Executioner Vice Lords

This history was updated 11/2/25

Fred Gage Senior

I’m going to dive in head first into this history because I want to address the early street legends of Fred (Alfred) “Hadari” “Mr. Vice Lord” Gage Senior. Legend says that Fred Gage Senior was a founder of the Conservative Vice Lords when they started in 1957 in the St. Charles juvenile home. I have to say that that story makes no sense to me at all and I will tell you why. It is very well known that Fred Gage Senior is the father of Four Corner Hustler founder Fred Gage Junior. It is a fact that Fred Gage Junior was born in the early 50s and was close to the same age as Walt Wheat who was born in 1951. The original CVLs under Edwin Perry (Pepilo) were around his age, which is obvious since the boys were locked up in a juvenile center. How the hell can Fred Gage Senior have a son in the early 50s if he was born in the early to mid 40s? Pepilo was born in 1943 and the originals were born around the same time, From Toehold to Ralph Bonds to Leonard Calloway to Maurice Miller to Wren. If Fred Gage Senior was among them he would have been the 7 or 8 year old dad to Fred Gage Junior…not possible. What I believe really happened is that Fred Gage Senior was not the CVL founder but instead a founder of the original Vice Lords from Maxwell Street in 1947. The original Vice Lords, that predated the AVLN/CVL Vice Lords were very likely born in the 1930s which would make a better case for Fred Senior to be the father of Fred Junior. Even though Bobby Gore was a CVLs and was born in 1936, he did not join in 1957 or 58 when Pepilo first put it together, Gore only joined in the later 60s to positively influence the CVLs just like David Dawley; therefore, Bobby Gore cannot be used as an example of an older Vice Lord joining when Pepilo started it, there were no older men in the CVLs when they started in 1957-1958. Older Vice Lords well above Peplio’s age joined later. They didn’t call Freddie Gage Senior “Mr. Vice Lord” for nothing, he had to have been part of the original group from Roosevelt and Racine in 1947.

Effie Gage

According to the June 5, 2023 obituary of Effie B. Gage, she was born on February 24, 1937 In new Madrid, Missouri. At some point she moved to Chicago, likely during the second great migration of African Americans to Chicago in the 40s. According to the online obituary Effie attended “Glaystone Elementary School” in Chicago which is a type O which really means Gladstone Elementary School on the Near West Side at Washburne and Damen. The original Vice Lords were founded in the same neighborhood area at Roosevelt and Racine. Effie also attended Washburne Technical High School that used to be at 14^th and Union which is also in the same area near Roosevelt and Racine. The obituary stated Effie was married to Alfred Gage in 1954 as their son Freddrick Gage was born around that same time. Her son was Fred Gage Junior, a founder of he Four Corner Hustlers. This further proves that Fred Gage Senior was born in the 30s, very likely a few years older than Effie and was too old to be a co-founder of the CVLs alongside Pepilo; however, Fred Senior was CVL but later. Fred was a Vice Lord before Pepilo and before CVL which can give him full ability to be considered an original CVL. Effie Gage was also and original Vice Lord (Vice Lady) but she was no gangbanger. Effie was a hard working woman at Bally’s Manufacturing for 30 years and she was a church going woman. Effie passed away in 2023 at age 86 and outlived her husband and sons. Fred Gage Senior died in May of 1994. Fred Gage Senior was technically Fred Gage Junior and his father was Fred Gage Senior; however, everyone referred to Fred Gage Junior as Fred Gage Senior and his son became Fred Gage Junior, there were three Fred Gages.

The Phantom’s Car Club

Instead of being part of Pepilo Perry’s original (CVL) Vice Lords in the late 50s Fred Gage Senior was already in his 20s and a family man; therefore, there was no room for him to be running with a teenage terror group like the original CVLs. “Rabbit” created a car club on the west side of Chicago in North Lawndale called the “Phantom’s Car Club” and Fred Gage Senior was an original member. This car club was right off 16^th and Lawndale area which is “Holy City” for the Vice Lords. A coincidence is that before Pepilo went to prison he led a small group of boys that burglarized places called the “Phantom Burglars.” This is quite a coincidence. The Phantom Car Club knew the original Vice Lords and perhaps were family to them, it could have been through this Link that Pepilo may have been mentored by Gage and the car club members because Gage was an original Vice Lord and may have taught some Lordism to these young buys.

The Phantoms Motorcycle Club: 1962

In the late 50s and early 60s the Phantom Car Club evolved their interest into motorcycles and began owning bikes, this led to a vote by members to form the “Phantoms Motorcycle Club” in 1962. By this time older original Conservative Vice Lords started obtaining duel membership as Phantoms and Vice Lords, this was made possible because Fred Gage Senior was an original Vice Lord and Phantom. As the 60s progressed the Phantoms became more organized and were becoming more mafia like.

1964: The Enforcer Vice Lords

In the summer of 1964, the original CVLs embraced a change and decided gangbanging wasn’t the way as these men worked toward becoming role models for the younger men on the streets of North Lawndale including young Vice Lords. This was the time when Vice Lord leaders were allowed to have their own names for their groups as long as “Vice Lord” was always the last name. The Renegade Vice Lords was one of the first groups to adopt to this, another was the “Enforcer Vice Lords” that formed in 1964 at 16^th and Lawndale in Holy City, “Cupid” was the founder and leader, a little while later “Chief Hen” was running it. The Enforcer Vice Lords got their name because, well, they became the Vice Lord “Enforcers,” you fuck up and break the rules they will break your bones. One thing important to understand is that the Enforcer Vice Lords were CVL just like how the Renegade Vice Lords started as a CVL group.

The Lords of Islam Phantom Motorcycle Club

In the year 1969, Fred Gage Senior brought the Phantom Motorcycle Club deeper as not only brought them close to the nation of Islam he also made them even more organized than ever and turned them into a 1%er biker club that does not follow rules made by the established motorcycle clubs that are heavily regulated. The roots tied in with the Vice Lords only grew stronger and there was a strong link with CVLs and Enforcers. The Lords of Islam Phantom Motorcycle club is still heavily active presently and has chapters all over the U.S. It started in Chicago but most operations moved to Detroit at some point as there are many Vice Lords in Detroit. The link between Vice Lords and L.O.I Phantoms remains very strong and has often been the subject of many law enforcement investigations, arrests and prosecution of members. The Phantoms are not too much unlike many other 1%er clubs in the sense that many of their activities are genuinely positive as they work with charities and communities…not for the purpose of having a front either. Fred Gage Senior even owned a pool hall on Ogden and Homan in North Lawndale.

The Executioner Vice Lords: 1969

Legend has it that police kept investigating the Enforcer Vice Lords and kept calling them “Executioner Vice Lords.” At this time the Enforcer Vice Lords began to break up and a meeting was called somewhere on Cicero Avenue in the Austin neighborhood to discuss a possible renaming and to take these Vice Lords into the murder for hire business. Fred Gage Senior directed these original members to become adopt the name the police gave and they became the “Executioner Vice Lords” in 1969. The Executioners were in the same neighborhood as the Enforcers at 16^th and Lawndale in Holy City and were at first a part of the CVLs. These Executioners were a younger group than the Enforcers and were the younger brothers and cousins of the Enforcers. Some original Executioners were: Jackey Herb, “Lil Huck,” “C.W.”, and “Touche.” Jakey Herb served as the Chief of everyday operations while the behind the scenes founder and leader was Fred Gage Senior.

Violence in the public eye

Right away in 1969, the Executioners made the newspapers for violent crime as the name became known right away. Once such incident made the news in October of 1969 when two members of the Executioners murdered two men and beat another man for no reason outside of the Tea Box Lounge that was located at Ogden Ave and Trumbull.  The victims were asked if they were in a gang and when they said they were not they were still shot to death.  In the article the police described the Executioner Vice Lords as a group trying to establish a murder-for-hire business and a reputation to go with it.

On Christmas in the year 1969, the Executioners made the news again when they had a dispute with the Syndicate Black Souls.  Both gangs were sharing a building located at 117 N. Albany (Randolph and Albany) in East Garfield Park.  Both gangs were supposed to be cooking food and preparing it for needy children in the area for Christmas, but the Executioners decided to cook the food for themselves and this angered the Souls, this is when one of the Souls grabbed a shotgun and shot Executioner member Coolidge Gandy to death.  The article basically showed that this was a hangout for the Executioners in this building.

Mongoose

Earl “Mongoose” Good who was born and raised on the mean streets of Chicago’s west side.  Good was born on June 4, 1947 and was one of 7 children but all his brothers and sisters did not live long lives and have since died including his mother Lucille Good.  Earl Good grew up rough as his father left him at the age of 3 and his mother could barely support her 7 children, however, after having her first 3 children with Earl’s father she continued to have 4 more children out of wedlock and all the fathers were not there for his brothers and sisters.  Lucille couldn’t hold a job because she had so many kids to support and the family was in extreme poverty trying to ration state funding.  Earl acted up in school and often ran away from school and from home until he was taken in the Chicago Parental School program in 1958 but he continued to run away.  Earl Good was then sent off to the Saint Charles reformatory in 1959, the same institution that birthed the Vice Lords.  It was perhaps in St. Charles that he first joined the Vice Lords or perhaps was originally in another gang.  By May 1960, he was too bad to be put in St. Charles and even tried to escape, he was then transferred to Illinois Industrial School for Boys in Sheridan right before his 13^th birthday; he stayed here until July of 1961 when he was released at 14 years old back to the streets.  In October of 1961, Good was arrested for trying to steal money from another boy in school and ended up back at St. Charles.  He was at St. Charles until April of 1962 but then sent back to Sheridan after he cut another boy with a razor blade; he would remain in Sheridan until February of 1963 then he was let back on the streets at age 15.  He wasn’t out long before he was back in later that year and he remained there until July 1964 when he was freshly 17 years old.

Earl Good’s violent behavior got him put back in prison in February of 1965 with charges of manslaughter after he violently stabbed a man to death during a heated argument and for the first time Good was going to actual prison, Good was locked up until July of 1975. Somewhere along his career in and out of juvenile detention and in prison, Good became a Conservative Vice Lord.

Good was paroled in July of 1975 and hooked up with Edward “Big Spicey” Spicer and the two men immediately began planning robberies in several areas including downstate in East St. Louis. Spicer was in and out of prison in the 60s and 70s for multiple rape convictions. Either while in prison or right when Good hit the streets he joined the Executioner Vice Lords. Earl Good was no rapist but in order to carry out these robberies he needed to hook up with a fellow Vice Lord that was rough enough and Spicer was the best partner, both men were now Executioners.

The first robbery was done on October 7, 1975 at 3910 South Calumet in the Douglas neighborhood.  The men were tipped off that a 73-year-old blind man kept lots of money in his home.  The men beat the man to death with a pistol and stole over $1,000 in cash.

The next robbery was on November 10, 1975 when the men robbed the Wonder Inn Tavern in the West Garfield Park neighborhood located at 330 North Pulaski (Pulaski and Carroll). The men stormed the tavern and demanded tavern owners line up against the wall and toss their wallets on the pool table so they could take their money.  The Schlitz Beer man came to make a delivery and the two men made him join the others so they could rob him.  The four men were led into a back room and then shot execution style but only two men died, the beer man called the police and identified Good and Spicer and now there was a warrant out for their arrests, but Good and Spicer fled far downstate to East St. Louis.

In East St. Louis on November 15, 1975, the men robbed the Leading Food Store and held everyone up at gunpoint.  During the robbery they shot one man to death in the back of the head execution style then shot the other in the temple, he survived long enough to call police.  The police showed up quickly and a gun battle started between Good, Spicer and the police.  During the shootout Officer Bruce Moore was severely shot but survived, Good and Spicer fled back to Chicago.

On December 3, 1975 Spicer and Good were arrested and sent to spend the rest of their lives in prison.  Early “Mongoose” Good would eventually pass away in prison in the 2020s.

Earl Good became a major prison advocate for the treatment of prisoners and worked with rival and allied gang members.  He was even featured in Carbondale area newspapers in early 1979 with his pictures in there.  Early Good then decided in January of 1982 that he no longer wanted to be a Vice Lord and was transferred out of Menard to get away from the gang population.  In the year 1992, he reportedly found a new light and stepped away from gangs entirely and trouble until he eventually ended up in minimum security prison and became a reformed prisoner. 

The later years

I don’t have much info on the later years of the Executioners but they ended up leaving Chicago area after Fred Gage Senior died in 1994. Executioners were mainly active in Indiana but I don’t know how long they lasted. The Executioners have a hell of a legacy and were an elite group of killers in the Vice Lord nation.