A Mexican court sentences 10 men to 141 years each in a cartel-run recruitment ranch
The discovery earlier this year of the Izaguirre ranch , used by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel for recruitment and training since 2021, had sparked alarm and fear across the region.
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Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Toronto nearly lost $2.5M in electricity fraud. City committee suggests police should investigate
Toronto's close call with a $2.5-million electricity fraud scheme will be headed to city council after a motion passed at the audit committee on Friday. The committee also recommended council to loop in the Toronto Police Service Board and police chief to consider if the case meets the threshold for a criminal investigation. Last month, the auditor general's office found that in 2019, 14 city-owned properties' electricity accounts were switched to two different third-party energy retailers — instead of Toronto Hydro — without the city's knowledge. The auditor general's office added in its report that the identities of retired employees with the city's corporate real estate management (CREM) department were fraudulently used to sign contracts. Auditor general Tara Anderson and CREM executive director Patrick Matozzo told the audit committee that while controls are now in place to detect such frauds, it's important that other departments are made aware of the potential risks. "There's always the risk of identities being stolen and that fraud could be committed," said Anderson. "But having good controls in place will help to detect and investigations like this help to know that there's consequences." The audit committee is recommending that council request the city manager forward the investigation to other departments to encourage diligent invoice reviews and approvals, especially when it comes to electricity invoices. The auditor general's investigation began in 2020, but was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in 2024. Retired employees' credentials fraudulently used The issue first raised flags when CREM identified "unusual" invoices during a routine account review in the fall of 2019 and saw the accounts had been switched in July of that year. The investigation found that consulting firm owners seemed to be involved in establishing the contracts with third-party retailers, fraudulently using retired city employees' identifications. The auditor general told the committee there was no evidence the retired employees had any involvement. The investigation even consulted a hand-writing expert to be certain, she report said there was not enough evidence to determine if other city employees were involved. The contracts with the third-party retailers were valued at $4.2 million, which is $2.5 million higher than what the city would pay with Toronto Hydro, the report said. The city was able to recover the $250,000 that was paid to the energy retailers between the time the contracts began and were cancelled. The auditor general's report said the matter has been referred to Toronto police, which said earlier this week that a review was underway. The audit committee's recommendation to elevate the case to the police board was made to escalate the consideration for a police investigation. Controls in place to avoid future fraud: CREM Patrick Matozzo, the executive director for CREM, said the department now has a team to watch out for these sorts of issues. "We can't control fraud that happens outside our control processes. But we have processes all the way through to ensure that if something like that were to happen, we'd actually catch it," he said. Matozzo said Toronto Hydro is also working with them to watch out for any future contract changes.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dan Bongino weighs resigning from FBI after heated confrontation with Pam Bondi over Epstein files
Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is considering leaving his job after a heated confrontation with Attorney General Pam Bondi over his frustration with how the Justice Department has handled the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to a person who has spoken with Bongino and a source familiar with the interactions that Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel have had with Bondi. 'Bongino is out of control furious,' the person who has spoken with the deputy FBI director said. 'This destroyed his career. He's threatening to quit and torch Pam unless she's fired.' Bongino did not report to work Friday amid speculation about his whereabouts, said a source familiar with the perspectives of DOJ leaders who also believes that Bongino is considering leaving. This came after a confrontation Wednesday at a meeting with Bondi and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles during which Bongino and Patel were asked about a news story suggesting they were dissatisfied with the decision not to release any additional Epstein files, according to the source familiar with the perspectives of DOJ leaders and an additional source familiar with the meeting. The meeting was first reported by Axios. The meeting 'got pretty heated,' another source who was briefed on the meeting said. 'Bondi, [Deputy Attorney General] Todd Blanche, Patel and Bongino were on the same page on this all along, until the criticism started to come in,' the source familiar with DOJ leaders' perspectives said. 'Bongino couldn't take it.' An FBI spokesman did not respond to requests for comment, and the Justice Department declined to comment. In a statement responding to earlier news reports about Bongino's dissatisfaction, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said, 'President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims. This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.' After Fields' statement was provided to NBC News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt provided another statement in which she said, 'President Trump is proud of Attorney General Bondi's efforts to execute his Make America Safe Again agenda, restore the integrity of the Department of Justice, and bring justice to victims of crime. The continued fixation on sowing division in President Trump's Cabinet is baseless and unfounded in reality.' Two sources familiar with President Donald Trump's thinking said he has not lost confidence in anyone involved. The source familiar with DOJ leaders' perspective said the White House is backing Bondi's decision not to release any more files, which accompanied a Justice Department statement on Monday asserting that there is no secret Epstein client list and that no further charges against others are warranted. The source familiar with the perspectives of Patel and Bongino say they have been increasingly frustrated with Bondi over a variety of issues, not just the Epstein files. The two men, who have daily interactions with Bondi, have made clear their displeasure, the source said. Bongino has regularly posted about the bureau and criticism it has received on X during his time in the job. The decision and DOJ statement on Epstein have sparked an uproar among many Trump supporters who believe there has long been a cover-up involving the Epstein files. Patel and Bongino have been among those who advanced that theory in recent years, with Bongino doing so on his popular podcast. Investigators involved in the case have said for years that there is no Epstein client list and there are no secrets buried in unreleased files. Bondi herself has made statements that fed the conspiracy theories. She said on Fox that she had an Epstein client list on her desk, although the White House and Bondi herself later said she meant the Epstein files in general. A DOJ statement from Monday said its review 'revealed no incriminating 'client list.' There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.' In the end, the source close to DOJ leaders said, Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche accepted those findings, knowing that releasing them would result in criticism from Trump supporters. They believed Patel and Bongino were with them, but that may no longer be true. In a post on X Friday morning, Blanche wrote, 'I worked closely with @FBIDirectorKash and @FBIDDBongino on the joint FBI and DOJ memo regarding the Epstein Files. All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo. The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo's composition and release is patently false.' This article was originally published on
Washington Post
10 hours ago
- Washington Post
Mexico says 'no indication' plane carrying drugs came from El Salvador after diplomatic spat
SAN SALVADOR — Mexico's government clarified there was 'no indication' that an airplane it intercepted loaded with cocaine had originated from El Salvador, according to a letter posted by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. The letter, posted on the social media platform X by the populist leader, comes after a diplomatic drama broke out between Bukele and Mexican officials when Mexico's security chief said authorities believed that a plane had come from El Salvador.
