Maniac Latin Disciples

12/17/25 – This history is now updated

Ever since I was young, I had heard about the legends of the notorious “Hitler” and how he was the one that founded the Maniac Latin Disciples. I grew up in Will County (Joliet area) and remember there were Maniac Latin Disciples in Bolingbrook and I heard about them and their legend while in high school in the later 90s. The tale of “Hitler” being the founder is just favorable and is a cool sounding history how a guy nicknamed “Hitler” founded the Maniac Latin Disciples and gave a Nazi swastika as the symbol for the MLDs. Years ago I learned that legend known as “Hitler” was a Puerto Rican kid and his real name was Albert Hernandez. The TV show “Gangland” on A&E in the episode “Maniacal” tells the story of the founding of the MLDs and the show makes out Hernandez to be like a kingpin, just like what I heard about in the 90s. Over time I have learned that the understanding of the MLDs and Albert “Hitler” Hernandez is seriously flawed.

Rockwell & Hirsch: 1966, the beginning

In the year 1966, the Humboldt Park area of Chicago was changing racially and gangland was changing which brought explosive results. In East Humboldt Park many of the whites were moving out while Puerto Rican families were taking their place. Many Puerto Rican families were poor and had to live in rough apartments run by slum lords. Slum lords loved impoverished Puerto Rican families because they paid more rent for lousy housing conditions due to a housing shortage for affordable apartments. As white gangs encroached upon groups of Puerto Rican youths in these neighborhoods racial violence erupted as Puerto Rican youths were forced to defend themselves, this made being a Puerto Rican youth in Humboldt Park a dangerous experience because these white gangs were tough as nails and sometimes sadistic in nature. The Latin Kings became the biggest thing in Humboldt Park by 1966 as they embarked upon a conquest of West Town and Humboldt Park areas conquering one Puerto Rican and white gang after another. The only Puerto Rican gangs that survived pledged an alliance to the Latin Kings.

The original members of what would later become Latin Disciples had family ties to many Latin Kings and the Latin Kings now ruled East Humboldt Park by 1966. Right across from Alexander Von Humboldt Elementary School at the corner of Hirsch and Rockwell, the Latin Kings purchased part or the whole building and put in a club house above a candy and snack shop that they owned. These were big time Latin Kings and were guys that were gangbanging before they were Latin Kings. Many kids in the neighborhood hung out with Latin Kings or heavily respected them. Some of the kids in this neighborhood began playing baseball and assembled baseball teams. One of these teams was the “Latin Scorpions,” not to be mistaken with the “Scorpions” who were wiped out by the Latin Kings during the 1966 conquests. Some of the Latin Scorpions put together either another team or started another club called the “Disciples.” The original Disciples formed at Rockwell and Hirsch and this was the original corner of the Disciples because Disciples protected Hispanic youths that were tormented by predatory white gangs in the area. The Disciples had conflict with Gaylords, Chi-West, C-Notes, Playboys and Ventures. The original Disciples were on good terms with the Latin Kings at Hirsch and Rockwell and were more or less allies because the Disciples exclusively fought white gangs only back in the late 60s.

When the Disciples were put together it happened simultaneously with starting either a baseball team or a basketball team that the older Latin Kings encouraged to happen. For some reason the older Latin Kings invested in these youths and didn’t want them gangbanging in the streets and didn’t even want them becoming Latin Kings either so the older Kings sponsored the Disciples with their earliest sports events.

One fact that is not known about the original Latin Disciples is their first colors were not black and light blue, the original colors were similar to the Insane Dragon colors of maroon and gray.

Big Vic

When the Disciples formed at Rockwell and Hirsch their founder and leader was “Big Vic” who was at least in high school at the time, I just am not sure if he was in his earlier years of high school or later years. Big Vic is the true founder of the Disciples. A 12 year old like Albert Hernandez did not found the Disciples, the real founder is Big Vic who was older. Pete “The Burner” Correa was another original member alongside Big Vic. When I learned about Big Vic, I learned he was no different than many gang founders in Chicago. Big Vic was a mentor to youths and worked at the YMCA and even took Disciples on skiing and camping trips. Big Vic was no drug dealer and did not order Disciples to sell drugs and destroy the community, he set up a club that protected the community all up and down Rockwell Street from Division to North Avenue. Big Vic was a behind the scenes leader that earned a college degree and held important jobs. Big Vic does not fit the mold of your typical gangbanger which I often see is the case with Chicago gang founders. Big Vic was not mentioned on the “Maniacal” episode of “Gangland” because members were asked to leave his name out of it but now so much time has passed the story should be told since this history needs to be understood from a sociological standpoint, I am also not going to share Big Vic’s real name or professions, so I will only mention him by nickname. Big Vic only had direct leadership of the Disciples in the late 60s.

Rockwell & Potomac

Rockwell and Potomac became a big time Disciple hang out early in Disciple history. At the corner was a candy store called “Santa’s” that sold many candies including Puerto Rican candy. Disciples hung out by the candy shop and at that corner day and night. Rockwell and Potomac eventually became known as the “Twilight Zone” because one would not know if they would ever come out once they went in.

The original pee wees

The founding story of the Disciples has been bestowed to the younger original Disciples like Albert Hernandez, Chino D, Cadillac Joe (not Latin King Cadillac Joe), Chimpy, Pacheco, General Vic, and Little Vic. It was decided some time ago that the original Disciples would be left out of the history that would be passed onto the media because original members became highly successful like Big Vic and these originals did not want their reputations salted because they were still successful in the 2000s, that time has now passed and the originals have either passed away or retired from their professions. Original Disciples also became Vietnam veterans and served in combat, at least one of them was killed in Vietnam.

The Disciples were unique from other original groups within Chicago gangs because they started with pee wees and older members that joined at the same time and both age groups had a big part in the function of the Disciples. The pee wees were very important since the inception year of 1966 and in many ways the pee wees were the stronger part of Disciple legacy. The pee wees were so independent that they were given their own sections to run. There are not many other Chicago gang that were structured this way, usually the older members completely dominate and the young ones are not even on the roll call as considered original members. In the Latin Disciples, it became important for the originals to be there and mentor the young and Big Vic was in the picture until the end of the 1970s.

Albert “Hilter” Hernandez

Albert Hernandez was born in the year 1954 on April 5th. Hernandez had family in multiple other gangs and was notoriously family to original Milwaukee Kings including the Milwaukee King founder “Shakey.” Hernandez joined the Disciples as soon as they started when he was 12 years old. Hernandez was a leader among the pee wees as soon as he joined. Hernandez was a strong follower of Big Vic. Many think General Vic was the founder or leader, he was neither, he was just an avid follower of Big Vic, hence, his nickname. Little Vic was like a protege to Big Vic but again Little Vic was not the founder either, Lil Vic was an original Pee Wee.

Hernandez cared about his neighborhood around Rockwell and Potomac and was even featured in a local newspaper on the front page during the winter of 1967 shoveling snow for his neighbors alongside fellow pee wee Disciples.

The origin of the swastika

The swastika has always been a controversial symbol for he Maniac Latin Disciples that has caused some people to become upset…at least until they would find out the Disciples were founded by whites, Hispanics and blacks and would be multiracial for decades while staying mostly Hispanic. Albert Hernandez originated the use of this symbol but only for himself. Hernandez would tag the swastika on the walls next to his name as a signature but the symbol was not yet a Disciple symbol in the late 60s and early 70s. I have seen old pictures of graffiti with Hernandez’s closest friends with tags behind them showing “Hitler” with a swastika next to it but it was small and only by his nickname. In later graffiti the swastika is often very large and pronounced.

The origin of the relations with the Gangster Disciples: Put a “Latin” edge in the name

On the Gangland TV show it said that Albert Hernandez put the “Latin” in “Latin Disciples” and others even accredit him as the founder of the “Disciple” part of the name. It is also said that Hernandez obtained membership in the Devil’s Disciples before he was a Latin Disciple. The Devil’s Disciples were an all African American gang but I have heard they would take in Puerto Ricans once and while so it could be possible that Hernandez was a Devil Disciple but not likely. I don’t know if Hernandez, Big Vic or anyone else was a member of the Devil’s Disciples or not but there was for sure an early link between the two groups.

In the summer of 1966, it is a fact that African American activist groups united with Puerto Rican activist groups to protest against racial discrimination. Puerto Rican and African American gangs united as well and the July 18, 1966 issue of the Chicago Tribune is proof as the article mentioned the gangs coming together. It was during this event that brought the original Disciples together with Devil’s Disciples. When the two came together the bond was likely because of the name similarity because they both were Disciples. The Devil’s Disciples proposed an alliance with the Disciples that would be so tight it would be a brotherhood. The proposition was for the Devil’s Disciples to extend membership into the Disciple Nation for the Disciples and I believe this offer was extended to Albert Hernandez but I could be wrong and the membership in the coalition could have been extended to Big Vic. For this offering to work the Devil’s Disciples wanted the Disciples to add more to their name to set them apart and not get the streets confused since “Disciples” alone usually stood for Disciples nation groups in the south side black neighborhoods or the Cabrini Green area. It was said on the TV Show Gangland that Albert Hernandez came up with the idea to add “Latin” to the Disciple name and I think that might be the truth, this would have happened when the Disciples were about to join the Disciples nation coalition, now they would have a stand out name as “Latin Disciples.” I am not totally sure if this happened in 1966 or 1968, Gangland says 1968 for the name “Latin Disciples” which could be true. This new name of “Latin Disciples” was the uniqueness that the Devil’s Disciples would have required for membership into the Disciple nation.

As the decades passed the Maniac Latin Disciples have always been tight with the Gangster Disciples and it is became of this origin of the MLDs becoming part of this early coalition long ago. This is also why MLDs often would get high seats on any councils for the Folks alliance behind bars. The pitchfork was a symbol the Disciple nation started using in 1963 and that symbol may have been passed to the MLDs when they joined the Disciple nation, I am not certain because I have not yet heard the exact story on how and why the MLDs adopted the pitchfork.

The three Disciple groups

When the Disciples first started, the pee wees went into a few different groups in either two groups of pee wees and the one group of older guys or it was three groups of pee wees and the older guys were separate, I’m not sure. This was made possible because of the independence the Disciples gave to the pee wees and because the Latin Disciples had a similar structure to the Devil’s Disciples as the Devil’s Disciples had several different independent factions that all had the last name of “Disciples.” The Latin Disciples were structured in the same way in the late 60s and early 70s with three different groups within the Latin Disciple organization as a whole. One group was at Crystal and Rockwell and the other two groups I am not sure where they were but at least one of them was at Rockwell and Potomac.

Jose “Freckles” Cedeno

I feel I need to clear up some misconceptions about Jose “Freckles” Cedeno. Many believe he was much older than he was and was a big founder and early leader of the Disciples, this is not true. Jose Cedeno was born April 10, 1956; therefore, he was a little 10 year old boy in the year 1966 when the Disciples started. The Cedeno family lived on the first floor of a building right at Rockwell and Potomac. I am not sure if Cedeno was an original pee wee, but he was a member by 1967 when he was 11 years old. I am doubting he was an original pee wee because he was only 10 when they started and I heard legend his family did not even move to Rockwell and Potomac until 1967 which would make it impossible for him to be an original, that is unless his family lived in the area prior to 67, just not at that particular building that had Santas in it. Regardless of when Cedeno joined, he was a prominent member as soon as he did join and he lived right on the corner. Cedeno was such a big part of Rockwell and Potomac that he later moved to the second floor of the building above Santas with his girlfriend. Edwin “Mousey” Barrios, another big time MLD, moved to the 3^rd floor of that building.

1968: the black and light blue

As I stated above the original Latin Disciples did not wear black and light blue until 1968. The colors were discovered while hanging out with the Spanish Lords. At that time Spanish Lords were just like Disciples, as both gangs only fought against white gangs. The Spanish Lords used to have unlikely allies in their original years as they hung out with Latin Disciples and Spanish Cobras once upon a time. The Spanish Lord’s original colors were black and light blue when they lived in their first hood in Bucktown. In 1968, the Spanish Lords moved to Wicker Park and began hanging with the Disciples, the Disciples loved the colors and the Spanish Lords were willing to part with those colors. The Disciples then embraced those colors and history was made. This is the story I heard from a credible source; however, if I am incorrect, please contact me and correct me in a respectful way. Please understand this story is meant as no disrespect and is part of an old alliance, I am open to any other variation but please come with facts not just saying it didn’t happen and that’s it.

1970

As soon as the 60s ended the Disciples went through some changes that brought both hard times and some other changes that moved the Disciples into a brighter spotlight. In 1970, the first Disciples were gunned down. Bobby of the Latin Disciples was shot in the neck during a drive by shooting and I think it may have been the Latin Kings that shot him. Bobby survived but Carmelo of the Disciples was shot to death and became the first Disciple to be killed. I had heard that Carmelo was killed by Latin Kings but I am not so sure about that because supposedly the war did not begin until later in time…which I will get to.

By 1970, the violence the Disciples would face along with Big Vic becoming increasingly successful in his life outside the Disciples; therefore, Vic moved into a behind the scenes role. This was the time that Albert “Hitler” Hernandez was taking on leadership of the nation especially since more of the original older members were becoming more successful and/or serving in Vietnam…the Disciples were becoming younger. It now was a more opportune time for a 16 year old to lead. The Disciples began to grow beginning in 1970 and Rockwell and Potomac became more of the focus for Disciple activity over Hirsch and Rockwell.

It was during this time that Disciples began selling drugs at Division and Potomac, especially cocaine. Big Vic was not in favor and did not support drug trafficking and I don’t think Albert Hernandez did either but certain members got involved in it but not yet to the level it would become in later years. As far as I know, Rockwell and Potomac was not into selling drugs yet until at least 1972.

The Almighty Latin Disciples

In 1970, either a group of Disciples or all Disciples began called themselves “Almighty” but this had nothing to do with the Almighty family that would later become the Imperial Gangsters, Simon City Royals, Insane Popes, Latin Eagles then eventually Harrison Gents. This “Almighty” was not even an established alliance, it was just a common way a few organizations in the Humboldt Park area liked to express themselves and they were allies. Latin Lovers and Latin Disciples especially used “Almighty.” I have seen at least one gang card with “Almighty” from the Disciples. The earliest Spanish Cobras also repped the “Almighty” in the early 70s when they first got started. This Almighty died out in the mid-70s.

For Brothers Only

In 1970, some of the Latin Disciples had family from the Pilsen neighborhood along 18^th Street. These family members were part of the Junior Latin Counts. These Latin Counts would come to Rockwell and Potomac and they played in a band together called “For Brothers Only.” The band lasted from 1970 until 1972. In the 70s, the Latin Counts were often party animals and loved to get around the city and hang out with various gangs including gangs they would later have rivalries with in later years. In some suburbs and areas of the city Latin Counts and MLDs have severe rivalries, but during more innocent times they were allies. The Latin Counts even used to hang with Simon City Royals back in the 70s.

January 18, 1972: The death of Albert Hernandez

When Albert Hernandez was still around, he was not only a leader, he was hard working and was well on his way to following in the footsteps of his mentor Big Vic. On the fateful day of January 18, 1972, Hernandez was working all day and then headed home to Rockwell and Potomac. When he arrived he walked into a scuffle between Latin Kings and Disciples. The reason for the commotion was one of the Polish members of the Disciples stopped some Latin Kings coming through Rockwell in Potomac wearing their sweaters which was an ultimate act of disrespect during these times. At that time the Latin Kings were becoming disorganized now that their leader was addicted to heroin along with many of the top leaders; therefore, many Latin Kings were using heroin and/or becoming ruthless with their behavior and this may have led to this act of disrespect. Hernandez intervened to cool the situation down but to also let the Kings know they were in the wrong. This was something the Latin Kings didn’t want to hear and a member drew a knife and stabbed Hernandez to death at Rockwell and Potomac. Albert Hernandez died before he turned 18 and his death shook the Disciples.

Once the murder happened, the Disciples wanted revenge but they were immediately overridden temporarily by Hernandez’s crazy cousin “Shakey” who was the founder and leader of the Milwaukee Kings. One does not tell Shakey no or to stand down because Shakey was mentally ill and could be reckless. Shakey had a terrible childhood and suffered abuse as a little boy which made him unhinged and unpredictable. Shakey was also a natural born leader and had much love for the Disciples and anyone in his family he loved. Shakey got together with one of his top guys and went out looking for Latin Kings days later. Shakey found four heavy hitter Latin Kings walking together down the street and both men pulled out guns and shot all four of theses Latin Kings killing two and wounding two others. The Kings Shakey took out were big time which caused their section to be closed. After Shakey got his revenge the Disciples got their revenge weeks later against the Kings, this started a full fledge war with Latin Kings turning Latin Kings into bigger enemies than the white gangs. Shakey got away with the murder after being acquitted of the crime but a few years later he killed someone else and ended up in prison until 2002.

The title of “King” was said to be what Hernandez wanted to call himself; however, when he was alive, the title of “King” did not exist within the Latin Disciples, that title was given to Hernandez after his death and he was known as “King Hitler.”  This also plays into the legends that Hernandez was a drug dealer and had his Disciples selling lots of drugs while Hernandez took a taxed amount from each member, the truth is Hernandez was not even a dealer, and the Disciples did not even start dealing drugs in high volume until years after his death.  Hernandez did not even open any new territory during his years, East Humboldt Park was all there was between 1966 and 1972.

The next era of leadership

After the death of Albert Hernandez, leadership of the Disciples was again split among Big Vic and a young Disciple. Jose “Freckles” Cedeno became the visible leader right before his 16^th birthday, but Cedeno had major leadership qualities and he became well versed in the drug game. Big Vic was still the behind the scenes leader trying to keep the guys in line but he needed to make his career and family more of a focus. Big Vic now had a masters degree or was close to getting one by 1972 and the job of running the Disciples needed to go to a younger leader.

The good standing with Latin Kings was now gone but those Latin Kings the Disciples once were allied to were either in prison, dead or left the life and moved away anyway by 1972.

I’m a Maniac!

Over time I have found that the memory and legend of Pete “The Burner” Correa is mostly forgotten because Correa was locked up in prison from 1973 until he died in Galesburg prison in 2005. Correa was an original Disciple since the beginning. In 1973, Correa was facing the judge for a violent crime he committed. The judge imposed a harsh punishment upon Correa and Correa complained to the judge about police treatment but the judge would not hear it and instead gave Correa more time behind bars for his insubordination. Legend has it that he told the judge in the midst of this argument “because I’m a maniac!” in response to a judge’s question. The Disciples adopted “Maniac” as their moniker after this incident referring to themselves as “Maniacs” to pay tribute to this and Pete standing up to the judge. “Maniac” started as more of a title for older members and was not really tagged on the walls much or represented as much. I Have seen a 1975 photo from Division and Rockwell with a tag that said “Maniac City.” I have also seen a tag from 1976 on a wall at Haddon and Washtenaw that said “Maniac Latin Disciples nation!” This is proof the “Maniac” was used as soon as it came out; however, “Latin Disciples” was mainly tagged and used.

West Humboldt Park

During their first decade of existence the Latin Disciples did not grow outside of the East Humboldt Park neighborhood. In 1975, some members began moving west of the park in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood in the last majority white area of West Humboldt Park. From Central Park Avenue to Kenton and from Bloomingdale Trail to Division the last of West Humboldt Park whites kept those streets as their own and Gaylords and Playboys made sure the area remained majority white in the early 70s as they battled Latin Kings. By the mid-70s the white gangs had given up their battle for those streets and the white residents moved out. Among the first Hispanic families that moved into this area of Humboldt Park were gang members from neighborhoods like Wicker Park, Lincoln Park, Logan Square and Uptown. Latin Kings were not welcome in this area when it was white and the gang members moving in by 1975 wanted to make sure Latin Kings stayed out. Spanish Cobras, Insane Unknowns, Imperial Gangsters and Latin Disciples all settled these streets and were mostly allied against Latin Kings and Insane Unknowns. By 1976 these groups all had established sections in northwest West Humboldt Park. Latin Disciples started out at Avers and Division. The Maniac Latin Disciples would become a permanent part of West Humboldt Park for decades to come and they fought Latin Kings heavily then went against Spanish Cobras and Imperial Gangsters in 90s and later, but the MLDs have long been a part of this community since 1976.

Y.L.O

In the year 1970, the Young Lords activist organization created the “Young Latino Organization” or “Y.L.O.” as a way to organize young men and youths to work toward betterment of the Puerto Rican community in the Lincoln Park community. In the mid-70s the Young Lords faced turmoil and began to break up as members moved out of Lincoln Park. Some of these Young Lords moved to West Humboldt Park alongside the many Puerto Rican families moving from Lincoln Park into West Humboldt Park in 1975/1976. Young Lords were notoriously allied with Latin Kings in Lincoln Park since the late 60s but when they arrived in West Humboldt Park in the mid-70s they were not associating with the Latin Kings of Humboldt Park instead they were hanging out with Spanish Cobras and Latin Disciples and teaching them about YLO. These YLO concepts were embraced by the Disciples and in West Humboldt Park these concepts were introduced the same year the Disciples made Avers and Division their new section in 1976. YLO became part of the Disciples and Spanish Cobras in West Humboldt Park and on both sides of the park Disciples and Cobras were teaming up whether they were YLO or not. In current years it is hard to imagine Spanish Cobras and Maniac Latin Disciples as allies but it was real in the 70s and 80s.

By 1980, YLO became separate organizations that are notoriously known as YLO Cobras and YLO Disciples, but YLO was not needed by Spanish Cobras and Latin Disciples by then as Spanish Cobras and Maniac Latin Disciples became really close as allies without it.

Wicker Park

Around 1977, some Latin Disciples moved out of Humboldt Park and arrived in the Wicker Park community which was a neighborhood with many enemies like Spanish Lords, Warlords, Insane Unknowns and Latin Kings. Disciples were able to establish a new section at Ashland Avenue and Blackhawk Street and they were a force to be reckoned with. Ashland and Blackhawk was the first Disciple section outside of Humboldt Park area.

The United Latino Organization

In many ways, the Latin Disciples were still a lot like a movement more so than a gang in the 70s and further evidence of this was when Spanish Cobras, Maniac Latin Disciples, Imperial Gangsters and Latin Eagles came together in an alliance called “United Latino Organization” or “U.L.O.” ULO in 1978 was a big deal in the late 70s until Insane, Maniac and Almighty concepts then later Folks concepts overshadowed ULO.

Avondale

The Avondale neighborhood was once a highly coveted neighborhood by white gangs since the 1950s. The Simon City Royals and Gaylords eventually moved into this community in the 70s and Insane Popes were founded on these streets since the beginning of the 60s. These streets could be dangerous for Hispanic youths due the white gangs not wanting larger amounts of Hispanics in their neighborhood. Hispanic families began moving to Avondale in the late 70s and there was racial tensions. At Kedzie and Barry young teenage Hispanic youths were fighting Simon City Royals from Christiana and Wellington who were known to be racist towards Hispanic youths. The boys put together a crew called the “Brands Park Party Boys” because they loved to party hard and hang out at Brands Park. The Insane Popes had left Brands Park by 1978 and the party crew got the park before any white gangs could. “Karate Chino” got in contact with Latin Disciples from Rockwell and Potomac and asked Prince Chi Chi if they could all become Maniac Latin Disciples on the streets of Avondale, this permission was granted and Latin Disciples formed at Kedzie and Barry in 1978. “Moe” and “Froggy” became the section leaders for Kedzie and Barry. These Disciples did not disappoint and became a tough section that would grow into a very large area of Avondale. Disciples began congregating at Barry and California and if they were old enough, they would drink at the Beers Down bar at Barry and California. Disciples would eventually grow to conquer this entire piece of Avondale from Addison Street to I-90 and from California to Kedzie. Starting in 1978, the Disciples was the gang most Hispanic youths joined in Avondale and all other Hispanic gangs like Spanish Cobras, Latin Kings and Spanish Lords could ever grow to even half the size the MLDs have had in Avondale for decades.

Original members of the Kedzie and Barry MLDs were: Chino, Clyde, Polaco, Sinbad, Cobra, Godfather, Drunko, Rican, Preacher, Flaco, Tank, Crazy Fro, Lil Man, and Wiz.

The death of Chi Chi

Shortly after Kedzie and Barry was established Prince Chi Chi was shot and killed by a member of the Insane Unknowns named Miguel Vargas in 1978 who was arrested for the crime and tried in juvenile court, he didn’t do much time.  The Disciples were infuriated over this murder and were now in a full scale war with the Insane Unknowns.

The end of the East Humboldt Park Latin Kings

When the Maniac Latin Disciples first started in the later 60s they were on good terms and older Latin Kings sponsored the original Disciples for their sports teams at Von Humboldt school. These Latin Kings once ruled East Humboldt Park after they flipped the Noble Knights (not the white Cicero gang) in 1966. Some heavy hitting big time Kings once ran Maplewood Park but once war erupted with Disciples in the early 70s it made for a tough existence for Latin Kings. When war began with Spanish Cobras in the 70s it became even worse. By 1978, Latin King existence in Maplewood Park began to face heavy challenges once Spanish Cobras and Latin Disciples became really tight allies. The drug business the Disciples and Cobras were running also made both groups extra vicious toward Latin Kings. The biggest leader for the Latin Kings Julio “Compa” Munoz was put in prison for good and that hurt operations for Latin Kings. Between 1978 and 1979, Disciples and Cobras started using lethal force against the Latin Kings using heavy amounts of guns. Major shootouts in East Humboldt Park became common between 1978 and 1979. The Spanish Cobras began to focus on the Insane Unknowns in 1979 but the Disciples kept hammering the Latin Kings until the Latin Kings of Maplewood park closed the chapter for good.

Prince Freckles

Jose Cedeno also known as “Freckles” was a major figure in the Latin Disciples in the 70s. Freckles joined the Disciples at a young age and by the time Albert Hernandez was killed, Cedeno was already learning how to traffic cocaine and heroin. Old 1980 newspapers I have posted even said Cedeno’s mother was in the drug business with him. Freckles was the visible leader in the 70s while Big Vic still was the behind the scenes leader. In 1978, Freckles took drug operations at Rockwell and Potomac to a whole new level as he formed a drive up drug business that quickly caught the attention of the police but these Disciples were not discreet, they openly sold drugs and approached vehicles holding a tire iron in case a buyer tried to drive off then the Disciple would smash a window then shoot at the car as it would leave.

At this point in time Jose “Prince Freckles” Cedeno  was running a major drug ring at Rockwell and Potomac thanks to the connections of Latin Disciple Hugo “Juice” Herrera who had ties to the notorious Herrera family drug cartel, which eventually brought Police attention by October of 1979 (Southern Illinoisian P 22, July 17 1980).  Juice was a Latin Disciple from Kedzie and Barry so the real connection came from the Avondale section and not from Rockwell and Potomac even though the operation took place at the Twilight Zone.

1 year earlier on the 4th of July 1979 Cedeno was arrested for running a drug ring at the same corner of Rockwell and Potomac along with two other street corners Washtenaw and Hirsch and at Evergreen and Wastenaw in cooperation with the Spanish Cobras.  18 members of both gangs were arrested but they got away with it as “Prince Freckles” was able to restart up his operation months later, once again based on Rockwell and Potomac, but in 1980 he was actually convicted (Chicago Tribune, July 5, 1979 Page 3).  This showed now the Latin Disciples were heavily in the drug business, Freckles was the one that started the Latin Disciples on a path of highly complex drug operations and made the Latin Disciples regard Rockwell and Potomac even more as a sacred corner. 

Cedeno would spend a lot of time behind bars for this drug trafficking. Cedeno spent all the 1980s in prison and possibly all through the 90s. When Cedeno got out he hooked up the Miami drug connection for the Maniacs but this business got him crossed up with the Cartel too deep and in the 2000s Cedeno was shot and killed by the Cartel. Cedeno is remembered for enhancing the business side of the Maniacs and was the main one that got Rockwell and Potomac jumping with cocaine and heroin sales.

It was during this era of drug trafficking that started in 1978 that Big Vic stepped away from the scene leaving the organization in Cedeno’s hands entirely until Cedeno was imprisoned in 1980.

The Maniac family

In the year 1979, the Latin Disciples extended business with their allies and preached to them the advantages to being “Maniac.” Maniac was once just for the biggest and oldest Latin Disciples in the 70s but now it would be shared with their allies. This alliance meant they would help each other and even get involved in the dope business together if need being. The Latin Disciples turned the Maniac name into an alliance name, a family, of organizations from East Humboldt Park, Logan Square, and Wicker Park. Milwaukee Kings, Latin Lovers, Latin Stylers, and Latin Jivers all joined the Maniacs which was a bond that would be in effect for years. This did not mean these groups tagged “Maniac” on the walls or even repped it, it just meant they were allies in the family. This was a historic move but the Disciples and Spanish Cobras would not be in the same family. Cobras and Disciples respected each other but could not be in the same family for business reasons; however, Maniac and Insane were tight allies that would still work together and come to each other’s aid at times.

The origin of the heart with wings and horns symbol comes from the creation of Maniac as a family in 1979. From 1979 and forward the Maniacs used the heart to symbolize the love of the Maniac family, Milwaukee Kings, Latin Lovers, Latin Stylers and later Maniac Campbell Boys all used the heart with wings in their symbols until Latin Lovers and Milwaukee Kings left the Maniacs years later.

The U.P.C.I

In the year 1980, the Latin Disciples from the Wicker Park area went into an alliance with the Ashland Vikings and other allies in the area. The Ashland Viking founder and leader “Puncher” created the “U.P.C.I” which stood for “United Patriots Creating Identity.” This was a coming together for all the top leaders of these groups to improve their community and look out for the people. The alliance consisted of Ashland Vikings, Spanish Cobras, Harrison Gents, Latin Disciples, Satan Disciples and Milwaukee Kings. This alliance stayed in effect until 1987 when war erupted between Harrison Gents, Satan Disciples, Milwaukee Kings and Ashland Vikings.

The Folk Nation

Since 1978, the gangs that would later become known as “Folks” began congregating and looking out for each other behind bars with the Black Gangster Disciples leading the way. In 1979, they began calling themselves “Folks” and in 1980, the coalition was given structure and a constitution. This coalition was formed behind bars. Leadership of the ULO allies got together with south side Hispanic gangs and together, Maniac Latin Disciples, Spanish Cobras, Satan Disciples, Imperial Gangsters, Latin Eagles, Ambrose, Two Six, Two Two Boys, Ridgeway Lords, Saints, Orquestra Albany, Insane Dragons, Harrison Gents, Milwaukee Kings, Latin Lovers and Latin Stylers and others created the “Latin Folks” that was meant for the Hispanic gangs that were Folks. This was a governance within the Folks that Larry Hoover gave his blessing to. The Maniac Latin Disciples had a high chair on the board of the Folks because they originally came from the Disciple nation.

Prince Fernie

After Jose Cedeno went to prison in 1980, Fernando “Prince Fernie” Zayas took over the street operations for the Disciples. Fernie picked up where Freckles left off, immersing the Disciples into the drug trade. Some believe Fernie was a founder, this is not true because Fernie was born in 1961 and was not an original member. When Fernie took over the nation he was only 19 years old.

Prince Chi Chi, who was one of the most notorious pee wee leaders in MLD history was shot to death in 1979 by the Insane Unknowns. Chi Chi was the cousin of Johnny “Loco” Almovodar who was another notorious MLD leader. On July 2, 1983 Prince Fernie wanted to let the Insane Unknowns know that he did not forgotten about Ramon Prince Chi Chi Vasquez.  Zayas even had a tattoo on his left hand that says “Chi Chi rest in peace.”

On Friday night July 1, 1983 Zayas and his friends were partying it up when word was that Miguel Vargas was in the area hanging out with his friends out on the porch watching T.V. after 1 A.M. that night. Zayas hated Vargas because back in 1978 Vargas, then 15 years old, shot and killed Prince Chi Chi.  In 1979 Vargas pleaded guilty to the murder in juvenile court; however, he was back on the streets by 1983 and Zayas was gunning for him to avenge Chi Chi.  On that Friday night/Saturday morning Zayas and Jose “Baby” Rodriguez and two others took a car from Juanita Rodriguez without her knowing.  The car pulled up to the apartments at 1438 west Catalpa in the Andersonville section of the Edgewater neighborhood where Vargas was with his two friends Ruben Gutierrez, 20 years old, and Luis Cuaresma, 17 years old were watching the outdoor T.V. on the first floor and conversing.  Zayas and one other Latin Disciple got out of the car and fired several shots at the three on the porch.  The main target Miguel Vargas was killed at the scene along with one other and the third died at a nearby hospital.  Zayas and the MLDs got their revenge for the killing and celebrated later that night (People V. Zayas 1989) (Chicago Tribune July 3, 1983, page 3).  At first, the Latin Disciples got away with the killing until later that month witnesses started coming forward and saying they either saw Zayas do the killing or they heard him brag about it which all led to Zayas getting arrested by August and got him convicted of murder and sentenced to two life sentences.

After imprisonment, Zayas became the main leader of the Maniac Latin Disciples behind bars and on the streets. Zayas would be locked up for several years until he was finally released. Fernie ran the overall nation from 1980 until at least the late 90s.

Keystone & Cortland

The Hermosa neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago was once a highly coveted white neighborhood with many greaser gangs. By the 1970s, the neighborhood became full of white gangs that wanted to preserve the community as a majority white neighborhood. These gangs were often brutal and they prevented Hispanics from heavily moving in both in the mid-60s and mid-70s. By the mid-70s the neighborhood was ripe with Gaylords, Taylor Jousters, Playboys, Ventures and Freaks. The Imperial Gangsters were the first Hispanic gang to form in this community but by the early 80s they were not faring well in their war against the white gangs.

The first successful Hispanic club in Hermosa would be the Maniac Latin Disciples who arrived in the year 1980 at the intersection of Keystone and Cortland and moved into the apartment buildings on that corner. These Disciples fought hard against Gaylords, Freaks, Jousters and PVPs but their biggest fight was against the Gaylords that came down on them heavily. The white gangs of Hermosa were some of the hardest white gang members in the city and they teamed up on the Disciples. The Disciples were the only Hispanic club in Hermosa in the early 80s besides what was left of the Imperial Gangsters. The Disciples of Keystone and Cortland lived on and because of this section more Disciple sections opened up in the neighborhood as the years passed but Cortland and Keystone was the first. This area around Cortland and Keystone is now known as “Killa City.”

Belmont – Cragin

I am not totally sure of the exact year or the exact street corner the Maniac Latin Disciples of Belmont-Cragin arrived but I strongly believe they were one of the first Hispanic gangs to arrive in 1980 and I think they started at Mobile and Dickens but not sure. One thing for sure is this northwest side neighborhood was filled with white gangs in the early 80s like Gaylords, Playboys and Taylor Jousters that were all allies and teamed up against Hispanics. The Spanish Cobras formed on these streets in 1980 and the Maniacs started not too long after in the 80s. The story of Belmont-Cragin is very much like the story of Hermosa and just like Hermosa, the Maniacs of Belmont-Cragin became really deep over time and have had a large presence in the community for decades.

Maniacs in the suburbs

Between 1979 and 1982, the state of Illinois determined that prisons were overcrowded and since our nation was in a terrible economic recession, the state decided to “force release” several prisoners to ease tax burdens and prison crowding. This program let out several gang leaders and original members that often needed to relocate to the suburbs because half way houses were put inside of old apartment and townhouse complexes in the Cook County, Will County, Du Page County and Lake County suburbs. When these guys moved to these areas they often formed suburban chapters of their gang or kids in the neighborhood just declared themselves to be members after hearing the older guys’ stories and the older guys just allowed it. The Maniac Latin Disciples were one of the biggest settlers of the suburbs as far back as the early 80s and they established many permanent homes in these towns and cities for decades to come. Since the 2000s decade the Maniac Latin Disciples have become one of the largest growing gangs in the Chicago suburbs as they opened in some suburbs for the first time in the 2000s and 2010s. The Maniac Latin Disciples are a large part of the Chicago area suburbs.

The Kane County connection

During the Illinois forced prison release era of the early 80s Maniac Latin Disciple gang members who were released from prison or moved to the suburbs to escape the Prince Freckles led Rockwell and Potomac police drug crackdown found settlement in the cornfield suburbs of Kane County. In Aurora and Elgin there had been a hard core heroin operation since the early 70s that was connected to drug cartels. The Maniac Latin Disciples had ties to the Herrera drug cartel family and this link traced into Elgin and Aurora. Maniac Latin Disciples became one of the first Chicago gangs to set up in Elgin, Aurora and Carpentersville in the year 1980 as they battled Latin Kings, Vice Lords and Insane Deuces that were settling these same suburbs at the same time. Maniac Latin Disciples have become a major presence of all three of these Kane County suburbs since the early 80s and will likely stay in this area.

The city of Elgin has even put up lawsuits against the Maniac Latin Disciples in 2012 because of all the heavy gangbanging.

Prospect Heights

Prospect Heights is usually a suburb one would think wouldn’t be the home of Chicago street gangs because most of the community is a regular town with no gang activity and low crime. In the late 60s and early 70s, in an unincorporated part of Prospect Heights a cluster of apartments, condos and townhouses were built in an area that was mostly isolated from the rest of the village in order to keep renters away from the home owners. This plan backfired in the early 80s when these complexes became section 8 and depreciated in value. The area could not handle the growing crime because it was unincorporated Cook County and not part of the town of Prospect Heights accept by mailing address only. Chicago gangs built up a strong hold in these complexes, especially in the Wimbledon apartments and the Country Pines apartments. The Wimbledon apartments were built for the poor as those were built in the early 80s.

This unincorporated area became the home to several different Chicago gangs, especially Spanish Cobras. Maniac Latin Disciples moved into Country Pines, Wimbledon and in the Willow Falls and Willow Woods condos. Although the Maniacs were not the biggest gang in this area they were strategic enough to survive several generations since the early 80s. I found an old article in the Arlington Heights Daily Herald from November 12, 1989, that interviewed 15 year old Juan who was a Maniac Latin Disciple, the article also showed a MLD pitchfork tag from these apartments on a door. I have heard legends of these Maniacs since the 80s going at it heavily with Latin Kings. When the Spanish Gangster Disciples moved into Wimbledon (Piper Lane) they would become enemies with Maniac Latin Disciples, but the MLDs remain in this area into present day.

King Arthur and the Jungle

In the suburbs of Franklin Park and Northlake, Hispanic youths struggled in these suburbs as they took up residence for the first time in the late 70s and early 80s along the Grand Avenue corridor apartments and condos between King Arthur Courts in Northlake and “The Jungle” area of Franklin Park. These became rough and high crime apartments, condos and townhouses in the late 70s and the Latin Kings took over The Jungle in the late 70s. Around 1979-1980 Imperial Gangsters moved into The Jungle along with Maniac Latin Disciples as these groups were a way to be in a gang against the Latin Kings. There was not much else to do for these youths because the villages of Northlake and Franklin Park kept them isolated and excluded them as did he schools. Latin Kings in The Jungle were predatory and vicious; therefore, many kids turned to Maniacs and IGs. King Arthur Courts also was big with Maniacs in the 80s. The Maniacs may not have survived the 80s but they were part of the take down of The Jungle Latin Kings that also died out in the late 80s.

Hanover Park

In the year 1985, the affordable apartments, condos and townhouses in Hanover Park became section 8 and became the home of many families migrating from Chicago. Most of these families were Hispanic and African American. Just like many other mostly white middle-class suburbs, Hispanic and black youths struggled with alienation and discrimination; therefore, boredom and poverty drew them to join the gangs that formed in the apartment, condo and townhouse subdivisions in Hanover Park. These complexes were mostly isolated from the single family homes making the gang issue mostly invisible. Maniac Latin Disciples were among the first Chicago gangs to move to Hanover Park in 1985 along with Spanish Cobras, Gangster Disciples, Conservative Vice Lords and Latin Kings. Maniac Latin Disciples gangbanged heavily in this suburb for about 10 years and they claimed territory in the Tanglewood condos until they left around 1995.

Erie & Wood

The intersection of Erie Street and Wood Street was a storied intersection since the mid-60s when the Lazy Gents formed on this corner and held down this hood for about 10 years. After the Gents left the area because the territory of Mighty Grand for the rest of the 70s. In the year 1985, Hispanic families moved into this area and Maniac Latin Disciples moved in alongside them. These Maniacs were active and strong in this area until the 2000s decade. This is a storied section of the MLDs that is still talked about today.

Earliest origin of he Insane and Maniac war: 1985

Beginning in the year 1985, bad blood first started brewing within the north side Folks which began the background for what would later come as all ULO allied gangs would eventually split.  In the year 1985, Imperial Gangsters began to feud among themselves as Spaulding and Armitage IGs began conflicting with IGs from Kimball and Cortland.  Imperial Gangsters from Kimball and Cortland under the leadership of “Tea Bags” were put together when they collaborated with Crazy Willie of the Spanish Cobras to open a section together known as “Cobra Gangsters” or “CGs.”  This did not sit well with IGs from Spaulding and Armitage, so Fat Jose from the Spaulding and Armitage IGs worked with “Pee Wee” of the Maniac Latin Disciples to create the Gangster Disciples or GDs (no relation to the Gangster Disciples gang).  This was a brief war that resulted in the SGD board stepping in to resolve this issue in 1986.  Even though this was resolved it started the beginning of bitterness between the ULO allies.  As a result of this Talman and Wabansia MLDs were formed and Western and Cortez Imperial Gangsters were formed in the aftermath.

Talman & Wabansia

After the feud between Cobra Gangsters and Gangster Disciples, an agreement was reached that put Imperial Gangsters at Western and Cortez and Maniac Latin Disciples at Talman and Wabansia in 1986. Maniacs had been hanging out at Talman and Wabansia for years before it became official. The founders of Talman and Wabansia had deep family ties within the Maniacs and one of the main ones of this bloodline was the cousin of Chi Chi, Johnny “Loco D” Almodovar who was 16 years old at the time. Loco was practically born into the Maniac lifestyle since he was very young joining in the early 80s at Talman and Wabansia. Enrique Ricky “Prince Rick Dog” Garcia founded Talman and Wabansia in 1986 while Loco was in charge of the younger Maniacs at this section. This section became notorious and branched out into other areas of the city and suburbs because it was one of the top Maniac sections. This section is known as “T-Dubb” and it only closed due to gentrification but not until the 2010s. TW got priced out by wealthy yuppies.

Chino’s Boys

I am not real clear on the issue at this time but there was a feud within the Maniacs back in the 80s, probably around 1986 around the time when Talman and Wabansia was started. “Chino D” was a big time Maniac Latin Disciple in the 70s and was from Rockwell and Potomac. There was a falling out between Chino D and Prince Freckles and because of this Chino formed his own section at North Avenue and Lawndale in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood. Shortly after Chino formed his group called “Chino’s Boys” Chino D was shot down by fellow Maniac Latin Disciples in the late 80s which left him paralyzed from the waste down until his death in the 2000s. It was said that Freckles ordered the shooting from behind bars. The Chino’s Boys lasted until around the time Chino passed away. Hopefully, in time, I will get more of the story of this old feud between Maniacs when I previously thought they never had a feud within their own nation until the mid-90s.

The Chino’s Boys opened other sections in the city for some time but by the early 2000s they were shut down. Chino D passed away in the 2000s which might be why his sections closed.

The little brothers fight: the next origin of the Insane and Maniac war

starting in 1987, newer Spanish Cobras and Latin Disciples did not get along as well as the older members of each gang.  Fist fights would break out and other kinds of drama between both gangs that older members completely avoided, instead the older members organized the conflicts.  The older members would bring the younger members into a school yard and let them have a big brawl to get all the frustrations out then after that there was peace.  It was sort of like being a parent having young siblings that don’t get along, make them fight it out and then shake hands afterward.  This was a great way of keeping YLO/ULO Folks intact but it was still concerning that the younger members of Cobras and Disciples were having these conflicts to begin with but for these next 5 years this is how conflicts were effectively resolved.

John Coonley School Yard

In the year 1987, “Nay” of the Maniac Latin Disciples began his own section in the North Center neighborhood outside the John C. Coonley School. This became one of he most ferocious sections in MLD history and these guys were known to be tough warriors. These guys had to be tough because they were surrounded by Latin Kings all around them. This area was so ripe with Latin Kings it was known as “King Town.” This section of MLDs lasted until 1995 when the JC MLDs moved to Logan Square.

Beach & Paulina

The first Maniacs in the Wicker Park area were the Maniacs of Ashland & Blackhawk that settled there in the late 70s, but by 1987, that section was fading into a new area two blocks away. Thomas “Outlaw” Ross, a legendary Maniac Latin Disciple from Rockwell and Potomac was the founder of Beach and Paulina in the year 1987. This MLD section would last many years until the mid 2010s when gentrification became too overwhelming, once again yuppies priced MLDs out of the hood.

Streamwood: McKool Avenue

Streamwood was always a simple town from the time when it was first developed in the 50s and 60s all the way to present years. Because of the inexpensive construction of Streamwood, the town was always home to budget minded and sometimes lower income families. In the year 1988, Streamwood was added to the map for Hispanic and African American migration from Chicago of impoverished families looking for affordable housing in Streamwood’s apartments and condos. The Woodland Heights East condominium complex became especially friendly to these struggling families especially since they began offering section 8 housing by the late 80s. Frustration with each other and with the middle-class white families brought friction to these families that caused the youths in these families to attach themselves to the Chicago gangs they moved away from. The Maniac Latin Disciples were one of the gangs to move to Woodland Heights in 1988 and recruit quite well in this area. Maniacs in Streamwood battled Latin Kings, Vice Lords and Future Stones (later Familia Stones) in this area up and down McKool Avenue. Maniacs also branched over by Vine Park in the village. MLDs had their strongest point along McKool Avenue from the late 80s until the mid-late 90s, but they may still remain near Vine Park.

Wauktown

Waukegan has had Chicago gangs since around 1980 but the oldest Chicago gangs were African American gangs that were in the areas on the south side near the projects. With the exception of groups like Orquestra Albany, the village did not have Hispanic gangs until white flight intensified further on the south side paving the way for Hispanic families to move in and many came from Chicago. Many Hispanic youths needed to knuckle up against large African American gangs and big Hispanic groups like Latin Kings; therefore, Prince Rick Dog was asked to grant permission from Talman and Wabansia to start a chapter of Maniacs in Waukegan in about 1989. This would be an area the Maniacs would call “Death Valley.” The heart of this region was at the intersection of Park Avenue and Water Street.

The Maniac Latin Disciples have been a large presence on the streets of Waukegan for decades and have battled Latin Kings and Insane Unknowns heavily for these streets for decades. This is the town known as “Wauktown” to the gangs.

War with Imperial Gangsters

in 1989, the relations with Maniacs were mostly tight as only the usual skirmishes among the younger members were the worst thing to happen with fellow Folks.  Things got very serious in 1989 when a argument happened at a party with the Western and Cortez Imperial Gangsters.  One of the MLDs got into it with “Flaco G” of the Imperial Gangsters and this led to the MLD shooting Flaco G dead at the party.  Angry feelings ensued but a war was not initiated as an agreement was reached.  The real anger came months later when another MLD shot and killed another Imperial Gangster and the IGs threatened war if MLDs did not turn over the shooter, the MLDs refused and this started a very nasty war between Maniac Latin Disciples and Imperial Gangsters.  This became the first major Folk against Folk war on the northern part of the city.

The war with the Western and Cortez Imperial Gangsters was nasty over the next two years as several shootings went down between them.  Very frequently Western and Cortez Imperial Gangsters would take shots at MLDs right after school at nearby Roberto Clemente High School, this led to “Flintstone G” of the Imperial Gangsters making an attempted assassination until he ran out of bullets then he ran home and cut through the gangway at Augusta and Cortez where an MLD was waiting in the alley for him and shot him dead.

At about New Years Eve of 1991, going into 1992, the Imperial Gangster and Maniac Latin Disciple war ended for the time being, but eventually both gangs would go back to war city-wide and it has been brutal since then.

Melrose Park

Since the mid-70s, Melrose Park mainly had just one Chicago gang and that was the Latin Kings. Other than Latin Kings, the only serious gangs to develop in the village in the earlier 80s were party crew type of mobs like the Be Be Kings and Unknown Assassins. At the end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s, another influx of Hispanic families moved into the apartment buildings near North Avenue replacing the white residents that once lived there. Latin Kings and Be Be Kings moved into these apartments but some elements of other Chicago gangs moved into the North Avenue apartments as well like Two Two Boys and Spanish Lords, but none of these new arrivals were as successful as the Maniac Latin Disciples that arrived in the early 90s. These MLDs became one of the heaviest forces to be reckoned with for Latin Kings and Be Bes. The issue with these MLDs is they made too much noise which got them targeted by the aggressive Melrose Park police, by 1995, these MLDs had gone extinct but their presence has never been forgotten.

Bellwood

In the early 90s Maniacs started a section in Bellwood right on the border of Bellwood and Berkeley. The far west side of Bellwood was the last area of town that was majority white. As Hispanic families started moving into this area in the early 90s a gang clash began as Latin Counts and Latin Kings moved in. Maniac Latin Disciples and Unknown Assassins recruited among white and Hispanic youths to fight back against Kings and Counts. MLDs were at 52^nd and Oak and they at least existed well into the 2000s

Bolingbrook

I am adding in Bolingbrook to this page because I have a little first hand knowledge about the Bolingbrook MLDs. When I was a kid in the 90s I heard of MLDs in Bolingbrook. These MLDs started in Bolingbrook in the early 90s and I had heard they were at Hadleigh and Ashbury; however, I remember there was a nice sized MLD tag at Boughton and Pinecrest right behind Mr. Ts within a strip mall that still stands. The tag was there for decades, when I used to work at the strip mall right across the street I would see the faded out letters, especially he letter “M.” This is the same area as Hadleigh and Ashbury but it a good amount of blocks away. These MLDs likely tagged to warn the Conservative Vice Lords from the Innsbrook apartments that once stood near there. By the time I was working in that area and living in Bolingbrook in the 2000s, I think the MLDs were gone by then and were just a thing of the 90s.

Rockford

On December 8, 1992, the Rockford Register Star reported that the “Maniac Latin Disciples” were a new gang in the village that committed over 40 crimes that mainly included auto theft and burglary. This was the begging of a permanent legacy of MLDs in Rockford. This was the same year Satan Disciples and Latin Counts formed in Rockford on the southeast side. MLDs started at 17^th Avenue and 10^th Street in apartment buildings on that corner. These MLDs have made noise on the southeast side for decades since 1992 and are a permanent part of Rockford.

The first Insane and Maniac war

In 1992, the skirmishes between Insanes and Maniacs became even more frequent and it boiled into the first major war between Cobras and Disciples as a series of shootouts happened for two days straight that was bad enough to make it on the news.  The war was stopped once older members put an end to it.

Another bad incident happened in April of 1992 when MLDs accused Orlando of the Spanish Cobras of selling them bad drugs, MLDs swiftly got vengeance by shooting Orlando to death which started a major riot in the streets between Cobras and Disciples that went on for two days and even made the news.  The Kedzie and Barry MLDs were the ones involved on the Disciple side.  The guns blazed all around Logan Square for those two days as both gangs were hitting each other hard back and forth until it was resolved.

Maniac is absolute

After the first major Insane and Maniac war early in the year 1992, Maniac Latin Disciples and Spanish Cobras each made their monikers dominating over their own gang titles and over their allies’ titles. “Maniac” used to be a looser term meant mainly for older members or the Maniacs at Rockwell and Potomac. Maniac allies were known to be part of the Maniac family but they did not show “Maniac” before their original names. The cost of being a Maniac now was pricier; therefore, if your mob was to be bonded by Maniac, you had to show it before your name. Milwaukee Kings were now “Maniac Milwaukee Kings,” Latin Lovers were now “Maniac Latin Lovers,” Latin Stylers were “Maniac Latin Stylers,” Latin Jivers were “Maniac Latin Jivers” and then there were the Maniac Campbell Boys. This was not only a mandatory name use it also meant to be “ride or die” together and when they needed each other for assistance during wars they had to come to each other’s aid even against other Folks. Insanes now had the same set up; however, Insanes and Maniacs remained allies too but no longer had any obligation to each other, they were more of just party type of pals.

As of 1992, the term “Latin Disciples” was dead and all MLDs were now “Maniac Latin Disciples.” All these Maniac declarations were handed down by Fernando Zayas while he was locked up in prison.

The second Insane and Maniac war

In November of 1993 the friction between Maniacs and Insanes boiled over some more after conflict exploded at a party at a corner house at California and Cortez in the East Humboldt Park neighborhood.  The Spanish Cobras and all their Insane family allies decided to throw a massive party that went into the late hours of the night.  The party was mainly thrown by Spanish Cobras, YLO Cobras, Insane Campbell Boys and Insane Dragons.  A live DJ was spinning that night and a dance floor was full of activity as the DJ spun away into the night while everyone was drinking and having a good time.  As the night progressed Maniac Latin Disciples from Thomas and Washtenaw (Murder Town MLDs) heard about the party since they were just a few blocks away.  The Disciples felt they had ownership of California and Cortez and figured they can crash any party they want at any time and that’s exactly what happened.  These MLDs came to the party uninvited and began dancing on the dance floor in a cocky way while waiving pistols in the air and showing them off.  All the Insanes were bothered right away by this cocky behavior and began griping to each other about how it was disrespectful but these MLDs felt it was disrespectful to have a party in their territory without an invite.  Some main members of the Spanish Cobras now gathered at the doorway which prompted one of the MLDs to act even more cocky while waving his pistol around.  The Cobras then threatened the MLDs and this prompted MLDs to gather reinforcements of their own and from allies, the Cobras followed suit.  Soon several members of the Spanish Cobras, YLO Cobras, Insane Dragons and Insane Campbell Boys gathered with guns in hand on one side of the street, while several Maniac Latin Disciples, YLO Disciples, Maniac Campbell Boys and Latin Jivers gathered on the opposite side of the street with guns in hand too.  Both sides gathered up while hurling insults and shouting at each other until there were about 150 gang members on each side of the street on each side, totaling 300 gang members in total!  By 3:30 in the morning the shouting conflict got violent as the guns started sparking and a violent gun fight ensued that last five minutes.  One of the Insane Dragons even began firing an Uzi at the Maniacs.  Store windows were being shot to pieces and cars roved the intersection doing drive by shootings at the crowds, the scene was total anarchy and chaos to the point that the Chicago police were too scared to show up. The crowds soon disbursed as they continued to blast at each other and this broke the violence into pockets all around the vicinity as you could hear gun shots echoing from all around.  It took the police nearly an hour to show up just after the Insane Dragons made another trip thundering down California looking for more MLDs to shoot at.  Several people were shot that night and the bad blood was becoming worse between Maniacs and Insanes, however, surprisingly after this gun battle peace came back upon the Maniacs and Insanes.

In the fall of 1993, MLDs gunned down “Fred Dog” of the Insane Campbell Boys as they shot his car up.  MLDs had staked him out before the shooting and knew what streets he would pass each morning.  After the shooting Insane Campbell Boys retaliated by shooting two MLDs dead from two different neighborhoods.  MLDs retaliated by killing “Sunny Boy” of the Insane Dragons.  MLDs opened Sunny Boy’s window to his bedroom and shot him while he slept.

It is surprising war was stopped after all this bloodshed in 1993.

The death of Wolfie D and the third Insane and Maniac war

After all these shootings another peace treaty between Maniacs and Insanes was established but bitter feelings were still there.  In one incident just before the peace treaty in January of 1994, Nelson “Wolfie” Vargas attacked an Insane Campbell Boy named “Polaco” by shooting him until the gun jammed.  The shooting crippled Polaco’s fingers and after the gun jammed Wolfie pistol whipped him, Polaco was infuriated.

In Februrary 1994 the Insane and Maniac peace treaty was in full swing and the incident where Wolfie shot Polaco was to be put to rest and Polaco was not allowed to take revenge but he simply wouldn’t let it go.  One February afternoon after school let out at Roberto Clemente High School Wolfie was approached by Polaco that he shot a month prior.  Polaco showed his messed up fingers from the shooting and pulled out a gun.  Polaco was accompanied by Spanish Cobra gang members that did not expect Polaco to pull out his gun and confront Wolfie like this.  Wolfie started laughing at his fingers.  Polaco instantly became enraged and started shooting Wolfie but Wolfie kept on laughing even as the bullets tore into him.  Lots of people witnessed the shooting as there were several people standing out front and Wolfie continued to laugh at his shooter until he passed away.  The MLDs blamed the Cobras for the shooting because Cobras were standing right next to the Insane Campbell Boy shooter and this caused violence between Cobras and Disciples once again but it died down once the Cobras forced the Insane Campbell Boys to disband due to breaking the treaty.

The fourth Insane and Maniac war

In late 1994 or maybe early 1995, another war sparked off between Spanish Cobras and Maniac Latin Disciples that lasted two weeks and once again it was squashed but again this was another example of how relations were crumbling.

55^th and Talman

In the year 1994, the Erie and Wood MLDs ended up at odds with their allies the Satan Disciples in the West Town neighborhood. Bullets flew and bodies dropped and the hardest MLDs pulled no punches which got them heavily targeted by the police. Erie and Wood did not shut down until the 2000s but the main guys needed to leave the area and find a new home.

The Gage Park community on Chicago’s south side was filled with Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings, Two Six, Insane Guess Boys, Satan Disciples and Party People. This community became a gang war zone by 1994 and the Maniac Latin Disciples were now boldly hanging out at 55^th and Talman. Two Six and Latin Kings were in this neighborhood and these Maniacs were putting work in against them heavily. The Two Sixs went into an arrangement with Hispanic members of the Gangster Disciples from the north side and the Two Sixs gave up their land to the GDs or moved west into the West Lawn and west Marquette Park area. Maniac Latin Disciples at 55^th and Talman got really deep starting in the mid 90s and by around the year 2000, the MLDs were one of the biggest gangs in Gage Park until they went extinct in 2009. These MLDs had a hell of a legacy.

Paisa Land

In the Logan Square community, the Maniac Latin Disciples were not real deep in earlier decades. Logan square had heavy gang activity since the mid-70s but Maniacs were not part of this area, instead MLDs were right over the northern border in Avondale since the late 70s. In the year 1995, the heavy hitting John Coonley School MLDs faced too many legal issues due to too much bloodshed with all the Latin Kings that surrounded them, by 1995 it was time to close shop.

“Tank” of the JC MLDs was preparing to move to Logan Square and he already had recruits lined up in Logan Square eager to join along with multiple family members down to turn Maniac. Tank presented this to the leadership at Talman and Wabansia such as Prince Rick Dog and the T Dubb section blessed Tank with his own section at Rockwell and Cortland that would become “Paisa Land” in 1995. This section really put MLDs on the map in Logan Square and from there Paisa Land grew into a large area and more MLDs sections opened throughout the neighborhood. MLDs then would become one of the biggest gangs in Logan Square that even survived some gentrification.

The background of the Maniac feud

At some point, Prince Rick Dog became incarcerated in he 90s. Rick Dog met with other high ranking Disciples while behind bars and these Disciples were meeting with Folk allies while in prison and discussing how to make Rick Dog into kind of a profit to restore relations between Folks on the streets and stop all these worsening interalliance wars. When Rock Dog got out and returned to the streets, his prophecy was rejected by Rockwell and Potomac Maniacs and the “Bum” brothers were the center of this rejection. Rockwell and Potomac took offense to a Maniac from Talman and Wabansia trying to call the shots for all MLDs and this angered them. The Bum brothers had amassed power since the 80s and by the 1990s they were practically running Rockwell and Potomac.

The Bums

Many people around the world have seen the A&E documentary “Gangland” and the episode “Maniacal” that was a documentary about the MLDs. I tend to shit all over this TV show but I have been a fan of it. I used to watch this show back in the late 2000s religiously in my apartment by myself in Bolingbrook while drinking beers. As a researcher I know how one can be mislead or misunderstood. In hind sight, back in the late 2000s the show did an excellent job for the times, but now we can examine how these old TV shows are badly flawed. The biggest trick with the show is that the Maniacs they got to interview for the show deliberately put in not so accurate stories to cover up certain facts. From the Maniac perspective this was necessary to protect certain members at the time when their involvement couldn’t be publicly known, these same protections aren’t needed anymore, hence, why nowadays social media is buzzing with the true stories, but searching them all out across the whole internet and joining the right groups at the right time on Facebook to get these stories is exhausting to say the least for the average person, but for me it is a hobby, hence, why I am here to help present this to the best of my knowledge. The TV show made the “Bums” out to be complete villains that killed for greed and envy but there was no interviews conducted from that side of the argument for that TV show. The TV show interviewed Ramon Roldan extensively and Roldan was formerly high up in the Disciples and was a member at least since the early 80s. Roldan was not much on the side of the Bums and Roldan and his his guys were the ones involved in the show. They do have a really good point about Prince Rick Dog. I do not know Prince Rick Dog personally but I heard several good things about him especially when I learned he wanted to bring Maniacs back together with Folk allies in the mid-90s, the issue was by then, relations had become so soured it was too hard for guys like the Bums and much of Rockwell and Potomac to accept.

The Bums go back to the mid-70s at the latest and the original Bums ran with the heaviest hitters of the MLDs in the 70s and 80s. “Bum” was the first of them and he could be old enough to have been an original member, if not, very close. There was then “Lil Bum” who was another respected member in the 70s into the 80s. There was a second generation of Bums who were brothers that were in their early 20s by the late 80s, these guys were well respected as well. I am not completely certain if the Bums are all siblings but it seems like they were all family but within extended family. When Prince Ferny got locked up in 1983 the oldest Bums became bigger figures at Rockwell and Potomac and it passed down to the younger Bums that were just coming up at that time. By the mid-90s, there were many of the Bums family having a large stake in the original hood. The Bums mentioned in the Gangland show that were the shooters were younger generation Maniacs and not the older Bums who were then well over 30 years old. From what I have picked up on about the Bums is that some of them were more liked than others. The original and older Bums seemed to have the most respect.

St. Valentine’s Massacre-street gang style

On February 7, 1996 on the street corner of Keystone and Armitage in the Hermosa neighborhood the Spanish Cobras opened fire at a Maniac Latin Disciple named Angel “Hi Lo” Alamo and shot him through his right cheek in his face and he was able to spit the bullet out.  The Cobras shot Alamo in response to constant sudden harassment from the Disciples in the days proceeding. This harassment was allegedly handed down from the Bums. This shooting angered the MLDs and now a call to action was needed for this, mainly the pressure came from the Twilight Zone as the Bums put heavy pressure on Rick Dog to respond to the attack they allegedly started.  Talman and Wabansia was being feuded over by both Cobras and MLDs because on this street corner lots of money was to be made from drug sales and both gangs were frothing at the mouth for control of Talman and Wabansia.  At that current point in time the MLDs were running that street corner and were not going to let Cobras get in the way of success. On this day Johnny “Don Loco” Almodovar held a meeting with his fellow MLDs to get revenge for the killing of “Wolfie” and the shooting of “Hi Lo” and also to show the Spanish Cobras not to touch Talman and Wabansia.

The MLDs met at a house at Thomas and Washtenaw “Murdertown” to discuss a later meeting on Tuesday Feb 13^th once again at Thomas and Washtenaw on exactly how they were going to get revenge.  The meeting was to be attended by about 30 top “Governors” of the gang.  The meeting was said to be so mandatory that if you missed it you would get a severe beating and you could not even get a pass from it even if your significant other was going to have your baby that day.  At that meeting Almodovar said he wanted to “Take it to the Cobras” and wanted every Cobra dead.  He set up 3 teams of assassins that he handpicked as ones that he thought were potential killers and the others he waved off and told them to stay inside and out of the way.  The guns were brought out, an AK-47, a .380 and a .45 caliber pistol.  The shooters were instructed to dress in all black with black pants, black hoodies and black ski masks.  Don Loco also called for “Dome shots” meaning shoot the Cobras in the head only, by any means necessary.  Don Loco also ordered the shootings to happen at around 5 P.M. that evening when dusk was settling in and witnesses would have a hard time seeing the shooting or Cobras would have a hard time seeing the shooters coming.  This was also a shift change for the closest East Humboldt Park Chicago Police and also it was rush hour so traffic would slow down police and ambulance response times.  It was a carefully devised plan and it started on the street corner of Cortland and Mozart when team 1 struck with the AK-47 and shot at three Cobras hitting one of them in the hip and another in the neck but both survived.   Evergreen and Washtenaw was next when team 2 attacked which consisted of a MLD top enforcer who emerged from an alleyway and put a 16 year old Cobra in a head lock after he shot the Cobra as he tried to flee and told him he was going to die then shot him twice in the top of the head which left the young Cobra blind for the rest of his life.  Team 3 struck at Bosworth and Lemoyne and wounded another Cobra but once again no one was killed (Chicago Tribune August 29, 1996).

At Maplewood and Hirsch the Cobras struck back and shot a lady MLD in the back, but she survived.  Then a little while later Cobras opened fire again at MLDs again and shot a MLD in the neck at Rockwell and Cortez.  It took a few days for word to get back to “Don Loco” and the rest of the MLDN that not a single Cobra was killed.  To make it worse Almodover was arrested and later convicted and given a heavy sentence of a minimum of 45 years in prison which he is still serving time for.

Johnny “Don Loco” Almodovar

I figure I would make a section here for “Loco D” A.K.A “Don Loco,” Johnny Almodovar because not only has he been on multiple local TV specials on gangs for the Chicago area in the later 80s (you can find these on the internet through a Google search, so don’t ask), and since he was in the news between 1996 and 1997 on the front page of news papers and on TV, and since he was well known in the neighborhood he grew up in, a section here is warranted.

Johnny “Don Loco” Almodovar was born May 10, 1970 and he grew up at Talman and Wabansia. Almodovar had multiple brothers, one of which was Ramon “Prince Chi Chi” Vasquez who was the much older brother of Johnny. Chi Chi was in the MLDs back in the 70s and by the late 70s he was earning rank until he was shot to death in 1978 by Miguel Vargas a member of the Insane Unknowns. The death of Chi Chi was especially difficult on his mother and seeing his mom so distraught over her son Ramon’s death made something snap inside of Johnny and he even touched on this when being interviewed in a 1988 documentary. Johnny’s brother sat next to him in the interview, he is known as “White Boy Kenny” or “Poe D.” Poe D was known to be a heavy hitter and convicted for murder and he is a legend on the streets as well. Johnny’s sorrow turned into hate and he wanted membership so badly into the Maniac Latin Disciples that he got in by 1980 at latest, he may have even joined before that, this made him 10 years old or younger when he joined. From the time he joined the Maniacs he said he would get his revenge one day for his brother’s murder, but the official get back was carried out by Prince Fernie when Fernie was literally convicted for the murder of Miguel Vargas in 1983. Vargas got a smack on the wrist sentence in the late 70s and by the early 80s he was on the streets and that’s when Fernie got him. Almodovar never attended high school and dropped out after the 8^th grade, he also had issues with reading, the gang life became all he knew how to connect with.

By 1986, when Johnny Almodovar participated in another local TV interview he had become the leader of the younger MLDs from Talman and Wabansia and he would continue to achieve rank especially once Prince Rick Dog went to prison for some time. Since Almodovar was the leader of the young MLDs at Talman and Wabansia in 1986, it means he was one of the originators of Talman and Wabansia alongside Prince Rick Dog; Prince Rick Dog was the overall boss and ran the older guys and Almodovar handled the young ones. Talman and Wabansia started officially in 1986, the same year Almodovar conducted this TV interview and claimed to be the leader of the young ones. This was the start of Loco D’s career that would take off by 1996 and would lead to his incarceration for the St. Valentine’s shooting.

The death of Prince Rick Dog

Now that the answer to the Cobras for shooting of Angel “Hi Lo” Alamo was not resolved with an actual death during the St. Valentines massacre, the Bums felt they had enough reason to take out Rick Dogs since Loco D didn’t kill any Cobras. This was not a popular opinion at all but that didn’t stop the Bums from plotting to Kill Prince Rick Dog. The Bums had become more than just a family it was a clique within the Maniacs and I am not positive if the older Bums had any part in this or not but the younger Bums were now in charge and running this clique which meant they had control of Rockwell and Potomac. “The Bums” is not a last name or any kind of official family tree, it is a nickname shared by family members in the 70s and 80s that evolved into a clique name in the 90s. One of the family tied Bums, Jamie “Tuffy” Ruiz, was a member of the Spanish Cobras. Since Cobras and Disciples were at war it almost seemed like a mutual exchange for the death of Rick Dog in exchange for allowing Tuffy to flip to Disciple. It sure seems that way because on April 3, 1996, Prince Rick Dog was shot to death at Fairfield and Lemoyne by the gun of Jamie Ruiz. It was the first time an MLD Prince had been killed by fellow gang members.  There were over 1,000 attendees at Garcia’s funeral.  Light blue and black flowers shaped into a pitchfork were used at the service and gang members tossed several guns into Garcia’s casket as it lowered into the ground (Hagedorn, The Insane Chicago Way, P. 203).  Ruiz went to jail for some time and flipped to Maniac Latin Disciple in the process. When Ruiz was walking the streets again alongside fellow Maniacs after being let out of jail he was gunned down by Maniacs that targeted Ruiz. These mostly older Maniacs were disgusted with the death of Rick Dog. Within 2 days of the murder one of Ruiz’ accomplices in the murder was shot dead by Maniacs.

Prince Rick Dog was known as a strong leader with high intelligence which is one of the main reasons he was missed dearly, he was also the founder of TW (Talman and Wabansia).

With Garcia dead and Loco locked up, Francisco “Pimp Daddy” Garcia took over control of the Maniac Latin Disciples, at least the side that opposed the Bums.

Maniac vs Maniac: RP & KB vs TW & BK

Another example of a well-known shooting case was the case that surrounded the wrongfully convicted Jaime “Necko” Hauad.  The Kedzie and Berry (KB) and Rockwell and Potomac (RP) sections were allied against the Talman and Wabansia (TW) and Belden and Kenneth (BK) section, therefore, the war was still bad between Rockwell and Potomac against Talman and Wabansia. On May 21, 1997, Miguel Salgado, Jose Morales, and Jason Goral, all Maniac Latin Disciples were drinking at a bar together at George and Kedzie in the Avondale neighborhood. As the three men left the bar they were all gunned down and two of them died instantly. Salgado survived and called his mom from a convenience store. The men that were shot down were Talman and Wabansia MLDs and Jaime Hauad was in the same bar as these men and argued with them before the shooting, Lil Bum was also in the bar during the argument. Hauad was a Belden and Kenneth MLD when police picked him up on a traffic stop about 2 hours later in the neighborhood they figured it was an easy case especially since the witness identified him in photographs.  Jaime was convicted of the slaying and was not released until 2018 when his conviction was finally overturned.

The war within the MLDs was rough for both sides of MLDs and many soldiers were killed during this war. One killing that caused a lot of pain was the shooting death of two brothers “Papote” and “Ears” that were both shot together and a double funeral needed to be held. Papote and Ears were loved deeply by the MLDs and their families were enraged so these deaths caused fury. Both men were shot and killed on August 9, 1996. They were both shot to death behind a business on North Avenue.  Both brothers were killed by another branch of Maniacs during this Civil War.

Final war with Spanish Cobras and the origin of Omskiville

In 1997, the war with Insanes went into permanent effect after the YLO Cobras shot and killed Omar “Omski” Gonzales from the MLDs in an Aldi parking lot on Armitage Avenue.  Omski was putting groceries in his car alongside his wife when “Lil Minor” a known YLOC gunner spotted Omski and gunned him down.  Omski was the chief of the Beldon and Kenneth chapter of MLDs and had a run in with Lil Minor and Omski pistol whipped Lil Minor some months prior, so Lil Minor was seeking revenge.  This sparked the MLDs and Spanish Cobras into permanent war that could only be frozen during the annual Puerto Rican day parade. Ever since Omski’s death, the Belden and Kenneth section had become known as “Omskiville” and on many days that are Omski’s birthday Maniacs celebrate by hunting down Spanish Cobras to kill for tradition. I even encountered the case of People Vs. Raya which was about a 2016 murder of Jeanette Laureano who was a close associate of the Spanish Cobras. In the court documents the Omski birthday tradition was blamed for he murder. This goes to show how long this tradition carried on.

The Cicero Maniacs

The suburb of Cicero began having permanent Chicago gang settlement in 1980 when the Two Sixs, Imperial Gangsters, and Two Two Boys moved into Cicero and they teamed up against Park Boys, Twelfth Street Players, Noble Knights, Latin Kings and Arch Dukes, this was the first generation. In 1992, the second generation of Chicago gangs brought in Satan Disciples, Bishops, Latin Counts, Milwaukee Kings, La Raza, Gangster Disciples, Harrison Gents, Conservative Vice Lords, Latin Jivers, and Sin City Boys. The third generation came to Cicero in 1996-1997 when Villa Lobos, Latin Pachucos, Gangster Party People, Mafia Insane Vice Lords, Ashland Vikings, Spanish Cobras and Ambrose. Imperial Gangsters, Arch Dukes, Park Boys, Harrison Gents, Latin Jivers, Spanish Cobras, Villa Lobos, Milwaukee Kings, and Ashland Vikings all went exinct in the suburb but in 1997 facing off against all the other active gangs would become the daunting task for the Maniac Latin Disciples when they arrived in 1997.

The area of Ogden Avenue to the north to 33^rd Street to the south and from Cicero Avenue to Laramie Avenue had been run by the Two Two Boys since the 1980s and the Insane Majestics arrived in the heart of this region at 31^st and Laramie in the early 90s. Two Two Boys and Majestics went to war in 1992 when the Majestics decided to turn Folks with Satan Disciples instead of Two Two Boys. When the Maniac Latin Disciples arrived in the middle of this hood at 31^st and 49^th (Capo City) in 1997 an immediate war exploded between all three gangs that both Majestics and Two Two Boys had a tough time with against the Maniacs. After five years of war the Two Two Boys and Majestics teamed up against the Maniacs but it didn’t help in the long run as the Maniacs defeated the 31^st and Laramie (Tre One) Two Two Boys and put a large amount of damage on the Majestics. The Majestics would not leave 31^st and Laramie but the Two Two Boys agreed to withdraw from the area. Regardless of the Majestics, the Maniacs took the hood as theirs anyway. When these Maniacs fought the Two Two Boys and Majestics heavily they also carried out a big war with Cicero Latin Kings. These Maniacs were no joke and were heavy hitters in the late 90s and 2000s. “Pablo” from this section was beaten to death in the streets, hence, why 31^st and 50^th is referred to as “Pablo City.”

One last shot at peace…foiled

In the spring of 1999, the Maniac Latin Disciples and Spanish Cobra leadership decided it was finally time to end this vicious war between them and hold a peace conference at the YMCA located at 1834 North Lawndale Ave in the Logan Square neighborhood.  Leaders of both Maniac street gangs like MLDs, YLO Disciples, Maniac Campbell Boys and Latin Stylers showed up, and leaders of the Insane family such as Spanish Cobras, YLO Cobras, Ashland Vikings, C-Notes, Insane Dragons, Insane Deuces, Latin Lovers and Orquestra Albany showed up.

Peace was agreed upon right away and the bitter 1990s war of the Insanes and Maniacs was finally going to end; however, not all MLDs felt like it should end.  The renegade group of MLD supporters led by “Little Bum” did not attend the meeting instead they drove around the meeting and set up lots of teenage soldiers outside the meeting.  When peace was announced the teens began screaming out gang slogans and screaming about how they wanted no peace.  The leaders of the gangs then left the meeting in a hurry because bad stuff was about to go down.  One leader got stranded, “Carlito,” as he exited the meeting alone and when he stepped out front of the YMCA Thomas “Outlaw” Ross, a member of the MLDs, gunned him down.  This brought the end not only to peace talks for the warring families but also for the whole SGD/La Tabla.  That June day of 1999 brought the end of the old school gang ways as we know it (Hagedorn, The Insane Chicago Way, P. 206).

By the year 2001, the elder Cobras and MLDs couldn’t even freeze the war for the Parades and carnivals as the war had gotten that bad.

The Maniac Latin Disciples in later years

Over the course of time, the real estate where Maniac Latin Disciples had their strongest presence in the entire Chicago area suddenly spiked in value in the East Humboldt Park, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Avondale areas. This was the takeover of yuppies that paid top dollar for old Maniac hoods which priced out the gang. As for other areas in the city the Maniacs lost very little besides areas like Gage Park. In the suburbs MLDs have bloomed in size beginning in the 2000s decade. Suburbs like Bensenville and Villa Park were some examples of later pop up suburbs for MLDs. MLDs spread into several other states in the United States which makes them one of Chicago’s growing gangs in the 21^st century after gaining growth in the 1990s and 1980s. MLDs continued to multiply and are one the top five largest gangs in Chicagoland. The original Rockwell and Potomac hood is pretty much closed because it was priced out by yuppies in the 2010s.

Known sections of Maniac Latin Disciples past and present

Archer Heights neighborhood 2010-present years

Sections of Archer Heights

Archer to 53^rd, Kostner to Kildare (Archer Heights section, 5-3)

Avondale neighborhood Established 1978-present years

Sections of Avondale

Elston to Roscoe, Troy to Albany

Barry to Wellington, Spaulding to Kedzie (Oakville) 1978-present years

Barry to Milwaukee, Central Park Ave to Eldbridge

Kimball to Milwaukee, Gresham to Allen

Barry & California (BC) Established 1983

Artesian & Diversey (D Block) 2000s-present years

Rockwell & George (RG) 90s-present years

School & Albany (Pee Wee City) 90s-present years

Allen & Kimball 80s-present

Belmont & Kimball 80s, 2000s-present years

Roscoe & Avers 90sFrancisco & Fletcher 2000s-present

Belmont-Cragin neighborhood Early 80s-present years

Sections of Belmont-Cragin

Fullerton to Grand, Merrimac to Moody (Riis Park)

Grand to Dickens, Marmora to Major

Palmer to Dickens, Mobile to Melvina (Death Trap Pimps) 80s-present years

Wellington & Parkside 80s-present years

Fullerton & Austin

Grand & Narragansett

Mobile & George

Mobile & Wrightwood

Palmer & Moody

Diversey & Major 2010s-present years

Dunning neighborhood 1999-2000s

Sections of Dunning

Grace & Nordica

East Humboldt Park (West Town) neighborhood Established 1966-2010s

Sections of East Humboldt Park

North Ave to Hirsch, California to Washtenaw

North Ave to Hirsch, Talman to Maplewood (Monk Land)

Evergreen to Crystal, California to Washtenaw

Washtenaw & Wabansia

Maplewood & Wabansia (Maplewood Park)

Evergreen from Rockwell to Washtenaw

Rockwell & Potomac (Twilight Zone) Established 1966

Talman & Wabansia (Real Side, T-Dubb)

Cortez & Washtenaw

Thomas & Washtenaw (Murder Town)

Gage Park neighborhood Established 1994-2009

Sections of Gage Park

55^th to 56^th, Talman to Washtenaw

55^th to 59^th, Rockwell to California (Outlaw City)

Hermosa neighborhood Established 1980-present years

Sections of Hermosa

Fullerton to Palmer, Kilbourn to Kostner (Omskiville, Hermosa Park)

Fullerton to Belden, Karlov to Pulaski (8 Ball City)

Armitage to Bloomingdale, Karlov to Pulaski (Killa City)

Cortland & Keystone (Killa City) 1980-present years

Keystone & Dickens

Belden & Lowell

Irving Park neighborhood 2000s-present years

Sections of Irving Park

Irving Park Road to Milwaukee, Kostner to Kildare 2000s-present years

Grace to Waveland, Troy to Albany

Roscoe & Avers

Logan Square neighborhood 1995-present years

Sections of Logan Square

Diversey to Wrightwood, Hamlin to Ridgeway

Armitage to Bloomingdale, Campbell to Western (Rockwell & Cortland) (Paisa Land)

Diversey to Shubert, Maplewood to Western (D Block)

Altgeld & Washtenaw (Wild Side)

Schubert & Fairfield

Lyndale & Campbell

Shakespeare & Maplewood

Fullerton from Washtenaw to California (Haas Park)

Montclare neighborhood 2000s-present years

Sections of Montclare

Wrightwood to Grand, Harlem to Oak Park  2000s-present years

Near West Side neighborhood Mid-90s-2010s

Sections of Near West Side

Taylor & Oakley

North Center neighborhood 1987 – 1995

Sections of North Center

Cuyler & Leavitt (JC, John Coonley School)

Portage Park neighborhood 90s-present years

Sections of Portage Park

Irving Park to Byron, Marmora to Central 90s-present years

Warwick to Patterson, Marmora to Menard 90s-present years

Southern West Town (West Town) neighborhood Established 1985-2000s

Sections of Southern West Town

Erie & Wood Established

West Elsdon neighborhood 2010–present years

Sections of West Elsdon

53^rd to 55^th, Kostner to Kildare (5-3, Howard Park)

West Humboldt Park neighborhood Established 1976-present years

Sections of West Humboldt Park

Hirsch to Grand, Harding to Hamlin (Grand City) Established 1976-present years

West Ridge neighborhood Established 1979-2000s

Sections of West Ridge

Rosemont & California Established 1979-2000s

Wicker Park (West Town) neighborhood Established 1977-mid-2010s

Sections of Wicker Park

Wabansia to Blackhawk, Ashland to Paulina (Ghost Town, A-Dub)

North Ave & Honore

Suburbs

Aurora Established 1980-present years

Bellwood

Berwyn 14^th & Ridgeland

Bloomington

Bolingbrook Hadleigh & Ashbury

Carpentersville

Cicero 30^th & 50^th Ct (Pablo City), 31^st & 49^th Ave (Wickedville), 30^th & 48th Established 1997

Dixmoor

Elgin  Franklin & Spring, Center & Ann Established 1980-present years

Elk Grove Village

Evergreen Park 89^th & California

Franklin Park early 80s-late 80s

Hanover Park 1985-mid-90s

Highwood

Joliet

Lockport

Melrose Park 18^th & Bloomingdale 90s

Naperville

Northlake early 80s-late 80s

Prospect Heights early 80s-present years

Rockfalls

Rockford 1992-present years

Romeoville

Round Lake

Sterling

Streamwood 1988

Waukegan established 1989-present years

West Chicago

Hammond, IND