GANGLAND GODFATHER

The Associated Press: Jamaica cops attack drug lord's slum stronghold : "Thousands of heavily armed police and soldiers continued an assault into the capital's most violent downtown slums on Tuesday, scouring buildings for weapons and battling die-hard defenders of a powerful Jamaican gang leader sought by the U.S. Jamaica's security forces, reeling from bold attacks by masked gangsters loyal to underworld boss Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, were in the midst of a nearly day-long assault in the heart of West Kingston's ramshackle slums, long afflicted by gang strife. On Tuesday, the third consecutive day of unrest, masked gunmen in West Kingston vanished down side streets barricaded with barbed wire and junked cars intended to block outsiders. The sound of gunfire echoed across the neighborhoods in Jamaica's south coast, far from the all-inclusive tourist meccas of the north shore. It was not immediately clear what was happening inside the patchwork of sl

Russia seen as becoming a Mafia state : "Russia is a Mafia state. It is run by gangsters. It wasn't always this way. Vladimir Putin came into office in 2000 and he cracked down on corruption. Dozens of Russian oligarchs had gotten filthy rich during the 1990's as Russia moved towards capitalism. One of these oligarchs was Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He is Russia's richest man. In 2003, Putin arrested him, put him in a cage, and had photographers take pictures. This sent a message to all the other billionaire oligarchs in Russia and they towed the line by pledging allegiance to Putin. After that, Putin never again went after the oligarchs. It turns out Putin wasn't interested in cracking down on corruption in Russia; he was only interested in cracking down on those that posed (or could pose) a challenge to his rule. Russia is pretty much run by alumni of the former KGB. There is less freedom there now than during the Yeltsin era. Journalists, lawyers, and human rights a

Teen gang fears strike Bundall Crime and Court News goldcoast.com.au Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia : "gang of knife-wielding youths is roaming the normally sedate streets of Bundall on the Gold Coast. The concern follows an incident that saw two Gold Coast youths suffer serious stab and slash wounds when they were set on by a group of knife-wielding youths on Friday night. Police say a fracas started outside an ice skating rink, where a group of about 40 youths were loitering. A chase ensured, and a 14-year-old boy eventually stumbled back to the rink to find help, leaving a trail of blood from multiple stab wounds."

Ex-wife of 'American Gangster' Frank Lucas busted for selling drugs in Puerto Rico - NYPOST.com : "ex-wife of legendary drug kingpin Frank Lucas -- whose murderous exploits inspired the controversial movie 'American Gangster' -- was busted yesterday for allegedly selling two kilos of cocaine to undercover agents in Puerto Rico, The Post has learned. Julianna Farrait, 70, was nabbed inside an unidentified hotel after handing over the drugs in exchange for $60,000 in cash, sources said. 'They say life imitates art and this arrest proves the point yet again,' said DEA Special Agent in Charge John P. Gilbride. 'Like in the movie the 'American Gangster' Frank Lucas was known to have made millions of dollars peddling heroin throughout the streets of New York City.'"

Man or Myth? American Drug Lord 'La Barbie' Fascinates and Terrorizes : "Edgar Valdez-Villareal at Forefront of Drug Wars, Killing Hundreds Along the Mexican Border. For some along the Texas-Mexico border, Edgar Valdez-Villareal is an American success story. Valdez-Villareal is a wealthy businessman from Laredo, Texas, who has hit the big time, raking in millions of dollars. Now living the good life in Mexico, he drives fancy cars and has been nicknamed 'La Barbie' thanks to his good looks. Beautiful women want to be with him, and back in Texas, kids say they want to be like him. 'Guys like money,' said one male high school student who had heard stories about Valdez-Villareal. 'They get fame, they get girls, they get houses. They get everything they want.' But on both sides of the border, police are watching La Barbie, too. They want him for drug smuggling, money laundering and murder"

How Liverpool docks became a hub of Europe's deadly cocaine trade World news The Observer : "James Taylor, known as 'Pancake', are 'certainly talking' to the Sinaloa, along with Los Zetas, classified by the US Drug Enforcement Administration as Mexico's most dangerous trafficking organisation. Los Zetas control access to the Venezuelan ports from where cocaine almost certainly has already been dispatched direct to Liverpool. With menacing understatement, Liverpool police told the Observer that the issue of Mexican cartels targeting the largest enclosed dock system in the world is a 'highly evolving' situation. For the Bird of Prey, Pancake and their associates, the emerging Mexican connection follows a calamitous Spanish failure. In the aftermath of Colin Smith's murder, the new leaders of the Liverpool mafia flew to the Costa del Sol with the intention of laying down the law and inheriting one of the most lucrative cocaine-smuggling operations

Suspected Bolivia drug smuggler shoot-out kills 6 Reuters : "Police said they had recovered six bullet-riddled corpses after the shoot-out late on Friday. The three other dead were identified as Bolivians. Four other people were wounded in the clash, police said. 'We presume those killed in the confrontation were linked to drug-smuggling,' a source from Bolivia's special anti-narcotics police force told Reuters. Behind Colombia and Peru, Bolivia is the world's No.3 producer of coca leaves, the raw material used to make cocaine. Bolivia is also one of the world's top producers of marijuana."

Eight Sureno gang members busted during Operation Groundhog in Watsonville already convicted, four sent to state prison - Santa Cruz Sentinel : "Four of the gang members arrested during Operation Groundhog, a year-long Watsonville police investigation into a violent Sureno street gang, already have been sentenced to state prison, District Attorney Bob Lee said Monday. Another four have been convicted of charges and sentenced to local jail time or probation, according to Lee. In total, 45 suspected Poorside gang members were arrested during the probe while two others are wanted, according to Watsonville police. Gang investigators said they targeted Poorsiders after seeing an increasing number of violent acts linked to the gang, believed to be the largest Sureno gang in Watsonville with about 200 members. Watsonville Police Chief Manny Solano said the gang is responsible for at least 10 violent incidents -- drive-by shootings, assaults, armed robberies and stabbings -- in the pas

Old mobster Anthony Anastasio suicides before jail term starts : "Anthony (Todo) Anastasio pumped two bullets into his heart Friday morning, just days before he was due to start a 2-1/2-year term in federal prison on convictions for racketeering, extortion and arson. Anastasio, whose uncle was the legendary Murder Inc. boss Albert Anastasia, was supposed to surrender to authorities May 10, officials said. 'It was a sudden death and his family is in mourning,' said Anastasio's lawyer Paul Bergman, declining further comment. The mobster's wife found him sprawled in the kitchen of their Dyker Heights home at 7 a.m. Friday, officials said."

Old mobster Anthony Anastasio suicides before jail term starts : "81-year-old Gambino soldier on the verge of heading to prison killed himself in his Brooklyn kitchen, officials said Saturday. Anthony (Todo) Anastasio pumped two bullets into his heart Friday morning, just days before he was due to start a 2-1/2-year term in federal prison on convictions for racketeering, extortion and arson. Anastasio, whose uncle was the legendary Murder Inc. boss Albert Anastasia, was supposed to surrender to authorities May 10, officials said. 'It was a sudden death and his family is in mourning,' said Anastasio's lawyer Paul Bergman, declining further comment."

Long-time gang associate arrested in Abbotsford police raid : "Fraser Valley gangster Lance Wust, a former associate of the Bacon brothers, was arrested Friday by the Abbotsford Police Department's new Gang Suppression Unit. Wust was stopped in a black Ford pick-up near a residence in the 36000-block of Old Yale Road with another male. Const. Ian MacDonald said in a news release that the males were connected to the house where the Abby gang squad, backed by members of the Municipal Integrated Emergency Response Team executed a warrant. 'The search of the residence resulted in the seizure of a loaded 40 calibre semi-automatic hand gun, ammunition, 2 bullet-proof vests, cash and Oxycontin,' MacDonald said."