Harry 'Pittsburgh Phil' Strauss

Harry 'Pittsburgh Phil' Strauss

Harry 'Pittsburgh Phil' Strauss was a prolific contract killer for Murder, Inc. in the 1930s. He purportedly killed over one hundred men including: shooting, ice picks, drowning, live burial, and strangulation. Killers were paid a regular salary as retainer as well as an average fee of $1,000 to $5,000 per hit. Strauss was arrested 18 times but wasn't convicted until he was found guilty of the homicide that sent him and fellow Murder, Inc. hitman Martin 'Bugsy' Goldstein to the electric chair.

After hitman Abe 'Kid Twist' Reles turned informant, Strauss was arrested for the murder of Irving 'Puggy' Feinstein. Strauss tried to avoid conviction by feigning insanity in the courtroom and on death row. Strauss and Goldstein were convicted September 19, 1940, and executed by electrocution using Sing Sing's Old Sparky on June 12, 1941.

Harry Strauss and Martin 'Bugsy' Goldstein.

Abe 'Kid Twist' Reles

Island raids net drugs, cash, HA gear

Hells Angels marked their 35th anniversary in B.C. in 2018 with a party in Nanaimo.

RCMP seized drugs, guns and $42k in a pair of raids in Saanich and Sooke. Two pickup trucks, a car, a Harley-Davidson, eight long guns and Hells Angels gear also goes to the state.

Reginald “Tex” Arthurell

NSW triple-killer Reginald Arthurell has been granted parole from his/her 24-year term for murder. Arthurell, 75, came out as a transgender woman in prison.

Mr. Sidewalk dies at 71

Nicolo Milioto was a Montreal businessman known as “Mr. Sidewalk”. Milioto was a middleman between the Mafia in Montreal and construction companies, an accusation Milioto flatly denied. Milioto was caught on the RCMP’s hidden cameras 236 times at the Café Consenza from 2004 to 2006. He denied that he demanded a 2.5% “pizzo,” or tax, on behalf of the Rizzuto family.

Milioto said he'd never heard of the Mafia.

His habit of handing over large wads of cash while inside a Mob headquarters to the boss who stuffed them in his socks was explained. Milioto said it was a security measure and the money was linked to the Cattolica Eraclea association, an Italian community organization.

These shoes are made for smuggling

The Georgia woman was returning from Jamaica.

A 21-year-old woman was arrested at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for attempting to smuggle three pounds of cocaine hidden in the soles of seven pairs of shoes. "Shoes are made for walking and not smuggling narcotics," US Customs and Border Protection said.

Boss of organized Lego theft ring

Portland man Raji Afife Azar, 41, was busted in 2019 for a Lego theft ring selling thousands of dollars in stolen toys online. He was arrested after buying $13k in stolen toys from undercover cops. During a search of Azar’s Southeast Portland home, detectives found at least $50k in Lego sets stolen from Portland-area Fred Meyer stores alone. They also found more stolen items from other stores.

Azar’s theft ring used a network of thieves or 'boosters'. Azar met with the thieves and bought the stolen Legos for 30% of their retail prices. He then put the stolen toys up for sale online and made big profits. Legos are the targets of professional thieves because they are hard to trace and can be sold quickly on the black market.

Azar was found guilty of first-degree aggravated theft, laundering a monetary instrument, 10 counts of first-degree theft and 15 counts of computer crime.

Some sought-after Lego sets can sell for over $1,000.

Give me your money, I am a gangster from Hardwick = 82 months

Tony Hornby, 20, was charged with numerous offences after a crime spree including blackmail, attempted robbery, possession of class A and B drugs, criminal damage, making threats with a bladed article, assault and a racially-aggravated public order offence. He said 'Cheers' after being handed a sentence of six years and ten months.

Ismael Zambada-Imperial guilty

Ismael Zambada-Imperial was arrested in Culiacán in 2014 after cops tracked his frequent posts on social media.

Cars, jewelry, weapons and women is what the son of "El Mayo" Zambada boasted of on social networks. Alias is “Mayito Gordo” or chubby little version of his father.

While the Sinaloa Cartel remains under the leadership of Zambada García, he has not been seen in some time. There has been a serious split between his supporters and those of Guzmán Loera’s sons, collectively known as “Los Chapitos.” Mayito Gordo faces at least 10 years in prison but could be sentenced up to life.

The Sinaloa Cartel remains among the two most powerful cartels in Mexico, but its status has been challenged by the rapid rise of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG)

Oxygen Mafia

India recorded 3,500 Covid deaths in 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 185,000. 386,452 new cases were reported on Friday. Hospitals are now running out of oxygen. Citizens are dying beside their empty oxygen canisters.

Naturally a black market for oxygen has instantly appeared. Those willing and able to pay more will have no issues finding oxygen in India. In Delhi, people are scrambling to find oxygen. One oxygen cylinder is selling for upwards of 50,000 rupees, or $675, nearly 10 times the normal price.

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HA Paul Magnan killed - update

Bikers gathered to pay last respects to senior HA Paul Magnan, one of the founding members of the Trois-Rivières chapter. He received his patches in 2001.

Cops say he was the godfather of the Deïmos Crew, a farm club of the Hells Angels.

Trois Rivières HA Paul Magnan was driving westbound on Route 352 at around 9:50 a.m. when an oncoming van slowed down to turn into a private driveway. The van made a left turn into the path of the motorcycle.

Magnan crashed into the vehicle and was thrown from his machine.

Radovan Krejcir dying in jail - lawyer

Radovan Krejcir, 52, was convicted of attempted murder, kidnapping and dealing in drugs in 2015 and was sentenced to 35 years in jail. He's spent the last few years at Leeuwkop prison. He is being sought for extradition by the Czech Republic where he was sentenced to 15.5 years. His lawyer claims he is suffering inhumane conditions. " ... he is chained like an abused dog."

The former mistress of Czech mobster Radovan Krejcir was sentenced to 24 months in prison for aiding and abetting him in one of his escape attempts. Marissa Christopher, one-time Playboy cover girl, was sentenced after entering into a plea agreement. Christopher was charged with seven others after a foiled Krejcir plot to escape from Zonderwater Correctional.

She avoided jail time by paying r80,000, around $4,800 USD. Radovan Krejcir is currently serving a 35-year sentence for attempted murder and kidnapping.

Marissa Christopher was charged with five counts of conspiracy to commit an offence, aiding an escape from lawful custody, corruption, defeating the ends of justice, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Brian "Lil B" Stanton - Dirty Water

Operation "Dirty Water" started after a parcel shipped from Quebec containing 2,500 Xanax pills was intercepted. When cops zeroed in on the kingpin, he was already in jail. Brian "Lil B" Stanton, 37, is an inmate in the US Federal Pen in Atlanta. Stanton arranged the sale and delivery of $50m in meth to Polk County Florida.

Cops located three meth conversion labs in Georgia. This in turn led to three arrests and 1,416 pounds of crystalized and liquid meth being seized. 20 weapons were seized. The Juarez Mexican Cartel was the source of the meth.

Top Russian Bosses

(From left to right)- Gafur Rakhimov, Semion "Seva" Mogilevich, Sergei "Mikhas" Mikhailov, and Avera Bitya.

Richard Francis Cottingham - The torso killer

Richard Cottingham,74, is a serial killer from New Jersey, active in New York between 1967 and 1980. He was nicknamed The Torso Killer due to his habit of dismembering his victims with surgical precision, usually leaving nothing but a headless torso behind. He pleaded guilty to two 1974 murders, closing the cold case deaths of 2 teenage girls. Officially convicted of 11 murders, his real toll is unknown.

He was arrested in 1980 when a motel maid heard a woman screaming inside his room. Authorities found her alive, but bound with handcuffs and suffering from bite marks and knife wounds.