Two Jersey City gang members have been indicted on racketeering (RICO) charges related to murder, shooting, and drug crimes, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Kenneth Harrigan, also known as “Kenny” and “Kenny OGM,” 27, and Darion Canary, aka “Goon,” 31, both of Jersey City, are charged with a racketeering conspiracy that included a murder, a shooting, and narcotics distribution.
Harrigan and Canary are both in federal custody on previously filed federal charges and had their initial appearances and arraignments on April 16, 2024, before the U.S. District Judge Julien X. Neals in Newark federal court and were detained.
Harrigan and Canary are both members and associates of the neighborhood street gang associated with the Wilkinson neighborhood, known simply as “Wilkinson” or “the Wilkinson Enterprise,” according to the criminal complaint.
Since 2019, they have committed multiple acts of violence. On July 20, 2019, Harrigan, Canary, and at least one other gang member traveled to the territory of a rival gang in Jersey City and shot three victims, killing one of them.
On January 1st, 2024, Canary, along with other gang members, attended a night club in Newark where a rival gang member was performing.
At the night club, Canary brandished a firearm and shot a rival gang member before fleeing the nightclub with his fellow gang members and returning to the Wilkinson neighborhood in Jersey City.
At this time, Canary was staying at a halfway house as part of his sentencing on a related federal narcotics conviction.
Investigators observed and documented dozens of narcotics transactions in and around the Wilkinson neighborhood during the months-long investigation.
The investigation revealed that Harrigan and Canary were two of the highest ranking members of the Wilkinson neighborhood street gang and that Harrigan was a primary supplier of narcotics to the area.
In December 2021, Harrigan, Canary, and four other members and associates of the Wilkinson neighborhood street gang were charged by criminal complaint on drug trafficking offenses.
Harrigan and Canary face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for the racketeering conspiracy, as well as a maximum fine of $250,000.
Sellinger credited investigators of the Gang Intelligence Unit of the Major Case Division of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, investigators of the Jersey City Police Department, and special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark with the investigation leading to the charges.
He also thanked special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy.
This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI).
The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City.
