Strike Team to Focus on Organized Crime

Concerned that Asian street gangs are moving into counterfeiting, prostitution and high-tech heists, the Westminster Police Department has formed a strike team of federal and local law enforcement agents aimed at organized crime.

“We’ve had a lot of street gangs in the past,” Police Chief James Cook said. “Now what we see is street gangs transitioning into organized crime.”

Little Saigon, a 16-block area that contains hundreds of Vietnamese-owned businesses and serves as the commercial and cultural heart of the Vietnamese American community, is increasingly the magnet for activities such as counterfeiting of payroll and traveler’s checks, software pirating, prostitution and gambling, Cook said. “These are not typical street-gang crimes.”

In operation for three months, the strike team includes a district attorney’s investigator, an FBI agent and three police detectives, all based at the police station.

By having several agencies work together, investigators can seek state or federal indictments--whichever carry the stiffest penalties.

“These agents serve as linchpins, linking the disjointed state and federal systems together,” said Cook, who spearheaded the project. The concept of teaming up investigators from several agencies has been used successfully across Orange County to tackle problems ranging from gang crime to domestic violence.

The multilevel approach makes sense, said Keith Trace, FBI supervising special agent, because so-called Asian criminal enterprises tend to cross state, national and even international borders.

“The cases they work on almost immediately cross outside Westminster boundaries,” Trace said. “The nature of these crimes is that certain organizations based here have tentacles across the country. And clearly, we’re a gateway to Asia as well.”

In addition, bolstering what used to be a two-man police unit with personnel from two other agencies has definite advantages, said veteran Det. Marcus Frank, a member of the new strike team.

“We were very limited when it was just the two of us doing it,” he said. Having the local district attorney’s office on board as well as the resources of the FBI opens doors, he said.

Frank, who previously worked with the Police Department’s gang unit, said, “I’m seeing the same faces again.”

“What used to be street gangs doing car burglaries and home invasions is evolving into organized crime. They’re not wasting their time [on small crimes]. Now it’s nationwide counterfeiting and large-scale vice.”

In most cases, the vast majority of victims are in the Asian community, so law enforcement officials are hopeful that they will draw local support.

“As more in the community are becoming aware we’re around, we’re getting more tips coming in,” Frank said.