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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.
