Friends of Ours

Sicko Mobsters Dump Dead Animals

Italian investigators have found dozens of dead cats, dogs and rabbits dumped at Frezza lake in the countryside outside Naples, and they suspect the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia which breeds the animals "for international export to supply labs conducting experiments" as reported by Nick Pisa for the Daily Mail:  "in recent years the mafia is said to have made millions from the supply of animals for this reason."

Tommy Shots Gets On His High Horse

Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli, the reputed former Colombo acting boss who is sitting in jail while awaiting trial on six gangland killings, claims on his blog that capo-turned-informant Dino "Big Dino" Calabro is a wife beater and a dog killer as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News.

The defense strategy of attacking so-called rats typically fails in mob trials. Indeed, flipped witnesses are credible precisely because they are slime bags; after all, who else would be involved with the Mafia to know where the proverbial bodies are buried?

Yes, Tommy Shots, mobsters by definition are scum, and you apparently hung out with a few of them so what does that make you?  Someone who allegedly is responsible for six murders.

Exotic Animals Suffer Due To Human Idiocy

The Oakland Zoo has rescued four sibling tigers from "a roadside freak show" in order "to educate the public about tiger mills" as reported by Carolyn Jones for the San Francisco Chronicle: 

Owning tigers is legal is 21 states, including California. More than 8,000 tigers live in the U.S., far more than live in the wild globally. Of the 8,000, only a few hundred live in accredited zoos. The rest live in backyards.

Meanwhile, in Zanesville, OH, sheriff's deputies and others are hunting down and killing off dozens of exotic animals including bears, lions and wolves which had been released by their "owner" prior to committing suicide on the property as reported by The Columbus Dispatch.

UPDATE:

Sheriff's deputies and others in Zanesville, OH have slaughtered 49 animals including 18 tigers, 17  lions, 6 black bears, 3 mountain lions, 2 grizzly bears, 1 baboon and 2 wolves as reported by The Columbus Dispatch.  The ignorant people of Zanesville have a lot to answer for including why this back yard zoo was allowed to exist in the first place, and why the only apparent contingency plan in the event of escapes was a barbaric shoot to kill order.

Indian Activist Shahla Masood Assassinated

Shahla Masood, an activist who crusaded against public corruption in the central India state of Madhya Pradesh, was assassinated in a shooting ambush as she got into her car outside her home on Tuesday morning as reported by The Telegraph:  "Ajay Dubey, a close associate of the slain RTI campaigner, said Shahla had 'raised questions regarding several tiger deaths' across the state. 'People involved in the racket may be responsible,' he added."

Dog Meat Mafia Serves Up Man's Best Friend

In Thailand police busted three men and rescued 1,000 dogs destined for Vietnamese restaurants which "will barely dent this huge and highly lucrative business" as reported by Patrick Winn for the GlobalPost.  Four trucks "were stacked high with dogs stuffed into tiny cages, and 119 dogs were already dead" as reported by Joanna Zelman for The Huffington Post.