El Monte Flores, also known as EMF, is a Mexican-American criminal

street gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

based in California. It is the largest Hispanic gang in

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley (), sometimes referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern ...

and one of the oldest in Los Angeles County.

History

Also known as EMF, the gang has had an estimated unknown amount of members but has thousands of active members since it was formed in the 1940s. The gang claims South El Monte, El Monte, North El Monte, and Mayflower Village as its turf. The gang's name comes from the Barrio Las Flores, named for the flower field & nurseries in the El Monte area. El Monte Flores is now part of a larger organization and pays "taxes" or "tribute" to the

Mexican Mafia The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: ''Mafia Mexicana''), also known as ''La eMe'' (Spanish for "the M"), is a predominantly Mexican American prison gang and criminal organization in the United States. Despite its name, the Mexican Mafia has no origins i ...

or "La eMe," a powerful prison-based gang who controls the majority of Latino gangs in Southern California.

Location

Police reports have suggested that their reach has even been seen in

Victorville, California Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. Victorville is the principal city of a Victor Valley–based urban area defined by the United States Census Bureau: ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Washington (state) Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from Washington, D.C., the national capital, both n ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The original cliques are in

El Monte, California El Monte is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles. El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historically known as "The End of the San ...

, as well as South El Monte, but like many gangs, members are beginning to migrate to various other cities and states across the country. A chapter has even been established in Seattle, Washington. El Monte Flores still maintains a strong hold in their original territory despite repeated attempts from law enforcement to break the gang. El Monte Flores claims all of

South El Monte, California South El Monte is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,567, down from 20,116 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ce ...

, North El Monte, California, & Mayflower Village, California but is most active east of the Rio Hondo River, mainly in the southern portion of the city. Major hangouts include the San Gabriel Valley Boys & Girls Club, Dead-End ValeWood, Little 5 Points liquor, Dead-End Dodson, Wild Flower St, Legg Lake Park, Alpaca St, Valley Mall, Arceo Park, Dee st, Zamora Park, Mountain View Park, Dead-End CogsWell, Fletcher Park, Maxson St, Dead-End MooreHouse, Continental St, Central St, Dead-End Sastre, Potrero St, New Temple Park, Lambert Park, Mansion Trailers, Parkway Dr, and the KlingerMan-BonWood Apartments.

Culture

Even though El Monte Flores are a Sureño gang and use the number 13 (to denote the 13th letter, M, in the alphabet.) they are rivals with a variety of other Sureño gangs. Members usually tattoo the words, "Monte Flores", "El Monte F", "Flores", "EMF", "EMFxTMS" on them. XIII, X3, 13 and 3 dots are also seen with Sureño gang members and their colors are blue and gray. Like all Sureños once they are in the prison system they set aside their rivalry and unite under the Sureño Banner and are controlled by La eMe.

Criminal activity

The El Monte Flores gang has been documented being involved in various criminal activity, and is one of the largest and most notorious gangs in Southern California. Their main source of income is from the illegal sale of heroin, crystal meth, cocaine, marijuana, prostitution, ecstasy, & PCP. EMF gang-members are well known for trafficking in illegal narcotics, along with other crimes like battery to murder, as well as robbery, burglary, carjacking, witness intimidation, kidnapping, weapons trafficking,

credit card fraud Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The P ...

and

identity theft Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. ...

, racketeering, drug and weapons-related charges, money laundering & hate crimes against blacks. In May 2016, EMF gang member Christian "Bossy" Lafargo, aged 30, was sentenced to 210 months in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including racketeering, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and the unlawful discharging a firearm. In October 2016, Kenneth Cofer, 37, and John Rivera, 54, were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years and 10 months, respectively after pleading guilty to racketeering and drug charges. On July 10, 2017, Alfredo Rodriguez (EMF member) and another felon shot to death Kofu Ofakitonga outside his residence when he confronted them about littering in front of his home, based on police reports.

References

{{Organized crime groups in America Organizations established in 1950 1950 establishments in California Sureños Latino street gangs Gangs in Los Angeles El Monte, California Mexican-American culture in Los Angeles