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An Eastern European crime lord, thought to be the most powerful gangster in the world, was captured in Moscow yesterday.
Semyon Mogilevich,61, also known as the “Brainy Don”, was captured in Moscow last week after an tax fraud investigation involving Mogilevich and the Russian cosmetics chain Arbat Prestige. The owner of the chain of stores, Vladimir Nekrasov, and a group of Mogilevich’s bodyguards were also arrested.
Mogilevich, who is also wanted by the FBI, is said to have gained his estimated $100 million wealth from arms dealing, prostitution, murder for hire and an assortment of other crimes.
A former union boss has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.
Salvatore Battaglia, who was accused of being a member of the Genovese crime family, was the president of Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union. Battaglia, who is accused of accepting bribes and extortion plead guilty 4 days before his trial.
Battaglia is expected to spend 57-71 months in prison.
GAMBINO MAN CHARGED IN SCAM
A man who is allegedly linked to the Gambino crime family has been arrested for fraud.
Vincent Artuso is accused of supervising a scheme in which a group of people sold fake magazine subscriptions to acquire credit card numbers. This same group is also accused of scamming ADT Security Services of at least $7 million.
Each member of the group faces upwards of 20 years in prison under maximum sentencing.
The hit film American Ganster, starring Denzel Washington, is the focus of a lawsuit brought on by retired drug enforcement agents.
The film states that three quarters of New York’s drug enforcement agents and officers were arrested based upon information from Frank Lucas after he became a government informant.
The officers have stated that this statement is totally false and that there were no agents or officers arrested following Lucas’ conviction.
LUCCHESE’S RESPONSIBLE FOR BUILDING COLLAPSE?
An accident this week at the Trump Soho tower, that resulted in the death of a worker, may have been caused by inferior construction practices.
Construction worker Yurly Vanchytsky fell 42 stories after the section of building he was working on collapsed. Another co-worker, Francesco Palizzotto, also fell but was caught in a safety net. Both men worked for Difama Concrete, a company with ties to the Lucchese crime family.
In 2004 Joseph Fama, an official with Difama Concrete, was sentenced to 50 months in prison for extortion and racketeering.
Wooden supports that did not meet acceptable standards are believed to have collapsed while workers were pouring concrete.
A legendary, previously high ranking member of the Bonanno crime family passed away last week.
Salvatore “Bill” Bonanno died in his home in Tucson, Arizona on January 1st. The cause of death has been attributed to a heart attack. Bonanno and his father Joseph were exiled to Tucson after disputes with different factions of the crime family in New York City.
Bonanno has worked on a number of TV movies and books related to his and his father’s life in the mafia. Ironically, one of his latest endeavors was a book in which he collaborated with FBI agent Joseph Pistone. Pistone is the agent who infiltrated the Bonanno family and was responsible for the conviction of many of its members.
Michael Mann, the talent behind such films as “Heat” and “Collateral” will be bringing another big time crime drama to the screen. This time he brings with him a man who is arguably the most bankable actor of the decade, Johnny Depp.
Mann is set to bring the story of John Dillinger, the legendary gangster that was the mainstay of ‘wanted’ posters through the depression era.
The film, an adaptation of Brian Burrough's "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34" is set to start filming in March, 2008.
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