Texas Syndicate
Encyclopedia
The Texas Syndicate is a mostly Texas
-based prison gang
that includes Hispanic
and at one time, White
(non-Hispanic) members. The Texas Syndicate, unlike La Eme
or Nuestra Familia
, has been more associated or allied with Mexican immigrant prisoners, known as "border brothers", while La Eme and the NF tend to be more composed of US-born/raised Hispanics.
It was established in the 1970s at Folsom Prison in California in direct response to the other California prison gangs (notably the Aryan Brotherhood
and Mexican Mafia
), which were attempting to prey on native Texas inmates. Los Zetas
cartel has been known to hire US gangs such as the Texas Syndicate and MS-13 to carry out contract killing
s.
and in San Quentin, California
with frequency. As a street gang, heavy activity has been reported in Austin
, Corpus Christi
, the Rio Grande Valley
and the Dallas Fort Worth area in Texas.
The organization at one time did allow non-Hispanic members to join, but in the 1980s reversed this policy.
, prostitution
, protection, illegal gambling, and contract killing
. Released or parole members who generate money for the Texas Syndicate must surrender a 10% tax ("the dime") of all proceeds toward the gang in prison.
Additionally, gang leadership is determined by democratic election
s, requiring a unanimous decision. Recruitment is conducted through social ties and involves a background check
to screen for informants.
structure, headed by a president and vice president elected by the general membership. Prison units are individually controlled by a local chairman and vice chairman. Beneath them in the gang hierarchy are captains, lieutenants, sergeants of arms, and numerous soldiers.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
-based prison gang
Prison gang
Prison gang is a term used to denote any type of gang activity in prisons and correctional facilities. Prison officials and others in law enforcement use the term security threat group or STG...
that includes Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
and at one time, White
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
(non-Hispanic) members. The Texas Syndicate, unlike La Eme
Mexican Mafia
The Mexican Mafia , also known as La Eme , 13 is a Mexican American criminal organization, and is one of the oldest and most powerful prison gangs in the United States.-Foundation:...
or Nuestra Familia
Nuestra Familia
Nuestra Familia is a criminal organization of Mexican American prison gangs with origins in Northern California. While members of the Norteños gang are considered to be affiliated with Nuestra Familia, being a member of Nuestra Familia itself does not signify association as a Norteño...
, has been more associated or allied with Mexican immigrant prisoners, known as "border brothers", while La Eme and the NF tend to be more composed of US-born/raised Hispanics.
It was established in the 1970s at Folsom Prison in California in direct response to the other California prison gangs (notably the Aryan Brotherhood
Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
and Mexican Mafia
Mexican Mafia
The Mexican Mafia , also known as La Eme , 13 is a Mexican American criminal organization, and is one of the oldest and most powerful prison gangs in the United States.-Foundation:...
), which were attempting to prey on native Texas inmates. Los Zetas
Los Zetas
Los Zetas is the second most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as the most violent drug cartel and paramilitary enforcement group in Mexico...
cartel has been known to hire US gangs such as the Texas Syndicate and MS-13 to carry out contract killing
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
s.
Membership
As of 2000, some minority reports claim the Texas Syndicate had about 19,000 members in prisons and jails state-wide with more on the outside, however such numbers are often inflated and include inmates only marginally connected with the gang as well as ex-cons, most of whom do not remain actively involved. Around 8,126 Hispanic members operate across Texas, including specific reportings in the Coffield Unit, about 60 miles southwest of Tyler, and at the Allred prison unit outside of Wichita Falls. However, they still maintain their headquarters in California, where their national president resides, and their numbers continue to reach into state and federal prisons across the US. They have been reported in the Federal Correctional Institute at Oakdale, LouisianaOakdale, Louisiana
Oakdale is a small city in Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,137 at the 2000 census.Oakdale was founded as "Dunnsville" by William T. Dunn...
and in San Quentin, California
San Quentin, California
San Quentin is a small unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located west of Point San Quentin, at an elevation of 30 feet ....
with frequency. As a street gang, heavy activity has been reported in Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
, Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, the Rio Grande Valley
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
and the Dallas Fort Worth area in Texas.
The organization at one time did allow non-Hispanic members to join, but in the 1980s reversed this policy.
Development
Development of the Texas Syndicate was initially motivated by self-protection against the historical "building tenders" in prison. After building tenders disappeared due to a court order, the Syndicate's activities turned to drug trafficking, extortionExtortion
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...
, prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, protection, illegal gambling, and contract killing
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
. Released or parole members who generate money for the Texas Syndicate must surrender a 10% tax ("the dime") of all proceeds toward the gang in prison.
Gang rules
Texas Syndicate members abide by a constitution requiring members to:- Be a Texan
- Always remain a member
- Place the Texas Syndicate before anything else
- Understand that the Texas Syndicate is always in the right
- Wear the Texas Syndicate tattoo
- Never let a member down
- Respect other members
- Keep all gang information within the group
Additionally, gang leadership is determined by democratic election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s, requiring a unanimous decision. Recruitment is conducted through social ties and involves a background check
Background check
A background check or background investigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records of an individual....
to screen for informants.
Structure
TS has a paramilitaryParamilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
structure, headed by a president and vice president elected by the general membership. Prison units are individually controlled by a local chairman and vice chairman. Beneath them in the gang hierarchy are captains, lieutenants, sergeants of arms, and numerous soldiers.
- There is some representation in the Florida Department of Corrections.
- The history of the group and documented acts of violence in other jurisdictions warrant their certification as a Security Threat Group.
- Receipt of inmates on interstate compact and the current membership in groups with Hispanic and Latino supremacy ideology lend to the threat of an organizing TS within our facilities.
- The main activities of the TS are centered around drug trafficking, extortion, protection rackets, and internal discipline and contract murdering
Leaders
- Hector Soto, a former local leader of the Austin-area Texas Syndicate in prison, sentenced for drug possession in 2000
- Randy Salazar, alleged leader of the Syndicate in Austin, TX as of 2004
- Robert Velez as the leader of the Syndicate's Austin operation
- Victor Barrera Morones, who kept a storehouse of weapons in Austin
- In 1989, Noe Beltran was a leader of the Texas Syndicate prison gang, promoted to captain at Ellis II Unit prison just north of Huntsville, TexasHuntsville, TexasHuntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
- In 1983, Eliseo Martinez was alleged unit-leader of the Syndicate in prison at TDC's Ramsey I Unit, who was serving a 20 year sentence in the 80s for a prison-murder
- In 1994, Arnulfo Nino was leader in the federal prison at Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth, TexasFort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, convicted for possession of more than 800 pounds of cocaine, and distributing more than 80 pounds per week - Frank de la Cruz, an alleged leader, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon in 2001 at the Federal Correctional Institute at Oakdale
- In 1991 Emilio Gonzalez was sentenced to 5 years for drug possession. He is a former captain since 1989 in Rio Grande City, Texas
- In 2008 Pablo"Deviouz"Gonzalez was the first ex U.S Marine to be recruited to Texas Syndicate as Top Ranking Enforcer for the Dallas, Fort Worth Area
- In 2007 a top ranking syndicate Frank "Porkchop" Herrera Jr in Rio Grande Valley chapter was charged with aggravated robbery and burglary of habitation and serves his sentence in Coffield unit
Tattoos, symbols and identification
- A heart for an executioner used for ex military recruits
- A trident for an enforcer used for ex military recruits
- Three marks of a bird's footprint for a drug dealer
- Five marks of a bird's footprint for a weapons supplier
- Tattoo of an overlapping "TS", or an "S" superimposed over a "T"
- Slang terms: "Babydoll" refers to Mexican Mafia members
- "Charco" refers to Corpus Christi
- "Chuco" refers to El Paso
- "Space City" refers to Houston
- "Big D" refers to D Lo
- A longhornTexas longhorn (cattle)The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and tip to tip for bulls. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring...
and any figure with horns
External links
- Schiller, Dane. "First prison gang remains a force to fear." Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
. January 4, 2011.