Gang Leaders and Expert Are Indicted in California
LOS ANGELES — Federal agents announced criminal indictments for 24 high-ranking gang members, along with a prominent gang intervention specialist who associated with city politicians and routinely raised money from Hollywood’s elite.
The specialist, Alex Sanchez, director of Homies Unidos, a gang outreach organization in Los Angeles for more than a decade, was arrested and charged with a federal racketeering count for his alleged role in the assassination of a man in El Salvador in 2006.
The charges capped a three-year investigation into the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a transnational gang of Central American origin with branches throughout the United States. The government charged various “shot-callers,” or leaders, with murders, drug distribution, extortion and other crimes in the 16-count indictment. Federal officials also accused gang members of unsuccessfully conspiring to kill an antigang detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.
In addition to the gang members, many of whom are already in prison on other charges, the Los Angeles police said they had arrested 15 more people associated with MS-13 in the course of the investigation.
Daniel McMullen, a special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Los Angeles bureau said investigators had used a variety of techniques including wiretaps and confidential informants to build their case.
Source:
Gang Leaders and Expert Are Indicted in California
nytimes.com
