CHICAGO — A former general in Chicago’s infamous El Rukn street gang who was at the center of a stunning plot with Libya to commit terrorist acts in exchange for cash has been ordered released from federal prison due to a terminal illness.
Melvin Mayes, 64, had been serving three life sentences at a medical prison facility in North Carolina stemming from his conviction in a massive racketeering conspiracy case that included large-scale drug trafficking, contract murders and other violence.
Mayes was also deeply involved in the alleged $2.5 million terror deal with Libya, negotiating the purchase of shoulder-fired rockets and even helping arrange a phone call between then-dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi and imprisoned El Rukn boss Jeff Fort in March 1986, according to federal court records.
