Reynaldo "Pichy" Laureano, 36, of Allen Place, was one of 56 Hartford-area people arrested

Reynaldo "Pichy" Laureano, 36, of Allen Place, was one of 56 Hartford-area people arrested last year after a yearlong federal crackdown on drugs and guns called Operation Solid Gold.Laureano pleaded guilty in November to a single count of possession with the intent to distribute heroin. He was sentenced in Bridgeport by U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton.Prosecutors said that a tap on Laureano's mobile telephone between September and November 2008 and near continual surveillance showed that Laureano's life was dominated by the drug business. They said he and his associates spoke continuously of the distribution of heroin and cocaine, their concern about law enforcement and the use of violence against competitors.

Read more...

convicted Billy Comer Jr., 36, of the sale of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a church

convicted Billy Comer Jr., 36, of the sale of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a church.
Comer sold crack cocaine to an informant on July 22, the same day he was placed on three-years probation for possession of cocaine, a few hundred feet from St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Blountstown, according to a news release.At sentencing on Feb. 17, prosecutor Bob Pell will try to show that Comer is a habitual felony offender, which would make him eligible for life in prison.

Read more...

full-patch Hells Angels are Alan Peter Knapczyk, 35, and John Reginald Alcantara, 37, and the head of the Fort McMurray drug gang is Jeffrey Mark Caines, 36,

 full-patch Hells Angels are Alan Peter Knapczyk, 35, and John Reginald Alcantara, 37, and the head of the Fort McMurray drug gang is Jeffrey Mark Caines, 36, who earlier pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine, but is currently disputing certain parts of an agreed statement of facts.Alcantara – who was handed a 14-year prison sentence last Friday after being convicted of conspiring to traffic cocaine – today pleaded guilty to an identical charge.He admitted he had entered into an agreement to assist Caines traffic cocaine in Fort McMurray, but said he is not accepting that Knapczyk was part of it.Alcantara pleaded not guilty to charges of trafficking cocaine and committing an offence in association with a criminal organization while Knapczyk entered not guilty pleas to all three charges.Prosecutor Dennis Hrabcak told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sheila Greckol the Crown theory is that Alcantara and Knapczyk conspired with Caines to traffic cocaine in the Fort McMurray area at a kilo and multi-kilo level.Hrabcak said Caines was the head of a criminal organization that bought and sold cocaine using a network of suppliers, distributors and couriers that he had set up.He told the judge Caines made a 2005 agreement with members of the Hells Angels Nomad chapter and said Alcantara and Knapczyk eventually took over the agreement after a disagreement between the Edmonton Hells Angels and the Nomads over control of the agreement.Court heard the agreement involved the removal of any rivals of Caines’ drug gang, ensuring other suppliers in the area did not undercut his business and the protection of Caines and his distributors for a weekly fee of $20,000.

“Essentially it gave Caines free rein to supply cocaine in the specified area and protection for those he supplied,” said Hrabcak. “In return he paid a fee or tax to the individuals. The reputation of the Hells Angels was used to enforce the agreement.”

The prosecutor alleged Alcantara, who was then a prospect for the Hells Angels and sponsored by Knapczyk, was the front man in the agreement and collected the weekly fee while Knapczyk was the enforcer behind the scenes.Court heard the evidence in the case will come from intercepted communications from a police wiretap operation, cocaine seizures, surveillance from police investigators and both civilian and expert witnesses.The trio were part of a large group of drug dealers taken down in a 23-month joint investigation by various Canadian police agencies .

Read more...

John Gizzi, walks free

John Gizzi, 36, from St Asaph, Denbighshire was jailed for five-and-a-half years in 2006. His trial heard he was a "thug" and "bully" who assaulted homeless people and preyed on the weak and vulnerable in the Rhyl area. He was freed after a judge at Mold Crown Court heard he had repaid £1m under the Proceeds of Crime Act. An original order made under the Act found Gizzi had benefited to the tune of £6.89m from his crimes. He was ordered to repay £2.6m, but that figure was based on a valuation of his assets before the recession. They included a mansion which had been originally valued at £1.7m but eventually sold for £850,000. Gizzi had been due for release in December 2008, but he was ordered to serve another seven years because he had failed to repay the original £2.6m. However, on Thursday Judge John Rogers QC reduced the order after the court - which was surrounded by tight police security - was told all his assets had been sold off. As well as the mansion, 20 other mortgage properties were sold, and a Rolex watch. Four number plates - JDG 1 to 4 - had also been sold along with a fleet of luxury cars including a Bentley Continental, Range Rover and a Mercedes. Judge Rogers discharged the confiscation order and Gizzi was formally released. Gizzi's mansion sold for half its original value of £1.7m
An application by prosecutor Simon Mills that Gizzi should be responsible for the costs of the CPS and the receiver appointed to sell the property was rejected. The judge said those costs should come out of the reduced order. However, the court heard that the regional asset recovery team could pursue Gizzi for more money if they thought he could afford it in the future. Judge Rogers told Gizzi: "As the crown point out, the actual benefit figure is a very much higher figure. "It may well be that the crown will seek, if circumstances permit, to obtain further monies. That is a matter which must await events." The judge said the fall in the property market was to blame for the lower-than-expected sum repaid, and not Gizzi. It was previously found that Gizzi had made "tainted gifts" to his parents' building firm in the form of a building plot in Towyn, and a property in Rhyl. The plot, which now has four houses on it, is due to be sold this week to his parents for £430,000. Gizzi had previously admitted two charges of causing grievous bodily harm, one of assault causing actual bodily harm and one of conspiracy to supply counterfeit cigarettes. He also asked for 22 offences of mortgage fraud - involving almost £1.5m - to be taken into consideration.

Read more...