NEW YORK GANG LATIN KINGS SAYS IT'S REFORMED; AUTHORITIES DOUBTFUL

BOSTON -- They shot enemies at point-blank range, sliced gang tattoos
off the arms of members who crossed them, and recruited children to
peddle crack cocaine.

But leaders of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation say they have
buried their past. No more drugging and thugging. They say they are
transforming into a political force that will push members to educate
themselves so they can fight government, police brutality, and
corporate America.

That's the message several Kings and Queens from the New York City
group brought to the Harvard Film Archives Thursday during the
premiere of their documentary Black & Gold.

But some Hispanic elders say they do not see evidence that the Kings
in Massachusetts have changed.

In the last year, police have charged Latin Kings throughout the state
with crimes, most of them drug offenses. Police say there are as many
as 2,000 members, with the strongest hold in the western part of the
state, in cities such as Springfield and Holyoke.

They see the local screening as a ploy to recruit.

"They hand out recruitment fliers saying they are against violence,
then at the next meeting they'll administer beatings," said Detective
Lt. Thomas J. Quiggley of the Massachusetts State Police Gang Unit.

Distrust Remains

But some Hispanics are reluctant to accept the Kings'
claims.

"I don't trust gangs, period," said Reyito Santiago, a director of the
Roberto Clemente Baseball League in Bosto's Roxbury neighborhood. His
nephew, Victor Roman, was stabbed to death by a gang member in 1990.
To him, all gangs represent evil. "If they're trying to change, I wish
them luck."

William Rodriguez, executive director of the Crime and Justice
Foundation, an agency that advocates for criminal justice reform, said
he doubts that gangs can change.

But Willie Morales, a Boston YMCA director, a former member of the
X-Men gang, said he believes the Kings.

"I saw them at a public speakout in New York City a year and a half
ago. It was a pretty positive event. I saw it as legit from the
get-go," Morales said. "I admire them. They're not saying we're former
Latin Kings. They are saying, `We are Latin Kings.' They're not trying
to hide their past. I think their past makes them more credible with
young people."

For many followers, the gang's past is alluring as well. Kings use
hand signs and chant "Amor de rey" (King love), which boosts gang
members' egos. They wear gold and black, colors they say symbolize
life and death. The males are kings, and females are queens, titles
that create pride.

Specialists say young people are mostly attracted to gangs because
youths want to belong to an accepting peer group. A charismatic
leader, they say, can persuade members to do almost anything -- from
the most heinous acts to the kindest ones.

'We're Not Scouts'

For Hector Torres, who described himself as one of the leaders of the
New York City Latin King and Queen Nation, the Kings are following in
the tradition of the Young Lords, a group that changed from a street
gang to a political organization.

"We welcome people to question our past, our violent past. We're not
saying we're Boy Scouts," Torres said. "Recognize, too, that America
has the most violent past."

Torres said he tells members, who number more than 3,000 in New York
City alone, to stay in school, do their homework, stay away from
drugs. He says Kings check up on one another, to make sure they are
not cutting school. Older Kings mentor younger ones.

In recent years, they have marched in rallies in New York, most of
them demonstrations against police brutality. Torres speaks out
against what he calls America's investment in prisons, and policies
that continue to ensure that prisons are filled.

But most of what is shown during the 74-minute documentary is
individuals such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and Richie Perez, the
national director of the Congress of Puerto Rican Rights, speaking
highly of Latin Kings.

It was produced by Big Noise Films, which was created by two Harvard
students, Rick Rowley, who is studying film, and Jacquie Soohen, who
is studying political science. They spent more than a year and $5,000
of their own money making the film.

"They have a kind of unity and power and a love that's difficult to
find anywhere," Rowley said.

Antonio "King Tone" Fernandez, the former leader who is awaiting
sentencing on charges of conspiracy to sell drugs, gets most of the
screen time. He says things such as, "We are not minorities any
longer. Once you become a Latin King. We are the majority, and we are
not only the majority, we are royalty."

Torres, 40, said there is a struggle brewing in the New York City
Kings, with some members pushing for a violent direction.

"The battle becomes between the good and the bad," Torres said. "There
will always be a struggle for control of power, whether it's the Girl
Scouts, IBM or the Latin Kings."