Twenty-Six members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang gathered in a federal courtroom Monday

 

 

Twenty-Six members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang gathered in a federal courtroom Monday, but only one of the arrested individuals received a hearing.

Martin Thomas Forschner, an alleged member of the gang, was one of the 26 arrested Thursday..

Evidence from a wiretap was brought forth in his hearing, which the prosecutor said showed him involved in a meth delivery at another defendant’s house. Forschner had served time in jail, and also had several instances where he failed to appear in court.

However his attorney said that in the past five years since his release, he has behaved well, taking care of his wife and mother-and-law and working at an automotive repair shop. Still, with his record, the magistrate said that he still posed a risk of flight. He was ordered detained.

Eleven others were given stipulated custody without bail at the hearing. The remaining suspects were delayed, and may be heard Thursday instead. One attorney told the family of a defendant that he would be asking for a later hearing, as the judge was in a “deny, deny, deny” mood.

Police and FBI officials are still on the lookout for four fugitives who evaded arrest.

Former Hells Angels leader to be extradited to California

 

former president of the San Diego Hells Angels will be extradited to California before the end of the month to face charges of kidnapping, robbing and torturing a fellow gang member in San Diego. Stephen Sanders, 42, surrendered Thursday night to federal and local authorities at Ala Moana Beach Park. He will be held without bail at Oahu Community Correctional Center until he is returned to San Diego before Nov. 1. Circuit Judge Steve Alm approved the extradition order this afternoon. Sanders was one of four men wanted in the 2007 incident, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The four men are accused of kidnapping, torturing, assaulting and robbing a man who informed the club that he no longer wanted to be a member . He faces charges of aggravated mayhem, kidnapping for ransom, robbery and torture. The man was beaten, and his Hells Angels tattoos, which ran up three sides of his neck and both arms, were tattooed over. The assailants forced him to sign over the title to his motorcycle, the newspaper reported.

Cook County jury has convicted a 22-year-old reputed gang member of killing a Chicago police officer two years ago.

 

Shawn Gaston, 22, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Officer Alejandro “Alex” Valadez on June 1, 2009.

Jurors reached their verdict late Wednesday evening, just a few hours after beginning their deliberations, following a weeklong trial.

Chicago Police Officer Alejandro Valadez (Credit: CPD)

Valadez was 27 years old when he was shot to death in 2009. He had been on the force for only three years and was working undercover duty on the South Side on June 1, 2009, investigating reports of gunfire when Gaston allegedly gunned him down on the 6000 block of South Hermitage Avenue

FALKLANDS war veteran went on a lavish £1million spending spree after ripping off two gangsters

 

FALKLANDS war veteran went on a lavish £1million spending spree after ripping off two gangsters. Ex-Royal Navy officer Dean Priestley had been asked by the crooks to drive the used notes across the Channel to Spain. But instead of sticking to the plan the 47-year-old went on the run and set about leading a life of luxury for six months. Advertisement >> Priestley splashed out on holidays, homes, cars, boats and jewellery as he hid from the villains who put out a hit on him. A court heard the furious crooks, known only as Mull and Steve, vowed to spend £5million hunting him down. The extraordinary case emerged as wife Derry, 48, was convicted of conspiracy to launder money. Her husband was jailed for three and a half years earlier this year after pleading guilty to conspiring to convert criminal property. Detective Constable Graham Duncan said: “This is the first case I have come across in 25 years of someone who allegedly stole £1million from criminals and has not given it back. “Dean Priestley was spending money like it was going out of fashion. He has shown a brass neck to the criminals he stole money from and shown no remorse.” Dad-of-two Priestley fled his £900,000 home in a water mill in Bielby, East Yorks, after stealing the cash. He called his wife to say: “I’ve done something really bad. I’m going to have to stay away for a long time.” He opened bank accounts in his privately-educated son’s names before depositing thousands of pounds in stolen cash. Priestley quickly splashed out on a luxury £230,000 Sealine S48 motor cruiser on Lake Windermere to hide from the villains. He also bought a £162,000 stone cottage for son Nathan, a semi-pro rugby player, in Wilsden, Bradford. He blew £20,000 on a Land Rover Defender 90 to drive between Lake District marinas and two £23,000 Audi A3s for cash from showroom dealers. He soon traded in one of the Audis, swapping it for a £32,000 black BMW 630 cabriolet picked out by his wife. At the time, Priestley was also being hunted by the police as he was wanted for extradition to France after being convicted in his absence of cannabis smuggling in his lorry. Wife Derry told Hull crown court she was threatened by two men from Manchester’s underworld to tell them where her husband was. She was told to take his birth and medical certificates to them just before they attacked his two sons with spray paint and an iron bar at their home. She said: “I got very depressed and suicidal. I was very low for a long time. I fled my home.” She remained in contact with her husband by mobile phone and made repeated visits to the Lake District to see him. The court heard Priestley bought a £5,000 diamond and 18 carat gold pendant from a jeweller for his wife’s birthday. He then paid for holidays to Spain, Amsterdam and a £4,000 trip to Australia. He even roped in his nephews, paying them £1,000 for every £10,000 they could put into banks. Mrs Priestley stopped using her Range Rover after finding a tracking device put on it by the Manchester criminals. It was Mrs Priestley’s call to the police saying the gangsters had told her that her husband had stolen £1million which started the investigation. Twice-married Mrs Priestley denied joining him when he ran up credit card bills on shopping trips. Prosecutor Timothy Capstick said her husband’s empire came crashing down when he was arrested by police coming out of a Leeds Hotel. They knew criminals had put a price on his head. The jury took less than 60 minutes to find Derry Priestley guilty. As well as the money laundering charge, she was also convicted of attempting to convert criminal property and converting criminal property. She will be sentenced at a later date. Her luxury home in Bielby, which the family had a mortgage on, has since been repossessed and sold on. Dean Priestley along with sons James, 23, Nathan, 22, and nephews Simon Taylor, 35, and Christopher Taylor, 32, all pleaded guilty to conspiring to convert criminal property before the start of their trial in March. His sons and nephews got suspended prison sentences. Priestley now faces an assets recovery hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize any criminal cash he has left.

Spanish jail-house film shows without on-the-run actor

 

A Spanish prison screened a short film made by inmates Friday with one missing ingredient -- a key actor in the jail-house drama is on the run. Inmates spent months making "Guilty", about a murderer haunted by his victim, to show in an annual festival behind bars in Leon, northern Spain, a prison official and media here said. "Among the inmates taking part, there was one in the final stages of his sentence who was allowed out regularly with leave, but who did not come back from one of those leaves," said a prison service spokeswoman. Prisoners completed the film without the missing actor who disappeared at least two months ago, said the spokeswoman for the Secretary General of Penitentiary Institutions. She denied reports he had the leading role. "He may have had some more important scenes but he was not not necessarily the hero." The actor is being sought for breach of a six-year drug-dealing sentence, which had been due for completion in 2012, she said, stressing that he was not considered a danger.

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 the opening of a bar," said Pontillo said, referring to On The Rocks, where, the paper reports, he runs the grill. "Staten Island is very small. There's lots of felons on the island... Every time I go somewhere, I see someone from my past." Glasser responded, "That's a problem with people who grew up in Bensonhurst or Staten Island, spent a good part of their life in prison... People they've known actually their whole adult life [are] convicted felons and members of one organized crime family or another." Pontillo, 41, was arrested back in January 2010 as part of a 100-suspect takedown. His part was buying stolen TVs and electronics from an FBI informant in New Jersey. In a July letter to Glasser, Pontillo's lawyer, George A. Farkas, described the raid: "It was an otherwise tranquil winter morning at about 6 a.m.... when several black SUVs, 2 unmarked minivans and other similarly ominous vehicles converged upon Frank Pontillo's snow covered home." After a further description of the "elite forces" present, Farkas continues: "In an operation worthy of an honorable mention next to the recent and well-publicized Navy SEAL commando raid in Pakistan, the front door of the Pontillo home was blown off its hinges. Then, percussion grenades were tossed into the home, the resulting blast propelling a 4 pound puppy across the room into a wall... The little dog has not been the same since." Farkas pleaded that Glasser not subject his client to supervised release: Pontillo's "weakness" means he'd slip up sooner or later and violate the terms of that release. "It is not hyperbole to suggest that he will serve a life sentence on an installment plan," Farkas wrote. Nevertheless, Pontillo ended up getting six months house arrest and two years of probation. Pontillo was convicted on murder conspiracy in 1993 -- he and four others hatched a scheme to dress as Hasidic Jews in an aborted plan to gun down William (Wild Bill) Cutolo during the Colombo crime family's civil war.

Hunger strikes at California prison renew debate over confining prison gangs

 

The sun rarely shines on the kingpins of California's prison gangs. To stop them from orchestrating mayhem on prison yards and neighborhoods across the state, prison officials condemned hundreds of reputed gang members to years of isolation in windowless cells. For five years, the tough strategy worked, wardens insist. Quarantined crime bosses lost contact with their followers. No one could hear what they had to say. At least, not until July 1, when some of the most securely held prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison stopped eating and broke through their shuttered lines of communication with a mass hunger strike that spread into prisons across the state. "Am I an innocent lamb? By no means, but I can tell you this: I never deserved to be locked up in a dungeon for seven years just because they allege I'm a gang member," said Ronnie Yandell, one of the leaders of the hunger strike that lasted three weeks and spread to 12 other prisons with promises of more strikes to come. Now, as a court-ordered mandate forces California to reduce the number of low-level criminals in its overcrowded prisons, protests of inhumane conditions for the most hardened, violent criminals are forcing the state to rethink another problem: How can powerful and savvy prisoners be stopped from directing violence on the outside without their rights against cruel punishment being violated on the inside? Life in 'The SHU' Yandell and the other 1,110 men in the Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit -- known as "The SHU" -- spend at least 22 1/2 hours each day in their concrete, bathroom-size cells. Some inmates have a cellmate and some do not. Prisoners can have TVs but little human interaction. Their daily outing is a solitary 90-minute break in a barren exercise pen lined with 15-foot-high concrete walls and a limited view of the sky. Hearing about the hunger strike through a network of family members and activists, more than 6,000 inmates across California joined in. The prisons weighed each hunger striker daily, finding only about 11 percent of Pelican Bay's protesters lost weight during the 21-day strike. One lost 30 pounds. No one died, but after weeks of unwanted attention and a legislative hearing in late August, top prison officials now say they are reviewing how long and why they segregate and isolate some inmates in the state's harshest cellblocks. "Everything we're doing with these men is lawful and constitutional," said Pelican Bay Warden Greg Lewis. "I really didn't see the need to negotiate anything. On the other hand, in the department, we need to evolve and change with the conditions that are going on." Dogged with mistreatment complaints and lawsuits since its inception, Pelican Bay's conditions were found by a federal judge in 1995 to "hover on the edge of what is humanly tolerable." But judges have also repeatedly upheld California's practice of confining inmates in isolated conditions, and in March commended Pelican Bay for improving conditions. Still, experts say, the prison realignment prompted by the court order to reduce prison populations offers an opportunity to reconsider the practice of isolating criminals. "There's a growing consensus that these ultra-isolation prisons are a bad mistake," said criminologist Barry Krisberg, director of research at UC Berkeley's Earl Warren Institute. "The theory behind these prisons was we'll collect all the worst people in one place and that will make the rest of the prisons safer and easier to manage. But they weren't necessarily the most dangerous, violent criminals. " And the levels of violence in the other places didn't really go down." 'Living like dogs' Prisoners promise another fast could begin next week inside the remote facility, just south of the Oregon border, if their demands for better conditions and an easier path out of isolation are not met. Prison officials said the strikes are a dangerous, costly and ineffective way for prisoners to voice their complaints. Yandell said it is the only way anyone will pay attention. "We're tired of living like dogs," the former Contra Costa County resident wrote in a handwritten letter to this newspaper, one of several interviews conducted between the newspaper and self-defined leaders of the strike. "Not even terrorists at Guantánamo Bay are treated like this." Convicted of killing two men in El Sobrante a decade ago during a drug deal, Yandell was placed in Pelican Bay's SHU -- the oldest and biggest of three similar units around the state -- after prison officials designated him a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white-only gang. The only way out of solitary confinement was to "debrief" -- to convincingly denounce his gang affiliation and ideology and name former collaborators. But many prisoners never find their way out of the SHU; the average time spent inside the state's isolation units is 6.8 years, and some prisoners have been there for decades.

Mexican Gulf Cartel gangster Manuel Alquisires Garcia paraded with his bling

Mexican marines have recaptured a fugitive suspected trafficker, who had been arrested 13 years earlier, along with the man who was to become the Gulf Cartel's top leader.

Manuel Alquisires Garcia is the cartel's alleged finance officer, the Mexican navy said in a statement, and he was captured by marines on Saturday in the city of Tampico.

Among the items seized allegedly from Manuel Alquisires Garcia included a gold plated pistol, wads of cash and jewellery.

Recaptured: Mexican Navy marines escort Manuel Alquisires Garcia, alias 'El Meme,' during a presentation to the press in Mexico City

Alquisires, aka ‘El Meme’, was originally arrested in June 1998 along with Osiel Cardenas Guillen.

Cardenas later escaped and went on to become the Gulf Cartel's leader before being recaptured in 2003.

 

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He was extradited to the U.S. in 2006 and sentenced last year to 25 years in federal prison.

Alquisires escaped from a prison in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in 2002, three years after his arrest, prosecutors said yesterday.

The golden gun: A gold plated pistol and jewellery were among the items allegedly seized from Mauel Alquisires Garcia in Mexico

 

Bling seized: Part of the arsenal and personal things of alleged financial agent of the drug 'Cartel del Golfo', Manuel Alquisires Garcia, including wads of cash

Zetas hitmen, who at the time were still allied to the Gulf Cartel, allegedly orchestrated his escape.

He had evaded authorities until Saturday.

Alquisires is suspected of trafficking cocaine from Guatemala for the Gulf Cartel.

Also on Monday, the Mexican navy said it captured 13 gunmen, including a suspect in the killing of a marine, who said to be members of the Zetas drug cartel.

The navy said in a statement the men were arrested Friday in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz and were carrying grenades and computers. 

Mass of weapons: The arsenal and personal items allegedly belonging to Garcia were shown during a presentation to the press in Mexico City

 

Under arrest: Mexican marines escort alleged financial agent of the drug 'Cartel del Golfo', Manuel Alquisires Garcia, aka 'El Meme' and also know as Agustin Sanchez Morua

 

Detained again: Alquisires was originally arrested in June 1998 along with Osiel Cardenas Guillen

 

 

Vicente Zambada's lawyers claim he and other cartel leaders were granted immunity by U.S. agents

Vicente Zambada's lawyers claim he and other cartel leaders were granted immunity by U.S. agents — and carte blanche to smuggle cocaine over the border — in exchange for intelligence about rival cartels engaged in bloody turf wars in Mexico.

Controversial defence: Vicente Zambada's claim could throw new light on how U.S. authorities deal with Mexican drug cartels

Experts scoff at the claim, which U.S. prosecutors are expected to answer in a filing Friday in federal court.

But records filed in support of his proposed defence have offered a peek at the sordid world of Mexico's largest drug syndicate, the Sinaloa cartel, which is run by his father, Ismael Zambada, and Mexico's most wanted man, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman.

It's a world of brutality, greed and snitching, and federal agents would love to have the younger Zambada pass along more intelligence, especially if it could help bring down his family's operation or lead to the capture of Guzman, a billionaire who escaped from a Mexican prison in a laundry truck in 2001.

Main man: Vicente's father Ismael Zambada, godfather of the Sinaloa cartel, pictured at a party in 1993

'It comes down to whether he would be willing to give up his dad or Guzman,' said David Shirk, who heads the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego.

'Would he be willing to give up his own dad? It seems unlikely.'

Zambada, 35, has rarely been seen since his 2009 arrest in Mexico City, after which Mexican authorities paraded him before TV cameras in a stylish black blazer and dark blue jeans.

His suave image was a sharp contrast to a photo of him with moustache and cowboy hat released by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2007.

He may have upgraded his look after he assumed control over cartel logistics in 2008 and, federal officials say, received authority to order assassinations. 

Mexico's most wanted man: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, who escaped from prison in a laundry truck

He was arrested and extradited to Chicago a year later to face trafficking conspiracy charges punishable by up to life in prison.

The Sinaloa cartel is one of Mexico's most powerful.

Named after the Pacific coast state of the same name, it controls trafficking on the border with California and is battling rival cartels in an effort to expand east along the 2,000-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border.

Accustomed to luxury in Mexico, Zambada has been held in a 10ft by 6ft cell in Chicago, is often served meals that have gone cold and hasn't been outside in 18 months, his attorneys say.

U.S. District Court Judge Ruben Castillo told the government on Thursday to file a response to those complaints.

'It comes down to whether he would be willing to give up his own dad. It seems unlikely'

Armed marshals led the shackled Zambada into Thursday's hearing.

He appeared at ease, even smiling and winking at a woman sitting on a spectators' bench.

Castillo will decide later whether Zambada's provocative immunity claim has any credibility, but many experts said they were skeptical.

'Personally, I think it is a bunch of malarkey,' said Scott Stewart, who analyzes Mexico's cartels for the Texas-based Stratfor global intelligence company.

'I mean, what the defence is saying is that a huge amount of cocaine was allowed to pass into the United States unimpeded.

'Why would you even have sought his extradition if there was this potential backlash?"

U.S. prosecutors briefly discounted Zambada's claim in one filing, but more details are expected in Friday's documents.

A spokesman for U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald would not comment on the allegation.

Neither would a Washington spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, whose agents Zambada claims to have dealt with in Mexico.

However, clandestine intelligence deals are not uncommon, and conspiracy theories abound in Mexico about the government going easy on one cartel to keep the others under control.

Zemun gangsters enter pleas in PM murder case

 

Addressing the Special Court in Belgrade, Kalinić confirmed that the shooter was Zvezdan Jovanović. Jovanović has already been found guilty and convicted on the charge, along with Milorad Ulemek Legija, who was tried as the main conspirator. "After the murder I was sitting with Jovanović and (one of Zemun Clan leaders) Mile Luković Kum, and we were watching TV when Jovanović said, 'I guarantee that he is not alive'," Kalinić told the judges as his retrial in the Đinđić murder case started on Monday. He also claimed that Luković told him that "Zveki (Zvezdan Jovanović) bumped off the prime minister", and that Jovanović himself confirmed this. But Kalinić denied that he had any role in the assassination, and told the judges he was "asleep" when the murder took place on March 12, 2003, and that Luković "called him around 13:00". He confirmed that he was acquainted with Jovanović since 1993, that he "saw Milorad Ulemek (Legija) once in Bosnia", and that he met the Zemun Clan leader Dušan Spasojević, "a couple of years before the murder of Đinđić". Kalinić also denied that he was a member of the Zemun Clan. Another gangster that spent years on the run after the assassination, Miloš Simović, was in the courtroom for the start of his retrial in the case. Both were originally found guilty and each sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison, but the retrial was granted on grounds that they were "tried in absentia". Unlike Kalinić, Simović admitted to taking part in the murder, and said he "also knew about the political background", but refused to elaborate on this point. Last June, Simović shot and wounded Kalinić in Zagreb, Croatia, and was arrested several days later while attempting to cross the border between into Serbia. Kalinić was arrested in Croatia and later extradited to Serbia.

Drug trafficker may be making a run for it

 

West Vancouver man with ties to several criminal gangs vanished Sept. 5, only two days before he was due to be sentenced for a drug trafficking conviction. Police say Omid Bayani, 36, appeared to be headed to one of the North Shore gyms he frequented when he left his home that afternoon, but hasn't been seen since. A senior figure in the UN Gang, Bayani arranged to sell 600 litres of the date rape drug GHB to a Hells Angels chapter in Toronto in 2007. But the operation was infiltrated by the Ontario Provincial Police and Bayani was convicted of trafficking. The Crown was asking for a sentence of eight to nine years in prison, and Bayani was supposed to be in court to learn his fate Sept. 7. Bayani was convicted of a series of armed robberies in Alberta in the 1990s and has also faced a variety of drugs, weapons and assault charges in B.C. over the past decade. According to the West Vancouver police, Bayani is Middle Eastern, six feet tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has short, black hair, brown eyes and a goatee, but no moustache. He was last seen wearing a grey-and-white Under Armour shirt, blue Under Armour shorts and running shoes

The Liberal Democrats' biggest donor, who has been on the run for three years after being convicted of a multimillion pound theft, is hiding in the Dominican Republic under a false British identity

Michael Brown has been on the run for three years after being convicted of a multimillion pound theft. Photograph: Rex Features

 

Michael Brown, 45, the convicted Glaswegian who bankrolled the party with £2.4m of stolen money, is being sought by British authorities on the Caribbean island but is currently at large. Brown disappeared from Britain while on parole and was sentenced in his absence to seven years in prison.

The disclosure of Brown's bolthole will be an embarrassment for Nick Clegg. His party has refused to compensate Brown's victims, some of whom claim their money went directly into the party's coffers to finance the 2005 election campaign.

City of London police detectives have been in talks with the Crown Prosecution Service over how to bring back Brown. The Dominican Republic does not have an extradition treaty with Britain. The Home Office is believed to have approached its government for help in apprehending him.

While on the island, Brown has been based in the province of La Altagracia, the easternmost tip of the Republic close to some of its most beautiful beaches.

One source with knowledge of Brown said he has lived a low-key but pleasant life. "His businesses have been doing OK. He has lived in a wealthy area, he loves the beaches and he plays golf on some of the world's best courses. It could be worse."

Brown, who was using an alias, was held on remand by the Dominican authorities while he was investigated over an oil deal. Court papers from the country's capital in Santa Domingo show he was accused by a Dominican businessman in February of failing to honour a contract for 4,820 tonnes of oil.

He was ordered to be held for three months while the investigation continued. Its outcome is not known.

It has also been established that he launched a real estate business in 2008 based in the Republic, and has launched a subsidiary in Nassau in the Bahamas.

Michael Robert Alexander Brown appeared from nowhere when he approached the Liberal Democrats in November 2004 with a generous offer of money for Charles Kennedy's impending election campaign.

The brash, ponytailed Brown claimed to be an offshore trader living in Majorca. His claimed his clients were vetted by US embassy officials. Despite not being a party member, not being registered to vote and living abroad, he was welcomed with open arms by the party's grandees. Money came through his company, 5th Avenue Partners, in four tranches. It remains the biggest donation ever received by the party from an individual.

In the general election, the party increased its share of the vote by nearly 4% after the cash was spent on posters and advertising.

Brown told journalists that he had given the enormous donation because he liked Kennedy. "Charles is my kind of man. And I like to see a level playing field," he said.

Within months, Brown was flying Kennedy across Britain in a private jet and was being invited to dinners in Mayfair. Former Lib Dem insiders say he dazzled them with stories of Gordonstoun public school and St Andrew's University.

In fact, he had failed his maths O-level at his local school and completed a City and Guilds in catering at Glasgow College of Food Technology. He had no US government links – although he was wanted in Florida for cheque fraud.

Brown was arrested in late 2005 after four former clients came forward claiming he had duped them out of more than £40m in a high-yield fraud.

His victims included Martin Edwards, the former Manchester United chairman, who had invested £8m with 5th Avenue Partners.

In June 2008, while awaiting trial for theft, false accounting and perverting the course of justice, Brown fled and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

In the weeks before he disappeared from his Hampstead bail address in north London, he changed his name on the electoral roll to Campbell-Brown and allowed his hair to turn grey.

In his absence the court was told that the political donation was made to impress clients and create an air of importance and influence around Brown.

The disclosure of his whereabouts has given hope to Brown's victims who are still owed millions.

A copy of the passport that Brown has been using has been obtained by the Guardian. It shows a noticeably older and gaunt Brown, sporting dark hair and a goatee beard, compared with photographs taken four years ago when he was awaiting trial. He is believed to have adopted someone else's real identity which has been obscured at the request of the police.

Tony Brown, managing partner at law firm Bivonas which represents US attorney Robert Mann who was lost more than $5m (£3m), said: "This development may allow us to pursue Brown's assets in the Dominican Republic for our client."

Mann's legal team was forced last year to drop a high court claim against the Lib Dems for the return of around $600,000 after running out of funds. He hopes that if Brown is returned to Britain, any subsequent court case could cause further uncomfortable questions for the party.The Liberal Democrats have maintained that the money was received in good faith and have been cleared by an Electoral Commission inquiry into Brown's donations.

A police investigation has been launched this week into how Brown fraudulently obtained a passport. A spokesman for City of London police declined to comment. The Home Office declined to comment.

Elderly fugitive sentenced on drug charges

 

A Manitoba fugitive who spent more than 30 years on the run before being arrested in Florida earlier this year has pleaded guilty to drug-smuggling charges. Ian MacDonald, 72, appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday morning and offered a guilty plea to one count of conspiring to import narcotics. The Crown and defence lawyers submitted a joint recommendation of a conditional sentence of two years less one day to be served in community. MacDonald, who has been in custody at the Remand Centre since he was extradited from Florida and returned to Manitoba in March. He had been arrested in January after being tracked to his central Florida home but it took some time to arrange his extradition. As part of the conditions of his sentence, MacDonald is under 24-hour house arrest with the exception of medical appointments or emergencies. He can leave his home for four hours a week for personal business, if accompanied by a person approved by the court. MacDonald must also abstain from drugs alcohol and he cannot leave jurisdiction without permission from the court. In 1980, MacDonald — then known as "Big Mac" — was arrested in Florida on a warrant issued by Manitoba police, who suspected he had helped smuggle a large amount of marijuana into the province. While in custody in June of that year, he faked a heart attack and was taken to hospital, where he escaped by conning a guard into removing his leg shackles, Barry Golden, a senior inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service, told CBC News in January. He escaped and lived on the lam for many years, until an officer who had been assigned to the file in 2009 found information in it that led investigators to a home in Pennsylvania, where MacDonald and his wife had once lived under an assumed name. While speaking with people in the area, officers learned the couple had moved to a town in central Florida, where he was located and arrested.

Details of the top 10 most wanted suspected fraudsters in Britain have been released by the crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers

Among them is a 48-year-old who allegedly posed as comedian Peter Kay's brother, took money from landlords and failed to perform as promised.

Peter Stead allegedly conned Derbyshire pub landlords out of thousands of pounds in 2009 and is accused of offering to put on a comedy night to raise money for the Lewis Mighty Fund.

The charity was established in a bid to raise £300,000 so that a six-year-old cancer patient could be flown to America and receive first-class treatment.

Another on the most wanted list released by Crimestoppers is Nasser Ahmed who police have linked to to an alleged £156m VAT fraud in Bristol.

 

(L-R) Nasser Ahmed, Timur Mehmet and Misba Uddin

 

The 38-year-old absconded during trial and was sentenced to six years in prison in his absence. He is wanted by revenue and customs police.

Timur Mehmet, 38, is wanted in connection with a £25m VAT fraud. Similarly, he absconded before trial and was sentenced in his absence to eight years.

According to Crimestoppers, he has links with north London and is wanted by revenue and customs police.

Misba Uddin is wanted by police for fraud by false representation after he allegedly submitted fraudulent mortgage applications while working as a financial adviser.

 

(L-R) Peter Stead, Ajayi Seun and Nicolas Slocombe

 

Once the mortgages - worth £5.7m - were processed, the 48-year-old is accused of transferring the funds into his own accounts.

Meanwhile Ajayi Seun, 48, charged with conspiracy to money launder, is alleged to have conned mortgage lenders and banks out of more than £12m. He has failed to answer bail.

Nicholas Slocombe, 28, is wanted in connection with reports from dozens of shops and businesses about alleged false claims of collecting for charity.

He was arrested in April on suspicion of more than 30 allegations of fraud by false representation across Shropshire and Herefordshire but failed to answer bail in May.

 

(L-R) Jascent Nakawunde and Mohamad Khan

 

Jascent Nakawunde, a 33-year-old woman, is wanted for questioning in connection with an alleged £35,000 fraud in Cardiff between 2007 and 2008.

She was employed as a live-in carer for a woman in her 80s. During this time she is accused of stealing cheques from her which were allegedly paid into false accounts in London.

She is alleged to have used the aliases of Tania Bird and Tracey Bird and is wanted by South Wales Police.

Mohamad Khan, from Waltham Cross in north east London, is accused of using counterfeit credit cards to buy more than £100,000 worth of goods.

 

(L-R) Kevin Leitch and an unnamed woman

 

The 29-year-old, who shopped in centres such as Bluewaterand Lakeside, was arrested and charged but failed to attend crown court and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Kevin Leitch, 48, from Liverpool, who is wanted by Devon and Cornwall Police after he allegedly took bookings for a holiday let in Cornwall.

He is accused of accepting payments often worth more than £1,000 but then cancelling the bookings only days beforehand, claiming the property is no longer available.

Finally, an unknown woman is alleged to have falsely obtained a debit card and account details in the name of a legitimate customer from a bank in Bethnal Green, in October 2008.

The electronic transfers were wired to locations across the world and used to buy a number of expensive vehicles, it is claimed. The total amount she is accused of stealing is £650,000.

Gunman ambushes teens going home after party in Jamaica; 1 dead, 3 hurt

A gunman jumped out from behind a parked car and ambushed four young men in Queens early Sunday - killing a recent high school graduate and wounding the others.

Clad in a black hoodie and armed with a .40-caliber pistol, the gunman set his deathtrap near the intersection of 113th Ave. and 157th St. in Jamaica, police sources said.

"It was a major shootout," said Brandi Johnson, 23, who was on her porch nearby and saw the gun's muzzle flashing as the gunman unleashed two volleys shortly after 4 a.m.

Terrell Fountain, 18, who was planning to attend college in Pennsylvania, was mortally wounded - hit in the chest, back and one of his arms, police said.

Three other teens, including Darryl Adams, 18, were each hit once and survived.

The four were coming home from a cookout nearby.

"They were waiting for the bus, and when it didn't come, they decided to walk," said Fountain's aunt Shanel Mitchell, 43. "I was planning for his college; now I have to plan for a funeral."

Fountain, who lived in Springfield Gardens and was captain of the basketball team at the St. Christopher School in Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County, was taken by ambulance to Jamaica Hospital. He was also part of a dance group called "Team Up."

"Before he even got to the hospital, he was gone," said his mother, Brigitte Hoggard, 44, who visited her slain son at the hospital - the very place where he came into the world.

"When I went to the hospital, they took me into the room, and I knew something was wrong," she said. "I just cried."

There were no arrests Sunday, and police did not reveal a possible motive.

Adams was shot in the buttocks. His mother, Shanta Merritt, 41, said he was "okay" - but it was lucky the round did not do more damage.

"It just missed his intestines," she said.

Man seeking cross-border access card jailed on U.S. murder warrant

Burnaby, B.C. man applying for a cross-border travel card found himself in handcuffs in a U.S. customs office after a fingerprint scan determined he was wanted for murder in Oklahoma.
U.S. customs officials say 48-year-old Suhail Shanti was at the Pacific Highway border crossing south of Vancouver on June 24 applying for a NEXUS card.
As part of the process, his fingerprints were electronically scanned and compared with a national U.S. crime database, which determined he was wanted for first degree murder in a case dating back to 1983 in LeFlore Country, Oklahoma.
Border agents confirmed his arrest warrant with Oklahoma officials before they slapped the handcuffs on Shanti, who was still waiting in the NEXUS office.
He was taken to jail to await extradition back to Oklahoma.
People applying for the NEXUS card, which allows speedy travel between the U.S. and Canada, must undergo a detailed background check.

 

Notorious: Can "Whitey" Bulger get a fair trial in Boston?

With his reign as the former leader of Boston's notorious Irish-American Winter Hill Gang already fodder for books and movies, many doubt that James "Whitey" Bulger can get a fair trial in his home town.

"It will be as close to impossible for Mr. Bulger to get a fair trial on these charges," Bulger's provisional attorney Peter Krupp said in a court document filed late on Monday.

Bulger, 81, was apprehended last week after 16 years on the run. He had been sought by authorities for 19 counts of murder committed in the 1970s and 1980s, many of them brutal slayings, and charges of drug dealing, extortion, money laundering and conspiracy.

After his capture at a seaside apartment in Santa Monica, California, Bulger was returned to Massachusetts and appeared in federal court on Friday, just blocks from his old South Boston neighborhood.

The jury pool has "surely been tainted," because of saturation media coverage and the mystique around Bulger and his alleged crimes over the decades.

Other court filings show that Bulger himself questions whether a fair trial is possible.

In addition to several books, the Bulger story inspired Martin Scorsese's 2006 Oscar-winning film "The Departed," in which Jack Nicholson portrayed a character based on the notorious mob boss.

Hiring or assigning counsel to represent Bulger -- a question expected to be addressed on Tuesday in court -- will be a massive undertaking with thousands of documents, multiple cases and charges spanning some 40 years.

Each murder allegation is a "case in itself, which will have to be separately investigated and defended, and will include investigation of informants and cooperating witnesses who have every incentive to lie and to finger Mr. Bulger as the wrongdoer," Krupp said in the filing.

At his initial court hearing, Bulger said he could not afford an attorney because the government seized his assets.

Authorities found more than $800,000 in cash inside Bulger's seaside hideout along with a cache of guns, other weapons, and fake IDs.

The cost to mount a defense on his behalf means paying a team of attorneys, paralegals and investigators that could work for years, Krupp wrote.

Prosecutors have opposed the use of taxpayer funds to pay for a court appointed attorney as requested by Bulger and suggested the defendant's family may be willing to pay.

The government demanded Bulger's brothers, including William "Billy" Bulger, a former president of the Massachusetts State Senate, provide sworn affidavits about his financial position.

A filing on behalf of Bulger stated he will not ask his family to pay for his defense and his family has not come forward so far to hire counsel on his behalf.

 

Ratko Mladic, wanted for genocide during the Bosnian war in the 1990s, has been arrested in Serbia.

Serbian President Boris Tadic said the process to extradite the former Bosnian Serb army chief to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague was under way.

Gen Mladic is accused over the massacre of at least 7,500 Bosnian Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995.

He was the most prominent Bosnian war crimes suspect at large since the arrest of Radovan Karadzic in 2008.

The detention, the Serbian leader said, closed one chapter in Serbian history, bringing the country and the region closer to reconciliation.

It also opened the doors to membership of the European Union, he added.

Serbian media initially reported that Mr Mladic was already on his way to the Hague, but Serbian prosecutors later said the procedure to extradite him might take a week.


It is hard to overstate the importance of this arrest here in Serbia. Many people feel the destiny of their country was held hostage by Ratko Mladic. Their hopes of joining the EU were ruled out by Brussels while Mladic was at large.

I asked President Tadic if it was a coincidence that he was arrested while the EU was considering Serbia's bid to join the bloc. He said the country had never calculated its search for Mladic - it was always determined to catch him.

There is still an ultra-nationalist fringe here who see Mladic as a hero - they say he only ever defended Serb interests. But the new, emerging generation in Serbia seem to be tired of the past and its wars - they want to leave that behind and move forward to the future.

A spokeswoman for families of Srebrenica victims, Hajra Catic, told AFP news agency: "After 16 years of waiting, for us, the victims' families, this is a relief."

UN war crimes chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz welcomed the arrest, saying: "Today's events show that people responsible for grave violations of international humanitarian law can no longer count on impunity."

In other reaction:

US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said the US was "delighted"
UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox said it was a chance for Serbians to "close a very unhappy chapter in their history"
Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the arrest finally offered "a chance for justice to be done"
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Serbia's EU prospects were "now brighter than ever"


1995: Gen Mladic indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes
October 2000: Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ousted and arrested the following year; Gen Mladic, believed to be living in Serbia, disappears from view
April 2005: Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic says Serbian security agents knew Gen Mladic's whereabouts; the intelligence agency describes the allegations as "ridiculous"
February 2006: Chief UN prosecutor demands Serbia step up the hunt for Gen Mladic and says the failure to arrest him will harm Serbia's EU membership chances
July 2008: Gen Mladic's mentor, Bosnian Serb former political leader Radovan Karadzic, captured
October 2010: Serbia offers 10m euros (£8.7m) for information leading to Gen Mladic's capture and arrest
Ratko Mladic's very personal war
UK hails 'historic' Mladic arrest
Gen Mladic was said by Serbian media to have been arrested in Vojvodina, a northern province of Serbia, in the early hours of Thursday.

President Tadic would only confirm he had been arrested "on Serbian soil", adding that details of the arrest would be released once an investigation had been completed.

Gen Mladic had reportedly been using the assumed name Milorad Komodic.

Serbian security sources told AFP that three special units had descended on a house in the village of Lazarevo, about 80km (50 miles) north of Belgrade.

The house was owned by a relative of Gen Mladic and had been under surveillance for the past two weeks, one of the sources added.

Gen Mladic was indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague in 1995 for genocide over the killings that July at Srebrenica - the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II - and other crimes.

Having lived freely in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, he disappeared after the arrest of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 2001.

Speculation mounted that Gen Mladic would eventually be arrested when Mr Karadzic was captured in Belgrade in July 2008.

Larry Hollingworth, a logistics officer with the UN refugee agency who regularly met Gen Mladic during the Bosnian war, said he was "absolutely delighted" by news of the arrest.


"He was a very, very imposing figure and managed to frighten a lot of people - certainly those who worked for him," he told BBC Radio 4.

'Unimaginable horrors'
Just before news of Thursday's arrest, Mr Brammertz had accused Serbia of failing to do enough to find Gen Mladic.

"Until now efforts by Serbia to detain fugitives have not been sufficient," he said in a report sent to the UN Security Council.

President Tadic rejected criticism that Serbia had only taken action following international pressure.

"It is crystal clear that we did not calculate when we had to arrest Ratko Mladic," he told the news conference on Thursday.

Srebrenica falls to Bosnian Serbs - archive BBC report from 1995
"We have been co-operating with the Hague Tribunal fully from the beginning of the mandate of this government."

Speaking after the arrest, Mr Brammertz said UN prosecutors recognised the work done by the Serbian authorities and thanked them for "meeting their obligations towards the tribunal and towards justice".

"With the news of the arrest, we think first and foremost of the victims of the crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia," he added.

"These victims have endured unimaginable horrors - including the genocide in Srebrenica - and redress for their suffering is long overdue," the war crimes prosecutor said.

Fugitive arrested after falling through ceiling with police dog

Sacramento police chased and arrested a man after he fled when officers approached a group of six in Oak Park.
Police approached the group near 14th Avenue and La Solidad Way, police reported.

When one subject fled, police chased him behind a house described in the official activity log as "a known gang hangout."

After finding a loaded gun on the ground, officers entered the house with a search dog.

The dog went into the attic pursuing the subject and both the K9 and its quarry fell through the ceiling.

Neither was injured.

The subject, who was not named, was taken into custody on suspicion of gun violations and resisting arrest.

 

U.S. Marshals Service announced the capture today in Chicago of a 15 Most Wanted fugitive sought on a number of violent criminal charges

The U.S. Marshals Service announced the capture today in Chicago of a 15 Most Wanted fugitive sought on a number of violent criminal charges stemming from an incident in Las Vegas in August 2007.

Robert Jackson, a 25-year-old gang member, was wanted on a warrant out of Clark County, Nev., for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, attempted murder with a deadly weapon, battery with a deadly weapon with substantial bodily harm, battery with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal gang and ex-felon possession of a firearm.

He was added to the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted list in February.

In Chicago today, Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force investigators observed a person matching Jackson's description and an unknown female exit a residence and get into a vehicle.  The task force stopped the vehicle and positively identified Jackson, taking him into custody without incident. 

Jackson was wanted for an incident in August 2007, when a fistfight broke out between rival gangs "Squad Up" and "Wood" in front of a bar on the Las Vegas Strip. A Squad Up gang member, identified as Jackson, allegedly fired five rounds from a 9 mm handgun at Wood gang members.

The gunfire missed the rival gang members and instead struck four innocent tourists.

"Jackson's callous indifference as to who may suffer because of his violent, reckless behavior made his apprehension essential," said Director Stacia A. Hylton of the U.S. Marshals Service. "I appreciate the exceptional effort of all involved in capturing this criminal and making him answer for this horrific crime."

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department contacted the U.S. Marshals District of Nevada Fugitive Investigative Strike Team-Las Vegas Division in November 2007 for assistance in locating and apprehending Jackson.

The District of Nevada's extensive investigation recently yielded information leading them to believe Jackson was residing in Chicago.

This information was immediately provided to the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, and their investigators were successful in locating and arresting Jackson within four days, thereby capping a four-year, multi-state, multi-agency investigation.

District of Nevada U.S. Marshal Christopher Hoye said, "This arrest once again shows the responsiveness and efficiency of the network of U.S. Marshals Service task forces across the country."

Viktor Bout’s case is an attempt by US authorities to prove that the interests of their country prevail over those of every other state.

Viktor Bout’s case is an attempt by US authorities to prove that the interests of their country prevail over those of every other state. This is how Bout’s lawyer Albert Dayan has described the process in an exclusive interview for the Voice of Russia.

Bout’s case is a real hodge-podge of inconsistencies and violations of the laws of several countries, the lawyer insists. His client was arrested in Thailand in the course of talks on a deal that US authorities considered criminal under US law, overlooking the fact that Bout was detained in a country with laws that differ from American legal norms, notes Albert Dayan:

"The US prosecution says that the deal that Viktor was discussing at the point of his arrest was criminal under US laws. However under Thai and Russian laws, this deal does not constitute a crime."

Recall that US law enforcement officers made contact with Viktor Bout in Thailand while posing as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC who were seeking to source surface-to-air missiles, which they said would be used against American citizens. All arguments as to the absence of a crime and unproven intent are not being considered, the lawyer notes:

"The prosecution argues that the fact that Viktor took part in such talks is quite enough to convict him of conspiracy to kill Americans. As I now understand, the prosecution never intended to verify whether Viktor would actually sell the weapons. Viktor’s real intentions were of no interest to prosecutors, both before and after his arrest."

The desire to prove their rightness at any cost pushes legal norms into the background. The US government has given itself the right to arrest a foreign citizen who has never been to the US in a country where he did not commit any crimes, the lawyer reminds. Subsequently, the court had just one task – to make Bout the accused at any cost, Albert Dayan concludes:

"Everything in Viktor Bout’s case ran counter to common logic from the very beginning. Usually, the way it goes is someone commits a crime and the police start looking for the culprit. It’s the other way around here. Law enforcers conceived a crime that would fit a particular person. The US never had any proof that Viktor was conspiring to kill Americans. Thus US law enforcers decided to create a situation, a trap of sorts, which Viktor could fall into while talking with the US agents. The conversation was being recorded and this now forms the basis of the prosecution’s evidence."

At first, it is unclear why the law is being so stubbornly side-stepped in Bout’s case. But everything falls into place when you take into consideration that US law is based on precedent. This means that after convicting Viktor Bout once, the US will be able to use similar mechanisms with respect to citizens of other countries, warns Albert Dayan:

"Every new ruling creates a new precedent. The precedent that this case would create, if it is ruled that Viktor’s case may be considered in the US, would be extremely negative for the world. Having such a precedent would pave the way for the US to legally enforce a completely totalitarian approach to its jurisdiction on a global scale. US special services will be able to arrest any person who falls out of favour with the US anywhere in the world and put him before a court in the US – even with the shakiest proof of his complicity under US laws."

Even having found itself inside a legal vacuum, the defense is sure that the jury will help bring the truth out, especially since for the first time since the beginning of the process, Viktor will be able to tell the jury the whole truth, Albert Dayan says:

"I believe that when it comes to the jury, they will give Viktor a chance and will listen to the truth of what happened. He hasn’t had such a chance as yet: there was political wrangling in Thailand, which meant Viktor didn’t have the opportunity to find people who would hear him out."

Even so, the Americans have done everything possible to complicate the jury selection process, with the release of the 2005 blockbuster Lord of War. US media actively speculated that Bout was the basis for the film’s protagonist Yuri Orlov, who smuggled weapons to Africa in the movie. Few people remember that Hollywood producers refused to finance the film, questioning the credibility of the plot. However, US media have today done everything to make Bout look like the bogeyman. And there is a real threat that emotions will get the better of members of the jury, Albert Dayan warns.

However, the defense hopes that common sense will prevail, given that it isn’t just an individual case, or even the American justice system that’s at stake here – this is an issue of observing laws in all countries. If Bout’s case culminates in a conviction, no person in the world can be sure that he won’t be accused of conspiring against the US tomorrow, arrested the next day, and put before a US court the following week.

A Dundee drugs dealer has been ordered to hand over almost £40,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Gary Carroll was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of dealing heroin in March.

When police raided his home they found thousands of pounds in cash and five bank bags full of drugs.

Dundee Sheriff Court ruled that Carroll's income and assets in the six years prior to his conviction were the proceeds of crime.

The sheriff said he had a "criminal lifestyle" and ordered him to pay £37,310.

Following the hearing, Lesley Thomson, from the Crown Office said: "The actions of drug dealers like Gary Carroll bring untold misery to families across Scotland."

"We will continue to use the powers available to us under the proceeds of crime legislation and to work closely with law enforcement."

Tamil gang from Tooting clashed violently with a Croydon gang on Saturday leaving two men were seriously injured.

Tamil gang from Tooting clashed violently with a Croydon gang on Saturday leaving two men were seriously injured.

Members from the Tooting Boys fought with Croydon's Jaffna Boys in London Road, West Croydon.

A man in his late teens and a man in his late 20s were rushed to hospital in a serious condition after the fight.

The gang battle came just days after the announcement that a feature film is being shot in Tooting, Croydon and Merton exploring the notoriously violent and secretive world of south London Tamil gangs.

Police were called to the area after reports of a group of males fighting.

As they arrived at the scene they found an 18-year-old man suffering from head wounds.

A member of the public alerted them to the location of a 27-year-old man who was found nearby, also suffering from head wounds.

Both men were stabilised before being taken to hospital.

The 18-year-old remains in a critical condition while the 27-year is described as stable.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: We were called just before 2.05am to reports of an assault on the London Road.

“We sent two ambulance crews and two responders in cars an officer .

“There were two male patients who were treated at the scene and stabilised before being taken to hospital.”

A Metropolitan Police Spokesman said: “Croydon CID are investigating. So far two men, a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old have been arrested on suspicion of assault.

Tamil Community leader, Patrick Ratnaraja said the problem of young Tamil men joining gangs was growing.

Mr Ratnaraja said: “I have alerted Greater London Assembly member, Councillor Steve O'Connell to this problem and he has already begun taking steps to remedy it.

“A raid was carried out on a property in London Road last week, believed to be used by Tamil gang members.”

The World’s Most Wanted

They are the men whose very names are synonymous with murder, drug trafficking, terrorism and organised crime.

They head gangs responsible for killing on a grand scale whose tentacles spread across national borders. Interpol describes them as “posing a serious threat to public safety worldwide”.

There is no definitive list of the world’s most wanted fugitives. The FBI’s is perhaps the most famous but – aside from Bin Laden, now marked “deceased” – is made up of those who have committed crimes within the US which do not come close to the deeds for which those pictured here are wanted.


Likewise, Interpol has no set list but acts as a central database for the most wanted men in countries around the world, including Britain’s.

In 2008, the American business magazine Forbes launched its own Most Wanted section, which is largely the basis for our list.

Of its list, Forbes says: “Forbes consulted with law enforcement agencies in the US and around the world to identify its top 10.  Everyone on the list has been criminally indicted or charged, some in national jurisdictions and some by international tribunals.

"They all are accused of a long history of committing serious crimes and are still considered dangerous. And each represents a type of criminal problem with which legal institutions in diverse jurisdictions are grappling.”


Joaquin Guzman
The world’s most notorious drug trafficker also appears on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest men. Guzman is known as El Chapo, or Shorty, and heads Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, responsible for a  drugs war which has left thousands of Mexicans dead in the battle to control smuggling corridors to the US. The US government has indicted Guzman and placed a $5m bounty on his head. He was arrested in Mexico on homicide and drug charges in 1993 but escaped from federal prison eight years later, reportedly through the laundry. He is reported to be responsible for up to half of wholesale drug shipments to the US since 2001.


Semion Mogilevich
The Ukrainian-born organised crime boss has been described as the “boss of bosses” of most Russian mafia syndicates in the world. He is believed to control a vast criminal empire and has been called “the most dangerous mobster in the world”, “the brainy don” and “the billion dollar don”. He was arrested in 2008 in Russia amid accusations of tax evasion but, with lawyers protesting his innocence, he was released in 2009. The US has asked that he be handed over in connection with a $150m stock fraud but with no extradition treaty with Russia, it is unlikely. The FBI says Mogilevich has been linked to allegations from murder-for-hire to weapons and even nuclear trafficking. Mogilevich denies such accusations.


Ayman Al-Zawahiri
Bin Laden’s number two has a $25m bounty on his head, offered by the US government. He is wanted for the murder of American nationals and conspiracy to murder.
He is now widely expected to step up to lead Al Qaeda after bin Laden’s death but is said not to have his former boss’s charm or vision. Al-Zawahiri is a physician and the founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), which merged with Al Qaeda in 1998.


Matteo Messina Denaro
Head of the world’s most famous organised criminal group, the Italian mafia.
Nicknamed “Diabolic”, Denaro emerged as leader of the Italian mafia after the capture of “boss of bosses”, Bernardo Provenzano, in 2006. Arrests of other top mafia men mean the Sicilian godfather is considered the new boss. He is known for driving Porches and wearing Rolex watches. He has been on the run since 1993.


Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov
Born in Uzbekistan, Tokhtakhounov is described by the US government as a “major figure in international Eurasian organised crime”, involved in “drug distribution, illegal arms sales and trafficking in stolen vehicles”. In 2002, the US government indicted him for bribing Olympic figure skating judges. Interpol links him with Mogilevich and, like him, he is a face of the Russian mob.


Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar
The most wanted man in India is believed to lead a 5,000-member criminal syndicate known as D-Company, involved in narcotics and contract killing and based mainly in Pakistan, India and the United Arab Emirates. America says Ibrahim shares smuggling routes with Al Qaeda, with whom they accuse him of collaborating. Also accused of being involved with Al Qaeda affiliate, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which pulled off the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. He is wanted by Interpol on terrorism and explosive charges. Also number 50 on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people.


Felicien Kabuga
Africa’s most wanted man is accused of financing one of the worst genocides in human history.
The wealthy businessman is sought by the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in connection with the massacre of over 800,000 Rwandan men, woman and children in 100 days in 1994. He provided transportation and machetes and hoes that were used as weapons. A dramatic US-led operation to catch him in 2003 failed and led to the death of their key informant. The UN court will start examining evidence against him next week. He is believed to be hiding in Kenya.


Joseph Kony
The former Catholic altar boy from Uganda has waged war against the country’s government for two decades in his bid to rule according to the 10 commandments.
The head of guerrilla group, the Lord’s Resistance Army, he has driven the killing of civilians in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has displaced two million people and directed the abduction of 60,000, including 30,000 children, forcing them to fight in his campaign of murder, rape, mutilation and sexual slavery. He reputedly forces children to murder their parents as part of their initiation. The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for his arrest for crimes against humanity and war crimes. Thought to have at least 60 wives.


James “Whitey” Bulger
Leader of the Boston-based, Irish American Winter Hill gang.
He is wanted by the FBI for 19 counts of murder, drug distribution, extortion, racketeering and money laundering.
There is a $2m bounty on his head. He has a violent temper and is known to carry a knife. He was last seen in London. His wealth is estimated between $30-50m and he is thought to use that and his criminal contacts – reportedly including the IRA – to evade capture.


Omid Tahvili
Tahvili, 40, is the kingpin of a Persian organised crime family in Canada. Known as “Nino”, Tahvili walked out of a maximum security prison in British Columbia in November 2007 after bribing a guard with $50,000. He had been in custody since 2005 on an unrelated kidnap and assault charge. The US government wants him for his alleged operation of a fraudulent telemarketing business that took $3m from elderly American victims. Tahvili is believed to have connections across the world and is described by the FBI as “extremely dangerous”.

Russian fugitives stage horseback prison break

TWO Russian inmates bolted out of a Siberian jail on horseback, but were caught when they stole a car and promptly crashed, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Dmitry Fomchenko and Ildar Niyazulin used a horse in the daring escape from the jail outside the city of Omsk, in southwestern Siberia.

But things went wrong when they switched to a getaway car outside the jail and crashed into a ditch.

The fugitives were caught and faced further charges of breaking out of prison and theft.

 

One of the U.S. Marshals Service¹s Top 10 fugitives was arrested Friday morning in Southeast El Paso.

George Felix DeLeon, 41, was arrested by U.S. Marshals and Texas Department of Public Safety officers after avoiding capture for five years. DeLeon has been wanted since 2006 for parole violation.
DeLeon has a long criminal record including voluntary manslaughter for shooting a man in the face, aggravated assault for running over a man with a car and arson.
Authorities were assisted in their arrest by an anonymous tip made to Crime Stoppers of El Paso. That tipster will receive a $5,000 reward from Crime Stoppers.

Florida fugitive Denise Harvey and her husband, Charles, left a long trail of unpaid debts behind when they fled to Pike Lake in Saskatchewan nearly a year ago

Florida fugitive Denise Harvey and her husband, Charles, left a long trail of unpaid debts behind when they fled to Pike Lake in Saskatchewan nearly a year ago.

Records obtained by The StarPhoenix from various U.S. agencies indicate they owe tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid tax to the Internal Revenue Service, have been successfully sued by suppliers or business partners, failed to make mortgage and tax payments on their nearly $1-million home, which was seized and auctioned off, and have been delinquent on child support payments from Charles' previous relationship.

"I'm happy to see the locals (in Saskatchewan) learn about the real Harveys," said a Florida man with knowledge of the Harvey's business dealings. The man spoke on condition of anonymity.

When reached by telephone Thursday, Charles Harvey said he'd consider an interview request and would call back late in the afternoon, but he did not.

Denise Harvey, 45, sentenced in Florida to 30 years in prison for having sex with a 16-year-old baseball teammate of her son's, has claimed refugee status in Canada, arguing the sentence amounts to "cruel and unusual punishment."

Her actions would not be considered criminal in Canada, where the age of sexual consent is 16. And even though the age of consent in Florida is 18, many there were shocked by the apparently harsh sentence. Canada does not normally extradite unless the actions are considered criminal here.

Harvey, however, could be deported to the U.S. for entering Canada illegally.

She has been released from prison on a $5,000 bond while her refugee claim is evaluated, a process that could take months or even years.

While many in Florida and Saskatchewan sympathize with Denise Harvey's predicament, some of those who have had business dealings with the Harveys do not.

"They will take off from Pike Lake, I promise you that," said the Florida man who has dealt with the Harveys.

Ron Barnett, the Florida bail bondsman who put up her $150,000 bail guarantee, is angry she fled, but he also angry Canada is not sending her back to Florida. He must now pay the courts the $150,000.

According to a 2010 IRS document, Charles Harvey owes more than $30,000 in unpaid taxes from 2004 to 2007. A document on the website for the Martin County Court of Clerks says Charles Harvey was delinquent on various child support payments to his ex-wife.

Although he was not convicted criminally, in 2008 Charles was charged in Florida with "felony third-degree grand theft."

Californian funeral parlour has decided to move with the times with drive-through viewing of an open casket.

Californian funeral parlour has decided to move with the times with drive-through viewing of an open casket.

The owner of Robert L. Adams Mortuary, Peggy Scott Adams, said it meant well-known locals could be viewed en masse; older mourners wouldn't have to leave their cars; and those afraid of funeral parlours wouldn't need to go inside.

The covered and paved 3.6m-wide drive-through has a bulletproof glass display window, which is visible from the street.

"It's a unique feature that sets us aside from other funeral parlours," Ms Scott Adams said.

"You can come by after work, you don't need to deal with parking, you can sign the book outside and the family knows that you paid your respects."

The cost of funerals at the mortuary start from $1295.

The venue had become popular with gangs because cemetery shootouts in the 1980s made members reluctant to gather for funerals, Mrs Adams said.