Hard Boiled News

True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

British Model Kidnapped in Italy to Be Sold into Sex Slavery

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An Italian police officer reenacts how the model was stuffed into a suitcase after her abduction

MILAN, Italy  — A 20-year-old British model on her way to photo shoot in Italy was abducted by a criminal syndicate that threatened to auction her off to the highest bidder on a pornographic website unless her agent ponied up $300,000 in cash, police said.

The woman was rescued after six days in captivity during which she was drugged, stuffed in a suitcase and chained to a dresser in a remote farmhouse near Turin, police said.

After the near-week of horror, the woman was then driven back to Milan and released near the British consulate because she had a 2-year-old child and the group said they had a rule against abducting mothers, Italian media reported.

A man who accompanied the woman back to Milan was arrested by police. They identified him as Lukasz Herba, 30, a Polish national who lives in the U.K.

Investigators said Herba claimed to have been working for an organization called the “Black Death Group” which purportedly abducts young women and sells them into sex slavery on the dark web.

Detectives have found evidence of the group boasting of having organized such auctions online in the past, but it wasn’t clear if actual abducted women were involved.

Lukasz Herba

The woman — whose name has not been publicly revealed — had been lured to an abandoned storefront in Milan from Paris on July 10 by an offer of a photo shoot that had been arranged through her agent.

But police say when she arrived, two men grabbed her, handcuffed her and stuffed her in a suitcase. They then tossed the bag in a car and drove two hours to the farmhouse where she was chained to a wooden dresser for the next six days.

The kidnappers then used encrypted email accounts to send messages to her agent demanding cash for her release.

The Italian police say the investigation has stretched to Poland and the United Kingdom to identify further accomplices.

Russian Instagram Star Famed for Sexy Motorcycle Stunts Killed in Crash

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VLADIVOSTOK, Russia — A scantily-clad Russian biker who became famous for posting videos of her performing saucy stunts while wearing extremely revealing outfits, has been killed in a motorcycle accident, officials said.

Olga Pronina, 40, had amassed over 200,000 followers to her Instagram page with racy videos of her driving a BMW S1000RR motorbike at high speeds while wearing skin-tight mini-dresses and low-cut tops.

Police say Pronina — who was known online simply as “Monika” — lost control while driving along  an expressway on Monday and slammed into fence.

Pronina, who worked as a hairdresser, credited driving fast with giving her life.

“I love it because it forgives me my foolishness, for saving my sorry ass, thank you for never failing me, for making my lonely nights better, for helping me to forget troubles of my life, for training my body and my brain,” she wrote online.

“I am grateful to it for the sparkles in my eyes, for the warm wind blowing on my cheeks when my visor is open, for unbelievable excitement and a feeling of flowing in the air, for doses of adrenaline,” she continued.

Crossbow Killer Pleads to Killing Mother, 2 Brothers to Cover Up Shady Past

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Brett Ryan faces life in prison without parole

TORONTO — A man trying to flee his past pleaded guilty to killing his mother and two brothers with a crossbow after she threatened to expose the truth about his history to his fiancee.

Brett Ryan, 36, admitted killing his relatives just weeks before his wedding in an effort to hide his past as a bank robber and the fact that he was unemployed even though he’d told his bride-to-be he had a steady job.

He told Canadian court that he feared his fiancee would leave him if she knew the truth.

In the days before the murders last summer, Ryan told his mother he was out of work but had lied about it to his fiancée, telling her he was working from home.

According to the Toronto Star, Ryan’s mother, Susan, insisted he tell the truth and said she would support him financially until he found new work.

But instead, Ryan said he plotted to kill his mother, hiding a crossbow in his mother’s garage and setting up his computers and other electronic devices to trigger at the time of the killings to give the impression he was somewhere else.

Ryan confronted his mother, urging her to keep his secret, but things grew heated. Susan Ryan then called her other son, Christopher, 42, to come help. That’s when Brett stabbed his mother with an arrow and then strangled her to death.

When Christopher arrived, Ryan shot him as well, killing him. As Ryan attempted to leave the family garage, his other brother, Alexander, 29, confronted him as well,leading Ryan to stab him with an arrow, killing him.

A third brother, Leigh, called police after hearing the commotion, and fled the house after scuffling with Ryan.

When cops arrived, they found Ryan covered in blood and he told them where the bodies could be found.

Ryan pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of his oldest brother, Christopher, and two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of his mother, Susan, and his younger brother, Alexander. He also pleaded guilty to attempting to murder his older brother Leigh. He faces up to life in prison.

Mexican Cartel Hit Men Convicted in ‘Fast & Furious’ U.S. Agent Slay

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WASHINGTON — Two drug cartel hit men have been convicted of gunning down a U.S. immigration agent and wounding his partner in a roadside ambush in Mexico in 2011.

Jose Emanuel Garcia Sota, 35, known as “Safado,” and Jesus Ivan Quezada Piña, 29, known as “Loco,” were members of Los Zetas cartel hit squads and had been on a mission to steal cars the day of the shooting, prosecutors said.

On Feb. 15, 2011, the two men were among a group that spotted an armored Chevrolet Suburban bearing diplomatic plates driven by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agents Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila.

The agents were on their way to Mexico City on official business, when the cartel members opened fire with AK-47s and AR-15s on a busy highway south  of San Luis Potosi. Zapata, 32, was fatally shot, and Avila was wounded. Investigators later found approximately 90 shell casings at the scene, according to the trial evidence.

Five other cartel members have already pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy charges in the shooting. All are awaiting sentencing and face up to life in prison.

Slain ICE agent Jaime Zapata

A jury found Sota and Piña guilty on counts of murder, attempted murder and firearms charges. The judge scheduled a hearing for Aug. 29 to select a sentencing date in order to accommodate for when Avila and Zapata’s family would be able to attend. The hit men also face up to life in prison.

The gang members have said they believed the vehicle was being driven by members of a rival cartel, apparently not noticing the diplomatic plates. The shooting has proven to be exceedingly damaging to the Los Zetas cartel, leading to the arrest of over 100 of its top bosses.

Zapata’s family has filed a wrongful death suit against the U.S., alleging that ICE sent the men into Mexico with inadequate security, and that some of the weapons used in the shooting were trafficked by suspects under ATF surveillance, but who had not been arrested as part of the controversial “Operation Fast & Furious.”

Two Christians Drown During River Baptism in Tanzania

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ROMBO, Tanzania — Two Christian parishioners drowned while being baptized in a river after being swept away by the strong current, authorities said.

Police say the two men, Gasper Gervas, 47, and Proches Msema, 30, died on Sunday while being baptized with several others in the waters of the Ungwasi River in northern Tanzania.

Authorities have detained the pastor of the Shalom Church, a charismatic Christian flock, for questioning to determine what had happened. The waters were high and had a strong current at the time, police said.

“We are holding the church Pastor and other followers for interrogation. We are holding them for further investigation to understand on how others dead and some of the people managed to escape death,” Kilimanjaro Region police commander, Hamis Selemani, told the Azania Post.

The police advised that parishioners should check the depth of rivers before performing river baptisms. The religious ceremony is done in rivers mainly by charismatic churches in Tanzania.

Lawyer in Biggest Social Security Scam in History May Have Fled to Mexico

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Eric Conn’s ads dotted the Kentucky landscape

LEXINGTON, Kentucky — A disability lawyer who went on the lam after being convicted of stealing over half a billion dollars in the biggest Social Security scam in history has been sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay back $170 million.

Authorities say Eric Conn, who was held under home detention in Kentucky after his conviction in March, in snipped off his electronic monitoring anklet on June 2 and went on the run.

The FBI says it has tracked Conn to New Mexico where he has been spotted buying gas and shopping at Walmart.  They say Conn fled using a truck owned by a friend who had registered it to a dummy corporation in Montana.

The truck has been recovered in New Mexico near the Mexico border, although officials say they have no evidence Conn had fled into Mexico.

“The negative impact of Conn’s presence in our community will be felt for generations,” said FBI agent Amy Hess. “His flight from prosecution has diminished any legitimacy and integrity he once held as an attorney and officer of the court.”

The FBI has tracked Eric Conn as far as New Mexico where he was spotted shopping in Walmart

Conn, 56, was a well known figure in Kentucky with ads appearing on TV nonstop and ambulance chasing billboards dotting the landscape. He earned millions by representing thousands of clients pressing for disability claims from Social Security. But it was all a fraud, prosecutors said. In all, they say he defrauded the government out of $550 million.

Con was also seen shopping in a New Mexico Walmart

Conn admitted he had routinely presented false evidence of disabilities, paid unscrupulous doctors to rubber stamp forms and even bribed a Social Security judge who approved thousands of claims for Conn’s clients in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A second judge has admitted retaliating against a whistleblower who tried to blow the lid off Conn’s sleazy dealings with the judge. Both judges are awaiting sentencing.

At his sentencing, Judge Danny Reeves gave Conn the maximum jail term allowed by law, but acknowledged that 12 years didn’t fit the crime.

“It did hurt the entire system and the reverberations are still occurring,” Reeves said, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.

Tourist Killed on Caribbean Beach by Jet Plane Takeoff

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SINT MAARTEN — A tourist from New Zealand visiting the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten was killed when she was thrown by the wake of a jet engine at a spot near the airport where planes take off and land just a few feet away from the beach.

The 57-year-old woman was standing by a fence at the base of the runway of Princess Juliana International Airport that has become a popular tourist attraction when she thrown by the force of the engine blast and struck her head on the pavement, leaving her seriously injured, police said.

She was rushed to the hospital, but “unfortunately the victim died shortly after as a result of the injuries she sustained,” the Sint Maarten police force said in a statement.

The area next to the runway is a popular spot for thrill seekers who come to watch low-flying planes cross over the narrow beach to land, or to be blown into the water from the engine blast of planes taking off.  Dozens of videos of people pressing their luck as planes pass by litter YouTube.

The woman who was killed was standing with several others clinging to a fence to watch a plane take off for Trinidad. In 2012, a woman was seriously hurt when she was thrown and struck her head on a low concrete wall.

https://youtu.be/LV28AL0k1kY

Police acknowledge that the spot has “become well known worldwide as a major tourist attraction,” but warned that it is “extremely dangerous” to stand there. Signs posted along the beach warn tourists to steer clear and police say they regularly patrol the area.

“The local authorities are urging the general public and mainly visitors to the island to adhere to the warning signs that are placed at that location to avoid serious injuries which can ultimately lead to the loss of life,” the police statement said.

Canadian Fisherman Killed By Whale Moments After Freeing it From Net

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CAMPOBELLO ISLAND, Canada — A Canadian lobster fisherman was tragically killed by a whale just moments after cutting it free from a fishing net in which it had gotten entangled, authorities said.

Joe Howlett had joined the crew of a Fisheries Department vessel that on Monday went to rescue the trapped right whale in the waters off New Brunswick.

He was in the water with the whale and had cut the last bit of line from the creature’s body when tragedy struck.

“They got the whale totally disentangled and then some kind of freak thing happened and the whale made a big flip,” Mackie Green, of the Campobello Whale Rescue Team, told the Canadian Press.

Officials with the fisheries department noted that disentangling whales involved “serious risks” as the animals can be very unpredictable.

Howlett had for years volunteered for such missions, lending his expertise in seafaring knots and how nets are constructed, friends said.

“This is something he loved and there’s no better feeling than getting a whale untangled, and I know how good he was feeling after cutting that whale clear,” Green said.

Joe Howlett (r), with son Tyler

Seven right whales — which are highly endangered –had been found dead in waters near Campobello Island in the week before Howlett’s death. At least one was determined to have died due to getting trapped in a fishing net and two others appeared to have died from boat strikes, officials said.

Man Who Used Stolen Ring to Propose Gets Turned In By Gal Pal

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Steven Reid (l) and Jerome Jones held a 91-year-old woman hostage while robbing her home

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom — A low-down crook who proposed to his gal pal with a ring he had stolen from a 91-year-old woman, was caught after the girlfriend spotted the ring on the news and called police.

Steven Reid, 38, and his 26-year-old accomplice, Jerome Jones, kept the elderly woman hostage while they ransacked her home in Birmingham on Dec. 19.  Reid then used the ring to ask for his girlfriend’s hand on Christmas Eve.

When details of the heinous burglary were made public — including a photo of the ring — Reid’s disgusted girlfriend quickly realized she was wearing stolen goods and turned her boyfriend in, the Birmingham Mail reported.

Last week, Reid was given nearly five years in jail, while Jones received a sentence of four years and three months.

“The victim was unhurt but this was clearly a shocking ordeal for her,” said Det. Sgt. Tom Lyons, of the West Midlands Police. “The lady was clearly elderly and vulnerable − and for Reid and Jones to prey on her vulnerability was despicable.”

Cops also were able to pin Reid and Jones to the crime after a jeweler they had tried to sell some other jewelry from the robbery, called police.

 

Guam Teacher Caught Leading Double Life as Major Drug Dealer

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Vincent John Quitugua

HAGATNA, Guam —  A middle school teacher who was leading a double life as a drug dealer has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for selling meth and running a marijuana farm just a couple of hundred yards from the school where he taught.

Vincent John Quitugua, 47, had worked as a math teacher at the Jose Rios Middle School in Piti, Guam for 22 years before he was busted in March 2016 when cops raided two homes he owned near the school.

Investigators found over 10 grams of methamphetamine with a purity level of 99%, 121 marijuana plants, 429 grams of weed ready for sale,  and two rifles and two shotguns in one of Quitugua’s homes as well as $73,000 in cash.

Quitugua told authorities that he had grown marijuana for the past two years which he sold by the “joint or in baggies,” earning over $30,000. He also admitted smoking pot everyday and having used meth regularly for over 15 years. He had pleaded guilty last year.

Quitugua had faced up to 20 years in prison but was given a sentence of 57 months instead. His lawyer had argued for a shorter sentence, but the judge said he couldn’t be more lenient as it was likely that Quitugua had taught his students while high given the volume of his drug use.

“I’ve made bad choices,” Quitugua told the court, according to the Guam Daily Post. “Hopefully through this process, I can come back a better husband, a better father, a better son and a better person for the community.”