PlayStation box = 22 years in jail for dealer

During a raid of that condo, cops found 30 kg of fentanyl and more than $500k in cash.

Maurice Montain McCoy, Jr., 41, of Moreno Valley, California, led a drug ring that trafficked fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine across the country. The DEA investigated McCoy's stash house in July 2017. Agents traced a UPC code off of a Sony PlayStation box used to deliver heroin to a customer.

It was the largest fentanyl seizure in Michigan and one of the largest in the country.

Vancouver fraudster Mark Chandler in California jail

Former Langley real estate developer Mark Chandler sits in Terminal Island, a low-security federal prison in San Pedro, Calif., serving a six-year sentence for a multi-million dollar fraud scheme. It’s his second conviction in the United States. Chandler fought extradition to the U.S. B.C.’s real estate watchdog issued a formal notice of hearing alleging Chandler mishandled more than $10m of deposits from home buyers for a Langley condo project called Murrayville House.

Would-be buyers waited years as repeated construction delays stalled the project.

Mark Chandler was busted for fraud in California following an FBI investigation. The charges resulted from an investigation into a development project known as Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles between 2008 and 2011. “The record of the case portrays a fraud that does not exist,” said Chandler’s lawyer. The judge disagreed, and ordered Chandler extradited to face trial in the U.S. Chandler is best known for the Murrayville House project which dissolved into multiple lawsuits in 2017.

Units in the development were sold to two, three, or even four purchasers.

All contracts were eventually voided in court. Chandler accumulated a long list of lawsuits from burnt creditors, including from an American private jet leasing agency, a Vancouver yacht charter company, a Ferrari Maserati dealership, and a waterfront Hawaii getaway. Chandler had repeatedly lied and forged documents to dupe his investors, prosecutors noted. It was his second conviction in the United States, following a 2003 guilty plea to theft in Arizona. After that incident, Chandler was deported, given three years of probation, and ordered to pay $189,550 in restitution.

Empty, scuttled semi-submersible found in Spain

Spanish cops discovered a semi-submersible off the northwestern coast of Galicia on March 13. The ship was found scuttled, likely on purpose after the traffickers had finished unloading their cargo. Authorities suggested it may have been sitting there for weeks. The vessel could have carried up to five tons of cocaine.

The 16-meter (52-foot) vessel was spotted half sunk a kilometer off the coast in the Arousa estuary in the Ganorthwester. A similar vessel with three metric tons of cocaine on board was found in another northern Spanish estuary in 2019. The Galicia semi-submersible may be a sign of things to come. "There is nothing technically from stopping these vessels being used more frequently to smuggle drugs to Europe," one expert said.

Crack, cocaine resurgence in NYC

A record influx of Colombian cocaine has spurred the return of crack — the cheap, smokable scourge that sparked a crime wave in New York in the late 1980s and 1990s. An increase in cocaine supply has driven down street prices to levels not seen in decades.

Cops say a rock can be had for $5. Turf wars are breaking out as dealers battle over street corners, just as they did 30 years ago. Abundant supply and efficient processing have sent wholesale prices plummeting. An uncut kilo of cocaine, which hit an all-time high of $35k five years ago, is now about $17k.

In New York, 2,668 people died of drug overdoses in 2021, an increase of 78% since 2019 with fentanyl detected in 80% of the deaths.

Texas man brags about robbing cartel - MIA in Mexico

Texas man Erik Tadeo Ramirez bragged about stealing $50k from a Mexican drug cartel. Less than two hours later, he was kidnapped by a group of armed men from a home in southern Texas and taken over the border. The FBI says he's still missing. Witnesses overheard him bragging on a phone call about stealing money from the Cartel del Noreste while he was at a house party in Laredo at about 11 p.m. on March 23. At 12.45 a.m. on March 24, a group of masked men arrived at the location in a blue Dodge pick-up truck and assaulted Ramirez before forcing him into the car. On March 27, U.S. authorities arrested Jonathan Cavriales, who is a member of CDN.

FBI “Operation Cookie Monster”

Dark web marketplace Genesis has been shuttered. UK cops said 17 countries were involved in the operation, led by the FBI and Dutch which resulted in about 120 arrests. The US Treasury Department called Genesis “one of the most prominent brokers of stolen credentials and other sensitive information”. Genesis specialized in the sale of digital products, especially “browser fingerprints” harvested from computers infected with malicious software.

Fugees rapper Pras Michel in the shit

Former Fugees rapper Pras Michel's trial continued with actor Leonardo DiCaprio among the witnesses taking the stand. Michel is accused of conspiring with Low Taek Jho, a Malaysian businessman who allegedly stole billions from state fund 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad), and faces charges of money laundering, campaign finance violations, acting as an unregistered agent. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who led the country between 2009 and 2018 but is now in prison, cofounded the 1MDB fund in 2009.

Trump’s behavior worse than mob boss - bad for business

Trump’s unhinged attacks on New York authorities in the wake of his arraignment have reached new depths. Within hours, Trump attacked both the judge and his family — including his daughter, who worked for the Biden-Harris campaign — as part of the 'Trump-hating' conspiracy against him. “This is appalling … you do not have this behavior from a mob boss!” Former prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said.

“There is a rule in organized crime: You do not do this with respect to prosecutors. You don’t do this with respect to the judge. You certainly don’t go after their families."

"It’s bad business to do that.”

Trump is due back in court on Dec. 4.

Furore over bikie Dayne Brajkovich - Redux II

Latest in cyberspace are photos of tuff guy Dayne Brajkovich as a fresh faced dude with hair. Brajkovich's mug became so notorious that he was the poster boy for the Western Australian Government's bikie crackdown.

Nobody could miss bikie Dayne Brajkovich and his little woman at a recent court appearance. CCTV caught the moment infamous Aussie bikie Dayne Brajkovich queued up at a gift shop at the Perth Mint to buy $27k worth of gold - allegedly without any checks on where his cash came from. Brajkovich, 43, who has a swastika inked onto his chin and 'Bad News' scrawled across his forehead, bought the gold at the Perth Mint in June. CCTV footage appears to show Brajkovich had covered up many of his tattoos with black make-up on his face and hands to comply with strict WA bikie laws. High-risk customers are supposed to attract 'rigorous' checks by Mint staff to ensure criminal proceeds aren't used to buy gold as part of a money-laundering scheme. Nobody is more high-risk than world famous bikie Dayne Brajkovich. See ----->Bikie Dayne Brajkovich - Out and Fu*k the Police

The boss of the Perth Mint now has an inquiry on his hands. It isn't the only one. Headlines today are screaming "The historic Perth Mint is facing a potential $9 billion recall of gold bars after selling diluted or "doped" bullion to China and then covering it up" See ----->Doped Gold - Perth Mint

Dying Kelowna man fingers Jason Michael Holm as killer - update

Jason Michael Holm admitted his guilt to cops a short time after his arrest and blamed voices in his head. Court heard Paul Samuel Whitten was stabbed 49 times.

Jason Michael Holm

As he lay dying, a bloodied Kamloops father pointed the finger at his neighbour, telling a cop “Jason did it.” Jason Michael Holm’s first-degree murder trial got underway in Kelowna. He is accused of killing Paul Samuel Whitten, who was stabbed to death on Aug. 2, 2020. RCMP Const. Carolyn Braun broke down describing the bloody crime scene. She described large gashes on Whitten's chest, back and arms. “Blood was everywhere — all over him, all over the walkway,” she said. “He was asking for help. You could see in his face, he was begging for help." She approached the dying man and asked him his name. “He told me Paul,” she said. “I asked, ‘Paul, who did this?’ He said, ‘Jason did it.’”

Anthony 'Tony Pro' Provenzano

Anthony 'Tony Pro' Provenzano

Anthony Provenzano was born in New York in 1917. By the 1950s, he was president of the Teamsters Local 560, New Jersey, and vice-president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He was also a made member of the Genovese crime family. Provenzano and Jimmy Hoffa were allies for years, stealing union funds. Provenzano went to prison in 1963 for extortion, and Hoffa went to prison in 1967 for bribery and fraud. The former lost his union pension while Hoffa kept his. They reportedly came across each other by chance at an airport, and Hoffa is said to have broken a bottle over Provenzano’s head, while the mobster told the union boss that he would "rip his guts out with his bare hands and kill his grandchildren." In 1975, Hoffa disappeared. He had been in Detroit for a meeting with Provenzano and mobster Anthony Giacalone, but they never showed up. That crime remains unsolved.

In 1978, he was convicted of ordering the 1961 murder of Anthony Castellito. He was sentenced to 25 years. A month later Provenzano was also sentenced to four years for arranging kickbacks on a $2.3m pension loan. A year after that, he was also convicted on labor racketeering charges, which landed him another 20-year prison term.

Provenzano died of a heart attack at Lompoc Federal Penitentiary, aged 71 in 1988.

Kelowna RCMP Const. Siggy Pietrzak in the pig pen - update

Const. Siggy Pietrzak was recently found not guilty in a high-profile assault trial. He was disciplined for running afoul of the RCMP Code of Conduct however. He loses 20 days pay and stands to be transferred after “discrediting the force”.

Tyler Russell was on the receiving end of at least 10 punches from Const. Siggy Pietrzak while he was held by two other cops. A notice of civil claim outlines six causes of action against Siggy 'Piggy' Pietrzak, the B.C. Minister of Justice and AG of Canada.

Cops say ... “During the arrest, the man actively resisted and allegedly turned combative toward the RCMP officers, who requested immediate backup.” It wasn't Pietrzak's first complaint and it was his sister who ratted him out. "My brother is the one that flew out of the vehicle and started throwing punches," she said in an email. "That’s who my brother is." The Kelowna RCMP has had a long string of incidents.

Ontario bureaucrat Sanjay Madan $47m fraud = 10 years

Sanjay Madan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges of fraud, breach of trust and money laundering. Madan was fired in Nov 2020 from his $176k job as director of the Ministry of Education’s iAccess Solutions Branch after his fraud surfaced. He owns Newgen Ventures Inc. a company registered in Panama that owns millions in real estate, all of which was listed for sale. His assets include a seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom house in North York, six Toronto condominiums, and more than $1m from the sale of another home. Madan holds Canadian and Indian passports as well as permanent residency status in Panama, a tax haven with no extradition treaty with Canada. His lawyer claimed he had mental issues.

Sons of Sanjay Madan sued Ontario for $1m in “psychological” damages. Chinmaya Madan, 27, and Ujjawal Madan, 24, claim the government’s “allegation of conspiracy” against them is “preposterous” and “has been advanced recklessly and maliciously.” Chinmaya Madan was a product manager who resigned in July 2020 while brother Ujjawal Madan worked under their father.

The province says some or all of Madan, his spouse, Shalini, their sons, and Madan’s associate Vidhan Singh perpetrated a massive fraud exceeding $21m. Sanjay Madan received $10m in secret commissions for steering government contracts to companies he or Vidhan Singh controlled. Madan and his family opened more than 400 accounts at the Bank of Montreal. They deposited more than 10,000 cheques made out to fictitious people with non-existent children under the Covid support program. In a statement of defence Madan blames the province for lax security that allowed “widespread misappropriation” of taxpayer funds.

Bikie Jason Kemp’s death 'not suspicious'

Bikie Jason Kemp was found floating face down in the pool at his private villa at The Pearle of Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia, on February 11 after a long life of crime. He was the mystery gunman who shot up Dayne Brajkovich's home two years earlier. Kemp fired six shots into Brajkovich's Holden Commodore in March 2021, while his wife and seven-year-old son were inside. No one was hurt. The shooting was in retaliation for Brajkovich bashing Rebels boss Nick Martin at a pub in November 2020.

UK gangsters put £250k bounty on head of child killer Thomas Cashman

The killer of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, 9, has a £250k bounty on his head by criminals who want him silenced. Thomas Cashman, 34, will be sentenced for killing the girl in Liverpool. He has been made the target of a hit over fears he could cooperate with cops. Cashman is seen as a rat, willing to hand over information on his 2 unsolved gangland murders in exchange for better conditions during his sentence. "He knows everything about everyone. The figure is £250,000 to kill him," a source said. The hitman and drug dealer was found guilty of the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, the attempted murder of intended target Joseph Nee, and the wounding of Cheryl Korbel.

Disgraced lawyer Faiyaz Ahmad Dean banned from securities in B.C.

Faiyaz Ahmad Dean was a B.C. lawyer when he got involved in the stock fraud business. Dean was busted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018 for assisting a pump-and-dump stock fraud involving a company called Biozoom Inc. The scam involved $34m in proceeds. Dean also faces criminal charges in the U.S. related to Biozoom. In its decision in B.C., a securities commission panel noted that Dean’s misconduct was extremely serious. The K9 continues to be 'a serious risk to investors and British Columbia’s capital markets.' Faiyaz Dean was connected to Vancouver securities lawyer Penny Green of Bacchus Law.

Pro-Putin blogger Vladlen Tatarsky whacked

Vladlen Tatarsky died when a blast tore through the cafe where he was appearing as a guest of a pro-war group. Tatarsky was killed by a device hidden in a figurine presented to him by a woman before the blast.

Tatarsky is the pen name for Maxim Fomin, who had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on Telegram. A St Petersburg website said the explosion took place at a cafe that once belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group.

Cops raid top Quebec Hells Angels - update

Mafioso Francesco 'Chit' Del Balso was visited by cops in relation to the attempted hit on Leonardo Rizzuto. Del Balso was released after a few hours. He was forced to hand over his passport to the SQ. There are no charges.

The bikers were raided in relation to a cocaine ring.

Eight raids were conducted in Montreal, Laval and Estérel. Cops paid a visit to the homes of Michel Lamontagne, Stéphane Plouffe, and Martin Robert in a cocaine investigation. Robert, 48, is considered to be among the most influential Hells Angels in Quebec. He holds the rare 'World' HA status. Mafioso Francesco 'Chit' Del Balso is also said to be a target of the investigation.

Stéphane Plouffe

Two tonnes of cocaine landed in Dominican Republic

Dominican anti-narcotics agents have seized more than two tonnes of cocaine stashed in a shipment of bananas en route from Ecuador to the Netherlands. It is the largest seizure ever of cocaine in the Dominican Republic.

License plate flipper the latest thing

Two people were arrested by Irvine police in 2022 after a Mercedes-Benz believed to have been involved in burglaries was found in Irvine with a license plate flipping device. Cops first got a call about the car from a resident who recognized the suspicious vehicle as being involved in several burglaries that happened the week before. Yasmine Kambour and Chris Huynh were busted.