Under Sandovals watch on December 17, 1986 Joe Arredondo, a Texas Syndicate member was found murdered. Sandoval was eventually found not guilty on May 29, 1991 after jurors deliberated for only approximately half an hour. The day would be labeled Bloody Sunday. Travis McDonald, the primary prosecutor for the states recently developed prosecution unit headed this charge against crime inside of prisons. And while Sandoval was acquitted, his criminal proceeding unleashed denunciation. This would also provide an insight into the reach of prison gangs like the Texas Syndicate towards prison guards. The Albanians are too violent and too unpredictable." The name Rudaj comes from the boss of the organization. The Albanian mafia in Brussels has monopoly over activities such as "narcotics and arms deals" according to Belgian sources. In the American TV show " No Ordinary Family " episode "No-Ordinary Mobster" deals with the main character attempting to stop violent Albanian Mobsters. Activists who gathered virtually and in person to commemorate a pivotal day in the civil rights struggle that became known as Bloody Sunday called on people to continue the fight for voting rights as they also honored giants of the civil rights movement, including the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who died last year. They are said to be present in every big city in Britain as well as many smaller ones including Telford and Lancaster , after having fought off rival criminals in turf wars. The cycle of predatory violence against non-gang members had continued to historically breed new prison gangs. Released or parole members who generate money for the Texas Syndicate must surrender a 10% tax ("the dime") of all proceeds toward the gang in prison. Historians have lagged behind attempts to historicize prison gangs into the larger historical context. Bloody Sunday happened twice. Osmani Brothers : According to the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) the Osmani brothers as the "most important figures of organized crime in Hamburg and other cities in Germany" Adriatik Coli : Leader of one of the most powerful "15 families" known as " Banda e Lul Berishs" based in Durrs , Albania . In the French movie The Nest the plot centers around an Albanian mob boss in police custody being escorted to The Hague. Salerno based the crew out of the Palma Boys Social Club located 416 East 115th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan. Since the removal of the building tender system many of the old guard force resigned and left many green guards to come in and figure out the new and changing Texas prison system. However, there was another way in which prison gangs pursued and successfully maintained their power. It was also against the guidelines of the Texas prison system. The wardens, staff, guards, and building tenders were predominately White. Russians. He was one of the masterminds behind the kidnapping of former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants in 1989. The next leaders of the Morello family were brothers Vincenzo and Ciro Terranova. The Azteca's murder their TS victim by slamming his head through jail bars. Thus, the public generally perceives prison gangs and their activity to be violent. Their longer sentences mean they must continue to do the bidding of the prison gangs because they will have a longer stay and cannot escape the gang. The jurors in Sandovals trial werent convinced that Sandoval worked for or with the gang in any way (McKay, 1991). After this incident Sandoval soon realized it was the inmates who ran the prison, not the guards, and surely not the state of Texas. 14764 03/20/1991 278TH Judicial District Court, Scholarships and Resources for Hispanic and Latino Students. The Texas Syndicate or Syndicato Tejano was the first prison gang to heavily impact the prison system in Texas. This Albanian link seems to confirm that the Sacra Corona Unita and the Albanian Mafia are "partners" in Puglia/Italy and delegate several criminal activities". Conclusion In On Bloody Sunday, a new collage of eye-witness accounts, Julieann Campbell, a niece of one of the victims, does a remarkable job of taking the reader vividly back to a past that still haunts. TheTexas Syndicate(or Syndicato Tejano) is a mostly Texas-based prison gang that includes Hispanic and at one time White members (The organization at one time did allow non-Hispanic members to join, but that policy was repealed in the 1980s). Testifying for murder defendant and former Ellis I guard Luis Sandoval, a string of prison employees said the doors were left open despite a policy requiring that they be locked at all times (McKay, 1991). The larger pool of applicants paved the way for many new minority employees such as Mexican Americans to join the staff of the Texas prison system. In Del Rio, a federal judge sentenced 29 Uvalde/Hondo-area Texas Syndicate (TS) members over the past two weeks to federal prison, including four defendants to life imprisonment, for various racketeering and drug trafficking offenses committed in Uvalde, San Antonio and the surrounding areas announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, When SNCC's efforts were frustrated by stiff resistance from Read MoreBloody Sunday Protest March, Selma, Alabama, March 7, 1965 He ultimately lost his job, his wife divorced him, he was in a car crash during this period that left him in debt and suffering from the injuries. While both were considered Mexican Americans, state identity was also an important restriction along with ethnic identity. The unconstitutional findings exposed by the court ruling uncovered issues within the Texas prison system such as overcrowding, inadequate security (collapsed the building tenders), inadequate healthcare, unsafe working conditions, and severe punishment policies. 8,126 Hispanic members operate across Texas, including specific reportings in the Coffield Unit, about 60 miles southwest of Tyler, and at the Allred prison unit outside of Wichita Falls. It had huge implications, not just for people in Northern Ireland but also for Anglo-Irish affairs, which were reaching one of the most difficult points. Ethnicity and state identity likewise impacted Luis H. Sandovals relationships with inmates. The video of the event shocked the country and . By Fintan O'Toole. First prison gang remains a force to fearThousands of Texas Syndicate members behind bars, but murder, mayhem continue. In Albania alone there are over 15 mafia families or clans that control organized crime. These prison gang related homicides from the war between the Texas Syndicate and the Texas Mexican Mafia were not only happening in the Ellis I unit, it stretched beyond and consumed the entirety of Texas prison units. Italy Albanian emigrants started arriving at Italian ports in 1991. The Texas Syndicate's activities include drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, protection, gambling, and contract murder. Three days later, the criminals published a note in the leading Brussels newspaper Le Soir , demanding 30 million Belgian francs in ransom. Here is also where the earliest prison gangs were formed. Similar parameters also included the Mexican Mafia or La Eme, which formed in California and did not recognize the Texas Mexican Mafia, also known as Mexikanemi from Texas. Before Sandoval could stand to face trial though, he fled. The non-violent ways prison gangs wielded their multi-faceted agency beyond merely employing violent means is often overlooked. March 1965 Bloody Sunday . Furthermore, the ability of inmates to force the prison administrators to hear their grievances was developed from the successes of prison reform. This group has lacked examination within the frameworks of mass incarceration scholarship, even as these studies continue to exponentially grow. A former car dealership displays a graffiti representation of Bloody Sunday on its boarded facade. Additionally, many prison units were being constructed as the state and the rest of the country saw a rise in inmate populations. International activity Scandinavia "The ethnic Albanian mafia is very powerful and extremely violent," said Kim Kliver, chief investigator for organized crime with the Danish National Police. Law enforcement authorities estimate that different Albanian mafia families may smuggle as much as 440 pounds of heroin a year into Scandinavia at any given time. Texas prisons were mostly gang-free until bloody battles broke out in 1984-85 between the Mexican Mafia and Texas Syndicate as well as the Aryan Brotherhood and Mandingo Warriors. Mexican Americans did not hold many of these positions, if any at all. (TDCJ Security Threat Group Archives), In mid 2002, the Texas Syndicate declares war on the Tango Blast prison gang. Sandovals whole experience within Texas prisons was encased within these various historical processes. On February 2007, high ranking Texas Syndicate member Ernesto Medrano is sentenced to life in prison for using U.S. military flights to transport hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Columbia to Fort, Bliss Texas. Additionally, it is also crucial to highlight why Sandoval became a prison guard in the first place. Bloody Sunday Brian Lawless/PA By Mike McBride & David Wilson BBC News NI Relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday have been remembering their loved ones on the 50th anniversary. Le Chiffre is the main villain of the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale , portrayed by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen . Sunday, 9 November 1952 should be remembered as a day of infamy in South Africa's history, but few know of a brutal massacre when police opened fire on people at an ANC Youth League event in . The Gonzales homicide was merely one representative example of the larger problem of violence stemming from the war between the Texas Syndicate and the Texas Mexican Mafia that raged inside the walls of the prison units. Torres was a Texas Syndicate informant who provided information crucial to a federal case against fellow gang members. PHOTO: Crowd of petitioners, led by Father Gapon, near Narva Gate, St. Petersburg. Unfolding in real time we're able to see exactly how the . However, Sandoval later recanted the statements he made to Draper concerning these acts. He took over the crew sometime between 1932 and 1936, Terranova was being "put on the shelf" (meaning forced into retirement) by the new Luciano-Genovese-Costello regime of the Luciano crime family. In Games The videogame Grand Theft Auto IV features the "Petrela gang" a small crew of Albanian shylocks and goods smugglers. United Kingdom Albanian mafia gangs are believed to be largely behind sex trafficking, immigrants smuggling, as well as working with Turkish gangs in Southend-On-Sea, who control the heroin trade in the United Kingdom . Sandovals attorney, Steve Fischer, had helped Sandoval in his trial by successfully eliminating the option for the prosecutor to illustrate the connection of Sandoval to the criminal activity. Formed in the California prison system in the 1970s by incarcerated Tejanos, the Texas Syndicate sought protection against Californios. And all he came down with was a five-year sentence (Riggs, 2011). DANE SCHILLER , HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Prison officials argued prison gangs grew because the collapse of the building tender system created a power vacuum. Building tenders were also selected from the inmate population pool who were deemed more aggressive and violent to ensure strict control through violence and fear. A week later, a well-known event called Bloody Sunday occurred on September 8, 1985. Some 3,700 people died over the course of the four-decade conflict. It was on this day and in the following . NPS Photo The early spring of 1965 became the turning point in the tensely-waged struggle for voting rights throughout Alabama and the "deep South." Blacks had a virtual non-existent population in Alice, and the greater South Texas region for that matter. As of 2000, the Texas Syndicate had about 19,000. members in prisons and jails state-wide, with many more on the outside. by C. C. Simmons. - Were still trying to learn about their culture and figure out what makes them tick, James Farley, FBI supervisory special agent, and expert on organized crime, says of the Albanians. (El Paso Times) We haven't found a single catalogue or brochure for travelling at the agency, computers were not operating, nor has the printer been ever used. The Boston College Irish Studies program will mark the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday"a tragic milestone in the decades-long Northern Irish conflict, "The Troubles"with a symposium on February 18 and 19 that will examine the events of the fatal day and its legacy. The Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee marks the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday . Tejanos were being preyed upon by California prison gangs in some of the most notorious California prisons including San Quentin and Folsom. Sandoval grew up in Alice, TX, a city with a population of approximately 20,000. Prison gangs commit homicides and assaults to establish dominance. (El Paso Times) While the lawyers made their arguments for and against Sandovals case, Sandoval expressed the states impetus to charge him which he argued was based on an entirely different motivation. Another important factor was the hiring of many people of color and women to work for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Their criticism may have largely rested on the divisiveness of race. H. Christoph/ullstein bild/Getty Images Young man shot by the British military on Bloody Sunday. Infiltration into these groups is thus very difficult. With the lack of social mobility due to economic constraints, Mexican Americans were forced into what limited opportunities were afforded to them. 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. Texas Syndicate Tattoos: The Special Prison Prosecution Unit One of Italy's top prosecutors, Cataldo Motta , who has identified Albania's most dangerous mobsters, says they are a threat to Western society. (Gang Intelligence 101), In June of 1997, the Texas Syndicate and Mexicles gang settle on a truce. In 1991, for example, a prison guard who worked at the Ellis I unit where Sandoval had once worked was indicted with drug muling. In fact, from roughly 1986 to 1991, the special prison prosecution unit charged at least sixty Texas prison guards with felony offenses (Draper, 1991). 116th Street Crew The 116th Street crew, also known as the Uptown crew, is a powerful crew within the Genovese crime family. Thirteen people were shot dead and at least 15 others injured when members of the Army's Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in the Bogside - a predominantly Catholic part. The Aztecas murder their TS victim by slamming his head through jail bars. November 13, 1987. This moment was set during the height of prison gang violence that struck the TDCJ during the mid-1980s. Mexican Americans were informed by their ethnic identity, but also by state identity as prison gangs formed. Today, November 21, 2020, is 100 years since the events known as ' Bloody Sunday' in Dublin in 1920. 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 (Draper, 1991). Later, they would become affiliated with Cosa Nostra crime families before eventually growing strong enough to operate their own organizations under the Iliazi family name. Eventually we found out that "Eulinda" had already transferred 150 million dollars to Kosovo for "humanitarian purposes", says Bruckert. A false sense of belief existed for an inmate who joined with his racial or ethnic group and that protection occurred through their ethnic solidarity. David Weeks, a special prison prosecutor stated, more than 90 percent of inmate homicides are gang-ordered and more than one-half of the assaults are the result of gang warfare (Klimko, 1987). The murder came as a result of the Gulf Cartel hiring the Texas Syndicate to kidnap Serrano from his home in Texas and take him to cartel members in Mexico. Sandoval was caught in the crossfire of prison changes. On Monday [June 24], at eight in the morning, Sandoval reported for duty at the Ellis I training academy in Huntsville (Draper, 1991) where he eventually secured employment with the TDC as a prison guard after completing several weeks of mandatory training. However, after the disturbance was quelled, in an adjacent room, Leonel Perezs body was found. However, they still maintain their headquarters in California, where their national president resides, and their numbers continue to reach into state and federal prisons across the US. The Mexican Mafia for example, was formed in 1957 in the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, California and is one of the earliest formed prison gangs to still exist, and continues to exhibit power inside and outside prisons. This occurred amidst the war between the two prominent Mexican American prison gangs that forced the state to act. In October 2004, the FBI arrested 22 men who worked for it. PHOTO: Crowd of petitioners, led by Father Gapon, near Narva Gate, St. Petersburg. Director Paul Greengrass Writer Paul Greengrass Stars James Nesbitt Tim Pigott-Smith Nicholas Farrell The murder took place in a corridor of the prison unit that was hidden from the view of prison guards. Alfred Shkurti (also known as Aldo Bare): The boss of one of the most notorious criminal syndicates in Albania known as the Banda e Lushnjs (The Lushnja Gang). Just a few weeks before the Cesario Gonzales homicide that Luis Sandoval witnessed, Arturo Astro Aguilar, a Texas Mexican Mafia member was murdered on August 22, 1985 in the Eastham Unit by the Texas Syndicate.