In total, more than 80 Latin Kings members and associates have faced state or federal charges since 2006. A single common name can be shared by many plants. "Theres a constant pressure into the neighboring communities,'Capp said. The racketeering conspiracy charge generally carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, but a life sentence is possible for certain underlying racketeering activities referenced in the indictments. Adding to the turmoil, gang factions are more active on social media, using hashtags and instant messages to threaten and challenge each other, keeping the level of animosity constant and elevated. According to this indictment, the Latin Kings is nationwide gang that originated in Chicago and has branched out throughout the United States, including to Texas. Several other firearm-related offenses are charged in the indictment. BOSTON - A former member of the New Bedford Chapter of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) was sentenced on May 17, 2022 on racketeering charges. He is currently held at a federal prison in Kentucky. Among the Chicago chapters included in the Southeast Region were 82nd Street, 88th and 89th Streets, 97th Street, 99th Street, 102nd Street, 104th Street, and the Roseland neighborhood. As of Tuesday afternoon, 33 out of the 36 defendants charged in the Chicago cases were in custody and will be making their initial court appearances in the coming days, according to U.S. attorney's office spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick. Over 650 law enforcement agents started making arrests around 4:00 a.m. on Thursday that saw 62 alleged gang members charged. According to the indictment, the Latin Kings is a nation-wide gang that originated in Chicago and has spread throughout the United States. Significant investigative assistance was provided by the following Illinois agencies: Melrose Park Police Department, Maywood Police Department, Cook County Sheriff's Police Department, Joliet Police Department, Evergreen Park Police Department, Bolingbrook Police Department, Orland Park Police Department, and Palos Park Police Department. "The scope is breathtaking.". While locked up, Colon ascended to the rank of Corona the top Latin Kings decision-maker. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (LECC), Thirty Four Alleged Gang Members Charged with Participating in Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Guns, Assaults and Attempted Murders in Chicago and Suburbs, Federal Inmate Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison for Assaulting Federal Correctional Officer, Chicago Man Sentenced to Eight Years for Setting Fire to Cell Phone Store, Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing Gun and Drugs in Chicago Suburb, Thirty Four Alleged Gang Members Charged With Participating In Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Guns, Assaults and Attempted Murders In Chicago and Suburbs. The indictment alleges that on one occasion, Guerrero and Martinez were assisted by Chavez, a Latin Kings member, during which time they robbed between $30,000 and $40,000 in drug proceeds.. Chavez is a convicted felon who is also charged with illegally possessing a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber pistol in Chicago in the summer of 2014, the indictment states. Also arrested were three alleged Incas charged as leaders of the M-Town crew: Piere Paolo Gennell, 30, of Melrose Park; Jose Hernandez, 45, of Maywood; and David Perez, 26, of Melrose Park. Two indictments focus on the Latin Kings' dealings on the Southeast Side and in the western suburbs of Maywood and Melrose Park, known as "M-Town." Several of those charged have already been. An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration Authority Delegation Program 287(g). Pissetzky filed a similar motion earlier this year, arguing for Colons release under the First Step Act, a reform bill signed into law in 2018 that aims decrease unnecessarily lengthy federal prison sentences. The National Read Across America Day takes place every year on March 2, Geisels birthday. announced the charges. A chapter soldier, ROY VEGA, 33, of Chicago, is charged with brandishing and discharging a firearm during a violent assault on July 5, 2014, in Chicago. A chapter soldier, Roy Vega, 33, of Chicago, is charged with brandishing and discharging a firearm during a violent assault on July 5, 2014, in Chicago. Hes also taken other courses that focus on keeping away from the sort of criminal activities that got him locked up in the first place. "Gang violence, gun violence, senseless violence, the type of violence that plagues our communities, our neighborhoods, in Chicago and beyond," U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon told reporters at a news conference at the Dirksen U.S. The investigation of the Chicago Police Department officers was conducted by Chicago City Public Corruption Task Force, a Chicago Police Department- Internal Affairs and FBI - Chicago law enforcement initiative. The 36th and final defendant is an alleged Latin King charged in a criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Several other firearm-related offenses are charged in the indictment. The charges include the attempted murders of rival gang members and a Melrose Park (Illinois) police officer. The previous Latin King indictment had charged Joseph Uvalle with sex trafficking offenses, and this . This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Nozick, and Joseph A. Cooley, Trial Attorney, United States Department of Justice - Organized Crime and Gang Section. Colon fired three more rounds into Burrs body after Burr fell to the ground, according to court records. Assistant U.S. All Rights Reserved. Edgar Velarde-Saldana, 33, of Maywood, a so-called "soldier" in M-Town, is charged with trying to kill a Melrose Park police officer on July 6, 2014. The principal mission of OCDETF is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations. The Chicago-based Almighty Latin King Nation, commonly referred to as Latin Kings, is a collection of over 160 structured gangs, referred to as chapters, operating in 158 cities in 31 states. Its not clear when the judge overseeing the case will issue a ruling. Fifty years ago this week June 27, 1971 Gustavo Colon, a teen Latin King, shot and killed Glenn Burr, a teen Vice Lord, at the intersection of Potomac Avenue and Leavitt Street. Several other firearm-related offenses are charged in the indictment. It is alleged that Uvalle drove Nicholas Baez and Antonio Gamino to the bar and handed Baez a firearm. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The sentence was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, together with Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Larry Ford, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. They were linked to the Latin Kings, then allied with the Maniac Latin Disciples. From its origin and base in the west side Little Village community, the Latin Kings spread throughout Chicago and Illinois and established branches in other states, where local leaders acted with some autonomy but adhered to the rules and hierarchy of the Chicago gang, according to the evidence in the five-week federal trial. Paul Vasquez is charged with attempting to transfer a loaded Tec-DC9 semi-automatic pistol to other Latin King members on Oct. 25, 2015, in Chicago, according to the indictment. The charges include the attempted murders of rival gang members and a Melrose Park police officer in 2014. CHICAGOThe second highest-ranking leader nationwide of the Latin Kings street gang was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison after being convicted at trial in 2011 of racketeering. Among the allegations levied in the indictments were that a soldier in the M-Town faction, Edgar Velarde-Saldana, 33, tried to murder a Melrose Park police officer in July 2014, after it was learned the officer was assisting FBI agents. Fardon has previously pointed to Chicago street violence as a priority for his office. CHICAGO Two federal indictments unsealed in Chicago today charged 34 members of the Latin Kings street gang with participating in a criminal organization that assaults and attempts to murder its rivals and violently protects its territories in the city and suburbs. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, CFD: 1 injured, building collapses in West Town fire. The Latin Kings started out in Chicago in the 1950's, with the original stated purpose of protecting Puerto Rican immigrants from racial violence and discrimination. The following month, Velarde-Saldana brandished and discharged a .45-caliber pistol during the course of a separate violent crime in Maywood, the indictment states. SEVP is a part of the National Security Investigations Division and acts as a bridge for government organizations that have an interest in information on nonimmigrants whose primary reason for coming to the United States is to be students. According to the indictment, the Latin King's hierarchy consists of: a "chief" or "boss" of the gang; his top street chiefs or "jefes"; a "crown council," and various sections or chapters of the gang. According to the indictment, Bernal hired two Chicago police officers to hand over drugs, guns and cash to gang members. Named in today's two-count superseding indictment are: This fifth superseding indictment alleges a conspiracy to commit . Sheriff Chad Chronister said detectives and DEA agents seized more than $800,000 in drugs, plus 15 firearms, cash and stolen property after they executed search warrants at five properties in . He had absolute power, one former Latin King said of Colons grip on the gang. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times Next Up In News "We are grateful to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies for their hard work in conducting this investigation and making these arrests and we are pleased to have been able to lend Melrose Park Police officers to assist," said Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico. CHICAGO (WLS) -- Thirty-six alleged members of the Latin Kings street gang were charged Tuesday, accused of participating in a criminal organization that violently acted to protect its. Colon was arrested two months after the shooting. He ascended the gang ranks while in prison, eventually becoming leader of Latin Kings and calling the shots from behind bars. The officer was assisting the FBI. M-Town Section (Melrose Park and Maywood). CHICAGO (CBS) - Nearly three dozen alleged members of the Latin King street gang are now accused of murder, arson, assault and extortion, among other crimes, federal officials announced. The indictment charges three alleged high-ranking Latin Kings who enforced discipline and adherence to the gangs rules and were known as Regional Enforcers. The three Southeast Regional Enforcers charged in the indictment are RAUL CAVILLO, 33, of Chicago; JOEL NUNEZ, 39, of Chicago; and CARLOS PADILLA JR., 35, of Chicago. With a body mass index of 33, Colon is also considered obese. Garcia was among a total of 31 co-defendants who were indicted in September 2008 or charged in a superseding indictment in October 2009. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. "I think it is a major setback for the Latin King nation operating in this region," Fardon said. Nancy DePodesta, a former federal prosecutor who led the case against Zambrano, said in an interview Tuesday that it was "disheartening" to see so many of the same allegations in the new charges. "Hopefully this case today will increase the community's awareness of the FBI's commitment to combat violent crime," said Michael Anderson, Chicago FBI special agent in charge. Two other gang associates were sentenced Monday on related charges. Included within the Midwest Region of the Latin Kings were numerous sections of the gang, including the Maywood section and the Melrose Park section, which collectively were referred to as the M-Town section. The three alleged Southeast enforcers charged in the indictment are Raul Cavillo, 33, Joel Nunez, 39, and Carlos Padilla Jr., 35, all of Chicago. The new 53-page document also adds 14 new defendants to a prosecution that began in summer 2016. The following month, Velarde-Saldana brandished and discharged a .45-caliber pistol during the course of a separate violent crime in Maywood, the indictment states. During the multi-year probes, authorities confiscated more than 40 firearms, including two AR-15 assault rifles. Taliyah Barboza, a/k/a "Queen Taliyah," 27, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to time served (approximately six days in prison) and three years of supervised release. He fired repeatedly into the body of [the victim], and then casually held the gun to the head of [the young woman], who was spared only because the killers earlier zeal had emptied the weapon.. Combating cross-border criminal activity is a critical component of the overall safety, security and well-being of our nation. On Feb. 25, 2007, the indictment alleges that Vargas, Ortiz, Clay, Quiroz and other Latin King members participated in the murder of Latin Dragons leaders James Walsh and Gonzalo Diaz outside of the Sopranos Bar in Griffith, Ind. Several other firearm-related offenses are charged in the indictment. The following year, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. He was not a cartel leader from Mexico like Chapo or anything like that.. He has yet to be sentenced. Detectives seized drugs with a combined street value of almost a million dollars and other valuable items purchased with illicit cash. Jimenez collected dues from the chapters as a way of financially supporting the activities of the region, the indictment states. This sentence holds Garcia accountable for the barbaric enterprise known as the Latin Kings and his role in murder, attempted murder, shootings, beatings, drug trafficking, and other crimes, said Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. In addition, superseding charges brought in federal court in Hammond accuse an additional 17 alleged Latin King members of everything from sex trafficking and gunrunning to two previously unsolved slayings, court records show. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives . One gang member is also accused of trying to kill a Melrose Park police officer in July 2014. The day before his scheduled release in 1997, Colon and a dozen others were charged by the feds with running a multi-million dollar narcotics operation from an apartment in Logan Square. It's a further example that gang crime does not stop at Chicagos borders and can even reach into the bucolic suburbs and small towns that few would ever associate with gangland drug deals and murders. Several of the defendants were arrested this week and have begun making initial appearances in federal court in Chicago. Attorneys Brian Wallach, Derek Owens and Vikas Didwania are representing the government in the Cavillo, et al, case. Delgado also faces a drug-related charge for allegedly distributing cocaine in Chicago in April 2014. ROCKFORD A former inmate of the United States Penitentiary in Thomson, Ill. was sentenced today to more than seven years in federal prison for assaulting a federal correctional officer. The arrests were the culmination of a three-year investigation and come as Chicago's epidemic of gun violence continues to spike to levels not seen since the late 1990s. A 2012 Florida Department of . But the real business of the Almighty Latin Kings is violence, federal authorities say. In late 2006, ATF agents led an investigation that resulted in federal drug trafficking and firearms charges against 38 Latin Kings members and associates. Could new DNA tech crack the JonBenet Ramsey case? HAMMOND, Ind. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Paul Vasquez is charged with attempting to transfer a loaded Tec-DC9 semi-automatic pistol to other Latin King members on Oct. 25, 2015, in Chicago, according to the indictment. <br> <br>kendavidson <br> <br>According to documents in the case, Toney was a member of the Latin Kings street gang for most of his adult life, including being a local leader of Hammond Latin Kings for a period of time. Woman with tuberculosis to be arrested unless she gets treatment, Former Morgan Park HS baseball player killed while away at college, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pa. airport, man in custody. Also convicted were Vicente Garcia Jr., said to be in charge of all Latin Kings in Illinois; Alphonso Chavez, alleged leader of the gang's 31st and Drake faction; and Jose Guzman, a reputed former enforcer in Little Village. King and Issa are also in federal custody. A guard at the federal jail in downtown Chicago has been charged with taking bribes to help an incarcerated high-ranking member of the Latin Kings street gang smuggle drugs, cellphones and other . The indictments unsealed Tuesday in Chicago charged 34 alleged members of the Latin Kings with racketeering conspiracy, including several "regional enforcers" responsible for keeping gang members in line, as well as high-ranking members known as "Incas," who oversee members, and their seconds in command, called "Caciques." According to the indictments filed in this case, the Latin Kings is a nationwide gang that originated in Chicago and has branched out throughout the United States. 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