Kovelan Bangaru, AKA Kole Bugari

Australia's most wanted , former business high-flyer Kovelan Bangaru, is expected to be transported under high security from the US to a Sydney jail cell within days.
The US Marshals, the American government's primary fugitive hunting organisation, confirmed today it was holding Bangaru in the US ahead of extradition to Australia.
The 40-year-old father of two is accused of fleecing $A27 million from 70 investors, including "mum and dad investors", when his Sydney-based Streetwise property development company collapsed in 2005 and he fled to California.
"I can confirm he is still in our custody," a US Marshals spokesman told AAP today.
The US Marshals declined to give details of plans to transport Bangaru.
Bangaru was well-known in Australia before his demise, developing multi-million dollar Sydney harbourside penthouses, properties in Queensland, Victoria, Sydney and on the NSW south coast and featuring in news articles in publications such as The Australian Financial Review.
Australian authorities, in documents filed in the US courts, allege Bangaru would tell potential investors that sports stars, such as Australian cricketers Brett Lee and Michael Slater, were investors in his company.
"I have made many successful partnerships with Mr Slater and Mr Lee and I have made many people lots of money," Bangaru is accused of telling one victim who invested $A500,000 with Streetwise.
Bangaru was arrested by US authorities in an exclusive residential area in southern California's Orange County in April after upset Australian investors helped track him down.
He has been held in a jail in Santa Ana, south of Los Angeles, since the arrest and it was originally believed he would fight extradition.
However, on December 5 in the US District Court he entered into a "charge bargain agreement" with Australian prosecutors in which he agreed to plead guilty to 11 of the 16 serious fraud charges.



"Kovelan Bangaru and the Australian prosecutors have entered into a 'charge bargain' agreement to resolve the pending criminal charges against the fugitive," Bangaru's US lawyer, Charles Pereyra-Suarez, wrote in a document submitted to US District Court judge Oswald Parada on December

Darin Richardson

Darin Richardson, was shot twice after he pointed a pistol at two detectives and a plainclothes officer who tried to stop him in the street.
Investigators believe the revolver Richardson brandished may have been the same one used in 2005 to wound an officer in Austell, Ga.
That shooting earned Richardson a prominent place on the FBI's "most wanted'' list, but it was a chance meetingthat led to Tuesday night's violence.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said a group of drug investigators on a routine patrol decided to stop Richardson after spotting him emerging from a shop at around 9 p.m., fiddling with something tucked in his belt.
Thinking the bulge was a weapon, they circled around the block, then flashed their badges and ordered Richardson to halt. Two of the officers fired when Richardson pulled a gun and ignored orders to drop it, Browne said.
Several witnesses at the scene confirmed that one or more of the police officers shouted "Put it down! Put it down!'' before opening fire, Browne said.
It wasn't until later that authorities learned that Richardson was wanted in connection with the shooting of a police officer in Georgia's Cobb County.
Cobb County Police said in a news release that Richardson was charged with shooting an officer twice on Aug. 20, 2005, after police tried to question him at a gas station.
The officer was wounded, but survived. Richardson escaped on foot.
Police suspect that the weapon used in that shooting was a revolver reported stolen by one of Richardson's acquaintances on the day of the crime. That same gun was found lying in the street after Richardson was shot in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

Raji Mann,Sanjeev Mann

Two brothers are facing over a dozen charges as the result of an eight-month investigation into an alleged "dial-a-doper" drug trafficking network.
Project Image saw the recent arrests of Raji Mann, 24, and his brother Sanjeev Mann, 21, who were arrested quietly outside of a relative's home.
They are in custody and will appear in court Monday.
Both accused are known to the Southern Alberta Gang Enforcement Team.
"It puts a dent into the market for cocaine trafficking, which is big in Alberta, and also the manufacture of crack," said Insp. Joan McCallum of the Integrated Response to Organized Crime Unit.
"They have to know that we're watching them."

David Ragsdale

David Ragsdale, accused of fatally shooting his wife in Lehi on Sunday, before an initial court hearing on Jan. 14.
If prosecutors are not ready to file charges by then, Buhman said they will ask 4th District Judge Lynn Davis to postpone Ragsdale's first court appearance.
Ragsdale, 35, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, a potential capital offense, for allegedly shooting to death his 30-year-old wife Kristy Ragsdale in the parking lot of a Lehi LDS church, in front of her mother and several witnesses. He is being held in the Utah County jail without bail.
Kristy Ragsdale was planning to file for divorce, her attorney has said.
Greg Skordas, David Ragsdale's lawyer, said Tuesday that he met with his client Sunday and Monday, and they will not seek a court hearing before next week. He declined further comment.
A funeral for Kristy Ragsdale is in the planning stages, but it is expected to be held Saturday at the Lehi stake center where she attended church, an LDS Church spokesman said.

Monica Thomas-Harris ,Curtis "Keno" Harris

Monica Thomas-Harris and Curtis "Keno" Harris, who were reported missing Thursday night, when relatives asked for the public's help in finding the 37-year-old woman who reportedly disappeared.
One employee said he knew it was them because he checked Harris' identification before renting him the $55-a-night room.
Another employee, Lawrence Parra, said he recognized the couple from photos in the newspaper.
"She was standing outside as he was getting the room," Parra said.
Police received a call about 11:20 a.m. of a person down in the motel room. When they arrived, they discovered the man and woman were dead.
"It does appear to be a murder-suicide," said public information officer Diana Salazar. "We are not looking for any outstanding suspects."
Salazar would confirm only that a black man from Chino and a black woman from Upland, both in their 30s, were found dead in Room 208 in the motel at 11435 Whittier Blvd.
Police said the man used a handgun to kill the woman before killing himself.
Neighbors said they did not hear any noises from the motel room Friday night.
"I know gunshots, and there were no gunshots," said Juan Montiel, a Petaluma resident who was staying at the motel with his wife.
The missing couple were reportedly traveling in a 2001 Ford Expedition, with the license-plate number of 4UGR263. The same vehicle was seen parked at the motel and being towed by police for evidence on Saturday.
One employee, who did not want to be identified, said he became suspicious when the couple did not check out at 11 a.m. Saturday. After repeated calls to the room, he sent a maid to check up on the couple.

Christopher McCuin

Christopher McCuin, age 25, "would stand in the roadway and wouldn't let people pass and he would talk to himself." McCuin, according to his neighbor, "acted crazy."
Eccentric, yes. Troubling, sure. But blocking the road and talking to himself were comically benign behaviors compared to what McCuin is now accused of doing.
Police in Texas say that McCuin began the first weekend of the new year by kidnapping and killing his ex-girlfriend Jana Shearer, age 21.
After he allegedly bludgeoned her to death, McCuin took Shearer's body to his mom's garage.
A short time later, McCuin led his mother and her boyfriend to the scene, which had become an abbatoir.
They fled in horror.
McCuin called 911. He told the operator that he'd killed Shearer. He told the operator what he was doing to Jana Shearer's remains

Maria Frances Lauterbach

Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, who was the last person to speak with her, on Dec. 13. It is not clear why the disappearance wasn't made public earlier.
Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune. Lauterbach is with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group.
Investigators are calling her disappearance suspicious, saying her mother reported that Lauterbach was going to testify about an incident she witnessed on base.
"There are several findings and pieces of evidence that have been discovered that cause law

James Patrick

James Patrick: Police in Delaware County, Pa. are searching for an accused child rapist with a tricky disappearing act. James Patrick was standing trial on charges that he raped an 11-year-old girl in 1998, when cops say he asked to leave court to call his elderly mother. Cops say Patrick took off, and hasn’t been seen since.

Unknown Helen Hill Killer

Unknown Helen Hill Killer: In New Orleans, young filmmaker Helen Hill and her physician husband Paul were awakened by an intruder — cops say the next thing they knew, he opened fire. Now, a year later, police have new information that may help find her killer.

Leonard Ray Harper

Leonard Ray Harper: Police thought accused murderer Leonard Ray Harper was hiding out in Spain or South America, but now they have confirmation Harper could be back in his old digs — San Antonio, Texas. A convicted murderer called cops from jail and told them what they needed to know to place Harper back in town.

Donald Farrell Killer

Donald Farrell Killer: Saturday, October 27, 2007 was Rowan University’s homecoming, a night that brings thousands of people to the campus to celebrate and watch the football game. It was on this night that a group of four to five men brutally beat a 19-year-old student to death as a group of his friends stood by helplessly.

Nancy and Joey Bochicchio’s killer

Boca Raton, Fla. police are still looking for Nancy and Joey Bochicchio’s killer. Cops say their best lead is a composite sketch of a man wanted in another violent attack in Boca Raton. The similarities between that case and the Bochicchios’ murders are eerily similar, and police believe the man in the sketch could be involved with the vicious double homicide of mom Nancy and 8-year-old daughter Joey.

shooting

Dothan police are investigating a shooting into an occupied home Thursday night in the 700 block of Arlington Avenue, according to a statement released by police spokesman Officer Thomas Davis.
Someone drove by a home on Arlington Avenue around 10:51 p.m. and fired a gun several times, police say. The gunmen fled the area driving an early 1990s silver four-door model Ford Crown Victoria.
No one suffered any injuries in the shooting.

Chief James Ibori,Kema Chikwe

The hearing of the bail application of former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, on Friday was stalled when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it needed time to respond to issues raised in the accused person’s fresh affidavit.
Also, the former governor did not exhibit signs of ill-health on Friday when he appeared before Justice Mohammed Shuaibu of the Federal High Court in Kaduna. Rather, he looked hale and hearty. He was flown to the National Hospital, Abuja from Kaduna on Wednesday and discharged on Thursday.
THE London Metropolitan Police say the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, used British banks to stash £20 million public funds to finance his flamboyant lifestyle, The Sunday Times of London reported yesterday.
However, efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute Chief Ibori for alleged corruption may have run into a fresh hitch after Britain returned investigation documents to the anti-graft agency asking for the authorisation of the Attorney-General of the Federation to use them in the London court process.
EFCC recovers N15m from Kema Chikwe
The same EFCC has recovered N15 million from one-time Aviation Minister, Dr. Kema Chikwe, being her alleged share of business deal with one Samuel Iheanacho, Managing Director of an engineering company.
Chief Ibori is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police for allegedly laundering the money during 2005-06, using a web of high-street banks in London and an international array of front companies.
The London Sunday Times citing a witness statement made by a financial investigator working for the Met, said Ibori used accounts at branches of HSBC, Barclays and Abbey to buy luxury cars and homes.
These include a £4 million mansion in Hampstead, North London, a nearby flat for a mistress and a country retreat in Dorset. Ibori owned a Bentley Continental GT, a Jaguar and an armoured Mercedes-Benz Maybach

It said since 2005, funds from Nigeria, intended for education and engineering projects, “(were) allegedly stolen by James Ibori (and) have been laundered through the UK banking system.”
One payment of £275,873 was made to a Mayfair car dealership for an armour-plated Maybach limousine in 2005.
Ibori, who denies the accusations, has not been charged with any wrongdoing. His lawyers declined to comment.
The investigation is looking at payments by Shell and Chevron-Texaco to his businesses in Delta State. Over three years, Shell, Chevron and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company allegedly paid £3.6 million into a Barclays account controlled by Ibori for renting out houseboats to foreign employees.
Last Thursday, the Court of Appeal confirmed a freeze on Ibori’s UK assets, worth £17.1 million.
According to an affidavit, the Met intervened at an unspecified date to block his purchase of a private jet from Bombardier, the manufacturers, for $20 million (£9.8 million) while he was still in office and receiving an official salary of just £12,000 a year.
An associate who met Ibori in New York in September told The Sunday Times that he was “desperate to prove that his hands are clean.”
The Met has recently launched a crackdown on foreigners using Britain as a haven for corruptly acquired assets. Ibori is the third Nigerian governor to be investigated under the Proceeds of Crime Act introduced in 2002.
The two others charged with money laundering in London jumped bail. One has since been convicted of corruption by a Nigerian court, while the other is on trial.
HSBC, Abbey and Barclays declined to comment but said they would cooperate fully with any police investigation.
AGF-EFCC feud creates fresh hitches in Ibori’s case
Efforts by the EFCC to prosecute Chief Ibori for alleged corruption while in office has run into a fresh hitch as Britain returned investigation documents to the anti-graft agency asking for the Attorney-General of the Federation’s authorisation to use them in the London court process.
The British authorities had earlier asked the EFCC to furnish it with details of its findings on the allegation of corruption against Chief Ibori while in office which it did without recourse to the AGF, Chief Michael Aondoakaa.
It was gathered that the documents were returned because they were not signed by the AGF and, therefore, could not be used.
“The honourable Attorney-General may, therefore, authorise the Metropolitan Police through the appropriate channels to use the materials enumerated above for their legal processes,” he said in the letter dated September 28, 2007.
It was, however, learnt that the AGF who had requested the same documents without being given by the EFCC, rejected it, as he was said to have noted that the request by the Metropolitan Police should have been sent to him, in the first instance.
Sources said the AGF reported the development to the President who gave him a backing.
Also listed were accounts of various companies said to have been traced to Chief Ibori or his relations.
The included Bainexnox Ltd account with UBA, MER Engineering Ltd account with UBA, Global Little Drops Nig. Ltd account with Zenith and Oceanic Banks, Silhouette Travels and Tours account with Zenith and Prime Chambers account with Zenith.
Also contained in the document is the copy of a letter from the Corporate Affairs Commission confirming that about three companies used in siphoning fund from Delta State were registered with it.

Three migrants died

Three migrants among dozens trying to reach Spain from Northwest Africa in a wooden boat died and two others were in serious condition, officials said Saturday.
A Spanish patrol ship spotted the boat, which was carrying 88 people, in the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of the Canary Island of Tenerife early Saturday, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman said. The survivors were rescued, she said.
Four of the migrants, whose precise point of origin was unknown, were rushed to a hospital, the spokeswoman said.
Of 70 survivors in good health, nine were thought to be minors among them was a baby girl believed to be around 2 years old the spokeswoman said.

Amy Fitzpatrick new photo

Audrey Fitzpatrick: PRESS Conference (updated text)

Audrey Fitzpatrick The mother of Amy, Irish girl 15 years of age who had disappeared on January 1 in Mijas (Malaga), today gave a press conference at the Ocean Hotel to publicize her missing daughter and help with information for the search.
The mother, Audrey Fitzpatrick, read a statement in English, "If anyone has seen Amy to contact with the Civil Guard or phone: 062 or 112," Audrey asked.
"Someone must know something," said the mother, while he called "especially in the British Community, on the Costa del Sol which is extensive having lived for five years in the town. Amy is a popular girl ".
The family of the child reported that the night of 31 and day 1, Amy was with a friend, Ashley,they were babysitting in a house on the Calypso urbanisation . "She was wearing a faded black mini skirt, a black 'Diesel'shirt and also some high black boots," according to her mother .
"She is a very thin girl with brown hair, a very pale color," she continued. In addition, during the press conference leaflets were distributed with a photo and description of the girl to help the search.
"A girl can not disappear from the face of the earth, which is why I ask the people to try to recall whether they had seen anything. Any little information is useful," asked the mother.

Amy Fitzpatrick: UPDATED: Another Mystery Disappearance (like the Mcanns) on Spanish Costas

Spanish police have begun an investigation after an expatriate teenager disappeared on her way home from a nearby friend’s house.
Amy Fitzpatrick, 15, has not been seen since the evening of New Year’s Day, when she left the friend’s home on the Costa Del Sol.
Officers from the Spanish Civil Guard searched waste ground yesterday in the tourist resort of Riviera Del Sol, near Fuengirola, as part of their hunt for the Irish teenager. The land is close to the route that Amy would have taken on her ten-minute walk back to the home she shares with her mother, brother and stepfather.
She spent New Year’s Eve at her friend’s house, babysitting for the girl’s younger brother, and stayed the night before the pair headed to a local shopping centre on January 1. Amy then returned to the friend’s house before heading home at about 10pm.
Her mother, Audrey, 39, said last night that she had not heard anything from her daughter since a telephone call early on the day she vanished.
“The last time we spoke was on New Year’s Day morning when she rang to wish me happy new year.”
Mrs Fitzpatrick, from Dublin, said that she was starting to fear the worst. “I’ve racked my brains for a reason as to why Amy might want to go off on her own and I can’t think of one. She’s never done anything like this before. We’ve traced the route we think she would have taken but found no clues as to what might have happened to her. It’s a route she knows well and involves a walk of about two minutes down a dirt track.
“All I want is for Amy to pick up a phone and ring me or a friend and say she’s OK but at the back of my mind is that horrible fear that something’s happened to her and she can’t.”
The disappearance has shocked Riviera del Sol’s expatriate community. Police have spoken to the couple that Amy had been babysitting for on New Year’s Eve, an English woman and her Spanish husband. They have also questioned the teenager’s schoolfriends, including a dozen British expatriate families who live in the area.
Mrs Fitzpatrick was preparing last night to distribute hundreds of appeal posters showing her daughter’s face. The teenager’s brother, Dean, 17, had spent the day taking police officers to see friends in the hope that someone had heard from her.
Ritchie Harris, a family friend, said: “Amy is a very pretty girl and although she’s mature for her age and likes to mix with an older crowd, she’s only 15 and still very much of a youngster.” Mr Harris, originally from London, said that he had been helping in the search for Amy, and had spent Thursday night scouring her e-mails and speaking to her friends via the online MSN Messenger service for clues as to her whereabouts.
A police helicopter spent part of yesterday flying over waste ground close to Amy’s home. The land, sandwiched between a motorway running along the Costa del Sol and houses leading down to the Mediterranean, is popular with dog walkers. Amy, who has dark, shoulder-length hair, was wearing a black jacket, dark tracksuit bottoms, a black Diesel T-shirt and black furry boots when she was last seen.
She moved to the Costa del Sol with her mother 3½ years ago. Her step-father, Dave McMahon, is an estate agent in the Spanish resort. It is understood that her natural father lives in the Irish Republic.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Málaga was unable to comment on local reports that a stranger driving a white van had been spotted targeting children in the area.
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Michelle Rodriguez

Michelle Rodriguez went to jail in Lynwood, California, Sunday to begin serving her 180-day sentence for violating her probation in a DUI case.
In October, the former Lost star, 29, was sentenced after she admitted she had violated her probation by failing to provide proof of completion of community service and for drinking three times while wearing her alcohol-monitoring anklet.

Bianca N. Washington

Bianca N. Washington, of East Avenue, after officers found her, dressed in pink pajamas, with a baggie that held 4.5 grams of crack. She is charged with drug trafficking and drug abuse.
A caller told officers Dec. 31 that there were two women wearing pink pajamas at Cairo Place, going door to door trying to sell crack.
When patrol officers arrived, they saw Washington in a parking lot. She was indeed wearing pink pajamas and tried to run, Lt. Rick Edwards said.