Thompson was paroled in mid-2019 after serving time for two 1973 murders in Orange County. According to the complaint, Thompson and his co-defendant, whom he met in prison, convinced 16 people to give up their personal information to benefit the alleged scheme. Joseph Leissler, 52, unexpectedly took the stand in his own defense during the week-long trial. May 17, 2021 12:42am Updated The three dead men were allegedly left outside of a hospital in a car by Richard Kuykendall, who also has ties to the Aryan Brotherhood. M2 PressWIRE. The A/B isn't about "shaving your head". Youre going to make me f---ing kill you (Almony). Claires recommendations need to be signed off on by a U.S. District judge before the suit is thrown out. [4], There is also a subgroup of the organization in Canada referred to as the Canadian Brotherhood or CB and its influence in the country was initially spurred on by the Aryan Nations. [1] They decided to strike against the African-Americans who were forming their own militant group called the Black Guerrilla Family. They were expected to enter pleas on June 22. He claimed to have been a high-ranking leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang who taught himself to read and earned college degrees while in prison. Michael Thompson, 69, was arrested Monday in Lake County. During the weeklong trial, former members of the Aryan Brotherhood stated that Leissler directed attacks on at least six other individuals on behalf of the gang. The defendant has been leading a violent life inside the jail and this sentence sends a clear message that justice doesnt stop at the prison door and that any violent acts committed within prison will have real world consequences, said States Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. As a result of the race war, California prison officials segregated the gangs to different prisons in California. Brian Hare, who stood lookout during the attack, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Aryan Brotherhood, a violent white supremacist gang, formed within the California state prison system in the late 1960s. On August 14, 2016, at the Jessup Correctional Institute, inmates located in Building F were returning to their cells after their recreation break. Authorities have been trying to bring down the Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, for decades. Nate Gartrell covers crime and corruption in Contra Costa County. I dont agree with interracial [relationships]. He dropped out of the gang soon after and testified against Price, who was sentenced to death for murdering Barnes and a woman named Elizabeth Hickey. Criminal activities inside prison walls include male prostitution, gambling, extortion, and drug trafficking,[4] primarily involving methamphetamines. Troxell is a convicted killer serving a life sentence who spent more than 20 years in solitary confinement. Gotti also organized a business partnership which operated on the outside between his group and the Brotherhood and as a result of this business partnership, the group's power greatly expanded on the streets. Prosecutors feared the men would escape as they said the men were found making ropes and fishing lines and asking about details about their transportation to court. The group's origins date back to 1985, when it was founded by several former Aryan Brotherhood members and others rejected for membership. [33] The group also has an alliance with the Mexican Mafia (La Eme), as the two are mutual enemies of Black Guerrilla Family. [6][12][13], The Brotherhood has associated in criminal ventures with the Hells Angels. Published: 11:01 EST, 5 August 2021 | Updated: 12:44 EST, 5 August 2021. He claimed to have been a high-ranking leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang who taught himself to read and earned college degrees while in prison. [4], The SPLC, which monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the United States, has designated the Aryan Brotherhood as "the nation's oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate", and the "largest and deadliest prison gang in the United States". Basically, the story was, Oh, well, were going to apply for unemployment for you, well take a fee and well give you the rest, county District Attorney Susan Krones told the paper on Wednesday. The Aryan Brotherhood has members inside federal and state prisons, and outside on the streets. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Satanist neo-Nazi sentenced to 45 years for plot to kill fellow US soldiers, Anti-Semitic demonstrators protest Ben Platts Parade on Broadway, Hitler youth: Homeschooling network apparently teaching neo-Nazi ideas and theres nothing state can do, Amazon finally removes some Nazi paraphernalia after monetized hate slam. The group's membership ballooned throughout the 1990s as Aryan Circle members waged . This story has been shared 104,709 times. An alleged leader of the Aryan Brotherhood neo-Nazi prison gang is suing California officials after his requests for vegetarian meals behind bars were "ignored," according to reports. As expected, there are a few notable members of the gang and it takes a great deal to stand out in a group filled with some of the world's most criminal minds. She wrote, John was my only child. Half a million people call the county home. It is moderately active in organized crime and the Canadian prison system. Evidence presented at trial showed OSullivan had wanted to keep the peace between the groups and avoid any confrontation. However, the relationship did not last long as the Aryan Brotherhood took offense at the murder of pregnant actress Sharon Tate. That case involves Curtis Floyd Price, who was allegedly ordered by the white supremacist gang to murder Richard Barnes, a Los Angeles resident whose son, Steven Barnes, had dropped out of the gang and agreed to testify against its members. It was originally nicknamed the "Diamond Tooth Gang" because of the glass shards that some members put in their teeth. [4] Early members liked the Western novels of Louis L'Amour, source of the organization's self-proclaimed "the Brand" moniker. Members also have a fondness for medieval Vikings and the pirates of the Golden Age. But it is unknown by authorities if these two groups are officially linked together or not. Nuestra Familia. Instead, they pinned the conspiracy and the murder on Almony, who acted as a council member with the same, if not more, authority, they argued. Heallegedly ran a years-long drug trafficking operation behind prison walls using smuggled cellphones. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. I want Almond dead. It is alleged that Chance Alan Wilson, using contraband cell phones from his prison cell, organized and led a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine throughout Oklahoma and surrounding states. On August 9, 1982, the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office opened a racketeering enterprise investigation into the gang. A "council" controls the families. The AB was founded in 1964 by Irish bikers to provide protection for white inmates in prisons, it is currently the deadliest and largest prison gang in the United States. And in most of these cases they never got any of the unemployment.. OSullivan was a ranking member of a rival gang, Dead Man Incorporated (DMI). Video surveillance captured the three defendants attacking OSullivan as he attempted to flee his cell and run for help toward the control booth area of the tier. For example, in the Arizona prison system, members are known as "kindred" and organize into "families". The major gangs . His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 2. Almony, also known as Sean Almond, detailed six different assaults he witnessed Leissler approve or order himself in a five year period. He was one of 16 alleged Aryan Brotherhood members and associates indicted in four separate cases involving racketeering, murder and drug trafficking in 2019. History. Yandell faces charges of running a drug ring from his California State Prison, Sacramento cell, as well as involvement in several murder plots. / CBS Baltimore. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! October 12, 2021 pgagameday Comments Off. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) A one-time top member of the notorious Aryan Brotherhood who claimed to have turned his life around after 45 years in prison is now charged with defrauding Northern Californians out of nearly $400,000 in unemployment benefits. [33] Outside prison, the AB engages in every kind of criminal enterprise, "including murder-for-hire, armed robbery, gun running, methamphetamine manufacturing, heroin sales, counterfeiting, and identity theft", according to the SPLC. Thompson, who turns 70 in October, is perhaps the most well-known ex-Aryan Brotherhood member, who joined in the 1970s then dropped out in the 1980s. A message seeking comment from the county public defenders office, which represents the men, wasnt immediately returned after hours on Wednesday. Thompson and Hutchins also were accused of falsely applying for EDD benefits themselves, alleging they were working while they were still in prison, and they are suspected of $1.5 million in loan fraud, authorities said. - A Billings, Missouri, man who belongs to the Aryan Brotherhood pleaded guilty in federal court today to methamphetamine trafficking. When they took his life, they took mine as well. [8][7] The gangs were also involved in a power struggle in the East Bay, which led to the killing of Hells Angels vice-president Michael O'Farrell on June 6, 1989. Pinell became infamous as a member of San Quentin Six, helping slit the throat of prison guards during a failed 1971 escape attempt that left six dead. [34], A sort of internal banking or accounting system was instituted, which allowed them to "tax" criminal activity on the streets, and collect 20% on the proceeds, money which is then laundered and controlled by the commission. New members are on probation for a year, must swear a blood oath for life, and must commit a violent act to join the Brotherhood, such as killing a rival inmate, assaulting an officer or murdering an African American or Hispanic prisoner. A man left a bullet-riddled car with three dead men inside it at the ER. [4], Daryl Johnson, leader of the Domestic Terrorist Analysis Team whose job it is to monitor the activity of right-wing militias and other domestic terrorist groups, said that white supremacist organizations in prisons are a "radicalization threat", committing acts of violence inside prison, and then in the larger communities after release. Anne Arundel County States Attorney Anne Colt Leitess announced today that Joseph Leissler, 52, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in the murder of John OSullivan, 43, another prisoner at the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup. SACRAMENTO Days after an alleged high-ranking Aryan Brotherhood member publicized that officials at the jail had secretly recorded more than a dozen ostensibly confidential jail legal visits, a federal magistrate has recommended his federal suit be dismissed. In sum, no rational juror could have convicted anyone of anything solely on the word of the admitted perjurer and schemer Thompson, the prosecutors wrote. Aryan Brotherhood prosecution appears deadlocked amid shocking admission by Sacramento jail staff RALEIGH, N.C. Gang activity overall is on the rise in North Carolina, and the sharpest increase is among white supremacist groups, law enforcement officials said Friday. The A/B isn't about "shaving your head". In an 'unprecedented' move, five alleged Aryan Brotherhood members will not have to appear at certain court hearings in person as prosecutors fear they are too dangerous. Vincent Bunner, 28, and Calvin Lockner, 40, were convicted of second-degree murder in January 2020 for stabbing OSullivan. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has characterized it as "the nation's oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate" while the . I have been in this black hole since that day., While the defendant did not wield a knife to kill the victim, he used his authority over fellow gang members to order them to carry out this attack on his behalf and to further the gangs reputation. Joining is difficult. For years, it remained relatively small, then began . Accused:Daniel Troxell, left, and Ronald Yandell, right, are among 16 leaders and associates of the Aryan Brotherhood gang who are awaiting trial in California, Prosecutors said alleged Aryan Brotherhood inmates including Jason Corbett (left) and William Sylvester (right) may be too dangerous to leave jail even for a court appearance, The defendants were charged with murder, plotting murder and running a large drug-trafficking ring within the California State Prison-Sacramento, pictured above. WASHINGTON A high ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) was sentenced today for his role in an aggravated assault that took place in Tomball, Texas, in September 2008, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth . As a former top leader said, "They're like two related but different crime families. Almony was present when Leissler ordered at least six attacks over 10 . You had to be killed, he said. Thompson and Hutchins also were accused of falsely applying for EDD benefits themselves, alleging they were working while they were still in prison, and they are suspected of $1.5 million in loan fraud, authorities said. New members were branded with a tattoo, following the procedure in a prison novel popular among inmates. The Superseding Indictment alleges that one of those individuals assisting Chance Alan Wilsons activity was his mother, Deanna Wilson. ", "Was this Murder Victim also a Serial Killer? "Basically, the story was, 'Oh, well, we're going to apply for unemployment for you, we'll take a fee and we'll give you the rest,' " county District Attorney Susan Krones told the paper on Wednesday. TULSA, Okla. - Two Universal Aryan Brotherhood influential gang members pleaded guilty Tuesday for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise that committed acts of murder, kidnapping, the trafficking of methamphetamine and firearms, money laundering, assault, and robbery throughout the State of Oklahoma, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. After writing vigorous notes to his attorneys during Almonys testimony, Leissler took the rare step Friday of testifying at his own murder trial.

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