Shrimp Boy & Company Bust

In late March, 2014, Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow was arrested on the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown.  Prior to his takedown, Chow’s Ghee Kung Tong organization was infiltrated by the FBI for five years.  After the bust, he was charged with money laundering and conspiracy to traffic stolen goods in a far-reaching federal indictment that included over two dozen other defendants.  To the shock of many, the indictment also included California State Senator Leland Yee.

Chow was born in 1960 in Hong Kong and nicknamed "Shrimp Boy" by his grandmother due to his small stature.  He soon made up for his physical size by gaining a large reputation. Chow joined a gang in his native Hong Kong when he was only nine years old after he stabbed a guy.  Sources say Chow was then inducted as a youngster into an organized-crime group in Macau.  He came to the United States at the age of 16, soon dropped out of high school, and became involved with the Hop Sing Tong gang in San Francisco.

When Chow was 17 years old he survived an attack by a rival gang called the “Joe Boys” at the Golden Dragon Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown on December 4, 1977.  The attack was soon referred to as the “Golden Dragon Massacre”.  The incident left five people dead and eleven others injured, none of whom were gang members, and it shocked the entire community.  The assault was supposed to be a retaliation assassination for the death of Joe Boys member Felix Huey who was killed in a shootout with the Wah Ching in Chinatown's Ping Yuen housing project two months earlier.  Both attacks led to the creation of San Francisco PD’s Asian Gang Task Force that still exists today.

Chow was locked up for a series of crimes starting with a robbery conviction in 1978.  He was released in 1985, but in '86 Chow was charged with 28 counts of assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, mayhem, and illegal possession of a firearm.  He served three years in prison and was released again in 1989.  In 1992, Chow was arrested for racketeering and charged under two separate trials.  The first was for illegal gun sales and the second was for prostitution, drugs, and money laundering.  He was eventually convicted and sentenced to 24 years but he blamed many of his acts on just following orders under pressure from Peter Chong, head of the powerful Wo Hop To.

Prosecutors alleged that Chong, along with Wayne Kwong, and Shrimp Boy, planned to murder Boston Chinese underground figure Bike Ming in an effort to form new umbrella organization called Tien Ha Wui ("Whole Earth Association") that would dominate crime in Chinatowns throughout the United States.  Chong fled to Hong Kong just days before his indictment in 1992 for his role in the plot, but he was extradited to the U.S. in 2000.  After Chong was captured, Chow turned on his old boss and cooperated with authorities, testifying against him in exchange for a reduced sentence.  As a condition of his release, Shrimp Boy surrendered his visa.  He requested witness protection but his request was denied by the prosecuting attorney.

When Shrimp Boy was released from prison in 2003 he claimed to be reformed.  Chow's professed recovery and youth work earned him praise from such politicians as California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein.

But according to federal authorities it was all an act.

In the current case, lawyers believe most of the 29 defendants will say they were illegally entrapped by the FBI, but they emphasized entrapment won't be part of Chow's defense.

"Our defense theory based on the investigation we have is that there was no entrapment because he didn't do anything wrong," Defense Attorney Curtis Briggs said.

Ironically, prior to his arrest, Sen. Yee was a gun control advocate.  He was charged with attempting to buy automatic firearms and shoulder-launched missiles from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines.  Prosecutors allege he was desperate for more campaign money in his efforts to run for Secretary of State for California.

In the meantime, the FBI's interest has expanded to San Francisco City Hall and is far from over.

Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman-The Rise of a Drug Lord

 

Feared drug lord Rafael Caro-Quintero, released from a Mexican prison in 2013 after serving only twenty-eight years of a 40 year sentence for drug trafficking and the 1985 murder of U.S. DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, as well as Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman-Loera, head kingpin of the Sinaloa Cartel, were both born deep in the hills of Mexico’s “Golden Triangle”.

In the mid-1970s, when "Operation Condor" was launched, 10,000 Mexican soldiers were sent to a region dubbed the Golden Triangle where the mountainous areas of Sinaloa, Durango and Chihuahua meet.  The operation began in 1975 under intense pressure from President Richard Nixon's Administration that started the U.S. “War on Drugs”.  It is rumored that American advisors and DEA agents directly participated on the ground and that American pilots took part in the spraying of chemical defoliants on illegal crops.

The commander of the operation was hated General Jose Hernandez-Toledo who had taken part seven years earlier in a violent massacre of college students in Mexico City’s Tlatelolco Square. To many people, Operation Condor was just an extension of other Latin American cold war counterinsurgency tactics that had successfully liquidated rural guerrilla movements like “El Partido de los Pobres” led by Genaro Vasquez and Lucio Cabañas in the Mexican state of Guerrero in the early 1970s.

The brutal repression tactics used by the Mexican Army in the Golden Triangle left a legacy of violence and hatred for authority and the Mexican federal government that continues to this very day.  Although widely touted as being successful in objectives of destroying vast quantities of drugs on the ground, the operation was seen as a overall failure in that the flow of drugs into the U.S. was not stopped.  Most of the traffickers became rich and were able to leave the region while the rural poor left behind suffered greatly.

It also solidified Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) in the area and throughout all of Mexico.  While the concentration of the crackdown was on the Golden Triangle area, Mexican DTOs were forced to move their operations to other regions and the DTOs carved Mexico up into "Plazas".

Mexican drug lords began appearing as soon as drugs in the U.S. were first outlawed in the early 1900s.  To the traffickers it was a matter of supply and demand and a good way to make a living. 

The life and death of Jesus Malverde has not been historically verified, but according to local legend in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, he was a “Robin Hood” type of bandit who was hanged by the authorities in 1909.  This was just prior to the Mexican Revolution of 1910.  Since Malverde's “death,” he has been considered a hero to Sinaloa's poor highland residents; many of whom earn a living through drug trafficking.  It is from many legends like Malverde and real life drug traffickers like Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman that current Mexican drug lords have tried to portray themselves not as villains but as heroes to the people.  Local musicians even played "Narco-Corridos", popular folk songs of homage to people like them.

The outlaw image caused Malverde to be adopted as the patron saint of the region's drug trafficking business and he was dubbed a “Narco-Santo.”  Malverde even has a shrine in Culiacan, Mexico, that attracts thousands of people each year.  The Catholic Church does not recognize him as a saint but many of the people do.  Narco-traffickers also often pray to Malverde for safe passage of their load (narcotics) to the U.S.  In addition, many drug traffickers pray to the image of La Santisima Muerte. This translates into English as “The Saint of Death”.  Statues, alters, and other paraphernalia relating to this image are increasingly found in Mexico and in the U.S. 

To understand this fairly new phenomenon read Tony Kail’s book, “Santa Muerte: Mexico's Mysterious Saint of Death”.


http://www.amazon.com/Santa-Muerte-Mexicos-Mysterious-Saint/dp/1453613447




The greatly feared Sinaloan Cartel was run by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman-Loera, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, and Hector “El Guero” Palma-Salazar who was arrested June 1995, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, at the home of a police commander.  Over 30 federal police officers were also arrested for providing him protection.  Palma-Salazar was extradited, placed into federal custody, and put on trial in the U.S. for drug trafficking charges.  He was confined at the U.S. Supermax-ADX prison in Florence, CO, with a maximum release date of July 16, 2016.  Meanwhile, “El Chapo” was arrested in 1993, but escaped in 2001 from a Mexican prison in a laundry cart with inside help.  This was just before he was about to be extradited to the U.S.

Once freed, Chapo grew his drug trafficking organization into the best in the world! 

After 13 productive years of being on the run, Chapo was captured  in early 2014 by Special Forces of the Mexican Navy in the bustling seaside resort city of Mazatlan.  He was caught while asleep in the early morning hours of a modest high-rise condo with his wife, a young former beauty queen named Emma Coronel-Aispuro. 

So what does this mean for Mexican DTOs and drug trafficking into the United States?

The Sinaloa Cartel is characterized by many strategic alliances.  Legions of young people would rather die in Mexico fighting for Chapo than, as early 1900s  Mexican Revolutionary Emiliano Zapata said, “living on their knees”.  Foreign criminal groups like Mexican-American street gangs  run drugs via Sinaloa's distribution hubs in Chicago and Los Angeles as well as other U.S cities. When one such large network was taken down in the “Windy City”, violence soared up as Latino and Black gangs fought over the decreased supply and increased drug demand.

Inside U.S. penal systems and out on the streets, prison gangs like the Mexican Mafia (EME) have  influence on neighborhoods such as Florencia 13 near South Central L.A., telling street gangs to become more organized, and bring less heat from the police over such little things as putting graffiti on neighborhood walls.  While law enforcement noticed a decrease in such vandalism, they noticed an increase in Sinaloan Cowboys, as well as homages to Jesus Malverde, and alters to La Santa Muerte. 




While the Cartel has been known to kill if need be, it has preferred to buy power brokers off, than "wack them" thus creating fewer enemies.  As far as their drug dealing rivals; however, they will use whatever resources at their deposal.  The Cartel also wisely does not get involved in the leadership of its business partners so what affects their "headquarters" does not necessarily affect "subsidiaries" and visa-versa because there is little top to bottom control.

In comparison, other organizations like Zetas, a group forged by former Mexican military renegades, have less that binds them together so their leaders must act stronger and employ more discipline to keep all of the pieces together.  They are more of a top to bottom group so when there is change or disputes at the top it creates a lot of chaos and confusion throughout the entire organization because there are no automatic methods of succession. The pieces are more prone to seek independence from each other.

This is not how the Sinaloa Cartel is set up, while there are leaders, they are more like businessmen at the top, the real strength of the organization is in its horizontal make-up working for a common cause: Making lots of money!

Even with his capture, Chapo still has a large and loyal army.  Sinaloan cells like "Los Antrax" did his bidding before his arrest and continue to do so.  His partner Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada is still on the loose even though he has given interviews to the press. His son Vicente Zambada-Niebla was captured in April, 2009.

Speaking on the advice of his father, Vicente claimed he was previously given immunity from U.S. officials. After being extradited to Chicago in February 2010, Zambada-Niebla argued that he was  "immune from arrest or prosecution" because he actively provided information to U.S. federal agents. He also alleged that failed ATF “Operation Fast and Furious” was part of an agreement to finance and arm the Cartel in exchange for information used to take down its rivals.  It was previously widely rumored in Mexico, and even among some American sources, that between the years 2000 and 2012, Mexican and U.S. governments had an arrangement with the Cartel that allowed the organization to smuggle billions of dollars of drugs while the Sinaloans provided information on rivals.

Both Mexican and U.S. government officials rejected that claim, and while those alarming rumors have yet to be verified, court documents showed a close parallel between the rise of the Sinaloa Cartel's dominance in Mexico and the DEA's frequent contact with a known top Sinaloa lawyer.

For now, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman appears set to remain in Mexico's highest-security prison for the foreseeable future as the government will likely put off his U.S. extradition for as long as possible in a move that could bolster President Enrique Pena-Nieto's nationalist credentials. It also shines a bright spotlight on the country's weak judicial system. Experts say Pena-Nieto's administration, and those of his predecessors, have proven unable to match bold arrests like Guzman's with complex long-term investigations and wide-spread prosecutions of deep-rooted crime syndicates. Criminal cases stall, Cartels continued to operate, while there is victory in one corner there are set-backs in another. In 2013, one of Guzman's closest allies, Rafael Caro-Quintero, was freed from prison where he was known to be running drugs from behind bars with prison body guards surrounding him.

But the capture of Chapo poses more problems than him just continuing business as usual.

A greater risk to the Mexican government and other power brokers will become more apparent if Chapo, playing his cards as master of Mexican politics, starts speaking to authorities about embarrassing events, exposing wide spread corruption that protected his organization both inside and outside of Mexico. More than problems with the Cartel, this could wreak havoc within the political and business classes that desperately need to protect themselves from his testimony.

The Mexican government says with increased security there is no way that Guzman can repeat the 2001 escape that let him roam western Mexico for 13 years as he moved literally hundreds of billions of dollars of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin around the world. Most experts believe Guzman will not be able to operate out in the open as freely as he did before, but he will continue to work covertly to avoid detection with insulated sub-cells loyal to him but not directly controlled by him. 

While other Mexican DTOs may see his capture as a venerable time to try and take over some of Chapo’s territories, the flow of drugs will continue…

Read more about Mexican Drug Cartels in “Varrio Warfare: Violence in the Latino Community”

http://www.amazon.com/Varrio-Warfare-Violence-Latino-Community/dp/147523497X

 

 

 

 

On-Going Race Wars Inside American Prisons: AB & BGF

 

The Aryan Brotherhood

The Aryan Brotherhood (AB) declared war on the Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) after a White convict named Robert Holderman was stabbed and beaten to death by Blacks at San Quentin in 1967. That incident is said to have been a big reason why the AB formed in the first place. In January of 1970, a large fight ensued on a Soledad Prison yard involving Blacks vs. Whites. AB member Billy “Buzzard” Harris was shot in the groin. AB's “Harpo” Harper and “Chuco” Wendekier were also involved in the incident. The Yard Gunner, C/O Opie Miller, shot and killed three Black inmates involved in the skirmish which infuriated the BGF who felt it showed favoritism towards Whites.

While there is no known hard proof they were distinct or very organized pre-AB groups, California Department of Corrections (CDC) staff called them by various names such as the Diamond-Tooth Gang, Bluebirds, NAZIS, and finally the Aryan Brotherhood (AB). They officially started in San Quentin (SQ) in 1967 and, per Minority inmates, were sometimes favored by the Guards. An AB member who was of Irish descent by the name of Jack “Red” Mahoney influenced the AB, also called “The Brand”, to use a "Shamrock" as one of their symbols. According to some prison gang experts, to be a bonafide AB you must have “the Rock”.

Some early AB’s were Eddie Vaughn (A-24437), Wayne “Bulldog” Ladd (A-37452), and William McGirk (A-64144) who had Mob ties. There was “Bucky” Garrett (A-66904), Carl Nooner (A71944), and Mark Duclas (B-33806) who all had ties to Washington State. Other early AB were “Tall Dennis” Murphy (B-47015) and Joe Morse (A-76005). There was Donald Hale (A88892) and Fred Mendrin (B-27246) who killed an NF member for La EME’s Joe Morgan in 1972. There was also Ronnie “Spots” Berg (B-6168), Tommy “Slim” Center (A-90434), Ronnie “Harpo” Harper (B-1716), Robert “Chuco” Wendekier (B-12961), Larry Witzig (B-16969), Mike Carmichael (B-33451), Eddie Burnett (A-77730), and Mervin “Moose” Forbes (B-18667). Paul Allen and George Harp also played major roles early on in the Brotherhood.

The AB is run by a Commission in California and in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) system. In 2012, the CA Commission consisted of John Stanton, Phillip Fortman, and David Chance. Some recent Federal Commission shotcallers were Barry "Red Baron" Mills (B-13776), Tyler "T.D." Bingham (B-17741), and Mike “Big Mac” McEhinney (B-94093). Both Commissions approve prospective members, make decisions on rules, and are responsible for resolving problems between members. The committee is also the authority which issues orders for “hits” or “contracts”  and the AB leadership expects their orders to be carried out.

Barry Mills was well-known to Cons throughout the United States. As a young man he was arrested in the Summer of 1967 at a bus stop in Ventura, California, and held for transfer to Sonoma County which had issued an arrest warrant for Grand Theft Auto. In December of that year, he was denied a request for probation and held at the Sonoma County Jail. On January 29, 1968, Mills and another inmate escaped from the Sonoma County Honor Farm. Mills was arrested a few weeks later in Windsor, CA, and held on an Escape Without Force charge. About a month later, he was sentenced to serve 6 months on the Auto Theft with 1 year and 1 day in state prison for the Escape charge. Mills was then sent to the CA Medical Facility-Reception Center (CMF) in Vacaville for intake. He was finally released in March of 1969 from the California Training Facility (CTF) in Soledad.


Approximately two weeks after the 1970 Soledad Prison incident where three Blacks were killed, Mills and his crime partner William Hackworth were arrested for robbing a Stewarts Point convenience store off Pacific Coastal Highway 1 that netted $775 dollars. Hackworth soon rolled on Mills who was sentenced to do five years in prison. Mills killed a Black inmate, Charles White, at San Quentin in 1970 allegedly because White had disrespected him during his prior prison stint at Soledad. SQ Prison authorities had placed White very near Mill’s cell.

Mills was also credited with the killing of inmate Garland Berry at SQ in 1977, but he was never convicted of it, and released at the end of that year. Mills was sent back to prison, this time to the BOP, for his role in a June 1976 bank robbery that was committed shortly after a release from San Quentin. In June of 1978, Mills was sentenced to serve twenty years for his role in the plotting of a Fresno bank robbery for $21K which took place two years earlier. He quickly decided he better make as big of a name for himself in the BOP as he already had done in CDC.

On May 20, 1979, Mills killed inmate John Marzloff at BOP-Atlanta. The hit was ordered by “Terrible Tommy” Silverstein because Marzloff had “burned” Tommy prior. Marzloff was nearly decapitated in a prison yard restroom by Mills who was backed up by the AB’s Danny Holliday. It is not uncommon for the AB to kill White inmates or even their own who they feel "broke the rules". The AB also committed multiple murders of Blacks, in particular Washington D.C. Blacks (DCB). The Author was interviewed by the Biography Channel for a segment called "The Baron of the Brotherhood" which focused on Mills and many vicious racial crimes that the AB committed.


In March of 2006, AB leaders Mills, TD Bingham, and Tommy Silverstein finally stood trial in a major RICO case. Prosecutors had hoped for the Death Penalty. Instead what they got was another Life Sentence on top of the “all day” time that they were already facing. Former ABs Kevin Roach, Brian Healy, Clifford Smith, Danny Weeks, and Glenn “Speedy” West all agreed to cooperate for the Prosecution testified against the AB. Long former AB shotcaller “Big Al” Benton was also called as a witness. Even though the AB have been hit with multiple RICO’s, they can still be dangerous on the street or in jail. There are many groups calling themselves AB in the U.S. but not all of them get along with each other.

To read more about the History of the AB see: http://www.amazon.com/History-Aryan-Brotherhood-Gabriel-Morales/dp/1491063793

 

The Black Guerrilla Family

 

The Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) was the most political of all CA prison gangs and were the most dangerous towards Police and Corrections Officers in the late 1960s through early 1970s. The BGF’s roots started in the California Department of Corrections (CDC) in 1966 as two groups, the Black Family and Black Vanguard, led by George Lester Jackson and W.L. Nolen. Jackson's group was also known as the Revolutionary Armed Movement (RAM) that aligned with the Black Panther Party, but he was locked up in prison years before the Panthers started. After the death of W.L. Nolen, Jackson merged with James “Bone” Johnson's group called the Black United Movement (BUM) and these groups all formed the early nucleus of BGF.


He became a revolutionary in prison and wrote several books including “Soledad Brother–The Prison Letters of George Jackson” and “Blood in my Eye”. After Jackson’s books came out he had almost celebrity-like status. His visitors would often call him "Comrade George" as Marxist-Leninists often do.


The following is typical of what Jackson preached, “Settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that generations more will die or live poor butchered half-lives if you fail to act. Do what must be done, discover your humanity and your love in revolution. Pass on the torch. Join us, give up your life for the people.”

The BGF first gained the national spotlight as the "Soledad Brothers" on January 14, 1970, when three convicts, including W.L. Nolen, were shot to death by “Guard” O.G. Miller at Soledad Prison. One inmate present, Warren Wells, was known to the Author and worked years later as an Office Trustee at New Folsom-C Yard. The Author also directly dealt with many other active BGF and AB members locked up in prison and jail.


Three days after the incident, Soledad Corrections Officer John Mills was hurled to his death from a tier. The Soledad Brothers, George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clutchette, were inmates accused of being accomplices by murdering C/O Mills in retaliation for the murder of the three black inmates killed earlier by prison staff. Jackson was transferred along with the Soledad Brothers to San Quentin’s-Adjustment Center (AC) in the Summer of ’70.

On August 7, 1970, Jackson’s younger brother Jonathan Jackson burst into the Marin County Courthouse in a bid to free several BGF inmates on trial and took hostages to exchange for his brother George. With court hostages in tow at gun point, Jonathan and the BGF inmates made their way to a  rented yellow Hertz van. They were about to pull out of the parking lot when Marin County Officers and San Quentin guards opened fire. When the shooting stopped, Judge Harold Haley, Jonathan Jackson, inmates Christmas and McClain all lay dead in the van; inmate Ruchell “Cinque” McGee (A-92051) was unconscious and seriously wounded. After Jonathan and his fellow BGF member's failed escape attempt, George Jackson became enraged and sought revenge so he formed the “August 7th Movement”.


George Jackson was killed during a bloody escape attempt from San Quentin’s AC-High Security Unit in August of 1971 while he made a break for the prison gate with inmate Johnny Spain (B-8672) who later went on to became a college professor. Multiple staff and non-BGF inmates were also killed by Jackson and the BGF.  Prior to his death, Jackson became bitter towards the Black Panther Party, in particular Huey Newton, for what he felt was lack of support and direct action. In spite of this friction, the Panthers held security at his funeral and buried him with  honors as being a "Field Marshall" for them.


In California, the BGF are still a major security concern for authorities. They still commemorate the Jackson Brothers and the deaths of BGF like Jeff "Katari" Gaulden during "Black August Remembrance" (BAR). A major BGF symbol is a Black Dragon which symbolizes George Jackson surrounding a prison tower. Sometimes there is a Prison Guard being crushed in the dragon's claws.
 

The BGF are currently the #1 Security Threat Group within the Maryland Prison System (MDOC). Like California BGF, they started off-shoot groups to take the pressure off of them, but still attempt to control all Black inmates. State officials say the Black Guerilla Family, entrenched in Maryland prisons, is highly organized, deeply involved in the drug trade, witness intimidation, and is growing stronger on the streets of Baltimore. The Bloods and United Blood Nation are also strong in Maryland. MDOC prisons consider the BGF an organized crime family as they are involved in just about everything within prisons charging others for a percentage of their illegal profits.

 

To read more about the History of the BGF see: http://www.amazon.com/The-History-Black-Guerrilla-Family/dp/1491213981

 

 

 

 

The History of the Mexican Mafia vs. Nuestra Familia; A Shoe War & 45 Years of Senseless Violence & Hate

It seems hard to believe that the theft of a pair of shoes could literally lead to the loss of hundreds of lives and tens of thousands more lives being wasted while locked up, but it is true. In 1968, there were a series of violent incidents that took place at San Quentin Prison, which ignited a brewing distrust and hate of Mexican Mafia (EME) members mainly from Southern California. The rivals were Nuestra Familia (Mexicana) affiliated inmates from Northern California, with some supporters and leadership from the southern portion of the state, who rebelled against La EME.

 

Many gang members that presently claim SUR13/Sureño or Norte14/Norteño have little idea why they hate each other. The feud is kind of like the Hatfields and McCoys who fought for so long that they forgot the original reason why they started fighting in the first place. Like those American folklore families who battled years ago over relatively trivial matters until both sides were almost decimated, Hispanic street gang members today will attack and dehumanize the other side so they won't feel guilty when killing or maiming people who they have much in common with. It is much like a sad self-hating, self-genocide, tearing communities and families apart. Miserable in their own conditions, they lash out at those nearest to them instead of analyzing what they are doing to themselves or improving their plight and seeking a better future for their children. Somehow, the justification for their actions comes from a twisted thinking that by harming their own "Raza" they will come out as ultimate victors in a senseless war. But, in realty, it is a lose-lose game of tit for tat.

 

To understand how gangsters could ever come to such a state of mind, blog readers may want to check out two separate books just released by Gang Prevention Services; "The History of the Mexican Mafia"; and "The History of Nuestra Familia" now available on-line at the following links:

 

https://www.createspace.com/4440782

https://www.createspace.com/4440867

These books not only tell the story of how each group evolved, but also provide some solutions on how we might stop the violence and prevent future generations from falling to the same fate.

Are Prison Gangs Behind the California Hunger Strike?

 

In early July, 2013, thousands of California system prisoners, including most of those in lock-down Security Housing Units (SHU), went on a “Hunger Strike” after they deemed that their earlier “5 Core Demands” were not met:

1. Eliminate group punishments. Instead, practice individual accountability. When an individual prisoner breaks a rule, the prison often punishes a whole group of prisoners of the same race. This policy has been applied to keep prisoners in the SHU indefinitely and to make conditions increasingly harsh.

2. Abolish the debriefing policy and modify active/inactive gang status criteria. Prisoners are accused of being active participants of prison gangs using false or highly dubious evidence, and are then sent to long-term isolation (SHU). They can escape these torturous conditions only if they "debrief," that is, become informants on other prisoners. Debriefing produces false information (wrongly landing other prisoners in SHU, in an endless cycle) and can endanger the lives of debriefing prisoners and their families.

3. Comply with the recommendations of the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in Prisons (2006) regarding an end to longterm solitary confinement. This bipartisan commission specifically recommended to "make segregation a last resort" and "end conditions of isolation." Yet California keeps thousands of prisoners in isolation units. Some prisoners have been kept in isolation for more than thirty years.

4. Provide adequate and nutritious food. Prisoners receive tiny quantities of spoiled or undercooked food on dirty trays. There is no accountability or independent quality control of meals.

5. Expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for indefinite SHU inmates. The hunger strikers are pressing for opportunities “to engage in self-help treatment, education, religious and other productive activities..." The prisoners also listed other specific needs. Since the 2011 hunger strike, they have won some of these, including: correspondence courses, if they pay for them themselves; wool caps; the right to buy sweatsuits (the cells and exercise cage can be bitterly cold); the right to buy some art supplies. They still do not have the right to worship together, talk to each other, receive vocational training or education from the prison, or hug or talk on the phone with their families.

Local TV, Radio, and Printed Media soon stated, “We’re learning more about the large hunger strike going on behind bars of several California prisons. State prison officials say the whole thing was orchestrated by prison gangs in order to sell drugs and make money.” The Los Angeles Times reported per CDCR Officials that, “top tier members of the Black Guerilla Family, Nuestra Familia, (EME), and the Aryan Brotherhood started the strike which encompassed dozens of lockups across the state.”

Is this true?

To understand the two opposing views, blog readers should first see:

http://gangsters-cops-politicians.blogspot.com/2012/12/part-1-prison-gang-violence-in-america.html

http://gangsters-cops-politicians.blogspot.com/2012/12/part-2-prison-gang-violence-possible.html

According to supporters of the Hunger Strike, CDCR has demonized them, but in reality their past criminal record and behavior while incarcerated attributed to the bed that they now lay in.

Supporters say CDCR reports do not reflect any truth of what is actually motivating prisoners to go on hunger strike and has consistently motivated prisoners to go on hunger strike: the conditions of solitary confinement which so many are made to suffer. They say they just want to, “call attention to a number of conditions they say are inhumane. The prisoners are demanding changes to policies that allow the jails to hold inmates in solitary confinement indefinitely.”

The Prison Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition (PHSSC), committed to amplifying the voices of prisoners on strike at Pelican Bay prison and other facilities in California, reported on July 22:

As the California prison hunger strike enters its 3rd week, reports of retaliation against strikers have increased.  Last week it was reported that prison officials had moved at least 14 strikers from the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay to Administrative Segregation (Ad-Seg), confiscated confidential legal documents, and forced cold air into their cells.  Later in the week, legal advocate Marilyn McMahon and one of her paralegals were summarily banned from visiting any California prison.  Reports that strikers have been moved to Ad-Seg or to entirely different facilities have also been coming from Corcoran State Prison.  The denial of medical care to strikers, especially those with preexisting health conditions, remains a widespread concern for families and advocates.”

Anne Weills, a civil rights attorney who this week visited Pelican Bay state prison, which is at the heart of the protest, said the temperature at the prison had been deliberately lowered, “They are the upping the ante in terms of cold. It’s clearly a tactic to make everything uncomfortable and in essence retaliate for the hunger strike,” she said. “They are freezing, these men. I could see them shivering in front of me. I had two sweaters on and I was freezing.” The cold was badly affecting smaller, thinner prisoners with little body fat, especially those weakened by their fast, she said. “They are suffering. This puts them at risk of hypothermia.”

Spokesperson for CDCR, Terry Thornton, completely denied allegations by prisoners that the cold air was being turned up to freeze them. Thornton told ABC News/Univision, “The cells in the security housing units and the administrative segregation unit at Pelican Bay State prison are 72 to 73 degrees,” Thornton told ABC News/Univision. And, “cell-unit temperatures are not something guards or correctional peace officers control.”

According to Amnesty International, prisoners at Pelican Bay are “allowed to exercise for an hour and a half a day, alone, in a bare, concrete yard.” California is “one of more than 40 US states to house prisoners in high security isolation facilities, often termed ‘super-maximum security’ prisons. “No other US state is believed to have held so many prisoners for such long periods in indefinite isolation.” And, “Some prisoners have spent more than a decade without visits from their family. They may correspond with their attorneys, families, friends and outside organizations, subject to certain restrictions. All visits are non-contact, taking place behind a glass screen.”

Inmates state that the situation in the SHUs and San Quentin-Adjustment Center/Death Row has only become worse, “With regards to the revisions that were done to SHU management gang policies, well, that is exactly what has taken place—revisions (e.g. ‘reform’). Hence, more of the same in that, the revisions have only strengthened CDCR officials power and ability to label and validate every prisoner in CDCR as belonging to a Security Threat Group–e.g. ’prison gang.’ At the crux of the revisions is a lack of a definitive and ‘behavioral-based’ criteria, as to what actually constitute as being gang activity. Meaning, any and everything can and will still be considered as gang activity, in spite of how innocuous the activity may be. In addition to this, we still have untrained and unqualified CDCR officers/officials determining and assessing what is ‘gang activity.’ And this point is critical for two very important reasons:

1) There are no qualitative oversight mechanisms in place, meaning there is absolutely nothing to prevent CDCR’s prison guards, gang unit, etc., from being vindictive, retaliatory, punitive, etc., via the application of these ‘revised’ gang management policies;

and

2) it has been proven that CDCR’s prison guards and their IGI gang unit staff do not properly investigate the evidence used in each prisoners gang validation–see Lira v. Cate. In conclusion, not being able to get out of solitary confinement is truly what is motivating this protest and not a desire by gangs to take over the prison and have their way with authorities. It is about being humanely treated while they serve time for committing whatever crime they are in jail for committing.”

Historically, Corrections isn't very good at "Transitioning to Community". Most will release one day!

Inmates should be able to send pictures to their loved ones if no gang signs are found in them. Family and potential re-unification is crucial for successful re-integration. As most inmates will be released someday, they are being set up to fail if certain things do not occur prior to release. Also, Religious Services has saved many older cons, but it must be monitored well to ensure gangs don’t take over. A process should also be set up for all inmates that are scheduled to be released to be placed in a reintegration process to assist with re-entry at a 1 year minimum whether or not they are housed in General Population or a SHU.

Many experts believe AB109 seems to be dumping people onto the streets without resources or tools to succeed. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to fix overcrowding problems, citing constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. The court rejected California’s bid for more time and upheld a two-year deadline to drastically cut inmate population in its 33 prisons to 137.5% of capacity by May 2013. AB 109 shifted a lot of responsibility for incarcerating many low-risk inmates from the state to counties. This shift from state to counties was called “prison realignment.” But, the counties were not prepared for such an influx and programs in jails are generally found less stable than in prison and jail facility designs seldom have room for such programs. A paradigm shift has to take place inside and outside. There can always be system improvements without jeopardizing security.

So perhaps, there are some inmates who have remained disciplinary free for many years that are ready for release from the SHU? They should be able to participate in any programs that might help them readjust to General Population, and even more important, anybody that needs transition for eventual freedom to society that currently has a release date. Many people, including many authorities were surprised (and worried) that all four of the major prison gangs did not “fight on sight”, as they usually did for the past 45 years, after they signed an “Agreement to End Hostilities”, dated August 12, 2012. Prison authorities are monitoring the "hunger strike" situation closely. Many outside organizers said any agreement would not hold without some of the top shotcallers/PBSP-SHU Short Corridor Hunger Strike Representatives signing off on it as they did:

Presented by the PBSP-SHU Short Corridor Collective:

•Todd Ashker, C-58191, D1-119 (AB)

•Arturo Castellanos, C-17275, D1-121 (EME)

•Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa (Dewberry), C-35671, D1-117 (BGF)

•Antonio Guillen, P-81948, D2-106 (NF)

And the Representatives Body:

•Danny Troxell, B-76578, D1-120 (AB)

•George Franco, D-46556, D4-217 (NF)

•Ronnie Yandell, V-27927, D4-215 (AB)

•Paul Redd, B-72683, D2-117 (BGF)

•James Baridi Williamson, D-34288. D4-107 (BGF)

•Alfred Sandoval, D-61000, D4-214 (EME)

•Louis Powell, B-59864, D1-104 (BGF)

•Alex Yrigollen, H-32421, D2-204 (NF)

•Gabriel Huerta, C-80766, D3-222 (EME)

•Frank Clement, D-07919, D3-116 (AB)

•Raymond Chavo Perez, K-12922, D1-219 (EME)

•James Mario Perez, B-48186, D3-124 (NF)

 

To learn more about the growth and present status of the Big 4 Prison Gangs: Aryan Brotherhood (AB), Black Guerrilla Family (BGF), Nuestra Familia (NF), and Mexican Mafia (EME), search Amazon.com for books by author and former Folsom Prison Officer Gabriel C. Morales or see: www.gangpreventionservices.org

Case Study: Good Cop, Rogue Cop?

Rogue Cop is a 1954 film noir based on a novel by William McGivern that co-starred Janet Leigh and George Raft. The film shows crooked veteran Police Detective Christopher Kelvaney (portrayed by actor Robert Taylor) who has no qualms about taking bribes and payoffs from criminals and his brother Eddie (played by Steve Forrest) as a younger member on force who is honest and uncorrupted. Another fictional Hollywood portrayal of a corrupt cop was Denzel Washington in Training Day. Some people have compared that role to that of discredited former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer Rafael Perez who was part of the CRASH Unit (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums). Perez was also a major figure in LAPD's Rampart Scandal.

Cops don't usually turn rogue overnight. On most occasions there have been a series of events that made them angry at the force, at the general public, or at both. Usually these types of officers have a high number of excessive force or fellow staff complaints. They may also feel that there was excessive discipline made by their departments or adverse action taken after grievances were filed. They often have a history of tampering with evidence. These officers may misuse agency vehicles, break the speed limit when there are no hot calls, just because “they can”. They may have a history of sick leave abuse or may work a lot of overtime which can lead to burnout and short tempers. They may use steroids to get a “street edge” or other illegal substances. This type of officer often drinks heavily after work, and sometimes even while on the job. They may have domestic violence issues or other flare-ups of anger while off duty.

There have been good cops and bad cops ever since there were cops. A lot of officers isolate themselves because they feel outsiders don’t understand their lot, but I think a large amount of the general public trusts that most law enforcement do their jobs to the best of their abilities. They understand that cops do a job most people wouldn’t or couldn’t do. There is no question that there are times when all cops have done some wrong, most of the time it is not intentional, but mistakes made on false assumptions or just human error. There are other times; however, when some cops go rogue and feel they are “above the law”.

Even though he was not a cop for very long, the February, 2013, case of former LAPD Of­ficer Chris­toph­er Dorner shows the kind of damage that a criminal with a badge can do. Dorner was also a former Naval Reserve Officer highly skilled in the use of firearms and claimed he was just out to “clear his good name” after he was unfairly dismissed in 2009 when a LAPD disciplinary panel determined he lied. He accused his field training officer of kicking a mentally ill man during an arrest. His department found the complaint to be unfounded but there have been many documented cases of retaliation of employees in all fields of work after they filed complaints and grievances, so anything is possible. Much of the general public, and a lot of staff, view Internal Affairs investigations as self-serving and mostly designed to protect the interests of the administration. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck promised to review the case again to determine if Dorner was in fact treated unfairly.

There have been historical cases of officers that have been run out or pushed off agencies for a lot less. But any sympathy from some people, who've faced similar circumstances, was lost when Dorner decided to exact vengeance on people who had little or nothing to do with his case. He obviously externalized all of the blame over his dismissal when his manifesto threatened “un­con­ven­tion­al and asym­met­ric­al war­fare” against all po­lice. He went on a murderous rampage and, in cold blood, ambushed over a half dozen people killing four of them all of which had law enforcement ties. Dorner finally killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head in a cabin located in the vicinity of Big Bear, CA.

Cops from all over the country condemned Dorner, as they should, for killing innocent victims. But, the general public also saw on Facebook and other media posts that while cops were extremely outraged over Dorner’s murder of fellow law enforcement, far less cops expressed outrage about police firing on innocent civilians who were in the wrong type of vehicle. Some even spoke about it as being "collateral damage". The individuals fired upon did not appear to present an immediate threat, two of them were female, they were of a different race, and did not even remotely resemble the suspect. This type of reaction fuels the belief in many minority communities that all cops are “trigger happy”. A White man named David Perdue also claims that his vehicle was slammed and that he was fired at without just cause. Perdue also looks nothing like Dorner.

Undoubtedly those two Asian ladies, a mother-daughter team who were out delivering newspapers, and Perdue have lawyers lining up to take their case to sue and they will get paid well. But again, many Americans have publically and privately stated that they feel there is a double standard when it comes to police and the public. Many of them also feel cops always protect their own even if they have to lie about it. This may lead some people to mistakenly think that Dorner did what he had to do in order to bring light to injustices on the force. Some pro-Dorner people also blasted the "inhuman decision to burn him out” by use of force when police firing tear gas into the cabin. All tear gas canisters are flammable so it wasn't a decision to burn the cabin, just a decision to deploy tear gas to make him exit for officer safety purposes. Instead he decided to take his own life. Some even called Dorner a hero. This is a gross mischaracterization.

America has an ugly racist history and many injustices have happened to many people. Racism and injustice still exists today, but few would argue that there have been great strides in both areas over the last few decades. Chief Beck says he is reopening the Dorner case to assure the public, and especially the African-American community, that his department has left its racist past behind. All of the facts in this case will likely be reviewed as they should be for training and future improvements on police matters. The criminal justice system should always seek improvement to better assure the public that justice is impartial. But let there be no doubt, bad cops and rogue cops give the vast majority of good cops who proudly serve our communities while upholding the law and keeping us all safe, a bad name. The dead cops, and cops like them who converged on Dorner, are the real heroes and continue to be so every day.