Ciaran McEvoy Four years ago, authorities arrested dozens of members of South Los Angeles' Florencia 13 gang in connection with the killing of blacks because of the color of their skin. All 13 defendants are charged in count one of the indictment, which outlines the Mexican Mafia-La Familia alliance and alleges a conspiracy to distribute narcotics. 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. Prosecutors alleged that Mexican Mafia member Arturo Tablas Castellanos essentially created a crime wave in the Florence-Firestone district. I believe one of his objectives is to get [transferred] to federal prison to further his business plan, Enriquez said. Click on the image and hit the 'text' tab to read a typed version of the communique. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. LOS ANGELES A coalition of federal, state and local authorities this morning arrested eight defendants named in a federal grand jury indictment that outlines an alliance between the Mexican Mafia prison gang and the La Familia Michoacna drug cartel that sought to protect and expand the cartels drug trafficking activities across the nation. Running a criminal organization while locked inside one of America's most secure prisons requires imagination, cunning and ruthlessness. Florencia 13 - Rap Dictionary This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. 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. In April 2017, one defendant, Samuel Flores Mejia, a.k.a. The STANDS4 Network . The sentencing of six Florencia 13 gang members to life in prison appears to bring to a close a prolonged and terrifying spate of violence in the Florence-Firestone district allegedly brought on by orders from a prison gang member in solitary confinement 700 miles away. The prison-based syndicate is also known as La Eme, Spanish for M, the 13th letter of the alphabet. 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. They just went out and started shooting at black people, Hernandez said. Legal Statement. Florencia 13 members have been caught buying weapons from U.S. military personnel. Chief Judge Bastian determined Leon posed a danger to the community and an extreme risk to re-offend given his significant criminal history and recidivist criminal behavior. After the jury returned its verdicts, United States District Judge Beverly Reid OConnell scheduled sentencing hearings for October 24, 2016. 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. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, What GOPs plan for Medicaid work requirements would mean, Column: A centrist, third-party alternative for 2024 is a nice idea but a nightmare in practice, Chinese man who reported on COVID to be released after 3 years. The organization is made up of about 140 men, all but a handful of them imprisoned, who rose through the hierarchies of local street gangs and the penal system by displaying a readiness to commit violence or an ability to make large amounts of money, according to law enforcement sources. As demonstrated at trial, Dorado, Fazah, and Sanchez were F13 Gang soldiers who engaged in narcotics trafficking, violence, and/or firearms possession in furtherance of the gang. 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. Los Angeles Police officers attend a candlelight vigil for fallen Officer Fernando Arroyos, who was shot and killed during an armed robbery attempt outside the Olympic Community Police Station Jan. 12, 2022, in Los Angeles. Federal prosecutors charge alleged gang members with killing off-duty A secret letter allegedly sent from an inmate at Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California to members of Florencia 13, a multi-generational street gang in south Los Angeles, details a covert network that has enriched the states most powerful prison gang, the Mexican Mafia. Additionally, Sanchez was found guilty of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, based on his possession of a handgun at one of the illegal gambling establishments run by the gang known as casitas.. Dorado then reported back to the incarcerated F13 Gang member who issued the order: Thats a done deal. The Sheriffs Department has also targeted Florencias rivals, said Capt. The gang now has at least two dozen cliques across South Los Angeles, Huntington Park, South Gate and Maywood. Urrutia, a native of Santa Fe, Argentina, is currently the No. 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. Justice has been served.. By then Florencia 13 had bulged to include three dozen cliquesroughly 2,000 members in alland joined 18th Street and the Salvadoran Mara Salvatrucha as some of Southern California's . They also arrested 25 members and associates of the San Fernando Valley-based Vineland boys. [7] They are involved in drug smuggling, murder, assault and robbery. 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. With the four convictions last summer, a total of 25 defendants have been convicted in the case (one charged defendant died, and the other four remain fugitives). The gang also operates casitas, underground casinos hidden inside South Los Angeles homes and apartments, which each generated about $300 a week in taxes for the gang, the indictment says. LOS ANGELES Two key operatives of the Florencia 13 street gang were sentenced this week to life without parole in federal prison. 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. A separate indictment released in August alleges Mexican Mafia members attempted to form an alliance with operatives from a powerful Mexican drug cartel, with approval from leaders at Pelican Bay. A third indictment charges two F13 members with being felons in possession of a firearm and ammunition, namely an AK-47-type rifle. That same night, in an alley in Huntington Park, Dorado, Fazah and other members of the gang circled the victim and proceeded to punch and kick him repeatedly, after which Fazah brandished an illegal handgun and fatally shot the victim in the face. One of the indictments alleges that the gang is a criminal enterprise as defined by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c0660170e4a056a The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation provided substantial assistance. All rights reserved. A document seized by law enforcement in 2004 indicated the degree to which members of the Mexican Mafia controlled Florencia-13. 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. 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! This investigation into the Mexican Mafia started in May 2010 and also involved the Montebello Police Department, the Bakersfield Police Department, the Long Beach Police Department, the Glendale Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Secret Service, the Stanislaus Drug Enforcement Agency, the United States Bureau of Prisons, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation-Special Services Unit, and the Huntington Park Police Department. An official website of the United States government. How Imprisoned Mexican Mafia Leader Exerts Secret Control Over L.A The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, DEA & ATF began targeting Florencia 13 gang members for their roles in racially motivated attacks on African-Americans. The operation involved the Los Angeles High- Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the IRS, and the Los Angeles County Probation Department. News Florencia 13 Gang Member Arrested on Rico Charges Latino Gang Members Indicted for 'Cleansing' Operation 3 Gang Members Charged With Race Killing [11] Laredo, who is serving a sentence for prior racketeering and drug convictions related to his F13 activities, is one of four members of the Mexican Mafia prison gang who allegedly had leadership roles in the gang. The marijuana count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison (10 years if the defendant has a prior narcotics conviction) and a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Officer Fernando Arroyos, 27, was shot to death the night of Jan. 10 near the intersection of 87th and Beach streets. Many of the victims, Black and Latino, had no gang affiliations. Chief United States District Judge Stanley Bastian sentenced Leon to a 160-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 5-year term of court supervision after he is released from prison. A locked padlock Now we have demonstrated our ability to stop the Mexican Mafia from realizing a new power base by disrupting the gangs plot to establish a threatening alliance with a major drug trafficking organization.. Members of the Latino Florencia 13 gang have left their tag at numerous places along a stretch of Florence Avenue in the Florence area of L.A. County. Arturo Cruz, 34, was sentenced to 60 years in prison. 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. Several members of the gang have risen through its ranks to become leaders of the Mexican Mafia. A lock ( Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. The lead defendant in RICO indictment Leonel Laredo, a.k.a. Click on each highlighted area to learn more about it. The indictment alleges that Laredo ran the street gang from prison with a goal of enriching himself, family members and associates through extortionate taxes taken from drug dealers and businesses in F13s territory. Earlier this year, Carter had handed out life sentences to Florencia members Jesse Vasquez, 36; Alberto Hernandez, 28; Gilberto Oliva, 41; Manuel Hernandez, 27; and Noe Gonzalez, 28.
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