Upon their release from prison, gang members returned to Texas, renamed themselves the Texas Syndicate (TS), committed crimes, and wound up in TDCJ, where they developed an extensive network. Se Habla Espaol Call For aFREEInitial Consultation. The roles in the Arredondo hit were decided in either the chow hall or the chapel, where numbers were drawn from a cup. And as in any society, some lead while others are led. The DPS projects Bandidos members will attempt to change their public perception by adding new members with clean criminal backgrounds and organizing charity events. Whoever killed him had to have come through the B-wing hallway and had to have been dripping with blood. We know who you take orders from. No member is permitted to break away from the group. Anytime they choseanytimethey could kill him. Sandoval took the advice three years after Garcia gave it. Their initiation ritual may not be practiced by all chapters these days, but it is pretty simple and disgusting. ISIS calls euphemistically calls this process "marriage"and in many cases, the thought of joining the group is less horrifying for a victim than having to explain to family members what happened. We know who youre tied to. Prepare for battle and place the lure in Midnight Den Cull the Alpha Wolf and Pack Travel north east to the Enclave Talk to Aventus Valenti Introduce yourself to Cleo Elsayad Talk to Aventus Valenti Head northeast to the Midnight Den . In the tenements across the street from the Texas A&I University stadium lived a fifteen-year-old girl named Veronica, whom he married on June 22, 1985, after learning that TDCJ had accepted his application for employment as a correctional officer, or CO. After release from prison, a TS member is required to contact the high-ranking member in the geographical area where the released member intends to reside. Youre telling us its a coincidence that you werent down at the end of the hallway? The youth gangs havent caused trouble yet, but the realities of prison life suggest that this will surely change. A relative newcomer in the world of criminal gangs, the Knights Templar Cartel, which operates in Mexico, was officially founded in 2011 after the disbanding ofLa Familia Michiacana. Leave them blank to get signed up. His mother and stepfather lived in a middle-class neighborhood, but most of Sandovals friends lived in the barrios or in the projects of Kingsville, where Sandoval attended college for three years. And as you work there, you tend to become a product of your environment. When Luis Sandoval went to work for the Texas prison system, he did the wrong favors for the wrong people. Several weeks after the jurys verdict, he told me over the phone that he wished to recant everything he had said to me on tape about his involvement with drugs. None of them knew anything about Sandoval and drugs. 826 Hispanic members operate across Texas, including specific reportings in the Coffield Unit, about 60 miles southwest of Tyler, and . So dont try. Guards have been instructed to monitor gang activity but have shown an embarrassing inability to do so. The Texas Syndicate, including its leadership, membership and associates, constitute an "enterprise" as defined by Title 18, United States Code, Section 1961(4), that is, a group of individuals associated in . by chloe calories quinoa taco salad. Federal, state and local authorities have arrested 17 members and associates of the Texas Syndicate in connection with a methamphetamine/heroin trafficking operation in central Texas announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash, FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw, and Gonzales Police Chief Tim Crow. Lighting an inmates cigarette is considered an act of friendship or favoritism, and favoritism is forbidden by TDCJ rules. When asked on the witness stand if the hallway was ever undermanned, the reply of Nolan McCoolanother officer working the B-wing that afternoonwas emphatic: Constantly.. Members and prospects are made aware that the affiliation with the TS requires their assistance with the criminal activity of the enterprise when called upon to do so and is an important step toward obtaining higher status in the organization. The inmate, a former gang operative now in protective custody, pulled a hand-rolled cigarette out of his white shirt and lit it. One juror phoned Sandovals brother that afternoon and told him that in her view the case against Sandoval was racially motivated. In 2011, the FBI reported that Barrio Azteca also had members in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. TI was developed in 2010 in an effort to create a new breed of automobile competition. Roughly 33 percent of gang members entering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system in 2014 were from the southeast Texas region, with 90 percent of those coming from Greater Houston. Then hed say, Damn, I wish I had twenty dollars to go buy a couple of beers. And Id say, Just wait here, Ill be back. And Id collect fifty dollars for him. Ten Ellis I guards who worked with Sandoval testified that they had no knowledge that Sandoval was involved in drug transactions with prison gangs. The answer was always no said former Ellis I officer Nolan McCool, If the opportunity exists, theyre gonna make the hit. The following day, Chaplain Alexander Taylor, who witnessed Sandovals efforts, wrote the CO III a letter of commendation. Eventually, however, Vicente and Garcia began to ask for more than a light. They blew the paycheck on the slot machines; they had a wonderful time. (Fong 41) The fact that the gangs would still find ways to take advantage of people not qualified for their gang, is enough evidence that the gangs in the prison system, find their ways in maintaining power over their victims. We assembled and maintain a team of the best talent with a keen eye on the future. As the free world would have it, there are good inmates and bad inmates. But as the weeks rolled on, as the dos and donts of the training manual began to look more and more like some bureaucrats idea of a joke, his resolve cratered. The Junky Funky Kids, who operate in areas in and around the Cape Flats part of Cape Town, South Africa, are just one of several dangerous gangs that operate in those areas. Sources:NY Post, Free Republic, Vice, LA Times, PBS, VOA News, Daily Caller, Boston.com, International Business Times. Without drugs, gangs would have little income; without income, they would have little power over the system. Alcohol was forbidden, yet chock, or homemade wine, was made in a variety of ways in cells, the crudest method being by letting food wrapped in a plastic bag fester in a toilet tank. He squinted through the smoke and the bars and the memories. Attorneys Matt Harding and Dan Guess are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government. The gang also allies with other gangs including the Mexican Mafia and MS-13. According to testimony, the man who drew the magic card, number one, was TS sergeant Carlos Rosas, a 31-year-old Dallas resident who was serving thirty years for aggravated robbery. A member who has fallen out of favor might also be referred to in the feminine form. Like any good businessman, Garcia kept a close eye on the marketplace. It revealed a world where drugs and weapons are freely available to inmates, where murderous prison gangs control inmate behavior far more than prison guards do, and where the guardians of law and order have just as much trouble distinguishing right from wrong as do the inmates they are watching. Peaceable inmates who had lost faith in TDCJs ability to protect them now felt less inclined to carry shanks everywhere they went. Conditions were no different on December 17, 1986, which was why Sandoval was given the assignment of B-wing hall boss that afternoon. Ranking structure : Paramilitary/Buisness Territory : Houston . Just like in the free world. 01-07-00443-CR (Tex. He was whisked off to the Walker County jail. The TS will not hesitate to kill anyone who interferes with the business of the gang or who commits a violation of Texas Syndicate rules. Hispanics who were not TS members formed their own gang, the Mexican Mafia, which today outnumbers the TS two to one but is not considered as well organized by prison officials. It generally signifies new membership into a club or group, and while some examples of initiation can be fun and bring people together, others are downright traumatizing. This is a carousel. But things got more interesting when Internal Affairs investigator Dale Schaper walked into the room and handed Sandoval copies of his phone records, showing that 25 phone calls he had made on Vicentes behalf were to a high-ranking TS official named Felix Benavidez. The steaks would have come from the kitchen; the laundry basket that held them would have been wheeled past a guard. The enterprise (hereinafter the Texas Syndicate, TS, or the enterprise) engages in, and its activities affected, interstate and foreign commerce. The guard made the call, apparently unaware that such messages, and the letters, might contain coded instructions from a prison drug-runner to a high-ranking member of the Texas Syndicate. But the report made no mention of Armando Garcia and El Carpintero; nor did it offer any evidence that Sandoval had actually smuggled drugs into Ellis I. If you are switching factions, you will need to leave your company in order to change to Syndicate. Prison gangs typically have rules on how to gain admission to the gang. Many of the gang leaders who had been doing time are now in the free world, spreading the gang network across the state, beyond prison walls. RELATED:Why 'El Chapo's' beauty queen wife says she is 'afraid for his life'. Running Into Fire: The Legacy of Jeff Blackburn, The Apache, the Irish Catholic Priest, and a 40-Year-Old Miscarriage of Justice, An Unforgettable Texas Tale of Envy, Embezzlement, and Fruitcake, How the Texas Rangers Became One of the Most Powerful Forces in the State, How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire. State, No. Initially formed in El Paso jails in 1986, the Barrio Azteca gang expanded to a transnational criminal organization, allying itself with the Juarez Cartel (pictured). Asked point-blank by his attorney, Did you ever bring drugs inside TDCJ? On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. According to a US Justice Department press release: Texas Syndicate, a criminal organization whose members and associates engage in acts of violence, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion and narcotics distribution. Some rules were just too silly to heed. Click Expand to view. On August 26, 1990, a death row inmate proved his loyalty to the Aryan Brotherhood during his daily recreation hour by strangling a black inmate in a recreation yard with a jump rope while the latter was performing oral sex on the former. And Sandoval welcomed his company. There are members in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and of course, all across Asia. The federal agency is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to his capture. It was a pleasure to deal with an inmate man to man, for once. Recalling the letter deliveries and phone messages, Sandoval might have wondered just what he had gotten himself into and how deeply. (Fong 41) This requirement, which exists in the case of the Texas Syndicate and Mexican Mafia for example, serves as a means of sponsorship, so therefore anyone interested in joining the gang, their trustworthiness can be verified if a current gang member is familiar with them. If he refused to do the favor, they could always snitch on him for lighting an inmates cigarettethough Sandoval didnt think either was that type of inmate. a) Texas Attorney General conference, October 1999 and 2003 b) Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Security Threat Group Officers c) California Department of Corrections In many places, it is normal to get "jumped in." And call for a gurney.. But they werent enough: A guard like Luis Sandoval would be assigned to a hallway filled with hundreds of inmates. Here are fifteen of the most troubling and horrifying gang initiation rituals around the world. At the Ferguson Unit, for example, guards wore special caps sporting a patch designed by an inmate. The other factor that has led guards to traffic in drugs is the peculiar morality of Ellis I, where rules are never universally applied and the use of drugs is so widespread that officials have to knowand acceptthat prison guards are involved in the supply chain. Yet a former prison drug-runner confirmed the obviousthat without the help of TDCJ employees, the flow of drugs into state prisons would dry up. The next day, a Sunday, the newlyweds threw their possessions into a suitcase and a grocery bag, and drove Sandovals Datsun to Conroe. Is the Stanley Quencher tumbler worth its TikTok hype? After the lockdown, the murder rate plunged. Texas Mexican Mafia comes in a distant second with 4,700 members, followed by the Texas Syndicate (3,400 members), Latin Kings (2,100 members) and MS-13 (800 members). At Ellis I, Sandoval had never seen so many rules enforced so haphazardly. He just got involved with the wrong people.. After building tenders disappeared due to a court order, the Syndicate's activities turned to drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, protection, illegal gambling, and contract killing. The Bloods and the Crips will likely adapt to their new environment just as other inmates do. Rank is taking care of them.. Id say about eighty percent of the inmates knew he was dealing clamed one inmate who was close to the action. Chow time meant that vast numbers of inmates would be crowded together in one room. If you last six months in there, youll make it. Not one of them pinned the murder of Joe Arredondo on Sandoval. Ten months after the murder, on October 23, 1987, Sandoval was again summoned to the wardens office. Sandoval took a step toward the crashgate but was held back by the more experienced guard. Whether a fraternity, sports team, or college club, there is a great deal of concern over what constitutes legitimate initiation and what constitutes punishable hazing. Prospects are generally not allowed to make decisions or be present inside the meetings and are required to stand outside when such decisions are made. During August and September of 1985, a long-standing rivalry between the Mexican Mafia and the TS exploded into a free-for-all throughout the prison system, leaving eleven inmates dead. Syndicate Initiation: Bradbury Fields (Everfall) Syndicate Initiation: Dayspring Mills (First Light) Syndicate Initiation: Abadier's Anger (Monarch's Bluffs) Syndicate Initiations occur when the Syndicate are chosen as a player's faction . But for males who want to get into the United Bloods, they usually have to endure a vicious beating (generally 31 seconds) or give a member of a rival gang a "buck-50," which is a slash across the face that requires a hundred and fifty stitches. As with some of the groups we'll cover in this list, some people will argue that the people involved with Mungiki are innocent victims in a struggle against the Kenyan government, but their operations closely mimic gang activities. The corridor where Joe Arredondo was murdered is now permanently guarded. Their leader is one of the FBI's 10 most wanted criminals. Video cameras monitor the hallways. The United Blood Nation, who still operate to this day in New York, was a gang started back in the early 1990's to protect members from Puerto Rican and Hispanic gangs, such as the Latin Kings and Netas. He was a drug dealer, with connections dating back to his days peddling heroin in El Paso. The soldiers and prospectos (prospects) are often used to carry out violent TS business. Word spread that the Texans were a force to contend with. Several of them testified vigorously that Ellis I was understaffed and overcrowded, and that the unit was riddled with blind spots. Prison officials believe that the rivalry between the TS and the Mexican Mafia has produced homicides in Austin, Dallas, Houston, El Paso, and especially San Antonio, where nearly one hundred suspected prison-gang-related murders were committed last year. In some of these sects, failure to keep this nasty concoction down is punishable by death. Within the prison system, there is a widely agreed upon initiation requirement, and it is that a new recruit must kill someone. Theyd say, Dont mess with him., The new boot thereby became a feared boss among bosses. Company profile page for Texas American Syndicate including stock price, company news, press releases, executives, board members, and contact information He was on a westbound bus, fleeing the state. Recruitment is conducted through social ties and involves a background check to screen for informants.[1]. I have the Experience and Reputation to Fight for Your Rights. But the sudden absence of gang wars did not mean that the gangs had gone away. The murder would take place in a corridor abutting the B-wing: the maximum-security area where Luis Sandoval often worked. Arredondo did take part in a different contract killing, but when all the conspirators except Arredondo were placed in administrative segregation, TS members concluded that Arredondo had snitched on the rest to save himself. His father died. It is understood that members and prospects of the TS may receive a telephone call and instructions to commit a crime including homicide for the Texas Syndicate at any time. He called his mother, who begged him to turn himself in. The quality of cocaine is frequently discussed in terms of how pretty or how good the girls are. Payments for drugs are often called receipts and cheese.. The new boots new habit, like everything else, was duly noted by the inmates. The inmates handed Sandoval a letter, wondering if the guard could mail it for them. (Today, Sandoval says that statement was coerced.) Our prisons, far from turning out reformed citizens, have instead become incubators of a statewide crime wave. DPS says the 2014 arrest of cartel leader Vicente Carrillo Fuentes diminished the gangs influence. Coded language is frequently utilized in order to mislead law enforcement as to the true message contained in the letters or telephone calls. 0333 344 7476. muck tool progression. Guards could still smell burning marijuana and still see inmates giggling to themselves. Six weeks later, in December 1987, Luis Sandoval was terminated from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. [1], The history of the group and documented acts of violence in other jurisdictions warrant their certification as a Security Threat Group. Within prisons, there are a couple of parts to the initiation process. Sandoval did not know any warden, ranking officer, or CO at Ellis I who did not have at least one snitch. 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