Flaunting wealth on the street is a must
While it would seem people living on the wrong side of the law would want to draw as little attention to themselves as possible, many gang members are attracted to the designer clothing, luxury autos, large glitzy jewelry and other "flash'' paid for by their illicit activities.
In their world, a person's "rep'' for being a ruthless and savvy businessman can protect him.
"My notoriety do demand a certain amount of respect in the community. I can walk around and I'm going to be respected because of my past experience and my involvement in the gangs,'' said Willie Lloyd, who claims he is a retired gang leader. "There is a notoriety about Willie Lloyd.''
When Lloyd left Logan Correctional Center in 1992 after serving time for a gun conviction, he wore a black-and-white leather outfit under a mink coat.
His subordinates--who themselves were dressed in leather, fur, gold, diamonds with alligator shoes--picked him up from the jail in five limousines.
Wearing the latest styles, driving the flashiest must-have vehicles and using their cash to parlay good faith in the neighborhoods can add to the gangs' allure on the street.
For future gang members, it's seen as a lucrative alternative to working a minimum-wage job flipping burgers.
"Once the money starts comin' in, you got to figure out what to do with it,'' said Ranell Rogers, a 23-year-old Mafia Insane Vice Lords gang member. "Nine times outta 10, it might be a young guy who doesn't know what to do with it. It might go to drugs, women, guns, cars. Those are necessary; everybody wants 'em. If you don't have 'em, you ain't cool.''
The most obvious gang status symbol is the right car.
Gang members, especially mid-level gang members who are in charge of a local crew of "slingers'' who actually sell the drugs, will sometimes own a small fleet of vehicles that they have put in the names of family members and friends to keep officials from establishing a paper trail against them.
The "must-have'' cars these days are the fully decked out Cadillac Escalade SUV truck, which runs more than $45,000; the GMC Envoy SUV, which averages $30,000, and Jaguars, which run about $46,000. The colors of choice are black or white.
"They are trend-setters, they'll always go with the biggest trend,'' Chicago police Sgt. John Lucki said.
When Satan Disciples gang member Santos Garcia was arrested in 1998, police recovered $44,644 in cash, thousands of dollars in jewelry and several vehicles, including a Lincoln Continental, a Chrysler Intrepid, a Ford Mustang, a Lincoln Navigator SUV--and two Chevy Astro vans used to cart dope from the Mexican border.
Garcia was sentenced to 15 years in prison in March after being convicted of drug dealing, but fled before he saw a day in prison. Two men who worked with him pleaded guilty in December to drug charges and received three years probation, Cook County State's Attorney Anthony Kyriakopoulos said.
While Garcia, a 28-year-old native of Mexico, allegedly held down a $19,000-a-year job as a machine operator, he owned a $71,644 28-foot power boat and a Jet Ski worth $10,000. He also owned a $200,000 five-bedroom home in Marquette Park, which prosecutors are trying to seize because they say it was bought with his drug profits.
Like any good business person, a gang leader often showers underlings with gifts and clothing as a way to keep employees in their good graces and to keep them from "flipping'' to a rival gang, Lucki said.
"You'll hear how the guy who is supplying them will throw a picnic for them or buy them all gym shoes or different types of uniforms, whether it's current trendy jackets or hats, pants or clothes,'' Lucki said. "Essentially he becomes an employer for the community.''
Along with the cars, gang members seek out "hip-hop'' designer clothing such as Pelle Pelle, which has leather jackets selling for $500 and velour warmup suits going for $200; FUBU clothing, especially a $135 denim jacket called the "Gang In Boxes Jacket." And anything with the name Sean Jean, a line launched by rap star Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, is also hot among gang members, Chicago police Sgt. Marc Moore said.
"You see 19-year-olds driving down the street in a 2001 Cadillac Escalade, and when you ask them who it belongs to, they'll say my aunt, my cousin, my--'' Moore said.
"One guy said he was driving his mama's car, and he had about $10,000 in speakers in the back. I said your mama must be really deaf.''
The gangs have bought into the pop culture--especially the black gangs, who see their enterprise more as a business than do the Latin gangs, which usually set up family members in their gang, said Andrew Papachristos, director of field research for the National Gang Crime Research Center.
"They employ the business jargon, 'The Godfather' mentality that they see in pop culture,'' said Papachristos. "The day you can identify a gang member by a baseball hat is pretty much over because people are getting smarter, and it's a business."
U.S. GOVERNMENT: $19,589,139 (total deposits to U.S. asset forfeiture fund for Illinois, including Northern District of Illinois, which comprises most of the cases).
SOURCES: Cook County state's attorney's office, U.S. Justice Department