They might be "willing." But the reality is unless the informant stays in the same old neighborhood and shows his face, these guys don't have the sophistication and wherewithal to track down someone who's been placed in the WITSEC Program, or even chooses to blow town on his own and not relocate to Martin Luther King Boulevard in West Harlem, or South Central LA.
These are NOT sophisticated organizations. Most of them are just street kids who would be lost once taken out of their immediate neighborhoods.
The criminal portfolio of a street/prison/biker gang is not as diversified as that of the mafia. And their schemes don't have the same "finesse". These are facts.
Their main bread and butter is narcotics with arms trafficking being a noteworthy side dish. They do dabble in some extortion and loan sharking and gambling - with gambling especially being a major racket for Asian street gangs - but generally these operations don't have the same sophistication of those of the mafia. Regardless they do make quite a bit of money and they do know how to launder their illicit proceeds. Neighborhood bars, restaurants, bodegas, massage parlors, tattoo parlors, car and motorcycle garages, etc...have all been identified as money laundering centers for street, prison and biker gangs. I'm not claiming they're as smart or as professional as LCN is - because they're not - but they're not as completely incompetent as some like to believe.
And they definitely are going after informants and they do know how to get to them. For instance an Aryan Brotherhood snitch was transferred to another prison and he was slashed to bits in his cell the very same day. Another one who was out on the streets took a blowtorch to his chest...and this was some dude who probably didn't even snitch, but the leadership of the gang just felt his demeanor wasn't adequately respectful. These are cases of incredible brutality, yet AB operations are still up and running. Sure, we're talking about trailer park white trash here...but their reach goes further and they are definitely sitting on more money and resources than you may think.
And the same goes for any other more or less "major" Black, Hispanic, White or Asian gang. You're an off-the-boat Dominican immigrant trying to run bodega in The Bronx? You bet you're gonna find a Dominican gang knocking on your door within a few days looking to use your shop as a front for their crack cocaine enterprise. You're a Southeast Asian immigrant wanting to open a restaurant in Stockton or Fresno? Rest assured some Vietnamese/Cambodian/Laotian/Hmong gang is going to try to find a way to run a gambling ring in the back of your restaurant. Just to name a few examples. And if you don't play ball, they are gonna see you.
