LOS ANGELES – A federal criminal defense attorney has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for his conviction on racketeering and money laundering offenses committed on behalf of the Mexican Mafia and the 18th Street gang.
Isaac Guillen, 52, received the 84-month sentence from United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson. Guillen had previously admitted to using the shield of the attorney-client privilege to relay communications between convicted Mexican Mafia member Francisco ‘Puppet’ Martinez and the Columbia Lil’ Cycos (CLCS) clique of the 18th Street gang.
With Guillen’s help, Martinez was able to continue running the CLCS from behind the walls of the United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado. Guillen also laundered more than $1.3 million in drug and extortion proceeds on behalf of the organization.
The CLCS used violence and intimidation to control narcotics distribution in an area adjoining MacArthur Park in the Westlake District of Los Angeles. The gang made tens of thousands of dollars a week through its collection of rent from narcotics suppliers and street dealers.
A street vendor who refused to make a $50 rent payment to the CLCS was targeted to be killed in a shooting on September 15, 2007. The man survived despite being shot four times, but a 23-day-old infant sleeping in a stroller next to the vendor was struck and killed.
Guillen was previously disbarred by the State Bar of California in late 2010, following his conviction. The CLCS racketeering case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles Police Department.
The 43 members and associates of the CLCS who were charged in a 2009 federal racketeering indictment have seen 37 defendants convicted in either federal or state court. The remaining six defendants are fugitives.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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