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-- General Zagorec and Balcan mafia
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Originally posted by TranceGiant What's up with this General Zagorec story, Tito? Care to explain?

Ugh..it's pretty complicated and really not much is known so far. I'll try to summarize it chronologically.

So, back in the early 90's during Croatian independence war, the newly created government needed a lot of money to buy weapons for defense. The business itself was illegal because of the UN embargo, so the money and weapons that were coming through mostly had a pretty shady history. For example, a big part of the money came in the form of donations from emigration, which was largely comprised of people who fled the country back in 1945 when the axis lost the war. Some of it was also in the form of jewels. Those jewels were rumored to be stolen from the Jews back when Adolf ruled the day, and then later stored by the local catholic church to be activated in the time of need.

Anyway, at that time Mr. Zagorec was just a guy driving a limo for his boss, General Cermak. Supposedly he showed himself to be pretty resourceful and managed to get a truck of ammo by himself, so he was rapidly promoted and became the head of a company called RH Alan. The purpose of the company was to buy and smuggle the weapons into the country, regardless of the embargo that was in place. Many allegations arose at that time, claiming that a lot of the money which came into that company was not used for purchasing weapons but was instead stored on various Switzerland and off-shore bank accounts. General Zagorec and most of the top state officials of the time were accused of being behind those accounts.

In the year 2000 when HDZ, Zagorec's party, lost the elections, he fled to Austria, probably fearing possible persecution. Not much was heard about him until 2004 when his son was kidnapped. Soon it turned out that the person behind the kidnapping was Novica Petrac, son of Hrvoje Petrac. It stayed relatively unclear whether it was Novica or Hrvoje who organized the kidnapping, but the purpose of it was to blackmail Zagorec into giving them a couple of million euros. Some say that it was Novica who did it just for the thrill of it and to get some money for his drug habbits. Others say it was something bigger going on between Petrac and Zagorec.

Hrvoje Petrac was actually a friend of Vladimir Zagorec, and one of the most important people associated with the weapon smuggling in the early 90's. He was also one of the richest businessmen here, as he gained ownership of a whole range of companies, usually in pretty suspicious ways. He was suspected of being behind several murders in the region, as well as having huge blackmailing and smuggling operations. During the trial, a notebook was discovered that showed he had connections with pretty much every important mobster and war criminal in this part of the world. It seems that he was the one of the few people who organized General Ante Gotovina's escape, and it was shown that he was closely associated with people who killed the Serbian prime minister Djindjic.

So anyway, to get back at Zagorec, Petrac accused him of stealing 5 million dollars worth of diamonds in the 90's, originally intended to pay for smuggling in a missile system from Russia. Zagorec, who came back for the trial, fled the country again and returned to Austria. President Mesic sent his envoy to meet with Zagorec and offer him a deal. He seemingly agreed to say everything he knows in exchange for freedom. But he secretly recorded the meeting and went to Austrian court claiming his life in Croatia is endangered because he knows too much and people at the top either want to get that from him or kill him.

Ultimately he failed in his demands and was returned to Croatia to stand trial for the diamonds. His attorney was Zvonimir Hodak, also a husband of Ljerka Mintas-Hodak, who was a minister in the government at the time of Zagorec's business ordeals. They had a daughter, Ivana Hodak, who was engaged with Ivor Vucelic until mid summer this year. As Zagorec fled the country, he tried to sell all his businesses, estimated at around 300 000 000 $, and Hodak was supposed to handle that job. On the other side, Vucelic knew some people who were willing to buy the businesses, and they got connected through Ivana Hodak. As the business was on the way, I. Hodak and Vucelic broke up their relationship and the transaction became questionable.

The reason for that was that I. Hodak dumped Vucelic for Ljubo Pavasovic-Viskovic, who is the current attorney of Hrvoje Petrac. Obviously, their relationship was a risk to both parties, as they were both deeply involved in the whole story and probably knew too much. Several days after Zagorec was returned to Zagreb, Ivana hodak was shot dead in the stairway of her house and the killer ran away. Later that day, the ministers of police, justice, and the chief of police were sacked and replaced with people who are not members of the ruling party and are generally considered to be among the best in the country at solving organized and war crime ordeals. Hodak today claimed that it was Petrac who was behind shooting his daughter, but it is so far really unclear whether that is really the case. Supposedly Hodak and Zagorec now agreed to talk and go all the way in saying everything they know, but that is yet to be seen.

Whatever the case, this became too big to stay at this level. The people involved here were at the top of the decision making chain in the 90's and when they start getting killed, you know that this is no longer child's play. I suspect there will be many arrests and inquiries of the former top level officials. Can't say I feel sorry for them, most deserve prison anyways...

So there, feels like a spy novel when I read it

Thanks for the 'summary', Tito, though I got a bit confsued with all the names towards the end Would definitely make a nice gangster flick, add some Karadciz and Milosevic as well as dubious Paritzan Belgrad owners and you've got an epic "Balcan Saga".

Such a shame about I. Hodak, looked pretty smoking for the photos. The typical Sofia Coppola faith

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Originally posted by TranceGiant Thanks for the 'summary', Tito, though I got a bit confsued with all the names towards the end Would definitely make a nice gangster flick, add some Karadciz and Milosevic as well as dubious Paritzan Belgrad owners and you've got an epic "Balcan Saga".

Yeah, and it realy is a Balcan criminal saga. As I said, Petrac was helping General Gotovina's escape and had contacts with Legija, the guy who shot Djindjic. And considering Legija was a good pal of Arkan, Karadzic, and Milosevic, you pretty much do have all the gangster/war criminal crew in one place.

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Such a shame about I. Hodak, looked pretty smoking for the photos. The typical Sofia Coppola faith

Yeah, poor girl. She unwillingly got herself involved in stuff that was way over her head. We're talking billions of dollars here, Vatican involvement, Jewish diamonds stolen by Nazis, premier assassinations..

Anyway, this is sort of off-topic, so I'll ask Lira or someone to take it away into a new thread..

It seems that the person who wanted to buy Zagorec's property was Sreten Jocic, also known as Joca Amsterdam. Supposedly he's one of the top European cocaine suppliers, having direct control over shipments from Latin America to Dutch ports. He was extradited from the Netherlands to Serbia for organizing a murder of a guy called Goran Marjanovic, aka. Goksi the Bomber. Goksi was on the other hand hired by the Montenegro mob and was trying to kill Joca. Goksi survived the murder attempt, but his girlfriend was killed. Jocic also has several indictments raised against him in the Netherlands, ranging from murder to drug smuggling. He was imprisoned in 2005, but bailed out a year ago having paid 300 000 euros for the bail. He is also the owner of Milosevic's former house in Belgrade and is currently living there. (for TranceGiant wanting Milosevic in the story )

Jocic also has connections with Hrvoje Petrac and it seems they have done some business together, as well as helped each other fleeing the Interpol (a couple of years ago, Petrac was arrested in Greece, a story not unlike Zagorec's). On the other hand, it seems that Jocic is at war with Milorad Lukovic Legija (who shot the premier Djindjic), because many of his men were shot dead by people who are considered to be Legija's sidekicks. Petrac, however, seems to be on good terms with Legija, sort of walking the middle ground between the two.

An interesting connection with the murder of Ivana Hodak is also the fact that some eyewitness reports claimed to have seen the murderer run away into a car with Bulgarian license plates. That is, however, conflicting information, because some also claim that he ran away on foot in the opposite direction (I wouldn't rule out false witnesses). Anyway, Jocic has been living in Bulgaria for a couple of years, after he fled the Netherlands and before he was extradited back.

Tito, this story is so reminiscent of whats going on in Russia, especially in the 1990s. Most of today's hits and killings are mafia related or linked, no doubt - Politkovskaya too. People just fail to realize it, but thats the truth. Look at Croatia's situation:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7656000.stm

quote:

Croatia's prime minister says he is sacking his interior and justice ministers following the "mafia killing" of a prominent lawyer's daughter. Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said he had also fired the national police chief after the latest in a series of brutal daylight attacks in the capital Zagreb. Ivana Hodak, 26, was shot dead in her Zagreb building on Monday morning. Her father Zvonimir Hodak is defending an ex-general suspected of stealing $5m in diamonds used in wartime deals. Mr Sanader said he was asking parliament to approve the sackings of the two ministers and the police chief. Parliament is expected to endorse his proposal. "I expect swift police action. It is high time we cracked down on the mafia," he told a news conference. 'Heinous crime' Ms Hodak, a law intern, was shot twice in the head in the stairwell of her apartment block in central Zagreb. President Stjepan Mesic called it a "heinous crime, all the more dangerous as it happened in broad daylight". Local media have speculated that Ms Hodak's death may be linked to her father's work, although police have refused to confirm a link. Zvonimir Hodak is representing former Gen Vladimir Zagorec, a defence ministry official who is accused of embezzling $5m in jewels for use in deals during Croatia's independence war. Zagreb has been hit by a wave of mob-style violence in recent months. A prominent crime reporter, a city administration official and a construction firm boss are among those who have been subject to assaults in various separate incidents.

It's pretty obvious that Croatia's leaders arent targeting these people But conveniently enough its quite the opposite if the topic shifted to another country in the region ... how odd

This is one of those stories that falls under "You cant make this shit up", if you made a script out of it, it would be a great movie. But then one remember this is not a movie and its happening basically right next door to us and well fuck

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Originally posted by Magnetonium It's pretty obvious that Croatia's leaders arent targeting these people But conveniently enough its quite the opposite if the topic shifted to another country in the region ... how odd

Meh, our local mafias here are pretty intertwined. You really can't be a big player in just one country. Most Croatian kingpins also have Serbian passports and vice-versa. Many of the people who were in top positions during the war here are personal acquaintances of the ruling clique of the other side.

For some reason I've always been fascinated with the eastern front and the war criminals/gangsters it spawned. Great read even if the names did start to confuse me there towards the end.

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Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0 Meh, our local mafias here are pretty intertwined. You really can't be a big player in just one country. Most Croatian kingpins also have Serbian passports and vice-versa. Many of the people who were in top positions during the war here are personal acquaintances of the ruling clique of the other side.

But but but... what's


NORMAL?

Find the majority.

quote:

Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0 Meh, our local mafias here are pretty intertwined. You really can't be a big player in just one country. Most Croatian kingpins also have Serbian passports and vice-versa. Many of the people who were in top positions during the war here are personal acquaintances of the ruling clique of the other side.

Meh, mafia in Russia was born after the collapse of the Soviet Union - many military professionals and officers lost their jobs so they decided to expand their skills and start up businesses followed up by the mafia turf war. It was brutal in the 1990s, very open. Many people lost their lives - from ordinary bystanders to police, government officials, journalists, lawyers, judges, etc. Putin sort of made them go underground, the lawlessness was curbed a bit.

Imagine what I've heard in my town back there when I lived there - police chief's car chased by AK-47 wielding gunmen during broad daylight, in the end bullet-riddled car with 3 gunshot wounds to the head. Many people in the area, no witnesses come forward.

Poor Croatia, suffering the same fate as Russia. Independent journalists fighting to expose criminals, corruption and mafia, protect human rights and freedom of speech - get murdered by the dozens by the criminals (NOT the government people).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7687532.stm

quote:

Zagreb car bomb kills journalist A car bomb in the Croatian capital Zagreb has killed Ivo Pukanic, the owner of a leading weekly newspaper, and his colleague. Mr Pukanic, 47, was killed with Nacional weekly newspaper's marketing executive, Niko Franic, in the blast outside the newspaper's premises. There is no indication who was behind the attack, which occurred in central Zagreb at about 1820 (1620 GMT). The city has been gripped by a wave of violence this year. President Stipe Mesic said the bomb, which was reportedly planted underneath Mr Pukanic's Lexus, meant "terrorism has become a fact on the streets of our capital". "The state is faced with an unprecedented challenge from the criminal circles," he said. "Now it is them or us... rule of law and safety of citizens against criminals, terrorists and mafia." Nacional is an investigative paper that often exposes corruption and human rights abuses. Mr Pukanic, who was also the paper's editor-in-chief, had spoken out about a plot to assassinate him earlier this year. Spiralling crime rates Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader vehemently and resolutely condemned the attack, and told a news conference that he would not allow "Croatia to become Beirut". "This is no longer merely a fight against organised crime," he said. "This is something all of us in Croatia will rise up against." Mr Pukanic had spoken about a plot to assassinate him earlier this year Thursday's car bomb followed a string of attacks in Zagreb that have been linked to organised crime, says the BBC's Balkans correspondent Helen Fawkes. Earlier this month the daughter of a prominent Croatian lawyer was shot dead, sparking public outrage. Shortly after that killing, Mr Sanader sacked his interior and justice ministers, as well as the head of the national police, in response to the spiralling crime rates. The move came amid fears that rising violence could threaten Croatia's success during EU accession talks next year, correspondents say. Croatia hopes to complete negotiations for entry in 2009 and to become the 28th EU member in 2011. A crucial European Commission progress report is due to be released next month.

quote:

Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0 Ugh..it's pretty complicated and really not much is known so far. I'll try to summarize it chronologically. So, back in the early 90's during Croatian independence war, the newly created government needed a lot of money to buy weapons for defense. The business itself was illegal because of the UN embargo, so the money and weapons that were coming through mostly had a pretty shady history. For example, a big part of the money came in the form of donations from emigration, which was largely comprised of people who fled the country back in 1945 when the axis lost the war. Some of it was also in the form of jewels. Those jewels were rumored to be stolen from the Jews back when Adolf ruled the day, and then later stored by the local catholic church to be activated in the time of need. Anyway, at that time Mr. Zagorec was just a guy driving a limo for his boss, General Cermak. Supposedly he showed himself to be pretty resourceful and managed to get a truck of ammo by himself, so he was rapidly promoted and became the head of a company called RH Alan. The purpose of the company was to buy and smuggle the weapons into the country, regardless of the embargo that was in place. Many allegations arose at that time, claiming that a lot of the money which came into that company was not used for purchasing weapons but was instead stored on various Switzerland and off-shore bank accounts. General Zagorec and most of the top state officials of the time were accused of being behind those accounts. In the year 2000 when HDZ, Zagorec's party, lost the elections, he fled to Austria, probably fearing possible persecution. Not much was heard about him until 2004 when his son was kidnapped. Soon it turned out that the person behind the kidnapping was Novica Petrac, son of Hrvoje Petrac. It stayed relatively unclear whether it was Novica or Hrvoje who organized the kidnapping, but the purpose of it was to blackmail Zagorec into giving them a couple of million euros. Some say that it was Novica who did it just for the thrill of it and to get some money for his drug habbits. Others say it was something bigger going on between Petrac and Zagorec. Hrvoje Petrac was actually a friend of Vladimir Zagorec, and one of the most important people associated with the weapon smuggling in the early 90's. He was also one of the richest businessmen here, as he gained ownership of a whole range of companies, usually in pretty suspicious ways. He was suspected of being behind several murders in the region, as well as having huge blackmailing and smuggling operations. During the trial, a notebook was discovered that showed he had connections with pretty much every important mobster and war criminal in this part of the world. It seems that he was the one of the few people who organized General Ante Gotovina's escape, and it was shown that he was closely associated with people who killed the Serbian prime minister Djindjic. So anyway, to get back at Zagorec, Petrac accused him of stealing 5 million dollars worth of diamonds in the 90's, originally intended to pay for smuggling in a missile system from Russia. Zagorec, who came back for the trial, fled the country again and returned to Austria. President Mesic sent his envoy to meet with Zagorec and offer him a deal. He seemingly agreed to say everything he knows in exchange for freedom. But he secretly recorded the meeting and went to Austrian court claiming his life in Croatia is endangered because he knows too much and people at the top either want to get that from him or kill him. Ultimately he failed in his demands and was returned to Croatia to stand trial for the diamonds. His attorney was Zvonimir Hodak, also a husband of Ljerka Mintas-Hodak, who was a minister in the government at the time of Zagorec's business ordeals. They had a daughter, Ivana Hodak, who was engaged with Ivor Vucelic until mid summer this year. As Zagorec fled the country, he tried to sell all his businesses, estimated at around 300 000 000 $, and Hodak was supposed to handle that job. On the other side, Vucelic knew some people who were willing to buy the businesses, and they got connected through Ivana Hodak. As the business was on the way, I. Hodak and Vucelic broke up their relationship and the transaction became questionable. The reason for that was that I. Hodak dumped Vucelic for Ljubo Pavasovic-Viskovic, who is the current attorney of Hrvoje Petrac. Obviously, their relationship was a risk to both parties, as they were both deeply involved in the whole story and probably knew too much. Several days after Zagorec was returned to Zagreb, Ivana hodak was shot dead in the stairway of her house and the killer ran away. Later that day, the ministers of police, justice, and the chief of police were sacked and replaced with people who are not members of the ruling party and are generally considered to be among the best in the country at solving organized and war crime ordeals. Hodak today claimed that it was Petrac who was behind shooting his daughter, but it is so far really unclear whether that is really the case. Supposedly Hodak and Zagorec now agreed to talk and go all the way in saying everything they know, but that is yet to be seen. Whatever the case, this became too big to stay at this level. The people involved here were at the top of the decision making chain in the 90's and when they start getting killed, you know that this is no longer child's play. I suspect there will be many arrests and inquiries of the former top level officials. Can't say I feel sorry for them, most deserve prison anyways... So there, feels like a spy novel when I read it

great story

So, two days ago a prominent news media house owner, Ivo Pukanic, was blown up in his car together with his chief of marketing. He was supposedly a friend of Petrac and was about to appear on the trial of General Zagorec today. He also had friendly ties with president Mesic, and was supposedly on good terms with many important people from the criminal milieu. Back in the days when General Gotovina was hiding, he managed to get an interview with him. So far it seems that the bomb was set up with military grade explosive, most likely the kind they manufacture in Serbia. The blast was huge, I heard it real loud in my house 4 tram stops away.

So seriously, how safe do you feel right now? I would be worried by now that things would escalate and that innocent bystanders could be getting hurt, especially if i heard the bomb go off

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Originally posted by Moongoose So seriously, how safe do you feel right now? I would be worried by now that things would escalate and that innocent bystanders could be getting hurt, especially if i heard the bomb go off

Personally I don't feel that unsafe, after all this is a big city so it's really gonna be a small chance of me getting hurt. However the situation in the state is almost critical, never before has the mob targeted so important people. This has escalated into an open war between the mob and the government, and we're at a breaking point here - it's either gonna be the fall of the government or the whole set of kingpins in jail. No more status quo either way.

Well it seems that the Croatian police released the sketch of the suspected bomber, its just that, well...

quote:

Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0 Personally I don't feel that unsafe, after all this is a big city so it's really gonna be a small chance of me getting hurt. However the situation in the state is almost critical, never before has the mob targeted so important people. This has escalated into an open war between the mob and the government, and we're at a breaking point here - it's either gonna be the fall of the government or the whole set of kingpins in jail. No more status quo either way.

Well now I understand why you're racist and homophobic... you're from another world than me.

I mean this with complete sincerity when I say that I wish you the best and hope things get better over there where you are.

I know America is villified, but if you ever need to leave, consider California or New England. We're good people, we just go about things in a roundabout fashion.

And we can teach you a thing or two about humanity, just the same.

quote:

Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0 Personally I don't feel that unsafe, after all this is a big city so it's really gonna be a small chance of me getting hurt. However the situation in the state is almost critical, never before has the mob targeted so important people. This has escalated into an open war between the mob and the government, and we're at a breaking point here - it's either gonna be the fall of the government or the whole set of kingpins in jail. No more status quo either way.

Tito,
This is seriously happening all right now in your country?

quote:

Originally posted by guerra-monstru Tito, This is seriously happening all right now in your country?

Yes! And I thought Matamoros was bad.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Shibby Well now I understand why you're racist and homophobic... you're from another world than me.

Ugh..I'm neither racist nor homophobic. But to some people if you're not a member of black panthers or gay prides, you're immediately being labeled as such..

quote:

I mean this with complete sincerity when I say that I wish you the best and hope things get better over there where you are. I know America is villified, but if you ever need to leave, consider California or New England. We're good people, we just go about things in a roundabout fashion. And we can teach you a thing or two about humanity, just the same.

I've been living in the US for couple of years, and I didn't really find it to be a heaven on Earth either. Though the fact that I've been stationed in North Dakota might have a lot to do with it

While we're on the subject, I wanted to thrown in this NYT article about the increasingly dangerous mafia situation in... Bulgaria. Pretty close, no?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/w...16bulgaria.html

Mob Muscles Its Way Into Politics in Bulgaria

quote:

SOFIA, Bulgaria � Politics is played to the death in Bulgaria, where the lives of politicians can be as cheap as spent bullets and murky business groups wage a murderous struggle for their cut of everything from real estate deals to millions in European aid. During a furious political season last year, the home of the chairwoman of a municipal electoral committee was set on fire, and the garages of mayors were firebombed. The mayor of a resort town in central Bulgaria was shot and killed with seven bullets, as was the wealthy City Council chairman in the outwardly idyllic Black Sea port of Nesebur. �Other countries have the mafia,� said Atanas Atanasov, a member of Parliament and a former counterintelligence chief who is a magnet for leaked documents exposing corruption. �In Bulgaria, the mafia has the country.�

These peeps are called "thick necks" (tolsto-sheie). They control everything from politics to nightclubs! I wouldn't advise crossing paths with them.

quote:

Originally posted by HardTranceProd While we're on the subject, I wanted to thrown in this NYT article about the increasingly dangerous mafia situation in... Bulgaria. Pretty close, no? http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/w...16bulgaria.html Mob Muscles Its Way Into Politics in Bulgaria These peeps are called "thick necks" (tolsto-sheie). They control everything from politics to nightclubs! I wouldn't advise crossing paths with them.

Bulgaria is the worst in Europe by far. Every self-respecting mobster in this area has a Bulgarian passport. Most of the organized crime ordeals here can be connected to Bulgaria. I think it was a big mistake of the EU to let them in.

Interesting read Drug_Tito... thanks .

So it seems Ivo Pukanic has been a witness in the trial of General Zagorec, and he managed to provide some evidence against him. He showed empty boxes that the diamonds were stored in, but the boxes did still contain the certificates about the value of the diamonds. He did not reveal his source, as the source was afraid for his life and wanted to stay anonymous.

On the other hand, it was discovered that earlier this year, when Petrac accused Zagorec of stealing the diamonds, Zagorec immediately closed and emptied 3 safes in a German bank. The whereabouts and the nature of the contents are unknown so far, but I suppose we can guess as to what they were.

It seems the persons who killed Pukanic got caught. They were captured when they tried to flee over the border into Serbia. It seems they are a part of a group that was lead by the earlier mentioned Sreten Jocic, called Joca Amsterdam (really, if you got a nickname like that you know you're deep into organized crime), and were being prosecuted in Bulgaria for being involved in their local organized crime activities. It is yet unclear whether Joca Amsterdam is really behind this, as Pukanic was also one of two prime witnesses against Montenegran prime minister Milo Djukanovic, who was accused of leading a cigarette smuggling organization (the other one was killed back in 2004.).

Curiously, one of the assassins went to the same class in one elementary school as one my friend did. Supposedly he was one of those kids who are kinda slow and weak so are therefore pounded by everyone else. I suppose he was making up for it with assassinations when he grew up...

Another curiousity is that one former member of their criminal group went missing in Bulgaria a couple of months ago, not long after he was accused of killing one important Bulgarian mobster. He dressed up in a priest's robe to get to him unnoticed. Even more curiously, he ran this site www.elfwood.com. I guess he tried playing D&D in real life...Cleric/rogue dual class I suppose...

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