Gang member sentenced to death in murder-for-hire scheme

 

gang member recruited in a murder-for-hire conspiracy was sentenced to death Thursday for killing a man who was set to inherit a family-run business in Rancho Dominguez, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Armando Macias, 35, of Lancaster was found guilty by a jury in April of one felony count of special circumstances murder with an allegation of murder for financial gain in the slaying of 44-year-old David Montemayor, the prosecutor's office said. Macias, who is the fifth defendant to be sentenced in connection with Montemayor’s murder since 2006, was also found guilty of kidnapping to commit robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, street terrorism, attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, officials said. Macias, who has a prior strike conviction for voluntary manslaughter in 1993, also was slapped with several sentencing enhancements in connection with Montemayor’s murder. Prosecutors allege that in 2002, Montemayor’s sister Deborah Perna, 54, of Anaheim and her co-worker Edelmira Corona, 34, of Pico Rivera solicited the help of 44-year-old gang member Anthony Navarro of Canyon Country to kill Montemayor. Perna was jealous that her father intended to pass control of the family company to her brother, who she believed was stealing from the business, prosecutors said. Navarro recruited gang members Gerardo Lopez, 26, of Pacoima, Alberto Martinez, 33, of Castaic, and Macias in a kidnap-and-murder-for-hire scheme, prosecutors said. On Oct. 2, 2002, the men kidnapped Montemayor, a father of three, at the family business in Rancho Dominguez and headed to the victim’s home in Buena Park, where they were told he kept thousands of dollars in cash, prosecutors said. On the way, Montemayor, who only had one arm, managed to escape the car. But Macias shot him in the head as he fled, prosecutors said. Lopez also fired at Montemayor before the gang members raced off in their car, triggering a police car chase, authorities said. Police eventually stopped the vehicle and arrested Macias, Lopez and Martinez. Both Navarro and Martinez have been earlier sentenced to death for their role in Montemayor’s murder. Lopez, the other gang member, and Perna, the victim’s sister, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to information from the district attorney's office. Corona, the co-worker, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 18. She faces a maximum of 22 years in prison, officials said.

Texas Syndicate's Valley head gets 20 years; 5 fellow gang members also sentenced

 

Six members of the Texas Syndicate prison gang — including its Rio Grande Valley leader — were sentenced to serve time in federal prison for several charges including racketeering, kidnapping and drug charges. Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa on Monday sentenced 40-year-old Jose Ismael Salas, the gang’s regional head, to 20 years in prison for drug and racketeering offenses, court records show. Salas originally pleaded guilty April 2, 2009, to two separate charges of possession with intent to distribute 6 kilograms of cocaine on Aug. 12, 2004, and a similar charge for 39 kilograms of marijuana on March 28, 2003. The charge alleged that the intent of the possession of the drugs was to further the goals of the criminal organization. Among the five other Texas Syndicate members who were sentenced was Fidel Valle, 45, who received a sentence of 10 years and six months in prison. Valle was described as the drug supplier for the organization. He entered a guilty plea July 28, 2009, to the charge of possession with intent to distribute 6 kilograms of cocaine. Court records show that Aug. 12, 2004, after speaking with Salas, Valle tried to sell the cocaine to other Texas Syndicate members but was stopped by authorities during a traffic stop. Also sentenced was Romeo Rosales, 41, who received 12 years and seven months in prison for the kidnapping of Amancio Pinales, who was abducted and eventually gunned down in Mexico on Aug. 12, 2004. Noel De Los Santos, 33, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the March 20, 2003, murder of fellow gang member Crisantos Moran. According to information released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Moran had been ordered to kill a rival gang member from Peñitas, but after arriving there with De Los Santos and another member named Jose Armando Garcia, he failed to carry out the killing and was slain instead. Earlier this year, Garcia was given a life sentence. Two other Syndicate members were sentenced for a separate murder connected to the organization. Cristobal Hernandez, 31, and Arturo Rodriguez were sentenced to 10 and 20 years, respectively, for the murder of Marcelino Rodriguez in June 2007. The two men had aided a third man known as Raul Galindo, who shot Rodriguez in the back of the head. The two men then set the vehicle containing his body on fire. Rodriguez had been named in a sealed court document that had been provided to them by an employee at a law firm that was defending Rodriguez. The Texas Syndicate had sanctioned the death of Rodriguez.

Ex-wife chases Hells Angel biker for child support

Linda Sebastaio, ex-wife of former Oshawa Hells Angel Steven Gault, wants child support money for their 14-year-old daughter. He's now in a witness protection program after working as a police agent.

PETER EDWARDS/TORONTO STAR

Like many single mothers, Linda Sebastiao dreads the back-to-school bills, when she’s expected to shell out big bucks for clothing and school supplies.

Also like many single parents, Sebastiao is hoping to share the bills with her former spouse.

The problem is Sebastiao’s ex is Steven (Hannibal) Gault, a former Oshawa Hells Angel who’s now deep in a witness protection program. And how do you collect child support from someone who has a secret identity and address?

Gault testified in court in 2008 that he had received more than $1 million for his undercover work with police that helped land his former biker colleagues behind bars. That work ended with convictions for drugs, weapons and criminal organization, against 21 Ontario Hells Angels and associates.

Sebastiao, 34, says a lawyer has calculated that Gault owes $487,000 in child support going back eight years. She plans to file papers in court very soon.

This week, through a police intermediary, Gault offered her a one-time only payment of $200, she says.

Gault could not be reached for comment.

During his biker days, Gault wasn’t known to back down from fights and was nicknamed “Hannibal” for his taste for blood.

“He was proud of that,” Sebastiao says.

Sebastiao said Gault was proud that he bit off a chunk of a man’s ear in a Campbellford pool hall brawl. He was convicted of assault for that.

“When we would make him steak for supper, his was just with spices, raw, not even on the grill for a little,” she says.

Sebastiao is certain Gault has plenty of money to help out with expenses for their 14-year-old daughter, if he wished.

“He would rather spend $5,000 on a (motor)bike part than $50 for a good pair of shoes for his daughter.” Sebastiao says.

Theoretically, Sebastiao has a strong claim for child support benefits, experts say.

Toronto lawyer Barry Swadron says Sebastiao should be able to get paperwork requiring Gault to pay child support, even if she doesn’t know his new location and identity.

“The very people who are protecting him should be cooperative in serving the necessary papers,” says Swadron, who once served divorce papers to someone in witness protection through the RCMP.

The Family Responsibility Office is charged with enforcing child and spousal support orders, and an official there says Gault can’t hide from child support obligations while hiding from his former biker buddies.

However, Sebastiao will have to push the issue, if she hopes to collect money.

The Family Responsibility Office isn’t informed when clients are put into witness protection programs, says Charlotte Wilkinson of the Ministry of Community and Social Services, which administers the Family Responsibility Office.

“If FRO becomes aware that a support payor is in witness protection, we have the ability to advise the relevant police service of the payer’s support obligation,” Wilkinson says. “It remains the support payer’s responsibility to make court-ordered support payments.”

In June 2010, Sebastiao was awarded $35,000 from the provincial Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, after it concluded she had been frequently physically and sexually assaulted by Gault over an eight-year period.

Sebastiao says the current tensions are a far cry from her giddy feelings when their relationship began, when she was just 18. Gault was generous and charming then, she says. Within a month, they were living together. Less than a year after that, they had a baby girl.

“He was very charming and swept me off my feet.”

Back then, Gault was a good provider, if not an honest one.

He was part of a group called “The Travellers,” which targeted seniors living on farms in Eastern Ontario for renovation scams.

One elderly farmer was bilked for $260,000 for renovation work that was never done, she says.

While the money was dirty, it was plentiful, she says.

“He gave us everything we wanted. Everything that we needed. We bought a nice, cute little place.”

The longer they were married, the more he pushed to control her, she says. She says she wasn’t allowed to have a driver’s licence and that he beat her for the smallest things, such as if he thought toilet paper was rolling the wrong way.

She said his personality took a dramatic turn for the worse when he became an outlaw biker with the Satan’s Choice Motorcycle Club. That organization was swallowed up by the Hells Angels in 2000, at which time he became a member of that club.

“After he got his full patch he thought he was king of the world.”

There was more partying, more cocaine and more abuse, she says.

Gault was convicted in 2002 of attempting to harass a Durham Region police officer and his family.

A year later, Gault had a restraining order against him, forbidding him from having contact with Sebastiao’s family after he allegedly threatened to blow up their family home with them inside.

At the 2008 trial of two Oshawa Hells — just one of the trials Gault testified at — the court heard that he once told her he could tie her to a tree, cover her with honey, and let bugs and animals eat her.

“If they can’t find a body they can’t lay a charge,” she recalled him saying. He also said it would be easy to dispose of her body with lime, she says.

His constant threats made her afraid to leave him, although she thought of it often.

“I was scared, scared of what he might do to me and my family; like what he had threatened.”

After he joined the Hells Angels, Sebastiao says Gault became increasingly nervous about their cute little house — in which Sebastiao no longer lives.

It had huge front windows, which Sebastiao loved. Gault bricked them in, telling her that cut their chances of being hurt in a drive-by shooting attack.

Their marriage finally ended around the time Gault told her he was turning police agent, to make big money from his former brothers.

At first she protested to him that she didn’t want to live in a witness protection program.

“I said, ‘I love my family. I don’t want to leave my family and never see them again.’ ”

The final breaking point, she says, was when he said he wanted to move his ex-stripper girlfriend in with them.

Today, she says she has no fears from the Hells Angels, since Gault is their enemy as well. After her split with him, club members helped out with living expenses for a few months until she could get resettled, she says.

“I’ve got no worries because I never ratted on the bikers. In the end, they’re the ones who helped me.”

What she does worry about is telling her 14-year-old daughter she might not be able to get her the school clothes she wants and needs.

“She’s getting older. She needs things.”

 

 

Bail for leader of Hells Angels' Ventura chapter

 

longtime leader of the Hells Angels' Ventura County chapter charged in connection with the firebombing of two tattoo parlors has been granted bail. The Ventura County Star ( http://bit.ly/pPC00U) says a judge Friday ordered 64-year-old George Christie Jr. detained at home with an electronic monitoring bracelet. It was unclear early Saturday whether Christie had posted the $200,000 bail. Christie was arrested three weeks ago after being named in a six-count indictment that charges him and four others with conspiracy, extortion and arson. The indictment alleges that Christie, who owns a tattoo shop in Ventura, ordered Hells Angels members to threaten his competitors in an attempt to shut down their businesses. He has pleaded not guilty.

Dutch police leads the convoy as members of the Dutch divisions of motorcycle clubs Hells Angels and Satudarah gather to demonstrate in Amsterdam

Dutch police leads the convoy as members of the Dutch divisions of motorcycle clubs Hells Angels and Satudarah gather to demonstrate in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 04 September 2011.

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Source: EPA/BGNES

Nine injured in bar fight in Kadıköy

Nine people were injured when two groups of people attacked each other with knives on Kadife Street, also known as “Bar Street,” in İstanbul's Kadıköy district late Saturday.
 
According to reports one of the groups attacked members of the other group on Kadife Street, telling them not to drink there again.

Some eyewitnesses said the attackers were carrying bottles of alcohol in their hands and were members of a group known as the “Hell's Angels,” who wear identical T- shirts.

In protest of the attack in Kadıköy, some people on Facebook called for the organization a demonstration on Bar Street.

Police made a statement on Sunday and said the Kadıköy incident was not just a street fight and noted it started in a bar a week ago. Police said the attack was perpetrated by the Hell's Angels group, some of whose members have criminal records.

Those who were injured in the attack were identified as Nezih Ayak, İnan Aruh, Sertaç Birgin, Yiğit Hadi İlde, İsmet Ozan Eras, Semih Ergeleli and Öncel Yüksel. 

Residents of the neighborhood complain about the rise in the number of bars there, which they hold responsible for noise and excessive drinking of alcohol. 

Ferhat Çakır, a resident, said people drink alcohol in their street until morning and disturb them.

“They enter buildings to relieves themselves at night. We applied to the governor's office to inform them about our problem, but we didn't get any results. They also use the wall of the Ayia Triada Greek Orthodox Church as a WC. We reminded them that it is a place of worship, but our warning was to no avail.”

 

Fighting biker gangs may be behind incidents

Police believe a fight between two biker clubs may be linked to the shooting this week at a Stranmillis Avenue home.
Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Natalie Aitken said today the home "may have been targeted."
Officers went to the Stranmillis home Wednesday at about 4 a.m. after a report of shots fired, as well as smoke inside the structure.
And the day before, police went to a home on the first 100 block of Canberra Road after shots were heard.
That home was damaged from what looked like a shooting, though police said no one was injured.
"The evidence that we do have to date suggests that it looks like it’s two opposing motorcycle clubs that have been involved in different incidents in the last week," said  Aitken.
"When we have these types of incidents with individuals who are arming themselves, in this case, either with firearms, or other weapons of choice, that’s something that the police service is taking very seriously, and is working as quickly as we can to locate and apprehend any individuals who would be responsible," said Aitken.
She said police don’t have any answers right now as to what the dispute is over. Officers are interviewing a number of people, and are looking at if they’re connected to any other crimes.
"We don’t have anyone in custody right now, those are answers that we certainly would like to get to the bottom (of) as quickly as possible," she said.
"We’re very fortunate that in these incidents no one was injured."

 

Keith Hasson, 45, had been on the run since 2005 and was one of the U.S. Marshals Service's 15 most wanted fugitives.

Federal agents arrested a man in the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday accused of running a large-scale drug-smuggling operation.

Keith Hasson, 45, had been on the run since 2005 and was one of the U.S. Marshals Service's 15 most wanted fugitives. Authorities learned that he was living at an apartment in the 22000 block of Victory Boulevard in Canoga Park.

Hasson was arrested in the morning. Drug enforcement agents obtained a search warrant to enter Hasson's apartment, where neighbors said he had been living for at least a year.

Gaston Wurth, Hasson's neighbor, arrived home Wednesday afternoon to see the Los Angeles Police Department and the DEA swarming the apartment. Wurth said Hasson rarely had visitors and never cause disruptions.

"He was average, he didn't have a car or nothing like that, not blinged out," Wurth said. "He was a normal guy. I would have never guessed it."

Hasson has an extensive criminal history dating back to 1981 that includes arrests for violent crimes, including attempted murder, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors said Hasson was the leader of a drug distribution enterprise in Albuquerque that distributed cocaine and marijuana throughout the U.S.

Authorities are looking for a man who was seen running from the apartment during the arrest. No word yet on a description or on his connection to this case.

Gangs clash at the California Men’s Colony

riot involving 120 inmates and two prison gangs occurred Wednesday morning at the California Men’s Colony West Facility in San Luis Obispo County.
The riot, which took place around 10:15 a.m., consisted of fighting between the Surenos and the Paisas. The Surenos, Hispanics who hail from south of Paso Robles, are the prison’s largest gang, and the Paisas are Mexican nationals.
Lt. Dean Spears said one inmate was punctured during the melee, but no staff was injured.
The West Facility, which is a dorm setting and cannot be locked down, has been placed under modified program, meaning inmates have restricted privileges and must primarily remain in their bunks, Spears said. No safety precautions have been taken at the East Facility.
A cause for the violence is yet to be determined.

 

The only female chain gang in the world was out Wednesday morning with a message

The only female chain gang in the world was out Wednesday morning with a message: drink and drive and you could be joining the chain gang.

You can't miss this crew cleaning up trash in a field in Phoenix, wearing black and white striped jail garb and sporting "Clean(ing) and Sober" pink shirts.

The 4th of July holiday is only days away, but Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is warning drivers about the consequences of drinking and driving.

"I hope that everyone driving by that sees the chain gang will think twice about drinking and driving..they will end up on this chain gang if they do," he said.

His female chain gang is out every day picking up trash, pulling weeds and helping to bury the bodies of indigents.

Now Arpaio is using them to prevent crime. Many of these women are behind bars because of DUIs.

"I went to prison on a felony DUI, driving on a suspended driver's license," said "Jill", a Tent City inmate.

A tough lesson to learn - Jill did not want to give us her full name, but she is ready to share her story.

"We brought this on ourselves, but then again, I am glad I am owning up to my mistakes and I am here trying to make my wrongs right," she said.

Inmates volunteer for the chain gang, but not because they like the work. They are trying to stay out of lock down.

It's hotter in the tents than it is outside. The Sheriff says he's doing the women a favor.

"It's only 113 today. In the tents..138 yesterday, so they are cooling off by being here," he said.

You'll see them all over the valley through the holiday weekend -- a bold reminder. If you get caught, you could end up on the chain gang.

Arpaio plans to put the chain gangs out in force for the MLB All-Star weekend. They will also be reminding baseball fans about drinking and driving.

The Sheriff started the all-female chain gang back in 1996. The program provides crews that clean up communities and save taxpayers money by working for free.