A sentencing hearing for one of Chicago's most prominent no-snitch drug dealers and leader of "The Killing Crew," Rashod "Fat Man" Bethany will reportedly begin Monday.
Bethany, who ran two drug houses selling crack, ruthlessly enforced a no-snitching code that forced police to spend six years building a case against him, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Bethany was arrested in 2006 in a federal drug case and prosecutors are now seeking a 30-year sentence, the Sun-Times reported.
The no-snitch policy, used by many gangs throughout Chicago, is a common tactic use to eliminate ties to crimes and is the cause of many unsolved cases in the city.
During a Chicago Ideas Week panel discussion, Supt. Garry McCarthy lamented the unspoken code of silence that keeps shootings and gang-related murders from being solved.
The silence code was also thought to be involved in the recent shooting of 6-month-old Jonylah Watkins.
The father, Jonathan Watkins, was suspected of having gang ties and was initially uncooperative in providing information as to who shot him.
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McCarthy told reporters the incident has "very strong gang overtones" and said the father was the intended target.
Records show Jonathan Watkins has been arrested 39 times and has ties to the Gangster Disciples. Numerous weapons violations and an attempt to steal his car back from police after it was impounded are among the charges.
Watkins recently agreed to "fully" cooperate with authorities and dispel misinformation that's been reported about his daughter's death.
Funeral services for Jonylah Watkins are scheduled for Tuesday, beginning with a wake at 10 a.m. at New Beginnings church in Chicago.
