McHenry County Blog

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

BROTHERS AND HIT-MAN CONVICTED OF RICO AND MURDER CONSPIRACIES INVOLVING LITTLE VILLAGE FALSE IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT RING

CHICAGO — Three defendants are facing mandatory life imprisonment after a federal jury found them guilty of

• racketeering
• conspiracy
• murder in aid of racketeering
• related crimes

after a six-week trial in U.S. District Court.

Two brothers, JULIO and MANUEL LEIJA-SANCHEZ, who operated a lucrative, black-market counterfeit identification document business in Chicago’s Little Village community for at least 15 years, were convicted along with GERARDO SALAZAR-RODRIGUEZ, who they directed to commit an execution-style murder in Mexico of a fledgling competitor.

The murder plot was intended to prevent two former employees from starting a competing business and to maintain control over employees of their operation, which generated annual revenues of approximately $3 million.

Evidence at trial showed that Salazar-Rodriguez fired more than a dozen shots in killing one of the victims in his taxi cab near Mexico City in April 2007, and the jury heard transcripts of intercepted telephone conversations in which he boasted to the brothers after the murder.

He also hunted for a second victim who he believed was in Mexico at the time but who was actually in federal custody in Chicago. That intended victim, who pleaded guilty to fraudulent identification document charges, cooperated and testified as a government witness at trial.

After the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts yesterday afternoon, the trial ended today when the jury returned special findings regarding the murder that raised the maximum penalty for racketeering conspiracy to life in prison.

The murder in aid of racketeering conviction carries a mandatory life sentence for all three defendants. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer scheduled sentencing for Sept. 12.

“This violent conspiracy went to great lengths to corner the fake document market in Chicago, going so far as to murder a rival vendor in order to protect their lucrative turf,” said Gary Hartwig, Special Agent-in-Charge of HSI in Chicago. “The guilty verdicts clearly demonstrate our unyielding resolve to dismantle the criminal organizations that perpetuate and profit from document fraud within our borders.”

The trial and convictions stem from Operation Paper Tiger, an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations agents, along with other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

In April 2007, the investigation resulted in charges against 24 defendants and the dismantling of the Leija-Sanchez fraudulent document organization that operated in and around the Little Village Discount Mall at West 26th and Albany in Chicago. Except for the three trial defendants and three fugitives, all of the remaining defendants were convicted.

Manuel Leija-Sanchez, 45, and Salazar-Rodriguez, 40, were arrested later in Mexico and were extradited to the United States in 2010 and 2011 to stand trial, together with Julio Leija-Sanchez, 37, who was arrested in Chicago in 2007. A third Leija-Sanchez brother, Pedro, 40, was also arrested in Mexico and extradited to the U.S in 2011. He pleaded guilty last August to racketeering conspiracy for operating the fraudulent ID ring with his brothers and is awaiting imposition of an agreed sentence of 20 years in prison, currently scheduled for March 13.

Evidence at trial showed that the three Leija-Sanchez brothers operated the bustling illegal business between 1993 and 2007.

The Mexico-based organization was supervised by an overall leader living in Chicago, and the leadership position rotated among the Leija-Sanchez brothers. The organization sold as many as 100 sets of fraudulent identification documents each day, charging customers approximately $200 per “set,” consisting of

• a Social Security card and
• either an immigration “green card” or
• a state driver’s license

Manuel and Julio Leija-Sanchez and Salazar-Rodriguez conspired to murder Guillermo Jimenez-Flores, also known as “Montes,” a former member of their organization who became a fledgling rival and was shot to death by Salazar-Rodriguez in Mexico in April 2007. The three trial defendants also were convicted of conspiracy to kill a second victim, Bruno Freddy Ramirez-Camela, who they believed was in Mexico but was actually incarcerated in Chicago.

The convictions were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He commended the years of hard work by HSI agents, who were joined in the investigation by the Chicago and Galveston, Tex., police departments and the Chicago offices of the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Government of Mexico and Mexican law enforcement partners also provided significant assistance.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Nasser, Andrew Porter and William Ridgway.

Before reading this press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office on a second inner city Democratic Party State Rep. under Federal indictment, reflect upon the 2006 date for which he is charged with using ill-gotten money to pay for campaign expenses.

And that doesn’t count the seemingly pending indictment of ex-U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.

The crime is similar to the one that got Algonquin’s Tyvek Towers developer indicted just before Thanksgiving.

There are many indictments coming down from the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office which have crimes that date back that to 2006. Patrick Fitzgerald seems to have left a lot of unfiled cases when he retired this summer.

LASHAWN FORD, ILLINOIS STATE REP., INDICTED ON FEDERAL BANK FRAUD CHARGES RELATED TO REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS

CHICAGO — LaShawn K. Ford, an Illinois State Representative who also invested in real estate in Chicago, was indicted today on federal bank fraud and related charges for allegedly

• fraudulently obtaining a $500,000 increase and
• a two-year extension on a line of credit

from the failed ShoreBank and obtaining multiple advances by making false statements about his intended use of the funds.

Ford, 40, of Chicago, who operated Ford Desired Real Estate, Inc., and also invested personally in real estate, purportedly obtained bank funds to rehabilitate specific investment properties in the city, but instead used the funds to pay unrelated expenses, including,

• car loans,
• credit cards,
• other mortgages held at ShoreBank,
• payments to a casino in Hammond, Ind., and
• for his 2006 campaign for Illinois State Representative,

the indictment alleges. The charges do not involve Ford’s position as a state legislator after he was first elected in 2006. Ford represents Illinois’ 8th House District, which includes portions of Chicago’s west side and several western suburbs in Cook County.

Ford was charged with eight counts of bank fraud and nine counts of submitting false information to the bank in a 17-count indictment returned today by a federal grand jury. Chicago-based ShoreBank failed in August 2010 and now operates as Urban Partnership Bank.

Ford will be arraigned on a later date to be determined in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The indictment was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and William C. Monroe, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the indictment, Ford had multiple loans with ShoreBank, including a $1 million line of credit, which he was permitted to use solely to purchase and rehabilitate investment properties. On May 22, 2006, he obtained a $500,000 increase — to $1.5 million, and a two-year extension of the credit line, allegedly by submitting false tax return documents that inflated his personal and business income.

On seven different occasions between April 2006 and March 2007, Ford applied for and obtained a total of $373,500 in advances from the credit line, allegedly by making false statements that he intended to use the funds to rehabilitate six different investment properties on the city’s west side.

In each instance, however, Ford allegedly knew that he intended to use the funds, in part, for expenses unrelated to the specific rehabilitation projects.

The indictment seeks forfeiture of approximately $832,000.

Each count of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and restitution is mandatory. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Greg Deis and William Ridgway.

The investigation falls under the umbrella of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit: www.StopFraud.gov.

An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

TWENTY DEFENDANTS, INCLUDING FIVE ALLEGEDLY TIED TO THE ZETAS CARTEL, INDICTED ON FEDERAL NARCOTICS CHARGES

CHICAGO — Twenty defendants are facing federal narcotics charges here, including five alleged members of a Chicago-based cell of the Zetas Mexican drug cartel who were responsible for transporting millions of dollars in drug proceeds between Chicago and Mexico, federal law enforcement officials announced today.

A joint investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation resulted in the charges, as well as accumulated seizures during 2010 of more than $12.4 million cash and approximately 250 kilograms of cocaine in the Chicago area.

An additional $480,000 cash and two kilograms of heroin were seized yesterday.

Federal agents yesterday executed simultaneous arrests in the Chicago area and in Laredo, Tex., of defendants stemming from the multi-jurisdiction investigation of drug-trafficking and the flow of its narcotics proceeds.

Twelve of the 20 defendants indicted in Chicago were arrested in Chicago and a 13th in Laredo.

The 20 Chicago defendants were charged in five separate indictments that were returned by a federal grand jury on Nov. 2 and unsealed following the arrests.

The 12 Chicago defendants arrested here yesterday appeared in U.S. District Court and remain in federal custody pending detention hearings.

Five defendants remain fugitives; one was already in federal custody and another is hospitalized.

Yesterday’s seizures of cash and heroin occurred during the arrests and execution of search warrants at the residence of one defendant in Bellwood and another defendant’s residence in Bolingbrook, as well as a safe deposit box.

All 20 Chicago defendants were charged with various narcotics offenses, including

• conspiracy to possess and distribute quantities of cocaine and
• using a telephone to facilitate narcotics trafficking.

The five alleged members of the money transportation cell were also charged with conspiracy to transfer narcotics proceeds outside the United States.

If convicted, 12 defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine, while the remaining eight defendants face a mandatory minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine.

The money transportation conspiracy carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and fine of twice the value of the money involved.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

“One indictment in this group signals the first federal prosecution in Chicago of defendants allegedly tied to the Zetas drug-trafficking cartel, and the seizures of cash represented a significant blow to the operation of this alleged money transportation cell,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  He praised the dedication and teamwork of the local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in Chicago that worked tirelessly to disrupt these alleged drug-trafficking conspiracies.

Mr. Fitzgerald announced the charges together with Jack Riley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Gary J. Hartwig, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago; Alvin Patton, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police

“DEA’s commitment to hitting alleged drug trafficking organizations from all angles is especially evident when you consider the impact of the seizure of over $12 million in suspected drug proceeds.

In the specific indictment that alleges affiliation of some of the defendants with the Zetas, the influence of Mexican criminal organizations in the wholesale Chicago drug market is apparent.  The severing of those ties is of the upmost importance to the DEA,” Mr. Riley said.

Mr. Grant said: “The extensive cash seizures made during the course of this investigation illustrates how lucrative the illicit drug trade can be. Combined with the apparent presence of the Zetas in the Chicago area, the charges announced today should serve as a wake-up call to law enforcement throughout the state.”

The prosecutions were coordinated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, and federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas also assisted in the investigation.

The Illinois Attorney General’s Office conducted a separate but related investigation that resulted in the arrest of eight defendants on state narcotics charges last week in Galesburg, Ill.  The federal investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Chicago High-Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA).

One indictment alleges that defendant Eduardo Trevino, a fugitive believed to reside in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, directed a money transportation network for the Zetas from Nuevo Laredo, and that this network coordinated the transfer of money from places such as Chicago to Laredo, and then from Laredo to Mexico.

At the direction of the Zetas, defendant Salvador Estrada allegedly collected, processed and concealed cash from the sale of drugs so that the narcotics proceeds could be transported by truck drivers, including defendants Miguel Arredondo and Vicente Casares, from Chicago to Laredo, knowing that the proceeds would be transported to the Zetas in Mexico.

Defendant Juan Aguirre allegedly worked with the others to coordinate the delivery of cash proceeds to truck drivers.

Estrada allegedly identified and maintained safe houses where drug proceeds were secretly collected, packaged and concealed, such as 1241 South Wenonah Ave., Berwyn, and 3800 West 24^th St., Chicago.

According to the indictment, the following seizures, totaling $12,452,685, were made during the course of the investigation:

• $9,428,950, from the 24^th Street stash house on April 30, 2010;
• $2,000,010, also on April 30, 2010;
• $999,310, on May 27, 2010; and
•  $24,415, on Dec. 18, 2010, along with a Mosberg 100 ATR .308 rifle and a  Colt .22 semi-automatic handgun.

The 14-count indictment against Trevino and the five alleged Chicago cell members seeks forfeiture of approximately $13 million, including the $12.45 million seized previously.

Five of the six (named above) were charged with conspiracy to transport narcotics proceeds outside the United States.  Together with defendant, Aureliano Montoya-Pena, all six were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and various other narcotics offenses.

The other four indictments charge the remaining 14 defendants with various narcotics distribution offenses.

The government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorneys William Ridgway, Gregory Deis and Heather McShain.

The public is reminded that indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

A list of the federal defendants follows (with best known ages and residences in Chicago unless noted otherwise):