The Aryan Brotherhood has the distinction of being the deadliest gang in American history. They kill for hire or for free. They kill people who steal their drugs or those that owe them money. Maintaining the culture of terror that has solidified their power is their primary goal. Drugs, gambling, liquor and inmate prostitution earns them millions. From their beginnings in San Quentin Prison in 1964 to current trials of sixteen members in Los Angeles, discover the ultra-violent world that has largely gone unnoticed by the general public for the last forty years.
American Gangster is the story of Frank Lucas and Leroy “Nicky” Barnes - their rise from street punks to the top of New York’s 1970’s high-flying drug market. The two men were considered the drug czars of Harlem at the height of the drug-fueled decade. Lucas and his gang “The Country Boys” claim to have smuggled heroin from Asia in the caskets of fallen American soldiers. Barnes, the leader of a cartel of African-American drug dealers called “The Council,” made the cover of New York Times Magazine. The headline read “Mr. Untouchable.” President Carter was so incensed, he personally ordered the Attorney General to go after him. The story is a violent, action-filled chronicle of Harlem and its kingpins.
In 2003, the body of a pregnant, teenaged informant was found along the banks of the bucolic Shenandoah River. She’d been repeatedly stabbed - her head nearly severed. Brenda Paz had been supplying the authorities with first-hand accounts of MS-13’s operations. Paz had been one of 3,000 MS-13 members in the Washington, DC area. The increasingly violent and fast-growing gang operates from the sleepy, middle-class suburbs ringing the city.
An examination of the LA Crips
The Mongols motorcylce gang is examined in this episode of the series.
A profile of La Gran Familia of Atlanta is examined. HISTORY™ explores the world of La Gran Familia, a violent crime syndicate of five Hispanic gangs that terrorized the streets of metro Atlanta.
A profile of Tiny Rascals, a California gang. The Tiny Rascals Gangsters, whose roots go back to the Cambodian killing fields of the 1970s and who now number more than 10,000 members, dominate the streets of Fresno, California.
A profile of Satan's Disciples of Chicago is discussed. One of Chicago’s most ruthless street gangs, Satan Disciples claim to practice “free enterprise.” High-ranking members describe the rise and fall of “King Aggie,” who ordered a hit on a popular younger leader that ultimately spelled his own doom.
A profile of the Los Solidos Nation, a gang in Hartford, Connecticut. Los Solidos are Hartford, Connecticut’s most ruthless gang. We hear about the gang’s rise and the vicious war with their powerful rivals, the Latin Kings.
A profile of The Crips of Salt Lake City is examined. It’s better known for religion than crime, but Salt Lake City is home to the Utah Crips, a gang that may look different from the Los Angeles original but is no less violent.
A profile of the Bandidos, a gang in San Antonio is featured. Former members of the Bandidos take us inside the most feared motorcycle gang in Texas. Insiders discuss the gang’s crimes and what is required to earn the famous “No Mercy” patch.
A profile of Menace of Destruction, Cloaked in secrecy and bound by their Hmong ancestry, Menace of Destruction is one of America’s most notorious and violent street gangs. The gang has turned the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul into a battleground.
An examination of gang life in Boston. The domain of FSU – which can mean either Friends Stand United or F**k S**t Up – is the hardcore music scene. We interview founding members as well as law enforcement officials to uncover the gang’s bloody history.
A profile of The Warlocks, a gang in Orlando. We trace the growth of the Warlocks motorcycle gang, founded by Vietnam vets, from the assassination of its president to their attempt to claim Florida as the “Warlock Nation.'
A look at gang life in New Orleans. The good times roll in New Orleans’ French Quarter, but a vicious gang known as the Gotti Boys rule the streets around it – and there is no mercy for those caught in the crossfire.
Comprised of elite mercenaries, Los Zetas are bathing the U.S.-Mexican border in blood as they wage all-out war to maintain control over the valuable drug-trafficking corridor out of Laredo, Texas.
A profile of the Zoe Pound gang in Miami is examined.
A look at one of the most powerful Hispanic gangs from Los Angeles, known as the Avenues.
The gang known as the Pagans are considered a major dealer in the methamphetamine trade, originating in Maryland during the 1950's and has expanded to 44 chapters with over 900 members along the east coast.
The Latin Kings have roots tracing back to the 1940s in Chicago, and are regarded as the largest and most brutal Latino gang in the U.S.A..
A gang of ruthless contract killers, The Best Friends, have roamed Detroit's east side since 1985 and have been linked to more than 80 murders, according to the federal officials.
Memphis, Tenn. is the site where a group of drug dealers and killers formed the gang, the Love Murdering Gangsters (LGM), and is regarded as the most notorious gang in the Mississippi Delta.
There are an estimated 10,000 gang members who call St. Louis their home, which includes the notorious gang, Boys of Destruction.
# The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas is the largest prison gang in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Started as a means of survival, it has now spread to the Dallas suburbs, where members are regrouping after FBI crackdowns.
Colorado's largest motorcycle gang, the Sons of Silence, has increased to 36 chapters around the world since being formed in the 1960's. Agent go undercover to infiltrate the groups.
A task force was formed in 2003 to take down the Hidden Valley Kings, a gang which ran the drug trade in Charlotte, N.C.
The Hoover Criminals are a nightmare for those in Portland, Ore., and have moved in from Los Angeles during the 1990's to get in on the drug business, and call themselves "Everybody Killers."
Dead Man, Inc.are the biggest threat inside the Maryland prison system and have grown to 14,000 members within a decade and spread across the country.
The Mongols and Hells Angels are a pair of outlaw motorcycle gangs entrenched in a brutal California turf war.
The Crips gang members fight it out for the area of Anchorage, Alaska, full of rebels and outsiders and filled with guns, money and drugs.
The Four Corner Hustler gang is featured in this episode.
A feature of America's largest and deadliest motorcycle gang for the past 50 years, the Hells Angels.
A profile of the gang known as the Aryan Circle.
This episode profiles an outlaw motorcycle gang known as The Breed, who has a reputation of violent beatings and threats of murder.
This episode features the Brown Pride Hispanic street gang from Nashville, Tenn., as they engage in a brutal turf war with a rival.
This episode features the violent Tango Blast gang of Houston.
The Volksfront originates in Oregon prisons and becomes one of the fastest-growing, neo-Nazi gangs in the United States.