Organized crime fingered for wave of Montreal arsons

Montreal has witnessed an increase in arsons in recent months, with restaurants, cafés and vehicles the frequent targets. Cops say most of the fires are likely tied to extortion attempts by organized crime. This week police were investigating a string of arsons targeting Lebanese cafés, whose owners are being punished for refusing to submit to extortion attempts. "We arrest the suspect who is paid $200 or $300 who has no idea why they are setting the fire." Cops say extortion persists because it's lucrative and the fear it inspires makes people reluctant to come forward.

Xylazine, the 'flesh-eating' drug - tranq on the rise

The 'zombie drug' is a veterinary tranquilizer approved in the US for cows and horses. It is now flooding the US drug market, with dealers often cutting it with cocaine and heroin. Most often it is used to cut fentanyl.

The drug has spread to Los Angeles, with news crews capturing people hunched over and on the ground, strung out on the drug. The problem, Los Angeles cops say, is that the drug is technically legal.

It reduces pain and slows brain activity. It lowers blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate.

Xylazine enhances the effect of respiratory depression caused by opioids, increasing the risk of overdose and death. Xylazine is a cheap filler that increases the potency of opioids. It causes sedative effects in humans.

People who use xylazine often suffer from open wounds anywhere on their bodies. These wounds can lead to necrosis, the rotting of flesh, and amputation. The drug makes it appear as though it is eating away your flesh from the inside out. It's name 'Zombie Drug' is well earned.

Guilty on all counts - Little Italy shooting killers found guilty: May 11, 2017

John Raposo, 35, was shot four times in the head.

Dean Wiwchar was the hit man, posing as a construction worker wearing a reflective vest, shoulder-length wig, sunglasses and dust mask. But it was Nicola Nero, 40, Martino Caputo, 43 and Rabih Alkhalil, 29, who plotted to murder John Raposo, steal his cocaine and split the profit. Alkhalil brought in Wiwchar, describing him as being his “best hitter”. All four men were charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They pleaded not guilty. Nero, Caputo and Alkhalil were involved in importing cocaine into Canada from Mexico through Chicago and Buffalo. Raposo was also involved in cocaine trafficking. Alkhalil said he would obtain the gun requested by Wiwchar, either a 40-calibre or 45-calibre. A 45-calibre gun was used to kill Raposo. The four were found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the shooting of John Raposo at a Little Italy café in 2012.

Dean Wiwchar will be caged until 2037

The convictions of Nick Nero, Martino Caputo, Robby Alkhalil and Dean Wiwchar carry automatic life sentences without parole eligibility for 25 years.

Nicola Nero

Police accessed Nero's BlackBerry Curve smartphone and downloaded text and e-mail messages. Caputo was also wiretapped by cops.Rabih (Robby) Alkhalil

UK gangster moll escapes unscathed

A gangster's moll involved in a county lines drugs racket in which three 16-year olds were used has avoided jail. Georgia Burns, 22, regularly taxied her drug-dealing boyfriend Jamie Upton, 25, 100 miles from Manchester to Hull, where one of the boys was forced to live in a squalid flat. When cops raided they found Upton in an upstairs toilet trying to flush drugs down the toilet. The heroin and crack was worth £2,295 plus £3,162 in cash. Burns was sentenced to two years jail suspended for two years and ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work. Her boyfriend faired less well. It was 9 years in the slammer for him.

HA Las Vegas against Vagos MC - update VII

A trial has been scheduled for May 28, 2024. That will be one day short of the two-year anniversary of the shooting on US-95. A Las Vegas judge dismissed racketeering charges against HA accused of opening fire at rivals. Eight were indicted after the May 29 shooting between the Hells Angels and Vagos MC, including Richard Devries, 67, president of the Las Vegas Hells Angels. The judge agreed with defense arguments that an indictment from prosecutors failed to properly specify which defendants engaged in which alleged racketeering activities.

Richard John Devries, Russell Smith, and Stephen Alo were indicted on a whooping 35 felony charges. A witness provided video that showed three men wearing Hells Angels colours riding up to the Vagos members before shots rang out on US-95. Cops describe the attack as an ambush.

Bail for each man was $380k.

The shooting involving rival Hells Angels and Vagos may have been retaliation for the killing of a man several weeks previously. Full patch HA James Vincent Dickson, 32, was killed by a Vagos at a bar in San Bernardino.

John Richard 'Rizzo' Devries

The leader of the Las Vegas Hells Angels and two prospects face charges of attempted murder after firing at members of the Vagos. John Richard 'Rizzo' Devries, 66, president of the Hells Angels in Las Vegas, was arrested with two prospects, Stephen Alo, 46, and Russell Smith, 26. Six members of the Vagos gang were shot by Hells Angels who chased them down after an incident at Hoover Dam. Devries, Alo and Smith each face six counts of attempted murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, six counts of battery with a deadly weapon and six counts of discharging a firearm into a vehicle.

Bakhmut turned into smoking rubble - Ukrainians advancing

The Ukrainian military and Russia's Wagner private army both reported further Russian retreats around the city of Bakhmut. Russia was bombarding access roads to slow the Ukrainian assault, which is the largest yet mounted. The blasted ruins of Bakhmut, Russia's only prize, is being taken away. Wagner Group mercenaries are being drawn into the city center while their flanks, manned by regular Russian soldiers, are running away. The risk of Wagner Group troops being encircled is growing.

Hells Angels Sonoma RICO trial ends - guilty - update

Raymond 'Ray Ray' Foakes

HA Raymond 'Ray Ray' Foakes and HA Christopher 'Rain Man' Ranieri have been convicted, while a third biker has been acquitted. Foakes was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon and witness intimidation.  Ranieri was convicted of murder conspiracy and racketeering. Both men face decades in prison. It was a nearly identical trial to the 2022 RICO trial that put Russell 'Rusty' Ott, Jonathan 'Jon Jon' Nelson, and Brian Wayne Wendt away for the murder of Joel Silva.

Christopher 'Rain Man' Ranieri

Jonathan Nelson, right.

HA Jonathan 'Jon Jon' Nelson, Russell 'Rusty' Ott, and Brian Wendt were convicted of murder and RICO charges and sentenced to life. Brian Wendt

Jonathan 'Jon Jon' Nelson, left.

A prospect for the Sonoma Hells Angels lived a double life as an FBI informant. He, along with two former HA members, were the most important of dozens of government witnesses in the racketeering trial. Defense lawyers called it an “unholy alliance” between “shady, disreputable hooligans” and cops desperate to take down the HAMC. The club are a band of brothers who celebrate “freedom, a love of the open road and motorcycles”. The first two government witnesses were victims of beatdowns.

Five years ago the FBI rounded up nearly a dozen Hells Angels to face allegations of murder of their own. Three of the defendants, including club chapter presidents in Fresno and Sonoma, went before a jury. Jonathan 'Jon Jon' Nelson, Russell 'Rusty' Ott, and Brian Wendt violated the federal RICO Act through their involvement in the HAMC. They lured former sergeant-at-arms Joel Silva to his execution. Silva was killed at the Fresno clubhouse. Wendt shot him in the back of the head. Silva binged on drugs, behaved unpredictably and attacked HA guests. He sealed his fate by threatening to kill a fellow Hells Angel named Sweeney, who was close to Boston/Salem president Christopher Ranieri.

NBA player Ja Morant warned for playing the gangster - update

Ja Morant is owning up to his stupidity and vows to do better, again. "I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me," Morant said in a statement. "This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself." Assisting with that difficult task, most expect a very significant suspension from the NBA for the two time offender. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was "shocked" to see the Memphis Grizzlies star again flashing a firearm on social media.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is under fire after flashing a gun on social media, again. Bricc Baby, a rapper and Crips member, isn't impressed. Morant, 23, has a tendancy to throw up Crip gang signs after scoring. The rapper says the Grizzlies guard should stop pretending. "He ain't fucking with the gangland like that," Bricc Baby said. "You throwing them 'Ns' up, that's gonna cost you. ... What you wanna do, pay the crips for the rest of your life?" Morant earned an 8 game suspension from the NBA the first time he waved a gun around on social media in March. The man with a 5 year, $194,300,000 contract didn't learn anything. Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green IS apparently gang affiliated. Bricc Baby said Green gets a "pass" to throw up gang signs.

Fentanyl dealer Dana Nazarek buys 12 years - "denunciation and deterrence"

In 2021 fentanyl dealer Dana Nazarek failed to show for the last day of his trial on drug and gun charges — he cut off his monitoring bracelet and bolted. He was convicted on six counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and illegal possession of four guns. 13 months later he was arrested by two Vancouver cops who saw a fight between a male and a female in a Walmart parking lot. Nazarek gave them a false name and ID, but the fool also carried a bank card in his real name and he was busted. The judge said the principles of denunciation and deterrence are “paramount in sentencing individuals for trafficking in fentanyl and carfentanil.”

While acknowledging that Nazarek was a drug addict with a history of childhood abuse, that was mitigated by his decision to abscond.

Nazarek was motivated by profit and his “toxic combination” of drugs and guns posed a threat to public safety. Nazarek's claim he dealt drugs to provide for his family was rejected as bullshit.

'Ghost Boat' yields 649 kg of cocaine in Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands found their largest-ever haul of cocaine in 2020 in an abandoned boat that washed up on an atoll after drifting on the high seas, likely for years. The 5.5-metre (18-foot) vessel was found at Ailuk atoll with 649 kg (1,430 lbs) of cocaine on board. It's speculated the boat's crew hit a Pacific storm and perished. Ailuk Atoll is a remote atoll with about 400 people.

The vessel likely drifted across the Pacific from South America. Debris from the Americas often washes up in the Marshalls after years at sea, driven by Pacific Ocean currents. Researchers conducted 16 computer simulations of drift patterns from the Mexico coast and found nearly all eventually arrived in the Marshall Islands.