By Maureen Boyle, Enterprise staff writer

First in a two-day series

BROCKTON — As patrons poured out of the Morabeza Restaurant and Pub early last Sunday, three police officers were breaking up a heated argument between five men outside the Main Street club.

One officer heard someone yell out as the angry suspects quickly dispersed. Three initials in the sentence caught his attention.

“CVO.”

The “CVOs,” short for “Cape Verdean Outlaws,” a Boston-based gang known for violence, has been lurking in the shadows of the city recently. And, in the early hours last Sunday, three suspected associates of the group emerged into the police spotlight.

The trio involved in a fight outside the Morabeza about a hour later led police after a shooting on Highland Street on a wild chase, firing at pursuing cruisers before crashing in Quincy.

The incident is now raising concerns about how often members of the gang — or their associates — are slipping into the city and what havoc they may bring to a community already trying to quell street violence.

“We have our own problems to deal with, our own kids to help. We don't need this kind of influence. We need to keep them out of the city,” Moises Rodrigues, director of community services, said. 

That's just what authorities are trying to do.

Brockton police last week joined the FBI's Southeastern Massachusetts Gang Task Force, a regional task force concentrating on gangs, their members and associates who often move from city to city.

The task force will pick up the tab for overtime and a wide range of equipment needed in investigations.

One Brockton detective will be assigned to the task force, comprised of local, state and federal authorities, but the information gathered can also be used to help other officers' investigations.

“The idea of the task force is for it to be a regional force so you are not handcuffed by the jurisdictional problems that may come up,” Brockton police Chief William Conlon said. “We will also have more input to the information that can help us in investigations.”

It could also help block violent gangs from other communities from getting a toehold in the city, Conlon said.

“It will stop the bigger groups from coming in from the outside, from becoming more organized and better armed,” he said.

FBI units making inroads fighting gangs

The 130 FBI gang task forces have been successful throughout the state and country.

In New Bedford last year, 38 members of the Latin Kings were arrested thanks to work with the federal task force.

“Just the fact that this task force is based right here in New Bedford has made a difference in this community, Fall River and Taunton,” said Gregg Miliote, spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter.

And last month, 32 gang members from Haverhill and Lawrence were arrested on drugs and firearms charges and there have been arrests in the western part of the state.

More than 25,000 people were arrested between 2001 and 2006 by the task forces nationally, and more than 11,000 had been convicted.

Special Agent Gail A. Marcinkiewicz, FBI spokesman for the Boston office, said the success comes from cooperation and pooled resources.

“You are bringing more resources, a variety of resources, to a gang task force. A local police department may only have a certain amount of personnel to address the problem,” she said.

The FBI estimates there are about 30,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs in the country, boasting about 800,000 members. The gangs, many sophisticated and well-organized, are involved in activities including drug dealing, robbery, prostitution, extortion and gun trafficking.

The gangs may be centered in one community, such as Boston, but don't always stay put.

“It's a very mobile society,” said Lt. John Crowley, chief of detectives.

Members of the Cape Verdean Outlaws — and their associates — have visited both Brockton and Taunton on occasion. Boston police have also issued bulletins to local police to be on the look out for possible suspects tied to the gang who might be in the two cities.

But, a number of law enforcement officials said, the gang hasn't set up shop in either city yet. Authorities said members of the gang — and their associates — have gone to clubs and homes in the cities but remain centered in Boston.

Rodrigues, the Brockton Cape Verdean official, said that's where he hopes the gang will stay.

“Our goal is not just to discourage them from coming to the city but to make sure they disappear from the face of the earth,” he said.

He said the gang name is an offense to law-abiding Cape Verdeans in the community.

“As a Cape Verdean myself, I find it very offensive,” he said. “You have these punks coming in and creating problems. Not only to embarrass but to terrorize the community.”

City had been calm in recent months

The recent spate of violence in the city since New Year's Day — one man was stabbed to death and a second killed by gunfire — comes after a calm had settled on the streets in recent months. The last slaying in the city had been Aug. 16 — Carlita Chaney, 28, who was shot to death — and five of the 11 homicides were tied to domestic violence or a dating relationship.

But so far this year, things have stepped up.

Nineteen-year-old Markeen Starks, who was about to graduate from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, was stabbed to death New Year's Day outside a family party.

A 35-year-old woman was shot in the leg last Sunday and her suspected attackers led police on the chase from Brockton to Quincy.

Adilson Pires, 24, was shot to death Tuesday outside a liquor store after a confrontation with a man with whom he had an earlier altercation. Witnesses said he had attended a wake for Starks at a church a half block away but the shooting was not tied to the earlier slaying.

Two men were shot about a half hour later that night on Falmouth Avenue. One of them was in critical condition Friday afternoon.

Police made arrests in all but one of the cases — the shooting on Falmouth Avenue.

Aside from the chase last Sunday, none of the cases have been tied to the Cape Verdean Outlaws.

Mayor James E. Harrington said the recent violence — coming after a months-long lull — was disappointing, but he believes the city will be able to combat the problem.

While the violence stepped up, so has the police presence.

Dozens of extra state and local police, including specialty units, are on the street for “saturation patrols” and were targeting known hot spots in the city.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy C. Cruz' office is also continuing to work with federal prosecutors to move cases — when needed — to U.S. District Court where sentences for some crimes can be tougher than in state court.

Coming Monday: City residents try to take back their streets.

Maureen Boyle can be reached at mboyle@enterprisenews.com.