Monthly Archives: May 2022

Blog, Business Law, Criminal, Drug Companies, Immigration, International, Legal News, Organized Crime

Colombian Cartel Leader Faces Drug Charges After Extradition to New York

The man known as Otoniel is accused of smuggling tons of cocaine and assassinating police officers and civic leaders.

A man accused of leading a Colombian cartel was extradited to face federal drug-trafficking charges in Brooklyn, ending a yearslong effort to hobble an organization that a federal prosecutor said on Thursday smuggled an “outrageous” amount of cocaine into the United States.

Dairo Antonio Úsuga, more commonly known as Otoniel, led a force thousands strong. He was arrested in October and has long stood accused of carrying out assassinations of police officers and civic leaders.

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Blog, Business Law, Celebrity, celebrity legal news, Legal News

Texas pastor sues Kanye West over use of sermon in song

A Texas pastor is suing Kanye West for taking one of his sermons and using it in a rap tune, according to local reports.

Bishop David Paul Moten said the hip-hop legend used the religious address without his permission in the song “Come to Life,” according to the Dallas Morning News.

In the song, Moten can be heard saying “My soul cries out, ‘Hallelujah,’ and I thank God for saving me. I, I thank God,” the suit, filed in Dallas County, reportedly says.

The lawsuit names Universal Music Group, Def Jam Recordings, G.O.O.D. Music, and West as defendants, according to the Dallas Morning News.

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Blog, Criminal, Legal News

2,000 serial killers in US, says man who caught Golden State Killer

About two thousand serial killers are on the loose, hunting for fresh victims all across the country.

That’s the word from California cold-case ace Paul Holes, who nailed notorious Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo in 2016 after a 40-year manhunt.

He believes many more like him are still out there.

“I’ve seen statistics that some two thousand serial killers are operating in the United States today,” writes the acclaimed criminalist in “Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases,” out now, in which he chronicles his career-long pursuit of DeAngelo.

“It’s a rough estimate, for sure, but it’s absolutely a realistic figure,” Holes told The Post. 

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Blog, Criminal, Immigration, International, Legal News, Organized Crime, Supreme Court

Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, Indicted on Drug-Trafficking and Firearms Charges, Extradited to the United States from Honduras

Hernández Allegedly Partnered with Some of the Largest Cocaine Traffickers in the World to Transport Tons of Cocaine through Honduras to the United States

Juan Orlando Hernández, aka JOH, 53, the former President of Honduras, will make his initial appearance tomorrow, April 22, before Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron in federal court in New York after being extradited today from Honduras. A federal court unsealed drug-trafficking and weapons charges today in a superseding indictment against Hernández.

The indictment charges that from at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2022, Hernández, the former two-term President of Honduras, participated in a corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy to facilitate the importation of hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States. Hernández allegedly received millions of dollars to use his public office, law enforcement, and the military to support drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere.

“The Justice Department is taking a comprehensive approach to protecting our communities and our country from violent crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Department is committed to disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far or how high we must go.”

“Juan Orlando Hernández, the recent former President of Honduras, allegedly partnered with some of the world’s most prolific narcotics traffickers to build a corrupt and brutally violent empire based on the illegal trafficking of tons of cocaine to the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Hernández is alleged to have used his vast political powers to protect and assist drug traffickers and cartel leaders by alerting them to possible interdictions, and sanctioning heavily armed violence to support their drug trade. I commend the career prosecutors of the Southern District of New York for their tireless efforts to disrupt the entire illicit drug trafficking ecosystem, from street-level dealers to a former world leader, and everything in-between.”

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Blog, Business Law, Criminal, Legal News, Organized Crime

NYC Mafia bust: Feds charge 6 Genovese crime family mobsters in 11-year gambling, violent extortion enterprise

Six members of a notorious New York City crime family were charged with a racketeering conspiracy involving illegal gambling and extortion in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.

Prosecutors said the six alleged mobsters, associated with the Genovese organized crime family, made money through illegal gambling and loan sharking by saddling victims with incredible debt that they could not pay back. The suspects include alleged high-ranking members Nicholas Calisi and Ralph Balsamo, known as “captains,” as well as alleged “soldiers” Michael Messina and John Campanella and alleged “associates” Michael Poli and Thomas Poli.

“From extortion to illegal gambling, the Mafia continues to find ways to prey on others to fill its coffers,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Our office and our law enforcement partners remain committed to putting organized crime out of business.”

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