A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Md., has charged leaders of the violent street gang known as MS-13 with federal racketeering crimes, including two men who allegedly ordered murders inside the United States from their prison cells in El Salvador, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced today.

The 30-count superseding indictment returned June 4, 2007, alleges that the three defendants—Dany Fredy Ramos Mejia, aka “Sisco,” Saul Antonios Turcio Angel, aka “Trece,” and Rigoberto Del Transito Mejia Regaldo, aka “Ski”—conspired to participate in a racketeering enterprise in the United States and El Salvador that involved murder, robbery, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering through their participation in La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. Two of the defendants allegedly communicated with MS-13 gang members from prison in El Salvador to commit a variety of crimes, including one instance which resulted in the murders of two persons in the United States.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that the three defendants and at least 13 others in the United States conspired from at least 2001 to March 2007 to operate an MS-13 enterprise in the United States and El Salvador through a pattern of racketeering activity, including: eight murders in Maryland and one in Virginia; the use of deadly weapons including firearms, baseball bats, machetes, bottles or knives in the commission of murders, attempted murders, and assaults on juvenile females, rival gang members, and an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador; kidnapping; robbery; obstruction of justice; and witness tampering.

“Today's announcement results, in part, from a series of comprehensive anti-gang initiatives undertaken by the Department to target and pursue America's most violent and dangerous gangs,” said Attorney General Gonzales.  "I also want to acknowledge the cooperation provided by officials in the government of El Salvador who have strongly demonstrated their commitment to combating MS-13 and other violent gangs that operate in El Salvador, and elsewhere in Central America, Mexico and the United States.”

Among other things, the indictment alleges that in or about September or October 2004, Mejia and Angel produced a videotape of themselves and fellow MS-13 gang members in El Salvador, in which they communicated to MS-13 gang members in Maryland regarding the activities of MS-13 in El Salvador. The indictment also alleges that on or about Oct. 9, 2005, Angel communicated with members of the Teclas Locos Salvatruchos clique in Maryland via cell phone from inside prison in El Salvador regarding acts of violence, including murder, against rival gang members, and that later that same day, other gang members in Maryland killed two people and wounded a juvenile.

The indictment also alleges that on or about Aug. 21, 2005, Regaldo participated in the premeditated murder of Anber Juarez Sanchez in Howard County, Md. The indictment further alleges that on or about May 27, 2006, Regaldo and others participated in the armed robbery of a grocery story in Reisterstown, Md.

All three defendants are currently incarcerated in El Salvador on charges for crimes allegedly committed in that country. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence in the United States of life in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise. All defendants are presumed innocent under the law until and unless convicted.

“This indictment is an example of the strategic approach that the Department of Justice has taken to combating the international and multi-jurisdictional problem of violent gangs,” said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division.  “We have marshaled our resources to ultimately target the leadership of these gangs, whether on the streets of our neighborhoods or in cities abroad.”

“Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities are united with our international partners in pursuing gang leaders who direct criminal activity as well as members who carry it out,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland. “If you join a gang that commits crimes, you can be held accountable for all criminal activity committed by other gang members.”

“MS-13 is a criminal organization that has terrorized our nation’s neighborhoods and jeopardized community safety for far too long,” said Acting Director Michael J. Sullivan, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. “This indictment sends a strong signal that anyone who joins the gang and participates in violent acts on its behalf will continue to be brought to justice, no matter where they may hide.”

“This indictment should send a message to MS-13 and other gangs that their violence will not be tolerated in our streets and our neighborhoods, and we will not permit gang leaders to seek refuge outside of our borders to commit crimes within the United States,” said Assistant Director Kenneth W. Kaiser, FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI’s MS-13 National Gang Task Force, in partnership with local, state, federal and international law enforcement, is working diligently to dismantle MS-13 and eradicate the threat it poses around the world.”

Attorney General Gonzales announced in San Salvador on Feb. 5, 2007, a far-reaching set of anti-gang initiatives in cooperation with El Salvador, Mexico, and neighboring countries. The February announcement included the establishment of a new Transnational Anti-Gang Center (TAG), including up to a dozen investigators from the Civilian National Police (PNC) in El Salvador, embedded prosecutors from the El Salvador Attorney General’s office, special FBI teams assigned to El Salvador, and State Department support. The effort to stand up the TAG center is underway, and PNC investigators who are part of the new center assisted in the investigation in this case.

In matters related to this case to date, 42 MS-13 gang members have been charged with various federal offenses, with 30 defendants charged in this RICO conspiracy case. Jose Hipolito Cruz Diaz, a/k/a “Pirana,” Omar Vasquez, a/k/a “Duke,” and Henry Zelaya, a/k/a “Homeboy,” were convicted at trial by a federal jury on April 27, 2007, of the racketeering conspiracy and face a maximum sentence of life in prison. Edgar Alberto Ayala, a/k/a “Pony,” and Oscar Ramos Velasquez, a/k/a “Casper,” were convicted at trial by a federal jury in November 2006 of racketeering conspiracies. Ayala was sentenced on June 1, 2007, to 35 years in prison, and Velasquez faces a maximum sentence of life at his sentencing scheduled for July 23, 2007. Nine defendants, all of Maryland, have pleaded guilty, including: Walter Barahona, who was sentenced on April 16, 2007, to 14 years in prison; Franklin Mejia Molina, who was sentenced on Dec. 4, 2006, to more than nine years in prison; and Juan Lopez, who was sentenced on Oct. 16, 2006, to 87 months in prison. Jose Pena Aguilar was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Nov. 6, 2006, for using a firearm in furtherance of a racketeering conspiracy, to be served consecutive to a 20-year sentence received in the Circuit Court of Prince George’s County for attempted murder.

The charges span three states, three federal districts, and two countries. In addition to the murders in Maryland and Virginia, and the conduct in El Salvador, the indictment also alleges a relationship to alleged MS-13 gang members and activity charged recently by a federal grand jury in Nashville. That indictment charges 14 defendants with RICO and gun charges and is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Gang Squad and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The charges stem from a long-term investigation initiated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, conducted jointly with the Gang Squad of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and a task force headed by the ATF. The Regional Area Gang Enforcement (RAGE) Task Force is comprised of agents and officers from the ATF; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Department of Homeland Security; the Maryland National Capital Park Police; the Prince George’s County, Howard County and Montgomery County Police Departments; as well as the Maryland State Police. Both the FBI’s MS-13 National Gang Task Force and the PNC in El Salvador assisted the Task Force with investigating the international defendants in El Salvador.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Trusty and Chan Park from the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney David Jaffe from the Justice Department’s Gang Squad are prosecuting this case.

A homeless man accused of killing four other homeless men and placing their bodies in manholes in a dispute over scrap metal pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of murder.
 
Daniel J. Sharp entered the plea as part of an agreement with prosecutors that will have him serve his sentences concurrently instead of consecutively.
Sharp, 55, faces 45 to 65 years when he is sentenced Sept. 4 by St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller.

Sharp pleaded guilty to killing Michael S. Nolen Jr., Michael W. Lawson, Brian Talboom and Jason Coates between Dec. 18 and 21 and dumping their bodies in manholes 75 yards apart just south of downtown South Bend.

Autopsies showed the four men died of blunt force trauma to the head. Sharp said he hit two of the men with "blunt objects" and helped another man kill the two others.

Randy Lee Reeder, 51, South Bend, also is charged with four counts of murder. According to the plea agreement, Sharp has agreed to testify against Reeder. Reeder's trial is scheduled for July 12.

Balletta and one of her daughter, Marina, were taken out the bedroom windows by authorities, but the police could not get to the other child, Talia Balletta. The victim had second- and third-degree burns over half her body and died several weeks later.

A Providence County Grand Jury indicted Balletta on eight counts, including one count each of murder, first degree arson and assault with the intent to commit murder, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of resisting arrest.

Prosecutors said Balletta assaulted two State Police troopers and a Providence Police officer as she resisted arrest, waving a knife at two and a broken shard of glass at the other.

Balletta showed signs of mental illness for at least a year before the fire, and "was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her behavior" because of her mental illness, psychiatrist Dr. Joseph V. Penn told the court during the trial.

The former mayor of the eastern Iowa town of Wilton has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to deliver marijuana.

Dick Summy was charged last September with distributing and manufacturing about 100 marijuana plants. He entered his plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Davenport, but the judge said he'll take a few days to decide whether to accept the plea.

At issue is a law that prohibits someone from being prosecuted for the same crime twice.

The prosecutor is concerned that because Summy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, he could not be tried for conspiracy to manufacture.

Summy's attorney said Summy believes he conspired to distribute marijuana but did not conspire to manufacture the drug.

Judge Christopher Burns asked Sanchez about each of the three victims. "I strangled her," he said three times, weeping and barely audible.

Sanchez's wife sobbed as he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in each death. He faces 75 years to life in prison at sentencing Aug. 2.

"It is unimaginable to us that someone we have truly loved and respected for so many years could be capable of such violent acts," his wife, Kathleen Sanchez, and her family said in a statement. "We are sincerely sorry and filled with grief for your tragic losses."

Sanchez admitted killing University at Buffalo student Linda Yalem, who was raped and strangled on a bike path near campus in 1990; Majane Mazur, who was found raped and strangled on a Buffalo street two years later; and Joan Diver, who was strangled along a bike path last fall.

"The case against him in each of the three homicides was overwhelming," Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark said after the pleas.

Defense attorney Andrew LoTempio said Sanchez wanted to spare his family from a trial and decided to plead guilty after reviewing the DNA evidence against him.

Clark said investigators have tied Sanchez to 8 or 9 rapes and suspect him in a dozen more dating back to the late 1970s.

The appeals court upheld Vang's convictions for six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, agreeing with his attorneys that there was no merit to an appeal.

The fatal shootings occurred in November 2004 after a group of deer hunters in Sawyer County confronted Vang, 38, of St. Paul, Minn., over trespassing in a tree stand.

Vang, a Hmong immigrant and experienced hunter, testified during his trial that he shot the six white hunters and wounded two more in self-defense, claiming one of them fired a shot in his direction after they shouted racial epithets and cursed at him.

The two survivors testified that Vang had begun walking away from the confrontation when he turned and opened fire.

Prosecutors convinced a jury that Vang reacted in an angry outburst, feeling disrespected by the hunters, and then tried to kill everyone so there would be no eyewitnesses.

Vang, who came to the United States from Laos more than 20 years ago, was sentenced to six consecutive life terms plus 165 years in prison. He is being in kept in an undisclosed prison outside of Wisconsin, according to the state Department of Corrections.