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Texas Syndicate: Prison Gang Profile
 | Reported US prison locations |
In 1978, in California, making the Texas Syndicate the
oldest prison gang in Texas' history.
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Latest News...
4/23/2007
One man charged over the weekend
...has confirmed the people involved in a drive-by shooting near the Hidalgo County Courthouse are Texas Syndicate gang members
3/7/2007
Suspected Texas Syndicate member arrested
A 30-year-old suspected Texas Syndicate gang member wanted on federal drug charges and
2/23/2007
Agent describes violent acts of alleged Syndicate members
An FBI agent gave a detailed account Thursday about the vicious tactics used by the Texas Syndicate
2/6/2007
Gang member sentenced to prison
A member of the Texas Syndicate gang was sentenced to federal prison Monday for orchestrating a smuggling operation that brought cocaine on ..
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| As of 2000, the Texas Syndicate had about 1,000 members in
prisons and jails state-wide, with many more on the outside.
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| 826 Hispanic members operate across Texas, including specific
reportings in the Coffield Unit, about 60 miles southwest
of Tyler, and at the Allred prison unit outside of Wichita
Falls. However, they still maintain their headquarters in
California, where their national president resides, and their
numbers continue to reach into state and federal prisons across
the US. They have been reported in the Federal Correctional
Institute at Oakdale, Louisiana, and in San Quentin, Calfornia,
with frequency. As a street gang, heavy activity has been
reported in Austin, Texas, and Corpus Christi, Texas..
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| Rivals of the Texas Syndicate have included or presently include:
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| Development of the Texas Syndicate was initially motivated by self-protection against the historical "building tenders" in prison. After building tenders disappeared, the Syndicate's
activities turned to drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution,
protection, gambling, and contract murder. Released or parole
members who generate money for the Texas Syndicate must surrender
a 10% tax of all proceeds toward the gang in prison.
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TS has a paramilitary structure, headed by a president and vice
president elected by the general member population. Each prison
unit is controlled by a chairman, who oversees a vice chairman,
captain, lieutenant, sergeant of arms, and numerous soldiers.
Ranking members in prison are automatically demoted to the
level of soldier upon institutional reclassification.
Texas Syndicate members are required to follow a "Constitution,"
stipulating that members:
- Be a Texan
- Always remain a member
- Place the Texas Syndicate before anything else
- Understand that the Texas Syndicate is always in the right
- Wear the Texas Syndicate tattoo
- Never let a member down
- Respect other members
- Keep all gang information within the group (Fong 1990)
Leadership is determined by democratic vote, requiring unanimity.
Recruitment is achieved by demonstrating a "homeboy connection,"
passing a background check to make sure the prospect is not
an informer, and receiving a unanimous vote.
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| According to news reports, the following members have
(or have had) alleged executive connections:
- Hector Soto, a former local leader of the Austin-area
Texas Syndicate in prison, sentenced for drug possession
in 2000.
- Randy Salazar, alleged leader of the Syndicate in Austin
as of 2004.
- After Salazar, authorities have named Robert Velez as
the leader of the Syndicate's Austin operation, as well
as Victor Barrera Morones, who kept a storehouse of weapons
in Austin.
- In 1989, Noe Beltran was a leader of the Texas Syndicate
prison gang, promoted to captain at Ellis II Unit prison
just north of Hunstville, Texas.
- In 1983, Eliseo Martinez was alleged unit-leader of the
Syndicate in prison at TDC's Ramsey I Unit, who was serving
a 20 year sentence in the 80s for a prison-murder.
- In 1994, Arnulfo Nino was leader in the federal prison
at Fort Worth, Texas, convicted for possession of more than
800 pounds of cocaine, and distributing more than 80 pounds
per week
- Alleged leader Frank de la Cruz was charged with assault
with a deadly weapon in 2001 at the Federal Correctional
Institute at Oakdale.
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TS members have communicated via:
- Coded messages, and number-coded letters, where the subtle
indication of certain numbers interspersed throughout the
letter are combined and decrypted to form a phrase. Number
codes change on a periodic basis to prevent counter-codes
by law-enforcement.
The Texas Syndicate's artistic identification system includes:
- a heart for an executioner
- a trident for an enforcer
- three marks of a bird's footprint for a drug dealer, and
- five marks for a weapons supplier
- Tattoos: Overlapping "TS", or an "S"
superimposed over a "T."
- Slang terms: "Babydoll" refers to Mexican Mafia
members.
- "Charco" refers to Corpus Christi
- "Chuco" refers to El Paso
- "Space City" refers to Houston.
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