Columbus Gang Member Sentenced to 96 Months for Racketeering Conspiracy

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Tysin L. Gordon, 30, of Columbus, was sentenced to 96 months in prison in connection with a racketeering case involving the organized criminal enterprise known as the Short North Posse.

Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Brad Earman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.

A total of 20 individuals were indicted in the racketeering case with charges that included murders, attempted murders, drug trafficking, weapons offenses, witness tampering, extortion and robbery.

Gordon pleaded guilty on January 15 to one count of racketeering conspiracy. He is the first defendant in this case to be sentenced.

A United States District Court jury convicted five co-defendants of racketeering and murder earlier this month. After a two-month trial, the group of defendants was convicted on all counts, which accounted for 10 of 14 previously unsolved murders.

A second trial is scheduled to begin on July 11 and a third trial is currently scheduled to begin on September 26 for the remaining defendants.

Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the two-year long investigation by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, Columbus Police, Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott’s Office, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s Office, Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx, Licking County Prosecutor Kenneth Oswalt, Muskingum County Prosecutor D. Michael Haddox, Ross County Prosecutor Matthew S. Schmidt, law enforcement leaders from those counties, officials of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys David DeVillers, Kevin Kelley and Brian Martinez, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jimmy Lowe with Franklin County Prosecutor O’Brien’s Office, who are prosecuting the case.