Kalistan

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Justice Minister Declares war on Organized Crime following death of two Sulari Judges
"We are almost certain that we are getting close," says Wilson
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
February 9, 5691


Hon Gale Wilson addresses reporters following gruesome deaths of two judges investigating Crime syndicate

Her Imperial Majesty's Minister of Justice, Hon. Gale Wilson says the National Government has declared war against organized criminality in Sulari following reports of two separate incidents this weekend. Over the weekend, Justices Nathaniel Meier and Sharron Martinez were both found dead in Sulari. Judge Meier was identified near his car which was parked in Port Elga, while Martinez was found in the street outside of her home. Both Judges were reportedly murdered "as if they were executed" and left to be discovered. Both judges were working with the Ministry to investigate ties between organized crime and last year's Bookmakers Scandal.

"We can't live in a society where judges are being executed by criminals for doing their job and investigating crime," said Minister Wilson. "Working with Her Imperial Majesty's Government and the City Government of Sulari, as well as the County and Duchy, I have asked for resources specifically to set up the Task Force on Organized Crime. Once this office is set up, it will investigate and actively prosecute these cases, so no more judges are put at risk. Our judges try our crimes in court and ought not be targets of criminal intimidation campaigns."

The Bookmakers Association, responding to allegations of connection to organized crime, issued the following statement. "The Bookmakers Association has operated cleanly for more than 140 years. We have no ties now, nor have we ever had ties to organized crime. We do, however, have a sterling reputation for regulation of gaming and wagering which we would prefer that the Justice Ministry stop dragging through the mud unless they are prepared to go to trial with allegations. Kalistan still has the presumption of innocence in all matters, and to date, the Justice Ministry has not indicted a single member or associate of the Bookmakers' Association, much less given anyone their day in court. What they do have is claims that they hope to litigate in the press, which does not give our association an adequate opportunity to defend itself, or to even know who is accusing us of impropriety. To that end, we disassociate ourselves with the Justice Ministry's constant attempts to tie us to organized criminality, game rigging, and racketeering, and now, this alleged intimidation effort done by people who we do not associate with."

The Justice Minister was quick to note in comments to the press, that the Bookmakers' Association did not condemn the attacks against her or the two justices that were found dead in Sulari, nor have they denied the initial allegations of money laundering. "We've never even alleged that they were involved in racketeering or the killing of these two honorable and dedicated public servants. Me thinks they doth protest too much, but it definitely also confirms that the people we are looking into are the right ones." She refrained, once more from naming persons of interest in the investigation, saying instead that it was "ongoing."

It is noteworthy that Minister Wilson said that Justice Meier was a public supporter of AYIC. "We do know that he has been a very vocal advocate and donor, in his capacity as a private citizen, of the Anantonese Yeudi Interest Committee," said Wilson. "He has, however, had a semi-public falling out with the organization over what he termed 'capitulation' to foreign influence. It is uncertain whether that event and his recent death had anything to do with one another."

While the task force on Organized Crime is set up in Sulari, the Justice Minister has asked the City Government to increase security for those associated with the case. "As we saw in January and now this month, Sulari is becoming a dangerous place for people who are doing Her Imperial Majesty's work and trying to bring justice to a bunch of organized thugs. But it's unreasonable for me to ask a whole class of people to leave their homes and move to the relative safety of Ananto. The Free City of Sulari needs to step up to ensure that these relatively easy targets are not picked off so easily." The Sulari police say their investigation of the deaths has yielded no clues as of yet, and are asking anyone who knows anything about the case and can provide credible evidence to step forward and speak with the police.

@TheRepublic