Part 23 (2/2)

The troops tore the module up, burned their blankets and ed with conspiracy, assault, and arson, but the charges were later diseneral of CCO He said he had heard ofto let him know He and Tony Stacy, another CCO member, had coht away Peabody, general of the UBN, was there, too

On a visit one night, Tony said that they had come down to try to hook ster I was flattered but skeptical Once in the organization, you were in for life He asked if I wanted to take a stand and I told him I'd think about it

”Monsta,” he said frankly, ”you've done too e to the Crip Nation We can't let you continue to kill our citizens Either you hook up or you ood of the C-Nation”

I was dumbfounded I couldn't speak, couldn't hear It was practically what Crazy Keith had said after the shoot-out Was CCO also the new West Side Syndicate?

”Was that” I started to ask, but couldn't

”Let me knohat you decide so I can inform Suma”

I walked back to theand asked hiht He was under the old constitution of Blue Magic, which had been coanization-a synthesis of the two

”No,” said Frogg angrily ”Don't do it, homie It ain't for everybody”

”What'cha ht? But don't do nuthin' till then”

I hung up and went to my cell, confused

The next day I went to court andday I told Tony I was ready-that I was in When I went to court again the following day I met Bwana from Hoover-a CCO member who had also cos When I got back from court, the constitution was on ot there, as Tony and Suma were clear across theeven before I began to read it I had to be sure about this, but it really was do or die Though I wasn't actually being forced into it, I did feel a little pressured In the end, it was my choice, and I took it I read the constitution and afterward burned it, as instructed I was in, hooked up, a ain and again in my mind I didn't feel much different and didn't feel like I knew any more than before I'd read the constitution

Late that saht a new brotha cae When Maurice from Five-Six Syndicate asked his name, he replied Salahudin Al-Muntaquin He was a member of the Black Guerrilla Faanization with an awesome military machine They had clashed with Crips several times in prison and supposedly had killed Pee Wee froence was up to date on him and when he said his name I kneho he was I hbor, made a knife out of plastic and sent it tohi when I ca I went down to his cell, the knife tied to a brooot there he was up doing Salat He was a Musli this , brotha?”

I was momentarily dazed by his huonistic toward Crips, offensive and hostile

”I' I had the broomstick on the head of the broom, but not screwed in At the other end, covered by my hand, was the knife

”You a BGF, ain't you?” I said, hoping he'd get hostile

”I am a revolutionary,” he said, ”and the weapon is unnecessary I' that er around the weapon, but on the handle

”Do you know Suma?” he asked

”Yeah, that's my comrade,” I declared proudly

”Ask him about me He knows me well”

At that I went back down the tier and repeated everything to Oldreed we should wait on Su that CCO had no beef with BGF and that if I could, to watch out for Salahudin I'd almost made a costly ood friends, and it was he who na after that I left County with a sentence of seven years in state prison My life has never been the same

10

RECONNECTED

I arrived at Chino state prison on June 5, 1985, eager to begin serving ot off the bus a confrontation started breith a Chicano who kept looking at me We were herded into R & R like cattle ”Nuts to butts” is how the Correctional Officer (CO) explained the way he wanted us lined up I was relieved that he didn't have a flashlight We were crowded into a cold, di had been leaking

”All right, listen up,” the CO said in a deep baritone that see I want you to do is take off your wristbands and throw them in this box Next, I want you to strip naked and have a seat If you want to send your clothes home, hold on to them If not, throw them in this cart Once you've stripped naked, we can follow through with the procedure”

All the while this Chicano kept staring atathi me I had already been briefed on our relationshi+p with the Southern Mexicans: CCO and the Mexican uard-were at war

”If you think one of them has detected you,” Suma had told me on a visit, ”take off first”

Now here was this dude burning holes in the side of h the procedures that the CO was explaining

”Put your hands over your head Let ue Lift up your nut sack Turn around, bend at the waist, spread your cheeks and give hs Let ht”

This was nothing new We had to do this every time we came from court in LA County Jail At first it botheredexa their kicks off of watching forty nakedinto different positions of humiliation at the co a prisoner, I've never seen one of these searches yield anything

What are they expecting? Soive hs,” and plink! a knife falls out of a h I know that prisoners do secrete weapons, drugs, and other things in their butts, the pigs haven't ever found anything on the searches I've been involved in This process is just another ritual designed to degrade