Gangs

Demystifying Venus and Serena

My sister the champ

Shootout at Wadala Can't Shake Its Vile Lead

Go Buy a Ticket for My Brother the Devil

Eyewitness "Certain" Kimani Gray Was Unarmed When Police Shot Him

The only civilian eyewitness to come forward in the case of a Brooklyn teen shot dead by a pair of plainclothes New York City police officers is "certain" the 16 year-old was empty-handed when the cops opened fire. Kimani 'Kiki' Gray was shot several times by two officers patrolling East Flatbush i ... More >>

Tensions Mount After Police Fatally Shoot Brooklyn Teenager Kimani Gray

A candlelit vigil for a Brooklyn teen killed by New York City police officers left two people injured and led to one arrest Monday night. At approximately 7:00 pm, roughly 200 people gathered in East Flatbush for a somber vigil to remember Kimani Gray, a 16 year-old shot and killed by plainclothes ... More >>

"Krills," "Yams," and "Grizz": Decoding NYC Gangsters' Facebook Faux-Pas

In October, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly publicly announced that he was doubling the size of the Department's Anti-Gang Unit and would be stepping up efforts to bust gangsters using social media websites like Facebook and Twitter -- where gangsters have recently taken their turf wars.New York City's ... More >>

Street-Gang-Turned-Band Ghetto Brothers Attract "All Classes, All Races, All Ages" Years After Making Hip Hop History

"I didn't think this would ever happen, but now that it has, it reminds me of what my father always told me: 'It's never too late,'" says Benjy Melendez. The 60-year-old South Bronx native is positively giddy as he holds a copy of the newly reissued Power Fuerza -- the one and only album that Melend ... More >>

For the First Time in 20 Years, New York's Crime Rate Is on the Rise

While Bloomberg brags about his record, the city's crime rate is on the rise

Ray Kelly Goes Gangbusters: NYPD to Double Size of Anti-Gang Unit; Target Facebook Thugs

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly will give a speech later today in which he will announce his plans to double the size of the NYPD's anti-gang unit to combat the escalating problem of gang violence in the city.Kelly is calling the plan "Operation Crew Cut," which will bring the number of ... More >>

Feds Nail Eleven MS-13 Thugs ("Bam-Bam" And "Scooby" Included)

Federal authorities have rounded up nearly a dozen members of the murderous MS-13 street gang, each of whom face multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, robbery and other acts of thuggery dating back to 2008, the United States Attorney's Office announced today.In a 50-count indictment, the feds ... More >>

Crips Members Unimpressed With "Fake Ass" Facebook Gangsters

There have been a slew of new, young street gangs popping up in New York the last several years -- including the "Very Crispy Gangsters" and "Rockstarz," each of which were "taken down" by law enforcement earlier this week.These new gangsters have taken their battles to the Internet (which is why th ... More >>

Facebook Leads To Fall Of Two Brooklyn Gangs; "Very Crispy Gangsters" Are Crispy No More

As it currently stands, the body count from the ongoing war between the "Rockstarz" and the "Very Crispy Gangsters," both thuggish Brooklyn street gangs, stands at three dead VCG members -- which prompted a member of the "Rockstarz" to post on Facebook that "Rockstarz are up 3-0."Unfortunately for t ... More >>

Insane Clown Posse Is Suing the FBI (!!!)

CAVE-IN-ROCK, ILLINOIS -- Last fall, the FBI officially named Juggalos "a loosely-organized hybrid gang." This afternoon, Insane Clown Posse announced at the annual Gathering of the Juggalos "seminar," a veritable State of the Juggalo Union address given to "the heartbeat of the entire Juggalo world ... More >>

That Silly Thing About the FBI Classifying Juggalos as a Gang? It's No Joke.

Last week, the U.S. Marshal's Service issued a press release with this headline: "Gang Member Removed from New Mexico's Most Wanted." The apprehended menace in question was 20-year-old Mark Anthony Carlson, a white 140-pound male wanted on a felony bench warrant for missing probation. His gang affil ... More >>

This Is A Video Of A Little Old Lady Single-Handedly Scaring Off Five "Gang Members"

Five thugs attempted to rob a pawn shop in California last week and learned a valuable lesson: don't fuck with granny.As the creeps -- who CNN has dubbed "gang members" without any evidence that they are members of any gang -- are attempting to rob the store, its 65-year-old owner grabbed a pistol a ... More >>

Dwaine Taylor, Ex-Rikers Inmate Sues, Claims 'The Program' Still Exists

Responding to a recent Voice article on violence in the jails, the city Correction Department had claimed that they had done away with "the program," in which correction officers on their own condoned or encouraged gang-affiliated inmates to beat up inmates to keep order. In 2008, 17-year-old Christ ... More >>

Rashad Tucker, Mattiyas Letang, Teen Inmates, Slashed in Troubled Adolescent Jail

Two teen inmates were slashed Saturday in the latest violent incident at the troubled jail for adolescents on Rikers Island, the Voice has learned. The gang-related incident took place in the law library at the Robert N. Davoren Center, which likely means that the attackers were able to slip weapon ... More >>

"Depraved Sex Fiend" Jeffrey Ritter Will Get Out Of Prison Some Day. Meanwhile, "Rape Cop" Michael Pena Will Die Behind Bars

A Brooklyn perv -- who's been referred to in the mainstream media as a "tattoo freak," a "beefy beast," a "twisted perv," and a "depraved sex fiend" because he sexually assaulted an 85-year-old woman -- eventually will get out of prison, which is absolutely ridiculous considering his lengthy rap she ... More >>

Netas Gangsters "Boobie," "J-Live," And "Lae" Charged In 2004 Shotgun Murders

Three members of the Netas, a street gang that's found its way from the prisons of Puerto Rico to the streets of New York, have been indicted on murder charges in the 2004 shotgun slayings of two rival gangsters.According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the three gangsters -- Alvaro Cabral, a.k.a. "B ... More >>

Rikers Violence: Out Of Control

Shocking images back up what we've been reporting for years: New York City's jails are houses of horror

MS-13 Gangster Carlos "Silencio" Ortega Indicted For Attempted Murder Of Voice Source, Murder Of Two Others

The MS-13 gangster who admitted to shooting one of our sources in the head -- and fatally shooting one of his friends -- was formally indicted today by a federal grand jury. Additionally, Carlos "Silencio" Ortega, 22, was indicted in the machete-to-the-face murder of a fellow MS-13 gangster who refu ... More >>

How One Man Survived to Testify Against a Machete Killer

Witness against MS-13

MS-13 Gangster "Silencio" Earns High Marks For Gang-Name Mystique, Low Marks For Getting Away With Murder

​We're not going to venture to guess what an alleged MS-13 gang member has to do to earn the name "Silencio," but we'll give credit where credit is due: it's a badass friggin' gang name.Unfortunately for "Silencio," a.k.a. Carlos Ortega, 22, his badass gang name probably isn't going to get him off ... More >>

Today in El Diario: Gang Gal Gets 5 Years

​Gangster's ex girl might get 5 years in slammer Puerto Rico's federal prosecutor is trying to get Leavy Nin Batista, ex-wife of a gang boss, a 5-year jail sentence for criminal dealings, the Spanish-language daily reports. Nin Batista would also get a chance at parole, as part of a plea de ... More >>

Today in El Diario: Roving Youth on the Rise!

​Adults worry about roving bands of violent youth City officials met Wednesday to combat adolescent bullying and gangs, the Spanish-language daily reports.  Teachers, social workers, police officers, lawyers, and social organizations voiced their concerns in a conference, where they explain ... More >>

Battle of the Gangster Nicknames: Italians Trounce Blacks

Vincent "No Good" YoungDon't count out the Mafia. Tom Robbins gives a sobering appraisal of why the Italian-American gangsters are more than just pop-culture figures. But they're also pretty potent pop-culture pricks. Gangs of other colors and races are also dangerous, but Joe Coscarelli's list of ... More >>

Cops Nab Another Gang Suspect in Bronx Gay-Bashing

​Police have arrested an eleventh suspect in a case where gang members kidnapped and beat three gay men in the Bronx. Police say 26-year-old Luis Garcia is one of the ringleaders of the "Latin King Goonies" (no relation to the Latin Kings gang) who are accused of brutally abusing three gay me ... More >>

Carl Paladino Gives 'Permission . . . to Hurt Gay People' — Bronx Gay Leader

Scene of the Bronx goonies' attackAfter last week's brutal gay news from up north, we caught up with Dirk McCall, executive director of the Bronx Community Pride Center (BCPC). It's also been a tough month in other ways for McCall, only the fourth of his tenure. New York State owes the BCPC more th ... More >>

Horrors in the Bronx Cap Week of Terror for NY Gays

In just the past few days, the city has seen a gay teenager leap from the George Washington Bridge after being bullied, hosted a vigil in Washington Square Park for the rash of gay teen suicides happening around the country, and learned of gay bashings that happened in Chelsea and even in the bathro ... More >>

Rahm Emanuel Announces Run For Chicago Mayor Via YouTube Video

Ex-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who left his post on Friday, announced Sunday via YouTube what everyone already knew: he's running for mayor of Chicago. Watch your goddamn backs, "gangbangers."

The goofy highlights of 4 A-Team novels PLUS: Tender A-Team YouTube tributes

Each Thursday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets. I do this for one reason: Knowledge is power. ​ A-Team novelizations Small But Deadly Wars; When You Comin' Back, Range Rider?; Old ... More >>

Bloods Gang Busted in the Bronx

​Thirty-eight reputed members of the Bloods were indicted in connection with a shooting in the Bronx, racking up an array of charges including attempted murder, assault, conspiracy, drug charges and gun possession. That's pretty much gangs in a nutshell. According to NY1, 32 of the suspects ar ... More >>

Dennis Hopper, Soundtrack Savant: The Unacknowledged Music Savvy Behind Easy Rider, Out of the Blue, and Colors

​In the aftermath of Dennis Hopper's death this past Saturday (J. Hoberman's obit is here), tributes to the actor didn't even try to construct an easy narrative out of his chaotic life. How could they? Hopper was many things at once: the actor who pushed the "method" style way past its breakin ... More >>

In a Crime-Free City, How Does a Young Gangbanger Represent?

The Cool World

Teen Murder at Rikers Jail

New details about the slow and painful death of a Brooklyn kid. Did guards turn a blind eye?

Gangbanger as 'Terrorist'

A 9/11 anti-terror law turns out to be handy against small-time hoods

Tookie's Long Goodbye

Timeline of an execution, quote by quote

The Rules of Redemption

How could 'Tookie' Williams have convinced the Governor?

Blow Up

David LaChapelle plays his krump card with a South Central dance doc

Gang Planks

Pols Push Tougher Policing for City's Gang Problem

Children Come Home to Roots

March Has Strong Words for Rap Music and Gangsta Youth

LAPD Incident Report

Confessions of a Gangsta Rapper

Murder, Robbery, Police Brutality, Hip Hop, and Other Tales From a Pioneer of the Crips Gang in New York

Roaming Rikers

Stun Shields, Stray Cats, Buck-Fifties, Boofing: The Top Brass’s Tour of America’s Largest Penal Colony

Roaming Rikers

Stun Shields, Stray Cats, Buck-Fifties, Boofing: The Top Brass’s Tour of America’s Largest Penal Colony

Wu-Tang Clan is Sumthing ta Fuck Wit

The World-Famous Staten Island Hip-Hop Collective Has a Government Informer Working Within Its Ranks; at the Same Time, the Group Is Being Investigated by the Feds for Gunrunning. Coincidence?

The Night Shift

Undercover in New York’s 'Compton East'

New York’s Mean Streets

Murder on a Liquor High

A 17-year-old is dead. his alleged killer is only 15, troubled, and facing life in prison