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Montreal Mayor Hit With Corruption Charges

Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum has been arrested on corruption charges which "relate to obtaining permission and political support for two real estate projects" between 2006 and 2011 when he headed a city borough as reported by CBC News.

Applebaum took over mayoral responsibilities in the City of Saints after his predecessor Gérald Tremblay resigned last November amid a corruption inquiry into allegations that the Montreal Mafia and public officials were colluding together in the award of government contracts to construction companies from which they took kickbacks.

In January Applebaum fended off claims that he was mobbed up, and held a press conference to respond to allegations that he "attended a political fundraiser in 2003 at a restaurant owned and frequented by Mafia associates, and that he was involved in generous government grants given to Tony Magi, a real-estate developer [allegedly] linked to Montreal's Rizzuto clan" as reported by Rene Bruemmer for The Gazette:

"I have never given favours to anybody, never received any funds, never gone on any boat trips," Applebaum said. "I am not afraid of the Mafia, I do not hang out with the Mafia and I do not know members of the Mafia. They are not friends of mine."

The Montreal Mafia is engaged in an ongoing turf war among rival clans for control over the drug trade which has left dozens dead in the last few years.

Narco Traffickers Target Dominican Prosecutor

A prosecutor in the Dominican Republic is the target of death threats for taking on organized crime as reported by Dominican Today:  "La Romana province prosecutor José Polanco Ramírez said Monday drug traffickers and killers-for-hire plan attempts on his life and those of his family, for which he was assigned more bodyguards."

Dominican drug trafficking organizations -- both in the Dominican Republic and in North America -- increasingly have been appearing on law enforcement's radar screen for their involvement as distributors for the Mexican drug cartels.

Last May the feds busted 11 suspects in Providence, RI for their alleged roles in a heroin ring run by a Dominican group on behalf of a Mexican cartel as reported by Tatiana Pina for the Providence Journal:  "the investigation . . . resulted in the seizure of more than 3 kilos of heroin, which carries approximately a $1 million street value, $450,000 in cash, a substantial quantity of high-end jewelry, five fire arms, four of them loaded, and 12 vehicles."

And in January 2012 U.S. customs officials seized 130 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $4 million from three unattended duffel bags which arrived on a flight from the Dominican Republic to Philadelphia International Airport as reported by WPVI:  "the previous largest cocaine seizure at Philadelphia International was 55 pounds of the powdery narcotic, seized on August 5, 2000."

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is working with the Dominican Republic's National Drug Control Agency to investigate a suspected new DTO dubbed the Cibao cartel operates in the country's northern region as reported by The Associated Press:  "Agency spokesman Ramon Rodriguez described the group as extremely dangerous and said they work with cartels in Mexico and Colombia." 

Of course, organized crime cannot exist in the Dominican Republic without public corruption according to anti-drug government advisor Marino Castillo as reported by Fox News Latino:  "the illegal drug trade has made progress in the country due to its infiltration of the armed forces, police, political parties, business, banking and the real estate industry."

Italian Judge Charged With Money Laundering

A judge, two cops and several lawyers and accountants are among the thirty-four defendants arrested for their alleged roles in a mob-tied money laundering operation across Italy as reported by ANSA.

Battipaglia Mayor Charged In Camorra Probe

Repeat three times:  organized crime cannot exist without public corruption.

Italian police have arrested Mayor Giovanni Santomauro from the Campania city of Battipaglia for allegedly awarding contracts to companies tied to the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia in a bid rigging scheme as reported by ANSA.

The Camorra runs the streets of Naples and is involved in everything from the vice rackets such as drugs and prostitution to the corruption of legitimate industries including waste and construction, and its dirty operations were exposed to the world by Roberto Saviano in his 2006 international bestseller Gomorrah which subsequently was adapted into a film by director Matteo Garrone.

Federal Prosecutor: Dirty New York Politician Wanted To "Take . . . Out" Cooperating Witness

New York State Senator John Sampson has been indicted on corruption charges which include a shocking allegation that he sought a list of cooperating witnesses from a friend who worked for Brooklyn federal prosecutors "so he could arrange to 'take them out'" as reported by Mosi Secret for The New York Times.

It's ironic because Senator Sampson is a lawyer who unsuccessfully sought to unseat Brookln DA Charles Hynes in a 2005 primary as reported by Graham Rayman for the Village Voice.

The good senator "becomes the 32nd state politician to be indicted or convicted of a crime, censured or otherwise accused of misbehaving in the last seven years" -- probably just the tip of the iceberg -- in the Empire State as reported by the editorial board for The New York Times:  "New York's ever-expanding gallery of rogue politicians makes one wonder what can be done to keep the remaining unindicted lawmakers in line."