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Loeb AE Ln tals pat be 2 ce PETMAN MORRO RE emi mm naga AT AETY BAER cial agent James Watterson of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol. Tobacco and Firearms. “And what’: lem just keeps getting worsi The ghetto gangs’ entry into drug traf- ing on a majo le y be creating the nation’s biggest crime problem in dec- ades, Drug profits are soaring—and so is the drug-related homicide rate in cities where the gangs are most entrenched. It is arguable, in fact, that the emergence of drug zangs from coast to coast is very simi- lar to what occurred during the early years ostra—the 5 san under- ding on the profits of illicit alcohol. “Look at the development of organized crime in the United States.” say Thomas Reppetto, president of the C zen's Crime Commission of New York. privately funded group. “If we've learne anything, it’s that once we let these guy: get too big, we've got a situation that will take decades to [control]. The {ghetto} gangs now have an opportunity pro by the crack explosion and the breakup of [traditional] organized-crime groups These gangs are where the {Italian] ga! were when they moved into bootlegging. We can’t let that happen again.” “Kill him’: The analogy to Prohibition. as Reppetto notes. has one significant flaw: today’s ghetto gangs, especially the Jamai- can posses. are far more violent than the Mafia. In part. the extraordinary level of violence is the result of the ready availabil- ity of military and paramilitary weapons. ary is that the crack prob- = Guns like Uzis, AK-47 assault rifles and AR- miautomatics are widely bought tsome even legally in gun shops! by gang members, who finance their high-tech ar- senals with profits from the drug trade. Another factor, experts agree. is the socio- pathic recklessne: ese youth: big- city ghettos and barrios are full of teen- agers whose poverty and deprivation have , ' can drug gangs as well. [nvestigators say immunized them to both hope and fear. The ghetto tradition of moci-feudal gangs has taken its most violent turn yet: Hispanics in fro a casual acceptance of—and athusiasm for—torture and sometim murder. mayhem F atterson says of in gangs. “The Cubans and Co- lombians don’t want to deal with them be- cause they're so dangerous.” But the point applies to New York's black and Domini- the Jam: Los Angelas: Bloods, Crips. = Jamaican: Montego Bay, Reema, Riverton City, Shower*, Spangler, Spanish Town, Tivoli Gardens, Waterhouse .. ae Miami: ‘aka. Miami Boys) hicage: Cobras, Discipl The Spread of Drugs and Viclence © Loosely organized gangs are spreading drugs and violence from large urban areas to smaller cities and even to remote areas of the country. jst Powerful Drug Gangs 34th Street Players, Untouchables . , El Rukns, Latin igs, Vice Lords By, * 22 NEWSWEEK: MARCH 23, 1953 BEST COPY AUAILABLE