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ROPAR : Akali Dal ( Amritsar ) president Simranjit Singh Mann today alleged that the Muslim properties in the state were being grabbed by the land mafia and builders at the behest of Akali Dal and BJP leaders . While talking to media persons after visiting the graveyard of Muslim community at village Kotla Nihang   near Ropar to see the ‘ encroachment ’ made on it, Mann alleged that Waqf Board was hand in glove with land mafia in allowing grabbing of its properties. Mann said that he had come to Kotla Nihang to assure his support to the members of Muslim community ,who were fighting against grabbing of their graveyard by the land mafia and builders. He asked the members of Muslim community to give an application to him so that their grievance could be sent to National Human Rights Commission and Minorities Commission . Mann also criticised the state government over ‘ deteriorating ’ law and order situation in the state and alleged that Police i

THE Argentines were regarded by a senior Irish diplomat as "morbidly estranged from reality" and a people governed by a Mafia class. In a withering dissection of " Latin psyche ", the embassy in Buenos Aires sent a 17-page advisory to Dublin : a character assassination teed up with an assertion that the locals are psychologically dangerous. The cable, titled " Understanding Argentina " and dated November 24, 1982, was sent to the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs , Iveagh House , Dublin . It was contained in a file marked " travel costs ". It was intended to be an overview of Argentine affairs following a year of turmoil and the country 's defeat over the Falklands . Thirty years later, it reads like an offensive catalogue of stereotypes. The cable states : "As a nation – if they are a nation , and that is part of the pathology – they are morbidly estranged from reality. "To attempt an exhaustive c

ROME — Italy ’s confused election campaign took another twist Friday with the country ’s respected national anti-Mafia prosecutor joining ranks with the center-left Democratic Party , a big-name boost for a party that is already leading in the polls ahead of the February vote . A day earlier, Premier Mario Monti got an even bigger endorsement for his potential candidacy from the Vatican newspaper after winning a not-so-subtle thumbs up from the pope himself on Christmas Day . Almost left behind in the jockeying was Italy ’s most colorful politician , Silvio Berlusconi , who was on the front pages of Italy ’s leading daily Friday for an entirely other reason. Corriere della Sera revealed details of his divorce settlement with his second wife Veronica Lario , showing that he must pay her €3 million ($4 million) a month. He gets to keep the house, however. Italians vote Feb. 24-25 in general elections after a yearlong experiment with Monti ’s technocratic governmen

Wind energy company held in Valletta fiduciary company targeted by Palermo investigators hunting Mafia boss of bosses. Matteo Massimo Denaro identikit . Sicilian anti-mafia judges have issued a freezing order on assets and money registered under a Valletta-based company which investigations have revealed to be connected to one of the world 's most wanted mafia bosses , Matteo Messina Denaro . Known to be the current ' boss of bosses' to Sicily 's notorious ' Cosa Nostra ', Denaro was always considered to be the Mafia 's most prolific financial brain , who invested and laundered billions of drug and extortion money all over the world, including Malta on various occasions. On the run for the past 25 years, Denaro has this week hit the headlines in Italy for his connections to the highly lucrative sector of renewable energy . Months of investigations in Palermo have yielded Denaro 's links to Sicily 's wind farm energy

  An old Italian Mafia Don is dying and he called his grandson to his bed and said, " Grandson I wanta you to listen to me. I wanta you to take mya 45 automatic pistol , so you will always remember me." Grandson replied, "But grandpa I really don't like  guns , how about you leaving me your Rolex watch  instead." The old man replied: "You lisina to me, some day you goina run da bussiness , you goina have a beautiful wife , lotsa money , a biga home and maybe a couple of bambino, some day you goina come home and maybe finda you wife in bed with another man . Whata you gonna do then? Pointa to you watch and say, " Times Up "?

A file picture taken 14 September 2004 shows Russian ex-spy and fierce Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko , after a press conference in London . The British government has evidence that the Russian state was involved in the radioactive poisoning of Litvinenko , a hearing into his death was told yesterday. Russia ’s thousand-year history is littered with conspiracies and conspiracy theories. Claims by Alexander Litvinenko ’s supporters that he was a Russian spy and, last week, by his widow’s lawyers that he was an important agent for MI6 , belong in all probability among the latter. Litvinenko was actually a middle-ranking KGB (and later, FSB ) enforcer who fell out with the Kremlin and with his former colleagues. He threw in his lot with the Kremlin ’s public enemy number one, Boris Berezovsky , and when Berezovsky fled to England in 2000, he fled with him. From the imagined safety of London , Litvinenko poured out his bile on Vladimir Putin , hurling ever more i

Vianna Roman is charged, along with 28 others, with a variety of crimes related to activities of the Harpys street gang in South L.A., reputedly run by her father from prison. When her father was convicted of the murder of a rival gang member and sentenced to life in prison without parole almost three decades ago, Vianna Roman was a 9-year-old girl . In the years since, Danny Roman , federal authorities say, has become a feared member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang . He allegedly controlled a 30-square-mile expanse of gang territory in South L.A. from behind bars in Pelican Bay State Prison . Doing his bidding from 700 miles away — passing down his orders of violence , collecting " taxes " from businesses and other gang members at his behest — was his daughter , federal prosecutors alleged Thursday. Vianna , now 37, a mother and operator of a meat market and water store, was among 18 arrested as part of a sweeping federal take-down of members o

Kozhikode district collector and convoy targeted by sand miners on two occasions Thiruvananthapuram : The sheer audacity with which some illegal river sand miners dared the Kozhikode district administration early on Saturday morning, challenging a team led by the district collector, has shocked the state and called for stringent action to crack down against violators of the law . Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran brought the matter into the political limelight on Sunday, citing how different mafia gangs were tightening their grip on the state . Sudheeran said it was unfortunate that a situation prevailed where the land mafia , sand mafia and liquor mafia were had exercised a tight grip on the state . Sudheeran said the administrative mechanisms to control such mafia appeared to be failing and that the attack of the sand mafia against the Kozhikode district collector was an example of the dire situation. Kozhikode district collector

NOIDA : Even though Noida Authority on Thursday cleared nearly 90 acres of encroached land from three major sectors in Noida , they have failed to take action against land mafia who have encroached upon at least 100 acres of green belt at a prime location near Sector 74 where thousands of housing units are being developed. Authority officials had claimed that they would soon raze the encroachments, but so far no action has been taken. The Noida Authority on Thursday had flattened nearly 90 acres of encroached government land valued at about Rs 10,000 crore from three major sectors in Noida , but it appears officials are less bothered about the green belt in the city. A TOI team had recently visited Sector 74 and found that the green belt was heavily encroached on. Even construction work was being undertaken on some of the plots. When the issue was raised before the Noida Authority OSD Manoj Rai , he had said that a team would be sent to conduct a probe and demolish illegal

Vito Rizzuto , right, reputed head of the Montreal Mafia , speaks with his lawyer following a 2004 court hearing in Montreal .  MONTREAL — The weekend killing of a man with alleged ties to the Mafia is the latest manifestation of the power struggle being waged in Montreal ’s underworld , experts said. And there’s likely more bloodshed to come. " Montreal is like a powder keg right now. And there is a sense that the violence is no longer one-sided," Mafia expert Antonio Nicaso said in an interview on Sunday." Unfortunately, I don’t think this is the end of it." Montreal homicide detectives did not release the name of the victim , whose body was found riddled with bullets and slumped in a white Range Rover SUV about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. But he was identified in numerous reports as Emilio Cordileone, 50. Cordileone had no criminal record . However, his name came up numerous times during Operation Colisée, the RCMP probe into organized crime .

Tuesday, December 04, 2012 - Mandi Bahauddin—“ Gas mafia ” has again increased price of liquefied petroleum gas ( LPG ) by up to Rs 15 per kg which would further put huge burden on domestic consumers. In Mandi Bahauddin, domestic cylinder is already sold for Rs 1,700 and now its price would shoot up to more than Rs 2000. It may be mentioned that domestic LPG cylinders are purchased by those who could not get CNG connections due to lack of contact with local PPP leaders . The CNG consumers use gas over a month and their bills do not exceed Rs 1000 whereas consumers using LPG have to purchase three to four gas cylinders a month to prepare meals. This disparity is felt seriously by LPG consumers. Besides, cylinder has less than 12 kilograms LPG and the LPG sellers refuse to weigh the cylinder when requested by customers. Complaints made to authorities concerned in this regard bear no fruit.

Skulduggery amid the gently sloping vineyards of Tuscany sent an estimated £10 million worth of one of Italy’s most celebrated red wines gurgling down the drain A Tuscan vineyard between Castellina and Poggibonsi in Italy   Saboteurs broke into the cellars of the Case Basse winery in the middle of the night, turned on the taps of the giant wooden casks in which the wine was maturing, and let more than 62,000 litres of prized Brunello di Montalcino drain onto the ground. The resulting virtual lake of wine represented 80,000 bottles, each of which can sell for 170 euros or more — a total estimated value of more than 13 million euros. The nocturnal raiders did no other damage to the estate’s “ cantina ”, nor did they steal anything, deepening the mystery and suggesting that it was less a random episode of vandalism and more a deliberate act of spite. The raid wiped out the last six vintages of the 6.5 hectar

Italy 's highest court on Tuesday ruled that a court in Palermo had wrongly dragged President Giorgio Napolitano into a probe on alleged negotiations between the mafia and the state following deadly gangland bombings two decades ago. The constitutional court said it had accepted Napolitano's argument that wiretaps of him speaking to a former interior minister about the mafia investigation could not be used in the case and should have been destroyed immediately. The ruling takes pressure off Napolitano, seen as the guarantor of Mario Monti's technocrat government , who is likely to play an important role in the formation of a new government after elections expected in March. The 87-year-old president risked being weakened by the case which drew negative coverage of him in some domestic newspapers . A ruling against Napolitano would have marred his mandate, which ends early next year, by linking him with one of the most notorious epis

Steven Benavidez, who authorities say is linked to the Mexican mafia , is behind bars on suspicion of killing Erasmo Ledezma and possession of drug paraphernalia , authorities said. Authorities say witnesses led investigators to believe that Benavidez and other Mexican Mafia members are associated with Ledezma’s death after Ledezma did not pay his share to gang members. The Mexican Mafia is a documented prison gang that taxes individuals to get money and support, according to Superior Court documents. On Nov. 22, Phoenix fire fighters found Ledezma dead outside a business from gunshot wounds near the 4000 block of East Madison Street in Phoenix about 9:50 p.m. Investigators found that the Mexican Mafia members were searching for Ledezma because they thought he leaked information to police about a recent arrest, court documents show. The gang members were also collecting taxes from Ledezma and it was time for him to pay up, officials say. Benav

KARACHI, (SANA): The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday has issued a 10-page interim order in a suo moto case regarding law and order situation in Karachi . The court has declared the land mafia behind unrest in metropolis . A five-member bench of apex court headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali heard the case from November 26 to 30 and reserved the verdict at Supreme Court ’s Karachi Registry. In the order, the apex court rejected a report submitted by Rangers on curbing violence in the city , and ordered the paramilitary forces to file a comprehensive report pertaining to its performance on 17 December during the next hearing. The court has observed that the report of Rangers would be kept secret. The court has directed Chief Secretary Sindh to submit a detailed revenue record comprising details of sale and lease of government land and has impose the ban over conversion of the 33 years lease into 99 years lease. The court has imposed the ban over trans

Move over Vito Corleone, the Amish mafia is out for retribution. A new Discovery channel television series “ Amish Mafia ” is set to premiere Dec. 12 and will explore the underground lives of a vigilante Mennonite group seeking eye-for-an-eye justice for crimes against their community members . The series focuses on the leader of this mafia group , Lebanon Levi, a Mennonite who was never baptized and so can remain distanced from the church, and his cohort, who are identified as Alvin, Jolin and John. The Amish mafia in the show, which is set in Lancaster, Pa., flaunt their body tattoos , drive cars, use cell phones and, most importantly, shoot guns. The technology these self-identified mafia members use are not approved by their church , which is characterized by the show as “looking the other way.” “The [ Amish ] Church denies that the Amish Mafia exists — yet, like any other person in a community who holds power, the Amish know who to go to if there’s a problem

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 bespectacle

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 the s

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