Roberto Gomez, an alleged South Los Angeles gang member with ties to Mexican cartels, is accused of passing sensitive law-enforcement information to help former Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Wedding operate a drug-trafficking network valued at roughly $1 billion.
Gomez, 51, who also goes by “Fat Boy,” “Fats” and “Rooster,” was named this week in a six-count federal indictment. Prosecutors allege he played a key role in supporting Wedding’s criminal enterprise.
A member of Los Angeles’ notorious 38th Street gang, Gomez fled to Mexico in 2000 after facing a robbery charge. He was later indicted in 2018 on separate allegations involving drug trafficking and money laundering.
According to the Justice Department, Gomez developed connections in Mexico with leaders of foreign terrorist organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel and Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, commonly known as CJNG. He also allegedly built relationships with people who had access to confidential information held by Mexican and US law-enforcement agencies.
“Gomez obtained that information related to law enforcement operations, including arrests, drug seizures, warrant executions, and the filing of criminal charges and provided this information to his co-conspirators, including Wedding,” the department said.
Prosecutors further allege that Gomez moved cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl, supplying narcotics to multiple criminal organizations.
Wedding, 45, represented Canada as an Olympic snowboarder before allegedly becoming a major figure in the international drug trade. He appeared on the FBI’s most-wanted list in 2025 after previously serving four years in federal prison following a 2008 arrest for attempting to buy cocaine.
After his release, Wedding reportedly escaped to Mexico. The FBI offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture, accusing him of running a cross-border trafficking operation that moved cocaine from Colombia into the United States and Canada. He was arrested in Mexico City in January and extradited to the US to face the charges.
Investigators also accuse Wedding of ordering the killing of a federal witness who was shot to death in Colombia last year. Prosecutors believe he may also have been connected to the deaths of a couple in 2023 and a 39-year-old victim in 2024.
A separate two-count indictment against Edgar Aaron Vazquez Alvarado was unsealed alongside the charges against Gomez.
Alvarado, who was killed in a police shooting in Mexico last week, founded the violent criminal group El Cártel Nuevo Imperio, which allegedly trafficked cocaine for Wedding. Prosecutors say that between October 2024 and January 2026, he helped Wedding avoid capture by US authorities.
Mexican authorities also arrested a district judge last week over allegations that he accepted a $2 million bribe to secure the release of Wedding’s alleged right-hand man.
Luis Benítez Alcántara, 49, of Mexico City, is accused of taking the payment in exchange for granting bond to Andrew Clark, 36, and directing that he be released.
