| For Immediate Release March 13, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486 |
OCDA PROSECUTOR HONORED FOR PROSECUTION OF WHITE SUPREMACIST GANG MEMBERS AND COMBATING HATE CRIMES
SANTA ANA — Senior Deputy District Attorney Jim Mendelson of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) was awarded the “Helene & Joseph Sherwood Prize for Combating Hate” at an award ceremony today, March 13, 2012, by the Anti-Defamation League, Pacific Southwest Region, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
The Sherwood Prize recognizes law enforcement personnel who demonstrate dedication to reducing the occurrence of hate motivated crimes. Mendelson, of the OCDA’s Gang Unit, prosecuted some of the most notorious white supremacist gangs and gang leaders in Orange County as part of Operation Stormfront.
Operation Stormfront was a collaborative effort between the OCDA and State and federal law enforcement agencies to combat white supremacist prison and street gang criminal enterprises. Operation Stormfront led to the largest number of arrests of high-level white supremacist gang members in Orange County history, significantly impacting white gangs both in the prison and on the streets.
To read about Operation Stormfront, please select the Dec. 16, 2010, press release titled “Orange County, State and Federal Law Enforcement Take Down White Supremacist Prison and Street Gangs in Largest Sweep of its Kind,” under Press Releases/Media Advisories at www.orangecountyda.com.
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