Glendale man admits to supplying drugs to L.A. gangs under orders from Mexican Mafia
A gang member admitted in federal court Monday to his involvement in supplying a trio of rival Los Angeles street gangs with drugs on orders from the Mexican Mafia.
Santos Zepeda, a 33-year-old Glendale man who also goes by “Slim,” faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison to a maximum of life without parole for conspiring to traffic methamphetamine.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Zepeda was among 22 other defendants who were indicted two years ago under federal racketeering charges connected to Mexican Mafia member Arnold Gonzales.
Gonzales had ordered the unification of the Frogtown, Toonerville and Rascal gangs in 2010, according to the federal authorities. Normally rivals, Gonzales brought the three gangs together to control the drug trade and other illicit activities in an area of Los Angeles that spanned along the Los Angeles River from Elysian Park to near Burbank.
However, because Gonzales was serving out a murder sentence at Pelican Bay State Prison, Frogtown gang member Jorge Grey was appointed as his street emissary with Zepeda working as his top lieutenant, according to the indictment.
Through this arrangement, they provided drugs and collected “taxes” from local dealers.
Eleven of the 22 named in the indictment, including Zepeda, have since pleaded guilty, while the remaining 11 are scheduled to go to trial on March 5, 2018.
Twitter: @Andy_Truc
