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88 arrested, 147 charged in massive operation against Hawaiian Gardens gang (Mexican connection)
Long Beach Press-Telegram ^ | 05/21/2009 08:02:14 PM PDT | Tracy Manzer

Posted on 05/23/2009 10:54:08 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Slaying of Deputy Jerry Ortiz triggered four-year investigation

HAWAIIAN GARDENS - Almost 1,400 law enforcement officials converged on Hawaiian Gardens in a series of pre-dawn raids Thursday as part of the largest federal indictment against a street gang in United States history.

Varrio Hawaiian Gardens, Hawaiian Gardens' oldest and most notorious gang, waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from the community via attempted murders and other crimes, according to the federal racketeering indictments that werei unsealed Thursday.

A total of five indictments charged 147 members and associates of the gang, and federal, state and local law enforcement officials had arrested 88 people as of Thursday morning, U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said.

Included in that plot was the murder of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Ortiz, who was shot in the head in June of 2005 by a VHG member while Ortiz was investigating the attempted murder of a black man in the city, O'Brien said.

It was the cowardly slaughter of Ortiz - a newlywed and father of two sons - that prompted investigators from the LA County Sheriff's Department to the FBI to launch the nearly four-year investigation into the gang, which culminated in Thursday's indictments and a wave of arrests, dubbed "Operation Knockout," O'Brien said.

"Operation Knockout has put a serious dent in this violent criminal enterprise," said Assistant Los Angeles County Sheriff Paul Tanaka.

(Excerpt) Read more at presstelegram.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; US: California
KEYWORDS: aliens; drugcartels; gangland; gangs; hawaiiangardens; immigration; latinogangs; latinos; longbeach; longbeachca; losangeles; losangelescounty; mexicanmafia; operationknockout; racism; racketeering; rico; wod
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1 posted on 05/23/2009 10:54:08 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: NormsRevenge; Grampa Dave; SierraWasp; tubebender; kellynla; A CA Guy; Brad's Gramma; pollywog; ...

Damn close to me....just a few miles up the 605....


2 posted on 05/23/2009 10:56:06 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

sure it’s a big bust for the popo but these Hispanic gang members are like cockroaches. You think you’ve killed them all but they keep coming back. LA will soon become like Tijuana unless something doesn’t change in how we deal with the drug trade.


3 posted on 05/23/2009 10:57:32 AM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL (Hope and Change. Rhetoric embraced by the Insane - Obama, The Chump in Charge)
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To: All
this morning's paper:

49 still at large in Hawaiian Gardens gang bust

*******************************EXCERPT********************************

By Tracy Manzer, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/22/2009 04:38:46 PM PDT

HAWAIIAN GARDENS - Among the 147 Hawaiian Gardens gang members and associates named in five separate federal indictments, some 49 remained at large Friday, authorities confirmed.

The search, however, will continue, federal and local authorities vowed.

"Operation Knockout has led to federal indictments against 147 gang members, making it the largest gang sweep in U.S. history," United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said Thursday when the indictments were unsealed and the results of the pre-dawn raid were shared with media.

During Thursday's operation, a total of 88 defendants were arrested on federal and state charges. Of the 88 arrests, 63 were identified in one of five federal indictments.

With 35 defendants already in custody, there are now 98 people ready to be prosecuted in federal court and, if convicted, who will serve at least 85percent of their terms scattered among 118 federal facilities across the country, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The remaining 49 defendants named in the federal indictments are either fugitives being sought by authorities or individuals who investigators are working to identify and additional arrests are expected in this case, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Some of those being sought are


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believed to be in the area while others are suspected to be out of state and out of the country, authorities said.

The indictments and subsequent roundup in Hawaiian Gardens - which included 1,400 law enforcement members from federal, state and local jurisdictions - were the culmination of almost four years of investigation into the tiny town's oldest and most notorious gang, authorities said.

Varrio Hawaiian Gardens waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from the community through attempted murders and other crimes, according to the federal racketeering indictments unsealed Thursday.

4 posted on 05/23/2009 10:59:12 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Support Geert Wilders)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
LA will soon become like Tijuana unless something doesn’t change in how we deal with the drug trade

Many parts already are.

Some of the neighborhoods I grew up in in the SF Valley now look just like a third world hell hole.

5 posted on 05/23/2009 11:03:30 AM PDT by Las Vegas Ron (zer0 is doing to capitalism what Kennedy did to health care)
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To: All
******************************EXCERPT From Friday article*****************************

The investigation not only uncovered the gang's activities, it revealed the gang's strong ties to the Mexican Mafia - a Southern California prison gang - and to Mexican drug cartels, said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Salvador Hernandez.

Ties to Mexico were also found among some of those arrested Thursday who were living in the U.S. illegally after being deported, many of them for violent crimes including murder, said Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kozak, who is part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit.

"(Some) are now facing life terms in federal prison," Kozak said.

6 posted on 05/23/2009 11:05:40 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

“(Some) are now facing life terms in federal prison,” Kozak said.

We should bill Mexico for their keep.

I hope every one of these scumbags gets Supermax.


7 posted on 05/23/2009 11:12:13 AM PDT by Radagast the Fool ("Mexico-Beirut with tacos!"--Dr. Zoidberg)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Well now we don’t have to close Gitmo! We’ll just sent these scum down there.


8 posted on 05/23/2009 11:17:54 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Isn’t this racist since they were targeting Mexican gangs?

Or is it racist that the gangs were targeting blacks?

And should racism be used to fight racism?

This is the theory behind Affirmative Action.

Hm - we need to go arrest equal numbers of black gang bangers to make it all equal. :)


9 posted on 05/23/2009 11:23:21 AM PDT by Tzimisce (http://groups.myspace.com/nailthemessiah)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
LA will soon become like Tijuana unless something doesn’t change in how we deal with the drug trade.

I hate to be the bearer of bad, or obvious news, but parts of LA, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, north and south Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Oregon, Chicago, New York, Tennessee etc etc etc etc are already like Tijuana...

You knew this right?

10 posted on 05/23/2009 11:23:48 AM PDT by dragnet2
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

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:

(snip)


11 posted on 05/23/2009 11:25:16 AM PDT by calcowgirl (RECALL Abel Maldonado!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

We should water board these cockroaches and lock them up forever, they kill innocent people for their drug trade. Under 0 we’ll give them housing, welfare, and health care, all paid for by hardworking taxpayers.


12 posted on 05/23/2009 11:26:29 AM PDT by partyright
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
It was discovered Bush's Chief of Homeland Security had people wandering around the inside of his private residence that had entered this country illegally...

During war time yet.

It's that bad.

And ya know what? No one was held responsible for this massive, gaping breach of national security.

13 posted on 05/23/2009 11:31:07 AM PDT by dragnet2
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
A total of five indictments charged 147 members and associates of the gang, and federal, state and local law enforcement officials had arrested 88 people as of Thursday morning, U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said.

They will all be replaced in 2 hours

14 posted on 05/23/2009 11:55:48 AM PDT by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Thanks, Mexico!

And instead of our resources going to stop these thugs from reintering from Mexico, we are sending personnel and millions of dollars to Mexico to stop OUR guns from going there. The money will go straight into the drug cartels pockets.


15 posted on 05/23/2009 11:59:26 AM PDT by AuntB (The right to vote in America: Blacks 1870; Women 1920; Native Americans 1925; Foreigners 2008)
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To: calcowgirl

Thanks,....that’s definitely the official version.


16 posted on 05/23/2009 12:00:55 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Support Geert Wilders)
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To: dragnet2

I have never heard that.
Can you provide some more information please?

Thanks


17 posted on 05/23/2009 12:24:15 PM PDT by dollarstwocents
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To: dollarstwocents

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121003524_pf.html


18 posted on 05/23/2009 12:48:25 PM PDT by happinesswithoutpeace (Hey there, White House Ha Ha Charade you are)
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To: dollarstwocents
I have never heard that. Can you provide some more information please?

My pleasure.

Homeland Security Michael Chertoff

When Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said recently that "we need to make sure our own house is in order," he should have taken himself literally.

Since 2005, Chertoff has employed Maryland-based Consistent Cleaning Services - and its staff of illegal immigrants - to clean his suburban Washington home.

Chertoff didn't know that some of the company's workers, who passed security checks by the Secret Service, were undocumented.

Some workers had fake documents, and others produced no proof of being able to work in the U.S. legally.

"Our homeland security can't police their own home," Reid said. "How can they police our borders?"

Links are all over the web.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/12/11/2008-12-11_homeland_chief_michael_chertoff_had_home.html

____________________________________________________________

All this during a time of war yet.

Can anyone imagine how easily this guy could have been blackmailed, setup or compromised?

You can't make this stuff up.

19 posted on 05/23/2009 1:13:46 PM PDT by dragnet2
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To: Tzimisce

hispanics are caucasian, not a separate race, no discrimination here....get on with it


20 posted on 05/23/2009 6:46:43 PM PDT by terycarl
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