Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JOSEPH DATELLO pled guilty before United States District Judge Cathy Seibel to numerous acts of racketeering, including attempting to kill a witness against him. In May 2017, DATELLO and 18 other members and associates of the Luchese Family of La Cosa Nostra were arrested and charged in a nine-count Indictment. Since the unsealing of the Indictment, DATELLO and 12 other defendants have pled guilty, and have been or will be sentenced by Judge Seibel.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Witness safety is paramount to ensuring the prosecution of criminal organizations. Thanks to the FBI’s Joint Organized Crime Task Force, who uncovered Datello’s crimes without risking the security of the witness, Datello now faces life in prison for threatening a federal witness.”
According to the plea agreement DATELLO signed as part of his guilty plea, his statements when pleading guilty, the allegations in the Indictment, and statements made in related court filings and proceedings:
In 2002, an individual (the “Witness”) who had been working with DATELLO and Steven L. Crea, a leader in the Luchese Family, provided information to state and federal authorities concerning DATELLO’s and Crea’s participation in racketeering activity. That information, and other evidence, led to the successful prosecution of DATELLO, Crea, and others. In October 2016, DATELLO learned information that he thought revealed the Witness’s current whereabouts. DATELLO travelled to what he believed was the Witness’s address and waited there, trying to find the Witness. Had DATELLO found the Witness, he intended, with the blessing of Crea, to kill the Witness.
Crea is also charged with attempting to have the Witness killed, and other crimes, and is scheduled to begin trial before Judge Seibel in 2019.
DATELLO, 67, of Staten Island, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, and as part of that plea admitted racketeering acts including the attempted murder of the Witness, narcotics trafficking, and collecting debts through the threat of violence. These crimes carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. DATELLO will be sentenced before Judge Seibel.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Rahm Emanuel Undermines Frontline Officers with Rants of @Chicago_Police Code of Silence for Political Gain, Then Pays City Expert to Say It Does Not Exist
Under fire for how his administration handled the Laquan McDonald shooting, Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2015 gave an emotional speech before the Chicago City Council acknowledging a “code of silence” allowed police to cover up misconduct.
Since then, however, Emanuel’s Law Department on five separate occasions has fought police misconduct lawsuits with the help of a hired expert witness who has testified a widespread code of silence does not exist, according to an analysis of city records by the Better Government Association and NBC5 Investigates.
The city’s efforts ultimately proved futile, costing taxpayers nearly $70 million in judgments, settlements and legal fees in four of those cases. In addition, the city has paid the expert witness — former Irvine, California, deputy police chief Jeffrey J. Noble — more than $165,000 since Emanuel gave his speech.
Attorney Jeff Neslund successfully litigated one of the lawsuits on behalf of two brothers and a sister who were shot by a Chicago police officer at a party in the early-morning hours on New Year’s Day 2014. A jury awarded them $4.75 million.
“It’s intellectually dishonest to say one thing to the public but then in private litigation, to fight it tooth and nail, to hire experts and pay them an exorbitant amount of money to contest and deny what you’re saying publicly,” said Neslund, who also represented McDonald’s family.
Emanuel made the famous “code of silence” speech on Dec. 9, 2015, just weeks after a Cook County judge forced the mayor’s administration to release dashcam video from the October 2014 showing Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times on the city’s Southwest Side.
“The problem is sometimes referred to as the thin blue line,” Emanuel said in his speech before a crowded council chambers and broadcast live across the city. “The problem is other times referred to as the code of silence. It is this tendency to ignore. It is the tendency to deny. It is the tendency in some cases to cover up the bad actions of a colleague or colleagues. No officer should be allowed to behave as if they are above the law just because they are responsible for upholding the law.”
Noble, who has written extensively about policing and the code of silence, subsequently minimized these remarks in a separate police misconduct case, testifying that Emanuel’s speech represented the mayor’s “personal belief” but was inconsistent with what Noble learned in his review of city police practices. “He spoke as a mayor,” Noble said. “He’s an elected official, so he speaks — he speaks on behalf of the people that he’s an elected official, sure.”
On the same day the dashcam video was released, Cook County prosecutors filed murder charges against Van Dyke, whose trial is ongoing at the criminal courthouse at 26th Street and California Avenue. Before Emanuel’s administration fought the video’s release, the mayor signed off on a $5 million city payment to McDonald’s family even though family members had not filed a lawsuit.
The video’s release sparked government and political upheaval across the city, including waves of protests, a federal investigation into Chicago policing, an overhaul of how the city conducts internal police misconduct probes and Emanuel’s firing of Garry McCarthy as police superintendent.
McCarthy is planning to run for mayor next year. Emanuel, meanwhile, dropped out of running for a third term in a bombshell announcement just days before Van Dyke’s trial started.
Emanuel administration officials said there was no inconsistency between Emanuel's comments and Noble’s testimony.
“The reports and testimony provided by Mr. Noble reflect his conclusions in individual cases and his testimony does not contradict the mayor’s statement regarding a code of silence,” according to a statement from Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey. “Any suggestion that it does is simply posturing by plaintiffs’ attorneys as part of an attempt to litigate through the media instead of the courts.”
McCaffrey pointed to testimony Noble gave in another case where he highlighted that Emanuel never stated in his speech that the code of silence was “widespread or pervasive.”
“It is my opinion that there is no evidence of a widespread pattern, practice or custom of CPD officers engaging in a code of silence to the extent that an officer would believe they could engage in a constitutional violation with impunity,” Noble wrote.
Noble declined to comment for this story.
Nationwide, Noble has either testified, filed written reports or provided sworn depositions in more than 100 police misconduct cases. In many of those cases he has worked on behalf of cities or police departments, but he also has worked for attorneys representing plaintiffs suing police.
In one high-profile case, Noble served as an expert witness for the family of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer in November 2014 while playing with a pellet gun on a playground. But in Chicago, Noble has consistently worked as an expert for the city, which records show has paid him more than $328,000 over the past eight years. In all, he has weighed in on at least 26 police misconduct lawsuits on behalf of the city, including the five that involved code of silence allegations after Emanuel decried the problem in his 2015 speech, city records show.
On behalf of the plaintiffs, Chicago-based law firm Loevy & Loevy litigated several of these lawsuits. Attorney Matt Topic works for the law firm and is the outside general counsel for the BGA. Topic was not involved in any of the police misconduct cases and did not assist the BGA/NBC5 in the reporting of this story.
Before Emanuel’s speech, Noble on at least four separate occasions denied the existence of a code of silence in acting on the city’s behalf. One instance involved a lawsuit filed by Karolina Obrycka, a Northwest Side bartender who in 2007 was severely beaten by an off-duty Chicago police officer. Noble also contributed to the city’s defense of a lawsuit brought by Madison Hobley, a former death row inmate who claimed former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge and others tortured him into confessing.
City records show Noble is generally paid an hourly rate of $245 plus $2,750 for every day he provides expert testimony in depositions or trials. In addition, the city covers the costs of Noble’s airfare and lodging, according to invoices obtained through an open-records request.
One of Noble’s most recent cases was the civil trial of Chicago police Officer Patrick Kelly, who a jury ruled used his service weapon to shoot his friend Michael LaPorta in the back of the head. The shooting occurred at Kelly’s home in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood after the two men had spent the night drinking at area bars.
LaPorta’s attorneys argued the code of silence played a key role behind Kelly’s actions because the officer felt emboldened to act with impunity and wasn’t seriously punished for prior misdeeds by his police bosses.
When the case went to trial in 2017, Noble took the stand on behalf of the city and denied the existence of a widespread code of silence.
He defined the term as a form of “social solidarity” where groups of people “try to protect others by failing to report what is obvious misconduct.” He said the police department discourages code of silence behavior because the city has policies that require officers to be truthful and to report misconduct. As evidence, he noted that more than 70 police officers were disciplined or resigned from 2008 to 2013 for breaking these rules.
In court papers filed by the city responding to LaPorta’s claims, Emanuel qualified the comment he made in his speech about the code of silence. Emanuel said those comments were based on his “own general belief and understanding,” and not “knowledge or information” he gained as mayor.
At the end of the trial, on Oct. 26, 2017, a jury ruled in LaPorta’s favor, awarding him a $44.7 million judgment. While the jury did not reach a unanimous decision on the code of silence issue, it did determine the police department had pervasive problems identifying misconduct, as well as investigating and disciplining some officers. A federal judge recently upheld the judgment and also ordered the city to pay an additional $2.5 million in legal fees.
One of LaPorta's attorneys, Antonio Romanucci, said in an interview with the Better Government Association and NBC-5 that contradictory messaging is an attempt to “pull the wool over the community’s eyes.”
“There is no question that in my opinion the community message that the mayor gives is different than the message that is given in a courtroom and the experts that it hires to testify when its officers commit misdeeds,” he said.
Noble also filed a report in a code of silence lawsuit against the city after a drunken off-duty homicide detective, Joseph Frugoli, in 2009 slammed his SUV into the back of a car pulled over on the Dan Ryan Expressway. Two men inside the car died.
Attorneys representing the families of the victims raised a code of silence argument in the case, alleging Frugoli thought he could drink and drive without legal consequences because his fellow officers had previously protected him. During the trial, the lawyers for the families specifically highlighted Emanuel’s comments about the code of silence being pervasive in his department. But in his report for the city in the case, Noble declared it was not at all pervasive.
’“The code of silence may exist at some level in all police agencies and when it does manifest it contributes immensely to incidents of abuse of citizens by the police,” Noble wrote in March 2016. “However, the fact that a few officers have engaged in a code of silence does not amount to an unwritten policy, practice or custom within the agency itself.”
Frugoli was eventually convicted of aggravated DUI and leaving the scene of a fatal accident and was sentenced to eight years in prison. The city settled the lawsuit and has paid $15 million to the men’s families.
Kevin Conway, an attorney who represented one of the families, said Noble’s report was in keeping with a broader legal strategy Conway has seen many times from the city’s Law Department.
“I think the city had a party line,” Conway said. “It was part of the party line.”
Thanks to Casey Toner.
Since then, however, Emanuel’s Law Department on five separate occasions has fought police misconduct lawsuits with the help of a hired expert witness who has testified a widespread code of silence does not exist, according to an analysis of city records by the Better Government Association and NBC5 Investigates.
The city’s efforts ultimately proved futile, costing taxpayers nearly $70 million in judgments, settlements and legal fees in four of those cases. In addition, the city has paid the expert witness — former Irvine, California, deputy police chief Jeffrey J. Noble — more than $165,000 since Emanuel gave his speech.
Attorney Jeff Neslund successfully litigated one of the lawsuits on behalf of two brothers and a sister who were shot by a Chicago police officer at a party in the early-morning hours on New Year’s Day 2014. A jury awarded them $4.75 million.
“It’s intellectually dishonest to say one thing to the public but then in private litigation, to fight it tooth and nail, to hire experts and pay them an exorbitant amount of money to contest and deny what you’re saying publicly,” said Neslund, who also represented McDonald’s family.
Emanuel made the famous “code of silence” speech on Dec. 9, 2015, just weeks after a Cook County judge forced the mayor’s administration to release dashcam video from the October 2014 showing Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times on the city’s Southwest Side.
“The problem is sometimes referred to as the thin blue line,” Emanuel said in his speech before a crowded council chambers and broadcast live across the city. “The problem is other times referred to as the code of silence. It is this tendency to ignore. It is the tendency to deny. It is the tendency in some cases to cover up the bad actions of a colleague or colleagues. No officer should be allowed to behave as if they are above the law just because they are responsible for upholding the law.”
Noble, who has written extensively about policing and the code of silence, subsequently minimized these remarks in a separate police misconduct case, testifying that Emanuel’s speech represented the mayor’s “personal belief” but was inconsistent with what Noble learned in his review of city police practices. “He spoke as a mayor,” Noble said. “He’s an elected official, so he speaks — he speaks on behalf of the people that he’s an elected official, sure.”
On the same day the dashcam video was released, Cook County prosecutors filed murder charges against Van Dyke, whose trial is ongoing at the criminal courthouse at 26th Street and California Avenue. Before Emanuel’s administration fought the video’s release, the mayor signed off on a $5 million city payment to McDonald’s family even though family members had not filed a lawsuit.
The video’s release sparked government and political upheaval across the city, including waves of protests, a federal investigation into Chicago policing, an overhaul of how the city conducts internal police misconduct probes and Emanuel’s firing of Garry McCarthy as police superintendent.
McCarthy is planning to run for mayor next year. Emanuel, meanwhile, dropped out of running for a third term in a bombshell announcement just days before Van Dyke’s trial started.
Emanuel administration officials said there was no inconsistency between Emanuel's comments and Noble’s testimony.
“The reports and testimony provided by Mr. Noble reflect his conclusions in individual cases and his testimony does not contradict the mayor’s statement regarding a code of silence,” according to a statement from Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey. “Any suggestion that it does is simply posturing by plaintiffs’ attorneys as part of an attempt to litigate through the media instead of the courts.”
McCaffrey pointed to testimony Noble gave in another case where he highlighted that Emanuel never stated in his speech that the code of silence was “widespread or pervasive.”
“It is my opinion that there is no evidence of a widespread pattern, practice or custom of CPD officers engaging in a code of silence to the extent that an officer would believe they could engage in a constitutional violation with impunity,” Noble wrote.
Noble declined to comment for this story.
Nationwide, Noble has either testified, filed written reports or provided sworn depositions in more than 100 police misconduct cases. In many of those cases he has worked on behalf of cities or police departments, but he also has worked for attorneys representing plaintiffs suing police.
In one high-profile case, Noble served as an expert witness for the family of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer in November 2014 while playing with a pellet gun on a playground. But in Chicago, Noble has consistently worked as an expert for the city, which records show has paid him more than $328,000 over the past eight years. In all, he has weighed in on at least 26 police misconduct lawsuits on behalf of the city, including the five that involved code of silence allegations after Emanuel decried the problem in his 2015 speech, city records show.
On behalf of the plaintiffs, Chicago-based law firm Loevy & Loevy litigated several of these lawsuits. Attorney Matt Topic works for the law firm and is the outside general counsel for the BGA. Topic was not involved in any of the police misconduct cases and did not assist the BGA/NBC5 in the reporting of this story.
Before Emanuel’s speech, Noble on at least four separate occasions denied the existence of a code of silence in acting on the city’s behalf. One instance involved a lawsuit filed by Karolina Obrycka, a Northwest Side bartender who in 2007 was severely beaten by an off-duty Chicago police officer. Noble also contributed to the city’s defense of a lawsuit brought by Madison Hobley, a former death row inmate who claimed former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge and others tortured him into confessing.
City records show Noble is generally paid an hourly rate of $245 plus $2,750 for every day he provides expert testimony in depositions or trials. In addition, the city covers the costs of Noble’s airfare and lodging, according to invoices obtained through an open-records request.
One of Noble’s most recent cases was the civil trial of Chicago police Officer Patrick Kelly, who a jury ruled used his service weapon to shoot his friend Michael LaPorta in the back of the head. The shooting occurred at Kelly’s home in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood after the two men had spent the night drinking at area bars.
LaPorta’s attorneys argued the code of silence played a key role behind Kelly’s actions because the officer felt emboldened to act with impunity and wasn’t seriously punished for prior misdeeds by his police bosses.
When the case went to trial in 2017, Noble took the stand on behalf of the city and denied the existence of a widespread code of silence.
He defined the term as a form of “social solidarity” where groups of people “try to protect others by failing to report what is obvious misconduct.” He said the police department discourages code of silence behavior because the city has policies that require officers to be truthful and to report misconduct. As evidence, he noted that more than 70 police officers were disciplined or resigned from 2008 to 2013 for breaking these rules.
In court papers filed by the city responding to LaPorta’s claims, Emanuel qualified the comment he made in his speech about the code of silence. Emanuel said those comments were based on his “own general belief and understanding,” and not “knowledge or information” he gained as mayor.
At the end of the trial, on Oct. 26, 2017, a jury ruled in LaPorta’s favor, awarding him a $44.7 million judgment. While the jury did not reach a unanimous decision on the code of silence issue, it did determine the police department had pervasive problems identifying misconduct, as well as investigating and disciplining some officers. A federal judge recently upheld the judgment and also ordered the city to pay an additional $2.5 million in legal fees.
One of LaPorta's attorneys, Antonio Romanucci, said in an interview with the Better Government Association and NBC-5 that contradictory messaging is an attempt to “pull the wool over the community’s eyes.”
“There is no question that in my opinion the community message that the mayor gives is different than the message that is given in a courtroom and the experts that it hires to testify when its officers commit misdeeds,” he said.
Noble also filed a report in a code of silence lawsuit against the city after a drunken off-duty homicide detective, Joseph Frugoli, in 2009 slammed his SUV into the back of a car pulled over on the Dan Ryan Expressway. Two men inside the car died.
Attorneys representing the families of the victims raised a code of silence argument in the case, alleging Frugoli thought he could drink and drive without legal consequences because his fellow officers had previously protected him. During the trial, the lawyers for the families specifically highlighted Emanuel’s comments about the code of silence being pervasive in his department. But in his report for the city in the case, Noble declared it was not at all pervasive.
’“The code of silence may exist at some level in all police agencies and when it does manifest it contributes immensely to incidents of abuse of citizens by the police,” Noble wrote in March 2016. “However, the fact that a few officers have engaged in a code of silence does not amount to an unwritten policy, practice or custom within the agency itself.”
Frugoli was eventually convicted of aggravated DUI and leaving the scene of a fatal accident and was sentenced to eight years in prison. The city settled the lawsuit and has paid $15 million to the men’s families.
Kevin Conway, an attorney who represented one of the families, said Noble’s report was in keeping with a broader legal strategy Conway has seen many times from the city’s Law Department.
“I think the city had a party line,” Conway said. “It was part of the party line.”
Thanks to Casey Toner.
MS-13 Gang Member and Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Racketeering and Quadruple Murder
Freiry Martinez, a member of the Herndon City Locos Salvatruchas clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with his participation in the April 11, 2017 murders of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos. The guilty plea was entered before United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Geraldine Hart, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), and Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the guilty plea.
Martinez, who is now 17 years old and was 15 years and 11 months old at the time of the April 11 murders, initially was charged by a juvenile information that was filed under seal in the Eastern District of New York on July 10, 2017. Martinez fled from New York to Virginia and later to Maryland after the April 11 murders, and remained a fugitive until November 21, 2017, when he was arrested in Montgomery County, Maryland. Martinez, an illegal alien from El Salvador, subsequently was turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and removed to the Eastern District of New York in custody by the United States Marshals Service. Following the government’s application to transfer Martinez to adult status for prosecution, the motion was granted today by Judge Bianco.
“Prosecution by prosecution, defendant by defendant, we are dismantling the MS-13 through an effort that will not end until they are ended,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “The unwavering resolve of the Eastern District, the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force and all our law enforcement partners will bring justice for the victims and the perpetrators alike.” Mr. Donoghue extended his sincere appreciation to the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Montgomery County Police Department and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for assisting in this investigation.
“Most 15-year-olds are worried about a chemistry test at school or making the football team, not plotting a grotesque attack and murder of four other teenagers,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Our work with our law enforcement partners on the FBI Long Island Gang Task Force is proof a combined and concentrated effort to combat the evil that is MS-13 will work to stop more senseless murders. We want to assure the community we won’t let up in our pursuit of rounding up these gang members and stopping them from terrorizing neighborhoods on Long Island.”
“This guilty plea is a result of the dedicated work and collaboration of the Suffolk County Police Department, the Long Island Gang Task Force and the Eastern District,” stated SCPD Commissioner Hart. “We applaud the effort of prosecutors to ensure that Martinez would be tried as an adult to face the stiffest penalties possible. The deaths of these four young men committed at the hands of MS-13 gang members is incomprehensible and we hope today’s plea will send a clear message to gang members that we will not waver or tire from our commitment to dismantle gangs in Suffolk County. It is our hope that holding these perpetrators accountable will bring some measure of comfort and healing to the victims’ friends and families.”
“Due to the exceptional work by all of the law enforcement investigators involved and their agencies, Defendant Freiry Martinez will not be able to terrorize our communities and residents any longer,” stated NCPD Commissioner Ryder. “We have four families that have lost loved ones to the hands of MS-13 in these brutal and senseless killings. Rest assured, we will continue to engage this violence with our zero tolerance approach and will continue to remove these offenders from our streets.”
According to court filings and statements by the defendant at the guilty plea proceeding, on the evening of April 11, 2017, two female associates of the MS-13 lured five young men, including the four victims, to a community park in Central Islip at the direction of Martinez and other MS-13 members. The MS-13 members believed the victims to be members of a rival gang who were disrespectful toward the MS-13. Martinez and several MS-13 members and associates met in a wooded area behind the park where they distributed weapons, discussed the plan to kill the victims and then awaited their arrival. Once the female MS-13 associates arrived at the park, they led the victims to a wooded area and sent the MS-13 members a text message describing their location. Pursuant to their previously devised plan, Martinez and the other MS-13 members and associates surrounded the victims and killed Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre and Villalobos using machetes, knives and wooden clubs. The fifth intended victim escaped. After the attack, Martinez and his associates dragged the victims’ bodies to a more secluded spot and fled. The victims’ bodies were discovered the following evening.
When sentenced, Martinez faces a maximum of life in prison. Upon completion of his sentence, he faces deportation from the United States.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Geraldine Hart, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), and Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the guilty plea.
Martinez, who is now 17 years old and was 15 years and 11 months old at the time of the April 11 murders, initially was charged by a juvenile information that was filed under seal in the Eastern District of New York on July 10, 2017. Martinez fled from New York to Virginia and later to Maryland after the April 11 murders, and remained a fugitive until November 21, 2017, when he was arrested in Montgomery County, Maryland. Martinez, an illegal alien from El Salvador, subsequently was turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and removed to the Eastern District of New York in custody by the United States Marshals Service. Following the government’s application to transfer Martinez to adult status for prosecution, the motion was granted today by Judge Bianco.
“Prosecution by prosecution, defendant by defendant, we are dismantling the MS-13 through an effort that will not end until they are ended,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “The unwavering resolve of the Eastern District, the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force and all our law enforcement partners will bring justice for the victims and the perpetrators alike.” Mr. Donoghue extended his sincere appreciation to the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Montgomery County Police Department and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for assisting in this investigation.
“Most 15-year-olds are worried about a chemistry test at school or making the football team, not plotting a grotesque attack and murder of four other teenagers,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Our work with our law enforcement partners on the FBI Long Island Gang Task Force is proof a combined and concentrated effort to combat the evil that is MS-13 will work to stop more senseless murders. We want to assure the community we won’t let up in our pursuit of rounding up these gang members and stopping them from terrorizing neighborhoods on Long Island.”
“This guilty plea is a result of the dedicated work and collaboration of the Suffolk County Police Department, the Long Island Gang Task Force and the Eastern District,” stated SCPD Commissioner Hart. “We applaud the effort of prosecutors to ensure that Martinez would be tried as an adult to face the stiffest penalties possible. The deaths of these four young men committed at the hands of MS-13 gang members is incomprehensible and we hope today’s plea will send a clear message to gang members that we will not waver or tire from our commitment to dismantle gangs in Suffolk County. It is our hope that holding these perpetrators accountable will bring some measure of comfort and healing to the victims’ friends and families.”
“Due to the exceptional work by all of the law enforcement investigators involved and their agencies, Defendant Freiry Martinez will not be able to terrorize our communities and residents any longer,” stated NCPD Commissioner Ryder. “We have four families that have lost loved ones to the hands of MS-13 in these brutal and senseless killings. Rest assured, we will continue to engage this violence with our zero tolerance approach and will continue to remove these offenders from our streets.”
According to court filings and statements by the defendant at the guilty plea proceeding, on the evening of April 11, 2017, two female associates of the MS-13 lured five young men, including the four victims, to a community park in Central Islip at the direction of Martinez and other MS-13 members. The MS-13 members believed the victims to be members of a rival gang who were disrespectful toward the MS-13. Martinez and several MS-13 members and associates met in a wooded area behind the park where they distributed weapons, discussed the plan to kill the victims and then awaited their arrival. Once the female MS-13 associates arrived at the park, they led the victims to a wooded area and sent the MS-13 members a text message describing their location. Pursuant to their previously devised plan, Martinez and the other MS-13 members and associates surrounded the victims and killed Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre and Villalobos using machetes, knives and wooden clubs. The fifth intended victim escaped. After the attack, Martinez and his associates dragged the victims’ bodies to a more secluded spot and fled. The victims’ bodies were discovered the following evening.
When sentenced, Martinez faces a maximum of life in prison. Upon completion of his sentence, he faces deportation from the United States.
Monday, September 24, 2018
Gangster Disciple and Member of #BlackOutSquad Sentenced to 30 Years Imprisonment for Racketeering Conspiracy and Gun Violence
A Gangster Disciples gang member was sentenced to 360 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for participating in a racketeering conspiracy and for using, and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
U. S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge M.A. Myers of the FBI’s Memphis Division and Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Memphis Field Division, made the announcement.
Tommy Earl Champion, Jr., aka "Duct Tape," 29, of Jackson Tennessee, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. Champion previously pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "Dismantlement of criminal gangs is a top priority of the Department of Justice, and this case represents the collaborative efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement to target and remove a significant violent participant in the Gangster Disciples organization. "Duct Tape" is now stuck with a 30-year sentence for his violent crimes. We are taking the fight to the gangs in West Tennessee, and we are relentless in our resolve."
According to the indictment, the Gangster Disciples is a highly organized national gang active in more than 35 states. The scope of the Gangster Disciples’ crimes is wide-ranging and consistent throughout its national operation. The gang protects its power through threats, intimidation and violence, including murder, attempted murder, assault and obstruction of justice. The Gangster Disciples promotes its enterprise through member-only activities and provides financial and other support to members charged with or incarcerated for gang-related offenses.
According to court documents, Champion was a member of the Gangster Disciples and served on the gang’s "blackout squads" and "security teams." Champion was responsible for carrying out violent acts, including attempted murder, witness and victim intimidation, and assault, at the direction of senior Gangster Disciples leaders. Champion also participated in the other criminal activities of the Gangster Disciples enterprise, including narcotics distribution and weapons possession.
In addition to the racketeering conspiracy count, Champion was sentenced for using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, which, according to the indictment, occurred on June 12, 2014 in Jackson. The indictment states that the crime of violence was attempted murder, and that Champion and other gang members committed the crime for the purpose of gaining entrance to and maintaining and increasing their position in the Gangster Disciple enterprise. There were seven victims of this attempted murder noted in the indictment. Champion had previously pleaded guilty on April 2.
U. S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge M.A. Myers of the FBI’s Memphis Division and Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Memphis Field Division, made the announcement.
Tommy Earl Champion, Jr., aka "Duct Tape," 29, of Jackson Tennessee, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. Champion previously pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "Dismantlement of criminal gangs is a top priority of the Department of Justice, and this case represents the collaborative efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement to target and remove a significant violent participant in the Gangster Disciples organization. "Duct Tape" is now stuck with a 30-year sentence for his violent crimes. We are taking the fight to the gangs in West Tennessee, and we are relentless in our resolve."
According to the indictment, the Gangster Disciples is a highly organized national gang active in more than 35 states. The scope of the Gangster Disciples’ crimes is wide-ranging and consistent throughout its national operation. The gang protects its power through threats, intimidation and violence, including murder, attempted murder, assault and obstruction of justice. The Gangster Disciples promotes its enterprise through member-only activities and provides financial and other support to members charged with or incarcerated for gang-related offenses.
According to court documents, Champion was a member of the Gangster Disciples and served on the gang’s "blackout squads" and "security teams." Champion was responsible for carrying out violent acts, including attempted murder, witness and victim intimidation, and assault, at the direction of senior Gangster Disciples leaders. Champion also participated in the other criminal activities of the Gangster Disciples enterprise, including narcotics distribution and weapons possession.
In addition to the racketeering conspiracy count, Champion was sentenced for using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, which, according to the indictment, occurred on June 12, 2014 in Jackson. The indictment states that the crime of violence was attempted murder, and that Champion and other gang members committed the crime for the purpose of gaining entrance to and maintaining and increasing their position in the Gangster Disciple enterprise. There were seven victims of this attempted murder noted in the indictment. Champion had previously pleaded guilty on April 2.
Manche Boy #Mafia has 8th Member Sentenced to Prison on Conspiracy Charges
U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Aeon L. Graham (23, Tampa) to six years and nine months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft. Graham pleaded guilty on June 12, 2018.
According to court documents and statements made in open court, between at least 2015 and 2017, Graham and others affiliated with “Manche Boy Mafia” or “MBM” organization conspired to commit credit card fraud and identity theft in the Tampa Bay area. To facilitate the scheme, the conspirators purchased stolen credit and debit card account numbers online from various websites, some of which used bitcoin as their currency. They then purchased or stole reloadable gift cards and used machines to emboss the stolen account numbers and their own names on to the front of these altered gift cards, thereby producing counterfeit credit cards. The conspirators then used these counterfeit credit cards at various retailers around the Tampa Bay area to purchase gift cards and electronics, which they either kept or sold for cash.
Investigators determined that these individuals had engaged in hundreds of successful transactions with counterfeit credit cards, and had possessed and used thousands of stolen account numbers from individuals across the United States. In total, Graham was held responsible for more than $600,000 in intended or attempted purchases with counterfeit credit cards and stolen account information.
According to court documents and statements made in open court, between at least 2015 and 2017, Graham and others affiliated with “Manche Boy Mafia” or “MBM” organization conspired to commit credit card fraud and identity theft in the Tampa Bay area. To facilitate the scheme, the conspirators purchased stolen credit and debit card account numbers online from various websites, some of which used bitcoin as their currency. They then purchased or stole reloadable gift cards and used machines to emboss the stolen account numbers and their own names on to the front of these altered gift cards, thereby producing counterfeit credit cards. The conspirators then used these counterfeit credit cards at various retailers around the Tampa Bay area to purchase gift cards and electronics, which they either kept or sold for cash.
Investigators determined that these individuals had engaged in hundreds of successful transactions with counterfeit credit cards, and had possessed and used thousands of stolen account numbers from individuals across the United States. In total, Graham was held responsible for more than $600,000 in intended or attempted purchases with counterfeit credit cards and stolen account information.
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