Mexican Mafia
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 Organization's name tattooed on member's abdomen. |
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| Founded | 1957[1][2][3][4] |
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| In | Deuel Vocational Institution, California, United States[1][4] |
| Founded by | Luis "Huero Buff" Flores[1] |
| Years active | 1957 – Present[1][2][3] |
| Territory | US federal prison systems in, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico. |
| Ethnicity | Predominately Hispanic with mostly Mexicans and some other ethnic groups |
| Criminal activities | Murder, money laundering, arms trafficking, drug trafficking, Kidnapping, pandering, racketeering, extortion, human trafficking, illegal immigration, fraud and illegal gambling |
| Allies | Sureños, Armenian Power,[5][6] Mara Salvatrucha, Aryan Brotherhood[7][4] |
| Rivals | Nuestra Familia,[8][9][4] Nortenos, Black Guerilla Family[10] |
The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: Mafia Mexicana), also known as La eMe (Spanish for the letter M), is a Mexican American highly-organized, ruthless crime organization.[1][4] Surenos use the number 13 to show allegiance to the Mexican Mafia. M is the 13th letter of the alphabet. Law enforcement officials report that La eMe is the most powerful gang within the California prison system.[11] Government officials state that there are currently 155–300 official members of the Mexican Mafia with around 990 associates who assist La eMe in carrying out its illegal activities in the hopes of becoming full members.[12] Sureño street gangs and the Mexican Mafia are almost ethnically homogenous, that is, they consist of almost entirely of Hispanic members. When Sureños enter correctional facilities, they are required to put aside their rivalries and obey the Mexican Mafia or suffer possible lethal consequences.
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[edit] History
The Mexican Mafia was formed in 1957 by 13 Hispanic street gang members from different Los Angeles neighborhoods that were all incarcerated at the Deuel Vocational Institution; a California Youth Authority facility which is now an adult state prison in Tracy, California.[2] They formed in order to protect themselves from other prison gangs at the time.[10][4] The founder of La eMe is Luis "Huero Buff" Flores who was an active member of the Hawaiian Gardens gang in Hawaiian Gardens, California. Gang warfare between Hispanic neighborhoods was the norm during the 1950s and 60s so the fact that Luis Flores was able to get established enemies to set aside their rivalries upon entry into the prison system was something that was not thought possible. This requirement exists to present day. Hispanic street gangs like White Fence, San Fer, Avenues, Clanton 14, Varrio Nuevo Estrada, and Hoyo Maravilla were already into their second decade and firmly established as self sustaining entities.[3] Luis Flores initially recruited violent members to the gang in an attempt to create a highly-feared organization which could control the black market activities of the Deuel prison facilities. La eMe member Ramon "Mundo" Mendoza claims that in the beginning the overall goal was to terrorize the prison system and enjoy prison comforts while doing time.[9]
As new members of La Eme filtered out back into the streets, Anacleta "Annie" Ramirez, a well-known member of the East Los Angeles community, took many of them under her wing and paired them up with neighborhood youngsters who lacked direction. Ramirez, a sharp, tough woman, taught the youngsters discipline, rules of street life, and, at first, petty crime. This later escalated to her role as a shot caller—as drugs became a major part of the trade—who would get rid of her enemies by ordering youth loyal to her on missions. After she had given the directive, many of her enemies were reportedly murdered on sight.[3]
[edit] Rise
By 1961 violence got so bad at the Deuel Vocational Institution that administrators transferred a number of the charter La eMe members to San Quentin Penitentiary in the hopes of discouraging their violent behavior. This tactic, however, failed to work. Cheyenne Cadena arrived on the lower yard of San Quentin and was met by a six-foot-five, 300-pound black inmate who planted a kiss on his face and announced this scrawny teenager would now be his 'bitch. Cadena returned a short time later, walked up to the unsuspecting predator, and stabbed him to death with a jailhouse knife, or shank. There were more than a thousand inmates on the yard and no witnesses stepped forward.[9] A string of other slayings soon followed as La eMe members sought to establish a reputation among the inmates of San Quentin. The Mexican Mafia's quest for complete control alienated many other Mexican-American inmates who were fed up with Mexican Mafia stabbing, killing, and stealing their watches, rings, cigarettes and anything else of value. Some of them secretly founded a new prison gang called La Nuestra Familia (NF) or "Our Family." It was first established in the mid-1960s at the California Training Facility in Soledad. Some of the early members were from the Los Angeles area, but NF soon drew inmates primarily from rural communities in Northern California. The Mexican Mafia saw Nuestra Familia as inferior and "just a bunch of farmers", or farmeros. However, in 1968 at San Quentin, a full scale riot broke out after a Mexican Mafia soldier, or soldado, stole a pair of shoes from a Nuestra Familia sympathizer. Nineteen inmates were stabbed and one La eMe associate ended up dead. The battle became known as the "Shoe War" and it established Nuestra Familia as the major La eMe rival.[9][13]
[edit] Location
The Mexican Mafia's power base is in the California Prison system, but are active in southwestern and the pacific region of the United States; including the Federal Prison system. Most members are male from Southern California Sureno gangs.[10]
[edit] Culture
Law Enforcement believes that La eMe presently is not presided over by a single leader. Many Mexican Mafia members have the authority to order murders and oversee various other criminal activities. They have almost a thousand associates that help carry out those orders and have the theoretical control of all Sureno gang members.[10][12] Members are expected to engage in tests of their loyalty to La eMe, which may include theft or murder. The penalty for refusing orders or failing to complete an assigned task is often death. According to the gang's constitution, members may also be punished or murdered if they commit any of four major infractions. These include becoming an informant, acts of homosexuality, acts of cowardice, and showing disrespect against fellow gang members. According to gang policy, a member of the Mexican Mafia may not be murdered without prior approval by a vote of three members, yet the murder of non-members requires no formal approval.
During the early 1960s at San Quentin Prison, Luis Flores and Rudy "Cheyenne" Cadena established a blood oath for members of the Mexican Mafia.Prior to the establishment of the oath, members of the Mexican Mafia were allowed to return to their street gangs after incarceration. The new oath stipulated that the only way for a member to leave the Mexican Mafia was to be killed. Flores and Cadena also established a set of gang commandments. These included policies such as: a new member must be sponsored by an existing member, unanimous approval from all existing members to join (no longer policy), prioritizing the gang over one's family, denial of the existence of the Mexican Mafia to law enforcement or non-members, respect of other members, forgiving street conflicts which existed before incarceration. Execution of a member of the gang for policy violation must be committed by the gang member who sponsored him. La eMe has a blood in blood out credo: Murder or drawing of blood is a prerequisite for membership and anyone trying to get out will be killed.[7]
[edit] Allies and Rivals
The Mexican Mafia is the controlling organization for almost every Hispanic gang in Southern California. Members of almost all Hispanic gangs in Southern California are obligated under the threat of death to carry out any and all orders from made Mexican Mafia members. The Mexican Mafia also holds a loose alliance with the Aryan Brotherhood, mainly due to their common rivals within the prison system.[7] The primary rivals of the Mexican Mafia are Nuestra Familia.[14] The Mexican Mafia is also a rival of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang, which holds a loose alliance with Nuestra Familia.[14]
[edit] Symbols
Mexican Mafia symbols include images of a black hand. The gang's primary symbol, which is often used in tattoos by members, is the national symbol of Mexico (eagle and a snake) atop a flaming circle over crossed knives. Street gangs that are aligned with the Mexican Mafia often use the number 13 as a gang identifier, as the letter "M" is the 13th letter of the modern Latin-derived alphabet.
[edit] In popular culture
The Mexican Mafia received mainstream notoriety after being featured in the 1992 movie American Me. The film was co-produced, directed and starred in by actor Edward James Olmos, who allegedly received death threats by members of the Mexican Mafia for what they considered an unflattering depiction of the gang.[15] Three consultants for the film were murdered shortly after the film's release.[15] The Mexican Mafia was allegedly displeased with the portrayal of the murder of Rodolfo Cadena (who was the basis for Olmos' character Santana) as being committed by his fellow gang members.[15] Mexican Mafia Members were also allegedly offended by the portrayal of homosexually inspired sodomy committed by Olmos' character in the film. Olmos subsequently applied for a concealed handgun permit, which was denied to him.[16] Joe Morgan, while serving a life sentence for murder at Pelican Bay State Prison, filed a $500,000 lawsuit against Olmos, Universal Studios and other producers of the film. Morgan claimed that one of the principal characters in the film was based on him without obtaining his permission.[15]
[edit] Criminal activities
The Mexican Mafia is involved in a variety of criminal activities both inside and outside the prison system. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mexican Mafia had arranged for contract killings to be carried out by the Aryan Brotherhood, a white prison gang. Both the Mexican Mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood are mutual enemies of the African-American gang Black Guerilla Family.[17] Even though homosexuals are barred from entry into La eMe, they are engaged heavily in homosexual prostitution in the prison system.[11][18][4] Many of the street level homicides in the Highlands Park area of Los Angeles committed by the Avenues gang were done on orders issued by the Mexican Mafia.[3]
The first prison gang street execution in Los Angeles was committed by the Mexican Mafia in 1971. Responsible for the murder was Joe "Pegleg" Morgan - the notorious white godfather of La Eme who had ascended by then to become one of the highest-ranking bosses of the entire Eme organization, even with no "official" Mexican blood himself. His connections with cocaine and heroin suppliers in Mexico helped pave the foundation for the Mexican Mafia's narcotics distribution throughout California. During the 1970s, while under the control of Morgan's protégé Rodolfo Cadena, the Mexican Mafia often took control over various community groups. The gang was able to filter money from alcohol and drug prevention programs to finance their criminal activities.[3] The Mexican Mafia and the Italian-American Los Angeles crime family collaborated in skimming money from Get Going, a taxpayer-funded drug treatment program. By 1977, Get Going founder Ellen Delia was determined to expose the infiltration of her beloved program. Shortly before an appointment with the California State Secretary of Health and Welfare Services, Delia was murdered. Her collection of evidence on Italian and Mexican Mafia infiltration of the Get Going program was never recovered.[19]
In 1995, United States federal authorities indicted 22 members and associates of the Mexican Mafia, charged under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act with crimes which included extortion, murder and kidnapping.[20] One of the arrested members, Benjamin "Topo" Peters, was allegedly the Mexican Mafia's highest ranking member at the time, and was engaged in a power struggle with fellow member Ruben "Tupi" Hernandez.[20] Another indicted member was accused of having plotted the death of an anti-gang activist who served as a consultant for the film American Me. The indictments marked a two-year investigation by federal, local and state law enforcement officials.[20]
In 2006, a 36-count federal indictment was brought against members of the Mexican Mafia. The arrests were made for alleged acts of violence, drug dealing, and extortion against smaller Latino street gangs. According to the federal indictment, Mexican Mafia members exert their influence in both federal and state prison systems through either violence or the threat of violence.Members and associates of the gang remain fiercely loyal to the criminal organization both in and outside of prison, particularly in Southern California cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego. The gang asserts its influence over Chicano gangs throughout Southern California by threatening violence against their members should they ever become incarcerated. Gangs and drug dealers who refuse to pay a protection "tax" to the Mexican Mafia are often murdered or threatened with murder. High-ranking members of the Mexican Mafia who are locked in private cells for 23 hours of each day are still able to communicate with their associates, through methods which range from tapping in code on prison plumbing pipes to smuggled letters.The primary goal of the Mexican Mafia is to control all drug trafficking in all areas that they have been established.[10]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Mexican Mafia. (2012). The History Channel website. Retrieved 10:45, February 2, 2012, from http://www.history.com/shows/gangland/articles/mexican-mafia.
- ^ a b c Valdez, A. J. (2011). Prison gangs 101. Retrieved from http://www.aca.org/fileupload/177/ahaidar/Valdez.pdf
- ^ a b c d e f Rafael, T. (2007). The Mexican Mafia.(p. 171-185, 237-267) New York, NY: Encounter Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g Mallory, S., & Mallory, S. L. (2012). Understanding organized crime. (2nd ed., pp. 218-220). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Barlett Learning.
- ^ U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Armenian power organized crime group targeted in federal indictments that allege racketeering offenses, including bank fraud schemes, kidnappings, and drug trafficking. Retrieved from website: http://www.fbi.gov/losangeles/press-releases/2011/la021611.htm
- ^ Blankstein, A., & Linthicum, K. (2011, February 17). Raids targeting armenian gang net 74 fraud suspects. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/17/local/la-me-0217-armenian-gang-20110217
- ^ a b c Abadinsky, H. (2010). Organized crime. (9th ed., p. 189-190). Belmont, CA: Wadesworth Publishing.
- ^ Nuestra Familia. (2012). The History Channel website. Retrieved 10:59, February 2, 2012, from http://www.history.com/shows/gangland/articles/nuestra-familia.
- ^ a b c d Blanchard, C. (2008). The black hand: The bloody rise and redemption of "boxer" enriquez, a mexican mob killer. (p. 1-408). New York, NY: Harper-Collins Publishers.
- ^ a b c d e Lyman, M. D. (2011). Drugs in society: Causes, concepts and control. (6th ed., p. 240, 279). Burlington, MA: Anderson Publishing.
- ^ a b Harris, D. (2004). Gangland: The growing gang epidemic in America's cities. Oakland, TN: Holy Fire Publishing.
- ^ a b United States v. Shryock, 342 F.3d 948 (9th Cir. (2003), cert. denied, 124 S. Ct. 1729 and 1736 (2004)
- ^ McShane, M.D., & Williams, F. P. (1996). Encyclopedia of american prisons. (pp. 345-346). Talor and Francis.
- ^ a b "Gang and Security Threat Group Awareness". Florida Department of Corrections. http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/gangs/prison2.html. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ a b c d "An 'American' tale". Entertainment Weekly. 1993-07-23. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,307346,00.html.
- ^ Walker, Michael (1993-07-23). "EW.com". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,307346,00.html. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
- ^ Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Inestivation. (n.d.). Aryan brotherhood. Retrieved from website: http://foia2.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/aryanbro/aryanbro1.pdf
- ^ Leeson, P. & Skarbek, D. (2010). Criminal Constitutions. Global Crime 11 (3): 279–98.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ a b c "Mafia Handed 22 Indictments in LA". The Tech. 1995-05-02. http://tech.mit.edu/V115/N22/MafiaHanded.22w.html.
[edit] External links
These links are for personal reference only and do not necessarily reflect the content listed here.
Federal Bureau of Investigation file on the Mexican Mafia: [1]
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