Did the Mexican Mafia Kill the Parents of 17 in Florida?

[babylonsister]

Did the Mafia Kill the Parents of 17?

by Rick Outzen

Investigators have linked Mexican organized crime to the Billings murders, reports Rick Outzen, perhaps answering the case’s riddle: Why was a Florida couple shot at home execution-style?



The strong national interest in last month’s murder of Byrd and Melanie Billings, the Florida parents of 17 killed in their home, execution-style, by ninja-like intruders, stems in large part from the unanswered question of what could have motivated a crime so cold-hearted. This weekend, some answers emerged and they all point further south, to an organized crime group known, with fear, in the Florida Panhandle, as the “Mexican Mafia.”

Specifically, The Daily Beast has exclusively confirmed three links:

•All seven people arrested as part of the ninja team that entered the Billings house that night have mentioned to police a connection between the murders and Mexican organized crime, but have not revealed specifics for fear of reprisals from the group.

•Henry “Cab” Tice, whom The Daily Beast originally reported was the chief person of interest in determining whether the murder was a murder-for-hire, told interrogators Thursday night that he laundered money for the Mexican Mafia, had borrowed $50,000 from the group, and still owed them money. After three hours of questioning, Tice was then arrested for fraud in connection with his business dealings with Byrd Billings.

•Tice’s extensive business dealings with Billings include allegations of stolen cars that wound up in Mexico.

Cab Tice's used-car dealership, Hispanic-American Auto Sales, catered to these immigrants, and while the vast majority of new residents fit in seamlessly, there have been two major drug busts in the Pensacola area over the past two years with strong Mexican connections.

The arrest of Tice on Thursday proved the turning point in terms of firming up a relationship between the Mexican Mafia and the Billings murders. “At first we discounted any connection between Mexican organized crime and this case, but that was until we interviewed Tice,” said Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan. “It was Tice that brought our focus back on the Mexican Mafia.”

Specifically, Morgan says, Tice told investigators that he borrowed $50,000 from the group when his business began to fail, and that he also was laundering money for them. “Tice admitted that he was selling cars across the border to be resold in Mexico and those deals were cash, under-the-table transactions.” The grand theft charge against Tice is for allegedly writing more than $17,000 in bad checks last year to Worldco Financial Services, a company owned by the Billings family.

more...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-08-10/did-the-mafia-kill-the-parents-of-17/full/

[vadawg]

1. moral of the story ismake sure you know who you are in bed with if you are breaking the law

always amazes me when people cant see that the minor shit they are involved with dosent mean theres major shit going on in the background..

[Chemisse]

2. These makes a lot more sense than robbery as a motive n/t