LOS ANGELES : 9 Held Without Bail in Crackdown on Crime Ring
Nine reputed members of the Mexican Mafia were ordered held without bail in federal jail Friday to await trial on racketeering and other charges.
The nine were among 22 members of the prison-based gang named in a 26-count grand jury indictment charging them with crimes that include murder, attempted murder, extortion and drug trafficking, said Karen Nawrocki, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office.
The indictment, unsealed Monday, is part of a federal crackdown on the gang.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors filed papers seeking to seize three Los Angeles-area homes where gang associates allegedly met and conducted business.
Most of the defendants were arrested in recent raids by federal authorities.
Other than the nine who appeared in court Friday, five have waived detention hearings, two remained at-large and one was shot to death in an unrelated crime before the indictment was unsealed, Nawrocki said. No date had been set for the remaining five to appear for detention hearings, she said.
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