Nicholas "The Knife" has been jailed over a violent brawl during which Hell's Angels defector Christopher Wayne Hudson was shot twice

South Australian bikies have been jailed over a violent brawl during which Hell's Angels defector Christopher Wayne Hudson was shot twice and others stabbed.
Senior Finks MC member Shane Scott Bowden, 36, yesterday was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court to six-and-a-half-years' jail by a judge who declared him a serious violent offender. His co-accused, Nicholas "The Knife" John Forbes, 39, received an 18-month sentence for assault occasioning bodily harm whilst armed.
Their trial heard Forbes attacked Hudson, a former Finks member, in front of 1800 people at a kickboxing tournament in March, 2006, before Bowden shot Hudson in the face and back.Graphic video footage played to the court showed the tournament at the Pines Resort, on the Gold Coast, descended into chaos as patrons threw punches, chairs and glasses at each other.Forbes had travelled with seven other Finks to Queensland as part of a national manhunt for Hudson after he defected to the Hells Angels and tried to recruit other Finks members.The Finks were dispatched from Adelaide with the instructions to remove a full-size tattoo of the club's colours from Hudson's back with acid and paint scrapers.Among them was Benjamin Young, 26, who was executed outside his Payneham house two weeks ago when he was shot twice in the back with a large-calibre, semi-automatic pistol.
The Victorian Supreme Court this week heard Hudson was on the run from the Finks when he opened fire with a pistol in Melbourne's central business district, killing a lawyer and seriously wounding a German backpacker and his model girlfriend.
Hudson's lawyer said Hudson was high on methampethamine and alcohol and later tried to take his own life when he realised the enormity of what he had done.The shoot-out came days after Hudson fired shots from the pistol as he drove over a Melbourne bridge at high speed with Collingwood player Alan Didak, who was suspended last month for his involvement in a drink-driving car accident with star player Heath Shaw.Hudson faces a possible life in jail after pleading guilty to one count of murder, two of attempted murder and one of intentionally causing serious injury.

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gambling executive John Callahan's bullet-riddled body was discovered in the trunk of his Cadillac at Miami's airport.

John J. Connolly was hundreds of miles away in 1982 when gambling executive John Callahan's bullet-riddled body was discovered in the trunk of his Cadillac at Miami's airport.The admitted shooter says he never met Connolly, the disgraced ex-FBI man at the heart of the agency's sordid dealings with Boston's Winter Hill Gang.
Yet Connolly will stand trial on murder and conspiracy charges this month as if he had pulled the trigger himself, because prosecutors say he secretly gave information that was crucial in setting up the hit. Jury selection is to begin Monday in a trial that figures to rehash some of the ugliest episodes in the Boston FBI's handling of the gang, once led by James "Whitey" Bulger and convicted killer Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi.For years, both were top FBI informants on rival Italian mobsters. Connolly was their handler -- and Connolly made sure they were shielded from prosecution for murder and many other crimes, a service for which he was eventually sent to federal prison on a racketeering conviction.A congressional investigation concluded in 2003 that the FBI's relationship with Bulger and his cohorts "must be considered one of the greatest failures in the history of federal law enforcement." The scandal spawned several books and was the template for the 2006 Martin Scorcese film "The Departed," with Matt Damon playing a crooked Connolly-like law enforcement officer and Jack Nicholson as the Bulger-esque Irish-American mobster.And it led former Attorney General Janet Reno in 2001 -- one of her last acts in office -- to install reforms on FBI use of criminals as informants, including better monitoring and accountability.The Callahan slaying is part of that history, detailed in numerous court documents, interviews and investigative reports.
Callahan was president of World Jai-Alai, a Miami fronton, or facility, for the sport in which gamblers bet on players who sling a small ball against a wall using wicker baskets. World Jai-Alai was purchased in the late 1970s by Roger Wheeler, a businessman from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who liked the fact that former Boston FBI agent Paul Rico was part of the security team.Soon, however, Wheeler suspected that Callahan was skimming profits from World Jai-Alai for the Winter Hill Gang. He fired Callahan and ordered an audit.On May 27, 1981, Wheeler was shot between the eyes at a Tulsa country club by hit man John V. Martorano, who has admitted in court to 20 murders.Callahan was targeted next because Bulger and Flemmi feared he would finger them for Wheeler's killing. Martorano pleaded guilty in 2001 to shooting Callahan and, with the help of an associate, stuffing his body into the trunk of Callahan's silver Cadillac.Authorities found the car at Miami International Airport, with a dime placed on Callahan's body as a warning against potential informants not to "drop a dime" or rat out associates.
Rico, Connolly's former FBI colleague, was eventually charged in Wheeler's murder, but he died in 2004 before going to trial. A little over a year later, Connolly was indicted by a Miami-Dade County grand jury in Callahan's killing. A conviction means a life prison sentence.Connolly, 68, is already serving a 10-year federal prison stretch for racketeering and other charges from his associations with Bulger and his gang, including tipping his former informant off about an impending 1995 indictment.
Bulger -- the brother of William Bulger, the former state Senate president who resigned as president of the University of Massachusetts in 2003 -- fled before he could be arrested and remains a fugitive, a fixture on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list.The FBI has checked out hundreds of tips regarding his whereabouts, including Spain, Italy, Portugal, Mexico, Great Britain and Germany. Last week, the agency marked his 79th birthday by doubling the reward for a tip leading to his capture to $2 million.The federal jury that convicted Connolly in 2002 rejected evidence of his involvement in the Callahan killing, although the charge then was obstruction of justice. And Connolly's lawyer, Manuel Casabielle, said little new has surfaced in the years since."The reason you haven't seen much connecting John to the Callahan murder is because there isn't much. It isn't there," Casabielle said. "Most of what they have comes from two people who have admitted at least 40 murders between them."
But prosecutor Michael Von Zamft said the state is confident in its case, even with key witnesses of questionable repute."I've tried lots of cases where jurors have not liked some witnesses personally. But that does not make them not believable," he said.Martorano, the self-described hit man, is among the star witnesses, along with Flemmi and other Winter Hill Gang figures. The gist of Martorano's testimony, according to court documents, will be that it was Bulger who told him that Connolly was involved setting up the Callahan slaying.Martorano served 12 years in prison for murder and dozens of other crimes under a plea agreement requiring him to testify in numerous cases, including Connolly's.During his FBI career, Connolly won numerous commendations and awards and is credited with making key arrests of Italian Mafia chieftains in Boston. His supporters have unearthed evidence indicating that senior Justice Department and FBI officials tolerated the criminal exploits of Bulger and Flemmi because of their value as mob informants.
Connolly's former Boston attorney, Edward Lonergan, has known Connolly since 1961 and called him "the strongest man I know."
"He was and is a credit to the FBI at its best. But the FBI is not always at its best," Lonergan said. "I am now convinced that he is a most unfortunate victim of a human and flawed system."

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Tribute to a Hells Angels leader, Mark “Papa” Guardado

tribute to a Hells Angels leader, Mark “Papa” Guardado, has been created, mere hours after his death in San Francisco. As a tribute to the Hells Angels leader who was shot, mourners created a make-shift urban alter

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Edgar Vallejo Guarin accused by the U.S. authorities of heading one of the most violent drug trafficking networks in South America has been arrested

Edgar Vallejo-Guarin was arrested at one of the Spanish capital's leading luxury hotels after an operation involving the US Drug Enforcement Agency - DEA - and Spain's National Police and paramilitary Civil Guard. He is accused of heading one of Colombia's biggest and most violent cocaine cartels and alleged to have moved many millions of pounds worth of the drug into the US and to Britain and the rest of western Europe through Spain. Vallejo-Guarin, who will be 48 later this month, has been wanted by a US Federal Court in Florida since 2001 on multiple drug trafficking charges. There was a reward of five million dollars for his capture.
His arrest came after the DEA was alerted that he had been in Venezuela and then moved on to Spain. Later Spanish police discovered that he was living in the country with Venezuelan documentation under the name Jairo Gomez. He was using that identity when he was arrested at the Melia Fenix hotel on Madrid's principle Castellana boulevard less than a mile from the US embassy. America has said it would be seeking Vallejo-Guarin's extradition. Eduardo Aguirre, the US ambassador to Spain, described the drug baron's capture as "an excellent example" of international co-operation in the war against drug trafficking. Colombian accused by the U.S. authorities of heading one of the most violent drug trafficking networks in South America has been arrested in a Madrid hotel, the U.S. Embassy in the city said on Friday.U.S. authorities had offered a reward of $5 million for Edgar Vallejo Guarin, also know as "Beto Gitano", who had been on their wanted list since 2001.He was captured in the Melia Fenix hotel in Madrid on Thursday night, following a tip-off from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre said in a statement that the U.S. government would seek his extradition from Spain."Vallejo Guarin has an extensive history of violence, money laundering, and the corruption of high-level government officials," the U.S. State Dept. website says.Vallejo Guarin, 47, is alleged to have been a major supplier of Colombian cocaine to the U.S. from 1990 to 1999 and is a suspect in several drug-related murders.He was indicted in June 2001 in the Southern District of Florida for heading and operating a continuing criminal enterprise.The DEA received information following the indictment that Vallejo Guarin had been located first in Venezuela and then in Spain.Spanish police found Vallejo Guarin had used Venezuelan documentation to obtain residency in Spain under the assumed name of Jairo Gomez.

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London gangster Dean Oxley who controlled a group responsible for a string of attacks on a cash van and jewellery stores was jailed for 12 years

“The gang members were running into the jewellery shops, threatening the staff, smashing display cases with hammers and taking items of high value.”
London gangster Dean Oxley who controlled a group responsible for a string of attacks on a cash van and jewellery stores was jailed for 12 years yesterday. Dean Oxley, 30, recruited a group of 11 men, aged between18 and 29, to commit the violent raids that netted them £1 million. They used guns and hammers to threaten staff, including a pregnant women. Oxley from Lewisham, southeast London, was convicted of five charges of conspiracy to rob. They hit targets in Chelsea, West London, and the Brent Cross shopping centre in North London, making off with £1,025,900.00 in valuables. Police have only been able to recover Rolex and Omega watches worth £100,000. Kenneth Millett, for the prosecution, told Kingston Crown Court that Oxley "supervised" without actually taking part. “He was a natural born leader and orchestrated the events, waiting nearby to share out the proceeds," he said.
Detective Sergeant Steve Kiely of the Met’s Flying Squad said: “Dean Oxley was an prominent and influential figure within South London organised crime circles. He controlled a violent gang of young men, directing them to commit high value commercial robberies across the capital. “He regarded himself as untouchable, remaining at arm's length from any robbery. It has taken a lengthy and complex investigation by the Flying Squad to prove his involvement in what was a wide-scale conspiracy.” Oxley and three others were convicted after a trial at the court. Andel Watson, 19, and Damian Gordon, 27, were each jailed for six-and-a-half years years for conspiracy to rob, and Marvin Samuels, 23, for six years on the same charge.
Eight members of the gang admitted an array of offences at an earlier hearing, including robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and firearms offences, and received jail sentences ranging from three years to seven years. The gang’s crime spree began in April 2007 when two members robbed a cash-in-transit van at a petrol station in Norwood Hill, southeast London. The pair stole more than £5,000 before making their escape in a getaway car driven by a third member of the gang before being intercepted by police who had been tailing them. Less than a month later, the gang struck again at Pravin Jewellers in Brent Cross Shopping Centre. Four men entered the store and screamed at staff: “Don’t fu**ing move I have got a fu**ing gun.” They kicked open display cabinets before escaping with £200,000 worth of watches.
The gang then hit another jewellery shop in the shopping centre - Fraser Hart - just 11 days later, when six men entered wearing hoods and masks and forced staff to hand over more than £500,000 of watches. As they fled from the shop through the shopping centre, chased by security guards, they pushed one guard down a flight of escalators, and one of the gang was caught. A further robbery took place on July 2 when five gang members threatened staff at Ernest Jones in Chelsea with hammers. As one of the gang tried to smash open a cabinet full of Rolex watches he showered one terrified worker with glass before giving up and snatching goods from open cabinets.
As they left the store, with more than £220,000 of watches, a five-month pregnant member of staff was threatened with a chair. The last attack happened on July 31 when officers from Barnes Flying Squad followed three of the gang before they robbed Marmalade Jewellers in Chiswick, southwest London, of £33,000 of goods. The three men were arrested shortly afterwards near the scene, along with mastermind Oxley.

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Crumlin/Drimnagh feud the Freddie Thompson gang or his sworn enemies, the Rastas.

Crumlin/Drimnagh feud the Freddie Thompson gang or his sworn enemies, the Rastas.
One of the most amazing facts of all about this urban feud is that it was sparked by the vandalism of a bicycle. Detectives believe a number of factors have led to the birth of this feud. "Some time in 1998 a dispute arose between various members over drugs and money causing a vicious split," said a well-placed source.
"Different members of both sides were assaulted and a series of tit-for-tat assaults, criminal damage to cars and vehicles belonging to them followed.
"Friends, relatives and associates from other areas such as Freddie Thompson and Paddy Doyle were brought into the dispute," said the source.
Gardai credit the burning of a bike belonging to one of Freddie's pals as the turning point in the neighbourhood squabble and the start of the decade-long warring. The bike belonging to the associate of 'Fat' Freddie Thompson was burned outside the gang member's home. The attack was blamed on a member of the Rastas, led by members of a local criminal family. The simple burning of the bike was a catalyst for a bloody war. In retaliation for the damage to the bike an attempt was made to petrol bomb the suspected culprit's house -- even though there was nothing whatsoever to associate him with the incident.
Shortly afterwards that Thompson associate was targeted again, almost certainly by the Rastas -- but this time it was his innocent mother's car that was attacked. The car was 'nitromorsed' -- in other words, burnt with acid. The combined incidents set the two gangs on a downward spiral of murder and mayhem. The gloves were well and truly off. From this inauspicious start, two gangs -- one lead by 'Fat' Freddie Thompson and his buddy Paddy Doyle (since murdered in Spain), and a rival and equally dangerous group of hoods led by another Drimnagh man known as the Rastas -- would war for position and power. Thompson's main rival in the Rastas cannot currently be named for legal reasons. Not long after the infamous bike burning incident the violence escalated and moved onto a much more dangerous level.
On March 4, 1999, shots were fired through the front window of a home on Kilworth Road in Crumlin by members of the Thompson gang. No one was injured in the shooting but the gunman shouted his name to neighbours, claiming responsibility for the incident. Nine days later the house was again targeted, and gardai believe it was the same gunman. Soon afterwards members of the Thompson gang were arrested and interviewed but no charges were ever brought due to lack of evidence. The gangs were flexing their muscles and testing each other's patience.
By April 2001 the war between the two gangs spilled over onto the streets, into pubs and outside city nightclubs. A resident in Lucan reported gunshots on his home following an altercation with a Thompson gang member in a Dublin nightclub some weeks earlier. On April 8, 2001, a gunman fired three shotgun blasts through the front door and window of the Lucan house at 3.40am. The resident told gardai he had been in a fight in a nightclub two weeks before with members of Freddie's gang, which may have made him a target. The shooting had all the hallmarks of a professional gangland attack. In a possible retaliation strike, the home of a Thompson gang member was attacked in a drive-by shooting incident on June 5, 2001.
Later that summer the Crumlin/Drimnagh feud was to claim the first of its 13 victims. Yet the feud was far from over. A family gathering between members of the Rastas ended up in a bloody brawl in February 2002 when "words were exchanged" between the gang members and associates of their rivals. One man was so badly assaulted during the attack that followed that he received 80 stitches to his head.
A revolver was also produced during the incident, which occurred just yards from the mobster's aunt's home on Basin Street in Dublin 8. Not to be outdone, a revenge attack was ordered. On June 13, 2002, two men kicked down the door of a house at Park Terrace, Dublin 8. There were five people in the house at the time of the incident and two of them received gunshot wounds. Three men from the Thompson side of the gang were arrested and questioned about this incident. Five days later two gun attacks in the space of four hours led to the beginning of a new level and intensity of violence for both gangs. As members of the Thompson gang sat celebrating St Patrick's Day in Judge Darley's Pub, outside their rivals were plotting some celebrations of their own. At 1am, members of the opposite gang were busy orchestrating a drive-by shooting of the inner city pub. Although no one was injured in the attack, gang members inside the Parkgate Street pub quickly sobered up in time to formulate a revenge plan. Just three hours later, at 4am, the house of a key 'Rasta' gang member was taken by storm and with devastating consequences.
The house at Cooley Road in Crumlin was showered in a hail of bullets when at least four men shot their way into the house and a man was shot in the stomach.
It was now just three years into the south Dublin dispute and already there had been one murder, six firearms incidents, two people shot and a series of assaults.
But the worst was yet to come. And if the worst is still yet to come, are we staring into the ugly and scarred face of urban gang warfare more often associated with Mexico, Los Angeles and South Africa?

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Mthokozisi Jali pleaded guilty to Andrew Main's murder, breaking into his house and aggravated robbery and possession of an AK-47 assault rifle.

Mthokozisi Jali, 34, of Durban, was pleading guilty to Main's murder, breaking into his house and aggravated robbery and possession of an AK-47 assault rifle.Cramond farmer Andrew Main, 53, could have been overpowered and robbed instead of being shot dead on sight, a member of the gang that killed him admitted in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Main was shot dead as soon as he got out of his vehicle at his home last September. Jali is the second of his gang to plead to crimes relating to the incident. On August 26, Mxolisi Gcabashe pleaded guilty to possession of the murder weapon, the AK-47, and was jailed for seven years. A third accused, Mzamo Wiseman Jali, 36, of Cramond, is to stand trial on charges arising from the incident on February 2. A fourth member of the gang, Lucky Ntombela, who Jali alleged had shot Main with the AK-47, was shot dead when he and a policemen wrestled for a gun in an escape bid.Judge Thumba Pillay said he wanted to carefully consider the sentences he should impose, which he will do on Thursday. State counsel Prettygirl Ngcobo asked for the life sentence, saying Jali had been sentenced to 10 years' jail for robbery in 1996. Ngcobo said Jali had admitted during cross-examination that his gang had planned to rob Main of his guns so that they could commit other crimes.Divesh Mootheram, of the Legal Aid Board, said that Jali's remorse in pleading guilty, his apology to the bereaved family and the possibility of rehabilitation were substantial and compelling circumstances, allowing the court to deviate from the prescribed life sentence.Jali said the gang had waited for Main to park his vehicle. As he had alighted, Ntombela had fired and the farmer fell."We examined him; he was dead. We took his keys and Lucky unsuccessfully tried to open the door of Main's home. We broke a few door panels. Mzamo Jali and Lucky went in."They emerged with three firearms and placed them in Main's vehicle."We left in Main's vehicle, driven by Lucky."

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Lenworth A. Spence aka Lemarcus Smith is wanted in connection to the March 2007 execution-style killing

Boston police have captured Lemarcus Smith a Mississippi man who is wanted in connection with a murder in Canada.Police and federal marshals arrested Lenworth A. Spence, 27, of Jackson, Miss., on Tuesday after developing information that he was in the Hyde Park section of the city.Police said he was located sitting in a car, and arrested on an outstanding U.S. federal warrant. The warrant charges Spence, who also goes by the name Lemarcus Smith, with being a fugitive from Canada for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit indictable offense.He was handed over the federal authorities.According to the Toronto Star, Spence is wanted in connection to the March 2007 execution-style Killing

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Michael Bradley Gordon was shot to death in Chilliwack on August 25th.

Michael Bradley Gordon was shot to death in Chilliwack on August 25th. One more sad death in a protracted vendetta which shows no sign of of running out of bullets. What distinguishes Mr. Gordon's case is that he was the second local realtor with known associations to the incredibly ruthless UN Gang to be executed over the summer. (The other was Elliott Castaneda, slain in Mexico on July 12.)Mr. Gordon was a personal friend of Clayton Roueche and he personally handled Roueche’s real estate portfolio. Roueche is the now infamous leader of the UN Gang, currently being held in a federal lockup in Seattle.

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expat Gangsters:Seamus Ward,Mick `The Corporal' Weldon ,Tommy Savage,George `The Penguin' Mitchell ,John `The Coach' Traynor,Peter Mitchell

John `The Coach' Traynor (52)
Traynor strenuously denies allegations that he set up crime reporter Veronica Guerin for her murder.Garda and criminal sources allege that Traynor travels regularly between southern Spain, Amsterdam and Brussels to organise large-scale cannabis deals. Traynor, a former fraudster and associate of `The General', Martin Cahill, is believed to have made and spent a fortune from his involvement in the hash trade between 1994 and October 1996. In a phone interview with this reporter he denied that he had any part in Guerin's death.

Peter Mitchell (33)
Mitchell, from Dublin's north inner city, was alleged during two trials to be a member of the biggest cannabis gang that operated in Ireland in the mid-1990s.
Now based in Fuengirola, Spain, Mitchell is wanted by Gardai in connection with his alleged role in the gang. Mitchell and Traynor are believed to be in regular contact.

George `The Penguin' Mitchell (51)
Ballyfermot-born armed robber-turned-cannabis and ecstasy dealer Mitchell is unlikely ever to return home, as the Gardaí, the British police and the IRA are all keen to speak to him if he returns from Amsterdam, where he allegedly continues to run his hash business.Mitchell, a suspected member of the £30 million Beit art robbery gang led by Martin Cahill in the 1980s, served 18 months in jail since he left Ireland in 1996 after being caught during a robbery of computers in Holland. He is reportedly worth €15.3 million. Mitchell was accused in his absence in a court in London of being the organiser of a botched gangland hit on gangster Tony Brindle, a rival of the infamous Daly crime clan. Sources close to Mitchell have denied he was involved.

Tommy Savage (51)
Savage phoned Garda detectives from Amsterdam four years ago and said he had no part in the shooting dead of ex-INLA man Paddy `Teasy Weasy' McDonald in 1992.
However, because of newspaper reports about his alleged cannabis dealing, he has not returned because he says he would not get a fair trial.Savage, a former member of the Official IRA -- the old paramilitary wing of the Workers' Party -- was sentenced to nine years in Portlaoise for armed robbery in the 1970s. A number of his former colleagues have suffered violent deaths. In 1983 Danny McKeown was shot dead outside a Dublin dole office. Later that year Gerry Hourigan was killed in Ballymun. Michael Crinnion was murdered in Cork in 1995. Savage is believed to be close to George Mitchell.

Mick `The Corporal' Weldon (48)
Gardai have sought Weldon since 1993, when he fled the country as detectives prepared to bring him before the Special Criminal Court. He was found by Gardai with a gun allegedly in his possession.Weldon reportedly has his own plane and pilot's licence, and frequently flies to Colombia and Surinam. It is claimed by Garda sources that the former Irish Army corporal from Swords is one of the biggest cannabis barons in Europe.One criminal who knows Weldon insisted: "Mick is just like one of the lads who does a bit of this and that -- he's not an international gangster."Weldon's whereabouts are uncertain. He was last sighted in the Costa del Sol.

Seamus Ward
Ward was named during a trial two years ago as being a member of the same cannabis gang as Peter Mitchell. Ward, from Walkinstown, Dublin, has been missing since October 1996. Gardai believe he may be in the Costa del Sol, but criminal sources claim he is living in southern England.

Jim McCann
Jim "Just call me the Shamrock Pimpernel" McCann is wanted all over the world for a variety of crimes, and is regarded as a colourful figure in the underworld.
The reformed cannabis smuggler Howard Marks wrote in his autobiography that McCann mixed with unsuspecting IRA men and Hollywood actors like James Coburn during his heyday in the 1980s.McCann, originally from Belfast, in 1971 became the first man in decades to escape from Crumlin Road jail, where he was on remand for petrol-bombing Queen's University.
In the intervening period he linked up with international cannabis dealer Marks, while still trading on his reputation as a revolutionary. In 1977 he was arrested in France for extradition to Germany for allegedly bombing a British Army base in Moenchengladbach. A subsequent case failed, thanks largely to protests by French political radicals. Next he turned up in Naas, when Gardai caught him with nearly £100,000 worth of cannabis. When arrested, he would only say: "My name is Mr Nobody. My address is The World."McCann was later freed by the Garda on a technicality. He was last seen in Argentina.

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