Armenian Power leader Mher Darbinyan


By David Amoruso

It ain’t easy being a gangster in Los Angeles. The City of Angels is known as the birthplace of many notorious gangs like the Crips, Bloods, and La Eme. African-Americans and Latinos rule the streets where gang shootings are an everyday occurrence. Surprisingly it was this hostile environment that gave birth to Armenian Power, a gang comprised of white Eastern Europeans with influence reaching far beyond the streets of L.A.

When the Armenian Power gang was founded it had just one simple reason for existence: Protect Armenian youths from other street gangs roaming the schools and streets. According to evidence presented in court, “Armenian Power formed in the East Hollywood district of Los Angeles in the 1980s. The gang’s membership consisted primarily of individuals of Armenian descent, as well as of other countries within the former Soviet bloc.”

One of the group’s founding members was Mher Darbinyan (right), who molded the youth gang into a formidable street gang with circa 250 members as he himself transitioned from teenager to adult. While doing so he also changed the group’s modus operandi. Where they had first protected fellow Armenians from rival thugs, now they preyed on them, extorting their businesses and using threats and violence to assert control of the neighborhood called “Little Armenia” for its many Armenian immigrant settlers.

Members of Armenian Power were involved in extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and fraud. Money was pouring in from all angles as the gang grew in stature and started making friends in high places.

Though most criminals rather not think about it, there is a good possibility they will end up behind bars during their hunt for fast money. Once inside, they lose the protection their gang offers them on the outside. When that happens new friends are needed.

Darbinyan realized this and forged an alliance with La Eme, a California prison gang also known as the Mexican Mafia. They control much of the narcotics distribution and other criminal activity within California’s correctional facilities. La Eme would protect Armenian Power members and associates who were behind bars, while Armenian Power gangsters on the outside would help facilitate Mexican Mafia criminal activities.

Darbinyan is rumored to be so close to La Eme, federal officials say, that he became one of the Latino gang’s few white members.

Besides locking down California’s prisons and Los Angeles’ streets, Armenian Power (below) also sought to expand its international influence. They worked closely with powerful organized crime figures in Russia and Armenia, men known as “thieves-in-law,” who are the equivalent of the Italian-American “made” guy. They are hardcore old school Russian Mafia.



With great power comes great responsibility. Cheesy, but true. And something the leaders and members of Armenian Power seemed to forget as they let the power get to their heads. All it takes is one informant and all that power becomes as useless as a Spiderman comic book in a gunfight.

Law enforcement is always on the lookout for emerging criminal gangs, but it takes something special for authorities to take action. That is why it’s advisable to keep a low profile when involved in expansive and lucrative criminal rackets.

However, when you’re on top of the world, making millions of dollars hand over fist, have frightened people kissing your ass wherever you go, you might think you’re bulletproof or, better yet, “indictmentproof.”

And in the underworld there simply are times when you are put to the test on both accounts. If you want to be the baddest crew on the block then you better put your guns where your mouth is. Sometimes a gangster just can’t keep a low profile. Sometimes he has to go full Tony Montana “Say hello to my little friend”-mode on his rivals.

Mher Darbinyan and his goons in Armenian Power understood this all too well.

That is why members of Armenian power pulled out their weapons and started blasting when an argument between them and another California gang turned ugly on the streets of North Hollywood. Two of their rivals were killed as Armenian Power members fled the scene of the crime.

The shootout in May of 2008 proved their ruthlessness, but it also painted a large bull’s-eye on the gang’s back. Law enforcement and the FBI were now giving the group their full attention. The clock was ticking.

Darbinyan and his posse of thugs, however, had no clue yet as to the impending doom. Armenian Power members relished in squeezing their fellow countrymen for money. Through the use of intimidation and violence they usually succeeded in hitting jackpots. They would kidnap people off the streets and demand ransom money from their loved ones. Most Armenians paid up rather than going to the cops for help.

What Armenian Power was doing, in essence, came down to “shitting where you eat.” Founded to protect fellow Armenians, the gang was now feasting on them in a blood-soaked buffet. And whenever you shit where you eat, your food is going to get toxic.

In 2009, they kidnapped Sandro Karmryan, an Armenian businessman who shipped cars to Russia. For the poor man it was a horrible case of déjà vu as he had been kidnapped by Armenian Power before. That time they had released him after his family coughed up $50,000 dollars. This time things didn’t go as smooth. If getting kidnapped for a second time wasn’t enough bad luck, Karmryan was also shot by a friend while running away from his would-be kidnappers.

What happened next is described perfectly by journalist Hayley Fox in her in-depth article about Armenian Power. “For nearly five days, he was moved from stash house to stash house as the kidnappers used his debit card to withdraw money from ATMs across Southern California. His ransom was set at $1 million, a fee they hoped his family in Russia would pay, [Assistant United States Attorney Martin Estrada] says. But his friend's gunshots had torn through Karmryan's abdomen, causing his intestines to rupture and leak fluid into his body. He was vomiting stool and bleeding severely internally, Estrada says, when the FBI tracked Karmryan to a marijuana grow house in Mira Loma. They found him in agony, blindfolded on an air mattress, with a pit bull standing guard over him.”

He eventually survived, but the trauma surgeon who operated on him later testified that he had never seen something like it. The gunshot wound had been festering for five days and was now a fountain of liquid stool that erupted from his stomach because of all the pressure that was building up.

You can only apply so much pressure. Whether it be to the human body or the human mind. At one point all this pressure reaches a peak point after which exploding is all that is left. Victims can only be scared shitless for so long. Eventually they will seek help from a force able to take the fear away. A force dressed in uniform and armed with guns. A force that outnumbers any gang in the United States.

One such desperate victim had taken out a loan with the gang only to realize he would never be able to pay back the interest. It’s a common technique used by organized crime, perfected by La Cosa Nostra, the Italian-American Mafia. Armenian Power bled the man dry for everything he had. Then they asked for more, and more, and more still.

He walked into the offices of the FBI a broken man and offered his services. He had no other way out. He was terrified to his bones that Armenian Power would harm his family or himself. He had heard it all. At one point Darbinyan told him, “You are lying. I'll jerk off on the liar's mother's head.” Another member told him, “I will skin you ... if that deposit does not happen by 6 o'clock. I will not give a fuck. Good luck to you.”

With the FBI in his corner he was able to make his payments while also gathering intel on the gang’s activities for his FBI handlers. By then the Bureau already had wiretaps in place and was collecting invaluable information about a wide variety of crimes. That is how they were able to save kidnapping victim Karmryan in 2009.

Thanks to court-authorized wiretaps on 25 different phone numbers the feds monitored countless conversations and obtained a wealth of incriminating evidence as defendants spoke about “targeting wealthy Armenians for robbery, planning check fraud activity, making illegal firearms deals, installing skimmers on ATMs, watering illegal marijuana plants in a warehouse, mailing illegal narcotics to customers, planning kidnappings, and extorting money from victims using threats of violence.”

By 2011, they had enough evidence to charge 90 Armenian Power leaders, members, and associates in two separate indictments. Of those 90 charged, 87 have been convicted. Furthermore, they seized more than $3 million in fraudulently obtained luxury automobiles. And they interfered in several violent confrontations between rival groups, arresting more gang members and seizing firearms.

Among the convicted Armenian Power gangsters is their leader Mher Darbinyan. At trial he was convicted of 57 counts for his role in a racketeering conspiracy that included extortion, bank fraud, and a sophisticated credit and debit card skimming scheme. In this fraud scheme Darbinyan used middlemen and runners to deposit and cash hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks drawn on the accounts of elderly bank customers and businesses. Separately, he also organized and operated an elaborate debit card skimming operation targeting customers of 99 Cents Only Stores across Southern California. This scheme involved the installation and use of skimmers to steal thousands of customers’ debit card numbers and PIN codes.

In November 2014, at the age of 39, Darbinyan was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

According to Agent Jeremy Stebbins, who worked the case out of the FBI’s Los Angeles Office, “With the arrests and convictions of nearly all senior leadership of Armenian Power, we dealt a serious blow to their ability to continue to operate in the manner they were accustomed. We also sent a message to the Eurasian organized crime community that they are being targeted and watched.”

Behind bars Darbinyan is no doubt mulling over all his bad decisions, but must also be somewhat pleased about just one decision he made years ago: His pact with the Mexican Mafia. Because for the coming decades he will probably need their protection in the California penal system.

This is the Armenian power I fear...

Very interesting article Scorsese I was just reading this too on other site

La M control much of the narcotics distribution and other criminal activity within California’s correctional facilities. La Eme would protect Armenian Power members and associates who were behind bars, while Armenian Power gangsters on the outside would help facilitate Mexican Mafia criminal activities.

Darbinyan is rumored to be so close to La Eme, federal officials say, that he became one of the Latino gang’s few white members.





Being here in So Cal I never realized that these two ethnicities worked together. Looked up that Mher Darbinyan guy he's from the city Valencia. Years ago that area was HEAVILY populated with Latino gangs. Not sure if it still is. Never heard of anyone ever saying that they were afraid of an Armenian gang banger lol.
I'm with Mark I'm more afraid of all the K Kardashians. They are beautiful ladies but so fn annoying.

I lived on the outskirts of their neigborhood in east hollywood for several years a little while back.. Little armenia.. They're are way far beyonf the average street thugs when it comes to sophistication. I know a few of them and they are ahead of the curve. Especially with all of the white collar stufff.. Which I don't care what anyone says, I know first hand.. Fraud is 95 percent of their business and it is so lucrative its disgusting.. All those eastern european former soviet countries are masters of the fraud game with their skimmers.. They came to america and realized its a literally a disneyland for fraud to them.. I don't know if its their culture but they're a lot classier than your average "street gang" also.. Dress nice, drive nice cars.. And from my personal experiences with them, are surpisingly respectful towards elders and normal citizens. Ha they used to give me free gas everyday with their skimmed cards.. Without me even asking..

Great post DSBaloo.

Good post Scorsese.

I remember the Armenian Mob from The Shield ha

The villains on the shield were the best. Antwoine mitchell, Margos and armadillo were great.

Great article, thanks for sharing Scorsese. Interesting stuff DSBaloo.

Where I live there isn't an extremely large Armenian population, but there are a few. A couple of months ago there was an Armenian guy who out of the blue bought a bar. The day the bar was going to open, he had to get another bar owner down the street to connect the beer line to the couple. He didn't even know how to use the beer tap The bar seldomnly had any customers, except for a few other Armenians. But they were always impeccably dressed, drove nice cars and the bar owner's wife was gorgeous. They were shady, but always friendly and up for a chat. The bar closed down after two months and since then the Armenian guys are nowhere to be found

The guys from Eastern Europe are very creative with their activities. In Brooklyn they have been running a durable goods/no fault insurance scam for years. Someone gets in a car accident, goes to the ER then chiropractor who then orders that a special, custom made brace be made. They then bill the insurance company thousands of dollars for this brace which is unnecessary and generally made for less than $50. This sounds like peanuts but they do it for hundreds of people and no fault generally has to pay provided that proper documentation is submitted. Always by the same doctors. Certain insurance companies have whole units dedicated to shutting this down and they cant. Not saying its right but it surely is creative.

Well thier fraud knowledge would make a lot of sense for Eme to be involved

Otherwise Eme would have zero interst in them

Teach em , maybe cut em in and get guaranteed protection. Makes sense

In another thread, someone asked what separates LCN from other gangs. This is a good example. It took two indictments to tear this gang apart. How many indictments has LCN survived so far? Dont know the number, but i know its a lot.

These 2 indictments didn't tore them apart and remember there's 200+ members. AP is still active.

I'm starting a monography on Armenian Power, the thing is that I could not find much information on the topic, only pieces of information from arrests and FBI cases.

Has anyone got good information of these people? Anyone that considers himself experienced on the topic can contact me on private, if you wish.

This is true.

Indictments have come on many of the major street gangs in So.Cal, and every time the headlines and news articles talk about "taking the gang down" which leads readers to believe the gang is completely done for good. That's rarely the case, although it does temporarily cripple and weaken them for sure. Rarely makes them go extinct.

AP also known as AP 13 due to them falling under the Southsider car, is a good mix of organized crime and regular gang bangers, as they traditionally fueded with local street gangs ( WS White Fence etc).

Hey SoCal,

Who's the big 5 of black gangs (collectively including lines & cliques) in regards to membership?
I have come across Rollin 60s being number 1 but I read that ECC are bigger.

Which sets would you say are top earners amongst Crips & Bloods ?

The 60s are known as Rich Rollin, but I think that's more or less back in their golden years. I notice BPS, Pueblo Bishops, Hoovers, & Grapes been operating lucrative markets.

I couldn't give a definitive answer but I would say Rollin 60s would be my first guest.
Just my personal Opinion Rollin 60s are number one overall in reputation over the years. They get props across the board, they've done damage to many hoods an have controlled their turf strongly for decades.

East Coast is big also, but I'd say they're more fragmented with different cliques and neighborhoods. To me Rollin 60s is more united as one strong unit. Blacks still have a lot of numbers and power in Rollin 60s part of town as compared to ECC over on the east side it's become predominately Mexican/Hispanic.

Eight Tray is big also with one of the biggest turfs if not the biggest gang turf in LA.

As for who's the top earners right now, I couldn't say.
Most the major hoods have been hit by law enforcement or the Feds throughout the years.
Harlem 30s were doing their thing for along time
Peublo Bishop Bloods got hit. I remember that.
A whole bunch more and it's hard to say who's on top right now.

How does the organization and structure actually work for Crip and Blood sets?

My understanding was that a set was just the neighborhood where you live. E.g. If you are Grape Street Crip it means you're a crook from Watts but there is no organization or structure to the gang.

I looked up the Rollin' 60s and it says they have 1600 members, which is bigger than the Genovese and Gambino's including associates, yet their wikipedia page is very small and it doesn't list their leader or administration etc.

Im interested to know how it works.

There's no strict hierarchical structure.

In general there's No official bosses. There's members that have more sway due to the respect they earned or their personality. Nobody could really order another member of the set to do something they don't want to do.

However, you can't just claim a set because you live there. Being a member is an official thing, you have to be recruited and put on to the set. Some may be the exception if they have deep family ties then they're considered members since birth. But it's official whether you're a member or not. Being a crook from a particular neighborhood doesn't earn you the right to claim that hood. That would put you in a lot of danger to claim a hood you were never officially put on.

It varies depending on the sets. Overall their is a grading system in which a person's membership extends. A new member is considered a B.G/Y.G, then G, and O.G. which is based on loyalty & activity within the set. Baby / Young / Original Gangster.

A set is divided into cliques/ lines which are basically sub-sections depending on size. Example : Rollin 60s are divided into 4 cliques while smaller Crip sets have just 1 or 2. Likewise for Bloods/Pirus/Hoovers.

There are meetings and dues paid to the set; also birthdays or set days. It's a very big difference between being a member and from around the locale. The set's roots and identity is based in/around the neighborhood not just all nor any other crooks living in their turf. As for racketeering , whoever immediately involved get the shares to my understanding. You and a few other members could be shylocking for example and the proceeds are split between y'all.

They have a large membership but not ALL are active. Associates really varies and generally are partners or assistants.

Every group nationality have their own Mafia. Starts off protecting their own. Then they extort their own for money. They don't pay they kidnape them or a family member for money.

They all recruit kids. Show them how to make some money and you got them. Something happens you get rid of them and recruit more.


Then they get into the drug business. Etc old news done through out history.

Great info SoCal and BF, thanks a lot!

Right. I read about ECC membership in a court doc which mentioned them being around 2,250 members. Unknown how many are active of course. 6-Pacc clique are still formidable on the east side and F-13 aren't having an easy time with them.

Oh yeah I forgot about the ETGs and yes they still got the biggest turf in L.A so far. Their membership I guess is still around 200 or so.

Can't forget the Bounty Hunters & Black P Stones as well.

Yeah I always hesitate about throwing out membership number estimates because in reality nobody really knows. Even the gang itself has a real hard time gauging it's actual membership especially if it's one of the bigger gangs.
And as you mentioned there's members that are fully active and non active. Everything in between. Semi retired members and all that.
Yeah Black P Stones are big and Rollin 20s Nh Bloods.
Rollin 40s is considered to be a real factor also.

In future just post a portion of the text plus a link. Thanks. http://gangstersinc.ning.com/