WEB BUZZ MAFIA

He has also provided evidence against those linked to the 2009 death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, a case that caused an international outcry and prompted the United States to push for a bill cracking down on Russia n corruption . Perepilichny, a Russia n citizen, collapsed and died abruptly outside his home on an upmarket estate in the English county of Surrey on November 10, police said on Wednesday, the first time the case has come to light. Perepilichny is the fourth person linked to the Magnitsky case to have died in strange circumstances. "It is being treated as unexplained," a police spokeswoman said. "A post-mortem examination was carried out which was inconclusive. So further tests are now being carried out." British media reports said Perepilichny appeared to be in good health when he collapsed in the evening outside St George's Hill , one of Britain 's most exclusive estates, where he was renting a house for ...

A 39-year-old man in an out-of-state prison directed a crime ring in Ventura County that forced competing gangs to work together and funneled money back to the Mexican Mafia prison gang, authorities said Tuesday. Martin Madrigal was among 27 people, including two teens, who were indicted and accused of crimes such as conspiring to commit assault, extortion, home invasion , robbery and drug trafficking , Ventura County sheriff's and district attorney's officials said at a news conference. All but two have been arrested, and at least 16 more are expected to be indicted, officials said. The suspects are largely members of local gangs who worked with the Mexican Mafia , authorities said. "These are hard-core criminal gang members. They wake up every day and try to decide where they're going to commit crimes ," Sheriff Geoff Dean said at the news conference. Authorities have seized 32 weapons , $36,000 in cash and a quarter-pound of heroin, off...

Asian mafia assassin found guilty of stabbing casino crook 32 TIMES in crowded karaoke bar over $10,000 gambling debt A suspected Chinese mafia assassin was found guilty of murder Monday for stabbing a man to death 32 times at a crowded Las Vegas karaoke bar in 2009. Xiao Ye Bai, 25, was convicted of a slew of charges, including extortion, kidnapping, attempted murder and armed burglary in connection to the July 2009 killing of Wen Jun 'James' Li. Bai could face the death penalty. Alternatively, the jury could sentence him to life without parole, 20 years to life or 20 to 50 years in prison.   According to the prosecution, on July 6, 2009, Bai was sent to the Forbes KTV club on Jones Boulevard to collect a $10,000 gambling debt from Li on behalf of the Asian criminal organization United Bamboo, for whom he allegedly worked as a hired gun.    Bai's attorney, Robert Draskovich, never denied that his client stabbed Li, but argued that the besp...

Vito Rizzuto , right, reputed head of the Montreal Mafia , speaks with his lawyer Jean Salois. Police confirm they have met with Vito Rizzuto amid reports that he has been summoned for what would be the memorable spectacle of a reputed Mafia don testifying at Quebec 's corruption inquiry. Provincial police will not comment on the inquiry appearance first reported by Radio-Canada , the French-language CBC . The news organization said police delivered subpoena papers to Rizzuto , who was alleged to have been this country's most powerful Mafia figure and head of a crime family with myriad international ties. Police confirmed to The Canadian Press that they tracked down Rizzuto on Monday. "He was met - I can confirm that," said provincial police Sgt. Claude Denis. "But that's all I can say." The sight of a prominent underworld figure answering questions on a live TV broadcast would only be the latest twist in an inquiry that...

The porn mafia seems to have acquired a fresh and new market. It’s none other than higher secondary, high school and upper primary students of city schools .   Obscene and vulgar video clips are transferred to the mobile phones of these students through bluetooth , say special branch cops. The sources said a large number of people were involved in the sleazy business as the police found several instances of the mafia operating near educational institutions . Though most city schools have banned mobile phones on campus, students violate the order and smuggle them in. The porn clips are first transferred from an outsider to a student and they are later shared among others. Sources said internet cafes operating near schools are the supply hubs. The special branch police arrested a few men from Thrippunithura and High Court Junction on Sunday, on charge of providing porn clips to school students . “ Students usually give their mobiles to t...

Chongqing criminal does about-turn on claims that jailed attorney Li Zhuang faked evidence Former defence lawyer Li Zhuang''s arrest in 2009 still has the legal community seething. An imprisoned Chongqing mafia boss who alleged that his lawyer fabricated evidence on his behalf - resulting in the lawyer being jailed for 18 months - has changed his testimony and said police in the municipality forced him to lie to frame him. Li Zhuang, the former lawyer of convicted mafia boss Gong Gangmo, was summoned on Friday, along with his attorney, by the Supreme People 's Procuratorate for a meeting that lasted more than an hour, The Beijing News reported. The summons came after Li, who was released from jail in June last year, submitted a petition earlier this month seeking a review of his case and accusing officers of wrongdoing in their investigation. The newspaper said Li provided seven audio and video clips to support his claims. In petition documents, ...

Think you'll ever get a good paying job once that headhunter or potential employer finds your mugshot and info about your arrest on the Internet? (MONROE, WA) -- You have a picture taken of you. A picture you do not want taken…at a police station somewhere. It is your mug shot. Your arrest shot. But later, you may be exonerated of whatever crime you were charged with. Maybe the charges were dropped before there ever was a trial. Now you find your mug shot on a website . You tell the website – which is a mugshot website that does nothing but post mug shots – that you want it taken down because you have been exonerated or were never charged to begin with. The website says sure. For $400. You give us $400 dude (or more) and we take down your photo . Sound like a low level Mafia shakedown to you? Some people think it is. “That’s the dilemma facing people across the country as a backlash rises against mug-shot websites that demand that people pay up to have th...

South Africa came last in an evaluation of maths and science education across the world Education in Eastern Cape is allegedly controlled by a clique that uses blackmail and intimidation to keep its members' pockets full. A two-month investigation by The Times's sister publication, The Herald , also revealed claims by female education department officials that they are pressurised at out-of-town junkets into having sex with "top dogs" in exchange for a promotion. The clique - dubbed the Education Mafia - has infiltrated a number of the provincial department's 28 directorates, with some members holding key positions. This allegedly enables them to manipulate tender procedures and financial plans, influence policy discussions and stymie internal investigations. The group has also allegedly drawn up a ''hit list'' of education officials its members want fired for standing in their way . The deputy direc...

Police find baby-faced Mafia don hiding in a secret room in his mother's kitchen Mariano Abete led turf war between rival factions of Neapolitan Camorra ' Baby-boss ' thought to be one of Italy's youngest-ever crime lords Found by police in room concealed behind remote-controlled wall A baby-faced mafia don thought to be one of Italy 's youngest-ever gang bosses has been captured by police in Italy . Mariano Abete, 21, who is nicknamed ' baby-boss ' in the Italian media, was arrested hiding in a secret room concealed behind a remote-controlled wall at his mother's house. He had been leading the family in a turf war between rival factions of the Neapolitan Camorra which has already claimed dozens of lives. Abete had taken the helm after his father was arrested and his uncle murdered, and was wanted by police for mafia association and conspiracy to sell drugs. Despite his age, he was said to be powerful and dangerous. Police...

Jaipur: The land mafia in the city is using ' royal connection' to grab prime localities in the city, reports claim. According to reports, the Jaipur police in reeling under complaints from people , who accused the land mafia is claiming their ownership over the land, insisting that the particular piece of land was allotted to their ancestors by the royal family of Jaipur . They are even producing fake land deeds and forged signatures of erstwhile rulers to take the victim into confidence, reports said. The issue came to light after a caretaker lodged an FIR against five people at Vaishali Nagar police station. In his FIR report, the caretaker of Pungalia farm stated that some musclemen barged into the farm house on November 9 and vandalized the area. The caretaker added that the men claimed that the farm was gifted to one Baal Singh i...

New Orleans, La. -Prosecutors say she's a self-proclaimed " mafia wife " who is involved in covering up criminal activities in two of the city's most violent gangs. Her attorney says she's a 17-year-old schoolgirl who should be given a reasonable bond. An Orleans criminal judge has now decided the issue. From the U.S. Attorney to the mayor to the police chief, we've seen a full court press in efforts to crack down on gang violence . Monday, that effort ran into some trouble, with a young woman with alleged ties to gangs involved in the murders of innocent children. 17-year-old Ja-on Jones went before Orleans Criminal Judge Laurie White in an effort to get her $650,000 bond reduced. Prosecutors intent on cracking down on gang violence produced an Instagram photo from the defendant, in which she poses with an alleged gang member armed with a gun and labels herself a " mafia wife ." Prosecutors say Jones lied 13 times to a grand jur...

Montreal - A reputed Mafia don , Vito Rizzuto, has been summoned to appear before the Charbonneau Commission that is investigating corruption in Quebec. Quebec police were able to serve Rizzuto a subpoena on November 19th in Montreal. Rizzuto seems to have been in hiding since he returned to Canada in October after being released from prison in the U.S. Many believe that Rizzuto is head of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada. Sgt. Claude Dennis of the Quebec provincial police only confirmed that Rizzuto was met and the subpoena served. Rizzuto was known once as Montreal's Teflon Don because of his ability to avoid prosecution. His name has come up several times during discussion of corruption in Quebec's construction industry. Earlier testimony described how construction officials would collude to decide who would win which public contracts and at what price. The Rizzuto family would receive a 2.5 per cent cut of the contracts. Lino Zambito, a former vice-pres...

RAWALPINDI  - Tout mafia in the district courts Rawalpindi has added to the miseries of the already troubled visitors in the courts. According to sources, the touts keep wandering the district courts premises and mint money from the visitors by offering all kind of help and assistance needed in the courts. They charge Rs500 to 700 to appear before a court as an eye-witness for anyone. Sources revealed that the touts allegedly having links in all the major law related departments and offices of the city including readers, registrars and commissioner offices. A tout , in the district court on condition of anonymity told INP, he offers his services to the litigants in getting bails on personal guarantee and earning livelihood for his family.  He said that he was numberdar in his village but was facing financial hardships, thus was forced to do this job. He received 10 percent of the bail assurance bond. A visitor of the court said that the touts...

ITALIAN mafiosi have been pocketing hundreds of thousands of euros from European farm funds for years thanks to a legal loophole, according to rulings from Italy's Court of Auditors. Convicted gangsters and suspects under police surveillance were able to receive Common Agricultural Policy payments of up to €153000 without triggering more in-depth controls on their criminal history. "Until two months ago we didn't even have a list of mafiosi to check against when making payments," said Giancarlo Nanni, director of Agea, the Italian government agency that handles European agriculture funding. Court rulings demanding that the funds be returned to the state showed that payments of more than €2-million had been made over nearly two decades, including to mafiosi who were in prison at the time. Around €1.8-million was distributed in Sicily alone, where there were dozens of rulings against "farmers" for illegally obtaining public funds. Under...

Beijing: An ex-lawyer who said he was wrongfully persecuted as part of a massive crime crackdown by China's purged politician Bo Xilai this week filed a complaint with China's highest prosecuting office. The former defence lawyer, Li Zhuang, is demanding a thorough investigation of his case, which has raised questions about how Bo ruled Chongqing a metropolis in China's southwest as its party chief until his downfall in March.  China's top government prosecuting office said on its website today that it had received Li's petition and will handle his complaint according to procedure. Li was detained in 2009 after his client Gong Gangmo, a Chongqing businessman swept into Bo's anti-mafia campaign because he was suspected of gang crimes, alleged that the defence lawyer had instigated him to lie about being tortured for confession. Li, who spent 18 months in jail, has said Gong framed him under duress of Chongqing police. Li has been appealing his c...

ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW), Thursday, said that country was being pushed towards an energy crisis as top officials of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) were acting against masses’ interests. OGRA board is incomplete therefore all recent decisions are legally debatable, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW. He said that at least three officials on the ORGA board must agree to give legal cover to a decision but currently all the decisions are being taken by Chairman OGRA and Member Oil. Appointment of the incumbent Chairman has already been challenged in the Supreme Court while member Gas has been barred from working and Member Finance has fled the country. The posts of Senior Executive Director (SED) Finance and SED Gas are also lying vacant in ORGA since long, he said. He said that those conspiring to deprive masses of economical fuel know that 3.7 million vehicles are using CNG, around one million people are directly or indirec...

Raynald Desjardins said inquiry would affect first-degree murder trial Raynald Desjardins was arrested on Dec. 21, 2011 in connection to the death of alleged Mobster Salvatore Montagna Quebec's corruption inquiry is insisting that a suspected Mafia boss must appear to testify. Justice France Charbonneau, who heads the provincial probe into organized crime involvement in the construction industry, has rejected a bid by Raynald Desjardins to get out of appearing. Charbonneau said in her ruling on Thursday that Desjardins has information pertinent to the inquiry, noting he has links to a company tied to organized crime and a labour union boss. Desjardins' lawyer had argued that his client is already awaiting trial for the first-degree murder of a former boss with the Bonanno crime family. Marc Labelle said it would be impossible for Desjardins to get an impartial jury if he appeared at the corruption inquiry. But in her ruling the inquiry chair says i...

Lucknow, Nov 22 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh Police Thursday arrested mafia don Sushil, alias 'Moonch', wanted in more than 40 cases ranging from extortions, contract killings and murders, from a shopping mall in Rajasthan. Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Arun Kumar said Sushil, whose criminal activities ranged from Uttarakhand to Rajasthan and UP, carried a cash reward of Rs.one lakh. An elite team of the state's special task force (STF) arrested Sushil in a late night swoop from outside the Pink Square Mall, Raja Park, in Adarshnagar area of Jaipur. The mafia don , the police official said, was a "hard nut to crack" and was trailed for over six months that involved electronic surveillance and a 24x7 intelligence low down on him. The police official said Sushil was by far the "most wanted criminal" of Uttar Pradesh and that he had built a huge empire of organised crime. "Sushil has invested in real estate ...

(Trinidad Guardian) Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing is insisting there is no coconut vendors’ association, despite several releases being sent to the media signed by “Baldeo Babwah, president of the Coconut Vendors Association.” Lee Sing asked: “Where are their minutes, their constitution, their by-laws? Let us start there. I have asked for copies. There are none,” he added. He said: “There is no Coconut Vendors Association. There is one family monopolising the sale of coconuts at the location (Queen’s Royal College by the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain) and I don’t intend for them to pull my strings.” Asked if there was a coconut mafia operating around the Savannah, he said: “You said it right. There are all kinds of mafia . There is a coconut mafia now.” Lee Sing was responding to questions on a release sent by the Coconut Vendors Association yesterday informing of a meeting it would be having with the Port-of-Spain City Corporation at 10 am yesterday. I...

Islamabad—Minister for religious affairs Syed Khurshid Shah has said mafia is plundering the country, therefore, all have to work together for its eradication. Presently mafia of every department has eroded the foundations of the country; he said this while giving reply to calling attention notice in National Assembly Tuesday. Somewhere drug mafia is operating, somewhere transport mafia and somewhere some other mafia , he added. He went on to say hepatitis has reached alarming proportion in the country turning into an epidemic. People will be worried if statistics in this respect are made public, he held. It is corporate responsibility of federation and provinces to work together to eliminate this disease, he urged. International donors are facing problems due to devolution of health department to the provinces, he stated. The need is there awareness be created among the people for elimination of hepatitis, he stressed. Responding to a question he said the standar...

Lahore—Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said metro bus is a splendid project of public service and is being opposed only by a specific anti-people mafia . He said he is ready to sacrifice even his life in the service of the masses. He said that this mega project of public interest will be completed as soon as possible. He said that every moment is precious, therefore, work is continuing on the project round-the-clock. He said that no delay in the execution of metro bus project will be tolerated. He said that work on the project is continuing with a missionary spirit and it is his belief that even the impossible can be achieved with hard work and commitment. He was presiding over a high level meeting to review the pace of work on metro bus project at Model Town, Monday. Chairman Lahore Transport Company Khawaja Ahmad Hasaan, Members Assembly Mehr Ishtiaq Ahmad, Hafiz Mian Muhammad Nauman, Chairman Planning & Development, Project Director BRT, Secretaries of...

Quebec’s corruption inquiry has heard from police, construction bosses and bureaucrats. Pretty soon, that list could grow to include a suspected Mafia boss . The lawyer for a reputed member of the Montreal Mafia is trying to get his client out of testifying before the inquiry. Raynald Desjardins is currently awaiting trial for first-degree murder in the slaying of a former Bonanno crime boss. Lawyer Marc Labelle says since his client is already awaiting trial, testifying before the inquiry could hinder his attempt to find an impartial jury. A lawyer representing the inquiry says it’s interested in Mr. Desjardins’s involvement in a construction firm that specialized in decontamination. Mr. Labelle notes that Mr. Desjardins’s earlier failed attempt to have a subpoena quashed before the Quebec Superior Court received heavy media coverage and he says any testimony before the inquiry would get 10 times more attention. The lawyer asked for commission counsel to make ...

Dubai: A man has been accused of claiming that he is connected to the Indian mafia and threatening to kill a businessman if he did not pay Dh15 million. Prosecutors charged the 53-year-old Indian suspect, A.T., with threatening to kill businessman B.S.,his compatriot,and attempting to swindle him by coercing him to pay Dh15 million. The suspect did not appear before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday. Presiding Judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi adjourned the case until A.T. is legally notified about the next hearing on December 5. According to the charge sheet, prosecutors accused A.T. of threatening to kill B.S. if he did not pay Dh15 million to another man named S. He also tried to con the businessman of his money by claiming that the Indian mafia would kill him if he failed to pay the money to S. The 40-year-old businessman testified that the incident happened after A.T. asked to meet him. “As soon as he arrived at my residence, he claimed that ...

In a scathing attack on the Congress leadership in Andhra, union cabinet minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has described the state unit chief B Satyanarayana Rao as “ the don of the liquor mafia , the land mafia and the mining mafia ” and dubbed N Kiran Kumar Reddy as an ineffective CM. In a note to the Congress leadership, Deo, who represents Andhra’s Araku segment in the Lok Sabha, has called for change at the top — of the state unit as well as the government. The note couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Congress is hemmed in by the demand for a separate Telangana state and the rise of the Jagan Mohan Reddy, who after quitting the party has emerged as a force to be reckoned with. The tribal affairs and panchayati raj minister has described Rao as the “fountainhead of corruption” with “a pie in every scam on which he has been able to lay his hand”. “It will be difficult to find a worse person for this post than the present incumbent,” the minister’s 11-page note s...

Book excerpt from ' Mafia Prince :’ The story of Philip Leonetti’s mob hit of Vincent Falcone as ordered and watched by Nicky Scarf. The perfect trap: Philly mob honcho walks up the stairs, right into his death Vincent Falcone in the trunk of Philip Leonetti's car. Reprinted from “Mafia Prince: Inside America’s Most Violent Mafia Family and the Bloody Fall of La Cosa Nostra” by Philip Leonetti and Scott Burnstein. Available from Running Press, an imprint of The Perseus Books Group. “ Mafia Prince : Inside America’s Most Violent Mafia Family and the Bloody Fall of La Cosa Nostra,” is the book that came together after gangster and stone cold killer Philip Leonetti emerged from hiding to tell his story to Scott Burnstein and Christopher Graziano. Once the underboss to and the nephew of possibly the most vicious psychopath the mob has ever produced, the Philadelphia boss Nicky (Little Nicky) Scarfo, “Crazy Phil” turned and testified, sending dozens of ...

 19/11-2012 12:47, Bishkek – 24.kg news agency , by Makhinur NIYAZOVA. The Russian mafia boss, a citizen of Georgia Ilya Samsoniya, born in 1973, was detained at Manas International Airport. The Interior Ministry of Kyrgyzstan informed 24.kg news agency.  Reportedly, on November 16, in Bishkek, during boarding Moscow - Bishkek flight the officers of the General Organized Crime and Corruption Control Department (GUBOPiK) detained a foreigner with a forged passport of the Kyrgyz Republic’s citizen.  As noted, the examination found out that the detainee is a citizen of Georgia, and he is also so called mafia boss Ilya Samsoniya. The GUBOPiK Investigation Department filed a criminal case under the Article 350 of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code (Use of forged documents).  The report said, now the police is checking the involvement of the detained person in crimes committed in Georgia and Russia. “His extradition is not considered so far,” the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry sai...

The U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of Texas says eight Hondo members of the Mexican Mafia pleaded guilty to various charges in federal court Friday.  These men were rounded up in October of 2011.  Assistant US Attorney David Shearer confirms the following charges and sentences: --Paul Anthony Sanchez, considered by the feds to be the Lieutenant out in the Hondo part of the organization, received got 260 months (21 years) after pleading guilty on Count 1 (Hobbs extortion conspiracy) and Count 2 (drug conspiracy). --Eduardo Garcia received 260 months (21 years) after pleading guilty to Count 1 and 2, plus Count 6 (felon in possession of firearms.  We're told he had a gun and a bulletproof vest). --Joseph Correa received 180 months (15 years) when he pleaded guilty to Counts 1 and 2, plus Count 7 (felon in possession of firearms.  Shearer told News 4 WOAI Correa had 6 firearms and a bulletproof vest). --Jason Ryan Gonzal...

Nov 17, 2012 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's media should refrain from using the word 'mafia' in relation to the stocks market, because no such organized movement exists, Securities Exchange Commission chairman Nalaka Godahewa said. Godahewa told reporters during a media conference this week, that rather than the stock market players, the 'mafia' was involved in 'negative' media reports aimed at bringing the market down.    Godahewa was appointed to the position by the state in controversial circumstances after the previous boss, who was cracking down hard on stock market fraud resigned saying he was under pressure. Mafia The so-called 'stock market mafia' was a reference by some critics to politically powerful market players who 'cornered' illiquid stocks and pumped them up or engaged in other questionable activities such as chop stock trading or creating false markets. Questionable trading activities - especially t...