Founder of Violent “Dead Man Incorporated” Gang Pleads Guilty to Federal Racketeering, Murder and Drug Charges

Defendant Set for Release from State Prison Instead Will Serve Life in Federal Prison

BALTIMORE, MD—Perry Roark, a/k/a Rock, “Pops,” “Slim,” “Saho the Ghost,” age 42, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to participating in a violent racketeering enterprise known as the Dead Man Incorporated (DMI). Roark also admitted that he has been the “Supreme Commander” of DMI since it was originally created as a prison gang in Maryland in 2000.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Acting Special Agent in Charge Marino Vidoli of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Baltimore Field Division; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III; Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare, Sr.; Secretary Gary D. Maynard of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee.

“Perry Roark was scheduled to be released from state prison, but instead he will spend the rest of his life in federal prison for leading the violent Dead Man Incorporated gang and arranging murders,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Federal racketeering prosecutions serve a critical role in the coordinated local, state and federal law enforcement strategy to reduce violent crime in Maryland.”

According to Roark’s plea agreement, DMI was created originally in 2000 as a prison gang in Maryland, and at its inception was closely allied to the Black Guerilla Family (BGF), another prison gang. By 2006, DMI expanded its membership by recruiting members outside prison, including women.

DMI members operated in and out of prisons throughout Maryland, as well as Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Texas. DMI is active in numerous prison facilities in Maryland. Units operating outside the prisons are identified by the region they cover, such as Brooklyn, South Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, Dundalk, Westminster, Glen Burnie, etc.

Roark admitted that he conspired to conduct the affairs of DMI through a pattern of criminal activity from 2000 to the present, including: murder and threats to commit murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking and extortion. DMI members and associates smuggled drugs, tobacco, cell phones and other contraband into prisons, by concealing them on the persons of visitors to the prisons.

Gang members used contraband cell phones in prisons to coordinate the smuggling of contraband into prisons, disseminate information about arrests and releases of members and associates, to warn of investigations, to publicize the identities of persons believed to be cooperating with law enforcement, and to order assaults and murders of such persons, as well as enemies of DMI.

Specifically, Roark admitted that from November 2008 through June 2, 2009, he ordered and planned the June 2, 2009, murder of Tony Geiger, which was carried out by his co-defendants. Roark admitted that he ordered three other murders, which were never carried out, as well as numerous assaults. Roark was frequently involved in drug trafficking within the prisons where he was housed from 2000 to the present.

As part of his plea agreement, Roark and the government have agreed that, if the court accepts the plea, Roar will be sentenced to life in prison. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for Roark on September 26, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.

Mr. Rosenstein praised the FBI, ATF, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Baltimore County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Department; Baltimore City Police Department; the Maryland State Police; Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office; Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Robert R. Harding and Christopher J. Romano, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Twenty-Two Alleged Members of Violent “Dead Man Incorporated” Gang Indicted on Federal Racketeering, Murder, and Drug Charges That May Bring Life in Federal Prison

Indictment Alleges Four Murders, Plans to Commit Four More Murders and Over 10 Assaults, Armed Robbery, and Drug Trafficking

BALTIMORE—A federal grand jury has charged 22 defendants with conspiracy to participate in a violent racketeering enterprise known as the Dead Man Incorporated (DMI). All but one defendant are also charged with conspiring to distribute drugs. The indictment was returned on October 6, 2011 and unsealed today upon the arrests of seven defendants and the execution of seven search warrants. Eleven defendants were previously in custody and four defendants are still at large.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Mark R. Chait of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III; Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare, Sr.; Secretary Gary D. Maynard of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee.

“This case is another in a series of federal racketeering prosecutions in which federal, state, and local agencies have joined to target leaders and key members of violent gangs in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Today’s indictment alleges that the Dead Man Incorporated gang is an organized criminal enterprise with leaders and members who deal drugs and commit violent crimes. Federal racketeering cases have been filed recently in Maryland against Black Guerilla Family (BGF), South Side Brims (SSB) Bloods, Pasadena Denver Lanes (PDL) Bloods, Tree Top Piru (TTP) Bloods, Latin Kings, 18th Street, and MS-13, and additional gang investigations are ongoing. Anyone who joins a criminal gang should be on notice that they can be held accountable for all crimes committed by fellow gang members.”

“This investigation was extremely challenging, not just from the level of organization DMI displays, but the level of violence that this indictment alleges,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely. “But the investigators and attorneys that formed this task force were even better organized and over a three year period, left department insignia at the door and leveraged almost every investigative tool available to stem the flow of violence allegedly committed by this group. Today’s indictment is a testament to the success of that strategy and the commitment by Maryland’s law enforcement agencies to come together and stop the violence against our citizens.”

“We are pleased to have worked such a successful operation with our law enforcement partners,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Mark R. Chait. “Together, we worked a strategic and methodical investigation against a group of violent offenders, whose actions have brought fear to our communities. We have dismantled the DMI organization with today’s arrests, and we are confident that we have made a significant impact on violent crime. We want the members of the DMI gang or any criminal gang to know that membership may earn you a lifetime in federal prison.”

According to the 27-count indictment, 18 men and four women are members and associates of the DMI. DMI was created originally in 2000 as a prison gang in Maryland. From the beginning, defendant Perry Roark was the “Supreme Commander.” Also at its inception and for several years thereafter, DMI was closely allied to the Black Guerilla Family (BGF), another prison gang. By 2006, DMI expanded its membership by recruiting members outside prison, including women.

DMI members operated in and out of prisons throughout Maryland, as well as Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Texas. DMI is active in numerous prison facilities in Maryland, including the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center, Baltimore City Detention Center, Baltimore City Correctional Center, Maryland Reception Diagnostic and Classification Center, Eastern Correctional Institution, Metropolitan Transition Center, Roxbury Correctional Institution, Patuxent Correctional Institution, Maryland Correctional Institution - Hagerstown, Western Correctional Institution, Central Maryland Correctional Facility, Maryland Correctional Institution - Jessup, Jessup Correctional Institution, Brockbridge Correctional Facility; Maryland Correctional Training Center; Anne Arundel County Detention Center; and Baltimore County Detention Center. Units operating outside the prisons are identified by the region they cover, such as Brooklyn, South Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, Dundalk, Westminster, Glen Burnie, etc.

The indictment alleges that all 22 defendants conspired to conduct the affairs of DMI through a pattern of criminal activity from 2000 to the present, including: murder and threats to commit murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking and extortion. The defendants are alleged to have smuggled drugs, tobacco, cell phones and other contraband into prisons, by concealing them on the persons of visitors to the prisons. Twenty-one of the defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine, crack, oxycodone, Suboxone, heroin, and marijuana.

According to the indictment, gang members used contraband cell phones in prisons to coordinate the smuggling of contraband into prisons, disseminate information about arrests and releases of members and associates, to warn of investigations, to publicize the identities of persons believed to be cooperating with law enforcement, and to order assaults and murders of such persons, as well as enemies of DMI.

Specific acts of violence alleged in the indictment include four murders in Maryland, as follows: the February 16, 2009 murder of James Flanary; the June 2, 2009 murder of Tony Geiger; the September 18, 2009 murder of Eugene Chambers; and the September 19, 2009 murder of Walter Milewski.

Additionally, the indictment alleges that several of the defendants planned to murder four other individuals, and ordered assaults on, and/or assaulted, over 10 individuals, six of whom were incarcerated in a Maryland detention facility. Four defendants allegedly fired weapons into a house, wounding an occupant. Another defendant committed a home invasion robbery in Glen Burnie, Maryland and assaulted the occupants.

The following defendants are charged in the indictment:

■Perry Roark, a/k/a Rock, “Pops,” “Slim,” “Saho the Ghost,” age 42;

■James Sweene, age 34;
■Nicky Cash, a/k/a “Mom,” age 46, of Baltimore;
■George Treas, a/k/a “Georgie,” “Fat Boy;” age 28, of Baltimore;
■Dane Shives, age 22;
■Michael Quinn, a/k/a “Mikey,” age 28;
■Michael Forame, a/k/a “Skinny,” “Skinny Pimp,” age 40, of Sykesville, Maryland;
■Brian Mitchell, a/k/a “Carlito,” age 40;
■Richard Ingram, a/k/a “Ricky,” “Hades,” age 45;
■Timothy Mixter, a/k/a “Fuhrer,” age 35, of Essex, Maryland;
■John Henry Adams, a/k/a “L.J.,” “Little Johnny,” age 25;
■Gregory Cook, age 36;
■Jeremy Ridgeway, a/k/a “J-Rock,” age 22;
■John Zion, a/k/a “John John,” age 27;
■Russell Hartman, a/k/a “Busy,” age 29, of Baltimore;
■Bonnie Rice, age 35, of Baltimore;
■Kelly Witter, age 26;
■Charles Gray, a/k/a “Bud,”“Budrow;” age 31;
■Edward Mueller, a/k/a “Dusty,” age 31, of Baltimore;
■Melanie Holquist, age 28; of Baltimore;
■Scott Jarriel, a/k/a “Scotty J.,” age 28; and
■Gary Horton, age 26.

All of the defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison on the racketeering conspiracy. All but one defendant, Gary Horton, also face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison on the drug conspiracy. Roark, Adams, Mitchell, Forame, Mueller, Treas, Mixter, Ingram, Hartman, and Zion face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder and/or an assault in aid of racketeering.

Roark, Adams, Mitchell, Gray, Forame, Jarriel, and Mueller face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury. Cash and Holquist face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for being accessories after the fact of an assault; Witter, Holquist, Zion, Mixter and Treas face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for distributing drugs; and Treas and Mixter face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a gun.

Initial appearances for the defendants began this morning in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

Mr. Rosenstein praised the FBI, ATF, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Baltimore County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Department; Baltimore City Police Department; the Maryland State Police; Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office; Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Robert R. Harding and Christopher J. Romano, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

BGF Leader Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Participating in a Racketeering Conspiracy

Co-Defendant Also Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced, Eric Brown, a/k/a E and EB, age 42, of Baltimore, late yesterday to 12 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a conspiracy to conduct and participate in the activities of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF), a racketeering enterprise. Brown pleaded guilty on April 27.

Another co-defendant, James Harried, a/k/a Smiley, age 48, of Essex, Maryland, pleaded guilty on August 17, 2011, to his participation in the BGF racketeering conspiracy.

The sentence and guilty plea were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Ava Cooper-Davis of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Secretary Gary D. Maynard of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

“The sentence Mr. Brown received today should send a strong message to all individuals who may think about becoming a gang member like Mr. Brown,” stated Ava Cooper-Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “Mr. Brown’s prior leadership role with the BGF gang will mean nothing as he spends 12 years in federal prison. Mr. Brown will now be reduced in rank as the result of many law enforcement agencies and prosecutors who worked tirelessly in this investigation,” stated Cooper-Davis.

According to their plea agreements, BGF is a nationwide gang operating in prison facilities and major cities throughout the United States. Founded in California in the 1960s and introduced into the Maryland correctional system in the mid 1990s, BGF in Maryland is increasingly active on the streets of Baltimore City, as well as in various prison facilities in Maryland.

BGF conducts its affairs through a pattern of criminal activity, including: narcotics trafficking, robbery; extortion; bribery; retaliation against a witness or informant; money laundering; and commercial robbery. BGF members arrange to have drugs, tobacco, cell phones, food and other contraband smuggled into Maryland prison facilities, sometimes recruiting and paying employees of prison facilities, including corrections officers, to assist BGF and its members in the smuggling of contraband, the collection of intelligence and in the concealment of BGF’s criminal activities. BGF members use violence and threats of violence to coerce incarcerated persons to pay protection money to BGF, to enforce the BGF code of conduct, and to increase their control of the Baltimore City drug trade and the underground “prison economy” in Maryland correctional facilities.

According to his plea agreement, from 2006 through June 2010, Brown, was a leader of BGF, enforcing discipline in the gang and directing and participating in the drug trafficking activities of the gang. Harried sold heroin for his own benefit and for the enrichment of BGF. It was forseeable that as members of the conspiracy, Brown and Harried possessed with intent to distribute between 700 grams and one kilogram of heroin.

Specifically, while Brown was incarcerated, he extorted a fellow inmate for protection from violence at the hands of BGF members and assaulted another inmate who failed to make timely extortion payments to BGF. Brown and co-defendant Ray Olivis transferred some of the proceeds of BGF’s illegal activities, including drug trafficking and extortion, into prepaid debit card accounts. In addition, Brown arranged for contraband to be smuggled into correctional facilities through the use of couriers and corrections employees. Co-defendant Rainbow Williams delivered contraband, including narcotics, to corrections officers to be smuggled into correctional facilities, sometimes paying the officer for smuggling the contraband into prison. Williams even attempted to smuggle contraband into a Maryland correctional facility via a pair of tennis shoes, but he was discovered by corrections officials.

During an intercepted telephone conversation on March 19, 2010, Harried was overheard by law enforcement discussing the collection of dues from fellow BGF members in order to post the bail for an incarcerated member. These dues were paid, at least in part, with the proceeds of BGF drug trafficking. At times during the conspiracy Harried also attended meetings of the high ranking members of BGF, where racketeering activities, including drug trafficking, money laundering, commercial robberies and retaliation against rival gang members and BGF member who broke protocol, were discussed. Harried was often consulted during the trials of BGF member accused by other members of breaking BGF protocol.

James Harried faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Judge Quarles has scheduled his sentencing for November 22, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. Harried remains detained.

Ray Olivis, a/k/a Ronnie Hargrove, Uncle Ray, Unc and Ray Ray, age 57; and Rainbow Williams, age 32, both of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Judge Quarles has scheduled sentencing for Rainbow Williams on August 30, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. and Ray Olivis on December 8, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. Rosenstein praised the DEA; Baltimore City Police Department; Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office; and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for their work in this investigation and prosecution; as well as the Baltimore County Police Department; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office, for their assistance.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Baltimore City Assistant State’s Attorneys Antonio Gioia, Miabeth Marosy and Rebecca Cox, for their work in the investigation and prosecution, and Assistant United States Attorneys James T. Wallner and Clinton J. Fuchs, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.