New England Organized Crime » Israel

Reputed Israeli Mobster Meir Abergil Returns Home

fdvent1 — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 11:37:01 +0000

Following his extradition by the US in January, alleged Tel Aviv organized crime figure Meir Abergil was released after agreeing to a plea bargain with the California district attorney. Abergil landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Thursday as a free man. Last January Meir and brother Yitzhak were extradited with three others from Israel to Los Angeles to face racketeering charges involving ecstasy trafficking, money laundering and murder. The United States has now sent him back to Israel after he agreed to a plea bargain "in which he confessed to extortion of over a million dollars from another mob figure" Yitzhak and the three others remain in California awaiting trial. Meir Abergil still faces criminal charges pending in Israel "over allegations regarding his involvement in an Internet gambling operation" Abergil was arrested in August 2008 together with his brother on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Margarita Lautin, who was gunned down in front of her family during a botched underworld assassination attempt on a Bat Yam beach a month earlier. On August 26, 2008, Yitzhak and Meir Abergil, along with Moshe Malul and Israel Ozifa, were brought before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court for their alleged role in the killing [...] Related posts:

5 Reputed Members of Israeli Crime Family Arraigned Five people reputedly involved in one of Israel’s most powerful...
Israel Begins Process of Handing Organized Crime Suspects Over to US Suspected organized crime figures Meir and Yitzhak Abergil were to...
Alleged Israeli Mob Boss Abutbul Murdered Francois Abutbul, alleged to be one of Israel’s top organized...

Tip Of The Iceberg In Israel?

fdvent1 — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:10:04 +0000

Israeli pop singer Margalit Tznaani was arrested last week with several suspected members of the Amir Mulner crime family for their alleged roles in extorting tens of thousands of shekels from her agent. Her arrest and alleged connections with convicted crime leader Amir Mullner’s gang and mob kingpin Shalom Domrani – is training a spotlight on organized crime’s increasing activities in the economic realm. It appears that the gangs are no longer content to control activities such as bottle recycling, sand quarrying or loan sharking: They are trying to gain control of companies that are traded on the stock market, and to serve as mediators in business disputes involving legitimate companies. And they are apparently trying to make inroads in the Mizrahi music industry. The indictment submitted in March 2010 in Be’er Sheva District Court against the head of a crime gang in the south, Hagai Zaguri, and seven of his “soldiers,” reveals involvement in a stunningly large and diverse amount of economic activity. From May 2008 and until his arrest in January 2010, Zaguri managed to establish an organization that spread throughout southern Israel, controlled 15 gambling clubs on land and one on a cruise ship, and engaged in [...] Related posts:

11 Of 18 targeted Mob Bosses Imprisoned in Israel During a press conference Israeli Police Commissioner David Cohen stated...
Pop Star In Israel Arrested For Mob-Linked Extortion Israeli pop singer Margalit Tznaani has been arrested with several...
Israel cracking down on the mob Israel Police Insp.Gen. David Cohen warned Wednesday that recent police...

Pop Star In Israel Arrested For Mob-Linked Extortion

fdvent1 — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:08:06 +0000

Israeli pop singer Margalit Tznaani has been arrested with several suspected members of the Amir Mulner crime family for their alleged roles in extorting tens of thousands of shekels from her agent. According to the police’s suspicions, Tzanani, who is also a judge on the hit TV music contest series A Star is Born, accused her agent, Assaf Atadegi, of failing to pay a debt of tens of thousands of shekels. Police suspect members of Mulner’s organization had offered their “services” to collect the debt. "Tznaani's lawyer, Shahar Hatzroni, said the singer was shocked by the suspicions against her," and "he said she denied all of the suspicions." Source:The Jerusalem Post addGooglePlusOne(9688, "http://newenglandorganizedcrime.com/pop-star-in-israel-arrested-for-mob-linked-extortion/"); Related posts: Tip Of The Iceberg In Israel? Israeli pop singer Margalit Tznaani was arrested last week with... Pop Star Carmine Gotti Carmine Gotti The Daily News Reports: One of the... “Mob Wives” – Real Life – Husband Wired In a piece of unexpected “reality” Hector "Junior" Pagan, former husband... Related posts:

Tip Of The Iceberg In Israel? Israeli pop singer Margalit Tznaani was arrested last week with...
Pop Star Carmine Gotti Carmine Gotti The Daily News Reports: One of the...
“Mob Wives” – Real Life – Husband Wired In a piece of unexpected “reality” Hector "Junior" Pagan, former husband...

Alleged Israeli Mob Boss Abutbul Murdered

fdvent1 — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:29:13 +0000

Francois Abutbul, alleged to be one of Israel’s top organized crime bosses, was gunned down overnight by unknown assailants, Israeli police said on Sunday. Abutbul and his bodyguard pulled into a gas station in Netanya, Israel north of Tel Aviv where two assailants riding motorbikes, their faces covered by helmets, opened fire on Abutbul. Abutbul died as he was rushed to a hospital, and his bodyguard suffered minor injuries. They fired at least 10 bullets at the 40-year-old, who was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly afterwards, reports said. The killing appeared to be a targeted hit, possibly by a rival criminal group. Earlier this year reputed gangster Rico Shirazi was arrested on suspicion of planning to whack Abutbul although he was later released for lack of evidence. Abutbul, freed from prison just last year after spending two years behind bars for assaulting his wife, is believed to have succeeded his brother Asi at the head of one of Israel’s major criminal gangs in 2009. He assumed the leadership post when Asi was sentenced to 13 years in jail for his role in leading a ‘criminal organization.’ Israel has seen competition between rival criminal gangs ramp up in recent [...] Related posts:

Israel cracking down on the mob Israel Police Insp.Gen. David Cohen warned Wednesday that recent police...
11 Of 18 targeted Mob Bosses Imprisoned in Israel During a press conference Israeli Police Commissioner David Cohen stated...
Reputed Israeli Mobster Meir Abergil Returns Home Following his extradition by the US in January, alleged Tel...

Israel Releases 1977 Mafia Hearing Transcripts

fdvent1 — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:20:47 +0000

In 1977 former state prosecutor Erwin Shimron headed an Israeli government commission to investigate the extent to which organized crime pervaded the Holy Land, and testimony from the closed-door inquiry now has been released. Although five years earlier "another committee determined that Israel did not have organized crime," by 1977 the nation's police intelligence had compiled a list of 11 suspected underworld figures which included the names of "respectable businesspeople with close ties to government circles." The Shimron committee "presented its findings in February 1978," and "for the very first time, the existence of organized crime in Israel was acknowledged." And acknowledging that organized crime cannot exist without public corruption, Shimron then took a swipe at dirty officials who aligned themselves with Mafia members: "The social phenomenon of organized crime whose heads rely on individuals with standing at high levels is worrisome. Sometimes the desire to eat at a fancy restaurant and to revel in flattery bind senior bureaucrats together with members of organized crime." addGooglePlusOne(6555, "http://newenglandorganizedcrime.com/israel-releases-1977-mafia-hearing-transcripts/"); Related posts: Israel Begins Process of Handing Organized Crime Suspects Over to US Suspected organized crime figures Meir and Yitzhak Abergil were to... Mobsters Threaten Israel David Cohen, Israel's Police Inspector-General says that [...] Related posts:

Israel Begins Process of Handing Organized Crime Suspects Over to US Suspected organized crime figures Meir and Yitzhak Abergil were to...
Mobsters Threaten Israel David Cohen, Israel's Police Inspector-General says that organized crime is...
Alleged Israeli Mob Boss Abutbul Murdered Francois Abutbul, alleged to be one of Israel’s top organized...

5 Reputed Members of Israeli Crime Family Arraigned

fdvent1 — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:23:53 +0000

Five people reputedly involved in one of Israel’s most powerful organized crime families appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday to face drug trafficking and racketeering charges. Itzhak and Meir Abergil, along with three other defendants, pleaded not guilty to charges related to their alleged roles in a massive Los Angeles-based Ecstasy ring described in a 2008 indictment. They were extradited from Israel and, escorted by U.S. marshals, arrived in the U.S. late Wednesday, said Victor Sherman, the attorney for Itzhak Abergil. The men will remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center while they await trial. No bonds were set for any of the defendants because they were seen as a flight risk with “limited ties to the community,” said U.S. Magistrate Judge Ralph Zarefsky. Itzhak Abergil, the alleged boss of the Abergil crime family, appeared in street clothes and shackles for the hearing in the Edward R. Roybal federal courthouse. “I’m innocent,” he said when Zarefsky asked him to enter a plea. He had been laughing and yawning during the proceedings but was composed when addressing the judge. Meir Abergil, Sasson Barashy, Moshe Malul and Israel Ozifa were also shackled and appeared before the judge wearing [...] Related posts:

Reputed Israeli Mobster Meir Abergil Returns Home Following his extradition by the US in January, alleged Tel...
Israel Begins Process of Handing Organized Crime Suspects Over to US Suspected organized crime figures Meir and Yitzhak Abergil were to...
Alleged Israeli Mob Boss Abutbul Murdered Francois Abutbul, alleged to be one of Israel’s top organized...

Israel Begins Process of Handing Organized Crime Suspects Over to US

fdvent1 — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:34:13 +0000

Suspected organized crime figures Meir and Yitzhak Abergil were to be handed over to the United States on Wednesday, more than two years after the first request for their extradition. If convicted and sentenced to jail, however, under terms of agreement, the brothers will serve any jail sentence in Israel. The brothers are among five Israeli defendants – including Yisrael Ozifa, Moshe Malul and Sasson Barashi – who were to be extradited on charges of money laundering, extortion and drug trafficking. They are also accused of killing a drug dealer. The suspects, who are also alleged to be members of an organized crime organization, were to be supervised on the flight to the United States by American law enforcement officials. They will be held in custody until the end of their trial. The five were indicted in 2008 by a California court and the extradition request was submitted in October of that year. The extradition follows a six-year police investigation that entailed cooperation between U.S. authorities and law enforcement officials from several other countries. It is thought that the defendants' lawyers have been in touch with U.S. officials over a possible plea bargain. The Americans oppose the prospect of a [...] Related posts:

Israel Releases 1977 Mafia Hearing Transcripts In 1977 former state prosecutor Erwin Shimron headed an Israeli...
Emilio Fusco Extradited In Genovese Case Emilio Fusco, convicted loan shark and the fourth defendant in...
Israel cracking down on the mob Israel Police Insp.Gen. David Cohen warned Wednesday that recent police...

State Department Shows Concern For Israeli Organized Crime

fdvent1 — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 10:37:49 +0000

State Department cables by WikiLeaks reveals concern about the increasing power of organized crime in Israel and its export to the United States. Ambassador Cunningham's cable confirms that Israeli organized crime has "gained a foothold in America" given "the volume of travel and trade between the United States and Israel" Cunningham questioned Israel's ability to deal with the growing problem. "Despite their notoriety, organized crime figures have generally been viewed as a nuisance to be handled by local police. Law enforcement resources were directed to more existential security threats from terrorists and enemy states. In recent years, however, the rules of the game have changed." The cable dealt with the possibility of Israeli organized crime spreading its influence to the US and spoke of Washington's efforts to become familiarized with the various mafia families and those in their employ, in order to prevent them getting visas to the US. "Given the growing reach and lethal methods of Israeli organized crime, blocking the travel of known organized crime figures to the United States is a matter of great concern," Cuningham stated. "Through collaboration with Israeli and US law enforcement authorities, Post [Cunningham] has developed an extensive database and placed lookouts for [...] Related posts:

Israeli Police Crack Down on Organized Crime Israeli police embarked on the biggest operation of the last...
Reputed Israeli Mobster Meir Abergil Returns Home Following his extradition by the US in January, alleged Tel...
Israel Begins Process of Handing Organized Crime Suspects Over to US Suspected organized crime figures Meir and Yitzhak Abergil were to...

Mobsters Threaten Israel

fdvent1 — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:38:37 +0000

David Cohen, Israel's Police Inspector-General says that organized crime is a strategic threat to the country. "Serious and organized crime is a strategic threat against Israeli society. The organized and serious crime, combined with the decline in familiarity with legal norms are a threat to society. Our central goal is to fight organized crime and to improve the public's confidence." Source: The Jerusalem Post addGooglePlusOne(4162, "http://newenglandorganizedcrime.com/mobsters-threaten-israel/"); Related posts: Pop Star In Israel Arrested For Mob-Linked Extortion Israeli pop singer Margalit Tznaani has been arrested with several... Israel cracking down on the mob Israel Police Insp.Gen. David Cohen warned Wednesday that recent police... Reputed Israeli Mobster Meir Abergil Returns Home Following his extradition by the US in January, alleged Tel... Related posts:

Pop Star In Israel Arrested For Mob-Linked Extortion Israeli pop singer Margalit Tznaani has been arrested with several...
Israel cracking down on the mob Israel Police Insp.Gen. David Cohen warned Wednesday that recent police...
Reputed Israeli Mobster Meir Abergil Returns Home Following his extradition by the US in January, alleged Tel...

The Mafia In Vegas

fdvent1 — Fri, 28 May 2010 11:58:06 +0000

The Italian Mob still exists in Las Vegas, Nevada but it is sharing the turf with other ethnic organized crime groups.Special Agent Tracy Dockery, supervisor of the organized crime squad in the Las Vegas FBI, briefed the local Citizens' Academy folks on April 27 about mob activities in Las Vegas. She said mobsters from the former Soviet Union and Eastern bloc countries have been active with ATM skimming, bank fraud, credit card fraud, and hiding and laundering money. Dockery said Asian mobs are involved with home invasions, but they target the Asian community. They identify homes that have valuables by relying on tips from workers who enter the houses for things such as carpet cleaning and maintenance. So what about the Italian mob? Dockery told the class that the traditional Cosa Nostra in Las Vegas "has gotten smarter and is not drawing as much attention." Money laundering, loan sharking and extortion are the favored activities of today's Cosa Nostra. Now we're talking mobs from around the globe, which operate wherever they can get a foothold and make money. Israelis. Bulgarians. Russians. Asians. Mexicans. Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal addGooglePlusOne(2664, "http://newenglandorganizedcrime.com/the-mafia-in-vegas/"); Related posts: Gangster’s Daughter Sues Las Vegas Mob Attraction The daughter [...] Related posts:

Gangster’s Daughter Sues Las Vegas Mob Attraction The daughter of famed gangster Sam Giancana has sued the...
Second Mob Museum slated to open in Vegas The Las Vegas Mob Experience,a museum to be hosted in...
Mob Month in Vegas “I went from being a racketeer to being a raconteur,”...