FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:September 4, 2007 Jim Rybicki Public Information Officer Phone: (703) 842-4050 Fax: (703) 549-5202 E-Mail: usavae.press@usdoj.gov Website: www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae

Gang Member Pleads Guilty to RICO Conspiracy and Two Murders; Co-Defendant Brother Pleads Guilty in Drug Conspiracy

(Alexandria, VA) - Hoang Anh Tran (also known as “Hoang Nhi”), age 29, of Fairfax, Virginia, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema to one count of Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy, including murder, robbery, extortion, and narcotics trafficking, and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering. The defendant’s brother and co-defendant, Tam Anh Tran (also known as “Tam Nhi”), age 34, of Centreville, Virginia, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy. The defendants will be sentenced on November 30, 2007. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Washington Field Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Colonel David M. Rohrer, Chief of Police, Fairfax County Police Department; Colonel Harry Reitze, Chief of Police, Falls Church Police Department; and J. Thomas Manger, Chief of Police, Montgomery County Police Department, announced the guilty pleas. Hoang Anh Tran is facing life in prison for the murders and RICO conspiracy, and Tam Anh Tran is facing a ten year mandatory minimum sentence for the drug conspiracy.

According to court documents, Hoang Anh Tran was one of the leaders of Dragon Family (DF), a violent gang based in Northern Virginia, which engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity. Tam Anh Tran was an associate of DF and provided the gang with drugs and firearms. Hoang Anh Tran admitted to killing Long Hung Nguyen on January 26, 1997, at the Hai Au pool hall at the Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia, in retaliation for the beating of a fellow gang member. Hoang Anh Tran also admitted to killing Trung Duc Le during a drive-by shooting in Greenbelt, Maryland, on April 10, 1999, after an altercation with rival gang members at Juliana’s, a nightclub in Washington, D.C.

United States Attorney Rosenberg stated, “These two gang members will pay a very high price – long prison terms – for their violent and dangerous crimes. We will not permit these gangs to run our neighborhoods.”

“Today’s guilty pleas are the result of the dedicated efforts of agents, detectives, police officers, and prosecutors all working as one team to combat the activities of violent gangs,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini. “The FBI is committed to investigating those individuals involved in violent criminal activities in order to help make the national capital region a safer place to live and work.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Falls Church Police Department, the Fairfax County Police Department and the Montgomery County Police Department jointly investigated this case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kim Pedersen and Kevin Di Gregory.