The Maniac Latin Disciples Nation is a Hispanic street gang in Chicago and one of the largest in the Folks Nation alliance. Originally known as the Latin Scorpions, the gang was founded by Albert "Hitler" Hernandez and other Puerto Rican teenagers in the Humboldt Park community in approximately 1966. They were influential in the culture and history of gangs in Humboldt Park, and continue to be active there today.

Latin Disciples are one of the original gangs in the Folk alliance, alongside the BGD’s (Black Gangster Disciples), Simon City Royals, Spanish Cobras, Satan’s Disciples, Ashland Vikings, Two-Six, and others. Around 1993-94 the various gangs in the Maniac Familia, led by the Manic Latin Disciples (MLD’s) began having violent conflicts with their Folk allies in the Insane Familia and Almighty Family which would eventually lead to an all out war on the North & West sides. In 1995, the Maniac Latin Disciples began to spread their influence into the south side of Chicago, specifically in the Gage Park neighborhood, along with several Chicago suburbs. As of 2010, the south side Maniac Latin Disciples set no longer operate in Gage Park and has then moved their operations to the West Elsdon neighborhood.

History

The gang originated as a Humboldt Park baseball club of Puerto Rican kids in the mid-1960’s. They were harassed and jumped (physically assaulted) by white gangs such as the Simon City Royals, Gaylords and Harrison Gents. The baseball club began to fight back to protect themselves. They merged with another Latino club and turned into a full-fledged gang in 1966, calling themselves the Latin Disciples. A scrappy junior high boy named Albert "Hitler" Hernandez would position himself as ‘King’ of the new adolescent gang on Hirsch & Rockwell.

As the gang recruited, its original members aged and went to high school. They became active in heavy fighting on the street with brass knuckles, knives, bats, steel chains & pipes. And with that, arrests followed. Around 1970, the first Latin Disciples started going to prison for aggravated assault & battery. They had a meeting with the Black Gangster Disciples (today split into the Black Disciples and Gangster Disciples) and established a business relationship on the inside and outside.

Tragedy struck when Albert “King Hitler” Hernandez was killed at 18 years old in 1972 by two Latin Kings after asking them to remove their gang colors while walking through Latin Disciple’s turf. This ended in a brawl with those two Latin Kings, and Hernandez being stabbed to death. From then on the Latin Disciples Nation went to war with the neighboring Latin Kings.

The Latin Disciples soon opened up shop on the infamous drug corner Potomac & Rockwell known as “The Twilight Zone”. The gang’s power increased city-wide with their domination of the illegal heroin trade. Latin Disciple sections spread throughout Humboldt Park at Thomas & Washtenaw “Murder Town”, Washtenaw & Hirsch, Maplewood & Wabansia, and Talman & Wabansia “T-Dub”.

In 1976 Division & Avers opened in West Humboldt Park and in ‘77 the Kedzie & Barry set opened in Logan Square and quickly branched out. This caused increased resentment among opposing Latin Kings and Insane Unknown Kings whose territory was getting encroached on. A year later, Chi-Chi D, the Latin Disciple President of KB, was gunned down by Insane Unknowns.

The Latin Disciples Nation joined the "Folks Alliance" of gangs in 1978, becoming enemies of all People Nations like the Black P Stones, PR Stones, Spanish Lords, Vice Lords and Latin Kings whom the MLD’s already hated. With the Latin Disciples joining Folks, the Spanish Cobras, Imperial Gangsters, and Latin Eagles immediately followed due to the United Latino Organization they had on the street.

After a major police drug bust took down many ULO sets, including the Latin Disciple leadership, Fernando "Fernie D” Zayas became Prince of the gang in 1979. He led the gang on the streets hard, but has been in Illinois Department of Corrections custody since 1983 for his organizing and participating in the drive-by murders of three Insane Unknowns. One of the Unknowns participated Chi-Chi’s homicide. After his incarceration, Prince Fernie ran the gang with a tight fist from inside prison for over a decade.

In 1983, the Latin Disciples officially became the Maniac Latin Disciples. During the 80’s, MLD sets opened in the Hermosa neighborhood on Keystone & Dickens “Omskiville”, Keystone & Cortland “Killa City”, Belden & Lowell, Kenneth & Belden.

Albert "Chino D" Ojeda attempted to become a major drug dealer in the gang during this time, and that sparked a violent battle with, among others, his former gang affiliates, Chicago Police said. Chino D was shot and left a paraplegic. From his wheelchair he continued to run his drug operation. A friend who was killed in 1988 and his crew would chauffeur him around the Humboldt Park area in a van, the wheelchair wedged in the back.

In April 1992, the Kedzie & Barry Maniac Latin Disciples accused a Spanish Cobra named Orlando of selling them bad drugs. The angry MLD’s returned and shot the dealer to death. The Insane Spanish Cobras retaliated, causing a riot between sections of Cobras and D’s that led into a ferocious two-day war of guns blazing on Logan Square streets until it was finally resolved by the OG’s.

By now, some Latino Folks were getting worried about the MLD’s new boldness and rising power. So the Spanish Cobra’s formed the “Insane Familia” in 1992 consisting of YLO-C’s, Insane O-A’s, Ashland Vikings, Insane Dragons and others. In response, the Maniac Latin Disciples formed the "Maniac familia”. Among the initial gangs to join were the YLO-Disciples, Latin Jivers, Latin Lovers and Milwaukee Kings Nation. The Campbell Boys Nation was forced to split up; half turned Maniac Campbell Boys and half turned Insane Campbell Boys. The Latin Lovers left the Maniac family in 1995 and flipped Insane. MKN left a few years later after complaining of being taxed too much.

After fighting together as strong allies for two decades, the Maniac Latin Disciples and Insane Spanish Cobras went to war in February 1996. That’s when a Cobra shot a Disciple nicknamed Hi-Lo. Hi-Lo survived the attack, but just barely after the bullet went through his cheek. A high ranking Maniac leader named Johnny “Loco” Almodóvar swore revenge. He responded by ordering 3 synchronized drive-bys at 3 different Spanish Cobra sections. The first team with the AK-47 shot two Cobras, one in the neck and arm, and one in the hip. The second team armed with a .380 pistol shot a Cobra in the head, but he lived. The third team shot a .45 caliber but missed all their targets. There were’t any fatality in the attacks.

Chicago Police flipped an MLD gang member into a snitch who gave the cops the sign-in sheet from the meeting where the shootings were discussed and planned by Don Loco. The Spanish Cobras retaliated the same night and their Insane allies declared war on the MLD’s. That’s when all hell broke loose in Humboldt Park. The Maniac-Cobra war made the Chicago Tribune Newspaper that month and Loco D was arrested and sent to prison on the testimony of the informant MLD. 

In the mid-1990s the MLD’s were one of the largest and most organized gangs in the city. But war with other Latino Folks and a couple money making street corners caused problems within the gang itself. A desire to control profitable drug corners caused a renegade faction of Maniac Latin Disciples called “The Bums” to attack their own gang at another section. This conflict was made famous on the History Channel's tv show “Gangland”, describing the Maniac Latin Disciple civil war that resulted in the murder their leader, Enrique “Prince Rick Dog” Garcia, who was sitting in his car when he was ambushed and shot to death. It was later found that the Bums heavily instigated the war with the Cobras to weaken the section of MLD’s they wanted to take over. The Maniac Latin Disciple civil war ended by ‘98, but the internal damage was already done. Police raids in the early 2000’s decimated the rest of the MLD leadership. Today the gang currently remains large on the Northwest Side, but never regained its previous power.

Maniac Latin Disciples eventually spread to different states such as Wisconsin, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas. Subsets of the gang exist in cities such as Antioch, Tn; Nashville, Tn; Memphis, Tn; Milwaukee, WI; Dallas, Tx and Houston, Tx. At one point the gang was heavily involved with the prison Spanish Gangster Disciples unity of Latino Folks inside, which is different than the street gang SGDN, whose founding members were former Maniac Latin Disciples.

Identifiers

Maniac Latin Disciples display black and light blue colors. Identifiers include a heart with a devil's tail and horns, a hooded character called the Monk, swastika, and pitchforks facing up. Another common identifier among Maniac Latin Disciples is use of a blackletter font D for the Disciples alliance, similar to that of the Detroit Tigers "D" logo.^[3]

See also

• Gang culture in Humboldt Park

References