2010 in organized crime explained

In 2010, a number of events took place in organized crime. On the first day of the year, reporter Jose Luis Romero was kidnapped for reporting on the Mexican Mafia. While investigating the kidnapping, policeman Jesus Escalante was killed. The Mexican Drug War is an armed conflict taking place between rival drug cartels and government forces in Mexico. Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's Cali and Medellín cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the illicit drug market in the United States.^[1] Arrests of key cartel leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as cartels fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Events

January

• January 1 – Jose Luis Romero, a crime reporter for the Linea Directa radio station, is kidnapped in Los Mochis, a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, due to his reporting on Mexico's drug production and trafficking. Jesus Escalante, the chief of investigations for the Sinaloa state police, started an investigation later that day, and was killed by gunmen a few hours later.^{[5] [6]}
• January 2 – Indian Police Service Assistant Commissioner of Police Prakash Wani, along with four other police officers, were suspended after a video circulated showing them dancing with underworld members at a Christmas Eve party hosted by India crime boss Chotta Rajan in Mumbai's Chembur suburb.^{[7] [8]}
• January 2 – A funeral was held for Nick Rizzuto Jr., who was shot to death on December 18, 2009. His father, reputed Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto, was not permitted to attend because he was serving a prison sentence in the United States. Police videographers filmed every guest at the funeral.^{[9] [10]}
• January 3 – A homemade bomb exploded at the entrance to a court in the southern Italian city of Reggio Calabria. Nobody was injured. Authorities say the 'Ndrangheta launched the attack, targeting the prosecutor's office due to its work confiscating mafia assets and ongoing appeals in cases against organized crime.^{[11] [12]}
• January 3 – Carlos Beltrán Leyva, a drug lord with the Mexican Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, was arraigned following his December 30 arrest in Culiacán, after he was stopped while driving with a forged license. The arrest came two weeks after Leyva's brother, cartel leader Arturo Beltrán Leyva, was killed in a gun battle with police.^{[13] [14]}
• January 4 – A Weng'an court sentenced 18 people to up to 20-year prison terms for their involvement in organized crimes in China's Guizhou province. Twelve of the arrested were members of the Yushan Gang, who were convicted of organizing racketeering, illegal mining, operating gambling dens, intentional injuring, rape and other offenses.^{[15] [16]}
• January 4 – A total of 29 people were killed in 13 separate drug-related attacks over a 24-hour span in Chihuahua, including two state police officers who were shot by six attackers. Among the slain were a female activist who led protests against alleged rights abuses by police and military deployed to fight organized crime.^[17]
• January 4 – Seven Tijuana policemen were detained for alleged ties to organized crime. The arrests stemmed from the interrogation of Luis Gilberto "El Gil" Sanchez Guerrero, an ex-officer arrested December 29, 2008, who allegedly led more than 10 kidnap and murder crews for Tijuana Cartel lieutenant Teodoro García Simental.^{[18] [19]}
• January 5 – Boris "Bobi" Tsankov, a Bulgarian radio presenter and crime writer who wrote about local mafia affairs in a book published in November, was shot to death outside a fast food restaurant. Top Bulgaria crime bosses Krasimir Marinov and Stefan Bonev were arrested later that day.^{[20] [21]}
• January 5 – Andrew Merola, the reputed leader of a North New Jersey faction of the Gambino crime family, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges. Merola admitted he headed an organization involved in gambling, loan-sharking, scams and labor racketeering during a Newark hearing. He faced up to 20 years in prison.^{[22] [23]}
• January 5 – Italian police arrest 14 alleged members of Camorra clans fighting to seize control of drug trafficking and extortion rackets in some of Naples's northern suburbs.^{[24] [25]}
• January 6 – Piero Grasso, Italy's top anti-mafia prosecutor, announces a new "Mafia campaign" in response to the bombing of a Reggio Calabria courthouse by 'Ndrangheta on January 3. Grasso called for the strengthening of national investigation procedures to arrest criminals and seize their assets.^[26]
• January 6 – Convicted racketeer Mark Strodtman is sentenced to 31 years in prison in Greeley, Colorado, for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme. Strodtman was the first man convicted in Weld County under the state's organized crime statute.^{[27] [28]}
• January 6 – Bing Yi Chen, the lieutenant of a Chinese crime organization, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for helping arrange the July 1994 murder of two Toronto men as a favor for a Hong Kong drug lord. Chen, also known as "Ah Ngai", was convicted on October 23, 2007.^{[29] [30]}
• January 7 – Three Chinese mob leaders and four criminal gang members were executed in Shijiazhuang through lethal injection. The executions were the result of convictions for murder, gun sales, gambling and other crimes that were considered among the worst in Hebei province in six decades.^{[31] [32]}
• January 8 – Li Zhuang, a Chinese lawyer for suspected mafia boss Gong Gangmo, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for falsifying evidence and jeopardizing testimony in Gangmo's trial. State media previously said Gangmo's trial underscored major flaws in China's judicial system.^{[33] [34]}
• January 8 – Pradeep Sharma, Mumbai's former police shootout specialist, and several other police officers, were arrested for allegedly staging the death of Vashi gangster Ramnarayan Gupta. Authorities say Gupta was kidnapped and brought to a Versova park, where Sharma shot him to death.^{[35] [36]}
• January 8 – Kenneth Dunn, a disbarred South Florida lawyer, was sentenced to 43 months in prison for laundering money and committing other crimes for a local mafia crew affiliated with the Bonanno crime family in New York City.^{[37] [38]}
• January 9 – The dead bodies of Yulian "Kunfuto" Lefterov, a former member of the Bulgarian mafia group SIC, and Ivaylo "Yozhi" Evtimov, leader of "The Impudent" gang, are found in the Plana Mountain in western Bulgaria.^[39]
• January 9 – A planned extradition to Italy of Marisa Merico, daughter of Calabrian godfather Emilio di Giovine and wife of henchman Bruno Merico, was delayed when she receives death threats.^{[40] [41]}
• January 11 – Nicolo Romeo, a 72-year-old owner of an animal feed business, was shot to death outside the Italian town Corleone, allegedly because he refused to pay a pizzo to local Sicilian Mafia bosses.^{[42] [43]}
• January 12 – Seventeen men with suspected ties to the 'Ndrangheta are arrested around Italy, including in Rosarno and Bologna. Some were arrested for their alleged roles in violent clashes with immigrant workers, whereas others were already in prison on different charges. Among those arrested were suspected members of Pesce-Bellocco clan, one of the most powerful 'Ndrangheta clans, who were suspected of taking orders from clan ringleader Carmello Bellocco, serving a prison term for racketeering.^{[44] [45] [46]}
• January 12 – Alleged Chinese gang boss Yue Ning and 30 accomplices faced trial for a prostitution business inside Chongqing. Ning also faces charges of firearms possession and bribery, among other crimes.^{[47] [48]}
• January 13 – Alleged mobster Nikolai Marinov, also known as "The Little Margin Brother", was officially declared a wanted man after he failed ito appear in court on charges of conspiring to murder three people. His brother, Krasimir Marinov, was previously arrested for the murder of Boris Tsankov and his younger brother Nikolai Marinov has been missing ever since.^{[49] [50]}
• January 14 – Anggodo Widjoj, a Chinese businessman, was arrested on suspicion of bribing two deputies with Indonesia's anti-mafia Corruption Eradication Commission. The commission announced $2.2 trillion had been lost from embezzlement within the organization.^{[51] [52]}
• January 14 – United States federal prosecutors announced they would not retry alleged mafia don John A. Gotti on racketeering charges. Gotti had been free on $2 million bail since December 1, 2009, when a jury deadlocked during a fourth trial against him.^{[53] [54]}
• January 27 – Paolo Di Mauro of the Camorra, wanted since 2003 and on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy, was arrested in Barcelona.^[55]

May

• May 20 – Paolo Renda disappeared.

November

• November 10 – Nicolo Rizzuto was killed at his residence in the Cartierville borough of Montreal when a single bullet from a sniper's rifle punched through double-paned glass of the rear patio doors of his mansion
• November 18 – Kiyoshi Takayama, the head of the Kodo-kai and the "de facto leader" of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest yakuza syndicate in Japan, was arrested.^[56]

December

• December 1 – Tadashi Irie, the head of the Takumi-gumi and the number three leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest yakuza syndicate in Japan, was arrested.^[57]

Arts and literature

• January – Gomorrah (2008) is released on Blu-ray through The Criterion Collection^[58]

See also

• Timeline of the Mexican Drug War
• List of years in organized crime

Bibliography

References

• Book: Kelly, Robert J. . Schatzberg, Rufus . Chin, Ko-lin . Handbook of organized crime in the United States. 1994. Greenwood Publishing Group. 0-313-28366-4 . refKellySchatzbergChin1994. 1994 .
• Web site: C. . Vilalta . Monthly patterns, trends, and trajectories in the count of deaths related to organized crime, 2006-2010 . 2011 . Conference at UAEM (in Spanish), April 26, 2011 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110817033947/http://geocrimen.cide.edu/resources/Ponencias-y-Medios/Vilalta---Crimen-organizado-v24Abril2011.pdf . August 17, 2011 .

Notes and References

1. Book: CRS Report for Congress: Mexico's Drug Cartels. Colleen W.. Cook. Congressional Research Service. 7. October 16, 2007.
2. News: Traci . Carl . Progress in Mexico drug war is drenched in blood . March 10, 2009 . Associated Press . 2009-04-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090315080309/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ilIZ5du3hOOeN7yatYIRIhFY-MJAD96RBGO00. 15 March 2009 . dead.
3. News: High U.S. cocaine cost shows drug war working: Mexico . September 14, 2007 . Reuters . 2009-04-01 .
4. Book: CRS Report for Congress: Mexico and the 112th Congress. Mexico – U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress. Mark P.. Sullivan. Congressional Research Service. 2, 13, 14. December 18, 2008. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32724.pdf.
5. News: Reports: gunmen kidnap Mexican radio journalist . Associated Press . The Washington Post . January 1, 2010 . Mexico City.
6. News: Police reporter abducted in northwest Mexico . . January 2, 2010 . . January 2, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100103160420/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20100102-245136/Police-reporter-abducted-in-northwest-Mexico . 2010-01-03 . dead .
7. News: Mumbai cop reportedly seen at gangster's party . . January 2, 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20121006062551/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mumbai-cop-reportedly-seen-at-gangsters-party/108089-3.html?from=tn . dead . October 6, 2012 . January 2, 2010.
8. News: Mumbai police chief recommends suspension of DCP, ACP . . January 2, 2010 . . January 2, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100102155639/http://ptinews.com/news/450018_Mumbai-police-chief-recommends-suspension-of-DCP--ACP. 2 January 2010 . live.
9. News: Solyom . Catherine . Block . Irwin . Rizzuto clan mourns Nick Jr. in Little Italy . . January 2, 2010 . . January 3, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100105024125/http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/editorials/Funeral%2Bheld%2BNick%2BRizzuto%2BMontreal/2400081/story.html . 5 January 2010 . dead . dmy-all .
10. News: Tight lips at funeral for mobster's son . Associated Press . . January 2, 2010 . . January 2, 2010.
11. News: Mafia blamed for Italian court bomb: reports . . January 3, 2010 . . January 3, 2010.
12. News: Mob behind Italy bomb: Media . January 3, 2010 . . . January 3, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100113201647/http://www.timeslive.co.za/news/world/article247324.ece. 13 January 2010 . live.
13. News: De Cordoba . Jose . Casey . Nicholas . Arrest Targets Drug Cartel . . January 4, 2010 . . January 4, 2010.
14. News: Mexico captures drug lord Carlos Beltran Leyva . . January 3, 2010 . . 4 January 2010 . 8 December 2012 . https://archive.today/20121208144454/http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=349719&CategoryId=10718 . dead .
15. News: January 4, 2010 . . 18 jailed over organized crimes in SW China . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110609184911/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/04/content_12753934.htm . dead . June 9, 2011 . January 4, 2010.
16. News: Blanchard . Ben . China gang gets long jail terms in riot-hit area . . January 4, 2010 . . https://archive.today/20120712031327/http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-45138020100104 . dead . 12 July 2012 . January 4, 2010.
17. News: 29 killed, including two police, in Mexico attacks . . January 4, 2010 . Ciudad Juárez.
18. News: Dibble . Sandra . Seven Tijuana police officers under investigation . . January 4, 2010 . . January 4, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100114053956/http://signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/04/seven-tijuana-police-officers-under-investigation/. 14 January 2010 . live.
19. News: Isackson . Amy . Tijuana Police Chief's Bodyguards Among Group Detained For Alleged Organized Crime Ties . . January 4, 2010 . . January 4, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100118003729/http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/jan/04/police-chiefs-bodyguards-among-group-det/. 18 January 2010 . live.
20. News: Beesley . Arthur . . . January 6, 2010 . Author of book on local mafia shot dead in Bulgaria . January 6, 2010.
21. News: No Official Charges Yet for Detained Top Bulgaria Crime Bosses . . January 6, 2010 . . January 6, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100114184612/http://novinite.com/view_news.php?id=111684. 14 January 2010 . live.
22. News: Anastasia . George . Reputed N. Jersey crime boss Merola pleads guilty . . January 5, 2010 . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
23. News: Manochio . Matt . . January 5, 2010 . Andrew Merola, reputed mobster, pleads guilty plea in NJ . Newark, New Jersey.
24. News: . January 5, 2010 . 14 quizzed after anti-Mafia arrests . January 6, 2010.
25. News: Italian police nab 14 in anti-Mafia arrests . Associated Press . . January 5, 2010 . January 6, 2010.
26. News: Italy facevs new "Mafia campaign": top prosecutor . January 7, 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110609184946/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/07/content_12767349.htm . dead . June 9, 2011 . . January 6, 2010.
27. News: Dunn . Sharon . Mortgage scheme ends in hefty 31-year sentence for Strodtman . Greeley Tribune . January 6, 2010 . . January 7, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100807163702/http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20100106/NEWS/100109834/1002%26parentprofile%3D1001 . 2010-08-07 . dead .
28. News: Strodtman sentenced to 31 years in prison . North Colorado Business Report . January 6, 2010 . . January 7, 2010.
29. News: Humphreys . Adrian . Man jailed over "movie" murder . . January 6, 2010.
30. News: Lieutenant of Chinese Organized Crime Family Sentenced in New York . . January 6, 2010 . January 7, 2010 . May 27, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120527130046/http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/135286 . dead .
31. News: China executes 7 gang leaders for murder, gambling, gun sales, report says . Associated Press . . January 7, 2010 . . January 7, 2010.
32. News: Seven executed for gang crimes in north China . January 8, 2010 . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110609185002/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/08/content_12773005.htm . dead . June 9, 2011 . January 7, 2010.
33. News: Jailing Of China Gang Lawyer Alarms Legal World . . The New York Times . January 8, 2010.
34. News: China lawyer convicted in mafia case: court official . . January 8, 2010 . January 11, 2010.
35. News: Singh . Vijay V. . Pradeep Sharma behind slain man's kidnap . . January 9, 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110811035453/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-09/mumbai/28127260_1_ramnarayan-gupta-fake-encounter-k-m-m-prasanna . live . August 11, 2011 . January 11, 2010.
36. News: "Encounter" cop among three nabbed over staged shootout . Bombay News . January 8, 2010 . . January 11, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110723032320/http://www.bombaynews.net/story/586031 . 2011-07-23 . dead .
37. http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/dunn-24603-prison-role.html
38. http://mafiatoday.com/bonanno-family/disgraced-south-florida-attorney-sent-to-prison/ Disgraced South Florida attorney sent to prison : MAFIA TODAY
39. Web site: Police Discovers 2nd Gangster Body near Sofia. 16 March 2015.
40. Web site: Mafia 'princess' claims bosses want her dead. Metro. 16 March 2015.
41. Web site: Death threat to Mafia princess. 16 March 2015.
42. Web site: Mafia murder ends Godfather town's 12 years of peace. The Evening Standard. 12 April 2012 . 16 March 2015.
43. Web site: Swastika suspect's hearing delayed. https://archive.today/20120906052030/http://www.oxfordreview.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2257171. dead. 6 September 2012. Woodstock Sentinel Review. 16 March 2015.
44. Web site: Italy: Police hold mob suspects after anti-immigrant clashes. walesonline Administrator. 12 January 2010. walesonline. 16 March 2015.
45. Web site: Italian police arrest 17 Mafia suspects_English_Xinhua. https://web.archive.org/web/20100117103232/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/13/content_12798828.htm. dead. January 17, 2010. 16 March 2015.
46. News: Italy arrests 12 mafia suspects in race riot town . Reuters . January 12, 2010 . 18 January 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100116043326/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60B5AU20100112 . 16 January 2010 . live .
47. Web site: Gang used nightclub as base, court told. 16 March 2015.
48. Web site: 已删除或过期的稿件. https://web.archive.org/web/20110609185043/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/12/content_12798784.htm. dead. June 9, 2011. 16 March 2015.
49. Web site: Court declares Nikolai 'The Little Margin' Marinov a wanted man - Bulgaria - The Sofia Echo. 16 March 2015.
50. Web site: Bulgaria Court Orders Arrest of Missing Top Criminal Boss. 16 March 2015.
51. Web site: Chinese businessman named corruption suspect - Taiwan News Online. 16 March 2015.
52. Web site: KPK finds indications of Rp 2.2 trillion graft. 16 March 2015.
53. Web site: Feds Won't Prosecute Gotti Fifth Time. NBC New York. 16 March 2015.
54. News: Government Ends Case Against Gotti . The New York Times . Anahad . O'Connor . January 14, 2010 . April 23, 2010.
55. http://www.lifeinitaly.com/node/17595 Two Camorra 'superfugitives' caught in Spain
56. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/18/yakuza-kiyoshi-takayama-arrested-japan "Yakuza chief arrested in Japan"
57. https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2010/12/01/osaka-police-nab-another-yakuza-boss-as-crackdown-continues/ "Osaka Police Nab Another Yakuza Boss as Crackdown Continues"
58. http://www.thehdroom.com/news/Gomorrah_Criterion_Collection_Blu-ray_Review/6172 Gomorrah: Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review - TheHDRoom