McKelvie said the problem with gangs is that if you go after one, another member moves in to take his place. "If you have a garden and you live next door to a yard overwrought with dandelions, you need to go next door and eradicate the source — that's what we do with RICO," he said. "We get to the core of the organization and bring it down as a whole."

What prosecutors use are "predicate acts" in showing that crimes individual gang members commit are done with the intent to further the cause and standing of their gang. What are traditionally seen by the justice system as independent criminal acts are pulled together to show a larger scheme.

Last winter, federal officials sought indictments against members of the Tiny Oriental Posse. Surprisingly, what typically took months to prosecute was quickly wrapped up when 14 indicted TOP members all struck plea deals by early March.

TOP gang members have been accused of taking part in an array of assaults, home-invasion robberies, drug trafficking and even murders to bolster the standing of their gang.

Among their violent acts was the Nov. 7, 1998, fatal shooting of Bethany Hyde. Police say TOP members mistook Hyde's car for that of a rival gang member.

Some have argued that by fragmenting violent gang members, federal prosecutors are simply seeding the federal system with new gangs. McKelvie said the Federal Bureau of Prisons has effective ways of dealing with in-house prison groups. "The prisons do a fairly good job of keeping track of the stuff," he said.

Already gang investigators are hearing rumblings on the street about the RICO cases. McKelvie said investigators are hearing gang members are nervous that their gang may be the next target.

"The federal RICO statutes give us a very effective tool which we will continue to use against violent gangs disrupting the peace and safety of Utah communities," said U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman. "Violent gang members ought to be on notice that their name might be the next one on the face of a federal indictment."

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