By Danny Fenster
ticklethewire.com
The highest-ranking leader in the United States of the notorious street gang the Latin Kings was sentenced in Chicago to 60 years in federal prison on Wednesday, according to a statement from the FBI.
Augustin Zambrano, 51, was given the statutory maximum. He was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and other charges involving drug trafficking in April of last year. Zambrano was a “Corona” of the Almighty Latin King Nation, according to the FBI, responsible for overseeing and orchestrating “the illegal activities of all factions of the powerful street gang,” the FBI says. The gang has around 10,000 members in Illinois alone.
Zambrano went by the names “Big Tino,” “Tino,” “Old Man,” and “Viejo.”
He and three co-defendants were convicted of running a criminal enterprise to enrich themselves through drug-trafficking, preserving and protecting their power, territory and revenue with murder, attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, extortion, and other acts of violence.
“This investigation has held to hold the leaders of the Latin Kings like Zambrano responsible for their iron-fisted leadership of a criminal enterprise responsible for murders and attempted murders. As the CEO of this gang, Zambrano bears responsibility for its criminal acts,” said Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald in a statement.
Prosecutors fought for a maximum sentence by saying that Zambrano “chose violence at every turn.”
