How US Prison Gangs Actually Work (New Mexican Mafia) | How Crime Works | Insider

my name is Manuel Madrono  AKA Cricket I was a member   of the Arizona Mexican Mafia and this is how crime works for the most part if you look at the  victims of the Mexican Mafia they're going   to be other members of the Mexican Mafia  looking back I mean it's it's ridiculous   no matter what you're always going to find  some kind of villain amongst yourself you   know it's just the hypocrisy of  being a part of this organization when I was 17 I was transferred to adult Court  I had been in a lot of trouble already as a   juvenile so they transfer me to adult Court in  1995 going to prison originally I they gave me   6 and a half years my original crime I was  charged with an armed robbery um it was a   carjacking you know I just wanted to be part  of the cool crowd and that's what it was the   the members of the Mexican Mafia were somebody  that we had all heard of throughout our time   you know as juveniles as kids we looked up to  these guys so when I got there my crime was   dangerous enough to where I ended up on a higher  level yard and so I just jumped head on into you   know obligating myself to the organization and  like any any other youngster they used me to   do multiple things I mean stabbings uh moving  drugs I was in a gang as a kid I was from a   neighborhood in the west side of Phoenix you  heard about these Mexican mafia members that   ran stuff you heard about the the homicides  they committed in prison everything sounded   So Glamorous the way they put it and that movie  American Me had come out and that really had a   huge influence uh on us after the movie came out  everybody was running around with their shirts   buttoned all the way to the top to become a member  it's not necessarily a myth uh that you have to   kill somebody however there's a lot of favoritism  there's a lot of nepotism uh so there's a lot of   people that get accepted and get made without  the actual homicide having been done but it's   it's a you know expectation that they will kill  for the organization when the time comes at the   time I think the count was 150 members total  we like to think about it as you know we're   the elite of the prisoner system originally When  I Was Made I had not killed anybody yet my high   ranking member took a liking to me and and so he  pushed my my well there was a couple of them but   they pushed my name through and I was voted on  and I became a member within a few months I did   Kill uh another meman bad standing and that  solidified it I think it took me a while to   get to that point and I think there's a way to  stop it before it goes that far I regret it all the patch itself in Arizona the tattoo that  they wear it's a sun with the double M that   comes down into double swords at the bottom it  has a saber-tooth skull above the two M's in the   middle and then a black rose in between the double  M's only people that have killed a member in bad   standing or a member in the old Mexican Mafia  can even put that black rose in the middle of the   patch there is no model per se everybody speaks  about this cause that we have it's a recruitment   tool they talk about cultural aspects of it the  Aztec the Mayans you know try to put that kind of   spin on it and just make you be prideful in your  race I used to tell younger people about the cause   that we were fighting for and if they were to ask  me to Define it I wouldn't be able to you know in   the end it's just about drugs and money and you  know power you know that's that's all it is the   main rules I mean they have the no snitching  no homosexuality at one time no drugs you were   not allowed to partake in any kind of drugs that  changed later uh a lot of these rules are broken   multiple times I mean if you see a a member in bad  standing or a member of the old at any time if the   doors were to Pop um you have to uh try to kill  them when you're in this SHO je program a lot of   the times uh the guards will make a mistake and  open the doors on accident and so you always have   to be ready for that you know you're up all day  waiting for that basically you're always supposed   to be ready for War and the money situation  everything has to go up uh as it comes in the rule   is that you spread it amongst the the brothers  those that are uh within your ranking system   um as a normal caral without rank you're just  considered a brother then there'll be the   ranking system you have a captain a lieutenant  a sergeant you know you have a lieutenant that   has three sergeants then the three sergeants each  have five or six cardal under them the money will   go up through that pyramid that's where a lot of  the problems obviously come in because people feel   that money is always being held back and so that  rule will be broken quite often the biggest rule   is to always maintain contact one of the reasons  a lot of members have been killed is because when   they get out of prison they kind of just forget  about everything they stop contact uh they just   move on with their lives a lot of the times the  problem is they don't change their lives so they   continue with crime and they'll get locked back  up go in there and try to give excuses as to why   they couldn't write or you know whatever their  little you know whatever the excuses are and   for for the most part it never works and and so a  lot of members have been killed behind that rule alone it started in California in the early 50s  uh 57 I believe but the Arizona faction started   in the early 70s by three juveniles actually  that came into the system and they started   La Familia and then shortly thereafter took on  the name Mex Mafia Arizona had some influence   from California but was also autonomous and  now they are um basically it's not together   necessarily but friendly and on working  terms the administration was originally   the ones that named them old and new but they  were all the same thing at one point these are   members that just split into two factions it  was just a internal struggle if you will the   organizations themselves kind of used it as a  way I guess just to keep it straight as well   they would say you know in Spanish we from  the NOA the new um they're from the via the old I'd never got rank I wasn't a sergeant  lieutenant none of that stuff um I was just   a a member the five captains were the main ones  that uh everyone knew and those five captains   sat at the uh called the Messa the table  we have the Messa system or table system   where everything is voted on through them so  you had to be a captain with a black rose to   sit at the table the five captains set all  the rules the regulations they changed the   rules all the politicking would go through  them we're still all supposed to be brothers   and we're all supposed to be um equal even you  know that that's it's a name only that is the   way it's supposed to be obviously the captains  have a lot more power but again it's more of a   popularity contest if you're a brother you  basically uh are expected to know what it   is you're supposed to be doing whether that's  establishing stores on The Yards getting rid of   people that shouldn't be on the yard bringing  in dope uh or or collecting dope on the yards in Arizona the the our main rival uh as I was  coming in as a youngster uh was with the old   Mexican Mafia the administration tried their best  to keep them protected uh they have a thing where   they it was called protective segregation in  the later years of the '90s we started having uh   problems with a group that started call themselves  The Border Brothers that became a real big thing   and California at this point was was behind the  Border Brothers as well so we were actually in   a war for quite a few years against Mexican  Nationals or Border Brothers and California   uh people that were born in California  the Mexican Mafia wanted to be the only   organization that had a patch as far as the you  know on the Hispanic side the Mexican side the   Border Brothers uh started wearing a patch they  started being hit throughout the system and there   started being riots it was probably about a  3 or 4 year time frame where it was going on   in Arizona they also have an Arian Brotherhood  that was factioned off of the California Aran   Brotherhood it was actually a California member  that came into our system the Arizona guys   kind of hom grew it after that we did align  with them only because of obviously the the   the offense to the black gangs it was just  a loose Allegiance I mean or alignment more   just friends if there was something that uh  the whites did wrong we could go to them and   they would take care of it themselves and vice  versa you know obviously if they bring in drugs   they don't have to give a portion to the Mexican  Mafia and vice versa we everything stays within   your own race when it comes to that the blacks  had multiple gangs they had the ma Mau [ __ ]   gang they had the Muslims all of them were kind  of against each other and the Arian Brotherhood   was against all of them I was part of a riot on  the saturada yard in Tucson and I got stabbed   in my neck and I spoke to my mom and my mom was  born in Mexico and um when I told her what was   happening she was like what are you you guys are  just ridiculous like what are you talking about   it's they saying people and I would tell her  no you know it's different Ma you don't know   you know you don't understand and and she would  just be you know she would cuss me out in Spanish   just you know guys are stupid kind of and you know  now that I can look back and I can see there's no   big bad wolf out there that we were fighting  against for the most part our victims were ourselves there's not a lot of members on the  street uh that we don't usually make it that   that long because as soon there's a whole task  force that's established for the prison gang   it was called the violent Street gang task force  it was I believe two detectives from the Phoenix   PD they had members from the FBI from every  organization you could think of and so those   were the ones that were uh basically on us all the  time it was tough they would they would follow me   everywhere I'd walk in restaurants and they'd be  sitting and they eating they would go to houses of   you know family of loved ones and they would tell  them you know hey your son is hanging out with a   real bad guy he's suspected in multiple homicides  and they would just you know try to make it as   tough as possible for me out there so when there's  a member that's going to get out or something   usually they're getting out with some established  things that need to be done the problem is some   of these guys will get out and even though  they left the organization they're still   drugs or into money or whatever so they'll go  back to their neighborhoods and they'll say who   they were to try to get their neighborhood to give  them drugs and money and that'll always get back   to a a mem and good standing and so that's how  we usually find them to to be able to kill them   and me getting out I I did have a few uh names  that that I needed to uh that were that were on   the list to be killed upon being released I right  away tried to make connections with drug dealers   that were already established on the streets at  first uh I tried to use um being a Mexican Mafia   member to influence them but that actually scared  a lot of them away people uh there's a history of   bullying uh amongst the Mexican Mafia where  they would approach these drug dealers with   you know hey we're the Mexican Mafia and you know  we want this and that and they just take instead   of you know there's no give back um so what I  started doing really was I I had conversations   with the guys and I was like listen I understand  our history that's not what I'm about the only   thing I'm asking you to do is give me a better  number than you give most people at the time   uh methampetamine was a big thing and that's  what I was uh most mostly involved in pounds   of methamphetamine I was sending to Kentucky  where it was double the price from Arizona it wasn't like I had to send 80% of my proceeds  to anybody the established amount for non-members   is they do have to give up a third of anything  they bring into the system so if you bring in   three grams of heroin one of those is going to  the Mexican Mafia but us within ourselves we're   pretty free to make money and do whatever we  need to do for that it just comes down to that   rule of of staying in contact so if you get  a letter saying hey my sister needs you know   a TV then you get the sister a TV and you're  basically um keeping people happy everything   that came into prison was what was controlled by  the Mexican Mafia you couldn't bring dope in and   make money without giving them their third now  with the connections to California and and the   cartels and stuff things are a little bit more uh  organized and established with the drug trade and   you know they started uh legitimate businesses and  you know putting up car shops and different things   like that it depends on on the the the members  that are on the street there was a few members   in Tucson that were bringing tons and tons of dope  from Mexico they had that connection out there I   know California had a little bit more established  connections uh with the Ariano Felix cartel at one   point it's not like saying the Mexican mafia's  working with the cartel it's just you know this   member has a connection with the cartel and  if you need dope we can get it obviously I   mean if you need 1,000 lbs it'll be here one  of the big things that that was happening in   my day was coyote the Mexican Nationals bringing  them over the Border was a big thing that was one   of the things that was a little more organized you  know usually we wouldn't do it ourselves we're not   going to take that type of risk but you could  send your soldiers that are looking up to you   to go bring um you know 10 20 of the what they  call chickens boils across the border and and   bring the money back and that was I mean that was  huge uh and I believe still is just watching the   news you can see the the stash houses that they  catch were full of Mexican Nationals being held   and that was the other side of it um a lot of  them were sent to a stash house and they would   be held there until their family paid whatever  was agreed upon and yeah absolutely that's still happening people usually come into the system  already with a name a lot of us did time together   in juvenile hall and so there's always some kind  of connection uh his dad may be in prison his   uncle as people are coming into the system you  kind of know from their neighborhood or their   family who they are there is no obligation to  the organization you don't have to be a part   of it the only obligation you have is if there's  a riot um you have to take part in it it's as as   a as a Cho or Mex and I really only took part  in in uh sponsoring one member I recruited I I   talked to younger kids about the cause and I did  all of that stuff as well everybody's paperwork   is red when they're coming in the system you  would read people's case the pre-sentence   report was the biggest thing that would have  a lot of uh Clues anybody with a sex offense   uh there's no way that you're going to become  a member other than that there are really no   um no guidelines if if you don't even have to  be Mexican to be in the Mexican Mafia it's just   a matter of you know we say you know what's  in their heart you know I mean if they're if   they're willing to put in the work and be a part  of it then then they can work their way into being that in Arizona we have no color system in  California obviously that's their thing they   have the suros with the blue and stuff Arizona  doesn't have that in Spanish L is just the M   it's just the shortening of the Mexican Mafia con  l in Arizona we don't use the black hand as a as a   signifier uh some of the old Mexican Mafia did uh  but we have our own I had the tattoo the Mexican   Mafia tattooed on my back uh in Old English yeah  for in letter is huge the government actually paid   to cover it I mean it was crazy I couldn't walk  around the rest of my life with Mexican Mafia   tattooed on my back like that so yeah they paid  to to have it a tattoo artist actually come in and   and cover it up for me the Arizona Mexican Mafia  uses a lot of nwat which is the Aztec language   um a lot of members uh learn that throughout  their time in in prison we would use it uh a   lot to write each other so for the purpose of so  Administration couldn't read our letters kind of   as code um there there's been other uh codes that  we've made and come up with in there uh just kind   of bingo type you know codes where you you put  letters in different spots and only the other   person would know it and every member usually  has a code name in nowat as well that way we   could speak of other members without or you know  the facility knowing who we're talking about it   never works they usually already know but it's  what we think at the time the biggest way is   through legal mail you would get a case and print  it out as thick as you can get it in the back of   one of the papers you can write whatever needs  to be sent now you have you know 300 pages of   something where one page in the middle somewhere  may have a note in it it's going to be real   difficult to detect that especially since they're  not allowed to actually go through your legal mail   the way they can regular mail there's another  way where it's kind of you write with urine   and when they get it in prison they you could put  fire to it and it'll come out kind of brown the   best way to send messages it's just Word of Mouth  there's a lot of so-called secretaries usually   members wives or girlfriends back then we would  have uh a girlfriend have two or three phones   in her house and you know different members  would call from different facilities and she   would put the phones on on speaker phones and  then we could just talk to each other that way directly the biggest thing in uh in prison was  uh commissaries as good as money stamps was the   big thing that is the currency of of prison the  NFL bets and all of that everything was done in   Stamps dope you can buy with stamps there was two  ways that people could pay or three actually if   you brought in cash if you snuck cash in cash was  worth double so if you had $100 it was worth $200   commissary was one for one so I would give you  a list the day before commissary of everything   I wanted you to order for me and you know that's  how you would pay me or you could do Street to   Street where your loved one would send the money  to my loved one on the street and in that case   you had 10 days for the money to be received  by my per who whoever I was was was receiving   it if it wasn't there within 10 days it could  double when you're talking about the economy in   prison something that costs $20 on the street is  worth you know a couple hundred in prison and so   when these guards you know you offer them that  type of money it's it's hard for them to to say   no you know the Integrity only takes them so far  corruption is is not difficult because of I mean   they're human you know especially when you're  young and you're being offered big money and   and you're getting paid you know $40,000 a year  and these guys are you know waving you know that   that amount of money to you for doing something  that seems almost you know too easy some of them   will be um relationships uh the guys will get into  a relationship with a with a woman guard and then   the woman just feels this obligation or love or  need to please and and so they'll they'll bring   in anything sometimes they're lied to hey I need  just need you to bring me this pair of shoes but   the pair of shoes is full of dope they just don't  know it um and sometimes they're told straight up   what it is and they just they're good with it it  just depends I've seen guards open doors and let   people go in and stab somebody as far as training  is concern that may be part of it I've seen them   as young as 20 years old 21 you know they're just  kids and you're dealing with career criminals   people that have been in prison for the last 30  years I mean you know the incarceration rate in   the United States were were high up there in in  the world just putting someone in a Cell for five   years and then releasing them and expecting them  to be different than they were five years ago is   that's not a plan that's not it's not going to  happen you know if anything um I think it makes   you worse in my day there were no programs you  can get your GED and that was basically it um   just giving people the tools to you know to do  something with their lives may even change them   on the inside if you give them a little sense  of worth you know what I mean when you're just   sitting in there um dayto day feeling like you're  warehoused I think it takes some of the humanity   away from you as well you just fall in line  with what's going on and so the The Killing   you know the drugs all this stuff just becomes  normal it's not hard to become a murderer it's   not hard to kill and so I I I think the Department  of Corrections would do everybody a favor if they   did the if they separated everybody in that way  younger from older dangerous from non-dangerous   um but they don't you know everybody just  kind of gets mixed in and again I know it's   difficult you know how many facilities can you  have and you know how many guards do you have   to to man these facilities but in a perfect  world I think uh separation would be the best way I was released in 2001 on parole and I was out  for 7 months I went back in on just a possession   of marijuana charge I was out for 4 and 1/2 months  and I got locked back up I I was pulled over with   a gun and in the car under the passenger seat even  though I got found not guilty the prosecution put   in for the judge to violate my probation or my  parole and sentence me to 15 months in prison   I was released April of 2003 and then in may  we had the the federal sting where they called   the meeting at the Suites for all members there  was like I think 13 or 14 of us on the street at   the time and we all went to this meeting where we  talked about past stuff I talk you know homicides   that we had done and future stuff homicides that  we were going to do uh drug deals that were on the   on the horizon and it was all a setup one of the  members uh he was actually working for the feds   they had video cameras uh audio everything set up  and um and so 11 days after being released I was   rearrested and I went back to prison and I thought  I was going to get out from there I didn't know   obviously yet about the sting I thought I was just  arrested on my violation of parole my son's mom   uh based on the fact that she had been arrested  in our case she had been indicted a few members   felt that she would be the weak link so they had  greenlighted her and they were going to kill her   but no one spoke to me about it and everybody  we were all there together the people that made   this decision one of them lived right next door  to me at the time and so when the feds came and   and talked to me about it and showed me the proof  of what you know this conspiracy to kill her was   about and it wasn't necessary that I didn't  believe him cuz I saw the proof so when I got   back to the pot I brought it to their attention  you know I was first told that you know you know   the organization comes first it's how you know you  know the all this type of stuff and and I agreed   I knew that however I felt that that I would I  should have been at least included in the vote   you know that you know this is my son's mom she  just had my son little baby they agreed and and   apologized and and said it wasn't going to happen  but that I needed to talk to her and ensure that   she wasn't going to speak out that was the issue  I I had I had told her that she could tell on me   go ahead and tell them whatever you need to tell  them to to get your case dismissed you know plea   bargain whatever you got to do a couple weeks  later the feds came back with more info they   had a a taped phone conversation where it was  being sent out and and so immediately um the   day the feds came with the information about the  phone call is when I told them um you know hey go   pick her up put her somewhere safe and and we'll  start talking they put her on the phone with me   and they had her checked into a hotel and with my  son I still remember she's like so you're going   to flip you know she goes what the is wrong with  you and I was like what do you want me to do you   know they're going to kill you what do you want  me to do I can't just leave you at the house like   and that was the end that was that was the the  the beginning of the end I guess um they sent   me to the CCA and then I was there in the whole  or segregation uh for about I think four or five   more years was the end of my uh criminal career  I guess you would call it I think that was the   hardest time I you know I was at the same time  I was on um lockdown 23 hours a day and in fact   there was they had enhanced um security measures  on me because I had went to that CCA and so the   marshals had put all these extra security measures  on me where I had to be housed alone wreck alone   shower alone a lieutenant or above had to be there  to take me out of my cell but I still thought that   that I was going to be I was going to get you know  life I I didn't never I never had my wildest dream   thought that I was ever going to get out I was in  until 2015 and uh and now I've been out about 9 years this other side that I'm doing now with you  know speaking out against it I think I owe it you   know there's a lot of kids that are that look  up to this you know that that think that this   is something that is Honorable and it's just not  me and my son's mom started the nonprofit phase   two of life our Target is to atrisk Youth and  trying to keep these kids at the very least away   from these prison gangs but if we can away from  prison in general this is just about going into   juvenile facilities schools talking to these kids  we've done fundraisers where we you know we do uh   back to school backpacks we've given PE equipment  to schools we're just trying to do little things   in the community Comm but uh in in the long run  our our hope is to you know for this nonprofit to   have its own facility where we can offer these  kids some kind of trade you know some sense of   self-worth and and have us there as adult guidance  for these guys a lot of these kids don't have   that you know I've talked to lots of people now  I've made contacts through you know the YouTube   channel crazy as it sounds um I have a couple um  members reaching out to me that are still active   and telling me things that are going on within  the organization now and uh I think it's just   it's a good way to know you know the happenings  of today they're no different of than before it's   the same drama the same stuff obviously if I  wouldn't have done what I've been doing this   type of stuff um nobody would know what I look  like I've burnt myself by doing what I do but uh   all of the older members that I did time with are  either doing life or they're out of the game alog together I think that the glamour behind it  has been overblown those movies American me   and blood and blood out were significant in making  younger individuals kids you know with with easily   influenced Minds uh see this as um as a glamorous  thing to be a part of although these are uh smart   individuals uh they're convicts and for the most  part they're they're drug addicts they're not the   elite that people would like to you know that we  would like to portray us ourselves as that's what   I want uh to put out there more than anything is  these kids to know that that that hype is just   that you know there there's no cause there's no  family these aren't your brothers you know you're   going to end up hurting your real family your  own you know everything that you love and that   loves you for a bunch of fools that that uh  are going to are just playing pretend [Music]

Channel: Insider

Views: 715,811

Keywords: Insider

Id: r2FI-mJokoQ

Length: 34min 5sec (2045 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 06 2024