Crime & Safety

Bethlehem Latin Kings Leader Pleads Guilty

The Morning Call: Plea wraps up federal racketeering case against city gang leaders.

The last of 12 leaders of Bethlehem's Latin Kings gang members arrested in a July 2010 Valley wide raid that netted more than 40 gang members pleaded guilty today in federal court in Philadelphia, according this report in The Morning Call.

Carlos "King Knowledge" Martinez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in aid of a racketeering enterprise and carrying a firearm in a violent crime, according to the report. In exchange for the plea, federal prosecutors are asking the judge to limit his sentence to five to 15 years.

The other 11 members of the Bethlehem Sun Tribe of the Latin Kings, including founder and kingpin Luis "King Respect" Colon, had already pleaded guilty.

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The lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Weber, told the newspaper: "There is no question that Bethlehem is a safer place now because of this."


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