Former Member of New Bedford Latin Kings Chapter Sentenced for Racketeering Conspiracy Charges

 Defendant was responsible for May 2019 shooting

A former member of the New Bedford Chapter of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (“Latin Kings”) was sentenced today on racketeering charges. The defendant admitted to his role in a May 28, 2019 incident in New Bedford, when a rival gang member was shot at.

Luis Santiago, a/k/a “King Tiny,” 22, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In September 2020, Santiago pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy. 

The Latin Kings are a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States. The Latin Kings adhere to a national manifesto, employ an internal judiciary and use a sophisticated system of communication to maintain the hierarchy of the organization. As alleged in court documents, the gang uses drug distribution to generate revenue and engages in violence against witnesses and rival gangs to further its influence and to protect its turf.

Santiago admitted that on May 28, 2019, he was one of multiple members of the Latin Kings who travelled to Dartmouth Street in New Bedford to confront and assault rival gang members. For this incident, Santiago was provided with a firearm by another member of the gang. The confrontation began as a fight, but at some point Santiago pulled out the firearm and began to chase the rival gang members. Santiago fired one shot at the fleeing rival gang members, missing and striking a parked vehicle.

In December 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy and firearms charges against 62 leaders, members and associates of the Latin Kings. Santiago is the 13^th defendant to be sentenced in the case.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Commissioner Carol Miciof the Massachusetts Department of Correction; and New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was also provided by the FBI North Shore Gang Task Force and the Bristol County and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Offices.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip A. Mallard and Lauren Graber of Lelling’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The operation was conducted by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. More information on the OCDETF program is available here: https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf.