Aryan Brotherhood Leaders Sentenced to Life for Racketeering, Murder, and Drug Trafficking

Ronald Yandell and William Sylvester received consecutive life sentences for orchestrating crimes from within California prisons, including murder and drug operations.

• Ronald Yandell, 62, and William Sylvester, 56, were sentenced to two consecutive life terms in federal court for racketeering, murder, and drug trafficking crimes committed while incarcerated.
• Yandell was found guilty of directing a 2015 prison murder to initiate two inmates into the Aryan Brotherhood, while Sylvester earned his membership through a 2001 prison killing.
• Evidence presented at trial included wiretapped calls and testimony showing the gang's use of contraband cellphones to coordinate drug trafficking and violent crimes both inside and outside prison walls.
• The prosecution highlighted the Aryan Brotherhood's control over criminal activities in California prisons, including heroin and methamphetamine distribution and orchestrated murders.
• Yandell and his defense argued the case was politically motivated, citing his role in a 2013 hunger strike against solitary confinement, but the court upheld the convictions.

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U.S. Department of Justice East Bay Times The Sacramento Bee