A 49-year-old man once described by federal prosecutors as a high-ranking shot-caller for MS-13 in Koreatown is set to be sentenced in downtown Los Angeles, facing anywhere from 10 years to life in prison for his role in the transnational gang's drug and racketeering operations. Erwin Melgar oversaw the Normandie clique's drug trafficking and other criminal activity, according to federal prosecutors, and now awaits punishment for a jury's verdict handed down in May 2023.
Melgar was found guilty of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and two counts of distributing methamphetamine, according to MyNewsLA.com. As shot-caller for the Normandie clique, Melgar oversaw illegal after-hours clubs known as casitas, per federal prosecutors — unlicensed venues based in Koreatown that, according to the Sigal Law Group, sold illicit drugs and alcohol to generate substantial revenue for the gang alongside street-level extortion. Under federal law, RICO conspiracy and drug distribution conspiracy convictions carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum of life, a framework that will guide the sentence Melgar receives.
A Co-Defendant Already Sentenced to 30 Years
Melgar wasn't tried alone. He was convicted at the same trial as José Balmore Romero, a 53-year-old who served as shot-caller for the overall gang in Los Angeles during 2013 and 2014, according to the seed report. Evidence presented at trial showed Romero directed the gang's drug-trafficking activities and directed the collection of extortion taxes and rent, funds that were distributed in part to incarcerated members of the Mexican Mafia. Romero also issued gang orders involving the initiation of new members and the assault of people considered in bad standing, per prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II sentenced Romero to 30 years behind bars in March 2024.
The tribute paid to the Mexican Mafia wasn't incidental — it reflects a broader arrangement in which street gangs, including MS-13, pay extortion taxes to the Mexican Mafia for protection. That prison-gang authority effectively dictates street-level gang economics throughout Los Angeles.
Roots Stretching Back to Koreatown and Pico-Union
MS-13's presence in Koreatown is not new. The gang was originally founded in Los Angeles during the 1980s by Central American refugees fleeing civil war in El Salvador, establishing early strongholds in neighborhoods including Koreatown and Pico-Union, according to InSight Crime. What began as a mutual-protection network for refugees expanded over decades into an international criminal enterprise. On the ground, MS-13 cliques in Los Angeles have frequently occupied vacant or blighted buildings marked for demolition — buildings gang members refer to as destroyers — to hold meetings, store narcotics, and carry out violent crimes, the Los Angeles Times has reported, often in gentrifying or neglected pockets of Westlake and Koreatown.
During Romero's tenure as overall L.A. shot-caller, MS-13 comprised more than 20 distinct cliques operating across the city, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The gang also held meetings, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. MS-13's Los Angeles cliques have also been targeted in racketeering prosecutions.
Extortion's Toll on Local Vendors
MS-13 extortion rackets in Los Angeles have systematically targeted street vendors and small business owners, demanding weekly rent payments ranging from $10 to $100 under threat of violence or death, according to a 2013 LAist report. The gang also made payments to incarcerated members of the Mexican Mafia.
Melgar's coming sentencing is one outcome in the federal case against MS-13. Federal prosecutors have secured 28 convictions in this case altogether, per MyNewsLA.com. Enforcement against MS-13's L.A. footprint hasn't stopped there: in a separate federal RICO prosecution targeting the gang's Fulton and Directos Locos cliques, a jury in November 2025 convicted five gang members of racketeering acts including murder, extortion, and drug trafficking, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Together, the cases document federal and local prosecutions involving MS-13 in Los Angeles.
