WHITE PLAINS – A leader of the Latin Kings gang in Newburgh pled guilty in White Plains federal court on Friday to killing an aspiring member of the gang in March 2010. Osman Nunez, 24, also pled guilty to two firearms offenses related to drug trafficking.

Nunez is one of 35 members and associates of the gang charged with federal crimes, 30 of whom have been convicted, and five of whom await a January 2013 trial on murder, racketeering, drug, firearms, witness tampering and other charges.

“The murder of John Maldonado was only one in a series of senseless deaths, shootings, and other acts of violence tied to the rampant drug trade and turf wars in Newburgh, New York, that are fueled in large measure by gangs and their rivals,” said US Attorney Preet Bharara. “With today’s guilty plea of the Latin Kings’ anointed ‘warlord,’ we are one step closer to dismantling an organization that left a trail of blood and destruction in its wake.” The prosecutor said the guilty plea “is a victory for the residents of Newburgh, but we are not finished.”

When sentenced, Nunez faces a mandatory term of 30 years in prison.

Maldonado was murdered because gang members believed he betrayed the Latin Kings. The murder was orchestrated by Nunez and several co-conspirators by walking Maldonado to the spot where a shooter Nunez had recruited lay in wait to gun him down.

Nunez pled guilty to using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.