More about what happened in the last twelve months at the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

Following up on the activities our office reported in October of last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office remains active in fighting violent crime through various enforcement actions, prosecutions, and sentencings, as illustrated below: 

Gang-Related Prosecutions

“Combating the unacceptable level of gang violence in Chicago has been and will continue to be a top priority in our office,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.

o    ALONZO G. HORTA, a member of the violent Latin Kings street gang, was sentenced last month to 27 years in prison for engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity that included murder.  Horta fatally shot Alfonso Calderon on the Southeast Side of Chicago in 2017 because Horta suspected Calderon was a member of a rival gang.  Horta was named with more than 30 other alleged members of the Latin Kings in an indictment that charged numerous other murders, attempted murders, and arsons.  The case was investigated by FBI, CPD, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hammond, Ind., Police Department.

o    DARNELL MCMILLER, the alleged leader of the Black Disciples street gang in Chicago, was among 23 individuals charged in July as part of a federal investigation into drug and gun trafficking on the city’s South Side.  Several other alleged high-ranking members of the Black Disciples were also charged, including the leader of the gang’s “Dog Pound” faction.  Law enforcement seized 24 firearms and more than 13 kilograms of cocaine during the probe, which was led by FBI, CPD, ATF, DEA, and IRS-CI.

o    “Operation Full Circle” and “Operation Wicked Stones” targeted two street gangs responsible for firearms offenses, narcotics trafficking, and violence on the West Side of Chicago.  During the probe, 24 defendants were charged, and law enforcement seized 34 firearms, more than six kilograms of heroin, more than 17 kilograms of cocaine, more than a kilogram of fentanyl, and more than $1.3 million in cash and jewelry.  The multi-year investigation was led by ATF, DEA, IRS-CI, HIDTA, and CPD, with the support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA), and assistance from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and Cook County Sheriff’s Office.

o    Racketeering charges were unsealed in March against ten alleged members of the LAFA street gang for allegedly participating in a criminal organization that murdered its rivals and violently protected drug-dealing territories on the South Side of Chicago.  The charges accuse five alleged LAFA members of committing murder in furtherance of the gang’s activities.  The indictment also charged attempted murders and several firearm offenses.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office worked closely in the investigation with FBI and CPD, with support from OCDETF.

o    JASON BROWN, also known as “Abdul Ja’Me,” the alleged leader of the AHK street gang, which is based in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood and comprised of former members of other gangs, including the Black P Stones, Gangster Disciples, and Four Corner Hustlers, was charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS.  Six other alleged AHK members or associates were charged separately with federal drug offenses.  The case was investigated by the National Security Division of the Department of Justice, CPD, IRS-CI, ISP, USPIS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, HSI, Lombard, Ill., Police Department, and Addison, Ill., Police Department.

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More tomorrow.