Member of the Bloods Street Gang Sentenced to 151 Months in Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy

NEWARK—A member of the Bloods street gang from Newark was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for a range of violent crimes and conspiring to distribute narcotics as part of a racketeering conspiracy in furtherance of the gang’s activities, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Ricky Coleman, a/k/a “Pool Stick,” a/k/a “Sticks,” 39, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in a second superseding indictment filed against him in January 2011. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Coleman, a member of the Brick City Brims (BCB)—a subset of the Fruit Town Brims (FTB) set of the Bloods—admitted that he conspired with BCB leader Altariq Gumbs, while Gumbs was in an Arizona state prison, to sell narcotics in Newark. Coleman acknowledged he sold heroin to a confidential informant on four occasions from October 2008 through March 2009. Gumbs pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge in July 2011 and is scheduled to be sentenced June 28, 2012. Coleman also conspired with another BCB member in May and June 2009 to send the proceeds of the sale of drugs to a ranking member of the FTB and BCB who was incarcerated in Newark’s Northern State Prison.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Coleman to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward—which includes members from the Newark Police Department, East Orange Police Department, Essex County Department of Corrections, Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, Jersey City Police Department, the New Jersey Division of Parole, and the Paterson Police Department—along with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Special Investigations Division, with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn Murray; and the Special Operations Division’s National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, under the direction of Director John Sieder, for their important roles.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa L. Jampol, Lisa Colone, and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

Bloods Gang Leader Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy

NEWARK—The leader of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang was sentenced today to 188 months in prison for conspiring to distribute narcotics in Paterson and Newark, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Vincent Young, 42, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to a second superseding indictment charging him and other members of the gang with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Young is the Triple Original Gangster, or “OOOG,” of the Fruit Town Brims set of the Bloods and its subset, the Brick City Brims, and the highest member of the set in the state of New Jersey. Young was a member of the Los Angeles-based Fruit Town Brims established during the early 1970s and was responsible for founding the gang in New Jersey.

The rules governing the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set require members to learn and be quizzed about the history of the West Coast Bloods (known as the “69”), including Young’s life history—which details his childhood, the crimes he committed, and his violent acts against the Crips street gang. Failure to recite this history to the satisfaction of a ranking member could result in a junior member being physically disciplined.

Young admitted that he used several different unauthorized cell phones while in Northern State Prison in Newark to maintain and increase his position in the gang and conspire with fellow gang members in narcotics trafficking in Newark and Paterson from 1999 to 2008. He also admitted that he directed members of the gang to sell heroin and crack cocaine and then wire him the proceeds of the transactions, as well as to purchase phone cards for the unauthorized cell phones he used while in prison. Gang members would contribute profits from narcotics sales as dues required by the gang’s leadership.

As the leader of the gang in New Jersey, Young was responsible for directing other members and associates of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims Set, both in and out of prison, in carrying out unlawful activities in furtherance of the enterprise’s affairs—including acts involving murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, bribery, extortion, threats of violence, trafficking in controlled substances, and intimidation of witnesses.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Young to three years’ supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward, which includes members from the Newark Police Department, East Orange Police Department, Essex County Department of Corrections, Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, Jersey City Police Department, the New Jersey Division of Parole, and the Paterson Police Department; along with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Special Investigations Division with the investigation leading to today’s sentence.

He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn Murray; and the Special Operations Division’s National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, under the direction of Director John Sieder, for their important roles.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa L. Jampol, Lisa Colone, and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Former Essex County Sheriff’s Officer Indicted for Using Extortion to Help Collect a Debt

NEWARK—A former Essex County sheriff’s officer was charged today in connection with his alleged role in using threats of violence to collect a debt owed to another man, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

A federal grand jury Indictment unsealed today charges John Balsamo, 48, of West Long Branch, New Jersey, with conspiring to collect a debt and collecting a debt using extortionate means. He was arrested this morning at his residence by special agents of the FBI and is scheduled to make an initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Shipp in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case:

Balsamo and his co-conspirators, Timothy Kelly, 36, of Jersey City, New Jersey; and Robert C. Bantang, Jr., 43, of Oceanport, New Jersey, used threats of violence and economic harm to the victim, an Ocean County construction contractor, and others in order to collect $50,000 the victim owed to Kelly from 2009. The co-conspirators made the victim believe that the money he had borrowed from Kelly was owed to the “Old Man,” a member of organized crime who would hurt the victim if the debt was not paid. Balsamo also displayed a key to a construction site where the victim was working in Brick, New Jersey and warned that it could be used to gain access to the site. Balsamo and Kelly sent Bantang to the construction site on three occasions to deliver threats purportedly on behalf of the Old Man.

On March 24, 2011, Balsamo and Kelly went to the Brick construction site, which was now a completed restaurant, to confront the victim. Kelly told the victim that if he had brought his “boys” that it would have gotten “done right in here, right in this place, right like this, in front of everybody...and your wife gets it, too.” Balsamo warned that the Old Man wanted to “beat the s—t” out of the restaurant owner due to the victim’s failure to repay the debt, which Balsamo and Kelly now stated had grown to $70,000. Balsamo also advised the victim that the Old Man had been “promoted,” implying that he now possessed a higher position in organized crime.

During the course of the conspiracy, Balsamo received a Rolex watch and $2,500 in cash from the victim towards payment of the debt.

Kelly and Bantang previously pleaded guilty in February 2012 to conspiring to collect a debt from the victim using extortionate means, before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden.

Balsamo faces a maximum potential penalty per count of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark; and special agents of the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, under the direction of Executive Director Phillip James Degnan.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie F. Schwartz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Haverhill Gang Member, Drug Supplier Sentenced on Drug Trafficking Charges

BOSTON—Two Haverhill men were sentenced in federal court late yesterday on conspiracy and distribution of crack cocaine charges.

United States District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf sentenced Curtis Hester, 26, to 92 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and Timothy Moynihan, 36, to 150 months in prison to be followed by nine years of supervised release. Both were sentenced for conspiring to distribute more than 28 grams of cocaine base and distribution of cocaine base. Hester’s sentence was due in part to Judge Wolf’s finding that Hester had lied at an earlier hearing. Hester previously pleaded guilty to the charges, while Moynihan was convicted by a jury.

In September 2010, Hester, Moynihan, and several other individuals were arrested after a year-long investigation by the FBI into drug trafficking and gang violence in Lawrence and Haverhill. Moynihan supplied Hester with the crack cocaine that Hester then provided to an FBI-cooperating witness.

“In order to improve the quality of life for those who live in neighborhoods hardest hit by violent crime, we will continue to target not only violent gang members, but also those who supply gang members with drugs,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.

U.S. Attorney Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Marian J. McGovern, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Essex County Sheriff Frank G. Cousins, Jr.; Middlesex County Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian; and Haverhill Police Chief Alan R. DeNaro made the announcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter K. Levitt and Christopher Pohl in Ortiz’s Organized Crime Strike Force Unit.

FBI Rounds up 45 Guns from the Streets of Newark, East Orange, and Irvington in Firearm Trafficking Investigation

Eight Defendants Charged with Firearms Felonies

NEWARK, NJ—Eight Essex County, N.J., men have been charged with federal firearms violations following a year-long investigation by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force that led to the confiscation of 45 guns from the streets of Newark, East Orange and Irvington, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Peter Stewart, 21, of Newark; Randy Andrew, 34, of Irvington; Leon Jenkins, 25, of East Orange; Jackson Georges, 39, of Newark; and Nixon Provillon, 40, of Irvington, were arrested today by special agents of the FBI. Eddy Peralta, 27, of Newark, was arrested in Statesville, N.C., over the weekend. Mark Mells, 25, of Newark, was arrested June 8, 2011, and Mark McCargo, 39, of Irvington, was arrested June 20, 2011, in connection with the investigation.

All eight men are charged by Complaint. Andrew, Stewart, Georges, Jenkins and Provillon are charged with trafficking in firearms without a license. Andrew, Georges, Peralta, Mells and McCargo are also charged with being convicted felons in possession of firearms.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

For more than one year the FBI Safe Streets Task Force led an operation to recover firearms in an effort to stem gun violence and take weapons off the streets of Newark and surrounding areas. Agents directed and supervised a “sting operation,” using a confidential informant to purchase firearms from illegal gun brokers and dealers. The operation yielded 45 illicit firearms, including several assault rifles, machine pistols, shotguns and semi-automatic handguns.

Stewart, Andrew and Georges conspired to sell to the informant guns—including on one occasion, an assault rifle—magazines and ammunition from an Irvington laundromat. The complaint against the three men details several other transactions, including sales in which the defendants provided the informant with assault weapons, rifles and a shotgun out of several locations in Newark and Irvington. Peralta, who had a prior felony conviction, sold the informant a .50-cal. rifle out of a location in Newark.

Jenkins’ complaint describes six transactions selling the informant eight guns, including a Romanian AK-47, known as a WASR-10. Most of those sales occurred at an apartment on South Munn Avenue in Newark.

Provillon is alleged to have worked in conjunction with others to sell at least five firearms to the informant over a three-month span. Those sales included assault weapons, a semiautomatic handgun and a shotgun sold out of Provillon’s Irvington residence. McCargo is alleged to have sold a rifle to the informant out of a vehicle parked on an Irvington street. Mells, a prior convicted felon, was previously arrested after agents discovered at least four firearms, including a .45-cal. M10 machine-pistol and several handguns, stashed throughout his apartment on Seth Boyden Terrace in Newark.

Stewart, Andrew and Jenkins made their initial appearance in court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk. All three were remanded. Provillon and Georges will make their initial appearances later this week. Mells has been detained since his arrest in June. McCargo was freed on bond, but was arrested on a state charge and is being detained on that charge.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the FBI special agents and local detectives and investigators from the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, which operates under the direction of FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, with the investigation that led to the arrests. The Safe Streets Task Force comprises the FBI, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, the Essex County Corrections Department, and the Newark, East Orange and Jersey City Police Departments.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam N. Subervi and Jacques S. Pierre of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the Complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel:

Mark McCargo: Candace Horn Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark

Mark Mells: Peter Carter Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Leon Jenkins: Timothy Donohue Esq., West Orange, N.J.
Peter Stewart: Timothy Anderson Esq., Red Bank, N.J.
Randy Andrew: Paul Casteleiro Esq., Hoboken, N.J.

Nixon Provillon: Laurie Fierro Esq., Kinnelon, N.J.