My Crime Fiction: 'Mouth'

The story below first appeared in American Crime Magazine. 

Mouth 

By Paul Davis 

I recently went for a haircut to a local barber shop located about four blocks from my home in South Philadelphia. 

The barber in residence was a young man and a good barber who had a mostly younger clientele. I happened to sit next to another old timer who, like me, missed the good old days when Frank and Sonny ran the shop. 

Originally from Sicily, Frank and Sonny Provenzano came to Philadelphia in 1955 and opened their barber shop in 1965. In the 1960s, when I frequented the shop as a teenager, and into the 70s, 80s and 90s, Frank and Sonny’s barber shop had a congenial atmosphere akin to an old-fashioned taproom bar or a social club, minus the alcohol.

But the barbers did put out bottles of scotch, vodka and sambuca during the Christmas and New Year season. Back then, the barbers and customers smoked cigarettes freely in the shop, and some customers smoked cigars. The barber shop was authentically “South Philly.” 

The barber shop back then was always crowded, and on any given day, customers came and went after getting a haircut as well as participating in the day’s running debate on sports or current events, moderated by the two barbers. The ongoing debate, often enlivened with abundant humor, made the long wait for a haircut enjoyable in the always crowded shop. 

Frank Provenzano, the older brother, was a short, balding, avuncular man who retained his Italian accent even after all his years in America. Sonny, who was some years younger than Frank, was short with curly black hair and possessed a sardonic wit that sometimes offended his customers. 

The two barbers supplemented their income by operating as bookmakers and loan sharks, and my crowd often made sport bets there and borrowed money from them when the bets didn’t work out. Like many of the young guys from my crowd, I thought of Frank and Sonny as my uncles rather than just my barbers. 

In the late 1970s, when I was in my late 20s and a bachelor, the shop was so busy that the two brothers brought in a pretty young girl to cut hair in the third chair they had in the barber shop. 

I recall one Saturday afternoon when the shop was standing room only. When it was my turn for a haircut, the young girl waved me towards her chair. I told her that I would wait for Sonny. 

Although my short dark parted hair and my short trimmed dark beard were easy to cut, I was fussy and particular about who cut my hair. Not counting the four years I spent in the Navy, Frank and Sonny were the only barbers who had cut my hair since I was a kid. 

“Go ahead, let her cut your hair,” Sonny said. “She’s good.” 

Reluctantly, I agreed. 

I sat in her chair as she wrapped a long white sheet around my shoulders and placed a white strip around my neck. She then just stood there beside me as I sat in the elevated barber’s chair and looked at me with her head cocked to the right. She turned to Sonny in the middle chair. 

“I can’t cut his hair,” she said with an exasperated air. “He’s too good-looking.” 

Sonny frowned, Frank chuckled, and the other customers in the barber shop roared with laughter. The girl was soon let go by the brothers and they arranged for her to work at a nearby woman’s beauty salon. 

I was teased mercilessly both in the barber shop and elsewhere for some months after that. Friends would greet me with “Hey, Good-looking.” And a bartender and friend at our neighborhood bar looked at my other friends when I walked in and said, “I can’t serve Paulie a drink. He’s too good-looking.” 

That got a big laugh at my expense.       

 When I wrote about the barber shop in the mid-1990s in my column in the local newspaper, I quoted Frank stating, “We are a friendly shop. Everybody is more of a friend than a customer. We have customers who have moved to New Jersey and other places far away, but they still come back here for a haircut. A lot of shops give them a haircut and throw them out. Our friends stay about talk about the salaries of ball players and such. This is an Italian neighborhood, although we have all kinds living here, and we all get along.” 

Thanks to their loyal, multi-generational following, the shop remained open for years even during the long hair days of the 1960s, when many other barber shops folded. 

Frank and Sonny always seemed to have a handful of oddball characters hanging around the shop. They would sweep up the hair from the floor and make coffee runs to a nearby delicatessen for the two barbers and any customers who also wanted coffee. But mostly the characters entertained the barbers and the customers with unintentional humor.    

One of their most entertaining and often annoying characters was Martin Alberto. 

Alberto was around 5’10, lean with dark wavey air and a permanent five o’clock dark shadow on his face. He was a minor criminal, into “this and that,” but he often spoke like he was a big shot mobster, even though everyone knew he certainly wasn’t.    

As he was a non-stop, speed-talker, known as a chiacchierone - a chatter box in Italian - Alberto was called “Marty Mouth,” Motor Mouth,” Mighty Mouth,” or simply “Mouth.” 

I recall one early weekday evening when I entered the shop and Alberto was pacing up and down the shop and talking fast. Sonny had an older man I didn’t know in his chair and Frank had my friend Bob Longo in his chair. Frank and Bob were smirking as Alberto went on and on.     

“I know it ain’t right to do a cop,” Alberto said. “But I gotta tell ya this prick detective is getting on my last nerve. He’s always pulling me over when I’m driving around the neighborhood and questioning me right in front of everyone. He even pulled me into South Detectives and grilled me for an hour, but I didn’t fold. I didn’t tell him shit.” 

Alberto, voice high and fast, spoke of how this detective was pressing his luck by harassing him. 

“He don’t know who Marty Alberto is! I’m into some heavy shit right now, and this cop is crowding me. If I gotta go to the bosses and ask permission to whack this fucking cop, I will. And if they don’t give me the OK, I may whack his fucking fat ass anyway. I tell ya, I had it with this prick supercop.”            

Just then Frank pulled off the barber’s neck to knees white sheet and Alberto saw Bob Longo’s blue police uniform, badge and sidearm. 

Martin Alberto was – for perhaps the first time in his life – speechless. 

Alberto turned quickly and bolted out the door as Bob Longo just shook his head and I, the two barbers and the other customers roared with laughter.

© 2025 Paul Davis 

Note: You can read my other crime fiction stories via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction Stories 

PA Attorney General Touts Organized Retail Crime Unit's Year Of Achievements

Broad & Liberty ran my piece on organized retail crime.

You can read the piece via the link below or the text below:

Paul Davis: PA Attorney General touts organized retail crime unit’s year of achievements

I was recently discussing shoplifting with a store manager in South Philadelphia.

He was complaining about shoplifters, especially organized crews of shoplifters, who are creating havoc in his store. He said that he has spoken to other store managers, and they too are frustrated with the way shoplifters don’t fear any kind of retribution for their crimes. 

“The thieves think that shoplifting is a petty crime, and they think they can get away with taking items from stores. We have to lock up various products to stop the shoplifters, and our clerks have to take the time to unlock the glass cabinets for legitimate customers,” the manager told me. 

The manager said that the cost of shoplifting and the clerks’ extra duties are passed on to the customers. He also fears that his store might be closed due to lost revenue and higher costs. 

“I remember when a gang of young people came barging into my store. They planned and organized the robbery. They smashed things, disrupted store operations and they scared our customers and employees.” 

“Lone shoplifters are bad enough, but when you see organized gangs raid your store and do mass shoplifting, that’s enough to throw up your hands and quit.” 

But according to Dave Sunday, the Pennsylvania Attorney General, things are looking up.    

On June 25, Sunday held a media event in Norristown to announce the first year’s achievements of the Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Unit. He spoke of how collaboration with other law enforcement agencies resulted in more arrests, prosecutions and recoveries of stolen goods.

According to Attorney General Sunday, the Organized Retail Crime Unit was launched on July 1, 2024, following the enactment of Act 42 (of 2023) and a new criminal statute that made retail theft of goods over $50,000 a first-degree felony. Sunday noted that in its first year, the unit opened more than 65 investigations, charged more than 40 alleged thieves, and recovered nearly $2 million in stolen goods.

The Organized Retail Crime Unit responds to high-dollar thefts, typically perpetrated by multiple thieves who manipulate gift cards and the stores’ return and exchange policies — or, in many cases, enter retail stores in packs and steal as many items as they can as quickly as possible.

“This unit is aggressively pursuing thieves who operate in packs, oftentimes terrorizing purely innocent store employees and shoppers,” said Sunday. “The perception that retail theft is a petty crime is outdated, as these crimes are violent in nature and designed to menace and frighten bystanders. With the help of our partners, we have made big strides in stopping these criminal enterprises and sending a strong message to anyone thinking of committing these crimes.”

According to the Attorney General’s Office, the Pennsylvania legislature took action as law enforcement noticed a trend in violent, pack-style thefts at stores — typically high-end retailers or stores with expensive items, like smart phones and other electronics, small appliances, or luxury brand clothing. Many thefts occur in the Philadelphia area, home to many retail stores and high traffic areas.

“As the prime sponsor of the legislation which created the Organized Retail Crime Unit, I’m pleased to see how effectively this unit has pursued and stopped criminal organizations across Pennsylvania. Theft at the scale we see in these cases does not just hurt employers – it results in the loss of jobs and makes our communities less safe,” said Pennsylvania Senator Dave Argall.

Alex Baloga, the President/CEO of Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, added, “We could not be more proud of the work we have done together. For a long time, it felt like businesses were fighting losing battles alone. This media event does not signal a let up of our efforts.”

Philadelphia Police Department Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore noted that retail theft is down thirteen percent in Philadelphia and the arrest rate in the city is up 40 percent. “We knew we had prolific offenders that we had to get off the street. We want to thank the Attorney General and all the retail partners and law enforcement partners. It is working in Philadelphia.”

“These organized retail theft groups are sophisticated, coordinated and causing significant financial losses to major retailers, who then pass the cost on to consumers in higher prices,” said Kevin R. Steele, the Montgomery County District Attorney. “We have worked hard to aggressively investigate these groups with our local and state partners, to not only arrest the low-level operatives in the store, but to also work our way up to the leaders and the fences. I want to thank Attorney General Sunday for his partnership on this issue.”

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes an online Crime Beat column. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com  

Note: You can read my previous Broad & Liberty pieces via the link below:

You searched for Paul Davis - Broad + Liberty 

Mobster Podcasts

Broad + Liberty published my piece on mob-related podcasts last year.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text.

Paul Davis: Mobsters with podcasts (broadandliberty.com)

I recall an old joke about mobsters caught on an FBI wiretap talking about a contract. The FBI agents leaned in with anticipation to better hear what they hoped would be incriminating evidence on the tape recorder. But sadly, they realized that the mobsters were talking about book contracts, not murder contracts.

That 25-year-old joke came from an era in which a good number of former organized crime figures were publishing their memoirs. So much for Cosa Nostra (“Our thing” in Italian) being a secret criminal society.

As I noted in my old Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat column, organized crime stories have long interested the general public, from Jimmy Cagney mob movies from the 1930s to “The Godfather,” Goodfellas,” and the more recent “The Irishman,” which featured stories about real-life South Philly gangsters.

Bad guys are not as admirable as good guys, but in many cases, bad guys are more interesting. Mob stories offer larger than life characters, drama, black humor, violence, greed and betrayal. 

Now one can more readily hear tales of Cosa Nostra, mob wars, murder, corruption and spells in prison on numerous podcasts featured on the Internet. 

I’ve interviewed several of the popular podcasters, some of them before they became podcasters. I’m not sure who was the first mob podcaster, but former New York Colombo Cosa Nostra crime family Captain-turned Christian public speaker and author Michael Franzese has become one to the more popular ones.

Franzese walked away from the mob life after a term in prison where he became a Christian, and on his podcast, Franzese talks about his time in “the life” and how he came to Jesus as his savior. He tells his viewers how Cosa Nostra is an evil and destructive life.

I interviewed Michael Franzese in 2022 for the Washington Times. I asked him why he walked away from Cosa Nostra life. 

“I didn’t want this kind of life for my family,” Franzese replied. “I saw how destructive it was in my own personal life and to others involved, and I saw the tide changing dramatically in the 1980s. I was a major target and I had been indicted seven times. I knew it was just a matter of time before I go down, and when I do it will be forever.”

Son of the notorious former underboss of the Colombo crime family, John “Sonny” Franzese, a feared and respected mobster, Michael Franzese grew up in the criminal life. He later became a made member and a successful criminal, earning millions of dollars with various criminal scams, such as cheating the government out of gasoline taxes. In addition to traditional Cosa Nostra criminal activity, Franzese was also active in legitimate businesses, such as auto dealerships, construction and the entertainment industry. 

After fighting the federal government’s many indictments against him, he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison. 

While in prison, Franzese became a devout Christian and announced that he was walking away from Cosa Nostra. He credits his wife Camille and his mother-in-law, as well as a prison guard who gave him a Bible when he was in solitary, with his religious conversion. 

Michael Franzese is the only high-ranking member of a major crime family to walk away from the mob without being in the witness protection program. Although the Colombo family initially put out a contract on his life, he lives openly for the most part, giving speeches about mob life and Christianity. 

On his podcast, he also offers his insight and experiences with the mob and street life, and he advises others to avoid it. 

Another popular former mobster with a podcast is Salvator “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, the former Gambino Cosa Nostra crime family underboss. Indicted with Gambino boss John Gotti, 

Gravano became a cooperating government witness against Gotti and others. Gravano admitted to committing nineteen murders and other crimes and after testifying, he entered the witness protection program. He was later sent to prison for a drug conspiracy in Arizona.

On his podcast, Gravano is unrepentant and speaks proudly of his criminal past. With a gravelly voice straight out of Hollywood central casting, he entertains his viewers with inside stories of mob life, crimes and other criminal personalities.

Actors, journalists and former law enforcement officers also have podcasts. 

One popular podcast on the web is offered by actor and writer Chazz Palminteri. 

Palminteri had his one-man stage show A Bronx Tale made into a popular film that was directed by Robert De Niro in 1993. De Niro portrayed Palminteri’s father, a bus driver, and Palminteri portrayed Sonny, a neighborhood mob boss.

I interviewed Chazz Palminteri for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2016 when his one-man show was appearing in Atlantic City. I mentioned to Palminteri that A Bronx Tale was considered one of the three most realistic mob movies, along with Donnie Brasco and Goodfellas. 

Palminteri replied that A Bronx Tale was more of a family movie than a crime movie.

“It’s really about a father and son, the workingman,” Palminteri said. “My father would say, ‘He thinks he’s a tough guy; I’m the tough guy. Let him get up in the morning and work for a living.’”

On his podcast, Chazz Palminteri talks about the stage show, movie and Broadway musical A Bronx Tale. He also talks about growing up with mobsters and offers inside stories about the world of entertainment. He also talks about what he calls “neighborhood logic.”

Legendary FBI undercover agent Joseph Pistone, aka “Donnie Brasco,” infiltrated the New York Bonanno crime family for six years and was responsible for putting numerous mob guys in prison. 

He too has a podcast called Deep Cover – The Real Donnie Brasco. Pistone discusses his past and tells mob stories along with his friend, Philadelphia native and actor/writer/producer Leo Rossi.

I’ve spoken to Joe Pistone several times over the years, beginning with my interview with him in 2004 for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I later interviewed him about his podcast for my Philadelphia Weekly column in 2021. 

Pistone said he mentioned to Leo Rossi that everybody had a podcast and suggested they do something together.

“The podcast is about criminal activity, organized crime in the U.S. and foreign countries, and every so often we’ll have on a guest that is associated with law enforcement or a former gangster,” Pistone said. “We also offer a lot of insight into the TV, movie and literary industries.”

I did a follow-up column with Leo Rossi. Rossi, who hails from Northeast Philly, is exuberant and fast-talking and he contrasts with the more reticent Pistone. 

“Joe made a living out of keeping his mouth shut, and he doesn’t give it up too easy, so a trust factor came in as we started,” Rossi said. “Joe got looser, and we have laughs, and I think we hit on some pretty big topics.” 

Another popular crime podcast is Mob Talk Sitdown. Former Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter and author George Anastasia and former Fox 29 reporter Dave Schratwieser use their extensive reporting and their historical knowledge about organized crime to tell inside stories about mobsters in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and around the country.   

More recently, another local podcast debuted on the Internet. Reputed Philadelphia Cosa Nostra crime family boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino is offering a podcast called The Skinny with Joey Merlino and Lil Snuff.

Although not used often these days, “the skinny” is a phrase that means to be informed of true inside information, so the title of the podcast is a clever play on Merlino’s nickname.

On the podcast, Merlino handicaps sport betting and tells stories about his life on the streets of South Philly, his time in prison and his criminal trials. He also talks about his disdain for cooperating government witnesses, whom he called “rats.” 

So, if after watching The Godfather, Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, Donnie Brasco and other mob movies, you haven’t got enough of mob stories, you can always surf the Internet and listen to the popular mob-related podcasts.

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com

H. L. Mencken On Hot Dogs

 The Library of America’s Story of the Week is a fine piece by the late, great author and newspaper editor H.L. Menken on hot dogs. 

On November 1, 1929, the Friday after the Great Crash, the stock market remained closed to allow traders to “clean up” their records after the previous week’s chaos. The market reopened on Monday and continued its decline, and Wall Street announced that the exchange would close again the next day. 

Late that afternoon, past the screaming headlines of the front page, Mencken’s weekly column appeared as usual in the Baltimore Evening Sun. With his trademark arrogance and wit, he offered advice on how Americans might elevate hot dogs "to the level of an art form." Often quoted and reprinted in the years since, it might well be the only lasting contributions of the Great Crash, and we reprint it here as our Story of the Week selection. 

You can read the piece below: 

Hot Dogs

By H. L. Mencken 

The hot dog, as the phrase runs, seems to have come to stay. Even the gastroenterologists have given up damning it, as they have given up damning synthetic gin. I am informed by reliable spies that at their convention in Atlantic City last May they consumed huge quantities of both, and with no apparent damages to their pylorus. In such matters popular instinct is often ahead of scientific knowledge, as the history of liver eating shows so beautifully. It may be that, on some near tomorrow, the hot dog will turn out to be a prophylactic against some malady that now slays its thousands. That this will be the case with respect to gin I am willing to prophesy formally. Meanwhile, hot dog stands multiply, and millions of young Americans grow up who will cherish the same veneration for them that we, their elders, were taught to give to the saloon.

My own tastes in eating run in another direction, and so it is very rarely that I consume a hot dog. But I believe that I’d fall in line if the artists who confect and vend it only showed a bit more professional daring. What I mean may be best explained by referring to the parallel case of the sandwich. When I was a boy there were only three kinds of sandwiches in common use—the ham, the chicken and the Swiss cheese. Others, to be sure, existed, but it was only as oddities. Even the club sandwich was a rarity, and in most eating-houses it was unobtainable. The great majority of people stuck to the ham and the Swiss cheese, with the chicken for feast days and the anniversaries of historic battles. Then came the invasion of the delicatessen business by Jews, and a complete reform of the sandwich. The Jewish mind was too restless and enterprising to be content with the old repertoire. It reached out for the novel, the dramatic, the unprecedented, as it does in all the arts. First it combined the ham sandwich and the cheese sandwich—and converted America to the combination instanter. Then it added lettuce, and after that, mayonnaise—both borrowed from the club sandwich. Then it boldly struck out into the highest fields of fancy, and presently the lowly sandwich had been completely transformed and exalted. It became, as the announcements said, “a meal in itself.” It took on complicated and astonishing forms. It drew on the whole market for materials. And it leaped in price from a nickel to a dime, to a quarter, to fifty cents, even to a dollar. I have seen sandwiches, indeed, marked as much as a dollar and a half.

The rise in price, far from hurting business, helped it vastly. The delicatessen business, once monopolized by gloomy Germans who barely made livings at it, became, in the hands of the Jewish reformers, one of the great American industries, and began to throw off millionaires. Today it is on a sound and high-toned basis, with a national association, a high-pressure executive secretary, a trade journal, and a staff of lobbyists in Washington. There are sandwich shops in New York which offer the nobility and gentry a choice of no less than 100 different sandwiches, all of them alluring and some of them downright masterpieces. And even on the lowly level of the drug-store sandwich counter the sandwich has taken on a new variety and a new dignity. No one eats plain ham and cole-slaw to set it off. At its best it is hidden between turkey, Camembert and sprigs of endive, with anchovies and Russian dressing to dress it.

What I have to suggest is that the hot dog entrepreneurs borrow a leaf from the book of the sandwich men. Let them throw off the chains of the frankfurter, for a generation or more their only stay, and go seeking novelty in the vast and brilliant domain of the German sausage. They will be astonished and enchanted, I believe, by what they find there, and their clients will be astonished and enchanted even more. For there are more different sausages in Germany than there are breakfast foods in America, and if there is a bad one among them then I have never heard of it. They run in size from little fellows so small and pale and fragile that it seems a crime to eat them to vast and formidable pieces that look like shells for heavy artillery. And they run in flavor from the most delicate to the most raucous, and in texture from that of feathers caught in a cobweb to that of linoleum, and in shape from straight cylinders to lovely kinks and curlycues. In place of the single hot dog of today there should be a variety as great as that which has come to prevail among sandwiches. There should be dogs for all appetites, all tastes, all occasions. They should come in rolls of every imaginable kind and accompanied by every sort of relish from Worcestershire sauce to chutney. The common frankfurter, with its tough roll and its smear of mustard, should be abandoned as crude and hopeless, as the old-time ham sandwich has been abandoned. The hot dog should be elevated to the level of an art form.

I call upon the Jews to work this revolution and promise them confidently even greater success than they have found in the field of the sandwich. It is a safe and glorious business, lying wide open to anyone who chooses to venture into it. It offers immense opportunities to men of genuine imagination—opportunities not only for making money but also for Service in its best Rotarian sense. For he who improves the eating of a great people is quite as worthy of honor as he who improves their roads, their piety, their sex life or their safety. He does something that benefits everyone, and the fruits of his benefaction live on long after he has passed from this life.

I believe that a chain of hot dog stands offering the novelties I suggest would pay dividends in Baltimore from the first day, and that it would soon extend from end to end of the United States. The butchers and bakers would quickly arise to the chance it offered, and in six months the American repertoire of sausages would overtake and leap ahead of the German, and more new rolls would be invented than you may now find in France. In such matters American ingenuity may be trusted completely. It is infinitely resourceful, venturesome and audacious. I myself am acquainted with sausage-makers in this town who, if the demand arose, would produce sausage of hexagonal or octagonal section, sausages with springs or music boxes in them, sausages flavored with malt and hops, sausages dyed any color in the spectrum, sausages loaded with insulin, ergosterol, anti-tetanus vaccine or green chartreuse.

Nor is there any reason to believe that the bakers would lag behind. For years their ancient art has been degenerating in America, and today the bread that they ordinarily offer is almost uneatable. But when the reformers of the sandwich went to them for aid they responded instantly with both wheat and rye breads of the highest merit. Such breads, to be sure, are not used in the manufacture of drug-store sandwiches, but they are to be found in every delicatessen store and in all of the more respectable sandwich shops.

The same bakeries that produce them could produce an immense variety of first-rate rolls, once a demand for them was heard. I believe in my scheme so thoroughly that I throw it overboard freely, eager only to make life in the United States more endurable. Soli Deo gloria! What we need in this country is a general improvement in eating. We have the best raw materials in the world, both quantitatively and qualitatively, but most of them are ruined in the process of preparing them for the table. I have wandered about for weeks without encountering a single decent meal. With precious few exceptions, the hotels of America all cook alike—and what they offer is hard to distinguish from what is offered on railway dining-cars.

Originally published in the November 4, 1929, issue of The Evening Sun [Baltimore]; collected in A Second Mencken Chrestomathy, 1944.

Nigerian National Pleads Guilty To International Fraud Scheme That Defrauded Elderly U.S. Victims

The U.S. Justice Department released the information below:

A Nigerian national pleaded guilty recently to operating a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded elderly and vulnerable consumers across the United States.

According to court documents, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, 41, was a member of a group of fraudsters that sent personalized letters to elderly victims in the United States over the course of several years.  The letters falsely claimed that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left for the recipient by a family member who had died overseas years before. Akhimie and his co-conspirators allegedly told a series of lies to victims, including that, before they could receive their purported inheritance, they were required to send money for delivery fees, taxes, and other payments to avoid questioning from government authorities. Akhimie and his co-conspirators allegedly collected money victims sent in response to the fraudulent letters through a complex web of U.S.-based former victims, whom the defendants convinced to receive money and forward to the defendants or persons associated with them. Victims who sent money never received any purported inheritance funds.  In pleading guilty, Akhimie admitted to defrauding over $6 million from more than 400 victims, many of whom were elderly or otherwise vulnerable.

“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch will continue to pursue, prosecute and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding U.S. consumers, wherever they are located,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This case is testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime. I want to thank the members of the Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations, as well as the National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service of the United Kingdom for their outstanding contributions to this case.” 

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting American consumers from being defrauded by Transnational Criminal Organizations,” said Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Division.  “We have long partnered with the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch to deliver justice and we will continue to do so.”

“Transnational fraud schemes thrive in the shadows, turning illicit gains into a facade of legitimacy, especially those involving seniors or other vulnerable people,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede for HSI Arizona. “HSI and our law enforcement partners commitment to investigate criminals who steal money sends a clear message: justice will prevail, and those who exploit others for personal gain will be held accountable. We thank all our partners who assisted in this investigation.”

On June 17, Akhimie pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Akhimie faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.

This is the second indicted case related to this international fraud scheme. Seven other co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Nigeria have previously been convicted and sentenced in connection with this scheme. On Nov. 1, 2023, the Honorable Kathleen M. Williams sentenced Ezennia Peter Neboh, who was extradited from Spain, to 128 months of imprisonment. On Oct. 20, 2023, Judge Williams sentenced another defendant who was also extradited from Spain, Kennedy Ikponmwosa, to 97 months of imprisonment. Three other defendants who were extradited from the United Kingdom also received prison sentences. Judge Williams sentenced Emmanuel Samuel, Jerry Chucks Ozor, and Iheanyichukwu Jonathan Abraham to prison sentences of 82 months, 87 months, and 90 months, respectively, for their roles in the scheme.  Amos Prince Okey Ezemma was paroled into the United States from Nigeria and was sentenced in July 2024 to 90 months imprisonment for his role in the scheme. Lastly, on April 25, the Honorable Roy K. Altman sentenced Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal, to 97 months of incarceration for his role in the scheme.   

USPIS, HSI, and the Consumer Protection Branch are investigating the case. Senior Trial Attorney and Transnational Criminal Litigation Coordinator Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Josh Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and authorities from the UK, Spain, and Portugal all provided critical assistance.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.

More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov. 

United States Secret Service Celebrates 160th Birthday

 The United States Secret Service released the information below:

WASHINGTON— Today, the Department of Homeland Security honors the 160^th anniversary since the founding of the United States Secret Service. One of our nation’s oldest and most recognized federal law enforcement agencies, the Secret Service was founded on July 5, 1865, to combat rampant counterfeiting that threatened the integrity of America’s economy at a time when nearly half of all U.S. currency in circulation was fake.

The agency’s earliest mission was simple: defend the dollar and restore trust in our financial system. Since then, that mission has expanded, and with it, the agency’s reach, resilience, and reputation. Today, the Secret Service protects not only our currency, but our Commander-in-Chief, senior national leaders, foreign dignitaries, and major national events. 160 years later, the badge still means what it always has: duty, loyalty, and courage.

After being empowered by President Trump and Secretary Noem to end discriminatory DEI programs and hiring practices, the Secret Service has achieved record breaking recruitment. The agency has received over 22,000 applications, a 200% increase from the same period in 2024, when it received only 7,000 applications. These officers are charged with a no-fail mission, and that mission demands only the best of the best.

“When others step back, the United States Secret Service steps forward -shielding America from unseen threats with sharp eyes and steadfast courage. Thank you to the US Secret Service for 160 years of service to our nation!” said Secretary Noem.

Celebrating Independence Day, July 4th, In 2025

Today we celebrate on the 4th of July the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of America in 1776.

In the 1972 film 1776, the late, great actor Howard de Silva (seen in the above photo), portrayed the late, great Ben Franklin. 

In one clever, witty scene, Ben Franklen describes how we have spawned a new race - Americans.

You can watch the clip via the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EadfD59LB04