Home Houston Press Releases 2010 YMCA International Chosen as Recipient of Prestigious FBI Director’s 2009 Community Leadership Award
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YMCA International Chosen as Recipient of Prestigious FBI Director’s 2009 Community Leadership Award
$10,000 Reward Offered for Houston's Most Wanted Human Trafficker, Gerardo "El Gallo" Salazar

FBI Houston January 12, 2010
  • Special Agent Shauna Dunlap (713) 936-7638

Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Houston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Richard C. Powers presented YMCA of Greater Houston, International Services, with the prestigious FBI Director’s 2009 Community Leadership Award today. Constance Rossiter, YMCA’s Program Director for Trafficked Persons Assistance, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.

Established in 1990, the Director’s Community Leadership Award is presented each year by FBI field offices to individuals and organizations that have made a positive impact within their local community through service.

YMCA International is being recognized for its work with the Houston Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA), which was created in 2004 as a collaboration of state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies working together with social service organizations in order to identify and assist victims of human trafficking. YMCA International has provided services to hundreds of human trafficking victims in Houston. The range of services includes financial, medical, educational, housing assistance, and mental health counseling. The YMCA also provides legal assistance with visas and other immigration issues to these victims. While providing these critical services to victims, the YMCA additionally facilitates communication with law enforcement and works with law enforcement in the pursuit of justice against traffickers.

On April 27, 2009, Maximino Mondragon was sentenced to 13 years for his role in a scheme to smuggle women and girls from Central America into the United States and hold them in a condition of forced labor in our area. He was the last of eight defendants to be sentenced in the case in which 99 victims were identified and rescued. This is the largest human trafficking case in the continental U.S. to date. During this investigation, YMCA International promptly reached out to several non-governmental organizations both inside and outside the Houston area to provide critical assistance to these victims.

On April 3, 2008, Rozina Mohd Ali pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court here for holding a woman from Indonesia in forced labor as her domestic servant for a period of approximately four years.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ali, of Sugarland, was ordered to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $72,676. YMCA International assisted this victim with obtaining financial advice and establishing sound financial practices to safeguard the victim’s monetary compensation. The case marked the first time a human trafficking victim received monetary compensation in the State of Texas.

Gerardo “El Gallo” Salazar remains Houston’s most wanted human trafficking fugitive. On November 9, 2005, Salazar was charged federally with sex trafficking of children. Salazar and others would allegedly romance young Mexican females and convince them to come to the United States as their girlfriends. Once here, Salazar and his traffickers allegedly forced their victims into prostitution through beatings, threats, deception, and other forms of coercion. YMCA International provided these victims with housing, transportation, educational, and legal assistance. Today, SAC Powers announced a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the location and arrest of Salazar. The reward is being offered in addition to the $5,000 standing Crime Stoppers of Houston award offered in this case.

YMCA International actively participates in community outreach activities in order to increase public awareness and identify victims of human trafficking. The YMCA of Greater Houston has trained over 200 law enforcement officers and 110 attorneys in human trafficking matters.

“YMCA International’s tireless efforts in the area of human trafficking prevention, education, and victim assistance have had a significant impact on the Houston community,” said SAC Powers. “The victims in these cases are without any support system, and YMCA International steps up to provide the essentials that bring them some measure of stability and security. Having a stable and secure environment for victims facilitates a more successful prosecution, so that ruthless individuals who trade human beings as if they were commodities can be brought to justice.”

SAC Powers announced the award during a press conference held at the Houston office of the FBI earlier today. On behalf of YMCA International, Ms. Rossiter will travel to Washington, D.C., along with other recipients from around the nation, to be recognized by FBI Director Robert Mueller in a ceremony at FBI Headquarters on March 19, 2010.