When boss Vito Genovese was imprisoned in the late 1950s, various influential members began running the crime family through a ruling panel/committee . Another trial focused on the parties who were responsible for the murder of Arredondo was underway. He could not return to employment at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Many prison gang members were sentenced to prison on non-homicide charges and were incarcerated for charges such as burglary. But they won't go near the Albanian mob. Blood Out, Texas Prison Gangs. Accessed December 1, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2SjyCPZ-NU Travis McDonald, the primary prosecutor for the states recently developed prosecution unit headed this charge against crime inside of prisons. Bloody Sunday 2002 R 1 h 51 m IMDb RATING 7.6 /10 25K YOUR RATING Rate Drama History War A dramatization of the Irish civil rights protest march and subsequent massacre by British troops on January 30, 1972. This topic also continues to lack historical focus within mass incarceration and prison studies. Albanian gangsters were also involved in the largest cash robbery in British crime history, the 53 million (about US$92.5 million at the time of the robbery) Securitas heist in 2006. The prosecution of Sandoval occurred through a new development in the Texas prison system. "On the 27th of July 1999 police in Durres (Albania), with Italian assistance arrested one of the godfathers of the "Sacra Corona Unita", Puglias Italian Mafia. How long must we sing this song? Kapllan Murat : Belgium's most notorious mobster. Sandoval was charged with criminal homicide under state law that provides penalties for persons who aid in a killing but do not actually participate in the act (Buentello, 1987). (Ortiz v. State, 93 S.W.3d 79 (Tex. He became the first guard to be charged with homicide. These acts also garner the most attention as violence is habitually presented by the media, and more commonly consumed by the public. Along with this, something else was happening. H. Christoph/ullstein bild/Getty Images Young man shot by the British military on Bloody Sunday. Today, November 21, 2020, is 100 years since the events known as ' Bloody Sunday' in Dublin in 1920. He was stabbed approximately twenty times in the B-Wing of the Ellis I Unit in Huntsville. The Texas Syndicate's activities include drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, protection, gambling, and contract murder. The Texas Syndicate or Syndicato Tejano was the first prison gang to heavily impact the prison system in Texas. 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. Charles Brown, a TDCJ spokesman said, an 8-inch long flat piece of metal and a boning knife were recovered at the scene, likely the murder weapons (Graczyk, 1985). Authorities said Sandoval unlocked a door to a hallway between a chapel and recreation yard at the Ellis I Unit and then left his post so gang members could attack Arredondo (Fair, 1991). The commonly known and widespread narrative goes as follows: At dawn on 9 January, a crowd of workers that were . Sandoval experienced the escalated violence in the summer of 1985 first hand as he initiated his career as a correctional officer. Rudaj Organization The most famous Albanian criminal organization was the Rudaj Organization . People here dont want to believe a guard would do something like that (McKay, 1991). If an officer fails to cooperate, a gang has non-violent ways of retaliating []. Daut Kadriovski : The reputed boss of one of the 15 Families, embodies the tenacity of the top Albanian drug traffickers. March 7, 1965, would become known as "Bloody Sunday," a day when more than 600 people marching for civil rights were attacked by state troopers. If the guard or staff member refused or rejected the task, the inmate(s) then informed them that they would notify prison administrators of previous favors (Bedard, 2013). Border Brothers, Tri City Bombers, Texas Mafia, Dirty White Boys, Mexikanemi, Mexican Mafia, Nuestra Familia, Aryan Brotherhood, Mandingo Warriors, Black Guerrilla Family, REGISTER NOW TO BEGIN TRAINING FOR YOUR GANG SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION. Ismail Lika : Ismail Lika was an Albanian mobster active in New York City in the 1980s. The Aztecas murder their TS victim by slamming his head through jail bars. United Kingdom Albanian mafia gangs are believed to be largely behind sex trafficking, immigrants smuggling, as well as working with Turkish gangs in Southend-On-Sea, who control the heroin trade in the United Kingdom . Sandoval was charged with the murder of Joe Arredondo through the special prison prosecution unit which was founded in 1984 to directly combat the escalation of prison gangs activity. They are led to believe they must join a prison gang for protection and in the process of believing this, they eventually secure longer terms of incarceration. Arredondo had been ineffective for the prison gang, and failed them on several occasions. When prison gang violence arose, the state was quick to blame the reforms as the cause of the violence. This marriage took place only after Sandoval was able to attain job security with the Texas Department of Corrections as a correctional officer in Huntsville. Later, they would become affiliated with Cosa Nostra crime families before eventually growing strong enough to operate their own organizations under the Iliazi family name. Director Paul Greengrass Writer Paul Greengrass Stars James Nesbitt Tim Pigott-Smith Nicholas Farrell The downfall of the building tenders was brought on by the success of the legal court case Ruiz v. Estelle. Additionally, many prison units were being constructed as the state and the rest of the country saw a rise in inmate populations. On September 7, 1916 Nicholas Terranova was murdered, giving the Camorra gangs the advantage. Three days later, the criminals published a note in the leading Brussels newspaper Le Soir , demanding 30 million Belgian francs in ransom. Some 3,700 people died over the course of the four-decade conflict. Members of other ethnic groups can be accepted only to execute certain one time or secondary jobs. Saviano notes that the Camorra from Naples can't understand the Russian clans , which aren't based on family ties, and feels greater affinity with the Albanian crime families. They continued the war and within month's police began arresting top members of the Camorra gangs. (Gang Intelligence 101), In 1995, the Texas Syndicate declares war on a Mexican gang known as Mexicles. The Texas Syndicate's activities include drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, protection, gambling, and contract murder. A Guard in Gangland. Texas Monthly Press, August 1991. The number racket controlled bookmaking and illegal gambling throughout Harlem and South Bronx making thousands of dollars a year. DANE SCHILLER , HOUSTON CHRONICLE. The Boston College Irish Studies program will mark the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday"a tragic milestone in the decades-long Northern Irish conflict, "The Troubles"with a symposium on February 18 and 19 that will examine the events of the fatal day and its legacy. - Were still trying to learn about their culture and figure out what makes them tick, James Farley, FBI supervisory special agent, and expert on organized crime, says of the Albanians. The earlier allegations explored in the section on the downing the duck process was brought up by the prosecution. Albanian mafia The Albanian Mafia or Albanian Organized Crime are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians . By 1997 the immigration had come under the control of Albanian and Italian criminal groups, tightening relationships between them The Albanians are targeting affluent central and northern areas like Lombardy , Piedmont , and Tuscany . This is a listing of enterprises, gangs, mafias, and syndicates that are involved in organized crime. [ March 4, 2023 ] Mayor Sylvester Turner expects the state will soon take over Houston ISD Current News [ March 4, 2023 ] Texas school districts face millions in extra costs as state program backing bond debt hits its limit Education [ March 4, 2023 ] As Bloody Sunday grows in significance across the world, organizers want to preserve the integrity of the event Uncategorized Bloody Sunday, 21 st November 1920 In 1920 the War of Independence was ongoing in Ireland. They had entered in the territory of Lucchese crime family in Astoria, Queens , New York, and are said to have even beaten up two made men in the Lucchese family. The Texas Syndicate's golden rule is as simple as it is merciless: Betray us and you're dead.. The Sandoval and Arredondo incident illustrated the complexity that went into relations between Mexican American guards and inmates. Correspondingly, Vasquez, Garcia, and Carrillo who were the earlier victims were all incarcerated for robbery or burglary convictions. 3. Jose Lopez, founding member of the Texas Mexican Mafia stated, once you know you get out well youre marked by the gang for extermination (Riggs, 2011). A former Texas Mexican Mafia member, Joe Morales, explained this process of escalation. This story illustrates the harsh reality of prison gang violence, but also the non-violent ways prison gangs influenced guards. In October 2004, the FBI arrested 22 men who worked for it. Sunday Bloody Sunday Lyrics [Intro] Yeah, mm-hm [Verse 1] I can't believe the news today Oh, I can't close my eyes and make it go away [Refrain] How long? The Morello-Terranova brothers soon started taking over the growing Little Italy in East Harlem, by using the Black Hand technique of extorting small business and running illegal gambling operations. Derry, Northern Ireland, on Jan. 30, 1972. Bloody Sunday proved to be a turning point in the civil rights movement that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. March 1965 Bloody Sunday . Palma Boys crew. In the United States, Albanian gangs started to be active in the mid-80s, mostly participating in low-level crimes such as burglaries and robberies. Other factors that were possible motivators were being part of an economically disadvantaged social group, the reality of low wage work as a prison guard, or merely feeling trapped because of the fear of reprisal by prison gang members. This occurred amidst the war between the two prominent Mexican American prison gangs that forced the state to act. (Gang Intelligence 101), In April 2002, members of the Texas Syndicate murder a Tango Blast member at the J.B. Connally state prison. Asian street gangs. Like Sandoval, many inmates were both Mexican Americans and Texas residents, thus a sense of comfortability existed between inmate and guard. Albanian organized crime is active in Albania , the United States , and the European Union (EU) countries, participating in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including drug and arms trafficking . All Rights Reserved. Unbeknownst to Sandoval, he was entering as a prison guard during a transitional period from 1979-1986 for the TDC dubbed a Broken System, as many court cases had upended the autonomous power of the prison administration during this period. These prison gang related homicides from the war between the Texas Syndicate and the Texas Mexican Mafia were not only happening in the Ellis I unit, it stretched beyond and consumed the entirety of Texas prison units. Ironically, this historical and troubling development came on the heels of the significant victories of prison reform cases which were meant to curtail the conditions of prisons, yet set the stage for prison gangs and gang violence to foment. The rising racial tensions finally bubbled over into bloodshed in the nearby town of Marion on February 18, 1965, when state troopers clubbed protestors and fatally shot 26-year-old Jimmie Lee. On the other side of the argument, prosecutors contend that Sandoval left open a hallway and allowed the Texas Syndicate to carry out the planned murder of Joe Arredondo (McKay, 1991). He married Veronica on Saturday June 22, 1985. Sandoval contends that the door was kept unlocked and that he was framed because officials at the prison feared they would be held liable in Arredondos death (News Briefs, 1991). He wanted the removal of any evidence of extraneous acts or offenses that are not directly related to the current charge, unless the defendant Sandoval has been duly convicted of such offense (The State of Texas vs Luis H. Sandoval, 1991). There are a lot of ways they can get you in trouble (McKay, 1991). On a cold Sunday, the 22 nd of January, 1905, tens of thousands of workers in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, marched to the Tsar's splendorous Winter Palace to deliver a petition. (El Paso Times), On August 17, 1997, Texas Syndicate members murder Gerardo Garcia in the El Paso County Jail. They have been reported in the Federal Correctional Institute at Oakdale, Louisiana, and in San Quentin, California, with frequency. (Associated Press), In 1994, the Texas Syndicate and the Raza Unida agree that the gangs would share the drug trade in Brownsville by dividing gang territory in the border town in sections. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, time stopped and blood spilled as brave and righteous Americans sought to cross a bridge named after a Klansman in Selma . Lulzim Krasniqi :(1863-2006) Former leader of the Albania Mafia based in Zagreb, Croatia. Drug Trafficking, Murder, Robbery, Allies: Border Brothers, Tri City Bombers, Texas Mafia, Dirty White Boys, Rivals: Mexikanemi, Mexican Mafia, Nuestra Familia, Aryan Brotherhood, Mandingo Warriors, Black Guerrilla Family, In 1970, The Texas Syndicate is founded by Juan Pajaro Solis-Vela and Francisco Panchito Gonzales in Californias Folsom prison. Enver Sekiraqa : Leading person of organized crime in Kosovo, aka the boss of the bosses, who is on the Interpols wanted list for several crimes. He ultimately lost his job, his wife divorced him, he was in a car crash during this period that left him in debt and suffering from the injuries. Danielle S. Willkens "Once we identify a name and the story behind them, we can track. They developed, rose, and gained their power through the demise of the building tender system. The Texas Mexican Mafia was initially formed in 1984 as a response to the predatory nature of the Texas Syndicate against non-member inmates. PHOTO: Crowd of petitioners, led by Father Gapon, near Narva Gate, St. Petersburg. "What we have here might be considered a sixth crime family," after the five Mafia organizations Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese said Fred Snelling, head of the FBI's criminal division in New York. First prison gang remains a force to fearThousands of Texas Syndicate members behind bars, but murder, mayhem continue. Formed in the California prison system in the 1970s by incarcerated Tejanos, the Texas Syndicate sought protection against Californios. [1] Blacks had a virtual non-existent population in Alice, and the greater South Texas region for that matter. Photographer Helped Expose Brutality Of Selma's 'Bloody Sunday' : Code Switch Some of the most iconic images of marchers being attacked by Alabama state troopers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in . (Draper, 1991) Both the Texas Syndicate and Mexikanemi team up against the Barrio Azteca. Plaurent "Lenti" Dervisha : On the Interpol's and FBI's most wanted list as being the leading member of a criminal organization based out of Durrs , Albania , who Albanian authorities say is the brother-in-law of Lul Berisha ;a reputed leader of one of the 15 mafia families. The murder took place in a corridor of the prison unit that was hidden from the view of prison guards. It simultaneously illustrated that race was crucial to membership, belonging, and trust, but it was also used as a predatory and manipulative tool to further advance their objectives of revenue creation. Speaking anonymously for Philadelphia's City Paper a member of the " Kielbasa Posse ", an ethnic Polish mob group, declared in 2002 that Poles are willing to do business with "just about anybody. Released or parole members who generate money for the Texas Syndicate must surrender a 10% tax ("the dime") of all proceeds toward the gang in prison. (El Paso Times) The guard or staff member is now confronted with facing possible repercussions from prison administrators. Both were also newly employed prison guards, a continuation of the 1980s-increased-hiring-wave. In fact, one juror phoned Sandovals brother that afternoon and told him that in her view the case against Sandoval was racially motivated. There were approximately sixty prison gang related homicides between 1984-1985. The Special Prison Prosecution Unit The assailant was nowhere in sight (Draper, 1991). Sandoval also highlighted the racial issues that Mexican American prison staff faced. The group planned to march to the state capitol in Montgomery, 54 miles away, to protest of the February 26 murder of Jimmy Lee . The Mexican Mafia for example, was formed in 1957 in the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, California and is one of the earliest formed prison gangs to still exist, and continues to exhibit power inside and outside prisons. This study is also meant to highlight not only Mexican American prison gangs but the overall Mexican American experience for inmates and guards within the confines of the world of prisons. On February 2007, high ranking Texas Syndicate member Ernesto Medrano is sentenced to life in prison for using U.S. military flights to transport hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Columbia to Fort, Bliss Texas. Albanian Mafia families or clans are usually made up of groups of fewer than 100 members, constituting an extended family residing all along the Balkan route from Eastern Turkey, to Western Europe, and North America. Both the Texas Syndicate and Mexikanemi team up against the Barrio Azteca. This was especially insightful because it was written with the viewpoint of a prison guard. The Gonzales homicide was merely one representative example of the larger problem of violence stemming from the war between the Texas Syndicate and the Texas Mexican Mafia that raged inside the walls of the prison units. Contemporarily, its population numbers have been consistent and Alice has historically also largely been populated primarily by people of Mexican descent. Familiarity was both good and bad. Sandovals lawyer Steve Fischer argued for their removal from the murder trial. This study provides exploration of the varying Mexican American experiences within prisons as victimized inmates, as stifled prison guards, and also as prison gangs or security threat groups who employed efforts to demonstrate their own autonomy, regardless of the problematic legal and ethical quandaries through prison gangs. Similarly, Biden is hoping the Jan. 6 sacking of the U.S. Capitol . In 1993, the Barrio Azteca brutally beat and murder a Texas Syndicate member in the El Paso county jail causing the Texas Syndicate to alliance it's self with the Mexikanemi. [2] The Syndicate is the oldest Texan prison gang. His crew, with his vast illegal interests went to Anthony Salerno. Sandoval may have seen these interactions as encouraging, but inmates instead saw vulnerabilities and took advantage. Historians have lagged behind attempts to historicize prison gangs into the larger historical context. He claimed the states justification in charging him was based on the fear of a lawsuit. In On Bloody Sunday, a new collage of eye-witness accounts, Julieann Campbell, a niece of one of the victims, does a remarkable job of taking the reader vividly back to a past that still haunts. It was claimed that Sandoval felt more at home with fellow Hispanics than with the Black inmates, who terrified him (Statistical Atlas, 1991). (Associated Press), On FEBRUARY 12, 2007 17 Houston area Texas Syndicate members are charged for several area murders, racketeering, armed robberies and drug trafficking. Testifying for murder defendant and former Ellis I guard Luis Sandoval, a string of prison employees said the doors were left open despite a policy requiring that they be locked at all times (McKay, 1991). (El Paso Times), In 2007, 23 Texas Syndicate members are arrested in cities all over the state of Texas on drug trafficking charges. His experiences, however, exposed other problems for Mexican Americans. Many of these Mexican American inmates who became prison gang members had to submit to a serious requirement for membership and could only leave the gang through their death. He largely failed in attempts to procure streams of revenue, namely from drug trafficking for the Texas Syndicate. New employment opportunities were too good to pass up for Sandoval and broadly speaking, for Mexican Americans. At this point Sandoval, along with other guards, or staff members became the duck and were now leveraged against by the inmates as the victims or co-conspirators dug themselves deeper into the clutches of the inmates bidding as a representative of a prison gang. The panel consisted of acting/front boss Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, underboss Gerardo "Gerry" Catena and consigliere Michele "Big Mike" Miranda while others served in the advisory capacity, Mike Coppola was considered an influential capo and was used to help the panel. Sandoval was eventually found not guilty on May 29, 1991 after jurors deliberated for only approximately half an hour. These positions were, however, opening in Texas due to the loss of the veteran prison guards. (Gang Intelligence 101), In 1986, Texas Syndicate member Rogelio Hernandez murders Officer Jose Herrera during an attempted escape from the Webb County Jail. (El Paso Times) The first time, on January 30th, 1972, it was a real event: a massacre in Derry of 13 unarmed civilians by the first . Scholars have employed the phrase mass incarceration to explain and define this increased surge of incarceration in the U.S. that affected people of color, in particular African Americans. Texas Syndicate, a criminal organization whose members and associates engage in acts of violence, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion and narcotics distribution.. One of these banks was discovered by accident by the Dsseldorf police when they were checking a travel agency "Eulinda" owned by the Albanians. He was digging himself deeper into their clutches and soon found himself processing a money order of two hundred and fifty dollars and was paid a percentage of that. So, in a single one-way trip, they can carry up to six million D-marks. The unconstitutional findings exposed by the court ruling uncovered issues within the Texas prison system such as overcrowding, inadequate security (collapsed the building tenders), inadequate healthcare, unsafe working conditions, and severe punishment policies. 8,126 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. Copyright 2011, National Center for Gang Training, USA. Fields such as criminal justice, sociology, and criminology have provided vast research into prison gangs, and more specifically Mexican American prison gangs. Employment opportunities were not plentiful in South Texas, and so the next day, a Sunday [June 23], the newlyweds threw their possessions into a suitcase and a grocery bag, and drove Sandovals Datsun to Conroe (Draper, 1991). 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. It was also the most violent period for Texas prisons, which proved to be a difficult adjustment not just for the state but for Sandoval as well. He also placed phone calls for them to the outside world and relayed harmless, though highly likely coded, messages for their illicit activity. Moreover, the Albanian mafia families are organized in 3-4 or more levels, which enable them to preserve the organizational action capability even in case some of its members or groups are captured. On September 2, 1985 Raymond Delgado, a Texas Mexican Mafia member was murdered in the Ramsey II Unit, by the Texas Syndicate. The expiration of membership or getting out only occurred upon the members death. Away from his home and in a foreign environment, it was easy for him to fall in and develop relations with them. The wardens, staff, guards, and building tenders were predominately White. Steve Fischer [Sandovals attorney], however, contends that Sandoval had not unlocked the door and that officials there knew that guards frequently left the door unlocked (Fair, 1991). Luis Sandovals interactions and troubled story highlight the importance of race within the Texas prison system between Mexican American inmates and Mexican American guards, but also largely under a white prison administration. On Wednesday, May 29, the jurors milled around outside the courtroom and vented their disgust with the states case to the media (Draper, 1991).