Operation Blackjack Pasco County

Dozens of members of two white supremacist Florida prison gangs were indicted on a range of drug and weapons felony charges, federal prosecutors announced last week.

  • Investigators seized 110 illegal weapons, including a rocket launcher and two functional pipe bombs and several pounds of drugs, and indicted 39 members or associates of Florida white supremacist.
  • Dubbed “Operation Blackjack” (because they always give it a tough, white name. There’s never a bust with a scary black name like “Operation Potluck Potato Salad” or “Operation My.
  • R/news: /r/news is: real news articles, primarily but not exclusively, news relating to the United States and the rest of the World.

The U.S. attorney’s office for the Middle District of Florida said that 39 members of the Unforgiven and United Aryan Brotherhood gangs were arrested as part of a three-year sting operation dubbed “Operation Blackjack.” Several functioning pipe bombs, a rocket launcher, and pounds of crystal meth and fentanyl were seized as part of the raid, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

The defendants ranged in age from 24 to 48 and face between two years and life behind bars. Among the more serious charges: Richard Morman, 31, was hit with two counts of possessing pipe bombs; Joshua Koezeno, 25, was charged with possessing 50 grams of meth or more with the intent to distribute; and Donald “Dino” Dussell was charged with eight counts of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, distributing heroin, and distributing meth.

Titled “Operation Blackjack,” the operation focused on Pasco County where the gangs operated and was a joint operation with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Those involved in the raid praised the joint work that led to the arrests.

Prior felony convictions factored into the charges for 23 of the defendants.

In a press release announcing the charges, prosecutors described the 39 individuals as members of the two violent prison gangs in the headline, but the body of the press release and related court documents make no mention of their affiliation with these groups or of their own racist views.

Asked for additional comment on defendants’ links to the group, a DOJ spokesperson told TPM that the drug sting resulted from an undercover agent’s infiltration of Unforgiven.

“Operation Blackjack stemmed from the infiltration of the Unforgiven white supremacist gang members and their associates by a former Unforgiven white supremacist gang member and an undercover agent posing as an Unforgiven white supremacist gang member,” the spokesperson said in an email.

The Southern Poverty Law Center identifies the Aryan Brotherhood as “the nation’s oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate.” The group, which has an estimated 20,000 members, is involved in drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling, extortion, and drug trafficking; much of their work is conducted from behind prison walls. Membership requires recruits to attack or murder a rival gang member or corrections officer, per the SPLC.

Unforgiven is “the largest white supremacist prison gang in Florida,” according to the Anti-Defamation League. Members identify themselves with a symbol of an interlocking Iron Cross and swastika, with SS lightning bolts in the center.

This post has been updated to include comment from DOJ.

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Meth and fentanyl were also recovered.

Blackjack

November 19, 2018 at 11:14 pm

Almost 40 white supremacist gang members were arrested during a Florida drug sting.

The 39 arrests were the result of Operation Blackjack, a three-year investigation into the Unforgiven and United Aryan Brotherhood gangs, according to WFTS. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Aryan Brotherhood as “the nation’s oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate.” The Unforgiven is a similar, newer white supremacist group based primarily in Florida's penal system.

The sting was carried out by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which partnered with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office.

Over 110 illegal weapons were recovered from the gangs' Tampa Bay facilities Thursday. These weapons included firearms, a rocket launcher and two functional pipe bombs. The bombs belonged to 31-year-old Richard Mormon. Investigators are unsure of Mormon’s plans for the explosives.

Operation Blackjack Pasco County

Illegal drugs, mostly meth and fentanyl, were also seized.

“In getting these 39 dangerous individuals off of the street and seizing guns and explosives that could have been used in violent acts, the community of Pasco County is a little safer,” ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai said during a press conference.

The defendants face anywhere from two years to life imprisonment. Charges include possession of a firearm by a felon, drug possession and drug distribution, reports Newsweek. Some of the gangsters have already been sentenced to lengthy prison terms while others await trial.

Operation Blackjack Pasco County Fl

“I want to send a message to these defendants that you can’t keep coming in and out of prison and come back and affect the community with violence and drug trafficking,' U.S State Attorney for Middle District of Florida Maria Chapa Lopez declared.

Operation Blackjack Pasco County Florida

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