Leaders of a Brooklyn crew called the “Bully Gang” were apprehended for murder, racketeering, and drug-trafficking charges by the federal authorities, which included a homicide at a baby gender reveal party organized by one of their own members.
Derrick “Dee” Ayers, 37; Moeleek “Moe Money” Harrell, 34; Franklin “Spazz” Gillespie, 33; and Anthony “Biggie” Kennedy, 38; were indicted after a 13-week trial stemming from a lengthy probe into their illicit activities, which spanned from murder to the distribution of dangerous drugs throughout the East Coast and into Rikers Island.
“Their criminal syndicate is a mere shadow of the violent gang that caused chaos in Bedford Stuyvesant, various parts of New York City, and the Eastern Seaboard through murder, brazen daylight shootings, robberies, arsons, drug trafficking, and bribery,” stated US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace.
Harrell was a founding member and leader of the gang before his arrest, while Ayers and Kennedy held prominent positions within the organization. Gillespie was known as one of their enforcers who resorted to violence to achieve their objectives, according to the prosecutors.
Ayers was found guilty of the murder of Jonathan Jackson, a member of a rival gang called the “Stukes Crew,” at a gender-reveal party for Harrell’s child in 2018. He, along with Harrell, was also convicted of conspiring to harm other individuals associated with rival gangs.
Gillespie was convicted of plotting to murder Mike Hawley to prevent him from reporting a murder to the authorities in April 2020. Hawley was killed four days after speaking with law enforcement.
The gang of dangerous criminals also trafficked potent drugs like cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin across New York and New Jersey, extending as far as Maine, as per the prosecutors.
They transported the drugs in secret compartments professionally installed in their vehicles.
One of their tactics involved saturating comic books and other paper items with synthetic marijuana compounds and then smuggling them into Rikers Island.
Once inside the prison, affiliated inmates would vend the products to other prisoners.
Harrell and Kennedy maintained their operation from within Rikers while serving their sentences, according to the prosecutors.
These four individuals are among the 49 Bully Gang members who have faced serious charges since 2020.
“These convictions mark the end of the terror imposed by this gang, dispelling the notion that criminals can commit heinous acts without facing consequences,” stated Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Special Agent-in-Charge Miller.
Each of them could be sentenced to life imprisonment, with minimum terms ranging from 15 to 55 years.
