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Ranking structure : Paramilitary/Buisness Territory : Houston . At the close of the eighth hour, the shift changes, but the inmates remain. The prosecutors of Luis Sandoval not only conceded this but went out of their way to make it part of their case. 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. Tango Blast, Aryan Brotherhood and Aryan Circle are the most active prison gangs in the region. When asked about it, Sandoval testified that the report merely contained Schapers accusations, which Sandoval denied then and would deny now, under oath. 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. But the sudden absence of gang wars did not mean that the gangs had gone away. However if a member is not deemed worthy to be initiated, the denied appellant could end up becoming victimized by the gang, such as making the person pay money for protection and be put to work for the gang through prostitution. TI was developed in 2010 in an effort to create a new breed of automobile competition. 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. Texas Syndicate Members In San Antonio Indicted On Racketeering Charges Charges allege responsibility for four murders, three attempted murders and drug distribution . I looked up and as he was running by, he looked at melike he wanted to cry, you know? Absolutely not. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. Like any good criminal organization, there is an interesting ritual for all new members, although there are some variations for different chapters. Nothing during three weeks of by-the-book lectures at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice training academy had prepared him for the helplessness he felt as a lone correctional officer constantly surrounded by violent criminals. Compared with Luis Sandovals quiet life in Alice, Ellis I must have seemed like an opium den. And theres always somebody, the ex-drug runner told me, wholl do something for you.. The guards were hired. [4][5], The Texas Syndicate was established at Folsom State Prison in California in 1978 in direct response to the other California prison gangs, notably the Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia, which were attempting to prey on native Texas inmates. Theyre gonna say you were in on it. 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 the Ferguson Unit, for example, guards wore special caps sporting a patch designed by an inmate. But he stayed out of trouble, in large part because of two hall porters, Bubba Ray Smith and Johnny Abrams. Drugs come from the free world. Asked point-blank by his attorney, Did you ever bring drugs inside TDCJ? The Department of Public Safety has released its 2015 Texas Gang Threat Assessment report. Inmates fashioned shanks out of road signs, door hinges, food trays, typewriter platen rods, and field equipment. Were he to pay his old workplace a visit, Luis Sandoval would notice several changes at Ellis I. It was also a dangerous practice in light of the fact that a narrow corridor intersected the west end of the B-wing and only an officer standing at that end could see what was going on in the corridor. 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. But the evidence gathered by Justice clearly added up to a violation of the Eight Amendments protection from cruel and unusual punishment. The Texas Syndicate 2,082 views Jun 18, 2022 62 Dislike Share Save Gangsters Cops and Politicians 3.4K subscribers Gang Expert Gabe Morales discusses the California roots of the Texas. Youre telling us you saw nothing? On Sandovals shift alone, at least four or five guards had been busted for bringing drugs into prison, but there were others who hadnt been busted and probably never would be. Their primary operations revolve around drugs, and they have a truly terrifying initiation ritual for new members. For his trouble, the inmates offered the guard $75. Inside the walls of each prison is drugs, prostitution, gambling, extortion, and grand theft, but no investigation into any of these things has ever been made. The letter did not say what such an investigation would say about Luis Sandoval. 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. The letter was not what one might expect from a former prison guard. He was muling, said McDonald. The roles in the Arredondo hit were decided in either the chow hall or the chapel, where numbers were drawn from a cup. The next day, Sandoval recalled, I walked into work feeling good. Sandoval was one of the officers I wanted to be like, said one correctional officer whom Sandoval helped train. A long, metal objecta homemade knife, or shankprotruded from his jugular. Conditions were no different on December 17, 1986, which was why Sandoval was given the assignment of B-wing hall boss that afternoon. I dont have any money to get any stamps, Garcia explained. The rules of the Texas Syndicate prohibit the distribution of information regarding fellow members to law enforcement. The recruitment techniques of gangs vary from gang to gang, but generally, they have some common recruitment techniques and requirements. There is little supervision, no governing oversight other than the hierarchy, and quite literally the only purpose of these is to test would-be members to see if they have what it takes to serve the purpose of the group. There is then a period of time during which those clothes cannot be washed. 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. DPS also cited the 2014 indictment of 55 Barrio Azteca members and associates as handicapping the gang's effectiveness. When Sandoval told me that, he was sitting in the interrogation room of the Walker County jail in Huntsville, wearing prison whites. Can I still get Beyonc tickets? The most common form of initiation for a male gang member is. (After the trial, Sandoval became less talkative on the subject of drugs. One can easily compare joining a gang while in prison to joining a fraternity in college. The Latin Kings, a gang that started out back in the 1950's in Chicago, are among the largest gangs in the world. 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 of drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, and contract murder behind Texas prison walls. [2], Texas Syndicate members abide by a constitution requiring members to:[1], Additionally, gang leadership is determined by democratic elections, requiring a unanimous decision. texas syndicate initiation. This practice violated the Ruiz stipulation that an officer must be present at all times at any entrance or exit of the main building. Gang initiation typically has a homeboy requirement, that is, one of the other members can testify that they know the character of the prospective recruit and thus whether or not he deserves initiation. The main activities of the TS are centered on drug trafficking, extortion, protection rackets, and internal discipline and contract murdering. Uneasy truces between gangs have developed. A member who violates the rules and loses favor becomes a muleta, a term which is used to mean a problem. Such a violation may result in the TS bringing its own official gang-based charges against the member who is being accused of violating the rules. The impulse is to accommodate the inmate, since prisonsspiritual wastelands of concrete and metalcry out for random acts of human kindness. That afternoon in the interrogation room, Special Prison Prosecution Unit investigator Royce Smithey bore down on Sandoval. But Arredondo had brought back nothing. Blood was gushing out of a hole in his neck; he was unconscious but gasping wildly. To pay for his legal expenses, his mother sold the family home. Meet the Barrio Azteca gang, considered one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Texas. The federal agency is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to his capture. Tango Blast, Texas Syndicate, Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples and MS-13 all were identified as active in human smuggling operations in 2014. . That question is something to the effect of "if it is raining, and you have an umbrella but I do not, what would you do?" Once a gang member is initiated, the recruit is under a blood in blood out oath whereas, they typically make a cut on their arm to symbolize their blood in, and that their only way to leave the gang is death, either from murder from a rival gang, or death for treason. Not one of them said that Sandoval was a bad officer; many, in fact, went out of their way to laud his abilities. Eventually, however, Vicente and Garcia began to ask for more than a light. Upon graduating from Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin in 2014, Joshua joined the Express-News in 2014 as a breaking news reporter. The strict rules and harsh discipline governing the Texas Syndicate help insure that the organizations members and associates function as a continuing unit despite any changes in membership. He was arrested for driving while intoxicated, following a one-car accident that left his limbs temporarily paralyzed. The Texas Syndicate originated in the early 1970s in the California prison system as a response to other prison gangs that were preying on native Texan inmates. One was an officer who muled marijuana and cocaine for a black inmate known as Apple Jack, whose activities were no secret at the unit. Joshua Fechter is a reporter covering City Hall and San Antonio politics for the Express-News. texas syndicate initiation. But such sentiments are meaningless down on the farm. The Texas Syndicate, unlike the Mexican Mafia or Nuestra Familia, has been more associated or allied with Mexican immigrant prisoners. After the lockdown, the murder rate plunged. West Texas Syndicate has always embraced the spirit of a hardworking, relentless underdog. App. Neither possibility seemed likely, given what Sandoval had learned about TDCJ in his first few months on the job. 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). But to prison officials, the story is as familiar as the smell of marijuana in a cellblock and the sight of an inmate with a hand-tooled shank. Gangs like the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, Bloods, Crips, Texas Chicano Brotherhood and Partido Revolcionaro Mexicano (PRM) lack the size and structure or larger gangs like Tango Blast, but are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime. (For that matter, Garcia testified during the trial, outside the presence of the jury, that Sandoval muled drugs countless times.) Sandoval was never searched, he told me, and came to learn that the only way they bust you is if theyre told by a snitch, This guys coming in today., While Sandoval said there were other guardsand even supervisorsinvolved in drug activity, the Texas Syndicate preferred that Garcia deal directly with Sandoval, a fellow Hispanic. Such communication is often through letters and telephone calls. Just like in the free world. He continued to walk, step after tortured step, a full fifty yards, before collapsing, dead, in the doorway of the infirmary. Carnales make sure that the rules are known. There was no further violence, a signal to those who understood gang behavior that Arredondo had been snuffed out by one of his own rather than by a rival gang. Such retribution helps enforce loyalty of the organization which is necessary for ensuring the smooth running of the drug distribution business as well as maintaining discipline within the enterprise. Sandoval did not know any warden, ranking officer, or CO at Ellis I who did not have at least one snitch. 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. However, prospects stand ready to carry out decisions made at these meetings as this would help improve their status in the organization. ), The Sandoval trial was a rare public washing of the Texas penal systems bloodstained linen. The gang murders that once took place inside prisons now take place on the streets. Texas Syndicate. Pursuant to this objective, members act to protect each other and to build a strong, disciplined organization through intimidation and violent retribution against outsiders and through strict and harsh discipline of members and associates who violate the rules and goals of the enterprise. Coded language is frequently utilized in order to mislead law enforcement as to the true message contained in the letters or telephone calls. Then, he is deemed fit to join the gang. Then hed have to do something for us. [6], TS has a paramilitary structure, headed by a president and vice president elected by the general membership. In 1967, the Nuestra Familia prison gang (which is comprised of inmates from the northern rural areas of California) and the Texas Syndicate (made up of inmates from Texas) formed to defend themselves against the Mexican Mafia (EME), the Aryan Brotherhood, and Black prison gangs that existed in the California penal system. I just want to take care of my business, he would tell gang members who tried to recruit him. As to everything he had told his investigatorsnone of that was true either, he said. In return, the snitch had an oversized cell to himself, plus a hall pass that gave him the run of the unit. In 2011, the FBI reported that Barrio Azteca also had members in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Se Habla Espaol Call For aFREEInitial Consultation. Tri-City Bombers, Latin Kings and Surenos are more active on a street gang level. 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. The group was started in the 1970's in California's prison system, in response to the need for more protection for Mexican-Americans (primarily from Texas) who were in the Cali prison system. Initiation is one of those controversial topics that has gotten increased negative press in the last few years. Somehow an inmate by the name of Vicente had gotten past the new boots boys. 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. Inmates know their surroundings, and they know that the surroundings are theirs. 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