Gangland (2007) s01e12 Episode Script
Blood Oath
male narrator: A city Suddenly plagued by random Violence it was getting to be like An epidemic.
we were inundated by So many murders and so many Violent acts.
narrator: Authorities Struggled to make sense of the Attacks.
it's something I hadn't seen With 18 years on the job.
narrator: The bloods, One of the most vicious gangs On the east coast.
narrator: We go deep inside This bloody world, where members Are bound by a violent oath.
you talk to individuals that Are programmed to an extent That they live blood, they die Blood, they breathe blood.
narrator: New york city, The late 1990s.
An unknown group had unleashed A reign of terror on city Streets.
Innocent people's faces were Being slashed with razors and Box cutters.
what we started seeing is This random, pointless violence.
these were normal, everyday People, you know, commuters on A train going to and from work.
They were cutting random Strangers on a train With a razor.
narrator: It was all part of The gang's initiation rite Called a buck fifty.
they want to inflict 150 Stitches to the person's face So that they would be disfigured For life.
And they'd have a reminder or A remembrance of their encounter With the gang member.
That was the whole idea of it.
narrator: Investigators Linked the attacks to the east Coast's fastest-rising black Street gang, the ubn.
The ubn is an east coast Incarnation of the west coast Bloods, one of l.
A.
's Oldest and most violent gangs.
when east coast-west coast Bloods meet, they greet each Other as bloods.
Bloods is universal.
narrator: The name blood Stands for brotherly love Overriding oppression and Destruction of society.
that concept and that idea Of brotherly love, working Together for a common cause, Some individuals are so heavily Programmed that there's no Turning back.
narrator: Bloods on both the East and the west coast often Identify themselves With red clothing.
They wear red bandanas on their Wrists and ankles and dangle Them from their pants pockets.
you would see them walking Around flaggingwhen I say Flagging, wearing the blood Colors and wearing Bandannas everywhere.
narrator: Unique to the Bloods in the tristate area, Members could also be identified By their signature Dog's paw tattoo.
we saw triple so, or dog Paws, burn marks in the form That they would use the heated Barrel of a gun to burn them Onto a person.
The males would usually get Them on their arm, Their upper arm, their shoulder.
narrator: Members often Referred to each other as Dogs.
But more recently, the east Coast bloods began concealing Their gang colors and dog Tattoos to avoid police Scrutiny.
it always surprised me that They were willing to do that, Because it made it so easy For law enforcement to identify narrator: The east coast Bloods identified themselves With the number 5 and used the Symbol of a five-pointed star.
The five points commonly Stand for body, Unity, love, Lust, and soul.
Their rivals, the crips, went By the number 6 and used A six-pointed star.
narrator: For a long time, If a blood asked you, "what's Poppin?" the correct answer Would be five poppin', six droppin', Crip killer till my casket Drop, five alive, six must die, Rest in peace to og tye.
That little singsongy verse Was the difference between Getting a buck fifty and being Able to, you know, go on about Your business.
narrator: The east coast Bloods are made up of many Smaller groups known as sets.
Each set has anywhere from Three to several hundred Members.
More than ten sets operate in The new york metropolitan area, With an estimated 5,000 members And associates.
The drug traffic drives gangs Like the east coast bloods to Swallow neighborhoods whole.
the bloods are sort of like The roman army, like they kind Of March into a neighborhood And kind of take it over.
narrator: The gang made Money through prostitution Rings, identity theft, gun Trafficking, and crack cocaine Sales.
During the 1990s, their ranks Multiplied.
This man is a high-ranking Member of the bloods.
His face and voice are disguised To protect his identity.
narrator: By 1997, the east Coast bloods had cornered the Crack market in new york and New jersey.
these gang territories are Like the costcos and bjs Of today.
You know, you are able To buy in bulk.
narrator: Blood members used Any means necessarto grab Their cut of the drug money.
Rather than sell drugs in Certain areas, they would Extort the local dealers.
they would tell 'em, "hey, This is our turf, and if you Want to sell drugs on that Corner, every Friday, you're Gonna give us $200.
" And they would have many drug Dealers out there that they Would control their turf, And they would extort Them for money.
narrator: The dealers would Know to cooperate, because a fee Was a small price to pay when The consequences of not paying Would be far worse.
the word was out that these Guys were out there Cutting peoples faces Everywhere and they didn't want It to happen, so they would Actually pay them extortion Money.
Very common.
narrator: Just like the west Coast bloods, the ubn claims Their rivals are the crips, Another black gang that also Has roots on the west coast.
But authorities say a mutual Enemy is one of the few things East and west coast bloods Have in common.
although they all share The same tradition and the same Rivalries and the same look, In the west coast set members Would tell you, you know, the Ubn are posing; they're not Real bloods.
narrator: The east coast Bloods had certain tactics That didn't sit well with their West coast counterparts Including targeting neutrals.
the west coast bloods felt That the east coast bloods were Soft and they weren't really A gang because they were Attacking neutrals instead of Rival gang members.
narrator: Authorities later Found that these attacks were Part of their initiation Process.
they were going out there Slashingyou know, they were Supposed to be going after Rival gang members, but they Were going out and slashing, You know, neutral people.
narrator: The surge of Attacks alarmed new york city Police and prompted them to Launch a special investigative Gang unit in 1997.
maybe their master plan was To, you know, make a name for Themselves.
Just their name would strike Fear into the hearts of people.
I don't know that they were That smart, but looking back on It, that's how it appeared.
narrator: By 2000, the bloods Were the largest and most Vicious gang on the east coast.
They had grown from relative Obscurity to become a gangland Superpower.
Authorities knew they had a Serious problem on their hands.
the bloods are responsible For the lion's share of the Murders, the lion's share of The shootings, And they're without a doubt The most violent, Most disruptive, most prolific Gang presence we have In the northeast.
narrator: The summer of 1999 Marked a turning point in the Gang unit's investigation.
The man responsible For creating the bloods On the east coast was about To be released from prison.
Authorities began building Their case against the gangster Known as og mack.
when he came home from jail, We were already up on him.
We knew what he was about to do, And we just had to figure out How to put it together.
narrator: His much Anticipated homecoming would Ignite a rash of attacks as he Roamed the streets of new york With a video camera, Documenting the powerhouse He had created.
narrator: From west coast to East coast, the gang called the Bloods preaches brotherly love And respect for its members.
At the same time, the east Coast bloods practice extreme Violence to gain money and Power.
Its leaders prefer to operate In secrecy.
narrator: Lured by any Number of promiseswealth, Status, family, protection Thousands of young men and women Turn to gang life.
there are a lot of kids here In the inner cities in this Country that don't have any Family.
And most of the time, we don't Understand what not having Family means; it means not Having anyone.
narrator: Many feel they have No other choice.
This gang member agrees.
narrator: As the east coast Bloods recruited heavily during The 1990s, they often targeted Adolescent boys From broken homes.
narrator: The united blood Nation got their start at Rikers island state prison In 1993.
Located on new york's east River, the prison is the City's largest, housing as many As 15,000 inmates at a time.
It's also the first stop for Most criminals in new york city.
when you go In the prison system, You goyou start out at rikers Island, and then once you're Sentenced, you go throughout The prison system, And you go from jail to jail.
narrator: During the early 1990s, hispanic gangs like The latin kings dominated the Prison population At rikers island.
They made black inmates the Main target of their abuse.
That racial hostility sparked The birth of the east coast Bloods.
narrator: Two inmates, omar Portee and leonard mckenzie, United the black prisoners at Rikers island under the banner Of the bloods.
It was portee's idea to adopt The name of a gang originally Formed in california in the 1970s.
Those bloods were notorious for Their brutal reign over many Neighborhoods in south central L.
A.
it was sort of a household Name, a strong trademark, A gang with a fearsome name.
narrator: The l.
A.
Bloods Had first started as an alliance Of smaller street gangs Joining together against A common enemy: Another black Gang called the crips.
Like the bloods rising up Against the crips, 23-year-old Omar portee saw his fellow Black inmates engaged In a similar struggle.
Portee and mckenzie created the United blood nation, or ubn, And anointed themselves The ogs.
Their disciples took to calling Portee by another name, og mack, And mckenzie, og deadeye.
it took og mack's brains and Leonard mckenzie's craziness And his penchant for violence To bring this unity about.
Their whole focus was pretty Much violence for violence sake.
narrator: Og mack and Og deadeye fostered unity among The black inmates.
They soon became the Powerhouse in the prison.
they went to war with the Latin kings.
They did exactly What the latin kings were doing To them.
narrator: With the creation Of the ubn came a set of rules And guidelines which all Members must follow.
But the first step was getting Initiated or blood-in.
they work As an underground network.
As an underground network, You're very careful Who you let in.
The majority of times, When you're actually being Initiated in, it's gonna be A criminal act.
narrator: The east coast Bloods copied the main Principles of the west coast Bloods such as no disrespecting Other gang members, No stealing from other Gang members, and no snitching.
And they required the greatest Commitment of all: One's life.
what is blood? Well, brotherly love.
They're willing to die for me; I'm willing to die for them.
narrator: They took this Blood oath and carried out Acts of violence as part of Their initiation.
each individual became Soldiers, and each soldier Soldier fought for a common Cause, and that cause was the Ubn.
Og mack formed them Into an army.
narrator: But even as og mack Led his prison army Under the moniker of the Bloods, he hadn't received The blessing or support of the Original bloods On the west coast.
mack decided all of a sudden In new york that he was gonna Start his own section.
They didn't sanction it, and They didn't approve of it, and They felt like they weren't The real bloods.
narrator: Sanctioned or not, The east coast bloods gained Greater and greater power, And they expanded their reach Beyond the walls of Rikers island state prison.
the blood concepts of Blood-in, blood-out was so Infectious that individuals Started spreading it from Rikers island to state Correctional facilities, and it Seeped out into the streets.
the rules, the regulations, The philosophy, written Materials, everything that og Mack and og deadeye put out About the gangs made it out to The street from this point.
This was with inmates who were Leaving to go home, they Would carry the codes with them, And they spread the word.
narrator: Once the bloods Hit the streets, They began to take over.
narrator: With og mack and Og deadeye serving as master Puppeteers, they orchestrated The growth of the united blood Nation in prisons and eventually In cities across the east coast.
Gangbangers fresh on the streets Were training their new recruits In skills they'd learned In prison.
people would give lessons On how to keep a razor blade in Your mouth and how to spit it Out into your hand and cut Somebody and get it back into Your mouth before anybody could Even see what you were doing, Almost like a magic trick.
narrator: Their inventive Trade secrets didn't end there.
gang members would hide Razor blades in their rectum.
They'd go into jail, learn how To use their rectum as american Tourister luggage.
So now you had them walking Around knowing if they were Going to get arrested, They were gonna back into A facility; they would already Be armed.
narrator: From behind bars, Og mack began launching one set, Or branch, of the gang After another, beginning with The 9-3 gangsters and the 1-8-3.
each specific set Had a specific function.
The 9-3 gangster bloods were The teachers and the breeders.
Gangsta killer bloods were the Enforcers.
Sex money murder was the Money set.
og mack would establish or Put an og, or an original Gangsta, in charge of each set.
All of them in the beginning Answered back to og mack.
narrator: The bloods' Recruitment efforts soared in The 1990s.
The gang exploded to more than 5,000 members in new york city Alone.
and it was becoming bigger And bigger.
It was like a snowball effect.
narrator: Unlike their Counterparts on the west coast, The bloods on the east coast Eventually outnumbered another Major black gang, the crips.
in the west coast, you have Crips outnumbering bloods Five to one.
In the east coast, you have Bloods outnumbering crips, and That's because they're more Flamboyant.
There are more out there, And they make more noise.
mack was one guy who went in There and started the east coast Bloods, and it became huge.
narrator: As the number of Bloods grew, the godfather of The united blood nation, Og mack, felt that many of his Followers had gone astray.
Rather than protecting their Communities from enemies like The latin kings or the crips, Bloods were attacking neutrals.
he had put together what They call the spring cleaning List, and this list was a list Of people who were out there Who were claiming fake blood, narrator: On June 22, 1999, Og mack was released from Prison.
He returned home to the bronx And started g-checking.
narrator: Og mack himself Walked around his old Neighborhood, g-checking with a Video camera.
narrator: And when the camera Was turned on og mack, The man behind the mask Showed off for his blood nation.
narrator: New york city, June 1999.
The godfather of the east coast Bloods, omar "og mack" portee Was released from prison.
He returned home to the bronx On a mission to find out Who his true bloods were.
once he got out of jail, He was going around the city Checking people, and what I mean Checking people, he would go Up to bloods on a corner, Or he'd go to a powwow, and he'd Be like, "who you be?" And when he said that to them, They were supposed to respond To him with their blood name And who they were and where They came from.
and they'd be like "I be That bloody so-and-so from one Eight tray brought home by Blah, blah, blah, you know, By so-and-so," and then all of a Sudden, he would know because he Knew who was and who wasn't.
narrator: Og mack also Continued to recruit new Members into the united blood Nation.
when you have an individual That's a blood member And he says, "you know what? I'm gonna make you my blood Brother, my blood sister, And we're gonna take care of Each other.
We're gonna bring you home.
" narrator: In order to be Brought home, a recruit must Pass one or more tests to prove Their courage and loyalty.
you may have to commit A crime; you may have to shoot Somebody.
But individuals are willing to Do that, because by doing these Actions, they're given the love That they seek.
narrator: Being brought home Also included getting beat-in By fellow gang members For 31 seconds.
the 0 stands for the bloods.
The 30 stands for the 30 rules That they have to follow, And 1 is the blood love, The love for all bloods Under one umbrella.
So this 031 number figures in To a lot of their writings And a lot of their graffiti.
number 31 means "I have love for you, blood.
" So again, there's, you know, The term love coming up, that This beating that you're going To voluntarily submit to is Because this group loves you And you love this group.
they would go up on the roof A lot in this building.
And up on the top floor, They had a vacant apartment That they used to use For meetings and powwows.
And there's a video of someone Being initiated into the bloods.
narrator: Og mack was there To capture the beat-in On video.
and at the end of that 31 seconds, it was like A ceremony.
They were congratulated.
They would all get up, Shake it off, and, you know, Congratulate the person And welcome them into the gang.
narrator: This new recruit Happened to be a bloodette.
this spot up here, That top apartment, is where I Was talking about where the Young lady was blooded in up in That apartment.
She fought it out with three Bloods members and was blooded In, and she was interviewed on That fire escape.
narrator: With his video Camera, og mack came across Several bloodettes who were Expecting blood drops.
narrator: Even though they Are full members of the gang, Bloodettes still face Additional challenges that male Gang members do not.
narrator: Instead of A beat-in, some female Recruits choose a different Initiation ritual Known as being sexed-in.
they're actually gang-raped By members of the gang, and that Can get them membership.
narrator: Once initiated Into the bloods, both male and Female members were required to Put in work.
narrator: During the late 1990s, many blood sets in new York city began making recruits Put in work against neutrals, Or civilians.
there was a group of Young teenagers led by a girl Who was only 13 at the time, And she had established herself As a blood set.
She lived in a housing project That was next to the east river, And along the east river Was a jogging path.
So what her and her group would Do is, they would grab the Joggers and would all take a Slice at them with the razors.
You know, that's how they were Putting in work.
narrator: After becoming A blood, members must obey A strict chain of command within Their sets.
Each set has a hierarchy with Original gangsta, or ogs, at The top, followed by superiors, Ministers, captains, Lieutenants, and then soldrs.
brrrrya.
narrator: And then there's The bloods' signature call.
all: Brrrr.
narrator: They use it To announce their presence Both in the prisons And on the streets, Often provoking their enemies.
narrator: Og mack also Developed a coded language and Set of greetings to help Distinguish friend from foe.
The bloods first developed the Coded language in prison.
They used it to prevent guards From understanding what they Were talking about.
Then they brought the language To the streets and modified it Over and over again to keep Police in the dark.
narrator: One code word That's universally recognized Byuthorities: Food.
They basically will have A contract on their head.
narrator: The expansion of The east coast bloods wasn't Only originating from og mack.
so at the same time that Omar portee in new york was Hearing about the bloods in California and trying to emulate Them, people in new jersey Were hearing about the bloods And wanting to be bloods.
narrator: One of those Groups was in east orange, new Jersey, and would prove to be Among the deadliest blood groups On the east coast.
over a period of time, We were inundated by so many Murders and so many violent Acts that it almost becomes A fog of violence, but this one Murder, I know, Stood out in my mind.
narrator: While og mack Created the united blood nation In new york city, across the Hudson river in new jersey, Another strand of bloods were Being born.
so you had them being created Independently but both probably Feeding off of the fact That the bloods were becoming More well known.
narrator: In 1993, a pair of West coast bloods Visited east orange, new jersey, On a rap tour.
They encouraged the local young Men to start their own blood Franchise, naming them The double iis.
the double ii bloods is Kind of an anomaly as to how They originated.
It was created during a fourth Of July barbeque where the ogs From california were brought to East orange and met with the Smaller juvenile hybrid gangs From the neighborhood and began To introduce them To the blood lifestyle.
they were just sort of Infatuated by what they were Hearing, and what the infusion Of the west coast bloods culture Did was create in these local Gangs a desire to become one Gang, to give up their previous Gang allegiance and become this Unified gang called double ii.
narrator: The name double ii Tied together inglewood, Californiathe birthplace of The west coast bloods With illtownstreet slang For east orange.
With a unique blend of west Coast and east coast blood Influences, the double iis Achieved notoriety throughout New jersey during the 1990s.
In 2001, 21-year-old Tehwan "massacre" butler Became their leader.
By 2002, federal agents had Become aware of butler's reign And began building Their case against him.
They used wiretaps to record His meetings where he spoke To members and new recruits.
butler spoke, you know, like Somewhere between a preacher And an older brother.
narrator: In this audio Surveillance tape, butler Explains to a group of double ii Bloods why they should hate Their rivals, the crips.
narrator: Authorities were Surprised by what they heard.
I guess I wasn't prepared For the charismatic presentation That he actually gave.
what's amazing is that You could have a blood meeting With 50 members of The double iis, And when massacre's speaking, You could hear a pin drop.
I mean, it is silent.
He has the floor.
He is the leader, and they're Just sitting there listening.
narrator: Butler encouraged All members to carry a gun.
This contributed To the double iis becoming known For their brutality.
The murder rate in east orange Skyrocketed.
he says, you know, "you can't bang for your set If you're not out there With a gun," and so he wants Everyone to have a gun.
narrator: This practice Proved fatal to many innocent People.
July 25, 2002.
At this home in east orange, A concerned father confronted A double ii gang member who was Trying to recruit his Eight-year-old son.
I mean, he was incensed and Wanted to protect his child.
And he did everything We tell a parent to do if you Find out your child's becoming Involved in gangs.
Do whatever you have to do To stop it.
narrator: One of the double Ii members was 19-year-old Amir winn.
After the encounter, Winn left the house.
He later returned With a.
380-caliber handgun.
He wanted to teach the boy's Father a lesson for Disrespecting the double iis.
amir winn, who goes by yg, Or young gangster, walked up To the porch and asked, "where's the tough guy at?" narrator: In front of a Crowd of neighbors, the father Of four showed no fear, which Only infuriated yg even more.
and amir went and proceeded To execute him in front of His family.
He shot him once, and after He fell on the ground, He walked up to him To finish him kff.
The eight-year-old Starts to yell, "why did you Kill my daddy?" And at that point, Winn turns the gun On the eight-year-old boy.
Apparently at that point, Because of the crowd, he Thought better of it and fled.
narrator: Police captured Amir winn one month later.
In September 2006, winn pled Guilty to the murder.
He received a 34-year sentence.
The arrests of four other Members, including gang leader Tehwan "massacre" butler, Soon followed.
butler was already in prison On an unrelated charge, And I went down to tell him That he was now being charged Federally.
And his reaction was, "it's about time.
I've been waiting for you.
" we had butler on being The leader of this blood set, On a number of other shootings, On a four-year-long Heroin conspiracy.
And really at the end of the Day, what you're looking for In building these cases is, You're looking for what it is That makes the gang cohesive.
narrar: Tehwan "massacre" Butler and three other double Ii members were convicted of 43 Charges including murder, Racketeering, arson, robbery, And illegal firearms Trafficking.
Butler was sentenced to 30 years In federal prison.
Taking "massacre" butler off the Streets of east orange nearly Eliminated the double iis.
But prison proved to be A breeding ground for new blood Members.
so law enforcement's in a Very difficult position, because These very charismatic leaders, If anything, when they get Arrested and they don't flip on The set and they go to jail, They actuallytheir charisma And their influence increases.
narrator: Prison only seemed To strengthen the different Gangs by bringing the Independent blood sets together.
day in and day out was Essentially a 24-hour-a-day Bloods meeting.
I mean, you had bloods who were Now meeting for the first time Bloods from sex money murder From trenton.
You had double iis in there With gangsta killer bloods, With 9-3s, with west coast sets, And it really was One big bloods happy family.
narrator: Blood members in Prisons across the tristate Areaontinue to recruit new Members who then bring the blood Mentality back home to Their own neighborhoods.
With more than 7,000 members And associates on the streets And behind bars, the east coast Bloods are more powerful than Ever and they continue to Multiply and recruit wherever They go.
right now, if you look Throughout the east coast, the Bloods are controlling every Single correctional facility, And they're spreading out into The streets from new jersey To new york to virginia.
narrator: Authorities face An uphill battle, but they know Their best strategy is still to Try to topple the bloods' Leadership.
but if you don't go after These guys in jail, It's going to be an epidemic, You know.
They just get bigger and bigger And bigger.
narrator: New york city.
June 22, 1999.
The godfather of the united Blood nation, omar "og mack" Portee, was released from prison After serving more than seven Years on a weapons offense.
all these kids, all they Kept talking about as it was Getting closer and closer to Him coming home, "wait till Mack comes home, the spring Cleaning list; he's gonna take Care of everybody.
" narrator: Og mack returned To his old neighborhood in the Bronx, where the bloods Idolized him.
He hit the streets With a video camera.
narrator: But he knew not All of the bloods he encountered Were loyal to him.
Og mack began weeding out all But the most faithful bloods From his ranks and circulated A so-called spring cleaning List to his soldiers.
this was a list of people Who he had targeted that were Claiming what he called Fake blood.
And it created a problem for us Because we knew about this list; We didn't have it at the time.
narrator: Og mack's Enforcers did his dirty work For him, slashing anyone He deemed food.
Meanwhile, authorities were Building massive racketeering Case against og mack and his Top lieutenants.
you have to investigate the Gang as a unit.
It has to be disrupted And dismantled.
Merely to lock up an occasional Gang member is not going To have any effect on the Long-term existence of the gang.
narrator: The racketeering Case would give the fbi and the New york city police their best Chance of prosecuting og mack And putting him behind bars For life.
we figured we'd never get to Him directly, so we would go After people within his Organization who hopefully Wouldyou know, would talk to Us and give us what we needed.
We targeted his inner circle.
We targeted the people That were important to him, His enforcers, his ogs, The people that were Makin' moves for him and Getting things done for him, Because he wouldn't touch Anything directly.
narrator: May 8, 2001.
After a two-year investigation, Fbi agents and police set a trap For og mack and his top Lieutenants in upper manhattan.
we had them lure him to The location and say that There was a bunch of girls there That wanted to party with them.
So when they showed up, The bunch of girls was about 200 police officers Who waited for them.
And as they pulled up to the Location, we arrested them all.
narrator: They took them Down without firing a shot.
Authorities charged the Notorious gang leader with Conspiracy to commit murder, Drug trafficking, and robbery.
They also charged og mack with Running an organized crime ring That spanned several states Including new york, maryland, Florida, and north carolina.
we tried to, you know, see What we could get out of him as Far as any type of admission.
He didn't want to speak to us.
He told us put him back in his Cell and he had nothing to say To us.
He was hardcore.
narrator: But four months Later, while og mack was Sitting in his cell, new york's Law enforcement priorities Suddenly transformed.
my career with the gang unit Came to a screeching halt on September 11, 2001.
The focus was no longer On gangs.
The focus was on terrorism.
narrator: Police departments Across the country diverted Manpower and resources from Investigating gangs to fighting Terrorism.
During a lull in gang Investigations after 9/11, The east coast bloods continued To recruit new members.
It was a major setback for Those who'd devoted years to Curbing the growth of new york And new jersey's most violent Street gangs.
had 9/11 never happened, I feel that more resources would Have been put into the gang Unit, and I think that their Abilities would have increased, And their successes Would have increased.
narrator: August 2002.
15 months after his arrest, Omar "og mack" portee was Convicted on ten counts, Including racketeering and Conspiracy to commit murder.
He was sentenced to 50 years in Prison and locked up at the Supermax in florence, colorado, The nation's highest security Penitentiary.
The united blood nation lost Its charismatic leader.
The power vacuum left the east Coast bloods in disarray.
The organization rapidly Fragmented, and many sets Turned against each other.
narrator: For this reason, The east coast bloods are more Dangerous than ever And more pervasive.
As of January 2008, there are More than 9,000 bloods In new york and new jersey.
Authorities say the bloods are Spreading from the inner cities And into the suburbs.
gang members are like The boogey man.
You hear about 'em, but you Don't see 'em, and you don't Want to talk about 'em 'cause they don't exist.
But yet they're in your Backyard.
narrator: Roger walker is The director of a boys and girls Club in new jersey.
He's watched as the number of Bloods have exploded on the Streets, and he has seen Firsthand the effect their Random violence has had on Neighborhood kids.
when the kids come here, You know, they're more afraid of The bloods than any other group.
A lot of the kids that are shot Or stabbed or jumped, you know, Coming from school or whatever, It's usually bloods And not any other gang.
narrator: Walker and other Activists struggle daily to Offer these youngsters positive Alternatives to the violence That goes hand-in-hand With gang life.
It's an uphill battle.
you know, here in jersey, There's a death or two every Weekend, and that's real.
Every weekend, and no one can Refute that.
narrator: The bloods have no Doubt contributed to that death Toll.
For activists and law Enforcement on the east coast, They are up against a revolving Door of gang violence With no end in sight.
I mean, you might end the Bloods, but there's always Gonna be other groups.
There's always gonna be Other gangs.
You know, there'll be the new Flavor of the week.
It'll be out there.
is it ever going to stop? Eventually.
But I don't think the Gangbanging scene is ever Going to fade out.
we were inundated by So many murders and so many Violent acts.
narrator: Authorities Struggled to make sense of the Attacks.
it's something I hadn't seen With 18 years on the job.
narrator: The bloods, One of the most vicious gangs On the east coast.
narrator: We go deep inside This bloody world, where members Are bound by a violent oath.
you talk to individuals that Are programmed to an extent That they live blood, they die Blood, they breathe blood.
narrator: New york city, The late 1990s.
An unknown group had unleashed A reign of terror on city Streets.
Innocent people's faces were Being slashed with razors and Box cutters.
what we started seeing is This random, pointless violence.
these were normal, everyday People, you know, commuters on A train going to and from work.
They were cutting random Strangers on a train With a razor.
narrator: It was all part of The gang's initiation rite Called a buck fifty.
they want to inflict 150 Stitches to the person's face So that they would be disfigured For life.
And they'd have a reminder or A remembrance of their encounter With the gang member.
That was the whole idea of it.
narrator: Investigators Linked the attacks to the east Coast's fastest-rising black Street gang, the ubn.
The ubn is an east coast Incarnation of the west coast Bloods, one of l.
A.
's Oldest and most violent gangs.
when east coast-west coast Bloods meet, they greet each Other as bloods.
Bloods is universal.
narrator: The name blood Stands for brotherly love Overriding oppression and Destruction of society.
that concept and that idea Of brotherly love, working Together for a common cause, Some individuals are so heavily Programmed that there's no Turning back.
narrator: Bloods on both the East and the west coast often Identify themselves With red clothing.
They wear red bandanas on their Wrists and ankles and dangle Them from their pants pockets.
you would see them walking Around flaggingwhen I say Flagging, wearing the blood Colors and wearing Bandannas everywhere.
narrator: Unique to the Bloods in the tristate area, Members could also be identified By their signature Dog's paw tattoo.
we saw triple so, or dog Paws, burn marks in the form That they would use the heated Barrel of a gun to burn them Onto a person.
The males would usually get Them on their arm, Their upper arm, their shoulder.
narrator: Members often Referred to each other as Dogs.
But more recently, the east Coast bloods began concealing Their gang colors and dog Tattoos to avoid police Scrutiny.
it always surprised me that They were willing to do that, Because it made it so easy For law enforcement to identify narrator: The east coast Bloods identified themselves With the number 5 and used the Symbol of a five-pointed star.
The five points commonly Stand for body, Unity, love, Lust, and soul.
Their rivals, the crips, went By the number 6 and used A six-pointed star.
narrator: For a long time, If a blood asked you, "what's Poppin?" the correct answer Would be five poppin', six droppin', Crip killer till my casket Drop, five alive, six must die, Rest in peace to og tye.
That little singsongy verse Was the difference between Getting a buck fifty and being Able to, you know, go on about Your business.
narrator: The east coast Bloods are made up of many Smaller groups known as sets.
Each set has anywhere from Three to several hundred Members.
More than ten sets operate in The new york metropolitan area, With an estimated 5,000 members And associates.
The drug traffic drives gangs Like the east coast bloods to Swallow neighborhoods whole.
the bloods are sort of like The roman army, like they kind Of March into a neighborhood And kind of take it over.
narrator: The gang made Money through prostitution Rings, identity theft, gun Trafficking, and crack cocaine Sales.
During the 1990s, their ranks Multiplied.
This man is a high-ranking Member of the bloods.
His face and voice are disguised To protect his identity.
narrator: By 1997, the east Coast bloods had cornered the Crack market in new york and New jersey.
these gang territories are Like the costcos and bjs Of today.
You know, you are able To buy in bulk.
narrator: Blood members used Any means necessarto grab Their cut of the drug money.
Rather than sell drugs in Certain areas, they would Extort the local dealers.
they would tell 'em, "hey, This is our turf, and if you Want to sell drugs on that Corner, every Friday, you're Gonna give us $200.
" And they would have many drug Dealers out there that they Would control their turf, And they would extort Them for money.
narrator: The dealers would Know to cooperate, because a fee Was a small price to pay when The consequences of not paying Would be far worse.
the word was out that these Guys were out there Cutting peoples faces Everywhere and they didn't want It to happen, so they would Actually pay them extortion Money.
Very common.
narrator: Just like the west Coast bloods, the ubn claims Their rivals are the crips, Another black gang that also Has roots on the west coast.
But authorities say a mutual Enemy is one of the few things East and west coast bloods Have in common.
although they all share The same tradition and the same Rivalries and the same look, In the west coast set members Would tell you, you know, the Ubn are posing; they're not Real bloods.
narrator: The east coast Bloods had certain tactics That didn't sit well with their West coast counterparts Including targeting neutrals.
the west coast bloods felt That the east coast bloods were Soft and they weren't really A gang because they were Attacking neutrals instead of Rival gang members.
narrator: Authorities later Found that these attacks were Part of their initiation Process.
they were going out there Slashingyou know, they were Supposed to be going after Rival gang members, but they Were going out and slashing, You know, neutral people.
narrator: The surge of Attacks alarmed new york city Police and prompted them to Launch a special investigative Gang unit in 1997.
maybe their master plan was To, you know, make a name for Themselves.
Just their name would strike Fear into the hearts of people.
I don't know that they were That smart, but looking back on It, that's how it appeared.
narrator: By 2000, the bloods Were the largest and most Vicious gang on the east coast.
They had grown from relative Obscurity to become a gangland Superpower.
Authorities knew they had a Serious problem on their hands.
the bloods are responsible For the lion's share of the Murders, the lion's share of The shootings, And they're without a doubt The most violent, Most disruptive, most prolific Gang presence we have In the northeast.
narrator: The summer of 1999 Marked a turning point in the Gang unit's investigation.
The man responsible For creating the bloods On the east coast was about To be released from prison.
Authorities began building Their case against the gangster Known as og mack.
when he came home from jail, We were already up on him.
We knew what he was about to do, And we just had to figure out How to put it together.
narrator: His much Anticipated homecoming would Ignite a rash of attacks as he Roamed the streets of new york With a video camera, Documenting the powerhouse He had created.
narrator: From west coast to East coast, the gang called the Bloods preaches brotherly love And respect for its members.
At the same time, the east Coast bloods practice extreme Violence to gain money and Power.
Its leaders prefer to operate In secrecy.
narrator: Lured by any Number of promiseswealth, Status, family, protection Thousands of young men and women Turn to gang life.
there are a lot of kids here In the inner cities in this Country that don't have any Family.
And most of the time, we don't Understand what not having Family means; it means not Having anyone.
narrator: Many feel they have No other choice.
This gang member agrees.
narrator: As the east coast Bloods recruited heavily during The 1990s, they often targeted Adolescent boys From broken homes.
narrator: The united blood Nation got their start at Rikers island state prison In 1993.
Located on new york's east River, the prison is the City's largest, housing as many As 15,000 inmates at a time.
It's also the first stop for Most criminals in new york city.
when you go In the prison system, You goyou start out at rikers Island, and then once you're Sentenced, you go throughout The prison system, And you go from jail to jail.
narrator: During the early 1990s, hispanic gangs like The latin kings dominated the Prison population At rikers island.
They made black inmates the Main target of their abuse.
That racial hostility sparked The birth of the east coast Bloods.
narrator: Two inmates, omar Portee and leonard mckenzie, United the black prisoners at Rikers island under the banner Of the bloods.
It was portee's idea to adopt The name of a gang originally Formed in california in the 1970s.
Those bloods were notorious for Their brutal reign over many Neighborhoods in south central L.
A.
it was sort of a household Name, a strong trademark, A gang with a fearsome name.
narrator: The l.
A.
Bloods Had first started as an alliance Of smaller street gangs Joining together against A common enemy: Another black Gang called the crips.
Like the bloods rising up Against the crips, 23-year-old Omar portee saw his fellow Black inmates engaged In a similar struggle.
Portee and mckenzie created the United blood nation, or ubn, And anointed themselves The ogs.
Their disciples took to calling Portee by another name, og mack, And mckenzie, og deadeye.
it took og mack's brains and Leonard mckenzie's craziness And his penchant for violence To bring this unity about.
Their whole focus was pretty Much violence for violence sake.
narrator: Og mack and Og deadeye fostered unity among The black inmates.
They soon became the Powerhouse in the prison.
they went to war with the Latin kings.
They did exactly What the latin kings were doing To them.
narrator: With the creation Of the ubn came a set of rules And guidelines which all Members must follow.
But the first step was getting Initiated or blood-in.
they work As an underground network.
As an underground network, You're very careful Who you let in.
The majority of times, When you're actually being Initiated in, it's gonna be A criminal act.
narrator: The east coast Bloods copied the main Principles of the west coast Bloods such as no disrespecting Other gang members, No stealing from other Gang members, and no snitching.
And they required the greatest Commitment of all: One's life.
what is blood? Well, brotherly love.
They're willing to die for me; I'm willing to die for them.
narrator: They took this Blood oath and carried out Acts of violence as part of Their initiation.
each individual became Soldiers, and each soldier Soldier fought for a common Cause, and that cause was the Ubn.
Og mack formed them Into an army.
narrator: But even as og mack Led his prison army Under the moniker of the Bloods, he hadn't received The blessing or support of the Original bloods On the west coast.
mack decided all of a sudden In new york that he was gonna Start his own section.
They didn't sanction it, and They didn't approve of it, and They felt like they weren't The real bloods.
narrator: Sanctioned or not, The east coast bloods gained Greater and greater power, And they expanded their reach Beyond the walls of Rikers island state prison.
the blood concepts of Blood-in, blood-out was so Infectious that individuals Started spreading it from Rikers island to state Correctional facilities, and it Seeped out into the streets.
the rules, the regulations, The philosophy, written Materials, everything that og Mack and og deadeye put out About the gangs made it out to The street from this point.
This was with inmates who were Leaving to go home, they Would carry the codes with them, And they spread the word.
narrator: Once the bloods Hit the streets, They began to take over.
narrator: With og mack and Og deadeye serving as master Puppeteers, they orchestrated The growth of the united blood Nation in prisons and eventually In cities across the east coast.
Gangbangers fresh on the streets Were training their new recruits In skills they'd learned In prison.
people would give lessons On how to keep a razor blade in Your mouth and how to spit it Out into your hand and cut Somebody and get it back into Your mouth before anybody could Even see what you were doing, Almost like a magic trick.
narrator: Their inventive Trade secrets didn't end there.
gang members would hide Razor blades in their rectum.
They'd go into jail, learn how To use their rectum as american Tourister luggage.
So now you had them walking Around knowing if they were Going to get arrested, They were gonna back into A facility; they would already Be armed.
narrator: From behind bars, Og mack began launching one set, Or branch, of the gang After another, beginning with The 9-3 gangsters and the 1-8-3.
each specific set Had a specific function.
The 9-3 gangster bloods were The teachers and the breeders.
Gangsta killer bloods were the Enforcers.
Sex money murder was the Money set.
og mack would establish or Put an og, or an original Gangsta, in charge of each set.
All of them in the beginning Answered back to og mack.
narrator: The bloods' Recruitment efforts soared in The 1990s.
The gang exploded to more than 5,000 members in new york city Alone.
and it was becoming bigger And bigger.
It was like a snowball effect.
narrator: Unlike their Counterparts on the west coast, The bloods on the east coast Eventually outnumbered another Major black gang, the crips.
in the west coast, you have Crips outnumbering bloods Five to one.
In the east coast, you have Bloods outnumbering crips, and That's because they're more Flamboyant.
There are more out there, And they make more noise.
mack was one guy who went in There and started the east coast Bloods, and it became huge.
narrator: As the number of Bloods grew, the godfather of The united blood nation, Og mack, felt that many of his Followers had gone astray.
Rather than protecting their Communities from enemies like The latin kings or the crips, Bloods were attacking neutrals.
he had put together what They call the spring cleaning List, and this list was a list Of people who were out there Who were claiming fake blood, narrator: On June 22, 1999, Og mack was released from Prison.
He returned home to the bronx And started g-checking.
narrator: Og mack himself Walked around his old Neighborhood, g-checking with a Video camera.
narrator: And when the camera Was turned on og mack, The man behind the mask Showed off for his blood nation.
narrator: New york city, June 1999.
The godfather of the east coast Bloods, omar "og mack" portee Was released from prison.
He returned home to the bronx On a mission to find out Who his true bloods were.
once he got out of jail, He was going around the city Checking people, and what I mean Checking people, he would go Up to bloods on a corner, Or he'd go to a powwow, and he'd Be like, "who you be?" And when he said that to them, They were supposed to respond To him with their blood name And who they were and where They came from.
and they'd be like "I be That bloody so-and-so from one Eight tray brought home by Blah, blah, blah, you know, By so-and-so," and then all of a Sudden, he would know because he Knew who was and who wasn't.
narrator: Og mack also Continued to recruit new Members into the united blood Nation.
when you have an individual That's a blood member And he says, "you know what? I'm gonna make you my blood Brother, my blood sister, And we're gonna take care of Each other.
We're gonna bring you home.
" narrator: In order to be Brought home, a recruit must Pass one or more tests to prove Their courage and loyalty.
you may have to commit A crime; you may have to shoot Somebody.
But individuals are willing to Do that, because by doing these Actions, they're given the love That they seek.
narrator: Being brought home Also included getting beat-in By fellow gang members For 31 seconds.
the 0 stands for the bloods.
The 30 stands for the 30 rules That they have to follow, And 1 is the blood love, The love for all bloods Under one umbrella.
So this 031 number figures in To a lot of their writings And a lot of their graffiti.
number 31 means "I have love for you, blood.
" So again, there's, you know, The term love coming up, that This beating that you're going To voluntarily submit to is Because this group loves you And you love this group.
they would go up on the roof A lot in this building.
And up on the top floor, They had a vacant apartment That they used to use For meetings and powwows.
And there's a video of someone Being initiated into the bloods.
narrator: Og mack was there To capture the beat-in On video.
and at the end of that 31 seconds, it was like A ceremony.
They were congratulated.
They would all get up, Shake it off, and, you know, Congratulate the person And welcome them into the gang.
narrator: This new recruit Happened to be a bloodette.
this spot up here, That top apartment, is where I Was talking about where the Young lady was blooded in up in That apartment.
She fought it out with three Bloods members and was blooded In, and she was interviewed on That fire escape.
narrator: With his video Camera, og mack came across Several bloodettes who were Expecting blood drops.
narrator: Even though they Are full members of the gang, Bloodettes still face Additional challenges that male Gang members do not.
narrator: Instead of A beat-in, some female Recruits choose a different Initiation ritual Known as being sexed-in.
they're actually gang-raped By members of the gang, and that Can get them membership.
narrator: Once initiated Into the bloods, both male and Female members were required to Put in work.
narrator: During the late 1990s, many blood sets in new York city began making recruits Put in work against neutrals, Or civilians.
there was a group of Young teenagers led by a girl Who was only 13 at the time, And she had established herself As a blood set.
She lived in a housing project That was next to the east river, And along the east river Was a jogging path.
So what her and her group would Do is, they would grab the Joggers and would all take a Slice at them with the razors.
You know, that's how they were Putting in work.
narrator: After becoming A blood, members must obey A strict chain of command within Their sets.
Each set has a hierarchy with Original gangsta, or ogs, at The top, followed by superiors, Ministers, captains, Lieutenants, and then soldrs.
brrrrya.
narrator: And then there's The bloods' signature call.
all: Brrrr.
narrator: They use it To announce their presence Both in the prisons And on the streets, Often provoking their enemies.
narrator: Og mack also Developed a coded language and Set of greetings to help Distinguish friend from foe.
The bloods first developed the Coded language in prison.
They used it to prevent guards From understanding what they Were talking about.
Then they brought the language To the streets and modified it Over and over again to keep Police in the dark.
narrator: One code word That's universally recognized Byuthorities: Food.
They basically will have A contract on their head.
narrator: The expansion of The east coast bloods wasn't Only originating from og mack.
so at the same time that Omar portee in new york was Hearing about the bloods in California and trying to emulate Them, people in new jersey Were hearing about the bloods And wanting to be bloods.
narrator: One of those Groups was in east orange, new Jersey, and would prove to be Among the deadliest blood groups On the east coast.
over a period of time, We were inundated by so many Murders and so many violent Acts that it almost becomes A fog of violence, but this one Murder, I know, Stood out in my mind.
narrator: While og mack Created the united blood nation In new york city, across the Hudson river in new jersey, Another strand of bloods were Being born.
so you had them being created Independently but both probably Feeding off of the fact That the bloods were becoming More well known.
narrator: In 1993, a pair of West coast bloods Visited east orange, new jersey, On a rap tour.
They encouraged the local young Men to start their own blood Franchise, naming them The double iis.
the double ii bloods is Kind of an anomaly as to how They originated.
It was created during a fourth Of July barbeque where the ogs From california were brought to East orange and met with the Smaller juvenile hybrid gangs From the neighborhood and began To introduce them To the blood lifestyle.
they were just sort of Infatuated by what they were Hearing, and what the infusion Of the west coast bloods culture Did was create in these local Gangs a desire to become one Gang, to give up their previous Gang allegiance and become this Unified gang called double ii.
narrator: The name double ii Tied together inglewood, Californiathe birthplace of The west coast bloods With illtownstreet slang For east orange.
With a unique blend of west Coast and east coast blood Influences, the double iis Achieved notoriety throughout New jersey during the 1990s.
In 2001, 21-year-old Tehwan "massacre" butler Became their leader.
By 2002, federal agents had Become aware of butler's reign And began building Their case against him.
They used wiretaps to record His meetings where he spoke To members and new recruits.
butler spoke, you know, like Somewhere between a preacher And an older brother.
narrator: In this audio Surveillance tape, butler Explains to a group of double ii Bloods why they should hate Their rivals, the crips.
narrator: Authorities were Surprised by what they heard.
I guess I wasn't prepared For the charismatic presentation That he actually gave.
what's amazing is that You could have a blood meeting With 50 members of The double iis, And when massacre's speaking, You could hear a pin drop.
I mean, it is silent.
He has the floor.
He is the leader, and they're Just sitting there listening.
narrator: Butler encouraged All members to carry a gun.
This contributed To the double iis becoming known For their brutality.
The murder rate in east orange Skyrocketed.
he says, you know, "you can't bang for your set If you're not out there With a gun," and so he wants Everyone to have a gun.
narrator: This practice Proved fatal to many innocent People.
July 25, 2002.
At this home in east orange, A concerned father confronted A double ii gang member who was Trying to recruit his Eight-year-old son.
I mean, he was incensed and Wanted to protect his child.
And he did everything We tell a parent to do if you Find out your child's becoming Involved in gangs.
Do whatever you have to do To stop it.
narrator: One of the double Ii members was 19-year-old Amir winn.
After the encounter, Winn left the house.
He later returned With a.
380-caliber handgun.
He wanted to teach the boy's Father a lesson for Disrespecting the double iis.
amir winn, who goes by yg, Or young gangster, walked up To the porch and asked, "where's the tough guy at?" narrator: In front of a Crowd of neighbors, the father Of four showed no fear, which Only infuriated yg even more.
and amir went and proceeded To execute him in front of His family.
He shot him once, and after He fell on the ground, He walked up to him To finish him kff.
The eight-year-old Starts to yell, "why did you Kill my daddy?" And at that point, Winn turns the gun On the eight-year-old boy.
Apparently at that point, Because of the crowd, he Thought better of it and fled.
narrator: Police captured Amir winn one month later.
In September 2006, winn pled Guilty to the murder.
He received a 34-year sentence.
The arrests of four other Members, including gang leader Tehwan "massacre" butler, Soon followed.
butler was already in prison On an unrelated charge, And I went down to tell him That he was now being charged Federally.
And his reaction was, "it's about time.
I've been waiting for you.
" we had butler on being The leader of this blood set, On a number of other shootings, On a four-year-long Heroin conspiracy.
And really at the end of the Day, what you're looking for In building these cases is, You're looking for what it is That makes the gang cohesive.
narrar: Tehwan "massacre" Butler and three other double Ii members were convicted of 43 Charges including murder, Racketeering, arson, robbery, And illegal firearms Trafficking.
Butler was sentenced to 30 years In federal prison.
Taking "massacre" butler off the Streets of east orange nearly Eliminated the double iis.
But prison proved to be A breeding ground for new blood Members.
so law enforcement's in a Very difficult position, because These very charismatic leaders, If anything, when they get Arrested and they don't flip on The set and they go to jail, They actuallytheir charisma And their influence increases.
narrator: Prison only seemed To strengthen the different Gangs by bringing the Independent blood sets together.
day in and day out was Essentially a 24-hour-a-day Bloods meeting.
I mean, you had bloods who were Now meeting for the first time Bloods from sex money murder From trenton.
You had double iis in there With gangsta killer bloods, With 9-3s, with west coast sets, And it really was One big bloods happy family.
narrator: Blood members in Prisons across the tristate Areaontinue to recruit new Members who then bring the blood Mentality back home to Their own neighborhoods.
With more than 7,000 members And associates on the streets And behind bars, the east coast Bloods are more powerful than Ever and they continue to Multiply and recruit wherever They go.
right now, if you look Throughout the east coast, the Bloods are controlling every Single correctional facility, And they're spreading out into The streets from new jersey To new york to virginia.
narrator: Authorities face An uphill battle, but they know Their best strategy is still to Try to topple the bloods' Leadership.
but if you don't go after These guys in jail, It's going to be an epidemic, You know.
They just get bigger and bigger And bigger.
narrator: New york city.
June 22, 1999.
The godfather of the united Blood nation, omar "og mack" Portee, was released from prison After serving more than seven Years on a weapons offense.
all these kids, all they Kept talking about as it was Getting closer and closer to Him coming home, "wait till Mack comes home, the spring Cleaning list; he's gonna take Care of everybody.
" narrator: Og mack returned To his old neighborhood in the Bronx, where the bloods Idolized him.
He hit the streets With a video camera.
narrator: But he knew not All of the bloods he encountered Were loyal to him.
Og mack began weeding out all But the most faithful bloods From his ranks and circulated A so-called spring cleaning List to his soldiers.
this was a list of people Who he had targeted that were Claiming what he called Fake blood.
And it created a problem for us Because we knew about this list; We didn't have it at the time.
narrator: Og mack's Enforcers did his dirty work For him, slashing anyone He deemed food.
Meanwhile, authorities were Building massive racketeering Case against og mack and his Top lieutenants.
you have to investigate the Gang as a unit.
It has to be disrupted And dismantled.
Merely to lock up an occasional Gang member is not going To have any effect on the Long-term existence of the gang.
narrator: The racketeering Case would give the fbi and the New york city police their best Chance of prosecuting og mack And putting him behind bars For life.
we figured we'd never get to Him directly, so we would go After people within his Organization who hopefully Wouldyou know, would talk to Us and give us what we needed.
We targeted his inner circle.
We targeted the people That were important to him, His enforcers, his ogs, The people that were Makin' moves for him and Getting things done for him, Because he wouldn't touch Anything directly.
narrator: May 8, 2001.
After a two-year investigation, Fbi agents and police set a trap For og mack and his top Lieutenants in upper manhattan.
we had them lure him to The location and say that There was a bunch of girls there That wanted to party with them.
So when they showed up, The bunch of girls was about 200 police officers Who waited for them.
And as they pulled up to the Location, we arrested them all.
narrator: They took them Down without firing a shot.
Authorities charged the Notorious gang leader with Conspiracy to commit murder, Drug trafficking, and robbery.
They also charged og mack with Running an organized crime ring That spanned several states Including new york, maryland, Florida, and north carolina.
we tried to, you know, see What we could get out of him as Far as any type of admission.
He didn't want to speak to us.
He told us put him back in his Cell and he had nothing to say To us.
He was hardcore.
narrator: But four months Later, while og mack was Sitting in his cell, new york's Law enforcement priorities Suddenly transformed.
my career with the gang unit Came to a screeching halt on September 11, 2001.
The focus was no longer On gangs.
The focus was on terrorism.
narrator: Police departments Across the country diverted Manpower and resources from Investigating gangs to fighting Terrorism.
During a lull in gang Investigations after 9/11, The east coast bloods continued To recruit new members.
It was a major setback for Those who'd devoted years to Curbing the growth of new york And new jersey's most violent Street gangs.
had 9/11 never happened, I feel that more resources would Have been put into the gang Unit, and I think that their Abilities would have increased, And their successes Would have increased.
narrator: August 2002.
15 months after his arrest, Omar "og mack" portee was Convicted on ten counts, Including racketeering and Conspiracy to commit murder.
He was sentenced to 50 years in Prison and locked up at the Supermax in florence, colorado, The nation's highest security Penitentiary.
The united blood nation lost Its charismatic leader.
The power vacuum left the east Coast bloods in disarray.
The organization rapidly Fragmented, and many sets Turned against each other.
narrator: For this reason, The east coast bloods are more Dangerous than ever And more pervasive.
As of January 2008, there are More than 9,000 bloods In new york and new jersey.
Authorities say the bloods are Spreading from the inner cities And into the suburbs.
gang members are like The boogey man.
You hear about 'em, but you Don't see 'em, and you don't Want to talk about 'em 'cause they don't exist.
But yet they're in your Backyard.
narrator: Roger walker is The director of a boys and girls Club in new jersey.
He's watched as the number of Bloods have exploded on the Streets, and he has seen Firsthand the effect their Random violence has had on Neighborhood kids.
when the kids come here, You know, they're more afraid of The bloods than any other group.
A lot of the kids that are shot Or stabbed or jumped, you know, Coming from school or whatever, It's usually bloods And not any other gang.
narrator: Walker and other Activists struggle daily to Offer these youngsters positive Alternatives to the violence That goes hand-in-hand With gang life.
It's an uphill battle.
you know, here in jersey, There's a death or two every Weekend, and that's real.
Every weekend, and no one can Refute that.
narrator: The bloods have no Doubt contributed to that death Toll.
For activists and law Enforcement on the east coast, They are up against a revolving Door of gang violence With no end in sight.
I mean, you might end the Bloods, but there's always Gonna be other groups.
There's always gonna be Other gangs.
You know, there'll be the new Flavor of the week.
It'll be out there.
is it ever going to stop? Eventually.
But I don't think the Gangbanging scene is ever Going to fade out.