The gang members stopped chasing out the dope dealers and became dope dealers. Bloodhound
As long as you’re feared, and as long as you can intimidate the community and other gang members, then you can more or less conduct your business how you see fit. Sergeant Fred Reynolds, LA rozzer
If you go out there half-ass gang-banging, you’re not going to survive. Ken Bell, gangs investigator retired
The Drugs. The Money. The Power. Fabian, former gangsta
We’re the ones your mom said to watch out for. We’re the ones that you have to hide your daughters from. Ruben Doc Cavazos, Mongols National President
Respect Few Fear None. Mongol credo
We are Mongol raiders! We are raiders of the night! Mongol meeting chant
We’re dirty sons of bitches! We’d rather fucking fight! Mongol meeting chant
I just want to be the best gangster, be the best fighter, and party. Making money and also selling a lot of drugs. Raymond Chow aka Shrimp Boy, San Francisco
Los Angeles: gang capital of the world. Home to seven hundred gangs and birthplace of the Bloods and the Crips ... Their common enemy the Latino gangs. Ross Kemp on Gangs s1e4: Orange County, Sky 2005
The Latino gangs are on the rise and I’m here to meet them. ibid.
Compton ... just over five gangs for every square mile. ibid.
The Bloods and the Crip gangs were formed in the seventies. ibid.
The police have told me that the ultimate control of street gangs comes from one place – a prison gang known as The Mexican Mafia. ibid.
The money is the power. ibid.
By the time Stanley Tookie Williams was executed by the state of California in December 2005 he may have been the most famous Death Row inmate in California. American Gangster s1e1: Stanley Tookie Williams and the Rise of the Crips, BET 2006
The 35-year-old war between the Bloods and the Crips has become a way of life. ibid.
Young Tookie idolised Al Capone, and he and Ray Washington joined forces [Crips] in the spring of 1971. ibid.
By 1972 the Crips had morphed into eight sets, and was living out an infamous model. ibid.
70 people died from gang gunfire in 1974. ibid.
1992: gang killings topping 800 for the first time. ibid.
November 1996: A rebel force propped up by the Reagan administration and run by the CIA … ‘Freeway’ Ricky Ross – the Crack king of LA. American Gangster s1e2: Ricky Ross & the Crack Connection
He claimed he moved over 100 kg a week. ibid.
They called it living off the land. In a city by the bay. They robbed from the rich. They did for themselves. Stayed under the radar until they went for the biggest score ever – and then everyone knew their names. American Gangster s1e4: The Smith Brothers, Biography 2007
The biggest jewellery heist [Lang Estate Jewelers] in San Francisco history. ibid.
1986 Oakland: notorious drug dealer Felix Mitchell junior is laid to rest in a lavish and legendary funeral. American Gangster s2e6: Felix Mitchell junior and the Oakland Drug Wars
Felix ‘the Cat’ Mitchell was Oakland’s first major drug don. And in the ’70s and ’80s its undisputed kingpin. ibid.
Felix dropped out of high school and began selling drugs. ibid.
Oakland’s other legendary big cat – Huey Newton of the Black Panthers. ibid.
The one-time Black Panther leader became addicted to the drugs he once crusaded against. ibid.
For two decades Monster was an icon on the hard streets of south-central and beyond … A career criminal renowned for chilling acts of violence. American Gangster s3e2: Monster Kody Scott
Kody didn’t stop – two years later at age 13 he beat a man so badly police described it as the work of a monster. ibid.
By the late ’80s battles between the Rollin’ 60s and Monster’s gang, the Eight Trays, were marked by brutal and routine acts of vengeance. ibid.
He was a best-selling author and a man with a message. ibid.
Monster: The Autobiography of an LA Gang Member … In August 2008 Grove Press released T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. a new novel by Sanyika Shakur. ibid.
Mac Dre was a hero and an underground legend … But Dre’s festive spirit belayed a troubling past, including five years spent in prison and close ties to the notorious crew of bank robbers known as the Romper Room Gang. American Gangster s3e9: The Romper Room Gang & Mac Dre, BET 2009
By the late ’80s the Crack trade had turned the city [Vallejo] upside down. ibid.
The Romper Crew moved from drug dealing to robbing pizza parlours. ibid.
Bank robbing was becoming an addiction. ibid.
The take-down in Fresno was the beginning of the end. ibid.
In 2001 Fat Tone was arrested for the murder of a pregnant woman but charges were dropped. ibid.
Over the last five years LA has averaged over 5,000 gang-related crimes a year. MS-13: America’s Deadliest Gangs, 2009
It’s a different world out there, Mickey. Ray Donovan: The Bag or the Bat s1e1 starring Liev Schreiber & Paul Malcomson & Jon Voight & Eddie Marson & Dash Mihok & Steven Bauer et al, Showtime 2013
You think you’re the first person I’ve dealt with whose woken up with a dead body. ibid. Ray
The bag or the bat, Bob? … You come near her again, I’ll kill ya. ibid. Ray to stalker
I’ve gotta come clean, Ray. ibid. Ezra
Why don’t we kill him? ibid.
My father’s coming. He made parole. ibid. Ray to wife
New law – Egon’s Law – they gotta notify when the Catholic church moves into the neighbourhood. ibid. Mickey
You go near my family, I’ll fucking kill ya. ibid. Ray to Mickey
Abby, me darling. Top o’ the morning to you. Ray Donovan s1e2: A Mouth is a Mouth, Mickey
Don’t let anyone fuck you in the ass. ibid. Mickey to grandson
I was a terrible father. Selfish. ibid. Mickey to Abby
Family is a wonderful thing. ibid. Mickey in gym
You won’t see it coming. ibid. Ray to Mickey
Speaking of priests, you killed the wrong one. Ray Donovan s1e3: Twerk, Ray to Mickey
Great kids come from great fucks. Ray Donovan s1e4: Black Cadillac, Mickey on the road
Our curriculum begins with Hamlet. ibid. teacher to mums and dads
So you’re a movie producer. Ever produce anything good? ibid. Mickey
I’m not the kind of guy you fire. Ray Donovan s1e5: The Golem, Ray to boss
You got a Hollywood fetish or something going on, pal? Ray Donovan s1e6: Housewarming, Ray to detective
I want you to kill my father. Ray Donovan s1e7: New Birthday, Ray to Sully
Shut the fuck up, you cunt. Ray Donovan s1e8: Bridget, Sully to wife
You have a good family. Don’t let Mickey poison this. Ray Donovan 1e9: Road Trip, Ezra
You got out of Boston. You built a good life. You have a beautiful family. Don’t let Mickey poison this. I saw something in you, Raymond. Don’t let me down. Ray Donovan s1e10: Fite Night, Ezra
We’ve unleashed a monster. Your father’s still working for the FBI. Ray Donovan s1e11: Bucky Fucking Dent, Ezra to Ray
I’m not killing my father. ibid. Ray to Ezra