Trump smiles on pot dealer Jonathon Braun

Braun was 5 years into his mandated mimimum sentence.

Jonathan Braun was one of 70 people to have their sentence commuted by Trump before he left the White House. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $100k for spearheading an operation that illegally imported more than 110 tons of pot from Canada through a Native American reservation on the New York border. Braun was supplied by a consortium with ties to the three most powerful organized crime groups in Canada, including the Hells Angels. The contraband was concealed in vehicles entering New York from Canada through the Akwesasne reservation in upstate Franklin County.

Notorious Albanian gangster stays connected

He was convicted and jailed for 27 years after three counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs but Abainian Valjet Pepaj is staying connected from a Uk jail cell. Showing off the beef, Valjet is ready to promote the gangster lifestyle.

Gangster Disciples leader pulls 40 years

Shauntay “Shake” Craig, 42, was sentenced to 40 years. He was arrested in 2016 during a roundup in nine states of 32 gangsters. Gangster Disciples employ a highly structured organization and are divided into geographic groups which are called a “count” or a “deck.” Hierarchy of leadership have posts known as “Positions of Authority” or “POAs.” The gang strictly enforces rules for its members, the most important of which is “Silence and Secrecy”. Craig and Gangster Disciples were responsible for 24 shootings from 2011 through 2015, including 12 murders.

946 kg of Cocaine in bananas

£76m worth of cocaine was found in Southampton concealed in a banana shipment. The cocaine weighed 946kg. The cocaine is thought to have been placed in the cargo in Colombia. It was bound for Antwerp, Belgium.

Kelowna banana cocaine splained

Kelowna RCMP landed 20 kg of cocaine inside two banana shipments in 2019. The drugs were found by two unsuspecting grocery stores, leading cops to conclude a pickup was missed by traffickers. No charges were laid.

HA 'Brutal South' chapter busted again

Steven Belshaw, sergeant-at-arms for the 'Brutal South' chapter of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang has been arrested during a series of police raids. "This mob prance around, taking steroids, lifting weights and standing over people," a cop said. "We will allege that these people are part of a large criminal group and we know they are responsible for a number of violent crimes and drug supply."

Underbelly - Williams and Veniamin

Smiling, one couldn't tell two of Australia's most notorious killers were bumping off scores of rivals. Youthful-looking drug kingpin Carl Williams and hitman Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin were at their height. By the end of their gangland conflict, 36 men would be dead - seven personally murdered by Veniamin. Both men would soon meet their doom. Veniamin bought two bullets in the neck and one in the head. Mick Gatto claimed self defense and was acquited. Williams was beaten to death at Barwon Prison by inmate Matthew Johnson.

Their story was told in a made for TV series called Underbelly.

355 members of 'Ndrangheta in 'maxi-trial'

The trial grew out of an investigation of 12 clans linked to convicted 'Ndrangheta boss, Luigi Mancuso. Mancuso, 66, is head of one of the 'Ngrangheta's most powerful crime families, based in the town of Vibo Valentia. Once a band of thugs, today they are said to control 80% of Europe's cocaine trade, raking in about £50b a year — or 3% of Italy's GDP. They formed an allegiance with cartels in South America, who manufacture the cocaine, and Albanians, who distribute it.

Extreme brutality is the 'Ndrangheta's trademark. Three judges are assigned to oversee Italy's largest mafia trial in more than 30 years. Prosecutors claim the gangsters infiltrated almost every aspect of life in Italy's Calabria region. The trial is expected to take at least a year and will involve 355 defendants, 400 lawyers and 900 witnesses.

Another Barletta arson

A luxury home destroyed in a recent fire had been restrained in a police crackdown on an HA gambling ring. It has connections to three men charged with money laundering. The five-bedroom home at 189 Lake Dr. had just sold for $7.9m. The home on Georgian Bay is the third connected to Robert Barletta to be destroyed by fire.

Homebuilder Michael Curtis, 37, and developer Douglas Lang Adams, 58, were charged with money laundering and possessing proceeds of crime as part of Operation Hobart. Robert Barletta narrowly survived a March 30, 2020, attempt on his life.

Gangsters land free money

Solid Gold is a peeler bar with a tight connection to the Calabrian Mafia.

A list published by CRA reveals those who have cashed in from a program, created last spring, that finances 75% of companies' payroll. It cost taxpayers $55 billion.

Solid Gold has received government assistance. Influential Calabrian mobster Moreno Gallo was expelled from the country for serious criminality in January 2012 and murdered the following year in Mexico was once the owner. In recent years, arson and gunfire have occurred often around Solid Gold. The Pro Gym, linked to the Hells Angels for years has also received free money. Vice-president of Pro Gym is Christian Ménard, a Sherbrooke Hells Angel.

"The subsidy was used to pay part of the salaries of the employees with whom we have kept an employment relationship" says the biker, who has pledged to ignore Covid-19 lockdowns. Individuals convicted of tax fraud by Revenu Québec had no problems. WE Charity (UNIS in French) is also on the list. It is embroiled in scandal after Trudeau hired it to manage a $900m student volunteer program. The program earned WE Charity nearly $43m million in management fees.