9tre Gangsters And BWS Charged With Running Drug Ring And Money Laundering

A New Jersey grand jury charged 46 members of the 9 Tre Gangsters with running a statewide drug ring on Friday (June 9), claiming they used violence to protect their territory from rival gangs.

According to the Newark Star Ledger, an indictment filed in Superior Court on Friday named 34-year-old David "Duke" Allen with running the street organization from his prison cell in the New Jersey State Prison, where he is already serving a life sentence for a 2001 murder conviction.

Authorities say that Allen ran 9 Tre through his top soldiers, Jermaine Little and James Pringle, both 34 years of age, who carried out the orders of Allen on the streets.

All three men face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted on charges of running a narcotics trafficking network, state prosecutors said, according to the paper. They are also being accused from of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute illegal narcotics -- including cocaine and heroin -- and extortion, among other offenses.

The indictment comes nearly a year after New Jersey State Police arrested the higher-ranking members of the gang back in July 2006, in which State Police worked together, gathering and sharing intelligence to build cases against each of the arrested gang members.

The result of the information sharing comes in the form of additional charges against the 9 Tre members, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder and several other charges.

Police have also involved the gang in the music business, claiming they partnered rapper The Game and business partner John "Johnny Hooks" Abbey to launch an Atlantic City recording studio used to launder more than $83,000 in drug money.

38-year-old Abbey was arrested and charged with money laundering last November (see "The Game's NJ Business Partner Charged With Money Laundering") after police raided the recording studio/offices of Black Wall Street East, a house located in Little Egg Harbor, which was owned by Abbey and a construction company that he had invested in.

Abbey faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 for laundering the dirty money. The Game was not charged.

The Ledger reports that the 9 Tre Gangsters, a faction of the Bloods street gang, was as many as 270 members strong before the July busts and had a major presence in Newark, Trenton and Atlantic City, and was involved in criminal enterprises through many cities statewide.