Black organized crime has always had to fight twice as hard to establish itself in the criminal world. With ethnic white crime groups frequently enjoying the protection of their counterparts in law enforcement, black groups fought a battle on two fronts. Still, they carved out their piece of the underworld.
Whether in North American cities like New York and Chicago, where men like “Bumpy” Johnson and “Teddy” Roe climbed to the top of their craft, or in cities like Naples, Italy, where the Nigerian Mafia showed itself a fierce opponent to the Camorra, despite being a new arrival.
Black street gangs have also taken hold on many neighborhoods and cities, continuing their business from inside prisons.
Check out the latest articles on Black organized crime here
United States
New York:
The Father, the Son… the Mafia, the Bloods Gang, and Greed
“I thought my dad was a candy man” – Daughter of Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas talks about her father
Boss of Brooklyn-based Elite Assassin Millas gang convicted of multiple shootings, called East New York “Gun Town”
Coney Island West End Enterprise hitman sentenced to 32 years for murder and extortion of public works
Drug boss-turned-snitch Martinez shot dead in Harlem
From Grammys to prison: Rap artist Fetty Wap caught in 100KG multimillion-dollar drug trafficking organization bust
Drug boss-turned-snitch “Alpo” Martinez shot dead in Harlem
Folk Nation Gangster Disciples charged with 7 shootings that happened in Brooklyn in 2020
Stoned to Death – Profile of Jamaican crime boss Wayne “Sandokhan” Smith
Jumping Bail: How legendary drug kingpin “Black Caesar” Matthews disappeared forever
“American Gangster” Frank Lucas dead at 88
Elusive drug boss Frank Matthews to hit the big screen: From narco billionaire at 28 to mysterious phantom
Sex Money Murder: The violent rise and fall of Bronx gang ingrained in New York underworld’s history
Bloods gangster arrested for organizing murder of Bonanno mobster
Frank Smith, a hitman of the Coney Island-based Rival Impact gang, gunned down rivals in war with Thirty-O Crew
Two United Blood Nation Godfathers guilty of racketeering conspiracy
United Blood Nation Godfather says he is part of the last ones that God put in power
New York drug boss James Rosemond never changed
VIDEO: Bloods gangster talks about doing time with Mafia boss John Gotti in 1997
Eight Trey Crips gang leader Larry Pagett
How Muhammad Ali took the heavyweight boxing championship belt from the Mafia
Brooklyn Bloods gang enforcer Shondell “M-Dot” Walker
The criminal history of most wanted terrorist Assata Shakur godmother of slain rap legend 2Pac
Brooklyn Hull Street Crew leader Christian John
The Gangster Alpo From Spanish Harlem
Supreme: Gangster giant towers over Queens rap
Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff (in prison)
Leroy “Nicky” Barnes (flipped, dead)
American Gangster Myth: The True Story Behind Frank Lucas
Frank Matthews
Vietnam Vet-Turned-Harlem Drug Dealer Pens Memoir
Folk Nation Gang Leader Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
Black Caesar: The Rise of America’s Biggest Kingpin
Former Gangsters Beefing About Books
Gangsters Inc. sits down with docu makers of The Frank Matthews Story: The Rise and Disappearance of America’s Biggest Kingpin
Bloods Gang Leader Ronald “Ra Diggs” Herron Charged With Three Murders
DEA Bust: World Famous Music Labels Used By Gangsters to Traffic Millions of Dollars in Cocaine
Former Drug Kingpin Ike Atkinson Tells All In New Documentary
New Jersey:
New Jersey drug lieutenant gets 36 years for his role in 3 murders, recruited East Orange Bloods as hitmen
Leader of Newark drug trafficking gang gets 20 years in prison
Grape Street Crips member indicted for murder of bystander at 2010 summer cookout
“Corey Hamlet is as smart as any CEO we’ve prosecuted” – Profile: Grape Street Crips leader Corey Hamlet
The South Side Cartel: Newark’s most violent street gang
Atlantic City “Dirty Block” Gang enforcer gets life
Atlantic City gang boss gets life in prison for drug conspiracy
Drug boss Rufus Young gets 15 years for selling kilos of heroin
Chili Pimping in Atlantic City
New Orleans:
Texas:
Gangster or Rapper? Houston’s The Breadman learns he can’t be both – “He played the game and lost”
Tennessee:
Gangster Disciples hitman and regional chief enforcer convicted of several stone-cold murders
Gangster Disciples Chief of Security admits role in shootings, drug trafficking – Sentenced to 25 years
The Big Hen: Regional enforcer of Gangster Disciples gets 30 years in prison
The Governor of Tennessee: Gangster Disciples boss Byron Montrail Purdy ruled state’s underworld
Philadelphia:
“A true menace to society” – Philadelphia contract killer gets 5 life sentences for 6 murders
Music label or violent gang? Original Block Hustlaz provided soundtrack while it flooded Philadelphia with drugs
How Muhammad Ali took the heavyweight boxing championship belt from the Mafia
Profile of Philadelphia drug boss Roland Bartlett
Chicago:
Leader of Chicago’s Four Corner Hustlers gang convicted of racketeering and multiple murders
Ex-Chicago Gangster Larry Hoover Eligible for State Parole: Will Gov. Pritzker Commute Hoover’s 200 Years? If Parole Board Deny Him Freedom
The black crime boss who defied the Chicago Mafia: Profile of Theodore “Teddy” Roe
“Shooter” of Chicago’s LAFA gang convicted of racketeering and murder
Living the high life and driving a Maserati – Profile of Chicago drug boss Levaughn “Sweet Bobby” Collins
Alleged Chicago gang boss charged with sending funds to ISIS in Syria – other gangsters busted for drugs
President Obama gives Gangster Disciples leader a sentence reduction
1 gang boss dead, 2 agents shot, as FBI busts Black P-Stone Nation
Chicago Vice Lord Nation gang boss dead at 64
Rockford:
Rockford’s Black Gangster Disciples boss Karl Fort
Detroit:
Almighty Vice Lord Nation bosses sent to prison – Murdered suspected snitch in broad daylight
Detroit gang boss gets life in prison for cold-blooded execution, racketeering
Three alleged drug gangsters charged with murder of ex-NFL player in Detroit
Detroit gang leader gets 35 years for racketeering
Chester Wheeler Campbell: The 007 of the Detroit Drug Mob
Baltimore:
Killing mothers without remorse – Black Guerilla Family gangsters hit with racketeering, murder charges
Baltimore gangster gets 40 years in federal prison for racketeering, murders, carjackings, armed robberies
NFL gang boss Gregory Butler
Baltimore Eight Tray Gangsta Crips boss Trayvon “Tru G” Hall
Baltimore gangster arrested by FBI in Dominican Republic after spending two years on the lam
Members of West Baltimore gang Trained To Go guilty of 9 murders, drug trafficking, witness intimidation
“Bodie” Barksdale, inspiration for The Wire, dead at 54
Female Drug Boss Jean Brown
Maurice “Peanut” King
Washington:
“Spinning the Block” with fully automatic ghost guns: “Big Homie” of Washington DC gang gets 35 years
Keeping it too real: Rapper Migo Lee led Washington DC drug organization while gaining success in music biz
Profile: Washington D.C. drug boss Rayful Edmond
The Murder of Fray; A Washington D.C. Street Legend
North Carolina:
Raleigh drug boss “never learned his lesson,” will now serve 16 years for drug and gun crimes
Gone in 60 seconds: Crew ran Charlotte-based multi-million dollar luxury car theft ring
Cagey Goldsboro drug trafficker linked to murder, dismemberment, disposal of confidential informant gets 40 years
United Blood Nation gangsters plead guilty to RICO conspiracy involving multiple murders
Prison bars couldn’t stop powerful Bloods Godfathers
Two United Blood Nation Godfathers guilty of racketeering conspiracy
The Blood Life: How robbery led to homicides earning two Blood leaders life in prison
United Blood Nation Godfather says he is part of “the last ones that God put in power”
83 bosses and members of United Blood Nation indicted
Rick Ross Cancels Tour After Gangster Disciples Threats
Colorado:
US Soldiers Busted in Drug Cartel Murder-For-Hire Plot
Florida:
California:
“The system of America is scared when they see us unite” – Profile of devil-worshipping East Coast Crips boss Paul Wallace
Gang Rules: Growing up inside the LA gang life
Sinaloa Cartel distributor who supplied Crips, Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords for two decades gets 15-year term
California Crip went from selling drugs to funding his own career as an author
Drug kingpin “Freeway” Rick Ross: Moving tons of cocaine with a nod of approval from the Reagan White House
Prison Gangs and the Analogy of Hate
Michael Harris: A Convicted Drug Kingpin Who Gave Denzel His Start on Broadway
Ohio:
Eighteen members of Cleveland’s Fully Blooded Felons gang hit with murder, kidnapping, gun & drug charges
Middletown drug boss with ties to Sinaloa Cartel sentenced to 25 years in prison
T&A Crips hitman who killed rival gang member and shot at potential witness pleads guilty
Don King: From street thug to street name?
Drug boss Ricks: From selfies in the gym to trafficking heroin
Missouri:
Just Bout Money gang ran major Southeast Missouri drug pipeline
Massachusetts:
Boston drug boss who shot suspected thief in the back gets 10 years in prison
Minnesota:
Minneapolis underworld war results in life in prison for two key figures of The Highs gang
Kansas City:
Full-Time Gangsters Part-Time Rappers
Virginia:
Virginia Mad Stone Bloods gangsters will do decades in prison for vicious kidnapping and murder of fellow gang member
Nine Trey Gangsters hitmen held shooting competition to see who’d get highest body count
Operation Goodfellas busts $19 million drug trafficking conspiracy from Mexico to Virginia
Leader of major drug ring that supplied Bloods and others sentenced to 20 years in prison
Profile of Black P-Stones leader Michael Hopson
Major heroin trafficking boss sentenced to 30 years in prison
Georgia:
All Business: Spartanburg drug organization ran smooth, but still ended up in shambles
Georgia drug boss Albert “Big” Ross and his lucrative Jalisco Cartel connection
Georgia’s “Get Dat Money” gang boss sentenced to 20 years in prison for running meth ring behind bars
Lucky Number 7: Longtime drug trafficker sentenced in multi-state cocaine, marijuana pipeline
Operation Bloody Prince
Around the World:
Teflon Holdings, luxury cars, and a £250K watch | Profile of English drug boss Craig McKenzie
Dear Lord – Crime group used Christian ministry as front for £2 million cannabis importation from Jamaica
One of the cruelest human traffickers in the world: Crime boss Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam
“I want you to move 50 kilos a week, don’t talk about 1” – London crime boss gets 25 years for running drug ring from prison
Black Axe: How Nigeria’s Mafia group went global and became an international criminal powerhouse
Italian police crack down on Nigerian Mafia in nationwide busts
From the Caribbean to Dubai and Europe: Profile of international drug boss Shurendy “Tyson” Quant
Nigerian Mafia in Italy now “on the same level” as the Camorra, police say
Stoned to Death – Profile of Jamaican crime boss Wayne “Sandokhan” Smith
The 18 Gangster museum in South Africa run by ex-convicts tells cautionary tales of life of crime and violence
Alleged Jamaican hitman placed on FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for murders in US
Right-hand-man of Suriname president’s son guilty in U.S. drug case
Justice Denied – Assassinations and militants in Bermuda
American Gangsters
The Jamaican Shower Posse: A Family Business
Profile of Henk Orlando Rommy (Dutch drug boss operating worldwide)
