Tom Longo nabbed in Mexico

[slaveplanet]

not really political in the current sense but still interesting none the less...

Former Mob lawyer, city prosecutor, law director, drug smuggler, Insurance fraudster, possessor of illegal machine guns and silencers, & molester Thomas Longo was nabbed in Puerto Vallarta Mexico yesterday after The US Marshals pieced together a shredded yahoo email. Read on...

http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/oh-n/news/chron/2006/103006.htm



LAWYER, PROSECUTOR, FUGITIVE; FOILED BY HIS OWN SHREDDINGS

Thomas Longo - Captured Fugitive Thomas Gilbert Longo was apprehended by Mexican Immigration Authorities and Deputy U.S. Marshals in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on October 30, 2006, after 11 months on the run.

Deputy U.S. Marshals developed a possible location for Longo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, after they skillfully reproduced an Email that was shredded into hundreds of pieces. The Email identified a possible location for Longo.

On October 23, Deputy U.S. Marshals set up surveillance on Thomas Longo at Calle Matamoros #370, Colonia Centro, C.P. 48300 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Investigators observed a man who fit the description of Longo on the balcony but could not positively identify him. On October 30, Investigators developed leads that Longo had yet another possible address of 971 Aquilles Serean, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. During the surveillance, investigators identified a man who fit the description of Longo and observed him leaving the gated community. Deputy U.S. Marshals followed him to the area of the Atlas Olas Bar, in Puerto Vallarta, where it was believed that Longo was meeting someone for a drink. Mexican Immigration Authorities along with Deputy U.S. Marshals apprehended Longo in the street just prior to his rendezvous at the Atlas Olas Bar.

Upon initial contact with the fugitive, Longo provided Mexican authorities and Deputy U.S. Marshals an alias of “Dave” in his broken Spanish, at the same time attempting to explain that he was from Italy.

Thomas Longo was deported by Mexican immigration authorities and transported to Los Angeles, California, where he is scheduled for a hearing this afternoon, October 31, at 5:00 pm.

“Longo was the focus of a lengthy investigation that forced investigators to think outside of the box,” said U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott.

Also today, Deputy U.S. Marshals served a search warrant on Longo’s address in Solon, OH. Prior to serving the search warrant, Carol Longo, threw a bag of shredded papers at an investigator. The evidence gained from that search warrant are being processed by the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio.

Longo, who was profiled on America’s Most Wanted on July 18, 2006, obtained fugitive status almost one year ago when he failed to appear for a hearing in front of Federal District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent. Longo was wanted as a Felon in possession of numerous firearms--an un-registered machinegun and unregistered firearm silencers.

Gross Sexual Imposition Charges: This case originated out of Solon, Ohio, when a search warrant was executed on Longo’s residence in connection with a charge of Gross Sexual Imposition. Longo had allegedly used a date rape drug on a young female during a sexual assault. The Solon Police Department had secured a search warrant for Longo’s residence. During the search, 16 firearms and 3 silencers were discovered.

From 1975 through 1999, Longo worked as an attorney in a private practice and as the City of Bedford, Ohio Prosecutor/Assistant Law Director. Additionally, he worked part-time as the prosecutor for Chagrin Falls Township and Warrensville, Ohio, as well as for the law departments of Highland Hills and Solon, Ohio.

Each year the United States Marshals Service apprehends more fugitives sought for violent crimes than all federal agencies combined.
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Longo obviously still has criminal friends in high places, who were covering for him last April when he attended the Indians home opener and was a guest of someone's skybox.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=51295
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Joe p Tone did a great expose on Longo back in a February issue of Scene magazine http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2006-02-22/news/feature.html

It gives agood behind the scenes account that you won't find in the PD or TV snooze...

A month later, Williams was out on bail when he showed up at Longo's office on Chagrin. But he wasn't looking for representation.

"What do you want to yell at me for?" Williams asked.

"For not having the normal street sense to know what's going on," Longo said.

Williams knew he was in for a dressing-down, because this time it wasn't just his ass on the line.

A year before, the Wizard's Inn had burned down. Investigators suspected arson, but they never could nail down who torched the place. So in January 1996, $130,000 in insurance money was deposited in the partners' bank account, according to the feds.

A month later, Longo's legal secretary cut two $65,000 checks, one for each partner. The two men flew to Atlantic City, checked into Caesar's, and deposited the money. They took out the cash the next day and headed back to Cleveland, each with $65,000.

But the next month, Williams showed up at the law office to pick up Longo's cut. Williams now had a total of $130,000 -- almost enough for the down payment on the pot. A few days later, he and Cope left for New York, to meet up with Williams' old buddy from prison.

"I told you, don't do this with this guy," Longo said.

"We had a deal, OK?" Williams fired back. "If you had felt that strong, you wouldn't give me the money. I mean, you're just as greedy as I am."

Longo knew the insurance company's deposit, the withdrawal in Atlantic City, and his longtime relationship with Williams spelled trouble. He peppered him with questions about what the feds knew. "Do they mention . . . my name?" Longo asked. "Whose name do they mention?"

But Williams seemed more worried about himself -- about paying back the money, about going back to prison. And about surviving. The feds believe they were planning to sell the pot to seasoned drug dealers -- including Sam Vecchio, the alleged mafioso. (Vecchio, who the feds say invested $8,000 in the Buffalo deal, would later be convicted in a separate money-laundering and weapons case.)

"I have dreams that my doorbell rings, and . . . I open the door and one of Sam's nutty kids like Jimmy's there, OK," Williams told Longo, referring to Vecchio's son James. "Ready to blow my brains out."

"Think about taking a bus ticket?" Longo asked him.

"Yeah, but Tom, where would I go? . . . It's just a different form of incarceration."

"What about the Unabomber?" Longo asked. "I mean, look at how long he . . ."

They talked briefly about getting fucked up together; Longo had a soft spot for booze and blow, and had been known to go on multiday benders, court records show. But they decided against it. "I wanna get fucked up so bad," Longo said, "but you know I . . ."

"So do I," Williams said, "but I can't." His wife was pissed about the arrest. "When this is all over, you'll still be on Chagrin Boulevard, and I'll be somewhere else."

"Hopefully," Longo said. "Hopefully, I'll be on Chagrin Boulevard."

Eventually, they said goodbye, and Williams left -- to take off the transmitter hidden beneath his clothes, and to tell the feds what they wanted to hear about his friend Tom Longo.
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There's much more to the 6 page Scene article, but the worst part of it all, is...This guy's obviously just a small fry, it really leaves you wondering what other kinds of monsters are lurking in the marble halls of justice.

[Kolesar]

1. A mafia attorney

In NE Ohio. Imagine that.