A man with ties to a convicted drug dealer killed in an execution-style shooting in Gloucester last October is no longer working for the Department of National Defence. Joey Medaglia worked with a secret security clearance - the second highest - as an administrative assistant to the Royal Canadian Navy commander, Vice-Admiral Paul Maddison, since February 2009. Medaglia is godfather to the Graham Thomas's 19-month-old twins. Thomas, 35, a convicted drug dealer who had alleged ties to the Hells Angels and the Rizzuto crime family in Montreal, was killed in a shooting at his tanning salon Oct. 26. A second man, Jason Chapman, was also shot to death. There have been no arrests. Military Police launched an investigation into Medaglia after the killing. In an email to the Citizen Tuesday, DND said Medaglia had left the department. "Mr. Medaglia no longer occupies a position with the Department of National Defence as of 27 March 2012," wrote Cmdr. Hubert Genest, director of public affairs for the navy. "While Mr. Medaglia no longer works for the Department of National Defence, he is free to apply for other jobs within the federal public service. No other information can be shared about Mr. Medaglia for privacy reasons." Medaglia handled the vice-admirals's internal and external correspondence, made entries in his calendar and processed internal files and had access to sensitive information. All top secret information was handled by employees with a higher security clearance. Security clearance reviews include routine checks, credit checks, criminal record checks and inquiries with police. Medaglia was reassigned to a new job at DND after the shooting. Thomas was arrested in 2000 and later sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for his role in one of the region's most prolific supply chains for cocaine and other drugs.

Lake County’s sheriff was called to the witness stand Wednesday morning on the first day of a preliminary hearing for three members of the Sonoma County chapter of the Hells Angels, who are alleged to have been involved in a fight at a local casino last June. Nicolas Carrillo, 33; Timothy Bianchi, 34; and 36-year-old Josh Johnson were in Judge Andrew Blum’s court for the hearing on charges stemming from the incident on June 4, 2011, in which they were alleged to have fought with Michael Burns, a validated Vagos motorcycle gang member, and Kristopher Perkin. Sheriff Frank Rivero was questioned about how he obtained surveillance video of the fight from Konocti Vista Casino near Lakeport after officials at the casino had reportedly rebuffed attempts by his deputies to collect the evidence. Bianchi, who the prosecution alleges threw the first blow in the Saturday afternoon fight, is facing felony counts of participation in a criminal street gang, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, and misdemeanor counts of disturbing the peace and battery, according to court records. Johnson and Carrillo also are facing the street gang participation and disturbing the peace charges, along with two misdemeanor battery counts each. A fourth man alleged to have been involved, David Dabbs, has remained at large since last summer. Carrillo’s attorney, Michael Clough, would press Rivero on whether his pursuit of the case against the three men had a connection to his response nearly a month earlier to reports that 150 Hells Angels were coming to the county. In that case, Rivero ordered deputies to create a roadblock at the county’s southern entrance near Middletown. Clough also questioned Rivero about the District Attorney’s Office’s investigation into a February 2008 shooting in which Rivero shot at a man and later gave investigators conflicting stories about what happened. On the stand Rivero denied lying in the shooting investigation.

State Police have confirmed the identities of the four men involved in the incident: Clyde Frank of Harper, Delmer Cozart of Beckley, James Morris of Eccles and Thomas Speck of Michigan have all been detained. Police confirm that Speck was the shooter. Investigators say a state trooper tried to pull the men over after they were making threatening gestures towards him. Speck then fired at the trooper and all of the men took off. The four men were arrested a short time later at a home on Circleview Drive off of Harper Road. The full text of a press release issued Thursday by Sergeant Rick Baylous follows: "On Wednesday, March 28, 2012, at approximately 1505 hours, three Troopers assigned to the Bureau of Criminal Investigations were conducting surveillance on four members of the Avengers Motorcycle Gang. The BCI members were traveling west on WV Route 3 near Harper, Raleigh county, when the members of the motorcycle gang began to follow them.  The suspects began making threatening hand gestures, and brandished a handgun.  The plain clothed Troopers pulled off of WV 3, exited their vehicle and identified themselves as members of the WVSP when the motorcycles drove by. One of the suspects began shooting back toward the Troopers. The suspect then collided into the other motorcycles and crashed. The suspect got up and jumped onto the back of one of the other motorcycles and all three motorcycles drove off, traveling west on WV 3. The BCI units began searching the wrecked motorcycle for evidence of the men's identities.  While doing so, they observed two men, in a truck traveling East on WV 3 back towards them. They recognized the men to be two of the Avenger members that had fled from them. The men were identified as Delmer Lee Cozart (51 years of age, from Beckley, West Virginia) and Clyde Frank (55 years of age, from Harper, West Virginia).  Both were taken into custody by the BCI units.  BCI units, uniformed members, FBI, and the Raleigh County Sheriff's Dept. began searching the Harper area for the remaining two men. A short time later, James Morris, Jr. (32 years of age, from Eccles, West Virginia) and the shooter, Thomas Speck (35 years of age, from Lapeer, Michigan), were captured in a neighboring residence.  Delmer Cozart was charged with being an accessory after the fact to wanton endangerment.  Clyde Frank was charged with being an accessory after the fact to wanton endangerment.  Thomas Speck was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, wanton endangerment x3, fleeing on a vehicle, and being a fugitive from justice.  James Morris, Jr. was charged with being an accessory to wanton endangerment, carrying a concealed weapon, and fleeing on a vehicle.  All suspects were lodged in the Southern Regional Jail to await arraignment in Raleigh County Magistrate Court.  Further charges may be forthcoming."

Allan "Dog" Hunter, 33, of Chicago, was present during the March 6, 2011, shooting death of Javell T. Thornton, 32, also of Chicago, at 126 South Main St. according to a federal indictment. As part of his plea, Hunter, a member of the Wheels of Soul outlaw motorcycle gang, admitted Thursday in federal court that he conspired with other members of the gang to dispose of several firearms after the shooting. WOS was in Marion for a meeting at a private motorcycle club. In the early morning hours of March 6, a fight at the gang's after-hours party spilled onto the sidewalk on South Main Street. When the dust settled, three men were injured with stab and gunshot wounds, and Thornton was dead. The federal indictment states that Anthony R. Robinson shot three victims in the back as they fled the party, killing Thornton and seriously injuring another. Hunter reportedly fired a handgun indiscriminately into the crowd while wearing a bulletproof vest. Robinson has been indicted on one count of murder in aid of racketeering activity and one count of attempt to commit murder in aid of racketeering, along with other federal charges for murder and racketeering activities in other states, according to the federal indictment. Eighteen members of the WOS were indicted on federal charges June 9, 2011. One member allegedly stabbed another person in the head during a fight at a Chicago motorcycle club, then shot another in the stomach. The indictment says gang members are required to carry weapons - mostly guns, but also hammers, knives and other weapons.

Missing Women inquiry commissioner Wally Oppal has rejected an application by lawyers representing the families of missing and murdered women for disclosure of more police documents. In a written decision dated Friday, Oppal said it was unnecessary for him to order more disclosure because documents continue to be disclosed, and in some cases, the documents requested are irrelevant to the inquiry's purpose. The inquiry is probing why serial killer Robert (Willie) Pickton wasn't caught sooner. Oppal also noted that some documents no longer exist and other documents requested have already been produced among 170,000 pages already disclosed. "I am satisfied that all concerned parties have acted in good faith and have made best efforts to produce all relevant documents and other materials," Oppal said in his decision. "The disclosure process is ongoing and I fully anticipate that all participants will continue to disclose documents as they are identified through the hearing process or come to their attention by other means." Lawyers Neil Chantler and Cameron Ward had sought more documents from the Vancouver police department, RCMP, and the province's criminal justice branch. The lawyers had also requested records of investigations of the now-defunct Organized Crime Agency of B.C. and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, including records of investigations into Pickton, his brother Dave, members of the Hells Angels associated with the Picktons and a party place near the Pickton farm known as Piggy's Pal-ace. (Dave Pickton's nick-name was Piggy.) Oppal said there was no evidence of a connection between Dave Pickton, the Hells Angels and Piggy's Palace that fit with the man-date of the inquiry.

A woman riding in the passenger seat of an SUV driven by Young Buck was shot in the shoulder early this morning when another car drove alongside and opened fire, but the rapper was unharmed ... this according to a local report.  The woman was treated and released according to WSMV in Nashville, TN. There was a third passenger in the vehicle who was also not injured.  The shooting occurred at approximately 3:30 AM, police told the television station. Young Buck is from the area and was reportedly back in town for a music project.

POLICE investigating the Hells Angels have launched a new taskforce amid fears a full-blown bikie war will explode in Kings Cross. The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the operation, code-named Strike Force Cheviot, was set up after 40 to 50 members of the Hells Angels descended on the red-light district last month. Police believe the "unprecedented" act may have been designed to send a message to rival bikie group Nomads, which have long controlled security in the area. Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, commander of the NSW Gangs Squad, said police had been watching the situation closely since the February 5 incident. "Yes, we are aware and monitoring the situation with what happened at Kings Cross that night with the Hells Angels", Mr Katsogiannis told The Sunday Telegraph. "It was an unprecedented act from the Hells Angels and that's why it's important the Gangs Squad involved ourselves from the beginning. "Safety of the community is our top priority and we will not be allowing any OMCGs (outlaw motorcycle gangs) to carry on with that type of behaviour". Police are investigating a possible outbreak of violence between the Nomads and the Hells Angels, who have been on an expansion and recruitment drive for months around Sydney. It is one of several lines of inquiry being probed by Cheviot detectives. They are also looking at a credible allegation that Hells Angels members went to Kings Cross to confront a member of the Nomads clan who works in the area. The man, who for legal reasons cannot be named, was formerly a member of the Hells Angels but "patched over" several months ago. Since then he has been performing unofficial security tasks for nightclub premises in Kings Cross, including venues aligned with local identity John Ibrahim. Law enforcement sources said when the Hells Angels descended on the nightspot they arranged themselves across the road from a club where the man was believed to be working, and demanded he come outside. "That forms part of several lines of inquiry we are looking at," Mr Katsogiannis said, adding that officers from Strike Force Raptor were patrolling Kings Cross on the night of the incident and quelled the situation. "If they (Raptor police) didn't intervene at the time, it could have been a lot worse". Police have connected the Nomads member with some of the recent shootings across southwestern Sydney, all of which are under investigation. In November, The Sunday Telegraph revealed the individual was the target of a drive-by attack at an Oporto restaurant in Merrylands, which occurred two days after he was released from custody. Mr Katsogiannis said Strike Force Cheviot officers, would continue weekend patrols of Kings Cross to prevent any outbreaks of violence for "as long as it takes".