Busted Martial Artists

[GeneChing]

It's this kind of stuff that gives MMA a black eye...

Pro MMA fighter turns himself in for assaulting food critic
April 5, 8:32 AM
Gerald H. Spiegel

Last October in Guilderland, NY (a few miles outside Albany), a local Times Union food critic was assaulted by a professional MMA fighter -- and even now no one seems to know what prompted the unprovoked attack.

From Steve Barnes' blog:

"I noticed two guys walking in our direction. As it was a mostly full mall parking lot I didn’t register their presence until a few seconds later, when I realized they were walking quickly and purposefully toward us. And then, wordlessly, they started to swing their fists. They said nothing, just punched us both repeatedly in the face."

The attacker, Gerald H. Spiegel, 36, of Poestenkill NY, turned himself in to the police April 2nd.

Spiegel was a fighter (10-26-1)for Extreme Fighting International -- the same organization that held an event where UFC star Din Thomas played cornerman for one of his fighters in 2007.

Spiegel was arrested and charged with two counts of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He was arraigned in town court and released on $1,000 bail.

[BoulderDawg]

There's a lot odd about that story.

First of all the time line. This happened 7 months ago but the guy is just now turning himself in? What's up with that?

Also there was suppose to be two attackers. Where's the other guy?

They also didn't mention anything about this guy being prone to doing things like this.

Finally, they released him on only a $1,000 bail with just a third degree assault charge.

****************

The first thought would be it was a case of mistaken identity. I don't think so. I think Mr. Food Critic is not telling us the entire story.

[xcakid]

well the guy that got beat probably was wearing a shirt with the infamous pic "MMA: its only gay if you make eye contact"

One can argue that the alleged attackers were provoked. Hence the minimal charge and bail.

[Raipizo]

for Gene's post i have to say i dislike UFC's brand of MMA they think they are all that because they can bash eachother to a bloody pulp.

[GeneChing]

I don't know Earle. I've met Gumby - he's a big supporter of HHCF too.

One rape conviction is overturned, but world-class fighter faces another
By Sean Webby
Mercury News
Posted: 04/12/2009 07:35:00 PM PDT
Updated: 04/12/2009 09:09:43 PM PDT

When an appellate court threw out the attempted rape conviction against Cameron Lee Earle, a world-class jujitsu black belt from San Jose, his friends in the martial arts community celebrated his shot at redemption.

But the 32-year-old champion fighter's victory was short-lived: A just-discovered DNA match allegedly ties him to another violent sexual assault in San Jose.

"Oh my god, that's awful,'' said Alan "Gumby" Marques, who runs a San Jose martial arts academy and is one of Earle's closest friends. "I hope it's not him. But if it is him. "...''

Earle's up-and-down path through the legal system peaked last month when a Sixth District Appellate Court judge called his trial "grossly unfair." But now it has come to light that a mandatory DNA sample he provided in prison turned up a hit in the state's database for unsolved sex crimes. He has yet to be tried for that crime.

Earle had gone from a champion fighter to disgraced sex felon; and now he moves from possible freedom to a possible life sentence as a violent serial sex criminal.

"I said during his trial that he was a predator; the facts of his former case demonstrated that he is a sexual predator,'' said prosecutor Rob Baker. "This new case doesn't surprise me.''

The fall of the once-talented martial arts fighter began in 2004. Earle — who lived in San Jose — had honed his Brazilian-style jujitsu skills to the point that he was dominating some of the world's best with his choke holds and locks with his powerful dragon-tattooed arm.

He was focused, almost obsessed, his friends said, training incessantly, living on little money and falling asleep as he studied grainy old videotapes of fights in Brazil.

That September a woman told police that a man in a car had exposed himself to her in a trailer park. "Come here "... come here,'' he called out to her. Seeking help, she banged on a trailer door and the man drove away. But not before she got a license plate number.

The number eventually led police to Earle.

Then early one morning around Christmas, a woman was setting up a tamale stand in a San Jose supermarket. She leaned into her car to get some supplies when she was attacked from behind by a man speaking broken Spanish. After her head was smashed into the steering wheel and she was stabbed with a knife in her arm, the woman managed to escape. Less than a week later she saw a driver in an SUV who looked exactly like her attacker. She called her brother-in-law; they followed the man home and called the police. With police officers watching, the woman identified Earle as her attacker.

Over the objections of Earle's lawyer, the prosecutor tried both the indecent misdemeanor and attempted rape charge together, under the theory that the lesser crime showed that he was more likely to commit the attempted rape.

The jury convicted Earle on both. He was sentenced to more than five years in prison.

But last month two of three appellate judges agreed to overturn the attempted sexual assault conviction.

Trying the two crimes together had led to "a grossly unfair" trial,'' wrote Presiding Judge Conrad Rushing. While the decision to join the crimes belonged to the trial judge, Rushing also criticized Baker for using "spurious legal theories," comparing the lesser crime to "DNA evidence" and citing as proof that Earle was "a predator" and "a scary guy.''

Dissenting judge Nathan Mihara concluded that Baker's comments were entirely appropriate and the trial was not prejudiced. The appellate court ruling did not mean the justices exonerated Earle, and he can still be retried on the charges.

But Earle's old friends, some of whom had kept him abreast of fighting news during his imprisonment, had been ecstatic at the result and convinced of his innocence. To them, the allegations never made sense.

Why would he use a knife? How could the woman have escaped the grasp of a man who could hold some of the world's best martial artists in a grasp so powerful that they passed out?

"That's the equivalent of somebody saying in court that they beat Michael Jordan in a pickup game of basketball,'' Marques said.

But now Earle's character has again been cast into doubt.

On Christmas Eve 2003, a San Jose woman was putting presents under her tree as her husband and two children slept upstairs. A masked man barged in and held a knife to her throat as she pleaded for her life. He sexually assaulted her and, putting her in a bathroom, fled with money and a coffee pot.

DNA left in the woman's hair, law enforcement authorities say, is that of Earle.

Prosecutors say they may try the old and new sexual assault cases together.

[Jimbo]

Well, if it was him, it doesn't mean he wouldn't use a knife to commit a crime, no matter how good his jiu-jitsu skills. A knife brandished during a crime is often used to intimidate the victim in and of itself. Maybe he didn't want to choke the woman and make her 'pass out', but might get off on inducing terror, or figured stabbing someone would be quicker and easier than choking her out.

[GeneChing]

What styles do they practice in East Timor?

East Timorese martial arts gangs pose risk to Australia: report
Posted Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:20am AEST

East Timor's notorious martial arts gangs are growing in size and strength and pose an increasing threat to Australia's security, a new report says.

The failure to curb criminal activities by the gangs could lead to Australia having to spend more money on aid and security in the fledgling nation, says the joint report from the non-governmental organisation Austcare and the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey.

It warns gangs responsible for the majority of the violence that plagued East Timor in 2006 are still active.

The report's author James Scambary says extortion and protection rackets in the country's commercial sector are exacerbated by the large number of foreigners contributing to the economy.

"The mass of foreign presence is providing a boom in construction, in hospitality, prostitution, gambling and a range of other activities so there's a lot of profits to be made," he said.

Some of the gangs have links to larger crime syndicates in China and Indonesia, Mr Scambary says.

He warns the maritime border between East Timor and Australia is poorly policed.

"There is potential for drugs or weapons importation and various other things."

Australia may be forced to make a long term police and military commitment to East Timor if the gang problem is not resolved, he says.

[xcakid]

Funny, Australia's gun ban was suppose to stop criminal activites.

When will governments realize its not the tool that causes crime.

[Xiao3 Meng4]

It would be nice if this report named the gangs.

Here are two websites which describe the situation in greater detail:

"The Regulation of Martial Arts in East Timor" (NowPublic, Jan 11, 2009)
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/regul...rts-east-timor

The alignment of some martial arts groups with political factions fed into and escalated the disintegration of law and order in 2006 and the infiltration of these groups into the security forces has further exacerbated the problem. The link between political parties and some of the gangs is well established, although few are willing to talk about it openly, let alone acknowledge that politicians have paid young people to commit crimes. PSHT (Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate – Lotus Faithful Heart Brotherhood) originated in Indonesia, and has branches in most of East Timor's districts. The gang is widely perceived as being close to the Democrat Party and the Social Democratic Party, and is believed to have heavily infiltrated the security forces. PSHT is also in open rivalry with another martial arts group, Korka, aligned with Fretilin, the country's main political party. It is not that the political parties have formal links with the youth gangs but there are, for example, some important Korka leaders in Dili who are also Fretilin members. At the local level, there are also members of Korka who are members of Fretilin.

Senior members of the East Timor National Police (PNTL) are also members of or control gangs. A key problem with the PNTL is that some of its members moonlight for the gangs, for political parties, or for other groups which command a higher degree of loyalty than the institution of the national police force. For example, the Baucau PNTL district commander was allegedly a member of the Kera Sakti martial arts group which is battling PSHT (who, on the other hand, apparently count a local PNTL sub-district commander as a member in their ranks) for dominance in the city.(1A) Former Dili police district commander, Abilio Mesquito ("Mausoko"), is also suspected of being a member of PSHT and actively particpated in the 2006 violence. Mesquito was jailed for his part in an attack on the residence of F-FDTL Commander Taur Matan Ruak's during the 2006 crisis.

"Dilli's dark art" (The Diplomat, 27 Aug 2008)
http://www.the-diplomat.com/article.aspx?aeid=8727

Since independence in 2002, martial arts have emerged as a nationwide cult. Almost every young person belongs, or at least has loyalties, to a group. With 60 per cent of the nation’s million-strong population below the age of 18, there is no shortage of recruits eager for a sense of belonging, not to mention a street-credibility boost.

Sacred Heart, which originated in Java and arrived in Timor in the early 1980s, boasts 30,000 members; Seti Seti (Seven Seven), a group rooted more in clandestine Timorese magic than karate kicks, claims 11,000; Korka, with Catholic leanings, 20,000. There are also Five Five, Kung Fu Master, Aqui Jaz, Sagrada Familia and more. Even those youngsters that don’t belong to a group have a name derived from martial arts culture: “Zero Zero”.

The second link is well written and worth a look, even just for the image at the top of the page.

No word yet on what MAs are being practiced besides Seti Seti's "Magic Fu."

[Jimbo]

I wouldn't doubt that many of these MA's include various systems of Silat.

[GeneChing]

Here's some backstory (the original posted link is broken, but you can pick it up from here) - 80, 85, 90. Trent Young is the perp who brought the term 'karate rape' into my vocabulary.

Third victim comes forward in sex case against karate instructor
By Heather Yakin
Times Herald-Record
Posted: April 20, 2009 - 5:16 PM

MIDDLETOWN — A new indictment has been handed up in federal court, adding a third victim to prosecutors’ claims that former karate instructor Trent Young sexually abused teenage girls at his martial arts school.

Young, 40, was a 10-year New York Police Department veteran who lived on Maple Drive in Middletown with his wife and their three children. On Dec. 27, 2007, Middletown police arrested him on rape charges.

One of his karate students told police he had forced her into having sex 20 to 40 times.

Federal prosecutors took over when that girl and another girl told officials that Young had driven them to West Milford, N.J., where his Iron Tiger Martial Arts school was based, for sex.

The feds indicted Young on three counts of transporting a minor across state lines for illegal sexual activity, a felony under the federal Mann Act.

On April 15, federal prosecutors filed a new indictment charging Young with seven counts of transporting a minor for illegal sex activity. The new indictment adds two charges relating to a third girl.

Victims 1 and 2, as they are referred to in the indictment, were from the Middletown area. The indictment claims Young took them from Middletown to West Milford, N.J. for sex, between November 2006 and September 2007 for Victim 1 and in late 2006 for Victim 2.

The indictment says that Young took Victim 3 from Brooklyn to Middletown via West Milford, N.J. for sex in 2003. At the time, Young taught karate at his Middletown home.

Young posted $25,000 bail on the state charges, but the federal court sent him to federal detention without bail. He’s been there since his Jan. 7, 2008, arraignment in U.S. District Court.

According to court papers, the Youngs’ home in Middletown went into foreclosure. His wife took a job in retail to support the children, and the family moved to Queens.

Young’s case is set for a court conference on Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney’s office has asked that the trial, set to begin May 26, go forward as scheduled. Young’s lawyer, Gary Greenwald, has requested a postponement because of the new indictment.

[GeneChing]

Refer to earlier posts: 2 & 111.

Ex-karate instructor sentenced for sex abuse
BY ZACHARY R. DOWDY 9:13 PM EDT, April 24, 2009

The students of James Bonfiglio's karate school called him "sensei," a term of high respect for martial arts teachers that signifies the special relationship the sport forges between instructor and pupil.

But on Friday, parents of the 12 boys who accused Bonfiglio of manipulating them into performing sexual acts - crimes Bonfiglio admitted - had other names for the 38-year-old, who had betrayed those who trusted him the most.

"You are a monster and a predator," one parent said in Suffolk County Court Judge Barbara Kahn's courtroom in Riverhead just before Bonfiglio was sentenced. He received 6 to 18 years in prison for 70 counts of sex-related charges.

Another called Bonfiglio a "beast," urging Kahn to impose the maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.

"What had begun as innocent turned sinister," the parent said, saying that Bonfiglio stole the boy's innocence when he coaxed him into sexual encounters, sometimes while at the Ronkonkoma karate school.

One boy, whose statement was read at the sentencing, was baffled at how he had fallen victim to Bonfiglio, writing, "How could this happen to a normal kid like me in a normal family in a normal town?"

After four statements were read, Bonfiglio stood, faced Kahn and said he was "sorry for everything."

His attorney, Anthony La Pinta of Hauppauge, said his client was remorseful and that he is a "loving family man" whose relatives support him despite his admissions.

In March, Bonfiglio pleaded guilty to 70 counts of charges related to sex acts dating back to 2003 with students, some as young as 13, at his Excel Karate Academy and with a boy at a Smithtown karate school where he used to teach.

His sentence was agreed upon in exchange for his guilty plea to all counts. Kahn also permanently barred Bonfiglio from contacting any victims.

The charges included sexual abuse, use of a child in a sexual performance, unlawful surveillance and endangering the welfare of a child.

The charges also covered explicit videos Bonfiglio secretly took of his sex acts with the boys through hidden cameras placed in the bathrooms of his school and apartment and even his parents' Ronkonkoma home.

Suffolk prosecutor Keri Herzog, who also asked the judge to give Bonfiglio the maximum, said he had committed a "betrayal of trust, a betrayal of friendship." She praised the victims and their families.

"The 12 named victims," she said, "these are my heroes. These children and the parents that have stood behind them are my heroes."

Bonfiglio was arrested in October 2007 after a 13-year-old boy told his mother he had sex with Bonfiglio. Police investigators found the videos and hidden cameras in the school and his home, as well as explicit photos and text messages.

[Mas Judt]

You cannot forget the impact of religion on the strife in East Timor. Most of the groups listed where they did NOT mention religion are gangs of Muslims taught from birth to 'beat the non-believers about the neck until they submit, pay the jizya (extortion) or convert."

Gangs of pesilat go around beheading Christian school girls to show the 'power' of their faith. It gets really scary when you mix stone-age religous militant religous beliefs with bladed martial arts.

Add that the customary tradition of piracy and skull duggery and you have a real problem.

(Not all Pesilat engage in this behavior FWIW - but the complete lack of any mention of the religious edicts provoking the violence demonstrates a real blindness on the part of the authors)

[GeneChing]

See post #272.

Karate teacher gets state prison for sex with teen student
by MATT MILLER, Of The Patriot-News
Tuesday April 28, 2009, 5:50 PM

A former Cedar Cliff High School teacher and private karate instructor was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in state prison this afternoon for having sex with a 15-year-old female martial arts student. The sentence Cumberland County President Judge Edgar B. Bayley imposed on Michael Zrncic, 32, of Upper Allen Township, was mandatory for Zrncic's guilty plea to aggravated indecent assault.

Authorithies said Zrncic had sex with the teen at his Z's Karate Studio in Hampden Township. They said he came under investigation after he sent inappropriate e-mails to the teen in April 2008.

[BoulderDawg]

Authorithies said Zrncic had sex with the teen at his Z's Karate Studio in Hampden Township. They said he came under investigation after he sent inappropriate e-mails to the teen in April 2008.

Isn't that like holding up a big sign that says "I'm in love with a 15 year old girl!"