Michael Torres, a Mexican Mafia member who oversaw gangs in the San Fernando Valley and controlled drug and extortion rackets in the Los Angeles County jail system, was stabbed to death in prison.
Federal prosecutors say Gabriel Zendejas Chavez, a criminal defense attorney who once taught English, connected the Mexican Mafia’s bases of power in prisons, jails and the streets of Southern California.
Later that night, two of Torres’ underlings kidnapped Smokey. They beat him, strangled him with a rope and stabbed him with a screwdriver, but he managed to fight off his attackers and flee.A terminally ill Mexican Mafia member expounded on the current state of the gang from his prison cell before he was released to die at home.
Torres, who had a fifth-grade education, acted as his own lawyer. A witness told prosecutors that Torres was representing himself to prolong his stay in Men’s Central Jail, where he was collecting a tax on all drug sales. Mendoza testified that Smokey, not Torres, had shot him. A year after the trial, Mendoza was gunned down in North Hills by a still-unidentified person.
He oversaw the Mexican Mafia’s two main jail rackets. One was “the kitty,” a pot of commissary items collected from Latino inmates and then sold. The other was the one-thirds tax imposed on all drug sales.About two-thirds of the Mexican Mafia’s 140 members are held in California prisons, which are inundated with illegal cellphones. They use the phones to traffic in drugs, collect money and order murders.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Mexican authorities make another arrest in deadly kidnapping of AmericansAt least seven people have now been arrested in the case.
Read more »
The green mafia loses its collective mindThere has been a wealth of inaccurate predictions surrounding the fate of the Earth just in my lifetime. But that hasn't kept the 'green mafia' from crazy policies.
Read more »
Republicans rally to use US military to take down Mexican cartels behind fentanylRepublicans are increasingly coalescing around the idea of deploying military troops to Mexico as one way to take action as the fentanyl epidemic rages within the United States.
Read more »
Mexican authorities make another arrest in deadly kidnapping of AmericansAt least seven people have now been arrested in the case.
Read more »
Watch Mexican mayor marry crocodile as part of local traditionThe bride wore a white wedding dress for the ceremony in San Pedro Huamelula.
Read more »