The Ñetas Association (Spanish language Asociación Ñetas, or simply Ñetas) is the name of an organization or gang of convicts in Puerto Rican prisons.

The Ñetas, ("new birth"), began around 1979 in the Oso Blanco Prison, located in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico[citation needed]. They formed as a mutual protection group, ostensibly to defend themselves against another prison gang called "G'27" ("group 27"), or the "Insects"[citation needed].

The organization was started by Carlos Torres Irriarte, who went by the name La Sombra, ("the shadow")[citation needed]. He professed to believing that the rights of inmates were being violated by prison officials. On March 30, 1981, Irriarte was shot in the chest, most likely by the "Insects"[citation needed].

The Ñeta are said to yell the word "Ñeta" three times on special occasions, including the birth of a child, and every 30th day of the month to honor the passing of Irriarte[citation needed].

Some reports claim Neta originated In 1980, while others claim it was founded earlier, perhaps in the 1970s sometime[citation needed]. It was originally founded in Oso Blanco Prison, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, then also known as "Asociacion Pro-Derecho Al Confinando." It then spread to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut[citation needed].

Carlos Torres, who had allegedly lived in poverty and gotten in trouble since he was a young boy had intentions of forming the gang since 1974, and eventually succeeded while an inmate at Oso Blanco prison in 1980[citation needed]. However, Torres never was able to witness the rise of the gang that would within a few years become the largest prison gang in Puerto Rico, and he died in prison in 1981[citation needed]. Fellow alleged member John Rodriguez said that Torres created Neta to further the rights of prisoners and "extended his efforts to help his fellow inmates understand the fight for Puerto Rican independence and other abuses that were committed against our communities" (11 February 2003, EFE News Service)[citation needed].

The gang split into two factions in 1995, one following the original ideals of founder Carlos Torres and the other going independent. Recently, however, efforts by members to reunite the estranged factions has begun to increase[citation needed].

According to the EFE News Service, the gang attempts to promote the rights of prisoners and "help fellow inmates understand the fight for Puerto Rican independence and other abuses that were committed against our communities" (11 February 2003 EFE News Service). Much of the work by faithful members involves teaching Hispanic culture and education, some of which includes experiences from inside prison, and many members claim they are strictly part of an inmate-rights group. Like most culturally-based street and prison gangs, Ñetas have reportedly become the voice of marginalized, Latino youth, and actively recruits teenagers from streets across the country. However, members insist it be called an "organization" rather than a gang. Perhaps many of their activities do fit into this category, but the stigma generated by a handful of aggressors sheds the gang of any legal credibility[citation needed].

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela Chen, quoted in the New York Post in 2001, "The Neta women's role [in prison], traditionally, was to take care of the inmates, collect funds and do public service." According to ... the Neta's "Code" does not include killing, unlike the codes of many other major prison and street gangs.

According to the New Jersey Department of Corrections, the Ñetas lack a hierarchy, and thus remain a loosely connected group of individually run gangs (26 April 2005 The Daily Journal).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%91etas

DDP (Dominicans Don't Play), Washington Heights and the Bronx: DDP is a rising force on the NYC Latino gang scene and is a popular gang among high schoolers. They have territories in Washington Heights and the Bronx as well as New Jersey and Florida, and they are in a feud with the Bloods. High schools with known DDP presence include Brandeis HS, Washington Irving HS, Adlai Stevenson HS, Pelham Prep and John F. Kennedy HS. Members wear black, blue, white and red beads.

The Flying Dragons, Chinatown (Canal St.): The Flying Dragons are connected to one of Chinatown's major tongs the Hip Sings and outsource protection and extortion rackets to smaller Vietnamese or Chinese gangs while they smuggle drugs. The Flying Dragons' longtime head Johnny Eng was arrested five times in the 70's and named one of the five biggest heroin dealers in New York by the late 80's.

Green Dragons, Flushing, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights (Ithaca and Whitney Avenues, Elmhurst): The Green Dragons are a Vietnamese gang in Queens. Focused mainly on extortion and robbery the gang demanded almost $300 a week from businesses in Queens in exchange for protection throughout the 90's. Their leader Paul Wong is thought to be a major heroin smuggler now hiding in the Fujian Province. Many gang members were turned in when one leader Sonny Wong testified about gang operations in a criminal trial.

Los Vatos Locos, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights Queens (85-08 Roosevelt Ave.): Los Vatos is one of the biggest Mexican gangs in the country. Though it originally formed in LA, chapters can be found all across America. The most recent incident in NYC occurred when two gang members stabbed a high schooler outside an apartment building at 592 Amsterdam Ave. The gang was also caught running a major counterfeit ring out of Mainland USA, a Chinese restaurant at 85-08 Roosevelt Ave., Jackson Heights.

Almighty King and Queen Nation, Spanish Harlem, all over Brooklyn (179 Starr Street, 81 Central Avenue, 179 Jefferson Street, and 180 Jefferson Street): The AKQN arrived in NYC via the prison systems in '86. By '94 it was the most powerful Latino gang in New York, and it is the most violent gang in the city's recent history. As recently as two years ago, the kings held many of their meetings in St. Mary's Episcopal Church in West Harlem. About 600-700 kings and queens would attend these meetings. The Kings were invited to march in last year's Puerto Rican day parade and were greeted with cheers from the community.

What with all the gentrification, low crime rates, and paranoia about terrorism New Yorkers forget about good old fashioned vice and street violence. But just because NYC's underbelly isn't as dark as it was in the crime-ridden 1970's doesn't mean the average New Yorker can't be stabbed in an alleyway as part of initiation to some Mexican gang. In fact that happens all the time.

AN ARMED gang of suburban teenagers which is bringing violent American “gangsta” culture to Sydney’s streets is suspected of links to a string of robberies and violent assaults.

The rampage at Merrylands High School on Monday is the latest in a series of attacks in western Sydney by a gang of mostly Islander teenagers, who brazenly display guns, knives and cash on their social networking websites.

Some of the five teenagers accused of the school attack gestured obscenely yesterday on their way to court to face more than 100 charges of assault and affray.

Internet chatter among friends of the five accused included admiration of their show of defiance.

“Hahaha did u see [him] putin his fingers up to the camera,” one of them wrote on the bebo website. He even wanted to join his mates in jail. “Gettin boring man i want to go in … wat can i do to get 2 weeks inside i just wanna go say hi nd see how it is in side.”

The Premier, Morris Iemma, told Parliament yesterday that he had asked the Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, to investigate whether a new offence needed to be created in the wake of the Merrylands rampage to cover incidents in schools.

The rampage has opened a window on a world of violence, drugs and guns grown out of a veneration of American criminal culture. The teenagers, based around Granville, are known to use gang names such as the Gee40 and the Crazy Little Coconuts, or CLC.

Emulating US gangs such as the Crips, the Granville gangs have come to the attention of the homicide squad and the Robbery and Serious Crimes Squad following the shotgun murder of an 18-year-old at a house in Yennora in Sydney’s south-west in February.

[…]

At least two of the five youths accused over the Merrylands High School attack, a 15-year-old from Merrylands and a 16-year-old from Seven Hills, have been charged with violent robberies in the past.

It is understood police have already trawled sites such as bebo for incriminating pictures and video of teenagers involved in the Granville gangs.

“It’s amazing what these kids put up on these sites,” one investigating officer said.

When the Herald visited the linked pages of dozens of Granville Boys High students and their friends it found photos of large wads of $100 notes with captions such as “how we have fun with $$$$” or “livin it large”.

http://www.downundernewslinks.com/?p=2917

The Crips and Bloods down here are a bunch of little dirty fuckers. Knife wielding wannabe thugs, selling shit quality drugs to upper class white school kids.

I've had run ins with them a few times in the city. Cheap $2 blade hiding bitches, if you ask me.

The Folk Nation is an alliance of street gangs based out of the Chicago area which has since branched throughout the United States specifically in the Midwest. They are rivals to the People Nation. Within the Folk Nation alliance there are many gangs which all have their own unique colors, hand signs, and organization. Many of these gangs have signed a charter to join the Folks alliance. It was formed on November 11, 1978 in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Soon afterwards the People Nation was formed to counter the Folks alliance. Larry Hoover the chairman of the Gangster Disciple Nation created the idea for the alliance and persuaded many leaders of large Black, White, and Latino gangs from Chicago to join. After having a prosperous beginning in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, the alliance started to break apart in the early 1990s due to wars over money and drugs between fellow Folk gangs.

Gangs demonstrate their particular alignment by "representing" through symbols, colors, graffiti, hand signs, and words. Representing also encompasses the left or right side of the body. Most Folk gangs represent using the six point star, pitchforks, and identify to the right side (e.g., they wear hats or bandannas turned to the right). Folk Nation gangs use the term "all is one" to greet each other. The six pointed Star of David, a Jewish religious symbol in honor of King David, is used by the gang in its graffiti When the leader and founder of the Black Gangster Disciple Nation, David Barksdale was slain, the gang adopted the symbol in his honor.

Folk Nation Alliances
Ambrose
Black Gangsters
Black Disciples
Gangster Two Six
Gangster Disciples
Imperial Gangsters
La Raza
Insane Spanish Cobras
Insane North Side Popes
Latin Eagles
Maniac Latin Disciples
Simon City Royals
Spanish Gangster Disciples

Aryan Brotherhood (AB)
Gender Makeup: Male

Racial Makeup: White

Origin: Originated in 1967 in the San Quentin State Prison, California Department of Corrections.

Characteristics:

Unaffiliated splinter groups sometimes use the name of their state along with the name "Aryan Brotherhood" (e.g., Aryan Brotherhood of Texas).

Members display many white supremacist, neo-nazi characteristics and ideology, but often state their goals as simply "getting high and getting over," or making their stay in the prison as comfortable as possible.

Members are ordinarily apolitical. Most are in custody for crimes such as robbery.

Identifiers/Symbols:

Shamrock clover leaf
Initials "AB"
Swastikas
Double lighting bolts
The numbers "666"
Known to use Gaelic (old Irish) symbols as a method of coding communications
Aryan Brotherhood groups from other states often accompany the symbols mentioned above with the name of the state
Enemies/Rivals:

The AB maintains a working relationship with the Mexican Mafia (EME) and therefore opposes the EME's long-time enemy, the La Nuestra Familia (NF).

The Aryan Brotherhood has traditionally nurtured a deep hatred toward black individuals and members of black groups/gangs, such as the:

Black Guerrilla Family (BGF)
Crips
Bloods
El Rukns
Allies:

Maintains a working relationship with the Mexican Mafia (EME).

Is known to give moral support to black groups in an effort to encourage possible prison disturbances.

Utilizes black associates to buy and sell drugs to elements of the black prison population.

Compatibles with most motorcycle gangs; many members were former "Bikers."

Compatible with most white supremacy groups. This often leads to confusion in distinguishing AB members from other white supremacist groups, particularly when making identification by their tattoos or symbols.

"Copy cat" Aryan Brotherhood groups are generally tolerated by true members. However, federal and California ABs do not consider them to be legitimate and may threaten violence if AB tattoos are not burned or cut off.

Actively cooperates with the Dirty White Boys, an Anglo spin-off gang of the Texas Syndicate. Similar cooperation has been observed with the Silent Brotherhood.
Recruitment/Initiation:

Membership in the AB has traditionally come from white male inmates.
Lifelong allegiance is a requirement.
A "Blood in, blood out" oath must be taken.
Often a "hit" or significant act of violence is required before full membership is earned.
Candidacy for membership may last a year or more.
Propensity for Disruptive Behavior:

Aryan Brotherhood is not readily recognizable; however, receipt of inmates on interstate compact and the current membership in groups with white supremacy ideology lend to the threat of an organizing AB within our facilities.

Main activities of the AB are centered on drug trafficking, extortion, pressure rackets, and internal discipline.

Prison activities include introduction of contraband, distribution of drugs, and getting past facility rules and regulations.

Traditionally, targets have been non-gang inmates and internal discipline.


From 1975 to 1985, members committed 40 homicides in California prisons and local jails, as well as 13 homicides in the community.

From 1978 to 1992, AB members, suspects, and associates in the federal system were involved in 26 homicides, 3 of which involved staff victims.
Once released from custody, AB members are actively expected to continue to assist or "score" for the members remaining in prison.


http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/gangs/prison.html#ab

The Bandidos Motorcycle Club is a one-percenter motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. The club was formed in 1966 by Don Chambers in Texas. Its slogan is We are the people your parents warned you about. It is estimated to have 2,400 members in 195 chapters, located in 14 countries and growing. The club considers itself to be an Outlaw Motorcycle Club. The Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada have chosen to use the more derogatory designation of an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMG).The club was formed in 1966 in Houston by Donald Eugene Chambers. Many people think after seeing a TV commercial with the Frito Bandito raising hell to sell Fritos corn chips, Chambers named his club the Bandidos. This is not true, as the cartoon came out in 1968 (although he did adopt an obese machete- and pistol-wielding Mexican Bandido as the center patch for the club's colors). After Chambers' presidency ended due to his conviction for murder in El Paso, Texas, Ronnie Hodge was elevated to president. Under the watch of Hodge, the Bandidos expanded internationally to become an even bigger motorcycle club (MC).The Bandidos, also called the Bandido Nation, is the fastest-growing outlaw motorcycle club in the world with over 90 chapters in the United States, 90 chapters in Europe, and another 17 in Australia and Southeast Asia. In the United States, the club is concentrated in Texas, but extends into Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Washington State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and several other states. The Rock Machine Motorcycle Club in Canada patched over to Bandidos in 2000, and there is a chapter in Toronto, Ontario.The Bandidos are also found in Australia; aside from the non-locale-specific Nomads chapter, the chapters are located in Adelaide, Ballarat, Brisbane City, Cairns, Sydney Downtown, Geelong, Gold Coast, Hunter Valley, Ipswich City, Mid North Coast, Mid State, Northside, Noosa, North Victoria, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, and Toowoomba, and were acquired with much bloodletting. In recent years the club has also expanded heavily into Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, France and the Channel Isles of Great Britain. Additionally, it is looking into setting up shop in Russia and Eastern Europe and also in the tiny island nation of Singapore, as well as Malaysia and Thailand. The Bandidos are organized by local chapters, with state and regional officers, as well as a national chapter made up of four regional vice presidents and a national president.

The Bandidos have also fathered other clubs as support groups who can be pointed out by "support patches" bearing Bandido colors. Of the many support groups the "DOGS" or LOS PERROS have been known to be a big supporter of the Bandidos and often will preceed a group of Bandidos as a form of scouting or looking out.

On July 29, 2007, during the Hells Angels 2007 USA motorcycle run, six members of the Hells Angels confronted six members of the Bandidos in the parking lot of a Eureka Springs, Arkansas antique shop. Two of the Bandidos escaped the parking lot to retrieve weapons, leaving the other four members to face the six Hells Angels. The remaining four Bandidos were stabbed with knives and beaten with baseball bats in the ensuing melee, leaving them critically injured. The men were all flown to area hospitals. Police arrested six members of the Hells Angels a short time later. Police speculate that the fight may have started over one of the Bandidos named Brent coming on to a Hells Angels girl. Since Arkansas is controlled by the Bandidos, Brent though he could come there.

In October, 2006, George Wegers, the Bandidos' international president, plead guilty and received a two-year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder. Also, in November, 2006, Glenn Merritt of the Bellingham, Washington chapter was sentenced to four years in prison on pimping charges. A total of 32 members were indicted in the associated investigation, on charges including conspiracy, witness tampering, and various drug and gun violations. Eighteen of those plead guilty.

The Mongols Motorcycle Club, shortened to "Mongols MC" is a motorcycle club headquartered in southern California that was originally formed in Montebello, California in the 1970s.[1]. Law enforcement officials estimate there are approximately 350 members. In addition to their presence in southern California, the club claims chapters in Nevada, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Oregon, New York, Indiana, Canada, and Mexico. . Norwegian mainstream news also reports that Mongols has spread to Scandinavia, April 2008.

The Mongols motorcycle club is named after the ethnic group the Mongols that conquered the largest contiguous empire in world history. The Mongols MC main website includes a quote from Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire on the front page. There is no other relationship between the ethnic group the Mongols and the Mongols motorcycle club other than the shared name.
1998, ATF agent William Queen infiltrated the club, eventually becoming a full-patch member and rising to the rank of treasurer using the undercover alias of Billy St. John. In April of 2000, based on evidence gathered during Queen's 28-month undercover tenure with the club, 55 Mongols were arrested and later all but one of the accused were convicted of various crimes including drug trafficking, motorcycle theft, and conspiracy to commit murder.

In 2002, members of the Mongols and the Hells Angels had a confrontation in Laughlin, Nevada at the Harrah's Laughlin Casino, that left three bikers dead. Some police intelligence reports indicate that the Mongols initiated the confrontation to bolster their status Mongol Anthony Barrera, 43, was stabbed to death, and two Hells Angels, Jeramie Bell, 27, and Robert Tumelty, 50, were shot to death. On February 23, 2007, Hells Angel members James Hannigan and Rodney Cox were sentenced to two years in prison for their respective roles in the incident. Cox and Hannigan were captured on videotape confronting members of the rival Mongols motorcycle club inside the casino. A Hells Angel member can be clearly seen on the casino security videotape performing a front kick on a Mongol biker member which in turn started the ensuing melee.

Attorneys for the Hells Angels claim they were defending themselves from an attack initiated by the Mongols.

Charges were dismissed against 36 other Mongols originally named in the indictment.

The Mongols are currently listed as an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang by the Attorney General of California

Two young men may spend the rest of their lives in prison after a jury convicted them Friday of first-degree premeditated murder for orchestrating what prosecutors called a “gang retaliation killing.”

Timothy “Timbo” Evans, 19, turned to his supporters and shouted “love you all” before being escorted out of the courtroom. The day before he had confessed on the witness stand to pulling the trigger in the 2006 shooting death of 26-year-old Adrian Patton at the Emma Wheeler Homes development in South Chattanooga.




But Mr. Evans always maintained that his co-defendant and leader of the local “Skyline Bloods” gang, Michael “Mike Mike” Daniels, made him do it. Mr. Evans, who was 17 years old at the time, said he was scared and didn’t even know how to use a 9 mm semiautomatic weapon when he “emptied” the clip into the driver’s side door of Mr. Patton’s truck.

“I wish every prospective gang member could have been here to see the result of involving oneself in gang activity,” Hamilton County District Attorney Bill Cox said outside the courtroom. “The only logical consequence is either death or imprisonment.”

“I’m just glad it’s over,” said Donna Sails, mother of the victim. “Now our family can get itself together.”

The premeditated murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison.

The jury also convicted Mr. Evans and Mr. Daniels of conspiracy to commit premeditated first-degree murder, a crime that carries 15-25 years in prison. Judge Rebecca Stern will sentence them on July 28 with regard to that charge. The jury found Mr. Evans guilty of misdemeanor unlawful possession of a firearm, as well.

Mr. Daniels, 22, simply turned around and smiled at his two sisters after the jury foreman read the verdict. It marked the end of a four-day trial with heavy security, a sequestered jury, and explicit descriptions of gang culture.

ABOUT TIMOTHY EVANS

Timothy Evans testified he was only 17 that summer day in 2006 when he interviewed for a job at McDonald’s and then shot a man a couple of hours later “for no reason.” At the time he had a 1-year-old daughter who is now three and attended high school as a junior where he made B’s and C’s. Now he and his co-conspirator, 22-year-old Michael Daniels, will serve life prison sentences for first-degree premeditated murder. They must serve at least 55 years before being eligible for parole.
Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston said that Mr. Patton’s death was followed just three days later by another suspected gang retaliation killing in the East Lake Courts housing development in East Chattanooga. That homicide still is being investigated by police despite a man recently pleading guilty to playing a role in it.

“I think law enforcement would describe it as a “long hot summer” in 2006,” Mr. Pinkston speculated.

Mr. Pinkston said this week’s trial stands alone in recent memory as far as the inner workings of gangs playing such a central role in the prosecution.

“There have been other gang members tried, I’m sure,” he said. “But this is the first trial that comes to mind that solely focused upon gang life.”

The first round of testimony came from two local experts on gangs who described the history of the Skyline Bloods and told jurors that gang life in Chattanooga is very much an organized venture with clear-cut rules and objectives.

A showing of disrespect from someone outside the gang, however small it may be, can bring severe punishment, said gang investigator Christina Young.

“Things you and I brush off could equal death to gang members,” said Ms. Young, who works at Silverdale Detention Center.

There also is usually a set of rules, for which a gang member can be “violated” if broken. A “violation” usually means an assault for a set period of time, Ms. Young said, or even death.

TRIAL CONCERNS

Defense attorney Jesse Dalton, who represents Michael Daniels, said he asked “numerous times” for the co-defendants to be tried separately since animosity exists between the two and they had different stories of what happened the day Adrian Patton died. “We will have lots of reasons for an appeal,” Mr. Dalton said, citing security measures he said might have “scared” the jury and what he called an overemphasis on “gang talk.”
Mr. Evans tried to claim “duress” as a defense throughout the trial based on those intricate rules of the Skyline Bloods and his rank within the gang.

Because he was considered a “baby gangster” and Mr. Daniels was the leader, Mr. Evans said, he had no choice but to follow his co-defendant’s command that summer day on East 48th Street. It was payback, the prosecution said, for Mr. Daniels’ belief that the victim had fired shots — or at least knew who did — at his sister’s house earlier that day.

If he hadn’t faced the possibility of severe punishment himself for not following the command, Mr. Evans told the jurors, “Mr. Patton would be alive today.”

Defense attorney John McDougal said it was “disappointing” that jurors hadn’t considered the type of pressure Mr. Evans received from his co-defendant.

“The problem is,” Mr. McDougal conceded, “that (Mr. Evans) shot someone 10 times.”

Mr. McDougal and Jesse Dalton, who represented Mr. Daniels, said appeals will be filed in both cases.

“Mr. Evans taking the stand hurt us greatly,” Mr. Dalton said, adding that Mr. Daniels still maintains he never told anyone to kill the victim.


http://timesfreepress.com/news/2008/may/17/chattanooga-two-sentenced-life-gang-trial/?local

The Ñetas Association (Spanish language Asociación Ñetas, or simply Ñetas) is the name of an organization or gang of convicts in Puerto Rican prisons.

The Ñetas, ("new birth"), began around 1979 in the Oso Blanco Prison, located in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico[citation needed]. They formed as a mutual protection group, ostensibly to defend themselves against another prison gang called "G'27" ("group 27"), or the "Insects".

The organization was started by Carlos Torres Irriarte, who went by the name La Sombra, ("the shadow"). He professed to believing that the rights of inmates were being violated by prison officials. On March 30, 1981, Irriarte was shot in the chest, most likely by the "Insects".

The Ñeta are said to yell the word "Ñeta" three times on special occasions, including the birth of a child, and every 30th day of the month to honor the passing of Irriarte.

Some reports claim Neta originated In 1980, while others claim it was founded earlier, perhaps in the 1970s sometime. It was originally founded in Oso Blanco Prison, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, then also known as "Asociacion Pro-Derecho Al Confinando." It then spread to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Carlos Torres, who had allegedly lived in poverty and gotten in trouble since he was a young boy had intentions of forming the gang since 1974, and eventually succeeded while an inmate at Oso Blanco prison in 1980[citation needed]. However, Torres never was able to witness the rise of the gang that would within a few years become the largest prison gang in Puerto Rico, and he died in prison in 1981[citation needed]. Fellow alleged member John Rodriguez said that Torres created Neta to further the rights of prisoners and "extended his efforts to help his fellow inmates understand the fight for Puerto Rican independence and other abuses that were committed against our communities" (11 February 2003, EFE News Service).

The gang split into two factions in 1995, one following the original ideals of founder Carlos Torres and the other going independent. Recently, however, efforts by members to reunite the estranged factions has begun to increase[citation needed].

According to the EFE News Service, the gang attempts to promote the rights of prisoners and "help fellow inmates understand the fight for Puerto Rican independence and other abuses that were committed against our communities" (11 February 2003 EFE News Service). Much of the work by faithful members involves teaching Hispanic culture and education, some of which includes experiences from inside prison, and many members claim they are strictly part of an inmate-rights group. Like most culturally-based street and prison gangs, Ñetas have reportedly become the voice of marginalized, Latino youth, and actively recruits teenagers from streets across the country. However, members insist it be called an "organization" rather than a gang. Perhaps many of their activities do fit into this category, but the stigma generated by a handful of aggressors sheds the gang of any legal credibility.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela Chen, quoted in the New York Post in 2001, "The Neta women's role [in prison], traditionally, was to take care of the inmates, collect funds and do public service." According to ... the Neta's "Code" does not include killing, unlike the codes of many other major prison and street gangs.

According to the New Jersey Department of Corrections, the Ñetas lack a hierarchy, and thus remain a loosely connected group of individually run gangs (26 April 2005 The Daily Journal).

Anyone here read the Stanley "Tookie" Williams book?

It explains how he wanted to be recognised, so he set up extortion rackets at his school. As he grew older, he met Raymond Washington, and together they founded the Crips - called the Cribs first, but when drunk it could'nt be pronounced. Members of the Crips split and made the Bloods.
"Tookie" is dead now - executed, while Washington was shot dead years ago.
Today, both gangs have no less then 3000 members each. Today they have a combined strength of the 1950's NYC Mafia Families.

The movie based on Tookies life, Redemption, is a great film.

The Crips and Bloods have been around for a very long time now. I never wear Red, so I guess, I'd be down with the Crips.

"Shadow Warriors" - not a street gang, an "Organized Street Mob" - you'll all fill in the blanks in due time....

Ah, but you have to remember that Blood and Crip gangs aren't one cohesive organization. It's more like a federation really, but theres alot've infighting. See, you can set up a gang on 13th avenue in LA or something (hypotheticly) and you'll have to choose which side to go into because of the gangs that surround you (maybe they're all crip affiliated, or sureno affiliated) and you'll just join that one. Not to mention Crip sets are notorious for in-fighting, it's rumoroued that crips are more responsible for other crips dieing than the bloods combined.

Then again the bloods sometimes fight each other, from what I've read though it's supposedly less than what the Crips pull off, maybe because of size, there aren't as many Blood sets as there are Crip sets.

Then again thats a characteristic of street gangs in general, infighting. Ever since Jeff Fort got canned Blackstone has kept going downhill.

So, numericlly they may have more members, but its also far far easier to join/leave a gang. There are no "books" to open, no Red poles who have a set quota of members they need, you have a ranking system but really theres no set limit on membership. Most of the time potential recruits are coerced into joining, that could probably explain it as well.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080912/NEWS02/80912068

Black Mafia Family leaders sentenced to 30 years

BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The leaders of a large scale nationwide cocaine trafficking ring known as the Black Mafia Family were sentenced in Detroit federal court today to 30 years in prison.

Brothers Terry Flenory, 38 of Los Angeles and Demetrius Flenory, 40, of Atlanta, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn.

The brothers, formerly of southwest Detroit, pleaded guilty to operating a continuing criminal enterprise involving the high volume distribution of cocaine throughout the U.S. from 1990 through 2005.

Authorities said they started operating in Detroit in the early 1990s and eventually extended their activities to Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, California and Texas. They used vehicles equipped with hidden compartments to transport cocaine and cash.

Since 2000, authorities have seized more than 476 kilograms of cocaine and $5 million in cash. Members of the ring used drug proceeds to buy luxury cars, real estate and jewelry. They also purchased winning Michigan lottery tickets from the real winners to conceal the source of income.

Some 65 people have been indicted in the case. Most have pleaded guilty and half have been sentenced, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The government has seized more than $19 million in assets from ring members, including 13 homes, 35 vehicles, over $5 million in cash, and millions of dollars worth of jewelry.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dawn Ison, Michael Leibson and Julie beck.

The best-known defendant in the case is celebrity Manhattan jeweler Jacob Arabov, 43, who was sentenced in Detroit in June to 2-1/2 years in prison and fined $50,000 for lying to federal agents about the true ownership of jewelry seized from the ring.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080818/METRO/808180346/1409/METRO

Ex-hit man, once hunter, now hunted
He brought down '80s gang, but says feds won't protect him now that he's released from prison.
Francis X. Donnelly / The Detroit News

If Nate Craft had his way, he would be living under a new name in a new city far from Detroit.

Instead he's stuck in his Michigan home, peering out the window, wondering whether the next person he sees will try to kill him.

In 1994, the former hit man testified against a Detroit drug gang in return for prosecutors reducing a first-degree murder charge for the killing of a drug dealer.

Released from prison in April, Craft thought he would enter the Witness Protection Program. Not only was he rejected, but his probation requires him to live in Michigan for the next two years.

By forcing him to live in the same place as the people he testified against, many of whom were paid killers and already have been released from prison, Craft said his probation amounts to a virtual death sentence.

"You might as well pull the trigger and shoot me now," said Craft, who doesn't want to say where he lives in Michigan because he doesn't want to be found.

The handling of his case raises questions about just how far prosecutors should go to protect criminals, even murderers, who help convict other crooks, legal experts said.

Craft, 51, admits he was no angel.

He was one of the most ruthless members of the vicious Best Friends, a hired hit man who killed 30 people in the mid 1980s. He was never charged with the other deaths.

Now the tables have been turned. The hunter thinks he is hunted.

Craft's federal and state probation officers also believe he's in danger.

"He's in a situation where he's vulnerable," said George Murphy, a Michigan probation officer. "It's not surprising reprisals would be sought by others."

For Craft's safety, both probation officers visit him at home rather than make him travel to their offices.

Still, it didn't take long for Craft's old running mates to learn he was out of prison.

On his second day of freedom, he was walking out of a grocery store when a man called out his name. He turned around to spy a former accomplice.

The man said he would tell Craft's old cohorts that he was back on the street.

Witness protection denied

During his 17 years in federal prison, Craft was in the Witness Protection Program, kept separate from the general population.

Upon his release, he applied for the next phase of the program, which would give him a new name and new life somewhere in the United States.

But his request was rejected by the Justice Department, which didn't give a reason. A department spokeswoman declined comment.

Bill Soisson, an assistant U.S. attorney who supported Craft's request, said a Justice Department official told him the reason Craft was rejected was that he had told a prison psychologist he was going to blow up a federal building.

Soisson didn't know which building or why Craft made the threat.

Craft said he never made such a remark.

"Why would I say something that ignorant?" he asked. "Do I look like a fool? I ain't no fool."

If anyone thought Craft was a fool in the mid-1980s, they kept it to themselves. He was an imposing figure: 6-foot-1, 300 pounds, bald and bearded, with a permanent scowl.

By age 10, he committed his first robbery, records show. By 21, he was a twice-convicted felon. By 35, he had spent nearly half his life in prison.

In 1984, Craft caught the eye of brothers Reggie and Terry Brown after winning a Toughman boxing contest at Cobo Center.

The Browns were the leaders of a burgeoning drug gang, Best Friends, which was about to ignite a ferocious drug war in Detroit, prosecutors said.

They wanted to know whether Craft could help prepare them for the battle that would follow.

Tables have turned on Craft

Best Friends began as enforcers for drug gangs, later ripped them off and finally killed some of them, Soisson said.

Its 25 members didn't know each others' names, only their nicknames: Boogaloo, Ghost, KO, Lunchmeat. Craft was known as Boone because, like Daniel Boone, he was good with a knife.

Flush with cash from the sale of crack cocaine, they drove around in Volvos, BMWs and Corvettes. They drank $100 bottles of Dom Perignon.

Craft said he tried to instill some discipline in the gang, who often got high before attempted murders, and then go on wild shooting sprees that left holes in each other's clothes.

"They would fire 15 shots and only hit the person with one," he said. "They would be throwing their gun around and shooting innocent bystanders."

Craft taught the gang how to set up a hit by learning the target's daily travel patterns. That way, they could ambush the victim as he left or arrived at home or at work.

Dressed in bulletproof vests and body armor suits, they packed M-16 and AK47 rifles and Uzi submachine guns.

The gang killed 80 people, which included snitches, competitors, customers who owed money and sometimes family members, prosecutors said.

Members received $10,000 to $30,000 per murder, depending on how much the Brown brothers wanted a target dead.

If the price was right, Craft said, he would kill anyone.

But then he turned on the gang after it killed his brother over a drug debt.

During his 1994 testimony against Best Friends, Craft said the gang kept a running list of the people it wanted to kill.

"There was a whole big list of them," he said. "Half the time I wasn't paying too much attention to it. We would just go out and start popping people."

Craft's testimony helped end the decade-long dominance of the gang, Soisson said. Dozens of gang members and associates were convicted of offenses ranging from peddling drugs to murder.

When he was trying to get parole in 2002, an assistant Wayne County prosecutor wrote a note on his behalf to the state Department of Corrections.

"He provided invaluable assistance, at great risk to himself, in achieving convictions of a number of individuals in a notorious murder for hire case in federal and state courts," wrote Bob Donaldson.

After his rejection for Witness Protection, however, law enforcement officials said there's little they could do for him.

Contacted by a reporter, Donaldson said he wasn't involved in Craft's negotiations for the Witness Protection Program and that there was little he could do for him.

Soisson, who supported Craft's bid, inquired about a possible appeal but was told by the Justice Department that the chances were remote.

As for Craft, he now knows what it's like to live scared, to live like a snitch, the type of person he would have killed in the 1980s.

Stuck indoors, he said he feels like he's still in prison. For money, he relies on help from struggling relatives.

With the curtains drawn, he sits inside his darkened living room, watching a lot of TV. He occasionally peeks out the window, watching people as they walk by.

You can reach Francis X. Donnelly at (313) 223-4186 or fdonnelly@detnews.com.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jxdGS7RBXTuRlPxKP8taVPFeRHDgD937M7GO0

Thousands mob funeral of slain Hells Angels leader

By EVELYN NIEVES – 2 hours ago

DALY CITY, Calif. (AP) — There can be no quiet goodbye for a slain Hells Angel leader.

The funeral of Mark "Papa" Guardado, the 46-year-old president of the San Francisco chapter shot down after a barroom brawl, brought about 2,000 Hells Angels to Duggan's Serra Mortuary in Daly City, most driving the biggest, baddest, loudest Harleys ever.

They came Monday from chapters all over the country, not to mention Stuttgart, Germany, Alberta, Canada, and Melbourne, Australia.

An overflow crowd of hundreds of members sat or stood in the funeral home parking lot for two hours, creating a spectacle that attracted hundreds of gawkers and police from three cities.

The group then led what police say may have been the largest motorcycle procession ever in the San Francisco Bay area from Daly City to the Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, creating a deafening uproar of engines and a spectacle that stopped traffic in its tracks on both sides of Interstate 280.

Few mourners were in the mood to talk, especially not to reporters.

"We don't get along with the press," said one member, guarding the parking lot. "And if you stick a camera in someone's face, you're asking for trouble."

Sgt. David Macriss of the Daly City police said there were no incidents aside from minor accidents between motorcycles.

Guardado was shot dead Sept. 2 outside a bar in San Francisco's Mission District, about a mile from the Hells Angels chapter clubhouse, where he lived.

At the time of his death, he was facing assault charges stemming from a beating outside a bar in Petaluma in February.

Police are looking for a member of the rival Mongols Motorcycle Club, whom they believe to be a suspect in Guardado's shooting.

- on the previous post, the Hitman has found out what every rat finds out. even if they rat on you, have pride and honor, never rat. you'll get respect inside and out. you'll feel good about yourself and you won't end up hiding in fear. most people in and out of the game will be on your side.

- on this post, Papa deserved to live a lot longer than he did. prayers to 81. AFFA

According to their facebook page they opened a first Chapter in Europe in France.

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