CHICAGO (AP) — Mexican drug cartels whose operatives once rarely ventured beyond the US border are dispatching some of their most trusted agents to live and work deep inside the United States — an emboldened presence that experts believe is meant to tighten their grip on the world's most lucrative narcotics market and maximize profits. If left unchecked, authorities say, the cartels' move into the American interior could render the syndicates harder than ever to dislodge and pave the way for them to expand into other criminal enterprises such as prostitution, kidnapping-and-extortion rackets and money laundering.
Some cartels even have Mexican operatives fill out job applications before being dispatched to the US, Riley added.
In Mexico, the cartels are known for a staggering number of killings — more than 50,000, according to one tally. Beheadings are sometimes a signature. So far, cartels don't appear to be directly responsible for large numbers of slayings in the United States, though the Texas Department of Public Safety reported 22 killings and five kidnappings in Texas at the hands of Mexican cartels from 2010 through mid- 2011. Still, police worry that increased cartel activity could fuel heightened violence.--SNIP--
In Chicago, the police commander who oversees narcotics investigations, James O'Grady, said street-gang disputes over turf account for most of the city's uptick in murders last year, when slayings topped 500 for the first time since 2008.
Although the cartels aren't dictating the territorial wars, they are the source of drugs. Riley's assessment is stark: He argues that the cartels should be seen as an underlying cause of Chicago's disturbingly high murder rate. "They are the puppeteers," he said. "Maybe the shooter didn't know and maybe the victim didn't know that. But if you follow it down the line, the cartels are ultimately responsible."
SOURCE http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/mexican_cartels_dispatch_agents_ZsKwR5wQCvQvpBXnejs1TJ
Disgraced Bronx NY Assemblyman Nelson Castro resigned amid revelation he’s been wired---cooperating with prosecutors to save himself. Castro, a Dominican Republic native, worked his way up the Democrat political ladder. Once chief of staff to former Assemblyman (now state Senator) Adriano Espaillat (Dem-Manhattan), he forged close ties with Bronx Democrats.
Castro was elected in 2008, but turned government witness when the state charged him with a sealed perjury indictment in 2009----for making false statements WRT large numbers who registered to vote using the address of his Bronx apartment.
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NY POST UNCOVERED ANOTHER DOMINICAN REPUBLIC VOTINO SCAM----FACILITATED WITH PUBLIC MONIES:
EDITED/ EXCERPT The NY-BASED Hispanic Federation has a $22 million treasure chest of public monies. The non-profit federation mysteriously pays out small amounts, from $400-800, to individuals---but fails to detail on official documents the purpose of the outlays---as required by law.
An unnamed federation insider told the NY Post that the payments subsidize votino scams. The insider confided: "I use federation funds (public monies) to pay a lady for bringing latino seniors to a Democrat political event. The Hispanic Federation promised to send the lady and her family to her homeland----the Dominican Republic----in exchange for rounding up votes.”
VOTINO SCAM COVER-UP---A federation spokesman called the allegations “simply untrue,” saying it ONLY provides funds for those in need of disaster relief. The Hispanic Federation spokesman explained the unrecorded payments were for families of victims of American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed in Queens in 2001, or "other people in need."
SOURCE http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/twi_ted_web_in_bx_Fxatn1KxaBpb4reW6SaeqI#ixzz24f02JyRG