Crime Correspondent: New York

Serial killer on the loose?

Police found what appears to be a human skull Monday on the outskirts of a bird sanctuary in Long Island, New York, a county police officer said, potentially the ninth set of remains discovered in the probe of a suspected serial killer. Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police Department said the skull was found around 3:30 p.m. in Oyster Bay. About four hours earlier, a New York state police officer and his cadaver dog spotted another set of remains about a mile and a half away, and authorities worked to determine whether those remains are human. These discoveries come on the first day that authorities probing the deaths of several young women searched for evidence in and around Nassau County. Since December, eight sets of human remains have been found in Suffolk County, just to the east of Nassau County and roughly five miles from the sites of Monday's discoveries. "It's just been very startling, all of it has been," Smith told reporters Monday. "It's just amazing that we're finding these things. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do." Authorities are working on the presumption that a single person is responsible for the women's killings. The five victims who have been identified thus far all advertised prostitution services on websites such as Craigslist, police have said. "Collectively, we want to bring to justice this animal who has obviously taken the lives of a number of people," said Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano on Monday. Authorities would not describe what type of remains were found on Monday morning, and Smith did not detail the condition of the skull found in the afternoon. But police have said that the bodies discovered earlier were in various stages of decomposition, including at least one that could have been there for as long as two years, according to Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer. Watch the sister of a missing woman tell her story The remains have included four female bodies found in December stuffed in bushes along a quarter-mile strip of beachfront property. Last week, three bodies were uncovered within a few miles of each other, fueling speculation that they could be the work of a serial killer. A woman's body was also found March 29 off Ocean Parkway, west of Cedar Beach. The missing woman who prompted authorities to initiate the search -- 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert -- has not yet been identified. K-9 units and dive teams had been added to the search operation in an effort to locate Gilbert, who was last seen alive in May in the Gilgo Beach area. Search for missing women expands Gilbert's sisters said Shannan was an escort who was visiting a client. They said she ran from the man's house and called 911, claiming that someone was trying to hurt her. Several neighbors also called 911, witnesses say. Police came more than 30 minutes later, but by then Gilbert was gone and has never been heard from again. "You want to believe everything was OK with her," Sherre Gilbert said. "But at the same time, so much time has passed it's impossible to really think that she is still alive." Sherre Gilbert said even if her sister is never found, the search has led to one positive outcome: the discovery of the other women's bodies.

Serial killer on the loose?

Police found what appears to be a human skull Monday on the outskirts of a bird sanctuary in Long Island, New York, a county police officer ...

Joseph Tyrell Sanders and Shamela Ashon Peele charged on August 22nd.

Joseph Tyrell Sanders of Plymouth and Shamela Ashon Peele of Brooklyn, New York were charged on August 22nd. Authorities tell us an investig...

John Gotti Junior is suspected of being involved in three murders and large-scale cocaine smuggle.

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86b4CCCFch2EckohmyJ72NDzTdwtvKe0NR4kwECpmmvTDG3893Zh6E_3Zb0jUeCufy8K01uCz9UqiSUyNulqcA3E5ifkkJTxgYu28YXjMc_Aus7dG2hJKHOrvCY101XNCBOxxPdWJNMQ/s1600-h/maffiabaas_vs_tcm44-403794.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231616995291956050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86b4CCCFch2EckohmyJ72NDzTdwtvKe0NR4kwECpmmvTDG3893Zh6E_3Zb0jUeCufy8K01uCz9UqiSUyNulqcA3E5ifkkJTxgYu28YXjMc_Aus7dG2hJKHOrvCY101XNCBOxxPdWJNMQ/s400/maffiabaas_vs_tcm44-403794.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> John Gotti Junior, son of the former ‘Godfather’ of the Gambino family John Gotti (Senior), was arrested by the FBI yesterday. He is suspected of being involved in three murders and large-scale cocaine smuggle. Gotti Junior was the leader of the Florida branch of the Gambino family in the 1980s. The murders and drugs charges date from that eraThe suspect himself denies the charges, emphasizing that he broke with the mafia decades ago.

John Gotti Junior is suspected of being involved in three murders and large-scale cocaine smuggle.

John Gotti Junior, son of the former ‘Godfather’ of the Gambino family John Gotti (Senior), was arrested by the FBI yesterday. He is suspect...

Shawn Sadler, aka Tagulifu Barber or Carlos T. Watts sentenced to 20 years and 10 years of supervised release.

Shawn Sadler, aka Tagulifu Barber or Carlos T. Watts, 37, of Ladson, was sentenced to 20 years and 10 years of supervised release. Sandy San...

Tim Montgomery denied bond on federal heroin distribution charges.

Montgomery appeared today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and requested a jury trial, which the judge set for July 9.A federal judge denied bond for former track star Tim Montgomery on federal heroin distribution charges.The former 100-meter world-record holder was arrested last week on a sealed indictment accusing him of dealing more than 100 grams of heroin in Virginia.Stillman said Montgomery is a flight risk and a danger to the community, noting he is accused of dealing heroin in Virginia four times to a government informant after he pleaded guilty in a New York-based check-kiting conspiracy. He is to be sentenced May 16 in that case.The 33-year-old Montgomery pleaded guilty in the New York case, admitting he helped his former coach, Olympic champion Steve Riddick, and others cash $1.7 million in stolen and counterfeit checks. He faces up to 46 months in prison. Eric Hurt, an assistant U.S. attorney, called the heroin case straightforward. Montgomery met four times with a confidential informant from August to April, dealing a total of 111 grams of heroin for $8,450, Hurt told the judge.Authorities recorded the meetings on audiotape and, in two cases, also on videotape. Drug Enforcement Administration agents also observed the transactions, Hurt said. Montgomery’s defense attorney James O. Broccoletti declined to comment after the hearing, as did members of Montgomery’s family, who were in court. Riddick is serving a five-year prison term. Montgomery’s former companion, Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones, is serving a six-month prison term for lying to investigators about the check-fraud scam and using steroids. Montgomery won a gold medal in the 400 relay at the 2000 Olympics and a silver medal in the 400 relay at the 1996 Olympics. Montgomery retired in December 2005 after he was banned from track for two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for doping linked to the investigation of BALCO, the lab at the center of a steroid scandal in sports. He never tested positive for drugs and has said he never knowingly took any banned substances. All performances after March 31, 2001, were wiped from the books, including his world record of 9.78 seconds in the 100 meters in September 2002.

Tim Montgomery denied bond on federal heroin distribution charges.

Montgomery appeared today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and requ...

Vonnie Williams, Aaron Washington used "mules" and mail to import pounds of cocaine from New York and Oregon for at least five years it is alleged

Vonnie Williams, 44, and Aaron Washington, 42, were co-leaders of a continuing criminal enterprise to import and sell cocaine in Juneau. The men are co-defendants and have trials scheduled for June. Williams is held on $75,000 bail, and Washington is held on $100,000 bail. Three women with long-term criminal records support eight of the 16 charges leveled at Williams. Tonya Williams-Brown, 27, told state troopers that she was the source of "kilo after kilo of cocaine" delivered to the partners and is the source for 11 of 19 charges against Washington. Sgt. Dave Campbell, head of Juneau police investigations, said that vice crimes are conducted by willing parties on both sides and that cases built around vice crimes, such as drugs, often include people with "issues" or criminal behavior. "You're going to need someone from that lifestyle to come forward," Campbell said. Authorities say that Williams and Washington used "mules" and mail to import pounds of cocaine from New York and Oregon for at least five years. No package with either man's name containing drugs was ever seized by police. On Nov. 30, 2007, authorities grabbed Laura Johnson, 33, as she deplaned Alaska Airlines Flight 75 at Juneau International Airport based on an informant tip that she was carrying drugs. When cornered by police, Johnson, who had arrived from Seattle, produced 6.49 ounces of cocaine from a six-inch tube hidden in her body, according to court records. Page 5 of the 14-page charging document claims that Williams aided in Johnson's possession of that cocaine. The felony drug charge against Johnson, for transporting "large quantities" of cocaine into the state, was dropped in February. The district attorney's office expects Johnson, who has past convictions for contempt of court and assault, to testify truthfully at a later date, according to records. "I'm sure the defense will raise the issue of character," Campbell said. An Anchorage attorney representing Washington said it's not uncommon for authorities to make deals with lower level criminals to get to "sources higher up." Sometimes the methods yield the higher source and sometimes not, William Carey said. "Several of the individuals have histories that clearly make their statements suspect," Carey said. "As a defense attorney, I have to explore that." Williams' attorney, Tom Schulz, was unreachable Tuesday. Johnson's claims substantiate two other drug charges in the indictment, one for July 4, 2007, and one for Nov. 18, 2007. Often, informants' and witnesses' claims are suspect based on their criminal records and the deals they made with prosecutors, Carey said. The idea to investigate Washington's and Williams' alleged drug operation in a larger context, as organized and ongoing, came from state police after Williams was arrested by Juneau police in connection to a theft and forgery ring with six others. The larger drug investigation didn't really get started until late 2007, Campbell said. "We looked back to see who mentioned them in the past," Campbell said. Police said they caught Darlene Hurlbut, 28, with an undisclosed amount of narcotics on May 9, 2003. Later that summer, the felony case against her was dismissed. Now, Hurlbut is the source of two counts of cocaine dealing leveled against Williams in the indictment. The state alleges that twice in the last week of March 2003, Williams aided Hurlbut in possessing cocaine. Campbell said charges against Hurlbut could have been dropped for any number of reasons. He was not in charge of the drug unit back then. "In general, from time to time, the DA's office enters into agreements with individuals with information we feel is important," District Attorney Doug Gardner said. "These agreements are discoverable and available for the jury to take into consideration." Citing the open case, Gardner declined to comment on the credibility of witnesses and informants that have criminal histories. Campbell said in his experience a criminal could be an acceptable witness in court where credibility, in part, comes from experience. Criminals have firsthand knowledge on the issue. Another component to credibility is honesty, he said. "There is such a thing as an honest criminal," Campbell said.

Vonnie Williams, Aaron Washington used "mules" and mail to import pounds of cocaine from New York and Oregon for at least five years it is alleged

Vonnie Williams, 44, and Aaron Washington, 42, were co-leaders of a continuing criminal enterprise to import and sell cocaine in Juneau. The...

Albert Morales,Melinda Nieves were charged with third-degree and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance

Albert Morales, 19, and Melinda Nieves, 21, both of West Street, LoConte said. Morales and Nieves were charged with third-degree and seventh...

Darrel Jones of 40 E. Sidney Ave. is charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony.

Darrel Jones of 40 E. Sidney Ave. is charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony. Jones has 29 prior a...

Manuel Felipe Salazar-Espinosa smuggled tons of cocaine into the U.S

Manuel Felipe Salazar-Espinosa smuggled tons of cocaine into the U.S. and laundered tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in drug proceeds, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said. Salazar-Espinosa was ordered to forfeit $50 million. Salazar-Espinosa, 58, could have faced life in prison, Kaplan said, but U.S. prosecutors honored Colombia's request not to seek the maximum sentence. Prosecutors requested a term of 40 to 60 years. The judge said it was difficult to sympathize with Salazar-Espinosa, who was raised in an upper-middle-class family, attended college and then chose drug dealing as “an economic proposition, a way to make even more money, vast amounts of money.” Salazar-Espinosa was convicted last year of drug importation conspiracy, cocaine distribution and money laundering conspiracy charges. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhme9I2QI8Hdsdo_ywlUU5SR4JEQX2sza0xNqz-i1WvS8nFUJY1YVpjhUvZnH9RqCL5M0sy-jEkGxKOs-uFWiFOcX3pcIV5OgmI4XrWyfSgYHDuE9PgCY0XAbXMDwfBK1takBDgb60jUGU/s1600-h/pr082306fig5.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163683206295339570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhme9I2QI8Hdsdo_ywlUU5SR4JEQX2sza0xNqz-i1WvS8nFUJY1YVpjhUvZnH9RqCL5M0sy-jEkGxKOs-uFWiFOcX3pcIV5OgmI4XrWyfSgYHDuE9PgCY0XAbXMDwfBK1takBDgb60jUGU/s320/pr082306fig5.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> At his trial, Salazar-Espinosa admitted through his lawyer that he was a drug dealer but said there was no evidence that the drugs were meant to go to the United States. Before he was sentenced, Salazar-Espinosa was defiant, asking “for what is fair” and reiterating his claim he hadn't broken U.S. laws. Salazar-Espinosa was arrested in May 2005 after he helped hide 1.3 tons of cocaine in the arm of a crane being shipped from Panama to Mexico. Authorities said they found the drugs in about 1,300 bags in the crane in a warehouse outside Panama City two months after his arrest. Prosecutors said much of the 5,000 kilograms – or 11,000 pounds – of cocaine that they believed Salazar-Espinosa shipped from Colombia to the U.S. ended up in New York. The drugs were worth more than $100 million, they said.

Manuel Felipe Salazar-Espinosa smuggled tons of cocaine into the U.S

Manuel Felipe Salazar-Espinosa smuggled tons of cocaine into the U.S. and laundered tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in drug pro...

JUAN CARLOS ELLIS, GERARDO PALMA, and GIOVANNI DI RIENZO: U.S. Announces Extradition of Three Montrealers From Canada on

JUAN CARLOS ELLIS, GERARDO PALMA, and GIOVANNI DI RIENZO to New York to face criminal charges in “Operation White Dollar,” a landmark international money-laundering case that targeted the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange (“BMPE”). Operation White Dollar led to the indictment of 34 defendants in the United States, Canada, and Colombia, and the forfeiture of more than $20 million in Colombian drug proceeds from bank accounts around the world. ELLIS, PALMA, and DI RIENZO are expected to make their initial appearances later this afternoon in Manhattan federal court. Montreal: Five Montrealers have been arrested and are among 31 people charged with being part of a massive money-laundering ring that processed tens of millions of dollars in cocaine and heroin profits from Colombian drug traffickers. Investigators traced at least $100-million ( U.S. ) to the money-laundering scheme, which used a black-market currency exchange system to move funds from Medellin, Colombia, to bank accounts as far away as Israel, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands. The investigation involved undercover work and wiretaps. Details were made public in an indictment unsealed this week in Manhattan by U.S. federal prosecutors. The indictment says that the five Montreal residents are among a group of 16 defendants who "acted as the Colombian narcotics traffickers' operatives in the United States and Canada, gathering drug proceeds." According to the Indictment: The BMPE is an informal currency exchange system in which one or more “peso brokers” serve as middle-men between narcotics traffickers, who control massive quantities of drug money in the United States and elsewhere outside Colombia, and companies and individuals in Colombia, who wish to purchase U.S. dollars outside the legitimate Colombian banking system. The peso brokers arrange for the collection and accumulation of drug dollars in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere outside of Colombia, and then arrange for the funds to be deposited into the U.S. banking system. The peso brokers finally then sell the drug dollars to companies and individuals in Colombia seeking to avoid the payment of taxes, import duties, and transaction fees owed to the Colombian government. However, the indictment added, while the defendants believed they were delivering their bosses' money to money launderers, they were instead "providing them unwittingly to . . . law enforcement officers acting in undercover capacities." They were arrested as part of Operation White Dollar, a two-year joint investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the RCMP and law-enforcement agencies in Colombia and Britain. Operation White Dollar targeted a money-laundering scheme known as the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange. The indictment says the money was processed by a series of middlemen, starting with money brokers in Medellin, who secured contracts from narcotics traffickers to launder millions of dollars of drug proceeds earned in the United States and Canada. The dollars were exchanged for Colombian pesos that arrived in bank accounts in Bogota and Medellin and were delivered to the Colombian underworld in armoured cars. The five Montreal defendants are Juan Carlos Ellis, 42; Hugo Palma, 43; Yip Oi Man, 48; Giovanni Di Rienzo, 43; and Gerardo Palma, 32. The U.S. court document alleges that Mr. Ellis collected more than $2.5-million ( U.S. ) in drug money from 2002 to 2004, some of which he received from Hugo Palma and Gerardo Palma. The indictment said Mr. Di Rienzo had $290,000 in drug proceeds in his possession in 2002. Also, the document said, last February, Mr. Yip was in Queens, N.Y., where he had with him nearly $99,900 in drug profits. Organized crime commonly relies on unassuming people to act as couriers. An RCMP spokesman said the five arrested Montrealers were low-profile figures, with only one having a previous criminal record, for a minor offence. RCMP Constable Michel Blackburn said the Montreal men are alleged to have handled a total of $1.8-million ( U.S. ) and $455,000 ( Canadian ) in drug money, with the funds ending up in bank accounts in England and the Cayman Islands. The money from the drug proceeds was initially collected in bags or suitcases, the indictment said. In one case, a courier showed up at New York's JFK airport with more than $167,000 in drug money stashed inside the metal tubing of luggage carriers. Failed deliveries appeared to have been dealt with in a ruthless fashion. According to the indictment, police wiretaps overheard two men in Colombia discussing kidnapping relatives of someone who was responsible for $400,000 ( U.S. ) in drug money that had been seized by authorities.

JUAN CARLOS ELLIS, GERARDO PALMA, and GIOVANNI DI RIENZO: U.S. Announces Extradition of Three Montrealers From Canada on

JUAN CARLOS ELLIS, GERARDO PALMA, and GIOVANNI DI RIENZO to New York to face criminal charges in “Operation White Dollar,” a landmark intern...

Mohammad Essa, a/k/a "Haji Saheb," a/k/a "Abdullah,"

Arrest of MOHAMMAD ESSA, a/k/a "Haji Saheb," a/k/a "Abdullah," who is charged with conspiring to import approximately $25 million worth of heroin from Afghanistan and Pakistan into the United States and other countries. ESSA, previously in custody in Afghanistan, consented to his removal to the United States, and arrived in New York on April 27, 2007; he was presented in Magistrate Court and was ordered detained pending trial. ESSA’s first appearance before United States District Judge DENNY CHIN took place this afternoon. According to the Indictment and statements made during ESSA’s first appearance in Manhattan federal court: From approximately 1990 until January 2005, ESSA was a member of an international heroin trafficking organization led by BAZ MOHAMMAD (the "Baz Mohammad Organization"), an organization that was responsible for manufacturing and transporting hundreds of kilograms of heroin in Afghanistan and Pakistan. During the course of the conspiracy, the Baz Mohammad Organization controlled opium fields in Afghanistan where poppies were grown and harvested to generate opium. After the opium was harvested, the Baz Mohammad Organization used laboratories in Afghanistan and Pakistan to process the opium into heroin. The Organization then arranged to transport the heroin from Afghanistan into the United States and other countries where it was sold for tens of millions of dollars. ESSA is one of the co-conspirators alleged to have managed the distribution of heroin by the Baz Mohammad Organization’s operatives in the United States and elsewhere. The Baz Mohammad Organization was closely aligned with the Taliban in Afghanistan, and allegedly provided financial support to the Taliban in Afghanistan. In exchange for this support, the Taliban provided the Baz Mohammad Organization with protection for its opium crops, heroin laboratories, drug-transportation routes, and members and associates. From 1994 through 2000, ESSA and his co-conspirators collected heroin proceeds in the United States for the Taliban. (As announced in previous releases by this Office, MOHAMMAD, a foreign narcotics kingpin designated under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, was extradited from Afghanistan to the United States in October 2005 -- the first such extradition in history. MOHAMMAD was extradited pursuant to Article 3(1) of the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. MOHAMMAD pleaded guilty on July 11, 2006, to conspiring to import heroin into the United States. MOHAMMAD faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.) Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative efforts of the New York and New Jersey Field Divisions of the DEA. Mr. GARCIA also commended the work of the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which is comprised of law enforcement agencies including the DEA, New York City Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Police. Mr. GARCIA added: "This important arrest reflects our continuing cooperation with law enforcement partners around the world to combat international narcotics trafficking. Our coordinated efforts are vital both because of the harm that drug trafficking causes in the United States and because of the destabilizing influence that drug trafficking has on Afghanistan." "If you want a clear picture of the link between drugs and terrorism, look at MOHAMMAD ESSA," said DEA Administrator TANDY. "ESSA is a terrorist and a trafficker -- as part of the Baz Mohammad trafficking group he supported the insurgency in Afghanistan with drug profits, and helped carry out BAZ MOHAMMAD's ‘jihad’ against the U.S. by supplying tens of millions of dollars of heroin to our country. An adversary of American democracy, ESSA will now face one of its finest institutions -- the American justice system." The return of ESSA was made possible through the consent and assistance of the Afghan justice officials and the support of the DEA Country Office and the DOJ Senior Federal Prosecutors Program in Kabul This prosecution is being handled by the International Narcotics Trafficking Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys AMY FINZI and JOCELYN E. STRAUBER are in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Mohammad Essa, a/k/a "Haji Saheb," a/k/a "Abdullah,"

Arrest of MOHAMMAD ESSA, a/k/a "Haji Saheb," a/k/a "Abdullah," who is charged with conspiring to import approximately $2...

Panamanian nationals

arrested seven Panamanian nationals in connection with the plot to smuggle and sell the cocaine in the New York area. The narcotics were bei...

John Irizarry

John Irizarry, 44, of Schenectady, N.Y., and Leonard Rios, 37, of Brooklyn were arrested about 1:50 a.m. Saturday. State troopers working ou...

Patrick Toal

Patrick Toal, 20, of New City was arrested about 12:05 a.m. Saturday. He was stopped for a traffic violation while driving westbound on Rout...

Berelice Donaghey

Berelice Donaghey, 43, of Fishkill, N.Y., was arrested Wednesday by members of the New Milford police's Investigate Services Bureau. Pol...