If David Simon were to write a sixth season of The Wire, he definitely won’t be looking at Brooklyn’s TBO (“True Bosses Only”, aka “Team Bang Out”) for inspiration on how to outwit Bunk and the Gang. The TBOs were notorious for the common array of violent crimes — murder, assault, burglaries — in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, and according to police were highly organized at the top level. Unfortunately for the TBOs — and, more importantly, fortunate for society — the foot soldiers weren’t quite as, uh, professional, bragging about their exploits just like any other teenagers would:
The cops were able to infiltrate and bust the gang after a year-long investigation using social media; creating “fake” profiles and friending the gang members. Especially young gang members couldn’t help but brag about their “accomplishments” such as mayhem and murder on Twitter and Facebook.
If all this sounds familiar, it’s because NYPD busted a gang earlier this year in the same manner — and in the same borough, no less. This time, the bust was much larger, taking down a 250-member gang that had terrorized the streets of Bushwick for years. Score two for stupidity.
via Gizmodo
About John Ferensen