crime

Luxist Giveaway: Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2011

Filed under: Books

Calling all cruisers, this is your giveaway. Berlitz gave us a couple of copies of its massive tome, the 2011 edition of Cruising and Cruise Ships, to give away to two readers chosen at random. This indispensable guide to all this cruise is now in its 26th year of publication. The book is written by cruise-guru, Douglas Ward, who spent 17 years working in the cruise industry before becoming a cruise reviewer. The website for this book states that Ward has logged in over 5,600 days at sea, participating in more than 1,000 cruises, 155 transatlantic crossings and plenty of shipyard visits and maiden voyages.

The book reviews 285 cruise ships and also offer at-a-glance charts compare the major cruise lines for cabin facilities, food and service. The book doesn't just review the ships, the first few sections are devoted to broader issues designed to narrow down what you might be looking for. There is advice on cruising with families, cruising for seniors, nature cruises, river cruises and more. Every conceivable angle of traveling via cruise ship is covered from etiquette to safety concerns and whether or not you can cringe your golf clubs or check email while cruising. Ward is also an incredible compendium of cruise facts. He goes into the history of the various cruise lines and also delivers behind-the-scenes details of the logistics of running a large cruise ship. His knowledge both as an avid cruiser and as a former cruise ship professional gives him a unique point of view.

Tags: berlitz, crime, cruise, cruise guide, cruise ship, cruises, luxist giveaway

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World's Seventh Largest Yacht Could Be Seized in Sex Sting

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Wealth, Crimes and Misdemeanors

Turkish officials are moving to seize the 446-ft. Savarona (above), the world's seventh largest yacht, in the wake of the dramatic prostitution raid on the ship off the Turkish coast which we first reported on Friday. Authorities charged that the megayacht, which is owned by the Republic of Turkey, was being run as a floating brothel by the unnamed businessman who had been renting it for $40,000 per day. Clients paid $3,000 to $10,000 per night to have sex with one or more Russian and Ukrainian fashion models, some of whom were underage and are being deported, according to reports.

A sometime business associate of Donald Trump, real estate mogul Tevfik Arif, was among those taken into custody when armed police arrived in helicopters to find an orgy in full swing. Built by Blohm + Voss in 1931 for an American heiress, the lavishly refurbished yacht features accommodations for 34 guests with 260 tons of polished marble, a swimming pool, turkish bath, 282-foot gold-trimmed grand staircase, movie theater, library and helipad. Celebrities who have stayed aboard her include Prince Charles, the Sultan of Brunei, Nicole Kidman, Sharon Stone, Hugh Grant and Tom Cruise, though so far there is no evidence any of them did so while the brothel was in operation.

UPDATE at 6:00pm ET on May 16, 2012: Tevfik Arif was acquitted of all charges in April 2011, according to The Guardian.

Gallery: The Superyacht 'Savarona'

Tags: Blohm + Voss, crime, Donald Trump, megayacht, Savarona, sex, superyacht, Tevfik Arif, Turkey, wealth, yacht

World's Seventh Largest Yacht Raided in Prostitution Bust, Trump Associate Arrested

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Wealth, Crimes and Misdemeanors

The incredible 446-ft. Savarona (above), the seventh largest yacht in the world, was the site of a dramatic helicopter raid by police off the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey the other day. New York-based property developer Tevfik Arif, a sometime business partner of Donald Trump, is being questioned by Turkish police as a suspected organizer of an international ring of high-priced prostitutes that operated on the yacht, Bloomberg reports. Built by Blohm + Voss in 1931 for an American heiress, the superyacht is owned by the Republic of Turkey and was available for charter at $50,000 per day. The lavishly refurbished yacht features accommodations for 34 guests with 260 tons of polished marble, a swimming pool, turkish bath, 282-foot gold-trimmed grand staircase, movie theater, library and helipad. Celebrities who have stayed aboard her include Prince Charles, the Sultan of Brunei, Nicole Kidman, Sharon Stone, Hugh Grant and Tom Cruise.

In addition to Arif, businessmen from Russia and high-level government officials were taken into custody aboard the Savarona by Turkish military police following a seven-month investigation into an international prostitution ring, Bloomberg reports. The men paid $3,000 to $10,000 per night to have sex at sea with Russian and Ukrainian fashion models, some of whom were underage. 10 Russian and Ukrainian women suspected of prostitution were also detained in the operation. When police arrived at the yacht around midday they found everyone in bed. Arif's lawyer Engin Agyuzlu stated that his client is the victim of a "smear campaign" and will "vigorously defend himself in any court of law." Arif is chairman of Bayrock Group LLC, a property group that partnered with the Trump Organization to build the SoHo Hotel Condominium and a Trump Tower in Florida.

UPDATE at 6:00pm ET on May 16, 2012: Tevfik Arif was acquitted of all charges in April 2011, according to The Guardian.

Gallery: The Superyacht 'Savarona'

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Tags: Blohm + Voss, crime, Donald Trump, Mediterranean, models, New York, prostitution, real estate, Russia, Savarona, sex, superyacht, Tevfik Arif, Turkey, wealth, yacht

$4,000 of Rare Wine Grapes Stolen Off the Vine in Washington

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

The owners of Grand Rêve Vineyard in Red Mountain, Washington are reeling after an unexpected and mind boggling crime: sometime over the last week $4000 worth of rare grapes were stolen right out of their vineyard. Coined 'The Great Grape Caper of Red Mountain' the theft was clearly well planned and cleverly executed as the thieves made off with a ton (literally) of very specific and exotic grapes called Bushvine Mourvedre. Because they ignored every other kind of grape and did such a clean and complete job it's being considered the work of professionals. "Whoever it was, knew what they were doing." said Ryan Johnson, one of the vineyard partners and manager. "They were very thorough."

Mourvedre grapes are usually only found in areas of southern France and are often used in valuable, high end wine. 'Head trained' to grow as a bush instead of on a long trailing vine, they're particularly labor intensive and this harvest was a bit of an experiment that started way back in 2008. "The most frustrating thing about this is we waited three years to see what these vines would do," said Johnson. "This was our opportunity to see what the future might hold for us."

At this time authorities have no suspects but think it was an 'inside job' by someone familiar with the tightly-knit Washington wine community. Paul McBride, the other partner at Grand Rêve, said "For somebody in the state to think 'Gosh, I have just got to have that Bushvine Mourvedre,' that takes a real wine geek." Plus the thieves had to know where the grapes were, how and when to harvest them, and have a means to quickly sell them or make wine. This was no spur of the moment effort.

If there's any bright spot in this dark cloud it's that the thieves may not have gotten quite as great a bunch of grapes as they could have. According to Johnson "The grapes are good right now, but if they'd waited another 10 days, what they got would have been absolutely phenomenal. They missed out."

The stolen grapes are valued at about $4000 but estimates put the wine they would have made at worth over $30,000.

Source

Tags: crime, grapes, theft, wine

Ten Warhols Lifted from West LA Home

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

andy warhol ali The thief was a sports fan, it seems. Ten pieces by pop art king Andy Warhol – showing famous sports figures – were swiped from a home in West Los Angeles, according to local police. The 40 square inch silkscreens were stolen around September 2 and September 3. The owner, businessman Richard Weisman, is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of the multimillion dollar collection.

Times may be tough for the art market, but a large collection of Warhols is still definitely worth a $1 million reward.

The paintings were displayed in Weisman's living room, and the doors to the house were locked. Nobody's sure how the thieves got into the house ... well, nobody knows but the thieves (obviously). The family nanny noticed that the paintings were missing and dashed off to a neighbor's house to call the police.

Among the missing are pieces depicting O.J. Simpson, Pele, Chris Evert and Muhammad Ali. The exact value of the collection is unknown, but Weisman had tried to sell it for $3 million in 2002. In 2007, of course, Warhol became the top seller at auction worldwide, so even in the current art slump, it's hard to imagine the collection hasn't appreciated.

Other artwork in the house was untouched, and the home had not been ransacked, leading the police to believe that the thieves were only interested in Warhol.

So, once again, the LAPD is trying to track down O.J.

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Tags: andy warhol, AndyWarhol, art, art collection, ArtCollection, artwork, chris evert, ChrisEvert, crime, entertainment-awards, muhammad ali, MuhammadAli, oj simpson, OjSimpson, pele, theft, warhol

Large Jewelry Store Robbery In Laguna Beach

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Crimes and Misdemeanors

The small seaside town of Laguna Beach, California has been the setting for a reality television show and boasts plenty of multi-million dollar homes. What it doesn't have is a lot of crime which makes the news of a big jewelry robbery in the small town quite surprising. The OC Register reports that three armed men robbed a local jewelry store and got away with more than a half-million dollars worth of jewelry. The three men showed up at the Joshi and Baca jewelry at closing time on Tuesday and held up an employee at gunpoint. Locals who passed by the store reported the crime and the police showed up and caught up with the robbers on a local road. The robbers ditched their car in a shopping plaza and ran away. Some of the jewels were recovered from the car. The police are following several leads.

Does it seem like there have been more robberies this year? The statistics from Jeweler's Security Alliance show that this year they have seen a total of $45.9 million stolen with 682 cases. Compare this to last year's total of $48.4 million with 713 cases and it looks like this year is trending to beat last year's numbers.

John Kennedy of Jeweler's Security Alliance says that while robberies are up, the total dollar losses from jewelry crime is steady to down. He says there may be a few more of what he calls the "most crude jewelry crimes, such as a grab and run or a window smashing" but that the big dollar and violent crimes are not subject to the ups and downs of the economy. According to Kennedy none of the studies indicate that the economy has a significant influence and that crime can rise in prosperous years. Because jewelry stores have stronger security measures than many other businesses they are always not targets of the suddenly desperate. One less thing to blame on the economy.

Tags: crime, jewelry, laguna beach, LagunaBeach, robbery

Did Paris Hilton Vandalize a Veyron?

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Crimes and Misdemeanors

Police in Los Angeles have questioned celebutante Paris Hilton after several of her new neighbors' cars were vandalized including a $1.4 million Bugatti Veyron. The incident occurred on Monday night at the starlet's Hollywood Hills house where she's just moved back in following a long renovation. Hilton threw a welcome back party that went on until 4 a.m., causing neighbors to complain to the police, TMZ reports. The same neighbors woke up to find their cars keyed and egged, apparently in revenge. In addition to the Veyron, two Bentleys and two Maseratis were also trashed. The cops are still investigating.

Tags: Bugatti, Bugatti Veyron, BugattiVeyron, crime, Hollywood Hills, HollywoodHills, Los Angeles, LosAngeles, Paris Hilton, ParisHilton, supercar

Marcus Schrenker's High Flying Fakeout

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Wealth

The financial crisis has led to same very interesting stories that seem ready made to be a tv movie. Take for example the case of Marcus Schrenker, an Indianapolis financial manager, who appears to have tried to fake his own death by crashing his Piper PA-46 into a Florida swamp. The crash happened after investigators began looking closely at the three companies he owns, Heritage Wealth Management, Heritage Insurance Services and Icon Wealth Management for possible securities violations and claims that he may have defrauded investors. His wife, Michelle Schrenker filed for divorce at the end of last year.

Schrenker took off Sunday night in the plane flying from Anderson, Indiana to Destin, Florida. He never made it to Destin. Instead he frantically called air traffic controllers saying that the windshield had shattered that he was bleeding and in trouble. Radio contact was then lost. The plane was later found near the Blackwater River in the Florida panhandle very close a neighborhood. No blood was found on the plane. It's believed now that Schrenker parachuted out of the plane near Birmingham, Alabama. In Childersburg, Alabama which is around 35 miles away, Schrenker approached a police officer and said he'd been in a canoe accident. They took him to a hotel where he checked in under a fake name. He later fled into the woods and is being pursued by Alabama police. They now think he took off on a motorcycle which he kept in storage under a different name.

Schrenker is a trained acrobatic pilot. True Crime Report has his YouTube stunt flying video. Schrenker also tried to offer money management services to pilots at one point.

UPDATE: Schrenker may be in custody in Florida.

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Tags: crime, marcus schrenker, MarcusSchrenker

Harry Winston Boutique Robbed

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

I don't generally write about jewelry theft but when a Harry Winston boutique gets robbed you have to pay attention. Last weekend, thieves took approximately €20 million in jewels from the Harry Winston store. It is one of the largest jewel thefts ever. The masked and armed men entered the store on Saturday morning and got the employees to open the safe. They took off with a bag of gems that included a €3.2 million diamond-studded bracelet and a large diamond worth €2 million. The police believe the robbers are professionals and they hope to try and catch the thieves when they try to resell the merchandise. The thieves will have to move fast, the investigators are distributing information about the specific stolen pieces around the world.

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Tags: crime, diamonds, harry winston, jewels, robbery, theft

Woman Arrested for Kissing $2.7 Million Dollar Painting

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Normally a kiss as a sign of affection is a good thing, but when it happens in an art gallery on a $2.7 million dollar painting it's not only not a good thing -- it's a crime. It happened last Thursday in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Avignon, France. The woman, 30-year-old Sam Rindy, had apparently been admiring a 9'x6' bone white painting by Cy Twombly valued at over £1 million and was suddenly overcome and just had to kiss it. She's quoted as saying "The artist left this white for me."

Yeah, well it's not white anymore since there's a lipstick imprint left behind. Ms. Rindy is awaiting trial on August 16 for "damage to a work of art."

How stupid can you be?

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Tags: arrested, art, crime, crimes, cy twombly, CyTwombly, kiss, kissed, kissing, painting, twombly

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