Mount Vernon Street Gang Charged in Federal Court with Racketeering, Narcotics, and Firearms Offenses
By Office of Joon H. Kim, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Oct. 25, 2017: Joon H. Kim, the acting United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, Anthony A. Scarpino Jr., Westchester County district attorney, and William F. Sweeney Jr., assistant director-in-charge of the New York Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the unsealing of an indictment charging eight members of the Mount Vernon Goonies street gang with various crimes relating to racketeering, narcotics, and firearms offenses.
The defendants have been charged as a result of their membership in the "Goonies" street gang, which operated in the City of Mount Vernon, New York. They were arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Lisa M. Smith on Thursday, October 19, 2017, in White Plains federal court.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: "As alleged, the eight members and associates of a violent Mount Vernon street gang charged today engaged in attempted murder, drug dealing, and firearms offenses. One of our most important missions, as federal prosecutors, is to investigate and prosecute street gangs that threaten our communities through violence and narcotics trafficking, as the Goonies allegedly did in Mount Vernon."
Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said: "This gang was allegedly engaged in serious criminal activity that included shooting incidents, armed robberies, gun possession, and narcotics distribution. We are pleased that this is now coming to an end. I want to thank our partners at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District and the New York office of the FBI for their unstinting dedication and determination that led to this indictment and today’s arrests."
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: "As alleged, the motives of this gang were sinister and criminal, using violence and illegal drugs to intimidate the community. The FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force works diligently with our law enforcement partners every day to stop these gangs and keep them from negatively impacting communities."
According to the indictment,1 unsealed in White Plains federal court:
From 2007 to 2017, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, OVERTON, BLANTON, DINHAM, DIXON, JONES, SINCLAIR, and SMITH were members or associates of a racketeering enterprise known as the "Goonies." In order to fund the enterprise, protect and expand its interests, and promote its standing, members and associates of the Goonies committed, conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence, including attempted murder and robbery; they conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute narcotics; and they obtained, possessed, and used firearms, including by brandishing and firing them. BLANTON, COLLIER, DINHAM, DIXON, and JONES also conspired with one another, and certain other members of the Goonies, to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and marijuana.
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1The entirety of the text of the indictment, and the description of the indictment set forth above, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
