Defendant In Russian Lawyer's Killing Says Husband Was Framed - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2011

A defendant charged in the 2009 murders of journalist Anastasia Baburova and lawyer Stanislav Markelov says her husband has been framed as the main suspect in the case, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

The trial of Nikita Tikhonov and his wife, Yevgeniya Khasis, started in Moscow on February 21.

She told the court that she will testify at the end of the trial.

Khasis added that her husband was framed by officials 'so that the truth about Markelov's murder would be buried once and forever.'

Markelov was involved in defending victims of arbitrary police violence in the North Caucasus. He and Baburova were gunned down in downtown Moscow in broad daylight."

Gang in Galaxy Star case may be tied to three Nashville slayings

Gang in Galaxy Star case may be tied to three Nashville slayingsA Bloods gang operating out of an anti-gang nonprofit wasn't just peddling drugs and guns, according to a newly unsealed indictment.

They also dabbled in murder.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors unsealed new charges that gang members were involved in at least three murders and eight non-fatal shootings, in addition to earlier allegations of drug and gun trafficking. The new court records also add six more suspects to the case and indicate that the June indictment of the original 26 suspected leaders of the East Nashville-based Bloods didn't end the gang's activities."

Yukos behind 'murder, torture, extortion': Putin aide < Local News | Expatica Moscow

Yukos behind 'murder, torture, extortion': Putin aide < Local News | Expatica Moscow: "Powerful Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin accused jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's firm of orchestrating 'murders, torture and extortion' in a rare interview published Tuesday.
Sechin, who is a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and has a major influence over Russia's energy sector, is also board chairman of Rosneft, the state firm that acquired prize assets in Khodorkovsky's firm Yukos after the latter's bankruptcy.
He appeared to expand on earlier remarks by Putin claiming that Khodorkovsky, recently sentenced to a second jail term, is a killer whose hands are 'covered in blood', which observers have taken as a hint that Khodorkovsky may yet be charged with murder.
'Yukos leaves a trail of not just simple violations, but of very grave criminal offenses, such as murders, torture and extortion,' Sechin told the Wall Street Journal.
He then proceeded to give an extensive list of victims allegedly killed on company orders.
The list included even the unfortunate owner of a tea shop eyed by the management of Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep for expansion of their office. 'A killer put a bullet through the temple of the obstinate woman,' Sechin said."

:: RUSSIA, ASSASSINATIONS - Markelov murder trial - suspects deny everything :: JRL 2/22/11

:: RUSSIA, ASSASSINATIONS - Markelov murder trial - suspects deny everything :: JRL 2/22/11: "Nationalists murder suspects Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis faced a packed courtroom on Monday and attempted to explain away the charges against them.

Both deny any involvement in the Jan. 2009 deaths of lawyer and anti-fascist specialist Stanislav Markelov, and Novaya Gazeta journalist and potential witness Anastasia Baburova."

Jeffrey Locker Hires Hitman to Kill Him, Family Gets $18M Life Insurance

Jeffrey Locker Hires Hitman to Kill Him, Family Gets $18M Life Insurance: "A motivational speaker paid a hitman to kill him so that his family could receive $18 million in life insurance payments.

Jeffrey Locker, a 52-year-old father of three, was murdered in July 2009 by a man named Kenneth Minor, who's now on trial for the crime. Minor's lawyer, Daniel Gotlin, told an almost unbelievable story of how Minor came to kill Locker. Locker had paid a career criminal in Harlem to shoot him: he was deep in debt and wanted his family to be able to claim his life insurance.

When the hitman backed out and ran away, Locker spent time walking up and down the streets, asking random strangers to shoot him in exchange for money. He approached Minor, whom he'd never met before that night. He offered him his ATM and credit cards, saying he'd paid another man to murder him, but the man had run off with his cash. He then instructed Minor to tie his hands with wire, take a knife from the glove compartment of Locker's car, and hold the knife while Locker thrust his body forward and stabbed himself with it. Locker was later found dead in his car.

Two contract killers arrested in Delhi

Two contract killers arrested in Delhi: "Two members of a gang of contract killers, allegedly involved in killing a sandal wood smuggler of Chhattisgarh, were arrested from north Delhi and arms were seized from them, police said Thursday.

Ranbir, 30, and Narender, 26, were arrested from Rohini area of north Delhi Wednesday on a tip-off.

'A 9mm and a 7.65 bore pistols, and four live cartridges were recovered from them while the Tata Indica car they were travelling in was seized. The gang is involved in the murder of Rajesh Daggar, a sandal wood smuggler of Raipur, Chattisgarh,' a police official said.

According to police, the duo disclosed that they were associates of a gangster and a contract killer named Rajesh, involved in more than 13 criminal cases, including eight murders and three attempt to murder cases, in Delhi and Haryana.

'Rajesh had been sentenced to life imprisonment but was granted parole Dec 17, 2010, and has since then been absconding. Ranbir is involved in several cases of Arms Act violations in the capital,' the official added."

California Gang Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison for Distributing PCP | Street Gangs Resource Center

California Gang Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison for Distributing PCP | Street Gangs Resource Center: "The leader of a South Los Angeles street gang, who was convicted of organizing and leading a wide-ranging conspiracy to manufacture and distribute large quantities of the drug phencyclidine—better known as PCP—was sentenced today to life without parole in federal prison. Alphonso Eugene Foster, 41, a leader of the Grape Street Crips street gang, was sentenced this morning by United States District Judge S James Otero. Prior to his conviction in this case, Foster had sustained numerous felony convictions related to drug trafficking and robbery. Foster is the second defendant to receive a life sentence as the result of a long-term investigation into the drug-trafficking activities of the Grape Street Crips"

Mexican Mafia Gang crony testifies against two in triple slaying in Pico Rivera - Whittier Daily News

A self-professed Mexican Mafia member turned state's witness testified Wednesday he wore a wire and recorded a gang shot-caller admitting he ordered a shooting at a crowded Pico Rivera pizza parlor that left three men dead.

Raymond Cuevas, a two-strike convict who received parole for felony vandalism and was released in an attempt by authorities to get a confession from the defendant, said he wore the wire seven times in conversations with Rudy 'Chapo' Ruiz, 32, of Whittier.

'He told me over the phone that he let somebody have it,' said Cuevas, who was incarcerated at the time but was working with the Operation Safe Jail, an investigative gang unit within the county's jail system.

During one of the recordings, Cuevas said, Ruiz told him he 'got a couple of guys together to do the shooting at the pizza parlor.'

But, according to Cuevas, the gang leader believed the parlor was hosting a party for members of the rival Mongol motorcycle gang.

Cuevas testified that Ruiz told him he 'let some Mongols have it.' However, under cross-examination, Cuevas said Ruiz never mentioned the Mongols by name, just that a motorcycle gang was being targeted.

'I put two and two together myself,' he said."

San Jose: Gang leader sentenced to life in prison for murders, racketeering

San Jose: Gang leader sentenced tο life іח prison fοr murders, racketeering
Gang leader аחԁ convicted killer Anh Tһе Duong wаѕ sentenced οח federal racketeering charges tһаt included eight murders іח a crime spree tһаt stretched асrοѕѕ tһе Bay Area, Southern California аחԁ Nevada more tһаח a decade ago."

A Year Later, Progress in Case of Mom, Tot Slain in Central Islip |

A Year Later, Progress in Case of Mom, Tot Slain in Central Islip | Long Island Press: "teenage gang member was recorded in wiretapped phone conversations callously joking about his involvement in the shooting deaths of a 19-year-old Hempstead woman and her 2-year-old son in Suffolk County last year, according to recently released court documents.

Even more disturbing, Adalberto “Gringo” Guzman took the slain boy’s Dora the Explorer ball as a souvenir that he later gifted to a friend’s daughter, investigators allege in the documents. Those and other details are outlined in federal conspiracy, racketeering and murder charges filed against Guzman at U.S. District Court in Central Islip, about three miles from where the 18-year-old reputed MS-13 street gang member joined two co-conspirators in allegedly gunning down Vanessa Argueta and Diego Torres one year ago Friday."

Prosecutors end probe of Dominguez

Prosecutors end probe of Dominguez - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos: "The preliminary investigation looking into the involvement of alleged carjack gang leader Raymond Dominguez in the murder of Venson Evangelista ended on Friday, with the former seeking to discredit the testimony of a new witness.

The Quezon City prosecutors’ office is expected to decide within 30 days whether there is probable cause for charging Dominguez with kidnapping with homicide and car theft.

The alleged carjack gang leader submitted his rejoinder-affidavit on Friday afternoon under heavy guard by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group which took him into custody.

In the rejoinder, Dominguez’s camp sought to debunk the testimony of a purportedly new witness who identified Dominguez as having visited Evangelista’s shop a day before the latter’s abduction."

The Russian Mafia Code

The Russian Mafia Code ~ The Chicago Syndicate: "Russian Mafia has a code that all members must follow. They have 18 rules to love by and if you break the rules, the punishment is death.

1. The crime family is your new family. Distance yourself from your real family.
2. Do not have a family of your own. No wives or children allowed. Girlfriends are okay.
3. Have another source of income, a real job.
4. Help other members with support, but material and otherwise.
5. Never reveal anything about your cohorts and associates.
6. If necessary, take the rap for a fellow thief.
7. Hold meetings to settle disputes.
8. Freely participate in these meetings.
9. Punish the guilty parties as determined at these meetings.
10 Do not flinch from performing these unpleasant duties even though the convicted party may be a friend.
11 Learn the 'Fehnay' or Russian Mafia Slang
12 Never get in over your head with gambling debts.
13 Coach and mentor younger hoodlums-in-training
14 Always maintain a network of informants among the lower echelon of criminals
15 Be able to handle your liquor, nobody likes a sloppy gangster
16 Do not mingle with the police in social situations or join any social or community clubs. The Elks Club is vertoten
17 Avoid military service, stay out of the draft
18 Always keep your work to another member of the Russian Mafia"

Aurora man gets 26 years for '05 attempted murder - chicagotribune.com

Aurora man gets 26 years for '05 attempted murder - chicagotribune.com: "Reputed street gang member Augustine T. Montes, 25, did not show up for trial in Kane County last year, where he was accused of firing a gun at a man he believed to be a gang rival in November 2005

Montes, who was out on bond, was found guilty by a jury in May. About a week later, police, acting on a tip, arrested him at a DeKalb address.

At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Montes attorney Tim Mahoney asked Judge T. Jordan Gallagher to grant a new trial, arguing that Montes had not been properly warned about the consequences of not appearing for trial. However, the judge ruled that Montes had been adequately admonished, and he rejected the motion.

The 26-year prison term was the minimum under state law, which requires a six to 30-year term for attempted murder and a mandatory 20-year add-on for discharging a firearm during the commission of the crime. By law, Montes must serve 85 percent of the sentence."

Man guilty of plotting murders

Man guilty of plotting murders: "Dr. Michael Mockovak, the cofounder of Clearly Lasik eye surgery centres, has been found guilty of hatching a murder-for-hire plot targeting his partner and the company's former president.

Mockovak, 53, co-founder of the chain of eye surgery centres with clinics in Victoria and Vancouver, was escorted out of King County Court in Seattle Thursday morning and taken off to jail following the guilty verdict in the plot to kill his partner and ex-brother-in-law Joseph King and the company's former president Brad Klock.

The King County jury convicted Mockovak of one count of criminal solicitation to commit first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit firstdegree theft and attempted firstdegree theft."