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The 'Largest Gang Takedown in United States History'
At least that's what U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien said this morning at a news conference about this today's large sweep that indicted around 150 members of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang (only some were actually arrested). The operation was part of a racketeering indictment, 476 “overt acts” in all, that includes crimes ranging from drug dealing and murder.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
