An associate of the Coney Island street gang ‘West End Enterprise’ has recently been sentenced to 32 years in prison for charges related to a racketeering conspiracy, including murder and extortion.
Michael Liburd, 35, who went by the street names ‘Mike Mike’ and ‘Mitty,’ pleaded guilty to the charges Nov. 18 and was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Edward R. Korman in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York on Nov. 29, a Drug Enforcement Association (DEA) press release said.
“Today’s sentence not only holds the defendant accountable for his numerous acts of violence, but also sends a powerful message that this Office and its law enforcement partners are committed to aggressively prosecuting members of violent street gangs,” United States attorney Breon Peace said in the release. “We will do all we can to make our communities safe.”
Liburd was arrested with four West End Enterprise members in 2017, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York. The charges, including murder in aid of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, unlawful use of firearms, witness tampering and robbery, stemmed from criminal activities between 2011-2017 in the area known as the “Mermaid Houses” on the west end of Coney Island.
The Mermaid Houses is a name used by locals to describe the areas around the Sea Rise Apartments, Gravesend Houses and Surfside Gardens located in Coney Island.
Liburd admitted involvement in the 2016 murder of Antwon Flowers, who was murdered in retaliation for the victim’s alleged role in killing a West End Enterprise leader, the release said. The murder was captured on surveillance video, showing the defendant pulling a gun and shooting Flowers in the back of the head as he was leaving the Mermaid Houses.
The sentence was announced by Peace, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Keith Kruskall, acting special agent-in-charge, DEA New York Division; Michael J. Driscoll, assistant director-in-charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; New York Field Office (FBI); and Dermot F. Shea, commissioner, New York City Police Department, the release said.
“This case is yet another example of the deadly relationship between drugs and violence,” Kruskall said in the release. “The sentence imposed sends a message to other criminal organizations that law enforcement will not tolerate these brazen acts of violence in our communities. I commend the tireless efforts of all our law enforcement partners in bringing this dangerous perpetrator to justice.”
