WASHINGTON – Two members of the Aryan
Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) have been sentenced to federal prison for their role
in an aggravated assault that took place in Tomball, Texas, in September 2008,
announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division
and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.
Benjamin Dillon, aka, “Tuff,” 39, was
sentenced on May 11, 2012, to 41 months in prison. Justin Northrup, aka, “Ruthless,” 27, was
sentenced to 63 months in prison on April 27, 2012.
The defendants, who are both from the greater
Houston-area, pleaded guilty to racketeering aggravated assault for their role
in an attack against an ABT prospect member.
The defendants were sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Ewing
Werlein Jr. in the Southern District of Texas.
According to court documents, both defendants
were members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), a powerful race-based,
state-wide organization that operated inside and outside of state and federal
prisons throughout Texas and the United States.
The ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison
system. As alleged in the indictment, it
modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan
Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California
prison system during the 1960s.
According to court documents, previously, the ABT was primarily
concerned with the protection of white inmates and white
supremacy/separatism. Over time,
however, the ABT has expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal
activities for profit.
The ABT enforces its rules and promotes
discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder,
attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault, robbery and threats against
those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Members, and oftentimes associates, are
required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as
“direct orders.”
According to court documents, Dillon and
Northrup, along with 10 fellow ABT gang members, participated in the beating of
an ABT prospect member at the home of another ABT gang leader, Steven Walter
Cooke, 48, aka “Stainless,” in Tomball, Texas, on Sept. 22, 2008. The ABT
prospect, who sustained serious bodily injury, was beaten by ABT gang members
because he violated certain ABT rules of conduct.
Eleven of the 12 co-defendants previously
pleaded guilty to violent crimes in aid of racketeering aggravated
assault. The 12th ABT gang member, David
Harlow, aka, “Bam Bam,” 43, was found guilty at trial by Senior Judge Ewing
Werlein Jr. on March 21, 2012.
This case is being investigated by a
multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; the U.S. Marshals
Service; the Texas Rangers; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the
Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department; the Houston Police
Department-Gang Division; Tomball Police Department; Texas Department of
Criminal Justice – Inspector General; and the Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s
Office.
The case is being prosecuted by David Karpel
of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S.
Attorney Jay Hileman of the Southern District of Texas in Houston.
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