Tag Archives: mexican mafia

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Mexican organized-crime groups have branched out into octopus theft

More than a dozen trailers transporting multi-ton shipments of frozen octopus have been reported stolen in Mexico in the last month, illustrating how crime groups are constantly seeking new revenue streams, even in seemingly unlikely places.

Since a devastating earthquakerocked Mexico City on September 19, 14 trailers carrying multi-ton frozen octopus shipments have been robbed on federal highways leading from the Caribbean state of Yucatán to other parts of the country, El Diario de Yucatán reported.

According to the local publication, each trailer carried 25 tons of octopus, an amount worth some $3 million. It’s estimated that the total losses accumulated from the robberies have now totaled more than $40 million.

Read Full – http://www.businessinsider.com/mexican-organized-crime-groups-have-branched-out-into-octopus-theft-2017-10

Blog, Criminal, Immigration, Legal News, Organized Crime

Officials searching for Texas Mexican Mafia gang member with ties to Dallas

Follow @clairezcardona ccardona@dallasnews.com

Officials are searching for a Texas Mexican Mafia gang member with ties to Dallas who is wanted on a kidnapping charge and parole violation.

Johnny Garcia, 35, was last living in Kirby and has ties to Dallas, San Antonio and the Bexar County area, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Bexar County issued a warrant for his arrest in May related to the kidnapping of a female associate, according to DPS.

Garcia was convicted of assaulting a public servant when he was in prison in 2006 and sentenced to eight years. He punched and kicked a corrections officer, striking him on the head and face several times with the officer’s radio, according to DPS.

He also has convictions for assault, weapons offenses and drugs. He was paroled in 2014.

Garcia is 5-10 and weighs about 210 pounds. He has numerous tattoos, including “Mexicano” on his neck, “XIII” on his abdomen, “Garcia” on his back, Pancho Villa on his left arm and a tear drop near his left eye. He may go by the nicknames “Johnny Loco” or “Red Dog,” which he has tattooed on his left leg.

A $7,500 cash reward is being offered for information leading to his capture.

To be eligible for the reward, tipsters must provide information either by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-252-8477, texting the letters DPS followed by the tip to 274637, or submitting a tip through the DPS website, Facebook or the DPS mobile app.  All tips are anonymous.

Blog, Criminal, International, Legal News, Organized Crime

US to turn drug cartel founder over to Mexico

MEXICO CITY –  The U.S. Embassy in Mexico says Sinaloa cartel co-founder Hector “El Guero” Palma will be turned over to Mexican authorities after his release from a U.S. prison.

The U.S. bureau of prisons says Palma will be released Saturday. Palma served five years in a Mexican prison before being extradited to the United States, where he was sentenced to 16 years for transporting 50 kilograms of cocaine.

It is unclear whether Palma still faces any charges in Mexico.

Attorney General Arely Gomez says prosecutors are looking through files for any remaining criminal cases. She said that in some cases the statute of limitations has expired.

Palma was arrested June 23, 1995 in western Mexico.

The embassy said Thursday that “the United States and Mexico enjoy strong cooperation in security.”

Blog, Criminal, Legal News, Organized Crime

Mexican Mafia’s O.C. boss sentenced to 15 years in federal prison

Prosecutors say Peter “Sana” Ojeda, shown in an undated image, has been the Mexican Mafia’s Orange County leader for decades.

Brittny Mejia Contact Reporter

Peter “Sana” Ojeda, reputed godfather of the Mexican Mafia in Orange County, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in federal prison for federal racketeering charges.

United States District Judge James V. Selna said that Ojeda, despite being 74, still represented a “danger to the community,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

In January, Ojeda was convicted on one count each of racketeering and committing violent crimes to support a racketeering conspiracy.

The jury found that Ojeda was involved in the operation of Mexican Mafia activities in Orange County, which included conspiring to commit murder, extortion and narcotics trafficking.

The jury also found that Ojeda was involved in plots to kill other gang members as part of a turf war. That plotting occurred while Ojeda was in prison, prosecutors argued.

Ojeda — who is also known as “Sana” and “The Big Homie” — has been in federal custody since he was indicted in a prior racketeering case in 2005.

“Ojeda is a career criminal and a Mexican Mafia leader, which means he is intimately familiar with the violence, drug trafficking and extortion that fuels this criminal organization,” U.S. Atty. Eileen M. Decker said.

“Prior criminal cases against Mr. Ojeda have not had any deterrent effect, but today’s sentence makes it unlikely that Mr. Ojeda will ever be able to walk freely on the streets where his criminal organization has caused so much harm,” Decker said.

The trial, which began in November, offered an inside look into the clandestine organization that wields power within the prison system and among Latino gangs.

Ojeda ordered Latino street gangs in Orange County to pay “taxes” that consisted of a portion of proceeds gangs earned from criminal activities, including drug trafficking, according to the attorney’s office. In return, gang members could exert influence over their neighborhoods and territories and seek protection from the Mexican Mafia.

Suzie Rodriguez, the 53-year-old girlfriend of Ojeda, was also found guilty in the conspiracies for acting as a messenger between Ojeda and local gang leaders during his stay in a Pennsylvania federal prison. Rodriguez is scheduled for sentencing June 6.

In 2006, Ojeda was convicted on racketeering charges as well.

Full Article – http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mexican-mafia-oc-boss-sentenced-15-years-20160509-story.html