2009 in organized crime
Encyclopedia
See also: 2008 in organized crime
, 2010 in organized crime
, Timeline of the Mexican Drug War
, and the list of years in organized crime
.
2008 in organized crime
See also: 2007 in organized crime, Timeline of the Mexican Drug War, 2009 in organized crime and the list of years in organized crime.-January:*January 15 - Italian police 'smash' a Nigerian criminal gang involved in human trafficking, sex trafficking and the illegal drug trade...
, 2010 in organized crime
2010 in organized crime
Around the world are countless groupings of individuals who deal exclusively or through a mix of legitimate and illegal activities. These Organized crime groups or criminal organizations are a transnational grouping of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in...
, 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...
, 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 5 - Giovanni Venosa, star of the 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...
, is arrested for attempting to collect pizzoPizzo (extortion)In Southern Italy, the pizzo is protection money paid by a business to the Mafia, usually coerced and constituting extortion. The term is derived from the Sicilian pizzu . To wet someone's beak is to pay protection money...
protection money from businesses. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/4126622/Gomorrah-mafia-actor-arrested-for-real-life-mafia-role.html - January 8 - Colombian drug lord Leonidas VargasLeonidas VargasLeonidas Vargas , also known as "El Viejo" and "The King of Caqueta", was a Colombian drug lord who headed a multi-million dollar cocaine empire associated with the Medellín Cartel and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...
is shot dead by assassins while lying in a hospital bed 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/americas/7819300.stm - January 19–21 police officers in Tijuana are arrested on suspcion of collaborating with drug cartels. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7836755.stm
- January 28 - Frank Calabrese, Sr.Frank Calabrese, Sr.Frank Calabrese, Sr. , also known as "Frankie Breeze," is a made man and a caporegime who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent Federal trial.-Early life:Frank Calabrese, Sr...
receives life imprisonment for numerous murders.
February
- February 2 - An Italian court finds four 'Ndrangheta members guilty of the 2005 murder of Francesco FortugnoFrancesco FortugnoFrancesco Fortugno was an Italian politician and the Vice President of the Regional Assembly of Calabria...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7865645.stm - February 5–10 drug dealers are killed in a battle with police in Rio de Janiero. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7871208.stm
- February 5 - Mexican police capture drug dealer Geronimo Gamez Garcia in Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7871365.stm - February 10 - Troops descent upon a police station in CancunCancúnCancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
in connection with the torture and murder of former general Mauro Enrique Tello, who led an elite anti-drugs squad. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7880741.stm - February 11–21 people, including one soldier, are shot dead in a gunfight in Chihuahua, Mexico. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7882653.stm
- February 12 - Octavio Almanza, alleged head of Los ZetasLos ZetasLos Zetas is the second most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as the most violent drug cartel and paramilitary enforcement group in Mexico...
in CancunCancúnCancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
is arrested. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7885402.stm - February 19 - International organized crime figure Ricardo Fanchini pleads guilty to a conspiracy to distribute ecstasy in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7869705.stm - February 27 - American raids code-named Operation XcelleratorOperation XcelleratorOperation Xcellerator was an operation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, with cooperation from Mexican and Canadian authorities, against Sinaloa Cartel drug traffickers...
on 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...
in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
lead to 755 arrests, the discovery of a 'super meth lab' and laboratory equipment capable of producing 12,000 ecstasy pills an hour. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7911468.stm
March
- March 7 - NYPD and mafia associates Stephen Carapacca and Louis Eppolito are given life sentences for their part in eight murders. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7929898.stm
- March 13 - Giovanni StrangioGiovanni StrangioGiovanni Strangio is an alleged member of the 'Ndrangheta from Siderno in Calabria. A fugitive since 2007 included on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy as well as in Germany, Strangio was arrested in Amsterdam on March 12, 2009.-San Luca feud:Strangio was wanted for the Duisburg massacre...
of the Pelle-Votari 'Ndrangheta clan is arrested in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7941362.stm
April
- Early April - Tadamasa GotoTadamasa Gotois a retired yakuza. He was the founding head of the Goto-gumi, a Fujinomiya-based affiliate of Japan's largest known yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi....
, the founder and former head of the Goto-gumiGoto-gumiThe was a Japanese yakuza organization founded by Tadamasa Goto. The gang was originally formed in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, but moved its activities east in 1991 when it merged with a gang in Hachiōji, Tokyo...
, became a Buddhist priest. - April 2 - Mexican drug lord Vicente Carrillo Leyva is arrested. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7979765.stm
- April 15 - Colombian police capture drug lord Daniel Rendon HerreraDaniel Rendon HerreraDaniel Rendón Herrera is a Colombian drug lord. He was captured on April 15, 2009 while hiding in a jungle.- References :...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8000528.stm - April 19 - In Mexico eight police officers are killed in an attack on a prison convoy transporting senior leaders of the Beltran Leyva cartel cartel.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8006687.stm
May
- May 18 - Raffaele AmatoRaffaele AmatoRaffaele Amato is an Italian Camorra boss and head of the Scissionisti di Secondigliano, a Camorra clan from the Napoletano district of Naples...
, a Camorra boss accused of being one of the principal importers of cocaine into Italy, is arrested in Marbella, Spain. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8055481.stm - May 21 - Colombian security forces arrest 112 members of the 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...
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8061305.stm - May 22 - Police find $10m in counterfeit bank notes and weapons in the house of Mafia boss Fabbio Manno.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8063018.stm
June
- June 21 - Sicilian Mafioso Salvatore MiceliSalvatore MiceliSalvatore Miceli is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was on the "Most wanted list" of the Italian Ministry of the Interior from 2001 until his arrest in Venezuela in June 2009.-Biography:...
, on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy, is captured in 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...
following 3 days of surveillance. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8111885.stm
November
- November 1 - Pasquale RussoPasquale RussoPasquale Russo is an Italian Camorrista and boss of the Russo clan from Nola, which he co-founded. He has been running the clan together with his brother Salvatore for over thirty years...
(Camorra), wanted since 1995 and on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy, is arrested in SperoneSperoneSperone is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of southern Italy....
(Avellino). - November 7 - Luigi EspositoLuigi EspositoLuigi Esposito , also known as Celeste, is an Italian criminal and a member of the Neapolitan Camorra....
(Camorra), wanted since 2003 and on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy, is arrested in PosillipoPosillipoPosillipo is a residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples; it is called Pusilleco in the Neapolitan language.-Geography:...
. - November 15 - Domenico RaccugliaDomenico RaccugliaDomenico Raccuglia , also known as Mimmo, is a member of the Mafia in Sicily. His nickname is " 'U vitirinariu"...
(Cosa Nostra), wanted since 1996 and on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy, is arrested in Calatafimi, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
December
- December 5 - Giovanni Nicchi (Cosa Nostra), wanted since 2006 and on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy, is arrested in Palermo. In Milan Gaetano FidanzatiGaetano FidanzatiGaetano Fidanzati is a historical boss of the Sicilian Mafia. He is the boss of the Resuttana mandamento in Palermo. He was on the "most wanted list" of the Italian Ministry of the Interior since 2008, until his arrest on December 5, 2009....
(Cosa Nostra), wanted since 2008, is arrested as well. - December 31 - The bodies of six men abducted December 30 in the north-central Mexican state of DurangoDurangoDurango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
are found shot to death execution-style. Among them are Bobby Salcedo, an assistant principal and school board member, who is from El Monte, CaliforniaEl Monte, CaliforniaEl Monte is a residential, industrial, and commercial city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte," and historically is known as "The End of the Santa Fe Trail." As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 113,475,...
. Salcedo is believed to be the first U.S. elected official killed in the four years of Mexican drug-related violence.
Deaths
- January 9 - Colombian drug lord Leonidas VargasLeonidas VargasLeonidas Vargas , also known as "El Viejo" and "The King of Caqueta", was a Colombian drug lord who headed a multi-million dollar cocaine empire associated with the Medellín Cartel and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...
- February - Mexican former general Mauro Enrique Tello, leader of elite anti-narcotics squad
- February 11–21 people, including one soldier, are shot dead in a gunfight in Chihuahua, Mexico
- April 19 - In Mexico eight police officers are killed in an attack on a prison convoy transporting senior leaders of the Beltrán-Leyva CartelBeltrán-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....
- May 14 - Salvatore Lombardi "Sally Dogs", 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 - May 17 - Alfonso TornabeneAl TornabeneAlfonso "Al the Pizza Man" Tornabene was a Chicago-area resident who was reported by several newspapers to have been a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization.- Career as a pizzeria owner :...
"Pizza Al", 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...
, boss - May 22 - Isoji Koga, the founder of 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....
- July - Anthony Seccafico "Little Anthony", 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 ....
, gang member - November 4 - Antonio PelleAntonio PelleAntonio Pelle , also known as Ntoni Gambazza, was a historically significant and some say charismatic 'Ndrangheta boss from San Luca in Calabria...
, 'Ndrangheta boss - December 16 - Marcos Arturo Beltrán-LeyvaMarcos Arturo Beltrán-LeyvaArturo Beltrán Leyva was the leader of the Mexican drug trafficking organization known as the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, which is headed by the Beltrán Leyva brothers: Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo and Héctor. The cartel is responsible for cocaine, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine production,...
, Mexican drug lord - December 28 - Nick Rizzuto Jr., Montreal organized crime figure