Feds expand Hawaiian Gardens gang prosecution

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles indicted another two dozen people Wednesday in what the government calls the nation’s “largest-ever gang investigation.” KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

Federal prosecutors have indicted almost 200 people in connection with their four-year investigation into the “Varrio Hawaiian Gardens” gang. They’ve charged alleged gang members and associates with murder, drug trafficking, extortion and witness intimidation.

Prosecutors say the mostly Latino gang also engaged in “systemic efforts to rid the community of African Americans with a campaign of shootings and other attacks.” Hawaiian Gardens is a tiny, one-square mile city just off the 605 Freeway north of Long Beach. Prosecutors say the gang formed there a half-century ago, and that one in 15 residents is a member.

Police have seized 33 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 100 guns during the investigation that began after one of the gang’s members murdered an LA County Sheriff’s Deputy.