- by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com
Published 8:11pm
Graffiti from West Ward, Newark Credit: Jordan Allen
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ - On Thursday, the Newark Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that four Bloods street gang members were indicated by a federal grand jury on charges of murder, attempted murder, racketeering, robbery, weapons offenses and drug distribution. The four men, all of Newark, are allegedly members of the Blood's subgroup, found primarily in Essex County, called "Sex Money Murder."
According to the FBI, beginning in 2007, Sex Money Murder controlled the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine in the area surrounding Martin Luther King Boulevard and Spruce Street in Newark and amassed firearms in the same neighborhoods. The gang is made up of friends and family members who join at a young age and and mark themselves with SMM tattoos. They follow the typical Bloods governing rules and hierarchical power structures and mark their territory with SMM gang symbols.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced that the men were charged in a 14-count superseding indictment in connection with their alleged Sex Money Murder gang activities. The four indicted men and their charges are:
Narik "Spaz" Wilson, 29 - Leader of the gang
Wilson was previously charged with drug distribution and firearm possession on Oct. 7, 2011.
Emil “Diddy” Rutledge, 26
Laquan “Drama” Reed, 25
Rajohn “1090” Wilson, 23
According to the FBI, beginning in 2007, Sex Money Murder controlled the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine in the area surrounding Martin Luther King Boulevard and Spruce Street in Newark and amassed firearms in the same neighborhoods. The gang is made up of friends and family members who join at a young age and and mark themselves with SMM tattoos. They follow the typical Bloods governing rules and hierarchical power structures and mark their territory with SMM gang symbols.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced that the men were charged in a 14-count superseding indictment in connection with their alleged Sex Money Murder gang activities. The four indicted men and their charges are:
Narik "Spaz" Wilson, 29 - Leader of the gang
Wilson was previously charged with drug distribution and firearm possession on Oct. 7, 2011.
- Racketeering
Life in prison (death eligible); $250,000 fine - Murder in aid of racketeering
Life in prison (death eligible); $250,000 fine - Racketeering conspiracy
Life in prison; $250,000 fine - Use of a firearm during a violent crime ( 4 counts)
Life in prison; $250,000 fine - Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering ( 3 counts)
20 years in prison; $250,000 fine - Conspiracy to use a firearm during a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime conspiracy
20 years in prison; $250,000 fine - Attempted murder in aid of racketeering ( 3 counts)
10 years in prison; $250,000 fine
Emil “Diddy” Rutledge, 26
- Racketeering
Life in prison (death eligible); $250,000 fine - Murder in aid of racketeering
Life in prison (death eligible); $250,000 fine - Racketeering conspiracy
Life in prison; $250,000 fine - Use of a firearm during a violent crime ( 3 counts)
Life in prison; $250,000 fine - Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering ( 2 counts)
20 years in prison; $250,000 fine - Conspiracy to use a firearm during a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime conspiracy
20 years in prison; $250,000 fine - Attempted murder in aid of racketeering ( 2 counts)
10 years in prison; $250,000 fine
Laquan “Drama” Reed, 25
- Racketeering
Life in prison (death eligible); $250,000 fine - Racketeering conspiracy
Life in prison; $250,000 fine - Use of a firearm during a violent crime
Life in prison; $250,000 fine - Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering
20 years in prison; $250,000 fine - Conspiracy to use a firearm during a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime conspiracy
20 years in prison; $250,000 fine - Attempted murder in aid of racketeering
10 years in prison; $250,000 fine
Rajohn “1090” Wilson, 23
- Racketeering
Life in prison (death eligible); $250,000 fine - Racketeering conspiracy
Life in prison; $250,000 fine - Conspiracy to use a firearm during a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime conspiracy
20 years in prison; $250,000 fine
“The offenses charged in today’s indictment
are a checklist of the activities associated with a violent street gang
that has plagued Newark for years,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said.
“Illegal guns, violent assaults, murder – members of this gang allegedly used all of them to maintain control over the illicit drug trafficking
that is the lifeblood of their criminal enterprise.
Today’s charges call them to account for these crimes.”
All four men are already in custody on related charges and are expected to appear in Newark federal court on a date still to be determined. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, under the leadership of Wilson, the four gang members allegedly engaged in a wide range of violent criminal activity in order to deal drugs, silence those that they considered police informants and intimidate rival gangs. According to the FBI, these acts included numerous murders, shootings, robberies and auto thefts.
The case points to these specific events as evidence:
The case points to these specific events as evidence:
- Oct. 29, 2010
Rutledge and others allegedly attempted to murder a rival gang member, “Victim 3” at Narik Wilson’s direction - June 16, 2011
Rutledge and others allegedly attempted to murder rival gang members, “Victim 4,” “Victim 5,” “Victim 6,” and “Victim 7” at Narik Wilson’s direction - July 14, 2011
Rutledge and others allegedly murdered a rival gang member, “Victim 8," at Narik Wilson’s direction - July 31, 2011
Laquan Reed and others allegedly murdered an individual, "Victim 9,” while attempting to carjack the victim’s vehicle
- Special agents of the FBI and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark
- The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray
- The Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando V. Fontoura
- The Newark Police Department
- Special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski
- Special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stephanie R. Shoemaker
“Drug dealing, illegal weapons and gang violence
destroy the quality of life in our neighborhoods,”
said FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, Newark Division.
“The charges in this indictment should reassure the residents of
Newark and New Jersey that we will continue
to aggressively address gang violence
through increased investigative strategies and a multi-agency approach.”
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael H. Robertson and Dara Govan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.
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