Prosecutors indict 18 in alleged Las Vegas criminal syndicate
A 159-count racketeering indictment handed down this week charges 18 people with alleged ties to a criminal syndicate known as the United Samoan Organization with crimes including attempted murder and forgery.
Prosecutors alleged that the men and women “organized as a para-military group” to commit acts of violence from January through November of 2019 “in order to obtain greater access to the illegal controlled substance market” and prevent others from cooperating with law enforcement.
The group trafficked in illegal drugs and created forgery labs to make phony credit cards and personal identification information and print fake cash, the indictment stated.
Charges also include extortion with a deadly weapon, assault, aggravated stalking, conspiracy to commit murder, theft and grand larceny auto.
Those named in the indictment are Josiyah Meno, Vianca Cassandra Alcon-Serrano, George Mendoza, Steven Silulu, Michael Souza, Albert Vargas, Stephanie Martin, Ronald Mulitauaopele, Calvin Smith, John Dalisay, Christopher Weygant, Nukul Hearing, Bernard Serrano, Christopher Cyr, Christopher Michael Cellery, Belljohn Ordonez Fulgencio, Jose Felix and Tony Nivongso.
Three of the defendants — Mendoza, Meno and Alcon-Serrano — were indicted in January on 16 counts, including first-degree kidnapping, robbery and burglary.
Allegations in the indictment include an attempted murder and robbery at the Gold Coast, larcenies at Virgin River Casino and CasaBlanca Resort in Mesquite, stealing cars, a motorcycle, clothing and gym shoes, and the personal identifying information of an Illinois man.
Meno and Mendoza were jailed at the Clark County Detention Center on $250,000 bail at the time of Wednesday’s indictment, while Alcon-Serrano was on house arrest, according to court documents. A judge issued $100,000 arrest warrants Felxi and Vargas, and set $250,000 arrest warrants for the others named in the indictment.
The defendants are due in court next week.
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.