Bloods Gangster Jatiek ‘Tiek’ Smith Takes 12 Years for NYC Fire Mitigation Racket

Bloods Gangster Jatiek ‘Tiek’ Smith Takes 12 Years for NYC Fire Mitigation Racket

Jatiek Smith, a/k/a ‘Tiek,’ was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role as the leader of a violent and extortionate racketeering enterprise that terrorized the fire restoration industry in New York City.

At a bench trial in December 2023, Smith was convicted of racketeering and extortion conspiracies. U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff handed down the sentence.

According to prosecutors, Smith, a 39-year-old member of the Bloods gang, joined First Response Cleaning Corp. in 2019 and quickly took control of its operations. He recruited other gang members and associates to join him, using violence, threats, and extortion to dominate the industry.

Smith’s crew imposed rules that allocated a preferential share of fires to First Response, backed by threats, including threats to kill children, and violence. Industry participants who solicited fires in violation of Smith’s rules were assaulted in broad daylight.

Through threats of violence, actual violence, and economic fear, Smith and his crew extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from other industry participants. Smith maximized his profits by concealing illegal conditions in properties and defrauding insurance companies.

Smith, of Staten Island, New York, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $354,546.44. Restitution will be determined at a later date.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the New York City Police Department, and the New York City Department of Investigation.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rushmi Bhaskaran, Marguerite B. Colson, Elizabeth A. Espinosa, and Adam S. Hobson are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Grayson Glogoff and Ananya Sankar.