Members of Westchester's 'Boss Playa Family' Gang Charged with Murder, Racketeering

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Seven members and associates of the Mount Vernon-based street gang, “Boss Playa Family” or “BPF,” were indicted on murder, racketeering, illegal firearms and narcotics charges this week, announced United States Attorney Preet Bharara, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore and FBI New York Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez.

“Members of the BPF gang allegedly unleashed a terrifying wave of violence on the streets of Mount Vernon,” said Bharara in a statement. “Over the course of several years, BPF gunfire erupted in and around the gang’s territory with shocking and tragic frequency. On two of those occasions, the defendant Jamel Upson, one of BPF’s leaders, allegedly shot and killed members of a rival gang. The charges brought today serve as a reminder that we and our law enforcement partners are determined to combat the scourge of gang and drug violence in Mount Vernon.”

Two of the defendants, Antoine Little of Bedford, Texas, and Gorham Valentine of Mount Vernon, were arrested Wednesday, Little in Texas and Valentine in Norwalk, Conn. The circumstances of Little’s and Valentine’s arrests were not disclosed. Four of the seven defendants charged in the Indictment unsealed today were already in custody: Jamel Upson, Tyrone McCallum, Portland Ramseur and Jason White. Shawn Evans remains at-large.

“The allegations in this indictment describe the frightening and brazen hold these defendants had on neighborhoods in and around the City of Mount Vernon,” said DiFiore in a statement. “Over the past several years we have worked tirelessly to pursue members and associates of this gang and now as a result of the collaborative efforts of federal, state and local law authorities these defendants will be held accountable for the crimes they now stand accused of. Our priority is and will continue to be enhancing the safety and quality of life for all of the hard working residents of the City of Mount Vernon.”

Rodriguez added that the gang ”used violence and an array of criminal activities to enhance the [its] power and protect its territory.” Gang-related activity such as this “infects our communities with an illness that kills our neighborhoods’ safety and growth. However, there is an antidote to this that is made of law enforcement working at both the federal and local level to get gangs like this off the street.”

According to the allegations announced by authorities:

The BPF street gang was a criminal enterprise that operated principally in and around the City of Mount Vernon, New York, from at least in or about 2007 up to and including 2014. BPF members and associates sought to enhance the gang’s power, protect and expand its territory, and enrich its members through a wide array of criminal activities, including murder, attempted murder, larceny, arson, and the distribution of cocaine and marijuana. BPF members and associates expressly acknowledged and celebrated their gang affiliation through various means, including by wearing clothing emblazoned with “Boss Playa Family” and “BPF,” and by creating and posting on the Internet rap videos that promoted BPF.

One of BPF’s principal objectives was to maintain and exercise control over its territory, the area of Seventh Avenue and Sandford Boulevard in Mount Vernon. To that end, BPF sought to assert its dominance over rival gangs, particularly the “Goonies,” a gang based in a neighboring area of Mount Vernon. During the time period relevant to the Indictment, BPF members and associates were responsible for numerous acts of violence targeting members of the rival Goonies gang, including multiple murders and many other shootings. In furtherance of such violence, firearms were maintained in stash locations by certain BPF members and associates for shared use by other members and associates of the gang when guns were needed to strike or retaliate against the Goonies.

The violence perpetrated by BPF turned deadly on two occasions in 2008. On or about August 13, 2008, JAMEL UPSON, one of BPF’s lead enforcers or “shooters,” aided and abetted by others known and unknown, murdered Shomari Knox, a member of the Goonies, by shooting Knox in the area of Ninth Avenue and Third Street in Mount Vernon. Several months later, on or about December 14, 2008, UPSON, again aided and abetted by others known and unknown, murdered another member of the Goonies, Cory Cabiness, by shooting him in the vicinity of the Ebony Gardens apartment complex in Mount Vernon. As alleged in the Indictment, UPSON committed these murders in order to maintain and increase his position in the BPF gang.

The charges against the defendants are as follows:

Counts One and Two of the Indictment charge all seven defendants, JAMEL UPSON, SHAWN EVANS, ANTOINE LITTLE, TYRONE McCALLUM, PORTLAND RAMSEUR, GORHAM VALENTINE, and JASON WHITE, with a BPF racketeering conspiracy and firearms offenses in connection with that conspiracy. As alleged, various combinations of those defendants committed, among other acts of racketeering, at least eight shootings in furtherance of the BPF conspiracy. Counts Three and Four of the Indictment charge UPSON with murder in aid of racketeering activity and a related firearms offense in connection with the August 2008 murder of Shomari Knox, and Counts Five and Six charge UPSON with murder in aid of racketeering activity and a related firearms offense in connection with the December 2008 murder of Cory Cabiness. Finally, Count Seven of the Indictment charges UPSON, RAMSEUR, and WHITE with conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana in and around BPF territory.

Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the Mount Vernon Police Department. He also thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office for its participation and support in this ongoing investigation.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Turner and Daniel Filor are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.