NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Authorities arrested on Tuesday dozens of alleged members of two gangs accused of peddling crack cocaine in Yonkers, New York, and assaulting or killing rivals who encroached on their turf, officials said.
Fifty-nine members and associates of the Elm Street Wolves and the Cliff Street Gangsters were charged in indictments unsealed on Tuesday with crimes including narcotics distribution and illegal possession of firearms in Yonkers, a city just north of New York City.
Three of the men also are charged with murder.
“They retaliated against anyone who dared to encroach on their territory, and they brought murder, mayhem and fear to our communities,” Janice Fedaryck, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said in a statement announcing the indictments.
The Elm Street Wolves have been selling crack cocaine in the blocks surrounding their namesake street since at least 2000, according to the indictments.
They are accused of robbing rival dealers at gunpoint, particularly after an increase in the wholesale price of cocaine cut into their earnings, and of beating, stabbing and shooting members of other gangs.
Steven Knowles, 23, who is described in the indictment as the gang’s chief enforcer, is accused along with Michael Andrews, 24, and Dexter Granger, 22, of driving to a housing project in July 2009 and shooting at members of the Strip Boys, a rival gang, killing one member.
Charged along with 47 members of the Elm Street Wolves were a dozen members of the Cliff Street Gangsters who allegedly peddled crack and marijuana nearby, authorities said.
The arrests follow an 18-month investigation by the FBI, Yonkers Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The sweep of arrests began at 5 a.m. local time, said a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office.
If convicted of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, the defendants each could face 10 years to life in prison.
Patrick McCormack, a lieutenant police detective, said taking so many alleged gang members off the streets would have an “immediate impact,” and authorities hoped it would act as a deterrent to young people who are tempted to join gangs.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Greg McCune)
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