LOS ANGELES – Two Mexican Mafia prison gang members who were found guilty last week of federal racketeering charges are part of a criminal case that has resulted in 59 convictions, according to federal prosecutors
Following a nine-day trial, a federal jury convicted the lead defendant in the racketeering case – Armando “Mando” Barajas, a 50-year-old Mexican Mafia member who resides in Pomona. Barajas controlled the gang’s activities, including the narcotics distribution activities in the gang’s territory.
Another Mexican Mafia member – Juan “Nito” Gil, 43, who was serving a 10-year prison term when he was indicted in 2010 – was also found guilty last week by a jury that determined he exercised control of gang activities by communicating directions through others linked to the Black Angels’ gang.
The Black Angels is a multi-generational Latino street gang that claimed a portion of city of Ontario as its turf. The Black Angels’ main criminal activity is the distribution of narcotics, specifically methamphetamine and heroin. Leaders of the gang extorted drug dealers, who, in exchange for paying “taxes” or “rent,” were allowed to operate in gang-controlled territory. The gang’s drug trafficking activities extended to smuggling narcotics into prisons for use by incarcerated Mexican Mafia and Black Angels members.