Zumba's Latin rhythms on the move in the fitness world

 

On a rooftop parking lot, with temperatures in the chilly low 50s, a crowd of all ages shimmied and shook, sweated and smiled as DJ Francis played an eclectic mix of dance music. But this wasn't just another wild South Florida party. It was a special Zumba class for charity, led last month by the creator of the global craze, Alberto "Beto" Perez. The charismatic Colombian in cargo pants — who has become a rock star in the fitness world — climbed onto the roof of a Chevy minivan that doubled as a stage. He demonstrated salsa steps, the merengue march and many other Latin-inspired dance moves — all while also cuing the drummer and the bongo player. For an hour, 75 of his adoring fans — and even the minivan — moved to the beat. "Everybody loves it; everybody has fun," Perez said while posing for pictures with his Zumba faithful, some of whom had traveled from as far as Canada. Two days later, Perez flew to New York to appear on the TV morning show "Live! with Kelly." "You must be so rich by now," host Kelly Ripa gushed to Perez, 41. Perez's Zumba classes, with the motto "Ditch the Workout, Join the Party," were strictly a South Florida phenomenon 10 years ago. Today, Zumba Fitness has become the largest branded fitness program in the world, with about 12 million people taking Zumba classes weekly at 110,000 locations in at least 125 countries, according to company spokeswoman Allison Robins. The private company won't reveal information about the company's finances or its net worth. But at a time when most of the world is struggling economically, Zumba Fitness' empire appears to be flourishing. It is doing so on the strength of a growing army of certified instructors who spread the Zumba gospel to such distant outposts as Iceland, Papua New Guinea, Nepal and even Afghanistan — at the Kabul Community Center. Many fitness crazes have come and gone. Staying power is tough in the ever-evolving fitness industry. John Figarelli, founder of the National Fitness Hall of Fame Museum and author of "The History of Fitness: Fads, Gimmicks and Gadgets," said: "I think the owners of Zumba did a great job of getting it going from a business standpoint." Zumba Fitness does not charge gyms to carry its classes. Instead, it trains instructors and gives them the license and use of the trademark if they join the Zumba Instructor Network. "We're helping the instructors to become entrepreneurs and make a living out of it," said company co-founder Alberto Aghion. Exercise as a business It's a sound strategy, said Figarelli, whose book covers 100 years of working out, from 1900 to 2000. "Most group-exercise instructors will just go with the next popular class. But if Zumba is your business, instructors will stay with that." Ensuring instructors are successful has become the company's main mission. "We have three people who all they do is call up gyms all day and try to find instructors employment," said company co-founder Alberto Perlman. The company has made Zumba instructors easy to find, with a worldwide listing that includes all of their network instructors' classes regularly updated on the company's website. Instructors also receive new music and choreography about every two months. The music department now creates music just for Zumba classes, with original songs that include "Zumbalicious," "Que Te Mueve" and "Caipirinha," which was a No. 1 song in Israel. Zumba Fitness makes its money on its instructors academy, instructors courses, monthly fees from instructors in its network and on all its brand merchandise. The company has built its own line of hip, colorful clothing and footwear, workout DVDs, two video games, original music and a lifestyle magazine, Z-Life. This was not the business model when Zumba Fitness was founded in Aventura, Fla., in 2001 by the "three Albertos" — creator Perez and boyhood friends Perlman and Aghion, both entrepreneurs in their mid-20s and natives of Colombia. The trio's original plan was simple: produce VHS workout tapes of Perez's popular South Florida classes to sell around the country on infomercials. An inspired ad-lib Perez fell in love with dancing at age 7 by watching a VHS tape of the 1978 movie "Grease," starring John Travolta. At age 16, he was teaching aerobics classes for $1 an hour. One day, he forgot his prepared music. All he had in his backpack was a cassette tape of merengue and salsa music he'd recorded off the radio. His morning class was full of moms who had dropped their kids off at school. "I can't say, 'Hey sorry, I forgot my music,' " Perez said. "I say to the people, 'I have a new class I prepared for a long time.' It was not true. I improvised for one hour." The moms loved the dancing exercise. Perez turned it into a regular class in Cali. He soon moved to the Colombian capital of Bogotá, where he continued those classes and became a choreographer for Sony Music and Shakira. In 1999, Perez came to the United States for the first time. He pounded the pavement on South Beach, going from gym to gym. Nobody was interested in this new dance exercise class by a guy who couldn't speak English. On his fourth trip to Miami he landed a job at the swanky Williams Island Spa in a development where several Colombians lived. Some had even taken classes with him in Bogotá. Within a year, Perez was in demand, teaching 22 classes all over South Florida. At the same time, Perlman and Aghion were looking for a new business venture after the dot-com bubble burst, bringing down their Internet company, Spydre Labs, an incubator for Internet startups related to Latin America. Enter Raquel Perlman. While Alberto Perlman was telling his mom about how badly he was feeling for laying off people, she was telling him about how happy she was taking Perez's classes, where were then called Rumbacize. "You should meet Beto and maybe start a gym together," she told her son. "He's the talk of Aventura." Perlman watched a class and was reminded of people having fun at a nightclub, but without the drinking and pickup lines. "Beto, have you heard of Billy Blanks' Tae Bo? Why don't we do VHS tapes and sell them on television?" Perlman said he told Perez. In August 2001, they and Aghion founded Zumba Fitness. To create a demonstration video to show investors, the three stayed up all night laying down boards to create a dance floor on the beach outside a Sunny Isles hotel. About 200 of Perez's students paid $20 each for the class, raising an additional $4,000. When the infomercial began running on TV, people rang the call center in Ohio to buy the videos, and a few also asked how to become Zumba instructors. Those callers were forwarded to Zumba's office — at Aghion's home. After a few 2 a.m. wakeups, Aghion realized this was another business opportunity. Zumba Fitness also has greatly benefited from Internet advertising and social media. Many people discovered Zumba via YouTube videos. Zumba Fitness started a Facebook page about a year ago and now has more than 3 million fans. Zumba is mentioned every 11 seconds in social-media platforms, Robins said. It's not clear yet if Zumba will have a long shelf life or be added to the long list of exercise fads, said Walter R. Thompson, professor of exercise science at Georgia State University. He'll watch to see how it fares over the next few years in a worldwide survey that ranks fitness trends. "I hope it stays around," he said. "It's motivating a lot of people to exercise."

Morocco yoga courses: Stretching out on a yogic break in soothing Berber country

Dust clouds sway like ghosts dancing to an inaudible tune across miles of Moroccan dessert. I’m only 15 minutes south of Marrakech, but the soil’s already darkened to a deep, blood-clot red that clashes violently with the cobalt sky above. Spindly Argan trees feature goats that have clambered into the branches and nibble on the fruit (yes, really), a snapshot of surreal comedy against nature’s stark, beautiful reality. It’s my first up-close and personal foray into Morocco’s rural centre, despite having fallen head over heels for mad old Marrakech eight years beforehand. Rustic retreat: Lalla Abouch offers yoga courses set in the beautiful Moroccan countryside There’s something intoxicating about the swirling, jasmine-soaked souks, the thrill of losing yourself in the medina only to wind up on a rooftop drinking pomegranate martinis hours later. I’ve returned several times since to enjoy the city’s myriad hidden bars, supper clubs and late night lounges. But this time I want a different kind of escapism, one that’s less hedonism, more health. 'We’ve the perfect place', Rosena, the Irish founder of Moroccan concierge experts Boutique Souk, assures me before arranging a car to drive me the three-hour journey south into Morocco’s Berber country. Thirty miles south of the colonial port city of Essaouira, our jeep turns inland, swerves sharply at a junction and turns up an invisible, potholed dirt road through fields of carefully irrigated vegetable patches and chicken coops. A donkey brays ‘hello’ as I clamber out, the only contender to shatter the silent calm of our weekend lodgings. Named Lalla Abouch after ‘Lady Argan‘ and Morocco’s famous Argan tree, the guesthouse embodies what many ‘boutique’ lodgings strive for yet often fail to achieve. Chic and rustic, it proffers the perfect balance between comfort and style – the home from home I’ll never replicate no matter how many Elle Decoration subscriptions I sign up for. Taking the plunge: The refreshing pool is lined with plants and a traditional stone wall Beaming Lucreiza, the Italian who runs this hideaway, gives me a tour of the farm’s intimate selection of cosy rooms, all located around a bougainvillea-splashed courtyard, before ushering me onto the farm’s charming alfresco terrace for fresh mint and ginger tea. Terracotta pots trickle fresh water into a plunge pool overlooking acres of lovingly tended vegetable patches, whilst wild tortoises sunbathe lazily in the afternoon rays as kitchen hands gingerly navigate them whilst plucking robust courgettes for the evening meal. Food is a big draw at Lalla Abouch - so don’t go thinking this is yoga with all the normal detox-wheatgrass-deprivation tags. Lunch, though simple, is lip-smackingly good: home-plucked bitter leaves; creamy local goats cheese; cumin-crusted courgettes, caramelised carrots; a fuchsia pink beetroot dip; wholegrain couscous studded with ruby pomegranate seeds. Each bite radiates with energy and (forgive the hippy hyperbole) is offered up with love. Lucreiza beams as I eat. 'We like to give an alkaline, vegetarian diet during the retreats', she explains. 'It’s a good for body cleaning and rejuvenation.' I come away from the meal feeling more satiated than many of my finest dining experiences back in the UK. Unusual sights: Goats love to climb the Argan trees, while Lalla Abouch has plenty of quiet corners for relaxing Besides intensive, twice daily yoga and meditation sessions lasting two hours a go, Lalla Abouch offers a real (and rare) opportunity to totally unplug from daily life. As Lucreiza concedes, 'the natural elements are deep and strong', so the entire operation of the farm and its retreats has been designed to really embrace the local surrounds – and the produce found within it. Better still, my experience isn’t marred by the constant checking of Blackberry’s or broadband; connectivity here is slim to none. Sure, it’s a little disconcerting at first, but after several hours our entire party agrees we’re happy for the forced technology amnesty. With no one to tweet or CC, I instead sink into an indulgent afternoon of reading in the farm’s huge hammock, slung beneath the boughs of the Argan tree. I doze, stirring only when the attention seeking donkey’s comical eey-awww or Lucreiza’s quiet, smiling kitchen hands water the fragrant herb garden. I’ve done no yoga yet, but I can already see why Moroccan specialists Boutique Souk thought they’d 'struck gold' when stumbling upon the farm.

Members of Los Zeta cartel are among the 30 convicts who escaped from a prison in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon

Members of Los Zeta cartel are among the 30 convicts who escaped from a prison in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, it was reported on Tuesday.   Among the fugitives are former officials, ex corrupt police officers and drug distributors from that dangerous criminal gang, whose captures were considered important achievements by federal forces at the time. Bosses Oscar Manuel Bernal Soriano, known as La Araña, and Rogelio Chacha Quintanilla, aka El Yeyo, are included in that group, the newspaper Milenio reported. Also on the list are Hector Rousvel Huerta, known as El Chester, accused of collecting prohibited weapons and drug trafficking, and Francisco Javier Puente, known as El Choco, former chief of Los Zetas hired assassin group. The mass escape from the prison of Apodaca, near the city of Monterrey, took place after a fight in which 44 inmates were killed. The fight was caused to cover the prison break. Prison security agents are involved in those events, which occurred at daybreak on Sunday, according to the investigations.

Gunmen Kill 5 Taxi Drivers in Northern Mexico

 

Gunmen killed five taxi drivers Tuesday in the streets of the northern Mexican industrial city of Monterrey, the Nuevo Leon state Security Council said. “The attack happened at around 10:00 a.m. in the Solidaridad neighborhood” in the northern part of Monterrey, a council spokesman told Efe. Several men aboard an SUV opened fire on a taxi stand at a busy shopping center located at the intersection of Cabezada and Luis Donaldo Colosio avenues. The gunmen managed to get away, leaving the streets covered with bodies. The security forces cordoned off the area, with soldiers guarding the crime scene investigators sent to gather evidence. The shootings occurred just hours after three suspected Gulf cartel members – two men and a woman – were murdered at Monterrey’s Topo Chico prison by two killers from the rival Zetas drug cartel. On Sunday, Zetas gunmen massacred 44 Gulf cartel members imprisoned at the penitentiary in Apodaca, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, while 30 Zetas members escaped with the assistance of several guards. Monterrey and its suburbs have been battered by a wave of drug-related violence that has left about 2,500 people dead since March 2010. Los Zetas has been battling an alliance of the Gulf, Sinaloa and La Familia drug cartels, known as the Nueva Federacion, for control of the Monterrey metropolitan area and smuggling routes into the United States. Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as “El Lazca,” deserted from the Mexican army in 1999 and formed Los Zetas with three other soldiers, all members of an elite special operations unit, becoming the armed wing of the Gulf drug cartel. After several years on the payroll of the Gulf cartel, Los Zetas, considered Mexico’s most violent criminal organization, went into the drug business on their own account and now control several lucrative territories. Mexico’s drug war death toll stood at 47,515 from December 2006 to Sept. 30. The murder total has grown every year of President Felipe Calderon’s military offensive against the well-funded, heavily armed drug cartels. Unofficial tallies published in December by independent daily La Jornada put the death toll from Mexico’s drug war at more than 50,000

13 Zetas Members Arrested in Western Mexico

 

A total of 13 suspected members of the Los Zetas drug cartel were arrested in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, officials said. The suspects, two of whom are women, were detained Monday morning in Tlajomulco, a city located about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, after several business owners complained about an extortion racket, the Public Safety Secretariat said. The group was recruited by a “Zetas boss,” known only as “Don Jose,” who took them to the city a few months ago to “execute some criminal activities,” Alfredo Vazquez, identified as the cell’s leader, told investigators. The cartel provided between 100,000 pesos and 150,000 pesos ($7,000 and $11,000) every two weeks to cover the payroll, Vazquez said. Seven of the suspects are from the central state of Guanajuato, four are from the northern state of Durango and two are from Jalisco, the secretariat said, adding that some of them have prior criminal records. State police seized an AR-15 assault rifle, five handguns and two SUVs with Durango tags in the raid, the secretariat said. Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as “El Lazca,” deserted from the Mexican army in 1999 and formed Los Zetas with three other soldiers, all members of an elite special operations unit, becoming the armed wing of the Gulf drug cartel. After several years on the payroll of the Gulf cartel, Los Zetas, considered Mexico’s most violent criminal organization, went into the drug business on their own account and now control several lucrative territories. Los Zetas has been blamed for several massacres in recent years. The cartel was accused of being behind the Aug. 23, 2010, massacre of 72 migrants, the majority of them from Latin America, at a ranch outside San Fernando, a city in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas. Los Zetas has also been blamed for the massacre of 27 peasants in May at a ranch in Guatemala’s Peten province, which borders Mexico and Belize. Zetas gunmen set fire to the Casino Royale in Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo Leon, on Aug. 25, killing 52 gamblers and employees trapped inside, most of whom died of smoke inhalation.

A Hells Angels member and a man said to be a gang associate were arrested and charged with knowingly taking part in the manufacture of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

CAMDEN police and special units have seized 7.5 kilograms of the drug ice estimated to be worth $1 million from a Narellan property. Officers executed search warrants on Tuesday, February 14. A Hells Angels member and a man said to be a gang associate were arrested and charged with knowingly taking part in the manufacture of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug. The two, a Narellan man, 36, and a Catherine Field man, 41, faced Campbelltown Court last week. A Narellan woman, 30, was charged with two counts of possessing a prohibited drug in relation to cannabis and amphetamines found at the Narellan property. She will appear in Camden Court on March 12. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Richmond said two sophisticated laboratories had been found. "The two clandestine laboratories shut down by police this week were sophisticated and capable of making large quantities of prohibited drugs [methylamphetamine]," Chief Inspector Richmond said. "Those drugs will no longer be making their way to local streets and causing harm to members of the community." Large quantities of chemicals were also found and members of the Drug Squad's chemical operation team dismantled the laboratories.

Hells Angels member has sentencing moved

 

Mark Duclos, 48, of Fairbanks, Ala., had his sentencing moved to coincide with fellow Hells Angels club member George Caruso, 58, of Shirley, Mass. Duclos and Caruso were involved in a stabbing that took place during last year's Sturgis motorcycle rally. Duclos, who was found guilty of aggravated assault, was scheduled to be sentenced today, Feb. 21, though his sentencing was moved to March 5 at 10:45 a.m. along with Caruso. The pair were involved in a fight between the Hells Angels and the Mongols motorcycle club on Aug. 10, which resulted in a stabbing, sending a Mongols member and a Hells Angels member to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Aggravated assault is a class three felony and carries a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine. Simple assault is a class one misdemeanor and carries a maximum punishment of up to one year in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.

Dartmouth shooting victim connected to Hells Angels

 

A man found dead on a Halifax-area road Sunday night had a Hells Angels connection and was shot in the back of the head, thechronicleherald.ca has learned. Halifax RCMP identified James Alexander (Sandy) Lyle, 55, as the victim and have declared his death a homicide. It’s Halifax's second homicide this year. “He died of a gunshot wound and a weapon has been recovered,” Halifax RCMP spokeswoman Const. Tammy Lobb said Tuesday afternoon. “I’m not revealing where it was recovered because that’s part of the investigation." Lobb said police will analyze and trace the gun. Two separate sources told thechronicleherald.ca that Lyle was shot in the back of the head. Lobb would not talk about any possible motive or suspects in the killing. She said no arrests had been made by late Tuesday afternoon. Lyle had a long history of drug dealing and was arrested in a major operation against the now-defunct Halifax chapter of the Hells Angels. That Dec. 4, 2001 sweep, called Operation Hammer, took in half of the membership of the Halifax chapter, which ended up closing as a result. About 200 police officers took part in the raid, in which police stormed the gang’s Dutch Village Road clubhouse, plus other sites in Halifax, Kings County, Bible Hill and Sherbrooke, Que. They arrested a trio of Hells Angels – Clay Gordon MacRae, Jeffrey Albert Lynds and Arthur Daine Harrie – along with Lyle, well-known criminal James Melvin Sr., and 15 others. Lyle was charged with trafficking marijuana. Harrie was arrested in Quebec on the day of that raid. Lynds was found dead of an apparent suicide in his Montreal jail cell last month. He was awaiting trial for two murders in that province in 2010. In March 1991, Lyle received a five-year sentence – his only federal stint - for running a cocaine operation from his Maple Street home with his younger brother Martin Ellsworth Lyle. Lyle was also found guilty of possessing a loaded .45 calibre handgun. Martin Lyle was given three years. Around 10:45 p.m. on Sunday, a passing motorist saw a body on the side of Montague Road in Montague Gold Mines and called police. Emergency Health Services were called to the scene and tried unsuccessfully to revive the victim, Lobb said. On Monday morning, a number of police investigators went to a home on Dartmouth’s Cannon Terrace and confirmed it was connected to the suspicious death. Police were still at the home Tuesday. Provincial records name James Lyle and Carla Balsor as the home’s owners. Officers were seen working inside a garage at 14 Cannon Terrace and later removed a Honda SUV from the scene. Lobb said there were no drugs in the home, which has been searched since the killing. Neighbours said the home has a surprising amount of security, which includes surveillance cameras, frosted windows and an intercom at the front door. Lyle and Balsor used to live on nearby Sea King Drive, but sold that house in 2007. Balsor is the owner of the Rodeo Lounge and Restaurant in Burnside. The Mounties are asking anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in Montague Gold Mines or around the house on Cannon Terrace on Sunday to contact them. Lobb would not say if Lyle was at his home before he was found on Montague Road.

Federal agents bust heroin operation at Stillwell Ave. auto shop in the Bronx, arrest 2, seize drugs and gun

 

Federal narcotics agents busted a heroin operation at a Bronx auto shop this month, severing a million dollar supply chain that stretched to Long Island, court records indicate. They raided Mobile Creations, a luxury car customizing shop, on Feb. 7 after nabbing a Suffolk County drug dealer attempting to sell 68 grams of heroin. The dealer ratted out his supplier, who gave up his source at Mobile, at 1631 Stillwell Ave. near Pelham Parkway in Morris Park, according to a complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. The drug task force officers had the supplier set up a meet with James Gainer, who allegedly operated out of the Bronx shop, and arrested the suspect with 500 grams of heroin he planned to sell for $28,500, according to the complaint. They also snatched Mobile Creations manager Robert Bishun after finding 1.5 kilograms of cocaine and 250 grams of heroin hidden in a vehicle at the shop, and $40,000 in cash concealed in a Mercedes-Benz sedan registered to Bishun. The officers seized a .40 caliber handgun, loose ammunition and $30,000 cash from the shop’s office, along with pay-and-owe sheets detailing millions of dollars in narcotics transactions. The complaint charges both men with drug dealing and possession and Bishun with possessing a firearm linked to trafficking. Four drug grinders and a scale were also found in the shop, according to the complaint. The Suffolk County supplier told the agents he met Gainer at Mobile Creations to buy at least 100 grams of heroin a week. Repair shops and auto parts stores line Stillwell Ave., a quiet street that abuts Metro-North Railroad tracks. The facade of Mobile Creations sports colorful signs featuring Bentleys, Range Rovers and other luxury cars. "I just work here 10-6," said Mike James, a mechanic at Mobile Creations, on Monday. "This is a legit shop." "The shop has been around for over 10 years and they do high-end customization of cars," said Javier Solano, Bishun’s lawyer. "They do Lamborghini-style doors. They do $25,000 rims, $30,000 audio systems." Bishun and Gainer are being held without bail and have not been indicted yet, said Solano. Gainer’s lawyer, Lawrence DiGiansante, declined to comment.

COMANCHERO bikie who kept his membership a secret from his father has become the eleventh man to be sentenced over Sydney's fatal airport brawl.

 Zoran Kisacanin, 25, was found not guilty of murder or manslaughter last November, but guilty of riot and affray in relation to the March 2009 brawl. Anthony Zervas, the brother of Hells Angel member Peter Zervas, was killed during the violence involving the rival motorcycle gangs. Justice Robert Allan Hulme jailed Kisacanin in the NSW Supreme Court for at least three years two months and a maximum of five years and three months. "The Comancheros and Hells Angels motorcycle gangs were, in effect, at war with each other," the judge said. "The offender was a nominee member of the Comancheros. "He was subject to its strict rules requiring loyalty and prohibiting cowardice." The judge said Kisacanin played a role in the fighting - which generally involved wrestling, punching and kicking - and also picked up a bollard. But there was no evidence as to what he did with it. The judge said the participants in the riot were prepared to "engage in wanton and significant violence regardless of the presence of many airline and airport staff and members of the public". In an affidavit, Kisacanin said he became involved with the Comancheros after meeting members at a local gym. He said that the gang "sounded like good fun hanging out with the guys and being part of a brotherhood". As his mother and brother were in Serbia, his only family in Australia was his father and he kept his involvement secret from him. The judge noted Kisacanin has been housed with his Comanchero colleagues in jail, saying he "had no idea what to do if (he) was alone in prison". After promising to cease association with the club on his release, his father has agreed to let him live and work with him in a painting business. Comanchero national president Mick Hawi is yet to be sentenced after being found guilty of murder, while another club member is to be sentenced for manslaughter in March. Eight other Comancheros and two Hells Angels members have already been sentenced for their roles in the brawl.

DNA link alleged to child shooting scene

Police allege they have DNA evidence linking a prospective member of the Hells Angels to a home invasion during which an 11-year-old boy was shot at Semaphore in Adelaide. The man has been refused bail in the Magistrates Court. Former Fink Mark Sandery was enraged when his son was shot in their Military Road home last September. The boy was sleeping with his brother in a bedroom when the shots were fired, wounding him twice in the left leg. Five months later, Arron Cluse, 21, has been charged and faced court over the home invasion. Police have told the court they found Cluse's DNA on a hammer used to smash windows at the scene. Arron Cluse has been refused bail They also claim to have found two balaclavas at Cluse's house and glass fragments from the windows. The prosecutor has also revealed Cluse's now-former home was riddled by 14 gunshots last December, then set alight a month later. Fearing for his safety, Cluse fled interstate to stay with family. Defence lawyer Aaron Almeida has told the court Cluse will plead not guilty and there is no motive or evidence to link him to the shooting. Magistrate Robert Harrup refused bail, ruling the charges were too serious and the accused was a flight risk, a judgment that distressed his family and friends.

Hells Angel charged over Sydney ice labs

 

Police say they have charged a senior member of the Hells Angels bikie gang over the discovery of two illegal drug laboratories earlier this week. The 33-year-old man was arrested with an alleged Hells Angels associate on Wednesday afternoon at an apartment block at North Ryde, in Sydney's north-west. Police say they found drugs and a loaded handgun at the unit. The apartment was raided by officers investigating the discovery of two methylamphetamine labs on Tuesday in the city's south-west at Catherine Field and Narellan. Specialists from the Drug Squad's Chemical Operations Team are still working to dismantle the equipment and chemicals used in the manufacture of ice. Both men arrested yesterday have been charged with drug manufacture and other drug offences, while one has been charged over the pistol. Two other men who were arrested at the lab sites on Tuesday, aged 36 and 41, remain before the courts.

Snitch paid $500K in Project Deplete

 

Using a paid police informant was one tactic employed in a recent RCMP-Winnipeg police sweep of the drug underworld — continuing a scheme used by police in similar high-level crime probes in the recent past. An undercover agent is to be paid in the range of $500,000 for his or her role in Project Deplete, a justice source confirmed Monday. The organized crime investigation, details of which were revealed last Friday, remains ongoing with two suspects remaining at large. The latest sweep saw charges laid against people police accuse of being major players in the city’s drug trade. Some have gang associations, others are more “independent,” police said. Among those arrested were former Hells Angel William ‘Billy’ Bowden and Joshua Lyons, who was convicted in Project Defence, a separate organized crime sting conducted in 2006. As well, justice officials have authorized the use of direct criminal indictments against suspects in the latest case. The bulk of those arrested so far made an initial appearance in the Court of Queen’s Bench Monday. The use of direct indictments means preliminary hearings meant to test the Crown’s evidence are bypassed. Direct indictments were also used in a 2009 crackdown into the Hells Angels-associated Zig Zag Crew gang code-named Project Divide. In that case, police paid former Zig-Zag member Michael Satsatin hundreds of thousands of dollars to inform on the criminal activities of other members. Lawyers appearing for suspects in Project Deplete Monday were given some preliminary disclosure and portable computer hard drives containing police evidence. No evidence was put forward by prosecutors on the record in court. The lawyer for Christopher Murrell, 36, said he plans to make a bail application prior to Mar. 14 — the date Justice Brenda Keyser remanded the cases to. Jay Prober refused comment on the specifics or details of the investigation or allegations against Murrell, who is accused of cocaine-trafficking. He did state he felt the use of direct indictments was unfair to accused people. If a paid informant was used, Prober speculated, it wouldn’t be uncommon for the Crown to use the legal tactic to ensure witness safety. “If there’s an agent involved, they inevitably use direct indictments because they don’t want to bring the agent out more often than necessary,” Prober said. Nearly seven kilograms of cocaine, almost half a kilo of crack, more than 9,800 ecstasy tablets, a kilo of MDMA and large quantities of methamphetamine, oxycodone and marijuana were seized during Project Deplete, which started in August 2011. Police estimate the total street value of the drugs seized at about $1 million. FOUR MORE ARRESTS Four more arrests were made as part of project deplete. Kareem Martin, 31, Dane Sawatzky, 27, Mark Beitz, 31, Dalton Miller, 21 were all taken into custody since the first arrests were made on Friday. Warrants for the arrest of two individuals are still out. Elmer John Deato, 26 is wanted for trafficking cocaine while David Thomas, 29 is wanted for weapons trafficking, among other charges.

More arrests made in million dollar drug bust

 

Police have made four more arrests in the major drug operation called Project Deplete, a long-term investigation by the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force. More than 80 officers made arrests and seized more than a million dollars worth of drugs on Friday. A total of 13 people were charged and seven people were arrested at that time, said police. On Monday, they announced four more arrests: Kareem Martin, 31, Dane Sawatzky, 27, Mark Beitz, 31, and Dalton Miller, 21. On Tuesday, RCMP said Elmer John Deato, 26, had also been taken into custody.  A warrant for arrest remains in effect for David Thomas, 29, of Winnipeg, Manitoba for weapons trafficking and other offences.  Those taken into custody Friday include: William Lauren Bowden, Joshua James Lyons, Chi Hong Do, Christopher Lea Murrell, Pardeep Kapoor, Joshua Robert Charney, all of Winnipeg and Ramsey Yaggey of Edmonton. "We've had a lot of success in the last while with the Hell's Angels, taking them off the street, the Zig Zag Crew and others," said Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill on Friday. "When that happens quite often there is a void left open and there is people jockeying for position." On Friday officers seized: 6,912 grams of cocaine, 465 grams of crack cocaine, 272 grams of methamphetamine, 9,811 ecstasy tablets, 1,063 grams of MDMA, 501 oxycodone tablets and 891 grams of marihuana. A number of the accused made an appearance in court Monday, including Hell's Angel member Billy Bowden, who was charged with three counts of trafficking cocaine and two counts of possessing the proceeds of a crime. Many of the accused have been remanded to March 14. Some of their lawyers expressed their intention to seek bail in the meantime. Project Deplete began in August and focuses on high level independent drug traffickers in Winnipeg and around the province. Officers from the Winnipeg Police Service, RCMP and Brandon Police Service participated in Friday's bust.

Accused wants to play soccer with witness

 

A MAN accused of orchestrating a $3.7 million fraud ring that allegedly involved a Hells Angels bikie boss wants his bail conditions varied so he can play soccer. Adam Eli Meyer, a husband and father, defrauded or attempted to defraud legitimate businesses of property, luxury cars, a yacht and excavation equipment, police allege. Meyer, 37, appeared today in Sydney's Central Local Court charged with 12 fraud offences and one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime. A number of the offences allegedly involved Felix Lyle, the president of the Sydney chapter of the Hells Angels, who has also been charged over the alleged fraud ring. Meyer is on bail with a $250,000 surety bond from his father. Counsel for Meyer applied today to have his bail conditions varied so he could play soccer for a Balmain team. The court heard that Meyer plays on the right wing and a prosecution witness plays left wing for the same team. His bail conditions prohibit him from approaching any witnesses in the case but Meyer's counsel assured the court he would not discuss the matter if he and the witness did engage in random conversation. The witness has provided a statement to police that a tax statement in his name is fraudulent, the court heard. Thomas Spohr, from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, opposed the bail variance, saying it could result in "contamination of evidence". The matter was adjourned before determination because Meyer's father was not present to consent to the bail variation. Meyer, Lyle and four co-accused will appear in the same court on April 10, when Meyer will have an opportunity again to have his bail conditions varied. Court documents allege a string of alleged fraud offences spanning from September 2010 to early this year. Police say Meyer provided false business and tax documents from a dummy company, BRZ Investments Pty Ltd, in attempts to obtain financing to purchase high-value items. Four Caterpillar excavators worth $940,000, a Regal Commodore yacht worth $325,000 and a $1.2 million Alexandria property were on the wish list. Other items included four Harley Davidson motorcycles, three Lexus cars, two Mercedes, two Toyotas and a number of computers.

TWO southside members of the Odins Warriors Outlaw Motorcycle Gang have been charged with firearm and drug offences

TWO southside members of the Odins Warriors Outlaw Motorcycle Gang have been charged with firearm and drug offences after police raided two industrial sheds in Boniface St, Archerfield, last week.

Police said a 58-year-old member of the Odins Warriors, of Algester, who owned the building, allegedly declared a shotgun to police.

Police allegedly found an amount of of methylamphetamine, a double barrel shotgun, a revolver and a .22 calibre rifle. More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were also located.

Police searched a second building occupied by a 53-year-old member of the Odins Warriors, from Archerfield, and allegedly located an amount of methylamphetamine and cash.

The 58-year-old man was charged with possessing a dangerous drug, possessing firearms, possessing ammunition and possessing tainted property.

The 53-year-old man was charged with possess dangerous drug.

Both men are scheduled to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on February 16.

The operation was conducted by police from State Crime Operations Command's Firearms Investigation Team along with detectives from Task Force Hydra, the State Drug Investigation Unit and the Vehicle Crime Unit.

Customs and Border Protection also assisted with their firearms and explosive detector dogs.

The murder case against Eldon Calvert, the alleged leader of the Montego Bay based Stone Crusher gang, and two other men was thrown out

 

The murder case against Eldon Calvert, the alleged leader of the Montego Bay based Stone Crusher gang, and two other men was thrown out yesterday because a policeman fabricated a witness statement. “This is a very sad day in the history of justice,” Senior Puisne judge Gloria Smith said when the disclosure was made in the Home Circuit Court. Paula Llewellyn, QC, director of public prosecutions, said she could not proceed any further with the case because handwriting experts for the defence and the Crown confirmed the witness statement was written and signed by Detective Sergeant Michael Sirjue. Llewellyn said she was told that Sirjue fled the island. She said the report was that he left on a flight for Florida late Thursday afternoon. After Llewellyn got the report from handwriting expert Deputy Superintendent William Smiley late Thursday afternoon, she wrote to the commissioner of police informing him that Sirjue must be charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice and uttering a forged document. Eldon Calvert was on trial along with his brother, music band operator Gleason Calvert, and Michael Heron for the 2006 murder of cookshop operator Robert Green of Salem, St James. The prosecution was relying on the statement of Artley Campbell to prove its case against the three men. Campbell was shot and killed on November 13, 2006. Sirjue wrote a statement purporting that Campbell had given the statement on November 14, 2006 but the date was subsequently altered to October 14, 2006. During Sirjue’s evidence, defence lawyers Roy Fairclough, Trevor HoLyn, Tamika Spence and Chumu Paris disclosed that they had an opinion from Beverley East, document examiner, that it was Sirjue who wrote and signed the statement. Llewellyn then asked for an adjournment on Tuesday to get the opinion of a handwriting expert. Handwriting expert Yesterday, Llewellyn announced that a new policy had since been put in place that all statements to be put into evidence in cases where witnesses are dead or cannot be found will be examined by the handwriting expert. Justice Gloria Smith also called for legislation or rules to be put in place for the defence to make disclosure to the prosecution when expert witnesses are to be called. She said disclosure should be made at case management. Fairclough called for all cases involving Sirjue to be examined. Sirjue was the supervisor at the Montego Bay CIB for former Detective Constable Carey Lyn-Sue who had pleaded guilty in relation to writing a false witness statement. He was sent to prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice. Eldon Calvert and Michael Heron were remanded until February 8 because there is another murder charge against them. “Justice has been served,” Gleason Calvert remarked after he was freed.

Jarrod Bacon, co-accused Wayne Scott found guilty of drug conspiracy

 

Gangster Jarrod Bacon and his co-accused Wayne Scott have been found guilty of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Bacon, 28, and Scott, 55, who is the grandfather of Bacon’s child, were involved in a scheme to import up to 100 kilograms of cocaine into Canada from Mexico, B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen concluded Friday. The two men were targeted in a sting operation in which a police agent, who can only be identified as G.L., implicated the accused in the conspiracy. Court heard wiretap evidence of the men meeting at Scott’s home in Abbotsford and discussing plans for the drug conspiracy. Bacon boasted that he could provide $3 million in financial backing to take the shipment of drugs. The scheme was aborted in August 2009 after a police emergency response team entered a warehouse where the drug transaction was expected to take place. Bacon was on bail at the time of the offence. He took the stand in his own defence, claiming that he wanted to steal the drugs but had no plans to traffic the narcotics. The accused lashed out at police and admitted to being a gangster but insisted he was not guilty of the offence. Bacon admitted a heavy drug habit, including the abuse of the painkiller OxyContin, as well as the use of cocaine and steroids. He called the media coverage of his family “propaganda” and said the press was on a relentless campaign to smear him. But prosecutors, who said the accused was motivated by greed, dismissed his testimony as an “outright fabrication” and called him an “unmitigated liar.” In a verdict that took nearly two hours to read out in court, the judge said he found Bacon’s evidence on cross-examination to be at times evasive, confrontational and argumentative. He said the evidence showed Bacon taking a “knowledgeable and cautious” approach to the business of drug dealing. He rejected the assertion by Bacon that he only wanted to steal the drugs, saying that “it does not accord with logic or common sense.” Bacon was clearly operating according to an agenda and his evidence was not truthful, said the judge. There was “ample evidence” of a conspiracy to traffic as opposed to just negotiations as asserted by the defence, he said. Though Scott was in the middle of the conspiracy, he had a stake in the trafficking enterprise and was also aware of the specifics of the plan, said Cullen. “The quantity of drugs at issue clearly implies an intention to traffic The discussions between Bacon and G.L. and Scott clearly imply the existence of a prospective trafficking enterprise.” The judge spent a good part of the ruling setting out the elements involved in a conspiracy offence and citing case law. Outside court, an RCMP officer said the ruling clarified conspiracy law for police. “I was really pleased because it gives all us more clarity on how we approach these things,” said RCMP Supt. Pat Fogarty. “In terms of the disposition, the verdict, I’m very pleased with it.” Asked why Bacon was targetted, Fogarty replied that there was intelligence available and police took the opportunity provided. “I don't like, and I would never say, that Jarrod Bacon would be a target based on his notoriety.” Asked about the impact of the verdict on the gang wars that have been raging in the Lower Mainland, Fograrty noted that many have been prosecuted with “a lot” more trials to come. “This is just one level of completion in terms of providing a level of safety to the Abbotsford community, in this case, but also as much in the Lower Mainland, to alleviate this gang stuff.” The verdict came after the judge had dismissed several applications by the defence to stay the charges. At trial, lawyers for the two men indicated that if there was a guilty verdict, the accused might seek to have the charges stayed on the grounds that the police were engaged in entrapment. Jeremy Guild, Scott’s lawyer, told Cullen that prior to sentencing, he would be proceeding with an entrapment motion but Jeffrey Ray, Bacon’s lawyer, asked that the matter be adjourned until next week before he decides whether to join in on the motion. The judge adjourned the matter until Feb. 8. Bacon’s older brother, Jonathan, was last year gunned down in a gangland slaying in Kelowna. His younger brother, Jamie, is awaiting trial in the Surrey Six murders.

High-level drug arrests include Hell’s Angel Bowden

 

Thirteen people alleged by police to be "high-level" drug dealers were charged Friday in connection with the latest largescale sweep orchestrated by Manitoba's organized crime unit. Project Deplete, a police investigation that began last August and culminated Friday with arrests in Winnipeg and Edmonton, is the latest effort of Manitoba's Integrated Organized Crime Task Force, a joint RCMP-Winnipeg police unit that has famously used informants over the past several years to take down primarily the Hells Angels and their associates, with great success. The latest sweep saw charges laid against people police accuse of being major players in the city's drug trade. Some of the accused have gang associations, others are more "independent," police said. "We're alleging these are some major traffickers here. We targeted them specifically because we believe they're at a high level," said Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill. Among those arrested Friday was 36-year-old Billy Bowden, a former member of the Manitoba Hells Angels. The ex biker gang member has a long criminal record, including a manslaughter conviction for the 2007 stabbing death of Jeff Engen, who was killed at the old Empire Cabaret. Also arrested Friday was Joshua James Lyons, 29, who was picked up in the organized crime unit's first major sweep in 2006 and subsequently sentenced to four years in prison. Chi Hong Do, 30; Christopher Lea Murrell, 36; Pardeep Kapoor, 33; and Joshua Robert Charney, 21, were all arrested in Winnipeg Friday, while 32-year-old Ramsey Yaggey was arrested in Edmonton. As of Friday afternoon, police were still looking for six other people charged in the sweep: Dalton Miller, 21; Kareem Martin, 31; Elmer John Deato, 26; Dane Sawatzky, 27; Mark Beitz, 31; and David Thomas, 29, all of Winnipeg. "There could very well be more arrests on top of that," McCaskill said. Police would not say how many properties were raided as part of the blitz Friday as officers were still working to track down the remaining suspects, nor would they say whether they used an informant this time around. Nearly seven kilograms of cocaine, almost half a kilo of crack, more than 9,800 ecstasy tablets, a kilo of MDMA and large quantities of methamphetamine, oxycodone and marijuana were all seized during the investigation. Police estimate the total street value of the drugs at about $1 million.

Amsterdam Hells Angels leave clubhouse

 

The Amsterdam chapter of the Hells Angels motor club have left their clubhouse at the H.J.E. Wenckebachweg. The club handed over the keys to the building to city officials at 1030 on Monday morning. A wrecking machine arrived immediately afterward to demolish Angel Place later on Monday. The clubhouse on the H.J.E. Wenckebachweg was home to the Hells Angels for more than 40 years. The city council wanted to redevelop the area and initiated an expropriation procedure. However, the judge ordered the council to pay the Amsterdam Hells Angels 400,000 euros in compensation. It is not yet known if and where they will open a new clubhouse. Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan has said he will do anything in his power to prevent the motor club from finding a new place in the capital. He added that Amsterdam is willing to help nearby municipalities bar the Hells Angels following their expulsion. Many of the neighbouring municipalities are concerned the Hells Angels may move into their area. The motor club is suspected of organised crime including drugs trafficking and blackmailing restaurants and cafés. The town of Diemen has already announced the Hells Angels are not welcome there. Daniël Uneputty Unu will resign as president of the Amsterdam Hells Angels on Monday. He said the name of his successor is already known internally, but that the person in question will himself announce his appointment when he is ready to do so.

Bikie gang member shot dead in Adelaide

 

The shooting of a bikie gang member and his club president father has been declared a major crime as the South Australian police minister says some outlaw gangs have no regard for the law or the community. Giovanni Focarelli, 22, is dead and his father, Comanchero club president Vince Focarelli, is in Royal Adelaide Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds after the shooting on Sunday night. Police Minister Jennifer Rankine said the state has tough laws to deal with the "scourge" of outlaw motorcycle gangs but some just shun the law."I am sure the police are as frustrated as what I am about what is occurring," she told ABC radio.

Alleged biker hitman dies in cell

 

The man police believe killed the gangster who helped set up the now-defunct Halifax Hells Angels is dead.   The body of Jeffrey Albert Lynds was discovered in a Montreal jail cell, where the 43-year-old was on trial for a 2010 double murder in Quebec.   It is believed that the former member of the elite Hells Angels group the Nomads, committed suicide.   Police would not confirm the identity, but Sgt. Claude Denis of the Surete du Quebec told thechronicleherald.ca that a 43-year old man was found dead in his cell at Riviere des Prairies Detention Centre.   "He was found without life inside the (cell). We do not have any violence mark on the victim."   Sources told the Montreal Gazette the deceased is Lynds.   Denis said  police were called to Riviere des Pariries detention centre just after noon Friday. An autopsy is scheduled on Monday.   A former member of the Halifax Hells Angels, Lynds was named in court documents as the killer of Randy Mersereau whose body was discovered in a wooded lot in North River, outside Truro, in Dec. 2010.   He was never charged in Mersereau's death.   After cofounding the Halifax chapter of the outlaw biker gang, Mersereau left in the 1990s to set up his own drug operation.   He disappeared Oct. 31,1999, not long after a bomb exploded at a used-car dealership in Bible Hill that injured several people. Mersereau is believed to have been the target of that Sept. 23 bombing.   A year later, in Sept. 2000, Randy's brother, Kirk Mersereau, 48, and Kirk's common-law wife Nancy Christensen, 47, were also shot dead in their rural Hants County home.   In their book, The Road to Hell: How the Biker Gangs are Conquering Canada, journalists William Marsden and Julian Sher write that Kirk put a $50,000 bounty on the head of anyone connected to his brother's murder.   Police have charged Dean David Whynott of Truro Heights and Gerald MacCabe of Salmon River both with being an accessory after the fact in Randy Mersereau's murder.   Court documents filed in connection with MacCabe's case point to Lynds as Randy's killer. News reports in 2010 said Lynds admitted shooting Randy five times with a handgun provided by the Hells Angels.   Lynd's nephew, 34-year-old Curtis Blair Lynds, was charged with accessory after the fact in Randy Mersereau's death, and first-degree murder in the deaths of Kirk Mersereau and Christensen.   Leslie Douglas Greenwood, 41, is also accused of first-degree murder in the deaths of the couple.   Curtis Lynds and Greenwood are in jail, awaiting court appearances.   Michael John Lawrence, 37, from Windsor has already pleaded guilty - and is serving a life sentence - for shooting the couple, as well as Charles Maddison, a man who offered him a drive and whose truck he stole before committing the double homicide.   Jeffrey Lynds was picked up during a series of raids that targeted the Halifax Hells Angels chapter in 2001 and was eventually sentenced to three years in jail.   In Montreal, Lynds was accused in the shooting deaths of two men, Kirk Murray and Anthony Onesi, as they sat inside a car at a McDonald's parking lot in Jan. 2010. He was also facing charges in the Feb. 2010 shooting of another Quebec man, Mark Stewart.

Hell's Lovers gang infiltrated in Denver

 

Investigators raided a Hell's Lovers motorcycle gang in Denver Friday night. Many of the motorcycle gang suspects are now in jail awaiting a court hearing Monday. The arrests come after a near three-year investigation by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF agents raided the home and arrested at least 15 gang members for "violent crime." "We are not talking about traditional gang violence with younger youth that are from 17 to 24, which make up the bulk of gang violence. We are talking about...grandfathers even; some of them have different professions," says Terrance Roberts, a gang expert. The gang was formed in Chicago in the late 1960's, and has now spread to Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas. Agents say the gang has been associated with cocaine trafficking and use of weapons and explosives.

Bikie dispute leads to car park shooting

 

dispute between Comanchero motorcycle gang members led to a shooting in Adelaide's west on Monday night, police believe. Two shots were fired in the car park of the Findon Hotel about 10:00pm (ACDT). Detective Inspector Paul Yeomans says two men were arguing in the car park before one of them fired the shots at a dark-coloured sedan. "We don't think this is a random attack," he said. "We think that the two males are known to each other. We do think, even though it's early in the investigation, we do think it is linked to outlaw motorcycle gangs, in particular the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang." The cars sped-off after the shooting and police have not said why they suspect Comanchero members. The shooting is the latest instance of bikie-related violence in the past two months. But Attorney-General John Rau insists the situation is not out of control. "There are always going to be lunatics who go out there and break the law as these people have done and when they're caught up with the law will deal with them," he said. There is no sign anyone was injured in the incident.

Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police

 

Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police just prior to a search of a St. Andrews home that netted drugs, ammunition and gang paraphernalia. Police said at about 3 p.m. Friday, Shane Allen Fischer, 31, and Nicole Joy Nykorak, 26, were arrested during a traffic stop at Highway 8 and Grassmere Road. The stop came about two hours prior to police executing two search warrants at the same alleged drug house on Lockport Road as part of a ongoing street crime investigation, police said Sunday. Police seized nearly $10,000 worth of cocaine and hash, along with coke-cutting agent, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, a bullet-proof vest and gang attire, Const. Jason Michalyshen said. The seizure of the armoured vest is significant, as it may prove to become the first test of provincial legislation that came into force Jan. 1 outlawing their use by the general public without a permit. Anyone unauthorized to have body armour and is caught with it faces a fine of up to $10,000, three months in jail or both. Michalyshen said he was unaware of any other pending arrests in the case. Fischer was out on bail at the time and was supposed to be living elsewhere, said police. Nykorak was out on statutory release from prison and is facing parole revocation, Michalyshen said. Police didn’t identify the gang involved, but said it was an outlaw motorcycle group. A police source said both have ties to the Rock Machine gang. Both suspects face “numerous” drug and weapons charges, police said. They are being held at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

Sydney police investigate drive-by shooting

 

Police say they are yet to determine the exact target of a drive-by shooting in Sydney's south-west, the eighth shooting since last Monday. Officers responded to reports of a shooting on Pelman Avenue in Greenacre about 4.20am today. A search of the area found six spent cartridges on the street but no damage to property. Acting Deputy Commissioner Alan Clarke says it is too early to say whether the incident is linked to recent shootings. "As we've been unable to establish a victim at this point in time, we'll go on the ballistic evidence before us and continue to conduct a canvas in that area and see if we can get to the bottom of this shooting," he said. He says the recent shootings seem to be targeting criminal networks. "Our biggest concern is the threat and the risk there is to innocent members of the public," he said. "As we've indicated continuously, this appears to be an intimidation tactic between criminal networks, and our fear is it is indicative of guns on the street. "We certainly wouldn't want an innocent member of the public to be caught up in one of these situations." Hannin Adra, who lives nearby, says she is worried. "I've got six grandkids - do you like your grandkids to grow up in this atmosphere?" she said. "It is a worry - if it's not a worry, you're not human." Neighbour Mounzer Adra says he heard five shots on the usually quiet street. "I woke up about 4.15, I hear the shooting, I wake up, I say, 'oh my God, what's happening? I thought it was a firecracker," he said. "It's not good feeling unsafe in this area, where the shooting is; something should be done about it." There have now been eight shootings in Sydney's west and south-west since last Monday night, and police have set up Operation Spartan to investigate the spate. There were two shootings in Yennora and Lakemba on Thursday night and one at Yagoona on Friday morning; no-one was injured in either of those incidents. Premier Barry O'Farrell has said he will consider new laws to compel people to speak to police about the shootings, but dismissed a call from the Opposition to recall Parliament to pass new anti-bikie legislation.

Sydney's western suburbs came under siege again on Thursday about 12.30am (AEDT) when shots rang out in Bankstown

 

Police have declared war on the gangs responsible for four Sydney shootings in as many days. And any would-be vigilantes and copycats have also been warned to butt out. Sydney's western suburbs came under siege again on Thursday about 12.30am (AEDT) when shots rang out in Bankstown Witnesses told police they saw a man wielding a rifle in a neighbourhood where a bullet hit a bedroom window in a home. A woman and her four children, aged between two months and 10, were in the room but no one was injured. Acting Commissioner Nick Kaldas labelled as cowards the people responsible for a string of shootings since Monday. "A lot of the conflicts that occur between these criminal groups is drug-related, unfortunately," Mr Kaldas told reporters on Thursday. "It's a combination of many ethnic-based groups as well as criminal types." Police launched Operation Spartan on Thursday and will deploy extra resources to the affected suburbs from the Public Order and Riot Squad, Dog Squad, Gangs Squad and the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad. Gangs Squad head Arthur Katsogiannis said the nature of the crimes was keeping vital information from getting to police. "Our frustration as investigators and police officers on the front line is the lack of assistance we're getting from both the victims and the witnesses," Superintendent Katsogiannis said at the same media conference. Police also warned would-be vigilantes and others to stay away. "One thing I hope that doesn't occur is any sort of copycat attraction," Mr Kaldas said. "Others may feel they want to take the law into their own hands. And my advice to those people is all you'll simply do is turn yourself from a victim into an offender." Mr Kaldas denied suggestions that gun crime was on the increase and said the incidents since Monday were a "spike" in shooting crimes. Around 2am (AEDT) on Wednesday the occupants of two cars were involved in a gun battle in Greenfield Park, in western Sydney. On Monday night, two drive-by attacks occurred in Auburn and Arncliffe, in Sydney's west and south respectively. Around 25 people were inside the two homes when the properties were sprayed with up to 35 bullets. Police are confident they will make arrests over some of the shootings. Asked if the shootings were all related, Mr Kaldas replied, "I have to say the bulk of them are not." NSW opposition emergency spokesman Nathan Rees said tweaking tough anti-bikie laws would be one way to help put an end to "gang warfare". As premier in the former Labor government, Mr Rees gave the Supreme Court powers to outlaw bikie gangs and prevent members from contacting each other. But the Crimes (Criminal Organisation Control) Act was struck out in June 2011 after Sydney Hells Angel Derek Wainohu challenged it in the High Court. The National Coalition for Gun Control has called on NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and the government to strengthen gun control laws. Police seized 6155 guns in the 2010/11 financial year and have seized 3663 guns in the first half of the current financial year. Most guns used in crimes are stolen from legitimate sources.

Turf war feared as Gypsy Joker bikies descend on Brisbane hotel

 

ONE of Australia's most notorious bikie gangs is poised to expand its presence in Queensland, prompting fears of a turf war. But Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson says the public will be warned first if there's real danger of conflict. The Gypsy Jokers are this week expected to gather at an inner-city Brisbane hotel, catching the attention of police. The fears follow a spate of bikie violence and a subsequent police crackdown resulting in more arrests and almost 40 people being banned from Surfers Paradise's party precinct.

violent felon who allegedly shot a parole officer in the face, prompting a four-hour manhunt in Lake View Terrace

 violent felon who allegedly shot a parole officer in the face, prompting a four-hour manhunt in Lake View Terrace Wednesday triggered a similar standoff with police in Sylmar nearly a decade before.

Steven Hoff, 43, was taken into custody Wednesday after a search that shut down the Foothill (210) Freeway and led authorities to lock down a 3-square-mile area.

Parole agents, working with Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies, had been looking for Hoff for an alleged parole violation. As they approached a trailer near the 11000 block of Foothill Boulevard about 1:30 p.m. in search of Hoff, the suspect allegedly fired at one of the agents. The injured parole officer's partner fired back, but the shooter fled.

Shooting suspect Steven Hoff in a May 17, 2011 mug shot.

Hoff was found about 6 p.m. hiding in an empty swimming pool, sniffed out by a K-9 unit dog, authorities said.

"The K-9 bit him and then we went in and handcuffed him and brought him out," said Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore. "The situation was very volatile, and for a while unknown."

Both Hoff and the injured parole agent, whose name was not released, were hospitalized in serious but stable condition on Thursday. Hoff won't be booked until he is medically ready, Whitmore said.

Hoff was released from prison in January 2011 after after being convicted in San Fernando Courthouse for attempted burglary, according to state and county records. He stopped reporting for parole meetings in July and has been wanted since then, authorities said.

He has been in and out of prison for drug, burglary and weapons convictions beginning in 1989.

Hoff often served half of his sentence because state law allows non-violent criminals -- including those convicted for possession of firearms -- to get double credit for each day behind bars, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Luis Patino said.

The shorter amount of time Hoff served and his release last year are not the result of Gov. Jerry Brown's controversial realignment program, which shifts responsibility for many nonviolent inmates from state prison to county jails, Patino said.

On Wednesday, Hoff was the target of the California Parole Apprehension Team, which was created in 2009 to focus on at-large parolees who pose the greatest risk to public safety, according to the statement.

The manhunt, which led to major freeway delays that spilled over onto surface streets, was similar to a dramatic, nine-hour police standoff in 2002 that ended when police fired tear gas canisters into the Sylmar home where Hoff was barricaded.

At the time, Hoff was wanted for allegedly fatally shooting Diablos motorcycle gang member Richard Dierking in California City. Hoff shot Dierking for "disrespecting" him during his initiation into the notorious gang, authorities said at the time.

However, Hoff went free less than four months after his arrest when charges of first-degree murder and robbery were dismissed, according to Kern County court records. A spokeswoman for the Kern County District Attorney's Office said details of the case were not immediately available.

"This dude has a long and storied history with us," a corrections department spokesman told the Daily News when Hoff was arrested in 2002.

On Thursday, corrections Secretary Matthew Cate said employees were "relieved" that the parole agent who had been shot was recovering after surgery.

"Watching video and pictures of this agent sitting up and giving information to his brother law enforcement officer, even after he had been shot in the face, reminded us all of the valor and determination that our agents exhibit out in the field every day. ...," Cate said in a written statement.

The department has sent a deadly-force investigation team, required under state law, to review the shootings.

HE WAS the target of a gunman's midnight ambush and his alleged associates engaged in a gunfight at a North Adelaide cafe.

 0

Alleged member of the New Boys street gang Vincenzo Focarelli outside the Adelaide Magistrates Court.

Yesterday Comanchero chief Vince Focarelli denied his outlaw club was being torn apart from the inside.

Focarelli broke his silence to counter rumours that the Comanchero Motorcycle Club is plagued by infighting.

In a statement signed by him and released yesterday, he called for privacy.

"Mr Focarelli denies there is any disharmony or in-house fighting within the Comancheros Motorcycle Club," it said.

He "has been released from hospital and wishes to express his sincere gratitude to the medical staff who provided specialist treatment and acted with complete professionalism at all times.

"Mr Focarelli confirms that he is expected to make a full recovery.

"Mr Focarelli calls upon the media and community to please respect the privacy of his wife and five children."

Focarelli, 36, was the target of an attack at a Munno Para West home on December 15.

He was showered with bullets, one which hit him in the upper leg, then escaped by smashing a window of a nearby home, crawling through it and fleeing through a back door.

He left a trail of blood and it is believed the lacerations to his arm were serious.

Focarelli underwent surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and was in medical care for at least two weeks.

Days after Focarelli was shot, alleged Comancheros associates opened fire on one another at Caffe Paesano on a busy Sunday evening.

The gunfight started at 9.30pm when a man entered the restaurant, drew a gun and fired at three men sitting at an outside table.

At least one returned fire, hitting their target in the leg before he fled the premises.

On Thursday police arrested a Salisbury North man, 24, in relation to the incident. He was charged him with one aggravated count of endangering life and was remanded in custody.

Meanwhile, an alleged Comanchero will be extradited to South Australia on Monday. He was arrested in Port Melbourne over a stabbing that happened in Adelaide in 2008.

Victoria Police arrested the Para Hills man, 23, on Thursday evening.