By Steven Kreytak
Austin Legal
AUSTIN, Texas — An indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Austin charges what an FBI spokesman said are 18 members of the Mexican Mafia prison gang with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin.
The indictment marks a rare mass roundup of Mexican Mafia members in the Austin area, where the Texas Syndicate prison gang has traditionally dominated.
The gangs generally recruit members while behind bars and when those members are released they often join with confederates to commit crimes.
Four men who authorities have said have Mexican Mafia connections were indicted in Hays County in October in the August 31 killing of Walter Capello, 35, of Lockhart.
Full Story: 18 Mexican Mafia members indicted in Austin on federal drug charges