Bradenton gang member sentenced to 60 years in prison

MANATEE -- A 25-year-old member of a Bradenton street gang has been sentenced to 60 years in prison on racketeering-related charges.

Eric Santiago, a member of the Brown Pride Locos, was found guilty Tuesday of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. Judge Harry Rapkin then sentenced Santiago to two consecutive 30-year sentences.

Santiago and seven other BPL members in 2007 were charged with racketeering because of their criminal activity as members of the Brown Pride Locos.

In 2008, Santiago was tried, convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison, but that conviction was overturned last year after an appeals court found that two prior drug-related convictions prosecutors had used to build the racketeering case against him, had been overturned.

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