Costa del Crime International

"Mafia Cops" Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa, convicted in April 2006 of committing eight murders while on the payroll of a mob underboss,

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:07:00 +0000

"Mafia Cops" Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa, convicted in April 2006 of committing eight murders while on the payroll of a mob underboss, received life sentences Friday in Brooklyn federal court.Eppolito, the son of a mobster, was sentenced to life plus 100 years. Partner Caracappa received life plus 80 years. Each was fined more than $4 million.Although the pair remained jailed in the years since they were convicted of betraying their badges, their case was tied up in appeals that delayed their sentencing.Caracappa, 67, and Eppolito, 60, committed the killings between 1986-90. The elder detective stood to declare he had nothing to do with the slayings."I am innocent of these charges," Caracappa insisted. Eppolito, speaking before his sentencing, made the same claim."I'm a big boy, I'm not a child," he said. "The federal government can my life. But they can't take my soul, they can't take my dignity. I never hurt anybody. ... I never did any of this."
Federal Judge Jack Weinstein - who overturned their convictions on a technicality, but was reversed by an appeals court - handed down the lengthy terms.Weinstein, after their convictions, said the pair had committed "the most heinous series of crimes ever tried in this courthouse."He threw out their convictions in June 2006, citing the statute of limitations in the racketeering case. Prosecutors appealed, and the convictions were restored last September.The crooked pair earned as much as $65,000 for one of their hits on behalf of brutal mob boss Anthony (Gaspipe) Casso. The jailed Mafiosi, suspected of 36 murders, paid the rogue cops a $4,000-a-month retainer while they worked for him. The defendants committed the killings while simultaneously on the payrolls of the NYPD and the Luchese crime family.Caracappa, who retired in 1992 after 23 years with the NYPD, helped establish the department's clearing house for Mafia murder probes.

Eppolito grew up in a mob family: His father, grandfather and an uncle were members of the Gambino family. The dichotomy between his career and his upbringing was covered in his autobiography, "Mafia Cop: The Story of An Honest Cop Whose Family Was the Mob."

Eppolito, who retired in 1990, had a bit part in the classic mob movie "Goodfellas" - and later fancied himself a Hollywood script writer.

Police have raided an alleged chip and pin factory in Birmingham

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:23:00 +0000

Police have raided an alleged chip and pin factory in Birmingham. They found stolen chip and pin terminals, card account numbers, card readers, computer software and counterfeit magnetic stripe cards. All these stolen items can be used to clone shoppers’ cards through the doctored chip and pin terminals.The Police believe the fraudsters were hiding devices inside check out card readers to unscramble codes and reveal the pin numbers of customers.The technology found could infiltrate normal retail chip and pin units and make cards which can be used in countries that don’t use chip and pin devices.Police officers said 30 check outs in the UK had been affected by the new type of fraud.Petrol stations are the most likely to be targeted by the fraudsters. A large number of skimming frauds took place last year, around 200 petrol stations were thought to have been targeted by criminals.
Head of the Dedicated Chip and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU), the specialist police force for card fraud in the UK, Detective Inspector John Folan said the arrests in Birmingham were a “significant development”.He said “We are sending a very clear warning to fraudsters that these crimes will not be tolerated, and that we will continue to target them and disrupt their fraudulent activity”.
He added “These arrests are a significant development in our fight against the organised criminal gangs responsible for this type of fraud.”A spokeswoman from the UK payments association Apacs said that it was difficult to spot outward signs that a chip and pin terminal was not legitimate and said that although customers should be vigilant they are not responsible for detecting fraudulent terminals.
“Anyone who is an innocent victim of fraud will be refunded,” she said.
Jane Milne, of the British Retail Consortium, said “Customers should be assured that UK retailers always take the protection of cardholder data seriously and are continuing to invest millions of pounds to enhance existing security measures.”
Fraudulent usage of cards abroad has increased by 77% in the past year and has cost £207.6m, according to the DCPCU.

Rabat 11 people were arrested throughout the night following a drug find, consisting of ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis.

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:20:00 +0000

11 people were arrested throughout the night following a drug find, consisting of ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis.The search was conducted during a party held in the vicinity of Rabat. Police arrested a 27-year old man form Spain, a 20-year old man from Italy and nine Maltese men whose age ranges from 18 to 25, and hail from Swieqi, Luqa, Tarxien, B’Bugia, G’Mangia, B’Kara and Zabbar.
Meanwhile, the anti-drug squad also seized 12 people who were found in possession of drugs during roadblocks. Eight men and four women aged between 18 and 31, from Qormi, Mosta, B’Kara, G’Mangia, Sliema, Attard, Zabbar, Fgura and Pembroke will be arraigned in the coming days, accused with the possession of ecstasy, cannabis and LSD.

Jose Mercedes-Leon, 35, who is believed to live in the Lawrence area, was being held without bail last night on charges of resisting arrest,

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:19:00 +0000

Jose Mercedes-Leon, 35, who is believed to live in the Lawrence area, was being held without bail last night on charges of resisting arrest, trespassing, distribution of heroin, subsequent offense, conspiracy to violate controlled substance laws, being a disorderly person, giving a false name to a police officer, and being a fugitive from justice, according to Sgt. Christian Max.Police arrested a Lawrence area man on drug charges last night after he led them on a 45-minute foot chase through the woods.Mercedes-Leon is wanted out of Rhode Island on a charge of aggravated assault and battery with a weapon, Max said. He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Lawrence District Court.Max said the department's drug unit was monitoring the Lowell Street/Wheeler Avenue area yesterday because there had been complaints about drug activity. Just before 5 p.m., police observed what they believed to be a drug transaction taking place, and when they attempted to apprehend the suspect, Mercedes-Leon, he ran into the woods near Wheeler Avenue.Detective Arthur Hardy chased Mercedes-Leon into the woods on foot, setting off a police chase that lasted just short of an hour. Other officers were called in to set up a perimeter, and they were ultimately able to apprehend Mercedes-Leon.Also arrested as a result of the investigation were Walter Zachary, 19, of Maine, and Blair Despres, 18, of Hallowell, Maine, Max said. Both men were charged with trafficking in heroin and conspiracy to violate controlled substance laws.Zachary and Despres were being held on $10,000 bail last night and were scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday. Max said 15 grams of heroin and $1,200 cash were found in their possession.

leaders of Russia’s criminal elite convened on a yacht in the Moscow RiverTariel Oniani, had organized the meeting to discuss a conflict .

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:40:00 +0000

leaders of Russia’s criminal elite convened on a yacht in the Moscow River recently, the police moved swiftly to stop the meeting. In black masks, with weapons drawn, commandos pounced from a hovering helicopter onto the roof of the yacht, starting a media frenzy when they briefly detained 37 men known here as Vory v Zakone or “thieves-in-law.”A Mafia-like caste forged in the Soviet gulag, the Vory v Zakone maintain a hallowed place in Russia’s criminal lore, something akin to the notorious Five Families in the annals of New York crime.Though the Vory’s influence appears to have waned, Russians have long had an affinity for the group, perhaps because it has come to symbolize opposition to the country’s often arbitrary political and legal practices, academics and other experts say.After the Soviet Union collapsed, the Vory v Zakone “hit platinum,” said Andrei D. Konstantinov, a journalist and novelist who has written about criminal subcultures. “Everyone started to sing about this topic, to talk about it, to make television series, write books,” he said. “It became fashionable.” In the last 15 years the Vory have spread around the world, from Moscow to Madrid to Berlin and Brooklyn. They are involved in everything from petty theft to billion-dollar money laundering schemes, while also acting as unofficial jurists among conflicting Russian criminal factions. Born of Stalin’s prison camps, the Vory grew into criminal barons that kept order in the gulags and governed the dark gaps in Soviet life beyond the reach of the K.G.B. While the Communist Party held a steadfast grip on government and society, they had something of a monopoly on crime.With their own code of ethics, hierarchy and even language, they formed a society in opposition to rigid Soviet conformity, surviving on theft and black market dealing when not in prison. When the Soviet Union fell, the Vory emerged from the broken country’s peripheries to exploit the legal chaos. By all accounts, they infiltrated the top political and economic strata, while taking command of a burgeoning mafia that spread murderously through the post-Soviet countries.The Russian news media covered the raid on the yacht this month with apparent delight. The major channels showed scenes of commandos marching the handcuffed gangsters single file to waiting buses. Most were later released for lack of evidence connecting them to a crime. The authorities did not explain why they had conducted the raid if they had no basis to bring charges against those detained.
Some speculated that a major crime boss, Tariel Oniani, had organized the meeting to discuss a conflict with a rival don, Aslan Usoyan, known as Grandpa Hassan. The rift, reports said, threatened to erupt into a full-scale war.
“There will be war and there will be blood,” said the operator of vorvzakone.ru, an Internet portal that monitors the activities of the Vory. He insisted on anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his work. He said Mr. Oniani was at the meeting and detained, but not Mr. Usoyan.In an interview with the newspaper Vremya Novostei, “Grandpa Hassan” denied rumors of impending violence.
“We are peaceful people and don’t bother anybody,” he said. “We are for peace, in order to prevent lawlessness.” In fact the Vory have been linked to numerous brutal murders in the post-Soviet period. Authorities have accused them of ordering contract killings and carrying out kidnappings and innumerable financial crimes.
To be inducted into the Vory’s society involves a life devoted to crime, and, traditionally, an adherence to a strict ethical code, said Aleksandr I. Gurov, an expert on Vory who headed the organized crime units of the Soviet Interior Ministry and the K.G.B. He is now chairman of the commission on ethics in the Russian Parliament. Compared with the Mafia in Italy, Mr. Gurov said, the Vory “have less rules but more severe rules.”

Melvin Leon Brunson and Latesia Arianne Powell arrested

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:03:00 +0000

A tipoff about people “snorting drugs” in a parked car in the area of the 700 block of St. Louis Avenue resulted in the arrest of two people on CDS charges today, Ocean City police said.Police said officers found cocaine, heroin, Methadone pills, a scale, Ziploc baggies and $950 in cash in the vehicle.Arrested were: Melvin Leon Brunson, 28, of Princess Anne and Latesia Arianne Powell, 27, of Salisbury.
Powell and Burnson were charged with possession of controlled dangerous substance and drug paraphernalia.Brunson is being held at the Worcester County Jail on a $10,000 bond while Powell was released after posting a bond of $2,500, police said.

Columbians captured as small plane landed in Freetown with a cargo of about 700 kilograms of cocaine worth $30 million.

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Police in Freetown say they have apprehended a substantial number of suspects in connection with a small plane that landed there Sunday with a cargo of about 700 kilograms of cocaine worth $30 million. Police spokesman Karefa Daboh says authorities have arrested several foreign nationals. "They are white people, that is all I really can say," Daboh said. "Some of them have accents which are very queer. We suspect some of them to be from the Americas, or South America, or what have you." Daboh said police had also taken a number of airport officials in for questioning. He said the police are investigating the possibility the airport workers were collaborating with the suspects. "There have been lapses at the airport, and that is why we are investigating some police who were at the airport, the airport personnel, and some people who were involved in operations at the airport," Daboh explained. "If we actually find the lapses we suspect we will find, we want immediately to go forward to find out whether those lapses were a result of connivance with the other criminals to do what they did."
A reporter in Freetown, Kelvin Lewis, says the suspects are believed to be Colombians. He says the suspected pilot was captured late Sunday in the north of the country, at a checkpoint near a busy crossroads. The other foreign nationals in custody were captured in Freetown. Lewis says along with the foreigners, the chief of airport police, the airport manager, and the control tower operator were among those taken in for questioning. He says the airport workers are suspected to have known about the pending arrival of the plane, but did nothing to alert the national police.He says there was a truck waiting for the plane when it landed."The pilots are believed to have come down to the waiting vehicle and fled," Lewis said. "The vehicle had apparently crashed through the gates. We went out to look at it. Close to the gate five guns were found. Four of them AK-47s and one AK-58, and about 300 rounds of ammunition was found on the ground there. "Lewis says Sierra Leone's president visited the scene Sunday and took the guns and ammunition with him to Freetown in his presidential car. Lewis and other reporters say the cocaine has been turned over to U.N. security forces. But police spokesman Daboh says the police still have the illicit cargo in their protection. The incident is the latest in a series involving suspected South American drug traffic through West Africa. Last week, the head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said traffickers have learned the region is in his words "very weak and very vulnerable" to drug shipments.

Tim Montgomery has pleaded guilty to a federal heroin distribution charge

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:42:00 +0000

Former track star Tim Montgomery has pleaded guilty to a federal heroin distribution charge, days before he was set to go to trial in Virginia.Montgomery entered the plea Thursday and faces a minimum of five years in prison. The Olympic gold medallist and former 100-metre world-record holder was arrested in April and accused of dealing more than 100 grams of heroin over a one-year period, denying his guilt to a Virginia newspaper after his arrest .He also faces up to $2 million US in fines and at least four years of supervised release

Toni Bellamy, of Middlesbrough,charges were dropped at a court in Montego Bay and she was ordered to be sent back to the UK.

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:36:00 +0000

UK teenager faces deportation from Jamaica after her mother was jailed for attempting to smuggle out drugs.Charges against 17-year-old Toni Bellamy, of Middlesbrough, were dropped at a court in Montego Bay and she was ordered to be sent back to the UK.Her mother Andrea Henry, 39, was handed six months for attempting to smuggle cocaine. Neighbours said Toni may be looked after by relatives.

John Smith has six months to pay back £622,662 or face having five years added onto the 13-year prison sentence

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:20:00 +0000

John Smith, 47, was the mastermind behind a gang who posed as booze cruisers to bring cocaine into Britain from Holland on passenger ferries.He owned houses in Allerton and Marbella – a popular retreat for Merseyside crooks and gangsters – and was found to have moved stacks of cash from UK bank accounts out to Spain.
But now Smith, brother of murdered drugs kingpin Colin, has six months to pay back £622,662 or face having five years added onto the 13-year prison sentence he is already serving.Smith and a seven-strong gang was caught by police after they launched Operation Copybook in September 2005.They trailed the suspects for seven months, following them on the European ferry rides they used to courier the drugs.Smith, formerly of Booker Avenue, Allerton, was the last of the gang to be put before the courts and ordered to pay back cash under Proceeds of Crime legislation.
The gang forged links with a Dutch drug dealer, collecting suitcases full of half-kilo blocks of heroin and cocaine every two weeks.John Traynor, of Keswick Drive, Litherland, took the drugs on board a P&O ferry and, during the 11-hour voyage, packed it into cases of bottled beers. Francis Gallagher, a ferry employee, then took them off the boat, past customs officers.The gang then met at Gallagher’s home, in Clorash Road, Kirkby, to distribute the drugs.Traynor and Gallagher were among five men ordered to pay back nearly £150,000 between them by the court last year. Some have been forced to sell family homes to settle the debt.The gang members were jailed for a total of 68 years in February 2007 after pleading guilty to conspiring to import nearly £10m in Class A drugs. Smith’s brother, Colin, 40, was killed in a gangland hit as he left Nel’s Gym in Speke last November.He is said to have taken control of much of Curtis Warren’s drugs empire when the Toxteth drug baron was jailed in 1996.DCI Mike Jones, head of the North West Regional Asset Recovery team, said: “Not only are some individuals in the process of selling the family homes to satisfy the orders, but also it will stop the proceeds being reinvested into further drug dealing on Merseyside.”

Spains justice system in chaos failure of courts to execute 270,000 sentences is indicative of a "crisis".

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:38:00 +0000

Justice Minister Mariano Fernández Bermejo on Thursday announced a raft of measures to get Spain's justice system back on track, but denied that the failure of courts to execute 270,000 sentences is indicative of a "crisis".
"There is no generalised chaos or collapse," Bermejo told reporters in a press conference. "It's not an anomaly that sentences take years to put into effect."
The justice minister was responding to a report published this week by the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Spain's top judicial watchdog, which highlights the backlog of sentences awaiting execution at courts across the country. Most affected penal courts, meaning that many convicted criminals who should be behind bars remain free.
A recent spate of tragic judicial errors, coupled with the effects of a recent strike by court workers, has further inflamed public sentiment over the state of the justice system.
Having denied that a serious problem exists, Bermejo highlighted a package of new and old initiatives to make the justice system more efficient. The measures include hiring 6,000 more court workers, opening 15 new penal courts across the country and creating a central registry of court orders so judges can be made aware of all sentences pending against a defendant.
In addition, a new IT system is due to start and will be on trial later in May. The system will hopefully help dig the justice system out from under reams of paperwork, bringing it into the 21st century.
"One of this government's main priorities this legislature is to modernise the administration of justice," Bermejo said.
Meanwhile, the CGPJ announced that it will create a team to monitor progress on executing the 270,000 sentences that were still pending at the end of last year.

37 trespassers were detained in 31 cases in Azerbaijan

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:58:00 +0000

37 trespassers were detained in 31 cases in Azerbaijan in March, 2008, Press Service of the State Border Service told APA. 13 of the trespassers are citizens of Azerbaijan, 8 Georgia, 6 Iran, 4 Afghanistan, 3 Iraq, 1 Turkey, 1 Great Britain and 1 is without citizenship. 36 men were detained for violating border regime rules, 15 for having counterfeit documents, 3 trying to pass the state border secretly, 80 for not having visa, 47 were detained as the term of their visa expired, 16 for not having related documents. Smuggling of 14.635kg drugs was prevented in 5 cases within a month. Coast Guard detained 4 ships and 8 boats, as a result of it. 17 Azerbaijani citizens were detained and relevant measures were taken about them. Smuggled goods cost AZN 66,335 were detained in 46 cases.1 AKS-74 submachine gun, 1 Min-Kral-2005 pistol, 6 7.62mm cartridges, 730 boxes of cigarette, 1211 religious books, 390kg fish, 1480 lemons, 245 petards, 7002 clothes, 9074 emblems, a great deal of medications, alcoholic drinks, food products, industrial and agricultural goods were confiscated.

David 'Mavado' Brooks was last week granted $200,000 bail

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:19:00 +0000

Dancehall artiste David 'Mavado' Brooks was last week granted $200,000 bail when he appeared in the High Court Division of the Gun Court on shooting with intent and illegal possession of firearm charges.

Mavado... arrested and charged with two counts of shooting with intent and illegal possession of a firearm
Brooks was ordered by Justice Donald McIntosh to surrender his travel documents and report daily to the nearest police station.The popular DJ was arrested and charged with two counts of shooting with intent and illegal possession of a firearm after he turned up at the Major Investigation Task Force Kingston office on Tuesday for questioning regarding a shooting incident along Mannings Hill Road in July last year.Two persons were injured in that incident. Mavado had just returned from the United Kingdom. The police said that the shootings were related to an ongoing gang feud in Cassava Piece, Constant Spring.Brooks, dressed in a grey suite and sporting plaited hair, was greeted by a crush of excited supporters who quickly hugged and surrounded him after he left the King Street Kingston court lockup. He was later whisked away in a waiting motor vehicle to the chant of "Mavado".Antoinette Haughton-Cardenas told the Observer yesterday that her client was innocent of the charges laid against him and that he was not even in the area when the incident occurred.
"My client knows nothing about this matter. He has no gun; has never carried a gun and has never shot at anyone. He's a high-profile man and whose name is easy to call," she said
Brooks said through his attorney Friday that he did not come to injure anyone (but) to spread love and urged his fans to "keep the faith".
This is not Mavado's first run-in with the law. In 2006, the deejay was charged with two counts of wounding, assaulting police and resisting arrest after an altercation at the Constant Spring Police Station in which he was injured. Last January he was arrested and charged with possession of ganja after being caught with the illicit drugs while the police were on a raid in his Cassava Piece community

Holly King, major drug trafficking organization that distributed large amounts of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine in Tulsa and Kansas City

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:10:00 +0000

Eleven people were charged in federal court Monday with conspiracy in what prosecutors allege is a major drug trafficking organization that distributed large amounts of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine in Tulsa and Kansas City, Mo.
A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed in Tulsa's U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma that alleged the defendants conspired to smuggle drugs from Mexico, through El Paso, Texas, and into Tulsa and Kansas City.
"The indictment returned by the grand jury alleges significant charges against an extremely large drug trafficking operation," said U.S. Attorney David O'Meilia. "We hope we've made a significant dent in the local drug supply by taking down this organization." The two alleged ringleaders, Manuel Bonilla, 36, and his brother, Mario Bonilla, also were charged under the federal drug kingpin law, which carries a mandatory punishment of 20 years to life in prison. Others charged in the conspiracy are: Holly King, 29, of Wann; Cecilia Lorena Bonilla, 20, of Tulsa; Michelle Moreno, 27, of Tulsa; Francisca Bonilla, 63, of Mexico; Jose Silos, 47, of Mexico; Selene Soto, 31, of Odessa, Texas; Omar Cruz, 27, of Mexico; Felix McVay, 51, of Haskell; and Victor Poras, 36, of Kansas City, Mo.
Court records do not indicate if any of the defendants have been assigned an attorney. Prosecutors also are seeking the forfeiture of $6 million that is alleged to have been earned from the sale of illegal drugs.
Nine of the defendants are in custody, but Manuel Bonilla and Cruz both remain at large and are presumed to be in Mexico, O'Meilia said.
"We'll pursue every avenue that we can, including coordinating with Mexican authorities, to ensure their capture."
U.S. Attorney David O'Meilia said the investigation spanned more than 2 1/2 years. The defendants also are accused of smuggling firearms from the U.S. into Mexico using sophisticated hidden compartments. "That's a trend that law enforcement has been seeing over the last couple of years," O'Meilia said.

2,000 graveside brass or bronze vases have been stolen in South Florida

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:03:00 +0000

2,000 graveside brass or bronze vases have been stolen in South Florida since November, most in Palm Beach County, according to Dan Perrin, president of the Florida Funeral Directors Association. To combat the thefts, Florida lawmakers this session are considering a bill that would require dealers to obtain and maintain more information on sellers, upgrade the crime from a misdemeanor to a felony, and make all dealers' information releasable by the Department of Revenue.
Chris Bedell, a spokesman for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries' southern region, which includes Florida, said the bill has moved fast through the House and is expected to be approved this session. If all goes on schedule, the new law could be in effect by the end of summer, he said.
The legislation is a result of business owners in different industries becoming concerned about the thefts, Bedell said.
Harold Solomon, a Hollywood metals recycler, said he welcomes the proposed law. He instituted similar guidelines at his business a few years ago.
"It would be a good thing for us in the industry," Solomon said.
The list of materials thieves have stolen is widespread, according to law enforcement.
-Brass valves have been stolen from building waterlines and sprinkler systems in the past 12 months in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
Boynton Beach police arrested three Miami-Dade County men in September and charged them with stealing train rails.
Between May and August, thieves unhooked and stole several thousand dollars worth of flush valves from toilets in public parks and fast-food restaurants in Broward County. Suspects were arrested at the end of August. On Friday thieves stole copper water pipes and pipes to the water heater from the Delray Beach restaurant Chez Sabine. The owner told police it has happened before.
In the Tampa Bay area in January, thieves went into a cemetery vault and stole metal artificial body parts of people who had been cremated, according to The Associated Press. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of selling the 2,000 pounds of parts to a scrap yard for about $5,400.
Now, catalytic converters are being taken from cars, said Bruce Savage, spokesman for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., a national trade association based in Washington, D.C. Vacant homes in Foreclosure have also attracted thieves, who have gone into the unguarded properties and stripped appliances of copper and other metals.
While many local suspects have drug histories, police said, others have stolen simply for the quick cash. Insiders are also among the accused: a Broward County School District electrical supervisor was charged in November with ordering $270,000 worth of surplus copper wiring and selling some of it. "They [thieves] are becoming more inventive with stealing materials, because they're motivated by money," Savage said. "We have seen an uptick, as these commodity prices have continued to rise worldwide."The trade association and its regional chapters have long encouraged their members to work with law enforcement to cap the thefts, Savage said. The association's guidelines call for recyclers to ask customers for their driver's licenses, to take photos of the materials being purchased, and to require customers to sign an affidavit stating they obtained the metals legally.
At Palm Beach Metal Inc., west of West Palm Beach, an elaborate system of cameras records customers from the moment they unload heaps of metal onto scales to the point when they cash out. Identification is required, and employees take photos of the metal brought in. The scrap metal buyers sometimes reject sales from suspicious clients, Palm Beach Metal President John Caruso said.
"If someone drives in on a bicycle with 200 pounds of [copper] wire, we're going to ask 'Where did you get it?' If they say 'I found it in a canal out front,' we're not going to buy it," Caruso said.
"The majority of people who come in here are doing everything correct, but you have the few who come in and spoil it," he said.

Cocaine Brisbane

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:58:00 +0000

a Malaysian woman, 45, fronted Brisbane Magistrates’ Court charged with
attempting to smuggle almost 2kg of cocaine in the lining of a suitcase into Brisbane International
Airport on March 3. On February 26, a German builder, 29, appeared in a Brisbane court after cocaine was allegedly found impregnated in jeans and T-shirts when he arrived from New Zealand. A French woman, 21, was arrested in February trying to smuggle cocaine and heroin
valued at $500,000 into Australia inside three pairs of shoes. On January 6, a Canadian woman, 24, and a Canadian man, 43, were charged
in relation to about 10kg of cocaine found inside a false suitcase compartment when they arrived from Hong Kong

Hermágoras Gonzales Polanco arrested suspected drugs and weapons smuggler

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:51:00 +0000

The Venezuelan police have arrested a suspected drugs and weapons smuggler wanted in the United States. The US authorities have offered a five million dollar reward for the arrest of Hermágoras Gonzales Polanco, who has ties with the Colombian Guajira cartel.He is suspected of smuggling large quantities of cocaine into the US and weapons, destined for paramilitary groups, from Europe into Colombia. Mr Gonzalez was arrested at the border with Colombia, together with 48 suspected paramilitaries.Washington has regularly accused Venezuela of doing too little to prevent the transport of drugs to the US.

Pawel Gajowczyk caught with 1 million dollars in prescription medication and an estimated ¾ million dollars in counterfeit merchandise

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:49:00 +0000

50 year old Pawel Gajowczyk was pulled over just after 11 am by Trooper Chris Powers. He found that the truck’s manifest did not match up, according to FHP, and believed his merchandise may be stolen or counterfeit.Bradenton trucker pulled over for speeding on I-4 near Orlando Sunday was caught with 1 million dollars in prescription medication and an estimated ¾ million dollars in counterfeit merchandise, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Troopers spent several hours unloading the trailer, and arrested Gajowczyk for with possession of counterfeit merchandise and trafficking of narcotics with intent to deliver and sell.

WANTED: Carol Lopez suspected in at least three Central Florida holdups

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:01:00 +0000

An armed gunman suspected in at least three Central Florida holdups has been identified after he accidentally left his wallet and photo identification at a crime scene, according to investigators.Police said Carol Lopez has targeted stores in and around South Orange County in recent weeks, including the latest crime at a business located on the 7100 block of South Orange County Avenue.
Police said during the crime, Lopez left behind his wallet.
"We work pretty hard to catch the unknown but this gentleman made the job pretty easy," Orange County sheriff's Detective Rob Branch said. "He is very dangerous. "He is armed and while he may have left significant clues and put a smile on your faces, he certainly a dangerous person we need to get off the street."
Lopez, 30, is from Puerto Rico and is covered in tattoos on his arms and back. He wears earrings in both ears and has several scars on his face.Investigators said Lopez may be working as a barber in Orange County.

35-kilogram sacks of cocaine which regularly wash up on its beaches

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:53:00 +0000

Over the past few years the sleepy town of Bluefields, Nicaragua, has become massively wealthy thanks to 35-kilogram sacks of cocaine which regularly wash up on its beaches. The residents of Bluefields owe their lucky twist of fortune to the town’s unique position halfway between the drug fields of Columbia and the drug fiends of the U.S. A., placing it directly on a smuggling route for “fishing” boats which transport massive amounts of cocaine between the two countries. Then, whenever one of these boats is spotted by an American Coast Guard vessel, the drugs go overboard where the unique patterns of wind and waves in that region deposit the drugs on the beaches of the now-rich Nicaraguan town. “There are no jobs here, unemployment is 85 percent,” says the mayor of Bluefields. Not surprisingly, all 50,000 residents of the town are now said to be addicted to the drug. “People here now go beachcombing for miles, they walk until they find packets. Even the lobster fisherman now go out with the pretense of fishing but really they are looking for la langosta blanca —the white lobster.”

Matthew Boyer, Eric Livers Two fugitives from Wyoming are in police custody

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:48:00 +0000

Two fugitives from Wyoming are in police custody, one arrested in Exeter and the other as he was about to take a bus to the Sunshine State.
Police tracked Matthew Boyer, 19, to Exeter through the cell phone of a young woman he met at the Fox Run Mall, police said.
His fellow fugitive, Eric Livers, 20, was arrested about noon by two undercover detectives who were waiting for him at a bus kiosk.
Sgt. Frank Warchol explained police had contacted various transportation outlets to make them aware the fugitives may buy tickets to get out of the area.
An employee of a downtown chocolate gourmet shop, he said, called police when Livers bought a bus ticket there. The bus was leaving at noon for Florida, Warchol said, which gave investigators time to have undercover officers pose as travelers waiting for a bus.The detectives were sitting at the bus kiosk when Livers arrived."Hey, how you doing?" the detectives asked before identifying themselves and arresting him.
"For some reason, Portsmouth is a magnet for fugitives," Warchol said. He said that could be because of the availability of buses and the city not being far from Boston.
Livers is expected to appear in Portsmouth District Court this afternoon while Boyer is to be arraigned on a fugitive charge at 10:10 a.m. tomorrow in Exeter District Court.The two men, who police describe as dangerous, are wanted by the Laramie County Sheriff's Department in Cheyenne, Wyo.
The pair walked away from a half-way house and traveled to the Port City to visit Livers' cousin, police said.
Boyer was held in Wyoming on an aid to burglary charge while Livers has a prior weapons charge, specifically, reckless endangerment with weapons, Warchol said.
Police first learned of Livers being in the city on Tuesday. At that time, police did not know that he was traveling with Boyer or that Boyer was wanted as well.
An officer was sent "to scout out the area where the cousin lives" and came across three men. Two of them went back inside a residence.
The officer caught a brief glimpse of them and believed one of them was Livers, Warchol said.
The third man was standing across the street with a young woman. The officer stopped and talked to him but did not detain him. Warchol said the officer wrote down the woman's name and her cell phone number and allowed the couple to leave.
Police later learned Boyer was wanted and realized the man the officer had stopped - who gave him a fake name, date of birth and Social Security number - was Boyer.
"We didn't know he was wanted," Warchol explained.
Investigators contacted Sprint, the woman's cell phone carrier, and using GPS technology, tracked her to an Exeter residence. Exeter police arrested Boyer there.
Prior to their arrests, police said both were seen with two young women who they met at the mall.

Human smuggling from Cuba is up about 20 percent over

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Human smuggling from Cuba is up about 20 percent over last year at this time. It is ironic that the smuggling boats leave from Cuba's attractive north coast, one of the country's most prosperous regions thanks to a boom in tourist resorts. Despite the new jobs in the tourism sector, Cubans still earn state salaries worth $15 to $20 a month. Many Cubans complain that they cannot make ends meet on these salaries. They turn instead to the black market. This economic quandary - that Cubans' lack of purchasing power pushes them to participate in the illegal economy - is at the heart of a growing internal debate in Cuba. To be sure, there is nothing new about Cubans coming to Florida. What has changed is the way in which both Cuba and the United States seek to avoid turning it into a crisis. Neither wants a repeat of the immigration crises of 1980 and 1994 when tens of thousands of Cubans poured across the Straits of Florida. The Bush administration is hoping to dent the smuggling flow by speeding up the visa application process for Cubans seeking to be reunited with relatives in the United States.
The U.S. and Cuban coast guards also collaborate closely on stopping the smugglers.
Cuba does not attempt boarding the usually dangerously overloaded vessels to avoid loss of life. Instead, its coast guard transmits coordinates of the boat, the estimated number of passengers and its direction, to the U.S. Coast Guard station in Miami. Nearly half the boats are intercepted by U.S. Coast Guard ships.
U.S. officials have tried to crack down on the smugglers with fines and stiff jail sentences. But prosecution isn't easy. The details of each voyage are closely guarded secrets. Cubans who enter the country on the speedboats are reluctant to rat on the boat captains. "We can't say how we did it," said Sixto Sanchez, who arrived on a smuggling boat on Jan. 1. "We can't harm the people who tried to help us."
The Cuban government protests that the main problem lies in a U.S. law that rewards Cubans who are smuggled into the United States. Under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, Cubans who enter the country illegally enjoy the right to stay.
Cubans in Miami are increasingly ambivalent about the law. Passed at the height of the Cold War, it was originally intended to assist political refugees fleeing communism - not smugglers earning up to $200,000 for each boatload of economic migrants. In an era of heightened border security, encouraging human smuggling sends the wrong message, critics say. "It's time the law was repealed," said Silvia Wilhelm, with the Cuban American Commission for Family Rights. "It's become a big business and a very dangerous business." But discussion of the law is almost taboo in Miami. "It's so difficult for someone to take the banner and say we don't want any more Cubans to enter this way," said Wilhelm. "But we should."

John J. Long, of Alameda, California found dead in southern Mexico

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:33:00 +0000

78-year-old California man was found dead in southern Mexico after his yacht ran aground near shore, the U.S. Embassy said Sunday.The body of a man believed to be John J. Long, of Alameda, California, was found floating Saturday afternoon by his sailboat near the town of Puerto Madero, just north of Mexico's border with Guatemala, embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said.It was unclear how Long died or why the vessel ran aground. Bryan said he sent a distress signal from the boat "Culin," which bore Irish, Mexican and U.S. flags. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed its Alameda center received an alert.Authorities in Puerto Madero told the U.S. Embassy the boat may have encountered electrical problems, she added.Meanwhile, Mexican authorities were investigating whether the boat was linked to organized crime or drug trafficking, after they discovered a false bottom, presumably for cargo, said an official with Mexico's navy who asked not to be named for security reasons. He said Long was found with bruises all over his body.Residents of a nearby town saw two people carrying suitcases leave the boat, said Saul Gomez, head of a local fishermen's group.Two people were detained in connection with the incident, state police spokesman Bernardo Gomez said, but it was not clear if they were the same pair seen exiting the boat.Long was born in Ireland but was a U.S. citizen, Bryan said.The "Culin," a 48-foot recreational boat, is registered under Long's name in Alameda

The body of a man believed to be John J. Long, of Alameda, California, was found floating Saturday afternoon by his sailboat near the town of Puerto Madero, just north of Mexico's border with Guatemala, embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said.
78-year-old California man was found dead in southern Mexico after his yacht ran aground near shore, the U.S. Embassy said Sunday.It was unclear how Long died or why the vessel ran aground. Bryan said he sent a distress signal from the boat "Culin," which bore Irish, Mexican and U.S. flags. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed its Alameda center received an alert.Authorities in Puerto Madero told the U.S. Embassy the boat may have encountered electrical problems, she added.Meanwhile, Mexican authorities were investigating whether the boat was linked to organized crime or drug trafficking, after they discovered a false bottom, presumably for cargo, said an official with Mexico's navy who asked not to be named for security reasons. He said Long was found with bruises all over his body.Residents of a nearby town saw two people carrying suitcases leave the boat, said Saul Gomez, head of a local fishermen's group.Two people were detained in connection with the incident, state police spokesman Bernardo Gomez said, but it was not clear if they were the same pair seen exiting the boat.Long was born in Ireland but was a U.S. citizen, Bryan said.The "Culin," a 48-foot recreational boat, is registered under Long's name in Alameda

Bradford men have been arrested and bailed over alleged drug offences

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:31:00 +0000

Bradford men have been arrested and bailed over alleged drug offences in Manningham.
The arrests occurred at around 4.45pm yesterday. Police said they had seized what they described as a substantial amount of suspected crack cocaine and heroin as a result of the arrests. Both men were released on police bail pending further enquiries.

Alexis Bonilla shot twice in a parking lot

noreply@blogger.com (Reporter) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:19:00 +0000

Alexis Bonilla, 31, was shot twice in a parking lot near The Moon Tropical Bar, 1200 Deltona Blvd., spokesman Brandon Haught said. A witness took Bonilla to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City, which notified the Sheriff's Office about the shooting at 2:33 a.m., Haught said.
According to investigators, Bonilla was confronted by a man after leaving the bar at closing. A witness heard yelling and then two shots and saw a man jump into a car and drive off. The man looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, about 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 130 to140 pounds. He had buzz-cut blond hair, Haught said.
The car was an older model white four-door Pontiac Bonneville or Grand Prix. The witness also saw another young man with black hair in the passenger seat.