Armenian Power: Difference between revisions
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| criminal activities =[[Illegal drug trade|Drug trafficking]], [[murder]], [[gang warfare]] |
| criminal activities =[[Illegal drug trade|Drug trafficking]], [[murder]], [[gang warfare]] |
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| allies = |
| allies = |
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| rivals = [[White Fence 13]], [[MS-13]] |
| rivals = [[White Fence 13]], [[MS-13]] and [[Toonerville Rifa 13]] |
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'''Armenian Power''', also known as '''AP''' is an [[Armenian]] street gang located in Los Angeles. |
'''Armenian Power''', also known as '''AP''' is an [[Armenian]] street gang located in Los Angeles. |
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Revision as of 08:41, 4 May 2008
| Founding location | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Territory | Glendale, California, Hollywood |
| Ethnicity | Armenian |
| Membership (est.) | 200 |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, murder, gang warfare |
| Rivals | White Fence 13, MS-13 and Toonerville Rifa 13 |
Armenian Power, also known as AP is an Armenian street gang located in Los Angeles.
History
The collapse of the Soviet Union prompted a massive wave of Armenian immigration into Los Angeles County, California in the early 1990s, primarily in the communities of East Hollywood, North Hollywood, Pasadena, and Glendale. Faced with pressure from Hispanic gang members in the area, young Armenians in East Hollywood grouped together to form Armenian Power.[1] Armenian-American street gangs are not large in terms of numbers but are violent and influential enough to allegedly be involved in Mexican Mafia peace talks between Latino gangs[citation needed]. The Armenian Power gang was a quickly growing gang in Hollywood and Glendale which formed partnerships with other gangs. [2] The gang's biggest enemies are the Toonerville Rifa 13, The Avenues (gang) and MS-13. [3]
Armen Petrosyan was the founder and leader of Armenian Power, also known as Silent. [4]
When 15- year- old Armen Petrosyan arrived in east Hollywood from Armenia in 1989, he was thrust into an urban environment where large, long- established street gangs-- in this case, Mexican American and Salvadoran-- often preyed on a smaller group of new immigrants. Outnumbered, Petrosyan and two friends formed a defense alliance that grew into the Armenian Power street gang.[5]
In popular culture
F/X's crime drama The Shield has featured several plots involving LA's Armenian gangsters who belong to a gang called "Armenian Might". In the program's Second Season, the elite Strike Team led by Detective Vic Mackey commits the Money Train Heist, stealing millions of dollars from an Armenian money laundering ring. As a result, hitman Margos Dezerian is ordered to find and murder the culprits. After committing a string of grisly murders and severing his victims' feet to indulge a fetish, Margos is ambushed and murdered by Detective Mackey, who rigs the crime scene to look like self defense.
In Season 6, disgraced Strike Team Detective Shane Vendrell begins moonlighting as an enforcer for Diro Kesakhian (Franka Potente), the young and ruthless Godmother of an Armenian Crime Family. After learning from Shane that a trio of Black gangsters has been robbing her stable of Russian hookers, Diro arranges for the three men to be castrated. However, when Diro learns of the Strike Team's involvement in the Money Train Heist, Shane is horrified when she puts out contracts on the surviving Team members and their families. Shane transfers loyalty to her rival and forces her to flee to Germany. Before catching her flight, she tells him, "Your sentiment will destroy you."
In the Showtime television drama, Weeds, An Armenian gang of marijuana growers exacts revenge by killing the DEA agent who busts their ringleader.
References
- ^ Violent Gang Is a Stain on a Proud Ethnic Community
- ^ In Dark Alleys - Page 17 by Brian St.Claire-King
- ^ The Glendale Police Foundation
- ^ Gang Violence Claimed Man Who Tried to Change; Crime: The conviction of his killer closes the final chapter in the story of a former Armenian Power leader who was slain in inter-ethnic strife. - Los Angeles Times
- ^ Gang Violence Claimed Man Who Tried to Change - Los Angeles Times