Latin Kings

The Latin Kings is a Chicago/New York-based street gang consisting of mainly of Spanish-speaking or Hispanic members. It began in the Chicago area in the 1940s as a means for Hispanics to protect themselves, their neighborhoods and their families.

By the 1970's, the Latin Kings came to be dominated by individuals engaged in criminal activity, and in particular, narcotics trafficking. The Latin Kings have since spread through all of Latin America and into Europe, specifically Spain.

In 1986, Luis Felipe, calling himself "King Blood," started a new chapter in New York while at Collins correctional facility. The Latin Kings grew into the thousands by the mid 1990s.

After a rampage in 1995 throughout New York City, dozens of members were arrested and charged with everything from arson to murder. Most plead guilty. "King Blood" was found guilty of all charges, including 8 counts of murder.

Through the late 90s, the Kings tried to polish its image, but was still teaming with crime. Latin King violence still runs amok in the prison system.

Skinheads

The skinhead phenomenon emerged in the mid 1960's among Great Britain's working class youth. Drawn together by the upbeat tempos of Ska music and reggae, early skinheads developed a look drawn from their blue-collar origins – steel-toe boots, straight-leg jeans, button down shirts and suspenders. The close-cropped hairstyles may have been in defiance of the more bourgeois, hippie culture popular at the time.

By the early 1970s, the skinhead movement had splintered into numerous subcultures. Many formed violent gangs with close ties to white supremacist groups like the National Front and the British Movement, playing on underlying resentments held by some who blamed non-white immigrants for economic and social problems. In response, anti-racist skinhead gangs begin to form.

In the late 70s, embraced by the emerging punk rock scene, skinhead culture began to spread to other countries – including the United States. By the mid-80s, American skinheads numbered in the thousands. As in England, their views encompass the entire political spectrum. However, they become notoriously known – and feared – for their most racist and violent subculture, the neo-Nazi skinheads.

Hells Angels

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) was formed in California during 1948, the name inspired by daring bomber pilots of World War II. Bored by post-war, suburban conformity, the Hells Angels hit the road on shiny, impressive, ear-splitting Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

The Hells Angels seemed tailor made for the youth culture of the 1950s and 1960s: longhaired, rebellious, and always ready to party. But those parties invariably turned sour.

One of the biggest parties of all sealed their reputation for murder. At a Rolling Stones concert outside of San Francisco in December 1969, the Hells Angels stabbed a spectator just a few feet from Mick Jagger. A Hells Angel member, Alan Passaro, was later acquitted of murder on grounds of self-defense.

Law enforcement agencies classify the gang as one of the "big four" outlaw motorcycle gangs, contending members carry out widespread violence, drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods and extortion.

But Hells Angels advocates assert that bikers as a whole are decent, but that one percent of them are bad apples hiding behind the promise of a free-wheeling lifestyle.

Black P Stones

The Black P Stones street gang was formed at the St. Charles Juvenile Correctional Facility in 1960. It was originally known as the Blackstone Rangers because members were based on Blackstone Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. The gang's name eventually evolved into the Almighty Black P. Stone Nation (often abbreviated BPSN).

The BPSN controlled South Side neighborhoods through various incarnations and even legitimate businesses. They were once considered community protectors and their leader, Jeff Fort, was seen as "Robin Hood" for the downtrodden. By the early 70's, they were the most powerful and organized street gang in Chicago..

In 1986, after he converted to Islam and gave the gang an Islamic doctrine, Fort, along with other high-ranking BPSN members, was indicted for attempting to purchase high-powered rocket launchers from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Fort is currently in prison under a no human contact order.

More than 600 people, gang members and civilians, have been killed as a result of the activities of the Black P Stones. Members can be found in almost every state in America.