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Cleaning House

Obama's vanity is a liability for Democrats

Something doesn't add up:  Dems seek mere reprimand against Rep. Charlie Rangel. . . yet call on him to resign? . . . Obama says Rangel should end his career "with dignity"

Rep. Maxine Waters may face ethics trial in the fall

Flashback: black lawmakers want to restrict powers of ethics body

IMF calls for U.S. taxpayers to shell out another $76 billion for bank bailouts

Political class backs spending while voters oppose

IBD:  Second American Revolution in the works?

Ex-Jersey City, NJ Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini free pending appeal

Cuyahoga County, OH IS Director Daniel Weaver indicted on bribery charge

Last defendants in LA highway construction bribery case sentenced to prison

Philadelphia, PA Police Comm'r Charles Ramsey vows to weed out dirty cops

Three Oklahoma City, OK attorneys charged in police bribery scheme

Six Collin County, TX District Clerk officials indicted on organized crime charges

Biker's Son Convicted On Male Rape Threat

Chad Koschuk -- the son of reputed Chosen Few motorcycle club president Alex Koschtschuk -- has been convicted  for "threatening to forcibly sodomize a witness who provided information to the FBI and testified before a grand jury about his father" as reported by Phil Fairbanks for The Buffalo News.  Twenty alleged members and associates of the Chosen Few motorcycle club, including Alex Koschtschuk, were indicted last year in Buffalo, NY on federal rackeketeering charges.

Hells Angels Club House Seized

In Winnipeg, MB Canada police raided and seized the reputed Hells Angels club house pursuant to a court order as reported by Sandy Klowak for the Winnipeg Free Press:  "The house has allegedly been used as a site to plan and carry out criminal activity such as money laundering. That makes it liable for forfeiture under the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act."

Strip Club News

Seven arrested after raid on Platinum Showgirls in Toledo, OH

Three associates of Frank Colacurcio Sr. get probation in Seattle, WA

Family of slain man sues Pink Monkey in Travis County, TX

Man killed on 21st birthday during mayhem outside Club Eden in Davie, FL

Woman shot in parking lot at Carousel Lounge in Columbus, GA 

Waitresses file sex harassment suit against Sin City in Bronx, NY

Strip club kingpin Harry Mohney sued for alleged labor violations

Judge denies Pink Piny's appeal for liquor license in Charleston, WV

FBI Informer Joseph Barone Acquitted

Joseph Barone, a long-time FBI informer who began feeding info to the feds after the mob whacked his Genovese soldier father, and his co-defendant businessman Anthony Piliero have been acquitted by a federal jury in NYC on charges that they plotted to murder Douglas Agnessanto, a former partner of Pilierco, to collect on the purported victim's life insurance as reported by Larry McShane for the Daily News.

Fugitive In Bruno Slay Case Nabbed In Italy

Emilio Fusco, one of six defendants indicted for his alleged role in the 2003 hit of Genovese capo Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno in Springfield, MA, has been apprehended by Italian police in Sorrento, Italy as reported by Stephanie Barry for The Republican: "He is being detained there as his lawyers try to sort out whether he faces a possible death penalty in the United States. * * * The Italian government has historically refused to extradite natives exposed to the death penalty in other countries."

Say It Ain't So, Joe

69-year-old Joseph J. LoDolce Jr., a reputed associate of the Rochester, NY Mafia during the 1970s and 1980s "who served as a bouncer at an illegal mob-run gambling club and was sentenced to federal prison for seven years in 1989 after being convicted of conspiracy," has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy as reported by the Democrat and Chronicle. 

Mafia Exploitation Of Kids:  Really A New Low?

Cleaning House

July is deadliest month in Afghan war for U.S. troops . . . Obama's legacy

Double dip recession looms

Dems propose $165 billion union pension bailout

Back Door Man: Obama plans universal amnesty for illegal aliens by executive action

Obama's OMB nominee Jacob Lew got $900,000 after Citigroup bailout

Ethics Committee completes investigation into Rep. Maxine Waters:  decision imminent

Court upholds charges against Hank Morris in NY State pension fund corruption case

Philadelphia, PA cop Kenneth Crockett charged with cash grab

Philadelphia, PA city records employee Kelly Kaufmann Layre charged in bribe scheme

Jefferson County, AL Comm'r Gary White gets 10 years on bribery conviction

Ex-liquor control officer James Allen Morgan indicted on bribery charge in St. Louis, MO

Seven charged in Youngstown, OH corruption case

Charlie Rangel: Don't Cry For Me Harlem

Rep. Charlie Rangel, the 40-year veteran of the House who rose to become chair of its powerful Ways & Means Committee until pushed to resign the position last March, finally was hit by the Ethics Committee today with its formal charges which comprised a baker's dozen as reported by for Politico: "In releasing a 'Statement of Alleged Violation' of against Rangel, investigators drew a portrait of a veteran lawmaker who used his office and staffers for his own personal benefit and aggrandizement, repeatedly running afoul of House financial disclosure rules."

Rangel insists that his only crime was that he loved too much -- or something like that -- as reported by The Associated Press:

"Even though they are serious charges, I'm prepared to prove that the only thing I've ever had in my 50 years of public service is service," Rangel told reporters Thursday night. "That's what I've done and if I've been overzealous providing that service, I can't make an excuse for the serious violations."

Among the "public service" which Rangel provided was issuing a statement of support for Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman after the class action law firm and several of its partners were indicted on federal charges in May 2006 for an alleged decades-long conspiracy pursuant to which serial plaintiffs were paid kickbacks to file securities fraud suits against publicly-traded companies.  Rangel stated:  "The unprecedented recent indictment of Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman is a very thinly veiled attempt by the Bush Administration to accomplish by bullying and intimidation what it has not been able to do by law - to end class-action lawsuits, one of the few tools remaining to safeguard the American consumer."  Yep, Charlie's always fighting for the little guy God bless his heart.  Anyhow, some heavy-weight former partners, including Mel Weiss, pleaded guilty and were jailed for their roles in the scheme, and the firm -- once dubbed the "meanest law firm" in America -- avoided prosecution by paying a $75 million fine and hiring a compliance monitor.  And now Rangel is facing his own reckoning.

Drug Cartel Death Threats Against AZ Sheriffs

A Mexican drug cartel has put a $1 million dollar bounty on the head of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio as reported by KSAZ.  Earlier this month Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu was the target of death threats from the cartels.

Mexican Soldiers Kill The King Of Crystal

Local, state and federal law enforcement busted nearly 100 people -- most Mexican nationals with suspected ties to the drug cartels -- for alleged marijuana grow operations on public land in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, and seized $1.7 billion worth of the wacky weed as reported by Garance Burket for The Associated Press:  "Officials would not clarify which Mexican cartels were involved but said more arrests were pending."

Silvio Berlusconi may be the Prime Minister who finally breaks the back of the Mafia in Italy, and Giulio Meotti details the leader's "impressive and extensive campaign against the mob" for The Wall Street Journal:

Not since the days of anti-mafia hero and magistrate Giovanni Falcone has the mob had it so tough. * * * The battle that has played out in Sicily over the last 50 years shows that if the Italian state takes on the mafia with tenacity and seriousness, it can win. If we are to judge the Italian tragedy that is the history of the mafia by the facts, then Mr. Berlusconi is probably the greatest persecutor of the mob, in all its incarnations, in a long time.

A federal jury sitting in Brooklyn, NY cleared reputed Genovese capo Anthony "Big Nose" Antico of any role in the 2008 slaying of Staten Island jeweler Louis Antonelli during a botched robbery and shaking down a Staten Island bagel shop; however, it convicted the 75-year-old of racketeering for "running from prison an illegal gambling club on Sand Lane in Staten Island, and conspiring to extort Mario Gulibello, a Brooklyn man who had won $1.6 million picking the winners of six horse races at the Santa Anita racetrack in 2004" as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News.  Antico previously has been twice convicted on racketeering charges, and he "could get a maximum of 20 years in jail, a virtual life sentence, according to the feds" as reported by Janon Fisher for the New York Post.

$1.7B Pot Bust In Sierra Nevada Mountain Range

Local, state and federal law enforcement busted nearly 100 people -- most Mexican nationals with suspected ties to the drug cartels -- for alleged marijuana grow operations on public land in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, and seized $1.7 billion worth of the wacky weed as reported by Garance Burket for The Associated Press:  "Officials would not clarify which Mexican cartels were involved but said more arrests were pending."

Silvio Berlusconi: Italy's Mob Busting Prime Minister

Silvio Berlusconi may be the Prime Minister who finally breaks the back of the Mafia in Italy, and Giulio Meotti details the leader's "impressive and extensive campaign against the mob" for The Wall Street Journal:

Not since the days of anti-mafia hero and magistrate Giovanni Falcone has the mob had it so tough. * * * The battle that has played out in Sicily over the last 50 years shows that if the Italian state takes on the mafia with tenacity and seriousness, it can win. If we are to judge the Italian tragedy that is the history of the mafia by the facts, then Mr. Berlusconi is probably the greatest persecutor of the mob, in all its incarnations, in a long time.

Mixed Verdict In Anthony Antico Racketeering Case

A federal jury sitting in Brooklyn, NY cleared reputed Genovese capo Anthony "Big Nose" Antico of any role in the 2008 slaying of Staten Island jeweler Louis Antonelli during a botched robbery and shaking down a Staten Island bagel shop; however, it convicted the 75-year-old of racketeering for "running from prison an illegal gambling club on Sand Lane in Staten Island, and conspiring to extort Mario Gulibello, a Brooklyn man who had won $1.6 million picking the winners of six horse races at the Santa Anita racetrack in 2004" as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News.  Antico previously has been twice convicted on racketeering charges, and he "could get a maximum of 20 years in jail, a virtual life sentence, according to the feds" as reported by Janon Fisher for the New York Post.