Triad Article Page 3

The Life of a Triad
         One of the possibilities of destroying organized crime syndicates is cooperation with those members of the organizations themselves. In closing, the following is a statement made my Kenneth Chu about his membership and participation in Asian organized crime. For all intents and purposes in gives a good glimpse into the life of those involved in Triad society.

       I thank the Subcommittee for allowing me to testify behind a screen. Because I have testified against the On Leong Tong and the Ghost Shadows gang, the FBI has relocated me and my family, and my identity has been changed. Therefore, I respectfully request that I not be asked any questions about my current identity, location or activities. My family and I would be in very serious danger if this information were revealed. I am testifying today under my previous name, Kenneth Chu.
       I am a 33-year-old Chinese-American who was born in New York City. I grew up in New York's Chinatown.
          In 1974, when I was 16 years old, I was approached by members of a Chinese street gang known as the Ghost Shadows. Gang members tried to persuade me and a good friend of mine to join the gang. At that time, the Ghost Shadows did not have control of Chinatown and were recruiting members to help them win control. I refused to join the gang.
Shortly after refusing to join the Ghost Shadows, I was beaten up very badly by a group of gang members and had several teeth knocked out. A friend of mine was stabbed in the leg. Gang members also told a friend of mine that he would have to pay the gang $200 a week if he did not join the gang. We eventually decided that it was easier and safer to join the gang than to continue resisting.
           About two weeks after joining the Ghost Shadows, I was also initiated into the On Leong tong. Myself and about 12 other new Ghost Shadow members all took part in a ceremony in the On Leong tong headquarters on Mott Street. The ceremony involved burning incense and making oaths in Chinese. I did not understand many of the oaths, because at that time I didn't speak Chinese very well. I do know that the oaths included a code of silence and a promise to protect the fellow members.
            All Ghost Shadows are regular members of the On Leong. Other members of the On Leong are the workers and business people in Chinatown. Most everyone is a member, but most non-active members do not get involved in crime. The leaders of the On Leong are important members of the community. The leaders of the On Leong are all involved in illegal gambling.
           My first duty as a Ghost Shadow was to stand watch on Mott Street, which was Ghost Shadow and On Leong territory. Since I was a new member, I usually stood watch late at night. While on watch we were responsible for protecting the On Leong gambling houses and watching out for rival gangs. We did not carry weapons because we were often searched by the police. Weapons were, however, always close by.
               The older Ghost Shadows robbed and extorted businesses in Ghost Shadow territory. The money was used for Ghost Shadow expenses like paying the younger members a salary. When I first became a Ghost Shadow, I was paid $35 a week plus I got meals for free. When we ate in restaurants in our territory, we never paid.
              In March of 1975 I shot and wounded a member of the rival Black Eagles gang. This gang member had approached me on Ghost Shadow territory several days before I shot him. At that confrontation, I acted like I had a gun under my coat and it scared him off. The second time I saw him on Ghost Shadow territory, he threatened me by throwing a bottle at me. I had to deal with him in order to save face.
             After I wounded the Black Eagle, my Ghost Shadow associate Phil Han called someone at the On Leong tong. On Leong officials arranged for me to take a bus to Boston and report to the Boston On Leong. The idea was that I was to stay out of sight of the police in New York.
             In Boston I met with the On Leong national grand president. He arranged for me to have $90 a week "long pay." Long pay is a reward fordoing your duty, in my case shooting the Black Eagle. Long pay continues for as long as you stay in the good graces of the On Leong. I was told to stay out of sight while in Boston. I lived in the On Leong's Wing Wor building.
           Things then got hot in Boston and the On Leong arranged for me to go to Chicago. I spent a short time in Chicago with the On Leong there and then went back to Boston. While in Boston I was given the name "Johnny Wong" and was given a fake New York drivers' license and a Social Security card. Johnny Wong became my street name after that.
           After that I went to the On Leong annual convention that was held in Detroit. I flew to Detroit with the Boston On Leong delegation and the national president, Hon Chin. At the convention I worked the gambling tables as a dealer. Illegal gambling was always a part of On Leong conventions.
          In 1975, Raymond Chin, who was a past national president of On Leong, and at that time was like a godfather of the On Leong, decided that I should come to Houston where he lived. At that time, Raymond Chin ran the entire On Leong from Houston. In Houston, I collected my long pay and worked in the On Leong casinos. On Leong had two casinos that operated seven days a week in Houston. I worked in the Houston casinos for 15 years.
When Raymond Chin died in the 80's there was a power struggle in Houston. The national On Leong president, Eddy Chan, started sending people to Houston to take over. Eddy wanted Houston to be like New York. I was not loyal to Eddy, because I did not want Houston to be like New York. Not as many bad things happened in Houston, and I liked that. There was no extortion of storeowners and little in the way of violent crimes among the Chinese.
          As a result of a factional dispute within the On Leong, and partially based on my involvement in a cheating scheme in the On Leong tong gambling casinos, national president suspended me from the tong and terminated my long pay. During this time, several street sources in Houston's Chinatown informed me that there was a murder contract put out on me. I was warned by these street sources not to come into Chinatown. During the time period of the factional dispute, three murders could be related to the on-going power struggle within the On Leong tong. Because of the violence, the On Leong closed the casinos for a time.
          I got back into the organization in 1983after Leong Toy of New Orleans became the new grand president. Toy was a friend of mine as was friendly to the Ghost Shadows. Toy got the gambling in Houston started again. At this time I was the enforcer for Houston. That means I was in charge of the security for the casinos. I hired former gang members from New York to help with enforcement.
         The bulk of the money the On Leong tong made in Houston and the rest of the country was from gambling. During good years, the On Leong in Houston grossed over $1 million as a result of gambling and related tong criminal activities.
         In early 1985, I met officer Bob Casey who was then with the Houston Police Department. I started providing information to him, because I trusted him and because I had become disenchanted with my life and what I was doing. I felt that by cooperating I could break away from the organization. I was not paid by the Houston Police and was not under indictment. I continued to work with Bob Casey when he became an FBI agent in 1986.
          This led to me going undercover for the FBI. While undercover, I recorded conversations between On Leong members about reopening gambling operations in Houston. While working undercover for the FBI, I attended a meeting of senior On Leong tong officials in Houston. During the meeting, the officials discussed how they were going to falsely testify at a federal grand jury hearing in Chicago, to which they had been subpoenaed.
      I have tried to use my knowledge to help law enforcement understand Asian organized crime. I would like to help as much as I can in this hearing and will try to answer any questions as long as they do not jeopardize my present situation.
           Thank you. (US Hearings 235-241)

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