LA gang members plead guilty to RICO and narcotics indictments

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Mexican Mafia member Arnold Gonzales ordered a so-called “peace treaty” of three Northeast Los Angeles rival street gangs in 2010. The three street gangs, known as Frogtown, Toonerville and Rascals, were ordered to work together to take over the narcotics trade, collect so-called taxes from street drug dealers and all other illegal activities that encompass the area in and around the Los Angeles River from Elysian Park to about Burbank. Due to the fact that Gonzales was serving a life sentence for murder, he appointed Jorge Grey, aka “Bouncer” from the Frogtown gang to serve as his emissary on the street and senior member Santos Zepeda, aka “Slim,” as Grey's top lieutenant. Together they were to rule the streets with a heavy hand.

In 2015, after a 2 ½ -year investigation led by the ATF called Operation “Gig 'em”, arrested and indictment were set in motion. Most importantly, the investigation proved that Gonzales had formed a criminal organization by unifying the three rival gangs into a single criminal enterprise. This act justified the issuing of a federal racketeering 27-count indictment, (RICO) against 22 gang members. According to the indictments numerous transactions of narcotics and firearm dealings were alleged including charges relating to two shootings. It is also alleged that Gonzales benefited greatly from the drug trafficking and collecting of taxes on his behalf and that sums of money were deposited into his prison account. Other charges pending against the alleged defendants include conspiracy to commit murder, murder, robbery and the possession of a machine gun.

This morning, Santos Zepeda, top lieutenant of this criminal organization pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, to conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, conspiring to traffic methamphetamine and being a primary supplier of narcotics to the criminal enterprise. The judge ordered his sentencing to be scheduled for January 22, 2018. If found guilty, he could receive a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum penalty of life without parole. Out of the 22 defendants named in the indictment, 11 have pleaded guilty. The remaining 11 defendants, including Grey, are scheduled to go on trial on March 5, 2018.