"Mafia sending threats to Tadić"

Montenegrin businessman Ratko Knezevic said that the so-called Tobacco Mafia is threatening Serbian President Boris Tadic. He said that the threats come after the arrest of those suspected of murdering Ivo Pukanic. "Mafia sending threats to Tadic" “There are serious indications that Croatian President Stjepan Mesic in Sofia handed over to Tadic material about the danger the Serbian president is in related to the investigation of the murder of Croatian journalists Ivo Pukanic and Niko Franjic,” Knezevic said in an interview with Belgrade daily Blic. He added that “the problem for the tobacco cartel, led by Milo Djukanovic and Stanko Subotic, began the moment that the Croatian and Serbian governments, both current and past, did not want to make any agreement with them.” “I am sure that the crisis council which meets in the villa of Stanko Subotic on St. Stefan or in the Grand café in Podgorica, is discussing how to stop Slobodan Djurovic Kardinal from talking to the Croatian prosecutor and Sreten Jocic from talking to the Serbian prosecutor,” he said. Knezevic was formerly the Montenegrin government representative in Washington and was very close to Prime Minister Djukanovic. He recently made the headlines when he accused the current Montenegrin premier of having been the leader of a Balkan-wide cigarette smuggling cartel. “Serbia doesn’t want any kind of deal with the cartel, which is frightened of the cooperation between Croatian and Serbian police in finding those who committed and ordered the murders of Pukanic and Franjic,” Knezevic said, adding that they are “trying all possible ways, even through diplomatic channels, to have some influence on the further investigation,” but that “things have progressed far”. Asked what kind of diplomatic influences are in question, Knezevic said that “Djukanovic is sending his ‘guru’ from his youth Goran Rakocevic, who is Montenegro’s ambassador to Croatia, who has the task of ‘charming’ the Croatian executive government, in hopes that they will give up on the investigation, which inevitably leads to Podgorica and Budva". “I would not be surprised if Milo offers Serbia a deviation from the Kosovo recognition," he continued, explaining that this could come so that the investigation backs away from him and Subotic. "That’s him. Milosevic's best student. If he was alive, Milosevic would be proud of him, even from the Hague." Asked why Subotic is saying that he is being “set up” by the government, Knezevic said that this is “because Subotic is charged by the Belgrade Special Court as the organizer and promoter of a criminal organization. But also because the Zagreb and Belgrade jails are full of potential witnesses of the terrorist act in Zagreb in which Pukanic was killed.” "And also, because Subotic has an Interpol warrant out for his arrest that enables him only to be in Montenegro, where he is protected like a Montenegrin mafia boss," Knezevic added. The newspaper writes that Tadic’s cabinet did not want to confirm or deny the claims that Mesic recently handed over information regarding the threats on the Serbian president's life since the investigation into the Pukanic and Franjic murders. Pukanic, who owned Croatian weekly Nacional, and Franjic, who was his marketing chief, were killed when a car bomb exploded in Zagreb last fall. A number of people were arrested in connection to the case, including criminal underground kingpin Sreten Jocic, aka Joca Amsterdam. Mesic denies Croatian President Stjepan Mesic has denied that he handed over material to Boris Tadic that indicated he was in danger after the Pukanic case arrests. "I informed my colleague Boris Tadic about the existence of a group of criminals and mafiosi who were investigated in Croatia, and recommended that their services too participate in the Pukanic murder investigation," Mesic said today. "I did not bring with me any documents," he explained. Mesic also said he asked Tadic for a much better cooperation of courts, police forces and prosecutions of the two countries, "since Croatian and Serbian criminals already cooperate so well".

"Mafia sending threats to Tadić"

“There are serious indications that Croatian President Stjepan Mesić in Sofia handed over to Tadić material about the danger the Serbian president is in related to the investigation of the murder of Croatian journalists Ivo Pukanić and Niko Franjić,” Knežević said in an interview with Belgrade daily Blic.

He added that “the problem for the tobacco cartel, led by Milo Đukanović and Stanko Subotić, began the moment that the Croatian and Serbian governments, both current and past, did not want to make any agreement with them.”

“I am sure that the crisis council which meets in the villa of Stanko Subotić on St. Stefan or in the Grand café in Podgorica, is discussing how to stop Slobodan Đurović Kardinal from talking to the Croatian prosecutor and Sreten Jocić from talking to the Serbian prosecutor,” he said.

Knežević was formerly the Montenegrin government representative in Washington and was very close to Prime Minister Đukanović. He recently made the headlines when he accused the current Montenegrin premier of having been the leader of a Balkan-wide cigarette smuggling cartel.

“Serbia doesn’t want any kind of deal with the cartel, which is frightened of the cooperation between Croatian and Serbian police in finding those who committed and ordered the murders of Pukanić and Franjić,” Knežević said, adding that they are “trying all possible ways, even through diplomatic channels, to have some influence on the further investigation,” but that “things have progressed far”.

Asked what kind of diplomatic influences are in question, Knežević said that “Đukanović is sending his ‘guru’ from his youth Goran Rakočević, who is Montenegro’s ambassador to Croatia, who has the task of ‘charming’ the Croatian executive government, in hopes that they will give up on the investigation, which inevitably leads to Podgorica and Budva".

“I would not be surprised if Milo offers Serbia a deviation from the Kosovo recognition," he continued, explaining that this could come so that the investigation backs away from him and Subotić. "That’s him. Milošević's best student. If he was alive, Milošević would be proud of him, even from the Hague."

Asked why Subotić is saying that he is being “set up” by the government, Knežević said that this is “because Subotić is charged by the Belgrade Special Court as the organizer and promoter of a criminal organization. But also because the Zagreb and Belgrade jails are full of potential witnesses of the terrorist act in Zagreb in which Pukanić was killed.”

"And also, because Subotić has an Interpol warrant out for his arrest that enables him only to be in Montenegro, where he is protected like a Montenegrin mafia boss," Knežević added.

The newspaper writes that Tadić’s cabinet did not want to confirm or deny the claims that Mesić recently handed over information regarding the threats on the Serbian president's life since the investigation into the Pukanić and Franjić murders.

Pukanić, who owned Croatian weekly Nacional, and Franjić, who was his marketing chief, were killed when a car bomb exploded in Zagreb last fall. A number of people were arrested in connection to the case, including criminal underground kingpin Sreten Jocić, aka Joca Amsterdam.

Mesić denies

Croatian President Stjepan Mesić has denied that he handed over material to Boris Tadić that indicated he was in danger after the Pukanić case arrests.

"I informed my colleague Boris Tadić about the existence of a group of criminals and mafiosi who were investigated in Croatia, and recommended that their services too participate in the Pukanić murder investigation," Mesić said today.

"I did not bring with me any documents," he explained.

Mesić also said he asked Tadić for a much better cooperation of courts, police forces and prosecutions of the two countries, "since Croatian and Serbian criminals already cooperate so well".