OPERATION MEXICAN MAFIA; 4 SUSPECTS ARRESTED AT PALMDALE HOMES.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer A law-enforcement crackdown on the Mexican Mafia The "Mexican Mafia" (MM) or "La eMe" (eMe) is a Mexican-American criminal prison gang in the United States. History It was formed in the late 1950s by Chicano street gang members incarcerated at the Deuel Vocational Institution, a youthful offender facility located in prison gang led to the arrest Tuesday of four men at two Palmdale duplexes, in one of which officials said they found weapons, drugs and an inert hand grenade. The men, whose names were not released, were among 16 taken into custody early Tuesday morning across Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County in the second phase of a 5-year multiagency task-force investigation conducted against the gang, which federal officials say is trying to control Southland narcotics narcotics n. 1) techinically, drugs which dull the senses. 2) a popular generic term for drugs which cannot be legally possessed, sold, or transported except for medicinal uses for which a physician or dentist's prescription is required. trafficking. ``This is a sustained effort against a criminal organization known as the Mexican Mafia, whose members engage in violence in an effort to perpetuate their organization,'' said Timothy P. McNally, head of the FBI's Los Angeles office. The charges against the suspects arrested at the two duplexes in the 38900 block of Rambler ram·bler n. 1. One that rambles: tourists and Sunday ramblers on the village streets; a conversational rambler. 2. A type of climbing rose having numerous red, pink, or white flowers. Avenue in Palmdale were not disclosed. Federal indictments listed only one Palmdale resident, Frank Fernandez, 52. Officials said he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder. The countywide operation involved 160 investigators from the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . , Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County PoliceThe Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. , U.S. District Attorney's Office and the California Department of Corrections. They arrested the suspects during searches at 17 locations, including homes in Los Angeles, East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. , Alhambra, La Verne La Verne (lə vûrn), city (1990 pop. 30,897), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1906. La Verne, which began as a citrus-processing center, now has varied manufacturing, including electronic components, apparel, hand , Rosemead and Palmdale. Thirty-three weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle assault rifle Military firearm that is chambered for ammunition of reduced size or propellant charge and has the capacity to switch between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire. , protective body armor Noun 1. body armor - armor that protects the wearer's whole body body armour, cataphract, coat of mail, suit of armor, suit of armour armet - a medieval helmet with a visor and a neck guard and several live hand grenades were recovered in the operation, officials said. Approximately a dozen weapons and one inert grenade were found at one Palmdale home, which investigators searched for more than seven hours. FBI SWAT members entered the Rambler Avenue duplex shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday, with assistance from Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, and arrested three people. A fourth man was arrested at a home across the street. Weapons inside the first home included 9 mm and .380 pistols, as well as a grenade in a small cloth bag. After evacuating neighbors, bomb-squad deputies X-rayed the device and declared it safe. At a Los Angeles news conference following the arrests, law enforcement officials announced federal indictments against 27 purported members of the Mexican Mafia, including Fernandez. Officials said 16 of those named were arrested Tuesday morning, and 11 others were in state custody. Three are still outstanding and are considered at large. The indictments charge the defendants with four murders and three attempted murders and 13 counts of conspiring to commit murder. Three of the slayings occurred Nov. 19 in Montebello, officials said. A separate indictment charges three more people with narcotics trafficking. Officials said the Mexican Mafia - also known as La Eme, Spanish for ``M'' - started in California prisons but has expanded over the years to include more than 400 criminals and that its influence extends beyond prison walls. Law enforcement officials said the Mexican Mafia requires street gangs and drug dealers to pay a ``tax'' in return for protection. If a gang or dealer fails to pay, the Mexican Mafia gives a ``green light'' that authorizes Mafia members and associates, as well as rival gangs, to assault or kill members of the gang, officials said. Nearly four years ago, the U.S. Attorney's Office mounted a similar prosecution against the gang. Indictments were returned against 22 people. One defendant was killed before trial, eight pleaded guilty, a dozen were convicted and one was acquitted. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour AV Edition only) (Ran in AV and SAC Edition only) Residents return home after getting the all-clear from sheriff's deputies and FBI agents after Tuesday's raid at two duplexes in Palmdale. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
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