Foreign Crime Gang Activity Increasing In Pattaya

[blackthorn2005]

Sadly the Russians are taking over Patong now, very, very quickly. I think they are too well embedded to do anything about it. Now I have to look for somewhere else to go. Cambodia is out, they already have that sewn up.

[Seismic]

I think it will eventually dawn on the bib that they have closed the door too late, the russian mafia is way way over the top compared with what has come before. 10-15 years ago in pattaya we saw the wide boys from UK etc come in and set up shop, a few bullets later they were gone after encroaching on the locals turf. Now you have a new ballgame, the russians wont roll over and play they usual payoff game, they will simply start knocking off local thai officials (BIB etc) until they have what they want. The Thai police will eventually come to an uneasy status quo after several of their higher ranks have had there whole familes cut into small pieces.

Expect to see more voluptuous {sic} white ladies dancing in go-go bars over the next few months.

[Chunky1]

You know the Russians will probably get more respect from the Thais out of this.

[ES1]

This article begins with US Embassy; as if they care or would do something!

They completely ignored me when I went to them to report 30+ ATM withdrawals that wiped out my savings- over $10,000 stolen. Not 1 investigation both US and Thailand authorities!

Totally worthless organization!

It too 30 withdrawls before you noticed something? Rrrrright.....LOL!

Edited January 19, 2011 by ES1

[dighambara]

This article begins with US Embassy; as if they care or would do something!

They completely ignored me when I went to them to report 30+ ATM withdrawals that wiped out my savings- over $10,000 stolen. Not 1 investigation both US and Thailand authorities!

Totally worthless organization!

Embassy could care less - Go get a Thai Police report, make a copy, give it to your bank for them to follow up. If foreign bank, have the report translated and sent it to them. US Banks are insured and will compensate from the time you first notified them.

On the other hand, many Thai Banks have no limit on ATM queries, so stolen credit card can be tried again and again at an ATM, until someone accidentally hits a good PIN number.

Lastly, if account queries used a correct code, and the bank was notified only after the fact, the chances of recovering anything is slim...

[brahmburgers]

Thanks for all the entertainment with the witty replies to this topic.

I guess if I wanted to live in a decrepit locale teeming with rude locals and foreigners suffering from arrested development, I'd choose Pattaya. If Russian mafia are anything like Italian mafia, then they're big guys with the maturity level of 5 year old naughty kids - who get angry quickly & often, riven with revenge, worship money and it's ostentatious manifestations, have trouble telling the truth, always blaming others for their shortcomings. Come to think of it, it's a perfect description of Mr. Thaksin.

I feel sorry for the bargirls who feel compelled to shack up with these guys, and put up with their temper tantrums, smelly bodies (from constant drinking & smoking). The girls know one primary thing: cling to the guy who pays the best, and hope they don't get beaten too often in the bargain - physically beaten and beaten at the game of who-can-get-the-most from the other person when they split up.

[djlest]

Take a look at what Mexico and Cities like Monterrey have become...

It can change so fast... especially when the Mafia gets big enough...

I was in monterrey 7 years ago when it was relatively peaceful...

Now days its state of emergency and pop pop pop into the night...

Thailand should certainly NOT let time and the Mai Pen Rai approach -

if it has any sense and can learn to look at other countries to learn how to avoid the inevitable...

Ofcourse Thais rarely look outside of their own backyard, hence why we are still in the Wild wild west...

Hmmm... its a shame... Because all of us innocent bystanders will get tighter restrictions on Visa and incoming funds, property purchase etc..

all cos LOS is too busy looking at its pretty flag...

[gleeglee]

maybe it is because the honary concil to the british embassy owns it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I KNEW IT WAS PATTAYAONE BEFORE I READ A WORD

The headline alone screams this terrible sensationalist publication.

Nothing new to see hear, move along folks.

Each to his own my friend.

For example, I think Pattaya One is an excellent and entertaining publication, and bravo to Thai Visa for hosting it, so Thai Visa members who do not live in Pattaya, like me, can enjoy it too.

At least the paper covers relevant matters in Pattaya, instead of filling their pages with rubbish about Chamber of Commerce parties and The Great and the Good.

Their front page stories are always entertaining as well.

Keep it coming P1.

[patrickinpattaya]

Thailand could take a leaf out of the usa's book. Every tourist to obtain a visa before travelling a background check would be done before travelling anyone found to have a criminal record would be refused a visa so couldn't come. Thattakes care of the scum

[cdnvic]

Cleaned a lot of rubbish posts out for reasons ranging from mangled quotes and flames, to profanity and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

It's also not necessary to quote entire long posts just for a short reply. In the future we will just delete these rather than edit them as that just takes too long.

[mark45y]

[/prostitution is the problem in Pattaya and all over thailand. get rid of the men that come for this reason and you will pull tablecloth ou from under the Russian mafia in Thailand. too bad we can't discuss real solutions and socioeconomic tragedies on this forum. it could be such a great platform to start making a change. soft paediphilism is when old men justify paying for sex with a girl under 21 because it helps the poor girls get money. there are a lot people in Pattaya committing far more atrocious and destructive crimes than the Russians. .]

Since 95% of the customers of prostitutes are Thai men where would you send them? Kings Cross?

Oh, and just so I get my ages straight, is it OK for old guys to go out with women 22 years of age?

[mark45y]

Thanks for all the entertainment with the witty replies to this topic.

I guess if I wanted to live in a decrepit locale teeming with rude locals and foreigners suffering from arrested development, I'd choose Pattaya. If Russian mafia are anything like Italian mafia, then they're big guys with the maturity level of 5 year old naughty kids - who get angry quickly & often, riven with revenge, worship money and it's ostentatious manifestations, have trouble telling the truth, always blaming others for their shortcomings. Come to think of it, it's a perfect description of Mr. Thaksin.

I feel sorry for the bargirls who feel compelled to shack up with these guys, and put up with their temper tantrums, smelly bodies (from constant drinking & smoking). The girls know one primary thing: cling to the guy who pays the best, and hope they don't get beaten too often in the bargain - physically beaten and beaten at the game of who-can-get-the-most from the other person when they split up.

I really hate to shatter your illusions but the bar girls in Pattaya get beat up by their Thai boyfriends for not giving them enough money to buy drugs.

You also might want to ask a Thai farm girl why she kisses Farang and not Thai men. She will tell you it is because Thai Farmers smell bad.

But don't believe me ask the ladies.

[Digicat]

As I'm sure drunk fat hairy farangs smell like roses. So what you are saying it's better to be with a low life farang then low life thai guy? Right brilliant. I'm sure Thai bar girl also answer honestly to their customers. When asked by Japanese men why they like Japanese men the bar girls generally answer it's because their penis is soooo big.

[ronz28]

Authorities arrested 119 organized crime suspects on Thursday in what the police called the largest single-day operation against the Mafia in history.

Sorry, not a Thai headline...it happened in the U.S. today primarily in New York City.

Sixteen grand jury indictments charged 127 suspects with murder, drug trafficking, extortion, gambling, loan-sharking and other crimes going back 30 years, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference today.

[mark45y]

As I'm sure drunk fat hairy farangs smell like roses. So what you are saying it's better to be with a low life farang then low life thai guy? Right brilliant. I'm sure Thai bar girl also answer honestly to their customers. When asked by Japanese men why they like Japanese men the bar girls generally answer it's because their penis is soooo big.

I wasn't speaking about hookers I was speaking about farm girls. And I wasn't talking about a low life Thai guy I was talking about a Thai farmer. And, yes most Thai farm girls will answer a question honestly. Simply stated Thai girls like to kiss and be close to a man. With some exceptions Falang have a higher standard of personal cleanliness than the average Thai farmer.

If you ask a Thai bar girl why she likes Japanese men she will say because they pay more for less labor and what they like does not hurt because of size. If you ask a bar girl why she is afraid of Korean men she will also answer you truthfully. But don't believe me. Ask away. Report back to us.

[mark45y]

Authorities arrested 119 organized crime suspects on Thursday in what the police called the largest single-day operation against the Mafia in history.

Sorry, not a Thai headline...it happened in the U.S. today primarily in New York City.

Sixteen grand jury indictments charged 127 suspects with murder, drug trafficking, extortion, gambling, loan-sharking and other crimes going back 30 years, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference today.

Luigi Manocchio, Thomas Iafrate, Bartolomeo Vernace, Anthony Russo, High-ranking members of the Gambino and Colombo crime families. I don't think these guys are Russian though. The names don't sound Russian to me.

[kuffki]

I wonder why so many farangs (Anglos usually..) froth in the mouth against the Russkies.

Is it because they are the only whites with some COJONES left?

Whereas political correctness has gotten the best out of you...

Because they have no idea about Russians and when they see one they assume they all mafia.

or possibly perhaps because they see them with money and little envy takes over so again they all must be mafia.

[bermondburi]

Thanks for all the entertainment with the witty replies to this topic.

I guess if I wanted to live in a decrepit locale teeming with rude locals and foreigners suffering from arrested development, I'd choose Pattaya. If Russian mafia are anything like Italian mafia, then they're big guys with the maturity level of 5 year old naughty kids - who get angry quickly & often, riven with revenge, worship money and it's ostentatious manifestations, have trouble telling the truth, always blaming others for their shortcomings. Come to think of it, it's a perfect description of Mr. Thaksin.

I feel sorry for the bargirls who feel compelled to shack up with these guys, and put up with their temper tantrums, smelly bodies (from constant drinking & smoking). The girls know one primary thing: cling to the guy who pays the best, and hope they don't get beaten too often in the bargain - physically beaten and beaten at the game of who-can-get-the-most from the other person when they split up.

I really hate to shatter your illusions but the bar girls in Pattaya get beat up by their Thai boyfriends for not giving them enough money to buy drugs.

You also might want to ask a Thai farm girl why she kisses Farang and not Thai men. She will tell you it is because Thai Farmers smell bad.

But don't believe me ask the ladies.

or she kisses him because the foreigner pays a lot better !

[bermondburi]

As I'm sure drunk fat hairy farangs smell like roses. So what you are saying it's better to be with a low life farang then low life thai guy? Right brilliant. I'm sure Thai bar girl also answer honestly to their customers. When asked by Japanese men why they like Japanese men the bar girls generally answer it's because their penis is soooo big.

I wasn't speaking about hookers I was speaking about farm girls. And I wasn't talking about a low life Thai guy I was talking about a Thai farmer. And, yes most Thai farm girls will answer a question honestly. Simply stated Thai girls like to kiss and be close to a man. With some exceptions Falang have a higher standard of personal cleanliness than the average Thai farmer.

If you ask a Thai bar girl why she likes Japanese men she will say because they pay more for less labor and what they like does not hurt because of size. If you ask a bar girl why she is afraid of Korean men she will also answer you truthfully. But don't believe me. Ask away. Report back to us.

And how many farm girls get to meet and kiss foreigners down on the farm ? LOL

[Digicat]

I went to a farm at ubon rachatani and asked the girls there who kisses better. It seems like they don't speak much English. How is your Issan farmer Thai btw?

[mark45y]

I went to a farm at ubon rachatani and asked the girls there who kisses better. It seems like they don't speak much English. How is your Issan farmer Thai btw?

How you can have an informed opinion about Thai women without speaking Thai is beyond me.

I just took a few farm girls to lunch. They don't speak any English. We had a nice time.

I realize you and bermondburi have only had a brief exposure to Thailand and its people. How you form your ideas without speaking the language is a mystery to me.

I also think we could some more posts by Kuffki here because he speaks Russian and could provide some factual information on the Russian mob. There is quite a bit of history about the Russian mob and the war they had with the Thai mob a few years ago. Bodies found all over the place. I had thought the two mob powers had worked out an arrangement that resulted in a couple of go go's on Walking street.

The recent story suggests the mob war may heat up again or that perhaps the Russians have won another battle. I however feel less than adequate to discuss it because I can't ask the Russians.

It is like trying to understand Thai women without being able to speak Thai. Trying to understand the Russian mob without being able to speak Russian I imagine is misinformed at best.

[Digicat]

Deat mark45y, actually I speak read and write по Русски and ไทย. There is a bit of sarcasm that you may have missed in my reply to the gentelman that swears farm girls on farms prefer farang. Please try your burn again. Ps speaking Thai does not help one understand women. They make no sense in any language, Thai, Russian or otherwise.

Edited January 21, 2011 by Digicat

[bermondburi]

I went to a farm at ubon rachatani and asked the girls there who kisses better. It seems like they don't speak much English. How is your Issan farmer Thai btw?

How you can have an informed opinion about Thai women without speaking Thai is beyond me.

I just took a few farm girls to lunch. They don't speak any English. We had a nice time.

I realize you and bermondburi have only had a brief exposure to Thailand and its people. How you form your ideas without speaking the language is a mystery to me.

I also think we could some more posts by Kuffki here because he speaks Russian and could provide some factual information on the Russian mob. There is quite a bit of history about the Russian mob and the war they had with the Thai mob a few years ago. Bodies found all over the place. I had thought the two mob powers had worked out an arrangement that resulted in a couple of go go's on Walking street.

The recent story suggests the mob war may heat up again or that perhaps the Russians have won another battle. I however feel less than adequate to discuss it because I can't ask the Russians.

It is like trying to understand Thai women without being able to speak Thai. Trying to understand the Russian mob without being able to speak Russian I imagine is misinformed at best.

I realise you are a bit long in the tooth and whatever I say you will have been there before me, done it before me and know more about it than me blah blah blah but just to set the record straight I'll tell you a little bit about myself.

I moved to Thailand at the end of the nineties where I first lived in Surat Thani province, I stayed there for about five years after which I moved to Ranong on the Burmese border. After surviving the tsunami I moved to Bangkok ( it wasn't the first time I had been there ) where I met the women who was later to be my wife. We then moved back to Ranong , but only briefly as when my wife became pregnant we then moved to her village in Isaan so that she could be close to her family. We spent two years living in Isaan during which we also had another child. Very soon after he was born we moved to Bangkok / Nonthaburi for work which is where we are now and where we have been for the past three years. It took me four years to gain what I would call a good grasp of Thai whereby I was able to hold my own in a conversation. That ws eight years ago and I am now at the point where I can do absolutely anything I want to in Thai and it is no problem whatsoever. I do not have to to repeat myself in shops or anything like that and people always ( strangers included not just people who know my accent ) know what I am talking about. Due to my time spent in Isaan and time spent with my wife's family I can now understand Isaan / Laos fairly well too although I do have to concentrate to speak it. My children obviously speak fluent Thai and I am with them every day so I think I know what they are talking about. Over this time I must have spoken to, conversed with, argued with, got drunk with, had fights with, slept with, made up with, laughed with, worked with thousands of Thai people from all walks of life and social classes. Not forgetting my wife who I do happen to see every day of my life and she does happen to be Thai so I think that I do actually know at least one Thai person very well and we have had quite a lot of exposure to each other.

Now if all this constitutes a brief exposure to Thailand and it's people then so be it. I've only spent a third of my life here. Although how you realised all this about me without my telling you this is something of a mystery to me. Tell me , how long do you have to spend here for the exposure to not be classed as brief ?

Anyway , getting back to your point about farm girls, I di actually live on the farm when I was in Isaan and not one of these farm girls would have had any experience of kissing a foreigner quite simply because they would not have had any oppurtunity to kiss a foreigner. The rice fields are not swarming with foreigners, not where I was anyway. And if by some chance thay had kissed a foreigner then it is a pretty good bet they weren't actually a farming girl at that stage in their life. I think you see where I'm coming from on this. So I'm curious what you base your facts on. Where was this farm where you met these people ?

I think you are a living in a fantasy world with some of the stuff you come out with, such as the way you believe that half of all Thai women are or have been at some time in their life prostitutes. To qoute you " I was a legend in Pattaya". Maybe in your head you were.

At the end of the day it's an anonymous internet forum and you can say what you like, just like me. If you don't believe anything I have said then come and vist me in Bang Bua Thong in Nonthaburi. Meet my wife and children. We'll see who's full of shit then .

[mark45y]

I went to a farm at ubon rachatani and asked the girls there who kisses better. It seems like they don't speak much English. How is your Issan farmer Thai btw?

How you can have an informed opinion about Thai women without speaking Thai is beyond me.

I just took a few farm girls to lunch. They don't speak any English. We had a nice time.

I realize you and bermondburi have only had a brief exposure to Thailand and its people. How you form your ideas without speaking the language is a mystery to me.

I also think we could some more posts by Kuffki here because he speaks Russian and could provide some factual information on the Russian mob. There is quite a bit of history about the Russian mob and the war they had with the Thai mob a few years ago. Bodies found all over the place. I had thought the two mob powers had worked out an arrangement that resulted in a couple of go go's on Walking street.

The recent story suggests the mob war may heat up again or that perhaps the Russians have won another battle. I however feel less than adequate to discuss it because I can't ask the Russians.

It is like trying to understand Thai women without being able to speak Thai. Trying to understand the Russian mob without being able to speak Russian I imagine is misinformed at best.

I realise you are a bit long in the tooth and whatever I say you will have been there before me, done it before me and know more about it than me blah blah blah but just to set the record straight I'll tell you a little bit about myself.

I moved to Thailand at the end of the nineties where I first lived in Surat Thani province, I stayed there for about five years after which I moved to Ranong on the Burmese border. After surviving the tsunami I moved to Bangkok ( it wasn't the first time I had been there ) where I met the women who was later to be my wife. We then moved back to Ranong , but only briefly as when my wife became pregnant we then moved to her village in Isaan so that she could be close to her family. We spent two years living in Isaan during which we also had another child. Very soon after he was born we moved to Bangkok / Nonthaburi for work which is where we are now and where we have been for the past three years. It took me four years to gain what I would call a good grasp of Thai whereby I was able to hold my own in a conversation. That ws eight years ago and I am now at the point where I can do absolutely anything I want to in Thai and it is no problem whatsoever. I do not have to to repeat myself in shops or anything like that and people always ( strangers included not just people who know my accent ) know what I am talking about. Due to my time spent in Isaan and time spent with my wife's family I can now understand Isaan / Laos fairly well too although I do have to concentrate to speak it. My children obviously speak fluent Thai and I am with them every day so I think I know what they are talking about. Over this time I must have spoken to, conversed with, argued with, got drunk with, had fights with, slept with, made up with, laughed with, worked with thousands of Thai people from all walks of life and social classes. Not forgetting my wife who I do happen to see every day of my life and she does happen to be Thai so I think that I do actually know at least one Thai person very well and we have had quite a lot of exposure to each other.

Now if all this constitutes a brief exposure to Thailand and it's people then so be it. I've only spent a third of my life here. Although how you realised all this about me without my telling you this is something of a mystery to me. Tell me , how long do you have to spend here for the exposure to not be classed as brief ?

Anyway , getting back to your point about farm girls, I di actually live on the farm when I was in Isaan and not one of these farm girls would have had any experience of kissing a foreigner quite simply because they would not have had any oppurtunity to kiss a foreigner. The rice fields are not swarming with foreigners, not where I was anyway. And if by some chance thay had kissed a foreigner then it is a pretty good bet they weren't actually a farming girl at that stage in their life. I think you see where I'm coming from on this. So I'm curious what you base your facts on. Where was this farm where you met these people ?

I think you are a living in a fantasy world with some of the stuff you come out with, such as the way you believe that half of all Thai women are or have been at some time in their life prostitutes. To qoute you " I was a legend in Pattaya". Maybe in your head you were.

At the end of the day it's an anonymous internet forum and you can say what you like, just like me. If you don't believe anything I have said then come and vist me in Bang Bua Thong in Nonthaburi. Meet my wife and children. We'll see who's full of shit then .

I am trying to figure out exactly what you are asking and what are the salient points relative to this discussion.

Although given your history, thank you for listing it, I think it is an interesting discussion.

The women in the photo above are Army wives and one Veterinarian. They are all farmers daughters who moved close to an Army base to be with husbands. I knew them well because I worked with their husbands. So farmers daughters who had the chance to meet falangs.

If you lived in Bangkok you know it is populated by farmer's daughters who work there doing manual labor and not necessarily P4P business. Again these ladies have the opportunity to meet falangs.

I live on the East coast of Thailand in an industrial town where all of the workers come from Issan. You guessed it farmer's daughters, not in the P4P business but with an exposure to falangs. The town empties out during holidays as almost no one is from here.

So my experience is based on Army Dependants and workers both in the service and industrial areas who are from Issan but now work in other areas.

I get along OK in Thai but knowing your background I you probably speak better Thai and Lao than I. I spent a couple of weeks in a Thai hospital where no one spoke English so I would be dead if I didn't speak a bit of Thai. I don't have a Thai wife or kids and I am sure that brings a higher standard of Thai language than I have. I got here the first time in 1968 and stayed a couple of years and moved here full time 6 years ago.

To be honest my comment about the kissing came from a conversation I had a couple of days ago with a farmers daughter. She asked why I didn't hug or kiss her in public or walk with my arm around her. I said, because it is not polite.

She said, yes it is. I told her Thai people do not do that. She laughed and said the only reason they do not do that is because the farm boys stink. I don't drink, so no whiskey or beer on my breath ever.

[mark45y]

Deat mark45y, actually I speak read and write по Русски and ไทย. There is a bit of sarcasm that you may have missed in my reply to the gentelman that swears farm girls on farms prefer farang. Please try your burn again. Ps speaking Thai does not help one understand women. They make no sense in any language, Thai, Russian or otherwise.

I actually agree with you a bit. Understanding what women say and understanding what they really mean may not be at all related.

Since you speak Russian and I assume live in Pattaya, what is the skinny about the mob now? Is it the same as always or is it getting worse. Are there more go go's in the works. Are the Russians taking over the beer bars? Have they moved in on the motorcycle boys ya baa trade?

What's the deal?

And don't get me wrong. I like Russian women. I like them a lot.

[Digicat]

Deat mark45y, actually I speak read and write по Русски and ไทย. There is a bit of sarcasm that you may have missed in my reply to the gentelman that swears farm girls on farms prefer farang. Please try your burn again. Ps speaking Thai does not help one understand women. They make no sense in any language, Thai, Russian or otherwise.

I actually agree with you a bit. Understanding what women say and understanding what they really mean may not be at all related.

Since you speak Russian and I assume live in Pattaya, what is the skinny about the mob now? Is it the same as always or is it getting worse. Are there more go go's in the works. Are the Russians taking over the beer bars? Have they moved in on the motorcycle boys ya baa trade?

What's the deal?

And don't get me wrong. I like Russian women. I like them a lot.

No I live in bkk. But when I go to that area I do chat with the tourists. I don't know any mafiosi here.

Can go walk around and ask.

[cup-O-coffee]

The arrests of a South American gang of thieves operating in Pattaya made headline news late last year, when they were discovered in a house on a residential estate in East Pattaya with a large hoard of stolen jewellery, credit cards, laptops, cameras, gas bottles and blowtorch equipment.

These South American thieves sound like a real group of bad-ass ruffians. Gas bottles and blowtorch equipment? How dare they!

It has got to be a joke when one correlates the word mafia with thieves who steal Gas bottles and blowtorch equipment!

I believe the Thai mafia (gas bottle and blowtorch thieves) are in for a rude awakening when they encounter a real wise guy, and piss him off!

Edited January 21, 2011 by cup-O-coffee

[Ulysses G.]

These South American thieves sound like a real group of bad-ass ruffians. Gas bottles and blowtorch equipment? How dare they!

It has got to be a joke when one correlates the word mafia with thieves who steal Gas bottles and blowtorch equipment!

the Thai mafia (gas bottle and blowtorch thieves) are in for a rude awakening when they encounter a real wise guy, and piss him off!

I'm pretty sure that the gas bottle and blowtorches are for cutting steel burglar bars and opening safes, rather than being stolen booty.

[mark45y]

Deat mark45y, actually I speak read and write по Русски and ไทย. There is a bit of sarcasm that you may have missed in my reply to the gentelman that swears farm girls on farms prefer farang. Please try your burn again. Ps speaking Thai does not help one understand women. They make no sense in any language, Thai, Russian or otherwise.

I actually agree with you a bit. Understanding what women say and understanding what they really mean may not be at all related.

Since you speak Russian and I assume live in Pattaya, what is the skinny about the mob now? Is it the same as always or is it getting worse. Are there more go go's in the works. Are the Russians taking over the beer bars? Have they moved in on the motorcycle boys ya baa trade?

What's the deal?

And don't get me wrong. I like Russian women. I like them a lot.

No I live in bkk. But when I go to that area I do chat with the tourists. I don't know any mafiosi here.

Can go walk around and ask.

After the bust in NYC today I think the Mafioso are laying low. I have never heard of La Cosa Nostro being active in Pattaya anyway. I grew up in a Sicilian neighborhood and have always had a twinge when anyone refers to gangsters in Thailand as Mafia. I realize Mafia has come to mean all gangs but it really is only Cosa Nostra from Sicily.

Anybody can tell you there are no Sicilians in Pattaya because there is no Sicilian pizza.

You cant have the real Mafia with out Sicilian pizza . Chicago Sicilian pizza at least.

The Russian mob has stressed out the real Mafia in the States. They are not a group to be taken lightly.

But honest I thought all the bodies in Pattaya bay had settled the dispute.

[nickgonewalkabout]

I do believe a similar thing happened on the Costa del Sol in Spain.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it took the Russian mafia about 6 months to take over the lucrative drug / club and other establishments which had traditionally been the preserve of the Spanish and English crime syndicates. They just made all their opponents disappear. These guys don't muck about. Thai mafia? Forget it ! History already, just looking on in awe.

The Russians have taken over an entire bay in north Goa. Heavy!

They're working on Koh Phangan last year, specifically I'm told of their attempts to buy Backyard Bar in Haad Rin, which was then mysteriously burnt down. The Thai/farang owners/managers are keeping it going but organised terrorism of this kind must be extremely difficult to fend off. No wonder shopkeepers keep guns handy there. I imagine there's pressure on in many parts of Thailand. The Russian's make pretty fun nightclubs once they've installed themselves (so I'm told) and how's an average tourist to know any different regarding the values or history of its new owners?. Those who know can only inform and recommend some form of boycott. Send them to Coventry as the saying goes.