Friends of Ours

Cleaning House

U.S. lawmakers bill taxpayers for TVs, cameras, Lexus

U.S House ethics panel investigates congressmen for Caribbean junket

Money talks in New York's City Council chambers

Largest corruption case in government's history for Prince William County, MD

Indianapolis narcotics officers go to trial on federal corruption charges

Deputy with narcotics unit in Shelby County, TN accused of stealing drug money

Tijuana: Poster City For Narcoland

The Toronto Star has begun an eight-part series on the Mexican drug cartels, involving its reach both south and north of the border, and in the second installment Linda Diebel focuses on the violence-plagued Tijuana on the border with San Diego, CA:

Tijuana could be the poster city for life and death in Narcoland. It's a raw, savage city, where cartels revel in cruelty, the more macabre the better. Living here must be like being trapped in a slaughterhouse where anybody – man, woman, child – could be slung up on hooks at any moment.

Some are offering ominous warning about the future:  "Victor Clark Alfaro, a Tijuana-based anthropologist, says: 'It's unfortunate, but I would say organized crime is getting worse.'"

Gotti Lawyers Want Case Tossed

Lawyers for John "Junior" Gotti have moved to dismiss last September's indictment against him as reported by Thomas Zambito for the Daily News.  Three previous trials against the mob scion resulted in hung juries, and defense lawyers now contend with melodramatic hysteria that "Mr.Gotti should not be forced to once again put his life and liberty in jeopardy merely for the satisfaction, pride and perceived justice of the government."  However, the first three trials against Junior had little to do with the current racketeering charges involving, among other things, his alleged role in the murders of George Grosso, Louis DiBono and Bruce John Gotterup and a cocaine trafficking ring.  Indictment Against Junior Gotti

Nothing But Money

Daily News editor Greg B. Smith is out with Nothing But Money:  How the Mob Infiltrated Wall Street, an expose of the role of New York's five Mafia crime families in stock "pump and dump" scams, and his paper includes an excerpt from the book.

Bikini Bandits

La Familia As A Political Machine

Following last week's arrest of ten mayors from the state of Michoacan who allegedly had been corrupted by La Familia, Tracey Wilkinson from the Los Angeles Times takes a closer look at this "relatively new and particularly violent group" which "is undermining the electoral system and day-to-day governance of this south-central state, pushing an agenda that goes beyond the usual money-only interests of drug cartels":

Whether by intimidation, purchase or direct order, drug gangs can sometimes dictate who is a candidate and who is not, and put some of their own people in races -- a perversion, critics say, of democracy itself. * * * Dozens of mayors, city hall officials and politicians have been killed or abducted in Michoacan as La Familia has extended its control in the last couple of years. * * * Unlike some drug syndicates, La Familia goes beyond the production and transport of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine and seeks political and social standing. It has created a cult-like mystique and developed pseudo-evangelical recruitment techniques that experts and law enforcement authorities say are unique in Mexico. No party has been spared its influence or interference, politicians of all stripes said in a series of interviews conducted before the arrests of the mayors. * * * La Familia also has steadily diversified into counterfeiting, extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, prostitution and car dealerships. The group offers money or demands bribes; increasingly, people in Michoacan pay protection money to La Familia in lieu of taxes to the government. At least 83 of Michoacan's 113 municipalities are compromised by narcos, said a Mexican intelligence source speaking on condition of anonymity.

Sinaloa Lieutenant Arrested

Mexican army soldiers have arrested Roberto Beltran Burgos, known as El Doctor, who is "a reputed lieutenant of Joaquin 'El Chapo' (Shorty) Guzman, the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel and Mexico's most-wanted fugitive" according to the Latin American Herald Tribune.  The National Defense Secretariat (Sedena) and the federal Attorney Generals Office (PGR) said in a joint statement the arrest "'affects the operational and security capacity' of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the country’s most powerful and violent:

Beltran Burgos' position within the criminal structure meant that he was "responsible for receiving and transmitting orders handed down by Joaquin Guzman to other members of this drug-trafficking organization," they said. He also maintained and controlled the Sinaloa cartel's "protection and security structure" in different states of the country, authorities said. Beltran Burgos, according to investigations by Sedena and the PGR, had a "network of informants who alerted him to the operations being carried out by the federal government" against the Sinaloa mob. Officials also said the detainee coordinated a group of 14 attorneys to provide legal support to members of the criminal organization.

Black Tar

The drug cartels are pushing "a powerful form of heroin grown and processed in Mexico known as 'black tar' for its dark color and sticky texture" throughout the United States, and their retail distribution "operations often piggyback on a growing and struggling Mexican immigrant population" as reported by Randal C. Archibold for the New York Times:

Drug seizures ebb and flow over the years, but the amount of heroin confiscated nationwide has been arcing up since the mid-90s, going from 370 kilograms in 1998 nationwide to about 600 kilograms — roughly $150 million worth of heroin — last year, though officials believe it is a small fraction of what is available on the street.

Vladimir Barsukov: "No Regrets"

Vladimir Barsukov, the one-armed reputed head of Tambov crime syndicate from St. Petersburg currently standing trial in Moscow remains defiant according to an article by Mark Franchetti for The Sunday Times:

"I'm innocent and this trial is a farce," Barsukov told The Sunday Times during the hearing. "I don't fear this court and I'm far from broken. The only judgment that matters to me is God's. I'm in very good spirits and when I look back on my life I've no regrets whatsoever."

Paul Bergrin Denied Bail

Paul Bergrin, the New Jersey criminal defense lawyer, former federal prosecutor and convicted brothel operator who was indicted earlier this month for his alleged role in the murder of a witness against one of his clients and attempting to hire a hit man to whack a witness against another client, was denied bail last night according to an article by Joe Ryan for the Star-Ledger:

"The government has proven, by clear and convincing evidence, that no conditions or combination of conditions exist that will reasonably ensure the safety of the community," U.S. District Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo said in a written opinion filed shortly after 8 p.m. * * * [P]rosecutors say Bergrin used his Newark law office to coordinate a vast racketeering enterprise that specialized in targeting those scheduled to testify against gang members and drug dealers. "Mr. Bergrin participated in numerous plots to kill witnesses," Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gay said. If Bergrin was released on bail, Gay said, every witness scheduled to testify at his trial would be in danger.

Mexican Drug Cartels Invade Vancouver, BC

The Mexican drug cartels are well-entrenched and wreaking violent havoc in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Linda Diebel from the Toronto Star has the story:

While the U.S. Attorney General's Office calls the Mexican drug cartels a "national security threat" and says 230 American cities have been infiltrated, the port city of Vancouver may be Canada's first to feel the fallout from the crackdown on Mexico's drug lords. Already this year in the Vancouver area – nicknamed the gang capital of Canada – there have been 30 shootings (with 12 fatalities) directly linked to the gang shakeout in Mexico and tracked by the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Some 130 gangs operate in B.C., among them Red Scorpions, United Nations, MS-13, Bacon Brothers, Hells Angels and various independents – all with ties of varying degrees to lucrative Mexican cocaine, among other drugs from other places. "Vancouver and British Columbia are unfortunately the focus of the largest number of organized crime groups in Canada," warned Peter Van Loan, federal public safety minister and solicitor-general, in a speech in Langley this year.

Street Boss

Street Boss, the film adapted from FBI Agent Phil Kerby's book With Honor and Purpose about bringing down Detroit’s Tony Pro crime family including the notorious Tony Giacalone, had its world premiere last night in Saginaw, MI.  Robert E. Martin from The Review has an interview with the film's director Lance Kawas.

Mexican Crime Groups Diversify

Organized crime groups increasingly are diversifying their rackets beyond drug trafficking including cargo theft from trucks and trains as reported by Mica Rosenberg for Reuters:

These gangsters are armed not only with guns but heavy machinery to unload industrial materials and bulk agricultural goods, deftly passing them off to the black market. * * * The robberies are raising the cost of doing business in Mexico as companies hire guards, expensive security consultants and specialized satellite positioning devices to track cargo. * * * Analysts say the thefts could come from groups splintering off from drug gangs in the chaos. "The internecine warfare has caused some of the smaller groups to branch off into other lucrative organized crime activities. It's a kind of diversification," University of Miami drug expert Bruce Bagley said. "Stealing cargo, collecting protection money, kidnapping are all part and parcel. Once you get a taste for this life, it is hard to go back," he said.

Cleaning House

Obama offers prime posts to top campaign contributors

Ralph Nader accuses Terry McAuliffe of attempted bribery

Federal grand jury subpoenaes U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky

Two senior House staffers to testify in trial against former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson

Judge tosses perjury charges against Baltimore Mayor Sheila Jackson

Investigators probe whether convicted Pennsylvania judges fixed criminal cases

Pennsylvania school administrators plead guilty

Former Grant Park, IL police chief pleads guilty to shaking down johns

Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC police officers sentenced for drug trafficking

Attorney General Announces Int'l Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center

Attorney General Eric Holder has announced the creation of the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2) "that will marshal the resources and information of nine U.S. law enforcement agencies, as well as federal prosecutors, to collectively combat the threats posed by international criminal organizations" according to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice:

The new IOC-2 Center will allow partner agencies to join together in a task force setting, combine data, and produce actionable leads for investigators and prosecutors working nationwide to combat international organized crime, and to coordinate the resulting multi-jurisdictional investigations and prosecutions.

A key component of the new strategy will be to target the profits and assets of organized crime enterprises:

Understanding that international criminal organizations are profit-driven, IOC-2 will also work with investigators and prosecutors to target the criminal proceeds and assets of international criminal organizations. * * * As part of this strategy, IOC-2 will establish a team of financial experts to serve as consultants and identify opportunities and strategies to employ forfeiture as a means of disrupting targeted criminal organizations. The team will coordinate multi-jurisdictional forfeiture strategies and assist agents in the field in obtaining the necessary resources, such as financial auditors, investigators and forfeiture attorneys, to employ the strategy.

Holder long has understood that law enforcement must take the profit out of crime in order to take the bite out of crime:  "Back in 1999, when he was the deputy attorney general, he told the Senate Judiciary Committee, 'From telemarketing to terrorism to counterfeiting to violation of the food and drug laws, the remedy of asset forfeiture should be applied.'"