6 Guilty in Extortion Try
Six reputed gangsters have pleaded guilty to attempting to extort $25,000 in winnings from two patrons of a Bell Gardens gambling casino, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Trang Man Looc, 31, Doan Dinh Vu, 35, Sinh Nam Tran, 32, Ho Van Nguyen, 32, and Tien Hung Luong, 40, entered pleas last Thursday in Superior Court to one count of attempted extortion.
The sixth defendant, Phu Xuan Cao, 37, pleaded guilty to the same charge in January. Cao is scheduled to be sentenced today, while the others are scheduled to be sentenced next month.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Kuhnert said at least five of the suspects approached the victims as they walked away from gambling tables at the Bicycle Club last May. The suspects demanded $25,000, the victims’ entire winnings, in return for “protection from gangsters.”
The victims reported the extortion to police and wore recording devices to a meeting where the suspects were arrested, Kuhnert said.
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