The alleged leader of a Latin Kings faction in Hammond already charged with beating a rival gang member has admitted to dealing large amounts of drugs and guns, according to a court filing.
Francisco “Frank Nitti” Gamez, 25, now faces charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine.
According to the affidavit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Hammond, several Latin Kings members who are cooperating with federal attorneys have pegged Gamez as the Inca, or leader, of the Waco faction of the Latin Kings in Hammond.
One fellow gang member told law enforcement that he had seen Gamez with 1 to 2 kilograms of cocaine and up to 100 pounds of marijuana. Another Latin Kings member reported Gamez is responsible for 2 to 3 kilograms of cocaine.
His fellow gang members also told law enforcement he’s one of the main providers of guns to the Latin Kings in Northwest Indiana and has overseen a number of lucks, or when gang members rob other drug dealers, the document said. One gang member detailed one such robbery of a drug dealer in Hammond, telling authorities that Gamez and others tied the person up, threatened him and took him across the state line into Illinois, the document said.
The affidavit said the victim told a similar story after law enforcement officials interviewed him.
Gamez was charged last summer in Lake County with beating a rival gang member with a bat, and after he was arrested, he admitted to police his involvement with the Latin Kings, according to the affidavit.
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He claimed to have been initiated when he was 12 and decided to become more involved with the gang after he was released from prison in 2010 and wasn’t happy about the gang’s leadership.
He told police that he had sold about 10 pounds of marijuana and 9 ounces of cocaine a month since 2011, the court document said.
Gamez also admitted during his interview with police to having robbed multiple Mexican drug dealers, even working with a member of the Imperial Gangsters street gang to study their victims and plan the attacks for when they thought the victims would have money or drugs on them. He said he stole 150 pounds of marijuana from just one of these robberies in the Harbor section of East Chicago, the document said.
Gamez would then sell the drugs to both fellow gang members and other people, according to the affidavit.
Gamez made his initial appearance Friday, according to court records. It was unclear as of Friday afternoon who his attorney is. He is being held without bond pending a probable cause and detention hearing.