At the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Yanki Misael Cruz-Mateo, a member of the 18th Street gang, a transnational criminal organization, was sentenced by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall to 45 years imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy in connection with his participation in two murders: the Oct. 25, 2017 murder of 20-year-old Jonathan Figueroa in Saugerties, New York, and the Feb. 2, 2018 murder of 20-year-old Oscar Antonio Blanco-Hernandez in Queens.
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York John J. Durham and FBI New York Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia announced the sentence.
“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. “The lengthy sentence imposed delivers a powerful message that senseless violence carries serious consequences. My Office will continue our tireless efforts to investigate and prosecute violence carried out by the 18th Street and other transnational criminal organizations. It is my sincere hope that the justice meted out provides a measure of comfort and closure for the victims’ loved ones.”
Durham expressed his appreciation to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Police, the Kingston Police Department and the New York City Police Department for their assistance on the case.
“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,” Raia added. “His actions mirror the gang’s depravity and its lawless prioritization of social status over human life. May [this] sentencing offer a semblance of justice for the victims’ families and highlight the FBI’s continued determination to eradicate all brutal gang violence plaguing our communities.
This sentence is the latest achievement in a series of prosecutions. According to court filings and proceedings, 18th Street is a transnational criminal organization and violent street gang with members and associates residing throughout New York State, including Queens and Long Island, and elsewhere throughout the United States, including Houston, Texas and Central America. Members of 18th Street regularly engage in murder, attempted murder, assault, extortion, illegal drug and firearms trafficking, false identification document production, witness tampering, and money laundering.
