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Press Release

23 Defendants Charged in Federal Court with Distribution of Heroin on Milwaukee's South Side

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin

The Office of the United States Attorney announced today that 23 defendants were indicted in federal court with cconspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, more than 1kilogram heroin in violation of  United States Code Sections 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(A).  If convicted each defendant faces between 10 years and life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine and a minimum of 5 years supervised release.

Name
Age and Residency

Praxedes Reyes-Burgos aka “Gordo”

35, Milwaukee

34, Milwaukee

Geraldo S. Reyes aka “Sapo”

38, Milwaukee

Jonathan R. Hernandez aka “Joey” aka “Yogi”

29, Milwaukee

Mike M. Hinz

62, Milwaukee

Juan Hernandez aka “Kiko”

47, Milwaukee

Luis A. Lopez

33, Milwaukee

Luz E. Reyes-Burgos aka “Betty”

45, Milwaukee

Luz Burgos

65, Milwaukee

Praxedes Reyes-Cruz

64, Milwaukee

Joel E. Lopez aka “Looney”

28, Milwaukee

Alfredo A. Hernandez III aka “Azteca” aka “Mexico”

32, Milwaukee

Israel Feliciano aka “Pigui”

47, Milwaukee

Christopher A. Malzhan

26, Ripon, WI

Alexis J. Reyes aka “Chino”

25, Milwaukee

Jesus Oquendo aka “Bobby”

24, Milwaukee

Angel L. Reyes aka “Tuto”

24, Milwaukee

Carmen R. Nieves

34, Milwaukee

Mirta Reyes

27, Milwaukee

Lidia Herrera-Diaz aka “Carmen”

38, Milwaukee

Christian Rivera

27, Milwaukee

Santiago Hernandez aka “Primo”

49, Chicago, IL

Carlos J. Manzanares

29, Chicago, IL

According to information released in court this is a large drug trafficking organization that has been selling cocaine and heroin on the south side of Milwaukee for many years. They are responsible for distributing multiple kilograms of heroin per month and it’s believed that one of the distributors may be responsible for at least one heroin overdose death.   The leaders of the organization were Victor, Geraldo and Praxedes Reyes who are brothers. The Reyes brothers received their heroin primarily from Santiago Hernandez out of Chicago, though they did occasionally use other sources.      
           
Today, law enforcement officers arrested 19 of the defendants (the other 4 were already in custody) and executed search warrants at seven separate locations.  Seized in these search warrants was approximately $300,000 in US currency and five firearms.  Over the last few weeks, officers have also seized over one kilogram of heroin.

The defendants were charged based on a lengthy joint investigation by the Milwaukee Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) via the Milwaukee High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Drug Gang Task Force.

Law enforcement agencies that were involved in the search warrants and arrests today include:  the Milwaukee Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, the South Milwaukee Police Department, the West Allis Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Justice - Division of Criminal Investigations, the Wisconsin State Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Marshals Service, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office and the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.

According to First Assistant United States Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad, “These charges, arrests, and seizures are a part of our continuing work to dismantle drug organizations that threaten the safety and security of neighborhoods in the Eastern District of Wisconsin and elsewhere.  These efforts reflect the importance of ongoing collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement.”

Chief Edward Flynn of the Milwaukee Police Department stated "the U.S. Attorney's Office and federal law enforcement have been valuable and reliable partners with the Milwaukee Police Department in reducing violent crime and drug trafficking in Milwaukee.  Today's operation demonstrates their continued commitment to our partnership."

FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Steven L. Conley said: “We will continue to work collaboratively and aggressively to bring these violent offenders to justice.”

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mario F. Gonzales.

An indictment or criminal complaint is a method of charging an individual and does not constitute inference of his or her guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until such time, if ever, that the government establishes his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated January 29, 2015

Press Release Number: Victor M. Reyes aka “El Tiburon”