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Holiday break-ins in South Charlotte thought to be part of international effort

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they’ve broken up a professional burglary ring that targeted south Charlotte homes over holiday weekends and sent the stolen goods to New York and South America.

Over a two-week investigation, CMPD tied four July burglaries to a group of five men and say the operation is likely part of a larger international ring. Police say the break-ins resemble about a dozen others in south Charlotte over the past two years.

Authorities couldn’t estimate the value of stolen goods, but said one home this month lost $30,000 in jewelry and other property. Police have arrested four men, and a fifth is still wanted. The men, originally from Colombia, have been living and operating in the Charlotte area since 2006, authorities believe.

CMPD detectives say the burglars knew which wires to cut to disable alarms, knew when residents weren’t home and stole mostly jewelry – taking time to select the most valuable pieces.

Police found binoculars and crowbars in one suspect’s car.

“What we normally see is thieves coming in from other parts of town on a whim. These guys, they spent some time,” said CMPD Capt. Rod Golding.

One of the suspects, 46-year-old Pablo Castro, was featured on “America’s Most Wanted.” He was wanted for immigration violations and was profiled on the TV crime show as a chronic offender with 51 felonies. Castro, also known as Refugio Miguel Bravo-Castanon, spent time in a New York prison for grand larceny.

The Charlotte burglary investigation began with a 911 call on July 18 about a suspicious car on Colony Road. An officer responded but didn’t stop the car because it had a valid tag and registration, police said. But the officer jotted down the tag number.

Fifteen minutes later, a Colony Road couple called 911 after surprising two burglars who ran from their home.

Officers combed through previous calls about suspicious vehicles in the neighborhood, and discovered the tag noted earlier belonged to a rental car. Rental car company records led police to a Pineville apartment.

The same day, officers found four men at the apartment, one matching the description of a suspect in the Colony Road burglary attempt.

A witness identified Christian Aguirre as one of the burglars, police said. He was arrested and charged with second-degree burglary.

The next day, officers returned with a search warrant and found two ounces of cocaine and items later identified as stolen from three south Charlotte homes, police said. They also found shipping labels to New York and Colombia.

Officers staked out the apartment and were on hand July 21 when three men arrived, police said.

Officers stopped them in their car and one bolted. Officers chased him and discovered they had captured the high-profile Castro – leading them to unravel international connections.

Police arrested Darwin A. Sierra Cruz on a charge of not having a driver’s license and found a duffel bag with $25,600 in cash in the car.

Three days later, police arrested Carlos Bonetti and charged him with cocaine trafficking and possession of stolen goods.

They’re searching for a fifth suspect, Fidel Emilio Sandoval.

The investigation is continuing.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/860312.html

Let us not forget that those accused of a crime are innocent until proven guilty.  The best way to avoid a conviction is by hiring a strong team of attorneys to represent you.  We at America’s Criminal Defense Group can help.  If you or anyone you know has been accused of a crime, contact Senior Case Manager, Todd Terry (non-attorney) at 818-225-2468 or visit www.americascriminaldefense.com to schedule a free consultation. 

Three teenagers have been arrested after a drug-sniffing dog uncovered more than half-a-ton of marijuana beneath the deck of their 22-foot boat when it docked at San Diego’s Shelter Island, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The three were returning Saturday from Mexico when agents made a routine inspection. The three told agents they had been on a fishing trip off Ensenada. Beneath the deck, agents found 277 packages of pot, weighing 1,060 pounds and worth about $636,000, officials said.

The boat was seized and the teens _ two men, one woman _ were turned over to authorities for possible prosecution.

– Tony Perry in San Diego
latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07

Anyone charged with possession of drugs, or any other crime, should contact Senior Case Manager, Todd Terry (non-attorney) at 818-225-2468 or visit www.americascriminaldefense.com to schedule a free consultation. 

By DAVID PORTER (AP)

NEWARK, N.J. — The mayors of three New Jersey cities, two state legislators and several rabbis were among more than 40 people arrested Thursday in a sweeping corruption investigation that began as a probe into an international money laundering ring that trafficked in goods as diverse as human organs and fake designer handbags.

Among 44 people arrested Thursday were Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, state Assemblyman President L. Harvey Smith and state Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt.

Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez, who is also an attorney, is charged with agreeing to accept an illegal $10,000 cash payment for his legal defense fund.

Gov. Jon Corzine reacted to the corruption probe Thursday morning by saying, “any corruption is unacceptable — anywhere, anytime, by anybody. The scale of corruption we’re seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated.”

In separate money laundering complaints, several rabbis from Brooklyn and New Jersey were charged with offenses ranging from the trafficking of kidneys from Israeli donors to laundering proceeds from selling fake Gucci and Prada bags.

Van Pelt is accused of accepting $10,000 from a cooperating government witness posing as a developer who sought help in getting permits for a project in Ocean County.

Smith, the Jersey City Council President, and several other current and former Jersey City public officials also are accused of accepting money to help the fake developer gain permits and approvals.

Beldini, 74, is charged with conspiracy to commit extortion by taking $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions. Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said Thursday the charges were “a little shocking.”

“I have full faith in Leona,” Healy said. “She’s a good friend of mine — was and will be.”

Cammarano, 32, who won a runoff election last month, is charged with accepting $25,000 in cash bribes from an undercover cooperating witness. Elwell is charged with taking $10,000.

Joseph Hayden, an attorney representing Cammarano, said his client “is innocent of these charges. He intends to fight them with all his strength until he proves his innocence.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the investigation initially focused, with the help of the cooperating witness, on the money laundering network that operated between Brooklyn, Deal, N.J. and Israel. The network is alleged to have laundered tens of millions of dollars through charities controlled by rabbis in New York and New Jersey.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said he has heard of the story but knows nothing of kidneys being sold by Israelis.

The investigation widened to include official corruption in July 2007 when the cooperating witness approached public officials in Hudson County posing as a developer seeking to build in the Jersey City area.

Hoboken’s waterfront has proven to be an especially lucrative piece of real estate across from midtown Manhattan. Developers have put up dozens of buildings in the last 15 years in the mile-square city. It had a prime view on July 4 of fireworks over the Hudson River.

The fears that the city was being overdeveloped has become a hot topic during elections among candidates.

In secretly recorded conversations outlined in the complaint against Cammarano, the candidate made it clear to prospective campaign donors that he was a friend of developers.

When a cooperating witness posing as a developer who was donating $5,000 to the campaign told Cammarano just days before the mayoral election that he wanted to make sure he had his support with “some properties we’re working on,” Cammarano is quoted as saying, “I’ll be there.”

In Deal, Mike Winnick of the Elberon section of Long Branch was praying inside the Deal Synagogue when it was raided by FBI, IRS and Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office agents.

“Everyone was looking at each other, like, `What’s going on here?’ ” he said.

Winnick said four FBI agents escorted a rabbi from the synagogue into his office and blocked the doorway.

Winnick said he left shortly afterward.

Nearby, FBI and IRS agents removed several boxes from the Deal Yeshiva, a school that educates the children of Sephardic Jews.

Busloads carrying those arrested were brought to the FBI’s Newark field office Thursday morning. One agent slowly walked an elderly rabbi into the building as another covered his face with a felt hat.

Angela Delli Santi and Beth DeFalco in Trenton, Wayne Parry in Deal, Samantha Henry and Victor Epstein in Newark and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this story.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article

Let us not forget that those accused of a crime are innocent until proven guilty.  The best way to avoid a conviction is by hiring a strong team of attorneys to represent you.  We at America’s Criminal Defense Group can help.  If you or anyone you know has been accused of a crime, contact Senior Case Manager, Todd Terry (non-attorney) at 818-225-2468 or visit www.americascriminaldefense.com to schedule a free consultation. 

WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal agents have arrested a convicted murderer for allegedly providing the gun later used to kill ex-NFL quarterback Steve McNair.

Adrian J. Gilliam Jr. was arrested by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

A criminal complaint unsealed Friday in Nashville says that Gilliam — who was convicted of murder and attempted armed robbery in 1993 in Florida — admitted he sold the gun to the woman who later shot McNair.

McNair was shot to death on July 4 at his condo by his 20-year-old mistress Sahel Kazemi, who then turned the gun on herself.

The complaint, signed by ATF agent Mickey French, charges Gilliam with illegally possessing a firearm, which he is barred from doing as a felon.

Detectives traced the gun to its 2002 sale at a pawn shop, according to the complaint. Gilliam eventually bought it from an individual for $100 about a year ago. According to court documents, Gilliam admitted to detectives he sold the gun to Kazemi for $100.

Federal prosecutors in Nashville planned to announce the case at a press conference later Friday.

Police announced in a news conference last week that Kazemi purchased “a fully loaded nine millimeter pistol from a private individual” who met her in the parking lot of the mall where she worked at a Dave & Busters restaurant.

Kazemi met the person when she was trying to sell her car. She mentioned to him that she was looking to buy a gun and he told her he had one for sale, police said. The sale took place two days before McNair’s shooting.

Authorities believe McNair was asleep when Kazemi put the pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. She put two more slugs into his chest and a fourth bullet into the other side of his head before shooting herself.

McNair, a married father of four, walked away from the NFL last year. “Air McNair” was known as a gutsy quarterback who played through serious injuries and led his Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl.

Though the gun sale in question did not involve a licensed gun dealer, the ATF recently warned all gun dealers in Tennessee that they must still comply with federal gun laws despite a new state law aimed at easing such requirements for weapons manufactured and sold in-state.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9820438/Felon-arrested-for-sale-of-gun-that-killed-McNair

Although we are greatly saddened and sympathetic to the death of Steve Mcnair, Anthony Partipilo, Senior Criminal Attorney with over 35 years of experience, and America’s Criminal Defense Group are of the opinion that we should not be so quick to judge Adrian J. Gilliam, Jr. He is still entitled to a fair trial and is still innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his peers. 

Anyone accused of illegally possessing a firearm, or any other crime, should contact Senior Case Manager, Todd Terry (non-attorney) at 818-225-2468 or visit www.americascriminaldefense.com to schedule a free consultation. 

Convicted killer Jesse James Hollywood has been spared the death penalty by the Santa Barbara jury that found him guilty last week of first-degree murder and kidnapping. He will spend his life in prison.

The jury concluded that Hollywood, 29, ordered the execution of a 15-year-old West Hills boy after snatching him off the street near his home and driving him to Santa Barbara. A marijuana dealer at the time, Hollywood kidnapped Nicholas Markowitz to avenge a $1,200 drug debt owed by the boy’s older half-brother, Ben. 

Defense attorneys contended that Ben Markowtiz had been threatening Hollywood’s life for months and had poisoned his dog before Hollywood impusively picked the boy up. They claimed the killing was done independently by friends of Hollywood who wanted to earn his approval.

The trial, which started May 15, was attended every day by members of the Markowitz and Hollywood families. 

The crime was notorious when it was committed in 2000 and became the basis for the 2006 film “Alpha Dog.”  

The last of four men convicted in the case, Hollywood fled after the crime and was arrested in Brazil in 2005.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07/do-not-post-do-not-post-do-not-post-.html

If you or someone you know has been charged with murder or mansluaghter, a criminal attorney is a necessity. Those so accused should hire an experienced criminal defense attorney who can help defend the case through trial.

Anyone charged with such a crime should contact Senior Case Manager, Todd Terry (non-attorney) at 818-225-2468 or visit www.americascriminaldefense.com

BY MARC CAPUTO

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court unanimously ordered Thursday that a Death Row inmate be set free because there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him of murdering a Fort Lauderdale pawn shop worker.

Three justices went a step further than their colleagues, issuing a separate opinion that said the Broward County court ”erred” by allowing a prosecutor to inflame jurors when they were deciding whether to recommend the death sentence for Herman Lindsey.

Lindsey, 36, was convicted in 2006 of the murder of Joanne Mazollo at the Big Dollar pawn shop. That happened 12 years before, but the cold case was cracked by a Fort Lauderdale police detective.

During trial, prosecutors presented numerous pieces of evidence suggesting Lindsey and another man, Ronnie LoRay, committed the crime. LoRay later pleaded guilty. A damning statement against Lindsey, who has a long criminal record, came from a former Broward County jail inmate who said Lindsey admitted to having murdered a witness in a robbery.

”While we agree that the evidence here does seem suspicious, even a deep suspicion the appellant committed the crime charged is not sufficient to sustain conviction,” the court ruled.

After his conviction, Lindsey tried to persuade jurors to spare him from the death penalty. The prosecutor, whose name was not listed in the court ruling, should have asked Lindsey about his childhood during this phase of the case.

But the prosecutor, instead, asked Lindsey about the details of the crime.

”Why did you put a gun to her head and pull the trigger?” the prosecutor asked. ”I didn’t,” Lindsey said.

Lindsey’s lawyer objected, but he was overruled. The prosecutor continued, and then asked Lindsey, “so the jury is wrong?’

”I think the jury is mistaken,” Lindsey answered.

None of that should have happened, wrote Justice Peggy A. Quince.

”The trial court abused its discretion,” Quince wrote. “This error was not harmless. The prosecution’s comments were not only improper but were also prejudicial and made with the apparent goal of inflaming the jury.”

Neither prosecutors, the defense nor the Broward Circuit judge, Eileen M. O’Connor, could be reached.

http://www.miamiherald.com/1374/story/1134309.html

If you or anyone you know has been accused of murder or manslaughter, a solid defense team is necessary to avoid conviction. America’s Criminal Defense Group can help.  Should you find yourself in such position, contact Senior Case Manager, Todd Terry (non-attorney) at 818-225-2468 or visit www.americascriminaldefense.com to schedule a free consultation.