Citizens of Armenia among “Armenia Power” street gang members? | Armenia News - NEWS.am

Citizens of Armenia among “Armenia Power” street gang members? | Armenia News - NEWS.am: "The Armenian Foreign Ministry declined to comment the information that there are Armenian citizens in the street gang “Armenian Power” arrested in California last week.

According to some information, more than a dozen members of the group were born in Armenia and some of them retained citizenship of Armenia. However, the Foreign Office told RFE/RL that they do not want to comment on this information.

More than 70 reputed members of a well-known street gang “Armenian Power” were arrested in California.

About 1000 agents, including FBI agents, tax authorities, the National Security Agency and local police participated in the hunt.

On February 16, intelligence agents managed to arrest dozens of members of “Armenian Power”, reported the Los Angeles Times

“Armenian Power” started in the 1980s as a common street gang and has about 200 members with ties to black gangs and the Mexican Mafia, officials said.

Member of the group are accused of extortion, kidnapping, money laundering and drug trafficking."

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Crime boss Tanveer Jaffery dubbed 'Mr Persil' jailed for 10 years

Crime boss Tanveer Jaffery dubbed 'Mr Persil' jailed for 10 years The boss of one of the underworld's biggest money laundering outfits has been jailed for ten years, it has emerged.

Tanveer Jaffery, 61, received an estimated £50million from crime gangs around the world then 'cleaned it' to appear legitimate.

Once the money had been cleaned by Jaffery - dubbed 'Mr Persil' - it was fed back to the hardened crooks to spend as they pleased."

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Fallout from Contra Costa drug agent's arrest begins

Fallout from Contra Costa drug agent's arrest begins - San Jose Mercury News: "Public defenders on Thursday quickly moved to re-examine cases against their clients following the arrests of a Contra Costa County drug task force chief and a private investigator accused of running a narcotics-selling scheme, possibly with confiscated drugs.
The arrest of Norman Wielsch, commander of the state's Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team, or CNET, could have far-reaching ramifications in superior and appellate courts, said Contra Costa County Public Defender Robin Lipetzky. The arrest not only calls into question the credibility and integrity of Wielsch as an individual, she said, but also that of the task force as an investigative body and the guardian of prosecution evidence.
'Was he motivated by a desire to confiscate as much drugs as he could so he could turn around and sell them? Was he writing false police reports? Was he exaggerating in police reports? You have to question everything in a CNET investigation,' Lipetzky said. 'You also have to wonder when it's the top cop of the investigation that's a crooked cop, what did others in CNET know?'"

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Pinoys knew they were smuggling drugs: Ang-See |

Pinoys knew they were smuggling drugs: Ang-See | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features: "Anti-crime crusader Teresita Ang-See said the 3 Filipinos on death row in China knew that they were smuggling illegal drugs.

Ang-See, who served as an interpreter for Chinese authorities who investigated the cases, said the 3 Filipinos had a deal with drug syndicates.

She told TV Patrol on Thursday that it was not the first time that the 3 brought drugs to China.

She added that the cases went through a thorough review and “back-channeling” between the 2 countries."

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Stars' accountant faces £117m fraud inquiry by Revenue | Business | The Guardian

Stars' accountant faces £117m fraud inquiry by Revenue | Business | The Guardian: "An accountant whose clients included Fiona Bruce and Sadie Frost has won a partial victory against the taxman — but still faces a full-scale criminal investigation into an alleged £117m fraud.

A judge has ruled that HM Revenue & Customs should not have banned Sussex-based accountancy firm Christopher Lunn & Co from filing tax returns because it had not given reasons for its move or a right to reply. But in winning its case, damaging allegations about the criminal investigation into Lunn and his firm were aired in public for the first time.

All 7,000 of Lunn's customers, many of whom work in television and radio, have been contacted by HMRC about the investigation and given a deadline of 28 February to make a 'full disclosure' if they feel there are irregularities in their tax affairs.

HMRC raided Lunn's offices in June 2010, amid concerns about tax returns being filed by the firm. The taxman feared that one client had allegedly omitted £7,000 of income from their return, claimed that £65,000 of income came from a 'non-domiciled distant relative' without the necessary supporting evidence, and said that a holiday in Palma had in fact been a business trip to New York."

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Armenian gang: Raids targeting Armenian Power gang net 74 fraud suspects - latimes.com

Armenian gang: Raids targeting Armenian Power gang net 74 fraud suspects - latimes.com: "U.S. prosecutors accused an Armenian organized crime gang of bilking victims out of an estimated $20 million in an audacious series of financial scams that included replacing the credit-card machines at more than a dozen 99 Cent-Only stores with their own scanners designed to steal customers' banking information.

The charges filed Wednesday against alleged members and associates of the Armenian Power gang included allegations of two kidnappings, theft of money from elderly bank customers, the smuggling of cellphones into state prisons, and trafficking in drugs and weapons. Seventy-four suspects were arrested in early-morning raids at about 90 locations throughout Southern California in an operation that involved nearly 1,000 local, state and federal law enforcement officials. Additional arrests were made in Miami and Denver."

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Mob arrests raise issues of crime, port security

Mob arrests raise issues of crime, port security - BusinessWeek: "recent federal sweep netted more than 120 defendants, among them several dockworkers and longshoremen union officials. The FBI called it one of the largest Mafia takedowns in history.

The indictments seem to indicate that organized crime elements persists in the ports, despite decades of law enforcement efforts to root them out.

Some experts say it's a troubling trend, because the ports are considered extremely sensitive homeland security targets in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. They say that although the indictments don't indicate any direct threats to port security, having criminal elements in the ports could pose a danger.

Others say that a badly diminished mob no longer wields the influence among dockworkers that it once did, and that changes in the way ports operate have made them safer."

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The investment banker Littlewood, 37, his Singaporean wife Angie Lew, 39, and a friend Helmy Omar Sa'aid, 34, made about S$1.2 million over eight years of insider trading.Probe on rogue trader took two years

Probe on rogue trader took two years: "The investment banker Littlewood, 37, his Singaporean wife Angie Lew, 39, and a friend Helmy Omar Sa'aid, 34, made about S$1.2 million over eight years of insider trading.


Littlewood's method of operations was to eavesdropp on colleagues and spy on their computers to find out pending takeover annoucements, then inform his accomplices to buy shares in the lead up to the announcements.

They would then sell the shares to profit on the deal.

The trio pleaded guilty to eight counts of insider trading.

Last week, a London court sentenced Littlewood to 40 months' jail, while Helmy was sentenced to 24 months' jail. Lew was given a suspended sentence.

Police said it took 33 staff to analyse the large volume of evidence related to the case.

The evidence included 1,700 gigabytes of computer data, 43,000 pages of printed material and 10 years of banking and trading records."

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Former World Cup referee Byron Moreno pleaded guilty to heroin smuggling charges

Former World Cup referee Byron Moreno pleaded guilty to heroin smuggling charges, the US attorney's office said.
Ecuador's Moreno, who is being held without bail, admitted one count of heroin smuggling, spokesman Robert Nardoza said, and faces more than five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
Moreno, 41, gained notoriety after officiating a 2002 World Cup match between Italy and hosts South Korea.
Italy were eliminated in extra time, and several controversial calls by Moreno angered Italy, including a debatable penalty to South Korea and the sending off of Francesco Totti with a second yellow card for diving.
In September 2002, Ecuadorean football officials suspended Moreno for 20 games after he added a dozen minutes of stoppage time to a match between two domestic clubs without properly recording it.
He was suspended again the following year and shortly thereafter resigned.
Moreno was arrested last September at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after arriving on a commercial flight from Ecuador with bags of heroin attached to his body, US prosecutors said.
According to a complaint filed in US court, Moreno "became visibly nervous" during a routine inspection and customs agents found plastic bags of heroin attached to various places on his body.DISCLAIMER:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.

Hassan "Sam" Ibrahim, was gunned down in an attack in Sydney's south-west last night, in the latest act of a war between rival gangs.

eldest of the Ibrahim brothers, Hassan "Sam" Ibrahim, was gunned down in an attack in Sydney's south-west last night, in the latest act of a war between rival gangs.

Mr Ibrahim, 45, was shot twice in the legs at close range outside his parents' home in Holdsworth Street, Merrylands, about 6.45pm. He was taken to Westmead Hospital, and was discharged about 11pm.

A light-coloured car carrying at least two people slowly drove by and several shots were fired, police said. It is understood Mr Ibrahim was bleeding heavily.

Police at the scene of the shooting. Photo: Gordon McComskie
His brother, the nightclub entrepreneur John, arrived soon after the shooting but quickly left.

Sam Ibrahim was taken to hospital by ambulance. Police were guarding the entrance of the hospital's emergency wing.

The Holroyd Local Area Commander, Brett McFadden, said police were investigating the number of shots fired and were calling on anyone with information to come forward. Anonymity would be respected, he said.



Mr Ibrahim has been living off and on at his parents' home since being bailed over an alleged kidnapping last year.
He is the eldest of four brothers, who include John, shooting victim Fadi and Michael, who has been convicted of manslaughter.

In June 2009 Fadi Ibrahim, 35, was shot five times as he sat outside his Castle Cove home with Shayda Bastani-Rad, now his wife. She was shot as well.

He and his youngest brother Michael have since been charged with conspiracy to murder relating to an alleged plot to kill the man they thought was behind the shooting, a Sydney man, John Macris.

The main suspects in last night's shooting will be members of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club, who have been engaged in an escalating war with the Ibrahim family and the street gang linked to them, Notorious.

The head of the Comanchero, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is understood to be a staunch opponent of the Ibrahims. In the past several days a tattoo parlour linked to Notorious has been trashed, the home of a senior member been shot at, and another senior member had his leg broken.

Although Notorious is officially led by Alen Sarkis and his right-hand man, "Crazy Dave" Lima, police believe Mr Ibrahim is an important figure in the gang.

Last night police sources indicated that even if Mr Ibrahim did not control Notorious, its members would perceive an attack on him as an attack on the gang.

And, regardless of who is behind the attack, gang members will undoubtedly blame the Comanchero. Mr Ibrahim is a life member of the Nomads Motorcycle Club.

A prominent figure in the Kings Cross criminal milieu in the 1990s, he was president of the Nomads' Parramatta chapter in the early 2000s.

He was charged over the knee-capping of two men in Newcastle in 2004 and over a late 1990s cocaine distribution ring involving the Nomads. He was acquitted on both matters.

Rumours have been circulating among the underworld that Mr Ibrahim has been trying to reform the Parramatta Nomads with him again the president.

In late November one of Mr Ibrahim's sisters, Armani Stelio, was at home when her Ryde apartment was sprayed with more than 20 bullets in a drive-by shooting.

A day later, Notorious's sergeant-at-arms, Sabre Murad, was shot at his Doonside home. His home was also the target of a drive-by attack on Tuesday.DISCLAIMER:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.

'Drug lord' gets bail

'Drug lord' gets bail: "ALLEGED drug lord Hakan Ayik - one of Australia's most wanted men - has been granted bail by a Turkish Cyprus court despite fleeing capture there before.

Ayik is alleged to be the co-ordinator of a drugs syndicate stretching across several countries and involving the Comanchero bikie gang, corrupt port officials and Chinese Triads.

After leaving Australia earlier this year, Ayik, a dual Turkish and Australian citizen, learnt he was at risk of arrest if he returned, so settled on the Turkish side of Cyprus. That sparked a five-month game of cat-and-mouse, until his capture last week."

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Dubai Police bust international drug gang - Emirates24|7

Dubai Police bust international drug gang - Emirates24|7: "Dubai Police bust an international drug smuggling gang of five people and confiscated about 60 kilograms of drugs worth Dh600,000.

The general department of Anti-Narcotics, Dubai Police, arrested two members of the gang, both GCC nationals, and alerted Interpol to arrest the others, believed to be Asians.

Major-General Abdul Jalil Mahdhi Al Asmawi, Director-General, Department of Anti-Narcotics, said during a press conference held on Monday that the operation is dubbed 'the eagerness of poet'.

Al Asmawi said one of the gang members is a poet and added that the arrest of two is a major blow to drug dealers and traffickers not only in the UAE but also in the region. It was the excellent teamwork by Dubai Police and Anti-Narcotics Department that led to the successful capture of the two peddlers.

He said the department received an information about a GCC national with a criminal past who was into drugs and was peddling drugs in the emirate."

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Christopher 'Dudus' Coke was widely regarded as the most powerful man in Jamaica.

What happened next? Jamaican crime and corruption | Life and style | The Guardian: "Just a few months ago, Christopher 'Dudus' Coke was widely regarded as the most powerful man in Jamaica. The leader of the Shower Posse gang, he was said to own whole neighbourhoods, politicians and perhaps even their parties through his extensive crime organisation built around drug trafficking. So when the government moved to extradite him to the US in May, after sitting on a warrant for eight months, perhaps no one was more surprised than Coke.

His gang put up a furious fight, turning the Tivoli Gardens neighbourhood of Kingston – the constituency of the prime minister, Bruce Golding – into a war zone as they battled the police and army. More than 70 people were killed and thousands fled their homes, the security forces accused of indiscriminate killings."

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Chelsea Accountant Allegedly Stole $1.5 Million From 'Law and Order' Actress - DNAinfo.com

Chelsea Accountant Allegedly Stole $1.5 Million From 'Law and Order' Actress - DNAinfo.com: "An accountant who allegedly invested in 'Spring Awakening' and the 'Legally Blonde' musical with stolen funds was indicted on charges he allegedly stole almost $1.5 million from a 'Law and Order' actress who was his client, prosecutors said Thursday.

Joseph Cilibrasi, 50, routinely stole from Tamara Tunie, prosecutors said, who plays a medical examiner on the hit 'Law and Order: SVU' series and has been on the show for a decade.

While working as the actress' business manager since the early 1990s, Cilibrasi was responsible for preparing her tax returns and paying her professional and personal bills, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

But he began defrauding her in 2003 by falsely endorsing checks from her accounts to his own, prosecutors said. He allegedly converted about $400,000 of the sum he stole from her into cash, which he used to invest in various projects.


Accountant Joseph Cilibrasi, 50, was indicted on charges he stole nearly $1.5 million from 'Law and Order: SVU' actress Tamara Tunie. (Facebook)
He also opened credit accounts in her name and gave himself authority to use her cards. He even falsely claimed he was her husband in order to gain access, prosecutors said."

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Ohio fraud fugitive ordered to serve 25 years - BusinessWeek

Ohio fraud fugitive ordered to serve 25 years - BusinessWeek: "federal judge in Ohio has ordered a woman to start serving a 25-year prison sentence interrupted after she fled the country following her corporate fraud conviction.

A jury convicted 62-year-old Rebecca Parrett in 2008 for her role in a $1.9 billion health care financing fraud at National Century Financial Enterprises. She was arrested in Mexico in October.

U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley told Parrett she broke her word by fleeing and cost the government thousands of hours of investigative time.

Parrett told Marbley she went to Mexico intending to die there but changed her mind after seeing a doctor who helped her recover from several illnesses.

She says she may have made bad decisions but is innocent of the corporate fraud charges."

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TV Apprentice hopeful Christopher Farrell pleads guilty to fraud - mirror.co.uk

TV Apprentice hopeful Christopher Farrell pleads guilty to fraud - mirror.co.uk: "CONTESTANT on this year’s Apprentice admitted fraud charges yesterday.

Former Royal Marine Christopher Farrell, 29, falsified mortgage applications to banks and building societies by inflating his clients’ salaries and inventing jobs for them.

The broker – seen being fired by Lord Sugar in Week 8 of the BBC1 show in November – was “desperate” to obtain mortgages for clients so he could meet his monthly £5,000 target and get a bonus.

His clients were completely unaware of the scam.

Farrell was caught after investigations by Santander Bank found he had altered official documents.

He was arrested in August – shortly before the latest series of the pre-recorded Apprentice began.

When fired following a task to sell crisps in Germany, Lord Sugar described Farrell as a “nice guy” who lacked a “ruthless streak”."

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Fujian gang leader Liu Xiaohua gets death for fatal gunfight in Shanghai - What's On Xiamen

Fujian gang leader Liu Xiaohua gets death for fatal gunfight in Shanghai - What's On Xiamen: "THREE gang members were sentenced to death Friday for their roles in a fatal Shanghai gunfight stirred up by a female drug dealer in May 2009.

Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced a total of 11 members from two gangs.

Two gang members were killed and two others were injured in the gunfight in Putuo District.

Liu Xiaohua, boss of the Fujian Province gang, was sentenced to death for leading the criminal gang and a series of other crimes. Two gangsters who shot two people dead were also sentenced to death.

Dong Shuang, the 21-year-old female drug dealer who caused the fight, was sentenced to 15 years in jail for dealing drugs.

Other gang members were sentenced from two years to life imprisonment, according to the court."

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Police in three countries take on 'Frankfurt Mafia' drug ring | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 24.12.2010

Police in three countries take on 'Frankfurt Mafia' drug ring | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 24.12.2010: "joint operation involving Austrian, German and Macedonian police this week broke up a major drug ring in Central and Eastern Europe, resulting in dozens of arrests.

Authorities in Vienna on Thursday said police in Austria and Macedonia had conducted coordinated raids on Wednesday and arrested 29 people suspected of being gang ring-leaders. They said that since their coordinated effort began in 2007, police have made more than 300 arrests in Germany and 69 in Austria.

Officials said the gang is based in Macedonia and quickly took over the heroin trade in Frankfurt and Vienna by violently forcing out rival gangs. The ring has been dubbed the Frankfurt Mafia and is especially active in the German banking center and in the Austrian capital.

The cities are at the end of what the United Nations has called the 'Balkan Route,' along which heroin from Afghanistan is smuggled into Western Europe via Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and other Balkan countries before ending up on the streets of Western Europe's major cities."

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Police in three countries take on 'Frankfurt Mafia' drug ring | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 24.12.2010

Police in three countries take on 'Frankfurt Mafia' drug ring | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 24.12.2010

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Mexican Killers Often Use US Guns | Americas | English

VOA | Officials: Mexican Killers Often Use US Guns | Americas | English: "In Mexico, violence related to drug smuggling has claimed around 30,000 lives in recent years and many Mexicans are wondering if President Felipe Calderon's war on the criminal gangs is succeeding.
The United States is assisting Mexico in its war on the drug cartels, but demand for illicit drugs in the United States is largely to blame for the problem.
In a secure building inside the Mexican Ministry of Defense compound in Mexico City, displays of items seized in raids tell the story of drug trafficking.

On display are samples of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs-- we cannot show the face of the army tour guide for security reasons.

The most impressive collection in the 'narco-museum' contains guns seized by the military."

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