Zulima V. Farber, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
Gregory A. Paw, Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 25, 2006
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
State Police Office of Public Information
(609) 882-2000
Capt. Al Della Fave ext. 6514
Lt. Gerald Lewis ext. 6516
Sgt. Stephen Jones ext. 6513
Sgt. Jeanne Hengemuhle ext. 6515
State Police Lead Team of 500 Officers to
Decapitate Most Violent Set of Bloods Street Gang
West Trenton, NJ - Early this morning in locations throughout New
Jersey, the State Police's Intelligence Section launched raids
against the infamous Nine Trey Gangsters street gang targeting 96
gang members and affiliated persons. Dubbed "Operation Nine
Connect," today's actions are the culmination of an 11-month joint
investigation by the Division of State Police and the Division of
Criminal Justice aimed at disabling this violent group believed to
be responsible for more violent crime than any other street gang.
Arrests continued throughout the morning in locations across the
state. As of the printing of this release, more than 60 persons had
been arrested with further arrests expected over the coming weeks.
Teams of troopers and officers from 31 agencies in 7 counties
arrested their quarry and executed more than 15 search warrants to
recover additional evidence of crimes. During the operation,
approximately 500 law enforcement officers worked in this
cooperative effort. Charges ranged from 1 st degree Racketeering to
extortion, money laundering, organized criminal gambling,
distribution of CDS (drugs), weapons charges, and conspiracy to
commit these crimes. Intelligence has revealed that Nine Trey
members have been responsible for a number of murders and untold
numbers of drive by shootings.
During the execution of arrest and search warrants today, several
handguns were recovered and quantities of drugs were seized in each
of the three regions. Arrest teams processed subjects in the closest
of three regional State Police headquarter buildings in Buena
(Atlantic), Hamilton (Mercer), and Totowa (Passaic). Each regional
location was staffed with Deputy Attorneys General to provide legal
guidance throughout the operation. From there, the gang members and
affiliates were bussed to Mercer County Jail, where by prior
agreement, they were all lodged pending arraignments over the next
few days.
"Our aim in this investigation was, quite simply, to put an end to
this extremely violent set of the Bloods street gang in New Jersey,"
said Attorney General Farber. "We have successfully executed one of
the most significant and large-scale gang takedowns in the history
of law enforcement in our state."
"In this operation, the State Police are indeed striking at the root
of evil rather than hacking at its branches," said Colonel Rick
Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. "This type
of intelligence-led policing reduces crime by eliminating it at the
source."
Operation Nine Connect is the first major project of the realignment
of the investigative resources in the State Police that occurred in
2005. Lt. Colonel Frank Rodgers, Deputy Superintendent of the
Investigations Branch initiated these changes to infuse intelligence-
based policing into the architecture of the agency. Intelligence
analysts worked through the results of the Statewide Gang Survey and
pored over crime data to come up with the most critical threat to
safety in New Jersey.
"We found the Nine Trey set of the Bloods were responsible for more
violence and crime than any other source at this time," said LTC
Rodgers. "By concentrating our enforcement on the source of the
problem, we will have an impact on the quality of life for our
citizens."
"We took down almost the entire leadership of the Nine Trey set,"
added Rodgers. "We are very satisfied with the results of Operation
Nine Connect." The State Police gang analysts estimate the strength
of this set to be between 250 and 275 members in New Jersey.
"This is what we have in store for the leaders of New Jersey's
violent street gangs," said Division of Criminal Justice Director
Gregory A. Paw. "We will be steadfast in our efforts to arrest and
prosecute those responsible for the gunfire that is ravaging many of
our communities."
Under the new structure, Regional Intelligence Groups (RIG) contain
both analysts and intelligence officers responsible for interpreting
the criminal environment within each bureau's specific area of
responsibility. They provide strategic and tactical intelligence
products that influence how best to allocate resources.
The Nine Trey Gangster are located throughout New Jersey, with
strong networks located in the cities of Newark, Paterson, Atlantic
City, Trenton, Asbury Park, Keansburg, and
Bridgeton/Millville/Vineland (BMV are run as a single entity by the
bloods hierarchy).
The name "Operation Nine Connect" was derived from the gangs
organized hierarchy that moved leadership members around to run
different cities and allowed high-ranking members in prison to issue
orders to others on the outside. East Coast Bloods sets were founded
on Rikers Island in 1993 by Omar Portee (O.G. Mack) and Leonard
McKenzie (O.G. Deadeye). The first set created in the prison was the
Nine Trey Gangsters. Mack and O.G. Deadeye are considered
the "Godfathers" or O.G. (Original Gangster) of the East Coast
Bloods. The two recruited inmates to form the Bloods to fight off
the Neta and Latin King gangs within the facilities. Identifiers
include distinct tattoos, the use of hand signs, and the display of
red items on their person, such as red bandanas, caps, and clothing.
Their organizational structure typically consists of multiple OG
(Original Gangster), Captains, Lieutenants, and Soldiers.
Historically, Bloods members have been involved with murder,
aggravated assault, sexual assaults, witness intimidation, firearms
trafficking, vehicle theft, and most of all, narcotics distribution.
In the state of New Jersey, the Newark set is the largest, and most
influential, directing a portion of the criminal activities
occurring in other Nine Trey Gangsters city strongholds.
David "Duke" Allen , of Newark (NJ) has received "Universal G
Status" within the Nine Trey Gangsters gang, which affords him this
status on a nationwide level. The investigation has revealed that
Allen, from prison, has ordered disciplinary actions as well as hits
on fellow gang members for Bloods misconduct.
In the Central region, the Trenton set is the most prominent, and
was the focus of the initial investigation. Smaller sets are located
in Asbury Park and Keansburg. These two sets have established
structures with 5-star generals in command. In the South region,
Atlantic City is the stronghold.
"The information gathered in this case and through these arrests
will continue to fuel our attack on street gangs and the crimes they
commit," said Colonel Fuentes. "Guided by intelligence-based
policing, we will follow crime to its root causes and strike our
most effective blows there."
###
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
