Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Gang members face racketeering charges
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Two guys who started out as part of a rap group which then -- prosecutors say -- turned into one of South Florida's most violent gangs are on trial for racketeering.
The trial, which charges the pair under state laws against gangs, opened Tuesday in Palm Beach County. Prosecutors say Ernst Exavier, 25, and Jessee Thomas, 22, are connected with Top 6, a gang responsible for 150 shootings and at least 14 homicides.
Racketeering has historically been charged in organized crime cases. Prosecutors trying the case must prove only that Exavier and Thomas committed two offenses during their affiliation with the gang.
Defense attorneys say the two men are only rap musicians, and not criminals.
Authorities contend that Top 6 has about 350 members who control at least 10 predominantly Haitian or Haitian-American neighborhood-based gangs throughout Florida.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
