"My life will never be the same in or out of jail," Vargas said. The gang subunits were found at each intersection along 26th Street from Fairfield Avenue west to Millard Avenue, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Based on those records, this is the story of the killing of Rudy Kato Rangel Jr. Born on Thanksgiving Day 1972, Rangel grew up in LeClaire Courts on the Southwest Side but ended up traveling in lofty circles in two worlds: crime and rap music. Tribune reporter Flynn McRoberts contributed to this article. Martise Nunnery 26, asthmatic and a member of the Unknown Vice Lords told authorities John told him about selling the watch to Rangel and that hed seen him wearing that, a diamond bracelet and a platinum necklace with a pendant. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Gary Marx, Chicago Tribune Reporter, states that Gino has a rival, a Latin King leader outside the prison. He put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger, but it didnt fire. For the first time in three years, Latin's math department hosted the Middle School Math Contest in person on Saturday, January 28. Garcia and Zambrano were the highest-ranking Latin Kings to be convicted and sentenced since Gustavo Gino Colon, who also holds the title of Corona, was sentenced to life in prison in 2000. Ware and Nunnery were brought in on Nov. 14, and Simmons was arrested eight days later, initially in a separate incident. Rudy Kato Rangel Jr. was a leader of the Latin Kings when he was shot and killed in June 2003. "The point was that he would never be free.". The evidence at Amayas trial showed that by 2008, just a couple of years after he was released on parole from a 24-year sentence for a 1992 murder conviction, Amaya was promoted to Regional Inca of the Little Village Region, reporting only to Garcia and Zambrano and effectively running the gang at their behest. This sentence holds Garcia accountable for the barbaric enterprise known as the Latin Kings and his role in murder, attempted murder, shootings, beatings, drug trafficking, and other crimes, said Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The transcripts included one between Nunnery and the informant seven weeks after the shooting. 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. Rangel fell, and Simmons said he kept firing, also hitting the barber in the right foot and the bodyguard in his left hand. Labar Bro Man Spann. In 1996, the new leader of the Latin Kings in New York, which seemed to be spearheading other East Coast Latin King chapters, was Antonio "King Tone" Fernandez. CHICAGO A high-ranking leader of the Latin Kings street gang was sentenced today to 35 years in federal prison after being convicted of racketeering November 8, 2013 / 6:28 AM Amaya was indicted separately in 2012 following the 2008 and 2009 indictments of more than 30 top leaders of the Latin Kings. WebThe defendant, Vicente Garcia, Jr., 35, the Supreme Regional Inca of the Almighty Latin King Nation, who oversaw the day-to-day illegal activities of all factions of the gang with Come back. But that ride, along with Colon's bid for freedom, was indefinitely postponed Thursday when he and 13 other members and affiliates of the Latin King street gang were charged with running a drug operation that is alleged to have distributed $6 million worth of crack and powder cocaine, marijuana and heroin throughout Chicago since 1995. | Illinois Department of Corrections. He and one of his friends soon approached the group, according to court records. He was sentencing Latin Kings leader Alexander Vargas, who had ordered two murders and been involved in drug trafficking, while taking into account his cooperation with the government, which aided in the conviction and guilty pleas of several other gang members. Donell Simmons cap was found on the sidewalk near Rudy Rangel Jr.s SUV. Authorities are looking for the other five defendants. While locked up, Colon ascended to the rank of Corona the top Latin Kings decision-maker. 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. "This verdict inflicts a serious blow to the to leaders of the Latin Kings," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a news release. But around 3 a.m., two Chicago police officers confronted the 13-year-old and Roman while investigating gunshots in Little Village, a predominately Latino LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Lisa Fielding Reports. Colon did come back to Chicago, but not in the way he hoped. | Chicago Police Department. 327 S. Church Street, Room 3300 Man Of Steel 02. Vargas said he tried to get out of the gang twice, but he was threatened with harm both times. CHICAGO A high-ranking leader of the Latin Kings street gang was sentenced today to 35 years in federal prison after being convicted of racketeering conspiracy and related charges involving narcotics trafficking and violence that plagued the Little Village neighborhood on the citys west side. The highest-ranking leader of the Latin Kings street gang is behind bars. Gary Marx and Mark S. Warnick and Tribune Staff Writers. Later that month, a grand jury approved charges against all four men of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated battery with a firearm, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery. Simmons immediately stated that he would willingly submit a DNA test, detectives wrote. He pleaded guilty to racketeering, drug trafficking and murdering two people. WebCHICAGO Twenty-six alleged members and associates of the Latin Kings street gang are facing federal narcotics charges, most of them for their alleged roles in one of two drug-trafficking organizations that supplied and distributed multi-kilogram quantities of heroin, cocaine and marijuana in Chicago and the south suburbs. 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. Deputies also seized 15 firearms and multiple vehicles, including a Mercedes Benz and a BMW that officials said were bought with proceeds from drug sales. 219 S. Dearborn St., 5th Floor At 17, Rangel pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and got a years probation. Spann was linked to all six. (Source: Sun-Times Media Wire Chicago Sun-Times 2013. Chicago, IL 60604 Vargas said he realizes his cooperation with the government puts a target on his back. understood this to mean Nunnery attempted to hire [the man] to murder Rangel. In addition to RICO conspiracy, Garcia was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon and using a firearm during a violent crime. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The gang has over two-hundred members in the state. Please enter valid email address to continue. He was being held without bail Monday. "Reading this case was like reading a novel, a horror novel of all the bad things that occurred and the bad things human beings can do to each other.". Tha Ladder 04. Ware states that he knew that, the way Kato was killed, that it was not just a robbery, a detective wrote. Garcia's sentence comes a month after Augustin "Tino" Zambrano, considered the highest-ranking Latin King in the country, was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Outside, a 21-year-old, recently paroled ex-con named Donell Squeaky Simmons walked through the alley to the shop, a red, white and blue Nets cap on his head and a pistol at his waist. "It demonstrates that the combined and coordinated efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement can assemble cases looking at disparate crimes such as selling false identification documents in Little Village and tie them all the way back to the gang leaders responsible for a broad array of criminal conduct. "If convicted, he'll spend the rest of his life in federal custody," said Scott R. Lassar, interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, referring to Colon. Let me get by, Simmons told them. Is it time to let Lord Gino Colon come home? It was just before 10 p.m. on June 27, 1971 when Burr, who was 16 years old, and four others left his home in the 1300 block of North Leavitt Street. Please enter valid email address to continue. The operation also resulted in the seizure of what Chronister called a Latin Kings organizational chart and bylaws. Core Plays. Attorneys Andrew Porter, Nancy DePodesta and Tinos Diamantatos. [14] Edward L. Feightner, 100, American Navy officer and flying ace. CHICAGO (WBBM/CBS) Prosecutors are hailing the conviction of the alleged top leader of the Chicago-based Latin Kings as a blow to one of the nation's most powerful street gangs. Zambrano is the highest-ranking Latin King leader to be convicted since Gustavo "Gino" Colon was given a life sentence in 2000. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. The Latin Kings in Connecticut started in the state's prison system in the late 1980s. In total, nearly 100 Latin Kings members and associates have faced state or federal charges since 2006. Zambrano was the highest-ranking Latin King to be convicted and sentenced since Gustavo Gino Colon, who also holds the title of Corona, was sentenced to life in prison in 2000. Although law enforcement officials say the indictment is likely to cause disarray in the gang's North Side operations, it will have little impact on the gang's operations on the South Side, which is allegedly run by another gang leader, who is a longtime rival of Colon's. Makin Rounds Feat. Vargas' attorney, Todd Pugh, said his client lived a double life, as a father of five children, union bricklayer and Little League coach, while he was involved with the drugs and violence of the gang. [15] Luiz Flvio Gomes, 62, Brazilian jurist, professor and politician, Deputy (since 2019), leukaemia. The 2023 Latin Math Contest: Together well be in 2023 was a success! Zamnbrano was identified at trial as the "Corona," which means he was the highest leader of the gang nationwide, and responsible for oversight about 10,000 Latin Kings gang members in Illinois alone, and many more in other states, according to the release. 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. Latin Kings Nationwide Leader, Augustin Zambrano, and Three Other High-ranking Gang Members Convicted of RICO Conspiracy and Related Crimes in Federal Trial. 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. Sentencing guidelines call for a mandatory life sentence for murder, but government attorneys recommended a lesser sentence for Vargas' candid cooperation. 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. 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. The Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago, and the Cook County Sheriffs Police 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). Spann already was under scrutiny by the Chicago Police Department. 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. Asked how Colon could direct a drug operation from prison, state prison director Odie Washington said that the gang chief, like other prisoners, has the right to use telephones and receive visitors. Official websites use .gov 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. The case against Colon, who grew up in Humboldt Park and as a teenager was one of the founding members of the Latin Kings, rides largely on hundreds of hours of taped conversations in which Colon is alleged to talk about drug sales and other gang business using prison telephones. Rangel married someone from the neighborhood: Valerie Gaytan, daughter of a Chicago cop. Outside the barbershop, they saw Rangels blue SUV, drove a block west and turned, parking just north of the alley, according to what Nunnery and Simmons told authorities. Rudy Kato Rangel Jr., the Latin Kings gang leader who was shot to death on June 4, 2003. 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. It also illustrates something else: The primacy and power of street gangs in the state prison system in recent years. There are very few of these copies in existence, and they are fiercely protected by the gang members, the sheriff said. 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. We focused our intelligence efforts on identifying the hierarchy of this violent and extremely profitable narcotics enterprise, Chronister said. 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. He also was hit in his left shoulder, the left side of his chest, his left abdomen and left hip, according to the Cook County medical examiners office, which noted Rangel still had on his pricey watch and bracelet. Caesar Diaz, 24, of Calumet City, was charged with one count of attempting to distribute cocaine. The operation started about three months ago when detectives became aware of a drug distribution network operating in the Wimauma area, Chronister said. Lord Gino Colon, a former leader, is leading his Latin Kings from inside the Menard Correctional Center, but he is not the only one. On June 4, 2003, late in the evening, the gang leader known as Kato was in the barber chair, his back to the open door, Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New Jersey Nets on the TV. In the past, large-scale, high-profile federal indictments of street gangs on drug trafficking have focused on black street gangs like the Rukns, the Gangster Disciples and the Vice Lords; law enforcement officials often have described Latino gangs as more interested in rivalries and violence than narcotics. In an interview last year, Colon, while praising the Latin Kings for allegedly keeping peace in the prison system, denied that he was involved in narcotics trafficking. The Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations Tampa office worked together on the investigation, dubbed Operation Checkmate, that led to the search of five homes in the Wimauma area last week, Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a news conference. I want to thank our local, state and federal law enforcement partners for their brave and outstanding work resulting in a major impact on this gang enterprise, Mr. Fardon added. Mr. Evidence presented at the trial included audio and video recordings of three beatings of gang members for violating gang "rules" and testimony documenting 20 shootings in the Little Village area. Fifty years ago this week June 27, 1971 Gustavo Colon, a teen Latin King, shot and killed Glenn Burr, a teen Vice Lord, at the intersection of Potomac Avenue and Leavitt Street. 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 Colon was born in Chicago in 1972 and became involved in the Latin Kings at a young age. | Cook County states attorneys office. 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. In a deal with prosecutors, hed pleaded guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm, was sentenced to four years in prison in May 2002 and paroled from the Vandalia Correctional Center on Feb. 26, 2003. WebThis paper reviews the history, characteristics, and threat of the Latin Kings, a gang that began in Chicago more than three decades ago and now has influence in 34 States. Pissetzky noted that Colons brother Cristobal, himself a former member of the Latin Kings, has for more than 25 years served as the pastor of Gods Army Ministries, a church on the Northwest Side. Through his church, Cristobal will provide Mr. Colon with mental health counseling and other professional services Mr. Colon might need or benefit from for a smooth, safe, and successful transition back into society, Pissetzky wrote in support of Colons release. 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. WebThe Latin Kings are a Latino gang based in both Chicago and New York City, but it has active chapters throughout the United States. He is currently held at a federal prison in Kentucky. Federal prosecutors later said that she served as Colons eyes and ears outside prison, passing along his orders to other Latin Kings. Hes been reprimanded for threatening correctional officers, attacking one with his wheelchair and fashioning a shiv out of pens and medical tape for which he received minimal punishment. 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. Prosecutors said Shaun Harrison, 63, lived a double life as a leader of the drug gang while working at a public high school. The defendant, JUAN AMAYA, 38, was convicted by a jury in March of this year after a trial in U.S. District Court. WebThe indictment charges three alleged high-ranking Latin Kings who enforced discipline and adherence to the gangs rules and were known as Regional Enforcers. The three Southeast Regional Enforcers charged in the indictment are: Raul Cavillo, 33; Joel Nunez, 39; and Carlos Padilla Jr., 35, all of Chicago. Also known as "BigTino,""Tino," "Old Man" and "Viejo," Zambrano is responsible for managing all illegal activities of the gang with some 10,000 members in Illinois alone. Colon was found guilty on all but one of the 21 counts leveled against him. Records show that Bravo at the time of his arrest was out on bail after a previous arrest on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, fleeing to elude law enforcement and resisting an officer without violence. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Pissetzky filed a similar motion earlier this year, arguing for Colons release under the First Step Act, a reform bill signed into law in 2018 that aims decrease unnecessarily lengthy federal prison sentences. over the Skip to document Ask an Expert Sign inRegister Sign inRegister Home Ask an ExpertNew My Library Discovery Institutions Seneca College The University of Western Ontario Rudy Rangel Jr. liked to keep his hair short. But interviews and thousands of pages of records from the U.S. attorneys office, the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County states attorneys office and the Cook County medical examiners office reviewed by the Chicago Sun-Times suggest another possible motive: that the murder was contracted after Rangel stole 150 kilos of cocaine. Prof. Shulamit Ran first read The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank at age 12 while growing up in Israel. Augustin Zambrano, 51, was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and 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. Lock Herrera was able to lose the officers, but later was captured as he approached his home in Westchester. Man, Shorty, dont miss him, Nunnery said. In addition to Colon and his wife, others charged in the indictment for drug conspiracy were Chicago-area residents: Jorge D. Martinez, 32; Wilfredo Escobar, 35; WebThe largest Latino gang in Chicago, and perhaps in the United States, is the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation. As soon as the men in the car waiting outside the barbershop heard gunfire, Bro Man began shouting Get me out of this car, a detective wrote after interviewing Nunnery. Days later, Ware said he heard on the street that Kato had ripped some Mexicans off for some dope and that they paid someone to kill him. WebFind a Doctor Ingalls Memorial offers unique opportunities to help patients and their families on our Harvey campus. He fired repeatedly into the body of [the victim], and then casually held the gun to the head of [the young woman], who was spared only because the killers earlier zeal had emptied the weapon.. In total, more than 80 Latin Kings members and associates have faced state or federal charges since 2006. 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. All rights reserved, All Eyes On a Strong' System That Could Hit Chicago Area Friday, But Much Uncertainty Remains, Who Did Your Ward Vote For? An FBI investigation of the gang led to charges against 40 Latin King members and associates in 2008. Authorities accused Zambrano and other gang leaders of extorting a "street tax" from non-gang members who sold false identification documents, and using force and threats of violence unless they received it. WebCHICAGOA Chicago man alleged to be a Corona of the Latin Kings, making him the highest-ranking leader outside of prison and responsible for overseeing the illegal activities of all factions of the powerful Chicago street gang, is among 18 defendants charged in a sweeping new federal indictment against the gangs alleged hierarchy. Chicago, IL 60604 He faces charges of armed trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and amphetamine, among others. For example, the Latin Kings started in Chicago, but the Latin Kings in New York are . Late that May, Ware, Nunnery and Spann picked up Simmons at his West Side home, according to a prosecutors report. This United States biographical article related to crime is a stub. 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 All have been convicted and sentenced except for a few defendants who remain fugitives. 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.
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