Lock Four were already in custody prior to todays arrests and one is a fugitive. Have a question about Government Services? Luis De La Rosa Rios, Jesse Contreras, Ernesto Cisneros and Haylee Grisham have been charged in federal court with Arroyos' killing. Dorado and Fazah also were found guilty of possessing a controlled substance with the intent to distribute it (heroin and methamphetamine, respectively) and of each being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Dorado and Casado were arrested on August 6, 2013 as part of a large-scale takedown of more than 20 members and associates of the F13 Gang. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. An official website of the United States government. 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. The gang is now at the center of the killing earlier this month of an off-duty Los Angeles police officer. The evidence further showed that Sanchez participated in the F13 Gangs drug trafficking activities at the gangs casitas. [9] The conflict was triggered by the theft by East Coast Crips of a large amount of drugs from Florencia 13 members. In this case, the crime seems more opportunistic. Jose Dorado, 34, Tannous Fazah, 26, Jose Sanchez, 40, all of Huntington Park, and Giselle Casado, 33, of Downey, were convicted late yesterday in United States District Court following a 13-day trial. The indictment alleges that two incarcerated Mexican Mafia members are the leaders of the Florencia 13 gang, and that they directed the activities of the street gang from a California state prison and received payments derived from the gangs illegal activities. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Wednesday, February 13, 2019 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California LOS ANGELES - Authorities have arrested 11 members and associates of the South Los Angeles-based Florencia-13 (F13) street gang on federal racketeering, narcotics and firearms charges. All rights reserved. In a letter released by inmate advocates, Castellanos denounced the federal investigation as a set-up and described Florencia 13 as his old childhood street gang. He has also questioned why the feds only named him as an unindicted co-conspirator (Castellanos and the secret note were also mentioned in a 2007 indictment against other alleged gang members). Todays enforcement efforts will help to reduce the damaging impact of this brutal organization by arresting key members and associates of the La Familia cartel and disrupting their distribution networks in the Los Angeles area.. Information and translations of florencia 13 in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Four Florencia-13 members have gone on to join the Mexican Mafia, law enforcement officials have testified in prosecutions of the gang: Arturo Castellanos, known as Tablas; his brother Braulio, nicknamed Babo; Juan Topo Garcia and Leonel Wizard Laredo. The particular charge that prosecutors have brought against the four violent crime in aid of racketeering means they must make the case that the defendants robbed and murdered Arroyos to maintain or increase their standing within Florencia-13. Arroyoscollapsed in an alley and died at a hospital. 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. The STANDS4 Network . East Coast Crips responded with shootings of their own, often targeting Latinos who were not gang members. Florencia-13 members also collect protection money from local merchants who seek help in keeping gang members from hurting their business, the former member of the gang said. 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. Florencia 13 members have been caught buying weapons from U.S. military personnel. Officer Fernando Arroyos, 27, was shot to death the night of Jan. 10 near the intersection of 87th and Beach streets. In March 2010, Dorado and Fazah received an order from an incarcerated, senior member of the F13 gang instructing them beat and kill the victim. They also arrested 25 members and associates of the San Fernando Valley-based Vineland boys. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images). The prison system is a segregated place. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Terrence P. Mann of the Santa Ana Branch Office, Sheila Nagaraj of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, and Victoria A. Degtyareva of the General Crimes Section. The verdicts remove these violent defendants from our community and deal an important blow against the Florencia 13 gangs campaign of drugs and violence., Dorado and Fazah alone were found guilty of conspiring to commit a Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) for a gang-related beating in Huntington Park that ultimately led to the shooting death of the victim. The suspects were alleged members of Florencia 13, and are facing murder and attempted murder charges. 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. For a monthly payment, typically between $200 and $250, he said, members of Florencia-13 and other gangs are warned that the business is under the auspices of a Mexican Mafia member. All cliques must make sure you dont get infested by rats, P.C.s, or 25-debriefers gang members who cooperate with law enforcement by checking the paperwork, or court files, of every Florencia-13 member coming out of jail. How snitches and sex offenders are rooted out and punished. Few actual gang members died. Their tireless efforts, commitment to their agencies, and dedication to their communities have led law enforcement to a victory in the continuing battle against the gangs and drugs that plague our communities.. Running a criminal organization while locked inside one of America's most secure prisons requires imagination, cunning and ruthlessness. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! ndiscriminate shootings of Black and Latino residents. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. As Castellanos letters appeared on the street in the fall and winter of 2004, Florencia 13 erupted in a spate of violence against African Americans. Omar Hugo Robles, 30, of Sylmar, an alleged associate of La Familia, who was arrested this morning. 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. Various defendants are charged in six other counts in the indictment that allege substantive narcotics-distribution offenses, five of which relate to methamphetamine and one of which concerns marijuana. The Mexican Mafia has a powerful grasp on these [Latino] gangs, said Peter Hernandez, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case. The American Society of Mexico se congratula en anunciar el nombramiento de Florencia Davel, VP LatAm & Global Distributors Market de Bristol Myers Squibb, como Co-Chair de su Council of Latin . 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). But Laredo, an alleged member of the Mexican Mafia who has been incarcerated since 2000, was recorded in a call from prison telling an associate on the street that 40% of the money collected from the gangs rackets was owed to the four Mexican Mafia members from Florencia-13, according to an indictment charging him with racketeering. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation provided substantial assistance. [7] They are involved in drug smuggling, murder, assault and robbery. . 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. 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. [14][15], Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, "Appendix B. National-Level Street, Prison, and Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Profiles - Attorney General's Report to Congress on the Growth of Violent Street Gangs in Suburban Areas (UNCLASSIFIED)", As those killed at Tequila KC are laid to rest, the suspects possible gang connections, 12 Gangs That Are Keeping The FBI Awake At Night, "Fifth Gang Member Sentenced to Life Without Parole After Convictions in Massive Federal Racketeering Case", Gun Violence in the LAPD 77th Street Area, "Gang members charged in Utah mall shooting now charged with cemetery shooting", "As those killed at Tequila KC are laid to rest, the suspects' possible gang connections emerge", "Ten Defendants in Largest-Ever Federal Gang Case Found Guilty of Racketeering, Narcotics Charges", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Florencia_13&oldid=1132594522, This page was last edited on 9 January 2023, at 16:46. 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! Florencia 13, works closely with the Mexican Mafia and is a rival of the 18th Street set. The robbery and killing of an off-duty Los Angeles police officer this month was allegedly the work of Florencia 13 (F13), a Latino street gang largely controlled by the Mexican Mafia. Police say he was with his girlfriend, looking at a house that he was thinking of buying, when two men robbed him at gunpoint of his wallet and jewelry. Arturo. Arturo Cruz, 34, was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Beginning in 2004, the unincorporated Los Angeles County area north of Watts was the site of one of the regions worst gang sieges since the early 1990s, evolving into what some residents felt was a race war. Grisham, the girlfriend of Rios, is described as a gang associate. 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. Justice has been served.. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Terrence P. Mann, Sheila Nagaraj and Victoria Degtyareva. The action drew international attention and plaudits from a host of civil and human rights groups, including the ACLU and Amnesty International. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. The three men are members of Florencia-13, according to. Market data provided by Factset. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS They allege the protest leaders have a hidden agenda strengthening the hand of criminal groups that control drug and extortion rackets behind bars and on the streets. During the course of this investigation, authorities seized more than 600 pounds of methamphetamine and charged an additional six defendants in state court. Cartel Initiated Alliance with Prison Gang that is also Targeted in Second Indictment for Exercising Control Over Large South L.A. County Street Gang. The dealers were already paying off the Florencia-13 leadership and supplying them with cocaine, he testified. Many early members of the Mexican Mafia were recruited from the Florencia gang. Gang members have been charged with offenses ranging. Four more await trial; two have died and four are fugitives. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Six of her spring victories . ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Plaschke: Lakers live up to their legacy with a close-out win for the ages, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, L.A. Affairs: I had my reasons for not dating white men. Castellanos actions in running criminal conspiracies and in organizing protests are driven by an unquenchable thirst for power and recognition, according to Enriquez. The indictment unsealed today focuses on how the gang has generated illicit profits through the sale of drugs and firearms, fraud, and extortion. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and Operation Safe Street Bureau were pleased to hear that the collaborative efforts between the Federal Government and the LASD resulted in these significant convictions, said Captain Matt Burson, Sheriff's Operation Safe Streets Bureau. 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. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Casado had been released on bond since her arrest in August 2013; however, after the verdicts Judge OConnell ordered her remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. U.S. District Judge David Carter sentenced Florencia member Francisco Flores, 24, to life in prison on Wednesday, saying that he preyed on victims because they were black and for no other reason, according to a U.S. attorneys office news release. Operation Joker's Wild investigated the gang's drug trafficking, extortion of street criminals, and racially based murders of African Americans in the area. 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.. Jose Dorado, 34, Tannous Fazah, 26, Jose Sanchez, 40, all of Huntington Park, and Giselle Casado, 33, of Downey, were . 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. In an indictment brought in 2007, authorities accused the gang of attacking members of rival Black gangs in an attempt to drive them from the Florence-Firestone area. 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.. Although these violent criminal street gangs continue to exist today, joint law enforcement endeavors such as this are proven to be effective and further collaboration with our Federal partners is welcomed., The evidence at trial showed, among other things, that Dorado and Fazah received an order from an incarcerated, senior F13 Gang member to violently discipline a junior member of the gang. Stay in touch. Florencia 13 is one of the largest, most powerful and oldest street gangs in Southern California. 336 Florencia Ave , San Antonio, TX 78228-5843 is a single-family home listed for-sale at $300,000. "There's a fascination with gangs," said founder Alfred Lomas, a former member of the Florencia 13 gang. 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. In August, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles named Castellanos in an indictment alleging a host of narcotics, firearms and fraud offenses, all carried out from his cell at Pelican Bay. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Meanwhile, he said, we actually have the deputies to enforce zero tolerance with active gang members.. The Joint Regional Intelligence Center provided support during the investigation. A partner of Leon, Miguel Candido' s apartment was searched in March of 2019 where 5000 pills containing fentanyl, onepound of heroin, over $20,000 in US currency, drug ledgers, scales, and cell phones linking the two to a criminal organization were located. The Mexican Mafia is a powerful prison gang that controls much of the drug trade and other criminal activities within California state prisons, county jails and some federal prisons, according to the indictments unsealed this morning. Los Angeles Police officers bow their heads in prayer to honor their fallen colleague, Officer Fernando Arroyos, who was shot and killed during an armed robbery. ATF is committed and dedicated to removing violent criminals like these from our society for life. How drug sales, prostitution and other illegal activities are organized and taxed, with a percentage going to gang leaders behind bars. Acting United States Attorney Harrington said, The United States Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Washington commends the law enforcement officers with the federal and local agencies who investigated this case. "We can either address the issue head-on, create awareness and discuss the positive things . The remaining three indictments charge three individual F13 members and associates with distributing of methamphetamine. The former head of Wells Fargo Banks retail banking division has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a government examination into the banks widespread sales practices misconduct, which included opening A resident of the Westside of Los Angeles pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for using websites and apps such as Snapchat to meet and entice children to engage A South Bay man who along with three other accomplices victimized a 15-year-old girl by creating sexually explicit videos of her has been sentenced to 220 months in Central District of California
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. LA SHERIFF ASKS FEDS TO HANDLE PROSECUTION IN OFF-DUTY COP SHOOTING OVER CONCERNS DA TOO LENIENT: REPORT. Click on text to read a print version of the note. Ciaran McEvoy 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. Click on the image and hit the 'text' tab to read a typed version of the communique. Peter Hernandez, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who handled an earlier Mexican Mafia investigation, said the government at that time concluded it was safer to keep Castellanos in isolation and not pull him out of Pelican Bay for court hearings in Los Angeles, which would have been required had he been indicted. It was among the deadliest acts of violence in modern Kansas history. 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. How street gangs and their sub-groups are governed, including the election of a president and vice president by majority votes.. They just went out and started shooting at black people, Hernandez said. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? 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 . U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, Environmental Crimes and Community Safety, Federal Indictments Target South Los Angeles Street Gang Involved in Drug Trafficking, Extortion and Attempted Murder, 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. 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! United States District Judge Beverly Reid OConnell sentenced the two men this week after presiding over a four-week trial that culminated last July with a jury returning guilty verdicts on multiple charges against the defendants including conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, conspiracy to commit violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VICAR), drug trafficking conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, and felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. The rules, written in a cramped hand, state that every Florencia-13 clique should elect by majority vote a president and vice president, who were to hold weekly meetings. Chief Cosme Lozano of the Huntington Park Police Department said: We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this investigation and the conviction of the suspects. All fourdefendants were found guilty of both Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy and Drug Trafficking Conspiracy, the latter being based on the F13 Gangs street sales of illegal narcotics and coordinated operations to smuggle drugs into the Los Angeles County Jail (LACJ). An 11th defendant, Alejandro Rincon, will be retried in April. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Jim Hellmold, supervisor of the departments Century Division, where Florence-Firestone is located. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images), Elected officials took a hands-off approach to public safety: LAPD officer. 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. 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. Los Angeles, California 90012. Instead, residents said, they lived amid a race war. The gang is named after the Florence area of Los Angeles County, controlled by the Mexican Mafia. Tapped cellular phone calls introduced as evidence at the trial tracked Florencia members driving the streets looking for people to shoot. 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. They called themselves Florencia, after the east-west thoroughfare that ran through the heart of their territory. [7] They are involved in drug smuggling, murder, assault and robbery. Los Angeles, California 90012. Florencia 13 has a long history of being involved in drug trafficking in Los Angeles, where they have held a leadership . 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. Several members of the gang have risen through its ranks to become leaders of the Mexican Mafia. Black men, in particular, reported not walking to the store for groceries or riding bikes. A document seized by law enforcement in 2004 indicated the degree to which members of the Mexican Mafia controlled Florencia-13. He wants to place himself, through this megalomaniacal sense of importance, on this pedestal where he is looked at as one of the chieftains of the mob, he said. 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. (213) 894-4465. 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.. Urrutia, a native of Santa Fe, Argentina, is currently the No. When Leon was arrested for those drug charges, he was unlawfully in possession of a loaded firearm. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Lock On January 13, 2019, two people were shot and wounded outside the Fashion Place Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, after an argument erupted between Florencia 13 and Norteos members. According to information disclosed during court proceedings, Leon was under Department of Corrections supervision for a drive-by shooting conviction when he was indicted in three separate federal indictments, all involving separate criminal conduct from January 2019 until April 2020. We believe that we have initiated a crippling effect to those members who are still loyal to the Mexican Mafia criminal organization., Larry Miranda, Chief of the Office of Correctional Safety for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said: One of the most chilling aspects of this investigation was the budding relationship between the Mexican Mafia and the La Familia/Knights Templar, showing how two powerful organizations attempted to combine their efforts to control prison facilities and the communities in which we live. A second indictment unsealed today alleges that five F13 members and associates, working out of a South Los Angeles hookah lounge, participated in a scheme to distribute methamphetamine.
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