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In the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on August 7, 1997, J.L. Houston and Eddie Franklin were convicted by jury trial of participating in racketeering and narcotics conspiracies.
Judge James B. Zagel presided over the consolidated cases.
The convictions of Franklin and Houston arose from their involvement in the El Rukns street gang.
Their primary claim on appeal is that Judge Zagel made comments about the El Rukns in 1986, when he was Director of the Illinois State Police, and, therefore, he should have recused himself from their case. By failing to pursue the recusal argument before the district court, Houston and Franklin have not preserved this issue for appellate review. Their other evidentiary claim also lacks merit. We affirm their convictions.
The El Rukns were a street gang active on Chicago’s South Side.
The El Rukns followed a strict hierarchy, with a single leader, Jeff Fort, supported by a number of hand-picked “generals,” including defendants Houston and Franklin.
Franklin often ran the organization’s weekly council meetings, where its activities, including the sale of narcotics, were discussed.
He also supervised the security and narcotics trade at certain buildings controlled by the El Rukns and sold narcotics himself.
Houston operated as the connection to the organization’s primary sources for certain street drugs. He often traveled to Detroit to acquire these drugs, as well as to Miami to acquire marijuana.
Houston also participated in the gang-related murders of several individuals.
United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Eddie L. Franklin and J.l. Houston, Defendants-Appellants, 197 F.3d 266 (7th Cir. 1999). US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit – 197 F.3d 266. Argued September 13, 1999. Decided November 22, 1999
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