Milwaukee Kings

I want to begin with, most of my individual information about Leueano “Shakey” Ramos comes from a Youtube video created by Flacco Santana TV with his video “Legend Laureno Shakey Ramos the Founder of Milwaukee Kings N Spanish Gangster Disciples.”  Check out the link https://youtu.be/03UWcqc1MhI?feature=shared

The Milwaukee Kings were started by 16-year-old Leureano “Shakey” Ramos at the end of the year 1969.  Shakey started the Milwaukee Kings in the Wicker Park neighborhood at the intersection of Milwaukee and Wolcott/Wood.  Other original Milwaukee Kings were Black Boy, Cookie and Pops.  Pops was called Pops because he had about 6 children early in life. Original Milwaukee Kings were mostly related to each other which makes them unique.  The Milwaukee Kings were started because Latin Kings in Wicker Park very aggressively tried to recruit Ramos and his family which caused Ramos and his family to declare war on the Latin Kings as they took part of their name as “Kings.” Being from Milwaukee Avenue they combined “Milwaukee” and “Kings” for the name.  For the colors, the Milwaukee Kings stole the colors from the Warlords who also became a rival as Warlords and Latin Kings were strong allies.  The Milwaukee Kings would feel the wrath of Latin Kings and Warlords for taking these colors and name, but the Milwaukee Kings stood their ground and viciously hit the Latin Kings and Warlords back making a name for themselves.  In the neighborhood, the Milwaukee Kings defended the whole community against the aggression of Latin Kings and any other gang.

Shakey had a rough childhood growing up and at age 13 his mother forced him to take heroin, this is an example of the abuse Shakey endured as a child.  This is what made Shakey as crazy as he was; however, it did not make him into a complete monster, it made him protective and extra loving of his family and especially his children.  Shakey loved the two wives he had, even his ex-wife.  Shakey was protective of his neighborhood too.

Shakey was a real gangster from the start and was into making lots of money.  One of his earliest capers was getting together with Cookie and dressing up like Chicago police officers and shaking down drug dealers in the area that he did not want selling drugs in the area anyway.  Shakey also obtained property at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Ashland Avenue above a Currency Exchange.  At this property he made lots of money through his endeavors and it was said he cut off the hands of people he had issues with.  Before prison and during prison Shakey made millions in drug profits and had much put away.  He wanted to make sure his family was well taken care of.

On the 4th of July 1971, a Milwaukee King was murdered in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood at the intersection of Kedzie and Division by Latin Kings, this murder infuriated Latin Disciples and Milwaukee Kings, then to make matters worse on January 18, 1972 the Latin Kings murdered Albert Hernandez, the leader of the Latin Disciples, but the killer was never caught, he just vanished.  Milwaukee Kings and Latin Disciples knew the King that did it and served street justice by killing him in 1972.

Shakey, and another Milwaukee King co-founder Edwin Devilla did a drive up shooting of 5 Division and Mozart Latin Kings on January 18, 1972, while they were walking home from a party at the intersection of Thomas and California immediately following the murder of Albert Hernandez.  This section’s leader “Kino” was shot and killed in this shooting along with “Fish.”  “Shorty,” “Soul,” and another Latin King were injured.  The shooting devastated Division and Mozart and they closed after the shooting done by Shakey.  Both Ramos and Devilla were later released and not charged with the shooting.  Devilla was willing to testify against Shakey to take a deal and the case was going to be airtight after that, but then Devilla suddenly vanished and the whole case was thrown out because the only witness vanished.  You can use your imagination to determine what happened here.   You can judge all you want but being a member of this organization and this family is a commitment and if you turn on your own it is betrayal which Shakey did not stand for.  He loved his family dearly unless any of them would betray him.  It is likely that the Maniac Latin Disciples wanted to avenge their fallen leader first, but Shakey likely wasn’t having that because it was his family, and he was protective of his family and Albert Hernandez was a good guy and his cousin.  Very good sources have told me that Albert was a good kid, despite why crime TV shows told the public in the 2000s, and the night he was killed he was trying to break up a fight between the Latin Kings and his fellow Maniac, but the Latin Kings still decided to stab him to death.  Shakey would go out of his way to protect someone with integrity like Hernandez.

Another example of how Shakey didn’t tolerate disloyalty was a time in the 1970s when a cousin, Lil Man, of Maniac Latin Disciples, was hooking up with his girlfriend.  Shakey then disappeared to New York City because his cousin fled there.  For a number of years Shakey took on a new life in New York, and even pan handled if needed.  He ventured alone in an unfamiliar city and made it his home until he could get close enough to his cousin and take him out.  He then severed his cousin’s hands and mailed them to his aunt to prove a point about disloyalty, this became one of Shakey’s signatures about disloyalty, a removal of the hands.  Shakey then ended up in prison shortly after, not sure it was for this incident or not.

In the year 1975, the Milwaukee Kings moved alongside Hispanic migration to the southern part of the West Town neighborhood to Huron and Noble now that Shakely was either in New York or in prison.  The Milwaukee Kings moved their headquarters here that year which happened to be close to Grand and Ashland.  In this neighborhood the Milwaukee Kings began fighting violent gang wars with C-Notes.

In the year 1978, Shakey connected with Larry Hoover of the Black Gangster Disciples alongside other leaders of white and Hispanic gangs.  In April of that year, Larry Hoover organized a work strike in Stateville prison to mainly protest the serving or rotten food to inmates and against overall cruelty.  Hoover organized all gangs in prison to begin a work strike until prison staff gave in a short time later.  This never made the news likely because it was resolved quick.  This empowered the gangs and they broke off into two cliques with one the cliques being more pronounced, this clique was the group that followed Larry Hoover.  These clubs became allies in 1978 but were not officially organized.  Their clique was stronger and more tight than the other clique.  In 1979, this clique started to call themselves “Folks.”   Shakey and the Milwaukee Kings would consider themselves “Folks” when incarcerated.  Shakey then became a prominent member of the Folks.  This was not just a Stateville thing especially since Larry Hoover was moved to Pontiac prison in the summer of 1978, it was then spread to Pontiac.

In the year 1979, Milwaukee Kings joined the Maniac alliance alongside the Maniac Latin Disciples since MKs had MLD relatives.  This was the street alliance that led up to Folks on the streets but at the time there was only Maniac and other alliances.

In the year 1980, George “Boonie Black” Davis was incarcerated.  George Davis was the founder and leader of the Black Gangsters, and he became infuriated when he learned about the Folks paradigm and the relations with other races and tightness with other gangs of other races.  What made him most upset though was his own Black Gangsters were claiming Folks in the prison system.  Boonie Black then arranged for the murder of Larry Hoover to be carried out by “Nissan” (Nee-Sun). When the stabbing happened Shakey stepped in to protect Larry Hoover because Hoover had shown him respect and love prior to this.  Shakey was wired to immediately ponce on anyone that moved against close friends or anyone that showed him utmost respect.  Shakey was wired to be a protector and much of this stemmed from a traumatic and very painful childhood which made him obsessed with loyalty and protecting those you love since his loved ones did not protect him as a child.  What needs to be understood here is Shakey pursued those that were evil to the core and defended those around him that were victims of that evil.  Although Shakey committed some crimes that many would deem horrible, he went after people that attacked unprovoked and for no good reason, this is admirable in a certain way and it why he gained so much respect in the prison and the streets.  Human beings tend to draw themselves to those that are genuinely good inside, even in prison or on the streets.  Sociopathic, mad dog gang member types never get respect in the long run, you need to have true good inside you and that is Shakey.

It is rumored that during the attack Shakey was stabbed but never reported to prison staff instead he stitched up his own wounds.  I can believe this because he was a very intelligent man in many ways, hence, how he made so much money and was a leader among men.  Shakey was an alpha among men, and I would not be surprised if he picked up basic medical treatment skills.  The man lived on the streets of New York and slept on those streets with revenge on the mind, no doubt the same man learned how to dress his own wound.  Shakey was an example of a leader with brains, balls and strength and this terrified some of the hardest cons in the prison system and prison staff.

In wake of the attempt on Larry Hoover’s life, Hoover gave Shakey complete leadership of “Spanish Growth and Development” which was the Hispanic and white version of “Growth and Development.”  This was a concept for the positive development of turning gangsters into men by gaining education and careers.  This was also a concept of these men protecting their families and communities.  It was a guidance system for gangsters coming from rough elements and evolving into maturity.  Growth and Development was for the Black Gangster Disciples (GDs) and Black Disciples.  Spanish Growth and development was for Milwaukee Kings, Spanish Cobras, Maniac Latin Disciples, Imperial Gangsters, Two Six, Two Two Boys, Ambrose, Satan Disciples, Orquestra Albany, Ashland Vikings, Harrison Gents, Simon City Royals, Insane Popes (north side), Latin Lovers, Insane Dragons, Latin Eagles, Ridgeway Lords, Saints (Latin Saints), Latin Souls, and Latin Stylers.  The new Spanish Growth and Development or “SGD” was authored by Shakey alongside a council of Latin Folks.  Shakey was in charge of SGD and all SGD was heavily interwoven into Folks and was all Folks.  In the year 1981, Folks was spread to the streets and all Milwaukee Kings on the streets busted out as Folks and followed all Folks trends while heavily associating with the Maniacs.

Shakey would now run SGD from behind bars all through the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.  Shakey had so much power behind bars that spread to the streets to the point where he was continuing to get paid heavily and was even able to support his family from prison.  As far as having a family life, Shakey had enough clout with prison staff to the point where he would have full visits with street clothes, meals and extra time with family.  In one incident he was celebrating a birthday party for his young daughter and the family did not consider using a kitchen knife to cut the cake, an honest mistake.  Prison staff then acted swiftly and told the whole family to leave immediately.  This angered Shakey and upset him deeply.  He could not let it go; therefore, he ordered the whole prison to begin rioting and tearing the place apart.  Soon it got out of control fast and prison staff were up to their elbows with violent prisoners.  When big bosses in prison give out demands the prison always follows through because the real wardens are not the guys sitting in the office it is the head gangsters.  This hurt Shakey and upset his little girl and he acted out through power.  The prison staff immediately called the family by phone before they could get home and asked them to come back immediately.  Shakey then ordered the riot to stop and it stopped immediately and the birthday party resumed.  Prisons have rules but this is a rule that overreaches based on an honest mistake.  They could have just took the knife and warned him but they decided to use full protocol and push it this far, this pushed Shakey to use force.

Shakey’s influence spread to follow Milwaukee Kings and one of the signatures of big time Milwaukee Kings was to cut the hands off those that betrayed them and mail the parts to loved ones.  Many hands were cut off in this process.

In the year 1980 the Milwaukee Kings were unified with the UPCI alliance that consisted of Maniac Latin Disciples, Ashland Vikings, Satan Disciples and Harrison Gents who all happened to be Folks.  This was a tight alliance for the MKs until 1986 when MKs went to war with Satan Disciples and Harrison Gents.  These new wars were costly and caused many incarcerations for key members of the Milwaukee Kings.  Some members left the area in wake of this because of police crackdowns and settled in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood beginning in 1986 which started the Riis Park chapter which would become a permanent chapter for the MKs and one of their most significant.

In the early 1990s, Milwaukee Kings were often roped into the famous disputes between Insanes and Maniacs but by 1995, a conflict erupted between MKs and MLDs causing the Milwaukee Kings to leave the Maniacs.  After the MKs left the Maniacs, they never joined any other family and always rode alone ever since.

In the year 1993, high ranking members “Kono” and “Jey Dogg” from the Huron and Noble section traveled to the Grant Works section of the suburb of Cicero at 21^st and 51^st Court and were given permission to begin a chapter in Cicero. Kono decided not to partake in the startup and instead Jey Dogg started the chapter himself as he flipped two members of the Latin Angels Ransum and Pelon.  Fredo moved in from the Taylor Street area of the west side of Chicago and joined the CMKs.  Cicero locals Doritos, M Dog, Roc and Sandman joined in 1993 and now there were 8 members.  Hec Dog became the 9th and was younger than the rest but down for the nation.  A short time later Mayo, Tank, Roger and Trench joined making the CMKs 13 deep.  Some other recruits joined at times but when they realized the Cicero MKs were ready to heavily gangbang, they couldn’t hack it and left.  The 13 main members were a serious force to be reckoned with and became Cicero legends.

The MKs also got into it badly with La Raza and the Two Two Boys who were both fellow Folk Nation gangs.

The Cicero MKs “CMKs” were now becoming a prime target of Cicero police which caused members to end up in jail and prison.  More trouble came in October of 1994 when the Milwaukee Kings and Satan Disciples got into it in the city which led to members of the Satan Disciples killing a Milwaukee King gang member, now the MKs had another war with a Folk Nation gang in Cicero.  In the meantime in Cicero things got worse when Milwaukee Kings were now also at war with the Gangster Disciples.  The Cicero MKs then wanted to establish a close alliance with the Two Sixs.  Older members from Chicago warned the CMKs to not make this deal and it would bring trouble but the CMKs did not listen and let Two Sixs share their turf.  Two Sixs were the bigger gang and expected the MKs to just disappear after a little while and this resulted in another interalliance gang war for the MKs.  The only ally left the MKs had in Cicero were the MLDs but that would soon change.

In 1995, the Maniac Latin Disciples began imposing heavier taxes on their fellow Maniacs and also began infringing on their drug turf, this led to a major uprising within the Maniacs as some of the gangs began disbanding from the Maniac title.  The Latin Lovers, Latin Jivers and Milwaukee Kings all left the Maniacs.  The Latin Lovers turned Insane.  The Jivers and MKs went their own way and went under nothing.  The Latin Jivers then became the one and only allies the MKs had on the north side. In Cicero the MKs had no allies and this led to the demise of the CMKs.  Too many incarcerations from Cicero police brought down the leadership of CMKs and the rest of CMK had too many gang wars to fight without their leadership and the operation shut down, Cicero turned out to be a bad investment.

The MKs have been known to be one of the more ruthless organizations that does not need allies to survive as long as police do not target them too heavily like they did in Cicero.  Milwaukee Kings continued to have a presence at Huron and Noble up to present years, but the majority of their presence left in the 2000s decade after Shakey passed away in 2002.

On March 11, 2002, Shakey was at last to be released from prison.  He wanted to make it special for his family and before going to see them he wanted to freshen up, but he never showed up.  The family instead received a phone call that he was found dead.  A possible cause of death was an overdose of heroin and maybe a bad batch.  It is also said he was assassinated, in either case, someone knew he was getting out and didn’t want him to come home.  At his wake he was given a Milwaukee King service by “Baby” which was given in style.

Please send in old school pics.   1970s or 1980s pics will be especially appreciated!

Sections of the Milwaukee Kings past and present 

Belmont-Cragin neighborhood 1986-present years

Sections of Belmont-Cragin

Altgeld to Belden, Meade to Marmora (Riis Park, Swift City, M-Town) 1986-present

East Humboldt Park neighborhood

Sections of East Humboldt Park

Beach & Lemoyne area

Logan Square neighborhood 90s

Sections of Logan Square

Schubert & Fairfield 90s

River West neighborhood

sections of River West

Milwaukee & Grand

Southern West Town neighborhood Established 1975-2000s

Sections of Southern West Town

Huron & Noble Established 1975-2000s

Wicker Park neighborhood Established 1969-1975

Sections of Wicker Park

Milwaukee & Wood/Wolcott Established 1969-1975

Suburbs

Cicero Established 1993 21^st & 51st

Elgin