La Familia: Profile

History
During the 1970s, a loose knit gang of teenagers from Brooklyn, New York created a larger gang to protect themselves from the many gangs existing in New York during this time period. They chose the name “La Familia” to give the gang a sense of family belonging. While most of the membership consisted of Puerto Rican-American youth, other ethnic groups were allowed membership. They adopted the colors of the Puerto Rican flag (red, white and blue) and the five pointed star on the flag to represent their gang. La Familia spread into other areas in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut through family migration, incarceration of members and criminal networks. By the 1980s many La Familia members were in jails and prisons throughout the Northeast United Sates.

Development
During the 1990s, many members of La Familia had been released from jail and decided to recreate the La Familia gang. These older members organized young tagger crews and loose knit gang members into the La Familia Nation. This recreation was especially effective in Brooklyn, Bronx and Holyoke Massachusetts. By 1996, La Familia gang members were a formidable force among street gangs throughout the regions in which they lived. Their main source of income became drug sales, car theft and street robberies. They were not afraid to become aggressive against police officers during apprehension.

Activities