WASHINGTON – An associate of the Wildboys street gang in South Carolina has pleaded guilty to attempted murder in aid of racketeering for his role in a gang-related shooting.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge C.J. Hyman of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Charlotte, North Carolina Field Division; Solicitor Duffie Stone of the 14th Judicial Circuit; Solicitor David Pascoe of the First Circuit; Sheriff R.A. Strickland of the Colleton County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office; Chief Wade Marvin of the Walterboro, South Carolina Police Department; Sheriff Al Cannon of the Charleston County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office; Sheriff L. C. Knight of the Dorchester County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office; Captain Jon Rogers of the Summerville, South Carolina Police Department; Director Jerry Adger of the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services; and Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division made the announcement.
Brian Manigo, aka B-Nasty, 25, of Green Pond, South Carolina, pleaded guilty today to attempted murder in aid of racketeering activity. Sentencing will be set before U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel of South Carolina.
According to admissions made in connection with his plea, Manigo was an associate in the Wildboys, a violent criminal street gang based in South Carolina, with members operating in various South Carolina cities, including Summerville and Walterboro. The defendant further admitted that Wildboys members and associates have committed a wide range of racketeering activity, including assault with dangerous weapons, murder, robbery and narcotics trafficking.
As part of his plea agreement, Manigo admitted his involvement in a shooting on May 14, 2011, at a car wash in Walterboro. Another Wildboys associate drove the vehicle, allowing Manigo to shoot multiple times at an associate of the rival Cowboys gang in retaliation for an earlier shooting. One individual was struck by the gunfire and sustained serious bodily injury. Manigo and other alleged members or associates of the Wildboys were charged in an indictment with attempted murder in aid of racketeering and firearms offenses on Feb. 9, 2016. Separately, also on Feb. 9, 2016, nine members and associates of the Cowboys gang were charged in an indictment with racketeering conspiracy, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and firearms offenses.
The indictment further alleges that, for a period of time, the Cowboys were aligned with the Wildboys. To date, multiple members and associates of the Cowboys have pleaded guilty to charges in the indictment, including racketeering conspiracy and attempted murder in aid of racketeering.
An indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
ATF, the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, the Walterboro Police Department, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, the Summerville Police Department and the First Circuit Solicitor’s Office are investigating the cases. The Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section is prosecuting the cases in partnership with the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
