Texas Mexican Mafia were sentenced Tuesday to prison terms of six to 10 years for enforcing the gang's drug extortion tactics on San Antonio's streets.
Most of the 12 said nothing as U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez imposed sentence and ordered them not to associate with other gang members.
The gangsters — including Edward “Trece” Rodriguez, who was discharged honorably from the Marine Corps in the 1970s before joining the gang — pleaded guilty last fall to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by using threats or violence.
The 12 are among 14 members indicted in June, the sixth federal prosecution of the gang, also known as “Mexikanemi,” in more than 15 years. It followed a separate roundup by the FBI and San Antonio police in 2008 that nabbed more than 30 members of the gang on racketeering charges. That investigation targeted high-ranking members and solved more than two dozen killings that occurred between 2000 and 2005. All but four defendants in the case have pleaded guilty.
The members sentenced Tuesday include leaders who rose to fill the void: Robert “Bow” Garcia, Robert “Gino” Hernandez and Richard “Kicker” Lopez. Garcia got 10 years, Hernandez got eight years and three months, and Lopez got seven years.
Each of the nine others sentenced got six years, what they agreed to as part of plea deals. They are Rodriguez, Ramiro “Rudy” Carrizales, Robert “Aguila” Cantu, Ricardo “Negro” Garcia, Ruben “Sapo” Quintero, Amador “Mayo” Sanchez, Tony “Negro” Uribe, Daniel “Ice” Aguilar and Luis Mireles.
All admitted they enforced a street “tax” of 10 percent, also known as the “dime,” so dealers can peddle drugs on gang turf. According to the plea deals, the gang collects an average of $10,000 a week in the extortion payments.
The gang, founded by San Antonio native Heriberto “Herb” Huerta in 1984, has been recognized as among the largest in the Texas prison system, although many of its members have since been sent to federal prison. Huerta is serving life sentences in a federal prison in Colorado for racketeering.
Most of the 12 said nothing as U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez imposed sentence and ordered them not to associate with other gang members.
The gangsters — including Edward “Trece” Rodriguez, who was discharged honorably from the Marine Corps in the 1970s before joining the gang — pleaded guilty last fall to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by using threats or violence.
The 12 are among 14 members indicted in June, the sixth federal prosecution of the gang, also known as “Mexikanemi,” in more than 15 years. It followed a separate roundup by the FBI and San Antonio police in 2008 that nabbed more than 30 members of the gang on racketeering charges. That investigation targeted high-ranking members and solved more than two dozen killings that occurred between 2000 and 2005. All but four defendants in the case have pleaded guilty.
The members sentenced Tuesday include leaders who rose to fill the void: Robert “Bow” Garcia, Robert “Gino” Hernandez and Richard “Kicker” Lopez. Garcia got 10 years, Hernandez got eight years and three months, and Lopez got seven years.
Each of the nine others sentenced got six years, what they agreed to as part of plea deals. They are Rodriguez, Ramiro “Rudy” Carrizales, Robert “Aguila” Cantu, Ricardo “Negro” Garcia, Ruben “Sapo” Quintero, Amador “Mayo” Sanchez, Tony “Negro” Uribe, Daniel “Ice” Aguilar and Luis Mireles.
All admitted they enforced a street “tax” of 10 percent, also known as the “dime,” so dealers can peddle drugs on gang turf. According to the plea deals, the gang collects an average of $10,000 a week in the extortion payments.
The gang, founded by San Antonio native Heriberto “Herb” Huerta in 1984, has been recognized as among the largest in the Texas prison system, although many of its members have since been sent to federal prison. Huerta is serving life sentences in a federal prison in Colorado for racketeering.
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