HAMMOND | Michael Silvas Jr., an alleged East Chicago gang chief who first gained notoriety as an East Chicago City Council candidate, has pleaded guilty to a federal cocaine dealing charge.

Silvas, the alleged leader of the local chapter of the Spanish Vice Lords, signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty in late February to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute the drug.

Silvas, of Dyer, faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years in prison.

Under the plea agreement, federal prosecutors pledge to ask the judge to give Silvas a term at the low end of a sentencing range that will be determined under congressional sentencing law after a federal probation official prepares a report on Silvas' history and characteristics.

The plea agreement mentions a federal "safety valve" provision that, under specific circumstances, can allow for a sentence below the mandatory minimum.

Silvas also agreed in the written plea deal to cooperate with prosecutors and investigators looking into state or federal crimes.

Silvas' lawyer could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Silvas is slated for sentencing in June.

Prosecutors and FBI agents have said Silvas and his co-defendants orchestrated cocaine sales between May 2008 and February 2009. Silvas family members have said the charges are based on misleading evidence from unreliable sources. Two of Silvas' co-defendants also have signed plea deals.

Silvas ran for East Chicago City Council in 2007. The day before the election, a gunfight killed Silvas' 7-year-old son. No one has been prosecuted in that killing.