Charles Lee Roberts, Racketeering, Texas 2013

Texas Aryan Brotherhood Leader Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison

HOUSTON – In a major blow to the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, high-ranking member Charles Lee Roberts, aka ‘Jive,’ was sentenced to 360 months in prison for his role in the gang’s racketeering conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge Sim Lake handed down the sentence in the Southern District of Texas, in addition to five years of supervised release. Roberts, 68, of Beaumont, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering offenses (RICO) on May 10, 2013.

According to court documents, Roberts and other ABT gang members and associates agreed to commit multiple acts of murder, robbery, arson, kidnapping, and narcotics trafficking on behalf of the ABT gang. The gang, established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system, modeled itself after the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang.

Court documents allege that the ABT enforced its rules and promoted discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, arson, assault, robbery, and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise.

Roberts admitted to being a senior leader of the ABT, trafficking in methamphetamine and heroin, and being involved in several homicides on behalf of the ABT. He is one of 36 defendants charged with conducting racketeering activity through the ABT criminal enterprise.

The case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General; sheriff’s offices in Harris, Tarrant, Atascosa, Orange, and Waller Counties; police departments in Alvin, Carrollton, and Mesquite Texas; as well as the Montgomery and Atascosa County District Attorney’s Offices.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas and the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section. Roberts’ sentence is a significant victory in the ongoing effort to dismantle the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas and bring its leaders to justice.

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