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Many officially-called "gangs" actually identify themselves as families, nations, and/or organizations Prison Gang Profile - Aryan Brotherhood: The Aryan Brotherhood were formed in 1967, in California's San Quentin State Prison, grown from the Blue Bird Gang of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas has reportedly been operating in Texas since the 1970s. The Aryan Brotherhood are concerned with White-Supremacy and self-protection from Black and Hispanic gangs. Initially formed for the protection of whites against blacks in prison, the gang gradually moved to criminal enterprise. In prison, they strive to control the sale of drugs, gambling, and "punks," or male prostitutes. According to Parenti, "Racial warfare comes second to business." The Aryan Brotherhood has carried out contract killings for the Mexican Mafia, but racist beliefs prevent members from consorting with African Americans, including even taking a cigarette or a candy bar from them. Released or paroled members have smuggled money or drugs into prison, including marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines. The creed by which the Brotherhood members operate under is:
"I will stand by my brother They also live by the motto, "in for life and out by death." Rivalries have been reported with: The D.C. Blacks, Crips, Bloods, and other African-American gangs. The Aryan Brotherhood are reportedly governed by a 5 member steering-committee. Original members traditionally had to be at least part Irish, denoting the significance of the shamrock still worn today by Brotherhood members, but this tradition has waned. As testament to their committment to white-cultural supremacy, their constitution states: "Our organization is a white supremacy group. No pretense is or will be made to the contrary." The Aryan Brotherhood produced an offshoot in the 1970s called the Nazi Low Riders, which emerged in juvenile prisons under the jurisdiction of the California Youth Authority. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ARYAN BROTHERHOOD OF TEXAS Prison Gang Profile - The Bloods: Started in Los Angeles as a street gang in the 1960s, spread to Texas prisons in the 1980s. Besides serving the broader purpose of neighborhood protection, the Bloods street gang originally arose as an opposing force to their rivals the Crips, who had been allying with various other gangs in the 1970s and becoming more powerful. Most of the primarily Black street gang operates in prisons and on the street across much of Texas, but they have long since spread to other states. Because it has no written constitution, the Bloods are officially labeled a "security threat group" in prison, not a street gang per se. The gang deals in murder, conspiracy, credit card fraud, extortion, prostitution, and drug trafficking. Despite the stigma of violence, founding Blood member Omar Portee started the gang for the purpose of "brothers getting together, people getting together, fighting oppression" and not to advocate violence and killing. Prison Gang Profile - The Crips: The Crips started as a street gang in Los Angeles when Raymond Washginton and Stanley Tookie Williams set up the gang in 1969 in East LA. Stanley Tookie Williams was co-founder of the Crips when he was only 17 years old, and given the death penalty in San Quentin State Prison on December 13, 2005. Raymond Washington, co-founder, was murdered in 1979. The Crips spread to Texas prisons in the 1980s. Like the Bloods, because the Crips have no written constitution, they are officially labeled a "security threat group" in prison, not a gang. Some have said the word "Crip" allegedly came about after a woman in a Los Angeles housing project filed a report against two young teenage thieves, (including founding member Raymond Washington) descrtibing one of her assailants as a "crip with a stick," meaning a cripple with a cane. However, other sources indicate that the word derives from "Crib," from the Baby Avenue street gang that became the Avenue Cribs gang, located in the Central Avenue area of Los Angeles in the late 1960s. Prison Gang Profile - Mexican Mafia: One of the first prison gangs to develop in the United States, the Mexican Mafia began in 1957 in California. In 1993, San Antonio FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Jeff Jamar called El Eme, often now the name given to the gang on the street, "the most dominant of the prison-spawned gangs operating in Texas," when comparing it to the 10 other large-scale gangs active in US prisons at the time. In 1992, membership within prison was hovering at 700, while in 1998 it was just under 1,500. Today it continues to rise. Outside of prison, La EME is still an ominous presence, responsible for 10% of San Antonio''s total homicide rate, and an estimated 30,000 total members across the United States. While California and Texas prisons house high numbers of both the California branch and Texas branch of the Mexican Mafia, the two states' respective prison gangs are not officially linked. While they both operate by the same broad title, the Texas branch identifies itself as "Mexikanemi," (Soldiers of Aztlan), or La EMI, while the California branch identifies itself as La EME. In addition, southern California's branch of the Mexican Mafia calls itself the Surenos (or Sur-13), as opposed to the Nuestra Familia's subdivision in northern California, the Nortenos. The Texas chapter of the Mexican Mafia was founded in a Huntsville prison in 1984 by Heriberto "Herbie" Huerta. Huerta was serving three life terms for murder conspiracy and racketeering when he was given permission by the California chapter to establish his own branch in Texas. Huerta also wrote the constitution that is followed by members to this day, and continues to collect and manage revenue generated by criminal activities. Huerta's prison bank account held $8,000 in 2002, the result of a 10% tax called the "dime" that is collected by drug earnings made on Mexican Mafia turf on the outside. As a previous spiritual leader of the Mexikanemi Science Temple of Aztlan, Huerta followed a pre-Hispanic creed that related his desire to establish a legitimate network built on "character," and an emphasis of love over hate. However, the actual objective of the Mexican Mafia is to earn money through criminal operations. The Mexican Mafia's Constitution, which outlines all aspects of criminal organization and enterprising, was recently described in the San Antonio Express-News, citing a prosecution's address to the jury during a 2005 trial: "the Mexican Mafia is a 'criminal organization' that works 'in any criminal aspect or interest for the benefit and advancement of Mexikanemi. We shall deal in drugs, contract killings, prostitution, large-scale robbery, gambling, weapons and everything imaginable." It goes on to declare that the only punishment approved by the organization is death. The Mexican Mafia's headquarters are located in San Antonio, but its members reach across several jurisdictions, including California, Arizona, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Houston, Dallas, and Midwestern and southern Texas. According to law enforcement, the Mexican Mafia follows a strict hierarchy and a rigid set of "by-laws." The organization has a written constitution outlining all aspects of its criminal organization and enterprising. As covered in the San Antonio Express-News, citing a 2005 trial, the Mexican Mafia "shall deal in drugs, contract killings, prostitution, large-scale robbery, gambling, weapons and everything imaginable." The constitution also stipulates, as most prison gangs do today, that gang members released from prison become "free world soldiers" required to serve the gang's economic interest by dealing in drugs, racketeering, and prostitution on the outside . These recent parolees, generally termed "wolfpacks" by both the Mexican Mafia and the Nuestra Familia, carry messages to gang leaders on the outside. According to Robert Fong (1990), the Mafia's Constitution outlines 12 principal rules. 1. Membership is for life, meaning "blood in, blood out." 2. Every member must be prepared to sacrifice his life or take another's life at any time when required 3. Every member shall strive to overcome his weakness to achieve discipline within the MEXIKANEMI brotherhood 4. Never let the MEXIKANEMI down 5. The sponsoring member is totally responsible for the behavior of the new recruit. If the new recruit turns out to be a traitor, it is the sponsoring member's responsibility to eliminate the recruit 6. When disrespected by a stranger or a group, all members of the MEXIKANEMI will unite to destroy the person or the other group completely 7. Always maintain a high level of integrity 8. Never release the MEXIKANEMI business to others 9. Every member has the right to express opinions, ideas, contradictions and constructive criticisms 10. Every member has the right to organize, educate, arm, and defend the MEXIKANEMI 11. Every member has the right to wear the tattoo of the MEXIKANEMI symbol 12. The MEXIKANEMI is a criminal organization and therefore will participate in all aspects of criminal interest for monetary benefits (Constitution of the Mexican Mafia of Texas). The Mexican Mafia operate on a paramilitary structure, complete with a president, vice president, and numerous generals, captains, lieutenants and sergeants. Below these high-ranking members are soldiers, also known as "carnales," as well as suppliers and associates, all of whose activities are overseen by the generals. Only one general operates in the federal prison system, while another one operates in the state prison system. The state general appoints a committee of lieutenants and captains who command prison units across the entire state. With the exception of sergeants, all positions of MM members are elected on leadership and negotiative capabilities. All members cast 1 vote each in order to enact proposals into decisions, and all decisions must meet unanimous approval. Contract killings of fellow Mexican Mafia members require volunteers. If no members volunteer, names are drawn. For killings requiring one executioner, any member who draws the number 1 will be designated as the killer; and for killings requiring more than one, members who draw 2, 3, and so on will also be assigned killing duties. In reality, however, many contract killings are implemented without unanimous support, usually by unit lieutenants abusing their power. In contrast to the Texas Syndicate, the Mexican Mafia have no safeguards to constrain intra-gang conflict. While the Texas Syndicate avoids conflict within its ranks by reverting even high-ranking Mafia members automatically back to the status of solider once these members get reassigned to a different prison unit, the Mexican Mafia preserves rank in all situations. Member recruitment is loosely based on the "homeboy connection," an informal, long-standing relationship between the recruit and an active gang member. After this connection is established and made known, a "background check" is performed by unit chairmen, who look into the prospective member's history to ensure he has no prior law enforcement or informant connections. If he passes this test, a unanimous vote will determine his acceptance into the organization. If he does not pass this test, he is often forced to pay protection fees, or is coerced into prostitution within the prison. In some cases, acceptance into the Mexican Mafia only comes after members have been rejected first by the Texas Syndicate. In this context, the Texas Syndicate's level of recruitment-selectivity will thus indirectly determine the number of new recruits entering La EME. Mafia Members must also pass "loyalty tests," such as committing theft, fraud, "approved," or murder. When rules are violated, retaliation is swift and certain. Four general principles in the organization's constitution also exist as guidelines for retaliation: members cannot:
1. be informants Violation of these rules will result in disciplinary action. The murder contract is known among members as "bringing down the light," and while it was once a requirement for serious violations only, it is now used superfluously with even minor infractions, such as disputes over $80 dope deals. Murders between members must be first approved in a vote by 3 members, but murders between a member and a nonmember require no prior rubber-stamp. The Mexican Mafia's "trademark" contract-murder known among law enforcement officials consists of kidnapping, gagging, and binding the informant or violator with duct-tape before putting several bullets into the back of the head. The body is usually wrapped in a blanket and tossed into a remote rural section of the county. Such ritual was reported in 1997, when gang members, during a botched robbery attempt on West French Place, blindfolded and duct-taped 5 people and shot them multiple times in the back of the head. As of 1998, heroin supplied the organization with most of its drug profits as well as personal use for its members. Drug-trafficking, which makes up the bulk of the organizations total earnings, is usually secured through correctional-staff channels into and out of prison. Guards willing to supply the gang drugs within the prison are given a 40% cut of the profit. Only resignation from the Department of Corrections is sufficient to terminate the guard's relationship with the Mexican Mafia. In 1993 the Mexican Mafia signed a nonaggression pact with its historic prison-gang rivals, the Texas Syndicate. This was an important event in the development of these two prison gangs. In 1985, for example, the Texas Syndicate declared war on the Mexican Mafia and murdered four of its prison members. The Texas Department of Corrections responded by immediately placing both groups of members in separated confinement, with assaultive members housed in security detention group A and non-assaultive members in security detention group B. After such administrative segregation became an accepted means of quelling gang-related prison disturbances, segregation populations almost doubled in under 2 years. In any event, the 1993 truce suggested the beginning of a more powerful prison gang, and a larger challenge for law enforcement. Prison Gang Profile - Texas Mafia [TM] The TM originated in the Texas Department of Corrections in the early 1980's and is comprised of predominately white convicts and ex-convicts. It is known as an organized crime-type entity. Many of the members are drug traffickers and have extensive knowledge about drugs and trafficking. Members often specialize in methamphetamine and many have close ties with motorcycle gangs. The TM will commit robberies, burglaries, thefts, etc. for other gangs for 15% of the value of the goods. This gang has displayed a propensity for violence and has been reported to have been involved in inmate homicides. They have also been linked to "outside" criminal activity. The Texas Mafia and the Texas Syndicate have very close ties and they refer to the TS members as their cousins. They have been known to carry out "hits" for the TS. Tattoos may be found on the right forearm or behind the right shoulder. Texas Mafia rules dictate that a TM inmate must be tattooed before leaving the Texas Department of Corrections. Prison Gang Profile - MS-13: MS 13 were formed in the early 1980s in Los Angeles. After fleeing the death squads in civil-war-plagued El Salvador, and later settling in California, a number of Salvadoran immigrants banded together and formed MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, as a self-defence mechanism against rival Mexican gangs. The organization has about 30,000 members, 8,000 - 10,000 of which exist in the US. It is currently the largest gang in many states, including Northern Virginia, and according to user sources is the largest gang in North America, spreading to other nations in the east. The Associated Press has reported that the gang has indulged in beheadings and grenade attacks in Central America, as well as machete attacks in cities along the East Coast in the United States. Some corrections officials say that MS-13 markets the gang as a way to embrace Latin American heritage, encouraging youth to show pride towards their culture when it is really just a mask over the gang's real criminal objectives. According to the LA Times, Gang members pay guards to smuggle in cellphones, which members use to consult and communicate with other members in Guatemala, Honduras and the US. MS 13 is considered by some as a highly organized paramilitary group, with many members formerly belonging to Salvadoran guerrilla forces. However, FBI spokespersons have alleged that the gang is more like a "loosely structured street gang," and not a highly sophisticated criminal enterprise. MS-13 members operating on Long Island have been reported by law enforcement to fluidly share information with fellow members in Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia. Gang officials have stated that MS-13 is "difficult to track because [members] like to move around," and are "always on the go" (New York Post 1 June 2003). As a street gang, MS-13 operates in over 30 US states, as well as several countries across Central America, especially El Salvador, Guatemala City and Honduras. Mexico has had particularly challenging problems with MS-13, conducting large-scale raids on the organization in Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Aguascalientes. MS 13 spread to Northern Virginia in the 1990s, attracted to the region's already exploding Salvardoran population, and later in the Maryland suburbs of Langley Park and Gaithersburg. There are approximately 1,500 in Northern Virginia as of 2005. They have set up shop in Texas, Maryland, and Massachusetts, sometimes luring migrant workers into the web of criminal enterprise. Prison Gang Profile - Neta Association (Asociacion): 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. 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. 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. 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, Neta has 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 Neta lack a hierarchy, and thus remain a loosely connected group of individually run gangs (26 April 2005 The Daily Journal). As a prison gang, the Neta have attracted attention at: * Texas (various prisons) Prison Gang Profile - Texas Syndicate: n 1978, in California, making the Texas Syndicate the oldest prison gang in Texas' history. As of 2000, the Texas Syndicate had about 1,000 members in prisons and jails state-wide, with many more on the outside. 826 Hispanic members operate across Texas, including specific reportings in the Coffield Unit, about 60 miles southwest of Tyler, and at the Allred prison unit outside of Wichita Falls. However, they still maintain their headquarters in California, where their national president resides, and their numbers continue to reach into state and federal prisons across the US. They have been reported in the Federal Correctional Institute at Oakdale, Louisiana, and in San Quentin, Calfornia, with frequency. As a street gang, heavy activity has been reported in Austin, Texas, and Corpus Christi, Texas. Development of the Texas Syndicate was initially motivated by self-protection against the historical "building tenders" in prison. After building tenders disappeared, the Syndicate's activities turned to drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, protection, gambling, and contract murder. Released or parole members who generate money for the Texas Syndicate must surrender a 10% tax of all proceeds toward the gang in prison. TS has a paramilitary structure, headed by a president and vice president elected by the general member population. Each prison unit is controlled by a chairman, who oversees a vice chairman, captain, lieutenant, sergeant of arms, and numerous soldiers. Ranking members in prison are automatically demoted to the level of soldier upon institutional reclassification. Texas Syndicate members are required to follow a "Constitution," stipulating that members: 1. Be a Texan 2. Always remain a member 3. Place the Texas Syndicate before anything else 4. Understand that the Texas Syndicate is always in the right 5. Wear the Texas Syndicate tattoo 6. Never let a member down 7. Respect other members 8. Keep all gang information within the group (Fong 1990) Leadership is determined by democratic vote, requiring unanimity. Recruitment is achieved by demonstrating a "homeboy connection," passing a background check to make sure the prospect is not an informer, and receiving a unanimous vote. Prison Gang Profile - Texas Tango Blast: The Tango Blast, a violent, drug-dealing gang born in the Texas prison system, is growing in popularity because it rejects old notions of prison gang exclusivity and lifelong commitments. Authorities say the trendy look and loose rules of the Tango Blast are proving irresistible to kids. Tangos can maintain affiliations with gangs they joined outside prison, a hybrid approach to membership that allows them to plant tentacles in many of Texas cities' established Hispanic neighborhood gangs. Earlier this year [2008], Texas prison officials added the group to their list of regularly monitored gangs. So far, they have identified about 700 confirmed Tango Blast members. Prisoners flocked to the Tango Blast because its laissez-faire philosophy is the antithesis of the established prison gang mentality of blood-in, blood-out � the notion that members have to commit an act of violence to get in and that the only way out is to die. "Tango will take anybody," said Randy Moreno, an ex-con who joined the Houston branch of the Tango Blast, dubbed "Houstone." "You don't even have to be down from Houston to be Houstone," he said. "They're like the headless horseman. He pops up out of nowhere. He's chaotic, but he has no head to tell you what his goals are." Fewer than 10 percent of the prison system's inmates belong to monitored security threat groups � highly organized prison gangs. Tango members now frequently outnumber those individual groups. Tangos didn't have the strict organizational structure, leaders or constitution of a traditional prison gang � at least initially. "In the early days, they were footloose and fancy-free," said Cmdr. Terry Cobbs, a prison gang expert who works for the Office of the Inspector General of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "Their propensity for violence is just the same as anything else, but they just didn't have that allegiance yet or the accountability yet that the traditional prison gangs have." More recently, authorities say, Tango Blast has been locked in a pitched battle for control of illegal prison activities. The group is becoming more predatory, and prisoners who refuse to join are getting beaten over it, prison officials said. Members are behind crimes such as drug deals, auto theft, burglaries, illegal immigrant smuggling, home invasion robberies, kidnappings and murder. "I don't think they are committing their crimes for the purposes of the gang," Assistant District Attorney Hector Garza said. "They are just all thugs." THE TANGO NAME GAME The four biggest Tango Blast groups � called the "Four Horsemen" � are in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin. Houstone � Their hometown is Houston. They use the Houston Astros star and the area code 713 as their main symbols. D-Town � Their hometown is Dallas. They use the Dallas Cowboys star and the area code 214 as their main symbols. Foritos, Foros or Funky Town � Their hometown is Fort Worth. They use various nicknames and the area code 817 in tattoos. A-Town or Capirucha � Their hometown is Austin. Frequently seen tattooed symbols are ATX, the Capitol building and A-Town. Elsewhere in Texas: Tango Blast groups also formed in West Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. Those two, along with the original four groups, became known as "Puro Tango Blast." There are also Tango groups in other parts of the state. The look: Tango Blast tattoos typically depict the hometown sports team or its logo, a city skyline, area code numbers representing gang members' hometowns or slang terms for their hometown. Sometimes they brand themselves with the tattoo "16-20-2" to represent the letters in the alphabet for "PTB," which stands for "Puro Tango Blast." Their motto: "If you ain't blasting, you ain't lasting." Of the 143,000 prisoners Texas houses in state pens, 5,000 have been identified as gang members and another 10,000 are under suspicion. Texas former prison-gang expert Sammy Buentello says the state's prisons are not infested with gangs, but those that have set up shop are highly organized. "They have a paramilitary type structure;" he says. "A majority of the people that come in have had experience with street-gang membership and have been brought up in that environment accepting it as the norm. But some join for survival." Officials in Texas have reacted most stringently to gang members. They isolate and place them in lockdown status to discourage membership. Buentello says this approach has produced a dramatic decrease in violence. In 1984, 53 inmates were killed due to gang violence. After the new policy was implemented in 1985, homicides dropped to five and then continued to decline.
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