For her part, Casado was shown to be a secretary who assisted the extortionate tax collections and drug trafficking activities of the gangs two shot callers on the streets; and she also repeatedly visited the operational leader of the gang Mexican Mafia member Leonel Laredo, aka Wizard imprisoned at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California, to relay gang-related messages. ft. home is a 3 bed, 2.0 bath property. The gang is now at the center of the killing earlier this month of an off-duty Los Angeles police officer. Few actual gang members died. Jose Rodriguez-Landa, also known as Fox and Fox Tapia, 49, of Michoacn, an alleged Mexican Mafia member currently in custody in a Los Angeles County jail; Michael Moreno, aka Boo, 55, of Fresno, an alleged member of the Mexican Mafia, who was arrested this morning; Fred Anthony Montoya, aka Fast Freddy, 46, of Antioch, California, an alleged Mexican Mafia member who is currently in custody in a California state prison; Freddie Montes, 44, of Castaic, an alleged member of La Familia, who was arrested this morning; Luis Gerardo Vega, aka Little and Little One, 30, of the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles, an alleged Mexican Mafia member who is currently in custody in a Los Angeles County jail; Manuel Larry Jackson, aka Cricket, 49, of Monterey Park, an alleged Mexican Mafia member, who was arrested this morning; Jimmy Ruben Soto, aka Rube and Old Man, 77, of Visalia, an alleged member of the Mexican Mafia, who was arrested this morning; Raymond Lozano, 36, of San Diego, an alleged Mexican Mafia associate who is currently incarcerated in a federal prison; Efrain Isak Rosales, aka Tucn, 35, an alleged member of La Familia who resides in Michoacn and who is currently being sought by authorities; Sonia Apodaca, aka Shorty, 44, of El Monte, an alleged secretary of the Mexican Mafia, who was arrested this morning; Claudia Garcia, aka Giggles, 42, of the Gramercy Park district of Los Angeles, an alleged associate of the Mexican Mafia, who was arrested this morning; Adam Rios, aka Blanco, 35, of Slymar, an alleged associate of La Familia, who was arrested this morning; and. LOS ANGELES - A federal jury late Tuesday convicted three men and one woman from Los Angeles County of conspiring to participate in the racketeering activities of the Florencia 13 criminal street gang (F13 Gang), as well as of related drug trafficking and firearms offenses. Yet he wrote letters, introduced as evidence at the trial, that presumed to control a street gang, most of whose members had never seen him. As revealed by a series of inmate telephone recordings, he participated in the attempt to have a co-conspirator smuggle heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine through the Los Angeles Metropolitan Courthouse on Hill Street. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! "It was important that Castellanos not be let out, because he holds sway over gang members to do things they would otherwise not want to do," Hernandez said. The indictment unsealed today follows a 2007 crackdown on the gang that led to more than 100 members and associates being charged, and five of them receiving sentences of life without parole in federal prison (see: http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/Pressroom/pr2010/025.html). How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Rene Enriquez, a former Mexican Mafia leader who is cooperating with federal prosecutors, said Castellanos brazen style suggests he wants to be indicted and sent to federal prison where he can enjoy a host of privileges banned at Pelican Bay, including monthly phone calls and freedom of movement in a general population facility. Jessica Chasmar is a digital writer on the politics team for Fox News and Fox Business. Central District of California | Federal Indictments Target South Los The Florencia 13, South Side Florencia 13 or Florence Gang is an American criminal street gang based in Los Angeles, California, composed mainly of Mexican-Americans. Killing of LAPD officer brings scrutiny on one of L.A.'s oldest and Rincon was accused of authorizing -- along with others -- the execution of Florencia 13 gang member Johnny Ibarra because he killed a fellow gang member without permission, according to prosecutors. Los Angeles, California 90012. LOS ANGELES - Two Huntington Park men who are members of the Florencia 13 street gang and participated in the murder of another gang member have been sentenced to life without parole in federal prison after being convicted at trial of racketeering, narcotics, and weapons offenses.. Jose Dorado, also known as "Yogi," 35, and Tannous Fazah, aka "Terist," 27, were sentenced on Monday by . In this case, the crime seems more opportunistic. Story tips can be sent to Jessica.Chasmar@fox.com. Florencia 13 - Wikipedia Six of her spring victories . [11] Federal prosecutors charge alleged gang members with killing off-duty A fifth member of Florencia 13 (F13), a street gang involved in narcotics distribution and shootings of African-Americans, has been sentenced to life in federal prison for his conviction on a host of federal criminal charges, including racketeering and narcotics distribution. Anthony Williams, DEA Special Agent in Charge, commented: This multi-agency, coordinated investigation identified a network of drug traffickers tied directly to one of the most violent Mexican drug cartels La Familia or the Knights Templar. At the time of sentencing, all defendants will face a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment on the RICO Conspiracy and Drug Trafficking Conspiracy counts, as well as mandatory minimum prison terms of 10 years based on the amounts of methamphetamine at issue. An 11th defendant, Alejandro Rincon, will be retried in April. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Sanchez also served as armed security and carried a firearm to protect the casitas drug operations. Leon was identified as working within a criminal organization responsible for the distribution of thousands of deadly pills containing fentanyl in early 2019. [8], Between 2005 and 2014 there was a Southern California style Mexican restaurant at 185 Sullivan Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City named Florencia 13 after the gang. This indictment charges 31 defendants and alleges violations of the federal racketeering (RICO) statute, as well as a host of narcotics, firearms, and fraud offenses. The conspiracy charge and the counts related to methamphetamine each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison (20 years if the defendant has a prior drug conviction, which may affect about half of the defendants in the indictment) and a maximum statutory sentence of life without parole. While in custody, Leon, a confirmed Florencia 13 gang member, became involved in a conspiracy to smuggle illegal contraband into the Benton County Jail with the assistance of a correctional officer. A California law says yes. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca stated: The successful results of this joint operation allowed law enforcement to intervene in the development of a very strong and powerful merger between dangerous criminal organizations. A note that was written on a small scrap of paper known as a kite, smuggled out of prison and then recopied in larger print, lays out specific rules for Mexican Mafia members on the street. Years of violent conflict over that territory with other gangs lent Florencia an identity and reason for being. Two more gang members are scheduled to be sentenced later this month. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The remaining three indictments charge three individual F13 members and associates with distributing of methamphetamine. Those arrested today are among 36 members and associates of the F13 gang named in six federal grand jury indictments. On October 6, 2019, four men, ages 20s to 50s, were killed and five injured at KC Tequila, a Hispanic-themed bar and restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas. It was crazy -- really crazy.. Three years after the Florencia indictment, residents say, a measure of calm has come to Florence-Firestone. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher C. Kendall of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Section. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Their trial, which took place in federal court in Santa Ana in 2008, grew from an indictment of 104 Florencia gang members on charges that included racketeering, conspiracy to sell drugs and murder. Before joining The Times in 2018, he covered city news and state politics at the Hartford Courant. The three men are members of Florencia-13, according to. Florencia-13 members were forbidden from extorting paisas slanging in the hood a reference, Velasquez testified, to Mexican nationals selling drugs in the gangs territory. Arturo Cruz, 34, was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Sanchez will face an additional five-year mandatory, consecutive term of imprisonment due to his conviction for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Florencia did the opposite, law enforcement officials say, absorbing smaller gangs and expanding their extortion and drug dealing rackets on the orders of its leaders, who are incarcerated many hundreds of miles away. Fazah and Sanchez were later transferred to the United States District Court from state custody, where they had been incarcerated on separate felony state charges. Had it been an incorporated city, that rate would have ranked it among the nations worst. By combining law enforcement resources, we were able to curtail their ability to build alliances and prevent their violence from spreading further into our communities.. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. . The sentence imposed by the court removes a drug trafficker and violent offender from our streets and sends a clear message to others who may choose to engage in such criminal activity.. Grisham, the girlfriend of Rios, is described as a gang associate. Over the years, demographic and social shifts have weakened many street gangs and caused some to die out altogether. Gang members have been charged with offenses ranging. It is the hoods responsibility to clean the hood of such trash, the rules state. 13 American Gangs That Are Keeping The FBI Up At Night - Business Insider An official website of the United States government. Anyone who ignores the group's edicts faces likely retaliation if they end up behind bars. ATF is committed and dedicated to removing violent criminals like these from our society for life. In time it absorbed smaller gangs, many of which became cliques, or subsets, of Florencia-13. The indictment concerning the Mexican Mafia-La Familia Project represents the largest crackdown on the prison gangs members since the United States Attorneys Office brought a series of RICO cases against the leadership of the prison gang in the 1990s. Click to reveal It was among the deadliest acts of violence in modern Kansas history. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Juries have found in a number of recent trials that Florencia-13 amounts to a racketeering enterprise, but in those cases, prosecutors had evidence recorded calls, intercepted letters and jailhouse notes that its leaders had directed the drug deals, shakedowns and murders that formed a pattern of racketeering activity. Wednesday, June 7, 2017 Contact: Los Angeles Field Division 818-265-2507 www.atf.gov Two Florencia 13 Gang Members Sentenced to Life in Prison LOS ANGELES - Two key operatives of the Florencia 13 street gang were sentenced this week to life without parole in federal prison. The gang is named after the Florence area of Los Angeles County, controlled by the Mexican Mafia. [7] They are involved in drug smuggling, murder, assault and robbery. They include: We are forewarning everyone to cautiously respect these reglas and know theres no 2nd chance, reads the message, which was allegedly written by Arturo Castellanos, a convicted murderer who has been held in isolation at Pelican Bay since 1990. In recent years, however, Florencia-13 members have been directed to eschew violent inter-gang rivalries in favor of pursuing new rackets, said a former member of the gang, who spoke on condition of anonymity. This case was investigated by the DEA-Tri-Cities Task Force, METRO and Pasco Street Crimes Unit, United States Marshals Service, and Benton County Sheriff's Office. The trial further found that the gang was controlled by the Mexican Mafia prison gang. News Florencia 13 Gang Member Arrested on Rico Charges Latino Gang Members Indicted for 'Cleansing' Operation 3 Gang Members Charged With Race Killing This multi-agency law enforcement effort exhibits the positive community impact of focused, diligent and dedicated investigative work, said ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric D. Harden. So all you homies doing so, the rules say, get a job!, The document lays out which drugs can be sold where: Jailed Florencia-13 members in need of money were permitted to sell heroin in the county jail, but not speed, glass, crank, or crystal. No heroin was to be sold in gang territory on the streets. The edict led to indiscriminate shootings of Black and Latino residents, as Florencia-13 members prowled the streets for targets and East Coast Crips committed retaliatory shootings of their own, witnesses testified. Suite 1200 13 Linked To Mexican Mafia And La Familia Indicted After - DEA East Coast Crips responded with shootings of their own, often targeting Latinos who were not gang members. We are Emeros (Mexican Mafia members) and we expect that these reglas are followed and respected by all true south-side Florencianos and Florencianas.. The defendants taken into custody this morning are scheduled to make their initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court. Florencia 13 is one of the largest, most powerful and oldest street gangs in Southern California. And after they agree its over, its a dead issue.. It is alleged that the Florence 13 gang has members in Los Angeles, New York City, East Orange, Chicago, Washington DC, Detroit, Arkansas, Miami, Texas, Atlanta, Sinaloa and Mexico. He hasnt been on the streets since 1979. As part of the alliance between the criminal enterprises, the indicted members and associates of the Mexican Mafia helped La Familia distribute narcotics by ordering, instructing, and informing Hispanic gang members to protect La Familia drug shipments and sales, to prevent criminal taxation of La Familia drug shipments and sales, and to collect drug debts, according to the indictment, which also alleges that Mexican Mafia members would protect incarcerated members of La Familia. When Leon was arrested for those drug charges, he was unlawfully in possession of a loaded firearm. 13 Linked To Mexican Mafia And La Familia Indicted After Investigation Reveals Plot To Join Forces To Expand Drug Cartels Presence In U.S. http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/Pressroom/pr2010/025.html, Former Wells Fargo Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Obstructing Bank Examination Involving the Opening of Millions of Accounts Without Customer Authorization, West Los Angeles Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for Using Snapchat to Entice Child into Producing Sexually Explicit Videos, Carson Man Sentenced to More Than 18 Years in Federal Prison for Making Sexually Explicit Videos of 15-Year-Old Victim. This case is an example of what can be accomplished when local, state, and federal agencies collaborate to investigate, arrest, and successfully prosecute these violent criminals.. According to evidence presented at a racketeering trial in 2008, Arturo Castellanos, through a series of letters sent from prison, ordered his gang to attack members of the East Coast Crips, who claim a strip of South Los Angeles east of the 110 freeway. In April 2017, one defendant, Samuel Flores Mejia, a.k.a. Arturo. ndiscriminate shootings of Black and Latino residents. How Imprisoned Mexican Mafia Leader Exerts Secret Control Over L.A Performance & security by Cloudflare. The three men are members of Florencia-13, according to the FBI.
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