WASHINGTON – Thirteen alleged members of the street gang called La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee on charges that they conspired to participate in a violent RICO enterprise responsible for killings and other violent crimes in Nashville, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Craig S. Morford for the Middle District of Tennessee announced today. The one-count racketeering indictment names the following 13 individuals, all of whom are currently in federal or state custody:

OSCAR SERRANO, a/k/a “Diablin”

ESCOLASTICO SERRANO, a/k/a “Chito”

OMAR HIRBIN GOMEZ, a/k/a “Lil Homie”

DAVID ALEXANDER GONZALEZ, a/k/a “Psycho”

ERNESTO ISAI MENDEZ-TOVAR, a/k/a “Joker,” a/k/a “Choey”

FRANCISCO DAGO MENDEZ, a/k/a “Silent” WALTER HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “Spanky”

HENRY GARBALLO-VASQUEZ, a/k/a “Cuervo”

ELISEO IGLESIAS, a/k/a “Smokey”

RONALD FUENTES, a/k/a “Spia”

ERICKA CORTEZ, a/k/a “Shorty”

GEOVANNI PENA, a/k/a “Rata,” and

JOSE ALFARO, a/k/a “Liche.”

“This indictment strikes at the heart of the MS-13 organization in Nashville, and continues our efforts to put members of gangs all across the nation on notice that they will be held responsible for the violence and mayhem they cause,” said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. “We will utilize the same tools we used to put Mafia leaders behind prison bars to confront the threat posed by violent criminal enterprises like the MS-13.”

“The facts alleged in this indictment reveal that MS-13 is a well-organized and extremely violent criminal enterprise that required an aggressive, cooperative response from local and federal authorities,” said U.S. Attorney Morford. “The indictment reflects the commitment of the Department of Justice and my office to continue to work with all law enforcement partners to ensure that those who engage in violent street gang activities in Middle Tennessee go to jail and do so on the most serious charges possible.”

U.S. Attorney Morford praised the cooperative partnership and outstanding efforts of the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department’s Gang Suppression Unit, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Department of Homeland Security, the Davidson County District Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Tennessee, and the Department of Justice’s newly formed National Gang Squad.

The indictment alleges that the defendants were members or associates of the MS-13 street gang, a violent international criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador. The purpose of this enterprise was to preserve and protect the power, territory and profits of the MS-13 enterprise through violent assault, murder, threats of violence, and intimidation.

The indictment further alleges that MS-13 originated in Los Angeles and quickly spread across the country, including to Middle Tennessee. It currently includes approximately 10,000 members in at least 10 states, Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador, making it one of the largest street gangs in the United States.

MS-13 gang members regularly engage in violent criminal activity, including murders, assaults, and witness intimidation in order to maintain membership and discipline within MS-13 and rivalries against other gangs, according to the indictment. The violent nature of the enterprise and its members is reflected by one of their mottos: “Mata, Viola, Controla” (“Kill, Rape, Control”).

The indictment further alleges that MS-13 was organized in “cliques,” including the Thompson Place Locos Salvatruchos clique (TPLS), which operated in Nashville. The TPLS and other cliques allegedly worked together cooperatively to commit acts of violence and their members operated under the umbrella rules of MS-13.

According to the indictment, MS-13 members met on a regular basis to report on acts of violence committed by their members with the goal of inciting and encouraging even more violence. Leaders of MS-13 cliques from across the United States allegedly met to discuss gang rules, gang business, problem resolution, and issues involving members of different cliques, and to promote overall unity between MS-13 gang members. Members had to pay dues which were used to support MS-13 gang members imprisoned in various places within the United States, including Middle Tennessee, as well as those in El Salvador.

The indictment further alleges that Nashville-based MS-13 members and associates killed three people, attempted to kill at least seven others, and plotted to shoot or kill several more during 2006 in Nashville.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison on the RICO conspiracy charge.

An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.

NEW YORK--Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, P.C., a leading law firm specializing in trademark, copyright, design and unfair competition law, has filed more trademark applications than any other law firm nationwide and is the most active law firm user of the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), according to the Department of Commerce's U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Susan Upton Douglass, a partner at the firm, was recently named the most prolific individual attorney filer by NameProtect, a digital brand management company.

The recognition of Fross Zelnick and Ms. Douglass was made in conjunction with the USPTO's public commemoration today of the one-millionth trademark application filed using TEAS. Launched in November of 1997, TEAS is a Web-based application process that now accounts for the vast majority of all trademark filings.

"Protecting intellectual property is the essence of our business and being recognized by the USPTO as being the nation's leading law firm filer of trademark applications underscores the importance owners of valuable brands place on fully protecting their trademark rights," said Larry Apolzon, a Fross Zelnick partner.

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Jane Bolin, who was the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School and became the nation's first black female judge, has died at age 98.

Ms. Bolin was sworn in by Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia in a surprise ceremony in 1939, becoming the first black female judge in the United States, according to the city's law department.

Assigned to the Domestic Relations Court, later renamed Family Court, Ms. Bolin fought racial discrimination from the bench. She worked to end segregation in child placement facilities and the assignment of probation officers based on race. She also helped to create a racially integrated treatment center for delinquent boys.

The dean of the University of Washington Law School, the subject of a state ethics complaint and in the midst of a performance review, will resign from his post in June.

W.H. "Joe" Knight Jr., who has served as dean since 2001, told President Mark Emmert of his intentions Thursday, according to a university statement.
 
W.H. "Joe" Knight Jr. will remain a tenured faculty member. He will remain a tenured faculty member.