by Ran
Peter Rollack, sometimes spelled Rollock, was born in 1975
to Leonard and Brenda Rollack in the Soundview neighborhood of the
predominately Hispanic Clason Point section of the South Bronx (the Bronx is the northernmost of New York City's five boroughs). He grew up in the Soundview Houses, a housing project comprised of 13 seven-story buildings. Soundview Houses itself is one of ten such housing projects located in the neighborhood. Brenda left Leonard when Peter was three years old and consequently raised him alone.
On December 2, 1977, his father, Leonard "Petey" Rollack, along with 10 other defendants, including Harlem heroin kingpin Leroy "Nicky" Barnes, was convicted of conspiracy to violate federal narcotics laws. Rollack, along with Barnes and Guy Fisher, was specifically charged with possession and distribution of 107.6 grams of heroin during the 10-day trial, but the jury failed to reach a verdict with respect to Fisher and Barnes was acquitted of that particular charge. Rollack's charge stemmed from his sale of one-eighth of a kilogram of heroin to DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) informant Robert Geronimo and undercover DEA agent Louis Diaz for $8,300 on November 29, 1976. He, in fact, told both Fisher and Geronimo that he suspected that the buy money was marked, after the transaction.
On October 27, 1987, the elder Rollack was indicted for the murder of Norman Bannister, as well as for conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute in two separate locations in the Bronx, New York and distribution of heroin in July of 1983 in Manhattan, New York. Rollack and six other defendants were charged with conspiring to distribute heroin throughout Manhattan and the Bronx, New York, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. from January 1, 1980, to October 31, 1987, as members of a heroin ring headed by James Jackson, who, ironically, agreed to cooperate with the government and acted as the chief witness for the prosecution. While awaiting trial, Rollack himself stated on a recording made by a wired prison informant that he'd made $30,000 profit per week from drug sales.
Though he was offered a 15-year plea deal, Rollack jumped bail and wasn't apprehended again until months later.
In 1990, after a four-month trial, Leonard Rollack was convicted of participating in a racketeering enterprise in violation of the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and two counts of possessing heroin with intent to distribute. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison, but his conviction was reversed on appeal. Rollack rejected another plea deal, this one for 20 years, and following a retrial in 1992, he was again convicted and again received a 50-year sentence.
After being educated in the Catholic school system for most of his childhood, Peter attended Soundview's Adlai E. Stevenson High School in his teens. At age 17, the younger Rollack left home and moved in with his father's friend George Wallace, who he referred to as his uncle.
In 1993, Rollack, re-established the street gang Sex, Money and Murder, which was formed in 1987 in Soundview. His schoolmate David Mullins, who lived in the Castle Hill Houses, joined the gang as well. Other members included: Robinson "Mac 11" Lazala; Jose "Green Eyes" Rodriguez; Savon Codd, alternatively known as Yaro Pack; Emilio "Leadpipe" Romero; Xavier "X" Williams; Andre "Dula" Martin; David Andino; Reginald "Big Boo" Harris; Shawn "Suge" Stokes; Rufino "Roro" Turner; Michael "Mo" Gray; Rafael "Scruffy" Moore; and Jasmine "Total Package" Mansell.
The majority of SMM's revenue was generated from distributing cocaine and crack cocaine. Yaro Pack, a Bronx-native who sold crack and cocaine in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, recruited Rollack, who, acting as a lookout and enforcer, began to escort Pack on expeditions to ferry cocaine and crack between New York and Pittsburgh. The two routinely transported approximately nine kilograms per trip, for which Rollack was paid $3,000 to $5,000. On April 15, 1993, Rollack was convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to 30 days in prison. On August 16, at the age of 18, Rollack shot Keenyon Jenkins to death. It would be his first killing.
Sex, Money, and Murder filed incorporation papers in Delaware, forming the company SMMC, Inc. The corporate address was: 4891 Hillside Boulevard, New Hyde Park, New York, 11040. The gang opened a business account at State Bank of Long Island. They used a payroll processing company, Paychecks, Inc., to process checks and deduct taxes for payroll checks for members of the gang. Gang members obtained cars from Three Rivers Auto, a leasing company in Pittsburgh, through SMMC, Inc., most, if not all, equipped with traps and stash boxes -- hidden compartments used to conceal cash, drugs and illegal weapons.
On March 9, 1994, Rollack attempted to murder another man -- Domingo Osario.
At about 2:30pm on April 8, Rollack killed 23-year-old Karlton Hines, a fellow Bronx-native and former high school basketball star-turned-drug dealer. Rollack shot Hines in the back of the head as he was washing his car at Hand Car Wash, located on Boston Road in the Bronx. He was found with $5,000 cash in his pocket. Hines' friend, Carlos Mestre, who was with him at the time of the shooting, though wounded, fled the scene. Rollack had previously murdered an associate of Hines' who had attempted to extort a member of SMM, and killed Hines, who was an associated of the local Courtlandt Avenue Crew street gang, in fear of reprisal when he spotted him as he was entering a shoe store. In June, Rollack murdered another man -- Anthony Dunkley. On July 17, Rollock shot Mestre in the back of the head when he spotted him at a pay phone near a Westchester Ave. store.
Also in 1994, during a meeting with Rollack and Pack in the Bronx, David Gonzalez convinced Pack that expanding their drug business to North Carolina could be profitable and the trio made three trips during which they transported narcotics to the state. On the second trip, the three transported six to eight kilograms from New York to the Carolinas, and sold cocaine in Rockingham and Lumberton, North Carolina as well as a town in South Carolina. During the trip, Gonzalex introduced Rollack and Pack to his associate David Evans in Charlotte, North Carolina. The four of them subsequently scouted locations in the city for use as crack houses to further expand their narcotics interests. Afterwards, Rollack, Pack and Gonzalez flew back to New York, leaving the leased burgundy Nissan Quest minivan they used on these trips parked at the airport containing two kilograms of cocaine and $70,000 in cash. Within a few days, Pack caught another flight to Charlotte and drove the van back to New York.
On August 18, SMM-associate Sean Carr shot and killed Tony Morton near the Soundview Houses. SMM members had initially perceived Morton to be a potential threat when he was seen driving past them slowly in his car, which had its windows tinted dark. The gang members then retrieved weapons that they'd hidden in nearby apartments and approached Morton's vehicle, which was parked close by. Both Morton and his passenger were dragged out of the car at gunpoint at which point Carr rode up on his bicycle and shot Morton.
For Rollack's third trip to North Carolina, he left New York with Pack, Gonzales and Emilio "Leadpipe" Romero transporting eight to ten kilograms of cocaine and crack. They first traveled to Pittsburgh, where they distributed six kilograms of cocaine belonging to Rollack and Pack, valued at $20,000 to $22,000 each, and collected drug money. Next, they drove to Lumberton, North Carolina to collect more money. Afterwards, they traveled to South Carolina where they distributed more cocaine and collected more money.
On October 20, the foursome drove to Rockingham, North Carolina in order to meet Darious Covington, who owed $80,000-$90,000 for cocaine he'd received on consignment. Upon being told that Covington didn't have the full amount, Rollack told Pack and Gonzalez that he planned to murder him. However, Gonzalez convinced Rollack to give Covington another day to pay the rest of the money. That night, the four traveled to Charlotte in order to attend a concert, with two remaining kilograms of cocaine. Following the concert, Romero was dropped off in Lumberton and the remaining three drove to Wilmington, North Carolina in order to distribute more drugs.
The next day, Rollack, Pack and Gonzalez drove the van to meet Convington at a Rockingham fast food restaurant. Unbeknownst to Rollack, Gonzales called Covington prior to the meet and warned him of Rollock's plans to kill him. Unbeknownst to Rollack and his associates, Covington, who couldn't afford to settle the debt and failed to show up for the meet, had acted as a confidential informant for years and had alerted police the night before and revealed that the van would contain illegal contraband. Rollack, ignoring Gonzales' attempts to persuade him to leave, suggested driving to Covington's home and murdering his wife and children. He told him, "Ain't nobody going to live in this world who owe me money." The three were confronted by law enforcement while still in the parking lot and asked if a search could be conducted on the van. Pack gave police the keys and signed a vehicle search consent form, which initially yielded no results. Following a conventional search and an exploration by two drug-sniffing canines that were brought to the scene, the officers impounded the vehicle. Though they were taken to a local police station, Rollack, Pack and Gonzalez were not arrested. The three presented fake IDs and were released. Rollack used the alias Nathaniel Tucker, Pack used Corey Hines, and Gonzales gave the name David Richards. After deliberating between the three of them, Rollack eventually decided that the trio should wait for the van to be released, as opposed to immediately leaving North Carolina.
Only after soliciting the aid of a Nissan mechanic, did police discover a stash box under the front seats that contained two kilograms of cocaine, $250,000 in cash and several firearms. After the contraband was discovered, Rollack, Pack and Gonzalez were arrested by the Mecklenberg County Sheriff's Department. Both Pack and Gonzalez corroborated Covington's information to police and added that Rollack had planned to murder Covington's wife and children if he'd failed to satisfy his debt. They bonded out of jail several days later and Pack, who was bonded out by a cousin, and Rollack, who was bonded out by George Wallace, never returned to North Carolina after being released.
On December 2, 1977, his father, Leonard "Petey" Rollack, along with 10 other defendants, including Harlem heroin kingpin Leroy "Nicky" Barnes, was convicted of conspiracy to violate federal narcotics laws. Rollack, along with Barnes and Guy Fisher, was specifically charged with possession and distribution of 107.6 grams of heroin during the 10-day trial, but the jury failed to reach a verdict with respect to Fisher and Barnes was acquitted of that particular charge. Rollack's charge stemmed from his sale of one-eighth of a kilogram of heroin to DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) informant Robert Geronimo and undercover DEA agent Louis Diaz for $8,300 on November 29, 1976. He, in fact, told both Fisher and Geronimo that he suspected that the buy money was marked, after the transaction.
On October 27, 1987, the elder Rollack was indicted for the murder of Norman Bannister, as well as for conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute in two separate locations in the Bronx, New York and distribution of heroin in July of 1983 in Manhattan, New York. Rollack and six other defendants were charged with conspiring to distribute heroin throughout Manhattan and the Bronx, New York, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. from January 1, 1980, to October 31, 1987, as members of a heroin ring headed by James Jackson, who, ironically, agreed to cooperate with the government and acted as the chief witness for the prosecution. While awaiting trial, Rollack himself stated on a recording made by a wired prison informant that he'd made $30,000 profit per week from drug sales.
Though he was offered a 15-year plea deal, Rollack jumped bail and wasn't apprehended again until months later.
In 1990, after a four-month trial, Leonard Rollack was convicted of participating in a racketeering enterprise in violation of the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and two counts of possessing heroin with intent to distribute. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison, but his conviction was reversed on appeal. Rollack rejected another plea deal, this one for 20 years, and following a retrial in 1992, he was again convicted and again received a 50-year sentence.
After being educated in the Catholic school system for most of his childhood, Peter attended Soundview's Adlai E. Stevenson High School in his teens. At age 17, the younger Rollack left home and moved in with his father's friend George Wallace, who he referred to as his uncle.
In 1993, Rollack, re-established the street gang Sex, Money and Murder, which was formed in 1987 in Soundview. His schoolmate David Mullins, who lived in the Castle Hill Houses, joined the gang as well. Other members included: Robinson "Mac 11" Lazala; Jose "Green Eyes" Rodriguez; Savon Codd, alternatively known as Yaro Pack; Emilio "Leadpipe" Romero; Xavier "X" Williams; Andre "Dula" Martin; David Andino; Reginald "Big Boo" Harris; Shawn "Suge" Stokes; Rufino "Roro" Turner; Michael "Mo" Gray; Rafael "Scruffy" Moore; and Jasmine "Total Package" Mansell.
The majority of SMM's revenue was generated from distributing cocaine and crack cocaine. Yaro Pack, a Bronx-native who sold crack and cocaine in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, recruited Rollack, who, acting as a lookout and enforcer, began to escort Pack on expeditions to ferry cocaine and crack between New York and Pittsburgh. The two routinely transported approximately nine kilograms per trip, for which Rollack was paid $3,000 to $5,000. On April 15, 1993, Rollack was convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to 30 days in prison. On August 16, at the age of 18, Rollack shot Keenyon Jenkins to death. It would be his first killing.
Sex, Money, and Murder filed incorporation papers in Delaware, forming the company SMMC, Inc. The corporate address was: 4891 Hillside Boulevard, New Hyde Park, New York, 11040. The gang opened a business account at State Bank of Long Island. They used a payroll processing company, Paychecks, Inc., to process checks and deduct taxes for payroll checks for members of the gang. Gang members obtained cars from Three Rivers Auto, a leasing company in Pittsburgh, through SMMC, Inc., most, if not all, equipped with traps and stash boxes -- hidden compartments used to conceal cash, drugs and illegal weapons.
On March 9, 1994, Rollack attempted to murder another man -- Domingo Osario.
At about 2:30pm on April 8, Rollack killed 23-year-old Karlton Hines, a fellow Bronx-native and former high school basketball star-turned-drug dealer. Rollack shot Hines in the back of the head as he was washing his car at Hand Car Wash, located on Boston Road in the Bronx. He was found with $5,000 cash in his pocket. Hines' friend, Carlos Mestre, who was with him at the time of the shooting, though wounded, fled the scene. Rollack had previously murdered an associate of Hines' who had attempted to extort a member of SMM, and killed Hines, who was an associated of the local Courtlandt Avenue Crew street gang, in fear of reprisal when he spotted him as he was entering a shoe store. In June, Rollack murdered another man -- Anthony Dunkley. On July 17, Rollock shot Mestre in the back of the head when he spotted him at a pay phone near a Westchester Ave. store.
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| Karlton Hines |
Also in 1994, during a meeting with Rollack and Pack in the Bronx, David Gonzalez convinced Pack that expanding their drug business to North Carolina could be profitable and the trio made three trips during which they transported narcotics to the state. On the second trip, the three transported six to eight kilograms from New York to the Carolinas, and sold cocaine in Rockingham and Lumberton, North Carolina as well as a town in South Carolina. During the trip, Gonzalex introduced Rollack and Pack to his associate David Evans in Charlotte, North Carolina. The four of them subsequently scouted locations in the city for use as crack houses to further expand their narcotics interests. Afterwards, Rollack, Pack and Gonzalez flew back to New York, leaving the leased burgundy Nissan Quest minivan they used on these trips parked at the airport containing two kilograms of cocaine and $70,000 in cash. Within a few days, Pack caught another flight to Charlotte and drove the van back to New York.
On August 18, SMM-associate Sean Carr shot and killed Tony Morton near the Soundview Houses. SMM members had initially perceived Morton to be a potential threat when he was seen driving past them slowly in his car, which had its windows tinted dark. The gang members then retrieved weapons that they'd hidden in nearby apartments and approached Morton's vehicle, which was parked close by. Both Morton and his passenger were dragged out of the car at gunpoint at which point Carr rode up on his bicycle and shot Morton.
For Rollack's third trip to North Carolina, he left New York with Pack, Gonzales and Emilio "Leadpipe" Romero transporting eight to ten kilograms of cocaine and crack. They first traveled to Pittsburgh, where they distributed six kilograms of cocaine belonging to Rollack and Pack, valued at $20,000 to $22,000 each, and collected drug money. Next, they drove to Lumberton, North Carolina to collect more money. Afterwards, they traveled to South Carolina where they distributed more cocaine and collected more money.
On October 20, the foursome drove to Rockingham, North Carolina in order to meet Darious Covington, who owed $80,000-$90,000 for cocaine he'd received on consignment. Upon being told that Covington didn't have the full amount, Rollack told Pack and Gonzalez that he planned to murder him. However, Gonzalez convinced Rollack to give Covington another day to pay the rest of the money. That night, the four traveled to Charlotte in order to attend a concert, with two remaining kilograms of cocaine. Following the concert, Romero was dropped off in Lumberton and the remaining three drove to Wilmington, North Carolina in order to distribute more drugs.
The next day, Rollack, Pack and Gonzalez drove the van to meet Convington at a Rockingham fast food restaurant. Unbeknownst to Rollack, Gonzales called Covington prior to the meet and warned him of Rollock's plans to kill him. Unbeknownst to Rollack and his associates, Covington, who couldn't afford to settle the debt and failed to show up for the meet, had acted as a confidential informant for years and had alerted police the night before and revealed that the van would contain illegal contraband. Rollack, ignoring Gonzales' attempts to persuade him to leave, suggested driving to Covington's home and murdering his wife and children. He told him, "Ain't nobody going to live in this world who owe me money." The three were confronted by law enforcement while still in the parking lot and asked if a search could be conducted on the van. Pack gave police the keys and signed a vehicle search consent form, which initially yielded no results. Following a conventional search and an exploration by two drug-sniffing canines that were brought to the scene, the officers impounded the vehicle. Though they were taken to a local police station, Rollack, Pack and Gonzalez were not arrested. The three presented fake IDs and were released. Rollack used the alias Nathaniel Tucker, Pack used Corey Hines, and Gonzales gave the name David Richards. After deliberating between the three of them, Rollack eventually decided that the trio should wait for the van to be released, as opposed to immediately leaving North Carolina.
Only after soliciting the aid of a Nissan mechanic, did police discover a stash box under the front seats that contained two kilograms of cocaine, $250,000 in cash and several firearms. After the contraband was discovered, Rollack, Pack and Gonzalez were arrested by the Mecklenberg County Sheriff's Department. Both Pack and Gonzalez corroborated Covington's information to police and added that Rollack had planned to murder Covington's wife and children if he'd failed to satisfy his debt. They bonded out of jail several days later and Pack, who was bonded out by a cousin, and Rollack, who was bonded out by George Wallace, never returned to North Carolina after being released.
After posting bail and returning to New York, Rollack was arrested for Hines' killing at Grant's Tomb in Harlem. Because he was carrying a gun at the time of the arrest, he was subsequently convicted of criminal possession of a weapon on August 9, 1995. Rollack received a sentence of two to six years in prison, which he served at New York's Riker's Island detention facility. He was given a mandatory eight-month jail sentence for weapons possession. During that time he was approached by Omar "OG Mack" Portee and Leonard "Dead Eye" McKenzie, the founders of the U.B.N. (United Blood Nation) prison gang, who sought to recruit him into their ranks. The pair created the organization while housed at the George Motchan Detention Center on Rikers Island as an exclusively African-American gang in an effort to defend against assaults by members of the largely Hispanic Latin Kings street gang and Neta prison gang. They modeled UBN on the Los Angeles-based Bloods street gang, despite having no affiliation with the California organization. Rollack was approached by Portee and McKenzie because his reputation as a violent criminal and an influential leader had preceded him. With Rollack's induction, SMM became one of the original eight "sets" of the gang.
After serving the eight months for gun possession, Rollock was bailed out by his mother, Brenda, and proceeded to spread U.B.N. culture throughout SMM and New York. During this time, federal agents in North Carolina matched Rollack's fingerprints from the gun charge to the minivan. He was only free for two weeks when he returned to court to face murder charges in connection with Hines' killing, where he was remanded because of the North Carolina narcotics charges.
On November 5, 1996, Carr and another SMM member robbed Soundview Houses residents Valerie and Lewis Flythe at gunpoint in their building. After Valerie Flythe picked him out of a police line-up, Carr pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two to four years in state prison. On January 14, 2004, Carr would be sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of racketeering, engaging in a narcotics conspiracy, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and distributing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine base. SMM members Brian "Stone" Boyd and Romero, who had both testified against other SMM members, testified against Carr at trial as part of their respective plea deals with the government.
In 1996, Rollack was transferred to Charlotte to face drug charges. Authorities generally believed that Rollack was still directing the activities of SMM from his jail cell.
SMM member Jose "Green Eyes" Rodriguez shot and killed David Mullins on November 27, Thanksgiving Day, during the annual tag football game between tenants of the Bronx's Castle Hill Houses and Soundview Houses. Another man, 26-year-old Efrain Solar, rumored to be a local drug trafficker, was killed as well after being shot in the head and body. Three other men, David's twin brother Damon, Donald Goodwin-Pino and Nelson Najera, were injured during the shooting. Thirty people had attended the event and the game had been underway for an hour when gang members Rodriguez, Brian "Stone" Boyd, Robinson "Mac 11" Lazala and others approached the field between the two apartment buildings where the crowd was gathered and the gunfire erupted. David, who was shot in his right hip and hand, managed to make it across the street in a daze before dropping to the ground. The twins and Goodwin-Pino, who was shot in both legs, were all taken to Jacobi Medical Center, located in the Morris Park section of the Bronx, where David succumbed to his wounds. Damon was admitted for a gunshot to the buttocks. Najera was taken to the South Bronx's Lincoln Hospital and treated for a gunshot wound in his right hand. The following day, NYPD officers from the 43rd Precint stopped every car to check IDs and probe for information related to the shooting. Lazala was the first to be caught. He was stopped by police in the lobby of the Soundview Houses on November 29 and arrested for two counts of murder in the first degree. Investigators reasoned that the gang members chose to attack their victims at the football game because they knew they'd be unarmed while they played.
Robert Humphrey, James James, Michael Jennings
and Rashead Miller
On December 17 and 29, ATF Agent Terrell A. Tadeo applied for, and received, search warrants for all of Rollock's non-law-related correspondence to and from the jail. Over the course of the searches of Rollock's cell, approximately 150 of his letters and 52 of his photographs were seized.
During the trial, the prosecution presented testimony from: Pack; Gonzales; McNeil; Special Agent Tadeo; Sergeant Louis Savelli of the NYPD (New York Police Department) Citywide Anti-Gang Enforcement Unit, who testified as an expert witness on the U.B.N. and gang-related codes; and three Rockingham, NC police officers. The prosecution also cited quotes Brenda Rollack had given to Street Stories magazine about her son's life. On January 9, 1998, Rollack was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine and cocaine base and knowingly using and carrying a firearm, and aiding and abetting such conduct, in relation to a drug trafficking crime in the Western District of North Carolina. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the drug conviction and 5 years for the gun conviction.
On February 7, 1998, a racketeering indictment naming Rollack as the mastermind behind the Thanksgiving Day murders was unsealed in Federal District Court in Manhattan. He was also charged with witness-tampering in connection to Mullins' killing, as well as narcotics trafficking. While awaiting trial at the Charlotte-Mecklenberg County Central Jail in September of 1997, he sent an SMM-associate what ATF (the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) agent Terrell A. Tado later suspected (based on information gathered by the NYPD's Detective Benny Tirado from three informants) was a coded letter (specifically, codes used by UBN gang members) ordering the murder of David "Twin" Mullins because he suspected that Mullins was cooperating with law enforcement. Rodriguez, Boyd, Lazala and George Wallace were named in the indictment as well. Rollack was transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York while awaiting trial.
Bronx rap duo Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz released their first and only album, Make It Reign, on June 2, 1998. The CD contains the track "Sex, Money, Life, or Death", which is dedicated to Rollack. Interestingly enough, the music video for the album track, "We Will Ball", in part features the two and more of their associates playing a game of football. The rappers' careers did not go unscathed. Sean "Lord Tariq" Hamilton was investigated by the Attorney General's office for his association with Rollack. He told an interviewer that federal agents went so far as to confiscate the footage from his music video shoots. Music video director Chris Robinson, who helmed the accompanying video clip for Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz's hit song "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)". He was also questioned by members of the FBI, ATF and the District Attorney's Office. Ultimately, music executives distanced themselves from the rapper as a result of investigators contacting music label and radio insiders to make queries into the nature of his activities.
Meanwhile, SMM members Gilbert "Gorgeous Indian" Vega and Joey "Green Eyes" Rodriguez cooperated with the government and confessed to fatally shooting Baithe Diop from the back of his livery car in 1995. Neither had ever been arrested for the crime. Eric Glisson, Cathy Watkins and three others were erroneously convicted for the murder. Glisson and Watkins were released from prison in 2012 after having served 17 years. The other three co-defendants remained incarcerated for convictions unconnected to the Diop case. In early 2014, Glisson filed a civil suit against New York City and four NYPD officers alleging that Bronx homicide police "fabricated evidence and false witness testimony". Vega also pleaded guilty to driving the getaway vehicle following a robbery and murder at an auto-parts store in Hunts Point in 1999.
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| Sean "Lord Tariq" Hamilton and Peter "Peter Gunz" Pankey |
In 1999, Rollack, Robinson Lazala, Michael Gay, Reginald Harris, David Andino and six other SMM members, were named in a 28-count federal indictment. The government sought the death penalty against Rollack, who was charged with RICO violations, five murders, five attempted murders, two conspiracies to commit murder, and narcotics trafficking. Both he and Andino were charged with the attempted murder of Domingo Osario.
In January of 2000, Rollack pleaded guilty to six counts of murder. Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum sentenced him to life in solitary confinement plus 105 years without parole on November 8. He was also ordered to pay $25,400 for the funeral expenses of his victims. Rollack agreed to the stipulation that his outside contact be limited to his attorney and immediate family in exchange for prosecutors taking the death penalty off the table. Theresa Hines, mother of Karlton Hines, attended the sentencing hearing and addressed the court. Less than a day after his sentencing, posters bearing Rollack's mugshot and describing the length of term given by the judge were distributed throughout the Bronx by members of the NYPD's 43rd Precint.
In December, Rollack was transported to the federal Supermax facility in Florence, Colorado. By 2003, he had earned his G.E.D. Though a supervisor at the ADX (Administrative Maximum) facility recommended that he be placed in general population with other inmates in 2005, Rollack has remained in solitary confinement since his incarceration. He is restricted to his cell for 23 hours a day and is permitted to leave for one hour so that he can exercise. Rollack penned the hand-written 150-page novel, "Trigga", in his cell, which he self-published with the help of family members in 2006. Prison officials refused to allow Rollack to receive a finished copy.
Sex, Money and Murder has continued to flourish despite Rollack's incarceration. The gang has spread from the Bronx to New Jersey and even as far south as Georgia.
On December 19, 2012, Henry Dankwah verbally threatened SMM member Gregory "Douggie" Ammonds and at around 6:15 pm that evening Dankwah visited a grocery store in Coney Island, Brooklyn near West 36th Street and Neptune Avenue. While shopping, SMM member Kevin "Cheese" Perry struck up a conversation with Dankwah and the two walked out together. According to court records, Ammonds and fellow SMM member Michael "Mikey" Torres, who laid in wait across the street, walked up behind the pair and shot Dankwah 13 times -- Ammonds with a .9 mm weapon and Torres with a .45-caliber handgun. All three gang members had been arrested by April of 2014 and each was charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. On February 17, 2016, Torres entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 15 years to life on April 1. On June 16, a jury found Perry and Ammonds guilty. They faced a potential 55 years to life prison term, and on July 20, they were each sentenced to 25 years to life.
Six SMM members were indicted in 2013 for the June 7, 2009, drive-by shooting death of 13-year-old Tamrah Leonard. Sex Money Murder member Lamar Warren pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and weapons possession on August 22, 2013. Leonard was shot when Warren and fellow gang member Bernard Baines opened fire into a crowd at a local block party that she'd attended. The gang members, both 18-years-old at the time, were acting at the behest of the Trenton, New Jersey head of SMM, James James, who admitted to ordering them to shoot into the crowd in retaliation for the non-fatal shooting of an SMM member the previous day by a member of the rival Gangster Killer Bloods street gang. On October 22, Warren was sentenced to 39 years in prison as part of a plea deal. On November 8, five of the gang members were sentenced in accordance with their respective plea deals: Baines was sentenced to 21 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter; James was sentenced to 12 years for conspiracy to commit murder; 35-year-old Rashead Miller was sentenced to eight years for conspiracy to commit assault; 25-year-old Robert Humphrey, who provided the firearms, was sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy to commit murder; and 31-year-old Michael Jennings, who hid the murder weapon following the shooting, was sentenced to eight years for a weapons violation. Leonard Warren's brother, Keith, who drove the car, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2012.
In June of 2014, two Atlanta SMM members were arrested on murder charges after acting on orders from Kenneth Eric Jackson, the leader of the city's faction of the gang. While incarcerated in a Georgia state prison, Jackson used a cellphone to instruct the pair to kill 9 month-old KenDarious Edwards, Jr. in retaliation against the toddler's uncle, a fellow-SMM member who'd murdered another gang member without authorization. Four others were injured during the youngster's shooting death at his home in May. KenDarious' mother, one of four women who were shot during the attack, was found by police in the tub of the second-floor master bathroom with her son in her arms. She told officers that the assailants, allegedly including Christopher Florence, Marco Watson and Devin Thomas, broke open the bathroom door and proceeded to shoot KenDarious in his chest, stomach and arm. Thomas eventually pleaded guilty to killing the infant.
On August 18, 2016, Bronx SMM members Corey "CB" Brown, Josnel "DO" Rodriguez and Christopher "Brabs" Canada were charged with racketeering as well as the July 15, 2012 murder of Vincent Davis. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York accused Canada disposing of the murder weapon following Davis' shooting death.
On December 19, 2012, Henry Dankwah verbally threatened SMM member Gregory "Douggie" Ammonds and at around 6:15 pm that evening Dankwah visited a grocery store in Coney Island, Brooklyn near West 36th Street and Neptune Avenue. While shopping, SMM member Kevin "Cheese" Perry struck up a conversation with Dankwah and the two walked out together. According to court records, Ammonds and fellow SMM member Michael "Mikey" Torres, who laid in wait across the street, walked up behind the pair and shot Dankwah 13 times -- Ammonds with a .9 mm weapon and Torres with a .45-caliber handgun. All three gang members had been arrested by April of 2014 and each was charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. On February 17, 2016, Torres entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 15 years to life on April 1. On June 16, a jury found Perry and Ammonds guilty. They faced a potential 55 years to life prison term, and on July 20, they were each sentenced to 25 years to life.
Six SMM members were indicted in 2013 for the June 7, 2009, drive-by shooting death of 13-year-old Tamrah Leonard. Sex Money Murder member Lamar Warren pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and weapons possession on August 22, 2013. Leonard was shot when Warren and fellow gang member Bernard Baines opened fire into a crowd at a local block party that she'd attended. The gang members, both 18-years-old at the time, were acting at the behest of the Trenton, New Jersey head of SMM, James James, who admitted to ordering them to shoot into the crowd in retaliation for the non-fatal shooting of an SMM member the previous day by a member of the rival Gangster Killer Bloods street gang. On October 22, Warren was sentenced to 39 years in prison as part of a plea deal. On November 8, five of the gang members were sentenced in accordance with their respective plea deals: Baines was sentenced to 21 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter; James was sentenced to 12 years for conspiracy to commit murder; 35-year-old Rashead Miller was sentenced to eight years for conspiracy to commit assault; 25-year-old Robert Humphrey, who provided the firearms, was sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy to commit murder; and 31-year-old Michael Jennings, who hid the murder weapon following the shooting, was sentenced to eight years for a weapons violation. Leonard Warren's brother, Keith, who drove the car, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2012.
In June of 2014, two Atlanta SMM members were arrested on murder charges after acting on orders from Kenneth Eric Jackson, the leader of the city's faction of the gang. While incarcerated in a Georgia state prison, Jackson used a cellphone to instruct the pair to kill 9 month-old KenDarious Edwards, Jr. in retaliation against the toddler's uncle, a fellow-SMM member who'd murdered another gang member without authorization. Four others were injured during the youngster's shooting death at his home in May. KenDarious' mother, one of four women who were shot during the attack, was found by police in the tub of the second-floor master bathroom with her son in her arms. She told officers that the assailants, allegedly including Christopher Florence, Marco Watson and Devin Thomas, broke open the bathroom door and proceeded to shoot KenDarious in his chest, stomach and arm. Thomas eventually pleaded guilty to killing the infant.
On August 18, 2016, Bronx SMM members Corey "CB" Brown, Josnel "DO" Rodriguez and Christopher "Brabs" Canada were charged with racketeering as well as the July 15, 2012 murder of Vincent Davis. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York accused Canada disposing of the murder weapon following Davis' shooting death.
Trenton, New Jersey SMM member Bernard Baines
