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 . Arroyos and his assailants exchanged gunfire and he was hit once, federal authorities said. Arturo Cruz, 34, was sentenced to 60 years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty, and the case has yet to go to trial. 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. Theres still some concern, and I would even say some fear, but with a little F -- not fear like there was, Pastor Le Grande said. Prosecutors alleged that Mexican Mafia member Arturo Tablas Castellanos essentially created a crime wave in the Florence-Firestone district. 312 North Spring Street 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. To his supporters, Castellanos is a relentless campaigner for prisoner rights who has eschewed a history of violence to help coordinate peaceful protests behind bars. The members of La Familia named in the indictment allegedly oversaw the distribution of methamphetamine and marijuana in the Southern California area, as well as provided money and drugs at discounted prices to members of the Mexican Mafia. They called themselves Florencia, after the east-west thoroughfare that ran through the heart of their territory. Official websites use .gov 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 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. Several members of the gang have risen through its ranks to become leaders of the Mexican Mafia. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. 336 Florencia Ave , San Antonio, TX 78228-5843 is a single-family home listed for-sale at $300,000. The officer collapsed in an alley, mortally wounded. 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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( The prison-based syndicate is also known as La Eme, Spanish for M, the 13th letter of the alphabet. The action drew international attention and plaudits from a host of civil and human rights groups, including the ACLU and Amnesty International. LAPD. 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. 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. 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 investigation into Florencia 13 was led by ATF and included the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Huntington Park Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department. An official website of the United States government. Dorado was also involved in the F13 Gangs efforts to smuggle illegal narcotics into local jails. Jessica Chasmar is a digital writer on the politics team for Fox News and Fox Business. 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. East Coast Crips responded with shootings of their own, often targeting Latinos who were not gang members. A locked padlock A second indictment unsealed this morning concerns the Mexican Mafia and its control over the Florencia 13 criminal street gang in south Los Angeles County. Any gang member who had an issue with another was to bring it up at the clique meeting. 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. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images). Running a criminal organization while locked inside one of America's most secure prisons requires imagination, cunning and ruthlessness. Gang members have been charged with offenses ranging. "We're going to miss him a lot. La Familia Michoacana and it successor, Los Caballeros Templarios (the Knights Templar), is a major drug cartel based in the Mexican state of Michoacn and is responsible for the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of pounds of controlled substances, including methamphetamine, from Mexico into the United States, according to the indictment. The 2,133 sq. [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. Arturo Castellanos has been incarcerated since 1979 for a murder conviction. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Wildfires in Anchorage? Anyone who ignores the group's edicts faces likely retaliation if they end up behind bars. 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. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The RICO indictment also alleges that F13 members were responsible for the shooting and attempted murder of a rival gang member in South Los Angeles in December 2016. These shot callers were then ordered to coordinate the illegal distribution of drugs and other criminal activities, to ensure that extortionate taxes were collected, and otherwise to oversee their respective portions of the gangs territory, such as by resolving disputes both among F13 gang members and associates and with members of other Los Angeles gangs, the indictment states. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images). The investigators have done a magnificent job at thwarting this relationship. Los Angeles, California 90012. 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. He hasnt been on the streets since 1979. ATF remains steadfast in its stance to disrupt organized gang activity and seek prosecution of anyone who chooses to offend at will, denying law abiding citizens a community or workplace free from violence.. 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. Even after his arrest, this criminal conduct continued with the serious actions within the Benton County Jail. LAPD officer Fernando Arroyos, 27, was gunned downin South Los Angeles during an attempted robbery while he was looking at houses with his girlfriend Jan. 10. [7] They are involved in drug smuggling, murder, assault and robbery. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. It was among the deadliest acts of violence in modern Kansas history. "We can either address the issue head-on, create awareness and discuss the positive things . Florencia 13 is part of a terrifying gang war scene in Los Angeles, and it also has influence in more rural states like Virginia and Iowa. The indictment named 30 members and associates of the F13 gang. Few actual gang members died. 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. Matthew Ormseth is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He's family to us.". And after they agree its over, its a dead issue.. Market data provided by Factset. F13 members shot him "three or four times, but he survived." The F13 indictment marks the third high-profile Latino gang charged with attacking blacks in the past two years. The Sheriffs Department added about 30 deputies, and last year it brought an injunction against Florencia. Click to reveal How street gangs and their sub-groups are governed, including the election of a president and vice president by majority votes.. 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. Sign up for our daily newsletter. This resulted in the Mexican Mafia putting a green light out on the East Coast Crips. 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.. Florencia 13 has a long history of being involved in drug trafficking in Los Angeles, where they have held a leadership . A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? The Southern California Drug Task Force is comprised of federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the DEA, the ATF, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Pasadena Police Department. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? The action you just performed triggered the security solution. 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. These violent gang members belong in prison, not in our communities. The evidence further showed that Sanchez participated in the F13 Gangs drug trafficking activities at the gangs casitas. In time it absorbed smaller gangs, many of which became cliques, or subsets, of Florencia-13. 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. 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. When Leon was arrested for those drug charges, he was unlawfully in possession of a loaded firearm. Operation Joker's Wild investigated the gang's drug trafficking, extortion of street criminals, and racially based murders of African Americans in the area. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. [7] They are involved in drug smuggling, murder, assault and robbery. Had it been an incorporated city, that rate would have ranked it among the nations worst. Climate change sparks disaster fears, Police manhunt continues for suspect in Texas mass shooting, A powerhouse U.S. doctor slain in Sudan, killed for nothing, In final Mass in Budapest, pope urges Hungary to open doors. 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. Todays salvo against the Mexican Mafia is part of a 20-year fight to curb the influence of the prison gang both inside prison walls and on the streets of Southern California, said United States Attorney Andr Birotte Jr. We successfully dismantled the gangs leadership structure in prior cases, causing chaos throughout the organization. (213) 894-4465. Omar Hugo Robles, 30, of Sylmar, an alleged associate of La Familia, who was arrested this morning. In 2018, prosecutors indicted Laredo and 25 other alleged members and associates of Florencia-13, charging that Laredo was collecting a percentage of the money made from drug deals, extortion and other crimes committed by the 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. The gang now has at least two dozen cliques across South Los Angeles, Huntington Park, South Gate and Maywood. A locked padlock Leon pled guilty to two out of the three federal indictments. The three men are members of Florencia-13, according to the FBI. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Arturo Castellanos has been incarcerated since 1979 for a murder conviction. 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. 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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Your IP: Sanchez also served as armed security and carried a firearm to protect the casitas drug operations. 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. After the jury returned its verdicts, United States District Judge Beverly Reid OConnell scheduled sentencing hearings for October 24, 2016. The case showed the remarkable power the Mexican Mafia prison gang holds over Southern California Latino street gangs. The second indictment unsealed Tuesday charged 31 members of the Florencia 13 street gang, which operates in south Los Angeles County, with federal racketeering (RICO) violations, as well as . 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. An additional six defendants were already in custody prior to todays takedown in connection with state charges. 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. At the conclusion of the brutal beating that ensued, Fazah brandished a handgun and shot the victim in the face, killing him. A contested sentencing hearing was held June 30, 2021, and Chief Bastian found that, shortly after Leon's release from state custody on the drive-by shooting conviction in November 2017, Leon immediately began new criminal conduct to include the distribution of large quantities of pills containing fentanyl and heroin. 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 gang's illegal activities. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 312 North Spring Street Justice has been served.. 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. Of those indicted, 94 have pleaded guilty or have been convicted. But to hear prosecutors tell it, Arturo Castellanos grip on Florencia-13 led to a series of racially motivated attacks. 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. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Market data provided by Factset. Florencia 13 Gang Member Sentenced to 160 Months in Federal Prison Drug Enforcement Administration Jacob D. Galvan, Acting Special Agent in Charge Seattle @DEASeattleDiv July 01, 2021 Contact: Phone Number: (571) 387-3831 For Immediate Release Florencia 13 Gang Member Sentenced to 160 Months in Federal Prison Florencia 13 is one of the largest, most powerful and oldest street gangs in Southern California. That night, Fazah, Dorado, and other F13 Gang members lured the victim into an alley and attacked him. 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. Official websites use .gov This case was prosecuted by Stephanie Van Marter, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow. 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. The indictment alleges that participants in the Project sought to give La Familia members free rein to sell methamphetamine in Southern California and to provide protection for incarcerated cartel members in exchange for money and methamphetamine going to Mexican Mafia members. Other edicts allegedly issued by Castellanos guided Florencia 13 into a turf battle against rival gangs. Have a question about Government Services? The indictment unsealed today focuses on how the gang has generated illicit profits through the sale of drugs and firearms, fraud, and extortion. One of the indictments unsealed today alleges that defendants linked to the gang trafficked methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and other drugs in their territory and attempted to smuggle narcotics into the state prison system. Seven decades ago, Latino youths in South Los Angeles banded together to form a gang. The letter outlines rules, or reglas, drawn up by Mexican Mafia members for associates operating on the streets. The action triggered a wave of racial violence against African-Americans, according to court documents. 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.. Dorado, Fazah, and Sanchez have all been held without bond since entering federal custody. The seven-count indictment which names six members of the Mexican Mafia, three associates of the prison gang, and four people directly linked to the La Familia cartel outlines a venture between the criminal organizations that participants referred to as the Project, and which involved the highest levels of La Familia. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. 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. Wizard, 47, who is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas allegedly directed F13s operations in the unincorporated Florence-Firestone neighborhood of South Los Angeles, as well as parts of Lynwood, Maywood, Bell and other nearby communities. Click on each highlighted area to learn more about it. Florence is simply known as F13, one of the oldest gangs that use "13" in their name which represents the 13th letter in the alphabet for marijuana or mota and not for the Mexican Mafia like many law enforcement professionals claim. 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. 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. Florencia 13 is one of the largest, most powerful and oldest street gangs in Southern California. 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. During this mornings takedown, 14 of the 31 defendants named in this indictment were taken into custody. Luis De La Rosa Rios, Jesse Contreras, Ernesto Cisneros and Haylee Grisham have been charged in federal court with Arroyos' killing. At certain times, Florencia 13 leaders ordered killings of the East Coast Crip gang, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. Florencia 13 members have been caught buying weapons from U.S. military personnel. Castellanos actions in running criminal conspiracies and in organizing protests are driven by an unquenchable thirst for power and recognition, according to Enriquez. 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.. There is no reliable estimate of how much money Florencia-13 generates for its Mexican Mafia overlords. Tapped cellular phone calls introduced as evidence at the trial tracked Florencia members driving the streets looking for people to shoot. 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 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. Lock [13] As of 2009, 94 of the 102 had been convicted or pleaded guilty, 3 had pending trials, 2 had died and 5 were fugitives from justice. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. United States Attorneys Office The gang appended the 13 to its name in the 1990s, signaling its allegiance to the Mexican Mafia. 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.

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