Convicted Mafia boss and so-called 'Pope' Michele Greco, 83, died on Wednesday of unknown causes in a Rome clinic, where he was admitted several weeks ago.Until he fell ill, Greco was serving several life sentences in Rome's high-security Rebibbia prison. He was dubbed the Mafia 'Pope' for his legendary ability to mediate between feuding Mafia families in the Sicilian city of Palermo. Greco, an ally of jailed Mafia "boss of bosses" Toto Riina, was arrested on February 20, 1986, after four years on the run. He had a copy of the bible by his bedside. Greco was tried on charges of having ordered 78 murders. These included those of the anti-Mafia magistrate Rocco Chinnici and three others a 1983 a car bomb, and the murder of the prefect of Palermo, Gen. Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, on 3 September, 1982.At the end of the trial, on December 16, 1987, Greco, then aged 63, was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life imprisonment.
William (Billy) Bowden pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg courtroom today to carrying a firearm in a careless manner in January 2007
William (Billy) Bowden, 33, pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg courtroom today to carrying a firearm in a careless manner in January 2007 and skipping out on his preliminary hearing about a year later. Other drug and weapons charges related to the 2007 incident were stayed as part of a plea bargain securing the two convictions. Bowden remains in custody though, charged with manslaughter in relation to the November 2007 killing of Jeff Engen, who was fatally stabbed at the Empire Cabaret, prompting the club to close. That charge remains before the courts. Bowden has been in custody since he was arrested Feb. 14 in Whistler, B.C., and returned to Manitoba. The Crown and defence jointly recommended that time be noted in his sentence for carrying the firearm. That crime occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 20, 2007, as Bowden was leaving the NV lounge in a truck with friend Ken Houston, court heard. Police discovered a Glock 9mm handgun loaded with 18 bullets in a pile of garbage close to where the...
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