In what's being called the first lawsuit of the its kind, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo yesterday filed a lawsuit seeking cash damages from now-imprisoned gang members who worked the Pico-Union and Westlake areas, charging residents, among other things, an illegal "street tax." Writes the LA Times' Richard Winton: "The lawsuit targets nine imprisoned leaders of the 18th Street Gang, including two leaders of the Mexican Mafia, and demands civil damages on behalf of residents of two city neighborhoods. If successful, the suit would distribute proceeds from seized homes, businesses and other assets to neighborhood residents who cannot file suit themselves because they fear retaliation, prosecutors say." According to the paper, not only does the suit seek compensation for all property damage and property devaluation, but it also looks to recoup losses for "time in which residents could not use public parks because of gang activity." The Streetsgang site says that the 18th Gang works in four different neighborhoods: three near downtown Los Angeles west of the Staples Center and the 110 Freeway, and one in the West Adams area; Streetsgang also publishes a list of all the streets (locally) that the gang allegedly works. And according to this June 2008 NPR story, the gang has as many as 30,000 members locally and internationally; the gang "offers protection from rival gangs in exchange for kickbacks from illegal street sales on narcotics, fake green cards, passports or driver's licenses....[they also] tax illegal vendors..and the gang takes a cut from people who sell food, anything counterfeit or anything illegal that goes on in the street." All the gang members are named in the summary (after the jump). Why do we guess that "Mousie" is the biggest guy of all?
Case Summary
Case Number: BC403319
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA VS SERGIO PANTOJA ET AL
Filing Date: 12/08/2008
Case Type: Intentional PI/PD/WD (eg. assault) (General Jurisdiction)
Status: Pending
Future Hearings
None
Documents Filed | Proceeding Information
Parties
Click on any of the below link(s) to see names that begin with the letter indicated:
A - T W - W
ALVAREZ JOSE JUAN - Defendant/Respondent
BARVO ARACELI - Defendant/Respondent
CASTRO RUBEN - Defendant/Respondent
CHAVEZ NOE - Defendant/Respondent
DANDY BOY - Defendant/Respondent
DELGADILLO ROCKARD J. - Attorney for Plaintiff/Petitioner
DOES 1-50 - Defendant/Respondent
LIL DUSTER - Defendant/Respondent's AKA
MARTINEZ FRANK - Defendant/Respondent
MOUSIE - Defendant/Respondent's AKA
NITE OWL - Defendant/Respondent's AKA
PANTOJA SERGIO - Defendant/Respondent
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA - Plaintiff/Petitioner
PEREZ JOSE MORALES - Defendant/Respondent
PINEDA MICHAEL - Defendant/Respondent
PUPPET - Defendant/Respondent's AKA
TECO - Defendant/Respondent's AKA
TECOLOTE - Defendant/Respondent's AKA
TORO - Defendant/Respondent's AKA
TORRES EFRAIN RUIZ - Defendant/Respondent
TRAVIESA - Defendant/Respondent
TRICKY - Defendant/Respondent's AKA
Click on any of the below link(s) to see names that begin with the letter indicated:
TOP A - T W - W
WICKED - Defendant/Respondent's AKA
Click on any of the below link(s) to see names that begin with the letter indicated:
TOP A - T W - W
Case Information | Party Information | Proceeding Information
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Documents Filed (Filing dates listed in descending order)
12/08/2008 Complaint
· L.A. sues 18th Street gang members, seeking cash damages for Pico-Union and Westlake neighborhoods [LA Times]
· LA's Top 12 Gang-Ridden Neighborhoods [Curbed LA]
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