A gang member who helped manage a coalition of three rival northeast Los Angeles street gangs brought together by an imprisoned member of the Mexican Mafia was sentenced Monday to 25 years in federal prison.
Manuel “Boxer” Vallejo, 36, of Los Angeles was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez on federal racketeering and drug trafficking charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Even if I stole God’s calculator, I couldn’t add up all the mistakes I’ve made,” Vallejo told the court in downtown Los Angeles.
Vallejo was among almost two-dozen defendants named nearly three years ago in a federal racketeering indictment describing the unification of three gangs under Mexican Mafia member Arnold “Arnie” Gonzales.
The 2010 “peace treaty” imposed by Gonzales brought together the Frogtown, Toonerville, and Rascals gangs to control the narcotics trade and other illegal activities in an area that ran along the Los Angeles River from Elysian Park to Burbank.
Vallejo, a leader and “shot caller” of the Toonerville gang, was recorded by authorities describing the criminal enterprise as a “New World Order” or “United Neighborhoods,” akin to a criminal United Nations.
As part of his plea agreement, Vallejo admitted that he was one of the principal members of the conspiracy and, in that capacity, collected “taxes” from drug dealers within the area controlled by the coalition.
He also personally participated in selling and helping arrange the sale of narcotics within enterprise territory, thereby generating revenue for Gonzales and the coalition.
“The defendant in this case has been held accountable for the violent and egregious acts he perpetrated upon our community,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna. “This case should put violent gang members on notice that our federal agents and prosecutors are coming for them.”
Out of the 22 defendants named in the indictment, all but three pleaded guilty, with most of those who have been sentenced receiving substantial terms in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The three remaining defendants in the case face trial this summer.