Author: William

Legal Troubles Mount for CEO Roberto Divkovic Amid Investor Fraud Allegations

Roberto Divkovic, the CEO of IMP 1991 Plus DOO Beograd, is facing mounting legal challenges as allegations of investor fraud surface. Accused of misleading investors with false promises, Divkovic’s actions have sparked outrage and led to a series of investigations. The heart of the controversy lies in simple yet devastating deceit: promises made to investors that were never intended to be kept.

Divkovic, an Austrian national, has been implicated in a scandal that has attracted attention from various news outlets, including BA-CA and NZWeek, JonBrion.com, and EricLeads.com. These reports collectively paint a picture of a businessman whose failure to achieve success through legitimate means seemingly led him to exploit the trust of his investors. The allegations suggest that Divkovic promised lucrative returns on investments in what was portrayed as a solid gold trading venture. However, the reality, as investors painfully discovered, was far from the rosy picture painted by Divkovic.

The simplicity of the scheme—making promises that were never fulfilled—belies the profound impact of Divkovic’s actions. Investors, lured by the prospect of substantial profits, now find themselves facing significant financial losses. The breach of trust is profound, with many expressing disbelief and anger at being deceived by someone they believed to be a reputable business leader.

Legal authorities have initiated proceedings against Divkovic, scrutinizing his every move and statement to investors. The focus is on the clear discrepancy between what was promised and what was actually delivered. As the legal net tightens, the case against Divkovic appears to hinge on the straightforward yet serious accusations of deceit and broken promises.

The unfolding scandal involving Roberto Divkovic has reverberated across the investment landscape, casting a shadow over the once-trusted name of IMP 1991 Plus DOO Beograd. Divkovic, now entangled in legal proceedings, is at the center of a storm of allegations accusing him of defrauding investors through false assurances. This situation has not only jeopardized his career but also inflicted considerable financial damage on those who invested in his promises.

For Divkovic, the path forward is laden with legal battles as he confronts the fallout from his alleged misdeeds. The investors, bearing the brunt of the betrayal, are seeking justice and financial recovery, turning to the courts as their avenue for recourse.

This article was originally posted here

Italian mobsters who commit violent crimes in groups more likely to re-offend: study

You don’t have to be a wise guy to come to these conclusions. 

A new research paper found that Italian mobsters who previously committed violent crimes in groups were more likely to re-offend. 

Researchers at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Transcrime in Italy broke omerta by analyzing data of 9,819 Italians convicted of organized crime.

The paper’s authors focused on violent crimes committed between 1964 and 2016. 

Mafioso who engaged in group violence were 14.2% more likely to bust heads again, compared to just 4.9% for made men who roughed up people solo, the researchers found. 

Being a part of an organized criminal syndicate or street gang “may favor a persistent, dynamic diffusion or responsibility” that drives people to commit violent acts together in the future, according to the study.

A new study found Italian mobsters who previously committed violent crimes in groups were more likely to reoffend.  ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Researchers analyzed data of 9,819 Italians convicted of organized crime. ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Mafioso who engaged in group violence were 14.2% more likely to bust heads again. Savoy Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

“They may know it’s morally wrong but it’s easier to justify when everyone is doing the same – and we see an impact of these rationalizations on future offending behavior too,” said study author Cecilia Meneghini, who compared the dynamics of how violence spreads throughout the Mafia to “a contagion.”

“It’s easy to be a tough guy when you’ve got a group of guys [around you] — they’re like hyenas, they only got balls when there’s a group,” former Gambino associate John Alite told The Post.

“It only takes one guy’s bad decision and the other guys jump in with him,” he said, adding, “Without each other, they are impotent.” 

This article was originally posted here

Dina Manzo’s ex should have racketeering case dropped, feds admit – so they can re-indict him: court papers

Federal prosecutors have conceded that a years-old racketeering case against “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Dina Manzo’s ex-husband should be dismissed — but only because they want to re-indict him on the same charges.

Attorneys for Tommy Manzo — the Garden State restaurateur accused of hiring a Mafioso to rough up Dina’s new beau in 2015 — asked a Newark federal court judge last month to drop the charges against their client, arguing he’d been denied his right to a speedy trial.

In a surprising move, the feds agreed — as long as the judge tosses the case without “prejudice” so they can bring new charges against the troubled 58-year-old from the ritzy suburb of Franklin Lakes, NJ.

“The Government concedes the [federal] Speedy Trial Act was violated and dismissal is required,” Assistant US Attorney Kendall Randolph wrote in the brief, dated Jan. 26.

“[But] the severity of Manzo’s crimes support dismissal without prejudice … so that the United States may promptly re-indict Manzo and proceed to trial on the current schedule,” Randolph said.

The prosecutor admitted in the filing that some of the holdups were the government’s fault.

Dina Manzo with her then-husband, Tommy Manzo. Manzo’s attorneys are trying to get his federal racketeering indictment dismissed.
Tommy Manzo allegedly had Dina’s new husband beat up twice in two years — and he has separate state and federal cases against him as a result. Thomas P. Costello via NJ Courts via Imagn Content Services, LLC

But he also blamed Manzo for contributing to the delays by hiring and firing a revolving door of attorneys, which slowed the case down.

Manzo also didn’t seem to mind the holdup — he wanted to freeze the case for strategic reasons and hoped to resolve it through a plea deal, Randolph claimed.

“It is not as if the Government charged this case, then let it languish,” Randolph wrote to Judge Susan D. Wingenton, adding that it was prosecutors who actually told Manzo’s newest set of lawyers that the case had run over its allotted time.

Dina Manzo, a reality TV star who rose to fame on “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” married Manzo in 2005. But the doomed marriage has led to a slew of legal cases. Getty Images

“Simply sated, this is not an instance of bad faith or intentionally dilatory tactics,” he said.

The filings come just as proceedings appeared finally ready to move forward — nearly four years after Manzo was indicted for allegedly cutting a deal with a Lucchese Crime Family soldier to beat up his ex-wife’s then-boyfriend, David Cantin, outside a North Jersey strip mall in July 2015.

In return, the feds claimed Manzo promised the mob capo — John Perna of Cedar Grove, NJ — a deeply-discounted wedding reception at his catering hall, The Brownstone in Paterson.

“Manzo was outraged that his former wife became romantically involved with another man,” the indictment said.

“Rather than accept that, as law-abiding individuals do, Manzo wanted to extract physical revenge,” it said. “Unwilling or incapable of doing so directly, he leveraged his catering hall.”

Dina Manzo is now married to Dave Cantin, an entrepreneur. @dina
The Manzo family has owned The Brownstone, a catering hall in Paterson, New Jersey, since the late 1970s. Christopher Sadowski

But Manzo didn’t want Perna to rough Cantin up a little — he wanted the attack to leave Cantin with a “permanent facial scar,” the filing said.

So when Perna and another member of his crew caught up with Cantin, they used a slapjack instead of just their fists “in an attempt to inflict the permanent injury Manzo insisted upon,” Randolph wrote.

Reputed mafioso John Perna has already served time for the July 2015 beatdown. New Jersey AG

Prosecutors also claim Manzo obstructed the investigation by hiding documents that should have been turned over after a grand jury subpoena.

Perna, the son of reputed Lucchese capo Ralph Perna, served nearly three years in prison for the crime, which he pleaded guilty to in December 2020.

He was released last August, according to online prison records.

Manzo has been charged with committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering, conspiracy, and falsifying and concealing records related to a federal investigation.

Jury selection for Manzo’s case was set for April 16.

It’s not clear how a potential dismissal would affect the court schedule.

Manzo had married Dina in an over-the-top 2005 wedding chronicled on the VH1 reality series “My Big Fabulous Wedding.

But the couple split in 2012 over his alleged infidelity, “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Kim DePaola told The Post in 2020 — though the couple didn’t officially divorce until 2016.

Manzo — who is still free on bail — is also facing state charges that allege he and another man broke into Dave and Dina’s home in Holmdel, NJ in May 2017 and beat them with bats before robbing them of cash and jewelry.

The next hearing in that case is scheduled for April 29, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

This article was originally posted here