Griselda Blanco, The Godmother

Griselda Blanco, aka the Black Widow. Griselda was the grande dame of the Miami cocaine business, a Colombian mother of three, of impoverished origins, who slaughtered and intimidated her way to the top of a billion-dollar industry.

Hector Portillo, a member of the international MS-13 street gang, and seven others were charged in New York City with multiple crimes

Hector Portillo, a member of the international MS-13 street gang, and seven others were charged in New York City with multiple crimes, including 29 counts of murder, attempted murder, assault, racketeering, and illegal use of firearms. The charges were announced by Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Peter J. Smith, special agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office of investigations in New York City; Richard A. Brown, Queens Country District Attorney, and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department.The indictment alleges that on December 24, 2006 three of the defendants, Hector Portillo, Javier Irheta and Luis Bonilla, murdered 15 year-old Pashad Gray in the Flushing section of Queens County.Beginning in 1998, the defendants served as members and associates of MS-13, also known as “La Mara Salvatrucha,” and engaged in a series of violent crimes in Jamaica and Flushing, New York, including conspiracy to murder and assault members of rival gangs, such as the Crips, the Bloods, and the Latin Kings. During one particularly violent 13 month period, the defendants allegedly assaulted or attempted to murder seven victims by stabbing and shooting.Portillo, who was previously charged with racketeering and murder conspiracy, is now charged with a pattern of violent attacks, including, in addition to the Pashad Gray murder, the non-fatal shooting of a teenager on February 17, 2006, and the stabbing and beating of two teenagers in August 2006.“The indictment of this dangerous MS-13 gang member is a positive step toward ridding our communities of the violent transnational street gangs that have instilled fear in our citizens and taken our communities hostage for far too long,” stated ICE Special Agent-in-Charge Smith. “Through Operation Community Shield, ICE and its law enforcement partners will continue to conduct aggressive enforcement actions against members and associates of violent street gangs like MS-13.”“The defendants have spread fear in our community through wanton violence, including shooting, stabbing, and beating their victims,” stated United States Attorney Campbell. “Today’s charges reflect our unwavering commitment to bring members and associates of violent street gangs to justice.” Mr. Campbell thanked the New York City Department of Probation for its assistance.Queens County District Attorney Brown stated, “Rivalries among criminal street gangs all too often turn neighborhoods into urban battlefields with innocent victims being caught in the crossfire. Only through the joint and committed efforts of law enforcement on all levels of government can we reduce gang-related violence and reclaim our streets for law-abiding residents.”NYPD Commissioner Kelly stated, “New York City has not experienced the explosion in gang violence experienced elsewhere, in part, because of continued, successful crime suppression and arrests by the NYPD with support from our federal partners.”If convicted, the defendants face maximum sentences of life imprisonment.The MS-13 is comprised primarily of immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, many of whom are in the United States illegally. With hundreds of members locally, it is the largest street gang on Long Island and has a major presence in Queens, New York. Over the past four years, the coordinated efforts of United States Attorney’s Office, ICE, the NYPD, and the Queens District Attorney’s Office have resulted in felony convictions of nearly two dozen New York City members of the MS-13.

Kyle Parvez shot a member of a rival gang from close range in the neck

Kyle Parvez shot a member of a rival gang from close range in the neck will serve a minimum of 10 years behind bars. And the judge who sentenced Kyle Parvez to an open ended jail sentence said his response to almost killing his victim Dilbag Singh was "chilling." Judge Stuart Baker told Parvez: "You seem to be unconcerned for your victim. "Your response to what you have done is in my view chilling, you are a dangerous offender." The judge told Parvez, convicted by a jury last month of attempting to murder Mr Singh in April and possessing a firearm with intent to commit the crime, that he was passing an indeterminate sentence for the protection of the public. He will only be released when assessed by the Parole Board as no longer a danger and will serve 10 years minus time spent on remand before becoming eligible. Parvaz, 21, of Arnhem Road, Callon, showed no emotion as he was led to the cells. He had denied both offences but was convicted by a jury following a trial at Preston Crown Court. Judge Baker warned that evidence from the trial suggested that at the time groups of young men involved in gangs from Deepdale and Fishwick were "prepared to use firearms to settle differences." And he said the courts would pass heavy deterrent sentences. Parvez had armed himself with a sawn-off shotgun which was a weapon used by criminals for one purpose - to kill or maim, said the judge. The jury had found he had intended to kill Dilbag Singh and he shot him at close range, from between nine and 12 feet away on St Paul's Road, Deepdale. Mr Singh, 26, was hit by 56 pellets in the neck and body but survived following emergency surgery. He gave evidence to the trial but it was revealed in court he had subsequently been arrested and has been interviewed on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The trial heard that the shooting came in the wake of an earlier abduction of a man during growing tensions between groups from Deepdale and Fishwick with drug dealing backgrounds. Zainul James, 18, of no fixed abode, was cleared on the judge's direction of charges of attempted murder and possession of the firearm with intent but convicted on a charge of aggravated arson in relation to a car in which they travelled to the scene. He set it alight on Manor House Lane and the judge said innocent members of the public could have been injured by this reckless action. Judge Baker sentenced James to five years in a young offenders' institution.

Jeffrey "Dahmer" Gray,sentenced to 40 years in prison

Jeffrey "Dahmer" Gray, 30, was convicted by a jury following a six-day trial in May.
At trail and sentencing before District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr., Gray maintained his innocence.Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilana Eisenstein said Gray was a key cocaine distributor in the Wilmington area and was responsible for the sale of more than 50 kilograms of the drug in Delaware.She said trial testimony showed Gray lived a lavish lifestyle with luxury cars, high-stakes gambling and a pricey Rodney Square-area apartment with no legitimate source of income.According to attorneys, Gray was arrested following a fake drug sale set-up by an agent at the Airport Courtyard Marriott hotel in Pennsylvania on Oct.
30, 2006.Robert W. Shepherd III, a co-defendant, arrived to confirm he was making the buy of three kilos of cocaine but then said he had to leave to go get the money, according to Eisenstein.She said Shepherd then met Gray on South Street in Philadelphia and provided him with a wooden box filled with $60,000 in cash before driving him back to the hotel in a rented Scion.Gray then remained in the car while Shepherd went in to complete the sale, she said.When police moved in, after the fake sale was completed, Gray attempted to escape through the narrow parking lot, driving over landscaping, ramming his vehicle into a chain-link fence and leaping out of the car while it was still moving, to try to flee the scene on foot before being apprehended, according to prosecutors.When police searched the crashed car, they found a gun with a round in the chamber inside and DNA tests connected the gun to Gray and not the co-defendant, Eisenstein said.Gray’s attorney, Joseph A. Gabay, said his client denies being a part of a drug distribution conspiracy.He said Gray told the court that he had simply agreed to give Shepherd, a longtime friend, a ride to the hotel and had no idea a drug buy was going down. Gabay said the government’s case was largely circumstantial in that prosecutors did not tie him directly to the Shepherd’s drug operation, which shipped money to Texas and received drugs in return via Federal Express. “Mr. Gray wasn’t any part of that. He was never at a drop off,” Gabay said, adding only the words of Shepherd and another co-defendant tied him to the scheme.Gabay said Grey had a gun and fled from the scene because “he’d been shot at before” and didn’t know what was going on when he saw men with guns appear.Shepherd, who was the original focus of the government sting, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and testified against Gray.Prosecutors said Farnan cited Gray’s extensive criminal history and the large volume of drugs involved in ordering Gray to serve 35 years on the drug charges and five additional years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.U.S. Attorney Colm F. Connolly said the sentence "should send a message to those involved in the drug trade that they will face serious jail time when convicted in federal court."

Arrested reputed Mafia member Mose Esposito

Police in Naples, Italy, Monday arrested reputed Mafia member Mose Esposito and said they were closing in on his boss, Giuseppe Setola.Esposito, 29, was arrested at a small villa near Casal di Principe, the base of an alleged murder squad run by the Camorra clan, reported ANSA, the Italian news agency.Esposito's step-brother, now in prison, is suspected in the September slaying of six West Africa immigrants in the town of Castel Volturno, ANSA said Monday. The slayings allegedly were organized by Setola, whose murder squad has killed an estimated 20 people since May, police allege."We are working to flush him out. The circle is closing around him," said Franco Roberti, who heads an anti-Mafia program in Naples.Setola inadvertently was released from prison last Spring on house arrest but immediately went underground and reformed his alleged murder squad, Roberti said.

Infamous Shower Posse founder Vivian Blake is set to be released from prison in the United States and deported to Jamaica early next year.

Infamous Shower Posse founder Vivian Blake is set to be released from prison in the United States and deported to Jamaica early next year.Blake's pending release was announced on the BET programme, American Gangster, which aired on Thursday night.The programme looked at the rise and fall of the Shower Posse - a criminal organisation which has its roots in Tivoli Gardens and which established bases in several cities in the US, Canada and Britain.Blake was sentenced to 28 years in 2000 after he pleaded guilty to racketeering and criminal conspiracy. He never faced a jury after inking a plea bargain deal which resulted in the time he served while in Jamaica being used as part of his sentence.Blake spent five years fighting extradition to the US after the American Government accused him of ordering dozens of murders, drug trafficking and other serious crimes.The Shower Posse reigned terror on the streets of the US and its members are reported to have murdered over 1,400 persons in the United States.The group has been accused of funnelling huge amounts of cocaine into the United States and was said to use its profits to smuggle guns and ammunition back to Jamaica.Blake is quoted on the programme as saying "I ran it like a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. The only difference is that instead of litigating in a court of law, we held court in the streets."The gang was said to have major drug operations in New York, Miami, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Alaska, Washington D C, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Montreal, Toronto and London.In October 1988, Blake managed to elude a nationwide dragnet which saw more than 100 posse members being held during Operation Dragnet, which was set up to nab members of the notorious gang.He left the shores of the United States on December 3, 1988 on a cruise ship and entered Jamaica at Ocho Rios in St Ann. He remained free for 10 years and was the owner of a car, motorcycle and jet ski rental company and a once popular night club in St Catherine.But while Blake was enjoying his freedom, some of his cronies who were slapped with long sentences, began to turn against him. Chief among them was Charles 'Little Nut' Miller, a native of St Kitts who said many of the murders were committed on Blake's orders.Miller was eventually sentenced to life without parole after slipping out of witness protection and leading a ruthless drug-running operation in his home country.Also turning on Blake was Shower Posse enforcer, Kirk Bruce, who admitted to committing more than 100 murders on US soil and is now serving a life sentence.

slain gangster Joe Krantz funds raised for the murdered Independent Soldier's memorial plot

Friends of slain gangster Joe Krantz now say they will not be getting any government money for his burial expenses.Nicole Cooper, who has opened a bank account to fundraise for the murdered Independent Soldier's memorial plot, said in a series of text messages that "social services" is not paying anything.She said only Krantz's friends and family members are chipping in to cover the costs of the stone, plot and engraving for the memorial at Valley View Memorial Garden in Surrey.Last week, Cooper posted to a Krantz Facebook tribute page that she was getting $1,050 from the government to help with the costs and that another $5,000 would be raised from Krantz supporters.Cooper did not return several phone calls earlier this week, but sent a brief text message to counter her earlier comments about the government contribution.Officials in the Ministry of Housing and Social Development refused to comment about any specific application for burial assistance when contacted by The Vancouver Sun.Officials did, however, say that applicants must supply detailed financial information about the dead person's assets, which are independently verified.Krantz was gunned down Oct. 20 at the World Extreme Fighting Club he had operated in Abbotsford for two years. The murder remains unsolved. At the time he owned a 2007 Cadillac Escalade, according to property records.Krantz was arrested last April and charged with nine gun and drug-trafficking charges after a one-month Abbotsford police investigation into an alleged dial-a-dope ring. Police found guns, drugs and cash in his apartment along with clothing bearing the logos of the Independent Soldiers gang, as well as the Hells Angels' Nomad chapter.The 28-year-old, who trained mixed martial arts fighters, was intensely popular, despite his criminal links. At least four online tribute sites were started.A tribute mural was painted at a Langley high school, though it was later taken down by school board officials.

Jurors convicted Vincent Artuso, his son John Vincent Artuso, and Gregory Orr on all the charges they faced in October.

Jurors convicted Vincent Artuso, his son John Vincent Artuso, and Gregory Orr on all the charges they faced in October. The panel convicted Philip E. Forgione on racketeering and fraud charges, but acquitted him of more than a dozen individual money laundering charges.The U.S. Attorney's office say the men conspired in the sale and leasing of 4 office buildings owned by ADT Security Services to defraud the company of at least $11 million over five years.
Prosecutors depicted Vincent Artuso as the leader of the South Florida crew of the Gambino crime family. The other men were depicted as associates but nonmembers.

"senior member" of the Black Mafia Family has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for cocaine conspiracy.

A man prosecutors call a "senior member" of the Black Mafia Family has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for cocaine conspiracy. Fleming Daniels of Roswell, Ga., also was fined $10,000 for participating in the violent drug gang, the focus of federal prosecution in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Louisville, Ky., Orlando, Fla., and elsewhere. The 35-year-old Daniels is the first of 16 defendants indicted in Atlanta to go to trial. Eleven entered guilty pleas. Three others are in custody and one is a fugitive. Evidence showed that during 2003-2004, the gang moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into Atlanta, Detroit, and other points. Prosecutors say Daniels was responsible for distributing over 50 kilograms valued at more than $1 million.

Captain of the Gambino crime family’s South Florida operations, who prosecutors say has been linked to an infamous hit that led to John Gotti’s rise

Captain of the Gambino crime family’s South Florida operations, who prosecutors say has been linked to an infamous hit that led to John Gotti’s rise to power, was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in federal prison in a major real estate fraud case.
U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks imposed the sentence on Vincent Artuso, 64, following his conviction in October on 41 fraud and racketeering charges involving a lengthy scam against ADT Security Services Inc. The scheme involved several crooked real estate deals that cost ADT, which is part of Tyco International Ltd., at least $11 million and possibly much more, prosecutors said.“It was a large-scale, complex, multimillion-dollar scheme,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Shockley. “They were getting a big payday every year. It was like an annuity.”
Artuso was a “made member” of the Gambino family and directed a Palm Beach-based Mafia crew that included his own son, Shockley said. The prosecutor cited FBI affidavits and other evidence indicating that Artuso was present on Dec. 16, 1985 when former Gambino boss Paul Castellano was gunned down in front of a Manhattan steakhouse — allegedly on Gotti’s orders.Shockley said Artuso was never prosecuted for the killing but had used a known penchant for violence as a form of intimidation to keep subordinates in line.
“That’s just the way the mob works,” the prosecutor said. “He’s behind the scenes, calling the shots.”The dapper Gotti, known as the “Teflon Don” for his ability to avoid criminal convictions, was finally convicted in 1992 of racketeering and murder charges and died in prison a decade later.
At the Miami sentencing hearing, defense attorneys sought to minimize the Mafia references, arguing there was little direct testimony during a three-week trial linking Artuso and the others to the Gambinos. They claimed prosecutors used rumors and legends against the men.“This wasn’t an organized crime family as the government would have you believe,” said Allen Kaiser, attorney for co-defendant Philip Forgione, who was awaiting sentencing.The four men and a former ADT employee were convicted of defrauding the security company through real-estate deals in which the Gambino crew bought ADT office buildings far below market value, then leased them back to the company at inflated prices. ADT paid the men millions of dollars in excess lease payments over a five-year period, trial testimony showed.Prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of more than $20 million from the defendants, while defense attorneys say the amount should be about $9.5 million. Middlebrooks said he would decide the exact amount later.

Paolo Pesce has been on the run for 17 years and faces life imprisonment for murder.

Paolo Pesce has been on the run for 17 years and faces life imprisonment for murder.
The Guardia Civil have arrested an alleged member of the Camorra Naples mafia, Paolo Pesce, in an operation carried out by the Organised Crime Squad in Fuengirola.The 44 year old member of the ‘Mariano Clan’ has been on the run from the authorities for 17 years, and faces a life sentence for homicide. Reports indicate that he tried to pass himself off as Spanish.The arrest was made yesterday in a phone call shop under a European arrest warrant by a joint Civil Guard and Italian Carabinero team who were waiting for him to arrive there to contact his family.

Internationally acclaimed author and journalist Roberto Saviano has told hundreds of young Italians a war is being fought by the Mafia in southern Italy every day. Speaking at Rome Tre University in the Italian capital late Wednesday, Saviano, author of the top-selling book 'Gomorrah', also said many of the victims of organised crime in Italy were under the age of 35."We should remind ourselves that the criminal organisations such as the Camorra, the 'Ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra, are the organisations that have killed the most people in Europe, much more than those caused by Islamic fundamentalism, which at present appears to be the daily obsession of the security of every country," Saviano said.Saviano, who was surrounded by five bodyguards during his visit, showed a packed hall of 700 students and faculty members shocking photographs of young victims who had been killed by the Mafia in the southern city of Naples. "This is a silent war, that the media rarely talks about. Most of the victims that you will see are not over 35 years old, they are all very young," he said.
The 28-year-old author, who lives in hiding under a 24-hour police escort, spoke to the students after the screening of the film 'Gomorra' based on his book and now nominated for an Academy Award. It was the first time he had ever been invited to address a university in Italy.The students were shocked and silent as he showed them more than 20 grisly colour photos of young men most of whom had been shot to death by the Mafia. "I will show you pictures that are terrible. They are about a war that is being fought everyday in southern Italy, a war that has killed 4,000 people in my territory since I was born," said Saviano. "This is in Naples, Italy, Europe."
The author also spoke about all the industries that the Mafia had infiltrated, such as garbage collection, textiles, restaurant business, petrol, discotheques and more recently, bakeries.Saviano's international best-seller 'Gomorra' exposed the activities of Naples' ruthless Camorra crime syndicate. The book has been translated into 42 languages. The journalist carried out his own research for the documentary-style book, which denounces the activities of the Camorra and reveals how and where it operates. The film 'Gomorra' won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie was recently named Italy's entry for next year's Oscars, reportedly further incensing the Camorra.Saviano appealed to students to choose different leaders regardless of their political affiliation to stop the spread of the Mafia. "Voters from the Left or the Right must once and for all, regardless of their political views, choose different people to represent them," he said. Saviano stressed Italy's southern regions of Calabria and Campania were the easiest places for the Mafia to operate and even though they had had Centre-Left governments for the past 10 years it made no difference to stopping their expansion.He also said that the Italian capital Rome, was one of the Mafia's favourite places to operate."Rome is one of the favourite places for the Mafia cartels to infiltrate and operate," said Saviano.

Salvatore Aracri is a hot name all over Italy in fact, with a strong connection to David "Dudi" Appel, the Israeli businessman

Salvatore Aracri is a hot name all over Italy in fact, with a strong connection to David "Dudi" Appel, the Israeli businessman who wanted to build Europaradiso, a huge tourist city in Crotone that was to be the largest tourism project in the world. About two weeks ago the Italian police raided Aracri's home and those of other Italians, including public officials, who were connected in some way to the project. It was part of a comprehensive campaign against Mafia organizations in the Crotone region. Police arrested 24 people on suspicion of belonging to the local Mafia and of engaging in activities such as blackmail, drug dealing and planning the murder of a prosecutor who dealt with the Mafia. Europaradiso appears prominently in the arrest and search warrants issued by the district department for Mafia affairs in the prosecutor's office in Catanzaro, the capital of Calabria. According to documents obtained by Haaretz and published here for the first time, the 'Ndrangheta viewed the project as "a tremendous source of profits, both direct and indirect."
Aracri is mentioned often in the documents as "Appel's representative in Crotone" on the one hand, and as a person working in coordination with the Mafia to promote Europaradiso, on the other. Appel himself is mentioned more than 10 times in the document as the "initiator of the plan," as one of the main shareholders in Madpit, the company that managed the project, and as the person who allegedly paid the former director general of the Crotone municipality 10,000 euros for "financial services." A document submitted to an Italian court enumerating the alleged crimes in connection to the affair contains passages from the transcriptions of wiretapped conversations between Aracri and Rami Avivi, one of the members of Appel's Israeli team on the project. In one, Aracri asks Avivi to pay money to municipal employees - the city engineer and the director-general - for their contribution to Europaradiso. The prosecutors, from the Catanzaro Province Anti-Mafia Department, suspect that the payments eventually transferred by Aracri to the two men were a bribe.
Appel has already said, in one of the interviews he gave to the local press, that it was Aracri who brought him to Crotone. Avivi, who went to Italy 48 times for Appel and is now a businessman, presents it in the same way. In an interview Avivi emphasizes that he served only as Appel's interpreter in the project. "Aracri was actually the man who brought Dudi Appel to Italy. Aracri participated in all the meetings held by Appel and his people with representatives of the administration and the region regarding the project." (In his response to this article, Appel describes Aracri as "an intermediary who sold [him] the site for the purpose of building the project" and nothing more.) An Italian member of Parliament from Crotone told the prosecutors, Salvatore Dolce and Pierpaolo Bruni, that Aracri once said to her, "Mr. Appel and I are the same person." According to reports in the local press, Aracri attended several meetings of Appel and his team with senior government officials in Crotone. He also reportedly took part in a meeting between the heads of the Calabria district and a number of Israelis including Appel, former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg, former Military Intelligence head Amos Malka and others. Burg was the chairman of the project directorate at the time, and Malka was introduced as his security adviser. The spokesman for the president of the Calabria district said at the time that the presence of senior Israeli figures such as Burg and Malka impressed the Italians. Burg and Malka, it should be mentioned, abandoned Europaradiso after the project began to run into difficulties. Aracri's role in Europaradiso is described as follows in the documents presented by the prosecution in connection to the current investigation: "Salvatore Aracri was investigated for the crime of handling and bringing to fruition the Europaradiso project in coordination with organized crime, and primarily in coordination with the gang that he now heads, and with the help of his brother Francesco Aracri, a man who is strongly planted in the crime circles related to the drug trade.... Aracri oversaw the acquisition of the plot on which this residential-tourism complex was supposed to be built, intervened in the political and administrative activity of the Crotone municipality and forced several city council members, and above all the chairman, to approve resolutions in support of Europaradiso; Aracri made criminal deals - among other ways by distributing money to government officials with the ability to exert a positive influence on the implementation of the project - at various levels, the municipality, the government and the European Union... In this connection Aracri attempted, directly or indirectly, to threaten Marilina Intrieri, an MP who publicly criticized the interest shown by the Mafia in the Europaradiso project; to implement the project, people close to organized crime ran as candidates in the local elections. As a result of this criticism the MP received threatening letters accompanied by bullet casings."

Suspect in Mafia Case Found Hanged in Prison

A suspect arrested in a series of high-profile raids on leading Mafia families was found hanged in Palermo’s Pagliarelli prison hours after his arrest, Italian officials said Wednesday. Officials said the man, Gaetano Lo Presti, 52, had hanged himself. The raids in Palermo on Tuesday were staged in an attempt to stop the city’s crime bosses from reorganizing after several years in which they appeared to lack leadership, according to the police. The operation was one of the largest against the Mafia in recent years and included the use of helicopters and dog teams. Dozens of handcuffed suspects were shown in televised news reports being escorted to prison. The police said some suspects remained at large. Prosecutors had accused Mr. Lo Presti of controlling the Mafia families in a Palermo neighborhood. The arrests were the culmination of a nine-month investigation by anti-Mafia prosecutors in Palermo. The charges included association with the Mafia, extortion and arms and drug trafficking.Tuesday's operation, codenamed "Perseus", saw some 90 arrests and was aimed at preventing Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, from forming a new command structure after the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano, Riina's succssor as Godfather, in April 2006.On his arrest, Provenzano is said to have passed the leadership of Cosa Nostra to Salvatore Lo Piccolo, a Palermo Mafia boss. However Lo Piccolo was himself arrested in November 2007.Investigators believe this left the way clear for his rival, Matteo Messina Denaro, the ambitious and ruthless Mafia boss in Trapani, to launch a bid for supreme power by reforming the Mafia "board of directors," known as the Commission or the "Cupola" (Dome), which issues instructions to Mafia clans and acts as arbiter in often bloody turf wars.

Gang member Sean Mercer, 18, was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court of blasting three bullets across a pub car park in Croxteth, Liverpool,

Gang member Sean Mercer, 18, was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court of blasting three bullets across a pub car park in Croxteth, Liverpool, after targeting rivals who had strayed on to his turf.Innocent schoolboy Rhys was caught in the line of fire and shot in the neck.He died in his mother’s arms a short time later.
After almost four days of deliberations, the jury of seven women and five men convicted Mercer of murder unanimously.The verdict was reached yesterday but could not be reported until now.What the jurors did not know was that just two months before he shot Rhys, Mercer was involved in a chilling rehearsal of the killing.
Waving a gun, he rode a motorcycle past members of the public on rival gang territory.The incident was not reported to police at the time.The jurors were also unaware that just weeks after shooting Rhys, Mercer was given a three-year Asbo for terrorising security guards at a sports centre.Fellow gang members James Yates, 20, of Dodman Road, and Nathan Quinn, 18, of Wickett Close, both Croxteth, and Gary Kays, 26, of Mallard Close, and Melvin Coy, 25, of Abbeyfield Drive, both West Derby, Liverpool, and Boy M, 16, were convicted unanimously yesterday of assisting Mercer after they helped Mercer evade the police for months.Dean Kelly, 17, of Sword Walk, Croxteth, who was referred to as Boy K during the trial but can also now be named, was convicted today by a majority of four related charges.Trial judge Mr Justice Irwin lifted reporting restrictions on Kelly at the end of the trial.
The judge also lifted an order banning reporting the fact that Quinn is already serving five years for gun-related offences.When the main verdicts were delivered, only two people in the packed courtroom could not hold back their emotions – Rhys’s mother, Melanie Jones, and the killer’s father, burly Joseph McCormick, who was dressed entirely in black.As Mercer’s "guilty" verdict was announced to the silent courtroom, Mrs Jones, 42, who was sitting opposite her son’s killer, burst into tears and buried her head in her husband’s shoulder to stifle her sobs.
Rhys’s father Stephen, 45, choked back tears as Mercer blinked, looked down and visibly paled, repeatedly puffing his cheeks out.For the first time in the trial the teenage killer looked close to showing emotion as he stared towards the public gallery where his father sat, tears rolling down his cheeks.Mr McCormick mouthed "I love you" to his son – and left the court.But Quinn cracked a joke, inaudible behind the reinforced glass of the dock, and he and other defendants smiled and laughed.
As they were all led away, Mercer shook Quinn’s hand and the pair hugged before they were led down to the cells.During the seven-week trial, the jury heard that Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, was a leading member of the Croxteth Crew gang, which terrorised the local community and was involved in a long-running and bloody feud with the Strand Gang, based on the neighbouring Norris Green estate.Mercer had an "intense hatred" of Strand Gang member Wayne Brady.When told by Coy and Kays that Brady, 19, and two rivals had been seen cycling near the Fir Tree Pub on Croxteth Crew territory, Mercer set about the murder.Dressed in a black hoodie and tracksuit, Mercer got hold of Yates’s Smith & Wesson .455 revolver and cycled to the pub where he took up position on a grass verge alongside the car park.Standing astride the bicycle with his arms outstretched in front of him, he clasped the gun with both hands and fired three shots at Brady’s friends, moving his arms in an arc to follow their movements on their bicycles.Rhys, distracted by the sound of the first bullet, which struck a shipping container in the car park, turned toward the gunman and was struck in the neck by the second bullet.Mercer then adjusted his position to aim one final shot at his two rivals.The third bullet struck a disused well as the gunman and his targets fled the scene.After the shooting, Mercer cycled to the home of McCormick, where he called on his fellow gang members to help him avoid the law.With Yates, Quinn and Kays, he was driven by Coy to a lock-up garage on an industrial estate where his clothes were burned and his body washed down with petrol.
Mercer gave the murder weapon to 17-year-old Boy X, who was frightened of him and who hid it in a dog kennel.It was later moved, along with a second gun and ammunition, by Kelly to the loft of his house where police found it later.A crucial breakthrough in the police investigation came 16 months later when Boy X, who cannot be named, accepted immunity from prosecution in exchange for giving evidence against the gang.Together with information gained from bugging devices in the homes of Yates and McCormick, much of which cannot be reported, and mobile phone logs, detectives were able to piece together the movements of the killer and his cohorts as they sought to evade justice.

Corpse of Welsh career criminal Courtney Davies, 53, was mutilated, set on fire and left at a popular dog walking spot in Staunton, Gloucestershire

killers of a notorious gangster stabbed 70 times in a "frenzied and sustained attack", burned and dumped in Gloucestershire woodlands have not been caught despite a four-year manhunt, an inquest has heard.
The corpse of Welsh career criminal Courtney Davies, 53, was mutilated, set on fire and left at a popular dog walking spot in Staunton, Gloucestershire, in December 2004.Despite a number of arrests and a collapsed trial, no-one from the criminal underworld has been convicted of the murder, leading a coroner to record an open verdict.Malcolm Martin, 33, who is deaf, was due to stand trial for killing Davies, of Rumney, Cardiff, and hiding his body in the Forest of Dean scrubland. But the case was dropped due to an "unrealistic prospect of success", the inquest in Gloucester heard.Mr Martin, from Cardiff, always denied murdering Davies and leaving the charred body beside the A4136 road leading towards Monmouth.David Scaysbrook, of the Forensic Science Service, found blood on leaves but no signs of a "battering type" injury. The body had probably been superficially burned where it lay, he told the Shire Hall, Gloucester.Dr Stephen Leadbeatter, Home Office pathologist, said: "There were approximately 70 such injuries. Twelve of those were to the right side of the head and neck, 12 were to the right side of the chest and groin and some 40 were to the back. The majority were stab wounds."Acting Detective Superintendent Neil Kelly of Gloucestershire Police told the hearing: "Mr Davies lived alone in Rumney, had previous convictions for offences of dishonesty, drugs, violence and firearms. He was well-known among the criminal fraternity in South Wales and had served long custodial sentences for two armed robberies and supplying Class A drugs.Recording the open verdict, Gloucestershire Coroner Alan Crickmore said: "I'm not able to determine who in fact inflicted the injuries that caused Mr Davies' death. This was clearly a frenzied and sustained attack resulting as it did in the 70 stab wounds discovered by Dr Leadbeatter."But although it was more likely than not that Davies was murdered by underworld criminals of sound mind, without a suspect to bring to court there was always the chance that his killer could be insane, enough to rule out a verdict of unlawful killing.

Darryn Molloy, 40, was arrested after police allegedly found 1.2 kilograms of cocaine in his car on Nicklin Way at Kawana

Darryn Molloy, 40, was arrested after police allegedly found 1.2 kilograms of cocaine in his car on Nicklin Way at Kawana last Tuesday night.He has been charged with trafficking and possessing cocaine. He has been remanded in custody until today when his lawyer will present a bail application.It is believed Molloy's sister will present an affidavit saying he can live with her if he is granted bail.She is also prepared to provide a $50,000 surety against her house as part of the bail application.

John E. Alite acknowledged his role as a top Gambino associate and admitted to conspiring to kill several men and trafficking cocaine

John E. Alite acknowledged his role as a top Gambino associate and admitted to conspiring to kill several men and trafficking cocaine, among other crimes.The suspected boss of the Gambino crime family's Tampa enterprise has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and acknowledged participating in two murders and a slew of other criminal activities, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.The guilty plea was entered in January but kept sealed until Wednesday. Officials said the plea was unsealed this week because of a U.S. District Court order requiring the government to provide information about prospective witnesses at an upcoming trial in New York.
That trial involves Charles "Charlie Carnig" Carneglia, a suspected Gambino crime family soldier who allegedly committed five murders and is charged with racketeering conspiracy.Steve Cole, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa, declined to comment specifically on why the plea had been kept sealed for nearly a year. He said documents are sealed on a routine basis so the government can continue its investigation.Alite was arrested by Brazilian federal police in 2004 and extradited two years later.He is one of several suspected members of the Gambino enterprise to face criminal charges in Tampa. Federal prosecutors have said the group was trying to gain a foothold in the city, which has a history of mob activity dating back to the Prohibition era.Alite and five others were first indicted on conspiracy charges in 2004. Four of the men were convicted and another pleaded guilty shortly before going to trial.Earlier this year, federal prosecutors in Tampa filed charges against John A. "Junior" Gotti and five other men, accusing the son of the late Gambino crime family boss of conspiracy and linking him to three murders and large-scale cocaine trafficking.According to prosecutors, Alite admitted in January to participating in two of the same murders that Gotti has been implicated in: the 1988 killing of George Grosso and the 1991 murder of Bruce John Gotterup. Both men were killed in Queens, New York.In addition, Alite has now acknowledged participating in four other murder conspiracies; shooting at least eight men; and taking part in armed robberies of individuals, businesses and homes in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida.Alite's connection to Florida dates back to the early 1980s, when he was a student at the University of Tampa. According to court documents, he began associating with members of the Gambino crime family around 1984 and ran a valet business.As part of his plea, Alite also acknowledged trafficking cocaine and using the proceeds to invest in businesses in three states, including in Tampa, Fla.
Gotti's trial appears to be headed for New York. A federal judge ordered the case moved to New York last month, saying the government left the "unmistakable and disquieting impression" it had shopped for a trial location where it might finally win.Three trials against Gotti in Manhattan have ended in mistrials or hung juries.
Cole said he couldn't comment on whether Alite will testify at Gotti's trial.

Police raid Hells Angels clubhouse in Horry County.

Police raid of a Hells Angels hangout in Horry County.It happened Monday night on Highway 814, and is an ongoing investigation.Police are staying tight lipped about the incident. Officers won't say why they were there or what they were looking for.The captain of special operations did say they seized items from the house but he won't reveal what.Neighbors aren't sure what was going on either they just know they were startled by the commotion. "It was loud and a lot of commotion. Police was all up and down the road."A neighbor who didn't want to be identified thought she heard gunshots."It sounded like bombs going off. I thought they were shooting outwith the police," a neighbor said.The explosions turned out to be concussion grenades used to distract people as a SWAT team raided the house.Officers from Horry County police, Myrtle Beach police, Greenville County sheriff's office and State Law Enforcement Division helped execute the search warrant.They haven't revealed what they were looking for, but police did say they seized items."It was scary, stayed in the house pretty much, besides looking out the window, I was scared to look out the back door," a neighbor said. "It was scary to live that close by something like that. It was scary, scared my daughter," a neighbor said.We talked with other neighbors too they don't have a problem with the Hells Angels hangout they're just curious what was going on.As we reported Monday night police again stated this investigation is not drug related.The Greenville County sheriff's office wouldn't release much information either, but did say they've executed similar search warrants in their area

Terry Pink, 41, president of the Simcoe chapter, had pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine and possession of proceeds of a crime

Gerald (Skinny) Ward, 60, a founding member of the Niagara chapter, had pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine and possession of proceeds of a crime. Terry Pink, 41, president of the Simcoe chapter, had pleaded guilty to similar charges but both denied that these illicit activities had anything to do with their motorcycle club.
Mr. Justice John McMahon of Ontario Superior Court ruled yesterday that the club is "a criminal organization which is dedicated to the facilitation and commission of serious criminal offences that materially benefit the members of the HAMC," and that Mr. Ward and Mr. Pink carried out their activities "not only for the benefit of the individuals involved but for the benefit of the HAMC, particularly the Oshawa and Niagara chapters."The two men were arrested along with 22 others after raids in September of 2006 on homes and clubhouses in Toronto, Oshawa, Windsor and Niagara Region. The arrests were the culmination of an 18-month undercover operation called Project Tandem.Prosecutor Tom Andreopoulos said he was pleased to see the charges culminate in convictions only a little more than two years after the arrests.Project Tandem was executed with the help of a police agent named Steven Gault, a member of the Oshawa chapter who was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for his work and who is now in the witness-protection program.Mr. Gault testified that when he purchased a kilogram of cocaine from Mr. Ward he paid a premium of about $2,000 to pay down a debt owed by the Oshawa chapter to the Niagara chapter.The Hells Angels "have complete control of the coke dealing in the whole Niagara Region," Mr. Gault testified during the proceedings, according to the judge's decision.In his decision, Judge McMahon cited evidence that as of July, 2008, 75 per cent of Canada's HAMC members have been convicted of criminal offences, that a defence fund is maintained by members' monthly dues, and that members in prison are referred to as the Big House Crew.Sentencing arguments for Mr. Pink will be heard on Jan. 29, and for Mr. Ward on Jan. 27.