LEADERS OF VIOLENT BLOODS STREET GANG ADMIT RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY
Pleas Call for 30-Year Prison Sentences
NEWARK, N.J. – Two leaders of the Sex Money Murder set of the Bloods street gang today admitted their respective roles in a racketeering conspiracy that involved murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Narik Wilson, a/k/a “Spaz,” 32, and Emil Rutledge, a/k/a “Diddy,” 27, both of Newark, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to Count Two of a 14-count superseding indictment charging them with racketeering conspiracy.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The Bloods street gang is organized into subgroups that operate in specific geographic locations. Sex Money Murder is the subgroup that operates primarily in Essex County, New Jersey.
Wilson and Rutledge, high-ranking members in Sex Money Murder, admitted that from 2007 to 2011 they committed a series of violent crimes to advance the gang’s objectives. Wilson, the leader, or “O.G.,” of Sex Money Murder, admitted that he directed the murder and attempted murder of eight rival gang members in and around Newark. Rutledge, a “captain,” or “shot-caller,” of Sex Money Murder, admitted that he and others carried out a number of the shootings ordered by Wilson, causing series injuries to others and the death of a victim.
Wilson admitted that he conspired with and directed other members of Sex Money Murder to murder the following individuals described in the indictment:
- Feb. 4, 2007, attempted murder of a rival gang member, (Victim 1);
- Feb. 16, 2007, attempted murder of a rival gang member (Victim 2);
- Oct. 29, 2010, attempted murder of a rival gang member (Victim 3);
- June 16, 2011, attempted murder of rival gang members (Victims 4-7);
- July 14, 2011, murder of a rival gang member (Victim 8);
- Aug. 3, 2011, attempted murder of a rival gang member (Victim 6).
Rutledge admitted that, acting at Wilson’s direction, he and others carried out drive-by shootings of Victims 3 through 7 on the above-described dates. Rutledge also admitted that he and others killed Victim 8 in a drive-by shooting. Wilson and Rutledge admitted conspiring to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin in and around Newark.
The plea agreements require both Wilson and Rutledge to be sentenced to 30 years in prison, minus time served in jail on related cases, and five years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 15, 2017.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando V. Fontoura; and the Newark Department of Public Safety, under the direction of Anthony F. Ambrose, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas. He also thanked special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski; and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky, for their roles in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mahajan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel:
Wilson: Michael N. Pedicini Esq., Chatham, New Jersey
Rutledge: Timothy R. Anderson Esq., Red Bank, New Jersey