Larry Hoover

Larry Hoover
File:Hooverold.jpg
Other names	King Chairman of The Board
Spouse	Winndye Jenkins (common-law)
Children	Dondi Hoover Larry Hoover, Jr.

Larry Hoover (born November 30, 1950) is the leader of the Gangster Disciples gang in Chicago. Hoover is reputed to be the leader of the gang in spite of the fact that he has been in prison continuously since 1973.

Hoover was born in Jackson, Mississippi but moved to Chicago with his mother at the age of 4. He became involved with street gangs at the age of 12. By the age of 16 Hoover had been arrested several times and had survived several shootings.

On February 26, 1973, Hoover and another Gangster Disciple, Andrew Howard, shot and killed William Young over a debt. Both were later arrested and sentenced to 150–200 years in prison. Howard was paroled in 1992. In 1974, after the death of David Barksdale, Hoover was appointed the new leader of the BGDN.

Two years later, Jerome Freeman left the BGDN, making the Black Disciples and the Black Gangster Disciples separate gang organizations. Even in prison, Hoover gave orders to his gang members and directed their illegal drug trade. On July 22, 1978, an inmate riot at the Pontiac Correctional Center in Illinois resulted in the death of three corrections officers. This uprising was rumored to have been ordered by Hoover. 21 inmates were indicted; ten were acquitted after an 11-week trial. Charges against Hoover and seven others were eventually dropped.

Hoover and the leaders of other gang organizations in Chicago came together to form the Folk Nation alliance, a pact meant to settle disputes and instill a more peaceful environment behind prison walls and on the streets. Hoover cultivated an image as a community leader and a reformed inmate. He was eventually transferred to a minimum security prison in Vienna, Illinois but his parole was denied repeatedly.

Hoover's continued involvement with the gang prompted a federal investigation. The five-year undercover investigation by the federal government led to drug conspiracy, extortion, and other criminal charges against Hoover. On August 31, 1995 Hoover was arrested at the Vienna Correctional Center by federal agents and moved to the MCC Chicago. In 1997 Hoover and six associates were found guilty of these charges, and Hoover was transferred to a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana to serve a life sentence.

Hoover is currently serving a life sentence at the Supermax ADX Florence facility in Florence, Colorado.

Larry Hoover has three sons: Larry Bernard Hoover, Larry "Mo" Hoover, and Tyree Hoover.

See also

• Continuing Criminal Enterprise

He thinks he's big meat Larry Hoover Getting work Hallelujah One nation. Under God. Real neighbors getting money from the very start

External links

• Larry Hoover and the Gangster Disciples, United States Drug Enforcement Agency (1997)
• Charges Against 6 Dropped In Illinois Prison Riot Trial, UPI (June 2, 1981)
• "American Gangster: Larry Hoover & The Gangster Disciples" by Alan Kurtz (Blogcritics)