## Facts

- Five defendants were members of the Milwaukee chapter of the Almighty Latin King Nation, a national gang with written governing documents and an internal hierarchy.
- The government presented evidence that the Milwaukee chapter operated as a coordinated criminal organization engaged in drug trafficking and violence, including murders and attempted murders tied to gang discipline and territorial control.
- Defendants were charged with federal offenses including substantive RICO, RICO conspiracy, drug-distribution conspiracy, and violent crimes in aid of racketeering (including murder-related counts).
- After a joint trial in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, all five defendants were convicted on various counts arising from their participation in the enterprise.
- Four defendants received life sentences; one defendant received a 262-month sentence.
- One defendant (Pedro Martinez) challenged the admission of incriminating statements he claimed were made during plea discussions after law-enforcement statements about a possible plea.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove the existence of a RICO enterprise, a pattern of racketeering activity, and each defendant’s participation in the charged racketeering, drug, and murder-related offenses.
2. Whether Martinez’s statements should have been excluded under Federal Rule of Evidence 410 and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(f) as statements made during protected plea discussions.
3. Whether the district court’s sentencing determinations—especially relevant-conduct attribution in jointly undertaken criminal activity and post-Booker sentencing procedure—required correction or reconsideration.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit affirmed all convictions, holding that the trial evidence permitted a rational jury to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The court upheld the characterization of the Latin Kings (including the Milwaukee chapter) as a RICO enterprise supported by proof of structure, rules, and continuity.
- The court rejected Martinez’s Rule 410/Rule 11(f) claim, concluding the circumstances did not amount to protected plea negotiations with a prosecuting authority.
- The court ordered a limited remand for resentencing for four defendants to allow reconsideration of identified sentencing issues under the advisory-Guidelines framework.
- The court vacated one defendant’s sentence and remanded for full resentencing due to sentencing error requiring a new sentencing proceeding.

## Legal Principles

- RICO “enterprise” may be established by proof of an ongoing organization with structure and continuity; gang governance materials and evidence of coordinated activity can support the enterprise element.
- A RICO “pattern of racketeering activity” requires related predicate acts and continuity; drug trafficking and coordinated violence committed to further the organization’s affairs can satisfy these requirements.
- On sufficiency review, an appellate court views evidence in the light most favorable to the government and asks whether any rational trier of fact could find the elements beyond a reasonable doubt; credibility disputes are for the jury.
- Rule 410 and Rule 11(f) protection for plea-related statements depends on objective circumstances showing plea discussions with an attorney for the prosecuting authority; a defendant’s subjective belief or an agent’s plea-related suggestion alone is insufficient.
- Under the Sentencing Guidelines’ relevant-conduct rules for jointly undertaken criminal activity, a defendant is accountable for others’ acts only if they were in furtherance of the jointly undertaken activity, within the scope of the defendant’s agreement, and reasonably foreseeable.
- Post-Booker, sentencing courts must treat the Guidelines as advisory; identified uncertainty or error in guideline calculations or relevant-conduct findings may warrant limited remand or vacatur and resentencing.

## Conclusion

The Seventh Circuit upheld the Latin Kings prosecution by affirming all RICO- and conspiracy-related convictions, declined to treat one defendant’s incriminating statements as protected plea discussions under Rule 410, and remanded multiple sentences to ensure correct relevant-conduct findings and post-Booker sentencing compliance, vacating one sentence for resentencing.


United States v. Olson, 450 F.3d 655 (7th Cir. 2006)