A federal jury in Brooklyn found a Coney Island man guilty on charges of racketeering, two counts of murder-in-aid-of-racketeering, and causing a death through use of a firearm on June 1.
Frank Smith — also known as “Fresh” — spent fourteen years as a member of the Rival Impact street gang, from January 2000 until 2014, during which time he and other members sold heroin and crack and planned murders, robberies, and assaults from their base at the Mermaid Houses, according to reps from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Smith also plotted the killings of two members of a rival gang — Thirty-O, based in the Coney Island Houses — who he believed were responsible for the murder of one of his fellow gang members, Vincent Carmona, in August 2010. Two months after Carmona’s murder, Smith drove to East 19th in Manhattan with another gang member and ambushed the two Thirty-O members — Terrance Serrano and Rashawn Washington — fatally shooting them while they sat inside a car, according to prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who announced the verdict, said the conviction rightly held Smith responsible for his actions, and was proof of his office’s commitment to reduce gang violence.
“With today’s jury verdict, Frank Smith has been held accountable for murders and drug dealing arising out of his allegiance to a violent Brooklyn street gang,” said Richard Donoghue. “This office and our law enforcement partners will continue to work tirelessly to dismantle violent street gangs and to eradicate the menace they pose to our communities.”
The government’s case against Smith is being handled by the Department of Justice’s Office of Organized Crime and Gangs Section, according to the rep from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Smith faces two mandatory life sentences for the murders.
