List of gangs in the United States
Encyclopedia
Notable criminally-active gang
s in the United States
include:
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
include:
Asian American
- Triads (Chinese AmericanChinese AmericanChinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
) - TongsTong (organization)The word tong means "hall" or "gathering place". In North America a tong is a type of organization found among Chinese living in the United States and Canada. These organizations are described as secret societies or sworn brotherhoods and are often tied to criminal activity...
(Chinese AmericanChinese AmericanChinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
) - Wah ChingWah ChingWah Ching is a Chinese American Triad Society and street gang also known as "Dub C" originating in San Francisco during the early 1960s. At the time, Wah Ching was organized into one enormous gang...
- Chinese Triads (Chinese AmericanChinese AmericanChinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
) - YakuzaYakuza, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
(Japanese AmericanJapanese Americanare American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
) - Born to KillBorn to Kill (gang)Born to Kill was the name of a notorious New York City-based street gang composed of first-generation Vietnamese immigrants. Their rise to power was in the 1980s when they ran New York City's Chinatown with an iron fist and quickly rose to become the most notorious Asian gang the country has ever...
- Jackson Street BoysJackson Street BoysJackson Boyz or Jackson Boys are a San Francisco, California based Asian street gang and Triad society. The gang is composed of Chinese and Vietnamese members, and is centered in San Francisco's Chinatown....
(Chinese AmericanChinese AmericanChinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
) - Chung Ching YeeChung Ching YeeJoe Boys was a Chinese youth gang founded in the 1960s in San Francisco's Chinatown. Joe Boys was originally known as "Joe Fong Boys", after its founder Joe Fong...
(also called the "Joe Boys")
Biker gangs and motorcycle clubs
- BandidosBandidosThe Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is a "one-percenter" motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate with a worldwide membership. The club was formed in 1966 by Don Chambers in Texas. Its slogan is We are the people our parents warned us about. It is estimated to have...
- The Breed MC
- Brother SpeedBrother SpeedThe Brother Speed Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in Boise, Idaho in 1969, but now has its mother chapter in Portland, Oregon. They are considered by Oregon's Department of Justice to be one of six "outlaw motorcycle gangs" in the state...
- DiablosDiablosThe Diablos Motorcycle Club is a "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle gang in the United States with chapters in several cities.On September 24, 1998, Diablo club member Raymond "Stoney" Stone and seven other members were charged with various crimes The Diablos Motorcycle Club is a "one-percenter"...
- Devils DiciplesDevils DiciplesThe Devils Diciples Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle club that was founded in Fontana, California in 1967. The word outlaw carries a specific meaning which does not imply criminal intent, but rather means the club is not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association and does not...
- Free Souls
- Hells AngelsHells AngelsThe Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
- Highwaymen Motorcycle ClubHighwaymen Motorcycle ClubThe Highwaymen Motorcycle Club is a one-percenter outlaw motorcycle gang that was formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1954. The club has undergone a number of large-scale police and FBI investigations, most notably in 1973, 1987 and 2007...
- Market Street CommandosMarket Street CommandosThe Market Street Commandos was a motorcycle club that, in 1947, along with the Boozefighters and the Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington, participated in the highly-publicized Hollister incident . In 1954 the Fontana Hells Angels merged with the Market Street Commandos to become the San Francisco...
- MongolsMongols (motorcycle club)The Mongols Motorcycle Club, sometimes called the Mongol Nation or Mongol Brotherhood, is a "one-percenter" motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate. The club is headquartered in southern California and was originally formed in Montebello, California in 1969 by Hispanic Vietnam War veterans...
- Outlaws Motorcycle ClubOutlaws Motorcycle ClubThe Outlaws Motorcycle Club, incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is a one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate that was formed in McCook, Illinois in 1935....
- Pagans Motorcycle Club
- Pissed Off Bastards of BloomingtonPissed Off Bastards of BloomingtonThe Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington was a motorcycle club that, in 1947, along with the Boozefighters and the Market Street Commandos, participated in the highly-publicized Hollister incident ....
- Sons of SilenceSons of SilenceSons of Silence Motorcycle Club is a one-percenter motorcycle club that was founded in Niwot, Colorado in the United States in 1966. The first chapter outside of Colorado was the Iowa chapter which was founded in 1968...
- Vagos Motorcycle ClubVagos Motorcycle ClubThe Vagos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Green Nation, is a one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate that was formed in the 1960s in the small unincorporated community of Temescal Valley, which is south of Corona, California. The gang originally was called "the Psychos"...
- Warlocks Motorcycle ClubWarlocks Motorcycle ClubThe Warlocks Motorcycle Club refers to two totally separate and unaffiliated groups. Both founded in 1967, one is based out of Florida and the other based out of Pennsylvania.-Pennsylvania Warlocks:...
- Gypsy Joker Motorcycle ClubGypsy Joker Motorcycle ClubThe Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club , or the Gypsy Jokers as they are called in Australia, are an outlaw motorcycle club that was originally formed in San Francisco, California on April Fool's Day, 1956...
- Iron HorsemenIron HorsemenThe Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle club that was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid 1960s. The club now also has chapters in Kansas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, California, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York...
African American
- 69 Mob
- Almighty Black P. Stone Nation
- Almighty Vice Lord Nation
- Black Gangster Disciples
- Black DisciplesBlack DisciplesThe Black Disciples is a large African American street gang based in Chicago, Illinois. The gang is considered extremely violent and is known to engage in drug trafficking and distribution, in addition to other criminal activities. The street gang is estimated to have in excess of 24,000 members...
- Gangster DisciplesGangster DisciplesThe Black Gangster Disciple Nation is a gang which was formed on the South-side of Chicago in the late 1960s, by David Barksdale, leader of the Black Disciples, and Larry Hoover, leader of the Supreme Gangsters. The two groups united to form the Black Gangster Disciple Nation .The gang has made...
- Black Disciples
- Black Guerilla Family
- Black Liberation ArmyBlack Liberation ArmyThe Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
- Black Mafia FamilyBlack Mafia FamilyThe Black Mafia Family , was a drug--trafficking organization originally based in Detroit, Michigan. Founded by the Flenory Brothers , the organization began in the late 1980s. By the year 2000, they had established multi-kilogram cocaine distribution cells in cities throughout the United States...
- BloodsBloodsThe Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs...
- Bounty Hunter BloodsBounty Hunter BloodsThe Bounty Hunter Bloods aka East side Bounty Hunter Blood Gang is a blood gang that started in 1969 in the Watts section of Los Angeles. Originally known as the Green Jackets, it is believed that Gary Barker was very influential during Bounty Hunters' beginnings. Also Bobby Jack was one of the...
- Tre 59 Piru bloods
- Piru Street Boys
- Sex Money Murda
- United Blood NationUnited Blood NationThe United Blood Nation, simply called the East Coast Bloods is primarily a street gang formed in 1993 within the New York City jail system on Rikers Island's George Mochen Detention Center. GMDC was used to segregate problem inmates from the rest of the detention center. Prior to this time period,...
- Bounty Hunter Bloods
- CripsCripsThe Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams...
- East Nashville CripsEast Nashville CripsAlso known the Nashville Rollin' 90s Crips, the East Nashville Crips, whose territory is in East Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee, are a division of the Los Angeles, California-based Rollin' 90s Crips. The Rollin 90s Crips set belongs to the original Crips gang founded in Los Angeles.- Origins :The...
- Eight Trey Gangster Crips
- Rollin 60 Neighborhood CripsRollin 60 Neighborhood CripsThe Rollin 60 Neighborhood Crips is a street gang based in Los Angeles, California. In 1972, the Rollin' 60's formed as a faction of the original Crip gang, the Westside Crips, and have since grown. Their main rival is the Eight Tray Gangster Crips to the East; however, they also fight with all...
- Venice Shoreline CripsVenice Shoreline CripsThe Venice Shoreline Crips are a black American street gang located in the Oakwood section within Venice, a district of Los Angeles, California....
- Grape Street Watts CripsGrape Street Watts Crips (gang)The Grape Street Watts Crips is a large black street gang from the Watts section of Los Angeles, California. In addition to wearing blue, the Grape Street Watts sport the color purple to signify Grape Street, a north-south street in Watts and 103rd in the heart of their neighborhood.- Territory...
- East Nashville Crips
- The CouncilThe Council (drug syndicate)The Council was a drug and crime syndicate in New York City created by Harlem gangster Nicky Barnes in the 1970s. The seven man organization was modeled after the Italian mob families. The Council settled disputes, handled distribution problems and other drug related issues...
- D.C. BlacksD.C. BlacksThe D.C. Blacks is an African-American prison gang in the United States whose members are from Washington D.C.. They are allied with the Black Guerrilla Family and some other black prison gangs. The Aryan Brotherhood is one of their main enemies....
- Errol FlynnsErrol FlynnsThe Errol Flynns were a criminal organization, or street gang, founded on the east side of Detroit, Michigan during the 1970s. Reportedly the gang appropriated their name from the Hollywood film star Errol Flynn because they fashioned themselves as flamboyant gangsters in dress and ‘jitting’, or...
- Four Corner HustlersFour Corner HustlersThe Four Corner Hustlers is an organized street gang originating on the west side of Chicago, Illinois. Together with the Vice Lords, Latin Kings, and Black P Stones, they are one of five dominant Chicago gangs involved in drug distribution, accounting for 84 percent of gang...
- Hidden Valley KingsHidden Valley KingsThe Hidden Valley Kings is a neighborhood-based gang in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was formed in Hidden Valley, a neighborhood located between Sugar Creek Rd., Interstate 85, and North Tryon St...
- Jamaican PosseJamaican PosseJamaican posses, often referred to simply as posses, are a loose coalition of gangs, based predominantly in Kingston, London, the New York City area and Toronto, Canada, first being involved in drugs and gun-running in the early 1980s...
- KUMI 415KUMI 415In Folsom State Prison. Along with the Crips, Latin Kings and the Bloods, 415 KUMI Nation members have recently provided recruitment pools for the Black Guerilla Family , a gang with similarly large numbers in the Bay area and Northern California...
- Mickey CobrasMickey CobrasThe Mickey Cobras are a large street gang affiliated with the nationwide gang affiliation known as the People Nation. Based in Chicago and consisting largely of African-American membership, the gang is considered very mobile, wear the color red, and factions of the gang are being established...
- Philadelphia Black MafiaBlack MafiaThe Black Mafia, a Philadelphia-based organized crime syndicate whose small beginnings started from holding up crap games and dealing in the illegal drug business, was formed in September 1968 by Samuel Christian, who later adopted the name Suleiman Bey under the Nation of Islam, and was at its...
- Supreme Team
- Weather Underground
- Zoe Pound GangZoe Pound GangZoe Pound is a criminal street gang based in Miami, Florida founded by Haitian immigrants some time before 1990.Having branched out from Miami in the two decades leading up to 2010, they are known to be involved in drug trafficking, robbery and related violent crime in support of their drug...
Irish
- Irish MobIrish MobThe Irish Mob is one of the oldest organized crime groups in the United States, in existence since the early 19th century. Originating in Irish American street gangs of the 19th century — depicted in Herbert Asbury's 1928 book The Gangs of New York — the Irish Mob has appeared in most...
- 19th Street Gang19th Street GangThe 19th Street Gang was a New York predominantly Irish street gang during the 1870s known as a particularly violent anti-Protestant gang.The 19th Street Gang, made up mostly of young pickpockets, muggers, and sneak thieves, was led by a young man known as Little Mike...
- 40 Thieves40 ThievesThe Forty Thieves — likely named after Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves — was the first organized street gang in New York's history. Primarily consisting of Irish immigrants, they terrorized the Five Points intersection in New York City, New York....
- Bottoms GangBottoms GangThe Bottoms Gang was an American street gang that terrorized St. Louis, Missouri in the early 20th century. Their main criminal activities included voter intimidation, armed robbery, assault, illegal lottery, and murder. The gang's members were primarily Irish-American, with a handful of German and...
- Bowe BrothersBowe BrothersThe Bowe Brothers were a criminal family in New York City during the early-to mid 19th century. The gang was headed by Martin Bowe, owner of the Catherine Slip sailors' home Glass House, and included Jack, Jim and Bill Bowe...
- Charlestown MobCharlestown MobThe Charlestown Mob was an Irish Mob group in Charlestown, which figured prominently in the history of Boston for much of the 20th century....
- Dead RabbitsDead RabbitsThe Dead Rabbits were a gang in New York City in the 1850s, and originally were a part of the Roach Guards. Daniel Cassidy claimed that the name has a second meaning rooted in Irish American vernacular of NYC in 1857 and that the word "Rabbit" is the phonetic corruption of the Irish word ráibéad,...
- The Ducky Boys gangThe Ducky Boys gangThe Ducky Boys gang was a purported Irish gang from The Bronx, New York.According to Richard Price's book The Wanderers, The Ducky Boys were "stunted Irish madmen, none of them over 5 foot 6"...
- Egan's RatsEgan's RatsEgan's Rats was an American organized crime group that exercised considerable power in St. Louis, Missouri from 1890 to 1924. Its 35 years of criminal activity included bootlegging, labor slugging, voter intimidation, armed robbery, and murder...
- Gopher GangGopher GangThe Gopher Gang was an early 20th century New York street gang known for its members including Goo Goo Knox, James "Biff" Ellison, and Owney Madden...
- Grady GangGrady GangThe Grady Gang was a New York sneak thief gang during the 1860s. Organized by fence John D. "Traveling Mike" Grady following the American Civil War, the Grady Gang operated in Broadway's "Thieves Exchange" where Grady would regularly purchase around $10,000 in stolen goods.He soon formed his own...
- Gustin GangGustin GangThe Gustin Gang was one the earliest Irish-American gangs to emerge during the Prohibition and dominate Boston's underworld during the 1920s. The name "Gustin Gang" came from a street name in South Boston, which is off of Old Colony Ave .Originally formed by Steve Wallace, with his brothers Frank...
- KerryoniansKerryoniansThe Kerryonians were an early-19th-century New York street gang made up mostly of recent Irish immigrants from County Kerry, Ireland. One of the first gangs, along with the 40 Thieves, to occupy the Five Points area, the Kerryonians particularly targeted those of British descent...
- Live Oak BoysLive Oak BoysThe Live Oak Boys was an Irish street gang who dominated New Orleans throughout the 1860s and 70s.Led by "Red" Bill Wilson, the Live Oak Boys were formed in 1858. Their name derived from the oaken clubs that were their weapon of choice. They were less well-organized than their Five Points...
- Mullen GangMullen Gang-Gang members:Paulie McGonagle was a Boston mobster and onetime leader of the Mullen Gang, a South Boston street gang involved in burglary, auto theft, and armed robbery. During the war against Donald Killeen and his brothers, McGonagle successfully led the Mullens in a string of shootings which...
- North Side GangNorth Side GangThe North Side family Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was the dominant Irish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early to late 1920s and principal rival of the Johnny Torrio-Al Capone organization, later known as the Chicago Outfit.- Early...
- PotashesPotashes (gang)The Potashes were a 19th-century American street gang active in Greenwich Village and the New York waterfront during the early-to mid 1890s. One of the many to rise in New York City during the "Gay Nineties"-period, the gang was led by Red Shay Meehan and based near the Babbit Soap Factory on...
- Ragen's ColtsRagen's ColtsRagen's Colts was a chiefly Irish street gang which dominated the Chicago underworld during the early twentieth century. By the late 1920s and early '30s, the gang became part of the Chicago Outfit under Al Capone....
- Rhodes GangRhodes GangThe Rhodes Gang was an American street gang based in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. The group was one of several smaller Hell's Kitchen gangs affiliated with the Gopher Gang, all of whom were almost constantly fighting among each other, among these including The Gorillas and the...
- Roach GuardsRoach GuardsThe Roach Guards were an Irish street gang in New York City's Five Points neighborhood during the early 19th century. Originally formed to protect New York liquor merchants in Five Points, the gang soon began committing robbery and murder....
- WestiesWestiesThe Westies are a predominantly Irish American organized crime association operating from the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan's West Side in New York City. According to crime author T. J...
- White Hand GangWhite Hand GangThe White Hand Gang was a collection of various Irish American gangs on the New York, Brooklyn, and Red Hook waterfronts from the early 1900s to 1925 who organized against the growing influence of Italian gangsters...
- Winter Hill GangWinter Hill GangThe Winter Hill Gang is a structured confederation of Boston, Massachusetts-area organized crime figures, predominantly Irish-American with a small Italian-American faction. It derives its name from the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts north of Boston. Its members have...
- Yakey YakesYakey YakesThe Yakey Yakes was a 19th century street gang, prominent in New York's underworld during the late 1890s and early 1900s. Based in the neighborhood of Catherine and Madison Streets, the gang were formed by Yakey Yake Brady in the 1890s and later participated in the gang war between Monk Eastman...
- 19th Street Gang
Italian
- American MafiaAmerican MafiaThe American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
- Bonanno crime familyBonanno crime familyThe Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
- Bufalino crime familyBufalino crime familyThe Bufalino crime family, also known as the Pittston crime family, or the Scranton Wilkes-Barre family, was an American Mafia crime family active in Northeastern Pennsylvania cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Pittston...
- Buffalo crime familyBuffalo crime familyThe Buffalo crime family, also known as the Magaddino crime family and The Arm, is an Italian American criminal organization based in Buffalo, United States. As part of the American Mafia the family operates throughout Western New York and Canada.The Buffalo crime family, gained power during the...
- Chicago OutfitChicago OutfitThe Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
- Cleveland crime family
- Colombo crime familyColombo crime familyThe Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
- DeCavalcante crime familyDeCavalcante crime familyThe DeCavalcante crime family is an organized crime family that controls organized crime activities in Elizabeth, New Jersey and surrounding areas in the state, despite operating on the other side of the Hudson River in New York, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia...
- Detroit PartnershipDetroit PartnershipThe Detroit Partnership, also known as the Detroit crime family, Detroit Combination, Detroit Mafia, Detroit Outfit or Zerilli crime family is an American Mafia crime family based in Detroit, Michigan...
- Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
- Genna crime family
- Genovese crime familyGenovese crime familyThe Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
- Kansas City crime familyKansas City crime familyThe Kansas City crime family, also known as the Civella crime family, is a Mafia family based in Kansas City, Missouri.-Early history:...
- Los Angeles crime familyLos Angeles crime familyThe Los Angeles crime family is an Italian American criminal organization based in Los Angeles, as part of the American Mafia . Since its inception in the early 1900s, it has spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the L.A. family gained power...
- Lucchese crime familyLucchese crime familyThe Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
- Milwaukee crime familyMilwaukee crime familyThe Milwaukee crime family is an American Mafia crime family based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The crime family was considered a branch of the Chicago Outfit. The family's most influential boss was Frank "Mr. Big" Balistrieri, who was greatly involved in the Las Vegas skimming casinos...
- Morello crime familyMorello crime familyThe Morello crime family is the direct ancestor of the Genovese crime family, the oldest of New York City's Five Families.-From Corleone to America:...
- New Orleans crime familyNew Orleans crime familyThe New Orleans crime family is one of the oldest American criminal organizations in activity. It is based in New Orleans and parts of southern Louisiana in the United States. Its status today is unknown, as it remained in the shadows since 1993...
- Patriarca crime familyPatriarca crime familyThe Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
- Philadelphia crime familyPhiladelphia crime familyThe Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Scarfo crime family, Bruno crime family, Philadelphia Mafia, or Philly Mob, is an Italian American criminal organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the most active American Mafia families outside of the Five Families of New York...
- Philadelphia poison ringPhiladelphia Poison RingThe Philadelphia poison ring was a murder for hire gang led by the Petrillo cousins, Herman and Paul Petrillo, in 1938. The leaders were ultimately convicted of 114 poison-murders and were executed by electric chair in 1941...
- Pittsburgh crime familyPittsburgh crime familyThe Pittsburgh crime family, also known as the LaRocca crime family, is an American Mafia crime family based in Pittsburgh, United States.-Prohibition era:...
- Porrello crime family
- Rochester crime familyRochester Crime FamilyThe Rochester crime family was a criminal organization based in Rochester, New York. It was considered a part of the American Cosa Nostra, also known as the Mafia.-History:...
- San Francisco crime familySan Francisco crime familyThe San Francisco crime family was a Mafia crime syndicate in San Francisco. The syndicate was organized in the early 1930s by Francesco "Frank" Lanza. The San Francisco family was a very small organization with 20-25 made members.-Francesco Lanza:...
- Scarfo crime family
- Sciortino crime familySciortino crime familyThe San Jose crime family, also known as the Sciortino crime family, was a small Mafia family based in the city of San Jose, California.-History:...
- Smaldone crime family
- St. Louis crime familySt. Louis crime familyThe St. Louis crime family, also known as the Giordano crime family, is an American Mafia crime family based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.-Prohibition era:...
- Trafficante crime familyTrafficante crime familyThe Trafficante crime family better known as the Tampa Mafia, is the only original Mafia crime family in the state of Florida.-Tampa's underworld:...
- Bonanno crime family
- South Brooklyn BoysSouth Brooklyn BoysSouth Brooklyn Boys is a famous New York City street gang that was formed some time around the 1950s in Brooklyn, NY...
- Ozone Park Boys
- 116th Street Crew
- Jersey Crew
- The Vario CrewThe Vario CrewThe Vario Crew is a group operating within the Lucchese crime family. It was once controlled by powerful Capo Paul Vario from the early 1950s into the early 1980s, when Vario and Jimmy Burke were betrayed by Henry Hill. Hill betrayed the crew by testifying against many members and his life-story...
Hispanic/Latin
- 18th Street gang18th Street gang18th Street gang is considered to be the largest transnational criminal gang in Los Angeles, California. It is estimated that there are thousands of members in Los Angeles County alone...
- Association Ñeta
- Brown PrideBrown prideBrown pride may refer to the gang Brown Pride or the brown pride movement in the United States.-Description:The slogan has been used by mestizo Latinos to denote a feeling of self-respect, celebrating one's heritage, and being proud of one's personal worth...
- Cali CartelCali CartelThe Cali Cartel was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca Department. The Cali Cartel was founded by the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers, Gilberto and Miguel, as well as associate José Santacruz Londoño...
- Dominicans Don't PlayDominicans Don't PlayDominicans Don't Play is a Dominican-American street gang started in Manhattan, New York in the early 1990s. They are known for primarily using machetes and knives as weapons...
- Fresno BulldogsFresno BulldogsThe Fresno Bulldogs is a primarily Hispanic street gang located in Fresno California and in towns of its namesake county. It's the largest Hispanic gang in central California with membership estimated at 5,000 members and an equal number of associates who identify with the gang.Origins=The Fresno...
- Ghetto BrothersGhetto BrothersThe Ghetto Brothers were a gang and music group founded in New York City's South Bronx in the late 1960s. The gang eventually spread to much of the Northeastern United States...
- Gulf CartelGulf CartelThe Gulf Cartel is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico, and perhaps the oldest organized crime group in the country...
- Jheri CurlsJheri CurlsThe Jheri Curls were a Dominican gang which was active in the Washington Heights, Manhattan neighborhood of New York City in the early 1990s. Taking their moniker, and coiffures, from the Jheri curl hairstyle that was of waning popularity in the United States during the time, the gang ran a major...
- Juárez CartelJuárez CartelThe Juárez Cartel , also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas...
- La Raza NationLa Raza NationThe LRZ gang were founded in 1972. Their colors are green, white, and red symbols include Mexican flag, cross, and a six point star. Although, La Raza is affiliated with Folk Nation and are allies with the Crips, La Raza went to war with many Folk Nation gangs such as Ambrose, Gangster Disciples,...
- Latin EaglesLatin EaglesThe ALEN originated in the area of Halsted and Addison in Chicago in the 1960. Originally meant to be a Latino political organization, by the 1970s it had transformed into a criminal street gang.-Identification:...
- Latin Kings
- Los ZetasLos ZetasLos Zetas is the second most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as the most violent drug cartel and paramilitary enforcement group in Mexico...
- Mara SalvatruchaMara SalvatruchaMara Salvatrucha is a transnational criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles and has spread to other parts of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. The majority of the gang is ethnically composed of Central Americans and active in urban and suburban areas...
- Maniac Latin DisciplesManiac Latin DisciplesThe Maniac Latin Disciples are the second largest Latino street gang in Chicago and the largest Latino gang in the Folks alliance . Originally known as the Latin Scorpions, the gang was founded by Albert "Hitler" Hernandez and Roberto Ramos Rios, in the Humboldt Park community in approximately...
- Medellín CartelMedellín CartelThe Medellín Cartel was an organized network of "drug suppliers and smugglers" originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The drug cartel operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and...
- Mexican MafiaMexican MafiaThe Mexican Mafia , also known as La Eme , 13 is a Mexican American criminal organization, and is one of the oldest and most powerful prison gangs in the United States.-Foundation:...
- NorteñosNorteñosThe Norteños , also Norte, are affiliated with Nuestra Familia , are a coalition of traditionally Latino gangs in Northern California A member of these gangs is a Norteño or Norteña based on Spanish usage...
- Puro Tango BlastPuro Tango BlastTango Blast is a collection of mostly Hispanic gang members who operate on the streets and within many correctional facilities in Texas.- History :...
- Sinaloa CartelSinaloa CartelThe Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
- Spanish Gangster DisciplesSpanish Gangster DisciplesThe Spanish Gangster Disciples were formed on the South Side of Chicago in the early 1980s. Membership is predominantly Hispanic males, but does consist of some White and Black males....
- SureñosSureñosSureños are a group of Mexican American street gangs with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California. Although they are based in California, the influence of the Sureños has spread to many parts of the US and other countries as well such as Germany and Japan...
- Culver City Boys 13
- Clanton 14Clanton 14Clanton 14 St., also known as C14th St, is a Chicano street gang in Los Angeles and is also the oldest Chicano gang and one of the oldest gangs in Los Angeles.- History :...
- Longos
- 38th Street Gang38th street gangThe 38th Street gang is a Chicano street gang from South Central, Los Angeles. The 38th Street gang is one of the oldest street gangs in Los Angeles.- History :...
- Onterio Varrio SurOnterio Varrio SurOnterio Black Angels is a Chicano street gang from South Ontario, California. The Black Angels are a Hispanic street gang from Ontario, California. The gang consists of approximately 1000+ members and two sub-cliques known as the Junior Black Angels and OVS...
- Tooner Ville Rifa 13
- The AvenuesThe Avenues (gang)The Avenues, also known as Avenidas or AVE's, is a Mexican-American street gang. The Avenues, like most Mexican gangs in Los Angeles, are under the direct control of the Mexican Mafia when sent to State, County, or Federal prisons.- History :...
- Varrio Nuevo EstradaVarrio Nuevo EstradaVarrio Nuevo Estrada, also known as "VNE" is a Chicano gang founded in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California in the Estrada Courts housing projects. Through time, VNE has expanded to occupy other local cities such as East Los Angeles, Montebello, and Lancaster. VNE is known to be a notorious gang...
- Venice 13Venice 13Venice 13 is a Mexican American street gang based in the Oakwood neighborhood of Venice, a section of Los Angeles, California, with a substantial presence in East Venice as well as the Culver City/Los Angeles border, especially around Washington Blvd.The gang dates back to the 1950s, and has long...
- Santa Monica 13Santa Monica 13Santa Monica 13 or SMG is a Mexican-American street gang located in West Los Angeles, California . They reside mainly in the Pico Neighborhood of Santa Monica, which is said to be one of the last remaining ghettos of the Westside, due to gentrification. Even though Santa Monica 13 is a Sureño...
- El Monte Flores 13El Monte Flores 13El Monte Flores is a Chicano street gang in the city of El Monte, California. They are a set in the larger street gang called the Sureños.-History:...
- Tijuana CartelTijuana CartelThe Tijuana Cartel is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana. The cartel has been described as "one of the biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico"...
- trinitarios
Middle Eastern/North African
- Armenian PowerArmenian PowerArmenian Power, also known as AP, is an Armenian criminal organization located in Los Angeles County, California. They are involved in drug trafficking, murder, assault, fraud, identity theft, illegal gambling, kidnapping, racketeering, robbery and extortion...
(Armenian American) - Assyrian/Chaldean Mafia (Assyrian/Chaldean)
- Israeli mafiaIsraeli mafiaThe Israeli mafia is the general term for organized crime groups operating in Israel and also internationally. Allegedly there are 16 crime families operating in Israel, five major groups active on the national-level, and 11 smaller organizations...
(Israeli AmericanIsraeli AmericanIsraeli Americans are Americans of Israeli descent. According to the 2000 census, there were 106,839 people of Israeli ancestry in the United States.- Demographics :...
) - Jewish Mafia (Jewish American)
- TAP Boyz (Palestinian AmericanPalestinian AmericanPalestinian Americans are Americans of Palestinian ancestry. It is difficult to say when the first Palestinian immigrants arrived at the United States; however, many of the first immigrants to arrive were Christians escaping persecution from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century...
)
Prison
- Aryan BrotherhoodAryan BrotherhoodThe Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
(white supremacist) - Black Guerrilla FamilyBlack Guerrilla FamilyThe Black Guerrilla Family is a prison and street gang founded in 1966 by George Jackson and W.L...
- Black Liberation ArmyBlack Liberation ArmyThe Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
(black supremacist) - BloodsBloodsThe Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs...
- CripsCripsThe Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams...
- D.C. BlacksD.C. BlacksThe D.C. Blacks is an African-American prison gang in the United States whose members are from Washington D.C.. They are allied with the Black Guerrilla Family and some other black prison gangs. The Aryan Brotherhood is one of their main enemies....
- Dead Man Inc.
- European KindredEuropean KindredEuropean Kindred or EK is a white supremacist prison and street gang that began in the Oregon prison system. They are affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood and the Ku Klux Klan. Their allies are Nazi Lowriders and Volksfront...
(white supremacist) - Folk NationFolk NationThe Folk Nation is an alliance of street gangs, based in the Chicago area, which has since spread throughout the United States, specifically in the Midwest and the South. They are rivals to the People Nation....
- KUMI 415KUMI 415In Folsom State Prison. Along with the Crips, Latin Kings and the Bloods, 415 KUMI Nation members have recently provided recruitment pools for the Black Guerilla Family , a gang with similarly large numbers in the Bay area and Northern California...
- Mexican MafiaMexican MafiaThe Mexican Mafia , also known as La Eme , 13 is a Mexican American criminal organization, and is one of the oldest and most powerful prison gangs in the United States.-Foundation:...
- MexikanemiMexikanemiMexikanemi is known as the Texas Mexican Mafia in the Texan penal systems. As it functions separately from the original California Mexican Mafia , Mexikanemi was formed as an offshoot from the Mexican Mafia in Texas by Heriberto "Herbie" Huerta in 1984.- References :* Mexikanemi Summary*...
- NetasÑetasThe Ñeta Association is the name of a Puerto Rican gang that began in the Puerto Rico prison system and spread to the United States...
- Nuestra FamiliaNuestra FamiliaNuestra Familia is a criminal organization of Mexican American prison gangs with origins in Northern California. While members of the Norteños gang are considered to be affiliated with Nuestra Familia, being a member of Nuestra Familia itself does not signify association as a Norteño...
- People NationPeople NationPeople Nation is an alliance of street gangs generally associated with the Chicago area. They are rivals to the Folk Nation.The People Nation were formed much in the same way as the Folk Nation. In 1978, the El Rukns People Nation is an alliance of street gangs generally associated with the Chicago...
- Public Enemy No. 1Public Enemy No. 1The gang started as "Peni Death Squad ,a punk gang in the 1980s, the name being derived from the anarcho-punk/deathrock band, 'Rudimentary Peni'. Originally, PDS were mainly a loose-knit group of suburban kids, runaways and homeless kids. Other punk gangs, La Mirada punks, Vicious Circle, The HB's,...
- Puro Tango BlastPuro Tango BlastTango Blast is a collection of mostly Hispanic gang members who operate on the streets and within many correctional facilities in Texas.- History :...
- Texas SyndicateTexas SyndicateThe Texas Syndicate is a mostly Texas-based prison gang that includes Hispanic and at one time, White members...
- TrinitarioTrinitarioThe Trinitarios/3ni are a violent New York-based multinational organization composed of Hispanics. Trinitario was established in 1989 within the New York state prison system and since spilled into the streets, with chapters in all five boroughs of New York City...
- Zoe Pound GangZoe Pound GangZoe Pound is a criminal street gang based in Miami, Florida founded by Haitian immigrants some time before 1990.Having branched out from Miami in the two decades leading up to 2010, they are known to be involved in drug trafficking, robbery and related violent crime in support of their drug...
- Mara SalvatruchaMara SalvatruchaMara Salvatrucha is a transnational criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles and has spread to other parts of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. The majority of the gang is ethnically composed of Central Americans and active in urban and suburban areas...
White/Other
- 311 Boyz311 BoyzThe 311 Boyz were a teen gang in Las Vegas, Nevada who committed or were suspected of a number of violent acts beginning in the summer of 2003. Estimated at 40 members in 2003, the gang consisted mostly of young males who attended Centennial High School and lived in affluent neighborhoods in...
- Almighty SaintsAlmighty SaintsThe Almighty Saints is a street gang founded in the early 1960s by Polish juveniles of the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago.The name Saints was borrowed from the TV series of the same name as evidenced by the similarities between the stickman used by the show and the street gang.During...
- Aryan Nation (white supremacist)
- Chicago GaylordsChicago GaylordsThe Chicago Gaylords, also known as the Almighty Gaylords, is one of the oldest Chicago street gangs. It originated in the neighborhood of Grand and Noble...
- Forty-Two GangForty-Two GangThe Forty-Two Gang was a teenage street gang in Chicago during Prohibition. Like Brooklyn's Italian and Jewish street gangs of Brownsville and Ocean Hill, the Forty-Two Gang served as a "farm team" for future members of the Chicago Outfit...
- Freight Train Riders of AmericaFreight Train Riders of AmericaThe Freight Train Riders of America is an American gang of homeless men who move about in railroad cars, particularly in the northwestern United States.-History and background:...
- Ku Klux KlanKu Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
(white supremacist) - JoustersJoustersThe Jousters were a Chicago street gang that originally started on the South side of Chicago and then later branched out to the north side of Chicago as well. Their name is of course a reference to the medieval sport of jousting...
- Nazi LowridersNazi LowridersThe Nazi Lowriders or NLR or "The Ride" are a white supremacist criminal organization primarily based in southern California, although it is believed to have spread to other states. They are allies of the larger and more notorious gang, the Aryan Brotherhood. Their main rivals are the Bloods, the...
(white supremacist) - Public Enemy No.1
- South Side Popes
- VolksfrontVolksfrontVolksfront describes itself as an international fraternal organization for persons of European descent. It has been called "neo-Nazi" and a "racist-skinhead group" in press reports...
(white supremacist)