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At some point in the past few weeks, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias was sitting in his million-dollar Chicago condo wondering how he could possibly stop the death spiral of his campaign for the United States Senate. Obama-Giannoulias-filtered It had all seemed so perfect just a few months ago—The dashing and urbane Alexi had burst on the political scene only four years ago spending millions of his parents money to win statewide office in his very first foray into politics. He shot hoops with his role model and political patron, Barak Obama. He had wealth, charisma, connections and unbridled ambition and...

John "Junior" Gotti seemingly has his father's knack for avoiding conviction. Federal prosecutors have decided not to seek a fifth racketeering trial against the 45-year-old Gotti, the son of one of the most notorious mobsters in the United States, the Teflon Don, John Gotti. While the Gambino family crime boss eventually was convicted of racketeering, the younger Gotti, who insists he left organized crime a decade ago, avoided conviction in four trials. There won't be a fifth. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara issued a one-paragraph statement Wednesday saying prosecutors had decided not to seek another trial "in light of the circumstances."...

Reporting from Naples, Italy - In most respects, it was a typical mob shootout: members of feuding clans facing down their rivals on the main street of the small town of Lauro, exchanging gunfire from their cars until three people lay dead and four others wounded. The difference, though, was that the battle between the Cava and Graziano families involved women only. As townspeople looked on in horror, two mothers in their 50s and a 16-year-old girl were slain in their Audi on the streets of the Naples-area community. Yet even after the deadly 2002 firefight, prosecutors were slow to...

The buyer of a pretty property in northern Wisconsin will get a former hideout of Chicago mobster Al Capone along with a bar and restaurant complete with portholes to shoot from

THOUSAND OAKS -- A 65 year old man had his finger bitten off Wednesday evening at a health care rally in Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff's investigators were called to Hillcrest and Lynn Road at 7:26 p.m. About 100 protesters sponsored by MoveOn.org were having a rally supporting health care reform. A group of anti-health care reform protesters formed across the street. When someone from the pro-reform side crossed over to the anti-reform side, a fist fight ensued, which resulted in the man's pinky finger getting bitten off. It's believed the man was on the...

One participant in negotiations said that the administration's tactic was to present what one described as a "madman theory of the presidency" in which the President is someone to be feared because he was willing to do anything to get his way. The person said this threat was taken very seriously by his firm.

My thoughts exactly...

Get elected to Congress and get rich: study Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:04pm EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page| Recommend (2) [-] Text [+] powered by Sphere Featured Broker sponsored link Learn to Trade with a FREE Guide.By Kevin Drawbaugh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The personal wealth of members of the U.S. Congress has soared in recent years, leaving lawmakers on average far more well-to-do than most Americans as of 2006, said a study on Thursday. The median net worth of senators was estimated at $1.7 million and House of Representatives members at $675,000, said the Center...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A law enforcement official says 11 public officials from across New Jersey, including a mayor and two state lawmakers, have been arrested in a federal corruption investigation. The official says the arrests are related to insurance contracts for local governments. The official says two Democratic state lawmakers, the mayor of Passaic (puh-SAY'-ihk) and the chief of staff to Newark's City Council president are among those arrested.

In Baltimore's Little Italy, where Nancy Pelosi began the political education that propelled her to the peak of power in Washington, there was one person more feared and better-organized than her legendary father, Thomas J. D'Alesandro Jr. That was her mother, Annunciata, a statuesque woman also known as Nancy, who juggled six children with serving as precinct captain, strategist and all-around enforcer in her husband's storied Democratic machine. And people knew not to tangle with her.

Many of those on the left who are attacking President Bush for toppling Saddam Hussein were not so particular when Clinton was president. The man who sent American troops into Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti, Somalia, etc, did so with the support of liberal-leaning Congressmen and Senators. This fact needs to be borne in mind because I think provides a clue as to why the same Liberals are now snapping at President Bush’s heels. Taking a look at the 1972 George McGovern presidential campaign we find that it provided the means by which those who are deeply hostile to American values and...

Money, Mobsters, MurderThe sordid tale of a GOP lobbyist's casino deal gone bad. Gambling doesn't destroy people. People destroy people. The gentleman or gentlewoman who decides to gamble makes that decision of his own free will. It's a free market industry, and that appeals to conservatives. --Michael Scanlon AT ABOUT 8 p.m. on the night of September 26, a homicide detective with the Ft. Lauderdale police department entered the home of Anthony Moscatiello in the Howard Beach section of Queens, New York. Once inside, he placed the 67-year-old "caterer," aka "Big Tony," under arrest. Around 11 p.m., a thousand miles...

More than 400 Democrats packed a North Jersey banquet hall last week to get their annual pre-election instructions. They left fired up but empty-handed. In a scene played out in Democratic precincts across the state, Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas had no more than a handful of Kerry-Edwards lawn signs and bumper stickers for party workers eager to promote their presidential ticket.

In a tight election in which victory is expected to turn on which interest groups can get more of their supporters to the polls, few have more experience, money or manpower than trade unions. But union leaders say that, though they are making an unprecedented effort on behalf of Sen. John Kerry, they are nervous because of what they say is the aggressiveness of pro-Bush groups, particularly in the swing states. The generally Democratic trade unions have always played a big role in modern campaigns, and leaders say they are committing more resources than ever before in key states like...

CHICAGO - The City of Chicago Hired Truck scandal got one step closer to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley today. One the biggest guns in the 11th Ward the home turf of the Daley clan for two generations, was the sixth man to be arrested. Donald Tomczak, former first deputy commissioner of Chicago’s Water Management Department, was arrested today on charges of mail fraud and bribery charges stemming from the ongoing public corruption investigation of the city’s Hired Truck Program. Two weeks ago, Tomczak, 69, was identified only as retired “Official A” in the complaint against Gerald Wesolowski, who was arrested...

FBI: Albanian Mobsters 'New Mafia' From Justice Producer Terry Frieden Washington, 18 Aug (CNN) - Thousands of Albanians and others who fled the Balkans for the United States in recent years have emerged as a serious organized crime problem, threatening to displace La Cosa Nostra (LCN) families as kingpins of U.S. crime, top FBI officials said Wednesday. The Albanian criminal enterprises, operating largely in New York and other Eastern seaboard cities, represent a major challenge to federal agents because of their propensity for violence and brutality, the officials said. "They are a hardened group, operating with reckless abandon," said Chris...

A Russian mobster with a string of convictions has produced an action drama in which he and his cronies take starring roles, complaining that existing television gangster shows are unrealistic.Vitali Dyomochka, known in the underworld as Bondar, shot the seven-part series about his life of crime in Russia's "wild east", around the Pacific port city of Vladivostok. The shaven-headed 33-year-old, who spent his last stint in jail after gunning down a rival, wrote, produced, directed and stars in Spets, alongside fellow mobsters. Ten members of the cast have been imprisoned for a range of crimes since production was completed last...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Albanian criminal enterprises, operating largely in New York and other Eastern seaboard cities, represent a major challenge to federal agents because of their propensity for violence and brutality, the officials said. "They are a hardened group, operating with reckless abandon," said Chris Swecker, the newly named FBI assistant director for the Criminal Investigative Division...Officials said ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro are included in the clans and crews that emerged in the organized crime world.... ... Although no terrorism connection has been discovered, the FBI says it is closely watching to see whether the militant...