Two MS-13 Members Are Convicted of Racketeering

Washington Post: Ruben Castaneda: Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111400931_pf.html

Summary:
Federal prosecutors notched their first major victory in the court room when a federal jury in Greenbelt, MD convicted two members of MS-13 of criminal racketeering.  Edgar Alberto Ayala, known as "Pony," 29, and Oscar Ramos Velasquez, 21, known as "Casper,", were found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder to further their racketeering enterprise. Ayala and Velasques are Salvadoran immigrants and are eligible for a maximum possible sentence of life in prison without parole.   Prosecutors used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act) to charge the 2 men as well as 20 other suspected MS-13 members.

Analysis: 
In this landmark case for federal prosecutors, the jury convicted Ayala and Velasquez under the RICO Act after being convinced that the two members were not just part of a local street gang, but members of an international crime organization.   This sets a new precedent for use of the RICO Act in future MS-13 cases given that it was originally enacted to prosecute mafia members.  By citing the RICO Act moving forward, prosecutors should be able to gain harsher and stiffer penalties for MS-13 members. 

It’s also important to point out that much of the evidence gathered by the police for this case came via inside informants, most notably Noe “Shorty” Cruz. Cruz wore a wire and tipped off police about weapons caches and planned crimes.  Traditionally, informant cooperation of this type has been rather difficult due to MS-13’s infamous brutal and deadly enforcement of their “no snitching” policy.