Alleged Aztecas hear charges

By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times

Article Launched: 02/14/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

Three reputed leaders of the Barrio Azteca gang indicted in a federal racketeering case made their initial appearance Wednesday before a federal magistrate judge in El Paso.

Carlos "Shotgun" Perea, Benjamin "T-Top" Alvarez and Manuel "Tolon" Cardoza are believed to hold the rank of "capo" (captain) in the upper echelons of the prison-based gang, which has about 2,000 members across the Southwest, including 1,000 in El Paso, FBI and police have said.

The three were already imprisoned when they were recently served as part of an 11-count Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) indictment issued by a federal grand jury last month, an FBI spokeswoman had said.

Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael S. McDonald read the charges to each of the men, who were shackled during two separate appearances in a mostly empty courtroom.

McDonald informed the men that each was accused of "engaging in the affairs of a criminal enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity."

They also face conspiracy charg es for allegedly being involved in a criminal organization that laundered money and distributed cocaine, marijuana and heroin. If convicted, they face life in prison.