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Organized Crime in Israel pt.1

NCFGT • Sep 07, 2021

Organized Crime in Israel: 

An Update (Part 1)

Organized crime in Israel? That was still a debatable question when this writer wrote his first article on the subject almost 30 years ago (Bensinger, 1982). Since that time, the Israel National Police (INP) has tried, albeit with only some recent measured success, to control the ever-growing menace of the mob in Israel.


This paper briefly traces the development of organized crime in Israel since the 1970s, delineates the current structure of the crime families, and focuses on the most recent development undertaken by the INP in its war on organized crime. The paper concludes with an analysis of a report, submitted by the State Comptroller to Israel's Parliament (Knesset) in May 2009.


Historical Aspects



In Israel, like in the United States, there was a time when the existence of organized crime was not readily admitted by law enforcement. In 1971, for example, Israel's attorney general investigated such allegations and dismissed them as baseless. By 1977, however, public concern and pressure led to a parliamentary debate that resulted in the appointment of a commission of inquiry mandated to examine the prevalence of organized crime in Israel. Members of the commission, known as the Shimron Commission, wrote in their report that they were "shocked to learn about the huge amount of money that resulted from illegal businesses such as drugs, extortion and smuggling" (Shimron, 1978). In its report, the commission concluded that Israel had indeed developed its own style of organized crime. However, not unlike J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, the INP refused to concede the existence of organized crime in the country, insisting that the police never regarded the report of the Shimron Commission as credible. Thereafter, the police had their way, and organized crime became a non-issue for several years.



Public awareness was aroused again in the early 1990s with a new phenomenon that made news: the so-called Israeli Russian Mafia. This development can be tied to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the mass migration of Russian Jews (and some non-Jews) to Israel, which began in the late 1980s. The threat posed by Russian newcomers was first exposed by the Israeli press, which indulged in writing substantiated and non-substantiated horror stories committed by some of the Russians who settled in Israel. The two major criminal activities that became associated with the Russian Mafia were money laundering and the trafficking of women for the purpose of prostitution. In fact, the problem of the Russian Mafia in Israel even spilled overseas prompting a former U.S. State Department money laundering official to tell The Wall Street Journal that “by 1994, every Russian mob figure that the United States was tracking had an Israeli passport” (Karp, 2001). (It should be noted that because of Israel’s Law of Return, enacted after the Holocaust and the creation of the Jewish state, every Jewish immigrant became automatically eligible for Israeli citizenship and a passport. Not surprisingly, this policy has led to abuses by both Russian and other immigrants.) The INP also came to recognize the new threat in the 1990s. Thus, for instance, the chief of the police intelligence division, while testifying before a parliamentary committee in 1997, described the activities of the Russian Mafia in Israel as a “strategic threat” to the state and warned that the organization was attempting to get a foothold in Israeli business and banks and penetrate the country’s political system and media. At a police press conference, held at about the same time and attended by the police commissioner, it was revealed that the intelligence division had prepared a list of some 20 individuals (all immigrants from the former Soviet Union, some not even residing in Israel) whose activities were being monitored on suspicion that they were engaged in international organized crime activities.


Initial steps in the war on organized crime


Under American pressure, Israel began enacting legislation aimed at curbing organized crime activities such as money laundering and trafficking of women. American concern that Israeli links to international organized crime could threaten both countries’ anti-terrorist interests prompted the government to discount strong opposition from the country’s banking industry and push through the Knesset money laundering legislation. The law against money laundering was enacted in 2000 and went into effect in 2001. Among its various provisions, the law provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison for those convicted of money laundering. This law is implemented through the Israel Money Laundering Prohibition Authority.


Also in 2000, like many other countries, Israel established a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to investigate money laundering and terror financing. The enactment by the American Congress of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 and the consequent publications of the State Department’s annual report on trafficking, which classifies countries according to the severity of the sex problem, the efforts made to counter trafficking of women for the purpose of prostitution, as well as the assistance provided to the victims of such trafficking, put Israel in yet another bind. Among other things, the new act provided that countries that violated the act’s provisions would be subject to certain financial sanctions, including termination of non-humanitarian foreign aid. Facing such possible American sanctions, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation was criminalized, making perpetrators of such crimes liable to as many as 16 years in prison (20 for trafficking a minor). And, in 2003, in an attempt to make it easier for the state to prosecute the heads of crime organizations, the Knesset enacted the Organized Crime law which, among other things, holds that heading a criminal organization, even without physically participating in its activities, in itself constitutes a criminal offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.


Organized crime-linked activities


Despite the new legal constraints on money laundering and trafficking, these and other illegal activities continued to flourish throughout the country spawning ever more pervasive and deadly turf wars linked to organized crime. The major illegal activities the Israeli organized crime groups have been engaged in include:


  • Operating casinos and other forms of gambling inside and outside Israel
  • Prostitution and trafficking in women
  • Money Laundering
  • Protection and extortion rackets
  • Loan sharking
  • Drugs and arms dealing
  • Fencing stolen goods
  • Diamond smuggling

A wake-up call?

2003 Zeev Rosenstein car-bombing

On December 11, 2003, shortly after noon, a powerful bomb exploded on a busy street in Tel Aviv, killing three innocent bystanders and wounding another 20. That bombing was not the first or last bombing perpetrated by rival organized crime-linked gangsters in which innocent bystanders were killed or maimed. The target of the December 11 bombing was Zeev Rosenstein, dubbed by the local media at that time as Israel’s organized crime kingpin. The shock and outrage caused by this bombing ushered in a new era in Israel’s war on organized crime.

Immediately after the bombing, the government of Israel took the unusual step to consider a criminal justice-related issue (unusual because the government’s deliberations usually focus exclusively on political issues related to the conflict with the Palestinians or budgetary matters), ordering the Ministry of Public Safety to prepare a crime-fighting plan within 30 days. The cabinet also ordered that a task force be created with the Treasury Ministry to combat the gambling and sex industries in Israel. Consequently, the INP requested authorization to spend $100 million for hiring an additional 1,000 police officers, as well as advanced crime-fighting technology, and the creation of a specialized financial crime unit that would work closely with the already existing FIU in the Justice Ministry. The INP request was anchored in the realization that to properly fight organized crime it would need additional officers, as the great majority of officers were always engaged in anti-terrorism activities rather than crime fighting. As in the United States, it was also realized that the best weapon to fight organized crime is through financial pressure. (The case of Al Capone is often invoked in Israel to make that argument.) There was also talk about adopting new measures such as asset forfeiture and a witness protection plan. Still, in view of the severe financial crisis that was facing the country at that time, the government rejected the INP’s request for an infusion of crime-fighting resources as unrealistic and demanded that the police become more efficient.

Consequently, the INP appeared, at least on the surface, to heighten its fight against organized crime. The police commissioner declared that his force will undertake proactive measures against organized crime, and indeed the police mounted a major assault on a money laundering network, raided casinos and brothels, and launched hundreds of criminal investigations. In spite of these efforts, the basic structure of the organized crime network survived and continued to flourish, proving that, despite the December 11 bombing, the rhetoric of the INP continued to be louder than the substance of its operations.


New initiatives in the war against organized crime


While most Israelis continued to be more concerned with violence perpetrated by Palestinians on nationalistic grounds, the escalating violence and accompanying casualties of innocent bystanders related to the intra fighting among the organized crime families (see below), eroded public trust in the police with polls showing that mistrust of the police reached an all-time high (Jerusalem Post, 2008). Thus, for instance, one gangster was killed, and four bystanders—including a baby and a young boy—were wounded in a bombing in one of Israel’s larger cities. Shortly after, in two separate incidents, live grenades were tossed at two mayors’ houses. And at approximately the same time, two Israeli hit men were granted a plea bargain after murdering a former police officer who had become an executioner in Mexico for the Israeli mob. (The prosecution blamed the Mexican authorities for failing to provide evidence). Still, the fact that these two murderers received reduced sentences gave the appearance that the criminal justice system in Israel was in disarray and unable to cope with organized crime. Moreover, there were clear indications that at least one organized crime family had already infiltrated the police as far back as 1999.


As revealed in an interview with the Haaretz newspaper, Vered Zeiler, the head of an investigative commission that reviewed a six-year investigation of an alleged link between the police and organized crime, was quoted saying, “You are asking me whether crime has penetrated the government of Israel? I don’t know. But I do know that if the phenomenon I saw at this one narrow point has spread throughout the Israel Police – it’s Sicily” (Shavit & Yoaz, 2007). The so-called Zeiler Report led to a shakeup of the INP command and the appointment of a new police commissioner in May 2007. Not surprisingly, in one of his first public statements the new police commissioner tried to reassure the public of changes to come. As reported by the Jerusalem Post (2007), the INP was to embark on a new strategy, referred to officially as “the crime fighting fist,” which would be stronger and more effective in fighting organized crime. This was going to be the first of several new initiatives to be undertaken in 2008.


The new police National Crime Unit, Lahav 433


The new National Crime Unit was inaugurated on January 1, 2008. The unit, dubbed Lahav 433, consolidated five existing national bureaus into one. The units thus incorporated included: The National Unit for International Crime, The National Unit for Financial Investigations, The Etgar Vehicle Theft Prevention Unit, The National Unit for Fraud, and the “Gidonim” (elite undercover, counterterrorism) Unit. Lahav 433 has approximately 1,000 officers who are supposed to be equipped with cutting-edge intelligence and related technological tools in order to be able to produce the intelligence that is seen as the key to fighting organized crime. That mission was strengthened by a new law enacted by the Knesset, nicknamed “the big brother law,” which gives the police much greater freedom to collect information through electronic eavesdropping and other means.


Integrated anti-organized crime teams


As in the United States, law enforcement agencies in Israel have concluded that an integrated approach in which information is freely shared by several agencies is more efficient and indeed necessary to fighting crime. Consequently, it was decided that the phenomenon of organized crime could best be fought through the creation of integrated teams that include INP investigators, prosecutors, and tax and money laundering experts operating under the direction of Israel’s Attorney General.


The Witness Protection Program


Again adopting an American model, the idea of a witness protection program in Israel gained recent momentum. Traditionally, it has been the INP that was vested with the responsibility of protecting witnesses. However, already in 2004 a Justice Ministry committee recommended that the function of witness protection be shifted to the Justice Ministry or to a new agency that would be created for that purpose. The issue, however, became political with several agencies haggling over who should control the proposed witness protection program. Finally, the inter-agency dispute ended, with much time wasted, in a decision to create the program under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Security (the ministry that oversees the INP and the Israel Prison Service). Consequently, the Witness Protection Act was finally passed in late 2008 authorizing the creation of the Witness Protection Authority.


Improved Intelligence


Realizing that good intelligence is the key to success, the INP revolutionized its overall intelligence-gathering capabilities by establishing an intelligence center in March 2007. Trying to learn from Israel’s other security agencies that have excelled in collecting and analyzing intelligence data, the INP has since added innovative new tools and know-how to combat organized crime.

116th Street Crew

By NCFGT • 07 Sep, 2021
116th Street Crew The 116th Street crew, also known as the Uptown crew, is a powerful crew within the Genovese crime family. In the early 1960s, Anthony Salerno became one of the most powerful capos in the family. Salerno based the crew out of the Palma Boys Social Club located 416 East 115th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan. History The 116th Street Mob In the early 1890s, a group of five brothers (Antonio, Nicholas, Giuseppe and half-brothers Vincenzo and Ciro Terranova) arrived in New York City from Corleone, Sicily. The Morello-Terranova brothers soon started taking over the growing Little Italy in East Harlem, by using the Black Hand technique of extorting small business and running illegal gambling operations. The group became known as the 116th Street Mob (or Morello gang ), with their increasing power the Morello's sought to control the Lower Manhattan's Little Italy. The Little Italy in lower Manhattan was under the control of Ignazio "Lupo the Wolf" Saietta, before a gang war reputed the two sides decided on joining forcing. Giuseppe Morello became the Capo di tutti capi (or boss of bosses ), but before long he and Ignazio Saietta were arrested and charged with counterfeiting in 1910. Nicholas "Nick Morello" Terranova took over the 116th Street Mob , and became in boiled in the Mafia-Camorra War. The War was between the Sicilian Morello-Terranova family and Brooklyn Camorra gangs led by Pellegrino Morano. Each side wanted to completely control all the Italian gangs in New York City and across the United States. On September 7, 1916 Nicholas Terranova was murdered, giving the Camorra gangs the advantage. The next leaders of the Morello family were brothers Vincenzo and Ciro Terranova. They continued the war and within month's police began arresting top members of the Camorra gangs. This allowed the Sicilian to maintain dominance and control over New York City and the remaining Camorra gangs joined forces with Sicilian gangs. Vincent continued operating from Brooklyn and Ciro continued expanding his operations in East Harlem and The Bronx. The Artichoke King Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova controlled the 116th Street Crew during the prohibition era. Coppola's policy racket Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola, was a top lieutenant in the 116th Street crew of Ciro Terranova. He took over the crew sometime between 1932 and 1936, Terranova was being "put on the shelf" (meaning forced into retirement) by the new Luciano-Genovese-Costello regime of the Luciano crime family. Coppola was also supervising the illegal number racket that was once controlled by Dutch Schultz before his murder. The number racket controlled bookmaking and illegal gambling throughout Harlem and South Bronx making thousands of dollars a year. When boss Vito Genovese was imprisoned in the late 1950s, various influential members began running the crime family through a ruling panel/committee . The panel consisted of acting/front boss Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, underboss Gerardo "Gerry" Catena and consigliere Michele "Big Mike" Miranda while others served in the advisory capacity, Mike Coppola was considered an influential capo and was used to help the panel. In the early 1960s Mike Coppola was imprisoned on tax evasion charges and followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Ciro Terranova, being put on the shelf after his release from prison in 1963. Coppola later moved to South Florida and effectively retired. His crew, with his vast illegal interests went to Anthony Salerno.  Palma Boys crew

Albanian mafia

By NCFGT • 07 Sep, 2021
Albanian mafia The Albanian Mafia or Albanian Organized Crime are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians . Albanian organized crime is active in Albania , the United States , and the European Union (EU) countries, participating in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including drug and arms trafficking . In Albania alone there are over 15 mafia families or clans that control organized crime. Structure The typical structure of the Albanian Mafia is hierarchical. Concerning "loyalty", "honor" and family (blood relations and marriage being very important) most of the Albanian networks seem to be "old-fashioned". Infiltration into these groups is thus very difficult. Albanian Mafia families or clans are usually made up of groups of fewer than 100 members, constituting an extended family residing all along the Balkan route from Eastern Turkey, to Western Europe, and North America. The Northern Albanian Mafia which runs the drug wholesale business is also known by the name of "The Fifteen Families." According to Ioannis Michaletos, the family structure is characterized by a strong inner discipline, which is achieved by a means of punishment for every deviation from the internal rules, so that the fear should guarantee an unconditional loyalty to the family, with the provisions of the official laws considered to be secondary, not important and non-binding. Due to the fact that the Mafia families are based on the blood ties, which is a factor that restricts the number of the clan members, the bonds between them are very strong, which makes getting close to and infiltrating into them almost impossible. Members of other ethnic groups can be accepted only to execute certain one time or secondary jobs. Moreover, the Albanian mafia families are organized in 3-4 or more levels, which enable them to preserve the organizational action capability even in case some of its members or groups are captured. Rudaj Organization The most famous Albanian criminal organization was the Rudaj Organization . In October 2004, the FBI arrested 22 men who worked for it. This included its leader Alex Rudaj , and effectively ended the criminal organization. They had entered in the territory of Lucchese crime family in Astoria, Queens , New York, and are said to have even beaten up two made men in the Lucchese family. The name Rudaj comes from the boss of the organization. According to The New York Times published on January 2006, "Beginning in the 1990s, the Corporation, led by a man named Alex Rudaj, established ties with established organized crime figures including members of the Gambino crime family , the authorities say. Then, through negotiations or in armed showdowns, the Albanians struck out on their own, daring to battle the Lucchese and Gambino families for territory in Queens, the Bronx and Westchester County, prosecutors say." "What we have here might be considered a sixth crime family," after the five Mafia organizations — Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese — said Fred Snelling, head of the FBI's criminal division in New York. International activity Scandinavia "The ethnic Albanian mafia is very powerful and extremely violent," said Kim Kliver, chief investigator for organized crime with the Danish National Police. Law enforcement authorities estimate that different Albanian mafia families may smuggle as much as 440 pounds of heroin a year into Scandinavia at any given time. United States "On the streets where the Italian Mob once ruled, a new syndicate was taking over, run by tough, ambitious Albanian immigrants, who still clump to a code of silence." - “We’re still trying to learn about their culture and figure out what makes them tick,” James Farley, FBI supervisory special agent, and expert on organized crime, says of the Albanians. “They’re difficult to infiltrate.” “We’re just now catching up with Albanian organized crime,” he says. While Italian gangsters may be three or four generations removed from the old country, the Albanians grew up under brutal communist regimes, engaging in protracted blood feuds with rival clans, and subscribing to a strict code of silence that makes the Italian credo of omertà seem playful. “The first generation Albanians have a tendency to be more violent” than American-born syndicates, claims Hall. In the United States, Albanian gangs started to be active in the mid-80s, mostly participating in low-level crimes such as burglaries and robberies. Later, they would become affiliated with Cosa Nostra crime families before eventually growing strong enough to operate their own organizations under the Iliazi family name. Albanian organized crime has created new and unique problems for law-enforcement officers around the country, even threatening to displace La Cosa Nostra (LCN) families as kingpins of U.S. crime, according to FBI officials. Speaking anonymously for Philadelphia's City Paper a member of the " Kielbasa Posse ", an ethnic Polish mob group, declared in 2002 that Poles are willing to do business with "just about anybody. Dominicans. Blacks. Italians. Asian street gangs. Russians. But they won't go near the Albanian mob. The Albanians are too violent and too unpredictable." The Polish mob has told its associates that the Albanians are like the early Sicilian Mafia — clannish, secretive, hypersensitive to any kind of insult, and too quick to use violence for the sake of vengeance. The Rudaj Organization , also called "The Corporation", was a well known Albanian criminal organization operating in the New York City metro area. Italy Albanian emigrants started arriving at Italian ports in 1991. By 1997 the immigration had come under the control of Albanian and Italian criminal groups, tightening relationships between them The Albanians are targeting affluent central and northern areas like Lombardy , Piedmont , and Tuscany . One of Italy's top prosecutors, Cataldo Motta , who has identified Albania's most dangerous mobsters, says they are a threat to Western society. "The road for arms and people, meaning illegal immigrants destined for Europe, is in Albanian hands." "The Albanian Mafia seems to have established good working relationships with the Italian Mafia". "On the 27th of July 1999 police in Durres (Albania), with Italian assistance arrested one of the godfathers of the "Sacra Corona Unita", Puglia’s Italian Mafia. This Albanian link seems to confirm that the Sacra Corona Unita and the Albanian Mafia are "partners" in Puglia/Italy and delegate several criminal activities". Thus, in many areas of Italy, the market for cannabis, prostitution, and smuggling is run mainly by Albanians. Links to Calabria’s Mafia, the "Ndrangheta", exist in Northern Italy. Several key figures of the Albanian Mafia seem to reside frequently in the Calabrian towns of Perugia, Africo, Plati, and Bovalino (Italy), fiefs of the Ndrangheta. Southern Albanian groups also have good relationships with Sicily’s Cosa Nostra "The Albanian criminals were special from the beginning," said Francesca Marcelli, an organized-crime investigator for the Italian government. They have strong motivations and are very violent." Roberto Saviano, The Italian writer, a good expert of Neapolitan Camorra and the Italian mafia in general, spoke of the Albanian mafia as a “no longer foreign mafia” to Italy and stressed that the Albanians and Italians have a "brotherly" relationship between each other. Saviano notes that the Camorra from Naples can't understand the Russian clans , which aren't based on family ties, and feels greater affinity with the Albanian crime families. In an Albanian television station ""ShqipTV" Saviano went on to say that the Albanian and Italian factions are "one of the same", and that they don’t consider each other as foreigners. United Kingdom Albanian mafia gangs are believed to be largely behind sex trafficking, immigrants smuggling, as well as working with Turkish gangs in Southend-On-Sea, who control the heroin trade in the United Kingdom . Vice squad officers estimate that "Albanians now control more than 75 per cent of the country’s brothels and their operations in London’s Soho alone are worth more than £15 million a year." They are said to be present in every big city in Britain as well as many smaller ones including Telford and Lancaster , after having fought off rival criminals in turf wars. Albanian gangsters were also involved in the largest cash robbery in British crime history, the £53 million (about US$92.5 million at the time of the robbery) Securitas heist in 2006. Germany "Ethnic Albanians" (as the German police officially calls them), no matter where they come from — Albania, Republic of Macedonia, or Kosovo — created for a very short time in the last decade of the century, a very powerful criminal network, says Manfred Quedzuweit, director of the Police Department for Fighting the Organized Crime in Hamburg. Here, it could be heard that they are even more dangerous than Cosa Nostra . Albanian "banks" in Germany are a special story. They are used for the transfer of money from Germany which amounts to a billion of D-marks a year. One of these banks was discovered by accident by the Düsseldorf police when they were checking a travel agency "Eulinda" owned by the Albanians. We haven't found a single catalogue or brochure for travelling at the agency, computers were not operating, nor has the printer been ever used. We found that "Eulinda" was a cover-up for some other business, said high criminal counselor from Düsseldorf Rainer Bruckert. Eventually we found out that "Eulinda" had already transferred 150 million dollars to Kosovo — for "humanitarian purposes", says Bruckert. Money has been transferred by the couriers in special waist belts with many pockets. So, in a single one-way trip, they can carry up to six million D-marks. Belgium The Albanian mafia has deep roots in Belgium, which was recently a topic of a special programme on Belgian RTBF Channel One. Reporters tried to investigate the roots of Albanian organized crime but have complained that it is too hard to penetrate the structure and organization of the Albanian mafia, but set out that the Albanian mafia acts on the model of the Italian one, whose crime is part of the "activities of entire families" and which has a clearly defined hierarchy. The Albanian mafia in Brussels has monopoly over activities such as "narcotics and arms deals" according to Belgian sources. Australia Godfather of an Albanian Mafia family 'Daut Kadriovski' gained attention of Australian Authorities after creating a drug pipeline through Albanian and Croatian communities in Sydney and Brisbane. Prominent Albanian Mafioso Alex Rudaj : The boss of the Albanian Mafia's Rudaj Organization based in the New York City area. Alfred Shkurti (also known as Aldo Bare): The boss of one of the most notorious criminal syndicates in Albania known as the “Banda e Lushnjës” (The Lushnja Gang). Enver Sekiraqa : Leading person of organized crime in Kosovo, aka “the boss of the bosses”, who is on the Interpol’s wanted list for several crimes. Ismail Lika : Ismail Lika was an Albanian mobster active in New York City in the 1980s. Dubbed the king of the New York drug underworld, Ismail Lika issued a contract on Rudy Giuliani 's prosecutors in 1985. Caught with at least $125 million in heroin, Lika issued a $400,000 contract on the prosecutor Alan Cohen and the detective Jack Delemore, both placed under protective custody. Lulzim Krasniqi :(1863-2006) Former leader of the Albania Mafia based in Zagreb, Croatia. Almir Rrapo : Leader of the "Krasniqi Crew" based in New York and other US cities. Daut Kadriovski : The reputed boss of one of the 15 Families, embodies the tenacity of the top Albanian drug traffickers. Zef Mustafa : Albanian Mafia kingpin based out of New York. Agim Gashi : Leader of an Albanian Mafia clan based out of Italy. Osmani Brothers : According to the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) the Osmani brothers as the "most important figures of organized crime in Hamburg and other cities in Germany" Adriatik Coli : Leader of one of the most powerful "15 families" known as " Banda e Lul Berishës" based in Durrës , Albania . Krasniqi Brothers : Bruno Krasniqi and Saimir Krasniqi; leaders of an international crime organization engaged in murder, kidnapping, narcotics trafficking and other illegal activities in Albania and the U.S. Myfit (Mike) Dika : Former drug kingpin of the “Balkan Criminal Enterprises”; an international criminal organization which spanned from Canada , the United States , to Europe . Kapllan Murat : Belgium's most notorious mobster. He was one of the masterminds behind the kidnapping of former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants in 1989. Three days later, the criminals published a note in the leading Brussels newspaper Le Soir , demanding 30 million Belgian francs in ransom. Paul Vanden Boeynants was released (physically unharmed) a month later, on 13 February, when an undisclosed ransom was paid to the perpetrators. Plaurent "Lenti" Dervisha : On the Interpol's and FBI's most wanted list as being the leading member of a criminal organization based out of Durrës , Albania , who Albanian authorities say is the brother-in-law of Lul Berisha ;a reputed leader of one of the 15 mafia families. In popular culture In films An Albanian criminal organization in Paris is responsible for the kidnapping of Liam Neeson 's character's daughter in Taken . Le Chiffre is the main villain of the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale , portrayed by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen . Believed by MI6 to be Albanian, Le Chiffre is banker to the world's terrorist organizations. In the French movie The Nest the plot centers around an Albanian mob boss in police custody being escorted to The Hague. Albanian mobsters Rexho and Luan feature in the Danish crime film Pusher III . Dossier K , a Belgian crime thriller, portrays the Albanian mafia in Belgium . In " We Own the Night "; A final drug transaction is made with the Albanian Mafia. In the movie " In With Thieves " A blood diamond deal goes wrong which throws Albanian Mafioso into chaos in the criminal underworld. In Television In the " Law and Order: Criminal Intent " episode "Blasters" (Season 6, Episode 9) two former childstars involved in bootlegging ring are being hunted down by the Albanian mob. The story arc "The Slavers" of the adult-oriented Marvel comic The Punisher: Frank Castle deals with Albanian criminals engaged in human trafficking. In the American TV show " No Ordinary Family " episode "No-Ordinary Mobster" deals with the main character attempting to stop violent Albanian Mobsters. Top Gear , a British car show, featured an episode (comedy) in which they tested three luxury automakers; Rolls-Royce Ghost , Mercedes-Benz S-Class , and Bentley Mulsanne , to see which would be best suitable for Albanian Mafia bosses. In Games The videogame Grand Theft Auto IV features the "Petrela gang" a small crew of Albanian shylocks and goods smugglers. The only known members are Dardan Petrela, Kalem Vulaj, and Bledar Morina. Later in the game, Albanian gangs appear working as muscle for other organizations, such as the Cosa Nostra or the Bratva . In Liberty City the Albanian mob holds a stronghold in the Little Bay section of Bohan. In the video game Socom 2 your first mission is to capture several kingpins in Albania.

Albanian mob pt.1 NY Intro

By NCFGT • 07 Sep, 2021
An Introduction to the New York – Albanian Mob
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