Bulgaria, Macedonia and the EU
Bulgaria gets a break and Macedonia’s progress stalls in their bids for entry into the EU.
A demand for sanctions against Bulgaria for its failed policy in combating organized crime and corruption has been postponed by EU Affairs Minister Frans Timmermans, according to the Dutch newspaper NRC Handlesbad.
In July, the Netherlands, France and the UK declared themselves in favor of tougher sanctions after publication of reports by the European Commission on Bulgaria's rampant corruption and misuse of EU funds.
The sanctions would have included delaying Bulgaria entry into EU's borderless Schengen area and the loss of millions in pre-accession funds.
The Netherlands will now on insist on sanctions in February 2009 unless significant signs of progress are made.
After reports earlier in the week that Macedonia’s bid for the EU was making progress,
Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said on Sunday that no EU accession talks will start until the name dispute with Greece is settled. In addition, EU officials have said that some of the eight benchmarks for Macedonia’s accession have not been met.
“Substantial further efforts are still needed before we can tick all the boxes,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Ollie Rehn told reporters in Brussels after meeting with two senior government members from Macedonia on Thursday. “These are essential conditions in creating a truly European society.”
The benchmarks include anti-corruption measures, judicial and administrative reform, employment policies and improving the business climate. Rehn also noted shortcomings in free and fair elections in Macedonia, including the latest in June.
Romanian Tobacco Smuggling Group Caught at Irish Airport
Irish customs officials announced on Friday the seizure of 289,000 cigarettes and 50kg of tobacco worth €96,500 at Dublin Airport.
The seizure was part of an anti-smuggling operation targeting organized cigarettes smuggling gangs from Latvia, Romania and Northern Ireland.
Of the seized tobacco, 126,000 cigarettes were from what the Customs Service described as a “Romanian gang” and had arrived in Dublin from Bucharest via Prague.
The other cigarettes were taken from criminal groups smuggling cigarettes from Latvia an Lithuania, and a group from Northern Ireland that had arrived on a flight from the Canary Islands early Friday morning.
Europol Issues Annual Report on Organized Crime
Europol has again issued its annual European Union Organized Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA) for 2008. The report examines developments in the structures and activities of organized crime networks operating both within EU member states and the continent at large. It notes anew the emergence of multi-ethnic, trans-national groups, and the challenges facing law enforcement as it adapts to the changing borders of the EU.
Soccer and the Mafia
The wide-scale rioting and hooliganism that accompanied Italian soccer club Napoli's Serie A opener against AS Roma may be linked to the Comorra, the Neapolitan mafia, reports Italian news agency ANSA.
“We are working on the hypothesis that organized crime groups may have infiltrated the gangs responsible for the violence,” Naples police chief Antonio Puglisi told ANSA.
Napoli fans began rioting at the Naples train station after delays to the intercity train that was to bring them to the match in Rome. The fans forced ticketed passengers off, scuffled with police and railway workers, and then wrecked the train on its way to Rome.
Upon arriving at Termini Station in Rome, the fans threw smoke bombs and vandalized buses that took them to the stadium.
The hooligans caused a half-million euros in damage and injured four railway workers.
Two Napoli fans were arrested at the stadium in Rome, one for wielding a knife and the other for an altercation with a police officer. Three Roma fans were arrested.
Head of criminal police Nicola Cavaliere stated that 200 of the Napoli fans on the train had criminal records for drug trafficking or armed robbery. He added, “No one is saying that the Comorra set up the whole incident, but what we do say is that among the pseudo-fans who caused it, there are definitely people closely linked to organized crime.”
Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has banned Napoli fans from travelling to away games for the remainder of the 2008-2009 season.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in Naples attending a series of meetings with regional governors over the trash crisis also believed tied to the Comorra, repeated the ban on travel. “You have all seen how the interior minister has handled this matter . . . we're heading in the right direction - the Napoli fans will be banned from organized traveling to away games this season even if, naturally enough, people can go individually to support their favorite team.”
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Canadian investigative journalist Declan Hill's new book, “The Fix--Soccer and Organized Crime,” will be in stores this week. The book exposes widespread corruption in football, including how criminal betting groups worldwide have bought off players and referees active in the sport's most prominent tournaments.
The book states that the case of German Referee Robert Hoyzner, who was prosecuted and sentenced to 30 months in jail for taking bribes from a Croatian betting ring, served as a convenient scapegoat and forestalled investigation of numerous similar conspiracies.
Much of the book's focus is on the pervasive influence of organized crime groups in Asia. According to Hill, illegal Asian gambling syndicates paid off referees and players to throw matches at the last two FIFA World Cup finals, the 2004 Athens Olympics and the European Champions league.
According to Hill, Asian criminal groups wield considerable influence, and are responsible for the disappearance of numerous sport administrators, referees and players who have tried to expose corruption.
News from Mexico
Over the month of August, 550 people in Mexico—including 75 policemen-- were killed from kidnappings and murders related to organized crime, the highest crime rate registered in the country this year.
Within the first half of 2008, 400 cases of abduction were reported, already equal to the total from the previous year. During the same period, over 2,300 people have been killed in drug related violence.
On August 30th, nearly a million Mexicans across the country participated in protests calling for a government response to the spike in violence.
The demonstrations come in the wake of several especially gruesome killings over the past several weeks. On August 16th, a group of armed men massacred 13 people, including a baby, in the town of Creel in the northern state of Chihuahua. Little more than a week later 12 headless bodies were found in the town of Buctzotz, 70KM from the popular resort of Cancun. The victims, according to the local daily Reforma, were involved in drug trafficking.
Perhaps the most publicized murder was that of Fernando Marti, the 14 year old son of a sporting goods tycoon, who was abducted by a group wearing the uniforms of Federal Investigative Agents. Alejandro Marti, the abductee's father, soon received a demand from the kidnappers for a 5,000,000 peso ransom. Distrusting the police, Marti hired a private mediator (along with kidnapping itself, a burgeoning industry in Mexico), who assisted in negotiations and made the drop of the ransom money. After a period of silence from the kidnappers, on July 31st the boy's corpse was found in a parked car near the original drop off point.
The high-profile case was at least partly responsible for inspiring Mexican President Felipe Calderon to convene a “National Public Security Summit” at the National Palace on Aug. 21. The summit yielded the “National Accord for Public Safety,” a set of 75 pledges to battle organized crime.
The plan included the construction of distinct prisons for kidnappers, justice system reform, ridding the police force of corruption and stricter regulation of cell phones and money laundering.
On Sept. 5, in the city of Villa Nicolas Romero just outside of Mexico City, Federal Officers rescued two kidnapping victims and arrested 20, among them who authorities said were the top kidnapping gang in the country, including ringleader Lazaro Bustos Abarca. During the ensuing gun battle police killed four suspected members of the gang. One federal officer was killed.
On the same day Mexican military assumed security of the southeastern city of Cardenas in the state of Tabasco, securing armories and arresting the chief of the municipal police, Carlos Guzman Correa, and five other officers believed to be shielding drug traffickers. In the same statement, the city's public security department announced that 200 police officers had been arrested until this recent operation.
And last week the mayor of U.S. border city Ciudad Juarez announced the dismissal of 400 municipal police officers after they admitted to corruption during lie detector and other “trustworthiness” tests. As of Wednesday 500 Mexican soldiers were brought into patrol the city to replace the dismissed officers.
FBI Doubles Reward for Whitey Bulger
On September 3rd the FBI celebrated fugitive crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger’s 79th birthday by doubling reward for information leading to his arrest. The reward now stands at $2 million. In addition, the FBI added two age enhanced photographs of Bulger to their website. Since 1999 Bulger has been among the FBI’s ten most wanted. Bulger was the leader of the Irish-American Winter Hill Gang of Boston, controlling drug trafficking and extortion rackets throughout New England.
Beth Kampschror is away for a month. The blog will continue, compiled by Sarajevo-based Michael Mehen.