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Oct 9, 2007 2:07 pm US/Central
Members Of 'Texas Syndicate' Prison Gang Indicted
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Members of the United States Department of Justice, including U.S. Attorney Richard Roper, unsealed a federal racketeering conspiracy indictment on Friday charging 14 members of the Texas Syndicate prison gang.
According to the indictment the gang members are responsible for murders, attempted murders, conspiracies to commit murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and other crimes in North Texas and other areas.
Federal officials say the Texas Syndicate is a violent gang that developed behind bars in the 1970's and is a dominant prison gang in the state.
In an earlier drug trial, U.S. Attorneys showed the group moved 300 kilograms of cocaine in a single year. They say it has a seven-level hierarchy, strict company rules, even a constitution to oversee the operation.
In 2004, the CBS 11 Investigators reported on how the Texas Syndicate operated both in prison and the free world.
Roper said, "This isn't just a bunch of guys that get together and call themselves a gang. This is a well-structured business and with a business enterprise, you prosecute them like a business enterprise."
The three-count indictment charges the following 14 defendants -
- Roy Arredondo, Jr., a.k.a. West, age 33
- Juan Antonio Vasquez, a.k.a. Juanillo, age 36
- Hector Manuel Ayala, a.k.a. Hec; a.k.a. Homicide, age 34
- Marco Medina, a.k.a. Pantera, age 35
- Javier Soliz, a.k.a Payaso, 37
- David Gutierrez, age 30
- Walter Lopez, a.k.a. Big Homie, age 34
- Sixto Salinas, age 34
- Primitivo Ybarra, a.k.a. Munch, age 29
- Daniel Arredondo, a.k.a. Weasel, age 43
- Arnulfo Rodriguez, a.k.a. Isaac Rodriguez; a.k.a. Gangster, age 36
- Emilio Noyola, a.k.a. Mili, age 27
- Daniel Garcia, a.k.a. D, age 27
- Edwin Barron, a.k.a. Beaver, age 37
Arredondo Jr. is said to be the 'boss of bosses' and is charged in connection with four of the 12 murders. All of the defendants are either in state or federal custody and if convicted, face life in prison.
According to the indictment the conspiracy began in the mid-1990's. Between October of 1999 and September of 2004 the defendants are accused of committing 12 murders and several attempted murders — two in the Rio Grand Valley and the others in the Dallas area.
"This was a cooperative effort to combat armed narcotics traffickers and to make the streets of North Texas safer," said Michael Golson, Senior Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Dallas.
Officials say members of the Texas Syndicate are bound by a strict set of rules meant to ensure loyalty and participation in organized criminal activities. Membership is for life and those who violate the rules are subject to harsh discipline, including death.
Former gang member Ruben Palacios told CBS 11 News, "To enter you give them your life. To get out you owe them your life. So it's blood in, blood out."
The three-count indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute. "We've used the statutes traditionally designed to deal with the
mafia to take down this organization," Roper said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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