NEW YORK – Federal authorities on Wednesday announced the indictments of seven members and associates of a Mount Vernon-based street gang, “Boss Playa Family,” or “BPF,” on charges of racketeering conspiracy and firearms offenses, and charging some members with murder.
Two of the defendants were arrested Wednesday. Antoine Little, 32, was arrested in Bedford, Texas and Gorham Valentine, 30, was arrested in Norwalk, Connecticut. Four of those indicted were previously in state custody. They are Jamel Upson, 31, Tyrone McCallum, 28, Portland Ramseur, 30, and Jason White, 32. The seventh defendant is Shawn Evans, 27.
“Members of the BPF gang allegedly unleashed a terrifying wave of violence on the streets of Mount Vernon,” said US Attorney Preet Bharara. “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 the BPF’s leaders, allegedly shot and killed members of a rival gang.”
Bharara said the charges brought on Wednesday “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.”
