Friends of Ours

The NBA Ref & The Mob

Tim Donaghy, the former NBA referee who was convicted for betting on games he was officiating, appears on 60 Minutes this Sunday to talk about, among other things, how the Gambino crime family allegedly got its hooks into him:

When the Mafia learned of his success, they wanted him to work for them, he says. "They basically told me that I needed to give them the picks and if I didn't, that it's a possibility that somebody would go down and visit my wife and kids in Florida," says Donaghy. Thus began a relationship that former FBI Special Agent Phil Scala says produced "a few million dollars, conservatively, that went into the coffers of organized crime." * * * He was eventually arrested by the FBI, which learned about him from one of their Mafia wiretaps. He spent 11 months in prison and provided evidence against his mob cohorts.

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The Lawman And The Mobster

Steven Seagal, the Hollywood actor who "is starring in a new reality series about his work as a 'fully commissioned' officer with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana," allegedly once met reputed Genovese capo Angelo Prisco for help "in dealing with Anthony 'Sonny' Ciccone, a [reputed] Gambino family captain [allegedly] affiliated with" one of Seagal's previous business partners as reported by The Smoking Gun.

Hells Angels Arrests In Arizona

Seven reputed members of Hells Angels have been arrested pursuant to Operation Quite Riot "for a series of [alleged] violent assaults in Northern Arizona bars" as reported by James King for the Phoenix New Times:

"Quiet Riot" was a six-month investigation into an ongoing feud between the Hells Angels, the Desert Roadriders, and a rival motorcycle gang in northwest Arizona, in what DPS official are calling "a struggle for power." DPS officials say there have been several violent assaults at several bars near Bullhead City and Lake Havasu and that warrants were served to seven members of the gang.

Protected Witness Assassinated In Mexico City

Edgar Enrique Bayardo, a former federal police commander in Mexico's witness protection program providing information on the Mexican drug cartels, was assassinated yesterday in a Starbucks coffee shop in Mexico City as reported by Ken Ellingwood for the Los Angeles Times:

Mexico City authorities said Bayardo was hit by at least six bullets when a pair of attackers burst into the Starbucks in a well-to-do neighborhood called Del Valle. * * * It was the second time in less than two weeks that a high-profile witness has turned up dead while feeding information to authorities about Sinaloa traffickers. On Nov. 20, Jesus Zambada Reyes, the 22-year-old nephew of the reputed Sinaloa drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, was found dead in a government safe house in Mexico City. Authorities said he hanged himself, but questions swirled over whether he was coerced or killed by cartel hit men.

Meanwhile, "Mexican authorities discovered a large cross-border tunnel . . . and arrested more than a dozen men inside the passageway that extended about 860 feet into San Diego," CA as reported by Richard Marosi for the Los Angeles Times.

Sex Slavery In The United States

Hells Angels Bust In Winnipeg, Manitoba

Police have arrested two dozen "members or associates of the province's Hells Angels chapter, accusing them of importing and selling huge amounts of drugs," and are searching for several others as reported by Chris Kitching for The Winnipeg Sun:

At least one high-ranking member of the Manitoba Hells Angels and every member of the Zig Zag Crew, which is aligned with the outlaw motorcycle gang's local chapter, are among those swept up in the 13-month investigation, which involved more than 300 police officers, police said. It focused on high-level drug trafficking but some are accused of firearms trafficking and money laundering. * * * So far, 24 people have been formally charged in the investigation dubbed Project Divide, including Hells Angels member Sean Sebastian Wolfe, 33, who's charged with conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime. Still outstanding, according to a source, is a Hells Angels member who has high-ranking status.

Mike McIntyre and Jennifer Pawluk report for The Winnipeg Free Press:

Project DIVIDE relied on a familiar trick -- obtaining the services of a longtime criminal to infiltrate the Hells Angels and conduct a series of drug transactions, which were captured on audio and video surveillance. The "secret agent" was paid well for his betrayal -- believed to be at least $500,000 of tax-free money -- and is now in witness protection.

Reputed Israeli Mobster Acquitted

Reputed mobster Yaniv Zaguri was acquitted on Monday "of membership in an organized-crime organization" as reported by Tomer Zarchin for Haaretz:

Zaguri was acquitted due to reasonable doubt over his membership in a crime organization and a series of offenses related to that membership. But he was convicted of conspiracy to commit a crime, weapons offenses, extortion and vandalism of property - for placing a grenade near the home of an intelligence official at a Be'er Sheva prison. The blast killed the official's dog.

Three New Mob Task Forces In Israel

Israel Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch announced Monday that "three new police task forces are to be created 'immediately' to bolster the fight against organized crime" as reported by Yaakov Lappin for The Jerusalem Post:  "The new forces will join the five existing forces already in place, and will be tasked with targeting crime organizations on the economic front, battling money laundering, and gathering intelligence on crime outfits and mob bosses."

LA Shootings May Be Work Of Israeli Mafia

The LAPD is "investigating whether the shooting of two men at a North Hollywood synagogue in October is the work of Israeli-connected organized crime" as reported by Richard Winton and Robert Faturech for the Los Angeles Times:

In the last few weeks, LAPD investigators have concentrated their resources on the idea that the shootings were designed to silence someone. "It is something we are looking at, but we have made no definitive conclusions," Deputy Chief Michael Downing, head of the LAPD's Counter Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau, told The Times. Several law enforcement sources said that one of the men shot in the attack was believed to be the target of the shooting, and the other was shot because he was in wrong place at the wrong time. * * * Downing, who was recently in Israel, was quoted in the Jerusalem Post as saying, "The two victims had been kneecapped. That's not indicative of terrorism. It resembled a targeted, surgical strike," the Post reported. "They were targeted as part of a stern warning linked to a criminal organization."

Alleged Mafia Fugitive Caught In Spain

In Tarragona, Spain police have apprehended Domenico Verde, a reputed member of the Polverino clan from the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia, after several years on the run as reported by Adnkronos:

According to investigators members of the Verde family established a mafia cell in the southern Spanish city of Malaga, where in collusion with Spanish drug traffickers, they regularly purchased hashish from Morocco that was transferred to Italy by sea via Spain's southern Costa del Sol.

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Six Accused Of Aiding Fleeing Cop Killer

In Washington six people have been arrested for allegedly helping Maurice Clemmons, the now-dead suspect behind last Sunday's massacre of four Lakewood police officers, avoid apprehension as reported by KING TV and The Associated Press.