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U.S. NEWS Thursday 24 May 2018
Mexican Mafia busted for running crime in LA County jails

By BRIAN MELLEY jails — was able to control people early Wednesday. immigration policies. in custody in state prisons
Associated Press smuggling, drug sales and Another 35 defendants are The majority of the crimes will be moved, authorities
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lead- extortion inside the nation's in custody and 16 were fu- listed in the indictment re- said.
ers of the notorious Mexi- largest jail system. gitives. leased Wednesday are al- Landa-Rodriguez is not a
can Mafia "gang of gangs" Indictments detailed how The indictments said leged to have been com- U.S. citizen, though nearly
were charged Wednesday the gang had begun in the gang enriched itself mitted by members of the all of the other defendants
with running a govern- Los Angeles in 1950s at a through drug sales, col- Mexican Mafia, a separate charged in the indictment
ment-like operation to con- juvenile jail and had grown lecting taxes on drugs and gang. are citizens, Hanna said.
trol drug trafficking from to an international crimi- even collecting a share "Essentially, the Mexican One of the group's facilita-
inside Los Angeles County nal organization that had of purchases from the jail Mafia is a gang of gangs," tors was attorney Gabriel
jails that included ordering a methodical system to commissary. It was able to said Paul Delacourt, assis- Zendejas-Chavez, who was
violence against those who communicate from behind exert control by threaten- tant director in charge of able to carry messages to
didn't obey. bars, control gang territory ing and carrying out vio- the FBI's field office in Los the gang members while
The U.S. attorney's of- and collect "taxes" for drug lence if people didn't pay Angeles. operating under the shield
fice charged 83 people sales through extortion. up or follow the rules. The indictment said Jose of attorney-client privilege,
in sweeping racketeering "These Mexican Mafia The gang members were Landa-Rodriguez and two the indictment said. He is
conspiracies that alleged members and associates, accused of committing vi- now-deceased members accused of enabling a plot
they ran drugs and carried working together to con- cious beatings, stabbings, of the gang controlled op- to extort $100,000 from the
out violent assaults and trol criminal activity within kidnappings and murders, erations in the jail between Mongols outlaw motorcy-
murders. (LA County jails), have be- Hanna said. 2012 and 2016. cle gang.
"These cases have deliv- come their own entity or "Drug trafficking and extor- Landa-Rodriquez, 55, is Zendejas-Chavez was ar-
ered a major blow to the enterprise and effectively tion of our inmates by the accused of sanctioning rested Wednesday. A
Mexican Mafia and leaders function as an illegal gov- Mexican Mafia can be a murders, assaults and the woman who answered
of many of the street gangs ernment," an indictment daily occurrence," Los An- kidnapping and planned the phone at his office was
under the control of the or- said. geles County Sheriff Jim murder of a relative of a unaware of the arrest and
ganization," U.S. Attorney Drugs smuggled into the McDonnell said. gang member who defied didn't comment.q
Nick Hanna said. "By tak- prison by facilitators of the The indictment alleges him, prosecutors said.
ing out the gang members Mexican Mafia leader were crimes that occurred be- A second higher-up, Luis
who control the jails, and required to be sold first, with tween 2012 and 2016, when Vega, 33, ordered a mur-
by disrupting their commu- the proceeds going to that a grand jury was convened der and directed assaults
nications network, we un- leader. Other groups that and before President Don- against those who showed
dermined the Mexican Ma- brought in drugs had to ald Trump took office. disrespect or didn't obey
fia's ability to coordinate give a third of their contra- Trump has focused on rules, the indictment said.
street gang activity." band to the Mexican Mafia gang violence but has In an effort to disrupt the
Prosecutors said the gang leadership. singled out MS-13, point- gang's stronghold, the sus-
— an organization of im- The fee, known as a "thirds" ing to the gang's gruesome pects will be held in federal
prisoned Latino street tax, gave the name "Op- crimes in a push for stronger facilities, and those already
gang leaders who control eration Dirty Thirds" to the
operations inside and out- investigation that led to the
side California prisons and indictments and arrest of 32

Cohen distances himself from

tax-cheating "Taxi King"

By JAKE PEARSON the thousands" of licensed
Associated Press taxi operators who turned
NEW YORK (AP) — President to management compa-
Donald Trump's personal nies.
lawyer, Michael Cohen, is He wrote, "Gene Freidman
distancing himself from an and I are not partners and
associate in the taxi indus- have never been partners
try who pleaded guilty to in this business or any oth-
tax fraud. er."
Evgeny Freidman was A person briefed on his
dubbed the Taxi King of plea agreement said it re-
New York for managing quires him to cooperate
cab fleets for investors in- with any ongoing investi-
cluding Cohen. gation. The person wasn't
Freidman pleaded guilty authorized to publicly dis-
Tuesday to pocketing $5 cuss it and spoke to The As-
million in passenger fees sociated Press on condition
that were supposed to of anonymity.
fund public transportation. Cohen's business dealings
Cohen tweeted Wednes- are being scrutinized by
day that he was "one of federal prosecutors.q

linda.reijnders@cspnv.com