I am not here saying my son was an angel or that I am one of the mothers that act like he never did wrong, but whatever he did, he did not deserve to die like that, she said. The sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Carl Vasilko, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. An FBI investigation of the gang led to charges against 40 Latin King members and associates in 2008. Contrary to the stereotype of gangs, the Kings were formed to help their community get settled, teaching English and providing job opportunities to newcomers, helping them navigate An FBI investigation of the gang led to charges against 40 Latin King members and associates in 2008. Federal Indictment Charges Rockford Man With Arson, Three Chicago Men Charged with Odometer and Title Fraud, Latin Kings Second In Command Sentenced To 40 Years In Prison For RICO Conspiracy And Related Gang Crimes. "I want you out clean so you don't have a monkey on your back and can come back to your family," Lozano said. The indictment last September targeting the Four Corner Hustlers includes six murders. As he ran, Simmons Nets cap fell off. Caesar Diaz, 24, of Calumet City, was charged with one count of attempting to distribute cocaine. The searches yielded nearly $1 million worth of drugs including 5 kilograms, or roughly 11 pounds, of fentanyl; 2 kilograms, or more than 4 pounds, each of cocaine and methamphetamine; a kilogram of heroin; and 2 pounds of marijuana, according to the sheriffs office. An official website of the United States government. Vargas was part of a more than 20 gang members who were indicted for their parts in multiple murders and drug trafficking. A Latin King leader explains the history and aims of his organization in an talk for the Chicago Gang History Project. One transaction charged in the indictment alleges that Colon, Martinez, Herrera, and Diaz tried to sell approximately 3 kilograms of cocaine on Aug. 14, 1997. The gang has over two-hundred members in the state. In the weeks before Rangels killing, he told authorities, he told Spann that I had a lick up for somebody that had a lot of jewelry.. There are many other Latino gangs in Chicago. Also convicted were 33-year-old Vicente Garcia, who was in charge of all Latin Kings in Illinois; Jose Guzman, 34, known as a former "National Enforcer' in the Little Village faction; and Alphonso Chavez, 26, the leader of the gang's 31st and Drake faction. A lock ( Spann and Nunnery also were charged with soliciting murder, murder for hire and armed robbery. We got you, the prosecutor wrote after an interview with Simmons. Prison sources say that Colon was awakened at 4:15 a.m. Thursday by prison officials, who handcuffed him and then escorted him out of the prison, where he was handed over to federal agents. He got in next to Spann. As reported by The Washington Post, a member of the Latin Kings was sentenced for murdering a young transgender woman. WebMarket-leading rankings and editorial commentary - see the top law firms & lawyers for Real estate investment trusts (REITs) in United States And now Spann awaits another reckoning in court over the killing of Rudy Kato Rangel Jr., among other charges in the federal conspiracy case targeting the Four Corner Hustlers. Trial evidence included audio and video recordings of three beatings inflicted upon gang members for violating the rules and testimony documenting three murders and 20 shootings in the Little Village area. The gang also has a powerful presence in New York City, Miami and many other large U.S. cities. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Chicago Police Department. The Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago, the Cook County Sheriffs Police, and the Joliet Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad also had significant roles in the investigation, which was conducted through the federal High Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). Among the charges he faces are conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver, and illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. He had absolute power, one former Latin King said of Colons grip on the gang. Jay NICE 06. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has become the first incumbent to lose a re-election bid in 40 years, as voters in Americas third biggest city expressed their fury over Rangel bought it. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. The Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations Three of the defendants who pleaded guilty testified as government witness at the trial, the news release said. That investigation dubbed Operation 5K for Fifth Avenue and Karlov, where Spann lived led to dozens of murder convictions. Donell states that as Bro Man handed the gun to him, Bro Man told Donell, Dont miss. Come back. CHICAGO Before gentrification changed the face of Wicker Park, swaths of the neighborhood were claimed by a handful of street gangs. Rangel fell, and Simmons said he kept firing, also hitting the barber in the right foot and the bodyguard in his left hand. Nunnery had known Spann just a few months. He faces sentencing in November. WebThe Chicago Crime Commission estimates that there are over 20,000 Latin Kings in the Chicago area alone. Donell states that Bro Man told Donell that he wanted Donell to pop him. Ware states that he knew that, the way Kato was killed, that it was not just a robbery, a detective wrote. The states attorneys office dropped the murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Vargas said he tried to get out of the gang twice, but he was threatened with harm both times. Lord Gino Colon, a former leader, is leading his Latin Kings from inside the Menard Correctional Center, but he is not the only one. Also seized were about 100 roosters that Chronister said were used in illegal cockfighting. Nunnery said he carried Spann to the porch of a nearby home, saw a car heading north on Whipple, recognized the driver and flagged him down. "The point was that he would never be free.". In May 2003, Nunnery got in touch with a guy named Marcus Ware, who hung around the barbershop at Roosevelt and Sacramento and had two drug convictions and one on a weapons charge. They were at once the lay face of the church, the spiritual heart of civic government, and the social kin who claimed the allegiance of peers and the obedience of subordinates. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. A locked padlock The books power never waned, and over the years the University of Chicago composer has written several works with a focus on the Holocaust during her Pulitzer Prize-winning career. [The man] goes on to say that he didnt want to do it, but that Nunnery f him [Rangel] up in the barbershop. . He told the informant, Martise tried to get him to merc the Puerto Rican stud, a detective wrote. 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. Shop Latin King Symbols comforters featuring original art of your favorite thing made by artists wh A treat for your eyes - Get 20% off with. Rudy Rangels bodyguard said he tossed his gun into a bucket at a nearby carwash after he tried to shoot Donell Simmons. Twenty-four hours before his scheduled release, federal prosecutors indicted Colon and 12 others on charges of operating a $6 million drug operation out of an apartment at 2420 North Kedzie Avnue between 1995 and 1997. Simmons told detectives that, in May 2003, Spann told him about talk of Rangel having stolen 150 kilos of cocaine and hired him to kill Rangel. The bodyguard told detectives he shot at Simmons but missed, then dumped his gun in a bucket of soapy water at a car wash next to the barbershop before going back to Rangel. Western Division He told authorities Spann picked him up, and they called Simmons to let him know they were coming to get him. WebThe nation's highest-ranking leader of the Latin Kings was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison Thursday. He and one of his friends soon approached the group, according to court records. A total of eleven schools from across Chicago competed in the annual contest. Spann, whose attorney Tod Urban didnt return messages seeking comment, already is facing as many as 70 years in prison, having pleaded guilty three months before the indictment to being a felon in possession of a weapon, obstruction of justice involving witness tampering and cocaine possession with intent to distribute. The convictions result from a sustained, coordinated effort by federal law enforcement agencies, working together with the Chicago Police Department and other state and local partners, to dismantle the hierarchy of the Latin Kings and other highly-organized, often violent Chicago street gangs. A lock ( Simmons denied any involvement in the incident, but did state that he had read about it in the newspapers and inquired as to whether or not the newspapers were accurate in saying that offenders had been arrested and had confessed, detectives wrote. Former gang leader incarcerated in a US federal prison, United States v. Felipe, 148 F.3d 101 (2nd Cir. Ware said Nunnery told him hed pay him $1,500 to $2,000. Another co-defendant, Fernando Ace King, who preceded Garcia as Supreme Regional Inca and pleaded guilty, was sentenced in October 2011 to 40 years in prison. Spann knew Simmons and told him hed pay him up to $30,000 for the job, according to Nunnery. Though prison phone calls are recorded, Colon frequently discussed gang business with his wife, Marisol. The next time he saw Rangel at the barbershop, Nunnery told Ware, call him, he wanted to talk about the music business. Amaya was indicted separately in 2012 following the 2008 and 2009 indictments of more than 30 top leaders of the Latin Kings. Rockford, IL 61101, Chicago: (312) 353-5300 1998), Federal Prison Reform- Super Jail and Solitary Confinement Policy, Testing the Limits of Punishment; Unusually Severe Life Sentence vs. Society's Need for Safety, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Luis_Felipe_(gang_leader)&oldid=1120914583, People convicted of murder by the United States federal government, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Life imprisonment plus 45 years without parole, This page was last edited on 9 November 2022, at 14:12. Colon was driven to Chicago in a van under tight security; he is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center downtown. Gary Marx and Mark S. Warnick and Tribune Staff Writers. Chicago, IL 60604 WebPublishers summary: Confraternities were the most common form of organized religious life in medieval and early modern Europe. Two high-level leaders of the Latin Kings gang were among 21 people arrested in a months-long investigation that resulted in the seizure of large amounts of fentanyl and other drugs in southern Hillsborough County, officials said Monday. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison 21 years ago. | Chicago Police Department. Flame Wreck Feat. The indictment alleges that the Latin Kings required their members to pay dues, which were used to buy weapons, raise money for bond for jailed gang members and help pay for attorneys. | Cook County states attorneys office. A man who authorities said was second in commandofone of the country'slargest street gangs has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for organizing a violent criminal enterprise that plagued neighborhoods in Chicago and beyond, prosecutors said. About a minute after Simmons got out of the car, Spann, Nunnery and the third man heard gunshots. Chronister called Robles one of the top five ranking Latin Kings gang members in Florida and said Bravo is the gangs head narcotics supplier for the entire state of Florida.. Please enter valid email address to continue. Like convicted Gangster Disciple Chief Larry Hoover before him, Colon apparently was given special treatment in state prison at the same time he was alleged to have been running a major part of the Latin Kings' drug empire. Colon was born in Chicago in 1972 and became involved in the Latin Kings at a young age. Amayas sentencing marks the last significant event in cases since 2008 that resulted in federal convictions of, and lengthy sentences for, Augustin Zambrano, the Latin Kings leader or Corona; Vicente Garcia, the gangs Supreme Regional Inca; Fernando King, who preceded Garcia as second-incommand; and more than two dozen other top-ranking leaders. The operation started about three months ago when detectives became aware of a drug distribution network operating in the Wimauma area, Chronister said. 327 S. Church Street, Room 3300 Let me get by, Simmons told them. HAMMOND, Ind. This investigation was held to hold the leaders of the Latin Kings like Zambrano responsible for their iron-fisted leadership of a criminal enterprise responsible for murders and attempted murders, said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, in a statement. The indictments serve as a powerful reminder that the state's Hispanic gangs operate in much the same way as its most powerful black gangs. Undercover detectives started making street-level purchases and moved on to larger trafficking amounts of drugs. Garcia was among a total of 31 co-defendants who were indicted in September 2008 or charged in a superseding indictment in October 2009. Spann already was under scrutiny by the Chicago Police Department. Also indicted were Charlie Alejandro, 31, who is believed to be living in Puerto Rico; Heriberto Sanchez, 45, address unknown; and Jose Souffront, 28, who is believed to be living in Springfield, Mass. Zambrano was the nationwide leader of the Latin Kings, which is based in Chicago and has about 10,000 members in Illinois alone, according to federal prosecutors. After spending a quarter century in prison on a murder conviction, Gustavo "Gino" Colon, co-leader of the powerful Latin Kings street gang, was only 24 hours away from freedom. The investigation that led to the convictions began in late 2006, agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which initially brought charges against 38 Latin Kings members and associates, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. The transcripts included one between Nunnery and the informant seven weeks after the shooting. Two high-level leaders of the Latin Kings gang were among 21 people arrested in a months-long investigation that resulted in the seizure of large amounts of The operation also resulted in the seizure of what Chronister called a Latin Kings organizational chart and bylaws. The following year, Colon was sentenced to at least 30 years in state prison for the murder. Nine defendants were in custody Thursday and appeared briefly before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan Lefkow. He was sentencing Latin Kings leader Alexander Vargas, who had ordered two murders and been involved in drug trafficking, while taking into account his Even while held at the Cook County Jail, Spann who has used a wheelchair since being shot more than 15 years ago has found himself in trouble. Law enforcement authorities say the Latin Kings are the state's third-largest gang with an estimated 18,000 members in Chicago alone. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Colons attorney, Gal Pissetzky, filed a motion last year asking for Colons release because he was at a greater risk of contracting COVID-19. Herrera was able to lose the officers, but later was captured as he approached his home in Westchester. The highest-ranking leader of the Latin Kings street gang is behind bars. All four agreed to speak with detectives and prosecutors without lawyers present. In 2000, a federal judge sentenced Colon to life. The Latin Kings in Connecticut started in the state's prison system in the late 1980s. But the drug deal was frustrated when an informant, along with undercover agents, confronted Herrera in a parking lot at 51st Street and South Kedzie Avenue. Donell said no words were exchanged, he just began firing the pistol at dude, a detective wrote after questioning Simmons. There are very few of these copies in existence, and they are fiercely protected by the gang members, the sheriff said. When I described the chain that the guy had, he was, like, Yeah, I know who that is, we was just trying to rob him, Nunnery told a prosecutor. Attorneys Andrew Porter, Nancy DePodesta and Tinos Diamantatos. Many of those charged and convicted in the trial were leaders of the 24 subunits of the gang that comprised the 26th Street Region in Little Village. Your Old Droog 05. Simmons also was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. 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