A sweeping federal investigation of a crew of Gangster Disciples leaders ended Thursday with a life sentence for a Naperville man, Frank Smith, who is among five regional and national leaders of the gang sentenced this year on racketeering charges.
Smith, 50, Walter Griffin, Sean Clemon and Dominique Maxwell were convicted by a jury after a six-week trial, and Anthony Dobbins pleaded guilty. All got life terms except for Dobbins, who was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Griffin is from Glenwood. Clemon, Maxwell and Dobbins are from southern Illinois.
Clemon and Maxwell, on orders from Smith, fatally shot a Gangster Disciples member at a Missouri park in April 2018, prosecutors said. They said Smith texted “Mike Tyson Punch Out” to Maxwell prior to the shooting.
The following month, Griffin and Dobbins drove from southern Illinois to the South Side to kill a Gangster Disciples board member because he opposed their leadership positions, according to prosecutors, who said Dobbins shot the man in the face and back.
“Law enforcement has delivered a devastating blow to the Gangster Disciples criminal enterprise,” acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri said of the sentences.
According to the indictment charging the men, Dobbins told Griffin in September 2014 that imprisoned Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover had appointed them as “board members” for the gang.
In 2021, Hoover’s lawyer said he doubted Hoover could have promoted gang members in prison while he was being held under high security.
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Click here to read Jan. 27, 2021, Watchdogs report “Gangster Disciples founder called shots from jail, feds say.”
Contributing: Lynn Sweet
