LATIN KINGS
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The Latin King gang is one of the most violent gangs in the United States today, with leaders unafraid to order "hits" on law enforcement and correctional officers with followers unashamed to obey their orders. The history of this gang is written in blood, with episodes so bizarre that they read like chapters from a pulp fiction novel.
Members of the Chicago branch of the Latin Kings cherish a history that includes the theft of military ordnance; the murder and subsequent cannibalization of one disobedient inmate member; consorting with a notorious terrorist group; and a high school riot over a Coca-Cola poster. Founded in the 1940's by a small group of Hispanics in the Chicago, Illinois area, the purpose of the organization was to help the Hispanic community achieve a better way of life by preserving the Hispanic culture and promoting education.
However, the Latin Kings have evolved into a nationwide criminal organization with chapters in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Florida, California and Illinois. The Latin Kings are currently under national leadership by two principle leaders, Gino Colon (Lord Gino) and Raul Gonzalez (Baby King). The Latin Kings have a strong line of communication and support between members incarcerated and those members on the outside. |
The Latin Kings use the logos ALKN, ADR, LK, 5-POINTED CROWN AND 5-POINTED STAR. Their colors are Black and Gold (yellow is use in place of gold). Black represents death and gold represents life. Their beads are black and gold in a sequence of 5 black followed by 5 gold. Some sayings used are "Amor De Rey" which means "Love of The King" and "Black and Gold Never grow Old".
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GANG SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION
The Gangology Specialist Certification focuses on developing the student’s level of knowledge pertaining to street gang evolution, gang crime law, gang identification,
communications, typology, personal safety, and the psychological and sociological impact street gangs have on society, as well as officer and public safety.
communications, typology, personal safety, and the psychological and sociological impact street gangs have on society, as well as officer and public safety.
PROFILE
Gender Makeup: Male and Female (Latin Queens)
Racial Makeup: Multiracial Primarily Hispanic of Latin decent. Italians and Portuguese have been found to be members of the gang.
Scope: Primarily Correctional Facilities and large metropolitan areas throughout Florida, Connecticut, Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Mexico, New Mexico, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
Emblem(s): Five pointed crown, five pointed star, lions head with crown, code of armor. The initials ALK, ALKN, ALKQN, ADR, LK, LKN. The most recent emblem is the bulldog with a crown.
Gang Colors: Black and Gold. Black represents death, Gold represents life.
Sequence of Beads: Five Black followed by five Gold for members, five Black followed by two Gold for executive members. All Black for the enforcers or Assassins.
Alliances: Chicago Latin Kings, Ñeta and Brotherhood Loose alliances: 20 Love and some sets of the Los Solidos.
Rival Gangs: Folk Nation aligned STGs, Crips, Latin Locos, Solidos, 20 Luv and Elm City Boys (ECB), Nation, Gangster Disciples, Black Gangster Disciples, La Raza, Imperial Gangsters, Maniac Latin Disciples, Satan Disciples and Spanish Cobras .
Racial Makeup: Multiracial Primarily Hispanic of Latin decent. Italians and Portuguese have been found to be members of the gang.
Scope: Primarily Correctional Facilities and large metropolitan areas throughout Florida, Connecticut, Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Mexico, New Mexico, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
Emblem(s): Five pointed crown, five pointed star, lions head with crown, code of armor. The initials ALK, ALKN, ALKQN, ADR, LK, LKN. The most recent emblem is the bulldog with a crown.
Gang Colors: Black and Gold. Black represents death, Gold represents life.
Sequence of Beads: Five Black followed by five Gold for members, five Black followed by two Gold for executive members. All Black for the enforcers or Assassins.
Alliances: Chicago Latin Kings, Ñeta and Brotherhood Loose alliances: 20 Love and some sets of the Los Solidos.
Rival Gangs: Folk Nation aligned STGs, Crips, Latin Locos, Solidos, 20 Luv and Elm City Boys (ECB), Nation, Gangster Disciples, Black Gangster Disciples, La Raza, Imperial Gangsters, Maniac Latin Disciples, Satan Disciples and Spanish Cobras .
The various Latin King factions are generally well structured and organized in terms of criminal organization. They often follow a strict and detailed charter or constitution. Keep in mind, the East Coast Latin Kings have a very different written constitution than that of the original Chicago Latin Kings. The main focus of the Latin Kings is the control of drug trafficking and internal gang discipline both within the prison and in the community.
Latin Kings believe “Once a King, always a King” and subscribe to an all for one mentality. Internal discipline is seen as a high priority, and violations of the principles of the group may result in documented suspension, termination, physical assault or death.
Central to the Latin King philosophy are the symbols such as the five point crown which represents, Love, Respect, Sacrifice, Honor, and Obedience. The charter establishes the Ten Commandments, the royalties, guidelines for establishing a chapter, election of officers, and disciplinary procedures.
The acceptance of females in the gang is common to most factions. The general male members are called Reyes or Kings; their wives or girlfriends are called Queens.
Latin Kings believe “Once a King, always a King” and subscribe to an all for one mentality. Internal discipline is seen as a high priority, and violations of the principles of the group may result in documented suspension, termination, physical assault or death.
Central to the Latin King philosophy are the symbols such as the five point crown which represents, Love, Respect, Sacrifice, Honor, and Obedience. The charter establishes the Ten Commandments, the royalties, guidelines for establishing a chapter, election of officers, and disciplinary procedures.
The acceptance of females in the gang is common to most factions. The general male members are called Reyes or Kings; their wives or girlfriends are called Queens.
The Latin King members commemorate three times throughout the year.
- Kings Holy Day - January 6th
- Kings Week of the Sun- March 1-7
- Week of Blood - October 25-31
Latin King documents reveal that Gino Gustavo Colon (a.k.a. "Lord Gino") is considered the "SUN" of the Almighty Latin King Nation in Chicago. Currently he is serving a life sentence in federal prison due to a 25-count indictment, which includes charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and other drugs.
The main source of income for the Latin Kings is moneys from the lucrative illicit drug trade. Members are not suppose to use drugs, they do sell and distribute drugs. Other funds are raised from membership dues and extortion both from the community and inside correctional facilities.
Of all the gangs, Latin Kings are the hardest to gain information from; they will not even admit their membership in many cases.
The main source of income for the Latin Kings is moneys from the lucrative illicit drug trade. Members are not suppose to use drugs, they do sell and distribute drugs. Other funds are raised from membership dues and extortion both from the community and inside correctional facilities.
Of all the gangs, Latin Kings are the hardest to gain information from; they will not even admit their membership in many cases.
THE LION OF THE ALL MIGHTY LATIN KING AND QUEEN NATION
The 1st Crown is the brain of the Lion and the Nation. He is the thinker for the other crowns and his brothers and sisters.
The 2nd Crown is the eyes and ears of the Nation. He is the one who protects the brain from being destroyed by anyone. No one is allowed to reach the brain unless through the chain of command.
The 3rd Crown is the right paw of the Lion. When the Lion senses trouble from 15 feet away, his right paw turns inward 2 ½ degrees, forming a diamond. When the Lion does this he is representing a defiant position which represents the warlord of the Nation.
The 4th Crown is the hair that runs down from his head down through his back right down to his tail. Because a Lion’s tail is always dragging on the floor, the tail senses danger and alerts the rest of the Lion who in turn alerts the 1st Crown that there is danger approaching.,
The 5th Crown is the body of the Lion. He is most important because he is the teacher and adviser for the other Crowns and the rest of the body. Without him, the body can not function.
Correctional Facility Structure: The Latin King chapters inside correctional facilities operate much like those on the streets and share the bulk of the rules and regulations and the "literature" of their outside counterparts. The structure looks like this from the top down: at the very top is the Inca. Each facility may have an "Inca". This is a spot that does not necessarily "transfer" to other facilities or the outside. Underneath the "Inca" are the following positions: Cacique, Enforcer, Crown Chairman, Investigator, Treasurer, and Secretary. Where the gang in one facility is dispersed into different "cellhouses" or buildings, there will also be separate roles for: cellhouse chief, cellhouse enforcer, cellhouse treasurer, and cellhouse security.
The 2nd Crown is the eyes and ears of the Nation. He is the one who protects the brain from being destroyed by anyone. No one is allowed to reach the brain unless through the chain of command.
The 3rd Crown is the right paw of the Lion. When the Lion senses trouble from 15 feet away, his right paw turns inward 2 ½ degrees, forming a diamond. When the Lion does this he is representing a defiant position which represents the warlord of the Nation.
The 4th Crown is the hair that runs down from his head down through his back right down to his tail. Because a Lion’s tail is always dragging on the floor, the tail senses danger and alerts the rest of the Lion who in turn alerts the 1st Crown that there is danger approaching.,
The 5th Crown is the body of the Lion. He is most important because he is the teacher and adviser for the other Crowns and the rest of the body. Without him, the body can not function.
Correctional Facility Structure: The Latin King chapters inside correctional facilities operate much like those on the streets and share the bulk of the rules and regulations and the "literature" of their outside counterparts. The structure looks like this from the top down: at the very top is the Inca. Each facility may have an "Inca". This is a spot that does not necessarily "transfer" to other facilities or the outside. Underneath the "Inca" are the following positions: Cacique, Enforcer, Crown Chairman, Investigator, Treasurer, and Secretary. Where the gang in one facility is dispersed into different "cellhouses" or buildings, there will also be separate roles for: cellhouse chief, cellhouse enforcer, cellhouse treasurer, and cellhouse security.
Interesting Historical "Statistical" Profile of a Typical Latin King Member
Project GANGPINT in 1995 carried out by the NGCRC was able to survey about 2,000 gang members in several states. Some N = 82 members of the Latin Kings were able to be pulled out of this sample for the statistical profile provided here. Here are the major lifespan developmental milestones of the LK member:
Mean Age Developmental Factor in the Lifespan of the LK Member
Other important trends found among members of the LK gang are as follows:
Most confirmed that their gang has written rules and that their gang has adult leaders who have been in the gang for a very long time, and that their gang holds regular meetings, that their gang has a treasury, and that their gang has existed for about 20 years.
Mean Age Developmental Factor in the Lifespan of the LK Member
- 8.8 - Age first heard anything about "gangs".
- 8.9- Age first met someone who was in a gang.
- 9.0 - Age first "bullied" by someone in school.
- 9.9 - Age first "bullied" someone else in school.
- 11.0 - Age first fired a pistol or revolver.
- 11.5 - Age first saw some killed or seriously injured by gang violence.
- 11.6 - Age first arrested for any crime.
- 12.3 - Age they first joined the gang.
- 12.6 - Age first got their own real gun.
- 12.8 - Age first got a permanent tattoo.
- 15.6 - Age at time we surveyed them for this profile.
- 23.0 - Age they expect to get legally married to someone.
- 25.1 - Age they expect to quit the gang.
- 57.8 - Age they expect to die.
Other important trends found among members of the LK gang are as follows:
- Typical member has an average of 16.8 prior arrests.
- 95.1 percent worry about the safety of their family members.
- 89 percent think their parents/family worry about the LK member of the family being killed.
- 78.5 percent believed that "fear is the only effective means that you can use to control children".
- 72.8 percent felt "there is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel a great deal of love, gratitude, and respect for his/her mother", while only 57.5 percent felt the same way about father.
- 55.1 percent have been in court-mandated psychological counseling or therapy.
- 33.8 percent have been in a drug/substance abuse counseling program.
- 91.0 percent indicated "I believe in God", and 28.2 percent expected to go to hell in the afterlife.
- 91.0 percent do not want their own children in the gang.
- 94.9 percent have been suspended from school, 65.4 percent have been expelled from school.
- 44.7 percent have tried to quit the gang.
- 64.8 percent have been "violated" by their own gang.
- 69.3 percent had other family members who are in a gang.
- 74.7 percent have fired a gun at someone to defend their gang turf.
- 57.3 percent have been a shooter in a drive-by shooting.
- 66.7 percent are willing to die for their gang friends.
- 73.3 percent have recruited other persons into the gang.
Most confirmed that their gang has written rules and that their gang has adult leaders who have been in the gang for a very long time, and that their gang holds regular meetings, that their gang has a treasury, and that their gang has existed for about 20 years.
Random Information
THE MEATLOAF STORY
We first learned of this true story in 1992. We did not find out who the two guys that did the killing were until shortly before going to press with this profile: a hard core Cuban member of the LKs who came on the boat lift, described as "a cold blooded Cuban who killed without regard" and the other guy was a small white guy that Gino and BK took under his wing.
As of the fall of 1996 no one has ever been prosecuted for the murder. And to our knowledge the Illinois Department of Corrections still lists the victim as an "escapee".
This is a story of how ruthlessness one gang, the Latin Kings, can be in disciplining its own members. Our information comes from the 2nd in command (a Prince) of the gang at that time who is now a federal informant in the witness protection program. We have spent much time with this particular ex-member of the LKs over a three year period: including about 40 hours of face-to-face interviewing, and about 80 hours of telephone interviewing.
In 1981, the leader of Chicago's southside chapter, one Raul Gonzalez (AKA "Baby King") of the Latin Kings had a "run in" with a member of the northside chapter of the Latin Kings. What happened was that the leader "Baby King" was basically "disrespected" by an inmate known as Carlos Robles. Because Rolez was basically in the same gang, just in a different geographical unit, Baby King approach the leader of the northside chapter of the LKN, Gino Colon, and got his "blessing" to change Carlos Robles permanently before he is released.
About two years later, when he was in the Illinois State Penitentiary, inmate Rolez would get his "violation" for disrespecting the southside leader of the ALKN. Two of the most whacked out members of the southside LKN chapter were chosen for the "hit". Rolez was to be murdered. These were two gang members who were heavy PCP users.
The way the "hit" was carried out was quite clever. The two Whacko's intending to kill Carlos, basically told him they were throwing him a "going away party". Carlos was scheduled to be paroled in two days when the hit took place in July, 1983. As is common in corrupting correctional staff, the two hitmen got permission from the cellhouse guard to use the basement for the going away party. The basement of the cellhouse unit has the showers the inmates use.
Carlos entered the basement of the cellhouse with the two whackos for his "parole party". They proceeded to use their homemade weapons. Not little "shanks" as homemade knifes are called, but rather the much larger Machetes, usually about two feet long and made out of heavy gauge steel.
First they cut off Carlos' head. Then one arm, then the other arm. With a little hacking, off went one leg, then the other. They chopped at the torso, cutting it into smaller pieces. The head was the only body part that could not be sliced up into smaller pieces. The arms and legs were then chopped into smaller pieces. Blood was everywhere. But all the two whackos did was turn on the showers and let the blood run down the drain. Basically washing off the body parts.
Members of their own gang, cooperating upstairs in the cell house, helped next. As the two whackos placed the body parts into plastic bags, a "diversion" fight was staged. This allowed the two whackos to go through the tunnel which led to what was then the butcher shop area of the prisons kitchen.
The Black inmate working in the butcher shop that day was a Gangster Disciple, and as a "Folks" gang, is always opposed to Latin Kings (a "Peoples" gang). The two whackos asked him for a favor, for which they would reward him with some drugs and cash money. They asked him to "grind" up the body parts in the older meat grinder that was there, a very large commercial grade meat grinder. On the menu for the evening meal that night at Stateville Penitentiary was "meat loaf".
The GD in charge of the butcher shop, once offered the drugs and money to grind up the body parts, simply asked "who is in the bag". The two whacko's replied "he is one of our own", not one of yours.
The GD agreed, and ground up the body parts with the pork and beef that was also going into the meat loaf for the evening meal.
Shortly before the bells rung for the inmates to go to evening chow in the inmate dining room, two gangs already had much advance warning about what not to eat that night. The GD's and the Latin Kings spread the word amongst themselves: don't eat on the main line tonight.
In the dining hall that night, only the gangs that did not know the real recipe for the meatloaf ate their food. Some inmate chow hounds were pleasantly surprised to find so many friendly Latin Kings and GD's offering their entre for the evening meal to other hungry inmates.
No traces of the skin, bones, teeth, or blood of Carlos Robles were ever found. That is for years. The skull bone apparently simply "rolled around" in the meat grinder like a basketball spinning on a net rim, and thus it had to be buried. The skull was dug up in 1995 in the yard at Stateville (see: "Skull Dug up in Stateville Prison", Chicago Tribune, April 16, 1995, p. 2).
To this day, the official position of the Illinois Department of Corrections is that "Rolez escaped a day before his parole when a tour of church visitors was in the facility". Did Carlos really escape one day before his parole?
Or do we believe the gang that killed him?
Why do you think some people call meatloaf "mystery meat"?
I guess our message to the other prison gangs is that you really are what you eat, in this case at least.
This has been a true story. One of the two whackos is still serving his life sentence in Stateville. The other whacko has since been released and is now happily married and could be working as a chef at a government center employee cafeteria somewhere.
As of the fall of 1996 no one has ever been prosecuted for the murder. And to our knowledge the Illinois Department of Corrections still lists the victim as an "escapee".
This is a story of how ruthlessness one gang, the Latin Kings, can be in disciplining its own members. Our information comes from the 2nd in command (a Prince) of the gang at that time who is now a federal informant in the witness protection program. We have spent much time with this particular ex-member of the LKs over a three year period: including about 40 hours of face-to-face interviewing, and about 80 hours of telephone interviewing.
In 1981, the leader of Chicago's southside chapter, one Raul Gonzalez (AKA "Baby King") of the Latin Kings had a "run in" with a member of the northside chapter of the Latin Kings. What happened was that the leader "Baby King" was basically "disrespected" by an inmate known as Carlos Robles. Because Rolez was basically in the same gang, just in a different geographical unit, Baby King approach the leader of the northside chapter of the LKN, Gino Colon, and got his "blessing" to change Carlos Robles permanently before he is released.
About two years later, when he was in the Illinois State Penitentiary, inmate Rolez would get his "violation" for disrespecting the southside leader of the ALKN. Two of the most whacked out members of the southside LKN chapter were chosen for the "hit". Rolez was to be murdered. These were two gang members who were heavy PCP users.
The way the "hit" was carried out was quite clever. The two Whacko's intending to kill Carlos, basically told him they were throwing him a "going away party". Carlos was scheduled to be paroled in two days when the hit took place in July, 1983. As is common in corrupting correctional staff, the two hitmen got permission from the cellhouse guard to use the basement for the going away party. The basement of the cellhouse unit has the showers the inmates use.
Carlos entered the basement of the cellhouse with the two whackos for his "parole party". They proceeded to use their homemade weapons. Not little "shanks" as homemade knifes are called, but rather the much larger Machetes, usually about two feet long and made out of heavy gauge steel.
First they cut off Carlos' head. Then one arm, then the other arm. With a little hacking, off went one leg, then the other. They chopped at the torso, cutting it into smaller pieces. The head was the only body part that could not be sliced up into smaller pieces. The arms and legs were then chopped into smaller pieces. Blood was everywhere. But all the two whackos did was turn on the showers and let the blood run down the drain. Basically washing off the body parts.
Members of their own gang, cooperating upstairs in the cell house, helped next. As the two whackos placed the body parts into plastic bags, a "diversion" fight was staged. This allowed the two whackos to go through the tunnel which led to what was then the butcher shop area of the prisons kitchen.
The Black inmate working in the butcher shop that day was a Gangster Disciple, and as a "Folks" gang, is always opposed to Latin Kings (a "Peoples" gang). The two whackos asked him for a favor, for which they would reward him with some drugs and cash money. They asked him to "grind" up the body parts in the older meat grinder that was there, a very large commercial grade meat grinder. On the menu for the evening meal that night at Stateville Penitentiary was "meat loaf".
The GD in charge of the butcher shop, once offered the drugs and money to grind up the body parts, simply asked "who is in the bag". The two whacko's replied "he is one of our own", not one of yours.
The GD agreed, and ground up the body parts with the pork and beef that was also going into the meat loaf for the evening meal.
Shortly before the bells rung for the inmates to go to evening chow in the inmate dining room, two gangs already had much advance warning about what not to eat that night. The GD's and the Latin Kings spread the word amongst themselves: don't eat on the main line tonight.
In the dining hall that night, only the gangs that did not know the real recipe for the meatloaf ate their food. Some inmate chow hounds were pleasantly surprised to find so many friendly Latin Kings and GD's offering their entre for the evening meal to other hungry inmates.
No traces of the skin, bones, teeth, or blood of Carlos Robles were ever found. That is for years. The skull bone apparently simply "rolled around" in the meat grinder like a basketball spinning on a net rim, and thus it had to be buried. The skull was dug up in 1995 in the yard at Stateville (see: "Skull Dug up in Stateville Prison", Chicago Tribune, April 16, 1995, p. 2).
To this day, the official position of the Illinois Department of Corrections is that "Rolez escaped a day before his parole when a tour of church visitors was in the facility". Did Carlos really escape one day before his parole?
Or do we believe the gang that killed him?
Why do you think some people call meatloaf "mystery meat"?
I guess our message to the other prison gangs is that you really are what you eat, in this case at least.
This has been a true story. One of the two whackos is still serving his life sentence in Stateville. The other whacko has since been released and is now happily married and could be working as a chef at a government center employee cafeteria somewhere.
TAKING DOWN A NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY
In the late 1970's the Latin Kings took down a national guard armory making away with a number of military weapons. This contributed to some of the Chicago gang folk lore in the 1980's about how the Latin Kings were a "heavily armed" gang and had powerful military weapons. We asked a leader who had spent 20 years in the gang, before being forced to basically testify against his own gang in a situation comparable to that in the movie American Me except this particularly member was not going to accept being killed and he flipped instead, to tell us how the Latin Kings took down the armory and here is his story:
"In 1977 or 1978 we hit the armory at North Avenue and Kedzie. We got an M-60, thousands of rounds of ammunition, two crates of M-16's, and a crate of hand grenades. The next day after the burglary, the cops went postal on us. They were all over the Humboldt Park area for a couple of days, it looked like martial law. We took the M-60 to hid it at Hector's house, so what does Hector do, he has it on its stand, the tripod, in his attic, and it is visible through the window to the outside street...two gang cops stop on Spaulding and Beach, they look up at Hector's attic window, and they see the M-60 in plain view. So the cops got the M-60 back, but not any of the hand grenades or the M16's. We tried one of the hand grenades in Humboldt Park, it left a crater. We sold one crate of the M16's to the Spanish Lords and the Unknowns who were allies at the time. And we kept one crate of the M16's for ourselves. A lot of the M16's are still out there. I know, my brother still has one of them."
"In 1977 or 1978 we hit the armory at North Avenue and Kedzie. We got an M-60, thousands of rounds of ammunition, two crates of M-16's, and a crate of hand grenades. The next day after the burglary, the cops went postal on us. They were all over the Humboldt Park area for a couple of days, it looked like martial law. We took the M-60 to hid it at Hector's house, so what does Hector do, he has it on its stand, the tripod, in his attic, and it is visible through the window to the outside street...two gang cops stop on Spaulding and Beach, they look up at Hector's attic window, and they see the M-60 in plain view. So the cops got the M-60 back, but not any of the hand grenades or the M16's. We tried one of the hand grenades in Humboldt Park, it left a crater. We sold one crate of the M16's to the Spanish Lords and the Unknowns who were allies at the time. And we kept one crate of the M16's for ourselves. A lot of the M16's are still out there. I know, my brother still has one of them."
LATIN KING CONNECTION TO F.A.L.N. TERRORIST GROUP
We had first heard of a possible linkage between some members of the FALN terrorist group and the Latin Kings back in 1990 when one cooperative member of the LKs claimed such a connection existed. We discounted it at the time, but information developed over the years and culminated in hard evidence. The typical report we would get from LK members was this: "When Luis Rosa was imprisoned at Stateville the SGD's (Satans Gangster Disciples) tried to pull him their way because he is a bomb expert, but we got him to ride under our flag instead, he taught us how to make some wicked shit down there, Rosa taught us how to make some shit with batteries and remote control with a cell phone, taught us stuff about wiring bombs, taught us how to make homemade napalm, it was toxic substance, like a gluey toxic substance, some killer shit to make Molotov cocktails out of". Luis Rosa was one of 11 FALN members arrested in 1980 in Evanston, Illinois and later convicted.
Luis Rosa is listed in the Libertad, an extreme leftist publication of the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Political Prisoners of War (2048 W. Division, Chicago, IL 60622, email address: [email protected]), as serving a 105 year sentence at Joliet presently (IDOC #N02743, DOB 8/6/60).
We continued to be skeptical of such accounts. Then they appeared over and over. Then we got lucky. In our historical approach to developing gang profile information we routinely collect old photographs of the gang, and gangs like the LKs are very predictable in this regard: they love to pose for pictures that members keep in their gang photo albums. We have collected dozens of these photo albums over the years, and literally thousands of such photos, usually paying a small fee to the LK member to acquire these artifacts. We got lucky in one of the photo albums when we found the photograph showing a group of Latin Kings posing in the yard of Stateville Penitentiary that included, guess who, Luis Rosa.
Luis Rosa is listed in the Libertad, an extreme leftist publication of the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Political Prisoners of War (2048 W. Division, Chicago, IL 60622, email address: [email protected]), as serving a 105 year sentence at Joliet presently (IDOC #N02743, DOB 8/6/60).
We continued to be skeptical of such accounts. Then they appeared over and over. Then we got lucky. In our historical approach to developing gang profile information we routinely collect old photographs of the gang, and gangs like the LKs are very predictable in this regard: they love to pose for pictures that members keep in their gang photo albums. We have collected dozens of these photo albums over the years, and literally thousands of such photos, usually paying a small fee to the LK member to acquire these artifacts. We got lucky in one of the photo albums when we found the photograph showing a group of Latin Kings posing in the yard of Stateville Penitentiary that included, guess who, Luis Rosa.
1989 ASSASSINATION OF CORRECTIONAL OFFICER LAWRENCE KUSH
On July 1, 1989 a correctional officer at the Stateville Correctional Center, Lawrence Kush, Jr., was assassinated by the Latin Kings while on the job. Attacked from behind with pipes and other weapons, Kush would die a day later, but was one of 30 officers on a "hit list" prepared by the Latin Kings (see: Jerry Thomas, "Gangs a Rising Threat to Prison Guards",Chicago Tribune, November 28, 1993). Why did the Latin Kings target correctional officers? Clearly, all evidence points to one thing: the officers were doing their job, and that meant they were a threat to the inside drug business of the Latin Kings.
The key issue readers need to understand here is that any ordinary member of the Latin Kings, or even one with "rank" or power, cannot on his own order or undertake a "hit" against anyone, especially a correctional officer. This type of serious activity must be "approved" of by the top gang leaders. This is important to understand because of the fact that the top gang leaders of the LKs have never been held accountable as of this date. Let us share some information from middle-management leaders of the Latin Kings who were in fact in this same penitentiary and were directly knowledgeable of the Kush assassination:
"Kush was the type of officer who came to work to do his job, he was young. He was not like Officers ____ and ___ who were shake-down artists, who really started it, they started fucking with Lord Gino, Lord Gino told them I was doing time before you were born, so fuck off, they didn't back off, in fact they searched Lord Gino's cell, Lord Gino had a strainer in his cell used for mixing and preparing cocaine and it had cocaine residue on it, Kush wrote up Gino, then Gino told our mob: I want Kush hit today."
Said another high-ranking source in the LKs:
"Gino summoned me to the law library where carried out our executive meetings and he said I want Kush hit. I was not in agreement with him, you can deal with him on the outside is what I tried to argue, I suggested sending Kush pictures of his wife and children. Then Gino got kind of pissed that me and ____ may have been obstructing his authority, by not endorsing the hit on Kush, and he said If you two guys try to have this hit blocked I will have you both hit. In our gang you cannot order a murder of a correctional officer without it being approved and called by the top leader (Lord Gino)."
Three inmates were indicted for the murder of Officer Kush: William Cabrera, David Starks, and Salvatore Giancana. These Latin Kings were prosecuted in Will County, Illinois, and there was some thought among our informants that the prosecution was bungled. First it took about four years to bring the killers to trial. By then one, Sal Giancana, had already died. That left Starks and Cabrera. Starks was spared the death penalty (see: Jerry Shnay, "Inmate is spared death penalty: Prisoner convicted in guard's death awaits sentencing", Chicago Tribune, March 15, 1994). Secondly, the one ranking LK gang member that did flip in the case and provide the testimony for prosecution of the three killers was someone we interviewed for this gang profile, and this person clearly indicated that he had provided substantial information that could have been used to go after the top leaders of the LKs, but the evidence was not used.
The key issue readers need to understand here is that any ordinary member of the Latin Kings, or even one with "rank" or power, cannot on his own order or undertake a "hit" against anyone, especially a correctional officer. This type of serious activity must be "approved" of by the top gang leaders. This is important to understand because of the fact that the top gang leaders of the LKs have never been held accountable as of this date. Let us share some information from middle-management leaders of the Latin Kings who were in fact in this same penitentiary and were directly knowledgeable of the Kush assassination:
"Kush was the type of officer who came to work to do his job, he was young. He was not like Officers ____ and ___ who were shake-down artists, who really started it, they started fucking with Lord Gino, Lord Gino told them I was doing time before you were born, so fuck off, they didn't back off, in fact they searched Lord Gino's cell, Lord Gino had a strainer in his cell used for mixing and preparing cocaine and it had cocaine residue on it, Kush wrote up Gino, then Gino told our mob: I want Kush hit today."
Said another high-ranking source in the LKs:
"Gino summoned me to the law library where carried out our executive meetings and he said I want Kush hit. I was not in agreement with him, you can deal with him on the outside is what I tried to argue, I suggested sending Kush pictures of his wife and children. Then Gino got kind of pissed that me and ____ may have been obstructing his authority, by not endorsing the hit on Kush, and he said If you two guys try to have this hit blocked I will have you both hit. In our gang you cannot order a murder of a correctional officer without it being approved and called by the top leader (Lord Gino)."
Three inmates were indicted for the murder of Officer Kush: William Cabrera, David Starks, and Salvatore Giancana. These Latin Kings were prosecuted in Will County, Illinois, and there was some thought among our informants that the prosecution was bungled. First it took about four years to bring the killers to trial. By then one, Sal Giancana, had already died. That left Starks and Cabrera. Starks was spared the death penalty (see: Jerry Shnay, "Inmate is spared death penalty: Prisoner convicted in guard's death awaits sentencing", Chicago Tribune, March 15, 1994). Secondly, the one ranking LK gang member that did flip in the case and provide the testimony for prosecution of the three killers was someone we interviewed for this gang profile, and this person clearly indicated that he had provided substantial information that could have been used to go after the top leaders of the LKs, but the evidence was not used.
Disclaimer: The content of these gang profiles are compiled from years of investigations, training, gang member and subject matter expert interviews, confiscated gang paraphernalia, historical research, etc. Information within these profiles may vary from region-to-region and should not be used to 100% document gang membership, activity and/or gang crimes. However, it can be used as a guideline during investigations, strategy development, police development and officer safety awareness briefings. ~ In Omnia Paratus, Gang Command
