Monthly Archives: February 2016

Blog, Divorce, Family, Legal News

How to Win a Custody Battle

1

  1. Take action first. If the mother of your child takes you to court, then you will have a problem. When a father takes the mother of the child to court, it shows the court that you really want to be in your child’s life and want to take action.

2

2. Pay child support. Even if it’s not ordered into court yet, no matter what. Give something every month and do not give cash, write a check, money order, etc.

3

3. Avoid arguing with the other parent. This only makes things worse and it will start giving your child mixed emotions.

4

4. Call the police. If at any time the other parent argues with you, just walk out and call the police. “Do not argue back”, because it can be put into a police report and it can be used against you in court.

5

5. Spend as much quality time with the children as possible. Take them to activities them will enjoy every time you are with them and document the activities with photos. Do they enjoy swimming, face painting and walks in the woods?

6

6. Great–do that and more with them and have the photos to prove it. Don’t have time to take them somewhere special? No problem–make a game of whatever you are doing with them form shopping at the local Publix to raking leaves. Make it fun for the kids and get photos of the good times to back it up.

7

7. Be present. Make sure you attend as many teacher conferences, doctors appointments and extracurricular activities as you can and be sure to know the names of their teachers, doctors, friends, coaches and babysitters.

8

8. Keep track of everything. This is very important, keep track everyday when you see/don’t see your child. It will also help you in the long run. Do not tell the other parent that you are keeping track.

  • Record each and every time the other parent breaches the current custody agreement. Record every omission, such as, late pickup/returning, didn’t return child’s things, didn’t pay math tutor, no show at parent-teacher conference, etc.
  • Keep a detailed record of all payments. This includes all child support payments and other financial obligations governed by current agreement. Keep it in the file with your other court documents.

9

9. Make your visits. Make sure that you are making your visits when it’s your day. If you cannot make it for some reason, make sure you call the other parent and tell her. Not making a scheduled visit will look bad on your part.

10

10. Dress professionally. Make sure you are dressed nicely with a suit, etc. Don’t dress like a slob with ripped jeans or a ripped shirt.

11

11. Make sure that you go to all your court dates. Missing court could result in a warrant for your arrest.

12. Be yourself but also demand your rights.

Blog, Divorce, Family, Legal News, Supreme Court

Rocco Ritchie Allegedly Pictured Smoking Amid Custody Battle: ‘This Is Exactly What Madonna Has Been Afraid Of,’ Says Source

BY JEFF NELSON

02/08/2016 AT 07:10 AM EST

Madonna and Guy Ritchie‘s custody battle rages on.

Over the weekend, U.K.’s The Sun posted photos of the exes’ underage son Rocco allegedly smoking with friends in London while under his father’s care.

“This is exactly what Madonna has been afraid of,” a source tells PEOPLE. “Rocco still isn’t back in school – and now this. He is just a rebellious teenager, but he needs guidance and direction from his father.”

The teen had been on tour for a few months with Madonna, 57, but left to go live with his father, 47, in the U.K. in December because, as sources previously told PEOPLE, he prefers his father’s laid-back parenting style.

However, when Rocco refused to return home to his mother for the holidays, a judge reportedly ordered him to return to New York for his parents to sort out his living situation. Despite the order, Ritchie has yet to return Rocco to the United States, and a source close to the singer alleges Rocco has missed some school. As a Ritchie source told PEOPLE last week, Madonna even visited her son in between tour legs to make a plea for him to come home.

As a Ritchie source told PEOPLE last week, “It’s about a fundamental difference in parental philosophies,” adding the filmmaker views his ex’s “old-school” approach as “counter-productive” and “harming his self-esteem and confidence at such a crucial part of his life.”

But a friend of the former couple – who finalized their divorce in 2008 – believes the custody squabble was caused in part by their contentious history.

“This is far beyond a situation about Rocco – it’s about a situation between Madonna and Guy,” the friend told PEOPLE last month. “They don’t have a good relationship; it’s more of a power fight between them and if he can one-up her. This is the best way he can do it.”

Madonna and Ritchie are due in New York Supreme Court for a hearing March 2; reps are not commenting.

Full Article From  – http://www.people.com/article/madonna-guy-ritchie-custody-battle-rocco-smoking-underage

Blog, Criminal, International, Legal News, Organized Crime

Canada ex-mafia boss Rocco Zito shot dead in Toronto

A former Mafia boss has been shot dead at his home in the Canadian city of Toronto.

Rocco Zito, 87, had been a senior member of the notorious ‘Ndrangheta, or Calabrian mafia, based in southern Italy, according to Canadian media.

He was once one of Toronto’s most powerful mafia leaders, the Toronto Sun reported.

Zito’s son-in-law, Domenico Scopelliti, has been charged with murder after turning himself in to police.

Police said officers arrived at Zito’s home on Friday to find a man with gunshot wounds. Attempts were made to resuscitate him but he died of his injuries.

Officials did not immediately release the victim’s name.

Mr Scopelliti, 51, was named as a suspect and he surrendered to authorities on Saturday, a police statement said.

He later appeared in court where he was charged with first-degree murder.

Zito was born in Fiumara, Calabria, Italy, in 1928 and moved to Canada in the mid-1950s.

He was reported to have had ties with branches of the ‘Ndrangheta in New York, Montreal and Italy.

Italian police say the ‘Ndrangheta operates the biggest cocaine smuggling network in Europe.

Blog, Criminal, International, Legal News, Organized Crime

Parole recommended for former California Mexican Mafia chief

Associated Press

By DON THOMPSONFebruary 5, 2016 7:15 PM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Acting amid extra tight security, parole commissioners on Friday again recommended the release of a former leader of the Mexican Mafia prison gang who now helps law enforcement, Board of Parole Hearings spokesman Luis Patino said.

Rene “Boxer” Enriquez has been in prison since 1993 on a 20 years-to life sentence for two murders, multiple assaults and conspiracy to traffic in controlled substances.

It’s the second time parole officials decided that he can safely be released. However, Gov. Jerry Brown last year rejected parole for the 53-year-old Enriquez and Brown has about five months in which he can block it again.

“Hopefully this time the governor will let him go home,” Enriquez’s attorney, Michael Beckman, said after the hearing.

Brown last year rejected Enriquez’s parole in part because of concerns that he would be targeted for retaliation by other gang members if he is released. That could endanger Enriquez, his family, parole agents and the community, Brown said.

That concern was reflected in Friday’s hearing. Prison officials kept the timing and location of the hearing secret, citing safety concerns for Enriquez and prison employees.

Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Steve Sowders said three survivors were allowed to use only their first names as they testified against his parole by video conference.

“They’re concerned about their safety,” he said. “This is because of the case involves the Mexican Mafia.”

Enriquez drew attention last year when the Los Angeles Police Department used an invalid court order, spent $22,000 and cleared a downtown Los Angeles building so Enriquez could speak to a gathering of law enforcement and business leaders.

He has talked in recent years to various groups of officers and provided valuable information on the transnational criminal enterprise to which he once belonged, Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Michael Downing said afterward.

Enriquez cited his cooperation and the self-improvement classes he has taken in prison as he spoke for more than three hours Friday, according to a Los Angeles Times reporter who watched by video conference. The reporter described him as sitting like a businessman at a board meeting before the two-person parole panel, his hair slicked back and cut short on the sides.

Read Full Article – http://news.yahoo.com/parole-recommended-former-california-mexican-mafia-chief-224139155.html

Blog, Business Law, Criminal, Drug Companies, Legal News

U.S. legal marijuana sales were $5.4B in 2015, higher than Trump’s net worth and several times the cost of the Space Shuttle

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 9:15 PM
SETH PERLMAN/AP

Marijuana plants are shown at an Illinois medical marijuana cultivation center. Legal weed sales jumped 17% last year.

Americans spent more money on legal marijuana in 2015 than Donald Trump is worth, research revealed Monday.

The $5.4 billion in legal pot sales outpaces the magnate and presidential candidate’s $4.5 billion net worth and dwarfs the $1.7 billion cost of NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour. And weed sales will overtake the price of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in a few years.

Analysts from ArcView Market Research and New Frontier Data unveiled their annual report on the size of the legal pot market Monday, showing a 17% increase over 2014.

The marijuana market researchers predict overall sales will grow to $21.8 billion by 2020 at a compound annual rate of 30%. Voters in at least seven states will consider allowing adults to get high legally this year and 86% of Americans now live in states with some form of legal marijuana use.

Legal pot sales in U.S. outpaced The Donald’s $4.5 billion net worth.

“Many in the business and financial sector have taken a ‘wait and see’ approach to the legal cannabis industry,” the publishers wrote in an introductory letter. “The data in this report confirms what pioneer investors and entrepreneurs suspected: legalization of cannabis is one of greatest business opportunities of our time and it’s still early enough to see huge growth.”

Yet the figures already lend themselves to fun comparisons. They may never add up to the $710 billion Americans spend each year at bars and nightclubs or the $400 billion projected overall cost of the Department of Defense’s most costly and ambitious fighter jet program.

But the 2015 sales would buy 33 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, based on the Government Accountability Office’s estimate. And when legal weed sales grow to $12 billion in 2018, the proceeds would be more than enough to pay for the city-sized USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier currently in the works.

Read Full Article – http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/u-s-legal-marijuana-sales-5-4b-2015-article-1.2519611