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The unsealing of the five suspects' indictments was announced on Thursday, June 8 by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
The five men charged with participating in the string of violent armed robberies are:
- Bronx resident Dagoberto Soto-Ramirez, age 41, also known as "Pito";
- Queens resident Saul Arismendy De La Cruz, age 31, also known as "Nene" and "Venom";
- Queens resident Edwin Luciano Rodriguez-Genao, age 48, also known as "Pantalla";
- Queens resident Santiago Xavier Maldonado, age 43, also known as "Xavier";
- Queens resident Diego Muelas-Gonzalez, age 26, also known as "Menor."
According to federal officials, between 2017 and 2022, Soto-Ramirez organized a crew that would commit both residential burglaries and home invasions and would often target Asian-American small business owners.
This crew, which would commit these crimes while armed with guns and other weapons, would steal money, jewelry, and other belongings from homes in numerous states across the country. This included homes in Westchester, according to Westchester County Police.
Rodriguez-Genao, Maldonado, and Muelas-Gonzalez all took part in the scheme, which included the use of false identification, bank fraud, and laundering theft proceeds. Soto-Ramirez was also charged with committing two gunpoint home invasion robberies in Queens.
Additionally, De La Cruz, a former officer and then detective for the NYPD, found his way into being involved in the crew after he was bribed by Soto-Ramirez and other crew members into helping them escape arrest, federal officials said.
All of the suspects besides Soto-Ramirez were arrested on Thursday morning, June 8, and arraigned in court. Soto-Ramirez has not yet been arrested.
The five men are each charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Soto-Ramirez is also charged with:
- Two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison;
- Two counts of possession of a firearm that was brandished in furtherance of a crime of violence, each of which carries a minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.
US Attorney Damian Williams condemned the crew's crimes.
"Corruption, violence, and racially targeted crime are intolerable, and this office stands with our law enforcement partners in the fight against all three," he said, adding that Soto-Ramirez remains at large.
Anyone with information regarding Soto-Ramirez's whereabouts is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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