Jose Douglass Castellano, Racketeering Conspiracy, New York 2026

Brooklyn, New York – In a major blow to the 18th Street gang, Jose Douglass Castellano, also known as “Chino,” was sentenced to more than 35 years’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy. This sentence brings an end to a sprawling racketeering conspiracy that involved multiple murders, shootings, and other gang activity.

The sentencing occurred at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, with United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall presiding over the case. Castellano was convicted of participating in the October 25, 2017 murder of 20-year-old Jonathan Figueroa in Saugerties, New York, as well as other crimes.

This sentencing is part of a larger effort to dismantle the 18th Street gang, which is a well-known and well-established international criminal organization. The gang has members and associates residing throughout New York State, including Queens and Long Island, as well as elsewhere throughout the United States.

Castellano is the third and final gang leader to be sentenced under a seventh superseding indictment. Junior Zelaya Canales, also known as “Terco,” a Queens-based regional gang leader, and Walter Fernando Alfaro Pineda, also known as “Clever,” a Texas-based national gang leader, were each sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment in February and March 2026, respectively.

The investigation into the 18th Street gang was a collaborative effort involving the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other law enforcement agencies.

According to court filings and proceedings, 18th Street members regularly engage in murder, attempted murder, assault, extortion, illegal drug and firearms trafficking, false identification document production, witness tampering, and money laundering.

United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. stated that the defendants were high-ranking members of an international criminal organization fueled by violence and fear, and that the significant sentences send the message that the Office will never waiver in its efforts to eradicate the scourge of gang violence.

The 18th Street gang is a well-established international criminal organization and violent street gang with members and associates residing throughout New York State, including Queens and Long Island, and elsewhere throughout the United States.

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