Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Reynaldo Lopez-Alvarado, also known as “Mente,” a member of the Brentwood Locos Salvatruchas clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, a transnational criminal organization, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with his participation in the November 19, 2015 murder of Cesar Rivera-Vasquez, an attempted murder that occurred on April 9, 2013 in Bay Shore, and conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice.  The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke.  When sentenced, Lopez-Alvarado faces up to life in prison.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Rodney K. Harrison, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the guilty plea.

“In a twisted desire to enhance his status within the MS-13 gang and without any regard for human life, the defendant admittedly participated in extremely violent crimes, including murder and a shooting,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Lopez-Alvarado faces very serious consequences for his senseless actions which I hope will be of some relief to the community, including the family and friends of his victims.  This Office, together with the Long Island Gang Task Force, is working tirelessly to bring MS-13 gang members to justice for the havoc they have wrought on Long Island.”

“This case is a grim reminder of the inhumane acts individuals are willing to commit just to elevate their status within a gang,” stated SCPD Commissioner Harrison. “Let this guilty plea be a testament of our commitment to hold gang members accountable for their heinous crimes. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure public safety on our streets.”

According to court filings and statements by the defendant at the guilty plea proceeding, Lopez-Alvarado participated in the April 9, 2013 attempted murder of a man on Benton Place in Bay Shore.  Lopez-Alvarado, who was a new member of the MS-13 at the time, and another MS-13 member went out looking to kill a rival gang member in order for Lopez-Alvarado to gain full status in the gang.  When they observed a group of men who they assumed were members of the rival Bloods street gang, Lopez-Alvarado and his co-conspirator retrieved a .25 caliber handgun and 20-gauge shotgun, drove back to Benton Place, approached the group of men and opened fire.  One victim was struck and was subsequently transported to a local hospital, where he was treated and survived the shooting. 

Approximately one month after that, Lopez-Alvarado conspired to obstruct justice by assisting fellow gang members after they had committed two murders.  Specifically, on May 28, 2013, Lopez-Alvarado came to the aid of fellow gang members, who had just shot and killed Kennan Russell at a house party in Central Islip, when the minivan they had stolen and subsequently used in not only the Russell murder but also the May 26, 2013 murder of Derrick Mayes, ran out of gas and broke down.  In addition to helping his fellow gang members get gas and hide the firearms used in the Russell murder, Lopez-Alvarado and other MS-13 members, who had learned that the minivan had been linked to the murders, agreed to destroy it.  Lopez-Alvarado and his fellow MS-13 gang members then cleaned the minivan to remove any fingerprints, drove it to a wooded area in Ronkonkoma, doused it with gas, and set it on fire. 

In addition, Lopez-Alvarado admitted during his guilty plea to participating in the murder of Rivera-Vasquez on November 19, 2015, in Babylon.  Rivera-Vasquez was murdered by Lopez-Alvarado and other MS-13 members because the gang suspected him of belonging to a rival Mexican gang, Raza Loca.  On the night of the murder, Lopez-Alvarado and his co-conspirators saw Rivera-Vasquez at a deli located near the Babylon Long Island Railroad train station.  Lopez-Alvarado and the other MS-13 members convinced the victim to leave with them to smoke marijuana and brought him to an isolated area behind a nearby baseball field.  The gang members, who were armed with knives and a baseball bat, told the victim to take off his shirt so they could observe a tattoo they believed signified the victim’s membership in the rival gang.   After observing the tattoo, Lopez-Alvarado and the other MS-13 members attacked Rivera-Vasquez, beating him with the bat and stabbing him repeatedly with knives before one of the co-conspirators cut the victim’s throat.  The MS-13 members buried Rivera-Vasquez’s body near a large mound of dirt.  The body was discovered in April 2018. 

Today’s conviction is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13, a violent, transnational criminal organization.  The MS-13’s leadership is based in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, but the gang has thousands of members across the United States.  With numerous branches, or “cliques,” the MS-13 is the most violent criminal organization on Long Island.  Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York.  A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders and assaults.  Since 2010, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 60 murders in the Eastern District of New York, resulting in the convictions of dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders.  These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers of the FBI, SCPD, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Suffolk County Probation Office, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Hempstead Police Department, the Rockville Centre Police Department and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. 

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

REYNALDO LOPEZ-ALVARADO
Age:  30
Brentwood, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-403 (GRB)

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE –  Three Rhode Island men are charged in federal court in Providence with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for their alleged participation in schemes to defraud Land Rover dealerships in Rhode Island and New Hampshire, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

According to the charging documents, dealerships in Warwick, RI, and Bedford, NH, each delivered a vehicle to a buyer who claimed to have secured more than $100,000 in online dealer financing. In each instance, an investigation determined that online credit applications were submitted using a stolen identity. The “buyer” of each vehicle took delivery after presenting a driver’s license that depicted their own photograph and the stolen identity used to secure financing.

It is alleged that on April 25, 2022, Dennis Odoom, 24, of Pawtucket, took custody of a Land Rover from a Rhode Island dealer, financed for more than $120,559 with the use of a stolen identity; and on May 10, 2022, Roy Sweets, 25, of Providence, took custody of a Land Rover from a New Hampshire dealership, financed for $111,183 with the use of a stolen identity. It is further alleged that two days after the delivery in New Hampshire, a person, posing as the “brother” of the New Hampshire buyer, attempted to take possession of a vehicle after a dealer financing application had been submitted online and approved. The delivery was halted when a dealership employee determined that the driver’s license presented by the buyer may have been altered. Adalberto Mauricio Romero, 25, of Providence, was arrested by Bedford, NH, Police when he appeared at the dealership to take possession of the vehicle.

Federal arrest warrants were later issued for the three men. Roy Sweets and Dennis Odoom were arrested on Monday by agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Adalberto Mauricio Romero turned himself in on Tuesday to the United States Marshals Service. The three men were released on unsecured bond after appearing in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island.

A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr., and William J. Ferland.

The matter was investigated by Warwick, RI, and Bedford, NH, Police Departments, Homeland Security Investigations, and Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 51-year-old Mexican national who was head of Cartel del Golfo (CDG) from 2003 to 2012 has been ordered to prison and to pay millions for his role in conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana from Mexico into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Jorge Costilla-Sanchez pleaded guilty Sept. 26, 2017.

Today, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ordered Costilla-Sanchez to serve the rest of his life in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional information detailing how Costilla-Sanchez profited $5 million from drug trafficking. He was ordered to pay a money judgment in that amount. In handing down the sentence, Judge Rodriguez noted Costilla-Sanchez’s extensive involvement in trafficking illegal drugs into the country. The court commented that during the 10 years Costilla-Sanchez was the head of the CDG, he lead a violent criminal organization, using guns and intimidation to maintain control of their illegal drug trafficking enterprise and resorting to violence and killing to maintain power.

“Today’s sentencing is the culmination of years of relentless work by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and its partners targeting the Cartel del Gulfo,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee of HSI – San Antonio. “This investigation highlights HSI’s dedication to go after cartel members importing dangerous drugs into our communities. This sentence will send a resounding message that transnational criminal organizations are being continuously investigated and their leaders will be brought to justice.”

“High-ranking drug trafficking leaders like Costilla-Sanchez are not immune from facing stiff punishments,” said Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Houston Division. “Costilla-Sanchez brought poison to our communities, and our collaborative efforts with our local and federal partners brought him to prison. We will continue to aggressively go after any drug trafficking organization wanting to profit from our communities.”

“This sentencing sends a clear message that organized drug trafficking organizations and threats against law enforcement will not be tolerated,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. “The FBI continues to work alongside our partners to pursue and prosecute the leadership of drug trafficking cartels and dismantle their organizations. We thank the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) for their collective efforts to bring this high-level criminal to justice.”

Costilla-Sanchez aka El Cos, Doble X and Dos Equis became head of CDG after the arrest of former CDG leader Osiel Cardenas in 2003. Prior to joining the cartel, Costilla-Sanchez was a municipal police officer in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

He was arrested in 2012 in Mexico at the request of the United States and in 2015. Costilla-Sanchez also previously pleaded guilty to threatening two federal agents from the FBI and while he was being investigated for drug trafficking in 1999.

CDG is a Mexican transnational criminal organization operating in Tamaulipas, Mexico. During the time Costilla-Sanchez was the leader, he was responsible for importing over 10,000 kilograms of cocaine and 140,000 kilograms of marijuana to the United States.

Costilla-Sanchez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations, DEA and FBI conducted the OCDETF operation with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and IRS-Criminal Investigation.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jody Young and Karen Betancourt prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Costilla-Sanchez to the United States.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Dominique Brand faces Life Imprisonment for the Palm Sunday 2021 Murder of Mary Ann Elvington

Source: United States Department of Justice News

FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA —Stanley J. Kowalewski, 50, of North Carolina, was sentenced to more than an additional year in federal prison for mailing a threatening communication to a United States District Court Judge.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that following a federal jury trial in the Northern District of Georgia, Kowalewski was convicted on 22 counts related to a sophisticated fraud scheme and sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison. 

While serving that sentence in a prison in South Carolina, a federal judge received a letter that threatened to cause the women close to the judge to disappear if the judge did not grant pending motions for compassionate release (a request for a reduction in sentence and release from prison) by a certain date.  Specifically, the letter stated:

“Judge [Redacted],

You have failed to do the right things. Now you make us do this. You will grant ALL pending motions in your court for compassionate release by July 2nd, 2021 at 3:00 PM or earlier. They are all to be reduced to time served with NO supervised release.  They will be immediate release from prison and no delays. If not, then we will begin to disappear the women closest to you. We know where they live, work, or go to school. If you try to alert the authorities, we will know and your loved ones will disappear. Do your job and everyone will be happy and you’ll never here from us again.

A.C.B.”

The day before the threat was mailed, an individual visited Kowalewski in the low security prison where Kowalewski was then housed. When that person arrived, Kowalewski gave the visitor two envelopes, one inside the other, telling him to handle it with gloves, to not get fingerprints on it, to not ask questions, and to place it in the mail.  Kowalewski called the visitor after he left and told him to hurry up and mail the letter. 

At the time of the threat, Kowalewski had a motion for compassionate release pending before the victim Court, and the threat came during a time Kowalewski had directed others to conduct an aggressive campaign contacting the Court asking for that motion to be granted.  Three weeks before the threat, Kowalewski said in a recorded call, “I just told everybody to double up on [the victim judge] and call twice a week and really make their life miserable.”

When the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and United States Marshal’s Service initially confronted Kowalewski, he lied about his participation in the threat and then sent out letters that provided the visitor a false story to tell agents if he was approached.  If the visitor stuck with the story, Kowalewski wrote, “this will be over.” 

Chief United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell sentenced Kowalewski to serve an additional 15 months in federal prison (to be served consecutive his current sentence), with three years of court-ordered supervision to follow. There is no parole in the federal system. 

This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service with assistance from the FBI, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and agencies in the Northern District of Georgia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliott B. Daniels prosecuted the case.

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