Purported leader of criminal gang is slain at a beachfront restaurant in Rio de Janeiro

By ELÉONORE HUGHES
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Rio de Janeiro have say that a purported leader of an organized crime group has been slain at a beachfront restaurant. Police say that 44-year-old Sérgio Rodrigues da Costa Silva was found dead at the scene when Rio’s military police arrived and cordoned off the area to investigate. Local media reports have identified Silva as head of an organized crime group known as a militia, and say his group had charged residents for protection and dealt in real estate and stolen vehicles.