| Founded | Founded c. 1971 by Troy Martin in or near Austin |
|---|---|
| Affiliations |
People Nation
— c. 1981
–
2000 or later; |
| Colors | Give details |
| Primary ethnicities | African American |
| Symbols | Give details |
| Status | Extinct |
The most seldom mentioned Vice Lord branch in history is the Central Insane Vice Lords. I have looked up court documents, searched for articles, looked around the internet and it is very hard to find any information on the Central Insanes. About 25 years ago I came across an old law enforcement site that no longer exists that I can’t remember the name of that had a list of Chicago gangs. The list also had a Vice Lord faction list, and it named some rarer groups that included the Central Insane Vice Lords. I became interested right away and tried to look up Central Insanes just to find nothing. It took 25 years but now I finally have obtained some of the story in 2025.
The “Insane” group of Vice Lord factions has been the dominating force in the Austin community for decades. The Insanes were the first African American gangs on the streets of Austin. The Mafia Insane Vice Lords are one the most powerful gangs in Austin presently and much of that is attributed to the development of the Insane family tree in the 1970s and 1980s. The Mafia Insane Vice Lords once were made up of several combined pieces of Insane Vice Lord gangs like Undertaker Vice Lords, Cicero Insane Vice Lords, Insane Vice Lords, Imperial Insane Vice Lords and the Central Insane Vice Lords. The Central Insane Vice Lords existed for 18 years which is a long enough existence for a club to gain memorable recognition, but the Central Insanes did not obtain this attention; however, they were not a weak group. The Central Insanes were a hard-core group of elite Vice Lords but they were small in numbers and were only on the streets of South Austin. The other Insane groups became big in numbers for some time and branched out into other states by the 80s but the Central Insanes did not grow.
The origin
The first African American gang in Austin was the Cicero Vice Lords that started in 1965. Some of the founders of the Cicero Vice Lords later became big figures in the foundation and development of the Insanes. The biggest figure in the Cicero Vice Lords was Anthony “King Assad Shabazz” Harris who later became the founder of the Insane concepts. The original Apache Vice Lords put in a lot into the Insanes and were a part of that foundation. Troy “King Troy” Martin was a co-founder of the Apache Vice Lords when they started in 1967 in South Austin. The Apaches were a group that fought with white gangs heavily in the late 60s. The Apaches and the Ciceros protected that growing African American settlement in the area of Cicero Avenue and Jackson Boulevard. Troy Martin was the one that came up with the Apache Vice Lord name.
The beginning of the Insanes
In the year 1971, Anthony Harris rose to the leadership spot of the Cicero Vice Lords and it was at that point that he would found the Insane concepts, and this birthed the “Shabazz Tribe” and multiple Vice Lord groups had leaders that agreed to it. When this demonstration came about in 1971 only three initial groups became Insane. The Cicero Vice Lords would of course be part of this became Anthony Harris was now the leader of the Ciceros and now they were “Cicero Insane Vice Lords.” Troy Martin was now leading the Apaches in 1971 because Benny Lee went to juvenile detention for 2 years but when the Insane concepts were developed Troy Martin’s family moved into an apartment building that once stood at the intersection of Central Avenue and Van Buren Street. At this intersection has always had a corner store and Columbus Park. Troy Martin quickly connected with his new surroundings and decided to start a new Vice Lord group that he would found and lead. Martin was an avid co-founder and believer in the Insane concepts and would lead his own Insanes at Central and Van Buren that he would call the “Central Insane Vice Lords” in 1971. Members also lived in the larger apartment building at the street corner.
The 1976 Troy Martin murder case
In November of 1976, King Troy Martin was convicted of murder/attempted murder. King Troy’s home was burglarized, and he accused Charles McGee of burglarizing his home. McGee claimed he didn’t burglarize the home and Martin offered to have him come over to his place to clear up the accusation. When McGee arrived, Martin came out of another room with a large silver knife and stabbed McGee in the chest a few times according to court documents. McGee managed to escape and survive but died a few months later in 1977, this caused Martin to receive a murder charge. Despite being in prison, Troy Martin continued to operate the Central Insane Vice Lords (Source: People v. Martin).
While behind bars, Troy Martin became a larger figure in the Almighty Vice Lord nation but, back on the streets the Central Insane Vice Lords remained small and would never he led by Troy Martin on the streets again and I am not sure who led them in Troy Martin’s absence but they remained a small Vice Lord club in South Austin.
1989: The birth of the Mafia
While Troy Martin was in prison until the late 90s his notoriety began to peak as he now obtained enough power to absorb a major part of the Vice Lord nation. When Benny Lee got out of prison in 1981, he left the active gang life but was still a leader of the Insane Vice Lords, in 1989 he was ready to fully step away leaving Troy Martin to fully control the Insane Vice Lords. Troy Martin added “Mafia” to the name and over 90% of Chicago area Insane Vice Lords became “Mafia Insane Vice Lords” while a small group of Insane Vice Lords would live on until the mid-late 90s along Chicago Avenue. Anthony Harris was not having it with going with the Mafias but a high number of members did flip to Mafias but the recruitment pool for Cicero Insanes would be permanently affected. Several Undertaker Vice Lords flipped to Mafia Insane which technically was the orders passed down. Eddie Richardson, the founder and leader of the Undertakers refused to identify as Mafias but several Undertakers would flip over the course of time as did many Cicero Insanes. The Imperial Insane Vice Lord’s leader also refused the Mafias but many of their members would flip too and in later years most IIVL territory became taken by the Mafias because members kept flipping. The Central Insane Vice Lords were instantly dismantled in 1989 and became part of the Mafia Insane empire.
It would take a few years for the Mafia Insane concepts to fully settle in but by 1992 it was fully understood on the streets, and the Insane Vice Lords would shrink further as more starting falling in line with the new law passed down from prison. The birth of the Mafia Insane Vice Lords meant the end of the Central Insane Vice Lords.
Known sections of Central Insane Vice Lords
Austin neighborhood Established 1971-1989
Central Avenue & Van Buren Street
