Latin Kings

William Sosa, the alleged leader of the Philadelphia chapter of the Latin Kings street gang, was arrested without incident Thursday in Brick Township in Ocean County, N.J. FBI agents, assisted by the Brick Township Police Department, arrested Sosa, 25, who is known as "King Homicide. " Two other males and a female were also taken into custody. During the arrest, authorities locked down a nearby elementary school and diverted traffic, FBI spokeswoman Jerri Williams said yesterday.

A 28-year-old Allentown man described as a founding member of the Latin Kings gang was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison today for his part in running a violent drug ring. Luis Colon, founder of the Latin Kings' "Bethlehem Sun Tribe," pleaded guilty July 9 to racketeering conspiracy and related offenses. Federal prosecutors said the gang also kidnapped, assaulted, and killed its own members for violating tribes rules. Colon was among two dozen gang members charged in 2010.

A jury deliberated for about four hours without reaching a verdict yesterday in the racketeering-murder trial of William "King Homicide" Sosa and seven other reputed members of a North Philadelphia-based Latin Kings street gang. The panel got the case shortly after 1 p.m. following a lengthy instruction from U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter. The trial, which began six weeks ago, was highlighted by testimony from nearly a dozen cooperating witnesses, including several current or former members of the Latin Kings who said Sosa had ordered them beaten or targeted for death.

The fatal shooting of Christopher McNelly in Norristown in December 1996 was either done at the order of a New York gang leader or was done in self-defense by men who were no more organized than the "Little Rascals. " In opening statements yesterday in Montgomery County Court, attorneys presented different versions of how and why McNelly was killed. Assistant District Attorney J.P. Mascaro 3d talked about the intimidation of witnesses and about the violent encounters that escalated to murder that night.

The reputed leader of the Philadelphia chapter of the Latin Kings was convicted of racketeering, murder conspiracy and drug-dealing charges yesterday after a six-week trial in which several former members of the organization - including the mother of one of his children - testified against him. William "King Homicide" Sosa and two codefendants were found guilty of multiple charges by a federal jury that had deliberated for nearly eight days before...

Federal authorities yesterday charged 17 alleged members of the Latin Kings gang with racketeering related to murder, kidnapping, assault and heroin distribution. U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan alleged that the local chapter of the Latin Kings, known as the Philadelphia Lion Tribe, "sought to maintain their territory, power and profits through intimidation and violence. " "This organization represents itself as a law-abiding, benevolent group," Meehan said at a news conference.

A federal prosecutor described William "King Homicide" Sosa yesterday as a volatile and arrogant leader of a Latin Kings street gang who used murder, abductions and assaults to solidify his hold on the North Philadelphia-based criminal organization. Sosa espoused the "lofty goals" of advancing the Latino community, Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Gross told a federal jury, but the real agenda of the 27-year-old reputed crime boss was "murder, mayhem, maiming and money. " During a three-hour summation that capped a six-week trial, Gross detailed each of the charges contained in the multicount racketeering indictment in which Sosa and seven codefendants have been charged.

  A blue C with an arrow pointing up. A red X over the letters LOC. The number 1500 not far from Rest painted in fat, white cloud letters, a memorial to the dead. To the untrained eye, the letters and symbols spray-painted under a bridge in the Whitman Park section of Camden are meaningless. But to trained police officers, they signal gang presence and, in some cases, can tip off law enforcement to a brewing feud. "Graffiti is the newspaper of the street," said Cpl. Edwin Santana, training coordinator for the New Jersey Gang Investigators Association.

CHICAGO - A gang leader who prosecutors say oversaw a sophisticated and brutal organization with at least 10,000 "soldiers" in Illinois - even while he was in prison - that beat, shot and extorted money from rivals was sentenced yesterday to 60 years in federal prison. Augustin Zambrano, 51, an unimposing man with short, graying hair, was convicted in April of conspiracy to commit extortion and assault with a deadly weapon after a trial in which prosecutors portrayed him as the "CEO" of the Latin Kings, a Chicago-based gang with members across the United States.

It was a bit quieter this week at the Goldtex Building construction site after two men were charged with simple assault and other charges related to a beating of a subcontractor on July 12. "Ever since your story came out [this] week, since the arrests, it's been a lot calmer," Michael Pestronk, one of the two brothers developing the Goldtex, told the Daily News Friday. Last Saturday, union protester Ryan Stewart, of Philadelphia, was arrested at his home, and another protester, Philip Garraty, of West Grove, Pa., turned himself in Monday on an arrest warrant.

A 28-year-old Allentown man described as a founding member of the Latin Kings gang was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison Wednesday for his part in running a violent drug ring. Luis Colon, founder of the Latin Kings' "Bethlehem Sun Tribe," pleaded guilty July 9 to racketeering conspiracy and related offenses. Federal prosecutors said the gang also kidnapped, assaulted, and killed its own members for violating tribe rules. Colon was among two dozen gang members charged in 2010. Among the crimes attributed to Colon was a plot to kill New Jersey Latin Kings members.

CHICAGO - A gang leader who prosecutors say oversaw a sophisticated and brutal organization with at least 10,000 "soldiers" in Illinois - even while he was in prison - that beat, shot and extorted money from rivals was sentenced yesterday to 60 years in federal prison. Augustin Zambrano, 51, an unimposing man with short, graying hair, was convicted in April of conspiracy to commit extortion and assault with a deadly weapon after a trial in which prosecutors portrayed him as the "CEO" of the Latin Kings, a Chicago-based gang with members across the United States.

  A blue C with an arrow pointing up. A red X over the letters LOC. The number 1500 not far from Rest painted in fat, white cloud letters, a memorial to the dead. To the untrained eye, the letters and symbols spray-painted under a bridge in the Whitman Park section of Camden are meaningless. But to trained police officers, they signal gang presence and, in some cases, can tip off law enforcement to a brewing feud. "Graffiti is the newspaper of the street," said Cpl. Edwin Santana, training coordinator for the New Jersey Gang Investigators Association.

Twelve members of the Bethlehem, Pa., chapter of the Latin Kings gang were charged Wednesday with racketeering and murder, U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger announced. Indictments also were filed against 23 members and associates of the Latin Kings for drug and firearms offenses. The superseding indictment alleges that Neftali "King Nefti" Colon and Oscar "King Flip" Hernandez fatally shot Eugene Martinez in a Bethlehem park in 2004. Martinez allegedly had disrespected and assaulted Colon and another member of the Latin Kings.

A Burlington County grand jury yesterday indicted three men in the shootings of two Camden brothers outside a Mount Laurel hotel that left one dead and the other wounded. The defendants, Daniel Cruz, 24, of Camden, Richard Martinez, 34, of Atco, and Antonio Streater, 26, of Camden, were each charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and unlawful possession of a weapon. The trio allegedly have ties to New Jersey's biggest gangs: Streater, as a member of the Bloods, and Martinez, as one of the Latin Kings.

In a sweep officials attributed to an ongoing operation that focuses their resources on catching the most violent criminals, 22 people - eight of them alleged gang members - were arrested in Burlington County on Wednesday. With the arrests, authorities said yesterday, more than 50 street-gang members have been caught since March as a result of an investigation led by the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office Gangs, Guns and Narcotics Task Force. Their targets: members of the Muslims Over Everything, Bloods, and Crips gangs.

Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings and even some homegrown gangs like the Muslims Over Everything are being targeted in a series of county-by-county takedowns, New Jersey officials said yesterday. Attorney General Anne Milgram visited Burlington County to announce that more than 50 gang members have been arrested since March in the county, including three men who killed one Camden man and wounded another during a shootout at a Mount Laurel hotel. The county takedowns are part of Gov. Jon Corzine's anti-crime initiative, which began last October and focuses heavily on gang activity in the state.

In 2006, members of the gang unit at the Camden County jail pulled some valuable evidence from the cell of a reputed leader of the Bloods. Prosecutors say letters found in Tarell "Trigger" Ambrose's cell contained orders for a contract hit on a fellow member of the Bloods' G-Shine set, and threatened witnesses in a second gang-related shooting. They say Ambrose ordered both shootings from jail, leading to the 2006 death of Lavonne Adkins, 19, of Willingboro, and the wounding of Maurice Brown, of Mount Laurel.