Gangster Stones - Chicago Gang History

Founded	Founded in 1968 by Daryl Abney in or near Near West Side
Formerly known as	Paulina Gangsters, Paulina Gangster Stones
Affiliations	People Nation — c. 1981 – give;
Colors	Black and Red
Primary ethnicities	African American
Symbols	Pyramid, 7, Sun, Eye, and Shotgun
Symbol usage	Pyramid with 21 bricks and a number 7 in the sun behind the point of the pyramid, eye behind the pyramid, crossed shotguns
Status	Active

I normally do not put together pages for factions of organizations, but the Gangster Stones (GSN) stands out as one the most pronounced and unique factions of the Black P Stones; therefore, a page is warranted. The Gangster Stones are like no other factions as not only have they been pivotal in large decisions for the entire BPSN but also GSN has long celebrated founders that has been passed down by generations of Gangster Stones. The nation founder passed away in 2019 and up until his death he was very celebrated and was involved in the mentorship of younger and older Gangster Stones. I am not saying at all that the founder was a criminal gang leader, instead he was a mentor and taught generation after generation of Stones to follow an enlightened and respectable path. Even in present years the Gangster Stones carry on along old school ways.

First off, there was a “Gangster Stone” branch of the Black P Stones that goes back to at least 1967 in the Woodlawn area. This group was mentioned in Richard Sales’ book The Blackstone Rangers that he wrote in 1967 after his time spent on the southside of Chicago. The group was put together by Melvin Mackay in the early 1960s or before. At one time they were the largest BPS faction on the south side of Chicago. This group is not the GSN that this page is about. I just wanted to clear this up before we proceed so it doesn’t get twisted with GSN history. I do not know what happened to the Woodlawn Gangster Stones but for some reason they never made it out of the 1960s or faded away shortly after the 60s.

The story of GSN starts with the founder Daryl “Moose Man” Abney. Daryl Reginald Abney was born on April 6, 1954, to Bessie and Walter Abney. I am not sure where Daryl was born or where he lived during his young childhood in the 1950s but I believe it was in the southern United States, but I am not sure. By the 1960s Daryl was growing up on the west side of Chicago in the Near West Side neighborhood. Daryl attended William H. Brown Elementary School as a child and grew up in or around the Henry Horner public housing projects. Daryl became very familiar with the projects during his childhood and was described in his online obituary as a “kind-hearted person who truly loved his family and friends.” This matches the legends I was told not only by Stones but also by Folks and almost anyone I talked to that remembered him, not a bad word has ever been said. Abney garnered lots of respect despite what Chicago authorities claim and had shown in the Chicago Crime Commission book as a felon, gangster and a “El Rukn” in that Crime Commission book.

As a child Abney had great leadership skills and this led him to hang out with a group of boys from Henry Horner as they put together a crew headed by Abney in 1968. The crew was known as the “Paulina Gangsters.” Abney assembled the crew at the intersection of Paulina and Washington or close to that area. The Paulina Gangsters had a headquarters at 1625 West Washington Blvd which was right next to the Union Park Congregational Church and right by Union Park. Paulina Gangsters likely ran Union Park back then. I am not sure who were the first enemies of the Paulina Gangsters, but it was likely Vice Lords and Supreme Gangsters (Gangster Disciples) who were large in the Henry Horners at the time. Supreme Gangsters were brand new to the neighborhood and had just moved into the projects in 1968 which could have been a motivating factor for the Paulina Gangsters to form that same year.

In the year 1969 on the southside of Chicago, Larry Hoover and the Supreme Gangsters established an alliance with the Black P Stones. This alliance did not last long before the Gangsters established a new alliance with the Disciples to create the Black Gangster Disciples. Many rumors fly around for decades that Larry Hoover was a Stone, but truth is he never became a Stone, he just established a tight alliance that may have been called “Gangster Stones” or it was just a thought that never panned out. Rumors have also extended from this legend claiming the GSN was built upon this same arrangement; however, that is not accurate. While this was happening Abney somehow encountered the Black P Stones and forged an alliance with the Stones and took the Paulina Gangsters into the BPSN at “Paulina Gangster Stones” in 1969. By the time Larry Hoover and the southside Gangsters went with David Barksdale and the Disciples to form the BGDN Abney’s Paulina Gangster Stones renamed themselves as “Gangster Stones.” I am not totally clear on if the name was given to Abney by Jeff Fort after Larry Hoover walked away; therefore, I will not stand behind that the GSN has anything to do with that Supreme Gangster and Larry Hoover alliance with Jeff Fort and the Stones. I understand it as the “Gangster Stone” name simply became available and Abney took the name. I have been told that the GSN has never had anything to do with Supreme Gangsters, Gangster Disciples or Larry Hoover. The part of the story I am missing is how Daryl Abney got to know Jeff Fort when Abney was on the west side and Fort was on the southside; however, the two became very tight by 1969 and Fort gave the 15-year-old Abney a lot of influence and respect in the BPSN, making Abney part of the BPSN council. The Gangster Stones became highly regarded especially since Abney was a strong follower of Jeff Fort’s teachings.

The Gangster Stones first made the newspaper on January 20, 1971, after Police raided their clubhouse at 1625 Washington confiscating a .22 caliber revolver after complaints were filed that the Stones were harboring runaway girls, 10 members were arrested. I theorize this may have been the end of their clubhouse at 1625, they relocated to the Henry Horner projects to the 150 North. Hermitage building. This building would become known as “The Fortress.” Gangster Stones soon spread in the east side of the Henry Horner projects as they even had a building at 140 N. Wolcott. Between Lake Street to Washington Blvd and from Hermitage to Wolcott or Damen Ave Gangster Stones spread through these buildings intertwined with Conservative Vice Lords and Renegade Vice Lords. This resulted in a violent gang rivalry. Gangster Stones had a strong rivalry with Supreme Gangsters in the late 60s and early 70s. The Stones made the newspaper in June of 1972 for firebombing two houses in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood which was an area controlled by Supreme Gangsters at the time. After this incident the Gangster Stones did not appear in the news until 1995. The only other piece of evidence I found is the case of People v. Campbell from July 29, 1992, that was a court case of the conviction of three Vice Lords for killing Larry Wallace of the Gangster Stones with an Uzi and a .25 handgun. Wallace was killed in the 140 N. Wolcott building which was described as “Gangster Stone” territory. Vice Lords were in heavy control of the eastern part of the projects since the early 60s and never liked the Gangster Stone presence. The Gangster Stones also had a large presence on Lake Street and Wood Street running buildings at that intersection, this was a further conflict of interest with Conservative Vice Lords and Renegade Vice Lords.

Chicago Tribune article from January 20, 1971 mentioning the headquarters on the west side. Perhaps this headquarters was closed down after this happened and moved to the Henry Horner projects. The article called them "Gangster P Stones."

1972 article about Gangster Stones setting fire to a house and one already in trouble for shooting two others

Gangster Stones had retained a presence in the Pullman neighborhood (Wild 100s) for several decades with the headquarters at 104^th and Corliss right where Corliss High School is. I do not know the exact year, but legend has it that Daryl Abney moved to this intersection after leaving the Henry Horner projects. Some say 104^th and Corliss is the “motherland” of the GSN, but I do not understand that because they started in the Henry Horner homes before Abney was old enough to graduate high school and move out on his own. Abney attended Crane High School on the Near West Side according to his online obituary; therefore, I don’t see how this can be the motherland. He likely came here about 1972 after graduating high school from Crane, he did not attend Corliss. As now grown man, Abney established Gangster Stones very well at 104^th and Corliss when he moved in. Abney would eventually become a father of six children from two different marriages and his family legacy likely started here at 104^th and Corliss (10-4). Black P Stones had a newer presence in Pullman around 1972 but were becoming established in northern Pullman during racial change in these years since 1969. When racial issues flared in the late 60s and early 70s in Roseland and Pullman Black P Stones and Black Gangster Disciples arrived to aide the black community struggling with racist police and racist residents, but soon Disciples and Stones turned on each other which was already an issue by the time Gangster Stones became established here. The Gangster Stones now would clash with Black Gangster Disciples, similar to a long rivalry with BGDs in the Henry Horner area. After Daryl Abney left the projects around 1972, Henry “June Bug” Brown took over operations in Henry Horner. Brown resided at 150 N. Hermitage which became Gangster Stone headquarters known as “The Fortress.”

Gangster Stones had spread heavily into northern Pullman in the 1970s as they arrived north of 103^rd and settled in the London Town apartments and townhomes between Cottage Grove and the Bishop Ford Expressway. This complex also housed other Black P Stone groups and Conservative Vice Lords. Gangster Stones also took over the whole area between 103^rd to 111^th and from Cottage Grove to Maryland or basically all of Pullman between 103^rd and 111^th.

When it came to the west side of Chicago settlement Black P Stones were just not well organized in that part of the city as Vice Lords, Egyptian Cobras and Roman Saints ran the west side. Stone pockets were located in North Lawndale as they fought various rival gangs. Some of these groups of Stones were Cossack Rangers, Pimp Stones and even some Cobra Stones. The Gangster Stones would rise to become the most organized and largest Black P Stone group on the west side while other Stone groups did not last long into the 1970s.

Before GSN Black P Stones had difficulties setting up on the west side as they would often face expensive code violations from the city when they tried to open legit businesses. Moose man brought Gangster Stones in smoothly and guided many Henry Horner youths in an organized direction. The Gangster Stones became the dominant organization in these buildings conquering many of the older buildings in the complex. The Gangster Stones also operated the most sophisticated drug market (Reference: The Hidden War: Crime and the tragedy or Public Housing in Chicago). The headquarters for the Gangster Stones was at the 150 North Hermitage Avenue building (Lake and Hermitage intersection) known as “The Fortress.” (Source: People v. Brown, 870 N.E.2d 1033 Ill. App. Ct. 2007).

Gangster Stones arrived in the Austin neighborhood in the 1970s at a time when multiple gangs from the west side were settling Austin. Gangster Stones formed at Cicero Avenue and Huron then quickly expanded to the area of Superior Street on the north, Ohio Street on the south, Cicero Ave on the west and Kenton on the east. This section was started by L Dog, Car Thief Roger and Tina. This section would eventually move to Chicago Avenue and Latrobe where they still have a presence.

A forgotten section was somewhere in the Rockwell Gardens projects that was opened by G Omar and G Finny on Campbell Street. The Gangster Stones heavily allied with Traveling Vice Lords and may have even followed the Gangster Stone Vice Lord paradigm or hooked up with “Solid.” Soon I will post a 1987 tag from Rockwell Gardens showing a pyramid, a “GS,” “TVL,” “Solid,” when memory issues are fixed for the site. This is evidence the Stones lasted here through the 80s at least.

Another old section was in the Chatham neighborhood on 92^nd Street to 93^rd and from Cottage Grove to Martin Luther King Drive. I do not know when this section opened but it was opened long ago, and these Gangster Stones flipped in the 1990s or further back. Not far away Gangster Stones opened at 93^rd and Dobson in the Burnside neighborhood. This area was heavily controlled by the Gangster Disciples and Boss Pimps; therefore, these Stones had a lot to deal with until the section closed, and the Gangster Disciples took over and likely flipped the Stones.

In the year 1976, Jeff Fort created the El Rukns once he was released from prison. Fort invited his closest associates from the Stones into the El Rukns. As far as my understand goes, Abney and the Gangster Stones did not fall in line with El Rukns and remained as Stones. In 1979, Jeff Fort declared war on the Stones but likely did not on the Gangster Stones because of the extremely tight relationship Abney had with Fort.

When the People alliance was laid out in the year 1981, Jeff Fort and the El Rukns were pivotal in assembling this alliance. The Gangster Stones would of course fall in line with the People alliance. The Vice Lords were also major assemblers of the People alliance; however, in the Henry Horner projects Vice Lords and Gangster Stones were at war for years. The People alliance would help relations to an extent and some Stones and Lords began to recognize an alliance in the projects known as the “Gangster Stone Vice Lords” that often-confused people into thinking this was a Vice Lord faction. This alliance was likely short lived as I have not heard much of it and was completely gone by the early 1990s. In the later 1980s the Gangster Stones and Vice Lords were killing each other in Henry Horner so the alliance was probably already gone by 1986.

In the year 1986, when Jeff Fort and many El Rukns were being charged with accepting weapons from Libya in exchange for money, great disarray fell upon the El Rukns and it soon looked like the nation would fracture into chaos, this is when Jeff Fort entrusted Moose Man to restore order and keep the factions of the El Rukn empire in order. Gangster Stones had always honored both Jeff Fort and Eugene Hairston and did not partake in the wars between both supporting groups. Once Moose Man was bestowed with the honor of keeping the nation together, he created C.S.A which effectively unified the Stone branches into peace, and this is why it is said Moose Man put the “P” or “Peace” in Black Peace Stone. C.S.A. Concepts are still honored by the Gangster Stones, and this prevents Gangster Stones from getting involved in wars with any other BPS branches. In the year 1991, the federal government had done extensive damage to the El Rukns and Jeff Fort was locked away in federal prison mostly cut off from contact with Stones and El Rukns. The El Rukns then vanished from the streets as members became Black P Stones once again. The Gangster Stones and Daryl Abney were pivotal in this transition of peace and this likely saved many lives on the streets. Abney was a strong advocate of peace between relations with other organizations making the Gangster Stones not a group all about aggression and violence unless necessary. Of course, not all Gangster Stones followed his teachings, but it is impossible for one man to control hundreds of members.

One prominent young member of the Gangster Stones from the Henry Horner projects was Angelo “Lo” Roberts in the late 1980s. Roberts was an aspiring young member, but he was seduced by the Four Corner Hustlers organization that wanted a piece of the Henry Horner projects and the Rockwell Gardens by 1988 which is about the year Roberts flipped from Gangster Stone to 4 Corner Hustler. In the year 1991, after Monroe Banks of the Four Corner Hustlers was killed, Angelo Roberts took the throne and aggressively spread the Four Corner Hustlers in the Rockwell Gardens and Henry Horner projects. This resulted in a war between Four Corner Hustlers against Traveling Vice Lords and Gangster Stones. Roberts wanted Lake and Wood the most which was the biggest Gangster Stone stronghold.

Henry “June Bug” Brown operated a complex drug operation in the Henry Horner projects; Brown also had zero tolerance for anyone that owed him money. In March 1995 June Bug was infuriated that a man took a car and $3,500 from Brown, Brown knew who the man was but could not find him, so Brown paid a visit to the man’s brother and sister’s place because he knew where they lived, that brother was Gaddis Johnson. Brown and his wife came to the door and when the door was answered Henry Brown pulled out a gun and demanded that Gaddis Johnson come with him and get in his van, Brown was accompanied by his wife Ladrina Stewart. The two of them drove Johnson to The Fortress on that March 8, 1995, evening, Brown ordered all the Stones standing in front of the building to clear out of the way of the entrance. Brown met up with William Beach and Timothy Belin and they tied Johnson up with duct tape. The men forced Johnson into a closet with an angry pit bull that bit Johnson on the wrist according to court documents. The men then pulled Johnson out of the closet and called Johnson’s sister and put the screaming Gaddis Johnson on the phone, The three men demanded Johnson’s sister pay up what her other brother owed. When his sister could not produce the $3,500 her other brother owed the men proceeded to heat up butter knives and metal coat hangers on the stove until they were scolding hot then they burned Johnson several times with the searing hot objects while Johnson screamed in pain over the phone. The men then poured chlorine bleach and salt into Johnson’s wounds causing incredible pain. All this torture went on for two days then the men untied Johnson and ordered him to put his clothes back on, they then tied him back up and put a duffle bag over his head and led him back into the van and drove to another apartment where they asked him again where his brother was and when Johnson still said he did not know they said they gave up and were just going to put a bullet in his head and heart by the railroad tracks. The men brought Johnson back to the van. When the men stopped to get some fast food, Johnson escaped from the van and ran to a nearby EL station where he called his family and eventually police were called and the four were arrested. Brown’s wife ended up testifying against the three men in the 1998 trial. Timothy Belin had his case dropped but Brown and Beach were convicted. (Source: People v. Brown, 870 N.E.2d 1033 Ill. App. Ct. 2007).

After Henry Brown was put in prison more Gangster Stones began flipping to groups like Four Corner Hustlers as original leadership became absent. Many older Gangster Stones were retired or had passed away. Beginning later in the year 1995, the Chicago Housing authority began to tear down the Henry Horner projects which forced out more Gangster Stones. Gangster Stones from the 10-4 (104^th and Corliss) section in Pullman guided many members to settle in north Pullman after being displaced from the projects, this would help strengthen GSN influence in the area. This would continue throughout the late 1990s into the 2000s decade. I am not sure if Daryl Abney was still running things by these years or if he was mostly retiring. He eventually moved out of 10-4 and settled in the suburb of Robbins which was his last home before he passed.

I do not have any timeline of events, but the Gangster Stones spread to Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and opened a sizable chapter in New York City.

In the 2000s-decade Gangster Stones began to shrink heavily in Chicago as their chapters in Burnside and Chatham may not have even seen the 21^st century and their Rockwell Gardens chapter completely closed when the buildings were torn down. Many members from Henry Horner did not need to relocate after the tear downs and were able to settle in the West Haven Park Apartments that were built over where the Henry Horners used to be. These apartments continue to have a Gangster Stone presence. Gangster Stones also remain active at Chicago Avenue and Latrobe in Austin. In north Pullman, Gangster Stones flipped to Black P Stones to become part of the “London Town” Black P Stones sometime in the 2000s decade. Gangster Stones still remain around 10-4 are but are mainly concentrated at 104^th and Corliss. Gangster Stones still control 103^rd to 111^th in Pullman presently.

Daryl Abney was a very highly regarded individual within the Gangster Stones and by many outside of the organization as well. During stints in prison other inmates from other organizations regarded him positively. May he rest in peace.