More than 200 law enforcement officers swarmed city streets beginning at 7 a.m., serving dozens of search warrants and arresting more than 40 gang suspects accused of fomenting violence, drug-dealing and prostitution.Feuding between Deep-C and traditional rival groups in North Richmond accounted for many bodies during the past two years, authorities say."They make their money through narcotics, prostitution and violence. And they make sure their area is clear of other gangs," said John George, special agent in charge of the BNE's San Francisco office. "This operation targeted the shot-callers ... and we also tracked the drug dealers who were supplying Deep-C and bringing illegal drugs into Richmond."The Contra Costa District Attorney's Office will prosecute all cases in Superior Court, George said. The bulk of charges involve drug-dealing, weapons violations and gang enhancements. The investigation also uncovered pimping at a hotel immediately outside Richmond, George said.

Reputed chief enforcer of the Gangster Disciples in the Chicago area has been ordered to spend 40 years in prison for illegally purchasing guns in in northwest Indiana. Bernard Ellis, 41, of Country Club Hills, seemed surprised by the long prison term handed down Monday.“You’re giving me 40 years for guns?” Ellis exclaimed, insisting he never killed anyone.He told the judge the sentence was “crazy” and said he’ll appeal. But U.S. District Judge Robert L. Miller Jr. said the sentence was justified, calling Ellis an “armed career criminal.”In May, a federal judge in Chicago had sentenced Ellis to seven years in prison for possession of firearms by a felon. That judge didn’t give Ellis the maximum 20-year sentence then, in part, he said, because he found “redeeming” qualities in him.In 2004, Chicago police recovered a gun from Ellis after arresting him on charges he beat his girlfriend and her daughter. Tests linked the gun to a killing earlier that year.
But Ellis hasn’t been charged in that slaying, which remains under investigation.

Henry Fortich Coneo and Wilmer Villadiego Coneo were flown to Miami on Tuesday. They were captured last month and have been wanted by U.S. authorities since 2001. They're suspected to be former members of a dismantled gang in the Dominican Republic accused of drug smuggling and murder.Col. Reverol didn't specify the charges or the quantity of drugs involved.The U.S. has accused Venezuela of doing little to prevent trafficking of Colombian cocaine. President Hugo Chavez's government denies the accusations.

Former Hell's Angel Steven Gault testified in the murder conspiracy trial of Mark Stephenson and Remond Akleh, both senior members of the Ontario Hell's Angels. The alleged murder contract was never carried out.Akleh and Stephenson are charged with recruiting Gault to murder Frank Lenti of the rival Bandidos Motorcycle Club in the summer of 2006, after Lenti refused to become a Hell's Angel. "Mr. Stephenson put his arm around me and told me I got my patch, but if he ever found any paperwork on me, he would kill me," Gault said.Court heard that a biker's patch is the trademark winged skull logo of the Hell's Angels, and that even members wives weren't allowed to touch them.Court also heard that paperwork was any strong evidence that a member was a police informer. Gault sometimes smiled as he outlined the practices and rules of the Hell's Angels, the world's largest outlaw motorcycle gang. Gault said that a member had to wait a year after joining before he could have the Hell's Angel winged skull logo tattoed on his body. If he was kicked out of the club he was expected to immediately remove the tattoo from his body, or someone else would do it roughly for him.Asked how a former member's tattoo would be removed, Gault replied softly: "I've heard everything from a cheese grater to burning it off to a knife."Crown attorney Mitchell Flagg asked Gault what it meant to him when he was given his Hell's Angel colours."That you weren't to be messed with," Gault replied. "Anywhere that you went, people feared you...You were at the top of the food chain."Gault told court that tensions were high between the Hell's Angels and the Bandidos and Outlaws Clubs in the early 2000's in the Greater Toronto Area.
"It's like oil and water," Gault told court.
"Are you saying they didn't mix well?" Flagg asked.
"They'd pretty well kill each other," Gault replied.
The three Hell's Angels were the best dressed people in the courthouse, each wearing a neatly tailored business suit. Gault was flanked by two plainclothes police officers as he testified, since he is now in a witness protection program.Court has not heard how much Gault was paid by police for telling them secrets of his biker life.

Danny Neace of Indiana testified Thursday in the Sioux Falls trial of two Hells Angels bikers charged with shooting him and four other people.Chad Wilson of Lynnwood, Wash., and John Midmore of Valparaiso, Ind., are charged with attempted murder and commission of a felony while armed.Their lawyer says as Wilson and Midmore tried to leave a resort, several Outlaws members attacked them so they fled to save their lives.But Neace said none of the Outlaws pulled a gun before the shooting.Because Neace is charged with an unrelated federal crimes in Michigan, federal prosecutors gave him immunity for his testimony.

Gang members are getting trained in the military and using their knowledge to come back and fight on American streets. While in California a month ago, we interviewed two L-A County gang investigators in south central Los Angeles. Just listen to what Detective Adan Torres told us."One of the biggest gangbangers around here actually has on his license plate, ‘Iraq veteran, or veteran Iraq'," he said. "He's got F-13 on the back of his head. Florencia on back. F-13 on his arms... and two purple hearts. Been on two tours of duty. He's trained than half the officers here anyway, fighting him."That's the "gotcha" -- hearing veteran gang detectives say some gang members are purple heart recipients who are a better shot than most police.
Those detectives in California listed a couple examples of problematic gang members they see all the time, who are also American soldiers.

Ger Dundon (21) had been sought by gardai to begin a 10-month jail sentence since he failed to appear for a Circuit Court appeal on October 24 last. He was handed the jail term after he pleaded guilty to a total of 34 motoring offences, including illegally driving a bullet- proof and armour-plated BMW supplied by his gang, the notorious McCarthy-Dundons. Gardai believe the same outfit is responsible for the brutal slaying of Mr Geoghegan on Sunday. Dundon, of Hyde Road, Ballinacurra-Weston, Limerick walked into Limerick court offices yesterday evening. He contacted gardai and gave himself over to officers. He was last night spending his first night of a 10-month sentence in Limerick prison. Investigating officers are certain to ask Dundon if he played any role, or had any knowledge of the network behind Mr Geoghegan's killing. His arrest came just hours after Limerick came to a virtual standstill for the funeral of the latest innocent victim of the city's murderous feud. On a bitterly cold day, more than 2,000 attended the emotional funeral service while hundreds more lined the three-mile route to the cemetery. Bishop of Limerick Dr Donal Murray issued a plea for an end to the 'evil feud' between the city's gangs.
In a letter to the congregation, he said: "The death of Shane has shocked all of Limerick and beyond. This senseless killing of an innocent man, with his whole life before him, is further evidence of the futility of this evil feud, and the callous inhumanity with which it is pursued." As Mr Geoghegan's remains were carried through the city, gardai stepped up their search for the murder weapon. Yesterday morning, Ger Dundon failed to appear at a district court sitting in the city on public order offences, and a second bench warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested on October 13 at Mill Lane, Henry Street, Limerick and charged with offensive behaviour and intoxication -- after he allegedly urinated on a garda patrol car.
Court staff were said to be shocked when the criminal appeared before them yesterday to begin his jail sentence. But his older brother, John Dundon (28), failed to appear before Judge Tom O'Donnell yesterday. A bench warrant has been issued for his arrest. John Dundon was also charged on October 13 last of using threatening and abusive behaviour in Pineview Gardens, Moyross. His whereabouts were still unknown last night. Despite his young age, Ger Dundon has now amassed almost 50 convictions. Last August, he was jailed for nine months after he attempted to use a false passport in Cork airport to board a European flight. In April 2004, he received a three-year suspended prison sentence for possessing €30,000 worth of drugs for sale or supply. He was 15-years-old. Within four months he had committed three breaches of the Public Order Act including, on one occasion, roaring and jeering outside the St Mary's Park home of Owen Treacy -- the nephew of murdered crime boss Kieran Keane. As a result Dundon had broken his bond to keep the peace and the suspended sentence was activated in 2005. The McCarthy-Dundons have been to the forefront of crime in Limerick since the return of gang members from the UK in the late 1990s. Officers investigating the weekend murder say it is progressing well. More than 50 gardai are involved. Justice Minister Dermot Ahern yesterday reiterated his vow to wage war on the country's criminal gangs, as he promised to push resources into policing the streets and busting gangland bosses. The minister said he had secured additional money for next year to increase the allocation ringfenced to tackle serious crime -- from €20m to €21m. The budget available to the Criminal Assets Bureau has also been increased by 20pc.

Marcello Lucero, 37, of Patchogue, was beaten, stabbed and was pronounced dead at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital. Jeffrey Conroy, 17, of 189 Jamaica Ave., Medford, Jordan Dasch, 17, of 5 Lyndsie Court, Medford, Anthony Hartford, 17, of 94 Greenport Ave., Medford, Nicholas Hausch, 17, of 36A Middle Island Ave., Medford; Christopher Overton, 16, of 9 Yacht St., East Patchogue, Jose Pacheco, 17, of 244 Hospital Road, East Patchogue and Kevin Shea, 17, of 301 Jamaica Ave., Medford were arraigned in first district court in Central Islip. All defendants were charged with first degree gang assault. Conroy has also been charged with first degree manslaughter as a hate crime.The defendants were arraigned Monday before Judge Toni Bean. All seven defendants pleaded not guilty.District Attorney Thomas Spota said “A thorough and deliberate presentation of all the facts and circumstances surrounding this brutal and wonton act will be made to the grand jury in the coming days. The right of all individuals to be free from fear and attack regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation is paramount and will be vigorously defended.”The judge remanded Conroy to the Suffolk County jail without bail. Bail was set at $500,000 bond with a $250,000 cash alternative on Overton and $300,000 bond with a $150,000 cash alternative for each of the remaining defendants.All defendants are scheduled to return to court on Friday, Nov. 14. On Monday, Gov. David Paterson issued a statement related to the case.“Today, I ask New Yorkers to join me in mourning the death of Marcello Lucero, a Hispanic man of Ecuadorian descent who was the fatal victim of a vicious hate crime over the weekend in Suffolk County. This disgraceful act should serve as a source of outrage for all of us.

violence has returned to the Salinas, leaving three people dead and five wounded by gunfire. Most of the victims in the latest surge of shootings that began Nov. 2 have been younger than 25. The youngest victim, Romeo Gose, 15, was killed after being shot multiple times in the upper body about 9 p.m. Sunday in Northgate Park on the city's northwest side off Cherokee Drive. Gose died at a local hospital a short time later, becoming the city's 23rd slaying victim of 2008. Salinas police Cmdr. Kelly McMillin said Gose was near an outbuilding in the park when two people approached him and opened fire at close range. "We have no reason to believe this had anything to do with gangs," McMillin said. He declined to elaborate. Less than 90 minutes earlier, in what police are investigating as a gang-related shooting, the 22nd slaying of the year was marked. Edgar Hernandez, 19, was fatally shot about 7:50 p.m. Sunday when someone opened fire on him and two 33-year-old men in the driveway of their home on the 1100 block of Pacific Avenue. Hernandez had just returned home from a store and was standing with the men when a car pulled up, McMillin said. "The passenger exited the vehicle, didn't say a word and opened fire," McMillin said the investigation has determined. Hernandez died at the scene. The two men with him were wounded and were taken to a San Jose hospital for treatment. They are expected to recover. McMillin said that though investigators are probing possible gang motives, there is nothing to suggest Hernandez or the men with him are involved in gangs.
Police did not provide a description of suspects or a vehicle in either shooting.
McMillin said there is nothing to suggest the two incidents are connected or are related to the other four shootings in the last nine days. Two 16-year-old boys were wounded by gunfire about 4 p.m. Friday when the driver of a gray or brown Ford Thunderbird shot at them near Florence Place and Fairview Drive. Police have made no arrests. Francisco Cabrera, 23, was shot several times about 11 p.m. Thursday on the 1000 block of North Sanborn Road. Officers who happened to be in the area responded and stopped a Mazda Protege that was speeding away. Driver Luis Placencia, 20, Diego Ramirez, 18, and two male juveniles were arrested. Shots were fired at a house in the 1800 block of Margaret Street about 8 p.m. Nov. 3, striking some vehicles. No one was injured and the shots were apparently fired from a tan 1990s two-door Honda Accord. Jose Alonzo, 22, was fatally shot about 10 p.m. Nov. 2 after he answered a knock at the door of his Lewis Circle home. No arrests have been made and police have not named any suspects. "We don't have any reason to believe anything unique is going on," McMillin said.
But the three recent slayings have pushed Salinas to the cusp of tying the record 24 slaying of 1994. In an effort to try to reduce the level of violence, police launched an initiative Oct. 16 dubbed Operation Impact to target gangs with the help of the California Highway Patrol and Monterey County Sheriff's Office. The agencies agreed to lend their support to patrol the city. In the final weeks of October there were no shootings of any kind reported in Salinas. "Sometimes we go through these periods of calm," McMillin said.
Police, though, have declined to say when officers are actively working Operation Impact. "It is an ongoing operation," Deputy Police Chief Cassie McSorley said Monday.
She said the operation at some point would have to end, but would not elaborate on the current status or say if the assigned officers were working in the last week.
The CHP said that since the operation began Oct. 30, its officers have conducted 330 traffic stops, written 164 citations, impounded 47 vehicles and have arrested 36 people, including 18 for felony violations. A complete report with the details of the operation will be provided when the operation is finalized, McSorley said.
"It may not be until the first of the year," she said, adding that the results will be positive. "We will see that it has had an impact."

Robert Daniel Thompson, a 43-year-old convicted sex offender and Hells Angels motorcycle club member was in fair condition at U.C. Davis Medical Center after he was gunned down outside The Shanty in Eureka late Friday night. In 2006, Merced County Sheriff's deputies arrested Thompson on suspicion of killing 12-year-old Jodi Marie Ragsdale and 15-year-old Sheila Carter on Dec. 13, 1986. The two girls' mangled bodies were found dumped alongside a rural road, their heads badly battered.
”These young girls were savagely bludgeoned to death and left out in a dirt road,” said Larry Morse, the Merced County District Attorney. “It really shocked the community.” According to Morse, Thompson was a suspect early on in the case. Department of Corrections information indicates Thompson had been released from prison just months before after serving time for weapons and drug possession.
”This was one of the most horrific crimes I've ever seen,” Morse said. “It was the kind of crime that was fueled by an incredible rage.” There was DNA evidence linking Thompson to the suspected murder weapon -- a car jack. And there was a witness. Thompson kidnapped a woman 10 days after the two girls were murdered, and drove her into a forested area to rape her. According to Morse, Thompson never raped the woman, but she later testified at the murder trial that Thompson had confessed to her he had recently murdered two girls. ”It was a very difficult case because of the time here,” Morse said. “Many of the players frankly were not around, or memories had dimmed.” The first trial ended with a jury that hung eight to four in favor of his guilt. The second trial ended with his acquittal. ”We were delighted he left Merced County,” Morse said. “There were a lot of people here who believed he escaped justice.” Throughout the course of the trial, Morse said members of the Hells Angels routinely came in to observe. Although no motive has been confirmed, authorities have stated that the shooting may have stemmed from an ongoing feud between the Hells Angels and a rival biker gang, the Mongols. Detective Patrick O'Neill, Eureka Police Department investigative supervisor, said no motive has been established, but four suspects have been arrested, and a handgun has been retrieved. The suspects -- Eric Gunner Lundin, 28, Dustin Christopher Liebes, 36, Brad Lee Miller, 26, and Redding resident Eric Dean Garcia, 28 -- have been booked into the Humboldt County jail. Lundin, Liebes and Miller are held on $500,000 bail, while Garcia is held on $500,000 plus an additional $10,000 stemming from an arrest warrant out of Manteca, Calif.

O'Neill could not say whether those men have any connection to the Mongols or the Hells Angels, and the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office has yet to file formal attempted murder charges. The men are expected to be arraigned later this week. At least one of the suspects has a violent criminal history. On Aug. 3, 2006, Liebes pleaded guilty to threatening his former girlfriend, and mother of two of his children, with a knife. According to court documents, the woman escaped Liebes by hiding in her vehicle and calling the police, while Liebes stood outside her car, scratching the door with his knife. The men were arrested while driving shortly after the shooting. O'Neill said a handgun was found with the men inside their car, but could not say whether it has been positively identified as the weapon used in the shooting. Morse said he is familiar with the feud between the biker gangs. ”He's running with a tough crowd, and there's obviously a lot of hostility between the Hells Angels and the Mongols,” Morse said. “I don't know why he was targeted. But (he was) playing a dangerous game, and this is sometimes what happens.” Eureka Police investigators continue to investigate the shooting, and new information is expected soon, O'Neill said.

MEXICO CITY .- The Mexican Army on Friday seized the largest arsenal of weapons captured in one day in Mexico.



It comprised of 5,000 cartridges, 278 rifles, 126 handguns, 98 grenades and 86,740 U.S. dollars in cash, official sources announced

A King County jury has convicted John Price, a Ghost Riders motorcycle gang member, of first-degree murder and related charges. The jury issued its ruling just more than 24 hours after arguments in the case concluded, finding that Price, 37, had killed Don Jessup at a Ravensdale trailer in December 2004. Price was also found guilty of two counts of witness tampering, charges that resulted from Price sending threatening letters to witnesses against him. Price, known as “Nazi John” in the gang because of his numerous neo-Nazi tattoos, had been accused of killing Jessup after an argument about a motorcycle. Though Jessup’s body has not been found, prosecutors believe Price beat him with an ax handle before shooting him in the head.Price was a member of the Ghost Riders motorcycle gang and known among fellow bikers as "Nazi John," O'Toole said. Jessup was a past president of the Gypsy Jokers, a rival gang."I'm very, very pleased. There was no body, no forensics and no weapon," O'Toole said of the verdict.Defense attorney Julie Gaisford told jurors that the testimony by many of the witnesses should be discounted because of their drug addictions, criminal histories and anger at Price.The 23-year-old mother of Price's three children testified against him during the first week of the trial.

prosecution witness on Thursday told jurors how confessed police shooter Abraham Mar assaulted a rival gang member in a courthouse holding cell on Monday.A jury in the 357th state District Court is hearing testimony to decide Mar's sentence for the attempted capital murder of Harlingen police Officer Carlos Diaz, who Mar admitted to shooting on June 25.Thursday's testimony also included Diaz's account of the shooting, as well as testimony from Mar's mother, who said her son was beaten by his alcoholic father and had attempted suicide.Mar, who had vomited twice during Wednesday's testimony, vomited again when his mother reached the witness stand.
Cameron County sheriff's Lt. Dionicio Cortez, testifying as a gang expert, said he was seated in a break room behind the courtroom Monday when he heard a scuffle in a nearby holding cell, where he found two bailiffs trying to break up a fight.
Mar, 19, and a Los Vallucos gang member were beating a member of the rival Texas Syndicate gang, Cortez said. Los Vallucos, or "Valley guys," is a name for members of Lower Rio Grande Valley gangs from Brownsville, Harlingen and San Benito.
Earlier testimony revealed Mar is a member of a local Harlingen gang called the West Side Aquas.Rio Grande Valley gang members are now in a war with national "violent hate gangs," such as the Texas Syndicate, Mexican Mafia and the Latin Kings, said Cortez, who formerly was a California police officer.Diaz took the witness stand next, giving an emotional account of how he received a radio call about someone smoking marijuana at the Corner Mart on F Street in Harlingen.When he arrived, he at first did not see anyone using drugs, but there were a lot of people in the store, he testified.He then saw Mar driving away with one of his car's tail lights out, Diaz said. As he drove toward Mar, he saw the teen get out with a rifle.Mar then aimed the rifle straight at him, he said."It didn't go off," Diaz told the court. "He turned it over and did something to it and then he started shooting at me."Diaz had to shut his eyes because glass from the windshield was striking his face, he said."I felt something hit me. I felt myself bleeding," he said, choking on his words.He tried to reach for his handgun but couldn't grip it because a bullet had struck his knuckle, he said. He couldn't get his seatbelt off and his hand dropped the radio microphone, he said.Diaz described how he felt bullets strike his hand, arm, chest and head and felt "blood gushing from my shoulder." He turned on his portable radio and screamed for help, identifying Mar as the shooter because Diaz feared the teen would succeed in killing him."I wanted everyone to know who did it," the officer testified.He then saw Mar get into his car and leave, Diaz told the court. When other officers arrived, they helped him out of his car.He walked to another patrol car, opened the rear door and climbed in, asking a fellow officer to drive him quickly to the hospital, Diaz said.At Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen, he began walking to the emergency room with help from other officers, he told the court. Nearby paramedics stopped him and lifted him onto a gurney.
Prosecutors then showed the jury the video captured by the onboard camera in Diaz's patrol car.The recording shows Mar approaching with the rifle and firing directly at the officer. Bullet holes quickly appear in the windshield.Diaz, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Somalia, testified he has had two surgery sessions since the attack and faces more operations. He hopes to return to duty.He is undergoing physical therapy and is also seeing a psychologist, he said. But he has exhausted his medical insurance benefits.As the visibly shaken Diaz left the witness stand, nearly everyone in the courtroom stood in his honor.After prosecutors rested their case, defense attorneys put Mar's mother, Virginia Mar, on the witness stand.She said that although she and her other children all have documents to legally work in the United States, she went to Mexico in 1989 to give birth to Abraham because she didn't have $5,000 to pay a hospital in Harlingen.At that point in her testimony, Abraham Mar became ill in the courtroom, as he had done on Wednesday, and the judge ordered a recess.When she resumed testifying, Mar's mother said she had been cleaning houses seven days a week at $25 a day in 1989, but made even less in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, by baking bread and sewing, so she returned to Harlingen with her children.
When Abraham was about a year old, his father returned from working in North Carolina, she said. Her husband saw the baby's curly hair and denied he was the boy's father, Virginia Mar said tearfully.Her husband, an alcoholic, had a violent temper and once threw a hammer at her, she said. And he regularly beat Abraham with a piece of rope for making bad grades in school.He told the boy he was worthless and called him obscene names, Virginia Mar testified. Her other children all made better grades.She once caught Abraham, 15 at the time, trying to hang himself, Virginia Mar said, weeping on the witness stand. Her son had to turn to his friends for love and happiness.Defense testimony is set to resume today in Judge Leonel Alejandro's courtroom.Mar faces up to life in prison, said a spokesman for the Cameron County district attorney's office. Because Mar's lengthy police record consists mostly of juvenile offenses, he does not fall under the "three strikes and you're out" law, which calls for a minimum 25-year sentence.

Rapper 40 Glocc Denies Being A Crip. Rapper 40 Glocc a/k/a Lawrence White protests that he is not a Colton City Crip after being included in a civil gang injunction brought by the San Bernardino County district attorney in California. The rapper argues that his previous references to a gang affiliation simply was to enhance his image and sell records:
"I am an entertainer trying to make a name for myself in the rap industry where image is everything. It is common in the rap industry to make music with violent lyrics and gang references. However, this in no way represents reality. It sells records, which is why rap artists say what they say."
The jury has convicted three members of the Crips gang -- Tracy Harris, Clinton Knight and Chester Randall -- on federal racketeering charges in Wichita, Kansas:
The jury of eight women and four men delivered the verdicts after nearly four days of deliberation. The trial lasted nearly three weeks and is the first in a series of trials linked to federal charges against gang members. The defendants were among 28 people charged with participating in a "pattern of racketeering activity" that dates to December 1990. Wichita police said all are Crips gang members.

Sixteen people have been sentenced in Bemidji this week in connection with a large-scale cocaine distribution ring on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.South Dakota's U.S. Attorney Marty Jackley announced the sentencings Thursday. His office is handling the case because the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office recused itself due to a potential conflict.Jackley says the investigation led to a total of 34 indictments. Two defendants were previously sentenced, charges against one person were dismissed and 15 defendants await sentencing.One of the people sentenced is Herbert Melvin May, a former Red Lake police officer. He got 48 months in prison and one year of supervised release.The other people sentenced this week received anywhere from one day in prison to 12 years .

Mafia suspect was arrested Thursday after undergoing liposuction surgery at a private Italian clinic. After nearly a year on the run, Domenico Magnoli was taken into custody by plainclothes officers who posed as visitors after his surgery. Magnoli, 27, underwent surgery to remove fat from his thighs and stomach late Thursday at the La Madonnina clinic in southern Italy. When he awoke from the operation, plainclothes officers carrying flowers and boxes of chocolate surrounded his bed.Magnoli was arrested on a French warrant for drug trafficking charges. He has been linked to the Piromalli crime family.

Homicide squad detectives are investigating links between the motorcycle gang and the disappearance of Shepparton man Engin Ozdemir, 46. Detectives believe Mr Ozdemir - who has not been seen for more than four months - was murdered in an ambush. The Hells Angels had become part of the investigation because they had previously threatened Mr Ozdemir. The missing man was a key witness in the prosecution of a Melbourne businessman on serious taxation and fraud charges.
Police say witnesses in that trial - including Mr Ozdemir - were threatened by interstate members of the Hells Angels and another bikie gang, warning them not to give evidence. Mr Ozdemir and another man, who was later to testify by video link, went ahead with their evidence at a preliminary hearing. The man charged was jailed for four years and was released from prison about a month after the disappearance of Mr Ozdemir. Mr Ozdemir had helped the businessman launder money, set up shelf companies and open dodgy bank accounts. Mr Ozdemir, who also went by the names Can Koray and John Koray, was last seen on June 19. He left his home in Carlisle Court, Shepparton, just before 5pm, saying he was going to meet someone at 6.30pm about three properties he was to manage. His car, a 1990 Toyota Camry, was parked at the Shepparton railway station at 5.13pm. Detectives suspect a late-model Ford station wagon parked in the next car space within minutes may be connected to the disappearance. The cars were parked at the far perimeter of the car park, well away from the station's terminal. Security footage showed the Falcon left within minutes of the Camry arriving. Sen-Det Steve Trewavas of the homicide squad said he believed Mr Ozdemir was not the driver of the Camry and it might have been parked there to give an impression he had left by train. "There's a 20-minute period where something's happened," he said. Mr Ozdemir has not used his bank account or mobile phone since vanishing. Det-Sgt Trewavas said there were other possible motives for the killing. Mr Ozdemir was a heroin and morphine user who dealt cannabis and prescription drugs in the Shepparton area. "He had a lot of people coming around," Det-Sgt Trewavis said. Mr Ozdemir regularly travelled to Fitzroy to buy heroin. He was believed to have owed money to several drug dealers and was badly assaulted about a month before vanishing. He told friends he was forced to fire a shot to repel his attackers. Mr Ozdemir's sister Hulya said she had contacted psychics to help find her brother, one of whom said he was alive and being held somewhere.

The man, aged in his 30s, was shot in the head and chest at a house in Fairbairn Drive, Corio, shortly after 10pm (AEDT) on Monday. The man, who does not live at the address, was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition, where his condition has stabilised. Police tonight charged two residents of the house, a 51-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman, with five counts of being a prohibited person in charge of a weapon and one count each of possessing cartridge ammunition.
The man appeared before a bail justice late yesterday and was remanded in custody to appear in the Geelong Magistrates Court today. The woman was bailed to appear in the same court on December 17. Police have ruled out any connection between Monday's shooting and the death of Torquay bikie Ross Brand, who was fatally wounded when he and three other men ambushed by a gunman in a twin-cab utility parked outside the Bandidos Geelong headquarters on October 22. Another man was wounded in the shooting, one of a series involving motorcycle gangs in the region in the past two years.

88 mafia members were arrested on Tuesday in Naples. Police also confiscated their assets in the amount of 80 million euros. The arrested belong to the Gionta clan and are suspected of having committed several crimes, including extortion, drug smuggling and gathering into a criminal organisation, Croatia’s Vecernji list daily reported.The arrest operation was conducted by police from Naples in cooperation with police forces from Milan, Catania and Pistoia. The head of the clan, Valentino Gionta, was convicted, among other things, for the murder of a journalist of a Napoli daily “Il Matino”, Giancarlo Siani, in September 1985. He is currently in jail. His wife was among those arrested in Tuesday’s operation.Police confiscated real-estate and other property, bank accounts and company shares of those arrested, all amounting to 80 million euros. According to the Italian law, all assets confiscated from the mafia belongs to citizens.

Arrests were made:Edgar Feldman, 34. He is facing charges of possession of marijuana for sale, use of electronic in drug transaction and transportation of marijuana for sale. He is being held at the Maricopa County jail.Gurgen Arakelov, 23. He is facing charges of trafficking in stolen property and conspiracy to transport marijuana. He is being held at the Pima County jail.Eduardo Mataov, 23. He is facing charges of possession of marijuana for sale, use of electronic in drug transaction, transportation of marijuana for sale and possession of a weapon during a drug offense. He is being held at the Maricopa County jail.Georgiy Yagudayev, 24. He is facing charges of possession of marijuana for sale and transportation of marijuana for sale. He is being held at the Maricopa County jail.Bergey Yeroshkin, 31. He is facing charges of possession of marijuana for sale and transportation of marijuana for sale. He is being held at the Maricopa County jail.Russian crime mafia operating in the Tucson and Phoenix areas has been busted after a six-month investigation by Tucson police.
The large group of Russian immigrants had opened several pawn shops that were being used as fronts to traffic stolen property, police said Tuesday.
The members also are believed to have been involved in burglaries as well as weapons and narcotics violations.
The bust was made after undercover officers infiltrated the group and began trading and selling purported stolen merchandise to the owners of the stores, according to Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
It was determined that the group in Tucson was closely connected to another group of Russian immigrants in Phoenix who were operating a pawn shop there, Robinson said.
On Oct. 29, four search warrants were served in Tucson — two at pawn businesses and two at residences. Three search warrants were served in Phoenix.
As a result, authorities seized stolen handguns, other weapons, purported high-value coins and jewelry, narcotics, marijuana and other items.
The organized crime group has national and international connections with money transfers going to Russia and New York, police say.