Has anyone seen this story yet?

[reels18]

Sounds like they had a good thing going for a while

8 Men Are Accused of Abducting, Torturing and Robbing Dozens of Drug Dealers

By MICHAEL WILSON
Published: May 7, 2008
A gang of robbers used fake police lights, sirens and badges — and real handcuffs and guns — to pull over and rob more than 100 drug dealers of cash and cocaine in New York and elsewhere up and down the East Coast, federal prosecutors charged in an indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

After identifying themselves as police officers and handcuffing the drug dealers, the thieves interrogated and frequently tortured their captives, beating them, dunking their heads under water and threatening sexual mutilation, documents filed with the indictment in Federal District Court in Brooklyn said. The men stole about $4 million and 750 kilograms of cocaine, prosecutors said. The police seized more than 20 guns, prosecutors said.

“The defendants’ robbery crew was particularly sophisticated in their tactics,” prosecutors in the United States attorney’s office wrote in a court document arguing that the eight men arraigned in the case on Tuesday, all of who pleaded not guilty, should be held without bail. That request was granted. “The crew used various intelligence-gathering methods, including the use of tipsters in various states, as well as surveillance, to gather information on potential victims,” the document said.

Several people indicted in the case, which came after a two-year investigation, were not named on Tuesday, their names blacked out of court records, presumably because they are still at large. More arrests were expected on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, said Jimmy S. Fox, associate special agent in charge of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New York State Police and the New York City Police Department.

Five of the eight men who were arraigned on Tuesday were already in jail or prison on unrelated charges. The eight were identified as Franklin Acosta de Vargas, 36; Alberto Castillo, 30; Jose Castro, 33; Rodolfo Garcia, 46; Rudy Martinez, 38; Gabriel Pabon, 41; Javier Rivera, 34; and a man identified in the indictment as Asnel Torres, 26, whose lawyer said his real name was Leonel Pena.

Only a smattering of spectators appeared to watch the arraignments. Mr. Martinez shrugged at two young women sitting with two little girls and blew a kiss.

In asking that the defendants be held without bail, prosecutors divulged many details of the case of the kind that are generally not known until closer to trial.

Once the group identified a victim, usually a relatively high-up drug dealer with access to drugs and cash, the men created a robbery team that tracked the victim for weeks, sometimes with a global-positioning device, prosecutors said in the documents supporting the no-bail request.

Finally, they robbed the victims, usually by pulling their cars over by using their lights and sirens, the documents state. None of the victims are named in the court records. Their guns drawn, the robbers would kidnap the victim, prosecutors said. “On several occasions, the intended victim was not alone in the car and other innocent bystanders, including the intended victims’ family members and minor children, were also abducted,” the document states.

Prosecutors gave no indication of whether any of them they were part of larger drug organizations. The torture included “severe physical beatings, simulated drownings through repeated submerging of victims’ heads in water for extended periods of time, threatening to squeeze a victim’s testicles with pliers and pointing loaded guns and shooting them at the victims and their families,” prosecutors said. No one was injured in the shootings, Mr. Fox said.

Of course, robbing drug dealers presents its own unique perils. “On occasions, there were shootouts between the robbery crew and the victims’ associates,” prosecutors wrote.

“On one particular occasion, the crew abducted 17 people from three separate locations and held them over a period of several days,” prosecutors wrote. The victims were held until a ransom in drugs or cash was delivered, and most of the drugs were sold in New York, the indictment says.

Evidence in the case includes testimony from members of the crew who have become government informants in the case, as well as recorded conversations, prosecutors said.

Many of the home invasions took place in Queens, the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, Mr. Fox said. Other robberies took place in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida, the authorities said.

The defendants were indicted on Feb. 21, and charged with conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act, which outlaws the obstruction of commerce “by robbery or extortion;” possession of and conspiracy to distribute cocaine; and firearms charges. If convicted on all counts, they face minimum sentences of 40 years, prosecutors said.

Most of the defendants also face deportation if convicted. At least one is an illegal immigrant, prosecutors said, and some others are not United States citizens.

[WitsBusa]

drug dealers stealing drugs from drug dealers to sell... nice.

[NineseveN]

LMAO, the anti-immigrant crowd is going to be torn over this one.

[rady8um]

Hey! Those guys are like modern Robin Hoods.
Robbin hoods
Get it?
Robbing hoods!!
Ha, I crack my self up.

Those guys should have dumped the drugs in the river and donated the money to needy people.

I'm not saying what they did was right, I'm saying they were going to do it anyway, at least help people in the process.

Either way those guys have big brass balls. Big time drug dealers don't find it amusing when they get robbed.

[625]

Nothing new here. This is just on a larger scale than usual. Most of the time it's just drive-by shootings. Usually gang related. These folks are in it for maximum profit. Steal the drugs and sell them instead of buy them and sell them. More evidence that the war on drugs is a total joke.

[nlcrsn]

More proof our society isnt really after the drug dealers!! Gave them immunity to testify against those that robbed them. maybe I missed it but it said robbed them of drugs and money didnt say what they did w/ drugs???

[headcase]

I find it amusing that they are being charged under the obstuction of commerce clause. I must have forgotten hearing that drug dealing has become legal commerce......... Going to be a bad day when they get behind bars.....

[WitsBusa]

Going to be a bad day when they get behind bars.....

Damn right.. those fellas are going to be fighting for their lives. I wouldn't be surprised if that threat of a crushed testicle doesn't come back to haunt them.. I think I'd make a break for it for heck's sake!

[Chilly16]

This would make a good movie. Actually thats probably where they got most of their ideas.

[kevinmch]

This would make a good movie. Actually thats probably where they got most of their ideas.

Boondock Saints rings a bell. Great movie, but these guys took it a little too seriously.