Free Republic

A former drug kingpin who received more than $300,000 from 2006 to 2008 to build a job-training center for people with HIV/AIDS instead used the funds to build a luxury strip club, a D.C. Superior Court jury found Monday. Cornell Jones and Miracle Hands, the nonprofit group Jones founded after serving nine years in prison on narcotics charges, falsified nine documents or statements to support grants worth $329,654, the jury decided after a four-day trial and seven hours of deliberation. Jones, once the king of the notorious Hanover Place NW open-air drug market, used much of those city funds for...

MEXICO CITY—The head of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel was captured overnight by U.S. and Mexican authorities at a hotel in Mazatlan, Mexico, The Associated Press has learned. A senior U.S. law enforcement official said Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was taken alive overnight in the beach resort town. The official was not authorized to discuss the arrest and spoke on condition of anonymity.

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl1908.aspx Treasury Identifies Kassem Rmeiti & Co. for Exchange and Halawi Exchange Co. as Financial Institutions of “Primary Money Laundering Concern” 4/23/2013 In First Use of Section 311 Against a Non-Bank Financial Institution, Treasury Acts to Protect the U.S. Financial System from Foreign Exchange Houses Tied to Global Narcotics and Money Laundering Networks and Hizballah WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today named two Lebanese exchange houses, Kassem Rmeiti & Co. For Exchange (Rmeiti Exchange) and Halawi Exchange Co. (Halawi Exchange), as foreign financial institutions of primary money laundering concern under...

(CNN) -- Mexican special forces troops have arrested a lieutenant for alleged drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, according to the Defense Ministry. Troops arrested Felipe Cabrera Sarabia on Friday in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, CNN.com Mexico reported, citing the Mexican Defense Ministry. Sarabia, who appeared Monday in the office of a prosecutor who specializes in organized crime, was responsible for Guzman's security in the neighboring state of Durango, the state-run Notimex news agency said.

"US Accuses Guinea-Bissau Military Officers of Drug Trafficking Two top officers are named as major players in cocaine shipment from Latin America to Guinea-Bissau" SNIPPET: "Na Tchuto denied the allegations on Friday and said that he will cooperate with the United States government. He also said the charges of drug trafficking do not make sense because he was in Portugal on June 29, 2008 when the cocaine shipment from Venezuela arrived. Na Tchuto said he did not return to Guinea-Bissau until July. Na Tchuto also pointed out that he was not arrested by Interpol when he was in Gambia or...

Suddenly wishes Viagra was harder to come byNotorious spammer Christopher "Rizler" Smith was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a federal judge on Wednesday. US District Judge Michael Davis called Smith a "drug kingpin" before throwing the book at him. Smith was convicted on charges of conspiracy, illegal distribution of drugs, money laundering and operating a continuing criminal enterprise. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the judge was somewhat hesitant about the length of the prison term recommended by sentencing guidelines, but in the end, decided it was reasonable. Smith hasn't exactly been a darling to the court...

Mexican authorities have arrested a major figure in a Colombian cartel responsible for nearly half of the cocaine smuggled into the United States, the U.S. ambassador in Mexico said Friday. The arrest of Jaime Maya Duran "shows the determination of U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities to pursue the most dangerous criminals, including those who thought they were untouchable," Ambassador Tony Garza said in a news release. Maya Duran was arrested Sept. 6 by agents of Mexico's Attorney General's Office. It was not immediately known where he was arrested and Mexican officials could not be reached for immediate comment. A...

The federal government may seek the death penalty for the accused kingpin of one of Mexico's oldest and most notorious drug cartels, a prosecutor said Monday. Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, 36, did not seek bail during his second court appearance in five days. He pleaded not guilty last week to racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to import and distribute controlled substances and money laundering. Laura Duffy, an assistant U.S. attorney, said the government may seek new charges against Arellano Felix that would allow for the death penalty or life in prison if he is convicted. She did not elaborate on the...

WASHINGTON Federal drug agents and the Coast Guard arrested Mexican drug lord Javier Arellano-Felix, a leader of a violent gang responsible for digging elaborate tunnels to smuggle drugs under the U.S. border, a Justice Department official said Wednesday. The official said the Arellano-Felix, 37, was apprehended off the Southern California coast. He is wanted in both the United States and Mexico for his role as a leader in the violent and sophisticated Tijuana-based Arellano-Felix gang, which includes seven brothers and four sisters from the Arellano family. The official requested anonymity because he spoke before the official announcement of the arrest....

"Cali Cartel Boss Sent to U.S. on Drug Charges" Cali Cartel Boss Sent to U.S. on Drug Charges 2 hours, 24 minutes ago By Hugh Bronstein BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - "The former boss of the Cali drug cartel, who once controlled most of the world's cocaine trade, was sent to the United States on Friday to face trafficking and money laundering charges. Reuters Photo   Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, 65, was one of the last of Colombia's legendary outlaws to run the cocaine business from jungle laboratories to foreign distribution. He is the highest-profile criminal ever extradited from this Andean country...