Gang Member Sentenced to Five Years in Prison on Drug and Firearm Charges

PROVIDENCE, RI – A Central Falls man investigated in a Project Safe Neighborhoods investigation by the Central Falls Police Department and the Rhode Island FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force for his connection to a neighborhood-based street gang involved in drug trafficking, firearm violations, assaults, and shootings, was sentenced today to five years in federal prison on drug and firearm charges.

Elton Andrade, aka “MT Flex,” 21, an admitted member of the “Money Team” street-gang, and who repeatedly appeared on social media accounts related to his gang activity, was arrested one day after Central Falls Police Detectives and members of the Safe Streets Gang Task Force executed a court-authorized search of a Central Falls residence where they seized from Andrade’s bedroom two bags containing a total of 28.53 grams of crack cocaine, two loaded stolen firearms, and $1,503 in cash.

Andrade was arrested on February 27, 2018, after being surveilled by law enforcement leaving a Seekonk, Mass., motel and taking a taxi to Central Falls. He was arrested by Central Falls Police during a traffic stop of the taxi.

According to information presented to the court, many members of “Money Team,” a.k.a. “Mile Boyz” a.k.a. “Square Mile Boyz,” are aspiring rap artists and associate themselves with a record label managed by a Money Team member called Cash on Demand Records. On numerous social media sites related to “Money Team,” members repeatedly displayed firearms, illegal narcotics, and gang signs. Andrade repeatedly appeared throughout the social media accounts and in Cash on Demand music videos.

Andrade, who has been detained since his arrest, pled guilty on February 18, 2020, to possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base and two counts of possession of a stolen firearm. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. to 60 months in federal prison to be followed by 4 years’ supervised release.

Andrade’s sentence is announced United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman, Central Falls Police Chief Colonel Daniel J. Barzykowski, and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.

The Rhode Island FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force consists of agents and law enforcement officers from the FBI, Central Falls Police Department, Cranston Police Department, Pawtucket Police Department, Providence Police Department, Woonsocket Police Department, Rhode Island State Police, and the Rhode Island National Guard.

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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