Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang admitted to his role in a racketeering conspiracy, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.
Jason Franklin, a/k/a “Freak,” (“Franklin”), 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to a superseding indictment that charged him with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) conspiracy.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From at least in or around 2015 through on or about September 22, 2022, Franklin was a member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips, a criminal enterprise responsible for acts of violence and the distribution of controlled substances in the District of New Jersey and elsewhere. Franklin held a leadership role within the enterprise and ordered other members and associates of the enterprise to commit several acts of violence.
Specifically, on or about March 20, 2019, in Irvington, New Jersey, Franklin ordered other members and associates of the enterprise to murder another person, in retaliation for the murder of a member and associate of the Rollin’ 60s.
In or around early April 2021, Franklin ordered other members and associates of the enterprise to retaliate against rival gang members, resulting in the April 5, 2021 attempted murder of another person, who sustained serious bodily injury as a result of being shot.
The defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer Piovesan, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr., as well as investigators of the U.S. Marshals Service, under Marshal Juan Mattos’ direction; the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Police Division Director Tracy Bowers, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II, the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian J. Discroll Jr., the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda, Sr., the Bloomfield Police Department, under the direction of Director of Public Safety Samuel A. DeMaio, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under Sheriff Amir D. Jones’s direction, the East Orange Police Department, under the direction of Chief Phyllis L. Bindi, the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Earl J. Graves, the Edison Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Tom Bryan, the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William A. Daniel, the Spotswood Police Department, under the direction of Chief Philip Corbisiero, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Fugitive and Missing Person Task Force, which includes members of the FBI, for the investigations leading to the charges in the Rollin 60’s Neighborhood Crips investigation.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The investigation was conducted as part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The Newark VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, New Jersey Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake A. Nasar of the Health Care Fraud Unit.
Defense Counsels:
Anthony Iacullo, Esq.
Michael Koribanics, Esq.