LOS ANGELES — The director of the anti-gang organization No Guns, which the city of Los Angeles once paid $1.5 million to steer Latino youths away from a life of crime, pleaded guilty Thursday to selling assault weapons illegally to federal undercover officers.
Hector “Big Weasel” Marroquin, 51, was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Marroquin is a reputed long-time member of Los Angeles’ 18th Street gang. In 1996, he formed No Guns, an organization he said was dedicated to mediating gang wars and to stopping gun violence.
The city’s anti-gang program eventually contracted with No Guns to provide gang-intervention services. In 2006, however, revelations that Marroquin hired many of his relatives at No Guns, followed by his arrest on weapons charges, prompted the city to cancel its contract with his group.
