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compiled by John William Tuohy
New York: According to the New York Daily News, imprisoned mobster John
Gotti's throat cancer has returned and spread aggressively.
Gotti is serving a life sentence for racketeering and murder.
He was moved from the maximum-security federal prison in Marion, Ill., to a
prison hospital in Springfield, Mo., on Sept. 13, the US Bureau of Prisons
said.
Nearly two years ago, doctors at the prison hospital performed surgery on
Gotti to remove a cancerous tumor from his neck. Gotti returned to the
hospital for a routine checkup and tests showed his cancer was no longer in
remission, the Daily News reported.
Fort Lauderdale: Nine alleged members of the Gambino crime family were
indicted here on charges ranging from extortion and bank fraud to the murder
prosecutors say.
Six suspects have been arrested, including Anthony "Tony Pep"
Trentacosta of Atlanta, whom prosecutors called the leader of the Gambino
operation in south Florida.
The indictment alleged that defendant Frederick Massaro operated the
Beachside Mario's restaurant, in Sunny Isles northeast of Miami, and that the
group used it as a meeting ground to commit crimes involving bank fraud,
dealing in stolen property, loansharking and planning a murder.
It alleged that another defendant, Julius Bruce Chiusano, ran a nearby
check cashing store that used its customers' financial information to commit
bank fraud by creating and cashing counterfeit checks at businesses
throughout the area.
The indictment also alleged that Massaro and Ariel Hernandez were
responsible for the March 1999 murder of Jeanette Smith, whose body was
stuffed into a stereo box and found by fishermen in the Everglades.
Hernandez was arrested on murder charges shortly after her death and
remains jailed. He allegedly picked up Smith at an exotic dance club and told
police she died accidentally during rough sex.
The indictment charges that Massaro and three associates helped
Hernandez dispose of the body and evidence connected with Smith's death. It
also alleged that Massaro then solicited another associate in an unsuccessful
attempt to kill Hernandez.
Trentacosta, Massaro, Chiusano and Hernandez were jailed, as were
defendants Charles Patrick Monico and Anthony Raymond Banks. Also charged
were Francis Ruggiero, Adam Todd Silverman and Carlos Garcia.
Albania: Niko Veizi, Socialist Party candidate for mayor in the southern city
of Vlore, announced on television he would permit brothels to open for the
first time in some 60 years if he won the mayoral election Oct. 1.
Prostitution is illegal in Albania.
London: A British court has ordered a 64-year-old woman who admitted running
brothels in North London to hand over nearly $3 million of her ill-gotten
gains.
A judge at Harrow Crown Court also fined Josie Daly, whose ads for
"saunas" appeared in the British Transport Police magazine and a trade paper
for the emergency services, $4,400 and ordered her to pay $73,300 in legal
costs, the BBC reported.
British newspapers reported she had amassed an estimated fortune of some
$10.2 million, lived in a $1 million house, owned a white Rolls Royce and six
other properties, including a rundown hotel and a hostel where prostitutes
lived in between shifts at her saunas.
Washington: The President today announced his intent to nominate Steven
Clayton Stafford to serve as United States Marshal for the Southern District
of California.
Stafford of San Diego, California, has served in various positions with
the United States Marshals Service since 1981.
He was a Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal in the District of
Massachusetts. During this period, Mr. Stafford also served as Acting
Regional Coordinator of the New England Organized Crime Enforcement Task
Force.
Istanbul: Turkish police arrested Murat Demirel, nephew of former President
Suleyman Demirel, on charges that he embezzled funds from a bank he owned and
set up an organized crime family.
The former owner of Egebank, which was seized by the government last
December, was arrested in Istanbul and flown to the capital Ankara for
questioning. Demirel's yacht was fueled for a long-distance journey yesterday
as he prepared to escape to Greece, the reports said.
Murat Demirel is charged with embezzling $80 million from Egebank by
providing loans to companies that exist only on paper. He's also accused of
setting up a swindling ring to embezzle the funds. Police said they were
likely to enlarge their bank-related investigations in coming days.
Mr. Tuohy can be reached at MobStudy@aol.com
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