'Bikie links' to torched industrial unit

 

Police have revealed a property damaged in a suspicious fire in Sydney's west on Sunday night is linked to a motorcycle gang. Emergency services were called to the industrial unit at Mount Druitt about 11:00pm AEST. Police say the blaze caused extensive damage to the ground floor and second-storey office areas. Chief Inspector Bill Pearce says the gangs squad has been called in. "We believe that the premises are owned or leased or rented by persons who are associated with a motorcycle group and as a result of that we're following certain lines of inquiry in relation to the fire which we believe is certainly suspicious," he said.

The largest ever trial involving Danish motrocycle gangs has resulted in 15 out of 16 charged individuals being convicted of attempted murder and assault.

Leading Hells Angel, Brian Sandberg, has been found guilty of attempted murder today (Photo: Scanpix)

The largest ever trial involving Danish motrocycle gangs has resulted in 15 out of 16 charged individuals being convicted of attempted murder and assault. One man was released on Monday without charge.

The trial of four full members of the Hells Angels – including leader Brian Sandberg – and 12 henchmen has taken six months and was based mostly around the testimony of the 25-year-old informant MFP.

The 15 individuals were charged with having carried out four shootings, planning a further two as well carrying out assaults using weapons. Their victims were mostly young  men with immigrant backgrounds.

One of the shooting targets was ‘Little A’ (Lille A) who is a leading member of the rival Blågårds Square Group (Blågårds Plads Gruppen) in Nørrebro.

The city court recognised that MFP’s testimony was supported by technical evidence, witness statements, telephone recordings and video surveillance which the judge stated was necessary in order to convict the accused.

MFP told to the court before the summer holiday who had participated in the various shootings and assaults, who gave the orders and why they happened.

He has already been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the High Court for his part in five shootings though his sentence has been reduced due to his cooperation with the police.

But throughout the trial the defence has attempted to question his credibility and have accused him of lying about important events.

The Hells Angels have called the case a “well-planned miscarriage of justice”.

The arrest of many of the bikers most notorious members involved in the gang conflict, has meant the Hells Angles have been effectively shut down. Hells Angels spokesperson Jørn “Jønke” Nielsen has moved to Jutland and many of the remaining leaders are being held in custody.

It is now thought that the Hells Angels group in Ishøj have taken over much of the power base from the Copenhagen region and that they are starting to recover.

The arrest of Brian Sandberg in autumn last year has led to a calming of tensions between the immigrant gangs and the bikers. Conflict has since broken out within the immigrant gangs and also between the Hells Angels and rival biker gang, Bandido’s, in Esbjerg.

Sandberg was found not guilty of attempted murder at an incident at a Vesterbro kiosk as the court found MFP’s testimony about the event to not be reliable.

His testimony was still used by the court to convict other bikers of the attempted murder however.

Sandberg was convicted of manslaughter in a shooting at the Surf’n Play-café on Rantzausgade in Nørrebro. He alleges, however, that his car was shot at earlier in the evening.

The 15 men will be sentenced next week.

Hunger strikes at California prison renew debate over confining prison gangs

 

The sun rarely shines on the kingpins of California's prison gangs. To stop them from orchestrating mayhem on prison yards and neighborhoods across the state, prison officials condemned hundreds of reputed gang members to years of isolation in windowless cells. For five years, the tough strategy worked, wardens insist. Quarantined crime bosses lost contact with their followers. No one could hear what they had to say. At least, not until July 1, when some of the most securely held prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison stopped eating and broke through their shuttered lines of communication with a mass hunger strike that spread into prisons across the state. "Am I an innocent lamb? By no means, but I can tell you this: I never deserved to be locked up in a dungeon for seven years just because they allege I'm a gang member," said Ronnie Yandell, one of the leaders of the hunger strike that lasted three weeks and spread to 12 other prisons with promises of more strikes to come. Now, as a court-ordered mandate forces California to reduce the number of low-level criminals in its overcrowded prisons, protests of inhumane conditions for the most hardened, violent criminals are forcing the state to rethink another problem: How can powerful and savvy prisoners be stopped from directing violence on the outside without their rights against cruel punishment being violated on the inside? Life in 'The SHU' Yandell and the other 1,110 men in the Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit -- known as "The SHU" -- spend at least 22 1/2 hours each day in their concrete, bathroom-size cells. Some inmates have a cellmate and some do not. Prisoners can have TVs but little human interaction. Their daily outing is a solitary 90-minute break in a barren exercise pen lined with 15-foot-high concrete walls and a limited view of the sky. Hearing about the hunger strike through a network of family members and activists, more than 6,000 inmates across California joined in. The prisons weighed each hunger striker daily, finding only about 11 percent of Pelican Bay's protesters lost weight during the 21-day strike. One lost 30 pounds. No one died, but after weeks of unwanted attention and a legislative hearing in late August, top prison officials now say they are reviewing how long and why they segregate and isolate some inmates in the state's harshest cellblocks. "Everything we're doing with these men is lawful and constitutional," said Pelican Bay Warden Greg Lewis. "I really didn't see the need to negotiate anything. On the other hand, in the department, we need to evolve and change with the conditions that are going on." Dogged with mistreatment complaints and lawsuits since its inception, Pelican Bay's conditions were found by a federal judge in 1995 to "hover on the edge of what is humanly tolerable." But judges have also repeatedly upheld California's practice of confining inmates in isolated conditions, and in March commended Pelican Bay for improving conditions. Still, experts say, the prison realignment prompted by the court order to reduce prison populations offers an opportunity to reconsider the practice of isolating criminals. "There's a growing consensus that these ultra-isolation prisons are a bad mistake," said criminologist Barry Krisberg, director of research at UC Berkeley's Earl Warren Institute. "The theory behind these prisons was we'll collect all the worst people in one place and that will make the rest of the prisons safer and easier to manage. But they weren't necessarily the most dangerous, violent criminals. " And the levels of violence in the other places didn't really go down." 'Living like dogs' Prisoners promise another fast could begin next week inside the remote facility, just south of the Oregon border, if their demands for better conditions and an easier path out of isolation are not met. Prison officials said the strikes are a dangerous, costly and ineffective way for prisoners to voice their complaints. Yandell said it is the only way anyone will pay attention. "We're tired of living like dogs," the former Contra Costa County resident wrote in a handwritten letter to this newspaper, one of several interviews conducted between the newspaper and self-defined leaders of the strike. "Not even terrorists at Guantánamo Bay are treated like this." Convicted of killing two men in El Sobrante a decade ago during a drug deal, Yandell was placed in Pelican Bay's SHU -- the oldest and biggest of three similar units around the state -- after prison officials designated him a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white-only gang. The only way out of solitary confinement was to "debrief" -- to convincingly denounce his gang affiliation and ideology and name former collaborators. But many prisoners never find their way out of the SHU; the average time spent inside the state's isolation units is 6.8 years, and some prisoners have been there for decades.

Drug trafficker may be making a run for it

 

West Vancouver man with ties to several criminal gangs vanished Sept. 5, only two days before he was due to be sentenced for a drug trafficking conviction. Police say Omid Bayani, 36, appeared to be headed to one of the North Shore gyms he frequented when he left his home that afternoon, but hasn't been seen since. A senior figure in the UN Gang, Bayani arranged to sell 600 litres of the date rape drug GHB to a Hells Angels chapter in Toronto in 2007. But the operation was infiltrated by the Ontario Provincial Police and Bayani was convicted of trafficking. The Crown was asking for a sentence of eight to nine years in prison, and Bayani was supposed to be in court to learn his fate Sept. 7. Bayani was convicted of a series of armed robberies in Alberta in the 1990s and has also faced a variety of drugs, weapons and assault charges in B.C. over the past decade. According to the West Vancouver police, Bayani is Middle Eastern, six feet tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has short, black hair, brown eyes and a goatee, but no moustache. He was last seen wearing a grey-and-white Under Armour shirt, blue Under Armour shorts and running shoes

Hells Angels boss faces charges over vicious dog attacks

Investigators are deciding what charges to bring against Hannover’s Hells Angels boss, after his two German Shepherds brutally attacked a number of people.

In the worst-case scenario, Frank Hanebuth could face charges of grievous bodily harm. It is still not clear how the two dogs got out of his heavily guarded property. “The question of whether this was a deliberate act still remains,” officials said on Saturday. 

The aggressive dogs had been running lose in the district of Wedemark, north of Hannover, on Thursday evening. They bit five people, causing serious injuries to two of them. 

In a newspaper interview Hanebuth apologized publically to those who had been attacked.

“It was a terrible accident. I hugely regret what happened to the victims,” Hanebuth told the Neue Presse. “It is absolutely clear that I will use all the means at my disposal to take responsibility for the incident.” The 46-year-old owner had himself gone to the police on Friday.

According to the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, Hanebuth’s lawyer expects his client to only be charged with bodily injury caused by negligence. However, there is also the prospect that he could face the more serious charge of grievous bodily harm.

Hanebuth said he was “horrified and shocked” by what had happened. The dogs had been trained and had never attacked anyone before. “They weren’t beasts,” he said.

Man stabbed in Stockholm Biker gang brawl

 

A man was left nursing stab wounds to the neck after a mass brawl involving some 20 men belonging to rival biker gangs in central Stockholm on Tuesday.Another man is also reported to have required treatment after the brawl on the open street outside a bar on Södermalm in central Stockholm. According to witness reports some 15 members of the Red and White Crew, a supporter club of the Hells Angels, stormed the El Cocodrilo restaurant on Ringvägen. Armed with knives, tear gas and firearms the group attacked a rival gang, reported by the police to be either Outlaws or Bandidos. "I heard screaming and shouting, then I saw a mob run in and out from the restaurant. Then they came out carrying a half-naked guy, who fell to the ground and who they continued to assault," an eye witness told the TT news agency. The witness watched as the man was beaten bloody outside the restaurant before the police managed to break up the fight. There are reports of shots being fired inside the restaurant, but these are denied by the police. "They waved a weapon, but no one has been shot," said Stefan Nordemark at Stockholm police. The police detained a person during the night, with a second man subject to a warrant for his arrest. "We have conducted a number of raids, including a club premises. We are working on the case and it feels as if we have a good situation."

The Devil's Professor

 

erstwhile associate kinesiology professor at California State University at San Bernardino remains on the lam after police raided his home last week and found a pound of methamphetamine and a cache of guns. Police are charging that Stephen Kinzey, who had been on the San Bernardino faculty for a decade, was leading a double life: teaching and researching by day; directing the local chapter of an outlaw biker gang, and its drug business, by night. Not long after the manhunt began, Albert Karnig, the university’s president, emphasized that no one on the Southern California campus saw this coming: “To our knowledge, this is the first notice that anyone on our campus has had regarding this situation,” Karnig said. “…If the allegations are indeed true, this is beyond disappointing.” newspaper accounts described neighbors, students, and even Kinzey's father as having little or no sense of the professor's alleged outside activities. The Contra Costa Times quoted Kinzey's father as saying that he knew that his son belonged to a motorcycle gang and was not "thrilled" about it (the father taught him to ride). But Hank Kinzey also described his son as "a good Catholic boy" and a Republican, and added: "Everybody's always in denial when it's something to do with their family, but this is really surreal," he said. How could a full-time college professor run a drug ring on the sly without tipping his hand? Tom Barker, a professor of criminal justice at Eastern Kentucky University and leading scholar on outlaw biker gangs, says it is not hard to imagine. “It’s not uncommon for leaders or members of motorcycle gangs to hold down seemingly legitimate lives,” says Barker, even if part of their responsibility is to oversee an illegal drug business. “A college professor could easily pull it off.” Barker says he knows of at least two other college professors who are members of outlaw biker gangs, though he would not disclose their names because he says it could cost him his life. If Kinzey is the kingpin that police suspect he is, “he’s not actually that much involved in actual delivery of drugs,” says Barker. “He’s probably setting up the networks, and he can do that in the way he’s away from the classroom very easily.” In such crime organizations, most of the number-crunching falls to the secretary-treasurer, Barker says. The actual distribution falls to the members and their associates, the enforcer handles the dirty work, and the president’s leadership duties can be delegated to the vice president when necessary. While the chapter head is like the CEO of a small company, the illegal nature of the business means “there’s not a lot of paperwork,” says Barker. Barker says he is familiar with the Devil’s Diciples [sic], the gang Kinzey is alleged to have been running. And while he does not know specific details about the San Bernardino chapter, he says that the president of that chapter would have been in charge of anywhere between seven and 25 full-fledged gang members and a broad network of associates and business partners. He guessed the president of the chapter would personally pull in about a million dollars per year. As an associate kinesiology professor at San Bernardino, Kinzey was probably making around $70,000, according to the annual data produced by the American Association of University Professors. So if Kinzey was indeed the head of a lucrative drug ring, why continue to teach? Barker says that it may have been a fallback in case the kinesiology professor ever wanted to get out of organized crime. Heading the Devil’s Diciples might pay well, but it lacks the stability and retirement benefits of a state teaching job, Barker says. Another theory, he adds, is that Kinzey just loved to teach. Terry Rizzo, the chair of the kinesiology department at San Bernardino, did not respond to multiple requests for an interview; neither did Kinzey’s other colleagues. But student reviews on RateMyProfessors.com suggest that Kinzey had been popular among many students and passionate about his work. “Dr. Steve Kinsey is an amazing [professor], who helps his students in every situation, including in their greatest need,” wrote one student in 2007. “He is a good friend of mine and we continue to get together on a quarterly basis to catch up on life. Thank god for him, because I wouldn't be a graduate without him!!!!!” “He's so awesome!” wrote another, later that same year. “He has a passion for everything he does and it shows in his desire for students to succeed and understand.” More recent reviews paint a less flattering portrait, however. Kinzey “seems like he does not care anymore,” reported one reviewer in 2008. “im sure he is good at what he does he just isnt clear at all. talks all class and does not get anything done. kinda unorganized, but nice enough.” In 2010, a student wrote: “the professor sucks, he comes in late and doesn't care, if he try's to help you he'll end up rambling about himself.” And the last review before Kinzey became a fugitive, written last May, depicts a perpetually distracted instructor: “He's a really good guy and would give you the shirt off his back,” the reviewer wrote. “But something serious must have happened to him because he shows up late, and rambles on about random and controversial topics. He lost his focus & passion for teaching. His behavior lately makes it seem like he wants to get fired.” “Sad,” the student added, “because I really enjoyed all of his classes.”

Libya rendition claims: David Cameron calls for inquiry

 

Allegations that MI6 was involved in the rendition of Libyan terror suspects should be examined by an independent inquiry, David Cameron has said. It comes after papers suggesting close ties between MI6, the CIA and the Gaddafi regime were found in Tripoli. An anti-Gaddafi military leader says he wants the UK and US to apologise for organising his 2004 transfer to Libya. An existing inquiry into allegations of UK security agencies' involvement in torture has said it will investigate. Abdel Hakim Belhaj, then a terror suspect but now in charge of the Libyan capital's military forces, says he was tortured after being arrested in Bangkok. He says he was taken to Libya by a CIA and MI6 operation, allegedly confirmed by documents sent to Gaddafi's regime, and sent to prison. The Foreign Office said the government had a "long-standing policy" not to comment on intelligence matters. Mr Belhaj told the BBC: "What happened to me and my family is illegal. It deserves an apology. And for what happened to me when I was captured and tortured. "For all these illegal things, starting with the information given to Libyan security, the interrogation in Bangkok." According to the Guardian, these documents were discovered in an abandoned office building in Tripoli by staff from Human Rights Watch. Mr Belhaj said that MI6 and the CIA did not witness his torture at the hands of the former Libyan regime, but did interview him afterwards. A spokesman for the prime minister said that the existing Detainee Inquiry into rendition was "well placed" to investigate the allegations reported in recent days. "It's not clear precisely what the allegations amount to," the spokesman added. "We don't have a clear picture from these documents, which is precisely why an inquiry like the [Detainee] inquiry might be well placed to consider the issue." A statement from the Detainee Inquiry, to be chaired by Sir Peter Gibson, said that as part of its role of examining the extent of the government's involvement in, or awareness of, improper treatment of detainees, it would "therefore, of course, be considering these allegations of UK involvement in rendition to Libya as part of our work. "We will be seeking more information from government and its agencies as soon as possible."

Blair was 'godfather to Murdoch's daughter'

 

Former prime minister Tony Blair is godfather to one of Rupert Murdoch's young children, sources said on Monday, raising fresh questions about British political links to the media mogul's empire. The revelation first emerged in a Vogue magazine interview with Murdoch's wife Wendi Deng, which also contains claims that Blair was present when Murdoch and Deng's two daughters were baptised beside the River Jordan in March last year. A spokesman for Blair's London office and a spokeswoman for Murdoch's US-based News Corporation both refused to comment on the story in Vogue's October UK edition, which is due out on Thursday. But sources close to News Corp confirmed to AFP that Blair was godfather to Grace, aged nine, Murdoch's eldest daughter by third wife Wendi. A source close to Blair also confirmed the Vogue story was true. News of the link between former Labour premier Blair and Australian-born Murdoch comes two months after the tycoon was forced to close down his News of the World tabloid amid a scandal over phone-hacking. The Vogue article, extracts of which were published in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, says Blair attended the ceremony "garbed in white" and describes him as one of Wendi Murdoch's "closest friends". Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman were named publicly as godparents to Murdoch's young daughters at the time of the ceremony on the banks of the River Jordan, but Blair did not feature in photographs that were released. Jordan's Queen Rania hosted the baptism of Grace and Chloe, eight, Vogue said. A spokeswoman for Vogue UK confirmed that all the information and extracts published in the Daily Telegraph were accurate. They said it was an exclusive arrangement with the newspaper to release it in that way. The phone-hacking scandal dragged in Prime Minister David Cameron when his former media chief Andy Coulson, an ex-News of the World editor, was arrested in July on suspicion of hacking and bribing police. But it raised wider questions about the British establishment's cosy links with Murdoch, especially as Labour, who are now in opposition, made huge efforts to win over the elderly mogul's stable of newspapers.

Bail for leader of Hells Angels' Ventura chapter

 

longtime leader of the Hells Angels' Ventura County chapter charged in connection with the firebombing of two tattoo parlors has been granted bail. The Ventura County Star ( http://bit.ly/pPC00U) says a judge Friday ordered 64-year-old George Christie Jr. detained at home with an electronic monitoring bracelet. It was unclear early Saturday whether Christie had posted the $200,000 bail. Christie was arrested three weeks ago after being named in a six-count indictment that charges him and four others with conspiracy, extortion and arson. The indictment alleges that Christie, who owns a tattoo shop in Ventura, ordered Hells Angels members to threaten his competitors in an attempt to shut down their businesses. He has pleaded not guilty.