‘Hellboy’ earns 4 years for beating Hells Angels associate with a baseball bat

Robert DeRonde, 55, of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club, who goes by the street name 'Hellboy' was sentenced to four years in prison for the brutal beating of a Hells Angels associate at a Newark gas station in 2018.

The victim had just left the Hells Angels’ clubhouse on Clinton Avenue when he stopped for gas. Three men pulled up to the gas station and assaulted him. The Pagan MC have been absorbing members from smaller, independent biker clubs as a way to beef up their numbers. At the same time, the Pagan’s have started wearing patches that say 'East Coast' instead of a local chapter location. Pagan national President is the jailed Keith “Conan” Richter out of Long Island.

Hells Angels Damiano DiPopolo and the DeCotiis family - Repost

Brandon Vito Hughes was 28 when he was shot and killed on July 23, 2009.

It will be 10 years since Hughes' murder next week. After coming home from a night out at Vancouver's Celebration of Light fireworks show, 28-year-old Brandon Vito Hughes was gunned down outside his North Vancouver home. His father, Kevin Hughes, heard the commotion and ran out to the front gate. He tried in vain to save his son but in the early morning hours of July 23, 2009 Brandon Vito Hughes was pronounced dead in hospital. Five years later, the Lower Mainland's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team issued a public plea for information about the shooting. "The investigation remains open and active," said Sgt. Adam MacIntosh. "Time and distance can be a factor in our favour in historical investigations. There are people out there who know what happened and we need them to come forward." Police are urging anyone with information to call IHIT at 1-877-551-4448, email ihittipline@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, or submit a tip anonymously through Crime Stoppers.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/victim+said+someone+wanted/9798629/story.html

Rocco Dipopolo

Donato De Cotiis said a number of threats had been made against him and other family members, including Hughes, because of a long-running family feud. Donato De Cotiis said he was warned that people linked to the Hells Angels had been hired "to assault, threaten and/or intimidate" him. Don De Cotiis, Hayley Winter, Ivano De Cotiis.

Damiano Dipopolo

[18] At some point, on a date which was not clear in the evidence, Mr. Dipopolo won $80,000 in a lottery. He gave his twin brother $30,000 as a gift. [48] At some point, Mr. Dipopolo acquired a one-third interest in a company called Liquid Zoo Holdings Ltd. On August 23, 2005, Mr. Dipopolo, together with the two other shareholders in Liquid Zoo Holdings Ltd., Messrs. Bruneau and Raffael, signed a promissory note for $350,000 payable to Amacon Management. [62] Liquid Zoo Holdings executed a mortgage dated May 12, 2006, in favour of Amacon for the amount of $650,000. However, this mortgage was not registered until more than one year later, on August 10, 2007. Mr. Dipopolo appeared to consider the mortgage to be further security for Amacon's $350,000 loan to the three Liquid Zoo Holdings shareholders made about one year earlier, in August 2005.

http://caselaw.canada.globe24h.com/0/0/british-columbia/supreme-court-of-british-columbia/2008/01/31/wu-v-dipopolo-2008-bcsc-112.shtml __________________________________________

"Amacon's $500,000 loan to Mr. Dipopolo;" http://caselaw.canada.globe24h.com/0/0/british-columbia/supreme-court-of-british-columbia/2008/01/31/wu-v-dipopolo-2008-bcsc-112.shtml

Marcello DeCotiis and his sister, Lilliana

Lilliana De Cotiis runs the hospitality division of real estate developer Amacon, which she co-owns with eldest sibling Teresa and older brothers Donato, Luca and Marcello. Siblings have input on all aspects of Amacon's corporate operations. De Cotiis and her siblings named their company Amacon, after late father Amalio and mother Concetta. Amalio was part of the first generation of De Cotiises to arrive in Vancouver. He came with parents Donato and Teresa and three sisters as well as brothers Marcangelo, Inno, Vito and Michael in a staggered migration.

Damiano DiPopolo

Eldest brother Marcangelo eventually had a falling out with his brothers that was serious enough to devolve into legal action. Vito died in his 30s. Inno created his own real estate development company and named it by spelling his own name backwards: Onni.

Youngest brother Michael then founded and still runs Pinnacle International.

Dec. 11, 2005. Vancouver Province A long-running feud in a family whose name is tied to some of Vancouver's biggest real-estate developments has once again spilled into B.C. Supreme Court. This time, it comes complete with allegations of threats, assaults, intimidation - and even of a contract to kill a family member. In an unusual civil suit, Donato De Cotiis, 44, is seeking a court injunction and damages to protect himself from eight family members named in a statement of claim. The suit alleges that the eight De Cotiis family defendants "have engaged, hired or employed the defendants Rocco Dipopolo and Damiano Dipopolo to assault, threaten and/or intimidate the plaintiff as an integral part of efforts to intimidate the plaintiff, to interfere in the business, commercial and leisure activities of the plaintiff and to injure the plaintiff." Chow confirmed that police investigated an incident between Donato De Cotiis and the Dipopolos. No charges were laid.

In February 2003, Paolo De Cotiis approached Brandon Hughes, the nephew of Donato De Cotiis, at a nightclub on Granville, and threatened "to get" his family.

Sunday, July 26, 2009. The targeted murder of 28-year-old Brandon Vito Hughes in North Vancouver last week was preceded by a tense family feud that included an alleged death threat within the De Cotiis clan, who are connected to massive real-estate developments in the Lower Mainland. Hughes was found gravely wounded outside 1956 Jones Ave. in North Vancouver. Hughes is grandson of the late construction mogul Marcangelo De Cotiis, whose widow, Addolorata De Cotiis, owns the home at 1956 Jones Ave. Siblings of the De Cotiis family own Onni Group, Pinnacle International and Amacon.

Brandon Vito Hughes

August 6th, 2010. B.C. Court of Appeal issues ruling in De Cotiis family feud. Donato De Cotiis's lawsuit against companies controlled by his uncles Amalio, Inno, and Mike was dismissed. Donato De Cotiis's deceased father Marcangelo, a construction magnate, was also listed as a plaintiff. "This dispute is only part of a larger family feud that unfolded against a backdrop of profitable corporations and partnerships," Newbury wrote in the court's reasons for judgment. This lawsuit was a spinoff of another major dispute, which was addressed in a 1995 B.C. Supreme Court decision.

http://www.pinnacletower.org/Residents/Contacts/Bios/DeCotiis.htm
http://www.straight.com/article-337613/vancouver/bc-court-appeal-issues-ruling-de-cotiis-family-feud

384kg cocaine found in loader in Oz.

Australian border officials have cracked a major drug-smuggling case involving a piece of construction equipment stuffed with 384 kilograms of cocaine. The cocaine was concealed inside the hydraulic arm of a second-hand excavator. Border officials spotted the drugs using a routine X-ray check at a port in Sydney in June. Adam Hunter, 33, and Timothy Engstrom, 34, were arrested in connection with the case. Both men have been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

Adelaide HA clubhouse sold

The Clarence Gardens property, with its heavily fortified front fence, was home to the gang’s Adelaide southern chapter for several years. The property includes a gym and a workshop and is expected to bring $550k aud. The property has been somewhat “de-bikied” but several nods to its owners remain. The marketing spiel dubs the former clubhouse as an “exceptional commercial zone property” with a “ton of appeal”.

The clubhouse became unusable for the Hells Angels since the South Australian government introduced strict anti-bikie legislation in August 2015.

BCSC Class Action Lawsuit filed against BridgeMark

An action was commenced in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on July 11, 2019 (Tietz and Loewen v. Bridgemark Financial Corp. et al.) The action was brought under the B.C. Class Proceedings Act. First to issue news is SpeakEasy Cannabis Club Ltd. (EASY.c) Website https://www.bridgemarkclassaction.com/

EASY Chart by TradingView

Bennett Mounteer LLP - https://www.bennettmounteer.com/ 400 - 856 Homer Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 2W5 (604)-639-3680 Mailing List: https://www.bridgemarkclassaction.com/join-mailing-list

Nazo Gaprindashvili - vor v zakone

In rural Schoharie County, Jerry and Patricia Gauthier knew her as "Anna," an invaluable and trusted home health aide. In Brooklyn, Nazo Gaprindashvili carried another identity – high-level associate of the Russian mob. Gaprindashvili, 34, a native of the Republic of Georgia, was a confidante of Razhden Shulaya, who federal prosecutors identified as one of the most powerful Russian organized crime bosses in and around New York City. Shulaya, 41, a "vor v zakone," or "vor" - which stands for thief-in-law, an elite level of Russian criminal the equivalent of a mafia boss - was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Gaprindashvili pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. She helped shake down restaurants, scammed casinos and allowed her Brooklyn apartment to be used for gambling. In Schoharie County, she stole $500,000 from the family that took her in. In June 2017, the FBI and federal prosecutors busted more than two dozen members of the 'Shulaya Enterprise'. Prosecutors said the syndicate's tentacles spread from Brighton Beach to Florida to Las Vegas.

Gaprindashvili used money she stole to pay for an attorney for Shulaya crew member Avtandil Khurtsidze, a Georgian professional boxer. He received 10 years.

See ----->Trial begins for Mob linked boxer dubbed ‘Mini Mike Tyson’

25th anniversary of Quebec's biker war

On July 13, 1994, three men walked into a motorcycle shop in Rivière-des-Prairies and killed Pierre Daoust. Daoust was a 34-year-old member of a Hells Angels puppet club called the Death Riders and his death officially marked the start of the biker war. Two days after Daoust was killed, high-ranking members of the Hells Angels met at a hotel in Longueuil. By the end of August 1994 members of all four of the Hells Angels chapters established in Quebec at the time (Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières) voted unanimously in favour of going to war.

By the time it was over more than 160 people would be dead. On March 28, 2001, the Hells Angels at the center were dealt a devastating blow as arrests were made in Operation Springtime 2001. Drug trafficking and murder conspiracy charges were filed against Maurice (Mom) Boucher and 41 others. On June 5, 2002, charges were filed against 62 people tied to the Bandidos, resulting in a roundup of the gang’s entire membership in Montreal. The arrests put an end to the war.

Man who survived being shot more than a dozen times jailed for murdering HA bikie

Jesse Ray Penhall leaves court after being acquitted of the murder of Steve 'Fly' Hydon.

Penhall was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 23 years for the murder of David Norris, 39, at a Salisbury workshop in September 2017. The 40-year-old argued that he acted in self-defence. Norris suffered multiple skull fractures, some of which were inflicted as he lay on the workshop floor. In 2008 Penhall nearly died after being shot more than a dozen times during an ambush.

$1b worth of cocaine found on a ship owned by JPMorgan

The container ship MSC Gayane, financed by JPMorgan, was seized by US customs officials after authorities found nearly 18 tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.3b on the vessel. The roughly 39,500 pounds, or 17.9 metric tons of cocaine is about the same weight as three African bull elephants. The MSC Gayane sailed under the flag of Liberia. It is a popular transit route for smugglers between South America and Europe because of its porous borders.

In May 2018 Algerian officials seized more than 1,500 pounds of cocaine on a Liberian-registered container ship from Brazil. In February of this year, Cape Verde officials found 21,000 pounds of cocaine, with a street value north of $700m, on a Panamanian-flagged vessel. A month later, authorities in Guinea-Bissau notched their biggest-ever cocaine bust when they discovered more than 1,700 pounds of the drug.

See ----->15,000 kg cocaine seized in 2nd largest U.S. bust

Portugal charges 89 Hells Angels

The restaurant was destroyed in the attack.

Portugal’s attorney general says authorities have charged 89 Hells Angels with crimes including attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, extortion and drug trafficking. The accused were armed with knives and bats when they burst into a restaurant near Lisbon last year and tried to kill four people.

The attacks were said to be part of a turf war for control of illicit guns and the drug trade. Two of those charged are in Germany awaiting extradition. The incident sparked a major police investigation and a crackdown on the Hells Angels in the country. The HA first established a charter in Portugal in 2002

Supreme Court of Canada rejects Joshua Petrin’s appeal - White Boy Posse

Petrin ordered a hit against a former gang member who left the White Boy Posse without notice. The two killers were sent to a wrong address.

The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal from convicted killer Joshua Petrin. Petrin was convicted in November 2016 of first-degree murder in the killing of Lorry Santos, an innocent mother who was shot at her Saskatoon home on Sept. 12, 2012.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal dismissed Petrin’s appeal in December 2018. Petrin is also serving a 20-year concurrent sentence for the 2008 shooting death of Mitchell Chambers and the 2012 death of Bryan Gower. Petrin’s legal recourse has now been fully exhausted.

See ----->White Boy Posse - Randy O'Hagan

Killer of Surrey gangster pleads guilty to manslaughter, murder charge dropped

Johnny Steven Drynock, 24, had been facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the execution of Birinderjeet Justin Bhangu on March 13, 2017. Drynock pleaded guilty to manslaughter using a firearm on the first day of his trial. A stay was entered on his first-degree murder charge. His sentence of 14 years, after receiving credit for pre-sentence custody, is now 10 years, 9 months. Drynock will be eligible for full parole after serving one-third of his term, or about 42 months. Birinderjeet Justin Bhangu, 29, had extensive links to gang violence. He had a long criminal record dating back more than a decade.

Cocaine on the rise in Canada - CSIS

CSIS is sounding the alarm about the marked rise in popularity of coke in a recent report on the state of the drug market. "From 2015 to 2017, the consumption rate has doubled from 1% (of the population), or 353,000 consumers, to 2% with 730,000 consumers," says the spy agency. The same situation is observed globally, "in parallel with the increase in cocaine production in Latin America".

"large quantities of cocaine" are imported into the country.

In 2018, 496 of the 664 organized crime groups tracked were involved in the cocaine trade in Canada, up 5% from 2015. Cocaine rings tend to be controlled by large organized crime groups. Despite rising demand, the price of cocaine in Canada has been stable for 2 decades, at about $ 100 per gram on the street, or between $ 50,000 and $ 65,000 per kg. The market in Canada is estimated at over $2b. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported that a historic peak of 1976 tons of cocaine was produced worldwide in 2017.