Posted on 11/12/2004 12:05:15 PM PST by LouAvul
NEW YORK (AP) - Federal prosecutors announced charges Friday against 51 alleged members of two Chinese gangs, accusing them of everything from attempted murder to immigrant smuggling and trafficking in counterfeit clothing and purses.
U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley said the gangs used violence to protect their territory and profits, and he warned people who buy counterfeit products in New York's Chinatown and elsewhere that their money is going to the underworld.
He said that if consumers knew the harm they were contributing to, they would realize it "can't possibly be worth the bargain."
Kelley said nearly 30 gang members had been arrested; the rest remained at large. He described several grisly attacks by gang members, including the shooting of one man in the head, and a beating that nearly caused a woman to lose an eye.
The gangs, he said, made tens of thousands of dollars a week, coordinating some of their crimes with associates in Asia who helped to deliver counterfeit goods or arrange the smuggling of people into the United States. The government is seeking millions of dollars in forfeitures from the defendants.
Pasquale D'Amuro, assistant director of the FBI, said the list of crimes engaged in by the gang members "reads like the basic handbook for organized crime."
(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
Turns out he wasn't that "Lucky" after all, was he?
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