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http://losangeles.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/la052109.htm

For Immediate Release
May 21, 2009 United States Attorney’s Office
Central District of California
Contact: (213) 894-2434

Massive Racketeering Case Targets Hawaiian Gardens Gang Involved in Murder of Sheriff’s Deputy, Attacks on African-Americans and Widespread Drug Trafficking

In the nation’s largest-ever gang sweep, approximately 1,400 law enforcement officers this morning swept across the City of Hawaiian Gardens to arrest dozens of people named in a federal RICO indictment that describes a war against the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, as well as systematic efforts to rid the community of African-Americans with a campaign of shootings and other attacks.

The investigation into the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang began after the fatal shooting of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Ortiz, who was gunned down four years ago by a gang member he was attempting to arrest on suspicion of shooting an African-American man. While the gang member, Jose Orozco, was quickly apprehended and currently sits on death row, the shooting of Deputy Ortiz sparked an investigation that culminated with today’s takedown that has dealt a severe blow to the gang that has terrorized Hawaiian Gardens for nearly 50 years.

During today’s enforcement action, which was part of “Operation Knock Out,” 88 defendants were arrested on federal and state charges. 63 of those arrests were pursuant to five federal indictments, which name a total of 147 defendants. With 35 defendants already in custody, there are now 98 defendants ready to be prosecuted in federal court. The remaining 49 defendants named in the federal indictments are either fugitives being sought by authorities or individuals who investigators are working to identify. Additional arrests are expected in this case.

“Operation Knock Out has led to federal indictments against 147 gang members, making it the largest gang sweep in U.S. history,” said United States Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien. “More than 50 members and associates of the Hawaiian Gardens gang are charged with violating the federal RICO statute – the same law that we used to knock out the mafia and which we have used with great success in Southern California in recent years to dismantle other criminal gangs.”

LASD Assistant Sheriff Paul Tanaka stated: “Jerry Ortiz was an outstanding deputy sheriff and a good family man who was murdered by a cowardly Hawaiian Gardens gang member. The senseless murder of Deputy Ortiz brought new-found attention to the fact that this multi-generational gang had been terrorizing neighborhoods, running drugs and committing violent crimes for many years. The primary purpose of Operation Knock Out was to make the community a safer place for all those who had suffered under the oppressive reign of this gang. May Deputy Ortiz rest in peace.”

In addition to the murder of Deputy Ortiz, the racketeering indictment discusses other violent attacks, drug trafficking, carjackings and kidnappings. For example, George Manuel Flores, the lead defendant in the RICO indictment and a longtime member of the Hawaiian Gardens gang, allegedly ordered the murder of another gang member who was believed to be cooperating with law enforcement and Flores allegedly provided a young gang member with a weapon and instructed him to shoot African-Americans who lived nearby.

“The careful process of building a racketeering case, while demanding, resulted in an unprecedented number of people being charged, to include topechelon members of the gang,” said Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. “The law-abiding citizens of Hawaiian Gardens have endured terrorizing witness intimidation, ethnic bigotry and violence around every corner for decades. Today’s arrests are paving the way to justice and a better way of life for those residents.”

During this investigation, approximately 31 pounds of methamphetamine were seized, along with lesser quantities of other narcotics. DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Landrum stated: “Today’s arrests send a message to those who are responsible for bringing violence and distress onto the streets of Los Angeles, that law enforcement is working together to take back our neighborhoods and get violent drug traffickers and street gangs out of our communities.”

Below is a breakdown of the cases unsealed this morning as part of Operation Knock Out:

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