Religion News Service • June 12, 2010
When seventh-grader Raymond Hosier was
suspended for wearing rosary beads to school late
last month, civil rights groups rushed to his
defense.
"Without question, the continuing action taken by
the school district in punishing Raymond for
wearing a rosary to school violates the
constitutional rights of our client," argued Jay
Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice.
After Sekulow filed a lawsuit, a federal judge issued
a temporary restraining order on June 1, telling
Oneida Middle School and the school district in
Schenectady, N.Y., to allow Hosier, 13, to wear the
rosary to class. A full hearing was held yesterday
(June 11).
Like school principals and superintendents in other
states, including Texas, California, Oregon, and
Virginia, Oneida officials say the no-rosary-beads
rule is necessary to "protect students from violence
and gangs."
They have a point, according to gang experts. After
schools began banning gang-related bandanas,
clothing, and hairstyles about a decade ago,
students have turned to rosaries as a subtle and
often First-Amendment-protected way to signal
gang allegiance.
"With the introduction of strict dress codes and the
use of uniforms in the school systems, these type of
indicators seem to be favored by the gangsters," the
San Antonio (Texas) Police Department says in a
handbook about gang awareness.
Gangsters not only wear certain colors -- reds for
Bloods, blues for Crips, for example -- they also
arrange the beads to signal their rank in the gang,
and teach young members to plead religious
freedom if they're hauled into the principal's office,
said Jared Lewis, a former police officer in California
who worked in public schools.
"You are often dealing with gang members who have
no inkling or cares about the religious significance
of the rosary beads," said Lewis, who now runs
Know Gangs, a training group for law enforcement
officials. "They are just trying to skirt around school
rules under the guise of a religious symbol."
No one is sure which gang started the trend of
wearing rosaries, said Robert Walker, a former head
of the gang identification unit for the South Carolina
Department of Corrections. Like a lot of gang fads,
he said, it likely started in California and migrated
east.
"One gang started it -- who it was, nobody knows.
Another gang saw it and thought it was cool, and
started using it, too," Walker said. "These things just
evolve."
Their adornment by violent gangs is an ironic twist
for beads whose use in prayer is praised by
Christians, including Pope Benedict XVI, as a means
to access contemplative calm. (The word "bead" is
derived from the Anglo-Saxon term for prayer,
"bede.")
Legend has it that the Virgin Mary presented St.
Dominic with the first rosary in the 13th century,
though some scholars doubt that story because
elements of the prayers predate and postdate
Dominic.
In Christian parlance, the "Rosary" refers to a
sequence of prayers and meditations on the life of
Jesus, though the word is often used outside the
church to refer to the circlet of beads as well.
Each of the beads (usually 55 or 155) represents a
prayer -- a Hail Mary, Our Father, or Glory Be -- and
is grouped in sets of 10 with a crucifix hanging
from a pendant.
The beads help mark which prayers have been
recited and guide the supplicant through the life of
Jesus.
Now cherished by many Christians, rosaries fell out
of favor among Protestants because the Roman
Catholic Church used them to promote indulgences
-- papal dispensation from time in purgatory.
After the Reformation, the beads became a defiant
emblem for Catholic monks and nuns to wear
outside their habits and a tactile tool for
missionaries to pass on the faith -- particularly in
Latin America.
Now, Latino gangsters are the most frequent -- and
creative -- wearers of rosaries, said Lewis.
The Latin Kings, for example, use colors to signal
members' rank in the hierarchy -- five black and five g
old beads for members; two gold beads for top
dogs. Assassins wear all black.
The Netas, an East Coast gang founded in Puerto
Rico, wear 78 red, white and blue beads to
symbolize the 78 towns in Puerto Rico. Prospective
members wear all white beads until they join the
gang.
Lewis said he sympathizes with principals who are
torn between respecting religious rights and
preventing gang wars in their schools.
"We live in a country where, obviously, people
should be able to do and say what they want," he
said.
"At the same time, if something happens on school
grounds, the school principal is going to be held
liable for not keeping students safe."
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
IT’S ALL ABOUT REVENGE
by Loren W. Christensen
The following article first appeared in "Police and Security News," July/August 2000
One of the few absolutes in the world of street gangs is that when there is a gang-involved drive-by shooting, street brawl, or school disturbance, there will be retaliation. When a Blood kills a Crip or vice versa, officers routinely step up their patrol in gang-infested areas and monitor the funeral in anticipation of a revenge shooting. It’s not an issue of will it happen? But rather when will it happen?
Say a gang member wanders into rival gang territory and gets confronted, challenged, or injured, and manages to retreat from the area. It doesn’t matter that he is the one who made the social faux pas by crossing into a rival’s turf. The fact that the rival gang struck out at him cannot be ignored. He has to return, but next time it will be with help and a collective objective - revenge. There must be payback; it’s the one thing all gangs agree upon.
In the gang world, no challenge, assault or diss (act of disrespect) can go unanswered since being a gang member is all about holding onto respect and reputation (rep). When a diss occurs to a gang by a rival, only revenge will satisfy the offended gang. To them, revenge shows the world (mostly themselves, really), that their rep is intact and is to be respected. Gang history teaches us that revenge will be in the form of a bloody beating, a bullet-spray drive-by or even a
bombing.
When the offense is to an individual gang member, there is an expectation within his gang that the offended member will automatically seek revenge to uphold the rep that has been given to him by his peers. In fact, the expectation is so great that if for whatever reason a member doesn’t strike back, he may have to face the rage of his own gang. “A banger’s gang will give him hell if he doesn’t get revenge when he’s been dissed,” says Detective Doug Justus, a veteran gang officer on the West Coast. “Often times they beat up their own member for not doing a payback.” Offend a member, and the gang’s reputation is also at stake.
Mandatory revenge is not indigenous to one particular gang. Over the past 15 years, revenge has destroyed countless young lives as gangs have grown and spread across the United States. Let’s take a brief look at how Southeast Asian, black, Hispanic, skinheads and white gangs view the all-important obligation of revenge.
SOUTHEAST ASIANS
Many Southeast Asian gangsters believe in what they call “the 100-year revenge,” which means that if they get wronged in some fashion, they will get revenge no matter how long it takes. “If we can’t get you,” they say, “we will get your children, and if we can’t get them, we will wait and get their children. We will get revenge, even if it takes 100 years.”
Pamela Sowers, a reporter in Seattle and an expert on Asian culture, says that revenge is everything to Southeast Asians. “The 100-year revenge is mentioned frequently in Asian literature, such as Outlaws of the Water Margin, an ancient Chinese novel about gangsters, or ‘men of honor’ as they were called many years ago, and as some still prefer to be addressed in Hong Kong. The concept also shows up in some Asian movies. I know that today, in the case of a major transgression against a gang leader, his followers will try to kill or harm every family member of the transgressor. That has happened in Seattle with the Cambodian gangsters.”
Detective Stu Winn, a veteran gang detective with the Portland (Oregon) Police Bureau, says that he mostly hears about the 100-year revenge from the older gangbangers. He related a story of how he first learned of it.
“I had a Laotian informant who told me that years ago when he was in grammar school, another kid beat him up pretty severely. He decided to get revenge, but not right away because he wanted to wait until the timing was just right. Two years later, he saw his opportunity when he noticed that the kid rode the same bus every day. The Laotian went home, got a knife and secreted it into his school books. He then watched the kid’s movements for a couple days and when the timing was finally right, he attacked him on the bus, stabbing him multiple times. The Laotian was in the fourth or fifth grade at the time.”
Winn says that his informant told him that revenge was important in his culture and that if it took 100 years to get it accomplished, then that’s what he would do. What happens after a hundred years? “The person is forgiven,” the Laotian said. The bottom line is that whether it’s one year or 100, Southeast Asian gangbangers take their revenge very seriously.
While some infractions may seem insignificant to us who are not gang involved, to those who are, those whose entire existence is all about the gang, even the smallest infraction necessitates swift retaliation.
Case in point: One bloody case began when a Southeast Asian gang member “looked hard” (glaring or frowning in a challenging way) at a rival Southeast Asian gangster as they passed each other in their high school hallway. At noon, the one who had received the look, walked to a nearby Asian grocery and bought a meat cleaver. He returned to the school, found the rival and promptly hacked the cleaver into his shoulder, removing a large wedge of flesh similar to what a logger chops out of a tree.
As the ambulance wailed their arrival, the suspect, no longer having a need for the meat cleaver, casually walked back to the market and got his money back.
BLACK GANGS
Almost from its inception, there has been an expectation in the black gang culture that revenge is an automatic response to being dissed in some fashion. The individual gangbanger who fails to take care of business when he has been wronged will find that life within his gang suddenly becomes intolerable. He will be hassled, teased, called a punk, not allowed to hang out and party with his homies and he may even be beaten for his inaction.
Sometimes a gang member is revenged simply because of his gang affiliation. For example, a Blood will say, “I know Crazy Boy is a Crip and I know that he carries a gun. I know where he is right now and I’m going to get him.”
The Blood finds Crazy Boy and fires a few rounds at him. As the Blood roars off in his car, he knows that he just opened a Pandora’s box because he dissed Crazy Boy in big way, and the unwritten rule, which everyone follows, says that Crazy Boy and his gang must retaliate.
“The Blood shot at me and nicked me,” Crazy Boy says, “Now I’m going to go and shoot him in the face.” This line of thinking has been the street dance between street gangs for many years.
Revenge is always extreme with street gangs. They never retaliate by throwing a rock through the rival’s window, but rather, “I’m going to go and break his head and then I’m going to shoot up his house and then I’m going to shoot into his group of friends. Hell, I’m going to go shoot him in the back of his head.”
Youth counselors say that when they talk to a gang member in a counseling session, the counselor asks how the conflict can be settled peacefully. Inevitably, the gangster says something like, “There is no way to do it with peace. Revenge is going to happen, maybe six months from now, maybe a year from now. But it’s definitely going to happen.”
Typically, gangs don’t plan out their revenge, which makes it difficult for law enforcement to act proactively. While the movies often depict gang members meeting in a room and discussing the details of their hit, the reality is that it’s situational with them. A member says that he just got dissed, so everyone jumps into a car and goes on a mission of payback. Or they might already be out in a car when they by chance run across a gang or gang member they want to hit.
The one absolute is that there is always going to be some kind of retaliation after a big incident, and generally it happens 10 days to a couple of weeks later.
SKINHEADS
Like other street gangs, skinheads seek revenge when they feel that they have been wronged. People who snitch on them and people who witness against them to the police are often fair game for retaliation. And since there is a continuous ongoing rivalry between racists and antiracist skins, there is virtually a built in revenge clause when one side in some way offends the other side. Revenge is important to them because they must uphold their reputation of being street warriors for their cause.
One ex-skinhead said that revenge is integral to what they are about. “We searched for revenge on a society that has walked away from traditional values and accepted, what we thought to be, degenerate values. Nazi skinheads are a group that does not compromise. We don’t accept the state that the world is in, but rather look to the thousands of years before us that created a utopian society of racial purity and genetic uniformity. Each act of violence or propaganda is an act of revenge on a group of people who are wallowing in self-pity and weak-minded behavior.”
It’s common for racist skinheads to assault mixed-race couples. In a way, these violent acts are a way of retaliating against a violation they see perpetrated by other whites. Race mixing they say, muddies the gene pool. This angers them, so they strike out against the white half of the relationship and, of course, they strike out at the minority half, too.
There are two basic skinhead factions: racists and antiracists. They hate each other and each believes that the other gives a bad name to skinheads. Acts of retaliation take the form of drive-by shootings, knifings, and street rumbles.
Today, skinhead violence is low, but there is still an intense hatred between the racists and antiracists. If one side is wronged in some fashion by the other side, it’s a guarantee that there will be an act of revenge. Although violence between opposing skinhead factions has at times been deadly, it hasn’t come near the level of ongoing violence perpetrated by other gangs.
Recent skinhead violence has been directed toward homosexuals and Jewish people and synagogues. Their strikes against homosexuals are acts of retaliation for a life style they consider an abomination. Their strikes against the Jews are in retaliation for what they perceive to be the Jewish controlled media, commerce and government, including law enforcement.
HISPANIC
A Hispanic gangbanger made this warning as casually as if he were saying he was going to the movies. “You snitch, you wrong us, and we will kill your mama or baby brother.” It doesn’t get more clear than that.
Retaliation at it’s deadliest can mean the murder of the rival gang member, usually in a drive-by shooting. Typically, the revenge seekers pull their car up next to a crowd on a street corner, door stoop, or park bench and sprays everything and everyone in sight. Miraculously, many of these types of shootings end with no one being hit. But that isn’t always the case.
As this article is being written, police in Glendale, California are stepping up patrol after an 18-year-old Armenian man was shot as he stood near a group of seven other people. According to witnesses, as a 1987 Honda Accord drove slowly by the crowd, a Hispanic man, one of three in the car, leaned out the window and fired. Police say the shooting was in retaliation for the beating and stabbing death of a Hispanic student by Armenian gang members a few days earlier.
At least in this shooting the motive was clear in the minds of the gang members, but that is not always the case. “I’ve seen bangers seek revenge even when it wasn’t clear to them what the rival did,” one veteran gang officer said. “They just know that it’s expected of them to do a payback. When I’ve asked them what caused the extreme hate, they couldn’t answer. The original insult may have happened years ago, but they still have the need to revenge. There is no value to human life unless the gang member is directly related to the victim or he is a homeboy.”
One Hispanic ex-gang member talked about the adrenaline rush he had after being shot at, and the urgent need he had to strike back. “I remember sitting in a fast-food place with one of my homeboys. As we were talking, these guys from a rival gang saw us in the restaurant, and they got out of their car and came up to the window and started shooting through the glass at us. They didn’t hit anyone, but I can still remember how I felt. I was alive and all I could think about was revenge. I came so close to dying that night, but all that was going through my mind was finding these fools and hurting them.”
Sometimes a gang will get revenge against a member who no longer wants to be in the gang. A longtime Hispanic gangbanger, who has since been sentenced to a dozen years in prison, said this. “One time a guy said to the Mexican Mafia that he didn’t want to be in the gang anymore. They didn’t say nothin’ to him then, but when he left the gang, the next day his wife is dead, two of his sisters are dead, and the three-month-old baby is dead.” The validity of this story is unknown.
With most Hispanic gangbangers, the absolute need to strike back, the duty to retaliate for being wronged in some fashion, is an unsatiated hunger. The banger may plan his revenge, or it may just happen when the opportunity presents itself, as is the case with most incidents of gang violence. The banger may get wronged in June, but the opportunity to strike back doesn’t present itself until December. Over the months, the anger festers just beneath the surface, so that when the banger is presented with the moment - say the rival shows up at the same Saturday night party, or is seen sitting in a parked car - his rage explodes and someone gets hurt.
MISCELLANEOUS WHITE GANGS
Miscellaneous white gangs are those who emulate the other more entrenched ones, usually black and Hispanic gangs. Many begin as taggers and progress - by committing crimes, especially retaliation crimes - until they fit the definition of a criminal gang. For example, Taggers A marks over Taggers B’s graffiti, and of course Tagger B must retaliate. At first, the retaliation may only involve painting over A’s markings, but after a few of these exchanges, the retaliation turns violent.
It’s common for taggers to evolve into full-blown gangs within just a few months. At that stage, they may continue spreading graffiti, though usually bigger issues will have taken its place.
Other miscellaneous gangs form the way as do most other gangs. Some begin because their members have a mutual interest in music or computers. Others form out of a need for protection. The Trenchcoat Mafia at Columbine highschool would be an example.
“Revenge is very important, almost as much as respect and reputation,” says one ex-gang member. “If a gangbanger feels someone is dissing him or has hurt someone he cares about, the gangbanger must seek revenge. If he doesn’t, then he is looked down on by his set as being weak. The shootings I’ve been involved in, I was just thinking about revenge. I wanted to make sure that the person who disrespected me was not able to do it again. I was out to make an example of one in order to warn many.”
Arguably, it’s human nature to want revenge, but gangs seldom make the effort to settle matters through conversation or conflict resolution. Instead, they strike back in the extreme. With easy access to high-powered weapons, it’s more natural for young gangbangers to express their burning rage and their need for revenge through bloody violence.
The following article first appeared in "Police and Security News," July/August 2000
One of the few absolutes in the world of street gangs is that when there is a gang-involved drive-by shooting, street brawl, or school disturbance, there will be retaliation. When a Blood kills a Crip or vice versa, officers routinely step up their patrol in gang-infested areas and monitor the funeral in anticipation of a revenge shooting. It’s not an issue of will it happen? But rather when will it happen?
Say a gang member wanders into rival gang territory and gets confronted, challenged, or injured, and manages to retreat from the area. It doesn’t matter that he is the one who made the social faux pas by crossing into a rival’s turf. The fact that the rival gang struck out at him cannot be ignored. He has to return, but next time it will be with help and a collective objective - revenge. There must be payback; it’s the one thing all gangs agree upon.
In the gang world, no challenge, assault or diss (act of disrespect) can go unanswered since being a gang member is all about holding onto respect and reputation (rep). When a diss occurs to a gang by a rival, only revenge will satisfy the offended gang. To them, revenge shows the world (mostly themselves, really), that their rep is intact and is to be respected. Gang history teaches us that revenge will be in the form of a bloody beating, a bullet-spray drive-by or even a
bombing.
When the offense is to an individual gang member, there is an expectation within his gang that the offended member will automatically seek revenge to uphold the rep that has been given to him by his peers. In fact, the expectation is so great that if for whatever reason a member doesn’t strike back, he may have to face the rage of his own gang. “A banger’s gang will give him hell if he doesn’t get revenge when he’s been dissed,” says Detective Doug Justus, a veteran gang officer on the West Coast. “Often times they beat up their own member for not doing a payback.” Offend a member, and the gang’s reputation is also at stake.
Mandatory revenge is not indigenous to one particular gang. Over the past 15 years, revenge has destroyed countless young lives as gangs have grown and spread across the United States. Let’s take a brief look at how Southeast Asian, black, Hispanic, skinheads and white gangs view the all-important obligation of revenge.
SOUTHEAST ASIANS
Many Southeast Asian gangsters believe in what they call “the 100-year revenge,” which means that if they get wronged in some fashion, they will get revenge no matter how long it takes. “If we can’t get you,” they say, “we will get your children, and if we can’t get them, we will wait and get their children. We will get revenge, even if it takes 100 years.”
Pamela Sowers, a reporter in Seattle and an expert on Asian culture, says that revenge is everything to Southeast Asians. “The 100-year revenge is mentioned frequently in Asian literature, such as Outlaws of the Water Margin, an ancient Chinese novel about gangsters, or ‘men of honor’ as they were called many years ago, and as some still prefer to be addressed in Hong Kong. The concept also shows up in some Asian movies. I know that today, in the case of a major transgression against a gang leader, his followers will try to kill or harm every family member of the transgressor. That has happened in Seattle with the Cambodian gangsters.”
Detective Stu Winn, a veteran gang detective with the Portland (Oregon) Police Bureau, says that he mostly hears about the 100-year revenge from the older gangbangers. He related a story of how he first learned of it.
“I had a Laotian informant who told me that years ago when he was in grammar school, another kid beat him up pretty severely. He decided to get revenge, but not right away because he wanted to wait until the timing was just right. Two years later, he saw his opportunity when he noticed that the kid rode the same bus every day. The Laotian went home, got a knife and secreted it into his school books. He then watched the kid’s movements for a couple days and when the timing was finally right, he attacked him on the bus, stabbing him multiple times. The Laotian was in the fourth or fifth grade at the time.”
Winn says that his informant told him that revenge was important in his culture and that if it took 100 years to get it accomplished, then that’s what he would do. What happens after a hundred years? “The person is forgiven,” the Laotian said. The bottom line is that whether it’s one year or 100, Southeast Asian gangbangers take their revenge very seriously.
While some infractions may seem insignificant to us who are not gang involved, to those who are, those whose entire existence is all about the gang, even the smallest infraction necessitates swift retaliation.
Case in point: One bloody case began when a Southeast Asian gang member “looked hard” (glaring or frowning in a challenging way) at a rival Southeast Asian gangster as they passed each other in their high school hallway. At noon, the one who had received the look, walked to a nearby Asian grocery and bought a meat cleaver. He returned to the school, found the rival and promptly hacked the cleaver into his shoulder, removing a large wedge of flesh similar to what a logger chops out of a tree.
As the ambulance wailed their arrival, the suspect, no longer having a need for the meat cleaver, casually walked back to the market and got his money back.
BLACK GANGS
Almost from its inception, there has been an expectation in the black gang culture that revenge is an automatic response to being dissed in some fashion. The individual gangbanger who fails to take care of business when he has been wronged will find that life within his gang suddenly becomes intolerable. He will be hassled, teased, called a punk, not allowed to hang out and party with his homies and he may even be beaten for his inaction.
Sometimes a gang member is revenged simply because of his gang affiliation. For example, a Blood will say, “I know Crazy Boy is a Crip and I know that he carries a gun. I know where he is right now and I’m going to get him.”
The Blood finds Crazy Boy and fires a few rounds at him. As the Blood roars off in his car, he knows that he just opened a Pandora’s box because he dissed Crazy Boy in big way, and the unwritten rule, which everyone follows, says that Crazy Boy and his gang must retaliate.
“The Blood shot at me and nicked me,” Crazy Boy says, “Now I’m going to go and shoot him in the face.” This line of thinking has been the street dance between street gangs for many years.
Revenge is always extreme with street gangs. They never retaliate by throwing a rock through the rival’s window, but rather, “I’m going to go and break his head and then I’m going to shoot up his house and then I’m going to shoot into his group of friends. Hell, I’m going to go shoot him in the back of his head.”
Youth counselors say that when they talk to a gang member in a counseling session, the counselor asks how the conflict can be settled peacefully. Inevitably, the gangster says something like, “There is no way to do it with peace. Revenge is going to happen, maybe six months from now, maybe a year from now. But it’s definitely going to happen.”
Typically, gangs don’t plan out their revenge, which makes it difficult for law enforcement to act proactively. While the movies often depict gang members meeting in a room and discussing the details of their hit, the reality is that it’s situational with them. A member says that he just got dissed, so everyone jumps into a car and goes on a mission of payback. Or they might already be out in a car when they by chance run across a gang or gang member they want to hit.
The one absolute is that there is always going to be some kind of retaliation after a big incident, and generally it happens 10 days to a couple of weeks later.
SKINHEADS
Like other street gangs, skinheads seek revenge when they feel that they have been wronged. People who snitch on them and people who witness against them to the police are often fair game for retaliation. And since there is a continuous ongoing rivalry between racists and antiracist skins, there is virtually a built in revenge clause when one side in some way offends the other side. Revenge is important to them because they must uphold their reputation of being street warriors for their cause.
One ex-skinhead said that revenge is integral to what they are about. “We searched for revenge on a society that has walked away from traditional values and accepted, what we thought to be, degenerate values. Nazi skinheads are a group that does not compromise. We don’t accept the state that the world is in, but rather look to the thousands of years before us that created a utopian society of racial purity and genetic uniformity. Each act of violence or propaganda is an act of revenge on a group of people who are wallowing in self-pity and weak-minded behavior.”
It’s common for racist skinheads to assault mixed-race couples. In a way, these violent acts are a way of retaliating against a violation they see perpetrated by other whites. Race mixing they say, muddies the gene pool. This angers them, so they strike out against the white half of the relationship and, of course, they strike out at the minority half, too.
There are two basic skinhead factions: racists and antiracists. They hate each other and each believes that the other gives a bad name to skinheads. Acts of retaliation take the form of drive-by shootings, knifings, and street rumbles.
Today, skinhead violence is low, but there is still an intense hatred between the racists and antiracists. If one side is wronged in some fashion by the other side, it’s a guarantee that there will be an act of revenge. Although violence between opposing skinhead factions has at times been deadly, it hasn’t come near the level of ongoing violence perpetrated by other gangs.
Recent skinhead violence has been directed toward homosexuals and Jewish people and synagogues. Their strikes against homosexuals are acts of retaliation for a life style they consider an abomination. Their strikes against the Jews are in retaliation for what they perceive to be the Jewish controlled media, commerce and government, including law enforcement.
HISPANIC
A Hispanic gangbanger made this warning as casually as if he were saying he was going to the movies. “You snitch, you wrong us, and we will kill your mama or baby brother.” It doesn’t get more clear than that.
Retaliation at it’s deadliest can mean the murder of the rival gang member, usually in a drive-by shooting. Typically, the revenge seekers pull their car up next to a crowd on a street corner, door stoop, or park bench and sprays everything and everyone in sight. Miraculously, many of these types of shootings end with no one being hit. But that isn’t always the case.
As this article is being written, police in Glendale, California are stepping up patrol after an 18-year-old Armenian man was shot as he stood near a group of seven other people. According to witnesses, as a 1987 Honda Accord drove slowly by the crowd, a Hispanic man, one of three in the car, leaned out the window and fired. Police say the shooting was in retaliation for the beating and stabbing death of a Hispanic student by Armenian gang members a few days earlier.
At least in this shooting the motive was clear in the minds of the gang members, but that is not always the case. “I’ve seen bangers seek revenge even when it wasn’t clear to them what the rival did,” one veteran gang officer said. “They just know that it’s expected of them to do a payback. When I’ve asked them what caused the extreme hate, they couldn’t answer. The original insult may have happened years ago, but they still have the need to revenge. There is no value to human life unless the gang member is directly related to the victim or he is a homeboy.”
One Hispanic ex-gang member talked about the adrenaline rush he had after being shot at, and the urgent need he had to strike back. “I remember sitting in a fast-food place with one of my homeboys. As we were talking, these guys from a rival gang saw us in the restaurant, and they got out of their car and came up to the window and started shooting through the glass at us. They didn’t hit anyone, but I can still remember how I felt. I was alive and all I could think about was revenge. I came so close to dying that night, but all that was going through my mind was finding these fools and hurting them.”
Sometimes a gang will get revenge against a member who no longer wants to be in the gang. A longtime Hispanic gangbanger, who has since been sentenced to a dozen years in prison, said this. “One time a guy said to the Mexican Mafia that he didn’t want to be in the gang anymore. They didn’t say nothin’ to him then, but when he left the gang, the next day his wife is dead, two of his sisters are dead, and the three-month-old baby is dead.” The validity of this story is unknown.
With most Hispanic gangbangers, the absolute need to strike back, the duty to retaliate for being wronged in some fashion, is an unsatiated hunger. The banger may plan his revenge, or it may just happen when the opportunity presents itself, as is the case with most incidents of gang violence. The banger may get wronged in June, but the opportunity to strike back doesn’t present itself until December. Over the months, the anger festers just beneath the surface, so that when the banger is presented with the moment - say the rival shows up at the same Saturday night party, or is seen sitting in a parked car - his rage explodes and someone gets hurt.
MISCELLANEOUS WHITE GANGS
Miscellaneous white gangs are those who emulate the other more entrenched ones, usually black and Hispanic gangs. Many begin as taggers and progress - by committing crimes, especially retaliation crimes - until they fit the definition of a criminal gang. For example, Taggers A marks over Taggers B’s graffiti, and of course Tagger B must retaliate. At first, the retaliation may only involve painting over A’s markings, but after a few of these exchanges, the retaliation turns violent.
It’s common for taggers to evolve into full-blown gangs within just a few months. At that stage, they may continue spreading graffiti, though usually bigger issues will have taken its place.
Other miscellaneous gangs form the way as do most other gangs. Some begin because their members have a mutual interest in music or computers. Others form out of a need for protection. The Trenchcoat Mafia at Columbine highschool would be an example.
“Revenge is very important, almost as much as respect and reputation,” says one ex-gang member. “If a gangbanger feels someone is dissing him or has hurt someone he cares about, the gangbanger must seek revenge. If he doesn’t, then he is looked down on by his set as being weak. The shootings I’ve been involved in, I was just thinking about revenge. I wanted to make sure that the person who disrespected me was not able to do it again. I was out to make an example of one in order to warn many.”
Arguably, it’s human nature to want revenge, but gangs seldom make the effort to settle matters through conversation or conflict resolution. Instead, they strike back in the extreme. With easy access to high-powered weapons, it’s more natural for young gangbangers to express their burning rage and their need for revenge through bloody violence.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Gangs in New York talk Twitter: Use tweets to trash-talk rivals, plan fights
Gangs in New York talk Twitter: Use tweets to trash-talk rivals, plan fights
BY Simone Weichselbaum (NY Daily News)
November 29, 2009
The city’s street gangs are becoming tweet gangs.
Manhattan’s young thugs have turned to Twitter, and the cops who track them are fast behind, the Daily News has learned.
It’s old-school crime meets new technology: attacks being plotted – and thwarted – 140 characters at a time.
One investigator recently warned parents and teens that the bastion of OMG and LOL has been infiltrated by violent crews waging turf wars.
A boy shot in the leg weeks earlier on Lenox Ave. may have been targeted because of a battle the Original Young Gangsters crew started on Twitter.
“It’s horrible,” NYPD Lt. Kevin O’Connor of Manhattan North’s gang intelligence unit told a forum in Harlem.
A basic search of the social-networking site for OYG or Jeff Mob, the gang based in the Jefferson Houses in East Harlem, yields shout-outs and throwdowns.
“I knoe bitches from oyg that would dead mob yah s–t in harlem,” one girl wrote in a series of tweets aimed at drawing out a rival for a fight.
Investigators are monitoring the traffic in hopes of sweeping up gangbangers before the bloodshed – and searching Twitter after attacks for clues.
“It is another tool … just like old phone records,” a police source said. “We can go through them [messages] to track these guys.”
Harlem pastor Vernon Williams, who runs Perfect Peace Ministry Youth Outreach, said his staff uses Twitter, MySpace and instant messaging to keep track of 4,000 at-risk teens.
A week ago, Twitter helped the volunteers stop a street war after they saw the Get Money Boys, based in the St. Nicholas Houses on W. 127 St., exchanging threats with Goodfellas and The New Dons, based just a few blocks north.
“They were threatening to go and hurt two people,” said Williams, 51, who sent staff out to find the tweeters.
An NYPD spokesman and the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment on the phenomenon, and Twitter did not respond to e-mails.
Gang members who grew up in the digital age are blasé about their tweeting.
One 15-year-old in the 28 Gunnaz gang said it’s just like any other “form of communication,” except that the world can listen in on the conversation.
That feature can actually fuel disputes. A heated exchange between rivals on the service can turn into a full-fledged beef when others get wind, he said.
A 15-year-old nicknamed Lil V, who belongs to The New Dons, says Twitter is useful for “settin’ up the fights” and making plans.
He seemed aware that the cops or anyone else could follow them – and said the gang takes precautions, using lingo gangsters from an earlier era wouldn’t even understand.
“We got our own page,” Lil V said. “Our page is private.”
BY Simone Weichselbaum (NY Daily News)
November 29, 2009
The city’s street gangs are becoming tweet gangs.
Manhattan’s young thugs have turned to Twitter, and the cops who track them are fast behind, the Daily News has learned.
It’s old-school crime meets new technology: attacks being plotted – and thwarted – 140 characters at a time.
One investigator recently warned parents and teens that the bastion of OMG and LOL has been infiltrated by violent crews waging turf wars.
A boy shot in the leg weeks earlier on Lenox Ave. may have been targeted because of a battle the Original Young Gangsters crew started on Twitter.
“It’s horrible,” NYPD Lt. Kevin O’Connor of Manhattan North’s gang intelligence unit told a forum in Harlem.
A basic search of the social-networking site for OYG or Jeff Mob, the gang based in the Jefferson Houses in East Harlem, yields shout-outs and throwdowns.
“I knoe bitches from oyg that would dead mob yah s–t in harlem,” one girl wrote in a series of tweets aimed at drawing out a rival for a fight.
Investigators are monitoring the traffic in hopes of sweeping up gangbangers before the bloodshed – and searching Twitter after attacks for clues.
“It is another tool … just like old phone records,” a police source said. “We can go through them [messages] to track these guys.”
Harlem pastor Vernon Williams, who runs Perfect Peace Ministry Youth Outreach, said his staff uses Twitter, MySpace and instant messaging to keep track of 4,000 at-risk teens.
A week ago, Twitter helped the volunteers stop a street war after they saw the Get Money Boys, based in the St. Nicholas Houses on W. 127 St., exchanging threats with Goodfellas and The New Dons, based just a few blocks north.
“They were threatening to go and hurt two people,” said Williams, 51, who sent staff out to find the tweeters.
An NYPD spokesman and the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment on the phenomenon, and Twitter did not respond to e-mails.
Gang members who grew up in the digital age are blasé about their tweeting.
One 15-year-old in the 28 Gunnaz gang said it’s just like any other “form of communication,” except that the world can listen in on the conversation.
That feature can actually fuel disputes. A heated exchange between rivals on the service can turn into a full-fledged beef when others get wind, he said.
A 15-year-old nicknamed Lil V, who belongs to The New Dons, says Twitter is useful for “settin’ up the fights” and making plans.
He seemed aware that the cops or anyone else could follow them – and said the gang takes precautions, using lingo gangsters from an earlier era wouldn’t even understand.
“We got our own page,” Lil V said. “Our page is private.”
Use of Twitter, Facebook rising among California gang members
Use of Twitter, Facebook rising among California gang members
By THOMAS WATKINS
The Associated Press
Tuesday, February 2, 2010; 2:24 PM
LOS ANGELES — When a gang member was released from jail soon after his arrest for selling methamphetamine, friends and associates assumed he had cut a deal with authorities and become a police informant.
They sent a warning on Twitter that went like this: We have a snitch in our midst.
Unbeknownst to them, that tweet and the traffic it generated were being closely followed by investigators, who had been tracking the San Francisco Bay Area gang for months. Officials sat back and watched as others joined the conversation and left behind incriminating information.
Law enforcement officials say gangs are making greater use of Twitter and Facebook, where they sometimes post information that helps agents identify gang associates and learn more about their organizations.
“You find out about people you never would have known about before,” said Dean Johnston with the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, which helps police investigate gangs. “You build this little tree of people.”
In the case involving the suspected informant, tweets alerted investigators to three other gang members who were ultimately arrested on drug charges.
Tech-savvy gangsters have long been at home in chatrooms and on Web sites like MySpace, but they appear to be gravitating toward Twitter and Facebook, where they can make threats, boast about crimes, share intelligence on rivals and network with people across the country.
“We are seeing a lot more of it,” Johnston said. “They will even go out and brag about doing shootings.”
In another California case involving a different gang, much of the information gathered by investigators came from members’ Facebook accounts. Authorities expect to make arrests in the coming months.
“Once you get into a Facebook group, it’s relatively easy,” Johnston said. “You have a rolling commentary.”
And gang members sometimes turn the tables, asking contacts across their extended networks for help identifying undercover police officers.
It’s hard to know exactly how many gang members are turning to Twitter and Facebook. Many police agencies are reluctant to discuss the phenomenon for fear of revealing their investigative techniques.
Capt. Walt Myer, director of the Riverside County regional gang task force, said gang activity often “mirrors general society. When any kind of new technology comes along, they are going to use it.”
Tapping into tweets and status updates can be easy. Agents pose as pretty girls and send flirtatious friend requests. Confidential informants sometimes let police peer into their accounts.
Authorities can also seek help from the Web sites. Representatives from Twitter and Facebook say they regularly cooperate with police and supply information on account holders when presented with a search warrant. Neither company would discuss specifics.
Gang use of Twitter and Facebook still lags behind use of the much-older MySpace, which remains gang members’ online venue of choice.
The Crips, Bloods, Florencia 13, MS-13 and other gangs have long used MySpace to display potentially incriminating photos and videos of people holding guns and making hand gestures. They also post messages about rivals.
Last week, officials in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, announced the arrest of 50 people in a crackdown of a Latino gang they say was engaged in drug sales and hate crimes against black residents. Prosecutors say some of the evidence was pulled from MySpace and YouTube, including rap videos taunting police with violent messages.
While some members are wising up to the police attention such postings can bring, gang information remains publicly viewable online.
Dozens of Facebook accounts are dedicated to the deadly MS-13 gang, with followers from around the globe. At one site, a video displays pictures of dead members of the rival 18th Street gang, and some users have left disrespectful comments.
The toughest part about tracking someone on Twitter is finding the alias or screen name they are posting under. And many tweets are nonsensical or pointless, so cutting through the clutter can be difficult.
“It’s tricky,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy David Anguiano. “If you find out what they go by, you are good to go.”
Anguiano tracks the online activity of graffiti vandals – the so-called tagging crews that sometimes morph into gangs. They post tweets saying they are heading out to spray paint and sometimes post links to photographs of their work.
Often, they cannot resist bragging about their handiwork, and the electronic trail they leave is frequently used as evidence.
“They talk about it too much,” Anguiano said. “You want the fame so you’ve got to go out there and talk about it. That’s when your mouth gets you in trouble.”
By THOMAS WATKINS
The Associated Press
Tuesday, February 2, 2010; 2:24 PM
LOS ANGELES — When a gang member was released from jail soon after his arrest for selling methamphetamine, friends and associates assumed he had cut a deal with authorities and become a police informant.
They sent a warning on Twitter that went like this: We have a snitch in our midst.
Unbeknownst to them, that tweet and the traffic it generated were being closely followed by investigators, who had been tracking the San Francisco Bay Area gang for months. Officials sat back and watched as others joined the conversation and left behind incriminating information.
Law enforcement officials say gangs are making greater use of Twitter and Facebook, where they sometimes post information that helps agents identify gang associates and learn more about their organizations.
“You find out about people you never would have known about before,” said Dean Johnston with the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, which helps police investigate gangs. “You build this little tree of people.”
In the case involving the suspected informant, tweets alerted investigators to three other gang members who were ultimately arrested on drug charges.
Tech-savvy gangsters have long been at home in chatrooms and on Web sites like MySpace, but they appear to be gravitating toward Twitter and Facebook, where they can make threats, boast about crimes, share intelligence on rivals and network with people across the country.
“We are seeing a lot more of it,” Johnston said. “They will even go out and brag about doing shootings.”
In another California case involving a different gang, much of the information gathered by investigators came from members’ Facebook accounts. Authorities expect to make arrests in the coming months.
“Once you get into a Facebook group, it’s relatively easy,” Johnston said. “You have a rolling commentary.”
And gang members sometimes turn the tables, asking contacts across their extended networks for help identifying undercover police officers.
It’s hard to know exactly how many gang members are turning to Twitter and Facebook. Many police agencies are reluctant to discuss the phenomenon for fear of revealing their investigative techniques.
Capt. Walt Myer, director of the Riverside County regional gang task force, said gang activity often “mirrors general society. When any kind of new technology comes along, they are going to use it.”
Tapping into tweets and status updates can be easy. Agents pose as pretty girls and send flirtatious friend requests. Confidential informants sometimes let police peer into their accounts.
Authorities can also seek help from the Web sites. Representatives from Twitter and Facebook say they regularly cooperate with police and supply information on account holders when presented with a search warrant. Neither company would discuss specifics.
Gang use of Twitter and Facebook still lags behind use of the much-older MySpace, which remains gang members’ online venue of choice.
The Crips, Bloods, Florencia 13, MS-13 and other gangs have long used MySpace to display potentially incriminating photos and videos of people holding guns and making hand gestures. They also post messages about rivals.
Last week, officials in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, announced the arrest of 50 people in a crackdown of a Latino gang they say was engaged in drug sales and hate crimes against black residents. Prosecutors say some of the evidence was pulled from MySpace and YouTube, including rap videos taunting police with violent messages.
While some members are wising up to the police attention such postings can bring, gang information remains publicly viewable online.
Dozens of Facebook accounts are dedicated to the deadly MS-13 gang, with followers from around the globe. At one site, a video displays pictures of dead members of the rival 18th Street gang, and some users have left disrespectful comments.
The toughest part about tracking someone on Twitter is finding the alias or screen name they are posting under. And many tweets are nonsensical or pointless, so cutting through the clutter can be difficult.
“It’s tricky,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy David Anguiano. “If you find out what they go by, you are good to go.”
Anguiano tracks the online activity of graffiti vandals – the so-called tagging crews that sometimes morph into gangs. They post tweets saying they are heading out to spray paint and sometimes post links to photographs of their work.
Often, they cannot resist bragging about their handiwork, and the electronic trail they leave is frequently used as evidence.
“They talk about it too much,” Anguiano said. “You want the fame so you’ve got to go out there and talk about it. That’s when your mouth gets you in trouble.”
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
DEA Targets Riverside Street Gang with Alleged Ties to Mexican Mafia
January 27, 2010
Contact: SA Sarah Pullen
Public Information Officer
(213) 621-6827
DEA Targets Riverside Street Gang with Alleged Ties to Mexican Mafia“Operation Promise” Results in Federal Charges for 20 Members and Associates of Eastside Rivas
JAN 27 –RIVERSIDE, CA (JAN 27) – DEA and other law enforcement authorities announced the arrest of six defendants linked to a Riverside street gang that is alleged to act under the control of the Mexican Mafia and engage in the trafficking of methamphetamine. The six defendants are among 20 charged in three criminal complaints filed yesterday afternoon in United States District Court and unsealed this morning. Nine of the defendants charged in the federal cases are already in state custody, in some cases on related charges, and five of the defendants are currently being sought by authorities.
The federal criminal cases are part of a coordinated crackdown on the Eastside Rivas (ESR), a 20-year-old street gang with about 500 members that claims territory on the east side of the City of Riverside. The federal investigation, which started in November 2008, led to the criminal complaints that were unsealed today and allege numerous methamphetamine transactions, as well as tactics that ESR uses to maintain power and to cooperate with the Mexican Mafia, to which ESR pays monetary tribute referred to as “taxes” or “rent.”
“Our communities deserve to exist without fear and intimidation inflicted by violent drug gangs,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Landrum. “Today’s arrests should significantly impact the violent drug related activity that has wreaked havoc throughout the eastside of Riverside. This effort, as part of Operation Promise, is a promise to our citizen’s of the continued commitment of law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels to keep our streets safe.”
Out of the three criminal complaints filed in federal court, two charge single defendants – one with drug trafficking, one with being a felon in possession of a firearm – and the third complaint charges 18 defendants. The main complaint outlines the structure, rules and activities of ESR, noting that:
ESR frequently engages in “cruising,” where ESR members arm themselves with an array of deadly weapons and travel in groups to rival gang territory to attack rival gangsters;
ESR rules require that members of the gang attack individuals who intentionally or inadvertently enter ESR territory, whether they are rival gang members, customers stores or restaurants, or simply traveling through ESR territory;
ESR members use MySpace.com to communicate about gang business, and they use rap music videos and recordings to deliver a messages of violence and intimidation;
ESR is hostile to the presence of African-Americans in ESR territory, even if they are not affiliated with a gang; and
ESR relies on the possession of firearms to defend and maintain its turf, to attack or defend themselves from rival gang members, and to create an atmosphere of fear in which victims and witnesses will be reluctant to testify against gang members out of fear of retaliation.
The investigation into ESR was conducted by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigators with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office and the Riverside Police Department, and special agents with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“Law enforcement at the local and federal levels have once again joined to disrupt a criminal organization responsible for igniting the violence which has a paralyzing effect on the law-abiding citizens of Riverside, and which devastates otherwise peaceful communities,” commented Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. “The crimes alleged in this case have serious consequences and, if convicted, ESR gang members will spend a good part of their lives behind bars.”
Those named in the main criminal complaint are:
Salvador Orozco Hernandez, Jr. (aka “Toro” and “Tio”), 45, of Bloomington, a Mexican Mafia member currently in state prison on attempted murder charges, who is accused of issuing directives to senior ESR members on topics including “tax” collections and drug distribution in ESR territory;
Robert Zavala Carrillo (aka “Pato”), 37, of Moreno Valley, accused of being the de facto leader of the ESR gang and the president of an ESR clique, who is a fugitive;
Christopher Nevarez (aka “Flako), 38, of Riverside, the alleged liason between the ESR and the Mexican Mafia, who is currently in state custody on a parole violation;
Ronnie Marquez (aka “Shadow”), 41, of Riverside, allegedly a senior member of ESR who is in custody awaiting trial on drug and weapons offense;
Ignacio Chavez (aka “Kartune”), 32, of Riverside, a senior member of ESR who is in custody awaiting trial on charges of attempted murder and drug trafficking;
Mark Gil (aka “Papa” and “Little G”), 35, of Moreno Valley, a senior member of ESR, who is a fugitive;
Andrew Pacheco Moreno (aka “Drew”), 37, of Fontana, who was arrested this morning;
Daniel Henry Padron (aka “Danny Boy” and “Sneaky”), 33, of Riverside, who is currently incarcerated after being convicted of drug trafficking;
Jose Arredondo (aka “Tony”), 40, of Hemet, who is currently incarcerated after being convicted of drug trafficking;
Johnny Gomez, 44, of Riverside, who was arrested this morning;
Nateno Moreno (aka “Shorty”), 32, of Riverside, who was arrested this morning;
Vanessa Garcia (aka “Pookie” and “Erica”), 22, of Riverside, who is in custody on a parole violation;
Allexxis Olonna Smith, 24, of Riverside, who is currently incarcerated after being convicted of carjacking;
Chris James Garcia (aka “Chuco”), 42, of Riverside, who was arrested this morning;
Rudy Tovar (aka “Dinky”), 30, of Riverside, who is currently incarcerated after being convicted on drug trafficking charges;
Paul Cortez (aka “Wiskers”), 22, of Riverside, who was arrested this morning;
Allan Patrick Staley (aka “Paya”), 37, of Riverside, who is a fugitive; and
Deanna Wagner, 33, of Riverside, who is a fugitive.
The other two defendants charged are: David Martinez, 37, who was arrested this morning after being charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and Ronnie Granado, 42, a fugitive, who is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“Federal law enforcement authorities have partnered with local enforcement to take gang members off the streets of communities across Southern California,” said Acting United States Attorney George S. Cardona. “As this action targeting Eastside Rivas demonstrates, we will continue to work with local authorities to go after the worst street gangs that traffic in narcotics and terrorize neighborhoods with their violence.”
The six defendants arrested today are expect to make their initial court appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside. As for the nine defendants currently in state custody, the United States Attorney’s Office expects to file writs to have them brought into federal custody.
A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted, each of the 19 defendants charged with narcotics violations face a maximum statutory sentence of life without parole in federal prison. If convicted of the weapons violation, Granado faces up to 10 years in prison.
Contact: SA Sarah Pullen
Public Information Officer
(213) 621-6827
DEA Targets Riverside Street Gang with Alleged Ties to Mexican Mafia“Operation Promise” Results in Federal Charges for 20 Members and Associates of Eastside Rivas
JAN 27 –RIVERSIDE, CA (JAN 27) – DEA and other law enforcement authorities announced the arrest of six defendants linked to a Riverside street gang that is alleged to act under the control of the Mexican Mafia and engage in the trafficking of methamphetamine. The six defendants are among 20 charged in three criminal complaints filed yesterday afternoon in United States District Court and unsealed this morning. Nine of the defendants charged in the federal cases are already in state custody, in some cases on related charges, and five of the defendants are currently being sought by authorities.
The federal criminal cases are part of a coordinated crackdown on the Eastside Rivas (ESR), a 20-year-old street gang with about 500 members that claims territory on the east side of the City of Riverside. The federal investigation, which started in November 2008, led to the criminal complaints that were unsealed today and allege numerous methamphetamine transactions, as well as tactics that ESR uses to maintain power and to cooperate with the Mexican Mafia, to which ESR pays monetary tribute referred to as “taxes” or “rent.”
“Our communities deserve to exist without fear and intimidation inflicted by violent drug gangs,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Landrum. “Today’s arrests should significantly impact the violent drug related activity that has wreaked havoc throughout the eastside of Riverside. This effort, as part of Operation Promise, is a promise to our citizen’s of the continued commitment of law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels to keep our streets safe.”
Out of the three criminal complaints filed in federal court, two charge single defendants – one with drug trafficking, one with being a felon in possession of a firearm – and the third complaint charges 18 defendants. The main complaint outlines the structure, rules and activities of ESR, noting that:
ESR frequently engages in “cruising,” where ESR members arm themselves with an array of deadly weapons and travel in groups to rival gang territory to attack rival gangsters;
ESR rules require that members of the gang attack individuals who intentionally or inadvertently enter ESR territory, whether they are rival gang members, customers stores or restaurants, or simply traveling through ESR territory;
ESR members use MySpace.com to communicate about gang business, and they use rap music videos and recordings to deliver a messages of violence and intimidation;
ESR is hostile to the presence of African-Americans in ESR territory, even if they are not affiliated with a gang; and
ESR relies on the possession of firearms to defend and maintain its turf, to attack or defend themselves from rival gang members, and to create an atmosphere of fear in which victims and witnesses will be reluctant to testify against gang members out of fear of retaliation.
The investigation into ESR was conducted by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigators with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office and the Riverside Police Department, and special agents with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“Law enforcement at the local and federal levels have once again joined to disrupt a criminal organization responsible for igniting the violence which has a paralyzing effect on the law-abiding citizens of Riverside, and which devastates otherwise peaceful communities,” commented Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. “The crimes alleged in this case have serious consequences and, if convicted, ESR gang members will spend a good part of their lives behind bars.”
Those named in the main criminal complaint are:
Salvador Orozco Hernandez, Jr. (aka “Toro” and “Tio”), 45, of Bloomington, a Mexican Mafia member currently in state prison on attempted murder charges, who is accused of issuing directives to senior ESR members on topics including “tax” collections and drug distribution in ESR territory;
Robert Zavala Carrillo (aka “Pato”), 37, of Moreno Valley, accused of being the de facto leader of the ESR gang and the president of an ESR clique, who is a fugitive;
Christopher Nevarez (aka “Flako), 38, of Riverside, the alleged liason between the ESR and the Mexican Mafia, who is currently in state custody on a parole violation;
Ronnie Marquez (aka “Shadow”), 41, of Riverside, allegedly a senior member of ESR who is in custody awaiting trial on drug and weapons offense;
Ignacio Chavez (aka “Kartune”), 32, of Riverside, a senior member of ESR who is in custody awaiting trial on charges of attempted murder and drug trafficking;
Mark Gil (aka “Papa” and “Little G”), 35, of Moreno Valley, a senior member of ESR, who is a fugitive;
Andrew Pacheco Moreno (aka “Drew”), 37, of Fontana, who was arrested this morning;
Daniel Henry Padron (aka “Danny Boy” and “Sneaky”), 33, of Riverside, who is currently incarcerated after being convicted of drug trafficking;
Jose Arredondo (aka “Tony”), 40, of Hemet, who is currently incarcerated after being convicted of drug trafficking;
Johnny Gomez, 44, of Riverside, who was arrested this morning;
Nateno Moreno (aka “Shorty”), 32, of Riverside, who was arrested this morning;
Vanessa Garcia (aka “Pookie” and “Erica”), 22, of Riverside, who is in custody on a parole violation;
Allexxis Olonna Smith, 24, of Riverside, who is currently incarcerated after being convicted of carjacking;
Chris James Garcia (aka “Chuco”), 42, of Riverside, who was arrested this morning;
Rudy Tovar (aka “Dinky”), 30, of Riverside, who is currently incarcerated after being convicted on drug trafficking charges;
Paul Cortez (aka “Wiskers”), 22, of Riverside, who was arrested this morning;
Allan Patrick Staley (aka “Paya”), 37, of Riverside, who is a fugitive; and
Deanna Wagner, 33, of Riverside, who is a fugitive.
The other two defendants charged are: David Martinez, 37, who was arrested this morning after being charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and Ronnie Granado, 42, a fugitive, who is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“Federal law enforcement authorities have partnered with local enforcement to take gang members off the streets of communities across Southern California,” said Acting United States Attorney George S. Cardona. “As this action targeting Eastside Rivas demonstrates, we will continue to work with local authorities to go after the worst street gangs that traffic in narcotics and terrorize neighborhoods with their violence.”
The six defendants arrested today are expect to make their initial court appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside. As for the nine defendants currently in state custody, the United States Attorney’s Office expects to file writs to have them brought into federal custody.
A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted, each of the 19 defendants charged with narcotics violations face a maximum statutory sentence of life without parole in federal prison. If convicted of the weapons violation, Granado faces up to 10 years in prison.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
GANGS AND TERRORISM
GANGS AND TERRORISM
Gang members frequently spend time in jail or
prison. In this captive environment, their gang
affiliations may aggravate their situations. This is
particularly true for those who are incarcerated for
the first time. Involvement in a gang may afford an
inmate protection. But it also can make him
susceptible to attacks from rival gang members.
A prison environment also provides the
atmosphere for terrorism recruitment. Antigovernment
extremists from both domestic and
international groups as well as racial and religious hate groups proselytize to inmates
inside correctional facilities. The same psychological characteristics that contributed to someone’s initial involvement in
a street gang may be exploited by recruiters
for hate groups and other extremist organizations behind prison walls.
The collusion between street gangs and state-sponsored terrorism was illustrated in the 1980s during the investigation into
Chicago’s El Rukn gang and representatives of the government of Libya. Several ranking El Rukns were imprisoned for weapons
violations and conspiring to commit violent acts in the United States on behalf of representatives of the Libyan government.
As the prison population rises, so do opportunities for extremists to recruit inmates to organizations that engage in terrorism
to accomplish their ideological goals.
Source: Will County IL State's Attorney Office
Gang members frequently spend time in jail or
prison. In this captive environment, their gang
affiliations may aggravate their situations. This is
particularly true for those who are incarcerated for
the first time. Involvement in a gang may afford an
inmate protection. But it also can make him
susceptible to attacks from rival gang members.
A prison environment also provides the
atmosphere for terrorism recruitment. Antigovernment
extremists from both domestic and
international groups as well as racial and religious hate groups proselytize to inmates
inside correctional facilities. The same psychological characteristics that contributed to someone’s initial involvement in
a street gang may be exploited by recruiters
for hate groups and other extremist organizations behind prison walls.
The collusion between street gangs and state-sponsored terrorism was illustrated in the 1980s during the investigation into
Chicago’s El Rukn gang and representatives of the government of Libya. Several ranking El Rukns were imprisoned for weapons
violations and conspiring to commit violent acts in the United States on behalf of representatives of the Libyan government.
As the prison population rises, so do opportunities for extremists to recruit inmates to organizations that engage in terrorism
to accomplish their ideological goals.
Source: Will County IL State's Attorney Office
Sunday, December 13, 2009
"Fluffy Bunny Crew" One of Three Street Gangs Busted by DPS
By James King in Crime BlotterFri., Dec. 11 2009 @ 2:37PM
Department of Public Safety - Phoenix, AZ
In the past, criminal street gangs have used names that strike fear in the hearts of their rivals. The Bloods, the Crips, the Jets, the Sharks -- all have an intimidating connotation.
As for Scottsdale's latest group of thugs -- busted today as part of the Department of Public Safety's "Operation Triple Threat"-- not so much.
The "Fluffy Bunny Crew" is one of three criminal street gangs busted as part of the DPS' latest gangster roundup, but don't let the wimpy name fool you -- according to DPS officials, these are some pretty bad dudes.
DPS spokesman Steve Harrison tells New Times the gang is called the "Fluffy Bunnies" so that after they beat the crap out of somebody and that person has to tell their friends they got their asses kicked by a couple of "fluffy bunnies."
Gang assaults and home invasions aside -- at least these guys have a sense of humor.
The "Fluffy Bunnies" were part of a larger organization made up of what DPS officials are calling "party crews" coming out of Valley high schools.
Harrison says three "party crews," which came out of Sandra Day O'Connor, Cactus Shadow, and North Canyon high schools, progressed from three groups of party-crashers into a single, organized street-gang -- responsible for drug-dealing, home invasions, and robbery.
Harrison says the three "party crews" began as rivals but came together under the auspices of white supremacy. He says the gang isn't technically considered a white-supremacist organization but that white supremest ideals are what brought the three crews together.
DPS has been watching the gang for more than a year and has seen it go from committing smaller crimes, like serving booze to minors, to more serious offenses, like armed-robbery, kidnapping, and countless assaults.
Harrison says gang members are involved in dealing drugs and have been busted with guns, including an assault rifle and a sawed-off shotgun.
Over the past two days, DPS officers, in collaboration with several other law-enforcement agencies, have taken 22 gang members into custody and have warrants for three additional suspects.
Search warrants have uncovered the recovery of stolen property, 1,017 tablets of Soma, 200 tablets of Xanax, 90 tablets of Valium, and 70 Neo-Pircodan, as well as a collection of weapons and body armor.
Along with the "Fluffy Bunnies," members of the "Dirty White Boyz" were also busted in the sweep.
With pussy names like these, they might as well start a boy band.
Department of Public Safety - Phoenix, AZ
In the past, criminal street gangs have used names that strike fear in the hearts of their rivals. The Bloods, the Crips, the Jets, the Sharks -- all have an intimidating connotation.
As for Scottsdale's latest group of thugs -- busted today as part of the Department of Public Safety's "Operation Triple Threat"-- not so much.
The "Fluffy Bunny Crew" is one of three criminal street gangs busted as part of the DPS' latest gangster roundup, but don't let the wimpy name fool you -- according to DPS officials, these are some pretty bad dudes.
DPS spokesman Steve Harrison tells New Times the gang is called the "Fluffy Bunnies" so that after they beat the crap out of somebody and that person has to tell their friends they got their asses kicked by a couple of "fluffy bunnies."
Gang assaults and home invasions aside -- at least these guys have a sense of humor.
The "Fluffy Bunnies" were part of a larger organization made up of what DPS officials are calling "party crews" coming out of Valley high schools.
Harrison says three "party crews," which came out of Sandra Day O'Connor, Cactus Shadow, and North Canyon high schools, progressed from three groups of party-crashers into a single, organized street-gang -- responsible for drug-dealing, home invasions, and robbery.
Harrison says the three "party crews" began as rivals but came together under the auspices of white supremacy. He says the gang isn't technically considered a white-supremacist organization but that white supremest ideals are what brought the three crews together.
DPS has been watching the gang for more than a year and has seen it go from committing smaller crimes, like serving booze to minors, to more serious offenses, like armed-robbery, kidnapping, and countless assaults.
Harrison says gang members are involved in dealing drugs and have been busted with guns, including an assault rifle and a sawed-off shotgun.
Over the past two days, DPS officers, in collaboration with several other law-enforcement agencies, have taken 22 gang members into custody and have warrants for three additional suspects.
Search warrants have uncovered the recovery of stolen property, 1,017 tablets of Soma, 200 tablets of Xanax, 90 tablets of Valium, and 70 Neo-Pircodan, as well as a collection of weapons and body armor.
Along with the "Fluffy Bunnies," members of the "Dirty White Boyz" were also busted in the sweep.
With pussy names like these, they might as well start a boy band.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
GANGS STAKING OUT NEW TURF ON THE WEB
Los Angeles Daily News
Published: Sunday, December 6, 2009 12:22 AM EST
BY TONY CASTRO,
For a while now, the Barrio Van Nuys street gang has been claiming a version of the New York Yankees' interlocked NY logo as its own.
By trimming the tail off the `Y,' the famous Major League Baseball trademark is turned into an interwoven VN, standing for Van Nuys. The gang is touting its Yankee-esque symbol on social networking Web sites and YouTube.
It's just one example of what law enforcement says is an increasing trend among gangs to use cyberspace to broaden their appeal, boast of illegal exploits, pose threats and recruit new members.
And more than ever, prosecutors are scouring sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for potential evidence in gang-related criminal cases.
``Five years ago we would find evidence in a gang case on the Internet and say, `Wow.' Well, there's no more `Wow' any more. Sadly, it's much more routine,'' said Bruce Riordan, director of anti-gang operations for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.
Cyberbanging, as authorities call it, can provide prosecutors with the proof they need in criminal cases to demonstrate affiliation in a street gang — something typically denied by defendants at trial.
``When the gang member has basically put his or her admission of gang membership up on the Internet, it can not only help prosecutors prove a case, it can also help us disprove a false defense,'' Riordan said.
George W. Knox, director of the National Gang Crime Research Center, said, however, that proving gang affiliation through cyberspace can be an arduous task. That is one reason he trains law enforcement officials how to cull intelligence on gang membership, rivalries, territory and lingo from their Internet posts.
``Gangs are going to use any form of communication they can, including Twitter, including Facebook,'' Knox said.
``We don't have any laws that prohibit them from doing this, and I don't think we're ready to bar them from the Internet.''
Attempts to contact numerous San Fernando Valley gang members for comment via e-mails through networking sites they use were unsuccessful.
Los Angeles gang expert Alex Alonso said gang members are using social networking sites more than before, but not necessarily to further criminal enterprises.
``From my extensive experience, they use the Internet like any other person does — they're just representing their neighborhoods and not trying to recruit,'' Alonso said.
But law enforcement officials and youth counselors insist that young people who visit social networking sites to download music and pictures glorifying criminal street gangs can unwittingly set themselves up to be recruited by gangs.
Impressionable young people, say authorities, can sometimes be influenced by the secret handshakes, clothing and slang of gang cultures that are commonly found on Web sites created by or heavily used by gangs.
And it's not just MySpace, Facebook and Twitter that parents should be concerned about, warned Douglas Semark, executive director of the Gang Alternatives Program, in San Pedro.
``You can go into special areas of AOL, special areas of Yahoo or special areas of some of the other large Internet presences where (gang members) will go in and they'll target specific topics and specific groups,'' Semark said. ``And kids may be in those areas with their parents' blessing because the parents think they're safe.
``And someone who is looking to victimize a specific individual will track them to those places and create false identities and false accounts.''
Two of the Valley's fiercest gangs — Barrio Van Nuys and Canoga Park Alabama — have also used social networking sites to get around court injunctions secured by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office that forbid members from meeting in public, law enforcement officials say.
For many Valley gangs, My-Space — though pass0x233 in the era of Twitter and Facebook — appears to be the Internet social network of choice to glorify their lifestyle. Alonso said he believes gangs prefer My-Space because it is easier to search for and find other gang members on the site than others.
Representatives for MySpace and other popular social networking sites, which have come under criticism for their availability to gangs, did not return calls.
On MySpace, the 818 Gangland Musik Page offers free-streaming MP3s and song downloads that authorities say attract young Web surfers.
Among photographs posted by gang members are pictures of assault weapons and bulletproof vests over a white T-shirt with the impression ``Pacoima 818'' and of San Fernando gangbangers wearing San Francisco Giants garb with the famous interlocked SF logo of that team, which they have adopted as their own.
Representatives of the Giants and the Yankees said logos and trademark issues are handled by Major League Baseball Inc., and that they have alerted officials at the league.
A Yankees spokeswoman said that organization is especially concerned about seeing gang Web sites showing the lookalike NY trademark with guns sticking out of the logo.
Given the anonymous nature of the Internet, though, authorities say it is almost impossible to determine whether a posting has come from actual gang members or wannabes.
Law enforcement officials say gangs' use of the Internet has forced authorities to become skilled at reading between the lines of gang postings, looking for clues and hidden meanings of words and symbols.
``To understand any subculture — al-Qaida, cults, devil worshippers or gangs — you have to be able to know their own language and what they are saying,'' said Knox of the National Gang Crime Research Center. ``It takes time to study gang (Web) sites and blogs and pick up on subtle word choices, but that's important.
``These are holy words to these gangs.''
Copyright © 2009 - Indiana Gazette
Published: Sunday, December 6, 2009 12:22 AM EST
BY TONY CASTRO,
For a while now, the Barrio Van Nuys street gang has been claiming a version of the New York Yankees' interlocked NY logo as its own.
By trimming the tail off the `Y,' the famous Major League Baseball trademark is turned into an interwoven VN, standing for Van Nuys. The gang is touting its Yankee-esque symbol on social networking Web sites and YouTube.
It's just one example of what law enforcement says is an increasing trend among gangs to use cyberspace to broaden their appeal, boast of illegal exploits, pose threats and recruit new members.
And more than ever, prosecutors are scouring sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for potential evidence in gang-related criminal cases.
``Five years ago we would find evidence in a gang case on the Internet and say, `Wow.' Well, there's no more `Wow' any more. Sadly, it's much more routine,'' said Bruce Riordan, director of anti-gang operations for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.
Cyberbanging, as authorities call it, can provide prosecutors with the proof they need in criminal cases to demonstrate affiliation in a street gang — something typically denied by defendants at trial.
``When the gang member has basically put his or her admission of gang membership up on the Internet, it can not only help prosecutors prove a case, it can also help us disprove a false defense,'' Riordan said.
George W. Knox, director of the National Gang Crime Research Center, said, however, that proving gang affiliation through cyberspace can be an arduous task. That is one reason he trains law enforcement officials how to cull intelligence on gang membership, rivalries, territory and lingo from their Internet posts.
``Gangs are going to use any form of communication they can, including Twitter, including Facebook,'' Knox said.
``We don't have any laws that prohibit them from doing this, and I don't think we're ready to bar them from the Internet.''
Attempts to contact numerous San Fernando Valley gang members for comment via e-mails through networking sites they use were unsuccessful.
Los Angeles gang expert Alex Alonso said gang members are using social networking sites more than before, but not necessarily to further criminal enterprises.
``From my extensive experience, they use the Internet like any other person does — they're just representing their neighborhoods and not trying to recruit,'' Alonso said.
But law enforcement officials and youth counselors insist that young people who visit social networking sites to download music and pictures glorifying criminal street gangs can unwittingly set themselves up to be recruited by gangs.
Impressionable young people, say authorities, can sometimes be influenced by the secret handshakes, clothing and slang of gang cultures that are commonly found on Web sites created by or heavily used by gangs.
And it's not just MySpace, Facebook and Twitter that parents should be concerned about, warned Douglas Semark, executive director of the Gang Alternatives Program, in San Pedro.
``You can go into special areas of AOL, special areas of Yahoo or special areas of some of the other large Internet presences where (gang members) will go in and they'll target specific topics and specific groups,'' Semark said. ``And kids may be in those areas with their parents' blessing because the parents think they're safe.
``And someone who is looking to victimize a specific individual will track them to those places and create false identities and false accounts.''
Two of the Valley's fiercest gangs — Barrio Van Nuys and Canoga Park Alabama — have also used social networking sites to get around court injunctions secured by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office that forbid members from meeting in public, law enforcement officials say.
For many Valley gangs, My-Space — though pass0x233 in the era of Twitter and Facebook — appears to be the Internet social network of choice to glorify their lifestyle. Alonso said he believes gangs prefer My-Space because it is easier to search for and find other gang members on the site than others.
Representatives for MySpace and other popular social networking sites, which have come under criticism for their availability to gangs, did not return calls.
On MySpace, the 818 Gangland Musik Page offers free-streaming MP3s and song downloads that authorities say attract young Web surfers.
Among photographs posted by gang members are pictures of assault weapons and bulletproof vests over a white T-shirt with the impression ``Pacoima 818'' and of San Fernando gangbangers wearing San Francisco Giants garb with the famous interlocked SF logo of that team, which they have adopted as their own.
Representatives of the Giants and the Yankees said logos and trademark issues are handled by Major League Baseball Inc., and that they have alerted officials at the league.
A Yankees spokeswoman said that organization is especially concerned about seeing gang Web sites showing the lookalike NY trademark with guns sticking out of the logo.
Given the anonymous nature of the Internet, though, authorities say it is almost impossible to determine whether a posting has come from actual gang members or wannabes.
Law enforcement officials say gangs' use of the Internet has forced authorities to become skilled at reading between the lines of gang postings, looking for clues and hidden meanings of words and symbols.
``To understand any subculture — al-Qaida, cults, devil worshippers or gangs — you have to be able to know their own language and what they are saying,'' said Knox of the National Gang Crime Research Center. ``It takes time to study gang (Web) sites and blogs and pick up on subtle word choices, but that's important.
``These are holy words to these gangs.''
Copyright © 2009 - Indiana Gazette
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Gang gun law: New statute mandates prison for gang members caught with loaded weapons
Chicago authorities praise law as key tool to battle street crime
By John Byrne
Tribune Reporter
December 4, 2009
Gang members caught with loaded guns would face mandatory prison time under a new law signed Thursday by Gov. Pat Quinn and hailed by Chicago authorities as a unique tool for fighting street crime.
The statute sets a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of 10 years behind bars for unlawful use of a weapon by a gang member; under previous law such an offense was punishable by probation. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who pushed for the measure, said she believes it is the first state law to include gang membership as an element of the criminal offense.
At a news conference with Quinn and Mayor Richard Daley, Alvarez predicted the law will withstand any legal challenges alleging it unfairly targets a particular group of people.
"There could be a challenge to anything. We can't predict that. But we feel confident," Alvarez said.
Daley likened the law to federal criminal statutes targeting organized crime.
Family members of slain Chicago police Officer Alejandro "Alex" Valadez were also on hand at the Englewood District police station. His June 1 death in a drive-by shooting was cited as giving the measure momentum.
Three people have been charged in Valadez's death. One is a gang member who was on probation for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon at the time of the shooting, the state's attorney's office said. He would have been in jail if the new law were in effect, the office said.
The statute defines a gang as any group of at least three people with a hierarchy that engages in a pattern of criminal activity. The law specifies it is not necessary for prosecutors to show the criminal group has a name, insignias, colors, territory or other symbolism commonly linked with street gangs in order to apply the law to members.
"If they're on a corner throwing up a gang sign or wearing the colors, it's pretty self-evident," Alvarez said. "There's a lot of self-admittance on the police reports themselves, tattoos, prior history. There's a lot that comes into play to support the fact that they are members of a gang."
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the group is not taking a position on the legislation because the definition of "gang" in the statute has withstood court challenges in DuPage County, where prosecutors used the same definition in several civil lawsuits against gangs there.
jebyrne@tribune.com
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
By John Byrne
Tribune Reporter
December 4, 2009
Gang members caught with loaded guns would face mandatory prison time under a new law signed Thursday by Gov. Pat Quinn and hailed by Chicago authorities as a unique tool for fighting street crime.
The statute sets a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of 10 years behind bars for unlawful use of a weapon by a gang member; under previous law such an offense was punishable by probation. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who pushed for the measure, said she believes it is the first state law to include gang membership as an element of the criminal offense.
At a news conference with Quinn and Mayor Richard Daley, Alvarez predicted the law will withstand any legal challenges alleging it unfairly targets a particular group of people.
"There could be a challenge to anything. We can't predict that. But we feel confident," Alvarez said.
Daley likened the law to federal criminal statutes targeting organized crime.
Family members of slain Chicago police Officer Alejandro "Alex" Valadez were also on hand at the Englewood District police station. His June 1 death in a drive-by shooting was cited as giving the measure momentum.
Three people have been charged in Valadez's death. One is a gang member who was on probation for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon at the time of the shooting, the state's attorney's office said. He would have been in jail if the new law were in effect, the office said.
The statute defines a gang as any group of at least three people with a hierarchy that engages in a pattern of criminal activity. The law specifies it is not necessary for prosecutors to show the criminal group has a name, insignias, colors, territory or other symbolism commonly linked with street gangs in order to apply the law to members.
"If they're on a corner throwing up a gang sign or wearing the colors, it's pretty self-evident," Alvarez said. "There's a lot of self-admittance on the police reports themselves, tattoos, prior history. There's a lot that comes into play to support the fact that they are members of a gang."
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the group is not taking a position on the legislation because the definition of "gang" in the statute has withstood court challenges in DuPage County, where prosecutors used the same definition in several civil lawsuits against gangs there.
jebyrne@tribune.com
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Authorities: Minn. dad hit son over shirt color
Posted on Sat, Aug. 29, 2009
The Associated Press
A Minnesota man is accused of ripping off his 4-year-old son's shirt and hitting him for wearing a rival gang's color.
Thirty-year-old Kenny T. Jackson of St. Paul is charged with malicious punishment of a child.
According to the criminal complaint, a man who said he was Jackson's stepfather called 911 on Tuesday to say Jackson was yelling and throwing things in the house. The caller said Jackson was angry because he is reportedly a member of the Bloods gang and the boy's blue shirt was the color of a rival gang.
Police say they found the boy shirtless, scratched and crying.
The complaint says Jackson denied the allegations.
It was not clear Saturday if Jackson had an attorney, and a number for him could not be found.
Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
The Associated Press
A Minnesota man is accused of ripping off his 4-year-old son's shirt and hitting him for wearing a rival gang's color.
Thirty-year-old Kenny T. Jackson of St. Paul is charged with malicious punishment of a child.
According to the criminal complaint, a man who said he was Jackson's stepfather called 911 on Tuesday to say Jackson was yelling and throwing things in the house. The caller said Jackson was angry because he is reportedly a member of the Bloods gang and the boy's blue shirt was the color of a rival gang.
Police say they found the boy shirtless, scratched and crying.
The complaint says Jackson denied the allegations.
It was not clear Saturday if Jackson had an attorney, and a number for him could not be found.
Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
Friday, August 21, 2009
Bigger plans help some youngsters avoid local gangs
By Angela Mack,
Staff Writer
Star News Online
Wilmington, NC
Darius Green used to dream about joining a gang.
Mesmerized by music videos glamorizing robberies, drugs and violence, the then 8-year-old became fascinated with one day claiming membership himself.
The sight of drug dealers with wads of cash and flashy rides around his east Wilmington neighborhood only fueled the infatuation.
That was six years ago. Now 14, Darius has decided the gang lifestyle isn't for him.
"I don't see the point in them," Darius said. "If you not trying to get in trouble, why be in a gang?"
Overcoming the temptation, however, can be tough for many inner-city kids and those living in rural areas where trouble is often the most attractive after-school activity available. But whether they associate with gang members, know who they are or have yet to come in contact with one, most students agree that gangs are a path to destruction.
"I know a lot of people in gangs," Darius said, adding that Crips and Bloods are the most popular groups around Wilmington.
For Darius, becoming a gang member is not an option. He has five younger brothers and a younger sister who look up to him.
But more than a year ago, his mom enrolled him into the New Hanover County Juvenile Day Treatment Center after he began getting in trouble at school for skipping eighth-grade science and social studies classes at Noble Middle School.
Now the prospect of graduation, girls and sports motivate the 5-foot-8-inch teen to make it to high school this fall and stay enrolled. Daydreams of becoming a gang member have been replaced with goals of catching passes and making touchdowns in the NFL.
Fifteen-year-old Derek Reese, a freshman at North Brunswick High School in Leland, also has aspirations to become a star athlete.
The Brunswick County native wants to play in the NBA, and he practices by playing center and forward on the school's junior varsity basketball squad.
"I think I have a bright future ahead of me," Derek said. "Why mess that up?"
Still, he doesn't hesitate to say he knows gang members walk the halls of his school.
"You see the flags and the signs being thrown up," he said.
Bloods and Folks are the two gangs represented at North Brunswick by boys and girls, some of whom recently moved to the school from Wilmington's Northside, Eastside and the Bottom neighborhoods, Derek said. In science class, he said, discussions among students often turns to the weekend's gang member initiations.
"It sort of gets kids off topic," he said. "They're just talking out loud about it. Teachers listen to it. They try to figure out what's going on to tell other teachers."
Student leaders at Trask High School in Rocky Point don't believe the school has any true gang members.
"People say that there's gangs here, but I really don't see it," said senior Foster Lee, 17, president of the school's student advisory council.
Miranda Cloninger, 18, also a Trask senior, said she'd be "very stunned" to be approached by a gang member at school and probably wouldn't know how to respond.
"I don't know if it's for real," she said, adding that those claiming gang affiliation at the school are probably imitators. "I don't think they're real."
Jamell Culler, a 16-year-old sophomore at North Brunswick High School, believes his involvement in the school's Student Government Association and status as sophomore class president shield him from gang threats. But the knowledge that gangs are close does make him think.
"I'm just like, 'Why?'●" he says he often asks himself. "What's the benefit of being involved in gang activity?"
Jamell and Derek say they see no advantage to joining a gang.
"He would never be in a gang. He's mentally tough," Culler said of Derek as the two sat together at a table.
Derek pointed at Jamell with a boyish grin, saying confidently, "He could be the first black president."
Angela Mack: 343-2009
angie.mack@starnewsonline.com
Staff Writer
Star News Online
Wilmington, NC
Darius Green used to dream about joining a gang.
Mesmerized by music videos glamorizing robberies, drugs and violence, the then 8-year-old became fascinated with one day claiming membership himself.
The sight of drug dealers with wads of cash and flashy rides around his east Wilmington neighborhood only fueled the infatuation.
That was six years ago. Now 14, Darius has decided the gang lifestyle isn't for him.
"I don't see the point in them," Darius said. "If you not trying to get in trouble, why be in a gang?"
Overcoming the temptation, however, can be tough for many inner-city kids and those living in rural areas where trouble is often the most attractive after-school activity available. But whether they associate with gang members, know who they are or have yet to come in contact with one, most students agree that gangs are a path to destruction.
"I know a lot of people in gangs," Darius said, adding that Crips and Bloods are the most popular groups around Wilmington.
For Darius, becoming a gang member is not an option. He has five younger brothers and a younger sister who look up to him.
But more than a year ago, his mom enrolled him into the New Hanover County Juvenile Day Treatment Center after he began getting in trouble at school for skipping eighth-grade science and social studies classes at Noble Middle School.
Now the prospect of graduation, girls and sports motivate the 5-foot-8-inch teen to make it to high school this fall and stay enrolled. Daydreams of becoming a gang member have been replaced with goals of catching passes and making touchdowns in the NFL.
Fifteen-year-old Derek Reese, a freshman at North Brunswick High School in Leland, also has aspirations to become a star athlete.
The Brunswick County native wants to play in the NBA, and he practices by playing center and forward on the school's junior varsity basketball squad.
"I think I have a bright future ahead of me," Derek said. "Why mess that up?"
Still, he doesn't hesitate to say he knows gang members walk the halls of his school.
"You see the flags and the signs being thrown up," he said.
Bloods and Folks are the two gangs represented at North Brunswick by boys and girls, some of whom recently moved to the school from Wilmington's Northside, Eastside and the Bottom neighborhoods, Derek said. In science class, he said, discussions among students often turns to the weekend's gang member initiations.
"It sort of gets kids off topic," he said. "They're just talking out loud about it. Teachers listen to it. They try to figure out what's going on to tell other teachers."
Student leaders at Trask High School in Rocky Point don't believe the school has any true gang members.
"People say that there's gangs here, but I really don't see it," said senior Foster Lee, 17, president of the school's student advisory council.
Miranda Cloninger, 18, also a Trask senior, said she'd be "very stunned" to be approached by a gang member at school and probably wouldn't know how to respond.
"I don't know if it's for real," she said, adding that those claiming gang affiliation at the school are probably imitators. "I don't think they're real."
Jamell Culler, a 16-year-old sophomore at North Brunswick High School, believes his involvement in the school's Student Government Association and status as sophomore class president shield him from gang threats. But the knowledge that gangs are close does make him think.
"I'm just like, 'Why?'●" he says he often asks himself. "What's the benefit of being involved in gang activity?"
Jamell and Derek say they see no advantage to joining a gang.
"He would never be in a gang. He's mentally tough," Culler said of Derek as the two sat together at a table.
Derek pointed at Jamell with a boyish grin, saying confidently, "He could be the first black president."
Angela Mack: 343-2009
angie.mack@starnewsonline.com
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
L.A.'s 18th Street gang tied to illegal after-hours bars
The clubs, or casitas, in South L.A. are connected to homicides, drug trafficking and gambling, LAPD says.
By Richard Winton
July 25, 2009
A notorious Los Angeles street gang has expanded its criminal enterprises into the night life world, authorities said.
The Los Angeles Police Department and federal agents said the 18th Street gang operated underground after-hours bars, using them as bases for various criminal enterprises. Authorities said the locations have been connected to homicides, drug trafficking and gambling.
A series of recent busts at the bars resulted in the arrests of 34 gang members and associates on local and federal charges, authorities said Friday. The arrests are the culmination of an 18-month federal and local probe into so-called casitas concealed in South L.A. homes and closed stores.
"These were bars operating in the wee hours, putting the community at risk," said LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese. "These locations resulted in homicides, shootings and other violent crime."
At least three homicides in the 77th Street Division area of South L.A. have occurred in or around the casitas. LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith cited the case of 35-year-old Rosa Garcia, whose body was found in an alley in the 1500 block of Florence Avenue in January. Smith said investigators believe her death was connected to a nearby casita she frequented.
During raids on five bars since late June, investigators seized $142,000 that would have gone to the gang, authorities say. Albanese said it reflects the importance of these bars as sources for funding gang activity.
"These locations were running seven nights a week," he said.
One illegal after-hours club was just a few blocks from the 77th Street police station, next to a tattoo parlor, authorities say. Patrons entered through an unmarked door and the operator had deliberately spray-painted the wrong address outside, authorities said.
Investigators say taxicab drivers and others in the know would direct patrons or deliver customers to the doors.
Investigators suspect that illegal after-hours bars are popping up all over the L.A. region as gangs look for new ways to make money. Gang members were recently caught running an illegal bar in Salt Lake City.
According to authorities, patrons pay to enter the illegal clubs, where they can buy drugs and alcohol and have access to prostitutes and slot machines.
The clubs are often in neighborhoods where the gang members use intimidation to keep residents from notifying authorities, investigators say.
At a bar raided June 25 near the intersection of 60th Street and Vermont Avenue, Albanese said, "we pulled 50 people out of that location at 3 a.m."
During the investigation known as Operation Treadstone, LAPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also seized 15 illegal firearms, 18 slot machines and 200 pounds of illegal fireworks from 19 locations.
Investigators say some of the targets of the arrests are key members of the 18th Street gang, one of the oldest, largest and most heavily entrenched gangs in Southern California.
Last month, a federal grand jury indicted nine alleged members and associates of the 18th Street gang.
richard.winton@latimes.com
By Richard Winton
July 25, 2009
A notorious Los Angeles street gang has expanded its criminal enterprises into the night life world, authorities said.
The Los Angeles Police Department and federal agents said the 18th Street gang operated underground after-hours bars, using them as bases for various criminal enterprises. Authorities said the locations have been connected to homicides, drug trafficking and gambling.
A series of recent busts at the bars resulted in the arrests of 34 gang members and associates on local and federal charges, authorities said Friday. The arrests are the culmination of an 18-month federal and local probe into so-called casitas concealed in South L.A. homes and closed stores.
"These were bars operating in the wee hours, putting the community at risk," said LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese. "These locations resulted in homicides, shootings and other violent crime."
At least three homicides in the 77th Street Division area of South L.A. have occurred in or around the casitas. LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith cited the case of 35-year-old Rosa Garcia, whose body was found in an alley in the 1500 block of Florence Avenue in January. Smith said investigators believe her death was connected to a nearby casita she frequented.
During raids on five bars since late June, investigators seized $142,000 that would have gone to the gang, authorities say. Albanese said it reflects the importance of these bars as sources for funding gang activity.
"These locations were running seven nights a week," he said.
One illegal after-hours club was just a few blocks from the 77th Street police station, next to a tattoo parlor, authorities say. Patrons entered through an unmarked door and the operator had deliberately spray-painted the wrong address outside, authorities said.
Investigators say taxicab drivers and others in the know would direct patrons or deliver customers to the doors.
Investigators suspect that illegal after-hours bars are popping up all over the L.A. region as gangs look for new ways to make money. Gang members were recently caught running an illegal bar in Salt Lake City.
According to authorities, patrons pay to enter the illegal clubs, where they can buy drugs and alcohol and have access to prostitutes and slot machines.
The clubs are often in neighborhoods where the gang members use intimidation to keep residents from notifying authorities, investigators say.
At a bar raided June 25 near the intersection of 60th Street and Vermont Avenue, Albanese said, "we pulled 50 people out of that location at 3 a.m."
During the investigation known as Operation Treadstone, LAPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also seized 15 illegal firearms, 18 slot machines and 200 pounds of illegal fireworks from 19 locations.
Investigators say some of the targets of the arrests are key members of the 18th Street gang, one of the oldest, largest and most heavily entrenched gangs in Southern California.
Last month, a federal grand jury indicted nine alleged members and associates of the 18th Street gang.
richard.winton@latimes.com
State unable to combat prison gangs for lack of funding, manpower
State unable to combat prison gangs for lack of funding, manpower
Posted by glubin July 19, 2009 07:14AM
State investigators say they're losing ground in the fight to control gangs in New Jersey prisons because they don't have enough manpower and funding.
The criticism of operations at the prisons, leveled by unions representing investigators and corrections officers, comes two months after the State Commission of Investigation said the state was failing to stop inmates from smuggling drugs, communicating with illegal cell phones and coordinating criminal activity from behind bars
Union leaders said the Department of Corrections' approximately 100-member Special Investigations Division has lost nine people in three years and operates without a chief. Each prison has only one investigator monitoring gang activity, and a single person analyzes confiscated cell phones for the entire department, they said.
"It's becoming very difficult for us to do our job," said Neil Layden, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 174, which represents 92 Corrections investigators. "We don't have the funding nor the people."
In May the SCI, which reports to the Legislature, released a report saying prisons are like a "branch office" for gang members and calling the situation "intolerable."
The SCI also said prison investigators are overwhelmed: "Given the magnitude and multiplicity of its responsibilities, (the Special Investigations Division) is undersized, insufficiently funded and, as currently structured, unable to effectively and efficiently fulfill its vital mission, particularly with regard to suppressing gang activity."
Layden is concerned the SCI report has fallen on deaf ears.
"It seems like it's not going anywhere," he said. "We talked to everyone who would listen."
Corrections Commissioner George Hayman declined to comment for this report, as did the highest-ranking investigator, Assistant Chief Wayne Everett.
After the SCI report was released, Hayman issued a statement saying Corrections is "dealing proactively" with its gang problem. "We continue to house an offender population -- bent toward violence and power struggles -- with a minimum of disturbances," he said.
The department declined to comment on staffing or equipment within the division.
"It would not be in the best interests of safety and security to disclose this information in a public forum," Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer said.
Fedkenheuer also said the investigators do not have a set budget and she could not say how much is spent on the division.
Like much of state government, Corrections was hit by the budget crunch. Its funding dropped by about $40 million to $1.156 billion.
Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen), chairman of the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee, said he intends to hold a hearing following up on the SCI report when the Legislature convenes again later this year.
Johnson said the state should explore new ways to deter cell phone use, but didn't criticize Corrections or Hayman.
"I think he is doing all that he can," Johnson said. "This is a major problem that takes time to address."
Assemblyman David Rible (R-Monmouth) has twice called for a hearing on the report. Echoing SCI's findings, he said prisons "are being run as corporate headquarters for the gangs."
"When you're being sentenced to prison, it's supposed to be a rehabilitation time period, as well as paying time for your crime," Rible said. "I don't think you should be in there accelerating crime outside the jail."
Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman said the department was "among the first" to use dogs to detect cell phones, finding 118 phones, 21 batteries and 121 chargers since October. He also said Hayman supports changes to federal regulations that would allow the jamming of cell phone signals in prisons.
Wayne Robbins, Lodge 174's vice president and a principal investigator in Corrections, said cell phones are so prevalent, inmates don't even worry when one is taken away.
"They'll say all right, I got my next one coming in," he said.
Meanwhile, Robbins said each investigative unit has to share one cell phone among a half-dozen investigators.
"Inmates have better cellular capabilities than we do," he said.
Mike Goodman, vice president of New Jersey Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 105, which represents about 7,000 Corrections officers, said the use of cell phones has made prisons less safe.
"They're getting more skillful in regards to communicating," he said. "It's tough to maintain control."
Fedkenheuer said 19 percent of inmates are formally identified as gang members. In its report, the SCI said a top Corrections official testified under oath that up to half the inmate population "may be involved in some way" with a gang.
The SCI report also said having the same investigators probe gangs in prison and potential corruption of prison employees hampered anti-gang efforts. It said corrections officers shied away from working with investigators "for fear that they will themselves become targets of investigation" while investigators "are leery of establishing a working relationship with many custody officers due to their concern over corruption within the uniformed ranks."
Fedkenheuer said that issue was resolved, citing "a clear line of demarcation" between the two functions the last two years.
But Layden said staffing shortages have forced some investigators to handle both responsibilities.
"We're still doing internal affairs work," he said. "It's a difficult task to one day talk to someone about a situation and the next day investigate them about another incident."
Chris Megerian may be reached at (609) 989-0208 or cmegerian@starledger.com.
Posted by glubin July 19, 2009 07:14AM
State investigators say they're losing ground in the fight to control gangs in New Jersey prisons because they don't have enough manpower and funding.
The criticism of operations at the prisons, leveled by unions representing investigators and corrections officers, comes two months after the State Commission of Investigation said the state was failing to stop inmates from smuggling drugs, communicating with illegal cell phones and coordinating criminal activity from behind bars
Union leaders said the Department of Corrections' approximately 100-member Special Investigations Division has lost nine people in three years and operates without a chief. Each prison has only one investigator monitoring gang activity, and a single person analyzes confiscated cell phones for the entire department, they said.
"It's becoming very difficult for us to do our job," said Neil Layden, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 174, which represents 92 Corrections investigators. "We don't have the funding nor the people."
In May the SCI, which reports to the Legislature, released a report saying prisons are like a "branch office" for gang members and calling the situation "intolerable."
The SCI also said prison investigators are overwhelmed: "Given the magnitude and multiplicity of its responsibilities, (the Special Investigations Division) is undersized, insufficiently funded and, as currently structured, unable to effectively and efficiently fulfill its vital mission, particularly with regard to suppressing gang activity."
Layden is concerned the SCI report has fallen on deaf ears.
"It seems like it's not going anywhere," he said. "We talked to everyone who would listen."
Corrections Commissioner George Hayman declined to comment for this report, as did the highest-ranking investigator, Assistant Chief Wayne Everett.
After the SCI report was released, Hayman issued a statement saying Corrections is "dealing proactively" with its gang problem. "We continue to house an offender population -- bent toward violence and power struggles -- with a minimum of disturbances," he said.
The department declined to comment on staffing or equipment within the division.
"It would not be in the best interests of safety and security to disclose this information in a public forum," Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer said.
Fedkenheuer also said the investigators do not have a set budget and she could not say how much is spent on the division.
Like much of state government, Corrections was hit by the budget crunch. Its funding dropped by about $40 million to $1.156 billion.
Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen), chairman of the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee, said he intends to hold a hearing following up on the SCI report when the Legislature convenes again later this year.
Johnson said the state should explore new ways to deter cell phone use, but didn't criticize Corrections or Hayman.
"I think he is doing all that he can," Johnson said. "This is a major problem that takes time to address."
Assemblyman David Rible (R-Monmouth) has twice called for a hearing on the report. Echoing SCI's findings, he said prisons "are being run as corporate headquarters for the gangs."
"When you're being sentenced to prison, it's supposed to be a rehabilitation time period, as well as paying time for your crime," Rible said. "I don't think you should be in there accelerating crime outside the jail."
Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman said the department was "among the first" to use dogs to detect cell phones, finding 118 phones, 21 batteries and 121 chargers since October. He also said Hayman supports changes to federal regulations that would allow the jamming of cell phone signals in prisons.
Wayne Robbins, Lodge 174's vice president and a principal investigator in Corrections, said cell phones are so prevalent, inmates don't even worry when one is taken away.
"They'll say all right, I got my next one coming in," he said.
Meanwhile, Robbins said each investigative unit has to share one cell phone among a half-dozen investigators.
"Inmates have better cellular capabilities than we do," he said.
Mike Goodman, vice president of New Jersey Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 105, which represents about 7,000 Corrections officers, said the use of cell phones has made prisons less safe.
"They're getting more skillful in regards to communicating," he said. "It's tough to maintain control."
Fedkenheuer said 19 percent of inmates are formally identified as gang members. In its report, the SCI said a top Corrections official testified under oath that up to half the inmate population "may be involved in some way" with a gang.
The SCI report also said having the same investigators probe gangs in prison and potential corruption of prison employees hampered anti-gang efforts. It said corrections officers shied away from working with investigators "for fear that they will themselves become targets of investigation" while investigators "are leery of establishing a working relationship with many custody officers due to their concern over corruption within the uniformed ranks."
Fedkenheuer said that issue was resolved, citing "a clear line of demarcation" between the two functions the last two years.
But Layden said staffing shortages have forced some investigators to handle both responsibilities.
"We're still doing internal affairs work," he said. "It's a difficult task to one day talk to someone about a situation and the next day investigate them about another incident."
Chris Megerian may be reached at (609) 989-0208 or cmegerian@starledger.com.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Lee County (FL) struggles to keep school resource officers
Budget cuts hit program
By DENES HUSTY III
dhusty@news-press.com
Educators, parents and law enforcement officials are lining up to oppose budget cuts that would scrap school resource officer programs at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Cape Coral Police Department.
School resource officers are stationed in high schools, middle schools and elementary schools throughout Lee County, and officers are expected to interact with students and generally enforce law and order. They also counsel parents, coordinate police presence at school events and teach students how to combat gangs and substance abuse.
But economic difficulties and declining property values are forcing officials to look at all options for saving money, no matter how popular the program.
Cape Coral’s program costs $848,000 per year and has 13 officers and a sergeant. The sheriff’s $1.3 million program, which has 17 deputies, covers seven high schools and 10 middle schools in Bonita Springs, Estero, North Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres.
The Fort Myers Police Department plans to keep its $1.1 million program, which has seven full-time officers and nine part-time retired officers.
The Cape Coral City Council and the Lee County commission are expected to vote on the proposed cuts in September. Both budgets go into effect Oct. 1.
“The school resource officer program is extremely critical to the school system,” said James Browder, superintendent for Lee County public schools. Browder said he’ll meet with Sheriff Mike Scott and Cape Coral Police Chief Robert Petrovich in the next few weeks to discuss the proposed cuts and options.
“We’ll figure out something to keep that program in our schools,” Browder said.
Scott believes the school resource program is worthwhile, and he wants to keep it, according to sheriff’s spokesman Tony Schall.
Petrovich said he hopes the Cape Coral City Council can come up with at least some partial funding for the city’s program. He said, at minimum, at least eight officers and a supervising sergeant should be kept for the city’s four high schools, one alternative learning center and to rotate among the middle schools.
County Commissioner Bob Janes, who represents Cape Coral, said the Lee County School Board should pick up the tab for the entire program. The school board this year provided $595,000 on top of the amount the county paid to the sheriff’s office. The school district gave Cape Coral $409,000 besides the city’s contribution.
“I think it’s a sad day when we have to look at making these kind of cuts that affect our children. I hope we don’t go this route,” said Cape Councilman Tim Day.
Eric McFee, principal of Cape Coral High School, said the program goes far beyond keeping students in line.
“The school resource officer acts as a confidant, someone that students and parents can talk to. It would be a real shame to lose that program,” McFee said.
Tommy O’Connell, principal at South Fort Myers High School, agrees.
“The school resource officers have a working relationship with the kids at the schools. It makes a difference to have someone the kids know at games, dances and homecomings,” O’Connell said.
Some parents also oppose the proposed cuts.
“I think it’s important to have a law enforcement officer at the school to serve as a role model and to have someone present with the authority to enforce the law and handle situations beyond the scope of school officials,” said Shawn Harvey of Cape Coral, whose son, Alex, 16, attends Cape Coral High School.
By DENES HUSTY III
dhusty@news-press.com
Educators, parents and law enforcement officials are lining up to oppose budget cuts that would scrap school resource officer programs at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Cape Coral Police Department.
School resource officers are stationed in high schools, middle schools and elementary schools throughout Lee County, and officers are expected to interact with students and generally enforce law and order. They also counsel parents, coordinate police presence at school events and teach students how to combat gangs and substance abuse.
But economic difficulties and declining property values are forcing officials to look at all options for saving money, no matter how popular the program.
Cape Coral’s program costs $848,000 per year and has 13 officers and a sergeant. The sheriff’s $1.3 million program, which has 17 deputies, covers seven high schools and 10 middle schools in Bonita Springs, Estero, North Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres.
The Fort Myers Police Department plans to keep its $1.1 million program, which has seven full-time officers and nine part-time retired officers.
The Cape Coral City Council and the Lee County commission are expected to vote on the proposed cuts in September. Both budgets go into effect Oct. 1.
“The school resource officer program is extremely critical to the school system,” said James Browder, superintendent for Lee County public schools. Browder said he’ll meet with Sheriff Mike Scott and Cape Coral Police Chief Robert Petrovich in the next few weeks to discuss the proposed cuts and options.
“We’ll figure out something to keep that program in our schools,” Browder said.
Scott believes the school resource program is worthwhile, and he wants to keep it, according to sheriff’s spokesman Tony Schall.
Petrovich said he hopes the Cape Coral City Council can come up with at least some partial funding for the city’s program. He said, at minimum, at least eight officers and a supervising sergeant should be kept for the city’s four high schools, one alternative learning center and to rotate among the middle schools.
County Commissioner Bob Janes, who represents Cape Coral, said the Lee County School Board should pick up the tab for the entire program. The school board this year provided $595,000 on top of the amount the county paid to the sheriff’s office. The school district gave Cape Coral $409,000 besides the city’s contribution.
“I think it’s a sad day when we have to look at making these kind of cuts that affect our children. I hope we don’t go this route,” said Cape Councilman Tim Day.
Eric McFee, principal of Cape Coral High School, said the program goes far beyond keeping students in line.
“The school resource officer acts as a confidant, someone that students and parents can talk to. It would be a real shame to lose that program,” McFee said.
Tommy O’Connell, principal at South Fort Myers High School, agrees.
“The school resource officers have a working relationship with the kids at the schools. It makes a difference to have someone the kids know at games, dances and homecomings,” O’Connell said.
Some parents also oppose the proposed cuts.
“I think it’s important to have a law enforcement officer at the school to serve as a role model and to have someone present with the authority to enforce the law and handle situations beyond the scope of school officials,” said Shawn Harvey of Cape Coral, whose son, Alex, 16, attends Cape Coral High School.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
A Few Bad Men: Racist Extremists Infiltrating US Military
The Peoples Voice @ thepeoplesvoice.org
07/11/09
01:33:50 pm
David Holthouse
Before the U.S. military made Matt Buschbacher a Navy SEAL, he made himself a soldier of the Fourth Reich.
Before Forrest Fogarty attended Military Police counter-insurgency training school, he attended Nazi skinhead festivals as lead singer for the hate rock band Attack.
And before Army engineer Jon Fain joined the invasion of Iraq to fight the War on Terror, the neo-Nazi National Alliance member fantasized about fighting a war on Jews.
"Ever since my youth -- when I watched WWII footage and saw how well-disciplined and sharply dressed the German forces were -- I have wanted to be a soldier," Fain said in a Winter 2004 interview with the National Alliance magazine Resistance. "Joining the American military was as close as I could get."
Ten years after Pentagon leaders toughened policies on extremist activities by active duty personnel -- a move that came in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing by decorated Gulf War combat veteran Timothy McVeigh and the murder of a black couple by members of a skinhead gang in the elite 82nd Airborne Division -- large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists continue to infiltrate the ranks of the world's best-trained, best-equipped fighting force. Military recruiters and base commanders, under intense pressure from the war in Iraq to fill the ranks, often look the other way.
Neo-Nazis "stretch across all branches of service, they are linking up across the branches once they're inside, and they are hard-core," Department of Defense gang detective Scott Barfield told the Intelligence Report. "We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," he added. "That's a problem."
The armed forces are supposed to be a model of racial equality. American soldiers are supposed to be defenders of democracy. Neo-Nazis represent the opposite of these ideals. They dream of race war and revolution, and their motivations for enlisting are often quite different than serving their country.
"Join only for the training, and to better defend yourself, our people, and our culture," Fain said. "We must have people to open doors from the inside when the time comes."
Soldier Shortage
In 1996, following a decade-long rash of cases where extremists in the military were caught diverting huge arsenals of stolen firearms and explosives to neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations, conducting guerilla training for paramilitary racist militias, and murdering non-white civilians (see timeline), the Pentagon finally launched a massive investigation and crackdown. One general ordered all 19,000 soldiers at Fort Lewis, Wash., strip-searched for extremist tattoos.
But that was peacetime. Now, with the country at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the military under increasingly intense pressure to maintain enlistment numbers, weeding out extremists is less of a priority. "Recruiters are knowingly allowing neo-Nazis and white supremacists to join the armed forces, and commanders don't remove them from the military even after we positively identify them as extremists or gang members," said Department of Defense investigator Barfield.
"Last year, for the first time, they didn't make their recruiting goals. They don't want to start making a big deal again about neo-Nazis in the military, because then parents who are already worried about their kids signing up and dying in Iraq are going to be even more reluctant about their kids enlisting if they feel they'll be exposed to gangs and white supremacists."
Barfield, who is based at Fort Lewis, said he has identified and submitted evidence on 320 extremists there in the past year. "Only two have been discharged," he said. Barfield and other Department of Defense investigators said they recently uncovered an online network of 57 neo-Nazis who are active duty Army and Marines personnel spread across five military installations in five states -- Fort Lewis; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Stewart, Ga.; and Camp Pendleton, Calif. "They're communicating with each other about weapons, about recruiting, about keeping their identities secret, about organizing within the military," Barfield said. "Several of these individuals have since been deployed to combat missions in Iraq."
Every year, the Army's Criminal Investigation Division conducts a threat assessment of extremist and gang activity among army personnel. "Every year, they come back with 'minimal activity,' which is inaccurate," said Barfield. "It's not epidemic, but there's plenty of evidence we're talking numbers well into the thousands, just in the Army."
Last July, the white supremacist website Stormfront hosted a discussion on "Joining the Military."
"There are others among you in the forces," wrote one neo-Nazi in the Army. "You are never alone."
Nazi SEAL
Not all military commanders fail to give known extremists the boot. "The response differs from command group to command group," Barfield said. "Most put up a front and say, 'Oh, this guy's in big trouble,' but actually do nothing unless he commits a felony. But some kick their ass out right away."
During the heyday of the White Patriot
Party, leader Glenn Miler, a former Special
Forces operative, led hundreds of his men
in paramilitary formations through the
streets of several southern cities.
Barfield noted that commanders are far more likely to take immediate action if the soldier is stateside in a non-combat role, rather than fighting overseas. In late June, Airman First Class Andrew Dornan, who was assigned to the firing party in the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, was sentenced to nine months confinement and dishonorably discharged after he posted messages glorifying Adolf Hitler on his personal webpage and threatened to detonate a bomb on a military base.
But the military took no such action against former Navy SEAL Matt Buschbacher, who continued to fight in Iraq after the Southern Poverty Law Center had alerted officials to his active support of neo-Nazi groups.
Buschbacher told the Intelligence Report he joined the neo-Nazi movement "for the same reason everyone joins: I was angry and looking for some answers. I wanted to belong to something that made me feel good about myself."
In 1998, when Buschbacher was still a teenager living in Terrace Park, Ohio, a wealthy, almost exclusively white suburb of Cincinnati, he was ordained as a reverend in the World Church of the Creator, a violent neo-Nazi organization. He rose fast. In 1999, he was the head of the hate group's Cincinnati chapter when Chicago member Benjamin Smith went on a three-day, two-state shooting spree that targeted Jews, Asians and blacks. Smith killed two people and wounded nine before committing suicide as police closed in.
Afterward, Buschbacher praised Smith as "a dedicated activist for our racial cause" in The Cincinnati Inquirer. "We have pride in our race, heritage, and culture, and we will do anything to prevent it from being destroyed," he said. "White man is the creator, the creator of civilizations."
In May 2000, Buschbacher attended Nordic Fest, an annual skinhead festival sponsored by the Imperial Klans of America in Kentucky, where he posed in front of a flaming swastika, seig heiling. He joined the Navy shortly afterward. Again, Buschbacher advanced quickly. In October 2001, he completed 26 weeks of SEAL training at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, Calif.
In August 2002, while an active duty SEAL but not yet stationed in Baghdad, Buschbacher attended the National Alliance's invitation-only "leadership conference" at the neo-Nazi group's West Virginia compound. The conference was held just weeks after the death of National Alliance founder William Pierce, author of The Turner Diaries, the fantasy novel about revolution and race war that inspired Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Pierce also wrote the seminal pamphlet, "What is the National Alliance?" It was in that tract that Pierce explained that a National Alliance member in the military "[u]ses his daily interactions with career personnel to select exceptional individuals who are receptive, and he then gives them the opportunity to serve their race while carrying out their military functions."
'Heroes Among Us'
Today, Matt Buschbacher denies recruiting Navy personnel into the Alliance. What's clear is that for years after becoming a SEAL, he violated military regulations without repercussions by staying active in the neo-Nazi movement.
Military intelligence officer James Douglas
Ross Jr. was thrown out of the armed forces
after being caught shipping AK-47s to the
United States from Iraq in 2004. Today,
military officials say, he's a leader of the
neo-Nazi Eastern Washington Skins.
Using the online pseudonym "Mattiasb88" [88 is neo-Nazi code for "Heil Hitler"] to hide his identity, Buschbacher designed and distributed National Alliance fliers, white power screen savers, and a photo montage of Pierce on the Internet via his website, racialpride.com, which displayed a logo of a burning swastika and this mission statement: "The purpose of this website is to provide white patriots with a large database of information for recruiting and self-improvement." Buschbacher also posted messages to the white supremacist website Stormfront and the website of Resistance Records, a hate rock music company owned by the National Alliance. In the fall of 2003, the National Alliance magazine Resistance even published a collage of "Scene Shots" that included a small photo of Buschbacher wearing a Turner Diaries T-shirt and giving a Nazi salute.
Buschbacher hasn't been the only neo-Nazi to fight in Iraq. Forrest Mackley Fogarty, a member of the Tampa, Fla., unit of the National Alliance, was deployed for 18 months during Operation Iraqi Freedom with his Army National Guard unit. "There are some dirty Arabs enjoying their 70 virgins because of my actions and that of my fire team," Fogarty boasted in the Winter 2005 issue of Resistance. (Fogarty was identified in the article only as "Forrest of Attack.")
Jon Fain, a neo-Nazi who currently lives on the National Alliance compound, was part of the original Iraq invasion force in 2003, as a U.S. Army engineer. Shawn Stuart, the Montana state leader of the National Socialist Movement, another neo-Nazi group, served two combat tours in Iraq as a U.S. Marine before he was discharged in 2005. Stuart told the Missoula News that he joined the NSM in 2004, while he was still a Marine, because he "came to believe the United States is fighting the war on Israel's behalf."
None of these men, it appears, were ever disciplined for neo-Nazi activities. All were honorably discharged.
James Douglas Ross Jr. was not so fortunate. Ross, a military intelligence officer stationed at Fort Bragg, was caught shipping disassembled AK-47s to the United States from Iraq in 2004, officials said. When investigators searched his off base housing, they found a weapons arsenal, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and hate group materials. Ross was forced to return from Iraq and given a bad conduct discharge. "But they let him keep the weapons [he kept in his house]," said Department of Defense investigator Barfield, adding that Ross has since relocated to Washington, where he's a leader of the Eastern Washington Skins, a neo-Nazi gang. "He kept his military connections, and he's still trying to recruit soldiers, so we're still dealing with him."
For his part, despite his sometimes brazen activities, Matt Buschbacher tried hard to avoid exposure as a neo-Nazi in the military. But his identity became clear after he posted a photo of himself in a "Mattiasb88" Yahoo profile in 2004, and then advertised his neo-Nazi E-mail address in a July 2004 posting to a currency trading forum. "I am in the military and currently in Iraq," he wrote there. "If anyone would like to purchase some Iraqi dinars I have access to as much as you would like." That September, Buschbacher was profiled in his hometown Terrace Park community newspaper, Village Views. The article, "Heroes Among Us," reported he was fighting terrorism with a SEAL unit based in downtown Baghdad.
Two years later, Matt Buschbacher is back from Iraq -- also with an honorable discharge, despite the fact that the Southern Poverty Law Center informed the military of his background while he was still on active duty. He lives in Denver, Colo., and teaches classes on how to pick up women. "I have no connection with any neo-Nazi anything any more," Buschbacher told the Intelligence Report. Photographed holding a red rose, he was recently splashed across the cover of a weekly newsmagazine in Denver promoting his new book, Date the Women of Your Dreams. The cover story made no mention of his neo-Nazi past.
Training for Race War
According to a 1998 study commissioned by the Department of Defense, "Young civilian extremists are encouraged by adult leaders to enlist in the military to gain access to weapons, training, and other military personnel."
On his web page, Robert Lee West stands
in front of a swastika and Iron Eagle banner
holding an assault rifle and a shotgun.
The reasons are obvious: Soldiers are trained to be proficient with weapons, combat tactics, and explosives, to train others in their use, and to operate in a highly disciplined culture that is focused on the organized violence of war. This is why military extremists present an elevated threat to public safety, and why extremists groups both recruit active duty personnel -- especially those with access to classified information or sophisticated weaponry -- and influence their members to join the armed forces.
"The threats posed by extremism to the military are simultaneously blatant and subtle," the Defense Department study said. "On the one hand, high-profile terrorist acts and hate crimes committed by active and former military personnel can have seriously detrimental effects on the civil-military relationship as well as on the morale and security of military personnel. On the other hand, even the non-violent activities of military personnel with extremist tendencies (e.g., possessing literature and/or artifacts from the extremist 'movement'; dabbling in extremism through computerized telecommunications activities; proselytizing extremist ideologies, etc.) can have deleterious consequences for the good order, discipline, readiness, and cohesion of military units."
Special Forces soldiers who double as extremist operatives present a special danger, since they have commando skills gained at huge taxpayer expense -- often including urban warfare, long-range reconnaissance, and combat demolitions.
"Hate groups send their guys into the U.S. military because the U.S. military has the best weapons and training," said T.J. Leyden, a former racist skinhead and Marine who recruited inside the Marine Corps for the Hammerskins, a nationwide skinhead gang. He later renounced the neo-Nazi movement and now conducts anti-extremism training seminars on military bases.
"Right now, any white supremacist in Iraq is getting live fire, guerilla warfare experience," Leyden said. "But any white supremacist in Iraq who's a Green Beret or a Navy SEAL or Marine Recon, he's doing covert stuff that's far above and beyond convoy protection and roadblocks. And if he comes back and decides at some point down the road that it's race war time, all that training and combat experience he's received could easily turn around and bite this country in the ass."
Department of Defense investigator Barfield confirmed that threat assessment. "Today's white supremacists in the military become tomorrow's domestic terrorists once they're out," he said. "There needs to be a tighter focus on intercepting the next Timothy McVeigh before he becomes the next Timothy McVeigh."
'White Soldier's Burden'
In April 1995, the same month Timothy McVeigh detonated a 7,000-pound truck bomb outside a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, the National Alliance erected a billboard on the main road leading into Fort Bragg, an Army base in Fayetteville, N.C. The billboard's message read, "Enough! Let's Start Taking Back America," and listed the neo-Nazi group's toll-free number.
The billboard was the work of Robert Hunt, a National Alliance recruiter and active duty member of the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Bragg. By late 1995, a large neo-Nazi skinhead gang had formed within the 82nd Airborne. Members saluted a Nazi flag in their barracks, distributed National Alliance literature on base, and held drunken barracks parties where they blasted "Third Reich," a rockabilly white power anthem by the band Rahowa (short for "Racial Holy War") with lyrics about killing blacks and Jews.
In December 1995, two members of the 82nd Airborne skinhead gang gunned down a black couple in a random, racially motivated double murder that shocked the nation and sparked a major investigation of extremism in the military as well as congressional hearings. The killers were eventually sentenced to life in prison, and 19 other members of the 82nd Airborne were dishonorably discharged for neo-Nazi gang activities.
"The fallout from the skinhead killings was immediate," racist skinhead Steve Smith recalled in his 2005 essay, "The White Soldier's Burden." Smith was in the Army from 1991 to 1996 and was stationed at Fort Bragg at the time of the murders. "White soldiers at Fort Bragg were inspected to see if they had any 'racist' tattoos. The Army also held mandatory classes on 'extremist' organizations."
Before the Fort Bragg slayings, military regulations on extremist activity by active duty soldiers were ambiguous. There were no specific regulations on extremism at all until 1986, when it came to light that active duty soldiers were providing guerilla training and stolen military weapons to a paramilitary Ku Klux Klan faction led by a former Green Beret. The Southern Poverty Law Center then urged Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger to "prohibit active-duty members of the armed services from holding membership in groups like the Klan or from taking part in their activities." Weinberger responded by issuing this directive: "Military personnel must reject participation in white supremacy, neo-Nazi and other such groups which espouse or attempt to create overt discrimination. Active participation, including public demonstrations, recruiting and training members, and organizing or leading such organizations is utterly incompatible with military service."
Though sternly worded, many commanders interpreted that order to mean that while active participation in extremist groups was prohibited, so-called "passive support," such as distributing propaganda, listening to hate rock, displaying flags or symbols, and "mere membership," were still allowed. After the Fort Bragg slayings, however, the Department of Defense toughened military policy somewhat to read, "Engaging in activities in relation to [extremist] organizations, or in furtherance of the objectives of such organizations that are viewed by command to be detrimental to the good order of the unit is incompatible with Military Service, and is, therefore, prohibited."
Then-Defense Secretary William Perry used even stronger language to describe the intent of the updated regulation. "Department of Defense policy leaves no room for racist and extremist activities in the military," Perry stated. "We must -- and we shall -- make every effort to erase bigotry, racism, and extremism from the military. Extremist activity compromises fairness, good order, and discipline. The armed forces, which defend the nation and its values, must exemplify those values beyond question."
Lowering Standards
Neo-Nazis have no respect for the values of a free democracy or the shining example of equal opportunity its military is meant to be. When Jon Fain, the Army engineer, was interviewed in 2004 for a Resistance article titled, "On the Front Lines for the Jews," he advised neo-Nazis considering a military career to "[n]ever allow yourself to be brainwashed into the 'everybody's green' lie." In the Stormfront discussion on joining the military, neo-Nazi "Ulfur Engil" wrote that he was stationed with the Army in Europe and offered this guidance: "Nothing will change what you are. If you join, you are still the same enlightened white man (or woman) you always have been."
Hundreds of neo-Nazis online identify themselves as active duty soldiers. "When you are in, after you finish basic training, your discretion is very important," Ulfur Engil wrote in a recent Internet posting. "If you are someone who wears boots and braces keep a second pair that's neutral looking (black). Remove any obvious pins from your jacket (runes by themselves are okay, though. They don't take issue with them, providing there is no obvious [racist] arrangement. The USO in Keflavik, Iceland, actually sold runes!) Do NOT use any Internet connection offered by the base or do ANYTHING on a military server. NOTHING. Get an Internet connection that is private and off-base, invest in EvidenceEliminator, and set up an email account with Hushmail and/or Ziplip."
Extremists in the military are tricky to unmask. "They're a lot smarter about it than street gang members," said Barfield. "They don't brag and boast like gang bangers." The best way to reduce the number of extremists in the armed forces is to prevent them from entering the military in the first place. "But now we're lowering our recruiting standards. We're accepting lesser quality soldiers," Barfield said. In a move to boost enlistment, the military is allowing more and more recruits with criminal records to sign up. A recent Chicago Sun-Times article revealed the percentage of recruits granted "moral waivers" for past misdemeanors had more than doubled since 2001. The military also revised its rules on inductee tattoos earlier this year to allow all tattoos except those on the front of the face. Both changes in the rules made it easier for extremists to join. And while military regulations prohibit (PDF) all gang-related or white supremacist tattoos, many recruiters are ignoring such tattoos, or even literally covering them up. "I had one case where a recruiter and his wife took a guy to their house and covered up his tattoos with make-up so he could pass his [physical examination]," Barfield said.
Military regulations also call for any superior officer who spots a soldier with a neo-Nazi or white supremacist tattoo to refer the soldier to a commander, who then is supposed to demand the soldier have the tattoo removed. If the soldier refuses, he's supposed to be kicked out.
"But there's a loophole," Barfield said. "If they never refer them, they can't refuse, so they just never refer them, and they stay in."
"If you have any kind of tattoo prior to going in, they will require you to write out a statement as to what it is, and what it means to you," advised a neo-Nazi in the Stormfront military forum. "If it's something obvious like a swazi [swastika], then they will probably say, 'No go.' But, something more obscure, like a Schwarze Sonne [a "black sun," another Nazi symbol] or a Celtic cross would probably be okay, so long as no phraseology accompanies it."
"The average Joe recruiter can spot the most obvious tattoos," said Leyden, who trains the military in identifying hate group members. "But the vast majority of them don't know what 'White Power' in German looks like, they don't know what 88 in Roman numerals means, and now, they may not even care, because they're under this extreme pressure to fill the void, and who are they filling the void with? Therein lies the danger."
'Switchblades and Smeared Blood'
The large tattoo on the right arm of Air Force airman Robert Lee West depicts a menacing wizard with a scythe. His recruiter probably saw no problem there, but the photo of himself West has up on his EveryonesSpace web page should wave a red flag. In it, West, with his head shaved, is standing in front of a swastika and Iron Eagle banner, holding an assault rifle and a shotgun. West, 23, who's stationed at Warner Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, lists his general interests as "switchblades and smeared blood."
In his "About Me" section, he writes: "I train most days for marksmanship, combat, demolition, politics, economics, religion, military tactics, oratory, and propaganda. I will give my life for a cause greater than my own. My mind and spirit shall ensure life for my people, and death for yours. I shall fight until I have achieved victory. Just remember when you speak to me that I don't play by ZOG [Zionist Occupation Government] rules and I will not hesitate to sever your subclavian artery."
Special Agent Will Manuel of Air Force's Office of Special Investigations at Warner Robins said he's "well aware" of West's neo-Nazi identity. "We've seen all his pictures, we've read his website, and we know what's he doing." Yet despite the toughened policy declared by the Pentagon a decade ago, Manuel says, "We're not going to go after him just based on what he says he believes, or on him making a lot of claims. There has to be an overt act first. He has to actually organize or recruit or commit a crime. But even his pictures and writings raise concerns, obviously, because we know that where you have one [neo-Nazi], there's usually another, and what he claims to represent totally goes against the core values of the military."
Ten years after the military crackdown on extremism, it's clear that there are still a great many Robert Lee Wests in the U.S. armed forces. And that should worry all Americans. In 1996, the Ft. Bragg murders sparked Congressional hearings on extremism in the military. Then-Air Force Secretary Sheila E. Windall said in her testimony, "We have an absolute obligation, and the American people have an absolute right to expect, that military members will use their expertise and the lethal tools of their trade to protect them and never to harm them."
But some in the military appear to have lost sight of that obligation in the fog of war. "The regulations could use some fine tuning, but they're already on the books," Barfield said. "They're just not being enforced. My fear is that it's going to take another Fort Bragg before that changes."
Anthony Griggs, Joseph Roy Sr., and Laurie Wood contributed to this report.
07/11/09
01:33:50 pm
David Holthouse
Before the U.S. military made Matt Buschbacher a Navy SEAL, he made himself a soldier of the Fourth Reich.
Before Forrest Fogarty attended Military Police counter-insurgency training school, he attended Nazi skinhead festivals as lead singer for the hate rock band Attack.
And before Army engineer Jon Fain joined the invasion of Iraq to fight the War on Terror, the neo-Nazi National Alliance member fantasized about fighting a war on Jews.
"Ever since my youth -- when I watched WWII footage and saw how well-disciplined and sharply dressed the German forces were -- I have wanted to be a soldier," Fain said in a Winter 2004 interview with the National Alliance magazine Resistance. "Joining the American military was as close as I could get."
Ten years after Pentagon leaders toughened policies on extremist activities by active duty personnel -- a move that came in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing by decorated Gulf War combat veteran Timothy McVeigh and the murder of a black couple by members of a skinhead gang in the elite 82nd Airborne Division -- large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists continue to infiltrate the ranks of the world's best-trained, best-equipped fighting force. Military recruiters and base commanders, under intense pressure from the war in Iraq to fill the ranks, often look the other way.
Neo-Nazis "stretch across all branches of service, they are linking up across the branches once they're inside, and they are hard-core," Department of Defense gang detective Scott Barfield told the Intelligence Report. "We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," he added. "That's a problem."
The armed forces are supposed to be a model of racial equality. American soldiers are supposed to be defenders of democracy. Neo-Nazis represent the opposite of these ideals. They dream of race war and revolution, and their motivations for enlisting are often quite different than serving their country.
"Join only for the training, and to better defend yourself, our people, and our culture," Fain said. "We must have people to open doors from the inside when the time comes."
Soldier Shortage
In 1996, following a decade-long rash of cases where extremists in the military were caught diverting huge arsenals of stolen firearms and explosives to neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations, conducting guerilla training for paramilitary racist militias, and murdering non-white civilians (see timeline), the Pentagon finally launched a massive investigation and crackdown. One general ordered all 19,000 soldiers at Fort Lewis, Wash., strip-searched for extremist tattoos.
But that was peacetime. Now, with the country at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the military under increasingly intense pressure to maintain enlistment numbers, weeding out extremists is less of a priority. "Recruiters are knowingly allowing neo-Nazis and white supremacists to join the armed forces, and commanders don't remove them from the military even after we positively identify them as extremists or gang members," said Department of Defense investigator Barfield.
"Last year, for the first time, they didn't make their recruiting goals. They don't want to start making a big deal again about neo-Nazis in the military, because then parents who are already worried about their kids signing up and dying in Iraq are going to be even more reluctant about their kids enlisting if they feel they'll be exposed to gangs and white supremacists."
Barfield, who is based at Fort Lewis, said he has identified and submitted evidence on 320 extremists there in the past year. "Only two have been discharged," he said. Barfield and other Department of Defense investigators said they recently uncovered an online network of 57 neo-Nazis who are active duty Army and Marines personnel spread across five military installations in five states -- Fort Lewis; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Stewart, Ga.; and Camp Pendleton, Calif. "They're communicating with each other about weapons, about recruiting, about keeping their identities secret, about organizing within the military," Barfield said. "Several of these individuals have since been deployed to combat missions in Iraq."
Every year, the Army's Criminal Investigation Division conducts a threat assessment of extremist and gang activity among army personnel. "Every year, they come back with 'minimal activity,' which is inaccurate," said Barfield. "It's not epidemic, but there's plenty of evidence we're talking numbers well into the thousands, just in the Army."
Last July, the white supremacist website Stormfront hosted a discussion on "Joining the Military."
"There are others among you in the forces," wrote one neo-Nazi in the Army. "You are never alone."
Nazi SEAL
Not all military commanders fail to give known extremists the boot. "The response differs from command group to command group," Barfield said. "Most put up a front and say, 'Oh, this guy's in big trouble,' but actually do nothing unless he commits a felony. But some kick their ass out right away."
During the heyday of the White Patriot
Party, leader Glenn Miler, a former Special
Forces operative, led hundreds of his men
in paramilitary formations through the
streets of several southern cities.
Barfield noted that commanders are far more likely to take immediate action if the soldier is stateside in a non-combat role, rather than fighting overseas. In late June, Airman First Class Andrew Dornan, who was assigned to the firing party in the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, was sentenced to nine months confinement and dishonorably discharged after he posted messages glorifying Adolf Hitler on his personal webpage and threatened to detonate a bomb on a military base.
But the military took no such action against former Navy SEAL Matt Buschbacher, who continued to fight in Iraq after the Southern Poverty Law Center had alerted officials to his active support of neo-Nazi groups.
Buschbacher told the Intelligence Report he joined the neo-Nazi movement "for the same reason everyone joins: I was angry and looking for some answers. I wanted to belong to something that made me feel good about myself."
In 1998, when Buschbacher was still a teenager living in Terrace Park, Ohio, a wealthy, almost exclusively white suburb of Cincinnati, he was ordained as a reverend in the World Church of the Creator, a violent neo-Nazi organization. He rose fast. In 1999, he was the head of the hate group's Cincinnati chapter when Chicago member Benjamin Smith went on a three-day, two-state shooting spree that targeted Jews, Asians and blacks. Smith killed two people and wounded nine before committing suicide as police closed in.
Afterward, Buschbacher praised Smith as "a dedicated activist for our racial cause" in The Cincinnati Inquirer. "We have pride in our race, heritage, and culture, and we will do anything to prevent it from being destroyed," he said. "White man is the creator, the creator of civilizations."
In May 2000, Buschbacher attended Nordic Fest, an annual skinhead festival sponsored by the Imperial Klans of America in Kentucky, where he posed in front of a flaming swastika, seig heiling. He joined the Navy shortly afterward. Again, Buschbacher advanced quickly. In October 2001, he completed 26 weeks of SEAL training at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, Calif.
In August 2002, while an active duty SEAL but not yet stationed in Baghdad, Buschbacher attended the National Alliance's invitation-only "leadership conference" at the neo-Nazi group's West Virginia compound. The conference was held just weeks after the death of National Alliance founder William Pierce, author of The Turner Diaries, the fantasy novel about revolution and race war that inspired Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Pierce also wrote the seminal pamphlet, "What is the National Alliance?" It was in that tract that Pierce explained that a National Alliance member in the military "[u]ses his daily interactions with career personnel to select exceptional individuals who are receptive, and he then gives them the opportunity to serve their race while carrying out their military functions."
'Heroes Among Us'
Today, Matt Buschbacher denies recruiting Navy personnel into the Alliance. What's clear is that for years after becoming a SEAL, he violated military regulations without repercussions by staying active in the neo-Nazi movement.
Military intelligence officer James Douglas
Ross Jr. was thrown out of the armed forces
after being caught shipping AK-47s to the
United States from Iraq in 2004. Today,
military officials say, he's a leader of the
neo-Nazi Eastern Washington Skins.
Using the online pseudonym "Mattiasb88" [88 is neo-Nazi code for "Heil Hitler"] to hide his identity, Buschbacher designed and distributed National Alliance fliers, white power screen savers, and a photo montage of Pierce on the Internet via his website, racialpride.com, which displayed a logo of a burning swastika and this mission statement: "The purpose of this website is to provide white patriots with a large database of information for recruiting and self-improvement." Buschbacher also posted messages to the white supremacist website Stormfront and the website of Resistance Records, a hate rock music company owned by the National Alliance. In the fall of 2003, the National Alliance magazine Resistance even published a collage of "Scene Shots" that included a small photo of Buschbacher wearing a Turner Diaries T-shirt and giving a Nazi salute.
Buschbacher hasn't been the only neo-Nazi to fight in Iraq. Forrest Mackley Fogarty, a member of the Tampa, Fla., unit of the National Alliance, was deployed for 18 months during Operation Iraqi Freedom with his Army National Guard unit. "There are some dirty Arabs enjoying their 70 virgins because of my actions and that of my fire team," Fogarty boasted in the Winter 2005 issue of Resistance. (Fogarty was identified in the article only as "Forrest of Attack.")
Jon Fain, a neo-Nazi who currently lives on the National Alliance compound, was part of the original Iraq invasion force in 2003, as a U.S. Army engineer. Shawn Stuart, the Montana state leader of the National Socialist Movement, another neo-Nazi group, served two combat tours in Iraq as a U.S. Marine before he was discharged in 2005. Stuart told the Missoula News that he joined the NSM in 2004, while he was still a Marine, because he "came to believe the United States is fighting the war on Israel's behalf."
None of these men, it appears, were ever disciplined for neo-Nazi activities. All were honorably discharged.
James Douglas Ross Jr. was not so fortunate. Ross, a military intelligence officer stationed at Fort Bragg, was caught shipping disassembled AK-47s to the United States from Iraq in 2004, officials said. When investigators searched his off base housing, they found a weapons arsenal, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and hate group materials. Ross was forced to return from Iraq and given a bad conduct discharge. "But they let him keep the weapons [he kept in his house]," said Department of Defense investigator Barfield, adding that Ross has since relocated to Washington, where he's a leader of the Eastern Washington Skins, a neo-Nazi gang. "He kept his military connections, and he's still trying to recruit soldiers, so we're still dealing with him."
For his part, despite his sometimes brazen activities, Matt Buschbacher tried hard to avoid exposure as a neo-Nazi in the military. But his identity became clear after he posted a photo of himself in a "Mattiasb88" Yahoo profile in 2004, and then advertised his neo-Nazi E-mail address in a July 2004 posting to a currency trading forum. "I am in the military and currently in Iraq," he wrote there. "If anyone would like to purchase some Iraqi dinars I have access to as much as you would like." That September, Buschbacher was profiled in his hometown Terrace Park community newspaper, Village Views. The article, "Heroes Among Us," reported he was fighting terrorism with a SEAL unit based in downtown Baghdad.
Two years later, Matt Buschbacher is back from Iraq -- also with an honorable discharge, despite the fact that the Southern Poverty Law Center informed the military of his background while he was still on active duty. He lives in Denver, Colo., and teaches classes on how to pick up women. "I have no connection with any neo-Nazi anything any more," Buschbacher told the Intelligence Report. Photographed holding a red rose, he was recently splashed across the cover of a weekly newsmagazine in Denver promoting his new book, Date the Women of Your Dreams. The cover story made no mention of his neo-Nazi past.
Training for Race War
According to a 1998 study commissioned by the Department of Defense, "Young civilian extremists are encouraged by adult leaders to enlist in the military to gain access to weapons, training, and other military personnel."
On his web page, Robert Lee West stands
in front of a swastika and Iron Eagle banner
holding an assault rifle and a shotgun.
The reasons are obvious: Soldiers are trained to be proficient with weapons, combat tactics, and explosives, to train others in their use, and to operate in a highly disciplined culture that is focused on the organized violence of war. This is why military extremists present an elevated threat to public safety, and why extremists groups both recruit active duty personnel -- especially those with access to classified information or sophisticated weaponry -- and influence their members to join the armed forces.
"The threats posed by extremism to the military are simultaneously blatant and subtle," the Defense Department study said. "On the one hand, high-profile terrorist acts and hate crimes committed by active and former military personnel can have seriously detrimental effects on the civil-military relationship as well as on the morale and security of military personnel. On the other hand, even the non-violent activities of military personnel with extremist tendencies (e.g., possessing literature and/or artifacts from the extremist 'movement'; dabbling in extremism through computerized telecommunications activities; proselytizing extremist ideologies, etc.) can have deleterious consequences for the good order, discipline, readiness, and cohesion of military units."
Special Forces soldiers who double as extremist operatives present a special danger, since they have commando skills gained at huge taxpayer expense -- often including urban warfare, long-range reconnaissance, and combat demolitions.
"Hate groups send their guys into the U.S. military because the U.S. military has the best weapons and training," said T.J. Leyden, a former racist skinhead and Marine who recruited inside the Marine Corps for the Hammerskins, a nationwide skinhead gang. He later renounced the neo-Nazi movement and now conducts anti-extremism training seminars on military bases.
"Right now, any white supremacist in Iraq is getting live fire, guerilla warfare experience," Leyden said. "But any white supremacist in Iraq who's a Green Beret or a Navy SEAL or Marine Recon, he's doing covert stuff that's far above and beyond convoy protection and roadblocks. And if he comes back and decides at some point down the road that it's race war time, all that training and combat experience he's received could easily turn around and bite this country in the ass."
Department of Defense investigator Barfield confirmed that threat assessment. "Today's white supremacists in the military become tomorrow's domestic terrorists once they're out," he said. "There needs to be a tighter focus on intercepting the next Timothy McVeigh before he becomes the next Timothy McVeigh."
'White Soldier's Burden'
In April 1995, the same month Timothy McVeigh detonated a 7,000-pound truck bomb outside a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, the National Alliance erected a billboard on the main road leading into Fort Bragg, an Army base in Fayetteville, N.C. The billboard's message read, "Enough! Let's Start Taking Back America," and listed the neo-Nazi group's toll-free number.
The billboard was the work of Robert Hunt, a National Alliance recruiter and active duty member of the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Bragg. By late 1995, a large neo-Nazi skinhead gang had formed within the 82nd Airborne. Members saluted a Nazi flag in their barracks, distributed National Alliance literature on base, and held drunken barracks parties where they blasted "Third Reich," a rockabilly white power anthem by the band Rahowa (short for "Racial Holy War") with lyrics about killing blacks and Jews.
In December 1995, two members of the 82nd Airborne skinhead gang gunned down a black couple in a random, racially motivated double murder that shocked the nation and sparked a major investigation of extremism in the military as well as congressional hearings. The killers were eventually sentenced to life in prison, and 19 other members of the 82nd Airborne were dishonorably discharged for neo-Nazi gang activities.
"The fallout from the skinhead killings was immediate," racist skinhead Steve Smith recalled in his 2005 essay, "The White Soldier's Burden." Smith was in the Army from 1991 to 1996 and was stationed at Fort Bragg at the time of the murders. "White soldiers at Fort Bragg were inspected to see if they had any 'racist' tattoos. The Army also held mandatory classes on 'extremist' organizations."
Before the Fort Bragg slayings, military regulations on extremist activity by active duty soldiers were ambiguous. There were no specific regulations on extremism at all until 1986, when it came to light that active duty soldiers were providing guerilla training and stolen military weapons to a paramilitary Ku Klux Klan faction led by a former Green Beret. The Southern Poverty Law Center then urged Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger to "prohibit active-duty members of the armed services from holding membership in groups like the Klan or from taking part in their activities." Weinberger responded by issuing this directive: "Military personnel must reject participation in white supremacy, neo-Nazi and other such groups which espouse or attempt to create overt discrimination. Active participation, including public demonstrations, recruiting and training members, and organizing or leading such organizations is utterly incompatible with military service."
Though sternly worded, many commanders interpreted that order to mean that while active participation in extremist groups was prohibited, so-called "passive support," such as distributing propaganda, listening to hate rock, displaying flags or symbols, and "mere membership," were still allowed. After the Fort Bragg slayings, however, the Department of Defense toughened military policy somewhat to read, "Engaging in activities in relation to [extremist] organizations, or in furtherance of the objectives of such organizations that are viewed by command to be detrimental to the good order of the unit is incompatible with Military Service, and is, therefore, prohibited."
Then-Defense Secretary William Perry used even stronger language to describe the intent of the updated regulation. "Department of Defense policy leaves no room for racist and extremist activities in the military," Perry stated. "We must -- and we shall -- make every effort to erase bigotry, racism, and extremism from the military. Extremist activity compromises fairness, good order, and discipline. The armed forces, which defend the nation and its values, must exemplify those values beyond question."
Lowering Standards
Neo-Nazis have no respect for the values of a free democracy or the shining example of equal opportunity its military is meant to be. When Jon Fain, the Army engineer, was interviewed in 2004 for a Resistance article titled, "On the Front Lines for the Jews," he advised neo-Nazis considering a military career to "[n]ever allow yourself to be brainwashed into the 'everybody's green' lie." In the Stormfront discussion on joining the military, neo-Nazi "Ulfur Engil" wrote that he was stationed with the Army in Europe and offered this guidance: "Nothing will change what you are. If you join, you are still the same enlightened white man (or woman) you always have been."
Hundreds of neo-Nazis online identify themselves as active duty soldiers. "When you are in, after you finish basic training, your discretion is very important," Ulfur Engil wrote in a recent Internet posting. "If you are someone who wears boots and braces keep a second pair that's neutral looking (black). Remove any obvious pins from your jacket (runes by themselves are okay, though. They don't take issue with them, providing there is no obvious [racist] arrangement. The USO in Keflavik, Iceland, actually sold runes!) Do NOT use any Internet connection offered by the base or do ANYTHING on a military server. NOTHING. Get an Internet connection that is private and off-base, invest in EvidenceEliminator, and set up an email account with Hushmail and/or Ziplip."
Extremists in the military are tricky to unmask. "They're a lot smarter about it than street gang members," said Barfield. "They don't brag and boast like gang bangers." The best way to reduce the number of extremists in the armed forces is to prevent them from entering the military in the first place. "But now we're lowering our recruiting standards. We're accepting lesser quality soldiers," Barfield said. In a move to boost enlistment, the military is allowing more and more recruits with criminal records to sign up. A recent Chicago Sun-Times article revealed the percentage of recruits granted "moral waivers" for past misdemeanors had more than doubled since 2001. The military also revised its rules on inductee tattoos earlier this year to allow all tattoos except those on the front of the face. Both changes in the rules made it easier for extremists to join. And while military regulations prohibit (PDF) all gang-related or white supremacist tattoos, many recruiters are ignoring such tattoos, or even literally covering them up. "I had one case where a recruiter and his wife took a guy to their house and covered up his tattoos with make-up so he could pass his [physical examination]," Barfield said.
Military regulations also call for any superior officer who spots a soldier with a neo-Nazi or white supremacist tattoo to refer the soldier to a commander, who then is supposed to demand the soldier have the tattoo removed. If the soldier refuses, he's supposed to be kicked out.
"But there's a loophole," Barfield said. "If they never refer them, they can't refuse, so they just never refer them, and they stay in."
"If you have any kind of tattoo prior to going in, they will require you to write out a statement as to what it is, and what it means to you," advised a neo-Nazi in the Stormfront military forum. "If it's something obvious like a swazi [swastika], then they will probably say, 'No go.' But, something more obscure, like a Schwarze Sonne [a "black sun," another Nazi symbol] or a Celtic cross would probably be okay, so long as no phraseology accompanies it."
"The average Joe recruiter can spot the most obvious tattoos," said Leyden, who trains the military in identifying hate group members. "But the vast majority of them don't know what 'White Power' in German looks like, they don't know what 88 in Roman numerals means, and now, they may not even care, because they're under this extreme pressure to fill the void, and who are they filling the void with? Therein lies the danger."
'Switchblades and Smeared Blood'
The large tattoo on the right arm of Air Force airman Robert Lee West depicts a menacing wizard with a scythe. His recruiter probably saw no problem there, but the photo of himself West has up on his EveryonesSpace web page should wave a red flag. In it, West, with his head shaved, is standing in front of a swastika and Iron Eagle banner, holding an assault rifle and a shotgun. West, 23, who's stationed at Warner Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, lists his general interests as "switchblades and smeared blood."
In his "About Me" section, he writes: "I train most days for marksmanship, combat, demolition, politics, economics, religion, military tactics, oratory, and propaganda. I will give my life for a cause greater than my own. My mind and spirit shall ensure life for my people, and death for yours. I shall fight until I have achieved victory. Just remember when you speak to me that I don't play by ZOG [Zionist Occupation Government] rules and I will not hesitate to sever your subclavian artery."
Special Agent Will Manuel of Air Force's Office of Special Investigations at Warner Robins said he's "well aware" of West's neo-Nazi identity. "We've seen all his pictures, we've read his website, and we know what's he doing." Yet despite the toughened policy declared by the Pentagon a decade ago, Manuel says, "We're not going to go after him just based on what he says he believes, or on him making a lot of claims. There has to be an overt act first. He has to actually organize or recruit or commit a crime. But even his pictures and writings raise concerns, obviously, because we know that where you have one [neo-Nazi], there's usually another, and what he claims to represent totally goes against the core values of the military."
Ten years after the military crackdown on extremism, it's clear that there are still a great many Robert Lee Wests in the U.S. armed forces. And that should worry all Americans. In 1996, the Ft. Bragg murders sparked Congressional hearings on extremism in the military. Then-Air Force Secretary Sheila E. Windall said in her testimony, "We have an absolute obligation, and the American people have an absolute right to expect, that military members will use their expertise and the lethal tools of their trade to protect them and never to harm them."
But some in the military appear to have lost sight of that obligation in the fog of war. "The regulations could use some fine tuning, but they're already on the books," Barfield said. "They're just not being enforced. My fear is that it's going to take another Fort Bragg before that changes."
Anthony Griggs, Joseph Roy Sr., and Laurie Wood contributed to this report.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Investigation of Varrio Hawaiian Gardens Gang and Associates is Largest Gang Case in U.S. History
Crime Blotter July 08, 2009
In the nation's largest-ever gang investigation and prosecution, a law enforcement task force this morning arrested an additional 11 defendants named in federal charges that are linked to the Hawaiian Gardens gang that was previously the subject of a sweeping racketeering indictment. The 11 defendants arrested today are among 24 people named in a federal narcotics-trafficking indictment that outlines a drug pipeline to and from members of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang.
In related developments across four Southern California counties today, another nine defendants were arrested and are expected to be charged in state court. Authorities also seized eight firearms, more than 400 rounds of ammunition, one pound of methamphetamine and a ballistic vest. Seven additional defendants charged in federal court were recently taken into custody.
With the investigation dubbed Operation Knock Out drawing to a close, federal authorities have unsealed indictments charging 192 defendants, and 132 of those defendants have been taken into custody. With dozens of arrests leading to charges being filed in state court, Operation Knock Out has led to more than 300 gang members and associates being taken off the street.
"This extremely successful investigation has led to a series of federal indictments against nearly 200 defendants who face the potential of lengthy prison sentences in federal penitentiaries, where there is no parole," said United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien. "The experience of conducting the largest gang sweep in U.S. history has taught us the power of law enforcement joining together to target criminal organizations that cause so much pain in our communities. As we have seen in other areas, such as the Drew Street section of Los Angeles, law enforcement can have a lasting impact to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods."
Today's action is the second phase of Operation Knock Out, a coordinated investigation targeting Varrio Hawaiian Gardens and other gangs, including East Side Paramount, 18th Street, Morton Town Stoners, Santanas, Carmelas, Varrio Grape Street Watts, Compton T-Flats and Nazi Low-Riders. In May, in the first phase of Operation Knock Out, approximately 1,400 law enforcement officers arrested scores of defendants named in a racketeering indictment and related cases. A 57-defendant RICO indictment of the Hawaiian Gardens Gang unsealed in May describes the gang´s war against the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, as well as systematic efforts to rid the community of African-Americans with a campaign of shootings and other attacks.
The investigation into the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang began after the fatal shooting of Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Ortiz, who was gunned down four years ago by a gang member he was attempting to arrest on suspicion of shooting an African-American man. While the gang member, Jose Orozco, was quickly apprehended and currently sits on death row, the shooting of Deputy Ortiz sparked Operation Knock Out. To date, 132 defendants have been arrested on federal charges, and authorities are continuing to identify and apprehend additional defendants named in the federal indictments.
In addition to the murder of Deputy Ortiz, the racketeering indictment discusses other violent attacks, drug trafficking, carjackings and kidnappings. For example, George Manuel Flores, the lead defendant in the RICO indictment and a longtime member of the Hawaiian Gardens gang, allegedly ordered the murder of another gang member who was believed to be cooperating with law enforcement. Flores is also accused of providing a young gang member with a weapon and instructing him to shoot African-Americans who lived nearby.
During this investigation, approximately 33 pounds of methamphetamine were seized, along with lesser quantities of other narcotics and approximately 125 firearms.
The 11 defendants arrested today on federal charges are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Operation Knock Out was an investigation into Varrio Hawaiian Gardens, as well as other gangs and individuals who were involved in criminal activity, conducted by the Los Angeles High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and IRS-Criminal Investigation. The following agencies provided extraordinary support during both investigations and operations: the United States Marshals Service, the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, the Long Beach Police Department, the Ridgecrest Police Department, the Downey Police Department, the Kern County Sheriff's Department, the Bell Gardens Police Department, the Buena Park Police Department, the Costa Mesa Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Joint Forces Joint Training Base at Los Alamitos, the Los Angeles Police Department, the South Gate Police Department, the Hawthorne Police Department, the Montebello Police Department, the Santa Monica Police Department, PROAC, the Ontario Police Department, the San Diego Narcotics Task Force, the Riverside Sheriff's Department, LA Impact, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services' Multi-Agency Response Team.
In the nation's largest-ever gang investigation and prosecution, a law enforcement task force this morning arrested an additional 11 defendants named in federal charges that are linked to the Hawaiian Gardens gang that was previously the subject of a sweeping racketeering indictment. The 11 defendants arrested today are among 24 people named in a federal narcotics-trafficking indictment that outlines a drug pipeline to and from members of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang.
In related developments across four Southern California counties today, another nine defendants were arrested and are expected to be charged in state court. Authorities also seized eight firearms, more than 400 rounds of ammunition, one pound of methamphetamine and a ballistic vest. Seven additional defendants charged in federal court were recently taken into custody.
With the investigation dubbed Operation Knock Out drawing to a close, federal authorities have unsealed indictments charging 192 defendants, and 132 of those defendants have been taken into custody. With dozens of arrests leading to charges being filed in state court, Operation Knock Out has led to more than 300 gang members and associates being taken off the street.
"This extremely successful investigation has led to a series of federal indictments against nearly 200 defendants who face the potential of lengthy prison sentences in federal penitentiaries, where there is no parole," said United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien. "The experience of conducting the largest gang sweep in U.S. history has taught us the power of law enforcement joining together to target criminal organizations that cause so much pain in our communities. As we have seen in other areas, such as the Drew Street section of Los Angeles, law enforcement can have a lasting impact to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods."
Today's action is the second phase of Operation Knock Out, a coordinated investigation targeting Varrio Hawaiian Gardens and other gangs, including East Side Paramount, 18th Street, Morton Town Stoners, Santanas, Carmelas, Varrio Grape Street Watts, Compton T-Flats and Nazi Low-Riders. In May, in the first phase of Operation Knock Out, approximately 1,400 law enforcement officers arrested scores of defendants named in a racketeering indictment and related cases. A 57-defendant RICO indictment of the Hawaiian Gardens Gang unsealed in May describes the gang´s war against the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, as well as systematic efforts to rid the community of African-Americans with a campaign of shootings and other attacks.
The investigation into the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang began after the fatal shooting of Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Ortiz, who was gunned down four years ago by a gang member he was attempting to arrest on suspicion of shooting an African-American man. While the gang member, Jose Orozco, was quickly apprehended and currently sits on death row, the shooting of Deputy Ortiz sparked Operation Knock Out. To date, 132 defendants have been arrested on federal charges, and authorities are continuing to identify and apprehend additional defendants named in the federal indictments.
In addition to the murder of Deputy Ortiz, the racketeering indictment discusses other violent attacks, drug trafficking, carjackings and kidnappings. For example, George Manuel Flores, the lead defendant in the RICO indictment and a longtime member of the Hawaiian Gardens gang, allegedly ordered the murder of another gang member who was believed to be cooperating with law enforcement. Flores is also accused of providing a young gang member with a weapon and instructing him to shoot African-Americans who lived nearby.
During this investigation, approximately 33 pounds of methamphetamine were seized, along with lesser quantities of other narcotics and approximately 125 firearms.
The 11 defendants arrested today on federal charges are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Operation Knock Out was an investigation into Varrio Hawaiian Gardens, as well as other gangs and individuals who were involved in criminal activity, conducted by the Los Angeles High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and IRS-Criminal Investigation. The following agencies provided extraordinary support during both investigations and operations: the United States Marshals Service, the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, the Long Beach Police Department, the Ridgecrest Police Department, the Downey Police Department, the Kern County Sheriff's Department, the Bell Gardens Police Department, the Buena Park Police Department, the Costa Mesa Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Joint Forces Joint Training Base at Los Alamitos, the Los Angeles Police Department, the South Gate Police Department, the Hawthorne Police Department, the Montebello Police Department, the Santa Monica Police Department, PROAC, the Ontario Police Department, the San Diego Narcotics Task Force, the Riverside Sheriff's Department, LA Impact, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services' Multi-Agency Response Team.
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