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CRIME

‘Notorious Gypsy Boss’ case not over yet

The tale of Denmark’s most ‘notorious’ criminal will take one more turn after the nation’s public prosecutor decided to take ‘Gypsy Boss’ Gimi Levakovic’s case to the Supreme Court.

Published: 15 October 2015 07:43 CEST
'Notorious Gypsy Boss' case not over yet
Gimi Levakovic, the self-described 'Boss' of Denmark's criminal underworld. Photo: TV2
Gimi Levakovic, known in Denmark as ‘the Gypsy boss’ (Sigøjnerbossen), was convicted on charges of having a loading pistol and making death threats by a Næstved court in August and sentenced to 15 months in prison followed by expulsion from Denmark. Earlier this month, the Eastern High Court agreed with the guilty verdict but reversed the expulsion order, leading to outrage on social media and a vow from Justice Minister Søren Pind that he would encourage prosecutors to take the case to the Supreme Court. 
 
On Wednesday, Pind got his wish. The public prosecutor’s office (Rigsadvokaten) wrote on Twitter that it will pursue Levakovic’s expulsion at the highest court. 
 
“The case has fundamental importance: The High Court emphasized that the prosecution hadn’t previously wanted Levakovic expelled. Does that apply to all cases?” the office wrote. 
 
The High Court overturned Levakovic’s deportation by saying that it would adversely affect his two small children, for whom he has sole custody. That reasoning didn’t set well with many Danes, who pointed to countless examples of the Danish state breaking up families through deportation in immigration cases. 
 
 
Levakovic became nationally-known thanks to a TV2 documentary entitled ‘The Gypsy Boss and His Notorious Family’ (Sigøjnerbossen og hans berygtede familie). A Roma from Croatia, Levakovic is the head of what for many years has been called ‘Denmark’s most criminal family’ and is the self-declared ‘boss’ of the nation’s Romas.
 
According to TV2, the Levakovic family first arrived in Denmark in 1972 and most of the 45-member clan have never had jobs and have instead lived off a mix of welfare benefits and crime. Three members of the Levakovic family have previously been sent back to Croatia for their crimes, which include home robberies, violence and rape. 
 
In the original Næstved court ruling, Judge Christian Ankerstjerne pointed to Levakovic’s “history with numerous incidents of violence”.
 
“We believe upon that background that there is a risk that he will continue his criminal activities,” Ankerstjerne added. 

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CRIME

Danish government backs removing children from gang-connected families

Denmark’s government wants authorities to be able to move children out of families in which parents are gang members and is likely to formalise the measure in parliament.

Published: 9 April 2024 13:38 CEST
Danish government backs removing children from gang-connected families

The justice spokesperson with senior coalition partner the Social Democrats, Bjørn Brandenborg, told regional media TV2 Fyn that he wants authorities to have the power to remove children from their families in certain circumstances where the parents are gang members.

Brandenborg’s comments came on Monday, after Odense Municipality said it had spent 226 million kroner since 2009 on social services for eight specific families with gang connections.

“There is simply a need for us to give the authorities full backing and power to forcibly remove children early so we break the food chain and the children don’t become part of gang circles,” he said.

The measure will be voted on in parliament “within a few weeks”, he said.

An earlier agreement on anti-gang crime measures, which was announced by the government last November, includes provisions for measures of this nature, Brandenborg later confirmed to newswire Ritzau.

“Information [confirming] that close family members of a child or young person have been convicted for gang crime must be included as a significant and element in the municipality’s assessment” of whether an intervention is justified, the agreement states according to Ritzau.

The relevant part of November’s political agreement is expected to be voted on in parliament this month.

READ ALSO: Denmark cracks down on gang crime with extensive new agreement

Last year, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told political media Altinget that family relations to a gang member could be a parameter used by authorities when assessing whether a child should be forcibly removed from parents.

In the May 2023 interview, Hummelgaard called the measure a “hard and far-reaching measure”.

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