Gangster James Riach loses appeal of life sentence in Philippines

They were busted with more than $2.5m worth of ecstasy and shabu. (meth and caffeine)

The Philippines Court of Appeal rejected an appeal of the sentence by former Independent Soldier James Clayton Riach and accomplice Ali Memar Mortazavi Shirazi. The Canadians were also ordered to pay a $12,000 fine.

James Clayton Riach, right, and Ali Shirazi

Gangster Barry Espadilla and Tara Hadden-Watts

Philippines National Bureau of Investigation arrested Riach and Shirazi at their Manila condo in January 2014. Also arrested and charged that day was Riach’s long-time associate Barry Espadilla. Espadilla was released 18 months later after an appeals court judge accepted his lawyer’s argument that police lied to get search warrants in the case. He returned to Canada. Riach was in a vehicle with Red Scorpion gangster Jonathan Bacon and Hells Angel Larry Amero when it was sprayed by gunfire in Kelowna in August 2011.

$44m of cocaine in onion rings lassoed in UK inbound zone

A shipment of $44m (£33m) of cocaine was found in an onion ring cargo in Coquelles, France. The 418kg haul at the Channel Tunnel's UK inbound zone resulted in Polish truck driver Piotr Perzenowski, 30, being charged with smuggling Class A drugs. Cops spotted the 922 pound shipment after halting a lorry headed to the UK.

Italian journalist Mauro de Mauro found?

De Mauro disappeared in Sept 1970, a victim of a 'lupara bianca', a term used to describe a mafia slaying.

Cops in Sicily are investigating whether human remains found in a secluded cave on Mount Etna are those of an Italian investigative journalist who disappeared more than 50 years ago. Mauro De Mauro was a reporter in Palermo. A sniffer dog being trained located human remains in the cave.

A DNA test on the remains will determine if it is De Mauro, who was investigating the death of businessman Enrico Mattei, who died in a 1962 plane crash likely caused by a mafia bomb.

Bank robber caught - in grave

Theodore Conrad left the Cleveland bank where he worked in July 1969 with a paper bag containing $215k in cash. He was never seen again. 50 years later cops found him. He was Thomas Randele and buried in a MA cemetery, 6 months after he died of lung cancer.

Theodore J. Conrad settled in MA, where he worked at a luxury-car dealership for 40 years. He raised a daughter and enjoyed watching crime shows on TV. He died at age 71 a respected and law abiding member of his community. On his deathbed, Conrad told his family the truth.

Meth smuggling model Simone Starr

Simone Starr was a bikini model and Penthouse Pet before she became a figure in Sydney's underworld in the late '90s and early 2000s. After fleeing to the US after a parcel bomb blew up in the face of her boyfriend, Starr was arrested for smuggling meth in 2009 and sentenced to 6.5 years in jail.

Vicky Pehalwan chocks up another murder charge

Vicky Pehalwan, 29, is a notorious Indian gangster. One of western Uttar Pradesh’s most wanted gangsters until his arrest in March 2020, he gained notoriety as a man with the most number of murder cases against him. That total is now 8 as a 39-year-old prisoner was stabbed in the head by two prisoners, including Vicky Pehalwan. Jailers say Pehalwan and his accomplice used a knife made from a tin sheet. Vicky Pehalwan is a resident of Ghaziabad and a member of the Rohit Chaudhary gang of South Delhi.

Operation 'Tiny Toons' nails Gangster Disciples

Operation Tiny Toons led to the prosecution and conviction of 18 gangsters from Brunswick and New Hanover Counties, NC, for heroin and fentanyl trafficking. Gang leader Darion “Pluck” Graham received the largest sentence and is going away for 30 years.

Louis “Bobby” Manna denied release

A federal judge has once again denied the release of Louis “Bobby” Manna, 91. The former consigliere of the Genovese crime family will almost certainly die in prison.

Known as “The Thin Guy,” Manna was once one of the most powerful mob leaders in the U.S.

Mobster Louis Manna has spent 33 years in jail. The elderly wiseguy who planned a hit on John Gotti should be freed his lawyer says. Manna is serving an 80-year sentence after being convicted in 1989 for his role as the consigliere of the Genovese crime family, as well as ordering a hit on mob boss John Gotti and his brother Gene. Prosecutors have acknowledged that Manna is no longer a threat to society.

US gun smugglers off to jail

Eleven men from Columbus, Ohio, were sentenced in U.S. federal court for conspiring to smuggle hundreds of firearms into Canada. They smuggled more than 200 guns from Ohio into Canada from July 2018 through 2019. At least 10 of those guns have been seized by cops after being used for crimes in Canada. Abdulwahab Sharif Mohamed Hassan, 30, received the highest sentence of 72 months in prison. Abdulwahab Hassan had US $88k in cash when he was busted, despite not having a job.

Carpoffs Ponzi Scheme - DC Solar

Jeff Carpoff, 50, is going to federal prison for 30 years. He pleaded guilty and received the maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. His wife is expected to pull 15 years for her role.

Jeff and Paulette Carpoff, founders of DC Solar a solar panel Ponzi scheme, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Their scam involved making and leasing portable solar-powered lighting and communications towers. The Carpoffs attracted billions in investments from financiers with promises of federal investment tax credits. Although DC claimed to have built 17k solar systems, less than 6k existed.

They sold the same units to new buyers repeatedly.

The couple enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle. Investigators turned up cars, jets, real estate and jewels. They splurged more than $40m on a Las Vegas mansion, condos in Lake Tahoe, a home in Scottsdale, and dozens of other properties.

One of their biggest marks was Warren Buffett. An auction of the Carpoffs’ collection of more than 140 cars fetched $8.3m. A U.S. district judge ordered the forfeiture of $3.9m in private jet shares bringing the total forfeiture to more than $54m.

See ----->DC Solar ponzi scheme - Carpoff car collection