More than 1,000 police and federal agents descended on South Los Angeles Wednesday, arresting 29 alleged members and associates of the Pueblo Bishop Bloods gang.  Nineteen of the suspects arrested were named in a federal racketeering indictment for crimes dating back to 1999, including murder, drug trafficking and armed robberies.  Some of those named in the indictment were already in custody on other charges.

Officials say the arrests are the result of a two-year investigation into the gang, which started in the 1970s and operates out of the Pueblo del Rio public housing development, on East 53rd Street in the Vernon-Central area. 

An 88-page racketeering indictment returned last week by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, and unsealed on Wednesday morning, describes the Pueblo Bishop Bloods as a tight-knit criminal organization.  The indictment says gang members profited from drug dealing and armed robberies, and that the gang controlled the Pueblo del Rio housing project through intimidation and violence against residents and rival gangs.

“The only way to effectively fight the gang problem that plagues too many neighborhoods is for local, state and federal authorities to join together to combat the threat,’’ said U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr.  “This action against this dangerous gang will improve life for the residents of the Pueblo del Rio housing development.’‘

Click here to read about the history of the Pueblo del Rio housing development.