Gang Member Admits to Racketeering Charge

NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang admitted to his role in a racketeering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Tre Byrd, aka “Bands,” aka “G Bandz,” 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton on Oct. 3, 2023, to a superseding indictment that charged him with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2015 through Sept. 22, 2022, Byrd was a member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips, a criminal enterprise responsible for acts of violence and the distribution of controlled substances in the District of New Jersey and elsewhere.

In March 2019, Byrd worked with other members and associates of the gang to murder a gang rival, who was fatally shot on March 20, 2019, in Irvington, New Jersey. On June 20, 2020, Byrd and at least one other member and associate of the gang robbed a victim at gunpoint in Newark.

The defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 7, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz; special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins; and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller; investigators of the U.S. Marshals Service, under direction of Marshal Juan Mattos; the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Police Division Director Tracy Bowers; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II; the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé; the Bloomfield Police Department, under the direction of Director of Public Safety Samuel A. DeMaio; the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura; the East Orange Police Department, under the direction of Chief Phyllis L. Bindi; the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Earl J. Graves; the Edison Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Tom Bryan; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William A. Daniel; the Spotswood Police Department, under the direction of Chief Philip Corbisiero; and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Fugitive and Missing Person Task Force, which includes members of the FBI, with the investigations leading to the charges in the Rollin 60’s Neighborhood Crips investigation.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Special Prosecutions Division.