2008 in organized crime
Encyclopedia
See also: 2007 in organized crime
, Timeline of the Mexican Drug War
, 2009 in organized crime
and the list of years in organized crime
.
2007 in organized crime
See also: 2006 in organized crime, other events of 2007, 2008 in organized crime and the list of 'years in Organized Crime'.-January:*January - Mexico sends troops to combat violence between drugs cartels in Tijuana. -February:...
, Timeline of the Mexican Drug War
Timeline of the Mexican Drug War
The timeline of the most relevant events in the Mexican Drug War is set out below. Although violence between drug cartels had been occurring for three decades, the Mexican government held a generally passive stance regarding cartel violence through the 1980s and early 2000s...
, 2009 in organized crime
2009 in organized crime
See also: 2008 in organized crime, 2010 in organized crime, Timeline of the Mexican Drug War, and the list of years in organized crime.-January:...
and the list of years in organized crime
Timeline of organized crime
This is a timeline of the history of organized crime.Note: Sources included are Carl Sifakis's The Mafia Encyclopedia, Herbert Asbury's The Gangs of New York and others. Online references also include Thomas P...
.
January
- January 15 - Italian police 'smash' a Nigerian criminal gangNigerian organized crimeNigerian organized crime, or Nigerian OC, may refer to a number of fraudsters, drug traffickers and racketeers of various sorts originating from Nigeria...
involved in human traffickingHuman traffickingHuman trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
, sex trafficking and the illegal drug tradeIllegal drug tradeThe illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7189703.stm - January 16 - Police arrest 39 MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
suspects in PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, including the son of mafia boss Salvatore Lo PiccoloSalvatore Lo PiccoloSalvatore Lo Piccolo , also known as the Baron , is a Sicilian mafioso and one of the most powerful bosses of Palermo, Sicily. Lo Piccolo rose through the ranks of the Palermo mafia throughout the 1980s and he became the capo-mandamento of the San Lorenzo district in the early 1990s, replacing...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7191743.stm - January 18 - Sicilian president Salvatore CuffaroSalvatore CuffaroSalvatore "Totò" Cuffaro is an Italian politician, former President of Sicily, currently serving a 7 years sentence for aiding the Mafia...
is found guilty of several mafia-related charges. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7197334.stm - January 21 - Mexican security forces capture drug lord Alfredo Beltrán LeyvaBeltrán-Leyva CartelThe Beltrán-Leyva Cartel was a Mexican drug cartel and organized crime syndicate founded by the four Beltrán Leyva brothers: Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo and Héctor....
- January 24 - Russian mafiaRussian MafiaThe Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
boss Semion MogilevichSemion MogilevichSemion Yudkovich Mogilevich is a Ukrainian-born organized crime boss, believed by European and United States federal law enforcement agencies to be the "boss of bosses" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world...
is arrested on charges of tax evasion. http://www.interfax.ru/r/B/politics/2.html?id_issue=11952445 - January 31 - Chechen mafiaChechen mafiaThe Chechen mafia is one of the largest organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafia gangs, which originally consisted of criminals of Chechen ethnicity who later also tried to recruit former Russian special military forces, police and army officers...
boss Movladi AtlangeriyevMovladi AtlangeriyevMovladi Atlangeriyev is a reputed Chechen mafia boss and founder of the so-called Lazanskaya crime group, known by the nicknames "Lord", "Lenin" and "The Italian"...
is abducted as he leaves a Moscow restaurant. http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/600/42/362016.htm
February
- February 1 - Norte del Valle cartelNorte del Valle CartelThe Norte del Valle Cartel, or North Valley Cartel, is a drug cartel that operates principally in the north of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia...
leader Wilber VarelaWilber VarelaWilber Alirio Varela Fajardo aka Jabón was a former Colombian Police agent who then became a drug dealer and member of the Norte del Valle Cartel...
is found murdered in a holiday cabin in MéridaMérida, MéridaSantiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes...
, VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7223452.stm - February 4 - Irish mobster Paddy Doyle is shot dead in EsteponaEsteponaEstepona is a town and municipality in the region of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Estepona is renowned for its beaches, which stretch along some 21 km of coastline...
, Spain by Russian mafiaRussian MafiaThe Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
hitmen. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/10/ireland.russia - February 7 – Operation Old BridgeOperation Old BridgeOperation Old Bridge is the code name for the February 7, 2008 arrests in Italy and the United States that targeted the Gambino crime family. Among the indicted were the reputed acting bosses Jackie D'Amico, Nicholas Corozzo and Consigliere Joseph Corozzo of the Gambino crime family...
leads to scores of arrests in the United States and Italy. The leaders of the Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
were indicted and charged with RICO offenses, including acting boss John "Jackie Nose" D'AmicoJohn D'AmicoJohn David D'Amico was a National Hockey League linesman and later supervisor of officials.A native of Toronto, D'Amico's NHL career started as a referee on October 12, 1964, when he was 27 years old...
, underboss Domenico "Dom from the 18th Avenue" CefaluDomenico CefaluDomenico "Italian Dom" Cefalu, also known as Greaseball and Dom from 18th Avenue is the boss of the Gambino crime family and leader of the organization's Sicilian faction....
, consigliere Joseph "JoJo" CorozzoJoseph CorozzoJoseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo, Sr. , is a New York mobster who is the reputed Consigliere of the Gambino crime family.-Background:...
, captains Nicholas "Little Nicky" CorozzoNicholas CorozzoNicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo is a New York mobster who is the reputed acting boss of the Gambino crime family.-Biography:...
, Leonard DiMariaLeonard DiMariaLeonard "Lenny" DiMaria , also known as "Fatso" and "the Conductor", is a New York mobster and Caporegime in the Gambino crime family...
, Thomas "Tommy Sneakers" CacciopoliThomas CacciopoliThomas Cacciopoli , also known as Tommy Sneakers and Cacci, is a high-ranking member of the Gambino crime family, holding the rank of Caporegime in the New Jersey faction of the family.- Days of John Gotti :...
, and Frank CaliFrank CaliFrancesco Paolo Augusto Calì , known as "Frank" or "Franky Boy", is a reputed acting captain in the Staten Island faction of the Gambino crime family. Law enforcement considers Cali to be the Gambino "ambassador to Sicilian mobsters" and have linked him to the Inzerillo Mafia family from Palermo...
, as well as over 50 other Gambino soldiers and associates. Joseph "Joe V/Joe Andrews" VollaroJoseph VolleroJoseph Vollaro, also known as "Joey V" and "Joe Andrews" , is a Staten Island-based American trucking executive and Gambino crime family associate who is now a government informant and witness....
was instrumental in indicting the mobsters, as a close associate of Nicky Corozzo, Vollaro who owned several trucking businesses in Staten Island, wore a wire during extortions and meetings with Corozzo and others. The New York Attorney General's office flipped Vollaro after he was caught with two kilos of cocaine. At the time of the indictment, Corozzo was planning on proposing Vollaro for induction into the family. In addition to the labor and extortion charges, Nicky Corozzo is charged with ordering the slayings of two drug dealers, and family soldier Charles Carneglia is charged with committing five murders dating back to the 1970s. Nicky Corozzo was tipped off by his daughter who is married to another Gambino soldier, and managed to flee before the feds raided his home down the street from hers. - February 12 - A Sicilian bishop is given police protection after refusing to take part in the funeral of mafia boss Crocefisso Emanuello. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7241613.stm
- February 13 - MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
boss Michele GrecoMichele GrecoMichele Greco was a member of the Sicilian Mafia, previously incarcerated for multiple murders. His nickname was "il Papa" because of his ability to mediate between different Mafia families...
died in Rome. Greco was the boss of the Greco Mafia clan and was the leader of the Sicilian Mafia CommissionSicilian Mafia CommissionThe Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
. - February 13 - Police raids in and around London arrest 22 people in connection with a cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
trafficking operation estimated to be worth £100 million. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7242229.stm - February 19 - High ranking 'Ndrangheta boss Pasquale CondelloPasquale CondelloPasquale Condello is an Italian criminal known as a member of the 'Ndrangheta. He is also known as "Il supremo" for his role at the top of the crime syndicate. He was a fugitive since 1990 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture in February 2008...
, who had been on the run since 1987, is arrested in Italy. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7251892.stm - February 28 - The Dojin-kaiDojin-kaiThe is a yakuza organization headquartered in Kurume, Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan, a designated yakuza syndicate, with approximately at least 850 members....
's splinter organization Kyushu Seido-kaiKyushu Seido-kaiThe is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 380 active members. Headquartered in the southern Fukuoka region of Omuta, the Kyushu Seido-kai maintains its offices in five other prefectures including Tokyo....
was officially registered as a designated boryokudan group under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law.
March
- March 6 - Police in ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
arrest top Russian arms dealer Viktor BoutViktor BoutViktor Anatolyevich Bout is a convicted arms smuggler. A citizen of Russia, he was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and was extradited in 2010 to the United States to stand trial on terrorism charges after being accused of smuggling arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to use against...
at a luxury hotel. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7281297.stm - March 7 - Police in Sydney break up an international Korean-based sex trafficking syndicate. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7282711.stm
- March 13 - Drug lord Gustavo Rivera Martinez is captured by Mexican authorities in TijuanaTijuanaTijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7293203.stm - March 20 - The police have detained the biggest lot of heroin in Moldova. The matter is of 200 kg of heroin from Afghanistan worth about 10 million euros. Drugs were designed for one of the European countries, they were of the Afghan origin and packed in Turkey. Several days later, the General Prosecutor's Office announced that Chief of the Operative Services of the Ministry of Interior Corneliu Savca and two of his subordinates were arrested on the suspicion of being involved in this drug trafficking. It was envisaged that the policemen had had to provide for the transit of drugs, hidden in sacks with French beans in a microbus. After this the press spread rumors that ex-Minister of Interior Gheorghe Papuc was involved in this case, however, the General Prosecutor's Office denied these rumors.
- March 22 - 'Ndrangheta boss Luca Megna is shot dead, his wife injured and his five year old daughter is put in a coma after an attack.
- March 27 - Mobster Giuseppe Cavallo is shot dead in a retribution attack.
- March 28 - Francesco Capicchiano is killed by two gunmen, amidst fears of a gang war. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7317897.stm
- March 29 - English Mob Boss Anthony "The British Bulldog" Burnes is shot dead outside a pub in LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
April
- April 7 - Bulgarian organised crime author Georgi StoevGeorgi StoevGeorgi Stoev was a Bulgarian writer and former Bulgarian mafia mobster.-Biography:As a teenager he trained to be a wrestler and attended “Olympic Hopes” school in Sofia. With the collapse of communism in 1989 the school was closed and the wrestlers formed a ruthless mafia which terrorized...
is killed by a single shot to the head in the capital SofiaSofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7335418.stm - April 25 - Moroccan drug lord Mohamed Ouazzani is recaptured by Spanish police after escaping prison last year. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7366538.stm
- April 27 - 15 people are killed in a gun battle between the Arellano-Felix cartel and a rival gang. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7369325.stm
May
- May 8 to May 10 - Three prominent Mexican officials (Édgar Eusebio Millán GómezÉdgar Eusebio Millán GómezÉdgar Eusebio Millán Gómez was a third-ranking member of Mexico's Secretariat of Public Security and acting commissioner of the Federal Preventive Police. Born in Mexico City, he received a law degree from the Universidad del Valle de México. After graduating he started his career in the Mexican...
, Juan Antonio Roman Garcia, Esteban Robles EspinosaEsteban Robles EspinosaEsteban Robles Espinosa was the commander of Mexico City's Investigative Police Force. He headed Mexico City's anti-kidnapping unit until 2003 and served on the internal affairs commission...
) are gunned down by drug traffickers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7393443.stm - May 23 - Italian Police arrest Ndrangheta boss, Giuseppe Nirta, in San Luca
- May 26 - Raids in CasertaCasertaCaserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
lead to the arrests of 50 alleged CamorraCamorraThe Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...
gangsters, targeting the Iovine clan. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7420475.stm - May 28 - Seven policemen are killed and four injured in a drugs raid in CuliacánCuliacánCuliacán is a city in northwestern Mexico, the largest city in the state of Sinaloa as well as its capital and capital of the municipality of Culiacán. With 675,773 inhabitants in the city , and 858,638 in the municipality, it is the largest city in the state of Sinaloa...
.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7422870.stm - May 29 - Nicholas CorozzoNicholas CorozzoNicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo is a New York mobster who is the reputed acting boss of the Gambino crime family.-Biography:...
, boss of the Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
, turned himself in to Federal authorities after almost four months on the run. - May 31 - The United States announces it is using a drug trafficking law to impose financial sanctions on the PKK, 'Ndrangheta and a Mexican drugs cartel as well as individuals from TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7428802.stm
June
- June 4 - Nine members of the Colombo crime familyColombo crime familyThe Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
, including acting boss, Thomas GioeliThomas GioeliThomas Salvatore Gioeli, , also known as "Tommy Shots", is a high-ranking member of the Colombo crime family who has allegedly killed several people, including a policeman and a Colombo underboss, for the family.- Rise in the Colombo family :...
, and underboss John FranzeseJohn FranzeseJohn "Sonny" Franzese, Sr. , is a longtime member and the current Underboss of the Colombo crime family. Arguably, Franzese has been famous as the current oldest active member of the American Mafia...
were arrested for federal racketeering charges. - June 13 - Spanish policeSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
arrest 20 members of the Tambov organized crime group in MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, the Balearic islandsBalearic IslandsThe Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
and the coastal resorts of MálagaMálagaMálaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
and MarbellaMarbellaMarbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7453388.stm - June 14 - Italian anti-corruption activist Giuseppe Basile is stabbed to death outside his home in Puglia. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7456090.stm
- June 26 - Mexican police commander Igor Labastida is shot dead in a restaurant.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7476682.stm
July
- July 1 - Hideo Mizoshita, the third president of the Kudo-kaiKudo-kaiThe is a yakuza group headquartered in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 690 active members. refers to the Kudo-kai as an affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, but that is false...
, a yakuzaYakuza, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
organization based in Kitakyushu, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, died at the age of 61.
August
- August 5 - Former Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
acting boss John Gotti Jr. is charged with conspiracy connected to cocaine trafficking and three murders. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7543373.stm - August 7 - Italian police arrest Paolo Nirta, the head of the Nirta-Strangio 'Ndrangheta clan.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7547139.stm
- August 18 - Acting boss Gambino boss John D'Amico sentenced to two years
- August 20 - 'Ndrangheta boss Giuseppe ColuccioGiuseppe ColuccioGiuseppe Coluccio is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He was a fugitive since 2005 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture on August 7, 2008, in Toronto .-Born in 'Ndrangheta family:Coluccio was born in...
is extradited from Canada to Rome.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7571927.stm - August 22 - Dominick CirilloDominick CirilloDominick V. "Quiet Dom" Cirillo is a high-ranking member of the Genovese crime family, who briefly served as acting boss for the imprisoned Boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante.- Early life:...
, consigliereConsigliereConsigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...
of the Genovese Crime FamilyGenovese crime familyThe Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
, was released from prison. - August 27 - Mexican police find three headless bodies in a rubbish dump in TijuanaTijuanaTijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
killed by drug cartels. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7583899.stm
September
- September 5 - Spanish police arrest Colombian drug lord Edgar Guillermo Vallejo-Guarin at a luxury hotel in MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7601489.stm - September 17 - Over 200 people across Mexico, Guatemala, Italy and the United States, including members of the Gulf cartelGulf CartelThe Gulf Cartel is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico, and perhaps the oldest organized crime group in the country...
and the 'Ndrangheta are arrested in a major anti-drug trafficking operation, Operation SolareOperation SolareOperation Solare is the Italian name for an anti-drugs operation involving the U.S.A., Mexico, Guatemala and Italy, involving a major Mexican drug cartel, the Gulf Cartel and the 'Ndrangheta mafia from the Calabria region of Italy. In the operation, some 200 people were arrested in Italy and in...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7622099.stm - September 18 - 'Ndrangheta boss Francesco Pelle, linked to the long-running San Luca feudSan Luca feudThe San Luca feud or Vendetta of San Luca is a long running conflict between two clans of the 'Ndrangheta—an Italian organized crime organisation—that began in 1991 in Italy's Calabria region in the village of San Luca....
, is arrested in PaviaPaviaPavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7623269.stm - September 18 - Former NYPD Officers Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa's convictions reinstated by Appeals Court
- September 18 - Leading figures in Montreal's Mafia, including Nicolo RizzutoNicolo RizzutoNicolo Rizzuto , also known as Nick Rizzuto, was the crime boss of the Sicilian faction of the Italian Mafia in Montreal who later pushed out the Calabrian Cotroni family. Rizzuto was born in Cattolica Eraclea, Sicily, in 1924, and immigrated to Canada in 1954 when the family settled in Montreal...
, Rocco Sollecito, Paolo Renda, Francesco Arcadi, Francesco Del Balso and Lorenzo Giordano, pleaded guilty Thursday morning to charges of conspiracy to traffic drugs, extort, run illegal bookmaking and possess illegal goods. - September 18 - 6 African immigrants are shot in what is believed to be a dispute between immigrant African drug gangs and the Casalesi clanCasalesi clanThe Casalesi clan is a clan within the Camorra, an Italian criminal organization, operating from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta between Naples and Salerno.Formed by Antonio Bardellino, it is a confederation of clans in the Caserta area...
of the CamorraCamorraThe Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...
in Castelvolturno This event begins to get labelled the Castel Volturno massacreCastel Volturno massacreThe Castel Volturno massacre or Strage di San Gennaro or Strage di Castelvolturno are the names given by the Italian press to a massacre perpetrated by the Casalesi clan that led to the deaths of seven people on September 18, 2008...
by the media and public.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7625131.stm. This is followed by a riot the next day. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7626099.stm - September 19 - Mexican police seize $26m in drug money in CuliacánCuliacánCuliacán is a city in northwestern Mexico, the largest city in the state of Sinaloa as well as its capital and capital of the municipality of Culiacán. With 675,773 inhabitants in the city , and 858,638 in the municipality, it is the largest city in the state of Sinaloa...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7624963.stm - September 20 - Frank ValentiFrank ValentiFrank J. Valenti was boss of the criminal organization known as the Rochester crime family from 1964 to 1972...
, boss of the Rochester crime familyRochester Crime FamilyThe Rochester crime family was a criminal organization based in Rochester, New York. It was considered a part of the American Cosa Nostra, also known as the Mafia.-History:...
in the 1960s and 1970s died at the age of 97. - September 22 - Arms dealer Viktor BoutViktor BoutViktor Anatolyevich Bout is a convicted arms smuggler. A citizen of Russia, he was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and was extradited in 2010 to the United States to stand trial on terrorism charges after being accused of smuggling arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to use against...
's trial begins in BangkokBangkokBangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7628863.stm - September 22 - Police arrest Camorra member Alfonso Cesarano in connection with the shooting of the African immigrants in Castelvolturno.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7630352.stm The government also announce they are deploying 500 troops in the area.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7631510.stm
- September 29 - A prisoner with ties to organized crime is shot dead by a sniper outside the prison in Varces, France. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7641305.stm
- September 29 - Anti-Mafia police seized apartments, businesses and property belonging to Giuseppe SetolaGiuseppe SetolaGiuseppe Setola is an Italian Camorrista and former boss of the Casalesi clan from Caserta. Since 2008, he was included on the list most wanted fugitives in Italy, until his arrest on on January 14, 2009, in Mignano Monte Lungo. Setola allegedly headed a squad of killers, and was said to have...
, boss of the Casalesi clan, of the Camorra.
October
- October 3- Vincent Artuso, Capo of the Gambino Crime FamilyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering charges in Palm Beach, Florida. - October 13- Frank RosenthalFrank RosenthalFrank Lawrence "Lefty" Rosenthal was a professional sports bettor, former Las Vegas casino executive and organized crime associate. The film Casino is loosely based on his life.-Early years:...
, former Chicago OutfitChicago OutfitThe Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
bookmaker, died. - October 16- Nicolo RizzutoNicolo RizzutoNicolo Rizzuto , also known as Nick Rizzuto, was the crime boss of the Sicilian faction of the Italian Mafia in Montreal who later pushed out the Calabrian Cotroni family. Rizzuto was born in Cattolica Eraclea, Sicily, in 1924, and immigrated to Canada in 1954 when the family settled in Montreal...
, boss of the Montreal Mafia Family, was freed today and sentenced to 3 years probation. Francesco Del Balso, 38, and Francesco Arcadi, 55 - were each sentenced to a 15-year prison term and will serve 11 years due to time served. - October 22 - Police capture Mexican cartel boss Jesus Zambada of the Sinaloa cartelSinaloa CartelThe Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
after a shootout in Mexico City. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7685002.stm - October 24 - Mexican criminal investigator Andres Dimitriadis is shot dead by drug traffickers in his car on his way home. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7691475.stm
- October 26 - Colombian police seize a shipment of cocaine worth $200m enroute to Mexico. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7691507.stm
- October 26 - The Mexican army captures drug lord Eduardo Arellano FelixEduardo Arellano FélixEduardo Arellano Félix is a Mexican drug trafficker, brother of Benjamín, Ramón, Javier and sister Enedina, all drug traffickers. The Arellano-Félix Organisation, also known as the Tijuana Cartel, has been responsible for countless murders and the smuggling of thousands of tons of marijuana,...
after a shootout in Tijuana. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7692319.stm
November
- November 2 - Senior Mexican police officer, Victor Gerardo Garay, resigns amidst claims one of his aides was on the payroll of the Sinaloa cartelSinaloa CartelThe Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7704654.stm - November 2 - Michael "Mikey Cigars" Coppola, a capoCaporegimeA caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
in the Genovese crime familyGenovese crime familyThe Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
, was indicted on the 1977 murder of John "Johnny Coca Cola" Lardiere. - November 4 - 88 gangsters are arrested in raids targeting the Camorra, including Gemma Donnarumma, wife of Camorra boss Valentino Gionta. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7708809.stm
- November 7 - Domenico Magnoli, suspected drug trafficker for the 'Ndrangheta, is arrested after a liposuction sting at the La Madonnina clinic in CosenzaCosenzaCosenza is a city in southern Italy, located at the confluence of two historic rivers: the Busento and the Crathis. The municipal population is of around 70,000; the urban area, however, counts over 260,000 inhabitants...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7716458.stm - November 17 - Israeli mafia boss Yaakov AlperonYaakov AlperonYaakov Alperon , was an Israeli mobster who was murdered in a car bomb attack. He was reputed to have run Tel Aviv's third-largest crime family, the Alperon crime family.-Biography:...
is killed in a car bombing. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7733818.stm - November 19 - Mexican InterpolInterpolInterpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
chief Ricardo Gutierrez Vargas is arrested on suspicion of links with drug traffickers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7736826.stm - November 21 - Noe Ramirez MandujanoNoé Ramírez MandujanoNoé Ramírez Mandujano served as the anti-recreational drug chief of Subprocuraduría de Investigación Especializada en Delincuencia Organizada in Mexico from 2006 to August 2008. In late 2008 authorities accused him of taking $450,000 United States dollars in bribes to tip off drug...
, ex-head of Mexico's anti-organized crime agency, is arrested on suspicion of links with drug traffickers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7742409.stm - November 24 - Eight members of New York's Lucchese crime familyLucchese crime familyThe Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
, including acting capo, Anthony Croce, on illegal gambling and narcotics charges by the FBI. If convicted, Croce faces up to five years in prison.
December
- December 8 - Ten suspected drug traffickers and one soldier are killed in a shootout in GuerreroGuerreroGuerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
, Mexico, while another six people are killed when fire is opened on a pool hall in Ciudad JuárezCiudad JuárezCiudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7770655.stm - December 11 - New York Federal Prosecutors state that Genovese crime familyGenovese crime familyThe Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
capo Tino FiumaraTino FiumaraTino "T" Fiumara , also known as "The Greek", was a major figure in the Genovese crime family. Since the 1980s, he had been the leader of the Genovese New Jersey faction in northern New Jersey...
ordered the killing of former capo Lawrence RicciLawrence RicciLawrence A. Ricci was a reputed Genovese crime family caporegime.Officially a dairy products salesman, Ricci was allegedly a major mob figure. In 1979, Ricci was sentenced to prison for attempting to extort $4,800 from a Parsippany, New Jersey restaurant owner.In February 2005, Ricci was charged...
. Ricci was killed during his 2005 trial and his body was later found in the trunk of a car at a New Jersey diner. - December 16 - The CarabinieriCarabinieriThe Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
arrested nearly 100 people in anti-Mafia raids across the southern island of Sicily and in the central region of Tuscany. The police statement said that Matteo Messina DenaroMatteo Messina DenaroMatteo Messina Denaro , also known as Diabolik, is a Sicilian mafioso. He got his nickname from the Italian comic book character of the same name. He is considered to be one of the new leaders of Cosa Nostra after the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano on April 11, 2006...
was organizing a new CupolaSicilian Mafia CommissionThe Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
to restructure the Sicilian mafia and become its top boss. - December 16 - Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
capo, Vincent Artuso who runs the family's South Florida crew was sentenced to nine years in Federal prison. He was convicted of defrauding the security company through real-estate deals in which the Gambino crew bought ADT office buildings far below market value, then leased them back to the company at inflated prices. ADT paid his crew millions of dollars in excess lease payments over a five-year period. - December 17 - Mafia boss Gaetano Lo Presti is found hanged in his cell following his arrest several hours before. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7788527.stm
- December 18 - Angelo PriscoAngelo PriscoAngelo Prisco , also known as "The Horn", is a New Jersey mobster who became a caporegime in the Genovese crime family.He stands at 5'7 and weighs 165 pounds with brown eyes and gray-black hair. With the 1988 murder of Genovese caporegime John DiGilio, Prisco assumed control of the Genovese family...
, a reputed capo of the Genovese crime familyGenovese crime familyThe Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
, has been charged for the 1992 killing of Angelo Sangiulo. - December 22 - 9 decapitated bodies of eight soldiers and policeman are found in GuerreroGuerreroGuerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
, Mexico. The incident is believed to be linked to drug cartels. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7794792.stm - December 29 - Salvatore ScalaSalvatore ScalaSalvatore Scala, also known as "Fat Sal" and "Uncle Sal" was a New York mobster who became a caporegime in the Gambino crime family.Scala was born in Fort Lee, New Jersey, to first-generation immigrants from Scala, Italy...
, former capo of the Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
, died at Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina while serving a six-year sentence for shaking down the owners of a Manhattan strip club.
Arts and Literature
- Grand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
(video game) - Bangkok Dangerous (film)
- Bank JobThe Bank JobThe Bank Job is a 2008 British crime film written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, directed by Roger Donaldson, and starring Jason Statham, based on the 1971 Baker Street robbery in central London, from which the money and valuables stolen were never recovered...
(film) - GomorraGomorra (film)Gomorrah is a 2008 Italian film directed by Matteo Garrone, based on the book by Roberto Saviano. It deals with the Casalesi clan, a crime syndicate within the Camorra — a traditional criminal organization based in Naples and Caserta, in the southern Italian region of Campania.-Plot summary:The...
(film) - RocknRollaRocknRollaRocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Karel Roden, and Thandie Newton...
(film)
Deaths
- January 1 - Salvatore BonannoSalvatore BonannoSalvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno was the son of Cosa Nostra boss Joseph Bonanno. Although his father never intended for him to be the underboss of the Bonanno crime family, his appointment to high positions in the syndicate precipitated a "mob war" which led to the Bonanno family's exile to Arizona...
"Bill", son to Joseph BonannoJoseph BonannoJoseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. was a Sicilian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family. He was nicknamed "Joe Bananas," a name he despised.-Early life:...
and Bonanno crime familyBonanno crime familyThe Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
member - February 1 - Wilber VarelaWilber VarelaWilber Alirio Varela Fajardo aka Jabón was a former Colombian Police agent who then became a drug dealer and member of the Norte del Valle Cartel...
, head of Norte del Valle cartelNorte del Valle CartelThe Norte del Valle Cartel, or North Valley Cartel, is a drug cartel that operates principally in the north of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia...
. - February 4 - Irish gangster Paddy Doyle.
- March - 'Ndrangheta members Luca Megna, Giuseppe Cavallo and Francesco Capicchiano are all killed in what may be the start of a gang war.
- April 7 - Bulgarian crime writer Georgi StoevGeorgi StoevGeorgi Stoev was a Bulgarian writer and former Bulgarian mafia mobster.-Biography:As a teenager he trained to be a wrestler and attended “Olympic Hopes” school in Sofia. With the collapse of communism in 1989 the school was closed and the wrestlers formed a ruthless mafia which terrorized...
. - April 27 - 15 people are killed in a gun battle between the Arellano-Felix cartel and a rival gang.
- May 8 to May 10 - Three prominent Mexican officials (Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez, Juan Antonio Roman Garcia, Esteban Robles EspinosaEsteban Robles EspinosaEsteban Robles Espinosa was the commander of Mexico City's Investigative Police Force. He headed Mexico City's anti-kidnapping unit until 2003 and served on the internal affairs commission...
) are gunned down by drug traffickers. - May 28 - Seven policemen are killed in a drugs raid in Culiacán.
- June 14 - Italian anti-corruption activist Giuseppe Basile.
- June 26 - Mexican police commander Igor Labastida.
- July 1 - Hideo Mizoshita, the third president of the Kudo-kaiKudo-kaiThe is a yakuza group headquartered in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 690 active members. refers to the Kudo-kai as an affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, but that is false...
. - September 18 - 6 African immigrants are shot in what is believed to be a dispute between immigrant drug gangs and the Camorra in Castelvolturno.
- September 20 - Frank ValentiFrank ValentiFrank J. Valenti was boss of the criminal organization known as the Rochester crime family from 1964 to 1972...
, boss of the Rochester crime familyRochester Crime FamilyThe Rochester crime family was a criminal organization based in Rochester, New York. It was considered a part of the American Cosa Nostra, also known as the Mafia.-History:...
in the 1960s and 1970s died at the age of 97. - September 29 - A prisoner with ties to organized crime is shot dead by a sniper outside the prison in Varces, France.
- October 13 - Chicago Outfit bookmaker and former casino boss, Frank RosenthalFrank RosenthalFrank Lawrence "Lefty" Rosenthal was a professional sports bettor, former Las Vegas casino executive and organized crime associate. The film Casino is loosely based on his life.-Early years:...
dies - November 17 - Israeli mafia boss Yaakov AlperonYaakov AlperonYaakov Alperon , was an Israeli mobster who was murdered in a car bomb attack. He was reputed to have run Tel Aviv's third-largest crime family, the Alperon crime family.-Biography:...
. - December - Anthony TrentacostaAnthony TrentacostaAnthony Trentacosta , also known as "Tony Pep", was a New York mobster and Caporegime with the Gambino crime family who headed one of their factions in South Florida.- Moving south :...
, Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
Capo - December 8 - Ten suspected drug traffickers and one soldier are killed in a shootout in Guerrero, Mexico, while another six people are killed when fire is opened on a pool hall in Ciudad Juárez.
- December 17 - Mafia boss Gaetano Lo Presti is found hanged in his cell.