USCG seizes 13 tons of Cocaine

The U.S. Coast Guard recorded a video of a frantic boat crew desperately dumping huge bags of cocaine into the sea during a high-speed chase in the eastern Pacific earlier this month. That operation and a series of others netted 26,000 pounds of cocaine valued at $350 million

Snow globes from Canada contained $1m of liquid Meth

Australian police say about $1m worth of meth was found hidden as the liquid in souvenir snow globes sent from Canada. Australian Border Force officers in Sydney stopped the load at the border in a shipment of 15 snow globes that arrived by air. The shipment was X-rayed. The liquid inside was field-tested and gave a positive result for methamphetamine. All told, there was 7.5 litres of liquid methamphetamine.

It is unknown whether the fact many of the snow globes coming from Canada featured statues of llamas and saguaro cactus aroused suspicion in the cops.

$10m drug bust sees 11 charged, including 2 Sunwing Airlines employees

Two employees with Sunwing Airlines are among 11 charged in a drug bust in Ontario. 40 charges have been laid. Cops seized 10 kg of fentanyl, 1.3 kg of heroin, one kg of methamphetamine, and 30 kg of pot. The street value is estimated to be $10m. Also seized was $400k in cash and three high end vehicles.

The two Sunwing Airlines employees working at Toronto Pearson International Airport were charged with attempting to import cocaine and trafficking cocaine. Derrick Isreal Shand, Verlon Winston Peters, Tim Adam Lodge, Brittany Michelle Crozier, Courtenay Elizabeth Doolittle, Andrej Marek Krawczyk, Gianni Ballestrin, Clint McInnis, Jameal McInnis, Michael Brutto and Jehan Carvalho were all arrested and are facing various charges.

Fentanyl dealer McCulloch pulls 10 years

Leslie McCulloch pleaded guilty to production of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking in February of 2017. He tried to take back his plea, then jumped bail and went on the run for three months. McCulloch was sentenced to 10 years, minus 671 days for pre-sentence custody. The judge did not consider rehabilitation as a possibility for McCulloch. McCulloch had been using an analogue of fentanyl called acetylfentanyl as the active ingredient in his pills. The purity of the powder and pills analyzed ranged from 1.2% to 3.1% acetylfentanyl.

In parole documents, he was described as a “middleman who transported drugs for the Hell's Angels.”

At the time of his arrest, McCulloch was on parole after serving a 4.5-year sentence for trafficking cocaine.

See ----->Fentanyl dealer Leslie McCulloch runs no more - busted
See ----->Sentencing date FINALLY set for fentanyl producer Leslie McCulloch

Career mobster 'Pudgy' begs for health mercy in embezzlement case

Admitted union fraudster John "Pudgy" Matassa, 68, pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from the Independent Union of Amalgamated Workers Local 711 where he was secretary-treasurer. Considered the highest-ranking made member of the Chicago Outfit to go down in federal court in a decade, Pudgy says prison would be hazardous to his health.

Matassa's plea for no prison time doesn't come close to the government's sentencing request, which includes a minimum 27 months in jail. Matassa, who pledges to repay the union and the Social Security Administration, has filed a request for mercy, almost entirely based on his many medical conditions.
"John's health could be seriously and irrevocably compromised" by imprisonment, according to his court filing. And dangerous, they say: "Other more able-bodied prisoners will be moving faster than John can, increasing the likelihood he will fall and injure himself. And, in the event of an altercation in a prison environment, John will simply be unable to defend himself."

Thugs rip off 86 year old woman in TO

Cops have released surveillance camera footage of suspects wanted after an 86-year-old woman had a gold chain ripped off her neck while walking with her husband in Toronto. The couple was walking north on Park Road, near Asquith Avenue north of Bloor Street East at 8:10 p.m. on June 12 when three men approached them from behind. The scumbags are described as black and between 25-30 years old.

Pagan MC Boss Deric McGuire walks after wiretaps tossed

Deric 'Tuna' McGuire is out on home confinement after a judge this week threw out the wiretap investigators used on his phones. Cops wiretapped at least seven different telephones used by McGuire, capturing his recruitment to lead a new Rhode Island chapter of the Pagans outlaw motorcycle gang and documenting his illegal drug operation.

The investigation led to 29 raids in May 2018 and the seizure of drugs and weapons, including a rocket launcher. Fifty people were arrested and charged with crimes. McGuire, 33, faces more than 220 narcotics and weapons charges. Like McGuire, other defendants are also being released after remaining behind bars for more than a year.

Cathinones - The Zombie Drug

Cathinones are a family of synthetics better known as bath salts or the zombie drug. Various street names have been used such as krokodil and flakka. It is a stimulant with severe psychoactive effects.

The drug is hallucinogenic and causes panic and intense hysteria. Flakka can be smoked, inhaled, injected, swallowed, even vaped. Users exhibit demonic-like behavior and superhuman strength. Last year the U.S. had a flakka-related incident where a teenager stabbed a couple to death before eating the man’s face. It took four police to apprehend the youth.

Users pose a serious danger to themselves and those around them.

Users recall feeling brain-dead and paralyzed. There are reports of people having sometimes fatal heart attacks and strokes. Cases of kidney damage, liver damage and psychosis are common. The drug is extremely cheap and addictive. It can raise serotonin and dopamine which initially makes users feel good but that fades once the delayed effects take hold. The effects last between three to five hours.

See ----->'Monkey Dust' hits U.K. Streets - MDPHP
See ----->800 pounds of damiana leaves leads to bust - Zombie Drug

$1.4m of cocaine seized from two Edmonton homes

A June 8 seizure included 11 kilograms of cocaine, 84 kilograms of cocaine buffing agent phenacetin, slightly less than a kilo of ketamine and $15,465 in cash. The seizure of cutting agent phenacetin is one of the largest ever in Alberta. Phenacetin was once used as a pain reliever but was discontinued as both a prescription and non-prescription drug in 1973 over concerns it was leading to kidney damage and cancer. "This amount of buff speaks to the volume of cocaine potentially moving through that residence and ending up on the streets."

BCSC freeze order on BridgeMark properties being challenged

Waterfront home at 2854 Bellevue Avenue, West Vancouver was purchased by Lisa Jackson and her father Ken Tollstam in November 2018.

Freeze orders under the Securities Act are not made public, but their existence was revealed in a BCSC judicial panel decision on July 16. The court is to determine the constitutionality of the freeze orders. It is reported that at least one property related to the Bridgemark Group was listed for sale during the investigation. The residence of convicted securities scammer Aly Babu Mawji in West Vancouver was listed for sale in Feb. Anthony Jackson’s wife, realtor Lisa Jackson, sold Mawji’s $ 2.8m residence in a cash transaction to a numbered company.

The BCSC is seeking a permanent ban on Mawji.

$1b worth of cocaine found on a ship owned by JPMorgan - Update

A ship owned by JP Morgan and operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company was released on Friday, weeks after it was seized in a drug bust that found 20 tons of cocaine. JP Morgan’s asset management arm, which owns the ship, and MSC together paid $50 million in cash and a surety bond to secure its temporary release. For Mediterranean Shipping Company it was at least the third huge drug bust this year.

The container ship MSC Gayane, financed by JPMorgan, was seized by US customs officials after authorities found nearly 18 tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.3b on the vessel. The roughly 39,500 pounds, or 17.9 metric tons of cocaine is about the same weight as three African bull elephants. The MSC Gayane sailed under the flag of Liberia. It is a popular transit route for smugglers between South America and Europe because of its porous borders.

In May 2018 Algerian officials seized more than 1,500 pounds of cocaine on a Liberian-registered container ship from Brazil. In February of this year, Cape Verde officials found 21,000 pounds of cocaine, with a street value north of $700m, on a Panamanian-flagged vessel. A month later, authorities in Guinea-Bissau notched their biggest-ever cocaine bust when they discovered more than 1,700 pounds of the drug.

See ----->15,000 kg cocaine seized in 2nd largest U.S. bust

Italian police join FBI in raids on mobsters

Raids in Italy and the US targeted links between the Cosa Nostra and US organized crime. Italian police said 18 people had been arrested in Italy and one in the US. Among those arrested was Thomas Gambino.

Thomas Gambino is taken into custody

The Inzerillo crime family has been trying to rebuild after the 2017 death of its enemy, Boss of Bosses Salvatore "Toto" Riina. His Mafia war in the 1980s forced the Inzerillo family to flee to the US. It's believed the Inzerillo family is attempting to reclaim its old territory, with the help of allies in New York. Salvatore “Toto” Riina, the boss of bosses, waves from behind bars in Rome court during a trial in 1993.

El Chapo sentenced to life in prison - ADX Florence looming

Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' was sentenced to life in prison plus thirty years at a hearing where he accused the U.S. government of corruption and of torturing him. Prosecutors said that Guzman was “uniquely deserving” of the harsh sentence. Guzman is likely to serve his time in the “supermax” U.S. prison known as ADX Florence, located in Colorado. It is the highest-security federal prison in the country.

See ----->El Chapo likely going to USP Florence ADMAX

7 years in the Big House for HA Douglas Leedham

54-year-old full patch Douglas Leedham in Rhode Island was sentenced to 7 years in prison for drug trafficking.

Leedham agreed to plead guilty to intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Video from June showed cops raiding the clubhouse in Providence. That was unrelated to the Leedham case. Three Hells Angels including the president were arrested that day after an investigation into a shooting.

‘Hellboy’ earns 4 years for beating Hells Angels associate with a baseball bat

Robert DeRonde, 55, of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club, who goes by the street name 'Hellboy' was sentenced to four years in prison for the brutal beating of a Hells Angels associate at a Newark gas station in 2018.

The victim had just left the Hells Angels’ clubhouse on Clinton Avenue when he stopped for gas. Three men pulled up to the gas station and assaulted him. The Pagan MC have been absorbing members from smaller, independent biker clubs as a way to beef up their numbers. At the same time, the Pagan’s have started wearing patches that say 'East Coast' instead of a local chapter location. Pagan national President is the jailed Keith “Conan” Richter out of Long Island.

Adelaide HA clubhouse sold

The Clarence Gardens property, with its heavily fortified front fence, was home to the gang’s Adelaide southern chapter for several years. The property includes a gym and a workshop and is expected to bring $550k aud. The property has been somewhat “de-bikied” but several nods to its owners remain. The marketing spiel dubs the former clubhouse as an “exceptional commercial zone property” with a “ton of appeal”.

The clubhouse became unusable for the Hells Angels since the South Australian government introduced strict anti-bikie legislation in August 2015.

BCSC Class Action Lawsuit filed against BridgeMark

An action was commenced in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on July 11, 2019 (Tietz and Loewen v. Bridgemark Financial Corp. et al.) The action was brought under the B.C. Class Proceedings Act. First to issue news is SpeakEasy Cannabis Club Ltd. (EASY.c) Website https://www.bridgemarkclassaction.com/

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Bennett Mounteer LLP - https://www.bennettmounteer.com/ 400 - 856 Homer Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 2W5 (604)-639-3680 Mailing List: https://www.bridgemarkclassaction.com/join-mailing-list

Nazo Gaprindashvili - vor v zakone

In rural Schoharie County, Jerry and Patricia Gauthier knew her as "Anna," an invaluable and trusted home health aide. In Brooklyn, Nazo Gaprindashvili carried another identity – high-level associate of the Russian mob. Gaprindashvili, 34, a native of the Republic of Georgia, was a confidante of Razhden Shulaya, who federal prosecutors identified as one of the most powerful Russian organized crime bosses in and around New York City. Shulaya, 41, a "vor v zakone," or "vor" - which stands for thief-in-law, an elite level of Russian criminal the equivalent of a mafia boss - was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Gaprindashvili pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. She helped shake down restaurants, scammed casinos and allowed her Brooklyn apartment to be used for gambling. In Schoharie County, she stole $500,000 from the family that took her in. In June 2017, the FBI busted more than two dozen members of the 'Shulaya Enterprise'. Prosecutors said the syndicate's tentacles spread from Brighton Beach to Florida to Las Vegas.

Gaprindashvili used money she stole to pay for an attorney for Shulaya crew member Avtandil Khurtsidze, a Georgian professional boxer. He received 10 years.

See ----->Trial begins for Mob linked boxer dubbed ‘Mini Mike Tyson’

25th anniversary of Quebec's biker war

On July 13, 1994, three men walked into a motorcycle shop in Rivière-des-Prairies and killed Pierre Daoust. Daoust was a 34-year-old member of a Hells Angels puppet club called the Death Riders and his death officially marked the start of the biker war. Two days after Daoust was killed, high-ranking members of the Hells Angels met at a hotel in Longueuil. By the end of August 1994 members of all four of the Hells Angels chapters established in Quebec at the time (Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières) voted unanimously in favour of going to war.

By the time it was over more than 160 people would be dead. On March 28, 2001, the Hells Angels at the center were dealt a devastating blow as arrests were made in Operation Springtime 2001. Drug trafficking and murder conspiracy charges were filed against Maurice (Mom) Boucher and 41 others. On June 5, 2002, charges were filed against 62 people tied to the Bandidos, resulting in a roundup of the gang’s entire membership in Montreal. The arrests put an end to the war.

Man who survived being shot more than a dozen times jailed for murdering HA bikie

Jesse Ray Penhall leaves court after being acquitted of the murder of Steve 'Fly' Hydon.

Penhall was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 23 years for the murder of David Norris, 39, at a Salisbury workshop in September 2017. The 40-year-old argued that he acted in self-defence. Norris suffered multiple skull fractures, some of which were inflicted as he lay on the workshop floor. In 2008 Penhall nearly died after being shot more than a dozen times during an ambush.

Portugal charges 89 Hells Angels

The restaurant was destroyed in the attack.

Portugal’s attorney general says authorities have charged 89 Hells Angels with crimes including attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, extortion and drug trafficking. The accused were armed with knives and bats when they burst into a restaurant near Lisbon last year and tried to kill four people.

The attacks were said to be part of a turf war for control of illicit guns and the drug trade. Two of those charged are in Germany awaiting extradition. The incident sparked a major police investigation and a crackdown on the Hells Angels in the country. The HA first established a charter in Portugal in 2002