I watched a documentary recently called, Cocaine Cowboys on Netflix. It was extremely interesting how easily this gang infiltrated, well, everyone during their court processes, including people high up in the government and within several police departments.

According to Netflix, the documentary is about,

Two childhood friends go from high school dropouts to the most powerful drug kingpins in Miami in this true story of a crime saga that spanned decades.

The kingpins were able to get away with many crimes because cops, officials, court personnel, judges, the government, and even their jurors were paid off and bribed to make things go their way.

The power behind gangs and mobs astonishes me. Organized crime and gangs have existed for a very long time. The feeling of invisibility that they have is endless because they feel because of their power and money, they never have to take accountability.
But this isn't the case for all mobs and gangs.
Did you know that Maine has gangs?
According to a study on Maine.gov,
The FBI did a study and they found that there are 11 nationally recognized gangs, and nine are in Maine. There are so many different groups, you can't say they're coming from Boston or New York.
However, I found even more in our state according to a study, JJAG Presentation, done on Maine.gov.
Here is a list of 15 Maine gangs, according to this report written by Mountain View Youth Development Center
  1. Crips
  2. Bloods
  3. Latin Kings
  4. Neta
  5. Tiny Rascals Gang
  6. FSU
  7. Surenos 13
  8. Maine Elements
  9. TRU
  10. Urban Boys for Life
  11. Underground Thugs
  12. The Portland Boys
  13. P-Town Soldiers/Bitches
  14. Unauthorized Outlaws
  15. East Side Til I Die

I myself have only heard of 3 of these gangs and I wasn't aware that Maine has an array of gangs currently under operation, according to the above report.

Gangs are obviously not something you want to run into or be a part of. There are different levels of danger that are committed by gangs.

General dangers of gangs are as follows,

  Consequences of gang membership may include exposure to drugs and alcohol, age-inappropriate sexual behavior, difficulty finding a job because of lack of education and work skills, removal from ones family, imprisonment and even death.

Because of movies like Godfather and Goodfellas mobsters and gangs have become a popular thing. But what I want to know is what gang members do all day long?

So I researched this question and according to How Stuff Works,

Daily gang life is generally not very exciting. Gang members sleep late, sit around the neighborhood, drink and do drugs and possibly go to a meeting place in the evening, such as a pool hall or roller rink. They may work a street corner selling drugs or commit petty crimes like vandalism or theft.
I certainly hope that if you or anyone you know is thinking about initiating themselves into a gang, they don't. I hope they seek help because this life is not a life to live.
If you or someone you know is in a gang or wants to become a member, please visit NAMI Maine. 

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