Sneed: Authorities learn of deadly gang mission
By MICHAEL SNEED msneed@suntimes.com May 10, 2013 8:46PM
Updated: May 11, 2013 12:48AM
Sneed has learned a street gang directive ordering a hit squad to kill law enforcement officers was intercepted by the Cook County Sheriff’s Intelligence unit.
The deadly order, which came via the Cook County Jail grapevine, claims the leadership of the Satan Disciples street gang has called for the formation of an assassination unit entitled the “Guerilla Mafia Cartel” which would be assigned the deadly mission.
Sneed is told the Sheriff’s Intelligence Center gleaned word of the directive and dispatched a “request for information” last week alerting the Chicago Police Department and the FBI.
“We had enough information to deem it necessary to put an alert out to other law enforcement agencies,” said Frank Bilecki, Cook County sheriff spokesman.
The directive stated the sheriff’s office “has learned of a Satan Disciples “Hit Squad” forming from within the gang which has reportedly been sanctioned by the Satan Disciples senior leadership.
“The ‘Hit Squad’ specific purpose is to kill a law enforcement officer. [It] is reportedly called ‘the Guerilla Mafia Cartel.’”
A subsequent “officer safety alert” was dispatched by the Chicago Police Department, a copy of which was obtained by Sneed.
“The sheriff’s department deemed this important enough to dispatch the alert to 132 Cook County municipalities — as well as the Chicago Police Department and the FBI,” said Bilecki.
“This information is raw and very preliminary,” said a top Chicago police source. “But it is better to be safe than sorry.”
Ald. Ed Burke, a former Chicago cop, also received the safety alert and praised the police intelligence for sharing it both locally and statewide.
“I think law enforcement agencies are becoming more sensitive to the importance of sharing information — especially after what happened in Boston, where the FBI was faulted for not sharing the intelligence they had on the marathon bomber with the Boston police,” Burke told Sneed.
“The cooperation we have with local, county, and statewide agencies is open and free flowing and not an example of the turf jealousies that marked the Boston failure.”
The Sheriff’s Intelligence Center, which was formed by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart six months ago, gathers crime intelligence inside and outside the walls of Cook County Jail and acts as a repository of crime incidents countywide.
“It’s a tool we provide for law enforcement which allows for more of a global approach,” said Bilecki.
“Splinter gangs are breaking off from more established street gangs and not following the more traditional rules,” he said. “There are also factions of street gangs. For instance, the Latin Saints are a faction of the Satan Disciples.”
In April, Michael Orozco, 14, was fatally shot in the Pilsen neighborhood, allegedly by a reputed Latin Saints gang member.
The primary suspect, Javier Garza, was charged with first-degree murder. Damien Garza, who allegedly drove the getaway car, was also arrested and held on a $1 million bond.
Prosecutors claim the two suspects, both reputed members of the Latin Saints, drove into Satan Disciple territory specifically to kill a rival gang member as payback for the death of Javier Garza’s father in 2001.
Police claim Orozco was a gang member, which his mother denied.
“It’s not uncommon for police to be threatened, but good, timely and actionable intelligence helps us deal with threats which could be deadly serious,” said Bilecki.
“Saving the life of a law enforcement officer who is saving lives every day should always be a top priority.”
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