Tribune reporter Flynn McRoberts contributed to this article. History [ edit] The gang was founded in 1955 by Mexican youth who lived in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. Donell Squeaky Simmons. Two high-level leaders of the Latin Kings gang were among 21 people arrested in a months-long investigation that resulted in the seizure of large amounts of The day before his scheduled release in 1997, Colon and a dozen others were charged by the feds with running a multi-million dollar narcotics operation from an apartment in Logan Square. He told the informant, Martise tried to get him to merc the Puerto Rican stud, a detective wrote. Rangel had friends and aspirations in the music business, rubbing elbows with hip-hop heavyweights including DMX and Fat Joe, who, in a radio interview last August, called him a beautiful dude. A friend told police Rangel had two performers he was in negotiations with Dreamworks to record. A total of eleven schools from across Chicago competed in the annual contest. It is a member of the People Nation alliance. And now Spann awaits another reckoning in court over the killing of Rudy Kato Rangel Jr., among other charges in the federal conspiracy case targeting the Four Corner Hustlers. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Colon was born in Chicago in 1972 and became involved in the Latin Kings at a young age. In May 2003, Nunnery got in touch with a guy named Marcus Ware, who hung around the barbershop at Roosevelt and Sacramento and had two drug convictions and one on a weapons charge. In the spring of 2003, he drove to Lawrences Fish & Shrimp at Cermak and Canal to meet John, a Latin King whod told him hed sell him a stolen, diamond-laden Franck Muller watch worth $125,000 for $25,000. Detectives told Simmons they were matching evidence to those involved and had DNA. So did two Cook County sheriffs officers on patrol in an unmarked squad car at Roosevelt and Sacramento who reported the gunfire to the Chicago police. Herrera was able to lose the officers, but later was captured as he approached his home in Westchester. I am not here saying my son was an angel or that I am one of the mothers that act like he never did wrong, but whatever he did, he did not deserve to die like that, she said. "In my mind, you deserve the rest of your life in prison or the death penalty," Lozano said. In 1993, he was convicted of attempted murder, aggravated battery, aggravated battery with a firearm and armed violence and got seven years in prison. ), First published on November 8, 2013 / 6:28 AM. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (LECC), Latin Kings Second-In-Command Sentenced To 40 Years In Prison For RICO Conspiracy And Related Gang Crimes. Asked how Colon could direct a drug operation from prison, state prison director Odie Washington said that the gang chief, like other prisoners, has the right to use telephones and receive visitors. He had absolute power, one former Latin King said of Colons grip on the gang. King is currently serving a 20-year term for a Lord Gino Colon, a former leader, is leading his Latin Kings from inside the Menard Correctional Center, but he is not the only one. Detectives and DEA agents on Thursday executed search warrants at five homes that Chronister said were being used as storage and distribution points by the Latin Kings for a drug operation that raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars each month. A sheriffs office spokesperson said after the news conference that investigators estimated the operation was making $300,000 to $500,000 each month. They were at once the lay face of the church, the spiritual heart of civic government, and the social kin who claimed the allegiance of peers and the obedience of subordinates. Rockford: (815) 987-4444. They rode around in the car and Bro Man was just talking about hitting this lick or committing the robbery and Martise kept adding that Were going to pay you. Authorities are looking for the other five defendants. November 8, 2013 / 6:28 AM As he ran, Simmons Nets cap fell off. Come back. Webnotes the latin kings: organizational turning points introduction the latin kings is street gang that was formed in chicago, illinois in the 1940s. It would be more than five months before arrests were made. The case against Colon, who grew up in Humboldt Park and as a teenager was one of the founding members of the Latin Kings, rides largely on hundreds of hours of taped conversations in which Colon is alleged to talk about drug sales and other gang business using prison telephones. The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report. Alphonso Chavez, 26, the alleged leader of the gang's 31st Street crew was sentenced to 30 years in prison; Jose Guzman, 34, a "National Enforcer" in Little Village was sentenced to 35 years in prison, according to prosecutors. Prof. Shulamit Ran first read The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank at age 12 while growing up in Israel. Before his sentence was handed down, Vargas, 35, expressed remorse for his actions with the Latin Kings. During his tenure, Amaya discussed 25 shootings committed by his underlings while expressing pride at the consistency of violence. / CBS Chicago. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. The convictions resulted from a sustained, coordinated effort by federal law enforcement agencies, working together with the Chicago Police Department and other state and local partners, to dismantle the hierarchy of the Latin Kings and other highly-organized, often violent Chicago street gangs. Bro Man said a Cuba mother or Mexican wanted dude taken care of. Bro Man asked Donell to kill the dude for ten to thirty thousand dollars.. He fired repeatedly into the body of [the victim], and then casually held the gun to the head of [the young woman], who was spared only because the killers earlier zeal had emptied the weapon.. Spann already was planning to rob Rangel, according to Nunnery. HAMMOND, Ind. "As the CEO of this gang, Zambrano bears responsibility for its criminal acts.". He is currently held at a federal prison in Kentucky. Based on those records, this is the story of the killing of Rudy Kato Rangel Jr. Born on Thanksgiving Day 1972, Rangel grew up in LeClaire Courts on the Southwest Side but ended up traveling in lofty circles in two worlds: crime and rap music. CHICAGO (AP) Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to be the next mayor of Chicago after voters denied incumbent Lori Lightfoot a second term, Vargas was an "Inca," or regional leader, overseeing the south suburbs of Chicago and Northwest Indiana. "If convicted, he'll spend the rest of his life in federal custody," said Scott R. Lassar, interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, referring to Colon. The operation started about three months ago when detectives became aware of a drug distribution network operating in the Wimauma area, Chronister said. Simmons ran with the bodyguard in pursuit and the sheriffs officers now less than a block away. This United States biographical article related to crime is a stub. Before going into federal protective custody, they spent time at Guzmans cartel fortress in Mexico, which she wrote about in the 2017 book Cartel Wives., Pedro Flores (left) and his twin brother Margarito Flores, once Chicagos biggest drug traffickers. Rudy Rangel Jr. liked to keep his hair short. Donell states that as Bro Man handed the gun to him, Bro Man told Donell, Dont miss. Three other high-ranking leaders of the Latin Kings street gang were also convicted at trial of charges involving narcotics trafficking and related violence that plagued numerous neighborhoods across the city. From its origin and base in the west side Little Village community, the Latin Kings spread throughout Chicago and Illinois and established branches in other states, where local leaders acted with some autonomy but adhered to the rules and hierarchy of the Chicago gang, according to the evidence in the five-week federal trial. Mr. A detectives report on conversations regarding Rudy Rangel Jr.s killing that were overheard by a police informant. over the Skip to document Ask an Expert Sign inRegister Sign inRegister Home Ask an ExpertNew My Library Discovery Institutions Seneca College The University of Western Ontario He ascended the gang ranks while in prison, eventually becoming leader of Latin Kings and calling the shots from behind bars. The books power never waned, and over the years the University of Chicago composer has written several works with a focus on the Holocaust during her Pulitzer Prize-winning career. For the first time in three years, Latin's math department hosted the Middle School Math Contest in person on Saturday, January 28. Colon then walked over to a girl who was in Burrs group. Colon, 43, and 12 of the other defendants were charged with drug conspiracy. The Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations Amaya must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence. In 2000, a federal judge sentenced Colon to life. The sentence was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, together with Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Larry Ford, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. I am eager for our firearms lab to determine if theres a nexus between these guns and the unsolved crimes the Latin Kings may have been involved with, Chronister said. WebEd Farmer, 70, American baseball player ( Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies) and broadcaster, kidney disease. Spann, whose attorney Tod Urban didnt return messages seeking comment, already is facing as many as 70 years in prison, having pleaded guilty three months before the indictment to being a felon in possession of a weapon, obstruction of justice involving witness tampering and cocaine possession with intent to distribute. Labar Bro Man Spann. Colon absolutely deserves this opportunity to finally be out and be with his family and be free after all these years in custody, Pissetzky said. In June 1997, at 18, Spann was charged with murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm but found not guilty, though his two co-defendants were convicted and each got 60-year prison sentences. Have a question about Government Services? Evidence presented at the trial included audio and video recordings of three beatings of gang members for violating gang "rules" and testimony documenting 20 shootings in the Little Village area. Western Division WebThe largest Latino gang in Chicago, and perhaps in the United States, is the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation. Through his church, Cristobal will provide Mr. Colon with mental health counseling and other professional services Mr. Colon might need or benefit from for a smooth, safe, and successful transition back into society, Pissetzky wrote in support of Colons release. | Chicago Police Department, In that conversation, Nunnery talks about paying a subject named Squeaky thirteen thousand dollars for doing something, but got cheated, detectives wrote. WebThe nation's highest-ranking leader of the Latin Kings was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison Thursday. Zambrano, 52, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in January 2012. Two men were sitting on the stairs to the barbershop, waiting to get in, when Simmons walked up. Fifty years ago this week June 27, 1971 Gustavo Colon, a teen Latin King, shot and killed Glenn Burr, a teen Vice Lord, at the intersection of Potomac Avenue and Leavitt Street. Outside, a 21-year-old, recently paroled ex-con named Donell Squeaky Simmons walked through the alley to the shop, a red, white and blue Nets cap on his head and a pistol at his waist. Gang leaders outside of Illinoisfollowed rulesset by theChicago operation. A few days after Nunnery, Ware and Spann had picked up Simmons, Simmons later told the prosecutor, he was picked up at home again. Simmons then stated that he would talk to Det. Core Plays. Garcia was among a total of 31 co-defendants who were indicted in September 2008 or charged in a superseding indictment in October 2009. His attorney argues that the child that committed that murder a half century ago is incomparable to the person who sits in jail today.. He put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger, but it didnt fire. 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