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An indictment calling for the arrest of Samuel Carlos and Anthony Jones, two “Boss Playa Family” (BPF) associates was unsealed on Wednesday. U.S. District Attorney Preet Bharara described BPF as a “scourge on Mount Vernon.”
Carlos and Jones join BPF members Jamel Upson, Antoine Little, Tyrone McCallum, Portland Ramseur, Gorham Valentine and Jason White, who were arrested in August last year when they were charged in the original indictment.
Bharara, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore and FBI Assistant Director Diego Rodriguez announced the unsealing of the indictment on Wednesday. Some of the gang members have been charged for their roles in a racketeering conspiracy and on firearms charges, while others have been charged with murder in the aid of racketeering and narcotics conspiracy.
“As alleged, members and associates of the BPF street gang wreaked havoc in and around Mount Vernon, engaging in shootings, attempted shootings, larcenies and narcotics trafficking,” Bharara stated. “A scourge on Mount Vernon, the BPF gang allegedly unleashed a wave of violence in the city’s streets.”
According to the unsealed indictment, the BPF gang operated principally in Mount Vernon from 2007 to 2014, with “members and associates (seeking) to enhance the gang’s power, protect and expand its territory and enrich its members through a wide array of criminal activities including murder, attempted murder, larceny, arson and the distribution of cocaine and marijuana.”
“As noted in the indictment, although it may take time, the facts will come out,” Rodriguez added. “Persons, such as Carlos and Jones, who have allegedly engaged in a racketeering conspiracy and firearms offenses, will have to answer for their crimes.”
The indictment notes that BPF was feuding over territory in the area of Seventh Avenue and Sandford Boulevard with rival gang, the “Goonies,” which turned bloody more than once. Twice in 2008, Upson, with the help of unknown BPF associates, allegedly murdered two members of the Goonies in the city.
All eight defendants are facing up to 20 years in prison, while Upson is looking at a minimum of 25 years, or a maximum of life in prison. DiFiore said that today’s arrests are the continuation of efforts to keep Mount Vernon residents safe.
“As evidenced by these most recent indictments, our priority has been and will continue to be enhancing the safety, security and quality of life for all the hard working residents of Mount Vernon,” she said. “We have worked continuously over the past several years to pursue members and associates of this gang and now as a result of the collaborate efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement authorities, these defendants are being held accountable for years of criminal activity they now stand accused of.”
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