Bloods Gang Leader Pleads Guilty in New Jersey to Racketeering Conspiracy

NEWARK, NJ—The leader of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang admitted today to conspiring to distribute narcotics in Paterson and Newark, N.J., as part of a racketeering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Vincent Young, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of a second superseding indictment filed against him in January 2011, which charged him, along with many other members of the gang, with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Young entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.

“Vincent Young admitted today that he conspired with fellow gang members to run a criminal organization—the violent set of the Bloods he brought to New Jersey,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “Young was responsible for orchestrating the flow of drugs, money, and blood in our streets, even from behind bars. Gangs destroy both individual promise and community security, and we will continue to pursue perpetrators of gang violence, wherever they operate, to keep New Jersey’s neighborhoods safe.”

William F. Sweeney, Assistant Special Agent In Charge of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, said, “Young’s plea is a significant disruption against the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims sets and was only made possible by combining the dedication, experience and capabilities each agency brings to the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. The Task Force will continue to target violent gangs operating throughout New Jersey.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Young is the Triple Original Gangster, or “OOOG,” of the Fruit Town Brims set of the Bloods and its subset, the Brick City Brims, and the highest member of the set in the state of New Jersey. Young was a member of the Los Angeles-based Fruit Town Brims established during the early 1970s, and was responsible for founding the gang in New Jersey. The rules governing the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set require members to learn and be quizzed about the history of the West Coast Bloods (known as the “69”), including Young’s life history—which details his childhood, the crimes he committed, and his struggles against the Crips street gang. Failure to recite this history to the satisfaction of a ranking member could result in a member being physically disciplined.

Young admitted that he used several different unauthorized cell phones while in Northern State Prison in Newark to maintain and increase his position in the gang and conspire with fellow gang members in narcotics conspiracies in Newark and Paterson from 1999 to 2008. He also admitted that he directed members of the gang to sell heroin and crack cocaine and then wire him the proceeds of the transactions, as well as to purchase phone cards for his unauthorized phones. Gang members would contribute profits from narcotics activities as dues required by the gang’s leadership.

As the leader of the gang in New Jersey, Young was responsible for directing other members and associates of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims Set, both in and out of prison and jail, in carrying out unlawful activities in furtherance of the enterprise’s affairs—including acts involving murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, bribery, extortion, threats of violence, trafficking in controlled substances, and intimidation of witnesses.

The racketeering conspiracy count to which Young pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Young is currently scheduled to be sentenced on November 10, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the Direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward—which includes members from the Newark Police Department, East Orange Police Department, Essex County Department of Corrections, Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, Jersey City Police Department, the New Jersey Division of Parole, and the Paterson Police Department—along with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Special Investigations Division, with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn Murray; and the Special Operations Division’s National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, under the direction of Director John Sieder, for their important roles.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa L. Jampol, Lisa Colone, and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Gregory Tomczak Esq., Montclair, N.J.