Gangs

John Mantzopoulos, who was a member of the group in the mid-1980s in NYC, says he doesn't believe the Guardian Angels are needed in Riverhead, where the Latino gang problem is not as much of a problem as some think.

Riverhead police have charged a 16-year-old with making graffiti after they caught him and another person painting MS-13 gang graffiti on walls of an Elton Street business late Saturday night.

After a meeting with Riverhead brass at PD headquarters yesterday and a tour of the town with a police lieutenant, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa says his group will begin local recruiting and patrols in Riverhead before the end of this month.

Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa and Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter both say the group, which has established successful patrols in Greenport, will begin Riverhead patrols by month’s end.

Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter says some local officials on the East End have their heads in the sand and need to 'wake up and smell the coffee' on the gang issue. The Guardian Angels, 'like community watch on steroids' can provide valuable inroads for communication with Hispanic population, he says.

Hundreds of Latino gang members are inmates at county jail, drawing other gang members to Riverhead, which is a base for MS-13 in Suffolk, according to Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.

Guardian Angel founder calls Riverhead, 'a conduit' for Latino gangs throughout the East End, which Riverhead police chief adamantly denies.

One of five men charged in the gang-related shooting & machete attack in Southold Oct. 14 has now been charged in an Oct. 10 shooting in downtown Riverhead.

Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa spoke to RiverheadLOCAL about the insidious spread of gangs into local communities.

Southold Police arrested two teens and a 31-year-old man who they say assaulted two men with a handgun and machete in Southold early Tuesday. Police said the three men are members of the MS-13 street gang, and their two victims were members of a rival gang.