Lead Defendant in Texas Syndicate Case Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole in RICO Case

DALLAS—The first defendant to be sentenced in the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) case charging 14 members of the violent Texas Syndicate (TS) prison gang with conspiring to participate in a violent enterprise responsible for murders, attempted murders, conspiracies to commit murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and other crimes in North Texas and other areas, was sentenced in federal court in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Roy Arredondo, Jr., a/k/a "West," 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to life in prison without parole. 

Arredondo, was the sillon, or chairman, of the Dallas TS from 2003 until his arrest in April 2005, although there are some reports that he was the sillon as early as 2001. Arredondo, who pled guilty in March to conspiracy to conduct the affairs of a racketeering enterprise, has TS-related tattoos, including the overlaid letters "T" and "S" on his chest, and had a major role in several violent crimes committed by the Dallas TS, including the murders of Ernesto "Neto" Glavan, Peter Paul Pecina, Miguel "Big Mike" Elizondo, Mitchell "Cisco" Lozano, and Juan Silva Barrera, and the attempted murder of Ruben Rocha. Arredondo also admitted that he was responsible for trafficking drugs, including approximately 270 kilograms of cocaine. 

Members of the TS are bound by a set of strict rules which ensure loyalty and participation in the enterprise's criminal activities and are subject to strict and harsh discipline, including death, for violating the rules. The rules require that a member continue his participation in the organization even after his release from prison. Membership is for life.

Although TS rules exclude "shady" or "devious" characters, members who commit murders, aggravated assaults, robberies, or traffic in illegal drugs are not classified as being of bad character. Instead, this category is interpreted more narrowly to exclude child molesters and those who fail to follow the rules of the TS. 

Members and associates of the TS committed crimes to achieve the enterprise's economic goal of making money as well as to enforce the rules of the organization. Victims of the violent crimes were often those who transgressed TS rules regardless of whether it was done knowingly or unknowingly.  

The remaining 13 defendants have pled guilty; all but two have pled guilty to the RICO statute. All will be sentenced within the next two months.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the excellent investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Dallas Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chad Meacham and Jerri Sims.

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