Unraveling the lies of Jodi Arias – “48 Hours”

Convicted of murder, “48 Hours” interviews were evidence in her trial. Will she be put to death? Maureen Maher reports.  http://www.cbsnews.com/

CBS News Video

Cannes Film Review: ‘The Bling Ring’

Sofia Coppola’s film The Bling Ring offers a lively and fascinating look at a real-life teen crime spree says chief film critic Scott Foundas for Variety

 Foundas  also says when future generations want to  understand how we lived at the dawn of the plugged-in, privacy-free, Paris Hilton-ized 21st century, there will likely be few films more instructive than The Bling Ring

 

read the review by Scott Foundas for Variety

 

 

Bea Arthur Nude Painting Goes for Almost $2 Mil!

TMZ Hollywood==Christie’s Auction House just sold one of its most bizarre paintings ever … a nude portrait of Bea Arthur! And while her boobs are kind of lopsided in the portrait, we are wondering if it’s abstract or straight out of Nat Geo?  TMZ.com

 

The FBI Files: A Peek Into Detroit Mobster Vito Giacalone’s Cat-And-Mouse Game With the Feds

The late Detroit mobster Vito “Billy Jack” Giacalone

By Allan Lengel

Deadline Detroit

 

DETROIT — Like old Tiger Stadium and the Vernors plant, Vito (Billy Jack) Giacalone was a fixture in Detroit, one of the city’s best known mobsters — a Tony Soprano type whose mug occasionally graced the 6 p.m. news.

He was a suspect in the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance. He was known as a street boss who helped run sports betting operations.

And he wasn’t shy about collecting debts.

After he died last year at 88, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI, which indicated it had about 20,000 documents on Giacalone.

 

I became interested in Giacalone when I was a reporter at the Detroit News in the early 1990s. He had just pleaded guilty to some IRS charges and was walking out of a federal courtroom downtown.

read rest here ticklethewire.com

 

FBI leading hunt in gold heist

WASHINGTON – A $625,000 gold shipment vanished early Tuesday in a brazen heist at Miami International Airport after it arrived aboard a jet from Ecuador, police said.

As the FBI confirmed it was leading the hunt for the crooks, the pool of suspects narrowed to the few who had authorized access to the bulk cargo area, federal and police officials with knowledge of the case told ABC News on Thursday.

  Read with Video abcnews

Last Vegas Trailer – Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman .

Last Vegas opens in theaters on November 1, 2013.

Cast: Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Bre Blair, Jerry Ferrara, Mary Steenburgen, Romany Malco, Roger Bart

The ensemble comedy follows four old friends who decide to throw a Las Vegas bachelor party for the only one of them who has remained single.   Clevver.com

Last Vegas trailer courtesy CBS Films.   

.Powerball Madness: More Than $600M Up for Grabs .

Powerball Madness: More Than $600M Up for Grabs .

Lotto fever sweeps the nation as one of the biggest jackpots in history approaches.

ABCNews.com

Court upholds prison sentence for Bulger girlfriend Catherine Greig

BOSTON — A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the eight-year prison term given to the longtime girlfriend of  gangster  James “Whitey” Bulger for helping him while he was a  fugitive

Catherine Greig pleaded guilty in 2012 to various crimes committed during her 16 years on the run with her long-time lover, the former feared  leader of the Winter Hill Gang.Whitey Bulger.

Greig’s attorney had argued the case in front of three appellate judges including retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Dana Curhan said his client’s eight-year sentence should be reduced to 2 1/2 years.

WCVB.com

 

will.i.am Interview: Music and Our Digital Future

Will.i.am is a music producer, rapper, singer, member of The Black Eyed Peas and entrepreneur.

 

In an exclusive interview with WSJ’s Christopher John Farley, he discusses his new album #willpower, his role as a consultant for Intel, and the challenges facing artists in the age of digital music.

 

 

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

 

WSJ Video

 

 

 

Forensic evidence key to case of murdered Maxim model?

Prosecutors claim Kelly Soo Park’s DNA was found in murdered maxim model Juliana Redding’s apartment.

 The so-called female James Bond is accused of carrying out a hired hit on Redding  http://www.foxnews.com/

Fox News Video

 

 

Jewels meant for stars stolen at Cannes Film Festival

ttp://www.euronews.com/ French police say jewels due to be lent to film stars at the Cannes Film Festival have been stolen from a hotel room.

Worth more than three quarters of a million euros, they were taken early on Friday morning, in a part of town separate from the site of the festival.

Preview: Michael Jackson

“60 Minutes” cameras were given access to  Michael Jackson’s personal possessions for a story about the king of pop’s lucrative legacy. Watch Lara Logan’s report on Sunday, May 19 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

http://www.cbsnews.com/

 

CBS News Video

 

Drug haul marked ‘ flowers’ seized by Italian police

Naples, May 17 – Italian tax police on Friday seized sizable amounts of  marijuana, hashish and cocaine  hidden among flowers in a truck from Holland en route  to Naples reports Ansa News

 

Police dragged away in handcuffs the driver of the truck for transporting an estimated two million euros in drugs intended to supply the burgeoning   narcotics business in Naples  controlled by mafia  organized crime clans

 

The truck bearing Italian license plates was stopped by tax police close to the Caserta motorway exit south of Rome

 

 

100 Greatest Gangster Films: Léon: The Professional, #13

by George Anastasia, Glen Macnow

He’s a highly efficient—but in many ways naïve—hit man who drinks milk, exercises religiously and seems obsessed with the care and maintenance of a houseplant.

She’s a 12-year-old who smokes, curses and is wise way beyond her years.

Together they form an unlikely crime team in this fascinating and unusual look at the New York underworld.

Written and directed by Luc Besson, the French filmmaker who has built a career by combining Francophile introspection with over-the-top action, Léon: The Professional is a story about a heartwarming relationship that develops against a backdrop of murder, mayhem and corruption.

READ REST   California Literary Review

Denise Richards Takes In Sheen’s Kids

Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife is looking like superwoman in the headlines! Hear the “Chelsea Lately” crew comment on her extraordinary generosity.

 Chelsea Lately

Las Vegas: Mob lawyer, then mayor, celebrates new job as memoirist

Oscar Goodman. a  high-powered  mob lawyer turned  mayor of Las Vegas  will showcase his current career as an author, during the three-day “Being Oscar Bash” May 23-25 at the Mob Museum in downtown.

The event comes on the heels of the Tuesday release of Goodman’s new memoir, “Being Oscar: From Mob Lawyer to Mayor of Las Vegas — Only in America.” The book leads readers on a tour through organized crime’s inner sanctum before chronicling Goodman’s three terms

Read the story  By Jay Jones, Los Angeles Times

This Week’s Movies: May 17, 2013 ; Video

This Week’s Movies: May 17, 2013

The New York Times critics on “Frances Ha,” “Augustine” and “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”

http://www.nytimes.com/

 

New York Times Video

 

 

 

Who’s really in witness protection?

CNN’s Jake Tapper looks into the secretive ‘Witness Protection’ program

 cnn.com

Salvo’ Review: Moody Mafia Film Engages the Senses

A moody and extremely sensorial debut from scribe-helmers Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza. Variety

 

A mafia hitman in Sicily sets out to whack a man then claps eyes on his target’s blind young sister in “Salvo,” the moody and extremely sensorial debut of scribe-helmers Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza

 

Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (“The Band’s Visit”) is aces as the supposed steely mafia  assassin who can’t quite bring himself to bump off the blind witness.

 

read the review  Boyd van Hoeij for Variety

 

 

 

 

Exclusive: Anthony Weiner Spotted Shooting Campaign-Style Video in Brooklyn

Anthony Weiner was spotted shooting a campaign-style video on the stoop of his childhood home in Brooklyn Thursday as he weighs whether to run for mayor, NBC 4 New York reports exclusively.

The Democratic former  congressman who resigned his seat two years ago amid a sexting scandal was wearing a shirt and tie and was seated on the steps next to his wife

read  rest with Video nbcnewyork.com

Kim Dotcom Case to Be Reviewed By New Zealand’s Supreme Court

The German-born former hacker known as Kim.Dotcom was accused of  participation in copyright infringement and racketeering allegedly costing  the entertainment industry $500 million through pirated content uploaded to his file-sharing site

Kim Dotcom will be leaving his expansive mansion in New Zealand in an effort to gain U.S. government documents as he gears up to fight his extradition to U.S. where he faces Federal charges

 read rest on The Hollywood Reporter

Bataan death march set for Cannes screening – cinema

http://www.euronews.com/ Competing in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival this year, Adolfo Alix Junior’s ‘Death March’ tells the story of the Bataan Death Marc

Michael Douglas-Matt Damon Love Scene Gets Approval from Damon’s Mom

Hollywood heavyweight Jerry Weintraub discusses highly anticipated biopic on Liberace, “Behind the Candelabra.”

 ABCNews.com

“Vinny Gorgeous”son in pot bust

Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano

The son of New York Bonanno crime family boss Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano who is presently serving a life sentence in a  federal prison was arrested yesterday and charged with participating in a cross-country pot conspiracy.

Authorities say Joseph Basciano, 27, ordered 13 pounds of marijuana that was shipped earlier this year from California to The Bronx in US Postal Service Express Mail parcels.

read rest on NY post  by Christina Carrega and Mitchel Maddux

 

 

 

How ‘Animal’ Hitman Met His Death In SF’s Sunset District

Joe “the Animal” Barboza (CBS)

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – A famous East Coast mafia hitman during the deadliest mob wars of the 1960’s became the first member of the witness protection program when he moved to the Bay Area

 But the move didn’t change his behavior and he ultimately met his end in San Francisco in 1976. It’s a story that’s soon to become a major motion picture.

Joe “the Animal” Barboza was a famous and feared. The nickname originated after Barboza chewed off a man’s cheek in a fit of rage

read rest with Video  sanfrancisco cbslocal.com

100 Greatest Gangster Films: Mean Streets, #14

by George Anastasia, Glen Macnow

One of the best things about watching Mean Streets more than 30 years after its debut is that you know what’s coming after this. And so you look and you watch and you listen for little signs—small scenes that are the roots and the seedlings of the Scorsese/De Niro oeuvre.

This was the first film in which they worked together. Down the road would be Raging Bull and Taxi Driver and GoodFellas and Casino.

Scorsese has gone on to become perhaps the greatest director in American cinema. De Niro is one of its finest actors.

So on one level, watching Mean Streets is like finding some old film of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays during their first seasons in the big leagues. The raw talent is there. There are sparks and smoldering potential. And it’s a pleasure to watch because you know you are looking at the start of greatness.

read rest  California Literary Review

 

 

Zachary Quinto Proclaims Love for Beyonce

The “Star Trek Into Darkness” actor gushes about his experience at The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour on “Chelsea Lately.” Hear all about it!   Chelsea Lately

star-studded red carpet for Cannes opening

A  super star-studded red carpet marks the opening of the Cannes Film Festival, including Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Cindy Crawford.  Video by: AFP News

 

MSN Video

Showbiz Minute: Idol, O.J. Simpson, Cannes

‘American Idol’ finale is set to be a diva face off; O.J. Simpson hopes for new trial; ‘The Great Gatsby’ opens Cannes film festival. (May 16)

https://twitter.com/ap

 

New York Pols: The New mafia?

gangster Frank Costello

Author Thomas A. Reppetto  recommends getting rid of  New York’s  corrupt politicians by  backing the efforts of US Attorneys Preet Bahara  in Manhattan and Loretta Lynch in Brooklyn  until they break corrupt officials in the same way their predecessors broke big mob bosses

Thomas A Reppetto is the the author of “Bringing Down The Mob: The War Against The American Mafia.       read the story  The New York Post

Gang bosses recruit teenage hitmen

Gang bosses in Peru are recruiting teenage hitmen to carry out murders. They target  teenagers fresh out of jail and teach them to be cold-blooded   killers for them

Al Jazeera’s Mariana Sanchez reports from Trujillo, the heart of gang warfare in Peru.        Aljazeera.com

Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths .

Patrick Jones takes a look at this week’s top viral videos. There’s a glacier ruining property in Minnesota, a Chihuahua named Willy who doesn’t want to take a bath, and a very angry bus driver who doesn’t want tomatos on his Taco Bell order.   

Buzz 60 Videos

Four busted in hit for the mafia

Four men have been arrested in connection with the murder of  Gaetan Gosselin, the right-hand man of  mafia  figure Raynald Desjardins.  .

Gosselin, 69, was gunned down gangland style as he exited his car near his home on Jean-Tavernier St.in the Mercier neighbourhood on Jan. 22..

 

Gosselinis is the former brother-in-law and very close associate of Raynald Desjardins, linked to the Montreal Mafia and accused of the murder of  Salvatore “Sal the Iron Worker” Montagna, a high-ranking member of the Bonanno crime family in New York City 

 

read rest with Video  CTV news

 

Scarlett Johansson Joins ‘Chef’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Aldamisa shopping Jon Favreau project at Cannes

Smokin’ hot Scarlett Johansson has joined the cast of Jon Favreau’s “Chef,” which production and financing shingle Aldamisa is repping at Cannes.

 Pic stars Robert Downey Jr., Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo and Bobby Cannavale.fresh from his role as ruthless gangster Gyp Rosetti on Boardwalk Empire.

 

The  Favreau  flick is based on an original idea . Aldamisa co-chairman Sergei Bespalov will produce

 

read rest on Variety

Heated Holder calls Rep. Issa ‘shameful’

Attorney General Eric Holder has a heated exchange with Rep. Darrel Issa over federal e-mail records.   cnn.com

100 Greatest Gangster Films: Reservoir Dogs, #15

100 Greatest Gangster Films: Reservoir Dogs, #15

by George Anastasia, Glen Macnow

Reservoir Dogs is an action film without much action. A crime drama in which you never see the main crime take place.

A comedy that makes you sometimes feel uneasy about laughing. A buddy movie where the buddies end up killing each other.

What is it exactly?

“It’s a heist film,” says writer-director Quentin Tarantino, “about a bunch of guys who get together to pull a robbery and everything goes wrong. It all leads to violence and blood, but it ends up being black, gallows humor.”

All true. And Reservoir Dogs is more than that. It’s the movie that launched Tarantino’s career at age 29, and turned American cinema on its (severed) ear.

read rest  California Literary Review

 

O.J. Simpson Testifies Live in Evidentiary Hearing (Video)

 Giving testimony in a Las Vegas court .O.J. Simpson mentioned one piece of  priceless memorabilia to him: a photo of himself with former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover 

Read with Video  The Hollywood Reporter

All That Mattered: Las Vegas turns 108 years old ; Video

The city of Las Vegas was born 108 years ago today when lots were sold at auction for as much as $1,750.00. Charlie Rose reports. http://www.cbsnews.com/

 

 

 

CBS News Video

 

16 million in assets seized in mafia crackdown

ANSA) – Palermo, May 15 -  Anti-Mafia Police seized luxury clothing, purses and accessories from designer shops as well as apartments and other assets worth more than 16 million euros as part of a crackdown on the  Cosa Nostra  Wednesday.reports Ansa news

 

Police in Sicily said Wednesday that raids in the city of Palermo, as well as in the city of Catania, were conducted as  part of  an ongoing  investigation into the business affairs of suspected Sicilian Cosa Nosta affiliates Filippo Giardina and Salvatore Milano.

 

Both men are 60 and under investigation for money laundering.Police say that Milano is well-known as a leading member of the Mafia in Palermo and has been placed under house arrest

 

 

Gulf Cartel Kingpin sentenced to 35 years

Aurelio Cano Flores,

WASHINGTON — A powerhouse member of a Mexican drug cartel has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for conspiring to import multi-ton quantities of cocaine and marijuana into the U.S.

Aurelio Cano Flores,  40, aka “Yankee” and “Yeyo,” a shot caller in the Gulf Cartel was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara J. Rothstein in the District of Columbia.  In addition to his prison term, Cano Flores was ordered to forfeit a staggering  $15 billion in drug proceeds

Cano Flores was convicted in February by a federal jury in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.and is the highest ranking Gulf Cartel member to be convicted by a U.S. jury in the past 15 years

The Gulf Cartel,originally founded in Mexico the 1930s to smuggle whiskey and other illicit commodities into the United States, expanded significantly by the 1970s under Juan Garcia-Abrego, who became the first drug trafficker to be placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List

 He was replaced as boss by Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, who was arrested in 2003, and extradited to the United States in 2007.

Cannes kicks off – cinema

http://www.euronews.com/ The 66th Cannes Film Festival is underway, with Steven Spielberg as its elected jury president. He has the enviable task of choosing which of the 20 films on show will take home the coveted Palme d’Or.

ShowBiz Minute: Jolie Reax, Dr Dre, Richie .

Stars react to Angelina Jolie’s mastectomy news; Dr. Dre, Iovine donate $70M for new USC center; Nicole Richie gets candid in new AOL web series

https://twitter.com/ap

Russia Claims Captured U.S. Spy: Nation Says U.S. Diplomat Conducting Espionage

Ryan Fogle is on his way back to the U.S. after Russian officials say he was caught red handed. ABCNews.com

Trial to Begin for ‘Female James Bond’ in Model’s Killing

LOS ANGELES — Opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday in the  murder trial of an alleged “female James Bond” accused of killing ex-Maxim model Juliana Redding.

KTLA 5 Video

 

‘Star Trek: Into Darkness’ premieres in Los Angeles

Action packed picture  ’ Star Trek Into Darkness’ by director J.J. Abrams premieres in Los Angeles.

Video by: AFP News

 

MSN Video

Peter Facinelli’s Love Triangle

Between his love for making movies and his love for his family, the “Twilight” star talks about his hectic travel schedule on “Chelsea Lately.”

 Chelsea Lately

The Return of Danity Kane?

TMZ Hollywood–Four original members of the group Danity Kane — Aubrey O’Day, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard and Aundrea Fimbres got together in L.A. with a new manager to discuss a possible reunion

 TMZ.com

100 Greatest Gangster Films: Scarface, #16

Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983-R)
©Universal

by George Anastasia, Glen Macnow

 

 

Critics had mixed reactions to this gangland epic when it was released.

But the early negative reviews did little to keep Scarface from becoming an American pop culture phenomenon.

Three decades later, posters, video games and online quote boards keep the buzz going.

A remake of the 1932 classic of the same name starring Paul Muni, Al Pacino’s Scarface is more often compared to his other underworld epics, The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II. All four movies are about the immigrant experience and a charismatic figure from the underclass using any means possible to realize the American dream.

The dream, of course, becomes a nightmare.

Pacino’s Tony Montana lacks the style and grace of Michael Corleone. But then Michael is a second-generation ethnic who has been educated at an Ivy League school. Montana is literally up from the streets. Director Brian De Palma, with a script by Oliver Stone, made no attempt to sugarcoat what that meant.

READ REST California Literary Review