7 arrested in a move on Bloods street gang
The FBI said it had dismantled North Jersey's "793 Set," which authorities said epitomized the new face of organized crime.
NEWARK, N.J. - They sold crack cocaine and heroin with street-corner brand names like "hot," "mortal kombat" and "child support" on the South Side of Newark.
They had nicknames like Reckless, Murder, Genocide and Bleed.
And they used fear, violence and intimidation to control and expand their market.
That was the picture of the "793 Set" painted yesterday by the FBI, which said it had dismantled the Bloods street gang after a two-year investigation.
Flanked by nearly a dozen federal, state and local law enforcement officials, Weysan Dun, head of the FBI office here, announced the arrest of seven members of an organization that authorities say epitomizes the new face of organized crime in New Jersey.
Three other suspects were being sought.
The investigation was launched by an FBI Safe Streets Task Force, Dun said, using many of the same techniques - wiretaps, surveillance, undercover informants - that have been employed in battling the traditional mob.
"The strategies are almost identical," Dun said. "They are an organized-crime enterprise, just a little less sophisticated."
But in some ways more violent, other officials said.
"I don't know of any of these people who have legitimate jobs," said Garry McCarthy, Newark City Police director. "They're gangbangers and drug dealers."
McCarthy said the Bloods and similar crime groups that have begun to emerge across the state were built around "guns, drugs and gang" affiliation.
At a seminar last year, one New Jersey State Police expert said New Jersey was considered the "East Coast capital" of gang activity, with Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings and other organizations vying for control of street corners and narcotics trade. Though concentrated in North Jersey, gang activity exists in Trenton and in Burlington and Atlantic Counties, according to investigators.
The Bloods are considered one of the largest gangs in the country, authorities said.
The seven individuals arrested yesterday included three reputed ranking members of the 793 Set - Cedric Brown and brothers Anthony and Sharif Williams, all of Newark.
The fugitives being sought included two other 793 Set leaders, Alshatee Green and Ernest Riggins, authorities said.
All 10 of the defendants named yesterday were charged with drug distribution and conspiracy.
In all, 26 suspected members of the gang have been arrested in the last two years. Ten have been convicted, Dun said, and six are awaiting trial. The charges have ranged from drug dealing to armed robbery and illegal possession of firearms.
Among the officials attending yesterday's news conference was East Orange Police Director Jose Cordero.
Cordero, a former New York City police inspector, recently was appointed by Gov. Corzine to the newly created post of director of gangs, guns and violent crime.
Cordero said the arrests and the investigation that led to them were examples of the "smart partnership" that law enforcement must adopt in attacking the state's gang problem.
In addition to the FBI, the task force included the U.S. Attorney's Office, Essex and Hudson County law-enforcement agencies and the Newark, East Orange and Cranford Police Departments.