Armenian Power
Encyclopedia
Armenian Power, also known as AP, is an Armenian
criminal organization located in Los Angeles County, California
. They are involved in drug trafficking
, murder
, assault
, fraud
, identity theft
, illegal gambling, kidnapping
, racketeering, robbery
and extortion
. They are believed to have over 200 members.
and Russian-Armenians
from the former Soviet Union
who came to the United States during a large influx in the Soviet Union's final years. Armenian Power has strong ties to Russian organized crime, as organized crime in the Soviet Union was multi-ethnic and continues to be multi-ethnic in today's Russia.http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/rusorg4.htmhttp://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc0604/article_580.shtml.The gang also has some Hispanic members. In the summer of 1988, two dozen gang members took over the parking lot of a mini-mall in East Hollywood and turned it into their headquarters. They intimidated patrons of the mall's restaurants and clothing stores, forcing the shop owners to hire some off-duty LAPD
officers for security.
The Armenian Power gang members usually wear the classic uniform of the barrio street gang: baggy khaki pants, pressed white T-shirts, hair nets, navy blue ski caps and 'Locs' brand styled sunglasses. Many are tattooed and armed.
By mid-1997 the Armenian Power gang was believed to be responsible for a dozen driveby murders.
The Armenian Power gang is composed of about 200 members making it relatively small compared to many other ethnic gangs in the United States. In United States, Caucasian gangs in general composed only 14% of the total percentage of gangs versus other racial/ethnic groups.
. On May 24, 2000, Latino gang members shot an Armenian person outside a restaurant in Hollywood, California. It was recorded as the third clash involving Armenian and Latino gang members in that month. In 2000, a killing of a 17 year old Latino youth outside of Hoover High School
by Armenian gang youth sparked dialogue to find ways to help stop violence between these groups.
over 800 federal and local law enforcement authorities arrested nearly 100 people allegedly involved in Armenian organized crime in the Los Angeles area. Much of the crime was white collar
in nature, including identity theft
crimes such as credit card skimming. The range of crimes included kidnapping, bank fraud
, extortion
, identity theft, loansharking, bank, and access card device fraud
, robbery
, witness intimidation
, drug trafficking
, drug charges including marijuana cultivation and bringing narcotics into prison, gun-related offenses, and murder.
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
criminal organization located in Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
. They are involved in drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
, illegal gambling, kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, racketeering, robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
and extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
. They are believed to have over 200 members.
History
The gang is composed predominantly of Armenian immigrants from ArmeniaArmenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and Russian-Armenians
Armenians in Russia
Armenians in Russia or Russian Armenians are ethnic Armenians who live in Russia. The 2002 Russian census recorded 1,130,491 Armenians in the country, but most probably did not take into account the Armenian guest workers, most of whom do not hold Russian citizenship...
from the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
who came to the United States during a large influx in the Soviet Union's final years. Armenian Power has strong ties to Russian organized crime, as organized crime in the Soviet Union was multi-ethnic and continues to be multi-ethnic in today's Russia.http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/rusorg4.htmhttp://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc0604/article_580.shtml.The gang also has some Hispanic members. In the summer of 1988, two dozen gang members took over the parking lot of a mini-mall in East Hollywood and turned it into their headquarters. They intimidated patrons of the mall's restaurants and clothing stores, forcing the shop owners to hire some off-duty LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
officers for security.
The Armenian Power gang members usually wear the classic uniform of the barrio street gang: baggy khaki pants, pressed white T-shirts, hair nets, navy blue ski caps and 'Locs' brand styled sunglasses. Many are tattooed and armed.
By mid-1997 the Armenian Power gang was believed to be responsible for a dozen driveby murders.
The Armenian Power gang is composed of about 200 members making it relatively small compared to many other ethnic gangs in the United States. In United States, Caucasian gangs in general composed only 14% of the total percentage of gangs versus other racial/ethnic groups.
Latino-Armenian conflict
Armenian Power has had a history of conflict with Latino gang members in the past but it is thought to have simmered down in the past years. Armen "Silent" Petrosyan, a founder of Armenian Power, was shot to death on May 22, 2000 by Jose Argueta, a member of Latino gang White FenceWhite Fence
White Fence, also known by the acronym WF, is the oldest East Los Angeles gang. They also sometimes use the name Cerco Blanco which is Spanish for White Fence. In East L.A. they were also known as "Pachucos".- History :...
. On May 24, 2000, Latino gang members shot an Armenian person outside a restaurant in Hollywood, California. It was recorded as the third clash involving Armenian and Latino gang members in that month. In 2000, a killing of a 17 year old Latino youth outside of Hoover High School
Hoover High School
Hoover High School may refer to any of the following:*Hoover High School , Hoover, Alabama, made famous by the MTV show Two-A-Days*Hoover High School, North Canton, Ohio*Herbert Hoover High School , Fresno, California...
by Armenian gang youth sparked dialogue to find ways to help stop violence between these groups.
Operation Power Outage
On February 16, 2011 during Operation Power OutageOperation Power Outage
Operation Power Outage was a law enforcement sting operation targeted at arresting and indicting members of the Armenian American criminal group Armenian Power operating in the United States...
over 800 federal and local law enforcement authorities arrested nearly 100 people allegedly involved in Armenian organized crime in the Los Angeles area. Much of the crime was white collar
White-collar crime
Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
in nature, including identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
crimes such as credit card skimming. The range of crimes included kidnapping, bank fraud
Bank fraud
Bank fraud is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently representing to be a bank or financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense...
, extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, identity theft, loansharking, bank, and access card device fraud
Credit card fraud
Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. Credit card fraud is also...
, robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, witness intimidation
Witness intimidation
Witness intimidation involves witnesses crucial to court proceedings being threatened in order to pressure or extort them not to testify. The refusal of key witnesses to testify commonly renders a case with inadequate physical evidence void in a court of law...
, drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
, drug charges including marijuana cultivation and bringing narcotics into prison, gun-related offenses, and murder.