Peter Limone, 74, of Medford, was charged with 12 counts of attempted extortion, loan-sharking and illegal gaming.

Peter Limone, 74, of Medford, was charged with 12 counts of attempted extortion, loan-sharking and illegal gaming. He’s accused of running a ring of bookmakers who took bets on sporting events and charging other bookmakers to work on his turf in the Boston area and Middlesex County.Limone spent more than three decades in prison for a 1965 gangland murder that he didn’t commit. He won part of a $101.7 million civil judgment last year after a federal judge found that Boston FBI agents withheld evidence they knew could prove that he and three other men weren’t involved in the killing.Attorney Juliane Balliro argued Limone should be released on bail, citing his wrongful conviction and decades behind bars.“No defendant in the Commonwealth is as deserving of the presumption of innocence as Mr. Limone,” Balliro said.
After spending the night in jail, Limone smiled and waved at his wife as he was arraigned on the new charges Friday. He stayed in a small room off the courtroom while the charges against him were read.“I’m feeling good,” he said as he left Middlesex Superior Court after posting $5,000 bail. He declined to comment on the charges, which carry sentences from two to 15 years and $35,000 in fines.
Three other men who also arrested in the gaming scheme pleaded innocent: Joseph DiPrizio, who allegedly ran the organization’s central booking office; Thomas Palladino, who allegedly handled payments and collections; and Anthony Squillante, who authorities said served as an intermediary between Palladino and Limone.
Limone charged tens of thousands of dollars in rent to four bookmakers who wanted to operate within Limone’s territory, and took in hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling funds, prosecutors said.

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Eugene “South Side Gene” Flores said he had to help shoot Jesse “Pelon” Guevara in August 2004 or he would have been killed himself.

member of the Mexican Mafia pleaded guilty to racketeering-conspiracy charges Friday and admitted killing a fellow gang member he said he didn’t even know. In a plea deal, he got 25 years in prison. Under questioning by U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, Eugene “South Side Gene” Flores said he had to help shoot Jesse “Pelon” Guevara in August 2004 or he would have been killed himself. Guevara’s body was dumped on Senior Road in rural southwestern Bexar County. “It was the position I was put in at the time,” Flores said, referring to orders from gang leaders.
Flores’ plea agreement says the leadership ordered Jesse “Low” Ozuna, Michael “VL” Badillo and Flores to carry out the killing because Guevara had disrespected the gang. Badillo has pleaded guilty for his role and is awaiting sentencing. Ozuna is awaiting trial in an FBI racketeering case that targeted 34 members of the prison-based gang.

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Reputed Gambino crime family soldier Joseph Chirico won't serve a single day in prison: He was sentenced to six months' house arrest

Brooklyn restaurateur got a slap on the wrist for laundering Mafia money Friday - with a little help from friends like Borough President Marty Markowitz.Reputed Gambino crime family soldier Joseph Chirico won't serve a single day in prison: He was sentenced to six months' house arrest - and can spend 10 hours a day at his Marco Polo restaurant in Carroll Gardens - without even wearing an ankle bracelet.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Brownell said Chirico passed $1,500 in tribute money from a mob associate to another Gambino soldier. "Organized crime has been a curse, especially in counties like Brooklyn and Queens," Brownell argued. Federal Judge Jack Weinstein gave Chirico a tongue-lashing for swearing an oath to the Mafia - but let him off after Chirico's lawyer read glowing letters from Markowitz and former Brooklyn beep Howard Golden. Weinstein, who has sentenced scores of Gambinos in the past year, said he always slammed inducted members with more severe sentences.
He said he was swayed because of Chirico's character and defense lawyer Joseph Benfante's argument that jailing him would mean closing the restaurant and putting 25 people out of work. "Being connected with this gang has been useful in his business, he's looked up to, unfortunately, with respect," Weinstein said. A spokesman for Markowitz declined to comment on Chirico's mob ties. Chirico, who declined to speak at his sentencing, had faced six to 12 months in prison under federal guidelines. Meanwhile, Weinstein also sentenced the late Gambino boss John Gotti's brother Vincent and nephew Richard to 97 months in prison for conspiring to murder a Howard Beach bagel store owner suspected of having an affair with Vincent's wife

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Former FBI agent John Connolly, whose fall from celebrated mob-buster to paid gangland flunky

Former FBI agent John Connolly, whose fall from celebrated mob-buster to paid gangland flunky captivated a South Florida courtroom for weeks, broke his long silence Thursday at his sentencing hearing. Retired FBI agent John Connolly was convicted last month of second degree murder for his role in a mob hit. Connolly, 68, denied having any role in a 1982 mob hit, telling the family of slain businessman John Callahan: "It's heart breaking to hear what happened to your father, and to your husband ... My heart is broken when I hear what you say." Later, under a spirited cross-examination, Connolly explained that rubbing elbows with killers and gangsters and winning their confidence was part of the job. His attorney argued, "He did what the FBI wanted him to do and now all of a sudden, he's responsible for all these heinous acts." Connolly did not testify at his trial. The prosecutor, Michael Van Zamft, asked for a life sentence, saying the 30-year minimum sentence is too little because "Mr. Connolly abused his badge." Judge Stanford Blake postponed the sentencing until January 15. He said he needed time to consider a defense motion challenging the second-degree murder conviction.Connolly was convicted last month in the 1982 slaying of Callahan, an executive with World Jai-Alai. Callahan's bullet-pocked body was found in the trunk of a Cadillac parked at Miami International Airport.Connolly's testimony followed that of several other witnesses, including Callahan's son and a former FBI agent. Callahan's son, Patrick, read letters that he, his sister, and his mother wrote. He said that his mother considered his father "the love of my life" for 23 years. Former FBI agent Billy Reagan told the judge: "John had nothing to do with these murders, your honor."During the two-month trial, jurors heard that Connolly had told his mob connections that Callahan, 45, was a potential witness against them, setting him up for the gangland-style execution. Connolly previewed his denials in a jailhouse interview published Thursday in The Boston Globe. He faces 30 years to life at his sentencing.
"I did not commit these crimes I was charged with," Connolly told the newspaper. "I never sold my badge. I never took anybody's money. I never caused anybody to be hurt, at least not knowingly, and I never would."According to testimony at his trial, Connolly was co-opted by the very gangsters he was supposed to be pursuing -- members of South Boston's notorious Winter Hill gang. His story is said to be the inspiration for the character played by Matt Damon in the 2006 Martin Scorsese movie, "The Departed."Connolly's sordid tale has been closely followed in New England, where he grew up in Boston's "Southie" neighborhood, the same area long dominated by the Winter Hill gang and its notorious leader, James" Whitey" Bulger. Sought in 19 slayings, Bulger is the FBI's second most-wanted fugitive.During the first two decades of his FBI career, Connolly won kudos in the bureau's Boston office, cultivating informants against New England mobsters. Prosecutors said Connolly was corrupted by his two highest-ranking snitches: Bulger and Stephen ''The Rifleman'' Flemmi.Connolly retired from the FBI in 1990 and later was indicted on federal racketeering and other charges stemming from his long relationship with Bulger and Flemmi. He was convicted of racketeering in 2002 and was serving a 10-year federal prison sentence when he was indicted in 2005 in the Callahan slaying.
During testimony, jurors heard that Connolly was on the mob payroll, collecting $235,000 from Bulger and Flemmi while shielding his mob pals from prosecution and leaking the identities of informants.The prosecution's star witnesses at the Miami trial were Flemmi, who is now in prison, and mob hit man John Martorano, who has admitted to 20 murders, served 12 years in prison and is now free.Callahan, who often socialized with gangsters, had asked the gang to execute Oklahoma businessman Roger Wheeler over a business dispute, according to testimony. Martorano killed Wheeler in 1981 on a golf course, shooting him once between the eyes, prosecutors said.After Connolly told Bulger and Flemmi that Callahan was going to implicate them in the slaying, Martorano was sent to do away with Callahan, prosecutors said.But one star witness did not testify -- the former FBI agent who inspired the 1997 film "Donnie Brasco." He refused to take the stand after the judge denied his request to testify anonymously.

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Busted an international drug-smuggling operation , seizing $500,000 worth of Mexican heroin and $100,000 cash

sheriff’s deputies busted an international drug-smuggling operation Thursday, seizing $500,000 worth of Mexican heroin and $100,000 cash, Sheriff John Whetsel said. Deputies made five arrests, but they have not positively identified the people in custody, Whetsel said. The arrests were the culmination of an eight-month investigation, he said. Undercover deputies had been making buys from the dealers, but their unconventional delivery methods meant no arrests could me made until a breakthrough last week. The dealers would drive around Oklahoma City neighborhoods and sell heroin from their cars, but could not be traced to any residence or fixed base of operations, Whetsel said. But a traffic stop a week ago, thought at first to be unrelated to the investigation, yielded a utility bill with an address that deputies connected to the dealers. Deputies searched the residence Thursday in the 3200 block of SW 86, Whetsel said. Inside the home were five people who were arrested, 10 to 12 pounds of black tar, brown and white heroin and the cash. A search of two cars at the residence revealed the technique used to smuggle the drugs from Mexico, Whetsel said. The smugglers filled the hollow portion of the cars’ drive shafts with the drugs. Whetsel said investigators have not yet determined if the arrested people are legal U.S. residents.

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Mafia cell phone which houses 4 .22 caliber bullets and fires them at the press of a button.

Italian police raided an Italian mafia gang and uncovered a clever mobile device in so doing. It’s a cell phone which houses 4 .22 caliber bullets and fires them at the press of a button. The “phone” was fully loaded and ready to make mobile mischief when the Italian police found it in the raid. Also confiscated were two normal, non-cell phone hand guns, a whole mess of drugs, and a big pile of cash. One man was arrested during the raid, most of the suspected gang members escaped

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Baltimore police identified yesterday four victims from a recent spate of homicides

Baltimore police identified yesterday four victims from a recent spate of homicides, including a 14-year-old boy killed in Sunday's quadruple shooting. Police said the boy, Perrish Parker, was killed along with 26-year-old Darren Davis and 45-year-old Troy Brown when gunfire erupted in the 4000 block of Oakford Ave. in Northwest Baltimore on Sunday night. He was the 24th juvenile homicide victim this year, and the second 14-year-old killed in November, the city's deadliest month of 2008.
Court records show Brown had been sought since April on a warrant for violating his probation. He pleaded guilty in March to one count of drug possession with intent to distribute and received an eight-year prison sentence, nearly all of which was suspended and followed by three years of supervised probation. Davis had several prior convictions for drug possession.It was not clear what the relationship the three had, if any. Police said they did not know Parker's age, but a family friend and a relative confirmed the age in e-mails to TheBaltimore Sun. An unidentified woman was also wounded in the shooting. Police also identified Alton Alston, 19, as the victim of a shooting early Monday in the 200 block of S. Clinton St. in East Baltimore. Alston was on probation following a guilty plea to a drug charge in October 2007. He received a five-year prison sentence, though four years and six months of that sentence was suspended. In July, he was charged with attempted first-degree murder, armed robbery and assault, but the charges were dropped less than a month later. Prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to proceed with an indictment after witnesses gave conflicting information.

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Three shooting incidents in Sydney in 24 hours.

Three shooting incidents in Sydney in 24 hours.A man is in police custody this afternoon after a man was shot in Sydney's west.Ambulance crews were called to a house in Denver Road, St Clair, about 1.30pm, where they found a man, aged about 30, with gunshot wounds to the arm and chest, an ambulance spokesman said.He was taken to Nepean Hospital in a stable condition, he said.The call to ambulance crews had said the shooting was an accident."Whether he's accidentally shot himself or someone else accidentally shot him [is not known],'' he said.A police spokesman said another man had been taken into custody over the shootings and was being questioned.In the early hours today, two shots were fired into a house at Beatrice Street, Bass Hill, about 1.10am, police say.A number of people were at home at the time, but no one was injured."I can confirm it was a domestic incident, but unfortunately the details are pretty scarce," acting Inspector Alan Spence from Bankstown police said.The occupants of the house are understood to have provided few details about the attack. No description of the gunmen was given.The shooting comes after similar incidents in the same suburb and in the neighbouring suburb of Chester Hill a month ago."I wouldn't say that we are having any more than we normally encounter in this area," acting Inspector Spence said.Soon after that shooting, 10 shots were fired into a tattoo parlour at Burwood Road, Belmore, about 1.45am.Inspector Mark Pluss from Campsie police said a male worker was in the parlour at the time but was not injured.Less than two months ago, a series of shootings and an arson attack at a tattoo parlour in Brighton-Le-Sands was described by police as "a battle over turf between rival [bikie] gangs"."At this stage, I don't think we can put [the Belmore shooting] down to that," Inspector Pluss said.He said there had been no other reported incidents at the parlour in the past.

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Leon Wiley former member of the notorious "Nut Case Gang"

Leon Wiley laughed as an Alameda County Superior Court Judge today ordered the 30-year old to spend the rest of his life in prison.The former member of the notorious "Nut Case Gang" chuckled some more when family members of one of the three people he either killed or ordered to be killed talked about their loved ones.
And, as Wiley was led out of the courtroom after a stern talking-to by Judge Joseph Hurley, he made sure to look both the judge and then family members in the eyes as he shouted his allegiance to the gang that terrorized Oakland in 2003."I don't give a f---," Wiley shouted as he was surrounded by court bailiffs. "I'm not scared of none of that s---. I don't care, I got no where to go. I'm Gotti, I'm Tweezy. Nut Cases."Wiley was one of eight members of the gang who were arrested in early 2003 after a six-week crime spree in Oakland that included five killings of strangers and a host of robberies.Oakland law enforcement officials considered the group, which members called the Nut Case Gang, "one of the most notorious little killing groups the city has ever seen."Originally, the Alameda County district attorney's office sought the death penalty against Wiley and other Nut Case members; however, the office changed its mind after a jury refused to give the first Nut Case member the death penaltyNevertheless, at least three of the gang members have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the numerous crimes they committed in 2003. Others were sentenced to lesser terms after they took plea deals or were found not to have committed the most serious felonies.Wiley, who led the group for a time, was accused of some of the most heinous acts of the group. He was found guilty in September on seven felony counts including three counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder and several other felonies.
Most of the killings were committed against complete strangers.A jury found that Wiley killed Tracy Easterling, 21 and directed other members to kill Keith Maki Harris, 14 and Jerry Duckworth, 24. "He is to be incarcerated until he dies," Hurley said as he sentenced Wiley. "It is clear he is someone who treated firearms like people treat forks and knives."Tiffany Evans, Easterling's cousin, told the court that her cousin's death left a void in the family that could never be filled.
"My family suffers every day," she said as Wiley chuckled. "When we want to see her, we need to go to a grave."Easterling's aunt, Kathleen Miller, said she is horrified everyday by the last image of her niece."The last time I saw Tracy, is seeing her lying there in the hospital on life support," Miller said.Michael Nieto, a deputy district attorney who tried the case, said Wiley deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison and chalked up the gang member's courtroom outbursts to someone who is afraid of prison."Behind all that bragging, I believe Mr. Wiley is very scared to go to prison," Nieto said. "I've heard jail calls in which he is crying about going to prison."Nieto said he was relieved Wiley received the maximum sentence allowed under law and hopes the case proves to city residents that if they cooperate with police groups like the Nut Cases will end up in prison.

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Mexican and Guatemalan drug traffickers arguing about a horse race in a rural border town began a series of gunbattles in which 17 people died

Mexican and Guatemalan drug traffickers arguing about a horse race in a rural border town began a series of gunbattles in which 17 people died, police said Monday.
National police spokesman Donald Gonzalez said the traffickers were drinking in the town of Santa Ana Huista on Sunday afternoon when an argument broke out over bets on a horse race, leading to a pursuit in which the gunmen shot at each other with automatic weapons from trucks racing down roads near a remote part of the Mexican border.Gonzalez said police even found grenade-launchers at the scene of the final shootout, along with hundreds of bullet cartridges and a truck with license plates from the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.The increasing violence of Mexican drug gangs has sometimes spilled across the border into Guatemala, which is often used as part of the corridor to smuggle drugs toward the United States.Guatemalan police say 11 people died in a clash between drug gangs in March and authorities say the shooting and burning of 15 people on a bus in November also appears to be linked to drug trafficking.

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