International Journal on Criminology Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 40

Organized Crime Behind Bars
Carreno was sentenced to 300 months in prison, along with eight other people, for
selling 48 kg of heroin, bringing in revenue of $750,000 for the gang between December
2009 and July 2011. He also ripped the nose off a guard as he awaited another verdict.
The conviction of prisoners is commonplace.
On June 9, 2002, Mariano “Chuy” Martinez, Los Angeles boss of the Mexican
Mafia, 50 the Eme, 51 the most formidable prison gang in the United States, was sentenced
to life imprisonment. In order to establish his authority, he ordered three murders and
sponsored a dozen others from his cell.
On May 22, 2000, Gustavio Gino Colon, 52 one of the “brains” of the Latin Kings, 53
was also sentenced to life imprisonment while incarcerated. What for? As in the case at
Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, he ran a drug trafficking ring by mobile phone from the high
security Menard prison in Illinois, 54 where he was already serving a heavy sentence. 55
This leader, who until then enjoyed a privileged status, to the extent that he even had
a key to his “room” and had meals served to him by his henchmen, 56 ran a network
covering the whole of Illinois, managing his “business” and also ordering executions
outside the prison walls. 57
Does this easy permeability between prisons and the outside world represent any
kind of paradox? The answer is no, as we shall see later. In any case, the domination is
real. At the end of September 1993, the Mexican Mafia imposed a “truce” on all Hispanic
gangs in Los Angeles, outlawing the practice of drive-by shooting 58 as “detrimental
to business.” 59 To the surprise of observers, 60 the order 61 was scrupulously respected.
50
Formed in 1956 to 1957 in a California prison, the Deuel Vocational Institute (DVI) in Tracy. This
prison gang is also known as the Gang of Gangs. Outside California, the Mexican Mafia is present
in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah,
Washington, Wisconsin, and Mexico. Nonetheless, only some 300 members and around 900 associates
are suspected. The National Gang Threat assessment, 2009, considers that it has authority over
between 50,000 and 75,000 Sureños gang members.
51
The letter “M” in Spanish, 13th letter of the alphabet. The number “13” is a reference to the Gangs of
Southern California and, by extension, all those standing behind the Eme.
52
Also called “Lord” Gino.
53
Or the “Almighty Latin King Nation,” a gang from Chicago, which first appeared in the 1940s and is
among the largest in the United States.
54
Some of his calls were recorded. Chicago Tribune, September 5, 1999.
55
Chester, Illinois, United States.
56
Colon, still wearing the “uniform” of his gang, enjoyed great freedom of movement and had the key
to his “room” where his meals were served to him by his cronies. Steve Macko, Emergency Response
and Research Institute (ERRI), Special Report, May 12, 1997.
57
Including that of a guard at Stateville Correctionnal Center (near Joliet, Illinois), not proven, in
1989. See below.
58
An operation in which other Gangsters are shot at from a moving car, often causing serious
“collateral damage” and therefore an increased police activity in the area concerned.
59
Lopez, Robert J. and Jesse Katz “Mexican Mafia Tells Gangs to Halt Drive-Bys.” LA Times, September
26, 1993.
60
It so happened that the author was in Los Angeles at that time and conversations he had with police
revealed that they were extremely doubtful that this decision by the Eme could have any effect in the
street.
61
Here is the text of the handwritten manifesto of the Mexican Mafia: “To all, young and old, members
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