Prospective Book

John Lee Brook is considering a book about the Bloods.  Preliminary research -- to ascertain the viability of such a project -- will begin shortly.

West Coast Bloods: The Bloods gang was formed during the 1970s in the Compton area of California. According to NDIC reporting, Silver Scott is credited with forming the Piru Street gang and Benson Owens established the Westide Pirus. Both groups aligned with several neighborhood gangs in an attempt to unite against the Crips. The group subsequently became known as the West Coast Bloods.


East Coast Bloods: The United Blood Nation (UBN) gang was founded by two African-American males (Omar Portee and Leonard Mackenzie) while inmates at Rikers Island Prison, New York in 1993. The gang was initially formed to protect African-American inmates from the threat posed by Netas and Latin Kings gangs who dominated the prison.

Membership: According to a 2004 NDIC report, Bloods membership was estimated between 15,000 and 20,000. According to NAGIA’s 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, UBN membership is estimated at 5,000 in New York City and 7,000 nationwide.

Location: Bloods gangs are located in the Southwest (Los Angeles, in particular), West Central, Pacific and, to a lesser extent, the Great Lakes and Southeast regions. The United Blood Nation is heavily concentrated throughout New York City and their presence has expanded to other locations along the East Coast, Mid Atlantic, and Southeast regions.

Aryan Brotherhood & Nazi Low Riders

ARYAN BROTHERHOOD


The Aryan Brotherhood was founded by white outlaw bikers in 1964 at the San Quentin state prison. The prison gang was created as a way to protect white inmates from predatory black inmates, but its cause transformed into revenue when the gang began gaining power. The gang’s founding fathers were Irish-American bikers and adopted the 3 leaf clover as its official symbol. The highly organized prison gang is one of the most violent white supremacist groups in the nation and is accountable for over 100 bloody murders throughout its existence. Aryan Brotherhood leaders have been the recent target of the FBI, DEA and ATF who are trying to dismantle the ruthless gang. The AB was added on the police hit list after a series of brutal murders and assaults on law enforcement officials. The Aryan Brotherhood is one of the largest prison gangs in the nation and has branches in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia,, Kansas Ohio and Colorado.

NAZI LOWRIDERS (NLR)


The Nazi Lowriders or NLR is white supremacist gang that originally formed in Costa Mesa, California in 1978. The neo Nazi street gang spread into the California Youth Authority and then into prison. The Aryan Brotherhood “adopted” and reorganized the NLR in the mid 1980’s, using it as a holding tank of potential recruits for the AB.

Symbols: A skeleton eagle grasping a swastika, NLR, Hitler.
Nickname:  The Ride.
Ranking structure: Seniors and juniors.
Territory: Costa Mesa, Long Beach, Inland Empire, San Bernardino, Fontana, Riverside, and Corona.
Alliances: Vagos Motorcycle gang, Insane White Boys, La Mirada Punks, Independent Skins and Orange County Skins.
Members: 5,000.
Racial make up: White and Hispanic.

New Release Date Set

The new release date for Blood In, Blood Out is January 12, 2011.  Stay tuned for further updates.

Rebecca Parrett

At the end of October, U.S. Marshals arrested Rebecca Parrett, who had been hiding out in Mexico for the last two years.  It's still not crystal clear how they became aware of her whereabouts.  I suspect someone must have spotted her.  Most criminals get caught because either they talk too much or others talk too much.

John Lee Brook almost wrote a book about Rebecca Parrett's involvement in the largest private healthcare scandal in history.  It was to be called 'Bad Company.'  However, another author, who is more qualified and had access to more information, is presently writing the story.  Can't wait to read it.

Link:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/27/rebecca-parrett-caught-in_n_774566.html

Update on the update on the update!!

     Blood In Blood Out:  The Violent Empire of the Aryan Brotherhood is coming.  The tentative release date has now been pushed back to December 22, 2010.
     Those-in-charge of the production process ask for your patience.  Translation:  chill out.  It's on its way.
     And John Lee Brook says, "It's worth the wait.  The book flat-out rocks!"

    

Update on the update!

Headpress has pushed the release of Blood In, Blood Out back by one more week.  Thus, the book will come out on December 8, 2010.  Knock on wood!

Update: Book Release

The release of Blood In Blood Out has been pushed back to December 1, 2010.

Crime Magazine's Numbers

About a year ago, Crime Magazine was kind enough to publish an excerpt from Blood In Blood Out.  The excerpt was received surprisingly well, garnering 21,087 hits so far.  This number makes the excerpt the third most popular article on Crime Magazine. 

Check it out at: 
http://crimemagazine.com/blood-blood-out-violent-empire-aryan-brotherhood

Talk Radio Europe

John Lee Brook will be interviewed by Richie Allen on Talk Radio Europe.  They will discuss the forthcoming Blood In Blood Out:  The Violent Empire of the Aryan Brotherhood. 

Talk Radio Europe originates in Spain, and caters to English-speaking ex-patriates living in Southern Europe.

JUNK

Asemic writing is the next new thing, I guess.  It's supposed to be art -- creative self-expression.  It's not.  In reality, it's gobbledygook.  Nothing pretending to be something.  Junk. 

Check out a much more diplomatic assessment of 'asemic writing' at:  http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/blog/2010/09/17/the-giants-fence-by-michael-jacobson/

Blood In, Blood Out Update

The release of Blood In, Blood Out (BIBO) is being delayed by the production schedules of the publisher's other books, those ahead of BIBO.  However, on a good note, pre-sales are going like gangbusters in Europe, especially Germany and France and the U.K.  Even in Japan!

All this leads to one logical conclusion:  the book is worth waiting for! 

Carly Simon sang about "Anticipation."  Anticipation about BIBO is increasing.  The publisher -- Headpress -- anticipates a November release date. 

Bad Company

There’s a small town in Ohio, named Dublin, after the famous city in Ireland. Commonly depicted as ‘gentrified modern,’ which is a quaint way of describing gold courses, strip malls and multi-plex theaters, Dublin – the one in Ohio, not the other one – is headquarters for Wendy’s International. Most people have heard of the hamburger chain. What they haven’t heard of is another big firm in the same city.


National Century Financial Enterprises. Started in 1991, this outfit soon became the nation’s largest purchaser of hospital, physician and other health care receivables. The buying up of receivables works like this. NCFE buys the accounts receivable of small hospitals, medical clinics and nursing homes. Because of their small sizes, all of these health-care providers are having money problems. They are desperate because they have no money with which to operate, because they have to wait for payment from insurance companies.

National Century steps in, giving them cash to cover their expenses so they can stay in business. The health-care providers win because they don’t have to wait for insurance companies to pay them. They get most of their money now, and don’t have to mess with the frustrating job of dealing with stingy insurance companies.

National Century wins because they keep a fee or percentage of any money they collect from the insurance companies. Then NCFE puts all the accounts they bought into a kitty and sells them in the form of asset-backed securities to huge institutional investors like money market funds, or retirement funds.

Over the course of 11 years, National Century purchased $15 billion in account receivables. They securitized them, which means they sold bonds to raise more capital so they could buy even more receivables and their partner in turning receivables into securities on Wall Street was Credit Suisse First Boston.

Preview: Introduction of Blood In, Blood Out: The Violent Empire of the Aryan Brotherhood

The Aryan Brotherhood: The First Woe


January 16, 1967: Nazi prison-gang associate Robert Holderman was stabbed and then battered to death by Black Guerilla Family gang members at San Quentin.

January 17, 1967: 1800 black inmates and 1000 white inmates clashed on the main yard at San Quentin over the death of Robert Holderman. Prison guards broke up the brawl by firing shots into the mass. Five inmates were wounded by the shots. One inmate suffered severe head trauma from the beating he received from opposing gang members. Two other inmates suffered non-fatal heart attacks.

August 27, 1967: Nineteen-year-old Barry Byron Mills was arrested in Ventura, California and held for transfer to Sonoma County, where he had boosted a car. Sonoma had issued an arrest warrant in his name for grand theft auto.

December 12, 1967: Barry Mills requested and was denied probation. Instead he was sentenced to one year in the Sonoma County Jail.

January 29, 1968: Barry Mills and Buddy Coleman escaped from the Sonoma County Honor Farm.

February 17, 1968: Barry Mills was arrested in Windsor, California, and held on a warrant charging escape without force.

March 12, 1968: Barry Mills sentenced to one year and one day in prison for escape without force from the Sonoma County Jail.

March 13, 1969: Barry Mills was released from prison.

January 13, 1970: Soledad State Prison Aryan Brotherhood leader Buzzard Harris, along with fellow Aryan Brotherhood members Smiley Hoyle, Harpo Harper and Chuko Wendekier, and Mexican Mafia members Colorado Joe Ariaz, John Fanene, and Raymond Guerrero battled with Black Guerilla Family gang members on the exercise yard at Soledad prison. Tower guard Opie Miller opened fire with his high-powered rifle, killing Black Guerilla leader W.L. Nolen, Cleveland Edwards and Alvin Miller. Aryan Brotherhood leader Buzzard Harris was wounded in the groin by a rifle bullet.

January 30, 1970: Barry Mills and William Hackworth were arrested after robbing a Stewarts Point convenience store.

February 3, 1970: Barry Mills convicted of first-degree armed robbery after co-defendant William Hackworth testified for the prosecution. Barry Mills sentenced to 5 years to life in prison.

April 21, 1972: Aryan Brotherhood members Fred Mendrin and Donald Hale murdered Fred Castillo by stabbing him to death at the Chino Institute for Men. Castillo was the leader of the Nuestra Familia gang. The Aryan Brotherhood murdered Castillo as part of a contract with the Mexican Mafia.

December 15, 1972: Aryan Brotherhood members Fred Mendrin and Donald Hale sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Fred Castillo.

1973: The Aryan Brotherhood was officially formed in the federal prison system.

October 18, 1977: Aryan Brotherhood member Little Joe O’Rourke engaged in a vicious gun battle with campus police at El Camino Community College. The gun battle erupted when the police, as part of a routine check, disrespected Little Joe by asking him for his student I.D. Little Joe was wounded and arrested.

Zzyzx (Part Final)

One gentleman used the elixir extensively, but still grew no hair. Frustrated, he sued. Dr. Springer didn’t seem at all upset. He merely paid the fine, peeling off the stipulated $2500 “as casually as if he was taking care of a $2 traffic ticket.”


Dr. Springer preached mightily against the evils of alcohol and the destructive power of arguing. Demon rum “dragged men down to the dark pit of Hell.” Complaining, according to the good doctor, was toxic to mental and spiritual health.

“The Lord can’t work His miracles in a carping heart,” he often said.

Never one to let an opportunity pass, Dr. Springer started selling lots for houses on his property. That way those of his followers who had been financially blessed by God – because of Dr. Springer’s ministry – could have uninterrupted access to the healing waters of Zzyzx.

Many people took advantage of the opportunity. Soon the wooden skeletons of luxury homes being built dotted the landscape. Dr. Springer owned the construction company that purchased wood from his lumber company to build the houses.

Then things started to go to hell.

Dr. Springer was not – as he claimed – either a physician or a Methodist minister. He was a fake. The newspapers picked up on the story and the government took notice. An investigation began. As a result, the Bureau of Land Management realized that Dr. Springer did not own the land that Zzyzx sat on.

He was a squatter.

Then the American Medical Association joined in the fray. They called Dr. Springer the “King of Quacks.” The AMA accused him of fraud. A lawsuit was filed against him.

Undismayed, Dr. Springer hired an attorney. And not just any attorney. He wanted only the best. Gladys Towles Root, the famous criminal attorney, represented him. Gladys was a consummate performer. She wowed juries as she pranced about the courtrooms of America in outlandish outfits and hats like Cruella De Vil.

The trial took place and received vast media coverage. In the end, Dr. Springer was convicted of false advertising. Gladys Root filed an appeal. After two years of hearings and counter-motions, Dr. Springer’s appeal was denied.

Dr. Springer went to jail, serving 49 days of a 60-day sentence.

Informed by the BLM that he could not legally sell property he did not own, Dr. Springer wanted to pay back-rent on the property. He tried to buy the BLM off with $34,187.

The BLM said no, and evicted him off 12,800 acres that was not his in the first place. Shocked and dismayed, his followers left. The houses that were being built were leveled by the feds. When people asked about refunds, they were told to talk to Dr. Springer. But he wasn’t around. He’d vamoosed while the leaving was good. And he took his money with him.

Curtis Howe Springer died in Las Vegas in 1986. He was 90 years old when he died. While squatting on public property for more than 30 years, he made more than $20 million dollars by selling salvation and snake-oil.

The energy and audacity of Curtis Howe Springer were the biggest miracle of all.

Zzyzx (continued)

Dr. Springer neglected to mention what was in the cocktail. That wasn’t important. What was important was that it worked! A miracle straight from heaven.


There was also a do-it-yourself hemorrhoid cure kit. The kit could be purchased for a free-will donation of only $25. Of course, $25 then was equal to $250 or more now. A small price to pay for deliverance. Better to pay than suffer like poor old Job.

Jesus himself had provided Dr. Springer with the formula for his greatest remedy. At least that was the claim. “Mo-Hair,” which was a miraculous cure for baldness. For those who desired to be like Samson before he met Delilah, all that was necessary was to massage the tonic vigorously into the scalp. Then they were to bend over and hold their breath for as long as they could. When they stood up, they could literally see the effects of the miraculous potion – flushed cheeks and a tingling scalp. This in combination with the magic potion brought about the miracle. – abundant, luxurious hair.

The ways of the Lord were indeed mysterious.

Zzyzx (continued)

Room rates at the hotel were reasonable. No one was being ripped off. That’s not what Zzyzx was about. Spiritual health and physical vitality were the watchwords at Zzyzx.


Guests were, of course, encouraged to make free-will “donations” to the Springer Foundation. The encouragement came dressed up in the rousing sermons Dr. Springer preached twice a day over a state-of-the-art booming PA system. After a few days of such encouragement, it seemed silly not to make a generous donation, especially when the guests felt so healthy, so changed, so liberated. So cured.

Miracles like this didn’t come free, they told each other. God’s work would continue only with their help. So they gave.

But that wasn’t all. Dr. Springer had his own publishing company and his own radio station at Zzyzx. Flyers, pamphlets and booklets churned off the printing presses. And the radio station blazoned Dr. Springer’s Christian messages to the faithful and to those still seeking for light in a dark world. Dr. Springer delivered his messages in a good-old-boy, folksy manner. They were easy to understand and very non-threatening. There was not a hint of hell, fire and damnation. Only a heavy dose of the healing power of Jesus, which could be found by one and all in the Antediluvian Tea, the ‘Hollywood Pep Cocktail,’ which was nothing more than the juices of carrots, celery, turnips, parsley and brown sugar. 'Manna' was the real name of the Pep Cocktail.

Zzyzx (Pt 5)

(Continued from Pt. 4)
Listeners from around the world called the phone number they had heard on the radio. When they did, they got a recording of Dr. Springer. His dulcet tones beckoned them with, “Hello, this is your old friend Curtis Springer coming to you from Zzyzx Mineral Springs out in the heart of the great Mojave Desert.”


Zzyzx, the curious were informed, was the “last word” in health and vitality.

The response was overwhelming. They came in droves. Every Wednesday buses ferried hopeful sinners and health seekers from the Olympic Hotel on Figueroa Street in L.A. out to Zzyzx. And of course, the bus rides were free.

For those questing souls who arrived, the day at Zzyzx started with a breakfast of goat’s milk and Springer’s Antediluvian Tea. The tea had miraculous power. It healed the inner organs of the body, revivified strength and health, and prolonged the life span of all who drank it. It was the next best thing to the Fountain of Youth.

Rabbit meat, fruit, ice cream and fresh vegetables completed the menu.

(Zzyzx Pt 4)

(Part 3)

Remains of the Springer spa at Zzyzx, California. Photograph taken by Mark A. Wilson (Department of Geology, The College of Wooster); Wikipedia

Many of the men told Dr. Springer to take a hike because they didn’t like his rules. The one that irritated them the most was the no-alcohol policy. But many decided to work for this happy Jesus-freak and save their money. Then they could quit and go buy booze.


So they built and built and built. Working for the man who was working for The Man.

Dr. Springer called his Utopia Zzyzx, because he wanted it to be the last word in spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health.

Zzyzx had a chapel. It had a fancy mineral pool with soaking tubs, where the miracle cures took place. Naturally, the pool was shaped like a cross. Cleanliness was next to Godliness at Zzyzx. There was an artificial lake, made by men for men. Here the new believers could be baptized just like Jesus. And Dr. Springer would play the role of John the Baptist.

Visitors stayed in a two-story 60-room hotel that even had its own airport. Dr. Springer called the airport Zyport – the portal to Zzyzx. And like a prototype of the strip of Las Vegas, there was even a main drag called the ‘Boulevard of Dreams.’

When Zzyzx was finished the only thing missing were people – sinners who wanted to have their burdens eased. Sick people who wanted to be healed.

They weren’t missing for long.

Dr. Springer began a dazzling and omnipresent promotional campaign. National and international radio broadcasts proclaimed the location of heaven on earth. Out in the middle of the desert, like an oasis, sat a land of milk and honey. It was called Zzyzx. It was a place where miracles took place.

Blood In, Blood Out Named A Hot New Release!

Blood In, Blood Out--A Hot New Release at Amazon!

Basil & Spice FirstLook At BLOOD IN, BLOOD OUT

FirstLook Review by Christopher Zoukis


Gangs are rampant throughout the prison system.  One of the most notorious prison gangs of the 1980s and 1990s was the Aryan Brotherhood.  According to John Lee Brook, who wrote Blood In, Blood Out, the Aryan Brotherhood began in 1964 in San Quentin Prison.  A group of white bikers banded together to protect themselves from other gangs, which, back then were called ‘tips.’  Initially, the bikers referred to their gang as the Diamond Tooth tip.  Later, the name changed to the Bluebird tip.  Finally, they became known as the Aryan Brotherhood.   

The author traces the gang’s involvement in producing and distributing crystal meth.  Through interviews with a number of gang members, most of who insist on anonymity, the book tells of the rise of a Superlab in the East Bay Area of California.  As the story progresses, the personalities and quirks of those involved begin to shine through.  One of the more interesting ‘stars’ of the book is Arturo Colano (a pseudonym), who is the sci-guy, the chemist who runs the Superlab.  Colano is extravagantly flamboyant, highly intelligent, and more than a little corrupt.  Which means he’s a charming rascal, on the one hand.  On the other hand, he is the fulcrum on which the see-saw of drug production pivots.
Author John Lee Brook uses an easy, light-hearted, almost quixotic voice as he writes about Colano’s endeavors, along with his sidekick, Wolfman, who is pretty much the handy-andy of the Superlab.  In reality, Wolfman is a skinhead and leader of a group of outlaw bikers called Nazi Low Riders. 

Yet, because of ambition and circumstances, Wolfman finds himself overseeing shipping and receiving, distribution, and money laundering for a vast drug trafficking operation.  And although complete opposites when it comes to personality, Colano and Wolfman work well together.  Like salt and pepper, they each add their own peculiar zest, complementing each other. 

In spite of the quixotic quality, on another level, the author manages to inject a rude, harsh-textured energy into the book.  It’s just under the surface all the way through the story.  It’s the palpable energy of badness.  No matter how charming some of the characters might be, they are outlaws, pure and simple.  In short, they are not nice people.     
  
The Aryan Brotherhood’s empire came crashing down in 2002, which was when the Department of Justice brought over 40 high-ranking members of the gang to trial.  John Lee Brook takes the reader inside the courtroom, where attorneys exchange verbal feints and jabs like prize fighters, and witnesses, who are mostly former gang members turned informants, attempt to persuade the jury of their sincerity and reliability.  How the jury reacts to the testimonies of the informants provides a unique perspective on the inner workings of jury deliberations, as they decide on degrees of culpability and guilt.
John Lee Brook weaves his tale with great skill.  

All in all, it’s a sensational read.  Yet it is this ‘sensational’ aspect that causes the reader to pause and ponder.  Since most of the people providing the information are anonymous, one wonders as to their truthfulness.  In other words, where does one draw the line between fact and hyperbole?  One is irresistibly reminded of the Laocoon group in mythology, with the yarn spinners entwined in the coils of magnanimous self-interest, and the reader trying to fight his way through the twists and knots of incredulity.  Which is a polite and literary way of asking if the anonymous blabbermouths are relating objective truth or subjective embellishment?  The latter would seem to be a definite possibility.  Of course, it’s also possible that, like the Pharisees in the Bible, they are presenting whitewashed versions of their stories, a common human trait.  Most people can see the sins of others, yet are blind to their own foibles.  Thus, they usually portray themselves as better than they really are.

In either eventuality, Blood In, Blood Out makes for an absorbing read. 
On a scale ranging from 1 star to 5 stars (5 stars being the ultimate compliment),  
Blood In, Blood Out comes in at 5 stars!  
   
Blood In, Blood Out: The Violent Empire of the Aryan Brotherhood (Headpress/2010) By John Lee Brook

Mexican Drug Cartels Compete for Market Share  

Last Meals Of Serial Killers And Mass Murderers

Crystal Meth: A Foreign Conspiracy

Copyright © 2006-2010, Basil & Spice. All rights reserved.

Women in Crime Ink: Blood In, Blood Out

Women in Crime Ink: Blood In, Blood Out

(Zzyzx Pt 3)

Part 2
Dr. Springer knew God never thought small, so neither did he. He filed a mining claim on 12,800 acres of California desert. Then he got to work on building Utopia.

For three days each week, he and his ‘family’ lived in a luxury hotel suite in Los Angeles. There he made tapes for his national radio broadcasts, which permeated the atmosphere across the United States, blazing forth from 100,000 watt radio stations. 227 radio stations transmitted the words of Dr. Springer. And they were golden words, for they stimulated his listeners to part with their money. The donations flowed in, and the money was counted and deposited in the bank.

The other four days of the week, Dr. Springer cruised skid row in his campaign bus, rounding up drunks, bums and penniless vagabonds. He offered them food and shelter in return for manual labor. They were put to work in the desert, building the headquarters of his soon-to-be worldwide ministry.

Most Dangerous Gangs: Bloods, Crips, MS-13, Aryan Brotherhood

Most dangerous gangs in the state the Bloods, Crips, MS-13 and Aryan Brotherhood. GANGLANDWORLD###

(Zzyzx Pt 2)

(Part 1)
Dr. Springer became a minor celebrity because of his gift of gab. He was a radio evangelist at radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh in the 1930’s. The business of saving souls destined for Hell was booming and Dr. Springer needed room to boom. The year was 1944 and God had given Curtis a ‘word of wisdom,’ which is where God whispers in the ear of the pious. God told Curtis to “go into the desert,” because the war would soon be over and His work needed to be done. God would bring the people to Curtis.


So Dr. Springer packed up his fiancee Helen and their born-out-of-wedlock daughter and moved to what he called “a mosquito swamp” in the Eastern Mojave. Spiritual fads and miracle cures were all the rage in California. The people had open hearts and open minds. And Dr. Springer hoped to open their hearts to Jesus, their minds to the Holy Ghost, and their wallets to him.

Zzyzx

Zzyzx. The word looks like something Einstein scribbled while trying to prove his famous theory of relativity. But it’s not. It’s a place in Death Valley in southeastern California.


The only reason anyone goes there is because of a rare and bountiful spring located at the girdle of chocolate colored mountains. The Spaniards were the first. Then in 1860, the U.S. Army had a fort there. It was called Hannock’s Redoubt.

Fame came to the area when Curtis Howe Springer arrived. According to some people, Dr. Springer as he called himself, was a flamboyant maverick. Others just called him a charlatan or a con-man.
Part 2

Blood In, Blood Out: The Violent Empire of the Aryan Brotherhood

Here's the cover. The background painting was done by a friend -- Sean G. Fanin -- a famous artist who lives in London.

John Lee Brook

John Lee Brook is the author of Blood In, Blood Out: The Violent Empire of the Aryan Brotherhood. Published by Headpress, the book will be released in September of 2010. Described as "controversial and drastically scandalous," the book has to be read to be believed.