return to the company after the audit, the charges allege. Many of the workers used the same names that they previously used before the audit, the complaint states.
Knowingly harboring an illegal alien carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while knowingly engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring illegal aliens is punishable by up to six months in prison. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
DORA KUZELKA, 81, of Elgin, KENNETH KUZELKA, 62, of Chicago, KARI KUZELKA, 56, of Elgin, and KEITH KUZELKA, 58, of Elgin, are charged with one count of knowingly harboring an illegal alien and one count of knowingly engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring illegal aliens.
The Kuzelkas knowingly hired at least 18 undocumented workers at KSO MetalFab Inc., a sheet metal fabrication company in Streamwood, Ill., according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Keith Kuzelka left the company last year, while the three other Kuzelkas continue to serve in executive management positions, the complaint states.
Dora Kuzelka, Kenneth Kuzelka and Kari Kuzelka were arrested, while Keith Kuzelka self-surrendered to authorities. All four defendants made initial appearances in federal court in Chicago and were ordered released on recognizance bonds. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Finnegan scheduled status hearings for Oct. 29, 2019.
The complaint and arrests were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Social Security Administration provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Young and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Parente and Michelle Petersen.
According to the complaint, HSI’s Chicago office conducted a civil audit of KSO MetalFab in 2017 and determined that 36 of the company’s 67 employees were suspected of using fraudulent work authorization documents to verify their eligibility for employment. HSI served the company with a written notice of the suspected violations, and the company responded by attesting that it had terminated all 36 of the identified employees. KSO MetalFab later re-hired at least 18 of the previously terminated workers by utilizing a staffing agency, the complaint states. KSO MetalFab instructed the workers to go to the staffing agency so that they could return to the company after the audit, the charges allege. Many of the workers used the same names that they previously used before the audit, the complaint states.
Knowingly harboring an illegal alien carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while knowingly engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring illegal aliens is punishable by up to six months in prison. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco #NationalPastaDay
Nuovo Vesuvio
. The "family" restaurant, redefined. Home to the finest in Napolitan' cuisine and Essex County's best kept secret. Now Artie Bucco, la cucina's master chef and your personal host, invites you to a special feast...with a little help from his friends, The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco. From arancini to zabaglione, from baccala to Quail Sinatra-style, Artie Bucco and his guests, the Sopranos and their associates, offer food lovers one hundred Avellinese-style recipes and valuable preparation tips. But that's not all!
Artie also brings you a cornucopia of precious Sopranos artifacts that includes photos from the old country; the first Bucco's Vesuvio's menu from 1926; AJ's school essay on "Why I Like Food"; Bobby Bacala's style tips for big eaters, and much, much more.
So share the big table with:
As Artie says, "Enjoy, with a thousand meals and a thousand laughs. Buon' appetito!"
The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco.
. The "family" restaurant, redefined. Home to the finest in Napolitan' cuisine and Essex County's best kept secret. Now Artie Bucco, la cucina's master chef and your personal host, invites you to a special feast...with a little help from his friends, The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco. From arancini to zabaglione, from baccala to Quail Sinatra-style, Artie Bucco and his guests, the Sopranos and their associates, offer food lovers one hundred Avellinese-style recipes and valuable preparation tips. But that's not all!Artie also brings you a cornucopia of precious Sopranos artifacts that includes photos from the old country; the first Bucco's Vesuvio's menu from 1926; AJ's school essay on "Why I Like Food"; Bobby Bacala's style tips for big eaters, and much, much more.
So share the big table with:
- Tony Soprano, waste management executive "Most people soak a bagful of discount briquettes with lighter fluid and cook a pork chop until it's shoe leather and think they're Wolfgang Puck." Enjoy his tender Grilled Sausages sizzling with fennel or cheese. Warning: Piercing the skin is a fire hazard.
- Corrado "Junior" Soprano, Tony's uncle "Mama always cooked. No one died of too much cholesterol or some such crap." Savor his Pasta Fazool, a toothsome marriage of cannellini beans and ditalini pasta, or Giambott', a grand-operatic vegetable medley.
- Carmela Soprano, Tony's wife "If someone were sick, my inclination would be to send over a pastina and ricotta. It's healing food." Try her Baked Ziti, sinfully enriched with three cheeses, and her earthy 'Shcarole with Garlic.
- Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, associate of Tony Soprano "I have heard that Eskimos have fifty words for snow. We have five hundred words for food." Sink your teeth into his Eggs in Purgatory-eight eggs, bubbling tomato sauce, and an experience that's pure heaven.
As Artie says, "Enjoy, with a thousand meals and a thousand laughs. Buon' appetito!"
The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco.
Tonight, @BridgettMDavis to Discuss "The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers" on Crime Beat Radio
Bridgett Davis
, author of "The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers" will appear tonight on Crime Beat Radio at 8:00 PM EST.
Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.
, author of "The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers" will appear tonight on Crime Beat Radio at 8:00 PM EST.Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Check Out "The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers" by @BridgettMDavis #Books
Set against the dramatic backdrop of 1960s and 70s Detroit, novelist Bridgett M. Davis’s stirring memoir tells the story of how her larger-than-life mother used Detroit’s illegal lottery to support her family.
In 1958, the very same year that an unknown songwriter named Berry Gordy borrowed $800 to found Motown Records, a pretty young mother from Nashville, Tennessee borrowed $100 from her brother to run a Numbers racket out of her tattered apartment on Delaware Street, in one of Detroit’s worst sections. That woman was Fannie Davis, Bridgett M. Davis’ mother. Part bookie, part banker, mother, wife, granddaughter of slaves, Fannie became more than a numbers runner: she was a kind of Ulysses, guiding both her husbands, five children and a grandson through the decimation of a once-proud city using her wit, style, guts, and even gun. She ran her numbers business for 34 years, doing what it took to survive in a legitimate business that just happened to be illegal. She created a loving, joyful home, sent her children to the best schools, bought them the best clothes, mothered them to the highest standard, and when the tragedy of urban life struck, soldiered on with her stated belief: “Dying is easy. Living takes guts.”
A daughter’s moving homage to an extraordinary parent, The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers, is also the suspenseful, unforgettable story about the lengths to which a mother will go to “make a way out of no way” to provide a prosperous life for her family — and how those sacrifices resonate over time. This original, timely, and deeply relatable portrait of one American family is essential reading.
A celebration of Detroit in its heyday, an inside look at how The Numbers powered African-American communities, and a daughter’s homage to a beloved parent, The World According to Fannie Davis is a moving, suspenseful story about the lengths to which a mother will go to provide for her family — and the way those sacrifices resonate over time. This original, timely, and deeply relatable portrait of one American family is essential reading.
, novelist Bridgett M. Davis’s stirring memoir tells the story of how her larger-than-life mother used Detroit’s illegal lottery to support her family.In 1958, the very same year that an unknown songwriter named Berry Gordy borrowed $800 to found Motown Records, a pretty young mother from Nashville, Tennessee borrowed $100 from her brother to run a Numbers racket out of her tattered apartment on Delaware Street, in one of Detroit’s worst sections. That woman was Fannie Davis, Bridgett M. Davis’ mother. Part bookie, part banker, mother, wife, granddaughter of slaves, Fannie became more than a numbers runner: she was a kind of Ulysses, guiding both her husbands, five children and a grandson through the decimation of a once-proud city using her wit, style, guts, and even gun. She ran her numbers business for 34 years, doing what it took to survive in a legitimate business that just happened to be illegal. She created a loving, joyful home, sent her children to the best schools, bought them the best clothes, mothered them to the highest standard, and when the tragedy of urban life struck, soldiered on with her stated belief: “Dying is easy. Living takes guts.”
A daughter’s moving homage to an extraordinary parent, The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers, is also the suspenseful, unforgettable story about the lengths to which a mother will go to “make a way out of no way” to provide a prosperous life for her family — and how those sacrifices resonate over time. This original, timely, and deeply relatable portrait of one American family is essential reading.
A celebration of Detroit in its heyday, an inside look at how The Numbers powered African-American communities, and a daughter’s homage to a beloved parent, The World According to Fannie Davis is a moving, suspenseful story about the lengths to which a mother will go to provide for her family — and the way those sacrifices resonate over time. This original, timely, and deeply relatable portrait of one American family is essential reading.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Alleged Mob Hit Attempted on Victim Reputedly Affiliated with the Hells Angels
The Sûreté du Québec has taken over the investigation of a late-night attempted murder in a town southeast of Montreal because they suspect the shooting is related to organized crime.
Around 11 p.m on Saturday, officers with the Régie intermunicipale de police Richelieu-St-Laurent responded to reports of shots fired on Rancourt St. in St-Amable, a town about 40 kilometres southeast of Montreal. When they arrived, they found a man who had been shot at least once, an SQ spokesperson said.
“It is a man in his 30s and he was taken to a hospital. His life is not in danger,” the spokesperson said. “The Sûreté du Québec’s major crimes division is working with the Richelieu-St-Laurent police on the investigation. And the reason why the Sûreté du Québec is involved is because the event is related to organized crime.”
According to La Presse, the victim is a 39-year-old man who has been reported in the past to have been the president of the Devils Ghosts, a support club of the Hells Angels. The SQ spokesperson was unable to confirm the victim’s identity or his age.
According to court and municipal records, a 39-year-old man who was arrested and charged with seven other people, in 2016, currently resides on the same street and close to the intersection where the shooting occurred late Saturday night.
The eight people charged in 2016 were arrested as part of Operation Noria, an investigation by the Regional Mixed Squad based on the South Shore into a cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking network that was believed to be tied to the Hells Angels’ South chapter.
The 39-year-old man identified as the victim in La Presse’s story faced five drug trafficking charges in Operation Noria, but all five of the criminal accusations were placed under a stay of proceedings in March last year.
The same man has a criminal record that includes convictions for breaking and entering and impaired driving.
No arrests have been made in connection with the attempted murder.
Thanks to Paul Cherry.
Around 11 p.m on Saturday, officers with the Régie intermunicipale de police Richelieu-St-Laurent responded to reports of shots fired on Rancourt St. in St-Amable, a town about 40 kilometres southeast of Montreal. When they arrived, they found a man who had been shot at least once, an SQ spokesperson said.
“It is a man in his 30s and he was taken to a hospital. His life is not in danger,” the spokesperson said. “The Sûreté du Québec’s major crimes division is working with the Richelieu-St-Laurent police on the investigation. And the reason why the Sûreté du Québec is involved is because the event is related to organized crime.”
According to La Presse, the victim is a 39-year-old man who has been reported in the past to have been the president of the Devils Ghosts, a support club of the Hells Angels. The SQ spokesperson was unable to confirm the victim’s identity or his age.
According to court and municipal records, a 39-year-old man who was arrested and charged with seven other people, in 2016, currently resides on the same street and close to the intersection where the shooting occurred late Saturday night.
The eight people charged in 2016 were arrested as part of Operation Noria, an investigation by the Regional Mixed Squad based on the South Shore into a cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking network that was believed to be tied to the Hells Angels’ South chapter.
The 39-year-old man identified as the victim in La Presse’s story faced five drug trafficking charges in Operation Noria, but all five of the criminal accusations were placed under a stay of proceedings in March last year.
The same man has a criminal record that includes convictions for breaking and entering and impaired driving.
No arrests have been made in connection with the attempted murder.
Thanks to Paul Cherry.
Wednesday, October 09, 2019
Bloods Gang Members and Associates Indicted For Racketeering And Violent Crimes Including Murder, Murder Conspiracies, Robberies and Narcotics Distribution #ProjectSafeNeighborhoods
A superseding indictment was unsealed in federal court in Central Islip variously charging six members and associates of the Red Stone Gorillas “set” of the Bloods street gang with racketeering, murder, robberies, narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses. The superseding indictment adds five new defendants, Jimmy Dean, Roger Foster, Corey Belcher, Willie Belcher and Eric Ross. Those defendants were arrested in various locations on the East End of Long Island, and were arraigned before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert. Two defendants, the gang’s alleged leader Jimmy Dean and Terrill Latney, were already in custody, and will be arraigned at a later date.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Timothy Sini, District Attorney, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office (SCDA), Geraldine Hart, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), Keith M. Corlett, Superintendent, New York State Police (NYSP), and David J. Hegermiller, Chief, Riverhead Police Department, announced the charges.
“Through murder, assaults and drug sales, these members and associates of the Bloods’ Red Stone Gorillas posed a grave danger to communities on eastern Long Island,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “This Office, together with our federal and local law enforcement partners, will continue working tirelessly to prosecute defendants like these and eradicate violent street gangs throughout Long Island.” Mr. Donoghue expressed his grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force and the Suffolk County East End Drug Task Force for their work on the case.
“These arrests are the culmination of several years of intensive investigation to take out the worst-of-the-worst gang members terrorizing Eastern Long Island communities,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “These subjects have allegedly created such a violent environment in parts of the town where they operate that they were dealing out in the open, without fear. We put a huge dent in that practice with the first round of arrests in this case, and today's action shows our FBI Long Island Gang Task Force and our law enforcement partners won’t stop until all of them are rounded up.”
“These are extremely dangerous gang members who are responsible not only for conspiring to commit murder, but for consistently driving crime on the East End through drug dealing and illegal firearm offenses,” stated Suffolk County District Attorney Sini. “Eradicating violent street gangs from our community is a top priority for my office. I thank all of our federal and local law enforcement partners for their continued partnership in the investigation and prosecution of gang members.”
“These Blood gang members and their associates engaged in violence and trafficked large quantities of narcotics for years on the East End of Long Island. Thanks to the diligent work of the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force and the Suffolk County East End Drug Task Force— they have been stopped and will be held accountable for their heinous crimes,” stated SCPD Commissioner Hart. “The department will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to rid our communities of violent street gangs.”
“I commend our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners for their commitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods,” stated NYSP Superintendent Corlett. “The arrests of these criminals are proof that, together, we are making our neighborhoods safer. Through our collaborative efforts, we will continue to target and apprehend gang members like the Blood Gang so they can no longer endanger the lives of New Yorkers through their heinous activities.”
“We truly appreciate the unprecedented cooperation and assistance from our federal, state and county law enforcement partners in helping us to remove these criminals from our local communities here on the east end of Long Island,” stated Riverhead Police Chief Hegermiller.
As detailed in the superseding indictment and other court filings by the government, the defendants’ gang committed acts of violence and distributed large quantities of crack cocaine, powder cocaine and heroin in the Riverhead area on Long Island for nearly a decade. On November 17, 2015, while attempting to carry out Dean’s order to kill an individual, Latney, and others fatally shot Thomas Lacolla as he sat in the intended victim’s car. On August 1, 2015, Foster and others shot and wounded a suspected member of the rival Crips gang and a female bystander. Following Dean’s arrest in 2016, Latney, Foster and others assumed control of the gang’s drug distribution operations.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants face maximum sentences of up to life imprisonment.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Boeckmann and Michael Maffei are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
Terrill Latney (also known as “Motis” and “Mo”)
Age: 39
Riverhead, New York
Corey Belcher (also known as “Dot”)
Age: 34
Riverhead, New York
Willie Belcher (also known as “Thug”)
Age: 33
Flanders, New York
JImmy Dean (also known as “Jim Dick”)
Age: 41
Calverton, New York
Roger Foster (also known as “RJ” and “YG”)
Age: 22
Baiting Hollow, New York
Eric Ross (also known as “Smurks”)
Age: 27
Flanders, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-606 (S-2) (JS)
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Timothy Sini, District Attorney, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office (SCDA), Geraldine Hart, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), Keith M. Corlett, Superintendent, New York State Police (NYSP), and David J. Hegermiller, Chief, Riverhead Police Department, announced the charges.
“Through murder, assaults and drug sales, these members and associates of the Bloods’ Red Stone Gorillas posed a grave danger to communities on eastern Long Island,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “This Office, together with our federal and local law enforcement partners, will continue working tirelessly to prosecute defendants like these and eradicate violent street gangs throughout Long Island.” Mr. Donoghue expressed his grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force and the Suffolk County East End Drug Task Force for their work on the case.
“These arrests are the culmination of several years of intensive investigation to take out the worst-of-the-worst gang members terrorizing Eastern Long Island communities,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “These subjects have allegedly created such a violent environment in parts of the town where they operate that they were dealing out in the open, without fear. We put a huge dent in that practice with the first round of arrests in this case, and today's action shows our FBI Long Island Gang Task Force and our law enforcement partners won’t stop until all of them are rounded up.”
“These are extremely dangerous gang members who are responsible not only for conspiring to commit murder, but for consistently driving crime on the East End through drug dealing and illegal firearm offenses,” stated Suffolk County District Attorney Sini. “Eradicating violent street gangs from our community is a top priority for my office. I thank all of our federal and local law enforcement partners for their continued partnership in the investigation and prosecution of gang members.”
“These Blood gang members and their associates engaged in violence and trafficked large quantities of narcotics for years on the East End of Long Island. Thanks to the diligent work of the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force and the Suffolk County East End Drug Task Force— they have been stopped and will be held accountable for their heinous crimes,” stated SCPD Commissioner Hart. “The department will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to rid our communities of violent street gangs.”
“I commend our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners for their commitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods,” stated NYSP Superintendent Corlett. “The arrests of these criminals are proof that, together, we are making our neighborhoods safer. Through our collaborative efforts, we will continue to target and apprehend gang members like the Blood Gang so they can no longer endanger the lives of New Yorkers through their heinous activities.”
“We truly appreciate the unprecedented cooperation and assistance from our federal, state and county law enforcement partners in helping us to remove these criminals from our local communities here on the east end of Long Island,” stated Riverhead Police Chief Hegermiller.
As detailed in the superseding indictment and other court filings by the government, the defendants’ gang committed acts of violence and distributed large quantities of crack cocaine, powder cocaine and heroin in the Riverhead area on Long Island for nearly a decade. On November 17, 2015, while attempting to carry out Dean’s order to kill an individual, Latney, and others fatally shot Thomas Lacolla as he sat in the intended victim’s car. On August 1, 2015, Foster and others shot and wounded a suspected member of the rival Crips gang and a female bystander. Following Dean’s arrest in 2016, Latney, Foster and others assumed control of the gang’s drug distribution operations.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants face maximum sentences of up to life imprisonment.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Boeckmann and Michael Maffei are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
Terrill Latney (also known as “Motis” and “Mo”)
Age: 39
Riverhead, New York
Corey Belcher (also known as “Dot”)
Age: 34
Riverhead, New York
Willie Belcher (also known as “Thug”)
Age: 33
Flanders, New York
JImmy Dean (also known as “Jim Dick”)
Age: 41
Calverton, New York
Roger Foster (also known as “RJ” and “YG”)
Age: 22
Baiting Hollow, New York
Eric Ross (also known as “Smurks”)
Age: 27
Flanders, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-606 (S-2) (JS)
Tuesday, October 08, 2019
Reputed Mob Attempt to Fix NCAA 2018 Basketball Game Results in Arrest of 20, Including 11 from the Colombo Crime Family
Three indictments were unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn variously charging 20 defendants with racketeering, extortion, loansharking, stalking, attempted sports bribery and related offenses. Among those charged with racketeering were Joseph Amato, an alleged captain in the Colombo organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (“the Colombo family”); Daniel Capaldo and Thomas Scorcia, alleged Colombo family members; and Joseph Amato, Jr. and Anthony Silvestro, alleged Colombo family associates. An additional alleged Colombo family member, Vincent Scura, was also indicted. The indictments relate to the defendants’ charged criminal activities in Staten Island and elsewhere since January 2014.
As alleged in the indictments and the government’s detention letters, the investigation began in November 2016 when a GPS tracking device was found concealed on an MTA bus. Amato had earlier obtained the device to surveil his then-girlfriend and boasted about the resources at his disposal to keep her under close surveillance. In one email, Amato stated, “This is my island. Not yours. I have eyes all over[.]” In another email, Amato stated, ‘I’m a MANS MAN!!!” His then-girlfriend discovered the device on her vehicle and removed it, and it was subsequently attached to and recovered from the MTA bus at a depot n Staten Island. Thereafter, the government obtained court-authorization to intercept communications over various cellular telephones used by the defendants.
As detailed in the government’s court filings, Amato and members of his crew used violence and threats of violence to earn illegal proceeds and solidify the crew’s reputation and standing. On one occasion, an individual confronted Amato Jr. for insulting a woman in a bar. Amato Jr. told the individual to back off, and threatened, “Do you know who my father is?” The following day, the individual was lured to a location where Amato, Amato Jr. and other members of Amato’s crew brutally beat the victim, leaving him bloodied and in need of staples in his scalp. On other occasions, court-authorized intercepts captured: (1) Scorcia boasting, “I told the guy sit in the car, and the kid had the tears,” (2) Silvestro advising Scorcia, “[Y]ou send him a smack. If he raises his hand back to you, we beat the bricks off him, that’s it” and (3) following the commission of one of the charged crimes of violence, Amato Jr. described the crime and the victim’s reaction, “[W]e abused him so bad. Yo I had, bro, me and Pap (Silvestro), bro, had him shaking bro. He was in tears, he was crying.”
The court-authorized wiretaps also captured the defendants’ scheme to fix an NCAA college basketball game. To further the scheme, defendant Benjamin Bifalco offered members of a college basketball team thousands of dollars to intentionally lose the game.
Two firearms, two stun guns, a canister of purported tear gas and thousands of dollars in U.S. currency were recovered during court-authorized searches of residences of Amato and Scorcia.
“The mafia is not the criminal threat it once was, but we remain vigilant and will vigorously investigate and prosecute members and associates who engage in violence and extortion to intimidate victims and enrich themselves and their crime family,” stated United States Attorney Richard P. Donoghue. Mr. Donoghue extended his grateful appreciation to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force for its assistance during the investigation.
“One of the stunning things revealed in this investigation, it seems members of the mafia families that were once almost romanticized by Hollywood and pop culture, have resorted to acting like playground bullies. As alleged, they are still up to their old extortion and bribery schemes, and terrorizing their victims, but they are also still getting caught. The FBI New York Joint Organized Crime Task Force wants to send a clear message to members of the families in our communities who continue to operate, we will do all we can to stop a true resurgence from ever happening,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.
“The successful outcome of this investigation shows our continued efforts to target and hold responsible organized criminal syndicates,” stated NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “I thank our investigators and law enforcement counterparts whose cooperation was vital to bringing these individuals to justice.”
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Organized Crime & Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth A. Geddes and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-442 (S-1)(ILG)
JOSEPH AMATO
Age: 60
Colts Neck, New Jersey
JOSEPH AMATO, JR.
Age: 26
Staten Island, New York
JOHN CAHILL
Age: 27
Staten Island, New York
DANIEL CAPALDO (also known as “The Wig” and “Shrek”)
Age: 54
Staten Island, New York
PRIMO CASSARINO
Age: 31
Staten Island, New York
CHRISTOPHER COFFARO
Age: 21
Staten Island, New York
JOHN DUNN
Age: 30
Staten Island, New York
PHILIP LOMBARDO
Age: 61
Staten Island, New York
JOSEPH MARRA (also known as “Joe Fish”)
Age: 58
Brooklyn, New York
ALBERT MASTERJOSEPH
Age: 57
Brooklyn, New York
DOMINICK RICIGLIANO (also known as “The Lion”)
Age: 30
Staten Island, New York
THOMAS SCORCIA
Age: 52
Staten Island, New York
VINCENT SCURA (also known as “Vinny Linen”)
Age: 58
Staten Island, New York
ANTHONY SILVESTRO (also known as “Bugz”)
Age: 28
Staten Island, New York
KRENAR SUKA
Age: 26
Staten Island, New York
JOHN TUCCIARONE
Age: 39
Staten Island, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-443 (CBA)
ANTHONY BOSCO
Age: 26
Staten Island, New York
NICHOLAS BOSCO
Age: 30
Staten Island, New York
JOSEPH BOSCO
Age: 55
Staten Island, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-444 (ARR)
BENJAMIN BIFALCO
Age: 25
Staten Island, New York
As alleged in the indictments and the government’s detention letters, the investigation began in November 2016 when a GPS tracking device was found concealed on an MTA bus. Amato had earlier obtained the device to surveil his then-girlfriend and boasted about the resources at his disposal to keep her under close surveillance. In one email, Amato stated, “This is my island. Not yours. I have eyes all over[.]” In another email, Amato stated, ‘I’m a MANS MAN!!!” His then-girlfriend discovered the device on her vehicle and removed it, and it was subsequently attached to and recovered from the MTA bus at a depot n Staten Island. Thereafter, the government obtained court-authorization to intercept communications over various cellular telephones used by the defendants.
As detailed in the government’s court filings, Amato and members of his crew used violence and threats of violence to earn illegal proceeds and solidify the crew’s reputation and standing. On one occasion, an individual confronted Amato Jr. for insulting a woman in a bar. Amato Jr. told the individual to back off, and threatened, “Do you know who my father is?” The following day, the individual was lured to a location where Amato, Amato Jr. and other members of Amato’s crew brutally beat the victim, leaving him bloodied and in need of staples in his scalp. On other occasions, court-authorized intercepts captured: (1) Scorcia boasting, “I told the guy sit in the car, and the kid had the tears,” (2) Silvestro advising Scorcia, “[Y]ou send him a smack. If he raises his hand back to you, we beat the bricks off him, that’s it” and (3) following the commission of one of the charged crimes of violence, Amato Jr. described the crime and the victim’s reaction, “[W]e abused him so bad. Yo I had, bro, me and Pap (Silvestro), bro, had him shaking bro. He was in tears, he was crying.”
The court-authorized wiretaps also captured the defendants’ scheme to fix an NCAA college basketball game. To further the scheme, defendant Benjamin Bifalco offered members of a college basketball team thousands of dollars to intentionally lose the game.
Two firearms, two stun guns, a canister of purported tear gas and thousands of dollars in U.S. currency were recovered during court-authorized searches of residences of Amato and Scorcia.
“The mafia is not the criminal threat it once was, but we remain vigilant and will vigorously investigate and prosecute members and associates who engage in violence and extortion to intimidate victims and enrich themselves and their crime family,” stated United States Attorney Richard P. Donoghue. Mr. Donoghue extended his grateful appreciation to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force for its assistance during the investigation.
“One of the stunning things revealed in this investigation, it seems members of the mafia families that were once almost romanticized by Hollywood and pop culture, have resorted to acting like playground bullies. As alleged, they are still up to their old extortion and bribery schemes, and terrorizing their victims, but they are also still getting caught. The FBI New York Joint Organized Crime Task Force wants to send a clear message to members of the families in our communities who continue to operate, we will do all we can to stop a true resurgence from ever happening,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.
“The successful outcome of this investigation shows our continued efforts to target and hold responsible organized criminal syndicates,” stated NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “I thank our investigators and law enforcement counterparts whose cooperation was vital to bringing these individuals to justice.”
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Organized Crime & Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth A. Geddes and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-442 (S-1)(ILG)
JOSEPH AMATO
Age: 60
Colts Neck, New Jersey
JOSEPH AMATO, JR.
Age: 26
Staten Island, New York
JOHN CAHILL
Age: 27
Staten Island, New York
DANIEL CAPALDO (also known as “The Wig” and “Shrek”)
Age: 54
Staten Island, New York
PRIMO CASSARINO
Age: 31
Staten Island, New York
CHRISTOPHER COFFARO
Age: 21
Staten Island, New York
JOHN DUNN
Age: 30
Staten Island, New York
PHILIP LOMBARDO
Age: 61
Staten Island, New York
JOSEPH MARRA (also known as “Joe Fish”)
Age: 58
Brooklyn, New York
ALBERT MASTERJOSEPH
Age: 57
Brooklyn, New York
DOMINICK RICIGLIANO (also known as “The Lion”)
Age: 30
Staten Island, New York
THOMAS SCORCIA
Age: 52
Staten Island, New York
VINCENT SCURA (also known as “Vinny Linen”)
Age: 58
Staten Island, New York
ANTHONY SILVESTRO (also known as “Bugz”)
Age: 28
Staten Island, New York
KRENAR SUKA
Age: 26
Staten Island, New York
JOHN TUCCIARONE
Age: 39
Staten Island, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-443 (CBA)
ANTHONY BOSCO
Age: 26
Staten Island, New York
NICHOLAS BOSCO
Age: 30
Staten Island, New York
JOSEPH BOSCO
Age: 55
Staten Island, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-444 (ARR)
BENJAMIN BIFALCO
Age: 25
Staten Island, New York
Thursday, October 03, 2019
In Hoffa's Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit and My Search for the Truth
As a young man
, Jack Goldsmith revered his stepfather, longtime Jimmy Hoffa associate Chuckie O’Brien. But as he grew older and pursued a career in law and government, he came to doubt and distance himself from the man long suspected by the FBI of perpetrating Hoffa’s disappearance on behalf of the mob. It was only years later, when Goldsmith was serving as assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and questioning its misuse of surveillance and other powers, that he began to reconsider his stepfather, and to understand Hoffa’s true legacy.
In Hoffa's Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth, tells the moving story of how Goldsmith reunited with the stepfather he’d disowned and then set out to unravel one of the twentieth century’s most persistent mysteries and Chuckie’s role in it. Along the way, Goldsmith explores Hoffa’s rise and fall and why the golden age of blue-collar America came to an end, while also casting new light on the century-old surveillance state, the architects of Hoffa’s disappearance, and the heartrending complexities of love and loyalty.
, Jack Goldsmith revered his stepfather, longtime Jimmy Hoffa associate Chuckie O’Brien. But as he grew older and pursued a career in law and government, he came to doubt and distance himself from the man long suspected by the FBI of perpetrating Hoffa’s disappearance on behalf of the mob. It was only years later, when Goldsmith was serving as assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and questioning its misuse of surveillance and other powers, that he began to reconsider his stepfather, and to understand Hoffa’s true legacy.
In Hoffa's Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth, tells the moving story of how Goldsmith reunited with the stepfather he’d disowned and then set out to unravel one of the twentieth century’s most persistent mysteries and Chuckie’s role in it. Along the way, Goldsmith explores Hoffa’s rise and fall and why the golden age of blue-collar America came to an end, while also casting new light on the century-old surveillance state, the architects of Hoffa’s disappearance, and the heartrending complexities of love and loyalty.
Wednesday, October 02, 2019
Robin Hayes, Former Republican Political Party Chairman @NCGOP, Pleads Guilty To Making A False Statement To The #FBI
The former chairman of the North Carolina Republican state political party pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI in connection with a federal investigation into the attempted bribery of a North Carolina elected official. U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer presided over the plea hearing.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI Charlotte Field Office, made the announcement.
On March 18, 2019, a criminal indictment was filed in the Western District of North Carolina, charging Robert Cannon Hayes, 74, of Concord, North Carolina, who at the time was Chairman of the Republican state political party in North Carolina; Greg E. Lindberg, founder and Chairman of Eli Global LLC (Eli Global) and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG); John D. Gray, a consultant for Lindberg; and John V. Palermo, an Eli Global executive, for allegedly attempting to make improper campaign contributions to the elected Commissioner of Insurance (Commissioner) of the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI), in exchange for official personnel action favorable to Lindberg’s company, GBIG.
According to admissions Hayes made in connection with his guilty plea, on or about Aug. 28, 2018, Hayes falsely stated to FBI agents that he had never spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about personnel or personnel problems at NCDOI or about Lindberg or Gray. At the time that Hayes made the false statements, the FBI was investigating matters related to the attempted bribery of the Commissioner, therefore the defendant’s false statements were material to the investigation.
As Hayes admitted in court, at the time he made the materially false statements, Hayes knew that it was unlawful to lie to the FBI, and knew that his statements were false because Hayes had in fact spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about Lindberg and Gray, and about Lindberg’s request that the Commissioner move certain personnel within NCDOI.
Lindberg, Gray, and Palermo are each charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and aiding and abetting.Their charges are still pending.
The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is leading the investigation.
Trial Attorney James C. Mann of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Stetzer and Dana Washington of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI Charlotte Field Office, made the announcement.
On March 18, 2019, a criminal indictment was filed in the Western District of North Carolina, charging Robert Cannon Hayes, 74, of Concord, North Carolina, who at the time was Chairman of the Republican state political party in North Carolina; Greg E. Lindberg, founder and Chairman of Eli Global LLC (Eli Global) and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG); John D. Gray, a consultant for Lindberg; and John V. Palermo, an Eli Global executive, for allegedly attempting to make improper campaign contributions to the elected Commissioner of Insurance (Commissioner) of the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI), in exchange for official personnel action favorable to Lindberg’s company, GBIG.
According to admissions Hayes made in connection with his guilty plea, on or about Aug. 28, 2018, Hayes falsely stated to FBI agents that he had never spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about personnel or personnel problems at NCDOI or about Lindberg or Gray. At the time that Hayes made the false statements, the FBI was investigating matters related to the attempted bribery of the Commissioner, therefore the defendant’s false statements were material to the investigation.
As Hayes admitted in court, at the time he made the materially false statements, Hayes knew that it was unlawful to lie to the FBI, and knew that his statements were false because Hayes had in fact spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about Lindberg and Gray, and about Lindberg’s request that the Commissioner move certain personnel within NCDOI.
Lindberg, Gray, and Palermo are each charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and aiding and abetting.Their charges are still pending.
The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is leading the investigation.
Trial Attorney James C. Mann of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Stetzer and Dana Washington of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.
Tuesday, October 01, 2019
Federal Judge Agrees to Dismiss Perjury Case Involving Strip Club against Mob Associate and Bookmaker
A federal judge signed off on the dismissal of a perjury case against longtime New England mob associate and bookmaker Gaythorne “Poochie” Angell Jr.
Angell, 84, completed a six-month pretrial diversion program. He faced a perjury indictment for lying to a grand jury in 2011 about whether the strip club he’s long been associated with, the Foxy Lady, was paying protection money to members of organized crime. It was, and Angell knew it, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors moved to dismiss the case after Angell completed the program. U.S. District Chief Judge William E. Smith granted the request, meaning Angell no longer faces a criminal charge stemming from the mob’s shakedowns of strip clubs.
Pretrial diversion is an alternative to the typical criminal-justice system track that can involve prison time.
Angell, 84, completed a six-month pretrial diversion program. He faced a perjury indictment for lying to a grand jury in 2011 about whether the strip club he’s long been associated with, the Foxy Lady, was paying protection money to members of organized crime. It was, and Angell knew it, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors moved to dismiss the case after Angell completed the program. U.S. District Chief Judge William E. Smith granted the request, meaning Angell no longer faces a criminal charge stemming from the mob’s shakedowns of strip clubs.
Pretrial diversion is an alternative to the typical criminal-justice system track that can involve prison time.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Friday, September 27, 2019
Will Smith to Star as Harlem-based Mobster Nicky "Mr. Untouchable" Barnes on @Netflix in "The Council"
Peter Landesman wrote the script for the film about Nicky Barnes, the Harlem-based mobster who was dubbed "Mr. Untouchable
."
Will Smith, just weeks away from opening his sci-fi action movie Gemini Man, is heading back to Netflix. The actor has signed on to star in and produce The Council, a crime biopic written by Peter Landesman. The two previously worked together when Smith starred in Concussion, the 2015 drama Landesman wrote and directed.
Smith will produce with James Lassiter, his partner at Overbrook Entertainment, now under the umbrella of Smith’s Westbrook Inc. Also producing are Matt Jackson via Jackson Pictures and Jason Essex for Anonymous Nobodies.
The Council aims to tell the story of an organized crime syndicate run by seven black mobsters who operated in Harlem in the 1970s. The men dreamed of a self-sufficient and self-policing African-American city-state, funded by revolutionizing the drug game.
Netflix is describing the story as centering on the Shakespearean court intrigue between the council’s king, Nicky Barnes, dubbed “Mr. Untouchable” by The New York Times, and all the different members of the council. (Mr. Untouchable - The Rise, Fall, and Resurection of Heroin's Teflon Don Nicky Barnes).
Smith will play Barnes, the man who partnered with the Italian Mafia to start his own syndicate, specializing in the heroin trade. He was arrested in 1978 and, after a series of incidents, turned on the council by becoming a federal informant. He was in the witness protection program and, though he died in 2012, his death was only reported this year.
Executive producing the project are Landesman, Jackson Pictures’ Joanne Lee and David Lee for Anonymous Nobodies.
No director is yet on board.
Smith, who previously starred in the $1 billion-grossing Aladdin remake, toplined one of Netflix's early feature hits, the 2017 sci-fi fantasy Bright, directed by David Ayers. He and Overbrook are repped by CAA and Sloan Offer.
CAA and Jackoway Tyerman negotiated on behalf of Landesman. Jackson is repped by CAA and Manatt Phelps.
."Will Smith, just weeks away from opening his sci-fi action movie Gemini Man, is heading back to Netflix. The actor has signed on to star in and produce The Council, a crime biopic written by Peter Landesman. The two previously worked together when Smith starred in Concussion, the 2015 drama Landesman wrote and directed.
Smith will produce with James Lassiter, his partner at Overbrook Entertainment, now under the umbrella of Smith’s Westbrook Inc. Also producing are Matt Jackson via Jackson Pictures and Jason Essex for Anonymous Nobodies.
The Council aims to tell the story of an organized crime syndicate run by seven black mobsters who operated in Harlem in the 1970s. The men dreamed of a self-sufficient and self-policing African-American city-state, funded by revolutionizing the drug game.
Netflix is describing the story as centering on the Shakespearean court intrigue between the council’s king, Nicky Barnes, dubbed “Mr. Untouchable” by The New York Times, and all the different members of the council. (Mr. Untouchable - The Rise, Fall, and Resurection of Heroin's Teflon Don Nicky Barnes).
Smith will play Barnes, the man who partnered with the Italian Mafia to start his own syndicate, specializing in the heroin trade. He was arrested in 1978 and, after a series of incidents, turned on the council by becoming a federal informant. He was in the witness protection program and, though he died in 2012, his death was only reported this year.
Executive producing the project are Landesman, Jackson Pictures’ Joanne Lee and David Lee for Anonymous Nobodies.
No director is yet on board.
Smith, who previously starred in the $1 billion-grossing Aladdin remake, toplined one of Netflix's early feature hits, the 2017 sci-fi fantasy Bright, directed by David Ayers. He and Overbrook are repped by CAA and Sloan Offer.
CAA and Jackoway Tyerman negotiated on behalf of Landesman. Jackson is repped by CAA and Manatt Phelps.
Mr. Untouchable - The Rise, Fall, and Resurection of Heroin's Teflon Don Nicky Barnes
From inside the Federal Witness Protection Program, the "Black Godfather" chronicles the 1970s New York City underworld and the most devastating urban crime wave in history.
1962: Leroy "Nicky Barnes walks out of Green Haven State Prison. There are an estimated 153,000 heroin abusers in the United States.
1977: Two million junkies score $100 million worth of Barnes's smack a year. Sporting flashy suits, riding in a Citroën with a Maserati engine and satisfying a wife while pleasuring a harem of mistresses, Barnes presides over a staggering multinational dealership that pushes dope and launders money with the efficiency of a Fortune 500 company. Despite President Nixon's creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration and New York State's adoption of the no tolerance Rockefeller drug laws, Barnes's operation seems impregnable.
How does a small-time hustler and heroin addict end up on the cover of the New York Times Magazine as "Mr. Untouchable", the one gangster the Feds can't touch? And how is the future Mayor of New York City Rudolf Giuliani involved? With Machiavellian pragmatism matched with biblical fury, Barnes lays bare his life's remarkable trajectory--a rise, fall and resurrection defined by brutality, brotherhood and betrayal.
, the "Black Godfather" chronicles the 1970s New York City underworld and the most devastating urban crime wave in history.1962: Leroy "Nicky Barnes walks out of Green Haven State Prison. There are an estimated 153,000 heroin abusers in the United States.
1977: Two million junkies score $100 million worth of Barnes's smack a year. Sporting flashy suits, riding in a Citroën with a Maserati engine and satisfying a wife while pleasuring a harem of mistresses, Barnes presides over a staggering multinational dealership that pushes dope and launders money with the efficiency of a Fortune 500 company. Despite President Nixon's creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration and New York State's adoption of the no tolerance Rockefeller drug laws, Barnes's operation seems impregnable.
How does a small-time hustler and heroin addict end up on the cover of the New York Times Magazine as "Mr. Untouchable", the one gangster the Feds can't touch? And how is the future Mayor of New York City Rudolf Giuliani involved? With Machiavellian pragmatism matched with biblical fury, Barnes lays bare his life's remarkable trajectory--a rise, fall and resurrection defined by brutality, brotherhood and betrayal.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Top 10 Mob-Related Movies
1. The Godfather (Widescreen Edition)
/ The Godfather, Part II (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
Francis Ford Coppola, 1972; 1974
Coppola's masterpieces are not only the greatest film and sequel of the genre, but perhaps two of the best films ever made. Boasting casts featuring huge stars (Brando, Pacino, De Niro) they focus on the Corleone family, a mafia dynasty in New York from the 1920s to the late '50s. Slickly made, beautifully shot and featuring some of the finest screen performances on record.
2. Goodfellas (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Martin Scorsese, 1990
"As far back as I can remember I've always wanted to be a gangster." Focusing on the dirty end of the mafia, this film charts the rise and fall of Henry Hill, a man of Sicilian-Irish descent who works his way up the tree of organized crime in New York during the '60s and '70s. Powerful and violent, this is one of Scorsese's finest moments. Joe Pesci earnt an Oscar playing an unpredictable and terrifying gangster: just don't call him funny.
3. Mou gaan dou
(Infernal Affairs)
Wai Keung Lau & Siu Fai Mak, 2002
The basis for this year's Best Picture Oscar "The Departed," this is a tense and exciting thriller which hints at the strength and depth of Asian gangster movies. Steeped in nervy and fast-paced tracking shots around the underworld of Hong Kong, and embellished with two extraordinary performances from the two lead actors, Scorsese didn't need to change much to make it an Oscar-worthy picture.
4. White Heat
Raoul Walsh, 1949
"Made it Ma! Top of the world!" A true classic of the genre, starring one of the best known and loved gangster actors, James Cagney. A dangerously deranged criminal, who is obsessed with his mother and gives little thought to killing anyone who crosses him, breaks out of prison to avenge his mother's death and secure control of his gang -- but he unwittingly takes a rat into the organization. The blueprint for modern crime thrillers.
5. Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Sergio Leone, 1984
An epic feast of sumptuous sets, beautiful tracking shots and outstanding performances, especially from Robert DeNiro and James Woods. A gang of children progress from small scale crimes to become embroiled in the mafia during prohibition in the U.S. with shocking and violent results. The framework that holds the story together is a dream-like wander through New York of 1968, where DeNiro relives his past. A beautiful and sedate shell to an elaborate and fascinating gangster movie.
6. Scarface (Platinum Edition)
Brian De Palma, 1983
The archetypal and truly iconic sleazy '80s gangster movie, this is the American dream gone bad. Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, arrives in Florida as a refugee from Communist Cuba, and sets out to make his fortune as a cocaine dealer, but becomes consumed with possessive greed. The movie has two of the most striking and memorable scenes in film history: one a torture scene with a chainsaw, piling on the tension with the screaming soundtrack; the other, of course, "Say hello to my leettle friend!"
7. Angels With Dirty Faces
Michael Curtiz, 1938
Another influential Cagney movie, and perhaps the first classic of the genre. The friendship of two boys from Hell's Kitchen is rekindled as one gets out of prison to find the other is a priest. Uncovering corruption throughout the city, this is a story of sacrifice and honor that proves gangsters are people too.
8. Get Carter
Mike Hodges, 1971
Michael Caine's finest hour, as he gets tough with the '70s gangsters of northern England. Relentlessly brutal, Caine works his way through the seedy underworld, and at every unpleasant turn gives a dry quip, seduces a femme fatale or wreaks bloody violence on the murderers of his brother. An unstoppable revenge movie.
9. Sexy Beast
Jonathan Glazer, 2000
One of the most extraordinary gangster films of recent times. Oscar-nominated Ben Kingsley gives one of his most remarkable turns, as a character that's the polar opposite of his most famous role, Ghandi. A misanthropic, bitter and aggressive gangster, with a penchant for colorful language, he makes this a truly unforgettable movie.
10. Cidade de Deus
(City of God)
Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, 2002
This Brazilian film shockingly paints a gangster world populated by children as brutal and heartless as any character in "Goodfellas." At once a beautiful and traumatic carnival, the movie flits between the gritty realism of life in the favelas of Rio and the dream-like existence of a child attempting to escape a world of crime.
Courtesy of The Screening Room in 2007.
/ The Godfather, Part II (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)Francis Ford Coppola, 1972; 1974
Coppola's masterpieces are not only the greatest film and sequel of the genre, but perhaps two of the best films ever made. Boasting casts featuring huge stars (Brando, Pacino, De Niro) they focus on the Corleone family, a mafia dynasty in New York from the 1920s to the late '50s. Slickly made, beautifully shot and featuring some of the finest screen performances on record.
2. Goodfellas (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Martin Scorsese, 1990
"As far back as I can remember I've always wanted to be a gangster." Focusing on the dirty end of the mafia, this film charts the rise and fall of Henry Hill, a man of Sicilian-Irish descent who works his way up the tree of organized crime in New York during the '60s and '70s. Powerful and violent, this is one of Scorsese's finest moments. Joe Pesci earnt an Oscar playing an unpredictable and terrifying gangster: just don't call him funny.
3. Mou gaan dou
(Infernal Affairs)Wai Keung Lau & Siu Fai Mak, 2002
The basis for this year's Best Picture Oscar "The Departed," this is a tense and exciting thriller which hints at the strength and depth of Asian gangster movies. Steeped in nervy and fast-paced tracking shots around the underworld of Hong Kong, and embellished with two extraordinary performances from the two lead actors, Scorsese didn't need to change much to make it an Oscar-worthy picture.
4. White Heat
Raoul Walsh, 1949
"Made it Ma! Top of the world!" A true classic of the genre, starring one of the best known and loved gangster actors, James Cagney. A dangerously deranged criminal, who is obsessed with his mother and gives little thought to killing anyone who crosses him, breaks out of prison to avenge his mother's death and secure control of his gang -- but he unwittingly takes a rat into the organization. The blueprint for modern crime thrillers.
5. Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Sergio Leone, 1984
An epic feast of sumptuous sets, beautiful tracking shots and outstanding performances, especially from Robert DeNiro and James Woods. A gang of children progress from small scale crimes to become embroiled in the mafia during prohibition in the U.S. with shocking and violent results. The framework that holds the story together is a dream-like wander through New York of 1968, where DeNiro relives his past. A beautiful and sedate shell to an elaborate and fascinating gangster movie.
6. Scarface (Platinum Edition)
Brian De Palma, 1983
The archetypal and truly iconic sleazy '80s gangster movie, this is the American dream gone bad. Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, arrives in Florida as a refugee from Communist Cuba, and sets out to make his fortune as a cocaine dealer, but becomes consumed with possessive greed. The movie has two of the most striking and memorable scenes in film history: one a torture scene with a chainsaw, piling on the tension with the screaming soundtrack; the other, of course, "Say hello to my leettle friend!"
7. Angels With Dirty Faces
Michael Curtiz, 1938
Another influential Cagney movie, and perhaps the first classic of the genre. The friendship of two boys from Hell's Kitchen is rekindled as one gets out of prison to find the other is a priest. Uncovering corruption throughout the city, this is a story of sacrifice and honor that proves gangsters are people too.
8. Get Carter
Mike Hodges, 1971
Michael Caine's finest hour, as he gets tough with the '70s gangsters of northern England. Relentlessly brutal, Caine works his way through the seedy underworld, and at every unpleasant turn gives a dry quip, seduces a femme fatale or wreaks bloody violence on the murderers of his brother. An unstoppable revenge movie.
9. Sexy Beast
Jonathan Glazer, 2000
One of the most extraordinary gangster films of recent times. Oscar-nominated Ben Kingsley gives one of his most remarkable turns, as a character that's the polar opposite of his most famous role, Ghandi. A misanthropic, bitter and aggressive gangster, with a penchant for colorful language, he makes this a truly unforgettable movie.
10. Cidade de Deus
(City of God)Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, 2002
This Brazilian film shockingly paints a gangster world populated by children as brutal and heartless as any character in "Goodfellas." At once a beautiful and traumatic carnival, the movie flits between the gritty realism of life in the favelas of Rio and the dream-like existence of a child attempting to escape a world of crime.
Courtesy of The Screening Room in 2007.
Monday, September 23, 2019
"Boxing and the Mob" will be the Topic when Author @JeffreySussman Speaks at the Rogers Memorial Library This Week
Organized crime and the world of professional boxing are intertwined with absorbing detail in Boxing and the Mob
, the first book to cover the mob’s involvement in the “sweet science” throughout the entire 20th century.
Join Jeffrey Sussman, at Rogers Memorial Library, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25th, for a talk about this notorious piece of American history filled with fast-paced stories of fixed fights, paid-off referees, greedy managers, and the champion boxers who either caved in to the mob, or stood firm against them.
Rogers Memorial Library is at 91 Coopers Farm Lane in Southampton.
For reservations call 631-283-0774 ext. 523 or email programs@myrml.org.
, the first book to cover the mob’s involvement in the “sweet science” throughout the entire 20th century.
Join Jeffrey Sussman, at Rogers Memorial Library, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25th, for a talk about this notorious piece of American history filled with fast-paced stories of fixed fights, paid-off referees, greedy managers, and the champion boxers who either caved in to the mob, or stood firm against them.
Rogers Memorial Library is at 91 Coopers Farm Lane in Southampton.
For reservations call 631-283-0774 ext. 523 or email programs@myrml.org.
Friday, September 20, 2019
Support #SuicidePrevention at the Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk @AFSPChicago - Walkers Take to the Streets to #StopSuicide
WALKERS TAKE TO THE STREETS TO FIGHT SUICIDE
Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk
WHAT: The Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk is a 3-mile walk along the lakefront hosted by the Illinois Chapter of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to raise awareness and bring hope to those affected by suicide.
WHO: Over 7,000 participants from throughout the Chicagoland area, organized by AFSP.
WHEN: Saturday, September 21, 2019. Registration at 9:00 am, Walk at 11:00 am
WHERE: Montrose Harbor – Montrose at Simonds Drive in Chicago, IL.
WHY: Suicide is #1 leading cause of death for people aged 10-44 in Illinois, and touches one in five American families. This walk gives people the courage to open up about their own struggle or loss, and the platform to change our culture’s approach to mental health.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
We can all help prevent suicide.
The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
1-800-273-8255
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science
More than any other sport, boxing has a history of being easy to rig. There are only two athletes and one or both may be induced to accept a bribe; if not the fighters, then the judges or referee might be swayed. In such inviting circumstances, the mob moved into boxing in the 1930s and profited by corrupting a sport ripe for exploitation.
Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science, Jeffrey Sussman tells the story of the coercive and criminal underside of boxing, covering nearly the entire twentieth century. He profiles some of its most infamous characters, such as Owney Madden, Frankie Carbo, and Frank Palermo, and details many of the fixed matches in boxing’s storied history. In addition, Sussman examines the influence of the mob on legendary boxers—including Primo Carnera, Sugar Ray Robinson, Max Baer, Carmen Basilio, Sonny Liston, and Jake LaMotta—and whether they caved to the mobsters’ threats or refused to throw their fights.
Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science, is the first book to cover a century of fixed fights, paid-off referees, greedy managers, misused boxers, and the mobsters who controlled it all. True crime and the world of boxing are intertwined with absorbing detail in this notorious piece of American history.
, boxing has a history of being easy to rig. There are only two athletes and one or both may be induced to accept a bribe; if not the fighters, then the judges or referee might be swayed. In such inviting circumstances, the mob moved into boxing in the 1930s and profited by corrupting a sport ripe for exploitation.Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science, Jeffrey Sussman tells the story of the coercive and criminal underside of boxing, covering nearly the entire twentieth century. He profiles some of its most infamous characters, such as Owney Madden, Frankie Carbo, and Frank Palermo, and details many of the fixed matches in boxing’s storied history. In addition, Sussman examines the influence of the mob on legendary boxers—including Primo Carnera, Sugar Ray Robinson, Max Baer, Carmen Basilio, Sonny Liston, and Jake LaMotta—and whether they caved to the mobsters’ threats or refused to throw their fights.
Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science, is the first book to cover a century of fixed fights, paid-off referees, greedy managers, misused boxers, and the mobsters who controlled it all. True crime and the world of boxing are intertwined with absorbing detail in this notorious piece of American history.
Steven M. D'Antuono, Newly Named Special Agent in Charge at @FBIDetroit, has Background Investigating #OrganizedCrime & #Public #Corruption
FBI Director Christopher Wray has named Steven M. D’Antuono as the special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Office. Most recently, he served as a section chief in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington.
Mr. D’Antuono joined the FBI as a forensic accountant in 1996, assigned to the Providence Resident Agency in Rhode Island, under the Boston Field Office. He supported criminal investigations into financial crimes, public corruption, organized crime, drugs, and counterintelligence. Mr. D’Antuono was appointed a special agent in 1998 and was assigned to the Washington Field Office, investigating white-collar crime and public corruption.
In 2004, Mr. D’Antuono was promoted to supervisory special agent at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, where he taught white-collar crime courses. He transferred to the Washington Field Office in 2008, where he supervised a public corruption and government fraud squad.
Mr. D’Antuono was promoted to an assistant special agent in charge at the St. Louis Field Office in 2014 overseeing the Criminal and Administrative branches. In 2017, Mr. D’Antuono was promoted to chief of the Financial Crimes Section of the Criminal Investigative Division. As section chief, Mr. D’Antuono oversaw all white-collar crime programs in the Bureau, including corporate securities and commodities fraud, economic crimes, financial institution fraud, money laundering, health care fraud, intellectual property, and forensic accountant programs.
Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. D’Antuono was a certified public accountant focused on auditing, forensic accounting, and taxation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Rhode Island.
In 2004, Mr. D’Antuono was promoted to supervisory special agent at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, where he taught white-collar crime courses. He transferred to the Washington Field Office in 2008, where he supervised a public corruption and government fraud squad.
Mr. D’Antuono was promoted to an assistant special agent in charge at the St. Louis Field Office in 2014 overseeing the Criminal and Administrative branches. In 2017, Mr. D’Antuono was promoted to chief of the Financial Crimes Section of the Criminal Investigative Division. As section chief, Mr. D’Antuono oversaw all white-collar crime programs in the Bureau, including corporate securities and commodities fraud, economic crimes, financial institution fraud, money laundering, health care fraud, intellectual property, and forensic accountant programs.
Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. D’Antuono was a certified public accountant focused on auditing, forensic accounting, and taxation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Rhode Island.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Does the Ghost of Al Capone's Bodyguard Haunt Coral Gables' @BiltmoreHotel?
Twelve people ambled through the Everglades Room at the Biltmore Hotel on Sunday and lingered at the spot where a gangster's bodyguard was shot dead by an unknown gunman.
Only two of them were guests -- in other rooms.
The group was part of a free tour of the historic hotel led every weekend by a member of the Dade Heritage Trust. It learned how the Biltmore was built during South Florida's construction boom by George Merrick, the founder of Coral Gables. It learned about the styles of architecture used, its stint as a hurricane shelter and later a war hospital and the multiple renovations that came later. But most went for the ghost story on the 13th floor.
''To be able to walk through the room, it's a little creepy,'' said Phillip St. Clair, visiting with his girlfriend from Raleigh, N.C. He also recognized the room from the Bad Boys movie starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
He and the others were lucky last weekend; many times the tour must skip this highlight because the room is rented, said Michael Beeman, head of the docents for the Biltmore and trustee for the Heritage Trust. He came up with the tour concept and has been leading them once a month for 16 years.
''I approached Gene Prescott and told him we had to give tours,'' said Beeman, who is also a vice chairman of the city's historic preservation board.
Operators of the hotel welcome the tours, said Danielle Finnegan, a hotel spokeswoman. ''The Biltmore has the distinguished honor of being a national historic landmark,'' Finnegan said. ``Weekly tours conducted by the Dade Heritage Trust are enjoyed by both hotel guests and neighbors. We estimate that over 2,000 people take part annually.''
Private tour operators bring another 15,000 people from all over the U.S. and abroad each year, she said, adding that the Coral Gables Museum plans to start operating its own tour of the hotel beginning early next year.
Beeman told the group how Merrick, whose family bought 160 acres for a guava and avocado plantation in 1899, wanted to build a hotel as a beacon to his city in 1924. In the main lobby, he pointed at the Morish, Italian and Gothic style architecture in the hotel, designed by the same architects involved in the Empire State Building.
He pointed at the stencils on the ceiling, taken from buildings that date to the 13th and 14th century in Europe.
Construction began on a Friday the 13th in 1925 and the hotel opened 10 months later in January 1926. He talked about the gondolas that took visitors to Tahiti Beach, now a private beach in Cocoplum, and on fox hunts. But the 1926 hurricane that swept through Greater Miami put the area in a recession and Coral Gables Corporation, Merrick's company, went bankrupt.
Merrick left to run a fishing camp with his wife in the Keys and the city of Coral Gables sold 18 holes of a 36-hole golf complex to a private group that became the private Riviera Country Club, he said.
The hotel was foreclosed on in October 1929 and bought and operated for $1.7 by a group of owners led by Col. William Dougherty, president of a chain of gas stations.
There were other owners, but in 1941, the hotel -- which took about $10 million to build -- was sold to the U.S. government for $870,000 and became a military hospital, Beeman said. During that time, Eleanor Roosevelt and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower -- before he became president -- visited the injured soldiers.
In 1968, the Veterans Administration hospital moved to where it is today in Miami and the hotel sat boarded up and abandoned for years. Then the Nixon administration gave it to the city in 1973. Beeman said the city took several years to figure out what to do with it.
In 1982, the city issued a request for proposals to find a new operator for the property, said Ellen Uguccioni, the city's first and former historic preservation director and now works for the city of Miami. ''People were proposing condominiums and mostly housing, high-rise housing,'' Uguccioni said. ``So it could easily have gone in another direction rather than be restored as a hotel.''
Eventually, a group of 20 investors led by the Worsham brothers each pledged $1 million and borrowed $34 million to renovate the hotel, which opened again in 1987 but closed two years later, foreclosed by the bank, Beeman said.
The city searched for the next few years for someone to take it over, and in 1992, the current operators, Seaway Corporation, signed a lease with the city to run the landmark.
Beeman took the group to the Alhambra and Granada ballrooms -- where the ghost of Fats Walsch, the bodyguard for a Chicago gangster who was shot on the 13th floor -- has most often been seen walking through. And from a large balcony, he pointed out the largest commercial pool in the United States, where Johnny Weissmuller and Esther Williams once swam.
Up at the two-story Everglades Suite -- where President Bill Clinton has also stayed -- he pointed out the spot where Walsch fell. ''The shot came from upstairs,'' Beeman said. ``Some of the red staining the limestone might be his blood, but we don't know for sure.''
He said the room -- also called the Al Capone suite because the famous gangster stayed there often -- was popular with the mob because of a private elevator they used to bring whiskey and women up and showed where one bookcase had a secret exit to the staircase.
The tour hit close to home for Tamara Hallo, 35, whose grandmother was in a beauty pageant there in 1941 and whose great grandmother worked at the hotel as a maid.
''I kind of can picture her here, turning down beds,'' said the Country Walk resident. ``She had five children and was raising them on her own so she had several jobs.''
Thanks to Elaine De Valle
Only two of them were guests -- in other rooms.
The group was part of a free tour of the historic hotel led every weekend by a member of the Dade Heritage Trust. It learned how the Biltmore was built during South Florida's construction boom by George Merrick, the founder of Coral Gables. It learned about the styles of architecture used, its stint as a hurricane shelter and later a war hospital and the multiple renovations that came later. But most went for the ghost story on the 13th floor.
''To be able to walk through the room, it's a little creepy,'' said Phillip St. Clair, visiting with his girlfriend from Raleigh, N.C. He also recognized the room from the Bad Boys movie starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
He and the others were lucky last weekend; many times the tour must skip this highlight because the room is rented, said Michael Beeman, head of the docents for the Biltmore and trustee for the Heritage Trust. He came up with the tour concept and has been leading them once a month for 16 years.
''I approached Gene Prescott and told him we had to give tours,'' said Beeman, who is also a vice chairman of the city's historic preservation board.
Operators of the hotel welcome the tours, said Danielle Finnegan, a hotel spokeswoman. ''The Biltmore has the distinguished honor of being a national historic landmark,'' Finnegan said. ``Weekly tours conducted by the Dade Heritage Trust are enjoyed by both hotel guests and neighbors. We estimate that over 2,000 people take part annually.''
Private tour operators bring another 15,000 people from all over the U.S. and abroad each year, she said, adding that the Coral Gables Museum plans to start operating its own tour of the hotel beginning early next year.
Beeman told the group how Merrick, whose family bought 160 acres for a guava and avocado plantation in 1899, wanted to build a hotel as a beacon to his city in 1924. In the main lobby, he pointed at the Morish, Italian and Gothic style architecture in the hotel, designed by the same architects involved in the Empire State Building.
He pointed at the stencils on the ceiling, taken from buildings that date to the 13th and 14th century in Europe.
Construction began on a Friday the 13th in 1925 and the hotel opened 10 months later in January 1926. He talked about the gondolas that took visitors to Tahiti Beach, now a private beach in Cocoplum, and on fox hunts. But the 1926 hurricane that swept through Greater Miami put the area in a recession and Coral Gables Corporation, Merrick's company, went bankrupt.
Merrick left to run a fishing camp with his wife in the Keys and the city of Coral Gables sold 18 holes of a 36-hole golf complex to a private group that became the private Riviera Country Club, he said.
The hotel was foreclosed on in October 1929 and bought and operated for $1.7 by a group of owners led by Col. William Dougherty, president of a chain of gas stations.
There were other owners, but in 1941, the hotel -- which took about $10 million to build -- was sold to the U.S. government for $870,000 and became a military hospital, Beeman said. During that time, Eleanor Roosevelt and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower -- before he became president -- visited the injured soldiers.
In 1968, the Veterans Administration hospital moved to where it is today in Miami and the hotel sat boarded up and abandoned for years. Then the Nixon administration gave it to the city in 1973. Beeman said the city took several years to figure out what to do with it.
In 1982, the city issued a request for proposals to find a new operator for the property, said Ellen Uguccioni, the city's first and former historic preservation director and now works for the city of Miami. ''People were proposing condominiums and mostly housing, high-rise housing,'' Uguccioni said. ``So it could easily have gone in another direction rather than be restored as a hotel.''
Eventually, a group of 20 investors led by the Worsham brothers each pledged $1 million and borrowed $34 million to renovate the hotel, which opened again in 1987 but closed two years later, foreclosed by the bank, Beeman said.
The city searched for the next few years for someone to take it over, and in 1992, the current operators, Seaway Corporation, signed a lease with the city to run the landmark.
Beeman took the group to the Alhambra and Granada ballrooms -- where the ghost of Fats Walsch, the bodyguard for a Chicago gangster who was shot on the 13th floor -- has most often been seen walking through. And from a large balcony, he pointed out the largest commercial pool in the United States, where Johnny Weissmuller and Esther Williams once swam.
Up at the two-story Everglades Suite -- where President Bill Clinton has also stayed -- he pointed out the spot where Walsch fell. ''The shot came from upstairs,'' Beeman said. ``Some of the red staining the limestone might be his blood, but we don't know for sure.''
He said the room -- also called the Al Capone suite because the famous gangster stayed there often -- was popular with the mob because of a private elevator they used to bring whiskey and women up and showed where one bookcase had a secret exit to the staircase.
The tour hit close to home for Tamara Hallo, 35, whose grandmother was in a beauty pageant there in 1941 and whose great grandmother worked at the hotel as a maid.
''I kind of can picture her here, turning down beds,'' said the Country Walk resident. ``She had five children and was raising them on her own so she had several jobs.''
Thanks to Elaine De Valle
Top Ten Rejected Mob Euphemisms for Killing a Guy
10. Validate his parking stub
9. Cancel his subscription to "Life" magazine
8. Decaffeinating his espresso
7. Celining his Dion
6. Moving his show to CBS
5. Feeding him a Taco Bell death-burrito supreme
4. Giving him tickets to a John Tesh concert
3. Introducing him to Lorne Greene
2. Get him a room at the "I'm-Not-Alive-Anymore" hotel
1. Killing him
Thanks to David Letterman.
9. Cancel his subscription to "Life" magazine
8. Decaffeinating his espresso
7. Celining his Dion
6. Moving his show to CBS
5. Feeding him a Taco Bell death-burrito supreme
4. Giving him tickets to a John Tesh concert
3. Introducing him to Lorne Greene
2. Get him a room at the "I'm-Not-Alive-Anymore" hotel
1. Killing him
Thanks to David Letterman.
Line-Up Announced for the @CNBC Evolve Conference #Chicago
CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, announced the line-up for the latest CNBC Evolve conference, which will take place on Tuesday, September 24th in Chicago. The event is sponsored by Abbott and ZipRecruiter.
The CNBC Evolve series features iconic legacy companies and executives who are adapting and innovating in this era of disruptive technological change to transform the future. Featuring best-in-class CEOs and innovators in conversation with CNBC anchors and reporters, CNBC Evolve provides a forum for companies to share strategies, tactics and lessons learned in a peer-to-peer environment.
Featured CNBC Evolve speakers will include:
Interviews and content from the program will also be featured on CNBC’s Business Day programming and CNBC Digital.
CNBC Evolve in Chicago, IL is the second of three CNBC Evolve events in 2019 with an additional conference being held in Los Angeles, CA on November 19.
The CNBC Evolve series features iconic legacy companies and executives who are adapting and innovating in this era of disruptive technological change to transform the future. Featuring best-in-class CEOs and innovators in conversation with CNBC anchors and reporters, CNBC Evolve provides a forum for companies to share strategies, tactics and lessons learned in a peer-to-peer environment.
Featured CNBC Evolve speakers will include:
- Richard Allison, CEO, Domino’s Pizza
- Greg Brown, Chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions
- Pedro Lopes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of Chicago
- Oscar Munoz, CEO, United Airlines
- Jim Murray, President, RXBAR
- Micky Onvural, CEO, Bonobos
- Jim Stengel, former Global Marketing Officer, Procter & Gamble
Interviews and content from the program will also be featured on CNBC’s Business Day programming and CNBC Digital.
CNBC Evolve in Chicago, IL is the second of three CNBC Evolve events in 2019 with an additional conference being held in Los Angeles, CA on November 19.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
The Life and Times of Frank Balistrieri: The Last, Most Powerful Godfather of Milwaukee
Who was Frank Peter Balistrieri
, the last and most power Godfather of the Milwaukee Mafia?
Based on hundreds of FBI documents obtained by a Freedom of Information request (as well as substantiating research), Wayne Clingman and Zack Long lay out a timeline of Frank 'The Mad Bomber' Balistrieri's rise through the ranks of the Italian-American criminal underground and through his time controlling Milwaukee. From car bombs to the fabled Las Vegas casino skim, Balistrieri's little known story is sure to prove a captivating one.
The Life and Times of Frank Balistrieri: The Last, Most Powerful Godfather of Milwaukee.
, the last and most power Godfather of the Milwaukee Mafia?Based on hundreds of FBI documents obtained by a Freedom of Information request (as well as substantiating research), Wayne Clingman and Zack Long lay out a timeline of Frank 'The Mad Bomber' Balistrieri's rise through the ranks of the Italian-American criminal underground and through his time controlling Milwaukee. From car bombs to the fabled Las Vegas casino skim, Balistrieri's little known story is sure to prove a captivating one.
The Life and Times of Frank Balistrieri: The Last, Most Powerful Godfather of Milwaukee.
Monday, September 09, 2019
Highly-Ranked Ghost Face Gangster Orders Beating from Prison @GBI_GA #MorningRushATL
A high-ranking member of the Ghost Face Gangsters faces several new charges after penning a letter from jail ordering the beating of another gang member on the outside, the GBI said.
Tyler Estes, 25, was charged with conspiracy to commit battery and two counts of violating Georgia’s criminal street gang statute after a letter he sent from the Meriwether County jail was intercepted by deputies, the GBI said.
In the letter, which was allegedly written to another Ghost Face gang member, Estes touts his high-ranking status in the organization and orders the beating and expulsion of a third member for violating the gang’s code of conduct, authorities said. Estes reportedly wanted the gang member punished for being disloyal and stealing money from fellow Ghost Face members, the GBI said.
In an interview, Estes allegedly confessed to being part of the gang and admitted writing the letter to orchestrate the physical attack, authorities said. He had been in the Meriwether jail on charges of probation violation and destruction of government property, special agent Fred Wimberly said.The Meriwether County Sheriff’s Office is assisting the GBI with its investigation, which will be turned over to the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Thanks to Shaddi Abusaid.
Tyler Estes, 25, was charged with conspiracy to commit battery and two counts of violating Georgia’s criminal street gang statute after a letter he sent from the Meriwether County jail was intercepted by deputies, the GBI said.
In the letter, which was allegedly written to another Ghost Face gang member, Estes touts his high-ranking status in the organization and orders the beating and expulsion of a third member for violating the gang’s code of conduct, authorities said. Estes reportedly wanted the gang member punished for being disloyal and stealing money from fellow Ghost Face members, the GBI said.
In an interview, Estes allegedly confessed to being part of the gang and admitted writing the letter to orchestrate the physical attack, authorities said. He had been in the Meriwether jail on charges of probation violation and destruction of government property, special agent Fred Wimberly said.The Meriwether County Sheriff’s Office is assisting the GBI with its investigation, which will be turned over to the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Thanks to Shaddi Abusaid.
Friday, September 06, 2019
Purchase Al Capone's Former Hideout for Just $1,750,000.
Many homes come with amenities, but it's less common to come across a residence that is also a piece of history. A four-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath traditional for sale in Berlin, New Jersey, has both stunning design and a colorful past: It was once used as a hideout by the gangster Al Capone.
Listed at $1.75 million and nicknamed the "Valley House," the 6,500-square-foot dwelling is perched on over 36 acres of land, and is not visible from the street. The only indication the home even exists is a small curbside mailbox, which is perhaps what made it such a good hiding place for the organized-crime boss. Adding to the seclusion is the fact that the property is also surrounded by a 300-acre Boy Scouts preserve and is next to the prestigious Pine Valley golf course.
The interior of the main home has everything one would want while trying to stay out of the public eye. Inside is a "living room, formal dining room, library with fireplace, office, screened porch, studio, exercise room, two additional fireplaces, an amazing vault room perfect for a wine cellar, and a game room with an antique bar with a lake view," according to the listing.
There's also plenty of room for entertaining outdoors. The expansive property features a pool, a hot tub with an antique cabana bar, a European-style courtyard, a barbecue area, tennis court, large lake, and seven-car garage. An additional 2,400-square-foot guesthouse with three bedrooms, two kitchens, and two full baths can also be found on the grounds.
Capone isn't the only notable person to set foot on the property. The inventor of sonar for submarines is a former owner, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill have both visited, according to a previous listing.
Thanks to Jordi Lippe-Mcgraw.
Listed at $1.75 million and nicknamed the "Valley House," the 6,500-square-foot dwelling is perched on over 36 acres of land, and is not visible from the street. The only indication the home even exists is a small curbside mailbox, which is perhaps what made it such a good hiding place for the organized-crime boss. Adding to the seclusion is the fact that the property is also surrounded by a 300-acre Boy Scouts preserve and is next to the prestigious Pine Valley golf course.
The interior of the main home has everything one would want while trying to stay out of the public eye. Inside is a "living room, formal dining room, library with fireplace, office, screened porch, studio, exercise room, two additional fireplaces, an amazing vault room perfect for a wine cellar, and a game room with an antique bar with a lake view," according to the listing.
There's also plenty of room for entertaining outdoors. The expansive property features a pool, a hot tub with an antique cabana bar, a European-style courtyard, a barbecue area, tennis court, large lake, and seven-car garage. An additional 2,400-square-foot guesthouse with three bedrooms, two kitchens, and two full baths can also be found on the grounds.
Capone isn't the only notable person to set foot on the property. The inventor of sonar for submarines is a former owner, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill have both visited, according to a previous listing.
Thanks to Jordi Lippe-Mcgraw.
I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa - Inspiration for the @Netflix Fiilm #TheIrishman
Soon to be a NETFLIX film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel, and written by Steven Zaillian.
I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa, is updated with a 57-page Conclusion by the author that features new, independent corroboration of Frank Sheeran's revelations about the killing of Jimmy Hoffa, the killing of Joey Gallo and the murder of JFK, along with stories that could not be told before
.
"I heard you paint houses" are he first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors. In the course of nearly five years of recorded interviews Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than twenty-five hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa.
Sheeran learned to kill in the U.S. Army, where he saw an astonishing 411 days of active combat duty in Italy during World War II. After returning home he became a hustler and hit man, working for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino. Eventually Sheeran would rise to a position of such prominence that in a RICO suit then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani would name him as one of only two non-Italians on a list of 26 top mob figures.
When Bufalino ordered Sheeran to kill Hoffa, the Irishman did the deed, knowing that if he had refused he would have been killed himself.
Sheeran's important and fascinating story includes new information on other famous murders including those of Joey Gallo and JFK, and provides rare insight to a chapter in American history. Charles Brandt has written a page-turner that has become a true crime classic.
I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa, is updated with a 57-page Conclusion by the author that features new, independent corroboration of Frank Sheeran's revelations about the killing of Jimmy Hoffa, the killing of Joey Gallo and the murder of JFK, along with stories that could not be told before
."I heard you paint houses" are he first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors. In the course of nearly five years of recorded interviews Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than twenty-five hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa.
Sheeran learned to kill in the U.S. Army, where he saw an astonishing 411 days of active combat duty in Italy during World War II. After returning home he became a hustler and hit man, working for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino. Eventually Sheeran would rise to a position of such prominence that in a RICO suit then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani would name him as one of only two non-Italians on a list of 26 top mob figures.
When Bufalino ordered Sheeran to kill Hoffa, the Irishman did the deed, knowing that if he had refused he would have been killed himself.
Sheeran's important and fascinating story includes new information on other famous murders including those of Joey Gallo and JFK, and provides rare insight to a chapter in American history. Charles Brandt has written a page-turner that has become a true crime classic.
Thursday, September 05, 2019
Due to Gun Control in Chicago, Violent Street Gangs Go as Far as New Mexico to Buy Weapons Used in Murders
A federal judge sentenced a Chicago man to four years in prison for unlawfully supplying guns to a violent street gang.
From February 2015 to May 2016, ANTHONY MORGAN directed and paid for an acquaintance to purchase at least seven guns in New Mexico. The weapons were shipped through the mail to Morgan’s residence in Chicago. Morgan then supplied some of the guns to members of his violent street gang on the city’s South Side. Law enforcement later tied two of the firearms to homicides, including the November 2015 murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood.
Morgan, 32, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal firearms conspiracy charge. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Norgle imposed the 48-month sentence in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Timothy Jones, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Eddie Johnson, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Substantial assistance was provided by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
During the investigation, law enforcement utilized ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.
Holding firearms traffickers accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, including by prosecuting individuals who illegally traffic firearms.
Evidence in the case revealed that Morgan directed his acquaintance in New Mexico to purchase the guns in four separate transactions. Of the seven guns Morgan received, two were linked to murders, one was linked to a shooting that left two people wounded, and another was recovered in Morgan’s vehicle after CPD responded to an emergency call of shots fired on the Fourth of July 2017. In addition to the murder of Tyshawn Lee, the other fatality connected to one of Morgan’s guns involved the murder of a man on Chicago’s North Side in January 2016.
“This is a case study in how illegal guns flood this district and terrorize our community,” Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Durkin argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Illegal firearms are the lifeblood of violent crime in this city, and they need to be treated as such.”
From February 2015 to May 2016, ANTHONY MORGAN directed and paid for an acquaintance to purchase at least seven guns in New Mexico. The weapons were shipped through the mail to Morgan’s residence in Chicago. Morgan then supplied some of the guns to members of his violent street gang on the city’s South Side. Law enforcement later tied two of the firearms to homicides, including the November 2015 murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood.
Morgan, 32, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal firearms conspiracy charge. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Norgle imposed the 48-month sentence in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Timothy Jones, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Eddie Johnson, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Substantial assistance was provided by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
During the investigation, law enforcement utilized ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.
Holding firearms traffickers accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, including by prosecuting individuals who illegally traffic firearms.
Evidence in the case revealed that Morgan directed his acquaintance in New Mexico to purchase the guns in four separate transactions. Of the seven guns Morgan received, two were linked to murders, one was linked to a shooting that left two people wounded, and another was recovered in Morgan’s vehicle after CPD responded to an emergency call of shots fired on the Fourth of July 2017. In addition to the murder of Tyshawn Lee, the other fatality connected to one of Morgan’s guns involved the murder of a man on Chicago’s North Side in January 2016.
“This is a case study in how illegal guns flood this district and terrorize our community,” Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Durkin argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Illegal firearms are the lifeblood of violent crime in this city, and they need to be treated as such.”
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Joseph Chilli III, a Reputed Bonanno Crime Family Soldier, Hits Court in Tracksuit with Crocs #Mobster
He kept his enemies close, his friends closer — and his stylist nowhere in sight.
A reputed Bonanno crime family soldier got four years tacked onto his supervised release Tuesday over his seeming inability to cut ties with fellow accused wiseguys — but the most egregious misdeed on display at his appearance in Brooklyn federal court may have been his attire.
Hardly setting himself up to be confused with Dapper Don John Gotti, Joseph Chilli III ambled before a Brooklyn federal court judge wearing a blue-and-white Reebok tracksuit and a pair of black Crocs to explain his repeated connections to accused mobsters.
Photos show Chilli sported a similarly casual look — including a collared Fila shirt and white sneakers — during an arrest in 1989, a year when he and his father pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges, according to a Newsday article at the time.
Freed in 2015 after a cocaine and heroin distribution conviction, The Slobfather has been on supervised release under conditions that include avoiding his connected pals — but Chilli’s lawyer admitted he has kept to his own kind, meeting with at least three reputed mobsters between October 2018 and March 2019.
Post-prison, Chilli, 63, has been helming a produce-delivery service, for which former cellmate and fellow reputed wiseguy Dominic DiFiore was helping to find clients, said lawyer Vincent Licata.
The company — which keeps city restaurants and pizzerias stocked with “tomato sauce, olive oil and meat,” according to Licata — also employs the son of another purported mobster, Salvatore Palmieri, as a truck driver. Not only that, Palmieri’s wife cleans Chilli’s house, according to Licata.
A third alleged member of La Cosa Nostra, Joseph Giddio, insisted on visiting the ailing Chilli at home to check on him, said Licata.
The attorney tried to argue that the connections were strictly business, but a fed-up Judge Nicholas Garaufis wasn’t buying it. “I’ve been dealing with these problems with the Bonanno organized crime family for the last 18 years, including violations of supervised release,” said Garafius, extending Chilli’s monitoring by four years — just days before it was set to expire on Friday.
“It’s a little bit sophomoric and a little bit simplistic to say you’re engaging in business with [these] people,” said Garaufis. “Work with people who don’t have these connections to organized crime.”
Thanks to Andrew Denney.
A reputed Bonanno crime family soldier got four years tacked onto his supervised release Tuesday over his seeming inability to cut ties with fellow accused wiseguys — but the most egregious misdeed on display at his appearance in Brooklyn federal court may have been his attire.
Photos show Chilli sported a similarly casual look — including a collared Fila shirt and white sneakers — during an arrest in 1989, a year when he and his father pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges, according to a Newsday article at the time.
Freed in 2015 after a cocaine and heroin distribution conviction, The Slobfather has been on supervised release under conditions that include avoiding his connected pals — but Chilli’s lawyer admitted he has kept to his own kind, meeting with at least three reputed mobsters between October 2018 and March 2019.
Post-prison, Chilli, 63, has been helming a produce-delivery service, for which former cellmate and fellow reputed wiseguy Dominic DiFiore was helping to find clients, said lawyer Vincent Licata.
The company — which keeps city restaurants and pizzerias stocked with “tomato sauce, olive oil and meat,” according to Licata — also employs the son of another purported mobster, Salvatore Palmieri, as a truck driver. Not only that, Palmieri’s wife cleans Chilli’s house, according to Licata.
A third alleged member of La Cosa Nostra, Joseph Giddio, insisted on visiting the ailing Chilli at home to check on him, said Licata.
The attorney tried to argue that the connections were strictly business, but a fed-up Judge Nicholas Garaufis wasn’t buying it. “I’ve been dealing with these problems with the Bonanno organized crime family for the last 18 years, including violations of supervised release,” said Garafius, extending Chilli’s monitoring by four years — just days before it was set to expire on Friday.
“It’s a little bit sophomoric and a little bit simplistic to say you’re engaging in business with [these] people,” said Garaufis. “Work with people who don’t have these connections to organized crime.”
Thanks to Andrew Denney.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
An Alleged Extremist Supporter of Adolf Hitler Arrested on Charges of Threatening to Kill All Hispanics
Eric Lin, 35, of Clarksburg, Maryland, was arrested in Seattle, Washington, after being charged with Making Threatening Communications, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c) via a criminal complaint filed in Miami. Lin made his initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge in Seattle.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
According to allegations in the complaint, between May 30, 2019, and August 13, 2019, Eric Lin made multiple threatening communications via Facebook to injure and kill a South Florida resident, to kill all Hispanics and Spanish-speaking people in Miami and other places, while expressing support for Adolf Hitler.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the City of Miami Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria K. Medetis.
A complaint is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
According to allegations in the complaint, between May 30, 2019, and August 13, 2019, Eric Lin made multiple threatening communications via Facebook to injure and kill a South Florida resident, to kill all Hispanics and Spanish-speaking people in Miami and other places, while expressing support for Adolf Hitler.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the City of Miami Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria K. Medetis.
A complaint is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Monday, August 19, 2019
Organized Crime in the United States 1865-1941
- Why do Americans alternately celebrate and condemn gangsters, outlaws and corrupt politicians
?
- Why do they immortalize Al Capone while forgetting his more successful contemporaries George Remus or Roy Olmstead?
- Why are some public figures repudiated for their connections to the mob while others gain celebrity status?
Drawing on historical accounts, in Organized Crime in the United States 1865-1941, author Kristofer Allerfeldt analyzes the public’s understanding of organized crime and questions some of our most deeply held assumptions about crime and its role in society.
Allerfeldt is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter. He has published extensively on American history, with a special interest in the history of American crime and its interpretation. He lives in the United Kingdom.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Details on Jesus Beltran Leon Prison Sentence, Former High-Ranking Member of the Sinaloa #DrugCartel
A former high-ranking member of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for his role in transporting large amounts of illegal drugs to the Chicago area and throughout the United States.
From at least 2009 until his arrest in November 2014, JESUS RAUL BELTRAN LEON conspired with other Sinaloa Cartel members to transport multi-ton quantities of illegal drugs into the United States. Beltran Leon invested in shipments comprising hundreds of kilograms of drugs that were purchased in Central and South America, imported into Mexico, and eventually smuggled into the U.S. for distribution in Chicago and throughout the country. Beltran Leon also sought to acquire from other cartel members numerous kilograms of drugs that already had been imported into the U.S. so that he could further distribute those narcotics to his own wholesale drug customers in Chicago and throughout the country.
Beltran Leon, 35, of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a drug conspiracy charge. U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo imposed the sentence in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Brian McKnight, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Valuable assistance was provided by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Erskine and Erika L. Csicsila.
Beltran Leon is one of more than 20 members of the Sinaloa or Beltran-Leyva drug cartels to be charged in federal court in Chicago. The investigation has resulted in seizures of approximately $30.8 million, approximately eleven tons of cocaine, 265 kilograms of methamphetamines, and 78 kilograms of heroin.
From at least 2009 until his arrest in November 2014, JESUS RAUL BELTRAN LEON conspired with other Sinaloa Cartel members to transport multi-ton quantities of illegal drugs into the United States. Beltran Leon invested in shipments comprising hundreds of kilograms of drugs that were purchased in Central and South America, imported into Mexico, and eventually smuggled into the U.S. for distribution in Chicago and throughout the country. Beltran Leon also sought to acquire from other cartel members numerous kilograms of drugs that already had been imported into the U.S. so that he could further distribute those narcotics to his own wholesale drug customers in Chicago and throughout the country.
Beltran Leon, 35, of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a drug conspiracy charge. U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo imposed the sentence in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Brian McKnight, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Valuable assistance was provided by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Erskine and Erika L. Csicsila.
Beltran Leon is one of more than 20 members of the Sinaloa or Beltran-Leyva drug cartels to be charged in federal court in Chicago. The investigation has resulted in seizures of approximately $30.8 million, approximately eleven tons of cocaine, 265 kilograms of methamphetamines, and 78 kilograms of heroin.
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