Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Wildfires in Anchorage? Indictments Point To Prison Hunger Strike Leader As Leader Of Florencia 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. 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 How Imprisoned Mexican Mafia Leader Exerts Secret Control Over L.A Suite 1200 "F13 is a large, multi-generational street gang that previously has been the subject of federal prosecutions, including two large racketeering cases," the DOJ said. By then Florencia 13 had bulged to include three dozen cliquesroughly 2,000 members in alland joined 18th Street and the Salvadoran Mara Salvatrucha as some of Southern California's . U.S. District Judge David Carter sentenced Florencia member Francisco Flores, 24, to life in prison on Wednesday, saying that he preyed on victims because they were black and for no other reason, according to a U.S. attorneys office news release. Jim Hellmold, supervisor of the departments Century Division, where Florence-Firestone is located. 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. 3 dozen LA gang members arrested in major sweep Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( In this case, the crime seems more opportunistic. This case was investigated by the DEA-Tri-Cities Task Force, METRO and Pasco Street Crimes Unit, United States Marshals Service, and Benton County Sheriff's Office. You can also view a larger version of this document. Then something changed, 7 hospitalized after driver in stolen car runs red light in San Bernardino, police say, Barstow police investigating after officer caught on video hitting man with a baton, Northern California town on edge after second fatal stabbing in a week, Man found guilty of murdering teens who ding-dong-ditched his house, Sacramento, San Francisco mayors take shots at each others city before NBA playoff game. The note was originally written in tiny script on a small scrap of paper known as a kite, smuggled out of Pelican Bay, recopied and then distributed to street gang members, according to federal prosecutors who are using it as evidence in a major crackdown in Los Angeles. All 13 defendants are charged in count one of the indictment, which outlines the Mexican Mafia-La Familia alliance and alleges a conspiracy to distribute narcotics. 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. Before joining The Times in 2018, he covered city news and state politics at the Hartford Courant. Earlier this year, Carter had handed out life sentences to Florencia members Jesse Vasquez, 36; Alberto Hernandez, 28; Gilberto Oliva, 41; Manuel Hernandez, 27; and Noe Gonzalez, 28. The Mexican Mafia's influence on the streets stems in part from its power inside California jails and prisons. 13 American Gangs That Are Keeping The FBI Up At Night - Business Insider A lock ( These violent gang members belong in prison, not in our communities. 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. They just went out and started shooting at black people, Hernandez said. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This multi-agency law enforcement effort exhibits the positive community impact of focused, diligent and dedicated investigative work, said ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric D. Harden. After the jury returned its verdicts, United States District Judge Beverly Reid OConnell scheduled sentencing hearings for October 24, 2016. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Florencia 13 is one of the largest, most powerful and oldest street gangs in Southern California. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images). The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, DEA & ATF began targeting Florencia 13 gang members for their roles in racially motivated attacks on African-Americans. 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. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Terrence P. Mann, Sheila Nagaraj and Victoria Degtyareva. 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. In 2007, 102 members of Florencia 13 were listed in indictments, under the operation, leading to the biggest gang raid in American history at the time, with 96 of the 102 members taken into custody. Central District of California | 13 Linked To Mexican Mafia And La The notes, he said, were written by Arturo Castellanos in his cell at Pelican Bay State Prison, where he was and still is serving a life sentence for murder. Casado had been released on bond since her arrest in August 2013; however, after the verdicts Judge OConnell ordered her remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Running a criminal organization while locked inside one of America's most secure prisons requires imagination, cunning and ruthlessness. The investigators have done a magnificent job at thwarting this relationship. Florencia-13 has opened unlicensed dispensaries in South Los Angeles, selling not just marijuana out of the storefronts but cocaine and methamphetamine as well, the former member said. How street gangs and their sub-groups are governed, including the election of a president and vice president by majority votes.. The evidence further showed that Sanchez participated in the F13 Gangs drug trafficking activities at the gangs casitas. [8] 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. Stay in touch. They allege the protest leaders have a hidden agenda strengthening the hand of criminal groups that control drug and extortion rackets behind bars and on the streets. Chief United States District Judge Stanley Bastian sentenced Leon to a 160-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 5-year term of court supervision after he is released from prison. He hasnt been on the streets since 1979. Jose Rodriguez-Landa, also known as Fox and Fox Tapia, 49, of Michoacn, an alleged Mexican Mafia member currently in custody in a Los Angeles County jail; Michael Moreno, aka Boo, 55, of Fresno, an alleged member of the Mexican Mafia, who was arrested this morning; Fred Anthony Montoya, aka Fast Freddy, 46, of Antioch, California, an alleged Mexican Mafia member who is currently in custody in a California state prison; Freddie Montes, 44, of Castaic, an alleged member of La Familia, who was arrested this morning; Luis Gerardo Vega, aka Little and Little One, 30, of the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles, an alleged Mexican Mafia member who is currently in custody in a Los Angeles County jail; Manuel Larry Jackson, aka Cricket, 49, of Monterey Park, an alleged Mexican Mafia member, who was arrested this morning; Jimmy Ruben Soto, aka Rube and Old Man, 77, of Visalia, an alleged member of the Mexican Mafia, who was arrested this morning; Raymond Lozano, 36, of San Diego, an alleged Mexican Mafia associate who is currently incarcerated in a federal prison; Efrain Isak Rosales, aka Tucn, 35, an alleged member of La Familia who resides in Michoacn and who is currently being sought by authorities; Sonia Apodaca, aka Shorty, 44, of El Monte, an alleged secretary of the Mexican Mafia, who was arrested this morning; Claudia Garcia, aka Giggles, 42, of the Gramercy Park district of Los Angeles, an alleged associate of the Mexican Mafia, who was arrested this morning; Adam Rios, aka Blanco, 35, of Slymar, an alleged associate of La Familia, who was arrested this morning; and. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Matthew Ormseth is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Suite 1200 You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. It also demands a firm set of rules and a way to impose them on operatives on the streets, often violent and obstreperous gang members. Click on text to read a print version of the note. Three years after the Florencia indictment, residents say, a measure of calm has come to Florence-Firestone. 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. 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. A secret letter allegedly sent from an inmate at Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California to members of Florencia 13, a multi-generational street gang in south Los Angeles, details a covert network that has enriched the state's most powerful prison gang, the Mexican Mafia. Rincon was accused of authorizing -- along with others -- the execution of Florencia 13 gang member Johnny Ibarra because he killed a fellow gang member without permission, according to prosecutors. 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 gangs illegal activities. Latino Gang Tried to Drive All Blacks From California City In August, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles named Castellanos in an indictment alleging a host of narcotics, firearms and fraud offenses, all carried out from his cell at Pelican Bay. They called themselves Florencia, after the east-west thoroughfare that ran through the heart of their territory. 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. Homicides dropped to 10 last year. Its ranks are knitted together by blood. The four are charged with violent crime in aid of racketeering in the killing of Officer Fernando Arroyos, who was fatally shot Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of. Arroyos and his assailants exchanged gunfire and he was hit once, federal authorities said. Killing of LAPD officer brings scrutiny on one of L.A.'s - Police1 Yet he wrote letters, introduced as evidence at the trial, that presumed to control a street gang, most of whose members had never seen him. Years of violent conflict over that territory with other gangs lent Florencia an identity and reason for being. Leon pled guilty to two out of the three federal indictments. The three men are members of Florencia-13, according to the FBI. Florencia 13, works closely with the Mexican Mafia and is a rival of the 18th Street set.