Investigators are scouring arrest reports and other records regarding victims in a shooting spree this past weekend at a Palmetto nightclub to determine any possible suspects and motives in the unsolved case. Facts AK-47 BASICS Palmetto police say an AK-47 assault rifle was used in the mass shooting that killed two and injured 22 others at a nightclub early Saturday. Here is a primer on the weapon and why it is so infamous: • When fully automatic, it can fire 600 rounds per minute. Semi-automatic models can fire 45 to 60 rounds per minute. • Accuracy is low, but firepower is strong; bullets tend to flip in flight, increasing damage to human tissue and organs. • Possession is legal in Florida and in many states, though state laws can vary widely. • The name AK-47 is from a combination of the name of designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, a Soviet tank crew member. It went into production in 1947. • It is among the earliest designs of assault rifles, and one of the most widely used in the world. • More AK-type rifles have been produced than any other assault rifle. SOURCES: answers.com, thefirearmsforum.com, webanswers.com “We're looking through everything we have,” Manatee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dave Bristow said this morning. “Palmetto Police are looking back at everything they have.” Witnesses believe gunmen may have targeted Trayon Goff, 25, who was outside Club Elite, 704 10th St. W., when the shooting began at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday. Two were killed and 22 injured in the shooting. Investigators are unsure whether Goff's criminal past factors into the case. The felony cases filed against Trayon Goff occurred in 2005 and 2006. Undercover sheriff's detectives claimed that Goff repeatedly sold them rock cocaine outside the R&R Market at 7205 Bayshore Road in Rubonia. The transactions were reportedly recorded on video. One detective reported that Goff sold him cocaine there on Sept. 6, 2005, and again on Sept. 13, 2005. For his conviction on those two counts, Goff served two months in the county jail. Goff was later identified as participating in a previous rock cocaine transaction at the store on Aug. 25, 2005. In that case, he served 60 days in the county jail. He was accused of selling rock cocaine to a different undercover detective outside the same store on May 23, 2006. In that case, he was sentenced to a year in the county jail. No further felony arrests for Goff have been recorded in Manatee County since, though there is an ongoing domestic relations case in which the records are confidential and a recent case of driving with a suspended license in which Goff was fined.

In 2009, more people were killed in Chicago gang-related violence than U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. This statistic could be applied to other big cities, for it's as big an epidemic as anything else in America. Powerful and heart-wrenching, "The Interrupters" captures how neighborhoods have turned into war zones and spotlights an organized effort to stop the killings. It just might be the most important film released this year. Revered documentarian Steve James ("Hoop Dreams") spent a year on the mean streets of his hometown. He and his courageous crew had remarkable access to gang turfs and put themselves in harm's way on more than one occasion. They followed three members of CeaseFire, activists committed to changing the vicious circle of violence leading to retribution leading to more violence. These ex-cons were once gang members, and spent time in prison for their actions. Today, they are "the interrupters," monitoring gang activity, mediating conflicts, and trying to anticipate violent acts before they happen. They're trusted and negotiate with rival factors to prevent more deaths. Ameena Matthews, whose father was a major gang leader, is a compelling dynamo. She knows how to talk to kids, who crave someone to listen to them. She's candid about her early days of drugs, parties, and crime. The others -- Tio Hardiman, Cobe Williams, and Eddie Bocanegra -- have been down those same paths, and eventually turned their lives around. They want to prevent urban youths winding up six feet under, and their attempts to make a difference are stirring. The riveting images and poignant words of this documentary will sear into your brain -- the innocent victims, the mourning families, the tough-talking gangbangers. Gary Slutkin, a University of Chicago professor, founded CeaseFire in 1995. He relates that crime is an epidemic that should be treated like tuberculosis. This film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival at a nearly 3-hour length, but James has edited it down to about 2 hours for wider release. Based on a 2008 New York Times Magazine article by Alex Kotlowitz, who serves as the film's producer, the effect is undeniable. James, a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, dares to tell what's really going on, and in the process, leaves us with hope. For these persuasive messengers of change can be effective, and that's a start.

streets of north inner city Dublin are among the most heavily policed areas of the country because of the bitter feud that has claimed five lives. But the gang war -- sparked when paedophile gangster Christy Griffin was charged with raping his girlfriend's daughter -- is not the only feud which has blighted the area. Another north inner city war has been raging since 2006, resulting in two murders. Like the Christy Griffin feud, the separate Summerhill feud is deeply entrenched, motivated by astonishing levels of hatred and revenge. The last murder linked to either feud was in June, when Michael Taylor (53) was shot six times in the head and chest with a handgun as he stood outside a caravan in a park in scenic Donabate, north Co Dublin. Taylor was not known to gardai for involvement in organised crime but was involved in feud-related incidents over five years. The first murder linked to the Summerhill feud happened in 2007, but full details of it can't be disclosed here for legal reasons. Taylor was closely associated with a man who was questioned about that murder on the northside. The feud began when two criminals in their 20s from the north inner city were involved in a bitter row over a woman in late 2006. Family members on both sides then got involved. Cars and motorbikes belonging to one side were damaged in a vandalism incident which directly led to an associate of Michael Taylor being stabbed three times while he walked in the north inner city with a small child. He received only minor injuries -- but less than a week later the suspected knifeman was shot dead in revenge. A month later a hand grenade was thrown at the home of a family associated with Michael Taylor in Summerhill. Miraculously, none of the 10 occupants was injured in the attack, which came a night after the two rival groups clashed in the Mater Hospital as one family visited a relative. In that incident, a woman was stabbed in the hand while a man suffered head wounds. Abused In another, one of the main protagonists was found with a knuckle-duster in his back pocket after being searched by gardai. He claimed he had the weapon for his own protection. Then, in December 2007, a female associate of the first murder victim was caught with a loaded pistol as she drove through the north inner city. The woman, in her 30s, was given a three-year suspended sentence after Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard she got the gun after her associate was shot dead and there were serious threats against her life. There can be no doubt about the vicious nature of the 'Summerhill feud'. But it is the gang war that started after mob boss Christy Griffin was arrested and charged with raping a young girl that has made most of the headlines. Griffin was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in April 2007. At that stage, once-loyal comrades had turned on each other. Two tense trials followed during which gardai were forced to set up an armed checkpoint outside the victim's family home. This brave woman, who gave crucial evidence, had been regularly sexually abused by Griffin from the age of eight to 16. While this reign of sexual terror was going on, Griffin became one of Ireland's most prolific armed robbers, a senior member of a gang of over 30 men and women who made a fortune robbing from cargo containers in Dublin's docklands and from drug dealing. Everything changed when Griffin (42) was charged with the sex offences in 2004. In a further blow for the gangster, his brother 'Collie' was shot dead in a botched post office robbery in Lusk, Co Dublin. When the jury failed to reach a verdict at his first trial at the Central Criminal Court, in May 2006, there were violent scenes outside the Four Courts when associates of Griffin clashed with family friends of the rape victim in front of frightened onlookers. Throughout that summer, tensions mounted in the north city, and it wouldn't be long before the dispute erupted into all-out war. Gerard 'Batt' Byrne (26), a key ally of the rape victim's family, became the first fatality when he was gunned down in Dublin's IFSC on December 13, 2006. A fortnight later, small-time crook Stephen Ledden (28) was coldly executed in a revenge attack as he slept on a couch. By this time, Griffin had moved from his north inner city base to Swords, where he survived separate grenade and gun attacks. These were followed by revenge attacks on the rival faction. Handing him a life sentence,for his litany of crimes, Judge Paul Carney, who was placed under armed garda protection for the trial, delivered a scathing judgment, describing Griffin's previous record as "horrendous". But the life sentence did not end the feuding. With both sides having links to other crime gangs across the country, including all of Dublin's crime syndicates and Limerick's deadly McCarthy/Dundon crew, the factions had the firepower and muscle to continue the violence. Paranoid The Griffin-backed mobsters were determined to avenge the death of Stephen Ledden, killed in a case of mistaken identity. They got their chance in July 2010, when Ledden's killer, Stephen 'Madser' Byrne (32) was gunned down in broad daylight at the junction of Sheriff Street and St Laurence's Place East. Byrne, from Mariner's Port, Sheriff Street, knew his life was in grave danger after he'd shot Ledden dead, instead of targeting another man. After his murder, Madser's dad Noel explained the paranoid life his son had been leading. "He couldn't go outside the door. Anytime he wanted to go out he asked me to go with him. He phoned me on the night be died and I said no. I said I wasn't able to go out because I was not well and that we would go out some other night. So he went out on his own and this is what happened. He was a prisoner in his own home," he recalled. "I knew he was going to get one man, or one man was going to get him. I knew it was going to happen. The police had told him there was a contract on his head and he knew who was going to do it." By the time of his murder, 'Madser' had built up 30 criminal convictions, including a 12-year sentence for a string of armed robberies. Byrne was one of three first cousins murdered in the bloody feud. 'Batt' Byrne was shot dead in 2006 and Aiden Byrne (32) was shot dead in February 2010. Separately, Madser's brother, David (26), died in July 2009, after being hit over the head with a sock filled with batteries in Mountjoy prison. His body was then desecrated by criminals who broke into an inner city funeral home and wrote 'Rats' across his forehead. The murder of Stephen 'Madser' Byrne was the last killing linked to the Christy Griffin feud. Sources believe that a reason for this is massive garda raids in November 2010 that targeted members of the faction opposed to the rapist Griffin's mob. Only a month before the raids, Gary O'Reilly (34), a nephew of Griffin, was lucky to escape with his life when he was shot in the arm and leg in an attack at his home in Swords.Within an hour of the O'Reilly attack, a man from the opposing faction was given a severe hiding by a gang of men in the north inner city after dropping his children at school. Weeks later, in an unprecedented show of force, on the morning of November 8 last, over 300 gardai met at Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park and in Wexford and Cork stations from 4am before raiding over 30 locations in a co-ordinated pre-dawn operation. They searched 33 addresses in Dublin, Cavan, Wexford, Cork and Kildare. Some 13 people, including all of the key targets, were arrested -- nine of them in Dublin, and two in both Cork and Wexford. Detectives seized a small quantity of cocaine and confiscated mobile phones, computers and bulletproof vests. Records linked to property investments were also taken from the offices of solicitors and accountants by members of the Criminal Assets Bureau. The last major shooting incident linked to the feud happened on January 25 when shots were fired at the home of slain hitman Stephen 'Madser' Byrne. The garda response to this incident was prompt and less than 24 hours later. "Gardai have well and truly got to the grips with the situation," said a source.

Police yesterday made a major discovery of 15 high-powered firearms and more than 10,000 rounds of assorted ammunition—the largest since the state of emergency was declared two weeks ago. Officers, in search of marijuana, discovered a cache of arms buried two miles in the Rincon Forest, Las Cuevas. The guns, wrapped in plastic and newspapers, were greased. Detectives said the firearms belonged to a notorious gang leader. Officers of the North Eastern Division said they received a tip-off and headed to the forested area around 4 am. The exercise was headed by Supt John Daniel and included Sgts Stephen Dorridge, Daryl LaPierre, Cpls Dale Emmanuel, Andrew Stannisclaus and PC Goyton Ramcharan. Detectives said the firearms belonged to a “notorious” gang leader. They claimed that since the state of emergency was declared, several gang members had fled to the north coast. Investigators said the firearms would be sent for ballistic testing. No one was detained, but investigators said an arrest was imminent. They said officers of the Crime Investigations Unit would continue inquiries and also conduct forensic analysis on the seized firearms. At yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference, National Security Minister John Sandy commended the lawmen on the seizure. Meanwhile, Customs and Excise Division seized five disassembled rifles at the TTPost facility in Piarco. A release said a package from the United States arrived for trans-shipment to Thailand on Tuesday. Upon X-ray, the package contained what appeared to be firearm components. The package was declared as “used motorcycle parts.” It was handed over to the Preventive Branch of Customs and Excise where an examination was done in the presence of army and police personnel. “Investigations are ongoing in conjunction with officers of the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau in Thailand and the United States,” the release said.  Meanwhile, a 50-year-old retired soldier was up to late yesterday under interrogation after a recently-issued radical design army kit was found at his home in Lopinot Village. Police said the suspect left the army in 1985. That exercise was led by Northern Division officers and included Supt Samuel Bullen, Insp Ramnarie Seecharan and acting Sgt Ganga Singhons. The guns, ammunition and other items found yesterday were:  Two self-loading rifles;  four pump-action shotguns; one 1.25 rifle, three 303 rifles; one mini Uzi; one Uzi; one Tec 9; one flare gun; a nine-millimetre submachine gun; 10,000 rounds of assorted ammunition; two bulletproof vests; a gun telescope; one kilogramme of marijuana; and One ski mask.

West Vancouver man linked to the United Nations gang disappeared earlier this week - two days before he was to be sentenced in a drug trafficking case in Ontario. Omid Bayani, 36, was last seen Monday afternoon en route to the gym, West Vancouver police Det. Tom Wolff von Gudenberg said Thursday. His worried family reported him missing a day later, saying it was out of character for Bayani not to return home or call anyone. Police are investigating whether Bayani's gangland history has somehow caught up with him, or whether he took off to avoid his sentencing. The Crown was seeking a jail term of between eight and nine years. Bayani was arrested in 2007 along with Hells Angels in B.C. and Ontario after a massive Ontario Provincial Police undercover operation targeting the biker gang. Despite being a ranking UN gang member at the time, Bayani had worked with the rival Angels in a conspiracy to traffic 600 litres of GHB - the date rape drug. This past July, prosecutors stayed a charge of belonging to a criminal organization against Bayani and his co-accused. But Bayani was convicted on the drug charges. Wolff von Gudenberg said Bayani, who is six feet tall and weighs 240 pounds, was last seen wearing a white or grey Under Armour shirt, blue Under Armour shorts, running shoes and ankle socks. Bayani worked out at two different North Shore community centres, he said. "We don't have any confirmation that he got to the gym," Wolff von Gudenberg said. Despite his criminal history, Bayani had not been on the radar of West Vancouver Police in recent months. "It is impossible to speculate because we don't know anything about his real connections locally," Wolff von Gudenberg said. "He has been totally off our radar." He said other Lower Mainland law enforcement agencies, including the Gang Task Force, have been contacted. "Everybody's been notified just because of that history. Who knows if somebody has a source out there who knows something? He could be missing. He could have taken off," Wolff von Gudenberg said. Port Moody police Insp. Andy Richards led the B.C. component of the Ontario investigation when he was with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Richards said Thursday that he hasn't heard anything about Bayani since the 2007 arrest. "He was a player. He was a big player at one time," Richards said. And he said Bayani had gang connections far beyond the UN, as indicated by his involvement with the Hells Angels. News of Bayani's disappearance comes just a day after the head of the Gang Task Force, Supt. Tom McCluskie, said the police fear retaliation for the Aug. 14 murder of Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon and wounding of Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach. Another West Vancouver man with gang links, Vahid Mahanian, vanished under similar circumstances June 27 and was found dead on Cypress Mountain two weeks later. Bayani came to Canada as a refugee, but was ordered deported in 1999 after a series of armed robberies in Calgary. He filed a series of unsuccessful challenges against the deportation, but was never removed from Canada.

Authorities confirm a weapon from the failed ATF program 'Operation Fast and Furious' was found at a violent crime scene in Maricopa, Ariz. in 2010. This is the latest in a series of cases where Fast and Furious guns have been linked to violent crimes across the U.S. and Mexico. The two guns found at the scene were an AK-47 and a Beretta pistol, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The AK-47 is linked to Fast and Furious, according to ATF. The weapons were found inside a stolen truck in March 2010 after the driver slammed into two DPS vehicles while trying to evade members of the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force, ABC 15 reports. The driver, Angel Hernandez Diaz, was reportedly arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including flight from a pursuing law enforcement vehicle, aggravated assault on an officer with a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon, theft of means of transportation and misconduct involving a weapon, according to court documents. Fast and Furious was an operation launched in late 2009 by the Phoenix office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to follow gun purchasers in hopes that suspects would lead investigators to the heads of Mexican cartels. But hundreds of high-powered rifles and other guns ended up in Mexico, and many now accuse the ATF and the Justice Department of letting the guns "walk" even after safety concerns were raised. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich said last week that three weapons linked to Operation Fast and Furious had been used in violent crimes in the U.S.  Weapons linked to the program were used in a December attack along the Southwest border that killed U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Months later, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif, launched his committee's investigation, as the Justice Department's inspector general also opened an inquiry, at Attorney General Eric Holder's direction. On Wednesday, Holder said for the first time that not only he but also other higher-ups at the Justice Department were not aware of the operation as it was being carried out. Holder also suggested politics could be a driving force behind Republican lawmakers' forceful inquiries into the matter. Recently, the man who headed ATF in the midst of it, Ken Melson, was reassigned, and U.S. attorney Dennis Burke, who oversaw the prosecution of cases coming out of the operation, abruptly resigned. At least three men have been charged in connection with the murder of agent Terry, though only one is in U.S. custody. The Justice Department recently informed lawmakers that cases coming out of Operation Fast and Furious will now be led by prosecutors from outside Arizona.

Notorious Australian gangster Carl Williams was offering information to the police in the weeks before he was beaten to death in his jail cell, the trial of his alleged killer has heard. A lawyer who handled Williams' talks with the police said the gangster was preparing to provide the names of some of his underworld associates. The lawyer said Williams had become worried about his safety in prison. His former cellmate Matthew Charles Johnson, 38, denies murder. Johnson has admitted killing Williams, but said it was self-defence, adding that he was in a "kill or be killed situation". At the time, police feared the killing could spark another gangland war in Melbourne's criminal underworld. Williams was already serving a 35-year jail term for murdering three of his rivals when he was killed in April 2010. On the third day of Johnson's murder trial, Williams' former lawyer told the court that the gangster had been ready to tell police the names of other people involved in those murders. Shane Tyrrell said Williams had hoped to get his sentence reduced, as well as having his daughter's school fees paid, in return for the information. However, Mr Tyrrell said his client had become uneasy because prison staff had known about his talks with the police. On Wednesday, Williams' father George had told the jury that Johnson had killed his son because he wanted to benefit from the police deal. George Williams, himself a convicted drug trafficker, said Johnson had asked his son: "Can you get me on board?" Williams was one of Australia's most infamous gangland bosses before he was jailed. His life of crime and the gangland warfare it engendered in Melbourne was the inspiration for the TV series Underbelly.

Dad-of-four Mr Duggan, 29, was shot dead near Tottenham Hale Tube station on August 4, sparking protests and then riots which spread across England. His brother Shaun Hall said Mr Duggan “was wrongfully taken from us.” Mr Hall, 42, said he was “not confident at all” the investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission will solve the case. Little evidence has been offered by members of the community, he said. “What we need is for people to come forward and tell it like they saw it, basically. We need them to come and say what they saw. “If they’ve got video footage on their phone we need to see that – we need to put this picture together. “I think I speak for the whole family when I say that’s not happening, it hasn’t been happening and it has to change,” Mr Hall told BBC. Mr Hall has also told the Guardian that police were responsible for the three nights of rioting which followed his brother’s death. “If they hadn’t shot and killed Mark there would have been no riots. “The police were clearly operating a shoot-to-kill policy that day. They are supposed to disable not kill suspects.” Mother Pam Duggan, 53, said she has questions about the police force’s version of events about her son’s death. “I just want the police to admit that they killed my son. Why didn’t the police shoot him in the foot instead of in the chest?” Meanwhile, the Met Police has refuted claims by the Times today (Thursday). The national newspaper claims the officer who shot dead Mr Duggan is poised to return to firearms duties. This has been denied by the Met. “The Times report and subsequent media reporting following the story that the MPS are ready to reinstate the officer are wrong,” a spokesman said.

gangsters in this city seem to fear no one, especially not the police. They steal and kill in broad daylight, and some of their actions are designed to instill terror. One day in late August, two vehicles pulled in front of the Suspiros Pastry Shop along busy Constitution Avenue, one of the city's most heavily traveled roads. An elderly unarmed guard at the shop, driven by curiosity, then fear, watched through a window as armed men got out of the vehicles, leading an apparent hostage who had a steel chain around his neck like a noose. The gangsters led their victim to a pedestrian overpass, pulling him up the stairs by the chain. At the top, the guard related, one gangster took out a large ice pick. "He plunged the ice pick in the man's chest," the guard said, asking that his name not be used for fear that gangsters might come after him, too. As the victim fought for his life, the assailants tied the chain to a bridge railing and tossed the man over, where he dangled, bleeding but still alive, above traffic on a service road. The gangsters hung a banner, then descended to street level, where they fired their AK-47 assault weapons a few times in the air. "Then they fired into the man's hanging body," the witness said. Terrified motorists passing along Constitution Avenue and witnessing the scene kept on driving. Time of attack: 11:50 a.m. on Aug. 23. "This is the third guy they've hung from a bridge in Monterrey," said Tatiana Clouthier, a former mayoral candidate and civic activist. Police arrived too slowly to confront the gunmen or make arrests. The proximity of police to many crime scenes, including the Aug. 25 firebombing of a casino that left 52 people dead, has only reinforced suspicions among Monterrey residents that police are colluding with gangsters. A state police officer is in jail, accused of serving as a lookout for the gangsters who carried out the casino firebombing, and prosecutors say they believe other police were involved. Criminal infiltration of police in Nuevo Leon state is not new. In 2009, the state's top public security official told U.S. diplomats that he believed 50 percent of state and municipal police had been bought off by drug cartels. The U.S. account of the conversation is among the 251,287 diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks. The concern about police, Clouthier said, is that "they either are in collusion or they are incompetent. Whichever possibility is tragic."

An alleged Gators street gang member who insisted he sold crack, not guns, to evade tough justice received a precedent-setting 13-year prison sentence Thursday. Justice Jane Kelly delivered the high-water-mark sentence of nine years for gun possession convictions against Lyvon Lambert, 20, plus four years for other offences, including 1.5 years for violating a previous firearm prohibition. The nine-year sentence for gun possession is only one year below the maximum. Lambert had nine weapons, crack cocaine, two pit bull dogs and a four-foot alligator – police say it is the club mascot – in his tiny two-bedroom Eglinton Ave. W. apartment when Toronto Police searched it in January 2009. Kelly convicted Lambert of 40 charges, including possession of three fully-loaded handguns, two sawed-off shotguns, two other long rifles, ammunition packaged for sale and 27 grams of crack for the purpose of trafficking. “The seizure of seven illegal guns in one place is unusual and represents a significant seizure,” said Kelly. In compiling what the judge called an “unenviable record,” Lambert had previously robbed an undercover cop of $700 (posing as a crack customer), whom he suspected he was a police officer. Lambert thought “the courts will not punish him severely for trafficking (cocaine) and that it is therefore ‘worth it’ on a cost-benefit analysis,” stated Kelly. “His belief was that ... it was well worth the risk to enage in selling crack as a career,” said the judge. “Mr. Lambert needs to be disabused of this notion. Only a stiff and exemplary deterrent sentence will do so.” Kelly said Lambert implored another man to sell crack “as an easy source of money. “He purportedly went on a crack-selling fund-raising tour to pay for canteen sundries and his lawyer’s retainer,” said Kelly. Lambert denied being a member of the Gators gang, which in early 2009 was involved in a deadly turf war with the rival Five Point Generalz gang in the west end. Lambert was active in both the ammunition and drug selling business in 2009, a year after Parliament tripled the mandatory minimum sentence for possession of prohibited firearms from one to three years and subsequent offences from one to five years. “Parliament could not be clearer: Do not possess loaded prohibited firearms. Indeed, according to Mr. Lambert’s testimony, he received this message,” said Kelly. “He just did not heed it.”

Mexico's attorney general says police have arrested a U.S. man for allegedly smuggling grenade parts to a powerful and dangerous drug gang. Authorities identify the suspect as Jean Baptiste Kingery. Police arrested him last week. Kingery is suspected of smuggling grenade parts across the U.S.-Mexican border to the Sinaloa drug gang. He allegedly bought the weapons over the internet and in stores. Mexican drug gangs frequently use hand grenades in their battle with police and soldiers, who are struggling to destroy the drug trade. Turf wars between drug gangs and their fights with police have made northern Mexico an extremely dangerous place to live or visit.

Gardai are trying to establish if there is a link between the murder of a man at a halting site in Dublin at the weekend and the shooting of another Traveller in the area last July. Detectives are trying to find a motive for the killing of Tom McDonagh (49), who was shot repeatedly at his home at St Margaret's site in Ballymun on the northside of the city. They suspect that a Finglas-based gang is responsible for the murder. Last night, officers were examining possible links between the incident on Saturday night and an ambush at the River Road in Finglas on July 15 last year when Anthony "Mole" McDonagh narrowly escaped death after he stopped his white Ford van at what he thought were county council roadworks. He was hit in the chest, stomach and side but survived the attack. The latest victim was alone when two men burst into his home and fired a barrage of shots from an automatic pistol. Mr McDonagh was dead on admission to hospital. Gardai are now following a number of lines of inquiry as they examine CCTV footage and trawl through statements from other residents of the halting site. The dead man was not a big criminal player. However, detectives are trying to establish whether his death was a result of his links to a group involved in feuding 

A court in Moscow has sentenced the leader of a notorious Russian organized crime gang to life in prison for involvement in at least 20 killings. The Moscow City Court judge said Tuesday that Sergei Butorin posed a grave danger to society and should be incarcerated for the rest of his life. ITAR-Tass news agency quoted the judge as ruling Butorin had been behind 20 murders and nine attempted killings. Butorin headed the Orekhovskaya gang, an organized criminal group that reached the height of its powers in Moscow in the 1990s. He was arrested by Spanish authorities in 2001 on charges of trading in illegal weapons and extradited to Russia last year. Russian criminal groups flourished in the chaotic years that followed the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Two suspected gang members went on trial Tuesday accused of shooting three people to death, including an innocent bystander, on New Year's Day in 2009. Three masked gunmen entered the Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant in a southeast Calgary strip mall and opened fire, killing Sanjeev Mann, 22, described by police as a known gang member, and Aaron Bendle, 21, who also had gang ties. The third victim, construction worker Keni Su'a, 43, was eating in the restaurant and tried to escape, but was gunned down in the parking lot. Nathan Zuccherato, 24, Michael Roberto, 27, and Real Honorio, 27, are each charged with three counts of first-degree murder. Honorio's trial did not begin on Tuesday because his lawyer was unavailable. A publication ban was put in effect for the pre-trial arguments, which are expected to last two weeks. Gang violence A rivalry between two gangs — Fresh Off the Boat (FOB) and the FOB Killers (FK) — is believed to be connected to more than 20 homicides in Calgary dating back to 2002. In the days following the 2009 murders, police vowed to step up their work against gangs in Calgary. Officials have since credited that renewed focus with reducing the murder rate by almost 50 per cent the following year. The trial in Court of Queen’s Bench is scheduled to last for more than a month.

 Eamon Dunne was murdered in a northside pub in April of 2010, the fear was that his cold-blooded execution would create a deadly power vacuum, one which would lead to bloody gang warfare on the streets.

After all, The Don's gang were responsible for 15 murders since he took over the Finglas gang that had been led by crimelord Martin 'Marlo' Hyland .

Marlo himself was murdered in December 2006.

Ever since the days of The Westies and psychopathic criminal PJ Judge, the neighbouring suburbs of Finglas/ Blanchardstown and Ballymun have had to deal with more than their fair share of gangland violence.

But the reign of terror imposed by crazed Eamon Dunne was unprecedented in the capital's gang scene.

Softly spoken and relatively well educated, Dunne was a massive hit with the ladies and sources say that his almost crazed sex drive was driven by the use of Viagra.

Until the gun murder of Traveller Tom McDonagh in Ballymun last weekend, the area had seen a dramatic decline in gang related violence since Dunne's murder.

It is understood that McDonagh was murdered over a drugs debt to Finglas gang.

"The lull in murders and complete drop in shooting incidents in the past 16 months has to be linked to the fact that Eamon Dunne is no longer with us," explained a senior source.

The situation had been so bad previously that a small area in Finglas west was dubbed the 'murder mile' or 'murder triangle' after up to 20 people were murdered in the space of a decade.

Most of these killings are unsolved gangland shootings in a small area which encompasses Cappagh Cross, Ratoath Road and Cardiffsbridge.

With the murders of Eamon Dunne and other gang bosses who came before him, the situation has eased in Finglas, Blanchardstown and Ballymun over the past year.

But the sprawling estates of north Dublin are still home to some of the most dangerous gangs in the country.

The Don's gang are still active and dealing in millions of euro worth of drugs.

But gardai have had some major successes against them.

Many of the core members of Dunne's crew cannot be named here because they are before the courts on charges including armed robbery, murder and dug dealing.

One of The Don's former associates who we can name is feared hardman Brian O'Reilly -- a Ballymun native who now lives in Co Meath.

"O'Reilly is a big tough man but he is very paranoid. He deeply dislikes the media and the gardai who he accuses of colluding against him.

"He is a man of few words but when he talks everyone listens. He has great respect," a source explained.

O'Reilly, who remains a major target for specialised garda units, was lucky to escape with his life when targeted by a gunman in a pub in Bettystown, Co Meath.

He was shot in the chin and back as he drank in his local pub in August, 2010.

But he survived the murder bid organised by the Real IRA.

A month later O'Reilly's close pal Eamon Kelly (62) cheated death when the Real IRA tried to murder him at his home in Killester.

A source said of Kelly: "On the outside, he seems like the quintessential retired Dubliner -- he enjoys his pints and going to the bookies but in reality he is a criminal campaigner with links to most of the crime gangs in the State."

This year has seen the strength of the gang who murdered Dunne grow considerably and sources say that they operate drugs rackets in the Finglas/Cabra area.

Dunne's murder in the Fassaugh House pub was "sanctioned" by some of his own gang members and the gang's drug supplier, international crimelord Christy Kinahan.

The Herald has previously revealed that the chief suspect for the murder is a young man in his early 20s from the Cabra area who was very close to slain crime boss Hyland.

A former detective described Marlo's way of doing business as "unprecedented".

"He formed alliances with everyone he could -- he knew that murder was bad for business so he tried to keep away from it.

fearsome

"But in the last few months of his life the paranoia got to him. He couldn't eat or sleep properly -- he knew his days were numbered."

The young thug is considered "the leader" of a dangerous crew of young criminals from the Finglas, Cabra and north inner city areas who have built up a fearsome reputation for gangland violence since they were aged in their mid teens.

Gardai have placed the dangerous gangster "on top of the list" for pumping eight bullets into 'The Don' -- one of the most notorious criminals in the history of Irish gangs.

He was also involved in the murder of innocent Latvian woman Baiba Saulite in November 2006.

While these young thugs increase their powerbase, the area's veteran criminals continue to operate.

Some of these older criminals had strong links to Paul 'Farmer' Martin -- the Finglas crimelord who was murdered in August 2008.

Others are connected to a 44-year-old local man -- who was a childhood friend of Marlo Hyland.

As Marlo rose to become one of Ireland's biggest drug dealers, this man was constantly at his side.

The 44-year-old -- who now lives in the Finglas area -- was arrested in April by the Garda National Drugs Unit.

Undercover detectives seized more than €400,000 worth of cannabis resin.

Before the massive drugs seizure, detectives watched the gang transfer 70 kilos of the drug near the border before making arrests. However, the Finglas resident was later released without charge.

The Real IRA also have an active presence in this area.

In late March, mobsters from the Continuity IRA claimed responsibility for shooting three men in broad daylight in Corduff Park, Blanchardstown.

The victims were targeted because the dissidents claimed they were guilty of anti-social behaviour.

David Morgan (20) and cousins Gary (25) and Christopher Gleeson (26) all survived the shooting.

The duplicity of the CIRA is breathtaking.

Led by the former head of the Real IRA in Dublin -- now on remand in prison on other charges -- the Continuity mob were responsible for a pipe bomb attack in May at the home of an innocent family in Whitestown.

Also this year, armed gardai swooped on three Blanchardstown men who formerly had links with the infamous Westies gang, whose leaders Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg were murdered in Spain in 2004.

The gangsters were believed to be on their way to carry out a Tiger kidnapping when arrested by armed detectives.

Sources said that the three men had all been key members of the infamous Westies organisation which caused so much trouble a decade ago.

It was also this summer that the Herald profiled a gang from this area who were involved in a new criminal craze called 'fishing'.

A gang of thugs from Finglas and Blanchardstown used fishing rods and magnets to steal more than 100 high powered cars.

Gardai branded the new criminal craze 'fishing' because it involves the gang attaching a magnet to the end of a fishing rod or long wooden pole, pushing it through letterboxes and using it to remove car keys left behind locked doors.

The gang have been selling the high-quality cars for just €1,200 to UK criminals.

The gang has close links to Finglas criminal David Fahy (29) from Cappagh Avenue who was recently released from jail after serving two years for possession of a sawn-off shotgun and cocaine.

However, sources say that Fahy -- who has 152 previous convictions -- is not involved in the scam himself.

The mob also has links to a Traveller gang who operate in the Dunsink area of Finglas.

Fourteen alleged members of the UVF, including one of its former leaders Mark Haddock, are due to appear at Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday for the start of the first so-called "supergrass" trial to be held in Northern Ireland for 26 years. The charges include the murder of leading UDA member Tommy English during a loyalist feud. Critics say the process being used is unsafe and unjust, while the police and prosecutors insist it is legally sound. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Vincent Kearney looks at the background to the case. The police bristle at the very mention of the word "supergrass" because of its association with a series of high profile trials in the 1980s. Hundreds of republicans and loyalists were convicted on the word of informers and suspects who agreed to give evidence against them in return for reduced sentences and new identities and lives outside Northern Ireland. There were claims that many also received financial rewards. The deals were arranged at a political level, approved by the Secretary of State, and the details were secret. No-one, not the defence teams, the relatives of victims, nor the accused, knew anything, and in many cases there were question marks over whether convicted informers actually served any time in prison at all. Credibility The trials were the largest in British criminal history. In one in 1983, 22 IRA members were given jail terms totalling more than 4,000 years. But 18 of them had their convictions quashed three years later, and the vast majority of the others convicted in a series of similar trials were also released on appeal. The system collapsed in 1985 because of concerns about the credibility of the evidence provided by the so-called supergrasses, with members of the judiciary complaining that they were being used as political tools to implement government security policy. The police and prosecutors say the trial starting today is based on an entirely different legal foundation. The investigation has centred around the activities of the UVF in the Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast New legislation introduced in 2005, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, enables an accused to enter into a written agreement indicating that they will help the prosecution by giving evidence against other criminals. Where this happens, the court may take this into account when passing sentence. The journey that led to the trial beginning today began with an investigation by the former Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan into the activities of the UVF in Mount Vernon in north Belfast. In January 2007, she published the results of Operation Ballast. 'Impunity' It was a highly critical report which said members of RUC Special Branch had allowed UVF informers to act with impunity, and that the gang may have been involved in up to 15 murders. Mark Haddock wasn't named in the report, but was referred to as Informant 1. Alarmed by the findings, the then Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, asked the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) to take over Operation Ballast. Then, in 2008, two brothers, Robert and David Stewart walked into Antrim police station, admitting that they were members of the UVF, and their role in more than 70 offences. They offered to give evidence against a number of alleged former comrades under the teams of the 2005 legislation. The HET then spent more than a year debriefing them, and arresting suspects as they went along. But, despite being given additional funding, the investigation became too big for the team to handle. In December 2009, the case was given over to the PSNI. The investigation is now led by Crime Operations Department headed by Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris, and is now called Operation Stafford. As a result, just over four and a half years after Nuala O'Loan published her report, Mark Haddock and 13 others will appear in court on Tuesday. They will appear before a judge sitting without a jury because of fears of intimidation. Haddock and eight others are charged with the murder of Tommy English and a range of other offences. The remaining five face a range of charges, possession of firearms, kidnap and assault. The latest investigation into the Mount Vernon UVF began following a report by the former Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan Sealed containers The two chief prosecution witnesses, the Stewart brothers, have been held in isolation at Maghaberry prison, protected by a team of highly trained guards. Their food is brought into the prison in sealed containers to ensure they are not poisoned. They have admitted a total of 74 offences, but were sentenced to just three years each because the judge took into account their offer to testify. Their sentence was determined in open court, not secretly by the Secretary of State. The 2005 legislation contains penalties. If it emerges that the assisting offender is guilty of serious crimes they may not have admitted to, they are in breach of the agreement. If this is discovered after the trial, they can be re-arrested and charged with the additional offences. If they tell the truth but re-offend at a later stage, they can be re-arrested and charged. Supporters say this system is much more open and transparent than the discredited system used in the 1980s. Those on trial, and their families and supporters, insist that only the name has changed.

gang member recruited in a murder-for-hire conspiracy was sentenced to death Thursday for killing a man who was set to inherit a family-run business in Rancho Dominguez, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Armando Macias, 35, of Lancaster was found guilty by a jury in April of one felony count of special circumstances murder with an allegation of murder for financial gain in the slaying of 44-year-old David Montemayor, the prosecutor's office said. Macias, who is the fifth defendant to be sentenced in connection with Montemayor’s murder since 2006, was also found guilty of kidnapping to commit robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, street terrorism, attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, officials said. Macias, who has a prior strike conviction for voluntary manslaughter in 1993, also was slapped with several sentencing enhancements in connection with Montemayor’s murder. Prosecutors allege that in 2002, Montemayor’s sister Deborah Perna, 54, of Anaheim and her co-worker Edelmira Corona, 34, of Pico Rivera solicited the help of 44-year-old gang member Anthony Navarro of Canyon Country to kill Montemayor. Perna was jealous that her father intended to pass control of the family company to her brother, who she believed was stealing from the business, prosecutors said. Navarro recruited gang members Gerardo Lopez, 26, of Pacoima, Alberto Martinez, 33, of Castaic, and Macias in a kidnap-and-murder-for-hire scheme, prosecutors said. On Oct. 2, 2002, the men kidnapped Montemayor, a father of three, at the family business in Rancho Dominguez and headed to the victim’s home in Buena Park, where they were told he kept thousands of dollars in cash, prosecutors said. On the way, Montemayor, who only had one arm, managed to escape the car. But Macias shot him in the head as he fled, prosecutors said. Lopez also fired at Montemayor before the gang members raced off in their car, triggering a police car chase, authorities said. Police eventually stopped the vehicle and arrested Macias, Lopez and Martinez. Both Navarro and Martinez have been earlier sentenced to death for their role in Montemayor’s murder. Lopez, the other gang member, and Perna, the victim’s sister, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to information from the district attorney's office. Corona, the co-worker, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 18. She faces a maximum of 22 years in prison, officials said.

Six members of the Texas Syndicate prison gang — including its Rio Grande Valley leader — were sentenced to serve time in federal prison for several charges including racketeering, kidnapping and drug charges. Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa on Monday sentenced 40-year-old Jose Ismael Salas, the gang’s regional head, to 20 years in prison for drug and racketeering offenses, court records show. Salas originally pleaded guilty April 2, 2009, to two separate charges of possession with intent to distribute 6 kilograms of cocaine on Aug. 12, 2004, and a similar charge for 39 kilograms of marijuana on March 28, 2003. The charge alleged that the intent of the possession of the drugs was to further the goals of the criminal organization. Among the five other Texas Syndicate members who were sentenced was Fidel Valle, 45, who received a sentence of 10 years and six months in prison. Valle was described as the drug supplier for the organization. He entered a guilty plea July 28, 2009, to the charge of possession with intent to distribute 6 kilograms of cocaine. Court records show that Aug. 12, 2004, after speaking with Salas, Valle tried to sell the cocaine to other Texas Syndicate members but was stopped by authorities during a traffic stop. Also sentenced was Romeo Rosales, 41, who received 12 years and seven months in prison for the kidnapping of Amancio Pinales, who was abducted and eventually gunned down in Mexico on Aug. 12, 2004. Noel De Los Santos, 33, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the March 20, 2003, murder of fellow gang member Crisantos Moran. According to information released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Moran had been ordered to kill a rival gang member from Peñitas, but after arriving there with De Los Santos and another member named Jose Armando Garcia, he failed to carry out the killing and was slain instead. Earlier this year, Garcia was given a life sentence. Two other Syndicate members were sentenced for a separate murder connected to the organization. Cristobal Hernandez, 31, and Arturo Rodriguez were sentenced to 10 and 20 years, respectively, for the murder of Marcelino Rodriguez in June 2007. The two men had aided a third man known as Raul Galindo, who shot Rodriguez in the back of the head. The two men then set the vehicle containing his body on fire. Rodriguez had been named in a sealed court document that had been provided to them by an employee at a law firm that was defending Rodriguez. The Texas Syndicate had sanctioned the death of Rodriguez.

These troubling deaths are just a portion of Winnipeg’s climbing homicide cases this year. As of Thursday, Winnipeg has 29 homicides recorded, well above last year’s total of 22. Winnipeg’s deadliest year on record was 2004 when there was 34. “The numbers are a lot higher than we would like to see,” said Const. Jason Michalyshen, Winnipeg police spokesman. “It’s concerning to us, and it should be concerning to everyone.” The latest victim is Joseph Lalonde, 48, who was brutally beaten with a baseball bat. Two 15-year-old boys were charged with second-degree murder. A total of 10 youths have been charged in connection to the 2011 deaths. Michalyshen said it’s been a challenging year. “Our resources have been very busy making sure no stone is unturned, making sure that these investigations are investigated thoroughly, and arrests are made,” he said. Three cases are unsolved — Cara Lynn Hiebert, 31, was found dead in her home on Redwood Avenue on July 19; Baljinder Singh Sidhu, 27, was stabbed to death during a brawl on Osborne Street on Aug. 5; and 24-year-old April Hornbrook was found dead outside a building on Main Street on Aug. 27. Many violent crimes continue to occur in Winnipeg’s North End, a concerning stat for Coun. Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre). “The communities have to be working together and you don’t really have enough of that in the North End,” Smith said. “You have to have recreational activities, and ... I tend to think we should get more support for Citizens on Patrol.” Edmonton has the most homicides in Canada, with 34. Calgary has just three. “We’re very fortunate right now, but that could change before the end of the year,” said Calgary police Insp. Cliff O’Brien, who works in that city’s major crimes unit. O’Brien said there’s “no magical answer” for why the numbers are so low, but gave credit to the good work of officers and medical staff. Calgary police has a gang suppression team, who monitor entertainment districts, targeting known gang or organized crime members. “We have legislation here where we can kick people out if we can prove they’re associated with a gang,” he said. “That has helped us a lot.” O’Brien admits there’s a certain “element of luck.” “We’ve had those high rates before and I know that we will have those high rates again.”

According to the Sección de Estadísticas del Departamento de Planificación del Poder Judicial (Statistics Section of the Planning Department of the Judiciary) the number of murders presumed by hired killers in 2010, went from 13 victims in 2009 to 40 in 2010, placing the La Carpio, Leon XIII, Los Cuadros y Guararí de Heredia as the places of highest incidence. Judicial authorities presume that organized crime groups, use this method to assert their interests in various criminal activities, as they are listed in order of importance: drug trafficking, gang revenge, robbery of drug traffickers (known as tumbonazos) and executions tied to the sale of illegal drugs. However, statistics show a slight increase in intentional homicides during the past year, compared to 2009, from 525 to 527 victims. The study found that the rate of homicide victims per 100.000 inhabitants remained virtually unchanged from 2009, settling at 11.5%. The existence of homicides associated with what is known as "error or omission," or those who were not the target and suffered mistaken identity or omission by the murderer, almost doubled in 2010 over 2009, for a total of 16 deaths. Also, the number of foreigners killed in the country increased by 7.6%, bringing the figure to 112 individuals, Nicaraguan and followed by Colombian nationals being the target. The use of firearms to commit homicide, again saw increases during 2010, bringing the total number to 319, which is equal numbers in 2008 and the highest throughout history. Good news for women as statistics indicate that the number of femicides dropped in 2010, from 15 victims in 2009 to 10 last year. However, the major cause of femicides continues to be attacks by cohabitants (60%) and spouses (40%). Contract or hired killing (sicario in Spanish) is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may be a single person, a group of people, a company, or any other kind of organization. The hired party may also be one person, such as a hitman, or a group of people, or an organization. In most countries, including Costa Rica, a contract to kill a person is void, meaning that it is not legally enforceable. Any contract to commit an indictable offense is not enforceable. Furthermore, both the actual killer and the person who paid the killer can be found guilty of murder. Contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to be directly involved in the killing. This makes it more difficult to connect that party with the murder. Throughout history and in many different parts of the world, contract killing has been associated with organized crime and also vendettas. For example, in recent United States history, the gang Murder, Inc., which committed hundreds of murders in the 1920s to the 1940s on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate, is a well-known example of a contract killer.