Thread: NC:Former City Council Candidate Among 13 Indicted on Federa

Former City Council Candidate Among 13 Indicted on Federal Charges

FOX8 Staff Writer

9:37 p.m. EST, December 6, 2011
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)—

(VIDEO at link below)
Thirteen people, including a Greensboro City Council candidate the past two elections, have been indicted on federal racketeering charges in connection with gang activity.

The suspects were indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 29, the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release Tuesday.

At a federal hearing in Greensboro Tuesday, the judge read the suspects their rights and appointed an attorney for each of them. Their detention hearings were set for Dec. 13.

All are alleged to be members of the Latin Kings gang, which has been in North Carolina since at least 2005, DOJ officials said. The gang's traditional centerpieces are in Chicago and New York.

The indictment alleges the gang committed crimes such as armed robberies, kidnappings, arsons and assaults to keep their racketeering scheme going.

Read the federal indictment

The suspected ringleader, Jorge Peter Cornell, 35, ran for Greensboro City Council both this year and in 2009.

DOJ officials allege Cornell was the ringleader of not only the Greensboro chapter of the gang but also the Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh chapters.

The indictment also alleges Cornell publicly advocated to dissolve the Greensboro Police Department's gang unit while simultaneously plotting to murder and assault members of both his own gang and rival gangs.

In 2008, Cornell held press conferences calling for peace and an end to racism. However, the indictment alleges the public relations campaign was intended "to falsely portray the Latin Kings as a public service organization."

During those conferences, he worked with community and religious leaders, including Rev. Nelson Johnson with both Faith Community Church and the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro. Johnson attended the indictment hearings Tuesday but declined to comment outside the courthouse.

Cornell's roommate, Latin Queen Tracy Weyman, and her daughter, Sara Wallis, were among the supporters at Tuesday's hearing. They believe the local version of the gang is being sought out by investigators based on the gang's past in other parts of the country.

"If he was trying to do bad in this community, he would not try to stand up for racism and falsely convicted people," Wallis said.

Supporters and gang members said the group is like family, and they will work to clear the suspects' names.

"We are always together. We have barbecues. We have a good sight of this community. We don't do anything that is bad here," Wallis said.

Greensboro Police said all requests for comment on the case had to go through federal DOJ officials.

Below is a full listing of those charged in the indictment:

- JORGE PETER CORNELL, 35, a.k.a. "King Jay"
- RUSSELL LLOYD KILFOIL, 25, a.k.a. "King Peaceful" and "Jonathan Hernandez"
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)—
- RANDOLPH LEIF KILFOIL, 26, a.k.a. "King Paul"
- JASON PAUL YATES, 31, a.k.a. "King Squirrel"
- LUIS ALBERTO ROSA, 24, a.k.a. "King Speechless"
- WESLEY ANDERSON WILLIAMS, 19, a.k.a. "King Bam"
- STEAPHAN ACENCIO-VASQUEZ, 20, a.k.a. "King Leo"
- MARCELO YSRAEL PEREZ, 26, a.k.a. "King Lyrix"and "King Sacrifice"
- SAMUEL ISAAC VELASQUEZ, 22, a.k.a. "King Hype"
- CHARLES LAWRENCE MOORE, 26, a.k.a. "King Toasty"
- RICHARD LEE ROBINSON, 22, a.k.a. "King Focus"
- IRVIN VASQUEZ, 22, a.k.a. "King Dice"- CARLOS COLEMAN, 19, a.k.a. "King Spanky"

All but Perez had been arrested as of Tuesday afternoon.

http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-former- ... 4310.story

Jorge Cornell Indictment Doesn't Surprise Former Greensboro Police Chief

FOX8 Staff Writer

6:22 p.m. EST, December 7, 2011
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)—

Former Greensboro Police Chief Tim Bellamy said he is not at all surprised Jorge Cornell and 12 other suspected Latin Kings members are facing federal racketeering charges.

Bellamy, who retired from the Greensboro Police Department more than a year ago, investigated the Latin Kings and Cornell, its suspected ringleader.

Last week a federal grand jury indicted Cornell and others, alleging they committed crimes such as armed robberies, kidnappings, arsons and assaults to keep their racketeering scheme going.

"I haven't witnessed in Greensboro where they did anything good for the community," Bellamy said.

More information on indictments

Bellamy said the gang used its community activist stance as a disguise, just like in other cities.

"We at the police department and in the law enforcement field had knowledge of that, because it's happening in other cities throughout the United States--where the Latin Kings would establish themselves as a gang but as a community activist group all the time," Bellamy said.

Cornell ran for city council in both 2009 and 2011. In a bio given to the state's Center for Voter Education, Cornell's goals for office were to bring more cultural diversity training to the police department and to create an alliance between officers and the "black and brown" community, as he called it.

The bio also said he also served as the executive director of a nonprofit temp agency that put homeless people or people with criminal records into paying jobs.

In 2008 Cornell joined with ministers like Reverend Nelson Johnson and the Beloved Community Center at press conferences. But Bellamy said he never bought any of it.

"The thing that frustrated me was you had people in the city who called themselves our leaders, who are supposed to represent certain parts of this community, that have fallen for the antics and tactics of the Latin Kings," Bellamy said.

Joseph Frierson with Beloved declined to go on camera, saying they are still trying to figure out how to officially respond.

Frierson did say the organization was surprised by the indictment against Cornell, though they will still support Cornell and believe he's innocent.

Bellamy said the arrests should serve as a wake-up call to the citizens of Greensboro.

"You cannot take someone for granted for what you see up front. You really need to look into and investigate someone's past, especially if you're willing to support these persons," Bellamy said.

All suspects face up to life in prison if convicted.

Cornell, originally from New York City, moved to Greensboro in 2002. New York City is one of the gang's traditional centerpieces.

http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-jorge-c ... 1624.story