Authorities say 63 people have been indicted in a crackdown against three violent Manhattan street gangs.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly say the crimes date back to at least 2009.
They include three murders and more than 30 shootings, as well as assaults and gun trafficking.
The rival street gangs were battling for control over a section of East Harlem.
"The goal of the conspiracy was very simple: to commit acts of violence and to commit murder and to kill," said Vance. "They have engaged a literally a bloody gang war in East Harlem that's claimed the lives of at least three teenagers, with dozens more being shot."
The gangs were known as Air It Out, True Money Gang and True Money Bosses.
Vance said the suspects openly incriminated themselves on social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Some alleged gang members posted photos of themselves with guns; one suspect wrote, "I'm 2 Glocks strapped, rolling down 112th Madison, 116 this is the new Iraq." Another said he was "trying to go out like Rambo."
Local
The three-year investigation also cracked several gang codes: words like "biscuit," "hammer," "toy" and "clickety" were slang words for gun.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
