11:08
El NACHO
22:41
El NACHO
THE record company behind Irish rockers U2 has allegedly been unwittingly used by a multi-million dollar drugs trafficking ring. A year-long investigation by the US Drugs Enforcement Authority (DEA) is alleged to have uncovered a racket where the band's record company, Interscope Records, was being used to transport Class A drugs and money inside the United States. It is understood that the record company's Californian headquarters was being used for pick-ups and deliveries of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine while a New York recording studio at the other end was also being used for the drug and cash shipments. Members of the drugs ring allegedly used musical equipment called “road cases” for shipping cocaine from Los Angeles to New York, between January 2010 and June 2011. On the way back, the same cases were filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, according to documents filed in a US court. The illegal trading was allegedly going on for 18 months, but it was not alleged that Interscope Records or its staff knew or were involved in any drug shipments. The allegation was contained in a letter detailing evidence against James Rosemond, a music-industry manager and head of Czar Entertainment. Mr Rosemond, 46, known as ‘Jimmy Henchmen', is a rap music manager who represents artist The Game. He was indicted three months ago on drug trafficking charges. Federal prosecutors say Interscope employees knew nothing about Mr Rosemond’s alleged drug smuggling. However, it is not yet understood how Mr Rosemond's team got access to Interscope's Californian headquarters to drop off and take the shipments. The ring is alleged to have used a New York recording studio at the other end for the drugs and cash shipments, the Wall Street Journal reported. The cases were shipped by music gear specialists RockIt Cargo, which is the company responsible for shipping U2's musical equipment around the world — including during their latest 360 tour. However, there is no suggestion in the filing that RockIt Cargo knew what was inside the cases. RockIt has not commented. Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine, long a highprofile executive within the music industry, has recently become something of a household name thanks to American Idol, which he joined last season to provide creative guidance to contestants. His company, which is part of Universal, released a statement yesterday afternoon. “Interscope Records has been informed by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York that there is no evidence that any employee of UMG or Interscope Records had any involvement in the drug trafficking ring being prosecuted by that office,” the statement read.
12:42
El NACHO
Matthew Czepliewicz, an analyst at Collins Stewart, said the unauthorised loss cuts his 2011 earnings-per-share estimate for UBS by about 30pc - "a huge hit". He continued: "A loss of this magnitude will very likely have occurred in the FICC (Fixed Incomes, Currencies and Commodities) division, the very division UBS has been systematically rebuilding after shrinking it by 40pc during the credit crisis. That an unauthorised position of this size could have escaped oversight will renew pressure on management to radically scale back the FICC business, a volatile and capital-intensive business overall." He said that his upgrade of UBS to "buy" from "hold" on September 6 "now looks memorable, to say the least", but added: "As large and embarrassing as the loss is, it may in fact drive a positive strategic overhaul of the company. In the meantime, we await further detail on what went wrong and how management will respond." Andrew Lim, analyst at Espirito Santo, said the loss was manageable at group level at UBS. He added: "The $2 billion loss compares to our current estimate for the (third-quarter) group net earnings of 1.1 billion Swiss francs and (full-year estimated) net earnings of 5.1 billion Swiss francs. "The loss is therefore manageable at the group level, but is obviously not helpful for sentiment and confidence in the bank's risk management following the near-death experience of 2008/9." Fiona Swaffield, analyst at RBC, put the loss in context: "Assuming the loss is not revised at CHF1.7bn this is 3.4% of tangible book value end Q2 2011 and CHF0.35ps. Relative to target Basel III risk weighted assets of CHF300bn this is some 44bp. UBS on the most conservative measure has core T1 of 10% forecast end 2012 Basel III pre this and 13% with phased=in deductions. This would fall to 9.8% and 12.4%, respectively, so still respectable and above CS (8.8% on look through Basel III end 2012) but obviously hardly a positive as its strong capital base relative was an attraction." But she added the real issue over and above the financial impact is the reflection on risk management at UBS: "UBS was seen to have recovered significantly from the credit crisis and to have improved its risk management in the investment bank in spite of its struggle to improve returns. This obviously brings this very much into question." Goldman Sachs analysts Jernei Omahen and Peter Skoog wrote in a note: "This loss has the scope to have a material impact on the perception of UBS' private bank, impacting its future operating trends. "Today's announcement therefore adds to the long list of arguments (and pressure) for a substantially smaller investment bank." Louise Cooper, markets analyst at BGC Partners, said: "According to Bloomberg analysts were forecasting about a SFR 7bn or approx £5bn pre tax profit for UBS for the 2011, therefore a £1.3bn trading loss hits full year earnings by about a third." She added: "The jewel in the crown of UBS is its private banking business, producing consistent, quality earnings. An unexpected trading loss could do significant reputational damage to the bank especially given its track record during the crisis (massive recapitalisation and regulatory fines). Rich people tend not to want to do business with a bank where there are questions over risk control. UBS needs to do a good job in explaining what went wrong and assuring its clients that it will not affect them." Joshua Raymond, chief market strategist at City Index, commented: "Whilst the incredible volatility seen recently in the markets would have likely seen some traders lose and win big, the news that a rogue trader was allowed to stack up losses of $2bn will inevitably send nervous shockwaves through to those investors who have only just returned to the bank after a severe loss of confidence. "The Swiss firm has fought hard in the last few years to restore its credibility from having to be bailed out by the Swiss authorities, suffering a large fine for tax evasion and after it agreed to disclose the accounts of thousands of its clients to US tax authorities."
07:44
El NACHO
SPANISH police investigating the circumstances surrounding Jodie Nieman's death made nine arrests last week. Although police are certain the Kenley beautician died from a heart attack, it is not clear whether her death was drug-related. MISSED: Jodie Nieman An investigation has been launched into drugs supply in Ibiza and police announced last Thursday that they had arrested nine men after seizing cocaine, thousands of ecstasy pills, steroids and laboratory equipment. One of the men is from Croydon but it is not suggested Ms Nieman, who died just days before her 20th birthday on July 15, knew him. The former nail technician's mother Debbie, of Waterbourne Way, Kenley, said she was "disappointed and angry" Spanish police had linked the arrests with her daughter. She said: "We still don't know if Jodie took any pills. The doctor in Ibiza said they weren't told she had taken any tablets. "Until we have results saying she took any drugs, we just don't know and it is upsetting because we are still waiting on tests." Spanish police said most of the pills found are known as Pink Rock Star, similar to those thought to have caused the death of Ms Nieman and the poisoning of others in July, officers added. The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency took part in the operation against a mostly-British gang which travelled to Ibiza to feed the demand from the summer influx of clubbers. Detectives arrested five British men, including a 39-year-old from Croydon, three from Ireland and one from Poland. They were being questioned by officers from the Guardia Civil on suspicion of various drugs offences. The former Riddlesdown student was just three days into her holiday when she had a heart attack on a night out at the Space club in the Playa d'en Bossa resort. The teenager's funeral took place at Croydon Crematorium on August 16. Mum Debbie said her 19-year-old daughter was a "stylish princess" who would defend her friends to the end. Ms Nieman added: "She had champagne on the plane over and it came in a plastic glass – Jodie just said: 'Who has champagne in a plastic glass?' "That was just Jodie. Every day another person tells me they knew Jodie and they went to the funeral. I didn't know she was so loved."
07:42
El NACHO
Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office has announced that three smoke shops in New Brunswick and a gas station in East Brunswick were raided and charged in the sale of illegal drugs. According to the Prosecutor's Office, the raids began on Aug. 2 after four months of investigative work and netted the following arrests: Jarnail Sandhu, 25, of Sayreville, owner of the Shell gas station located at 1010 Route 18 in East Brunswick, was arrested and charged with distribution of bath salts and synthetic marijuana; possession of bath salts and synthetic marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was jailed with bail set at $100,000, with no 10 percent option. Sandhu's mother, Charanjit K. Sandhu, 56, of Nanuet, N.Y., was also arrested and released on her own recognizance. She faces the same charges as her son. Ayman S. Al-Nsairat, 40, of East Brunswick, owner of the Amsterdam Smoke Shop, 29 Easton Ave. in New Brunswick. He was charged with possession of toxic chemicals and possession of drug paraphernalia, and was released on his own recognizance. Maria M. Almanzar, 20, of Union City at the Amsterdam Smoke Shop. She was charged with possession of toxic chemicals and possession of drug paraphernalia, and distribution of toxic chemicals, and was released on her own recognizance. Lukasz M. Poplawski, 21, of Staten Island, N.Y. at the Amsterdam Smoke Shop. He was charged with possession of toxic chemicals and possession of drug paraphernalia, and distribution of toxic chemicals, and was released on his own recognizance. Ranmanjeet K. Dhillon, 24, of Woodbridge, at the Jamaican Discount Smoke Shop at 38-A Easton Ave. in New Brunswick. Dhillon was charged with possession and distribution of toxic chemicals and possession of drug paraphernalia, and was released on her own recognizance. Additionally, the Jamaican Smoke Shop at 40 Easton Ave. in New Brunswick was also raided, and "Some illegal substances and drug paraphernalia were seized," according to the Prosecutor's office. No arrests were made at that location. Bath Salts are mix of chemicals that mimic the effects of cocaine and methamphetamines and were banned earlier this year. 6,547 bags, jars and vials containing synthetic marijuana and bath salts were also seized by police during the investigation, marked for sale for between $20 to $30 each, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Police also seized 2,914 pipes, bongs and hookahs, 193 digital scales, 357 canisters containing nitrous oxide, 13 imitation handguns used to fire blanks, and 46 containers designed to conceal illicit drugs, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Packaging material, grinders, cigars and rolling papers, "All identified as products used to prepare and help sell the illicit drugs," according to the Prosecutor's Office. $25,145 in cash from the sales of the illegal drugs was also seized. More than $163,000 in synthetic Marijuana and bath salts were seized. Members of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Gangs, Guns and Drugs Task Force are handling the investigation, assisted by police in New Brunswick, East Brunswick and Sayreville, according to the Prosecutor's Office
07:35
El NACHO
Two young people were murdered and their bodies left hanging off a pedestrian bridge in Nuevo Laredo, a border city in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, for presumably using social-networking Web sites to report criminals. The bodies of the young man and young woman showed signs of torture, and motorists were the ones who spotted the bodies and called police. Officials, however, have not issued a statement about the killings. The young man was dressed in a polo shirt and shorts, while the young woman wore only shorts. Messages warning others not to use social-networking Web sites to report drug traffickers were left on each of the bodies. One of the messages was signed “Z,” a reference to Los Zetas, which operates along the border with the United States and is considered Mexico’s most violent drug cartel. The grisly discovery prompted a large deployment of the security forces around the bridge. Los Zetas has been battling an alliance of the Gulf, Sinaloa and La Familia drug cartels, known as the Nueva Federacion, for control of smuggling routes into the United States. The cartel has also been blamed for several massacres in recent years. Los Zetas has been accused of being behind the Aug. 23, 2010, massacre of 72 migrants, the majority of them from Latin America, at a ranch outside San Fernando, a city in Tamaulipas. The cartel has also been blamed for the massacre of 27 peasants in May at a ranch in Guatemala’s Peten province, which borders Mexico and Belize. The latest brutal incident occurred on Aug. 25, when suspected Zetas gunmen set fire to Monterrey’s Casino Royale, killing at least 52 gamblers and employees trapped inside, most of whom died of smoke inhalation. Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as “El Lazca,” deserted from the Mexican army in 1999 and formed Los Zetas with three other soldiers, all members of an elite special operations unit, becoming the armed wing of the Gulf drug cartel. After several years on the payroll of the Gulf cartel, Los Zetas, considered Mexico’s most violent criminal organization, went into the drug business on their own account and now control several lucrative territories.
01:48
El NACHO
THREE men have been released on bail over the murder of Genson Courtney in Greenwich. Police found Mr Courtney suffering from gunshot wounds in a black Volkswagen Golf at around 10.50pm on July 3 in Banning Street. The 23-year-old, stepson of ex-gangster Dave Courtney, was taken by ambulance to hospital but was pronounced dead at 3.43am. A post-mortem gave the cause of death as gunshot wounds to the head. Three men, aged 28, 34 and 27, who were arrested at addresses in east and south London on suspicion of murder, have been released on bail to return on November 8. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Gower from the Met’s Trident unit is still appealing for witnesses. He said: “I am appealing to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious to contact the police. "I would like to reassure anyone concerned about contacting the police that Trident has great expertise in protecting witnesses and there are a huge variety of measures that can be put in place to protect you."
23:14
El NACHO
A Manitoba fugitive who spent more than 30 years on the run before being arrested in Florida earlier this year has pleaded guilty to drug-smuggling charges. Ian MacDonald, 72, appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday morning and offered a guilty plea to one count of conspiring to import narcotics. The Crown and defence lawyers submitted a joint recommendation of a conditional sentence of two years less one day to be served in community. MacDonald, who has been in custody at the Remand Centre since he was extradited from Florida and returned to Manitoba in March. He had been arrested in January after being tracked to his central Florida home but it took some time to arrange his extradition. As part of the conditions of his sentence, MacDonald is under 24-hour house arrest with the exception of medical appointments or emergencies. He can leave his home for four hours a week for personal business, if accompanied by a person approved by the court. MacDonald must also abstain from drugs alcohol and he cannot leave jurisdiction without permission from the court. In 1980, MacDonald — then known as "Big Mac" — was arrested in Florida on a warrant issued by Manitoba police, who suspected he had helped smuggle a large amount of marijuana into the province. While in custody in June of that year, he faked a heart attack and was taken to hospital, where he escaped by conning a guard into removing his leg shackles, Barry Golden, a senior inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service, told CBC News in January. He escaped and lived on the lam for many years, until an officer who had been assigned to the file in 2009 found information in it that led investigators to a home in Pennsylvania, where MacDonald and his wife had once lived under an assumed name. While speaking with people in the area, officers learned the couple had moved to a town in central Florida, where he was located and arrested.
07:42
El NACHO
Fourteen alleged members of the UVF, including one of its former leaders Mark Haddock, are due to appear at Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday for the start of the first so-called "supergrass" trial to be held in Northern Ireland for 26 years. The charges include the murder of leading UDA member Tommy English during a loyalist feud. Critics say the process being used is unsafe and unjust, while the police and prosecutors insist it is legally sound. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Vincent Kearney looks at the background to the case. The police bristle at the very mention of the word "supergrass" because of its association with a series of high profile trials in the 1980s. Hundreds of republicans and loyalists were convicted on the word of informers and suspects who agreed to give evidence against them in return for reduced sentences and new identities and lives outside Northern Ireland. There were claims that many also received financial rewards. The deals were arranged at a political level, approved by the Secretary of State, and the details were secret. No-one, not the defence teams, the relatives of victims, nor the accused, knew anything, and in many cases there were question marks over whether convicted informers actually served any time in prison at all. Credibility The trials were the largest in British criminal history. In one in 1983, 22 IRA members were given jail terms totalling more than 4,000 years. But 18 of them had their convictions quashed three years later, and the vast majority of the others convicted in a series of similar trials were also released on appeal. The system collapsed in 1985 because of concerns about the credibility of the evidence provided by the so-called supergrasses, with members of the judiciary complaining that they were being used as political tools to implement government security policy. The police and prosecutors say the trial starting today is based on an entirely different legal foundation. The investigation has centred around the activities of the UVF in the Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast New legislation introduced in 2005, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, enables an accused to enter into a written agreement indicating that they will help the prosecution by giving evidence against other criminals. Where this happens, the court may take this into account when passing sentence. The journey that led to the trial beginning today began with an investigation by the former Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan into the activities of the UVF in Mount Vernon in north Belfast. In January 2007, she published the results of Operation Ballast. 'Impunity' It was a highly critical report which said members of RUC Special Branch had allowed UVF informers to act with impunity, and that the gang may have been involved in up to 15 murders. Mark Haddock wasn't named in the report, but was referred to as Informant 1. Alarmed by the findings, the then Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, asked the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) to take over Operation Ballast. Then, in 2008, two brothers, Robert and David Stewart walked into Antrim police station, admitting that they were members of the UVF, and their role in more than 70 offences. They offered to give evidence against a number of alleged former comrades under the teams of the 2005 legislation. The HET then spent more than a year debriefing them, and arresting suspects as they went along. But, despite being given additional funding, the investigation became too big for the team to handle. In December 2009, the case was given over to the PSNI. The investigation is now led by Crime Operations Department headed by Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris, and is now called Operation Stafford. As a result, just over four and a half years after Nuala O'Loan published her report, Mark Haddock and 13 others will appear in court on Tuesday. They will appear before a judge sitting without a jury because of fears of intimidation. Haddock and eight others are charged with the murder of Tommy English and a range of other offences. The remaining five face a range of charges, possession of firearms, kidnap and assault. The latest investigation into the Mount Vernon UVF began following a report by the former Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan Sealed containers The two chief prosecution witnesses, the Stewart brothers, have been held in isolation at Maghaberry prison, protected by a team of highly trained guards. Their food is brought into the prison in sealed containers to ensure they are not poisoned. They have admitted a total of 74 offences, but were sentenced to just three years each because the judge took into account their offer to testify. Their sentence was determined in open court, not secretly by the Secretary of State. The 2005 legislation contains penalties. If it emerges that the assisting offender is guilty of serious crimes they may not have admitted to, they are in breach of the agreement. If this is discovered after the trial, they can be re-arrested and charged with the additional offences. If they tell the truth but re-offend at a later stage, they can be re-arrested and charged. Supporters say this system is much more open and transparent than the discredited system used in the 1980s. Those on trial, and their families and supporters, insist that only the name has changed.
13:17
El NACHO
These troubling deaths are just a portion of Winnipeg’s climbing homicide cases this year. As of Thursday, Winnipeg has 29 homicides recorded, well above last year’s total of 22. Winnipeg’s deadliest year on record was 2004 when there was 34. “The numbers are a lot higher than we would like to see,” said Const. Jason Michalyshen, Winnipeg police spokesman. “It’s concerning to us, and it should be concerning to everyone.” The latest victim is Joseph Lalonde, 48, who was brutally beaten with a baseball bat. Two 15-year-old boys were charged with second-degree murder. A total of 10 youths have been charged in connection to the 2011 deaths. Michalyshen said it’s been a challenging year. “Our resources have been very busy making sure no stone is unturned, making sure that these investigations are investigated thoroughly, and arrests are made,” he said. Three cases are unsolved — Cara Lynn Hiebert, 31, was found dead in her home on Redwood Avenue on July 19; Baljinder Singh Sidhu, 27, was stabbed to death during a brawl on Osborne Street on Aug. 5; and 24-year-old April Hornbrook was found dead outside a building on Main Street on Aug. 27. Many violent crimes continue to occur in Winnipeg’s North End, a concerning stat for Coun. Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre). “The communities have to be working together and you don’t really have enough of that in the North End,” Smith said. “You have to have recreational activities, and ... I tend to think we should get more support for Citizens on Patrol.” Edmonton has the most homicides in Canada, with 34. Calgary has just three. “We’re very fortunate right now, but that could change before the end of the year,” said Calgary police Insp. Cliff O’Brien, who works in that city’s major crimes unit. O’Brien said there’s “no magical answer” for why the numbers are so low, but gave credit to the good work of officers and medical staff. Calgary police has a gang suppression team, who monitor entertainment districts, targeting known gang or organized crime members. “We have legislation here where we can kick people out if we can prove they’re associated with a gang,” he said. “That has helped us a lot.” O’Brien admits there’s a certain “element of luck.” “We’ve had those high rates before and I know that we will have those high rates again.”
13:14
El NACHO
According to the Sección de Estadísticas del Departamento de Planificación del Poder Judicial (Statistics Section of the Planning Department of the Judiciary) the number of murders presumed by hired killers in 2010, went from 13 victims in 2009 to 40 in 2010, placing the La Carpio, Leon XIII, Los Cuadros y Guararí de Heredia as the places of highest incidence. Judicial authorities presume that organized crime groups, use this method to assert their interests in various criminal activities, as they are listed in order of importance: drug trafficking, gang revenge, robbery of drug traffickers (known as tumbonazos) and executions tied to the sale of illegal drugs. However, statistics show a slight increase in intentional homicides during the past year, compared to 2009, from 525 to 527 victims. The study found that the rate of homicide victims per 100.000 inhabitants remained virtually unchanged from 2009, settling at 11.5%. The existence of homicides associated with what is known as "error or omission," or those who were not the target and suffered mistaken identity or omission by the murderer, almost doubled in 2010 over 2009, for a total of 16 deaths. Also, the number of foreigners killed in the country increased by 7.6%, bringing the figure to 112 individuals, Nicaraguan and followed by Colombian nationals being the target. The use of firearms to commit homicide, again saw increases during 2010, bringing the total number to 319, which is equal numbers in 2008 and the highest throughout history. Good news for women as statistics indicate that the number of femicides dropped in 2010, from 15 victims in 2009 to 10 last year. However, the major cause of femicides continues to be attacks by cohabitants (60%) and spouses (40%). Contract or hired killing (sicario in Spanish) is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may be a single person, a group of people, a company, or any other kind of organization. The hired party may also be one person, such as a hitman, or a group of people, or an organization. In most countries, including Costa Rica, a contract to kill a person is void, meaning that it is not legally enforceable. Any contract to commit an indictable offense is not enforceable. Furthermore, both the actual killer and the person who paid the killer can be found guilty of murder. Contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to be directly involved in the killing. This makes it more difficult to connect that party with the murder. Throughout history and in many different parts of the world, contract killing has been associated with organized crime and also vendettas. For example, in recent United States history, the gang Murder, Inc., which committed hundreds of murders in the 1920s to the 1940s on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate, is a well-known example of a contract killer.
13:06
El NACHO
Cameron Park man accused of stabbing and killing a woman with an ice pick will spend the rest of his life in jail. After two and a half hours of deliberation, a Cameron County jury sentenced Ernesto Berlanga to life in prison for the August 2005 murder of Patricia Salas. The two had been fighting when he stabbed her in the neck and then fled the scene. Prosecutors previously identified Berlanga as a member of the Vallucos prison gang. Berlaga was already serving a 25-year sentence for gouging the eye of a fellow inmate at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center back in 2006.
12:56
El NACHO
The two accomplices of the two domestic helps arrested for the murders of Juhu resident Kavita Suchak and her manager Prakash Bagwe on August 30 were the masterminds behind the murders said investigators, a day after arresting all four, two from Navi Mumbai and two from Nanded. Based on the investigations, police said the two domestic helps identified as Ram Singh Badaila and Tek Singh Badaila, also have a past crime record. According to Vishwas Nangre-Patil, Additional Commissioner (West region), the police are now compiling a database of domestic helps working in each society in the western region and their backgrounds would be checked. However, the victim had not verified the backgrounds of the two before hiring them, which made it difficult to trace them, said Nangre- Patil. The police arrested the Badailas and their accomplices from Navi Mumbai on Saturday. Nangre- Patil further said that the two Nepali nationals had been working for the Suchaks for the past five years. They had come in contact with two of their friends, Prem Bahadur Badaila and Bhim Bahadur Beek over the years. “The Suchaks owned a traditional safe in the house, apart from an electronic vault. The domestic helps hoped to find a large sum of money in the traditional safe. But the safe was empty as it was only maintained as a showpiece and as a object of faith. The gang bludgeoned Kavita with a crowbar when she returned home after dropping her kids to school a few minutes earlier than her usual schedule on August 30. Bagwe was strangled and gagged by the accused, as he had witnessed Kavita's murder and raised an alarm," Nangre-Patil added. The gang stole a laptop, three cellphones, jewellery and cash, collectively worth Rs 1.24 lakh. After leaving Kavita's house, the gang split up. Prem headed to Nerul in Navi Mumbai while the other three went to Pune. From Pune, they went to the house of a relative, Dev Bahadur, in Nanded. The police tracked down Prem first, by tracing the location of the stolen cellphones. “One of our teams went to Nepal and with the help of BSF kept a watch on the border to stop the accused from leaving the country. Another team went to Nanded with Prem,” said Pratap Dighavkar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (zone IX). Dressed in plainclothes, the policemen accompanied Prem to Dev Bahadur's house. “We did not want to reveal that Prem had been arrested, so we let him walk alone towards the house. Dev Bahadur came out of the house and Prem signaled to us that he was not a part of the gang. Prem then led us to Bhim who had sat in an autorickshaw and to Ram and Tek who were hiding in a water pipeline,” an official said. Bhim was arrested in the past for two cases of theft while Prem was booked for assaulting a government servant at MIDC. “The robbery at Suchak's residence was planned in detail. Bhim purchased a rope, crowbar, screwdriver and tape from Andheri. Tek who had keys to the vault was assigned the job of cleaning up the house while Ram kept watch. Prem and Bhim hid inside the house and struck after Kavita left for dropping her kids to school around 8.15 am,” an official said. So far, Rs 80,000 in cash has been recovered, besides some ornaments. The laptop was destroyed by the gang. “We are now trying to ascertain whether the Rs 80,000 is from the Suchak residence or elsewhere,” said Nangre-Patil.
12:53
El NACHO
Yafizuddin Sheikh, a resident of Juhapura, was brutally killed when some people repeatedly ran a car over him and then stabbed him over 70 times on Friday night in Amraiwadi. Sheikh's assailants continued to stab him till he succumbed to his wounds on the spot. A murder complaint has been filed with the Amraiwadi police against members of the Daddu gang for the gruesome murder. Yafizuddin and another man Mohammad had gone to Bal Bhavan in Khokhra to meet his friend, one Harish Darbar alias Harry in their Maruti Esteem car.While the victim waited there to meet his friend, a group of people, in a Santro car, rammed into Yafizuddin. They then reversed the car and ran it over him again repeating the process thrice. They then came out and stabbed Yafizuddin so much so that he had around 70-odd stab wounds on his body when he died. The victim cried for help but a crowd that had gathered to make arrangements for the ongoing Ganesh Chaturthi did not bother to intervene. The people were allegedly afraid of the Daddu gang that is very notorious in the area for its anti-social activities. The attackers were identified as Daddu Vaghela, his nephew Divyaraj aka Montu along with Naresh Thakor alias Jigo, Rahul aka Chako, Suresh Thakor and Rakesh Bihola. Two more men on a motorcycle also accompanied them. They were identified as Prakash aka Kaaniyo and Rahul aka Kalu Bhil. Two others, who were also involved in the incident, remained unidentified. Daddu Vaghela is a notorious bootlegger of the city and along with his gang has around 21 cases registered against him. Vaghela is wanted by the cops in at least 11 cases from the same area. According to the complaint, the gang attacked the already injured Yafizuddin with their weapons and inflicted 70-odd wounds all over his body. The victim lay in a pool of blood before breathing his last. Police said that the incident was a fall out of a scuffle between Daddu gang and Harry. The victim had come to his friend Harry's rescue during the scuffle.Teams of detection of crime branch reached the scene to investigate the matter following direct orders from the city police commissioner.
11:53
El NACHO
Residents and businesses in NSW are being urged to be on the lookout for travelling conmen and itinerant domestic gangs. A nationwide crackdown aims to have scammers who visit Australia seasonally removed from the country and barred from re-entering, as well as local gangs that travel around conning people. NSW Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts on Monday warned of conmen specialising in scams such as bitumen laying, roof painting and back-of-truck dealings on electronics. "We want to catch these crooks, hold them accountable for their crimes and keep the market fair and free of rip-offs," he said in a statement. "What we are dealing with is organised, criminal activity that creates market distortions as legitimate businesses face unfair competition." The conmen structure their operations so consumers are often unable to get remedies in courts, consumer tribunals or through dispute resolution. They are the focus of a new nationwide strategy finalised at the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs in Canberra earlier this year. "All Australian consumer protection jurisdictions are working together under the new Australian Consumer Law with concerted, nationally coordinated operations using new prosecution powers and remedies," Mr Roberts said.
12:01
El NACHO
"We needed a fightback and a fightback is under way", the Prime Minister has said after four days of riots.
David Cameron said every action would be taken to restore order, with contingency plans for water cannon to be available at 24 hours' notice.
On Tuesday night, unrest spread to cities including Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham, with shops being looted and set alight.
Three men died when they were hit by a car in Birmingham.
Mr Cameron, speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee said police were authorised to take "any action necessary" to bring the situation under control.
He said: "This continued violence is simply not acceptable, and it will be stopped. We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets.
"We have seen the worst of Britain, but I also believe we have seen some of the best of Britain - the million people who have signed up on Facebook to support the police, coming together in the clean-up operations."
The PM said more arrests would take place as police worked through CCTV evidence. "Picture by picture, the criminals are being identified and arrested," he said.
'We have your face'
Earlier, London Mayor Boris Johnson urged the government to reconsider its plans to cut police numbers, saying the argument had been "substantially weakened" by the riots.
Greater Manchester Police's Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said he had seen "the most sickening scenes" of his career, and said the force had been overwhelmed.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning, he said force was "absolutely intent" on bringing the rioters to justice and officers were already studying CCTV.
"Hundreds and hundreds of people, we have your image, we have your face, we have your acts of wanton criminality on film. We are coming for you, from today and no matter how long it takes, we will arrest those people responsible," he said.
Some 113 people have been arrested so far over the trouble in Manchester and Salford, where hundreds of youths looted shops and set fire to cars and buildings.
In the West Midlands, 109 have been arrested and 23 charged following scenes of disorder in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich - where vehicles were set on fire.
Meanwhile, West Midlands Police are to question a 32-year-old man on suspicion of murder after three men were run over and killed.
One of the victims has been named as Haroon Jahan. His father Tariq Jahan paid tribute to him, saying he "had his whole life ahead of him".
In other developments:
Canning Circus police station in central Nottingham was firebombed by a male gang on Tuesday evening. Nottinghamshire Police said 90 people had been arrested
In Liverpool, Merseyside Police have arrested 50 people in relation to disorder in the city
Nine people have been arrested in Gloucester after police officers came under attack from youths throwing stones and bottles from 23:00 BST
In Leicester, a group of up to 100 youths attacked shops and threw items at police, with 13 arrests
In Bristol, police arrested 19 people following a second night of trouble
Thames Valley Police made 15 arrests linked to trouble overnight
Metropolitan Police have arrested 768 people and charged 105 in connection with the violence in the capital, including a 21-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life following a fire which took hold of the Reeves Furniture store in Croydon on Monday night
Officers from all eight Scottish Police forces are being sent to help colleagues in the Midlands and North of England deal with rioting and looting
A 26-year-old man found shot in a car in Croydon, amid rioting in the south London town, has died in hospital
Government minister Michael Gove has praised the Met's response to the riots, saying bringing in an extra 10,000 officers helped to prevent further riots from taking place in London
Meanwhile, two 18-year-olds in Folkestone, Kent, and a 19-year-old woman in Wakefield have been arrested. A 16-year-old boy in Glasgow was charged with breach of the peace while another man, aged 18, has been arrested. All relate to allegations of inciting violence through internet social networking sites
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said on Tuesday that ballistic tests presented "no evidence" that a handgun found at the scene where Mark Duggan, 29, was killed in Tottenham had been fired at officers
Wounded officers
Scotland Yard drafted in special constables and community support officers in London to ensure five times the usual number of officers for a Tuesday - 16,000 - were on duty. They made 81 arrests.
Asst Chief Constable Garry Shewan: "We have your image, we have your face ... we are coming for you"
Downing Street said the increased level of policing would remain in place "as long as necessary" to prevent a repeat of the violence.
It said while there was "no complacency," police tactics in London had "clearly worked".
It followed three nights of rioting in the city which saw shops looted, property set alight and police attacked, with some 111 Met officers suffered injuries including serious head and eye wounds, cuts and fractured bones after being attacked by rioters wielding bottles, planks, bricks and even driving cars at them. Five police dogs have also been hurt.
The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Stephen Kavanagh said London deserved "some resilience and sustainability from police".
'Rapid response'
Referring to proposed police cuts, London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "That case was pretty frail and it's been substantially weakened. This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers."
But the Home Office said the reductions in the police budget were manageable.
Labour leader Ed Miliband called for a "rapid response" from the government to help affected communities.
He urged the government to work with the insurance industry "to put in place fast-track procedures with immediate effect so that individuals and businesses making claims do not have to wait for the money they need to start putting things right".
The Association of British Insurers says the damage is likely to cost insurers "tens of millions of pounds".
The riots first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, 29, by police.
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Regional business groups are warning that retail hotspots could become "ghost towns" as violence and looting spread across the country.
Miss Selfridge in central Manchester was set on fire
Shops in cities including Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool and Birmingham were targeted on Tuesday night causing damage that will "cost millions" to repair.
The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) said the violence would severely hit business in the city.
"Repairs, stock replacement and lost trading time is going to costs millions of pounds and have a huge impact on takings," Chris Fletcher, deputy chief executive of the chamber, said.
But he stressed it is not just immediate costs that will hit businesses.
Looters run from police in Manchester
"This isn't a case of a few smashed windows – there will be severe knock-on effects," he added.
"There's the potential Manchester could become a ghost town, with shoppers scared of coming into the centre because they fear a repetition of violence."
Both independent shops and chain stores were affected by Tuesday's violence.
Shops in Croydon closed early on Tuesday in anticipation of further violence
Miss Selfridge in central Manchester was set on fire causing thousands of pounds worth of damage, and the city's Arndale shopping centre was broken into.
Elsewhere, rioters damaged premises including a McDonald's and the entrance to the Pyramid shopping centre in Birkenhead, Merseyside.
Looters also targeted electrical and jewellery shops in Birmingham, and vandalised shops in the Bullring and Mailbox shopping centres.
GMCC urged any businesses affected by the disturbances to contact the police and insurance companies as soon as possible.
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National police coordinators are reviewing the mutual aid operation on "an hourly basis" after violence flared in cities which had sent officers to London leaving three men dead.
The logistical operation to make sure forces across the country have adequate numbers to tackle fast-moving flash points across the UK has been highlighted by the rioting on Tuesday in Manchester, Birmingham and other cities. In contrast the Metropolitan Police faced a quiet night with 16,000 officers on the streets – 1,500 of them sent from 30 other forces.
In Manchester riot teams were "overwhelmed", senior officers said. "We had to draw resources from all over the northwest to be able to ensure that we could protect life and property here in Manchester and Salford," said assistant chief constable Gary Shewan.
Manchester had sent 100 of its public order officers to London on Tuesday – raising serious concerns that as police forces moved to help the Metropolitan police they left themselves vulnerable.
In the West Midlands – where the officers were faced with a volatile and fast flowing situation – 163 arrests were made, bringing the overall total to around 300 since the disorder began.
The arrests were for a variety of offences including aggravated burglary, violent disorder and various other public order offences.
A total of six police officers have sustained minor injuries in the overnight disorder.
But in the midst of the rioting three men from a local mosque were mown down and killed by a car in the chaos. West Midlands did not sent officers to London but has been receiving mutual aid itself.
The Association of Chief Police officers, which is co-ordinating the mutual aid, said it was being reviewed on an hourly basis and if any force called for support their request would be met. The geographical spread of the looting and rioting and the difficulty of predicting where the flashpoints will come make the task difficult.
And there is concern that the very issue of mutual aid – and the publication of details of the 30 forces which have sent teams to London – has given looters information on which cities to target. The Police service of Northern Ireland refused to send officers – faced with disturbances in Belfast and the ongoing security situation there.
In London the sheer scale of the operation appears to have put off the looters. In addition the Met has made more than 768 arrests over the last four days, essentially taking a substantial proportion of those allegedly causing the trouble off the streets. But trouble flared in other areas including Wolverhampton, Nottingham where a mob firebombed the police station and college, with more than 90 troublemakers arrested and Leicester.
There was also trouble in Gloucester city centre, where mounted officers were deployed to combat groups of youths attacking shop windows, some with their faces covered and in Bristol police arrested 19 people following a second night of trouble.
The chief constable of Humberside, Tim Hollis is co-ordinating the mutual aid progamme. Commander Steven Kavanagh deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police told the Today programme the mutual aid operation was a national one to provide support for any force that needed it.
A spokesman for Acpo said the mutual aid programme was being reviewed on an "hourly basis" as the situation developed. With many officers from the north now in London there is also logistical problem. In some cases instead of officers returning to their home forces, others may be sent from nearby forces to help out tonight. "There is an issue of logistics and of the officers needing breaks. It may be better to send officers from other forces rather than return officers. But we are reviewing all of this," said a source.
The difficulties of coordinating a response to geographically disparate rioting led Boris Johnson, London's mayor to call for a rethink of government plans to cut 16,200 police officers. "This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers," said Johnson.
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SKULL found buried in Sir David Attenborough’s garden belonged to the victim of a gruesome murder, a coroner ruled yesterday.
It was dug up in October when the broadcaster, 85, was having an old pub excavated at his home in Richmond, South West London.
Julia Martha Thomas was killed aged 55 in 1879 by her maid. Kate Webster pushed her down stairs, strangled her then chopped her up.
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She then boiled the remains, dumped the flesh in the Thames and gave the dripping to children to eat.
Webster stole Mrs Thomas’s identity – and false teeth – and fled to Ireland. She was later arrested and hanged.
West London coroner Alison Thompson said: “There is clear evidence this is Julia Martha Thomas.”
She recorded the cause of death as strangulation and from a head injury.
Now the skull will finally be given a proper burial.
Verdict: unlawful killing.
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A man has been arrested following the seizure of cocaine with an estimated street value of €250,000 in Dublin.
The man, who is aged in his 20s, was arrested following the search of a van on the North Circular Road last night.
The man is currently being detained under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act at Store Street Garda Station.
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“Most were involved in drugs cases. The rest were charged with murder and firearm possession,” Mulya Wirana, the Indonesian Embassy’s deputy ambassador said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Mulya said the embassy would defend all Indonesian citizens in Malaysia. The embassy is currently seeking clemency for 11 Indonesians who have been sentenced to death by hanging. “The embassy is still updating the status of the 11 nationals,” he said, declining to identify them by name.
Pressure to protect Indonesian migrant workers has increased following the recent beheading of Indonesian national Ruyati binti Satubi in Saudi Arabia.
In response, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono formed the Indonesian Migrant Workers Task Force to handle cases of Indonesian migrant workers facing the death sentence abroad.
Former Nahdlatul Ulama chairman, Hasyim Muzadi, urged Yudhoyono to manage the cases first hand and lamented the establishment of the task force. “Migrant worker protection is a sensitive matter, even more than political and economic affairs. When it concerns the lives of our citizens overseas, that is about honor,” he said.
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man waiting to go to trial for murdering his wife used a sheet and twine to hang himself in the shower of his prison cell, an inquest has heard.
Neil Heyward had been in custody for about 18 months, after being charged in December 2007 with the murder of his de facto wife Glenys Heyward, when he took his own life at the Port Augusta jail in June 2009.
The pair's son Matthew and a farmhand on the family property, Jeremy Minter, were also charged with her murder and later jailed after a long trial.
In her prepared opening of an inquest at Port Augusta on Tuesday, counsel assisting Amanda Taylor said Heyward had taken the twine from the prison laundry where he worked.
He had tied it to one end of a bed sheet and managed to slide the other end of the sheet in between a bench top in his cell and the shower wall.
The sheet was then hung over the shower wall attached to the twine which had been fashioned into a noose.
Heyward also placed his belongings in his bed to make it look like he was asleep.
Ms Taylor asked SA coroner Mark Johns to note that another man, Brian Keith Dewson, took his own life in similar circumstances at Port Augusta in 2000.
In his case, Dewson slid a strip of bed sheet under a utility shelf, tying it to a steel support bar.
At the time a coroner recommended the safe cell principles be adopted in prisons throughout South Australia as a matter of urgency to prevent such deaths.
"The case is relevant to this matter as the equipment used to facilitate the suicide, being the utility shelf or bench top ... are identical but for size," Ms Taylor said in her opening statement.
She said the two deaths came nine years apart, "in the face of repeated coronial recommendations".
Earlier this year an appeal court judge described the murder of Ms Heyward as planned and callous. He rejected a bid by Minter to have his 23-year jail sentence reduced.
Ms Heyward, 53, was bludgeoned to death in an empty house on a property near Mt Gambier in SA's south-east.
Neil Heyward inflicted the fatal blows on his estranged wife to prevent the break-up of the family's $6 million farming and property assets.
The woman's body was buried on a property in western Victoria and went undiscovered for several months after she went missing.
The inquest was continuing.
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THE man suspected of shooting dead his daughter and her mum blasted his face off when he tried to kill himself, it emerged yesterday.
The kick of his double-barrelled shotgun forced it to slip as he pulled the trigger.
He was left "unrecognisable" but is expected to survive. A source told The Sun: "Many will see the horrific wounds as some sort of justice."
Chrissie Chambers, 38, and two-year-old daughter Shania were gunned down in their home on Sunday. Chrissie's ex, David Oakes, was taken to hospital with terrible face wounds.
Oakes - 6ft 4ins and 18 stone - had split with Chrissie seven weeks earlier. He was due to face Chrissie in court over a custody battle for Shania.
Chrissie's other daughter Chelsea, ten, fled the house in Braintree, Essex, after her mum begged her: "Run! Save yourself while you can."
Chelsea clambered from a window in her nightie as the killer forced a gun into her mother's mouth. She ran half a mile to her father Ian Flitt's home.
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Cops were called to a house where dismembered remains of 25 to 30 people including children were thought to be found.
Police activity was focused on a rural area of fields and a small wooded zone, with police positioning themselves near a house surrounded by trees.
A neighbour said the occupant of the house lived there with her fiance but moved out of the property a week ago. Her parents also lived at the house but were long-haul truck drivers.
Police rushed to the property between Hardin and Daisetta, Liberty County, and are now seeking a search warrant to search the home after finding blood at the scene.
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Police in Texas may have found a mass grave containing up to 30 dismembered bodies, possibly all children, according to local media reports.
But the Liberty County sheriff's office said there was no evidence yet that any bodies had been discovered.
Liberty County sheriff's department spokesman Rex Evans said the office had received an anonymous report on Tuesday that there were bodies in the house in a rural location around 70 miles east of Houston.
KPRC television, a local station, said 25 to 30 bodies were found by officers acting on a tip-off.
FBI spokeswoman Kim Barkhausen in Houston confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the FBI had been asked to help with an investigation, but would not elaborate.
Preliminary reports indicated the bodies are those of children, the TV station reported.
One local paper, the Cleveland Advocate, said the tipster told authorities dozens of dismembered bodies were buried at the scene.
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Brandon Nunu Asiata, 16, managed to stab the 22-year-old man in the face, head, wrist and leg before he collapsed and died on the platform at Bankstown railway station in front of commuters yesterday evening.
The boy's 15-year-old brother was stabbed in the leg.
The alleged killer, Mosa Julius Mbele, has been charged with murder over the stabbing death.
Superintendent Dave Eardley says Mbele has faced a bedside court hearing in hospital. Mbele has serious stab wounds.
"Earlier this afternoon, the 22-year-old Bankstown man was remanded in custody charged with the murder of the 16-year-old boy," he said.
"He's currently remaining in hospital being treated. As soon as he's able, he'll be transferred to the care of Corrective Services."
Friends say they cannot understand why the 16-year-old was stabbed to death.
Some are gathering at the station dressed in red to remember him, while hundreds have left tributes on Facebook.
RailCorp says there was one security guard there, who acted appropriately, when the fight broke out.
Police say they had spoken to the victim in the past month.
Friends say the boy was a good person who made them laugh.
Brandon Asiata's cousin, Julia Kepu, says she warned him not to go to the train station last night.
She says Brandon had promised he would not go.
"I'm still shocked by what's happened. I couldn't even make it down the stairs to put his flowers down for him," she said.
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Belgrade court approved a plea bargain Monday allowing Serbia's biggest folk music star, the widow of the Serbian warlord known as Arkan, to avoid jail time over charges of embezzlement and illegal weapons.
Under a deal some saw as evidence that the rich and famous get preferential treatment in Serbia's legal system, Svetlana Raznatovic, best known by her stage name Ceca, will serve a year under house arrest and wear an electronic surveillance bracelet.
She will also pay a 1.5 million euro ($2.16 million) fine.
"This plea bargain is an insult to common sense and justice," said Marko Karadzic, a Belgrade-based human rights activist.
Ceca (pronounced TSE-tsa) gained fame in the 1990s Balkans with her patriotic folk tunes set to a techno beat. She married nationalist warlord and mafia boss Zeljko (Arkan) Raznatovic and the two became the country's most prominent couple after then Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and his wife.
Serbian prosecutors indicted Svetlana Raznatovic, her sister and two associates in March on charges of embezzling four million German marks (two million euros) and $3.5 million from murky sales of 10 players from Belgrade's Obilic soccer club, which she owned in the early part of the last decade. The prosecution alleged Raznatovic and her associates sold soccer players to foreign clubs and shared profits without paying taxes or declaring the deals through the Obilic club.
Ceca took over the club, previously owned by Arkan, after a rival gang gunned him down in 2000 in the lobby of a swanky Belgrade hotel.
Judge Sladjana Markovic said that the plea bargain was aimed at preventing a long trial after an eight-year investigation.
"Raznatovic is a single mom ... Her sister is a family woman, the Obilic club did not file charges and the two did not commit any crimes since 2002, a testimony to their good character," Markovic said.
Dragan Krgovic, Raznatovic's lawyer, highlighted the money element of the plea deal. "The state will cash in 1.5 million (euros) and ... this is a real bargain for the state and prosecutors," he said.
Some ordinary citizens disagreed. "This is an outrage, it shows crime pays ... how can I tell my children to be honest and hard working?" said Dragisa Savic, 44, a security guard.
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Victor Markelov, 43, confessed in April 2009 to a vastly complex $230m theft of taxes paid to the Russian people and was jailed for five years with no fine in an apparent attempt to draw a veil over what was becoming an embarrassing episode for senior state officials implicated in the crime.
According to claims filed with the Russian prosecutor's office, Mr Markelov may have been paid to take the fall. Two days after being arrested for the alleged kidnapping of a company director in late 2006 and attempting to extort $20m out of his boss, Mr Markelov was transferred ownership of a company with a book value of $1m.
One month later and still in custody, he became owner of another company worth $1.1m. He was released six months after his arrest and just months before the alleged $230m tax fraud was perpetrated in summer 2007 with the alleged involvement of the same policemen and financier as in the kidnapping.
The larger tax fraud was uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer working for the UK hedge fund Hermitage Capital who presented evidence against the police allegedly involved. He was later arrested on tax evasion charges and held in custody for a year awaiting trial before dying of medical complications that were left untreated.
Mr Magnitsky has since become a symbol of the struggle against corrupt forces in Russia. This week, the Foreign Office cited his case in a report into "human rights violations" in Russia.
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Police have returned to an overgrown stretch of land off Long Island a day after three more bodies were found, taking the number of victims of a suspected serial killer in the New York city area to eight.
It is a huge crime scene – several square miles of windswept sand dunes and thick undergrowth – that has been scoured several times by police searchers, but more bodies keep turning up.
All of the corpses identified so far are young, white women who worked as prostitutes, and police believe they are dealing with a serial killer, or killers.
The victims found their clients on Craig's List or other similar websites and police believe some of them, perhaps all, were killed elsewhere and then dumped on Oak Island, a narrow barrier island an hour's drive from Manhattan.
The grisly harvest of bodies has come in several batches.
In December, police began to search for a missing prostitute, Shannan Gilbert, 24. She had fled a client's beachside house early one morning in May, screaming for help then disappearing into the dunes. They never found her. The client was cleared from being a suspect after police searched his home and vehicle.
While looking for Gilbert, they found four bodies hidden in and around Gilgo Beach. All were wrapped in hessian sacks and appeared to have been deposited during the past three years. None were Gilbert.
More than three months later and with no one caught for the crimes, police have made yet more grim findings. At the end of last month and about a mile from the original dumping ground, a policeman passing Oak Beach in his patrol car noticed an object. It turned out to be yet another body of a young woman.
Immediately a mini-army of police and firefighters, helicopters and dog handling teams, sealed off the huge area with police tape, scouring the tick-infested scrub. They later found three more bodies.
The authorities are working 12-hour days, searching the area again and again.
None of the new bodies has yet been officially identified, but police are working on the assumption that they fit the pattern of the earlier victims.
Investigators are appealing for information from people involved in the local sex trade. "They certainly must have some information. Anything that they may deem to be significant or even insiginificant may be significant to us," said Thomas Spota, the Suffolk County district attorney.
Forensic experts are trying to identify the latest remains and see if they include Gilbert. Her disappearance might harbour key clues. She was last seen running from a client's house and shouting: "They're trying to kill me."
She banged on a neighbour's door but ran off before the police were called. Police spoke to her later on her mobile phone but she was disorientated and told them she was on a different beach. She was never heard of or seen again.
The victims identified so far are Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25; Melissa Barthelmy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27.
Police insist that they have devoted huge resources and they continue to appeal to the public not to be prejudiced by the fact that at least some of the victims so far have been sex workers.
"What activities these victims may have engaged in prior to their murder does not matter. They were young women whose lives were cut tragically short," said Richard Dormer, Suffolk County's police commissioner.
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Senator Raymond Lavigne has been found guilty of fraud and breach of trust.
Ontario Superior Court Judge Robert Smith handed down the ruling yesterday, saying Lavigne "committed a false and dishonest act" when he requested $12,365.50 from the Senate for travel actually made by former staffer Michel Gendron, when the true cost had been $2,700.
The judge said he believed the testimony of Gendron, who said Lavigne gave him $50 for return trips from Ottawa to Montreal while the senator personally claimed $217 for the trips.
The judge said he believes Lavigne received more than $9,665.50 for expense claims that were not owed to him.
The judge said he believed another witness, Daniel Côté, who testified Lavigne filed travel claims on his behalf.
The senator was convicted of the breach-of-trust charge for directing Côté to cut trees on his property in Wakefield, while he was paid by the Senate in order to not spend on hiring an external contractor.
The Mounties charged Lavigne in 2007 with fraud over $5,000, breach of trust and obstruction of justice after a yearlong investigation by the Senate.
He was found not guilty yesterday of obstruction of justice.
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'Gun concealment' jeans
: the disturbing new craze in our jails | Mail Online: "Prisoners are wearing specially designed jeans imported from America which can conceal handguns and knives, according to leaked confidential documents.
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The two were on duty for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
(ICE) agency when they were stopped by unknown gunmen at what appeared to be a military checkpoint.
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U.S. authorities deport Salvatore Montagna, a reputed New York crime boss 
to Montreal, the city of his birth.Within months, bodies begin to fall.The decimation of Montreal’s ruling crime family, the Rizzutos, has begun.Montagna, 39, known as Sal the Ironworker because of his family’s metal business in Brooklyn and who was dubbed Bambino Boss by New York media, was reportedly acting boss of New York’s powerful Bonanno family.What part — if any — Montagna is playing in the bloody mob war in Montreal is unclear.He arrived back from the States in April 2009.In August 2009, the assault on the crime group starts with the murder of convicted drug trafficker Federico del Peschio, 59, a former cellmate and friend of the godfather, Nicolo Rizzuto, Sr.In December 2009, Nicolo Rizzuto Jr., 42, son of Vito Rizzuto and grandson of the don, his namesake, is shot to death.
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AFP: S.African police 
probe Dewani case link to 2007 murder: "South African police are probing a link between a Cape Town murder of the wife of a British businessman and a 2007 killing of a local doctor under similar circumstances, media said Sunday.
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Now Wikileaks
suffers its own leaks - Telegraph: "The development comes as a senior WikiLeaks activist told The Sunday Telegraph that she and others had resigned from the organisation because of their deep concern about its treatment of sources and 'lack of transparency with relation to large sums of money'.
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Mark Madoff in suicide 2 years on from dad Bernard Madoff's 
arrest - mirror.co.uk: "The son of jailed financier Bernard Madoff was found dead yesterday - on the second anniversary of his father's arrest.
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![WikiLeaks documents expose US foreign policy conspiracies. All cables with tags from 1 5000 [DOES NOT CONTAIN TEXT OF CABLES]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vqoj7OGoubaHXajksldBs6MEziI-1Ozn-YPiTs6pUH2iXsXYhlu0ZQmNX35jYLevYvAAjti8ncwCA8pqyPIZk73u2Td6xyJvkaS9RXQSjGq_jAnzRASySAvRdiGkvKGSC8Dz56YFOo7AjLESUOqvk_oeIVKSMcJDZCQsnLbJtlpoPzZxcAM167oGl-9swVc3rgOm62I--ntMc3J49SldBGfH-76BTZxV9bmFE=s0-d)
WikiLeaks
backlash: The first global cyber war has begun, claim hackers Media The Observer: "He is one of the newest recruits to Operation Payback. In a London bedroom, the 24-year-old computer hacker is preparing his weaponry for this week's battles in an evolving cyberwar. He is a self-styled defender of free speech, his weapon a laptop and his enemy the US corporations responsible for attacking the website WikiLeaks.
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