NEW ROCHELLE, NY — On July 20th, a member of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Gang, an alleged racketeering conspiracy, shot at rival gang members in New Rochelle, a Federal Indictment unsealed in White Plains federal court on December 1st has revealed.
The 16-Count Indictment charged 18 members of Gorilla Stone with committing various racketeering, murder, narcotics, firearms, and fraud offenses, among them shooting and killing a 15-year-old in Poughkeepsie, a rapper signed to entertainment mogul Jay-Z, and a drive-by shooting in New Rochelle on July 20th.
Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Gang and its subset Black Stone Gorilla Gangstas are both factions of the “Bloods”.
On that night, New Rochelle Police Officers responded to a report of shots fired at approximately 9:55 p.m.
An investigation by New Rochelle Police Detectives determined a man fired four shots from a moving vehicle at several individuals around Horton Avenue and Brook Street — the same location where two people were shot, one fatally, on July 15th.
No injuries were reported as a result of the July 20th shooting.
New Rochelle Police identified the vehicle involved, as well as the suspect.
New Rochelle Police announced the arrest of Stephen “Chino” Hugh, 24 of Yonkers, New York at about 5 p.m. Friday, August 14th on a charge of Attempted Murder Second Degree.
According to the indictment, Hugh shot at a rival gang member because he was paid by Gorilla Stone and “for the purpose of gaining entrance to and maintaining and increasing position in Gorilla Stone”.
Hugh is named in 5 of the 16 accounts in the Federal indictment, each of which carry with it lengthy maximum prison sentences including 4 with sentences up to Life in Prison.
- Count One: Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering (Life in prison)
- Count Three: Attempted Murder and Attempted Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering (10 years in prison)
- Count Four: Possession and Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence (Life in prison; Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison to run consecutively to any other sentence imposed)
- Count Thirteen: Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances (Life in prison; Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison)
- Count Fourteen: Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Life in prison; Mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison to run consecutively to any other sentence imposed)
We are still looking for Caswell Senior, aka Casanova, in connection with this case. He has connections to both NY and NJ. If you have information about his whereabouts, please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI. pic.twitter.com/W38fCnBFpt
— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) December 1, 2020
Seventeen of the 18 defendants were in custody when the indictment was unsealed.
Brooklyn rapper Caswell “Casanova” Senior, 34, was the 18th. He is currently signed to Roc Nation, LLC, an entertainment agency founded by rapper Jay-Z.
Senior surrendered to police Wednesday night, according to law enforcement officials and pleaded not guilty to the charges in Federal court on Thursday.
Casanova is charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit racketeering; conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; and a gun possession charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.
Casanova’s Facebook page makes numerous references to the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Gang.
“As alleged in the Indictment, members of Gorilla Stone committed terrible acts of violence, trafficked in narcotics, and even engaged in brazen fraud by exploiting benefits programs meant to provide assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss. “Because of that, communities across the Southern District from Poughkeepsie to Peekskill to New York City suffered. Most shocking, as alleged in the indictment, a minor was murdered in furtherance of the gangˇs activities. Because of the extraordinary work of our law enforcement partners, the defendants now face federal charges for their crimes.”
“Todayˇs arrests put a halt to an alleged criminal enterprise involved in drug trafficking, gang-related violence and other crimes in Westchester and the Hudson Valley,” said Westchester County Department of Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Gleason. “Our streets are indeed safer thanks to the great work of the Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and all of the partner agencies that contributed to the success of this complex investigation.”
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
This case is being handled by the Officeˇs White Plains Division and Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Shiva H. Logarajah, Jacob Warren, and David R. Felton are in charge of the prosecution.
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