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'Sal Capone' and 'Mal Pacino' Among 10 South Bronx Gangsters Busted: NYPD

By Eddie Small | April 8, 2015 4:52pm
 Saliym Gresham (right), an aspiring rapper known as
Saliym Gresham (right), an aspiring rapper known as "Sal Capone," is led into the back of a police van as part of a crew bust.
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DNAinfo/Eddie Small

MORRISANIA — Police arrested 10 more members of a South Bronx gang in a raid on Wednesday and linked them to more than a dozen shootings over the past two years, NYPD said.

Members of the group, called the Lyman Place Bosses — some with nicknames like "Sal Capone" and "Mal Pacino" — were accused of attempted murder, conspiracy to possess firearms and robbery.

Police caught onto the group by monitoring them on social media and hope that the busts wipe out the group.

Authorities said the gang, which operated on Lyman Place between East 169th Street and Freeman Street, was responsible for 16 shootings over the past two years and has a history of violence involving rival crews such as Wash Side, Doe Ave and Fulton Ave.

Police arrested 11 members of the group in December and collared 10 more on Wednesday, including Saliym Gresham, an aspiring rapper also known as "Sal Capone," according to the NYPD.

"This is harassment," said Gresham, who was charged with conspiracy, as he was led into a police van on Wednesday.

In December, Daquan "Day Day" Carrasco was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder. Now, he's facing attempted murder of a 14-year-old rival crew member, who was shot in both legs.

Police launched an investigation of the crew last April by getting warrants that allowed them to search the Facebook pages of certain members.

Social media played a big role in the NYPD's attempt at breaking up the crew, as officers monitored Facebook conversations between Lyman members about getting rid of weapons and targeting victims for hits.

One of the members, Malcolm Fogle, also known as "Mal Pacino," sent a Facebook message to another suspect, Nathaniel Bellamy on July 24, 2012 saying "The Lyman Place Bosses needed to get a firearm because they had 'a mission'," according to the indictment. 

Fogle and Bellamy, who was also charged with conspiracy to possess a firearm in the December bust, were arraigned Wednesday and charged with conspiracy.

The group's robberies mostly consisted of stealing from local grocery stores and bodegas, as well as from a food delivery worker, police said.

This is the NYPD's second major take down of the Lyman Place Bosses over the last few months. On Dec. 18, police arrested 11 members of the group for charges including murder and conspiracy to possess a firearm.

One member is out on $250,000 bail, while the other 10 are still in prison and awaiting trial, police said.

Last year, Lyman members were charged with the murder of little league coach Pablo Pagan, 40, who was shot to death in front of his apartment at about 2:15 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2013. The crew mistook him as a member of rival group Doe Ave, according to police.

"He was on the wrong block at the wrong time," said Sgt. Adrian Uruci, one of the main officers behind the bust. "That was his only crime."

Deputy Inspector Steven Ortiz, commanding officer of the 42nd Precinct, hopes the latest bust would put an end to the crew.

"I think they're decimated," he said. "I think they've run out of reserves."

But officers would continue to keep an eye on the area, Uruci said.

"We're still going to be watching," he said. "We hope this is a done thing, but we'll still be watching."

The Lyman Place Bosses' territory covers — a small stretch of road in the 42nd Precinct about one-tenth of a mile long, police said.

Ortiz described most of the Lyman crew's feuds with other crews as "nonsense," including conflicts that happen because a member of a crew posted a picture in a rival group's territory. 

"They hang out for no big purpose. They have no purpose," he said. " ...Their purpose is pure stupidity."

As of March 29, shootings have dropped from six last year to four this year in the 42nd Precinct. Officer David Terrell, who was heavily involved with the crew busts, said he hoped that it would help make the neighborhood a more peaceful place.

"We'd like to see the violence continue to go down," he said.