Following a two and a half-week trial in Newark federal court, Romero, of New Brunswick, was found guilty of all eight counts of an indictment charging him with one count each of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to harbor aliens; two counts of using a firearm for a violent crime; and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, the U.
The crime ring cemented itself by causing violent mayhem, including carrying out two murders in the capital city. The feared criminal organization used murder and intimidation to solidify its prostitution business, enlisting vulnerable undocumented immigrants in brothels across the state, federal prosecutors said.
Romero, a house manager at a Bridgeton brothel, acted at the direction of the leaders of the enterprise, Juan Fredy Hernandez-Zozaya, 40, and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Rojas, 36, both of New Brunswick, who oversaw brothels in New Brunswick, Trenton, Orange, Asbury Park, Lakewood, and Bridgeton, prosecutors said.
Romero, together with the other men, stamped their reign of brutality against rivals by planning and carrying out murders, vicious beatings and robberies, federal prosecutors said, turning against associates who they believed were disloyal or had acted as police informants.
The enterprise helped illegally smuggle undocumented immigrants into the country, putting them to work after they got here. Romero allegedly helped carry out Trenton murders on Sept. Neemias Reyes-Gonzalez, 36, was gunned down Sept. He had previously been arrested during a prostitution sting.
