In a major victory for federal prosecutors, 12 members of the Mexican Mafia were convicted Friday of racketeering and conspiracy charges, including murder and extortion carried out in a ruthless bid to extend the group's influence beyond California's prisons.
The seven-man, five-woman jury, however, acquitted one defendant, Victor "Victorio" Murrillo, 51, of Visalia, of charges of conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and conspiracy to murder an associate of the prison gang.
The verdicts capped a costly government effort to strike a blow against the group--commonly known as La Eme, the Spanish pronunciation for the letter M. Federal authorities financed an 18-month investigation and collected more than 300 secret videotapes and audio recordings.
The six-month trial marked the first time that federal authorities in Los Angeles have used the RICO statute against a gang. Originally, the RICO law was created to fight organized crime.
The importance the government put on the case was underscored by the presence in court Friday of U.S. Atty. Nora M. Manella.
"I am very pleased with today's verdicts," Manella said in a statement, taking note of the efforts of the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the California Department of Corrections in the case.
In all, 12 defendants were convicted of violating RICO and conspiracy to violate RICO. Most were found guilty of murdering seven people, including three advisors on Edward James Olmos' movie about the Mexican Mafia, "American Me."
Ten were convicted of conspiracy to aid and abet in the distribution of cocaine and other illegal drugs by extorting "taxes" from Los Angeles street gangs.
That means two of the major figures in the case, reputed Eme godfather Benjamin "Topo" Peters, 56, and reported rival leader Ruben "Tupi" Hernandez, 37, face life sentences in federal prison. The two are already serving life terms at Pelican Bay State Prison, the toughest of California's penal facilities.
The verdicts were lauded by a former Mexican Mafia member who left the group to aid law enforcement.
"The verdicts don't surprise me because I know of no other deadly group like the Eme," said former Mexican Mafia member Ramon "Mundo" Mendoza, who keeps his whereabouts a secret to avoid Eme reprisals. "They are capable of killing people without a second's thought about it."
