Larry Hoover

Larry Hoover (born November 30 1950, Jackson, Mississippi) was the leader of the Chicago-based Gangster Disciples gang (also known as the Gangster Disciple Nation or GDN).

Early Years

After moving to Chicago with his family in 1955, Hoover joined a gang of 50 older youths called the Supreme Gangsters . They hung around the corner of 68th and Green Street in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago where Hoover lived. Hoover was kicked out of high school on the first day of his sophomore year after being shot in the thigh by a rival gang member in 1965.

The Gangster Disciples and the Folk Nation

In 1974, after the death of David Barksdale, Hoover was appointed the new president of the Black Gangster Disciple Nation. Two years later, Jerome "Shorty" Freeman (who was a candidate for the Nation's presidency) left the BGDN, making the Black Disciples and the Black Gangster Disciples separate organizations. Even in prison, Hoover seemed to have great influence. On July 22, 1978, an inmate riot at the Pontiac Correctional Center in Illinois resulted in the death of three corrections officers. This uprising was rumored to have been ordered by Hoover. 18 inmates were indicted; ten were acquitted after an 11-week trial. Charges against Hoover and seven others were eventually dropped.

Hoover is also responsible for the creation of the Chicago-based Folk Nation, which was formed in a similar manner to that of the Gangster Nation. Again, Hoover had great influence while behind bars, as the 1980s was a period of rapid growth for the Folk Nation. While incarcerated at the Vienna Correctional Center in Vienna, Illinois, Hoover was observed "walking around in sweaters, neatly pressed trousers, argyle socks and $300 alligator-skin loafers."[1]

Operation Headache

In 1995, the government launched Operation Headache with the goal of hurting the group's leadership and crippling their operations. Agents from the FBI, CIA, DEA, the Illinois Department of Corrections, and local police were mobilized for five years. On August 31, 1995, Hoover was arrested at Vienna by federal agents. Thirty-eight other Gangster Disciples were also arrested. The trials were held in three groups; the trial of Hoover's group began on March 19, 1997. Wiretaps of Hoover's conversations that were obtained in prison via a badge worn by his visitors were presented in court. On June 18, 1998, Hoover was sentenced to six life terms, seven terms of 20 years, three four-year terms, and one five-year term under federal mandatory sentencing guidelines, with all sentences running concurrently and in addition to the 150-200-year sentence he received for his 1973 murder conviction.[2]

Hoover is currently serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) in Florence, Colorado.

References

• Larry Hoover and the Gangster Disciples, United States Drug Enforcement Agency (1997)
• Hoover Convictions Most Significant Since Al Capone, Richard C. Lindberg (May 18, 1997)
• The Dismantling of Larry Hoover and the Black Gangster Disciples, Richard C. Lindberg (2001)
• Charges Against 6 Dropped In Illinois Prison Riot Trial, UPI (June 2, 1981)
• Larry Hoover in the Court of Justice, Revolutionary Worker #905, May 4, 1997