CHICAGO - A leader of a Chicago street gang has been sentenced to life in federal prison for committing multiple murders and engaging in other acts of violence.

ROMEO BLACKMAN personally committed four murders and three attempted murders while leading a Chicago street gang known as the Goonie Boss/Goonie Gang. Blackman also sold narcotics, trafficked stolen firearms, violently prevented witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement, and publicly boasted about the gang's activities on social media. As a leader of the gang, Blackman instructed and encouraged juvenile Goonie members to commit murders as well.

The Goonie gang terrorized the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side until a series of federal indictments disrupted the gang's activities. A federal jury in 2023 convicted Blackman, 30, of Chicago, of racketeering conspiracy and violence in aid of racketeering. On Sept. 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced Blackman to life in federal prison.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ryan Whalen, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Fred Waller, Interim Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office and the LaSalle County State's Attorney's Office. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Simar Khera.

"The seriousness of the defendant's crimes cannot be overstated," the government argued in its sentencing memorandum. "His actions ended the life of numerous individuals, depriving their families of time with their loved ones. His leadership of the Goonies corrupted numerous young minds and assisted their turn into violent individuals."

The federal investigation of the Goonie gang spanned several years and resulted in the convictions of numerous other Goonie members and associates for various crimes.