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yesterday

Eight ‘54 Tiny Locos’ Clique Members Indicted on Racketeering Charges in Queens

The indictment marks a major push in Operation Take Back America to dismantle violent transnational gangs

Agents recovered this image from Vidal Mendez’s device, depicting alleged 18th Street Gang members (left to right) Vasquez Corona, Bonilla Ramos, Vidal Mendez, Margarito Ortega and German Rodriguez superimposed on a Social Security card. The gang is accused of counterfeiting Social Security cards, passports and other documents. (DOJ)
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Overview

  • On June 16, prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging eight members of the ’54 Tiny Locos’ clique with racketeering conspiracy that includes drug and firearms trafficking, fraudulent document production and extortion.
  • The clique allegedly enforced control over a busy commercial corridor along Roosevelt Avenue by charging ‘rent’ to illicit businesses such as counterfeit operations and unregulated brothels.
  • Officials link the defendants to three assaults in Queens between late 2021 and mid-2024 that wounded four individuals with weapons including bottles, wooden planks and bike locks.
  • Seven defendants were taken into custody in New York City and are set to be arraigned before Magistrate Judge Cheryl M. Pollak, with the eighth expected to appear following separate charges.
  • The prosecution is part of a multi-agency Operation Take Back America effort led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the NYPD and the Queens District Attorney’s Office to dismantle the transnational gang network.