Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Long History Of Violent Rivalry Led To Biker Shootings

 One person died, two were wounded when rival biker gangs, in town for the Street Vibrations motorcycle meet, traded shots on a casino floor. . According to law enforcement agencies, the shootings at John Ascuaga's Nugget shortly before midnight Friday and a possible retaliatory driveby shooting that followed were only the latest clashes in a long standing feud between two outlaw motorcycle gangs. The Department of Justice which says both the Hells Angels and the Vagos outlaw motorcycle clubs have been involved in drug distribution and a...

State of emergency lifted in Sparks

 The city of Sparks ended its state of emergency at 5 p.m. today that was declared in the city on Saturday due to the potential of further violence stemming from shootings between rival motorcycle clubs Friday night.. No further violence has occurred from these incidents. "We will not allow, nor will we tolerate violent behavior by any groups or individuals in the City of Sparks." said Sparks Mayor R. Geno Martini. "The special event held in Sparks was intended for motorcycle enthusiasts and attracts thousands of people annually, including...

Eight Coloradans among alleged outlaw bikers indicted on gun and drug charges.

 Eight alleged outlaw bikers from Colorado are among the nearly 40 members of the Bandidos motorcycle gang indicted this week on gun and drug charges. Six alleged members were identified Tuesday, including Keith P. Allison, 39, arrested in Golden; Ronald C. Tenorio, 42, and Edward R. Goll, 42, both arrested in Denver; and Adam C. Chavez, 29, arrested in Thornton. Tommy Freyta, 49, was arrested in Rio Grande County. Joseph P. Windsor, 42, was already in jail. Two others, who were not named, were still at lar...

Attorney for alleged Hells Angels member seeks personnel records of sheriff, sergeant

 attorney for a Sonoma County man charged in connection with a June fight between rival motorcycle gang members is seeking access to the personnel records of Lake County's sheriff and other agency staffers, alleging political motivations in the case's handling. Oakland attorney Michael Clough filed the Pitchess motion for the personnel records of Sheriff Frank Rivero and Sgt. John Gregore, lead investigator in the case, on Sept. 12. Clough represents 33-year-old Nicolas Carrillo of Santa Rosa, arrested in August for a June 4 fight at Konocti...

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Tears at family farewell to slain gangster Panda

 THE mother and girlfriend of slain gang boss 'The Panda' wept last night at his removal mass. More than 100 people turned out to mourn notorious criminal Michael 'Micka' Kelly, who was gunned down in broad daylight as he left his girlfriend Caoimhe's apartment in Clongriffin last week. Silence surrounded St Benedict's church in Kilbarrack yesterday evening, as the 30-year-old's remains were brought inside. There was a strong garda presence outside the church with officers on high alert given the gangster's serious criminal connections....

Hulking gangster Frank "Frankie Steel" Pontillo complains to judge that he can't avoid mobsters on Staten Island

 Poor Frankie. A whiny wiseguy told a federal judge that he wants to stay clear of the criminal life, but it's just too tough while living on Staten Island, what with all the mobsters everywhere. Frank "Frankie Steel" Pontillo made the statements at a sentencing in Brooklyn federal court -- before the same judge he asked leniency of because the FBI traumatized his Yorkie puppy during a January 2010 raid. The Daily News reported the Wednesday exchange between Pontillo and Judge I. Leo Glasser: "I didn't invite the Five Families to gather at...

Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Elizabeth Taylor's designer clothes to be auctioned

 Designer clothes owned by Hollywood legend and fashion icon Elizabeth Taylor, including haute couture by Chanel, Yves St. Laurent and Dior, will be sold at auction in New York, Christie's said on Wednesday. The silk chiffon dress that the Academy Award winning actress wore for her first wedding to actor Richard Burton will be among the nearly 400 times included in the four-day series of sales in December. "One of the many great treasures...

Ernest Hemingway’s final visits to Spain are remembered at a new exhibition in Rioja.

Ernest Hemingway’s final visits to Spain are remembered at a new exhibition in Rioja.Hosted and created by Bodegas Paternina at its Conde de los Andes winery in Ollauri, the exhibition entitled “Tinta, Sangre y Vino” – “Ink, Blood and Wine” – celebrates the writer’s visit to the winery 55 years ago and marks 50 years since his death.However, the exhibition does not focus solely on Hemingway’s visit to Paternina in 1956.Making use of never-before-seen...

Gunmen Dump 35 Bodies on Avenue

 Suspected drug traffickers dumped 35 bodies at rush hour beneath a busy overpass in the heart of a major Gulf coast city as gunmen pointed weapons at frightened drivers. Mexican authorities said Wednesday they are examining surveillance video for clues to who committed the crime. Horrified motorists grabbed cell phones and sent Twitter messages warning others to avoid the area near the biggest shopping mall in Boca del Rio, part of the metropolitan...

Celebrity Cruises Taps Top Chef to Join Culinary Team

 Known for its culinary leadership and commitment to offering guests a modern, luxurious experience during their precious vacation time, Celebrity Cruises has expanded its already robust culinary talent by naming 2010 James Beard Foundation "Rising Star Chef" nominee and 2007 "Rising Star Chef of American Cuisine" John Suley as its director of Culinary Operations. Tapped by Celebrity's charismatic Vice President of Culinary Operations Jacques Van Staden – himself a James Beard-nominated Master Chef – Suley is widely regarded as one of the...

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

Three women held for drug smuggling bid

 Three women were arrested at Dubai International Airport attempting to smuggle narcotics into the country. Dubai Police's General Anti-Narcotics Department officers on duty at the airport were alerted by the suspicious behaviour of the three African women. Two of the suspects denied anything to do with narcotics despite checks to confirm the same but the third confessed she had swallowed capsules containing narcotics. A total of 2.044 kg of cocaine concealed in 184 capsules was recovered from the wom...

Venezuela deports 6 suspected drug traffickers

 Venezuela deported six suspected drug traffickers wanted in Colombia and the United States on Monday, touting the action as proof the government is making strides in fighting smuggling. Those deported included two accused of belonging to Colombia's largest leftist rebel group. They also included a U.S. citizen, Lionel Scott Harris, who is suspected of smuggling drugs to the United States, Asia and Europe. Harris, 67, was captured in March on Margarita Island, a popular tourist destination. Venezuela is a major hub for gangs that smuggle Colombian...

Friday, 16 September 2011

Drug dealer Harford jailed for five years

 Alleged gang member Jakai Harford has been jailed for five years after admitting drug-dealing charges but being cleared of gun allegations. Harford, who has twice been shot and also lost his brother to gun violence, filmed himself on his cell phone with the narcotics in question. Police found cocaine and cannabis along with a gun during a raid at the defendant’s home in Mission Lane, Pembroke in January. A prosecution witness who told police that Harford had knowledge or control of the gun “is no longer co-operating and is not going to...

Drug-Dealing Miami-Dade Gang Busted

 Authorities said Friday that 11 members of a dangerous drug-dealing gang believed to be responsible for several robberies and shootings in Miami-Dade have been arrested. The criminal street gang "YB" was busted up in "Operation Sugar Hill," a 13-month investigation by the Miami-Dade Police Department's Street Gang Section and agents from the Department of Homeland Security. The gang is believed to be behind several armed robberies, including a carjacking, a home invasion and two shootings, police said. Members also sold cocaine, heroin...

Jesus "The King" Zambada, a leader of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel developed a love for exotic species shared with other Drug kingpins

 The three tiny squirrel monkeys led a life of luxury on a 16-acre ranch, surrounded by extravagant gardens and barns built for purebred horses. More than 200 animals, ranging from mules to peacocks and ostriches, lived on the ranch in central Mexico and hundreds more stayed on two related properties, many in opulent enclosures. Also kept on the grounds were less furry fare: AK-47 assault rifles, Berrettas, hundreds of other weapons and cocaine....

Saturday, 10 September 2011

Canadian truckie had 96kg of cocaine under floorboards

 Canadian truck driver who pleaded guilty to smuggling cocaine under the floorboards of his truck was part of an operation that sent more than one tonne of drugs across the United States border into Canada since 2009, federal authorities said. Ravinder Arora, 30, of Brampton, Ontario, faces at least 10 years in prison at his December sentencing. Arora was about to cross the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge from western New York into Ontario last September when his nervous demeanour led US border agents to search his truck. They found 96kg of cocaine...

Alleged smuggler busted with cocaine-stuffed clams

In a decidedly unique twist on drug-smuggling, a Central American man was arrested for trying to sneak cocaine through Dulles International Airport by stuffing 15 bags of the illicit substance into clams, authorities reported Thursday. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, David Pocasangre Vaquiz, 26, of El Salvador, was caught Saturday while going through a routine security inspection after arriving on a flight from Panama. Inside his luggage, customs officers found a black plastic bag filled with 80 clams. An X-ray revealed...

Teenage gunman receives 40 to life

 Salinas teenager was sentenced Thursday to 40 years to life in prison for the 2008 attempted murders of two students outside Alisal High School. Judge Adrienne Grover opted not to give Jorge Sanchez, 19, the maximum 80-to-life sentence because he was 16 years old at the time of the Feb. 18, 2008, attack. In June, a jury convicted Sanchez after his co-defendant testified the pair were driving near the school about noon when they spotted two boys, ages 14 and 15, whom they believed to be rival gang members. Sanchez, who was the passenger,...

Friday, 9 September 2011

Cops make big arms find in Las Cuevas

 Police yesterday made a major discovery of 15 high-powered firearms and more than 10,000 rounds of assorted ammunition—the largest since the state of emergency was declared two weeks ago. Officers, in search of marijuana, discovered a cache of arms buried two miles in the Rincon Forest, Las Cuevas. The guns, wrapped in plastic and newspapers, were greased. Detectives said the firearms belonged to a notorious gang leader. Officers of the North Eastern Division said they received a tip-off and headed to the forested area around 4 am. The exercise...

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

Mexican helicopters flying over Texas

 Mexican military helicopters have been flying over Texas, a staging ground for missions into Mexico to fight drug traffickers, a Mexican official said. The San Antonio Express-News reports Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr. said as many as 10 of the Mexican helicopters have been spotted flying over south Texas in daylight during the past 17 months. U.S. Federal and state agencies would not elaborate on the missions, the newspaper said. But a Mexican official with knowledge of the flights said, "Yes, I can tell you they exist,...

A Mexican death cult is fuelling America's anti-immigration backlash.

 In September 2008, 11 decapitated bodies were discovered in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. When police arrested the killers, they found an altar in their home dedicated to Santa Muerte – the patron saint of death for Mexican drug cartels. One year later, an illegal immigrant called Jorge Flores Rojas was arrested in North Carolina for running a sex ring. He, too, had built a shrine in his east Charlotte apartment to Santa Muerte. Flores forced...

Panama police arrest 80 members of cocaine ring

 Authorities in Panama say they have broken up a major cocaine trafficking organization that moved drugs from Colombia to Panama and then north to Mexico and the United States. Panama's Drug Prosecutor Javier Caraballo says 80 Panamanians and Colombians were arrested Monday in simultaneous raids across the Central American country. Caraballo says the group moved at least 18 tons of cocaine in the last two years mainly through the Caribbean and was led by alleged Colombian drug trafficker Jorge Indalecio Marmolejo. Caraballo said Tuesday the...

Mexico Arrests US Man Suspected of Smuggling Grenades to Drug Gang

 Mexico's attorney general says police have arrested a U.S. man for allegedly smuggling grenade parts to a powerful and dangerous drug gang. Authorities identify the suspect as Jean Baptiste Kingery. Police arrested him last week. Kingery is suspected of smuggling grenade parts across the U.S.-Mexican border to the Sinaloa drug gang. He allegedly bought the weapons over the internet and in stores. Mexican drug gangs frequently use hand grenades in their battle with police and soldiers, who are struggling to destroy the drug trade. Turf wars...