Gang Leader/Rapper Admits Racketeering, Trafficking In Hudson Valley

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A rap star has admitted in a White Plains federal courtroom to moonlighting as a violent gang leader and drug trafficker.

Rapper Caswell Senior (a/k/a "Casanova") pled guilty Wednesday to racketeering and narcotics charges stemming from his leadership of the "Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Bloods Gang" ("Gorilla Stone") in Westchester County, New York City and Florida, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY, Damian Williams, announced.

According to court documents, from 2004 to December 2020, Senior was involved in the Gorilla Stone racketeering conspiracy. He admitted that in July 2020, while at a party in Florida with other gang members, he discharged a firearm at a person with whom he was having a gambling dispute. That person suffered serious injuries as a result. A firefight then broke out at the gathering.

In an August 2018 Manhattan robbery, a victim was restrained and suffered serious injuries, Senior admitted. He also admitted to the court that he was a leader of criminal acts that involved five or more participants and he had previously agreed to traffic at least 100 kilograms of marijuana.

"Like twelve of his co-defendants, Caswell Senior, an accomplished recording artist and performer, now stands convicted of playing a leadership role in Gorilla Stone, a particularly violent Bloods gang that operates throughout New York and across the country," Williams said. "In addition to his supervisory role, Senior was an active, hands-on participant in the gang’s senseless violence, including a shooting in Miami and contributing to a robbery at a Manhattan diner. Dismantling violent gangs and stopping gun violence continues to be one of my highest priorities. Thanks to the dedication of our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Senior now awaits sentencing for his dangerous conduct."

The 35-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6. Senior pled guilty to one count of conspiring to conduct and participate in the affairs of a criminal enterprise through racketeering and one count of conspiring to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. He faces a minimum of five years to a maximum of 60 years in prison.

Senior is the 13th defendant in the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Bloods Gang case to plead guilty. The 12 other defendants who previously pled guilty are: Deshawn Thomas, a/k/a “Don,” Naya Austin, a/k/a “Baby,” Brandon Nieves, a/k/a “Untouchable Dot,” Donovan Gillard, a/k/a “Donnie Love,” Jarrett Crisler, Jr., a/k/a “Jayecee,” Dezon Washington, a/k/a “Blakk,” Stephen Hugh, a/k/a “Chino,” Jordan Ingram, a/k/a “Flow,” Shanay Outlaw, a/k/a “Easy,” Roberta Sligh, a/k/a “Trouble,” Brinae Thornton, a/k/a “Luxury,” and Jamal Trent, a/ka/ “Trap Smoke.”

Williams praised the investigative work of the FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, which is made up of special agents and task force officers from the FBI, US Probation, NYS Police, NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, NYPD, Westchester County PD, Westchester County DA's Office, Putnam County Sheriff's Office, Rockland County DA's Office and the Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Greenburgh, White Plains, Peekskill, Ramapo and Clarkstown Police Departments.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shiva H. Logarajah, David R. Felton, and Courtney L. Heavey in charge of the prosecution.

SEE ALSO:

• 'Gorilla Stone' Gang Members Accused Of Drug Trafficking, Fraud
• Rapper Casanova Turns Self In After Alleged Diner Assault: NYPD
• Rapper Casanova's Alleged Accomplice Arrested For WV Diner Brawl