Gang Member Sentenced to Over 24 Years in Prison for Federal Racketeering Conviction
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 22, 2009 |
LAS VEGAS—Aryan Warrior gang member Kenneth Krum, aka “Yum Yum,” 40, was sentenced on Monday, December 21, 2009, to 292 months in federal prison and six years of supervised release, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Krum was convicted by a federal jury in July of federal racketeering and drug conspiracy charges, consisting of multiple acts of murder, attempted murder, extortion, operating an illegal gambling business, identity theft and fraud, and drug trafficking.
Krum received an enhanced sentence because the Court found that he held a leadership role in the gang, possessed a firearm, and had manufactured methamphetamine. Krum was released from state custody in Nevada in March 2005, and continued his participation and leadership in the Aryan Warriors organization in the Las Vegas area, which included the distribution of drugs and committing various acts of violence.
All but one of the five gang members convicted in July have now been sentenced. Charles Gensemer, 45, and Robert Young, 31, were sentenced on December 9, 2009, to 35 years and 17 years in prison, respectively. James Wallis, aka “Gargoyle,” 48, was sentenced in November to 25 years in prison. Michael Wayne Yost, aka “Big Mike,” 55, is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2010.
Fourteen defendants were originally charged in the case in 2007. Seven pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 16 years, and Ronald “Joey” Sellers is awaiting trial. In addition, Michael Kennedy, an admitted leader of the Aryan Warriors pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy in a related case and awaits sentencing. Michael Calabrese, an associate of the Aryan Warriors, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony gun possession and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
During the six-week jury trial that extended into July, the government established that the “Aryan Warriors,” is a criminal organization that operates inside the Nevada prison system and in certain communities in Nevada. The organization offers protection to white inmates if they join the criminal enterprise, and they assert control over other prisoners through violence and extortion. They also corrupt guards, extort money and favors from prisoners’ family members, distribute illegal drugs, and run extensive illegal gambling operations. Members adhere to written manifestos, introduced into evidence, which set forth positions or ranks within the enterprise and which direct members and prospects to gain access to computer records, prison records and court records. Members and associates of the Aryan Warriors elicit communications with prison staff for the purpose of identifying inmates and prison staff whom they perceive as contrary to their racial cause and a danger to their illegal activities.
Specific evidence introduced at trial demonstrated that Krum became an Aryan Warrior member and obtained the position of Lieutenant while in state custody. Upon his release from prison, Krum immediately began working with other Aryan Warrior members in establishing a "Street Program," the purpose of which was to strengthen the power of the criminal enterprise. Krum organized the distribution of methamphetamine in Las Vegas and assisted other members in the production of methamphetamine.
As a criminal enterprise, the defendants were also charged in the RICO Conspiracy with murdering inmate Jacob Armstrong at the Nevada state prison in Ely and committing numerous violent assaults both inside and outside the state prison system, including the stabbing of co-defendant Guy Almony at the North Las Vegas Detention Center while awaiting trial.
The cases were investigated by the FBI and Nevada Department of Corrections Inspector General’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kathleen Bliss and Nicholas D. Dickinson and Thom Gover of the Nevada Attorney General’s Office. Other agencies that have contributed to the investigated include the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Nye County Sheriff’s Department.