I go to TJ for the fireworks.

 The temperature is rising and the Tri-guys at the group ride are looking for Erdose to come back for a re-match. They might even take off their camel backs for the ride. 

POLICE ARREST THE 'STEW MAKER' DRUG THUG WHO DISSOLVED 300 BODIES IN ACID 
Daily Mail - Online 
01/26/2009

Mexican police have arrested a man accused of helping a drug kingpin dispose of hundreds of victims by dissolving their bodies in acid.

Santiago Meza Lopez, who has been dubbed the 'Stew maker', confessed to disposing of at least 300 bodies over a decade by dumping them in graves and pouring acid on them to let them dissolve underground.

The victims are believed to be rivals of Teodoro Garcia Simental, an alleged former lieutenant of the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix drug cartel, authorities said.

Soldiers and police paraded Meza, 45, before the public at a cement-block shack on the outskirts of Tijuana where he allegedly disposed of the bodies. Two grave-sized holes had been dug near the walls.

Public display: Police prod alleged mass murderer Meza to speak to the media

Meza, who has not yet been charged, was arrested along with three other people on Thursday at a Tijuana hotel.

The security officers made Meza tell reporters how he allegedly disposed of the bodies, prodding him to speak up whenever he mumbled. He told reporters that he was paid 440 a week for his work.

Meza told police his busiest period was in December 2007 when he claims to have disposed of 32 bodies.

Relatives of the missing people want to show photos of their loved ones to Meza.

Citizens United Against Impunity, a group representing families of missing people in Tijuana, has asked authorities to for permission to meet face-to-face with the accused man.

Grisly find: A soldier investigates Meza's backyard where he allegedly disposed of the bodies

'We are here because this arrest has given us a ray of hope,' said Cristina Palacios, president of CUAI.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration identified Garcia as one of 10 men battling for drug trafficking routes through Tijuana.

The DEA said Garcia was the chief rival of alleged Arellano Felix cartel leader Fernando Sanchez Arrellano.

Mexican officials have blamed the power struggle for a surge in violence in Tijuana, the birthplace of the Arellano Felix cartel.

The two men split in April after a shootout between their followers in Tijuana left at least 14 people dead.

Capture: Heavily-armed soldiers take away Mexican drug suspect Meza

The Arellano Felix cartel rose to power in 1980s. Since 2002, four brothers who led the cartel have been killed or arrested, most recently Eduardo Arellano Felix, who was captured in October in his Tijuana home.

Mexico's grisly drug wars have surged in recent years, particularly in the northern border cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez.

Drug violence claimed more than 5,300 lives last year.

In one case last year, authorities said they found human teeth and other remains inside barrels of acid left on a Tijuana street. Officials did not say whether Meza was suspected of involvement in that case.

Two human heads were also found inside coolers near police stations in Celaya, a city in central Guanajuato state, said state deputy Attorney General Armando Amaro.

Hours later, police found the bodies with their hands tied behind their backs.

A message was left with the heads threatening allies of a drug cartel knows as La Familia, Attorney Genral Amaro said.

It was signed by Zetas, a group of hit men for the Gulf Cartel.

WORLD WAR II ARMS BUNKER IN TAMPA HIDES MARIJUANA GROW HOUSE

St. Petersburg Times - Online
01/22/2009

But on Jan. 9, narcotics detectives searched a rundown house in Tampa's Drew Park industrial area. At first it looked as if their tipster had been wrong. Then they opened the door of a wooden shed in the back yard. They saw a ladder and a 3-foot hole in a concrete floor, and light. Lots of it.

Descending, they discovered a sophisticated marijuana grow house in a place they didn't even know existed an underground bunker built to store munitions during World War II. They counted 66 plants, some tall as Christmas trees, worth an estimated $231,000, according to police Maj. George McNamara.

It took a few days for detectives to connect with the person who lived above the bunker.

Gustavo Gonzalez, 37, a Cuban national who rented the property at 4107 N Manhattan Ave., was arrested Friday at Animal Services when he tried to pick up a his dog after the police impounded it, McNamara said.

He was charged with possession of cannabis with intent to sell, manufacture of cannabis, owning, leasing or renting for the purpose of manufacturing cannabis, and grand theft in the third degree of electricity. He posted $40,000 bail and was released from Orient Road jail Saturday.

Tampa Electric Co. and the Drug Enforcement Administration worked with the police to investigate reported suspicious activity and discovered that electricity was being diverted from a pole near the residence, but authorities couldn't figure out where it was going, McNamara said.

After obtaining a search warrant, the Tampa police narcotics unit went in Jan. 9 and were amazed at what they found.

After going into the house, detectives searched with no luck until they came across a 3-foot trap door in a plain, wooden shed out back. This led them to a 2,000-square-foot bunker with 12-foot-high ceilings.

In a Police Department video, officers descend into the hole on a metal ladder, and emerge in a small room below where blinding lights reflect off walls covered in what looks like aluminum foil. This room houses only a couple of marijuana plants.

Moving further inside, they find another room, slightly larger than the first, with more lights, foil and plants being cooled by a house fan. Down a long concrete hallway a few more plants are visible, before the officers reach the largest, most spacious room.

Here the underground world is as bright as daylight, with wall-to-wall marijuana plants in irrigated soil like you'd find in a nursery.

A brochure for the Army Air Warning Service School that operated on the base from the early 1940s says the land had been first owned by John Drew, a Tampa contractor and real estate investor who turned subdivision property into a private landing field.

Drew Field was acquired by the city of Tampa in 1928 for a municipal airport. Little was done, however, until the government took over and made plans for the militarization of the site.

In 1939, it was leased to the Army for Drew Army Airfield, a training base for recruits on their way to war. The field was separate from MacDill Army Air Base, and housed the 3rd Fighter Command and B-17 bombers.

At the end of 1946, the property was returned to the city, which then sold the land to private owners.

The area today is known as Drew Park, an aging industrial district best known these days for its X-rated movie houses.

The current owners of the house and the property, including the bunker, are Carlos and Maricela Morffi, according to Hillsborough County property records. The Morffis also own a vacant lot in Drew Park on N Manhattan Avenue near Woodlawn Avenue.

The bunker contained a 5-ton air conditioner, along with a generator, circuit wall, lights and various gardening tools, McNamara said. 'The air filtration system was so sophisticated, it was connected to bird feeders in the yard,' he explained. Gonzalez had been renting the property for four years, but McNamara is unsure of how long the grow house has been operating. Because of the elaborate nature of the setup, Tampa police are investigating whether others were involved. 'It took someone a lot of effort to get all that down there,' McNamara said. 'I've seen all types of operations,' he said. 'But this is one that I will remember because it was such an elaborate scheme. We had no idea this munitions bunker was even here and now we're wondering, 'Are there any more bunkers out there?' ' They are trying to find out.

New Year

On the road again trying to slowly work out the kinks. Still fighting with knee/ankle pain issues still present from getting hit by the minivan a year and a half ago. 

The new team roster is looking very promising and I am happy to welcome, from my old home is Switzerland, Beni Baumgartner. Beni is going to be a strong addition to the team and is going to bring some great experience to the squad and surely some solid results.

Work has been great and my new transfer has helped me shed some big causes of undue stress... only to be replaced by a new beast but one which I gladly welcome! The new dog, K-9 Adi (right, Macho on the left) is doing great. She is a little ball of fire and ultra protective and jealous or everything that takes the lime light off of her, even jealous of Jill.

Good video attached to remember there is always a second threat. A semi auto pistol in this case being removed from the suspects back waist band with his right hand.