Defendant Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Violations of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act, the Federal Gun Control and Controlled Substances Acts

Torey Richardson, age 22, was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk after pleading guilty to violations of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act and the Federal Gun Control and Controlled Substances Acts.

Torey Richardson was sentenced to 135 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release. Richardson pled guilty to count one, RICO conspiracy; count two, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over 280 grams cocaine base; and count five, conspiracy to possess firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence and drug trafficking offenses.

This case arose out of a joint investigation by FBI, ATF, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. This investigation targeted an area that exhibited a disproportionate amount of violent crimes and narcotics trafficking. During the course of the investigation, specific individuals were identified as the main perpetrators of many of the violent acts and much of the narcotics distribution. Federal and local law enforcement officers interviewed witnesses and confidential informants, as well as state defendants, relative to the targeted individuals. It was revealed that a group of individuals operated in various areas of Harvey Louisiana, specifically the neighborhoods known as Scottsdale and Haydel. This group controlled these areas for their narcotics distribution activities through violence and through threats of violence, to include murder, attempted murder, obstruction, and assaults. They were referred to as the Harvey Hustlers and/or Murder Squad.

The Murder Squad, or MS, was a faction of the Harvey Hustlers composed primarily of individuals residing in the Harvey, Louisiana area of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. While they primarily operated on the Westbank of Jefferson Parish, members conducted business in other parts of the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Harvey Hustlers, also referred to as HH, originated in the Harvey area in the mid-1980s. Members of the organization “hustled,” meaning they distributed illegal narcotics. The original goal of the Harvey Hustlers was to make money from sales of illegal narcotics.