Seven Mexican Mafia Members
Sentenced to Life in Prison
United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt
announced today that United States District Court Judge
Dana
M. Sabraw sentenced seven defendants convicted of participating
in a Racketeering Influenced Corrupt
Organization (RICO) conspiracy involving the Mexican
Mafia, aka “La Eme,” prison/street gang,
to
sentences of life imprisonment. There is no parole
in the federal system. In sentencing each of the
defendants, Judge Sabraw repeatedly remarked that he
could think of no more serious crime than that
committed by the defendants.
The seven defendants sentenced today
were convicted in federal court on January 4, 2008,
following
a jury trial which began on October 15, 2007. During
trial, the Government presented evidence of numerous
racketeering acts committed by the defendants, including:
murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy
to distribute controlled substances, distribution of
controlled substances, conspiracy to interfere with
commerce through threats of violence, and conspiracy
to launder drug proceeds.
According to Assistant United States
Attorney Todd Robinson, one of the prosecutors on the
case,
the RICO conspiracy charge of which the defendants
were convicted stemmed from a long-term investigation
conducted by the multi-agency San Diego Violent Crimes
Task Force-Gang Group and North County
Regional Gang Task Force, which targeted the criminal
activities of Hispanic street gangs with ties to the
Mexican Mafia, or “La Eme.”
United States Attorney Karen Hewitt said, “The
Mexican Mafia is a criminal organization that has
operated for years in Southern California and has been
a poison to our community. The members and
associates of the Mexican Mafia have committed countless
crimes of violence and engaged in widespread
illegal drug activities. This case was a first for
the United States Attorney’s Office in San Diego,
because we
used the federal RICO conspiracy statute to attack
members of the upper echelon of the Mexican Mafia.
After a trial of more than two months, the jury returned
guilty verdicts against each of the seven defendants.
Today each defendant received a sentence which appropriately
reflects the egregiousness of his criminal
conduct -- life in federal prison.”
United States Attorney Karen Hewitt stated
that this prosecution would not have occurred without
the
outstanding work by all members of the Violent Crimes
Task Force Gang Group led by the FBI San Diego
Field Office.
DEFENDANTS Case Number:
06cr1243-DMS
Ricardo Martinez
Eduardo Gonzalez-Gallegos
George Fernandez
Thomas Durkin
Richard Valenzuela
Cesar Abarca
Joshua Cruz
SUMMARY OF CHARGE
United States v. Raul Leon, et. al. (Case Number 06cr1243-DMS)
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1962(d) - Conspiracy
to Conduct Enterprise Affairs
Through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
San Diego Police Department
San Diego Sheriff’s Office
North County Regional Gang Task Force
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Carlsbad Police Department
Escondido Police Department
U.S. Bureau of Prisons
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Oceanside Police Department
Drug Enforcement Administration - Los Angeles and Riverside
Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement - Los Angeles and Riverside
U.S. Marshals Service
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
