Reports (en)

3 ‘traveling distraction burglars’ caught by South Florida deputies

Three men posing as landscapers, contractors and utility workers to prey on victims in Florida were arrested Wednesday afternoon after an apparent distraction burglary, authorities said.
Nikko Gigolo Thompson, 28, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, John Eric Thompson Jr., 29, also of Fort Lauderdale, and Tom Bimbo, 56, of Cleveland, were each charged with single counts of occupied burglary and grand theft, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office…..

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A Louis Vuitton Employee is at the Center of $15 Million-Plus Counterfeit Bust

Chinese police recently busted a counterfeiting scheme in Shanghai, one that has ensnared at least one of luxury brand Louis Vuitton’s own employees. In August, authorities in Shanghai arrested dozens of individuals and seized an array of equipment, textiles, and fake Louis Vuitton bags in connection with a sweeping – and particularly upscale – counterfeit manufacturing operation that boasted the cooperation of a Louis Vuitton sales associate,….

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Sicilian mafia boss bites off prison guard’s finger

A Sicilian mafia boss serving a life sentence bit off and swallowed a prison guard’s finger during an altercation, according to an Italian news report. Giuseppe Fanara, 60, who was serving a life sentence at Rebibbia prison in Rome, attacked seven guards in June when they came to inspect his cell, the daily Il Messagero reported.

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‘This is war’: Italy’s top anti-mafia prosecutor opens case against 450 suspected gangsters

Italy’s top anti-Mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, 62, is finalising a legal case against 450 members of the ‘Ndrangheta crime family. On Friday, the prosecutor, who has spent the past 30 years living under close police protection as he is major target for Mafia crime families, opened his latest court case against the syndicate.

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JSA Issues Warning About Rise in Grab-and-Run Thefts

New York — The Jewelers’ Security Alliance said there has been a recent surge in grab-and-run thefts by masked suspects.
The incidents, profiled in JSA’s newsletter on Thursday, happened between Aug. 22 and Sept. 7 across four states: California, New Jersey, Ohio and Oklahoma….

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Feds Charge Romanians With Stealing Jewelry, Cash in Three States

Two Romanian men have been charged in federal court with interstate transportation of stolen property after being caught in a fraudulent return scam of diamond jewelry and a quick change scheme.
… But a fingerprint scan showed he was Serban who belonged to the Romanian Rostas criminal organization, according to the criminal complaint….

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Ringleader of Robbery Crew Gets 4 Years Behind Bars

Santa Ana, Calif.—The ringleader of a robbery crew that targeted traveling jewelry salespeople and caused at least $835,00 in losses has been handed his prison sentence. ….

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INTERNATIONAL CRIMINALS ARRESTED IN TENERIFE WITH CONNECTIONS TO THE HELLS ANGELS – VIDEO

The Guardia Civil and the Tax Agency, within the framework of a joint operation called ‘Jabalí-Vulcano’, has dismantled a criminal organization based in Tenerife led by the ‘Canary Islands Branch’ of the motorcycle group ‘Hells Angels’, resulting in the arrest of 6 of it’s members. In the operation, six properties have been seized and two highly sophisticated marijuana plantations were raided in Guargacho and Garachico, and a marijuana smoking club located in the most popular tourist area of ​​the Costa Adeje, owned by one of the detained men. The investigation began in September last year and has had the support of the police and customs authorities of Denmark, Norway and Germany, according to an official Guardia Civil press release.

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Florida Jewelry Store Employee Shoots 2 Robbers

Pembroke Pines, Fla.—A Florida jewelry store employee shot two suspects after the men attempted to rob the store Friday afternoon.
According to the Pembroke Pines Police Department, on Aug. 14 at 2:14 p.m., two male suspects entered a jewelry store located within the Pembroke Lakes Mall….

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Sneak Thief Wanted for Hitting Stores in 7 States

Kansas City, Mo.—The Jewelers’ Security Alliance is on the lookout for a man authorities say has stolen jewelry from retailers in a spree spanning seven states. …
… JSA said he entered the store wearing a baseball cap and the kind of face mask worn to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which he did not have on the previous day, President John J. Kennedy noted. ….

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