Members and other associates of a violent Bronx-based gang, known as the Black Stone Gorilla Gang, were arrested on Wednesday by DEA agents, NYPD officers, and U.S. Homeland Security agents, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said.
In all, authorities say fourteen individuals face federal racketeering, narcotics, and firearms charges. Three were already in custody and four others are still being sought.
Among those charged are the leaders and members of the gang with street names like “Reckless,” “Hoodlum, and “Slime.” The Black Stone Gorillas is a faction of the Bloods, officials said.
Gang member Alexander Arguedas, aka “Reckless,” is charged with the December 9, 2012 murder of Gary Rodriguez in the Bronx, prosecutors say.
Prosecutors say the Black Stone Gorilla Gang operates in the New York City metropolitan area and in jails and prisons in both New York City and New York State.
The gang members allegedly committed murder, assaults, robberies, bank fraud, wire fraud, and sold heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and marijuana, court papers say.
If convicted, several of the gang members face life in prison.
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“With a deep rooted history of violence both in and outside of prisons, the Black Stone Gorilla Gang is a fierce threat to New Yorkers,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan.
Court appearances for the gang members arrested today will take place in federal court in Manhattan.
