Earlier today in Brooklyn, Yanki Misael Cruz-Mateo was sentenced to 45 years in prison by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall. The sentencing comes after his involvement in a racketeering conspiracy linked to the murder of Jonathan Figueroa in 2017 and Oscar Antonio Blanco-Hernandez in 2018.
The case was announced by John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, FBI Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office. "Cruz-Mateo committed two horrific murders and boasted about the carnage in video and text messages to instill fear, exact retribution, and promote gang violence," stated Durham. He emphasized the importance of the sentence as a deterrent to violence perpetrated by transnational criminal organizations like the 18th Street gang.
Durham extended appreciation to various law enforcement bodies, including the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, for their role in bringing the case to justice. Raia noted, "Yanki Misael Cruz-Mateo, an 18th Street gang member, lured two victims to their brutal murders as retribution for perceived disloyalty and affiliation with rival organizations."
The 18th Street gang is a transnational criminal organization involved in various criminal activities, including murder, assault, and drug trafficking across New York, the United States, and Central America. Court filings detail the brutality of Figueroa's murder in Kingston, New York, and Blanco-Hernandez's murder in Queens.
Co-defendants Israel Mediola Flores and Jose Douglas Castellano have been sentenced while others await sentencing. The case is part of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation led by the Eastern District of New York and the FBI. The investigation aims at dismantling drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
The prosecution was managed by the Office's International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, with several Assistant United States Attorneys and Paralegal Specialists instrumental in the case proceedings.
