Attorney Says Mexican Mafia Is a Fiction
A defense attorney in the Los Angeles trial of 13 alleged members and associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang argued Thursday that such an organization doesn’t exist, citing 15 questions to illustrate his point.
How can such a group exist, asked Santa Barbara lawyer Michael J. Treman, if, among other things, it has no structure, no leaders, some members of the supposed group don’t know each other and some members don’t even recognize or obey group decisions?
In each example, Treman argued to the jury, testimony and evidence showed that a “big, powerful†group did not exist as prosecutors contend.
“What is called the Mexican Mafia is nothing more than whatever people using the name want it to be,†Treman said.
Treman, who represents defendant and accused Mexican Mafia member Juan “China Boy†Arias, was the fourth defense attorney to present a closing argument in the racketeering and conspiracy trial.
Late Thursday, a fifth defense attorney, Elliott Stanford, who is representing Victor “Victorio†Murrillo, began his closing statement.
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