Linda Weston, 55, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to
life plus 80 years in prison. Weston
pleaded guilty on Sept. 15, 2015, to all charges in a racketeering and hate
crimes case that involved holding disabled adults captive in locked closets,
basements and attics in Philadelphia’s Tacony section and in other states.
Weston pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, kidnapping
resulting in the death of the victim, forced human labor, involuntary
servitude, multiple counts of murder in aid of racketeering, hate crime,
violent crime in aid of racketeering, sex trafficking, kidnapping, theft of
government funds, wire fraud, mail fraud, use of a firearm in furtherance of a
violent crime and false statements. In
addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania ordered restitution of $273,463 to the Social
Security Administration and a $19,600 special assessment.
From approximately 2001 through October 2011, Weston and her
co-conspirators lured mentally handicapped individuals into locations rented by
Weston, Jean McIntosh, Eddie Wright and others in Philadelphia; Killeen, Texas;
Norfolk, Virginia; and West Palm Beach, Florida. The group targeted mentally challenged
individuals who were estranged from their families. Once Weston convinced them to move in, she
became their representative payee with social security and began to receive
their disability benefits and in some instances, their state benefits. On one occasion, Weston and one of her
co-defendants took the social security and identification documents from a
victim by force and then used the funds for her own and family purposes.
Weston, Jean McIntosh, Eddie Wright and others confined
their victims to locked rooms, basements, closets, attics and apartments. While confined, the captives were often
isolated in the dark and sedated with drugs that Weston and other defendants
placed in their food and drink. When the
individuals tried to escape, stole food or otherwise protested their treatment,
Weston and others punished them by slapping, punching, kicking, stabbing,
burning and hitting them with closed hands, belts, sticks, bats and hammers or
other objects, including the butt of a pistol.
Some victims endured the abuse for years, until Oct. 15, 2011, when
Philadelphia Police Department officers rescued them from the sub-basement of
an apartment building in the Tacony section.
The enterprise victimized six disabled adults and four children.
In April 2005, Weston and a co-defendant targeted victim
D.S. They brought D.S. to a home at 2211
Glenview Avenue in Philadelphia. D.S.
was kept in the basement with the other victims, fed a substandard diet and not
allowed to use the bathroom. On June 26,
2005, D.S. was found dead in the basement.
Weston ordered other members of the household to move D.S.’s body to a
different location before calling law enforcement.
In 2008, victim M.L. was living with the family. M.L. was beaten when she tried to escape or
when she begged for food and never received medical attention for any of her
injuries. After Weston moved the
enterprise to Virginia in 2008, Weston confined M.L. inside a kitchen cabinet
and an attic for several months. M.L.
subsequently died of bacterial meningitis and starvation in November 2008. Weston ordered other members of the household
to move M.L.’s body to a bedroom and stage the scene before calling law
enforcement. The next day the family
left for Philadelphia.
Weston’s daughter, Jean McIntosh, and co-defendant Eddie Wright
have already pleaded guilty.
Co-defendants Gregory Thomas Sr. and Nicklaus Woodard are awaiting
trial.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Social Security
Administration Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal
Investigations, the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia
District Attorney’s Office with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives’ West Palm Beach Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Richard P. Barrett and Faithe Moore Taylor of the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania.
No comments:
Post a Comment