- 'Beat Down Posse': Second leader convicted

OFF THE WIRE
By Tad Vezner
tvezner@pioneerpress.comtwincities.com
A Hennepin County jury convicted the son of the alleged head of the "Beat Down Posse" of a slate of felony charges.
Joseph Duane "Little Joe" Gustafson, 37, was convicted by a Hennepin County District Court on Tuesday, March 20, of racketeering, terroristic threats, kidnapping and multiple counts of mortgage fraud, drug trafficking and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The jury acquitted him of second-degree assault.
His father, Joseph Robert "Big Joe" Gustafson, 56, a former bail bondsman from North Minneapolis, was sentenced this month to 15 years in prison on charges of racketeering, kidnapping, assault, arson and accessory to aggravated assault, after the fact.
Hennepin County prosecutors say "Big Joe," a member of the Hells Angel Motorcycle Club, and "Little Joe" were the two primary leaders of the "Posse," a gang that had terrorized Minneapolis' North Side for at least two decades, beating drug dealers to steal their money and burning down one property for insurance money.
Joseph Duane Gustafson will be sentenced April 24.
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_20216326/beat-down-posse-second-leader-convicted