Mongols Motorcycle Gang Member Convicted of Murdering President of San Francisco Hells Angels

 federal jury found Christopher Bryan Ablett, a/k/a “Stoney,” a member of the Modesto Chapter of the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang, guilty of all four felonies with which he was charged including murder in aid of racketeering, assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering, using a firearm during a crime of violence, and using a firearm causing murder during a crime of violence, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. The charges stemmed from the defendant’s gang-related murder of Mark “Papa” Guardado, the president of the San Francisco Chapter of the Hells Angels, on September 2, 2008, at 24th Street and Treat Avenue in the Mission District of San Francisco. Evidence at trial showed that Ablett traveled to San Francisco to visit a friend. He was armed with a foot-long military...

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Murdoch slashes price for new Sunday tabloid

 Rupert Murdoch on Thursday fired the opening shot in his battle to reclaim Britain's Sunday newspaper market by announcing his newly launched publication would be half the price of his previous title. The 80-year-old tycoon took to microblogging website Twitter to reveal: "Regular Sunday price for The Sun only 50p -- and Saturday's Sun going down to 50p too! Great news for readers and the economy." Murdoch's News of the World -- the Sunday tabloid which shut seven months ago over the phone-hacking scandal -- cost one pound ($1.57, 1.18 euros), the same cover price as rivals the Sunday Mirror and The People. The 50 percent price cut announced for The Sun on Sunday, which will hit the stands this weekend, signals the Australian-born businessman's hunger to once again own the top-selling...

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Snitch paid $500K in Project Deplete

 Using a paid police informant was one tactic employed in a recent RCMP-Winnipeg police sweep of the drug underworld — continuing a scheme used by police in similar high-level crime probes in the recent past. An undercover agent is to be paid in the range of $500,000 for his or her role in Project Deplete, a justice source confirmed Monday. The organized crime investigation, details of which were revealed last Friday, remains ongoing with two suspects remaining at large. The latest sweep saw charges laid against people police accuse of being major players in the city’s drug trade. Some have gang associations, others are more “independent,” police said. Among those arrested were former Hells Angel William ‘Billy’ Bowden and Joshua Lyons, who was convicted in Project Defence,...

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More arrests made in million dollar drug bust

 Police have made four more arrests in the major drug operation called Project Deplete, a long-term investigation by the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force. More than 80 officers made arrests and seized more than a million dollars worth of drugs on Friday. A total of 13 people were charged and seven people were arrested at that time, said police. On Monday, they announced four more arrests: Kareem Martin, 31, Dane Sawatzky, 27, Mark Beitz, 31, and Dalton Miller, 21. On Tuesday, RCMP said Elmer John Deato, 26, had also been taken into custody.  A warrant for arrest remains in effect for David Thomas, 29, of Winnipeg, Manitoba for weapons trafficking and other offences.  Those taken into custody Friday include: William Lauren Bowden, Joshua James Lyons, Chi Hong...

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Accused wants to play soccer with witness

 A MAN accused of orchestrating a $3.7 million fraud ring that allegedly involved a Hells Angels bikie boss wants his bail conditions varied so he can play soccer. Adam Eli Meyer, a husband and father, defrauded or attempted to defraud legitimate businesses of property, luxury cars, a yacht and excavation equipment, police allege. Meyer, 37, appeared today in Sydney's Central Local Court charged with 12 fraud offences and one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime. A number of the offences allegedly involved Felix Lyle, the president of the Sydney chapter of the Hells Angels, who has also been charged over the alleged fraud ring. Meyer is on bail with a $250,000 surety bond from his father. Counsel for Meyer applied today to have his bail conditions varied so he could play soccer...

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The murder case against Eldon Calvert, the alleged leader of the Montego Bay based Stone Crusher gang, and two other men was thrown out

 The murder case against Eldon Calvert, the alleged leader of the Montego Bay based Stone Crusher gang, and two other men was thrown out yesterday because a policeman fabricated a witness statement. “This is a very sad day in the history of justice,” Senior Puisne judge Gloria Smith said when the disclosure was made in the Home Circuit Court. Paula Llewellyn, QC, director of public prosecutions, said she could not proceed any further with the case because handwriting experts for the defence and the Crown confirmed the witness statement was written and signed by Detective Sergeant Michael Sirjue. Llewellyn said she was told that Sirjue fled the island. She said the report was that he left on a flight for Florida late Thursday afternoon. After Llewellyn got the report from handwriting...

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Jarrod Bacon, co-accused Wayne Scott found guilty of drug conspiracy

 Gangster Jarrod Bacon and his co-accused Wayne Scott have been found guilty of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Bacon, 28, and Scott, 55, who is the grandfather of Bacon’s child, were involved in a scheme to import up to 100 kilograms of cocaine into Canada from Mexico, B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen concluded Friday. The two men were targeted in a sting operation in which a police agent, who can only be identified as G.L., implicated the accused in the conspiracy. Court heard wiretap evidence of the men meeting at Scott’s home in Abbotsford and discussing plans for the drug conspiracy. Bacon boasted that he could provide $3 million in financial backing to take the shipment of drugs. The scheme was aborted in August 2009 after a police emergency response...

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High-level drug arrests include Hell’s Angel Bowden

 Thirteen people alleged by police to be "high-level" drug dealers were charged Friday in connection with the latest largescale sweep orchestrated by Manitoba's organized crime unit. Project Deplete, a police investigation that began last August and culminated Friday with arrests in Winnipeg and Edmonton, is the latest effort of Manitoba's Integrated Organized Crime Task Force, a joint RCMP-Winnipeg police unit that has famously used informants over the past several years to take down primarily the Hells Angels and their associates, with great success. The latest sweep saw charges laid against people police accuse of being major players in the city's drug trade. Some of the accused have gang associations, others are more "independent," police said. "We're alleging these are some major...

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