Arrests over ‘kidnapping’
Muslim leader Umar’s joy after precious wallet found
TWO men have been arrested after an alleged kidnapping on Saturday.
It was reported that a male victim was bundled into a car and driven off to a different location before being assaulted in a “terrifying ordeal”, police said.
The alleged kidnapping was reported in the Silverbridge area of Co Armagh.
Two men, aged 39 and 45, have been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences, and are currently in police custody assisting with enquiries.
THE senior Islamic cleric who was assaulted last week said he is feeling much better.
The Chairperson of the Irish Muslim Council, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-qadri yesterday gave an update on his condition following the incident in Dublin.
Writing in a social media post on X, he posted: “I am grateful to report that I am feeling much better, although eating remains a challenge.”
Dr Al-qadri said he was attacked after he met two people at a prearranged meeting in Tallaght, in the south of the capital, last Thursday night.
He added that he has since found his wallet which contained items of huge sentimental value
He added: “On a positive note, I have found my Secrid wallet, which I had believed to be lost during the attack.
“Although my bank cards have been cancelled, the most precious items in my wallet, photos of my late beloved parents, were thankfully not lost.
“I had informed the gardai that my wallet was missing, leading to the incident being classified as a robbery and assault.
“If any items are missing, they are treated as evidence of robbery.
“This will now be treated as a serious assault case rather than a robbery and assault.”
Gardai have confirmed that they are investigating the incident.
After the assault Dr Al-qadri said he arranged to meet the individuals when he was then set upon in what he believes was a planned attack.
But he also praised the local people who came to his aid after the incident.
He said at the time: “I would like to express my gratitude to the kind Irish lady and two Irish gentlemen who assisted me when I collapsed and safely helped me into my car. “I am currently receiving medical care at the hospital.
“Also, thank you to my community members who have come immediately to my support.”
RECOVERING
AUTHOR Cathy Kelly has opened up about her cancer diagnosis, saying she felt guilty about others having to look after her.
The Sisterhood writer has spoken publicly for the first time since announcing she was given the bad news last year after she found a lump.
She said: “I have dense breasts and when you have those sort of breasts it’s very hard to tell when there is a lump. Over the years I had lots of ultrasounds, so I had one and it was fine.”
But when they discovered the cancer, Cathy said she feared having to tell her partner PJ and her 20-year-old twin boys
Dylan and Murray. She added: “I knew I could handle it but the idea of upsetting them was horrendous.”
The former Dancing With The Stars hopeful admitted she was devastated thinking whether she was going to be around for her family, adding: “From the moment I had children I became aware of my mortality, only because I had to take care of them.
“I’m not afraid of death because we’re all going to die. But thinking about this… I thought, ‘Oh, God, what if I’m not around long enough for them?’ That was so devastating. That was the thing. That made me cry.
“I am such an energetic person and I do stuff. And I couldn’t do anything... I felt guilty.
“I felt like, ‘Oh my God can’t do anything’.”
She said that while PJ was being strong, she knew how devastated he felt, adding: “He was hugging me. I said, ‘It’s going to be fine, it’s going to be OK’.”
As for her sons, Cathy
Isaid: “I told them the way I always try and tell them tough stuff. I said we are going to get through this.”
While her treatment was difficult, she got through it by trying her best to remain positive, and with the support of her family.
She told the Sunday Independent: “Cancer drives into your life like an enormous truck and flattens everything and you have no control and you don’t know where it’s going to take you. You don’t know if you’re going to survive – and that
is shocking.”
HEALTH BATTLE
FORMER mobster Michael Franzese has told Irish Mirror he knows who killed US President John F Kennedy – the Mafia.
Once a captain in New York’s notorious Colombo crime family, he believes the CIA asked the Mob to help arrange the shock shooting.
Franzese says: “I will take it to my grave. “I know this for a fact and this information eventually is going to come out – they came to us for help to assassinate John F Kennedy.”
Back in the 1980s, Franzese was one of the richest gangsters in the US — raking in $8 million a week through crooked deals.
And he says that the huge power of the Mafia once meant that US government agencies often asked them for aid — from World War Two to trying to bump off Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Kennedy was gunned down on November 22, 1963, as he travelled through Dallas, Texas in an open-top limousine.
The presidential motorcade goes through Dallas a few moments before John F Kennedy, was shot and, right , Kennedy and Oswald
According to the official verdict, the killer was Lee Harvey Oswald, using a rifle while hiding in a nearby building and acting alone.
But Franzese backs the conspiracy theory that there was more to it.
He adds: “I heard my whole life from the right people that it was a Mob hit, and you’re going to find that out when they finally do release the classified documents.
“Every time they are supposed to release them – every 25 years – all of a sudden they stop.
“I believe the reason is they don’t ever want the truth to come out that the Mob was able to get to a sitting president it’s not a good look for the United States.
“So, that’s the kind of power that we had – you can’t get away from it.”
Now 72, he is the son of Sonny Franzese, a close associate of mobster Joe Colombo, who would be jailed for 40 years.
And he witnessed plenty of bloody murder and mayhem himself during his time working in organised crime.
He says: “If you’re involved in that life it’s hard to escape the violence.”
Franzese also specialised in petrol bootlegging, adding: “We were defrauding the Government out of at least a billion dollars of tax money a year.”
He was even played by Joseph Bono in the 1990 gangster movie Goodfellas, starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.
In 1986, dad-of-seven Franzese went to jail on conspiracy charges for 10 years.
When he got out, he decided to try and leave the Mob because of the toll the lifestyle had taken on his family and for the sake of his second wife Camille. Amazingly, Franzese managed to go straight without going into witness
protection — explaining: “I talked to the government, but I never gave them anything that could put anyone in prison.
“And finally, I outlasted everybody. Everybody I know is either dead or in prison for the rest of their life.
“I always say this, if you’re a made member of that life – as I was – and you die of old age and you die free, you’ve really accomplished something.”
Today Franzese is a motivational speaker with a tour of Ireland and the UK kicking off in March — including dates in Dublin and Belfast.
He counts boxing legend Mike Tyson as one of his pals and has his own wine and pizzamaking businesses.
He says that the power of the Mafia is not as strong as it was back in his gangster heyday or in the era when he alleges they were involved in taking down a US President.
Franzese adds: “It’s different now – it’s no way the same authority we had back then.”
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