LAWRENCE GANG LEADER PLEADS GUILTY TO TWO DRUG CHARGES

The ringleader of a Lawrence street gang that peddled marijuana,
cocaine, and heroin pleaded guilty yesterday to two federal drug charges.

Leslie ''YaYa'' Carabello entered his plea in US District Court in
Boston, changing an earlier not-guilty plea to charges of conspiracy
to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, and attempting to
possess with intent to distribute that amount.

Carabello was one of 21 alleged members of the Lawrence-based Immortal
Outlaws street gang who were indicted in September. The men,
prosecutors said, were part of an organization of more than 50 members
engaged in illegal activities in greater Lawrence. Other members
operated chapters inside state prisons.

The Immortal Outlaws grew after members of the rival Latin Gangsta
Disciples were arrested in January 2000.

At the time of his indictment, Carabello was an inmate at the
Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Shirley on a gun conviction,
but he remained the gang's leader.

Judge Rya Zobel scheduled Carabello's sentencing for Sept.
30.