As the free world would have it, there are good inmates and bad inmates. Exaggerated? Forty-one-year-old Texas Syndicate Lt. Hilario Nieto (aka "Shorty") is one of 8 individuals from San Antonio arrested this week on federal drug trafficking charges. 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. Blood was gushing out of a hole in his neck; he was unconscious but gasping wildly. They ally with the Texas Mafia; Dirty White Boys, and Border Brothers. But the sudden absence of gang wars did not mean that the gangs had gone away. 15 Title TEXAS SYNDICATE (ESE TE: TS) History The TS originated in the California prison system in the early 1970s, primarily to protect the small number of native Texan Mexican-American inmates from Back in February, Texas Syndicate member Ernesto Medrano and some 20 of his fellow gang members were in a Dallas federal courtroom receiving multi-year prison sentences for importing hundreds of . That afternoon, Ellis I warden Jerry Peterson called Sandoval into his office to congratulate him on a fine job. But, he insisted, that didnt make him a murderer. Prison units are individually controlled by a local chairman and vice chairman. As the organization continued growing, drug trafficking came to be one of their favorite activities and sources of income. In return, the snitch had an oversized cell to himself, plus a hall pass that gave him the run of the unit. Some veteran gang members claim that the Barrio Azteca gang can trace its roots in El Paso back to the original 1940s El Paso Tip gang (ept). When Sandoval told me that, he was sitting in the interrogation room of the Walker County jail in Huntsville, wearing prison whites. The single eye, or the eye of Providence originates in Egypt with the eye of Horus. While in prison, members ensure the safety of both allies and other affiliates. The two inmates snitched for Sandoval and herded him away from troublemakers, admonishing him, Boss, stay away from those guys.. Its a society, Luis Sandoval told me of the world he inhabited five days a week, eight hours a day. Inmates fashioned shanks out of road signs, door hinges, food trays, typewriter platen rods, and field equipment. resno Neon is a 90 year old electric sign company based in the Central San Joaquin Valley, California. 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. Youll drain all the blood to his head. Three other officers arrived on the scene. The war ended with a treaty in 1997. This practice violated the Ruiz stipulation that an officer must be present at all times at any entrance or exit of the main building. To keep him at ease, the Texas Syndicate requested that the inmate return from his furlough with two hundred dollars worth of heroin and marijuana. Ellis I officials caught wind of the deal through a snitch. [3] While the gangs maintains its headquarters in California, there are around 1,000 members in prisons and jails throughout Texas, with many others operating on the outside. Current Anti-Gang Efforts and Initiatives >> Thereafter, inmates made their blades out of hard plastic or made do with whatever crude instrument was within reach, like the cast-iron weight an inmate found in the recreation yard and used, with one vicious swing, to lop off the ear of another inmate. It took months before someone looked closely at the gas mask featured on the patch and realized that every correctional officer at the unit had been wearing the letters TS across his forehead. SMU's Pony Ears is just one of many Texas college football hand signs. Sandoval took the advice three years after Garcia gave it. He would stand at the searchers desk like he was running the building, Sandoval said. Gangs didnt worry about guards; they worried about each other. Source: National Gang Assessment 2009. To the public, the saga of Luis Sandoval will be a shocking revelation of how Texas prisons have spawned an organized crime wave that afflicts the entire state. A host of documents relating to the trial, as well as interviews with numerous sources involved in the case, have provided chilling details of how Texas prisons really work today. These include 13, Black Hand of Death, The M, and La Eme, which is Spanish for "the M". A tattoo can also be a sign or code to display their crimes on their skin for all . In a sense, you become a convict also.. This would put the Texas Syndicate in contact with several Mexican-based cartels. 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. Reminded that our earlier on-the-record, on-tape conversation contradicted this, he said, I have my life to think about.I made my mistakes. Its like a fly in a salt shaker., Today the numbers still favor the inmates: There are 47,751 of them and only 3,500 security personnelnone of whom carries a gunper eight-hour shift. It criticized TDCJs good ol boy system, which Sandoval claimed has ruled with an iron fist since the penal system was first established. Hispanic guards, he said, were either coerced into quitting or found doing something wrong. Supervisors treated inmates like animals. He further wrote, I am not the only one who worked there that knows that TDCJ is linked to the gangs and their illegal activities. More than. In your house you can walk around in the dark and not bang your shins because you know every square inch, said a former Ellis I officer. But he also acknowledged that he had made mistakes; and to me, though not to the jury, he confessed that one of those mistakes was bringing drugs into Ellis I. The gang cooperates with allied Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO) or transports the illicit cargo themselves. Two years after lighting his first cigarette, Sandoval was arrested and charged with murder for allegedly aiding a gang plot to kill an inmate. Tattoos The TM tattoo consists of the letters "TM" with one or all of the bottom tips of the letters shaped like devil's tails and/or arrowheads. Allies: Texas Mafia, Los Zetas; 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. On March 19, the name of Luis Sandoval was called three times in the Walker County courthouse, but the defendant did not respond. Had Schapers investigation been thorough, this denial might have seemed implausible to the jury. At Ellis I, Sandoval had never seen so many rules enforced so haphazardly. I was in the dayroom. When Vicente and his friend Armando Garciaalso a pleasant, nonconfrontational fellowbegan to ask Sandoval if he had a light, the guard refused at first, and finally decided, after repeated requests, what the hell. Sandoval figured the odds were about even. The Texas Syndicate, a prison gang that operates in and outside of penitentiaries, is considered by state law-enforcement officials to be among the most dangerous criminal organizations in. After that first transaction, Sandoval went back for morea total of three, four, or five times, he told me, though he vividly described six transactions to an investigator hired by his family. Fifty-two prisoners were murdered in a 21-month period that became known as the " war years ." Over 50 different gangs were represented in our study. school of professional studies acceptance rate duplexes for rent in lebanon, mo duplexes for rent in lebanon, mo The only witnesses who said that Sandoval had anything to do with the murder of inmate Joe Arredondo were two convicted felons: Carlos Rosas, a Texas Syndicate member who confessed to actually stabbing Arredondo but was offered a favorable deal in exchange for his testimony; and Ruben Ortiz, a convicted murderer and Texas Syndicate sex slave who was paroled after he agreed to testify. Power in the streets and prison is derived largely from criminal drug dealing, and the gang set out to control the lucrative drug trade. And Sandoval welcomed his company. Nearly all of them, however, confessed that they knew TDCJ had its share of dirty guards. (Today, Sandoval says that statement was coerced.) General Info But local law enforcement experts have documented that the gang was founded in 1986 by gangsters Benito "Benny" Acosta, Alberto "Indio" Estrada, Benjamin "T-Top" Olivarez, Manuel "Tolon" Cardoza, Manuel "El Grande" Fernandez, Ral "Rabillo" Fierro, and Jos "Gitano" Ledesma. Garcia would later say that he told Sandoval shortly after the Arredondo murder, Man, youre in deep shit. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. The gang murders that once took place inside prisons now take place on the streets. Other weapons were by-products of inmate ingenuity, as in the case of Cosmo, the death row inmate who fashioned a bomb out of matchstick tips and an asthma inhaler and blew a hole in his cell wall. The Barrio Azteca gang derives most of its income from smuggling heroin, powdered cocaine, and marijuana from Mexico into the United States through the portal it controls between the cities of El Paso and Juarez. Mike Hall writes about criminals, musicians, the law, and barbecue. The caller, known as El Carpintero, was a convicted child molester from El Paso who nonetheless had managed to obtain a job, under an assumed name, as an x-ray technician at Ellis I. El Carpintero instructed Sandoval to drive to a location in Huntsville where a sack containing marijuana awaited. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. After the big lockdown, metal detectors were installed in every prison unit to discourage the carrying of shanks. When Luis Sandoval went to work for the Texas prison system, he did the wrong favors for the wrong people. I want to see the mountains, he said. In 2000, reports indicated the existence of roughly 20000 members. The horned hand-sign shows allegiance to . The number 13 and the letter M both play a big role in Mexican Mafia aliases and symbolism, some of which we have seen so far throughout this list. Barrio Azteca is currently at the top of the FBI and DEA threat list. Around the same time, prison officials expressed concern about the fifty or sixty members of the two Los Angeles-based black street gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, that had recently entered the system. 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. In his first year on the job, Luis Sandoval found himself delivering drugs to a self-described drug runner on behalf of the states deadliest prison gang, the Texas Syndicate. The gang remains a significant threat to the safety and security of the United States and Mexico and to law enforcement working in and out of custody on both sides of the border. The 2000s and Today To get drugs out of the free world and into prison cells, there must be a courier. After the trial, Sandovals attorney, Steve Fischer, contacted TDCJ officials and asked them to let bygones be bygones. What is noteworthy in this pleading before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norbert J. Garney in the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, is that while both are BA members, Shamoo Rodriguez, 35, is a resident of El Paso. Just as he entered, Sandoval heard someone yell, Hes on the floor! On the other hand, if his superiors caught him delivering inmate mail, they could fire him on the spot. Barrio Azteca members also are involved in alien smuggling, arson, assault, auto theft, burglary, extortion, intimidation, kidnapping, robbery, and weapons violations. And the rise of gang activity as evidenced by the rash of shootings we've seen in major metropolitan areas like Chicago and elsewhere is increasingly threatening the very safety and security of both law enforcement officers and the communities we serve, nationwide. Founded In: 1970s 1%; 1% ER; Bandidos MC; Bandidos MG, BFFB = Bandidos Forever Forever Bandidos; GFBD = God Forgives Bandidos Don't; BFFBGFBD, Houstone Houston, Texas, Broken Star Emblem, HTB, 713 , 281, PTB, "16" "20" "2",D-Town, 214, Dallas, Texas, Solid Star with Outline, Fort Worth, Texas, Hollow Star with Outline, Foros or Foritos, Funky Town, 817, Austin, Texas, ATX Blast, ATX Tango Blast, La Capirucha, Capitol Building, 3 D Star with ATX, San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio Spurs logo, 210, San Anto, Orejones, Valluco, Valle, Puro Valluco, 956, 100% Valluco, XXII, Palms trees shaped in "V" , West , West Tango, 806, "W" "T", Current Anti-Gang Efforts and Initiatives >>, Most WantedGang FugitivesU.S. He had lied to his own investigator, just as inmates and Internal Affairs had lied to the jurors. After its formation in 1986, both the Texas Syndicate and Texas Mexican Mafia refused to recognize the Aztecas and declared war on the gang. The 90s and The Cartels The short, apple-cheeked Hispanic man with the neatly combed hair and the Howdy Doody grin looked too soft to be an inmate or even a guard. The caller advised Sandoval not to show up for his March 18, 1991, trial, and then hung up without identifying himself. The assailant was nowhere in sight. Murder wasnt his thing. To the newer guards, Sandovals stature among the inmates was something to behold. For several days, Sandoval read the Bible and considered his options. The warden would later testify that Sandovals actions were somewhat heroic. But, Peterson added, the hero had seemed awfully calm in the midst of all the bloodshedperhaps too calm. Tango Blast. At a given time, Sandoval would stand guard over hundreds of inmates. Today supervisors advise guards: We cannot stop a hit. Bring on the Shiplap. Sandoval insisted that he didnt know anything about the Arredondo murder other than what he filed in his report. A man was stabbed twenty times. By the time 21-year-old Luis Sandoval, a new boot at Huntsvilles Ellis I Unit in the summer of 1985, was approached by an inmate with an unlit cigarette, his ears were still ringing from a more desperate request he had heard during his first week on the job. France's plugin electric vehicle share reached 23.8% in February, up from 20.1% year on year. Leave them on the floor! said Sandoval. Gang members may change or modify the tattoos as corrections officials and law Neither possibility seemed likely, given what Sandoval had learned about TDCJ in his first few months on the job. Some offenders join an STG in an effort to exert influence and take advantage of other offenders. Sandoval weighed his choices. texas syndicate hand signs. Sandoval described Ellis I warden Jerry Peterson as a good man but a figurehead. Hes bleeding! He whirled and burst into the B-wing hallway. Give me your shirt, he ordered an inmate and with it applied pressure to the wound. Seemingly everyone in Ellis I would snitch or be snitched on. It seemed that everywhere Sandoval went, there was Vicente, pushing his broom across the floor, sometimes waving or offering a greeting to the new boot, but never badgering him. Now Turner could be seen pushing trash cans down the hall, twirling his knife in the air; nobody took his knife away. But they werent enough: A guard like Luis Sandoval would be assigned to a hallway filled with hundreds of inmates. And were there in it. But other factors have caused guards to agree to be drug mules. And each gang, after accomplishing the first objective of protection from other gangs, preyed on inmates who would buy drugs or sex or who could be intimidated into giving sex or buying protection. As the organization continued growing, drug trafficking came to be one of their favorite activities and sources of income. His assistant wardens run the building. Indeed, Peterson said to me that his units drug problem isnt rampant, but he also acknowledged that much has escaped his attention over the years. Peaceable inmates who had lost faith in TDCJs ability to protect them now felt less inclined to carry shanks everywhere they went. One juror phoned Sandovals brother that afternoon and told him that in her view the case against Sandoval was racially motivated. White Knights (Texas) White Prison Gangs. Other inmates reacted to the TS as the TS members had first responded to California gang harassment. 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. The Barrio Azteca gang members organize themselves using a paramilitary structure and apply English terms or their Spanish equivalent words for ranks such as captain, lieutenant, and sergeant. The Mexican Mafia absorbed the blows and grew stronger. Push inevitably came to shove: In two separate gang confrontations, the Texans murdered one California inmate and seriously wounded another. More accurate investigations lower the number to about 4000, with some sources even going as low as 3800. Id say about eighty percent of the inmates knew he was dealing clamed one inmate who was close to the action. Recalling the letter deliveries and phone messages, Sandoval might have wondered just what he had gotten himself into and how deeply. Receipt of inmates on interstate compact and the current membership in groups with Hispanic and Latino supremacy ideology lend to the threat of an organizing TS within our facilities. tj springer wife services@everythingwellnessdpc.com (470)-604-9800 ; how to cite a foreign constitution chicago Facebook. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. The 1,577 gang members currently housed in administrative segregation represent only a fraction of those inmates who actually do the gangs bidding. The investigators didnt tell me much, nor was I particularly inquisitive, he said. Show More Show Less 20 of 32 7. Garcia, a four-time loser serving a life sentence for repeated theft and heroin offenses, was one of the friendlier inmates: 33 years old but actually grandfatherly in demeanora gentleman, you could almost sayquiet and unthreatening. Theres no way to shut them down, Sandoval said. As a result, the Mexikanemi and the Texas Syndicate begrudgingly recognized Barrio Azteca. Prisons, crammed with thrill-seekers and outright junkies, provide the ultimate captive consumers. At the Ferguson Unit, for example, guards wore special caps sporting a patch designed by an inmate. The moment Garcia asked Sandoval to bring marijuana into TDCJ, it did not take superhuman deductive powers for the guard to figure out the Hispanic inmates clientele. The court transportation system is the first weak point. The Barrio Azteca gang members organize themselves using a paramilitary structure and apply English terms or their Spanish equivalent words for ranks such as captain, lieutenant, and sergeant. Either way, Sandoval was out. Texas Department of Public Safety. At certain times, more than five hundred of them might flood the B-wing hallway en route to the gym, the chapel, the woodshop, or the chow hall. [3] Syndicate members have been known to carry out contract killings for Los Zetas, the paramilitary wing of the Gulf Cartel. Twelve days later, Texas chief prison prosecutor Travis McDonald flew to L.A., took custody of Sandoval, and flew him back to Huntsville, where he was held without bond at the Walker County jail. Meanwhile, white inmates, tired of being robbed and sexually assaulted by the larger population of black inmates, began the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. That afternoon in the interrogation room, Special Prison Prosecution Unit investigator Royce Smithey bore down on Sandoval. If you tell him, Put that knife down, hell look up at you and say, I aint through yet. These people are serious. Leslie Zepeda died the day after Christmas. Sandoval put his hand against the wound, looked up, and saw Crippin and McCool standing there, gaping. And the courier must possess a particular power: He must be able to walk through walls. This time, however, four Internal Affairs officers greeted him inside by reading him his rights and charging him with murder. Did you know that 40% of all inmate escapes occur during transport? TDCJ intelligence files indicate that by the close of the eighties, the TS, the Mexican Mafia, and other prison gangs had developed active memberships in every major Texas city, as well as in several small towns. The sign represents the evil eye floating above the pyramid. [1], Development of the Texas Syndicate was initially motivated by self-protection against the historical "building tenders" in prison. McCool opened the picket gate to allow Sandoval into the rest room. Our prisons, far from turning out reformed citizens, have instead become incubators of a statewide crime wave. Facebook . Paranoia overcame him. Post author: Post published: June 10, 2022; Post category: do coyotes eat crows; Post comments: . Perhaps it was because Vicente was so quiet and servile or perhaps he had such a talent for lingering that the porters simply paid him no mind. TV Review: Mixed View of FX's 'The Bridge'. As a former prison gang member, I'm ashamed to look in the mirror because my failures are staring back at me. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force, including DPS Special Agents, located and arrested GONZALEZ at a local motel in Lubbock.GONZALEZ is a violent offender with a history of aggravated robbery, aggravated assault . Although numerically and financially inferior and facing multiple powerful advisories, the Barrio Azteca gang managed to murder many significant members of their enemies in several Texas prison facilities. With what was left of his final J.C. Penney paycheck, Sandoval and his cousin drove to Las Vegas, a place Sandoval had always yearned to visit. They grew quickly by recruiting violent individuals, especially from the El Paso-Juarez area. His father died. Sandovals apparent relationship with the gang did not escape the attention of the Ellis I population. None of them knew anything about Sandoval and drugs. Released or parole members who generate money for the gang must surrender a 10% tax ("the dime") of all proceeds toward the Texas Syndicate in prison. Armando, I cant jeopardize my life, man., Garcia took the story to the Texas Syndicate. Or if they cared to enforce the rule. The BA gang also imposes a street tax, or "cuota," on other criminal enterprises and businesses operating on turf where the Aztecas claim control. He continued to walk, step after tortured step, a full fifty yards, before collapsing, dead, in the doorway of the infirmary. Sandoval got off in Los Angeles and found his way to Van Nuys, where a cousin put him up in his apartment. He told her that he feared the Texas prison authorities, who by now had surely discovered that the murder of Joe Arredondo was, if anything, a result of prison mismanagement. Any gang member who's spent any time in custody has practiced slipping out of handcuffs and shackles, and you can bet one or more of them carry jail-made handcuff keys.
Rice Football Coach Salary,
Terry J Smith Chiropractor,
Sahith Theegala Origin,
Articles T