Ex-high school dean was gang kingpin accused of killing rival, New York officials say

A man accused of being a one-time gang leader turned high school dean has been charged with murder in New York City, officials said.

For more than a decade, Israel Garcia — who officials say was the head of the Get Money Gunnaz gang — controlled the sale of drugs in a Bronx neighborhood, according to a Feb. 16 news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

An attorney for Garcia could not immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News.

The gang’s members carried firearms and were sometimes involved in “back-and-forth shootings” with rival organizations, officials said.

One such shooting led to the 2010 death of Alfonso “Joey” McClinton, which resulted in the prosecution of another accused gang member, officials said.

However — over a decade after the killing of McClinton — video footage, eyewitness testimony and ballistics evidence led authorities to believe a second shooter was involved in his death.

Garcia was charged with being that second shooter Feb. 16, in addition to being charged with narcotics conspiracy and witness tampering, among other charges, officials said.

Officials said that while he was dean, Garcia was also engaged in the sale of drugs. Crack cocaine, heroin and fentanyl were among the substances he distributed, including to people under 21, officials said.

“Garcia himself was participating in the drug trafficking activity that a high school dean should be protecting his students from,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in the news release.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of death or life in prison. It’s not clear when the trial will be held.

This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Ex-high school dean was gang kingpin accused of killing rival, New York officials say."