United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CHICAGO, IL. - A longtime high-ranking member of the Gangster Disciples street gang, Victor Thompson, was sentenced to more than 28 years in federal prison for distributing staggering quantities of crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana in low-income neighborhoods throughout the city over the course of a decade before he was arrested in 2007. At sentencing late yesterday, the government presented information that Thompson was responsible for distributing more than 13,500 kilograms of crack cocaine, nearly 740 kilograms of heroin, and 425,412 kilograms of marijuana between 1997 and 2007.

Thompson, also known as “Vic,” and “Old Man,” 51, who has two prior drug convictions and four prior gun convictions since 1983, was sentenced to 340 ( 28 years and 4 months) by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer. He was arrested on federal charges in May 2007 and a loaded firearm with a defaced serial number was recovered in his bedroom at the time. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Chicago Police Department arrested Thompson and seven codefendants for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in the West Pullman neighborhood on the city’s south side. Thompson and his “God son,” Shawn Denton, 33, formerly of East Chicago, controlled a high-volume crack cocaine distribution organization and enforced their authority through violence, thefts and robberies.

Thompson pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy in early 2009 and his sentencing was repeatedly delayed at his request. Denton, who cooperated with authorities, and the other codefendants also pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

The sentence was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jack Riley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

According to court documents, undercover Chicago police officers posing as drug customers and a cooperating source made approximately 30 controlled purchases of crack cocaine from alleged members of Thompson’s drug organization during the investigation. The investigation was conducted under the umbrellas of the federal High Intensity Drug-Trafficking (HIDTA) Task Force and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task (OCDETF).

At the time of his arrest, Thompson was alleged to be a “Board Member” in the Gangster Disciples hierarchy, and controlled a crack cocaine trafficking organization that included fellow Gangster Disciples as well as non-gang members near the area of 116th and Stewart streets on the south side. When the Gangster Disciples longtime chairman Larry Hoover and more three dozen other high-ranking leaders were charged with running a $100 million drug distribution empire, a chart recovered in 1995 and later introduced at Hoover’s trial set out the entire hierarchy of the Gangster Disciples organization at the time. It listed “Vic” (Victor Thompson) as a “regent” for the 2 area between 95th and 107th streets and Vincennes and Eggleston streets, and his “count” (the number of members he controlled) was 200 at the time.

Court documents state that Bernard Ellis, a Gangster Disciples member arrested in 2005, was recorded by law enforcement agents discussing Thompson’s drug-trafficking organization. Ellis described how Thompson extorted local drug dealers by charging them “street taxes” to deal drugs in his area, and further disclosed that Thompson used a system of informants to report how much local drug dealers were making through drug sales. The extortion system was enforced through torture and violence, according to court records.

The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Cannon and Lindsay Jenkins.

Parents and children are encouraged to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.