Organized Crime Group Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organized Crime Group Analysis - Essay Example One of the most prominent and oldest gangs in the region is the vice lord gang. The gang consisted mostly of individuals from the African American community and participated in various criminal activities including extortion, drug trafficking, robbery, murder and numerous forms of fraud. The gang came into existence in 1958, where several youths of African American origin from the Chicago neighbourhood of north Lawndale, met during their incarceration at a Chicago juvenile facility. The founding member of the gang was named Edward Perry, and he used the alias Pepalo (Chepesiuk, 2007). The word vice, which is prominent, in the gangs name is said to mean a tight grip. The release of leaders from prison resulted in recruitments, which augmented the gang’s participation in criminal activities, within the city’s confines. Their notoriety increase rapidly and by 1964, they were the primary target of law enforcers in the city. They were known for their violent nature and were feared in their neighbourhood (Diamond, 2009). The gang attempted to repair their public image and the gangs name was changed to conservative gang lords. They further took the approach of being a community outreach organization in the 1970s. This was achieved with the help of a social worker David Dawley who was Caucasian despite the gang’s racial inclination. This guise was successful with the gang receiving positive feedbacks from leaders and politicians in the community. Their rebranding efforts were capped with a grant of $275,000 from the Rockefeller foundation (Diamond, 2009). This period saw the consolidation of numerous gangs into the vice lords leading to an increase of their membership. The community, however, were finally able to see through the gangs disguise discovering they were involved with criminal activities and violence in the community. The gang’s involvement in