A man described by authorities as the main target of a large-scale operation against cartel-fueled drug dealing by a street gang in the Waukegan area was sentenced to 32 years in prison Friday by a Lake County Circuit Court judge.
Alfonso Gallardo of Waukegan, who officials said was known as “Grande,” was convicted in late 2015 of calculated drug conspiracy, street gang drug conspiracy, criminal drug conspiracy and possession of cocaine with intent to deliver.
He was one of 18 men charged in the 2013 operation.
Gallardo, 48, was sentenced by Judge George Strickland Friday to 24 years in prison, to be served at 75 percent, on the conspiracy charges. He was also sentenced to eight years on the cocaine charge to be served at 50 percent, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Rod Drobinski. The sentences will run consecutively.
“Gallardo was essentially playing the middleman between a cartel and the Latin Kings street gang, operating a complicated and significant distribution system in Waukegan,” Drobinski said Friday. “This sentence ensures the community will be protected from him for the foreseeable future.”
Drobinski credited the Waukegan Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency with heading up the operation, in which 18 men were charged. Several have been convicted, while three remain at large and were believed to have fled to Mexico, Drobinski said.
Authorities said Gallardo is the first defendant in Lake County to be convicted by a jury on the charge of street gang criminal drug conspiracy.
According to prosecutors and investigators, Gallardo obtained large quantities of cocaine from a source in California. Officials said the drugs originated from Mexico and were distributed locally by Waukegan street gang members.
Waukegan Police said after the operation was made public that the arrests in 2013 struck a major blow to cocaine sales in the city and the surrounding area.
Gallardo had remained in Lake County Jail on $1 million bail since his arrest, and after his conviction, his bond was revoked. He will now be transferred to prison following any post-sentencing motions and will receive credit toward his sentence for his time served in jail.
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