Operation Throne Down: Over 60 alleged Latin Kings Gang Members Arrested Along East Coast, Gang Leaders Have Known Ties to La Cosa Notra (Mafia)
Dean Garrison
DCDirtyLaundry.com
December 7, 2019
Thursday’s big news was a seriously big bust involving The Latin Kings street gang, along the East Coast.
Charges include Federal Racketeering and various drug and firearms offenses.
Lots of top leaders were arrested, but this may only be the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
The Latin Kings have known ties to the Italian Mob (La Cosa Notra) in America.
WHDH Boston reports:
BOSTON (AP/WHDH) — Federal authorities announced racketeering, drug and firearms charges on Thursday against more than 60 members of the Latin Kings, including the leaders of the street gang’s East Coast operations, following “Operation Throne Down,” which was the largest takedown in FBI Boston history.
Among those arrested is Michael Cecchetelli, a 40-year-old Springfield, Massachusetts resident with ties to the Genovese crime family who oversaw the gang’s operations from Massachusetts down to Florida, according to Joseph Bonavolonta, head of the FBI’s Boston office.
Authorities said Cecchetelli and other gang leaders ran the gang with a Mafia-style hierarchy, with a council of leaders and as many as 11 chapters across Massachusetts alone. They say the leadership approach has become a model for other Latin Kings regions in the country.
The Latin Kings have also grown to become the largest gang in Massachusetts prisons, with an estimated 400 members, including leaders who face charges for continuing to coordinate criminal activity outside the prison, authorities said.
“It’s a big hit precisely because we are able to take out all of the leadership,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling of the five-year investigation by the FBI and the State Department. “It will be extremely difficult for the gang to regroup in the region.”
A lawyer who represented Cecchetelli in a prior federal case didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.
The majority of Thursday morning’s arrests took place across Massachusetts, but some gang members and associates were also arrested in Rhode Island and Connecticut, Bonavolonta said. The gang’s operations also stretched into New York, New Jersey, and Maryland.
The Rest…HERE
