Alleged Quebec Hells Angels member arrested in Panama

 

Quebec fugitive -- and alleged member of the Hells Angels -- who is wanted on murder charges has been arrested in Panama, local media reports say. Michel Smith, 49, who was linked to Quebec's deadly biker war in the 1990s, was reportedly arrested Friday. Smith -- whose nickname is "animal" -- has been on the run since 2009. He was taken into custody by local police in the tourist area of Playa Coronado on the Pacific Ocean coast, according to local reports. The reports said he had been under surveillance for about two months before his arrest. Smith faces 29 charges, including 22 counts of murder. Police in Canada had not confirmed the news as late Sunday night. Smith is to be extradited back to Canada, police officials in Panama said in a news release. Smith has long been alleged to be among the top men affiliated with the Hells Angels when it was at war with the Rock Machine biker gang in the 1990s and early 2000s. The gang war killed more than 150 people. While most of the victims were members of the rival gangs and their affiliates, two prison guards and an 11-year old boy -- a bystander -- also died. An RCMP warrant describes Smith as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 210 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Wheels of Soul outlaw motorcycle gang member pleads guilty

 

Allan "Dog" Hunter, 33, of Chicago, was present during the March 6, 2011, shooting death of Javell T. Thornton, 32, also of Chicago, at 126 South Main St. according to a federal indictment. As part of his plea, Hunter, a member of the Wheels of Soul outlaw motorcycle gang, admitted Thursday in federal court that he conspired with other members of the gang to dispose of several firearms after the shooting. WOS was in Marion for a meeting at a private motorcycle club. In the early morning hours of March 6, a fight at the gang's after-hours party spilled onto the sidewalk on South Main Street. When the dust settled, three men were injured with stab and gunshot wounds, and Thornton was dead. The federal indictment states that Anthony R. Robinson shot three victims in the back as they fled the party, killing Thornton and seriously injuring another. Hunter reportedly fired a handgun indiscriminately into the crowd while wearing a bulletproof vest. Robinson has been indicted on one count of murder in aid of racketeering activity and one count of attempt to commit murder in aid of racketeering, along with other federal charges for murder and racketeering activities in other states, according to the federal indictment. Eighteen members of the WOS were indicted on federal charges June 9, 2011. One member allegedly stabbed another person in the head during a fight at a Chicago motorcycle club, then shot another in the stomach. The indictment says gang members are required to carry weapons - mostly guns, but also hammers, knives and other weapons.

2 Hells Angels sentenced for Sturgis stabbing

 

Two Hells Angels Motorcycle Club members involved in a stabbing that left two people with injuries during the 2011 motorcycle were sentenced in a Sturgis court Thursday. Mark Duclos of Fairbanks, Alaska, 48, was sentenced to six years in the state prison, with four years suspended. Duclos was charged with one count of aggravated assault. Fifty-eight-year-old George Caruso of Shirley, Mass., was charged with one count of simple assault. He was sentenced to 360 days in the Meade County Jail. He will also be required to pay more than $4,000 in fines and restitution. Police say the two were involved in a fight between members of the Hells Angels and Mongols motorcycle clubs. The fight sent two people to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Family and friends of Duclos and Caruso sent character letters to the state attorney’s office in support of the men. “All of the letters makes it appear that (Duclos) has a positive life back home and it appears he feels like he can behave like a criminal in Sturgis,” Meade County State Attorney Kevin Krull said. Since the incident, Duclos’ behavior has seemed inconsistent, Krull said. Duclos has appeared in public using a wheelchair and other times able to walk, he added. But his lawyer, Angela Colbath of Rapid City, said the character letters will “paint an accurate picture of who Mr. Duclos is.” Duclos has since apologized in court for his actions. Caruso has yet to publicly acknowledge the incident, though Fourth Circuit Judge Jerome A. Eckrich told Caruso he was the first to take action. “We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you throwing the first sucker punch,” Eckrich said. “I would not have just sent Mr. Duclos off to jail if it weren’t for you. You’re much more culpable than Mr. Duclos.”

Hells Angels bikie war will explode in Kings Cross.

 

POLICE investigating the Hells Angels have launched a new taskforce amid fears a full-blown bikie war will explode in Kings Cross. The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the operation, code-named Strike Force Cheviot, was set up after 40 to 50 members of the Hells Angels descended on the red-light district last month. Police believe the "unprecedented" act may have been designed to send a message to rival bikie group Nomads, which have long controlled security in the area. Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, commander of the NSW Gangs Squad, said police had been watching the situation closely since the February 5 incident. "Yes, we are aware and monitoring the situation with what happened at Kings Cross that night with the Hells Angels", Mr Katsogiannis told The Sunday Telegraph. "It was an unprecedented act from the Hells Angels and that's why it's important the Gangs Squad involved ourselves from the beginning. "Safety of the community is our top priority and we will not be allowing any OMCGs (outlaw motorcycle gangs) to carry on with that type of behaviour". Police are investigating a possible outbreak of violence between the Nomads and the Hells Angels, who have been on an expansion and recruitment drive for months around Sydney. It is one of several lines of inquiry being probed by Cheviot detectives. They are also looking at a credible allegation that Hells Angels members went to Kings Cross to confront a member of the Nomads clan who works in the area. The man, who for legal reasons cannot be named, was formerly a member of the Hells Angels but "patched over" several months ago. Since then he has been performing unofficial security tasks for nightclub premises in Kings Cross, including venues aligned with local identity John Ibrahim. Law enforcement sources said when the Hells Angels descended on the nightspot they arranged themselves across the road from a club where the man was believed to be working, and demanded he come outside. "That forms part of several lines of inquiry we are looking at," Mr Katsogiannis said, adding that officers from Strike Force Raptor were patrolling Kings Cross on the night of the incident and quelled the situation. "If they (Raptor police) didn't intervene at the time, it could have been a lot worse". Police have connected the Nomads member with some of the recent shootings across southwestern Sydney, all of which are under investigation. In November, The Sunday Telegraph revealed the individual was the target of a drive-by attack at an Oporto restaurant in Merrylands, which occurred two days after he was released from custody. Mr Katsogiannis said Strike Force Cheviot officers, would continue weekend patrols of Kings Cross to prevent any outbreaks of violence for "as long as it takes".

Mexico Arrests Boss of La Mano con Ojos Gang

 

Mexican authorities have arrested the La Mano con Ojos (The Hand with Eyes) drug gang’s reputed leader, who confessed to ordering the murders of 10 people. The arrest of Marco Antonio Hernandez Garcia was made near the Villa Olimpica neighborhood of southern Mexico City, the capital’s district attorney, Jesus Rodriguez, told reporters. Hernandez Garcia, alias “El Comandante,” who was detained Thursday along with bodyguard Gustavo Moreno Diaz, confessed to ordering the killings of 10 people “whose bodies were mutilated – some incinerated – and abandoned in different parts of the capital,” Rodriguez said. The victims, all decapitated and found with threatening messages alongside them, were suspected rivals involved in the local drug trade, the DA said. The suspect told authorities that he took over leadership of La Mano con Ojos after the arrest last August of Oscar Oswaldo Garcia Montoya, alias “El Compayito,” who confessed to participating directly in 300 homicides and ordering 600 others. La Mano con Ojos operates mainly in the central state of Mexico, which surrounds Mexico City, and is known for using extreme violence against its victims, most of whom have been decapitated. The Mexico City DA’s office will ask a judge to order Hernandez Garcia and Moreno Diaz held in preventive detention for their alleged responsibility in the multiple homicides. Clashes pitting drug cartels against each other and the security forces have claimed more than 50,000 lives in Mexico – according to media tallies – since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon took office and militarized the struggle against the drug gangs.

Free at last: Longest-serving farang at 'Bangkok Hilton' is checking out

 

Like most prisons, Bang Kwang Central reeks of decay. But the fetidness of the "Bangkok Hilton", as it is known by inmates, is more indicative of the soul of the place than the damp edifices that contain the men. Built in the 1930s to hold 3500, the maximum security prison in Thailand's biggest city now houses about 8000 inmates, who have been sentenced to more than 25 years each, as well as hundreds awaiting the outcome of their pending appeals, or execution. Leg irons provide a means of status identification: new inmates wear theirs for the first three months, whereas those on death row have their shackles permanently welded on. Fates are determined by will or whim -- a royal birthday here, a public holiday there. The stroke of a monarch's pen determines who shall live, die or be released. And in the interim both the panacea for and consequence of not knowing is insanity: the inmate's survival guide. At the time of his arrest for heroin trafficking, South African Alexander (Shani) Krebs was 34 years old. Initially condemned to death, his sentence was commuted to 100 then 40 years. He has not spent a nano-second in a democratic South Africa, having been arrested a day before the elections in 1994. Over the years he earned the tragic reputation of being the longest-serving farang, or foreigner, in Bang Kwang. But on December 5 Thailand's monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, benevolently issued an amnesty of sorts, courtesy of his birthday, to all farangs convicted of drug offences. In Thailand the seventh cycle, or 84th birthday, is a significant milestone for the monarchy and special celebrations are organised for the entire year. For the foreign inmates it means that one-sixth of their sentences has been reduced. For prisoners incarcerated since 1994, like Krebs, it signals an early release. Although most of the 11 convicted South African drug mules in Thailand have been incarcerated for more than 15 years, it is unclear who else will be released with Krebs. And South Africa's department of international relations and co-operation is not providing answers. What is certain, according to his family, is that Krebs will be released on April 22 -- eerily, almost 18 years to the day of his arrest. On Facebook, where a 751-strong support group was established in 2008, Krebs's friends have been relentlessly posting messages of support and daily marking the countdown. "Shani, only 56 days to go ... every day gets brighter. x," writes Sue. "Support our friend in the last steps to victory," says Erwin. There are psychedelic artworks and photo-shopped collages of Krebs on an aeroplane, Krebs giving the thumbs-up, Krebs reunited with his family in Johannesburg. "We wanted Shani to see how much he has been missed and how his loved ones are literally counting the days till he returns," said his sister, Joan Sacks. Since 1994 she has campaigned tirelessly for his release and kept him updated through letters and the occasional five-minute phone calls permitted by the Bang Kwang authorities. Sacks has also set up a website through which prints of his paintings -- Krebs became an accomplished artist during his incarceration -- can be bought. Arrested in Thailand Meeting him in 2009, through a double layer of bars, wire and glass, was akin to staring at the portrait of Dorian Gray. His curly hair had remained youthfully long, his body ripped and his face -- from a distance, at least -- seemed protected from the ravages of age that cleave creases, folds and furrows into the rest of us. He was 49 years old. Krebs wore a crisp white T-shirt and immaculately pressed blue trousers. He had been up most of the night, he said, copiously preparing notes for our first interview. He was charming and cheerful. He refused to divulge details of his incarceration -- the agonising months in solitary confinement, the daily drudge of prison life, the creeping despair that all he might ever do in his life was time. He made no mention of the sweat-soaked bodies crammed into cells measuring six metres by four metres, forced to sleep spoon-like, or the pungency of the open sewerage system, or the cesspool of disease that is Bang Kwang.

Mongols Motorcycle Gang Member Convicted of Murdering President of San Francisco Hells Angels

Christopher Bryan Ablett, a/k/a “Stoney,” a member of the Modesto Chapter of the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang, guilty of all four felonies with which he was charged including murder in aid of racketeering, assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering, using a firearm during a crime of violence, and using a firearm causing murder during a crime of violence, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag announced. The charges stemmed from the defendant’s gang-related murder of Mark “Papa” Guardado, the president of the San Francisco Chapter of the Hells Angels, on Sept. 2, 2008, at 24th Street and Treat Avenue in the Mission District of San Francisco. Evidence at trial showed that Ablett traveled to San Francisco to visit a friend. He was armed with a foot-long military knife and a .357 magnum revolver. Ablett brought with him a Mongols full-patch vest and t-shirt that only a full member of the Mongols is allowed to wear. According to testimony from Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) gang expert Special Agent John Ciccone, and former Mongols undercover ATF Special Agent Darrin Kozlowski who infiltrated the gang, the Mongols are an organized criminal motorcycle gang whose primary rival is the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. When word traveled to Guardado that the defendant was wearing a Mongols patch shirt in a bar in the Mission, Guardado went to the street outside the bar and approached Ablett. A fight broke out during which Ablett stabbed Guardado four times and shot him twice, killing him. According to the testimony of FBI Special Agent Jacob Millspaugh, the case agent, the defendant’s phone records showed that he spent the next several hours calling people who were identified as members of the Mongols—showing that he was reaching out as part of the Mongols communication network. The jury rejected the defendant’s defenses of self-defense, defense of his friends, and heat of passion after the defendant took the stand and testified. The jury also found that the defendant murdered Guardado to maintain or increase his position in the Mongols gang, and that the Mongols engaged in racketeering activity.

Hells Angel arrested in killing of fellow gang member

 

 Ending a four-month-long manhunt, San Jose police arrested -- without incident -- a Hells Angel wanted for the murder of a fellow Angel in the middle of a funeral. The 38-year-old suspect, Steve Ruiz, is suspected of shooting fellow Angel Steve Tausan to death Oct. 15 at San Jose's Oak Hill Cemetery. Ruiz, who had been on the run for months, was caught Saturday evening at a motel in Fremont. "We're relieved to have him off the streets," said Sgt. Jason Dwyer during a Sunday news conference at police headquarters. "This was a difficult case for investigators to solve." Ruiz's arrest is the latest chapter in a series of bizarre and violent chain-reaction episodes involving the Hells Angels, a legendary outlaw motorcycle gang originally formed in 1948 in Fontana. In September, San Jose Hells Angels President Jeff "Jethro" Pettigrew was shot and killed in a Nevada casino, allegedly by a member of the rival Vagos motorcycle gang. Pettigrew and Tausan were close friends. More than 3,000 members of various motorcycle clubs gathered in October at Oak Hill to pay their respects to Pettigrew. Sources have said a fistfight erupted between Tausan and Ruiz, and during the fight, Ruiz drew a handgun, shot Tausan and fled during the melee that ensued. Tausan was a Hells Angels legend, an ex-boxer who beat a man to death at the Pink Poodle strip club in 1997, only to have a jury acquit him after he claimed self-defense. His funeral Advertisement also was held at Oak Hill. For months, San Jose police have been trying to find Ruiz. Dwyer said that Ruiz had been moving around from place to place and was known by authorities to have stayed briefly in the Stockton and Sacramento areas. A fresh tip to detectives indicated that Ruiz was in Fremont, and more than a dozen officers moved quickly Saturday to surround the Days Inn motel at 46101 Warm Springs Blvd. Ruiz, who was believed to be armed and dangerous, apparently was alone and surrendered to police about 7:30 p.m. without incident. He spoke to detectives and was booked at the Santa Clara County main jail. "We don't believe that he'd been there for very long," said Dwyer of the Fremont motel. "We had a small window of opportunity to capture him. The fact that he surrendered peacefully was fortunate." San Jose police stressed that the Hells Angel murder, which has received national publicity, was one of 39 homicides in San Jose last year and that detectives worked the case like any other, putting in long hours as they juggled a heavy caseload. They also said that Ruiz had a lot of help eluding law enforcement in the four months since the funeral. "If someone helped him evade capture, we're going to come after them," Dwyer said.

Sacha Baron Cohen pulls Oscar stunt for The Dictator

 

Sacha Baron Cohen was escorted off the Oscars red carpet after a publicity stunt for his new film, The Dictator. The British comedian arrived in character as a middle eastern leader and claimed to be carrying the ashes of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. In an interview with US TV host Ryan Seacrest, he said it was Kim's dying wish "to be sprinkled over the red carpet and over Halle Berry's chest". He then tipped the urn over the host, covering his tuxedo in white dust. Baron Cohen, who is known for outrageous publicity stunts in films like Borat and Bruno, was bundled off the red carpet by security guards. Turning to the camera, Seacrest said: "Anything can happen and it most certainly did, all over my lapel.'' Baron Cohen's film is expected to be released in March. He was invited to the Oscars as a cast member of Martin Scorsese's multiple award nominee Hugo. There had been reports during the week that he had been forbidden to attend the ceremony after asking to arrive in character as Admiral General Aladeen - which the Academy denied. In response, the comedian posted a statement to General Aladeen's Twitter account. "VICTORY IS OURS! Today the Mighty Nation of Wadiya triumphed over the Zionist snakes of Hollywood. "Evil and all those who made Satan their protector were vanquished and driven into the Pacific Sea. What I am trying to say here is that the Academy have surrendered and sent over two tickets and a parking pass! TODAY OSCAR, TOMORROW OBAMA!" After the red carpet stunt, Moneyball actor Jonah Hill, who was up for best supporting actor, said: "I guess the Oscars isn't the best place to sell your movie. I think he's a funny guy, though." "Ryan's mouth dropped open on live TV," laughed Jackie Collins. "But that's what makes live TV good. "I don't think Ryan was very pleased, but I don't think I'd be very pleased." Piers Morgan commented it was "just another day in Hollywood". 30 Rock actress Tina Fey saw the funny side, and crossed herself over the ashes as she walked past. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, US chat show host Jay Leno said, "only in Hollywood does that dictator override Libya" as a major news story. "And somehow that's more shocking. "It's certainly worse than anything Gadaffi or Assad could possibly have done." Comedian Steve Martin said: "I love Sacha Baron Cohen", and joked that the red carpet shouldn't be sacred ground. "It should be 12% respect, 23% levity and 13% joy," he said. It is not the first time Baron Cohen has used industry events to promote his movies.

Putin assassination plot foiled: Russian officials

 

Ukrainian security services have thwarted a plot to kill Russian PM Vladimir Putin, Russian officials say. Two suspects were detained in the Ukrainian port of Odessa, Russia's state-owned Channel One TV reports. The arrested men were both shown on TV admitting their involvement in the plot, after an explosion at a flat in January in which one suspect died. Ukrainian security officials have refused to confirm the arrests were part of a plot to assassinate Mr Putin. But the Russian prime minister's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told the BBC that the report was correct: "this was absolutely a plot to kill the prime minister." The attack was to happen after next Sunday's presidential vote, the report said. Mr Putin is expected to win the election and get a third term as president. The BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow said the two men were both shown on Russian TV, one being interrogated and the other giving an interview. Continue reading the main story Analysis Daniel Sandford BBC News, Moscow The Ukrainian security services have told the BBC that they did arrest some people in January after an apartment explosion. But when we asked them if it was part of a plot to assassinate Mr Putin, spokeswoman Maryna Ostapenko said she did not know what to say. She would not go on the record to confirm that this was part of a plot to kill Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. So it goes back only to the very detailed Russian Channel One report which even interviewed one of the suspects. But at this stage the Ukrainian authorities do not confirm that these men are being held in any way in connection with an assassination plot. In the footage, both admit plotting to attack Mr Putin. One, identified by Ria Novosti as Ilya Pyanzin, said he had been hired by Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov to carry out the killing and also by Ruslan Madayev, the suspect who died in the Odessa explosion. The other suspect was named by Channel One as Adam Osmayev, said to have been on an international wanted list since 2007. The plotters were planning to plant mines on Kutuzovsky Avenue in Moscow, used by Mr Putin on a daily basis, the report said. Russian media report that Mr Pyanzin was arrested in the Odessa flat where the explosion happened. He told police that he and Madayev had flown to Ukraine from the United Arab Emirates via Turkey, with precise instructions from representatives of Doku Umarov. According to the reports, details of the plot were found on laptops in the flat, along with a video showing Mr Putin's motorcade. Mr Osmayev was reported to be the local fixer in Odessa and the instructor for the plotters, and had lived for a long time in London.