ALEJANDRO ESCALONA
suntimes.com
It is alarming enough that two Chicago cops are accused of taking orders from the Latin Kings, but even more worrisome is that the notorious gang-bangers might be pursuing the same general strategy the Mexican drug cartels have found to be so effective, corrupting police officers and government officials.
You might recall that Chicago officers Alex Guerrero, 41, and Antonio Martinez Jr., 40, were charged two weeks ago with helping the Latin Kings steal drug money. The two cops, according to a federal indictment, allegedly followed orders from a gang-banger and used their uniforms and badges to enter houses and pull over motorists. They would walk away with hundreds of pounds of narcotics, as well as stolen weapons and money.
The two officers then allegedly turned it all over to a member of the Latin Kings, Sisto Bernal, 45, who over time paid them at least $10,000 for their efforts. The officers are charged with doing the gang’s bidding in Chicago, East Chicago and Hammond, Ind.
Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said he was glad the two officers were arrested and he hopes this won’t happen again, which seems fair enough. We all hope this is just a case of two bad apples. But it might not be a bad idea for the feds and the Chicago police to follow up, before all else, the likely connection between Bernal and the Mexican drug cartels, which are active in the Midwest.
According to local Drug Enforcement Administration officials, when it comes down to illegal drugs in the Midwest, there is only one source: the Mexican cartels. And the Latin Kings get the drugs for resale from the narcos.
The feds just released an annual report on gangs that is even more sobering than in other recent years. The National Gang Threat Assessment 2011 report presents a terrifying picture of street gangs as major players in drug trafficking, human smuggling and prostitution, among other crimes.
The sheer numbers are mind-blowing. In the United States, according to the report, there are some 33,000 gangs, with a total membership exceeding 1.4 million. They are on the street, in prison and in outlaw motorcycle groups. That’s a 40 percent increase in gang membership from 2009.
The gangs are engaged in counterfeiting, identity theft and even the pinstriped scam of mortgage fraud, according to the report. And most troubling of all, the gangs are collaborating more than ever with Mexican drug traffickers.
They are often sophisticated criminals, not street-corner punks, who recruit others by means of the Internet and social media.
The gangs are learning from the narcos, including how to infiltrate the police and even the U.S. military. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the gang-bangers are forcing this collaboration with individual cops and soldiers the Mexican narco way: an offer of silver or lead.
McCarthy and the Chicago police had better be ready.