Jury Convicts Three of RICO Conspiracy in Texas Mexican Mafia Trial Conspiracy Charge Alleges Responsibility for 22 San Antonio-Area Murders
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 20, 2010 |
United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in San Antonio, a federal jury found three members of the Texas Mexican Mafia (TMM) guilty of conspiring to violate the federal Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute. TMM General Jacinto "Cache" Navajar and TMM Lieutenants Jose "Bam Bam" Martinez and Mike Garcia were the last of 34 TMM leaders arrested in 2008 to be convicted; the others all entered guilty pleas prior to trial.
Jurors found that the defendants conspired together since September 2000 to further their criminal enterprise by committing 22 murders, two attempted murders, robbery, and extortion, plus distributing heroin and cocaine. Testimony during trial revealed that a substantial number of the violent acts were carried out in retaliation for either cooperating with authorities or otherwise undermining the efforts of the organization.
Specifically, jurors found that:
- Navajar was responsible for the attempted murder of Ernesto "Neto" Rodriguez on June 23, 2007;
- Garcia was responsible for the shooting deaths in San Antonio of Roy Vera on December 21, 2004, and Rudy "Scooby" Contreras on January 4, 2005; and,
- Martinez was responsible for five San Antonio murders, namely, the September 12, 2003 murder of Raymond Rodriguez and the 2004 murders of Mercy Brooks (September 18), Tony Rodriguez (November 2), Juan Perez (December 5), and Roy Vera, as well as the murder of Joe Santos (November 27) in Austin.
Navajar, Martinez and Garcia each face up to life in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for August 26, 2010, before United States District Judge Orlando Garcia.
This Organized Crime/Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case resulted from a three-year-long investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Antonio Police Department, Bexar County Sheriff’s Department with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Texas Department of Public Safety - Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, Houston Police Department, Austin Police Department, and Hondo Police Department.