Christian "Coco" Lugo, 38, a South Bronx auto body shop owner, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for his role in a deadly drive-by shooting that left rival business owner Gloria Ortiz dead. The brazen murder was the culmination of a long-standing feud between Lugo's operation and Ortiz's shop over who should control the lucrative towing industry.
According to prosecutors, Lugo had built a lucrative scheme by dispatching unlicensed tow truck drivers to crashes, where they would then haul wrecked vehicles to his Mott Haven body shop. There, workers would inflate damage to defraud insurance companies, earning tens of thousands of dollars per vehicle. However, when Ortiz's shop gained traction and began competing with Lugo for customers, he became increasingly aggressive in protecting his territory.
The dispute boiled over on February 7, 2022, when a crash occurred. Lugo allegedly allowed and encouraged the shooting, telling the gunman to "take care of it" or face consequences. The ensuing drive-by left Ortiz dead and two others wounded. Lugo fled to Florida while employees of Ortiz's shop took over his business.
At sentencing in Manhattan federal court, Ortiz's son Jacob Brito tearfully testified about the devastating loss of his mother, who had taken over her late husband's body shop after he was killed in a separate dispute related to the towing industry. Brito said that his mother's death led him to enlist in the military and that she had been working tirelessly to legitimize her business by replacing unlicensed tow trucks with licensed ones.
Prosecutors argued that Lugo's actions had propagated a culture of violence in the industry, leading to the fatal shooting. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Herman stated that while employees from Ortiz's shop returned fire at Lugo's employees, he bore responsibility for the murder.
Judge Dale Ho described the shooting as "the most terrible act" he has seen on his bench. In a rare display of remorse, Lugo pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and firearm possession, stating that Ortiz was like a mother figure to one of his children and that her death had broken him.
According to prosecutors, Lugo had built a lucrative scheme by dispatching unlicensed tow truck drivers to crashes, where they would then haul wrecked vehicles to his Mott Haven body shop. There, workers would inflate damage to defraud insurance companies, earning tens of thousands of dollars per vehicle. However, when Ortiz's shop gained traction and began competing with Lugo for customers, he became increasingly aggressive in protecting his territory.
The dispute boiled over on February 7, 2022, when a crash occurred. Lugo allegedly allowed and encouraged the shooting, telling the gunman to "take care of it" or face consequences. The ensuing drive-by left Ortiz dead and two others wounded. Lugo fled to Florida while employees of Ortiz's shop took over his business.
At sentencing in Manhattan federal court, Ortiz's son Jacob Brito tearfully testified about the devastating loss of his mother, who had taken over her late husband's body shop after he was killed in a separate dispute related to the towing industry. Brito said that his mother's death led him to enlist in the military and that she had been working tirelessly to legitimize her business by replacing unlicensed tow trucks with licensed ones.
Prosecutors argued that Lugo's actions had propagated a culture of violence in the industry, leading to the fatal shooting. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Herman stated that while employees from Ortiz's shop returned fire at Lugo's employees, he bore responsibility for the murder.
Judge Dale Ho described the shooting as "the most terrible act" he has seen on his bench. In a rare display of remorse, Lugo pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and firearm possession, stating that Ortiz was like a mother figure to one of his children and that her death had broken him.
i feel bad for the victims fam but at the same time lugo got what was coming to him lol he played dirty in the towing game and now he's paying the price 
it's just crazy that Ortiz's son had to take over his business after losing his mom 
like a lot of people would've done the same thing if they were in his shoes 
I dont know what Lugo was thinkin when he told the gunman to "take care of it" but that's some crazy stuff right there...
I mean, what's new with the towing industry, right? It's not like it's been a hot mess since forever or anything 
. A 19-year sentence is probably going to be a drop in the bucket for someone who's made tens of thousands of bucks by inflating damage and scamming insurance companies 
. Glad the community came together to support Ortiz's son, Jacob, though... it's not like he had much choice but to enlist after his mom got taken out 
.
what's with the lack of structure in this story? it feels like a bunch of info dumped on us without any real flow or organization 
it's not just about one person or business, it's a whole system that needs to be addressed 
but at the same time can't we say that Gloria Ortiz was fighting for her own life too? was she any less deserving of a second chance than coco lugo? 
it's like this - we gotta acknowledge the system's failure to keep its promise of equal opportunity and justice, and how the streets just consume people like that 
she was just trying to run her business and protect herself from Coco Lugo's crew. it's wild how he got away with all this for so long, building his towing empire on stolen vehicles 
and it's all because of greed and a desire for power 
coco lugo, the auto body shop owner, is now facing 19 years in prison, which is probably not enough considering he's responsible for glorifying a culture of violence 
. how many more people need to lose their loved ones before we take action? 
i feel bad for orlando's family though, it's just devastating to lose someone like that 
. meanwhile oritz was just trying to legitimize her business and make a living after losing her husband .. and now she's gone 
. It's crazy how someone can lose control and lead to a life lost 
. And what really got me is that his remorse is kinda... late? I mean, he pleaded guilty after years of this feud going on 
, but at least justice was served 
. Can't we just resolve our issues peacefully like adults 
?