America's Most Dangerous Prison Gang: The Aryan Brotherhood

Summary

The Underworld Podcast: America's Most Dangerous Prison Gang – The Aryan Brotherhood

Release Date: January 28, 2025

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Overview

In this gripping episode of The Underworld Podcast, journalists Danny Gold and Sean Williams delve deep into the sinister world of the Aryan Brotherhood (AB), America’s most formidable and dangerous prison gang. From its inception in the 1960s to its expansive criminal empire today, the episode provides a comprehensive exploration of the AB’s origins, operations, key figures, and the relentless efforts by law enforcement to dismantle its influence both inside and outside prison walls.

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1. Origins and Formation of the Aryan Brotherhood

The episode traces the Aryan Brotherhood’s roots back to 1964 within the notoriously violent San Quentin Prison in California. Amid the height of the civil rights movement, racial tensions within the prison led to the formation of racially exclusive gangs. The Black Gorilla Family emerged among black inmates, while the Diamond Tooth Gang, characterized by members with glass fragments embedded in their teeth, formed among white inmates.

Danny Gold [10:02]: "It started as a white self-defense group in a single penitentiary and evolved into a gigantic criminal syndicate across the country."

These early gangs laid the foundation for what would become the Aryan Brotherhood, a group that initially emphasized white supremacy but gradually shifted its focus towards power and profit.

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2. Key Figures: Barry "The Baron" Mills and TD "The Hulk" Bingham

Central to the AB’s rise are two pivotal figures: Barry "The Baron" Mills and TD "The Hulk" Bingham. Mills, first arrested at 19 for stealing a car, and Bingham, known for his immense physical prowess and frequent violent outbursts, became the de facto leaders of the AB.

Sean Williams [22:59]: "Barry Mills lives like he's some kind of godfather figure, which really impacted the gang's operations."

Their leadership styles—Mills’s strategic mindset and Bingham’s brute force—complemented each other, allowing the AB to expand its influence both within the prison system and in the outside criminal world.

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3. Structure and Operations of the Aryan Brotherhood

Despite its relatively small official membership of around 100 to 150 full-fledged members, the AB exerts control over thousands of associates, colloquially known as "peckerwoods." The organization operates with a highly structured hierarchy, including a ruling council and a commission, modeled loosely after the Italian Mafia.

Danny Gold [11:36]: "They established a council of 12 members to manage the brand, with a commission overseeing the council, ensuring centralized decision-making."

The Brotherhood is notorious for its efficiency and brutality, responsible for approximately 18% of murders within the prison system. Their operations span drug trafficking, gambling, extortion, murder-for-hire, and more, both inside prisons and on the streets.

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4. Expansion and Criminal Activities

By the early 1980s, the Aryan Brotherhood had expanded beyond California into states like Texas, Illinois, Kansas, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Their strategic approach involved overt and terrorizing actions to assert dominance, such as public killings of guards and inmates to instill fear.

Danny Gold [20:14]: "In 1983, the AB committed one of their most infamous acts: the stabbing of a guard 40 times at Marion Federal Prison."

Their influence extended beyond prison walls, establishing a robust presence in the outside criminal underworld. The AB became heavily involved in drug trafficking, especially methamphetamine, and operated extensive gambling networks within prisons.

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5. Leadership Changes and Internal Struggles

As the AB grew, internal conflicts emerged, particularly regarding the balance between maintaining racial ideologies and pursuing power and profit. Figures like Michael Thompson, a towering former football star, rose quickly within the ranks due to their physical capabilities but often clashed with the gang’s ruthless policies.

Danny Gold [28:08]: "Thompson was against killing people on the outside who weren't involved, leading to his defection and testimony against the AB."

Such internal disputes occasionally led to defections and crackdowns, as the Brotherhood sought to maintain strict control and eliminate dissent within its ranks.

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6. Law Enforcement Crackdowns and RICO Indictments

Persistent efforts by law enforcement culminated in a massive RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) indictment in December 2002. This operation targeted 29 AB inmates and associates, including top leaders Mills and Bingham, charging them with 32 murders and multiple other violent crimes.

Danny Gold [39:27]: "The RICO trial in 2006 resulted in 30 convictions, but the jury was deadlocked on imposing the death penalty, undermining the prosecution’s efforts to dismantle the AB."

Despite these legal actions, the AB continued to adapt, finding new ways to communicate and expand its operations. The introduction of supermax prisons like ADX Florence aimed to isolate top AB leaders, but the gang’s resilience ensured their persistence.

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7. Current Status and Legacy

As of 2025, the Aryan Brotherhood remains a powerful and pervasive force within the U.S. prison system and the broader criminal landscape. Leadership figures like TD Bingham continue to exert influence from behind bars, while new members and associates perpetuate the gang’s criminal endeavors.

Sean Williams [42:15]: "The AB continues to expand its reign of terror, involved in everything from violent crimes to sophisticated fraud operations."

Despite ongoing law enforcement challenges, the AB’s legacy of violence and organizational prowess makes it a lasting threat, with authorities continually striving to curb its influence.

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Conclusion

The Underworld Podcast offers a detailed and harrowing account of the Aryan Brotherhood, shedding light on its origins, structure, and the relentless pursuit by law enforcement to bring it down. Through expert analysis and compelling narratives, Danny Gold and Sean Williams provide listeners with an in-depth understanding of one of America’s most dangerous prison gangs, highlighting the complexities and brutal realities of organized crime within the prison system.

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Notable Quotes

• Danny Gold [10:02]: "It started as a white self-defense group in a single penitentiary and evolved into a gigantic criminal syndicate across the country."

• Sean Williams [22:59]: "Barry Mills lives like he's some kind of godfather figure, which really impacted the gang's operations."

• Danny Gold [20:14]: "In 1983, the AB committed one of their most infamous acts: the stabbing of a guard 40 times at Marion Federal Prison."

• Danny Gold [28:08]: "Thompson was against killing people on the outside who weren't involved, leading to his defection and testimony against the AB."

• Danny Gold [39:27]: "The RICO trial in 2006 resulted in 30 convictions, but the jury was deadlocked on imposing the death penalty, undermining the prosecution’s efforts to dismantle the AB."

• Sean Williams [42:15]: "The AB continues to expand its reign of terror, involved in everything from violent crimes to sophisticated fraud operations."

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Further Resources

For those interested in exploring more about the Aryan Brotherhood and other organized crime groups, consider the following recommendations:

• Books: "Inside Organized Crime" by various authors provides comprehensive coverage on prison gangs.

• Documentaries: Inside the Aryan Brotherhood offers a visual exploration of the gang's operations.

• Additional Episodes: Stay tuned to The Underworld Podcast for more in-depth analyses of global criminal networks.

Transcript

[Danny Gold]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. He was a Boy Scout leader, a church deacon, a husband, a father. He went to a local church. He was going to the grocery store with us. He was the guy next door. But he was leading a double life. He was certainly a peeping Tom, looking through the windows, looking at people, fantasizing about what he could do. He then began entering the houses. He could get into their home, take something and get out and not be caught. He felt very powerful. He was a monster hiding in plain sight. Someone killed four members of a family. It just didn't happen here. Journey inside the mind of one of history's most notorious killers, btk, through the voices of the people who know him best. Listen to Monster BTK on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. It's 1996 at Marion Federal Prison in Illinois, and an inmate has gotten into some trouble with his own gang, the D.C. blacks. Scared they're going to attack him, he seizes on a course of action. He assaults a white inmate and gets sent to the hole, figuring if you're in isolation, you're a pretty hard target to reach. Way tougher to kill than if you're in Gen Pop. The prison, like many others, is divided along racial lines. And when there's no retaliation for the beating, a dozen other members of the D.C. blacks, sensing weakness, attacks half a dozen white inmates in the yard. Things are spiraling. Word of these incidents eventually makes its way over to ADX Florence, the supermax in Colorado, America's most notorious and high security prison for the most dangerous inmates serving time. There are two of the most powerful convicts in the entire US Prison system, Barry the Baron Mills and TD the Hulk Bingham, two of the highest ranking members in the most feared prison gang in America, the Aryan Brotherhood. You see, although there's only 100 of them, or maybe 150 full fledged official members, the Aryan Brotherhood controls thousands and they're known at one point to have been responsible for 18% of murders in the prison system. Though they only make up 1% of the inmates, they're highly organized and highly efficient in killing in or out of prison. And they're also merciless and brutal. Communication between the top ass of the Brotherhood known As the commission is tough though, prison officials keep them highly isolated and locked down, fearing the chaos they can cause. It's kind of shocking they can even communicate at all. But the Brotherhood always finds a way. Bingham sent a letter to Mills. It reads simply, confirm message from Chris to move on D.C. another coded message is then sent out to all the Aryan Brotherhood members throughout the entire prison. It's written in three different ways to make sure it gets out. Once with a sophisticated coded language, another with prison slang, and finally by invisible ink using urine. It's just four simple words, but they carry weight. War with DC Blacks. The message bounces around a few prisons before finally reaching Lewisburg Prison in August of 1997. And then the Aryan Brotherhood gets to work plotting a surprise attack. Lookouts are deployed and several Aryan Brotherhood hitmen, including a high ranking member, stab to death 2 DC Blacks members with homemade shanks, including a leader, and seriously injure three more. It's a full on race war and it's a firm reminder of how dangerous the Aryan Brotherhood is and how capable they are of getting to anyone anywhere at any time, no matter how powerful they may be. And the gang, which started as a, quote, white self defense group in a single penitentiary, has now evolved into a gigantic criminal syndicate across the country with prolific and profitable operations in drug trafficking, gambling, protection, extortion and much more in prisons across the country and even on the street where they do everything from armed robbery, murder for hire, gun trafficking and meth manufacturing. Quote it's an empire. A former high ranking member who turned on the gang said in a 2012 confessional interview. That's what I helped it become. This is the Underworld Podcast. Welcome back to the Underworld Podcast, the weekly organized crime podcast that is not pro race war. Just want to be clear. Well, I'm not. I can't speak for Sean. We are a narrative storytelling audio experience that delves into the world of global organized crime with a new episode every week hosted by two journalists who have reported on this stuff all over the globe. Myself, Danny Gold and my co host Sean. We're not actually sure where he stands on the race war. Williams, very nice as always. Bonus episodes on patreon.com podcast or sign up on Spotify or on itunes for the low, low price of $5 a month, which gets you even more content. Underworldpod.com for merch t shirts, all that and the underworld podcastmail.com for tips. Wiggy, wherever you are, call me back, bud. Let's make some episode magic. Now. We like to correct our errors here. And in the last episode, I said that Bugsy Siegel was killed in his living room in Los Angeles. It was not his living room. It was his. His paramour at the time, Virginia Hill. So I got that wrong. We got a comment about that. We also got a comment. I mean, I just have to go on a rant about this. Someone saying that this conspiracy theory that there's no movies about the Jewish Mafia, it's like a Jewish conspiracy to hide it, buddy. It takes two seconds to Google. Like, there's a movie about Mickey Cohen 10 years ago with Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling called Gangster Squad, where he's the bad guy. But, like, there's plenty. The Godfather one, one of the main bad guys, Bo Green, biggest Mafia movie ever. Godfather 2, Hyman Roth, you know who's. They don't even hide it, right? He's killed coming back from Israel. You know, Bugsy, about Bugsy Siegel, nominated for 11 Oscars in 1991. I actually thought it was kind of boring, to be honest with you. I don't know if you've seen it, Sean.

[Sean Williams]

No.

[Danny Gold]

No, I haven't.

[Sean Williams]

Gangster Squad's good, though. It's kind of good.

[Danny Gold]

Gangster Squad's good. I mean, one of my favorites is Casino, where obviously the main character is a Jewish guy, Bobby D'Niro. And then also he plays a Jew in one of the most critically acclaimed Mafia movies ever by one of the most famous filmmakers of all time, Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, which is like four hours long and entirely about the Jewish Mafia in the Lower east side. One of my personal favorites, too, was Mobsters Lansky and Siegel. There's like three biopics on Meyer Lansky, one that came out a couple years ago, bunch of old movies about Murder, Inc. Arnold Rostring, Rothstein, not to mention all the Prestige Mafia TV shows. You got Hessian, the Sopranos, Boardwalk Empires, got Rothstein and Myron Bugsy. Even Peaky Blinder, right, has Tom Hardy as, like, an orthodox Jewish gang boss. So to that commenter, like, you gotta try harder, but give us, like an Alex.

[Sean Williams]

That's not that many. You got any more? Because I'm still. I'm still.

[Danny Gold]

There's more. There's more. I just don't. I mean, Dutch. Dutch Schultz is in a bunch of them. But, like, what I'm saying is just. Just try harder. Try, you know, give us like an Alex Jones, the frogs are turning gay. Thing like, this is, you can do better for conspiracy theories than one that takes five seconds to Google and see that it's wrong. Anyway, where were we? Ah, yes, American prison race wars. I'm going to be honest, Sean. I think if I end up in prison, I could probably make friends with everyone, you know, like, cross all the racial and gang lines and just kind of banter with the boys. Like, I'm a charming guy. People like me.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah. You might struggle with the conspiracy theories inside, though. I don't know. I mean, there's probably a few of them going around, but yeah, the charming. The charming bridge builder staple of the prison drama. You could be that guy.

[Danny Gold]

I'm sure they're up for lively debate, but let's. Let's get it going. The year is 1964 in America, and the civil rights movement is at its peak, culminating with the landmark legislation, the Civil Rights act of 1964, which is trying to end race discrimination, desegregate society, and bring people of all races together. But inside San Quentin Prison, the most violent prison in California, the opposite is happening. The black inmates are forming their own group, eventually dubbed the Black Gorilla Family. And then a group of white inmates formed their own group called the Diamond Tooth Gang, apparently because they had pieces of glass embedded in their teeth that shined in the sun.

[Sean Williams]

I mean, genuine question. How. How does one do that? Like, with glue? Or do you just wedge it between your teeth? And I'm going to say. I'm going to say this is. This is pretty gay. This is pretty Louis Couture, you know, Gold Grills. That's also quite gay.

[Danny Gold]

I mean, you can say a lot when you live in New Zealand and no one can find you, bud. But, you know, you also had the Mexican mafia, or La Ma, which had formed in the late 50s, and later another Mexican gang, Nuestra Familia, which formed to actually protect against La Ma. We should actually do episodes on both of them. I mean, they're. They're crazy stories, if nothing else, to make fun of that movie where Shia LaBeouf plays out LA Ma hitman and had to do, like, the cholo accent, which is. It's a bad movie, but it also kind of. Kind of rules. Of course, you didn't initially. This group, the white group, is composed of mostly, like, bikers, think handlebar mustaches and beards, but there are a few neo Nazis with swastika tattoos and that whole jazz.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah, I mean, maybe take out the swastikas a bit, but this is pretty much a Tom of Finland collage, is it not?

[Danny Gold]

Maybe they end up linking up with some other white inmates and form the Aryan Brotherhood. Also known as the brand. Now, obviously, there's always been prison groups or gangs, people who linked up to protect themselves. But these groups are aligning exclusively by race. And soon enough, the violence explodes at San Quentin, which starts being described as a gladiator school. I'm sure you've heard that term before to describe other prisons. So, yeah, all these gangs forming up, and they. They get the shiv in and fighting for power and control. It's funny, because before we started recording, Sean actually kept talking about how the Aryan Brotherhood was his favorite gang. And me, personally, I find it weird for adults to have a favorite gang in the first place. But I thought it was a really, really strange choice.

[Sean Williams]

I mean, you can see my previous comments for reference on this issue. I can. I can change them, Danny. I can change them.

[Danny Gold]

Anyway, all of these gangs are also dead set on recruiting more members, preying on new vulnerable inmates as they arrive. Which makes sense. You know, a new guy, you need protection, especially when everyone else is in a gang. The Aryan Brotherhood, though, they go about things in an entirely different way than most of the gangs. They only go after the most capable and violent white inmates to be full fledged members. They even have a pledge that recruits are given. Quote, an Aryan brother is without a care. He walks where the weak and heartless won't dare. And if by chance he should stumble and lose control, his brothers will be there to help reach his goal. For a worthy brother, no need is too great. He need not but ask fulfillment his fate. For an Aryan brother, death holds no fear. Vengeance will be his through his brothers still here.

[Sean Williams]

Okay, Dale, put some medieval music over that. That. That Slade.

[Danny Gold]

Like. Like lutes? Is that what you mean?

[Sean Williams]

Yeah, I'm thinking of lutes. You know, like when people say Dre, but medieval play playlists on YouTube, that kind of thing. I want that.

[Danny Gold]

Okay. Okay. So hopefully he's put that in, which, you know, that. That poem. I didn't figure these guys for pledges and poetry, but, you know, to. To each their own.

[Sean Williams]

And let's slow this down. So we got guys with handlebar mustaches hooking up in prison and writing poetry. I mean, you know what I'm gonna say? All these guys need to do is ditch their silly race war and they've got a deeply fulfilling literary club. It'll be lovely.

[Danny Gold]

By 1975, the brotherhood expands to most, if not all, of California state prisons and are actively involved in a race war where dozens are killed.

[Sean Williams]

Okay, there we go.

[Danny Gold]

1975 is also the year where Michael Thompson gets to Prison for helping murder two drug dealers. Thompson is 23 years old. He's 6 foot 4, 300 pounds, and a former high school football star. The dude is a beast. He's up for parole after 10 years. So he mostly wants to keep to himself at first. Doesn't claim any affiliations. But a big boy like that is gonna get noticed. And he's soon a target for the Hispanic and black gangs. They attack him in the yard a bunch of times. He's eventually transferred to Folsom county, another California prison, where he hears the train coming around the bend, but there's no sunshine since, like San Quentin, the prison has got a full on race war raging.

[Sean Williams]

He didn't. He didn't. He didn't sing about that, did he?

[Danny Gold]

No, no, no, no. He did. He left that part out of the song.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah.

[Danny Gold]

Thompson arrives and on his first day, no one speaks to him until a leader of the black gorilla family taunts him, telling him to come to the yard tomorrow. Ready? The reason I'm getting into Thompson is because he ends up being, you know, a big part of a big article in the New Yorker in 2004 from another, none other than David grand, which is one of the more thorough sources on the gang. This article, it's called the brand. Thompson's also done a bunch of other interviews on the podcast circuit recently. Last couple years he was on, I think, old Nat Geo and A. E docs and some of the newer interviews. He actually says he was approached by a member of the Black Panthers to join the group. Even though he looks like a white guy, though apparently he's part Native American, so not really sure what to make of that. But this is the story that was in the New Yorker, so I think we're gonna go with that.

[Sean Williams]

I mean, do you just imagine being a New Yorker staffer, like, just rocking up editorial meetings on a Monday morning? Like, guys, I got three ideas right. One's a murder on a 17th century galleon, another's treating depression with SD and I've got a third one on leader of a prison gang, like, actually thinking about. That's exactly why I pitch into the void every day.

[Danny Gold]

It's a fun life if you can make it work.

[Sean Williams]

Oh, God, yeah.

[Danny Gold]

So Thompson, much like a New Yorker editor, he makes a shiv in his office or cell that night. And the next day, when the guy who threatened him and another black gorilla family try to take him out, he stabs both, one nearly to death. After that, several white inmates, including TD Bingham, who we mentioned in the open Approach him and they ask him if he wants to join the Aryan Brotherhood. He claims he was hesitant because he wasn't down with the racism, which we'll get into later. But he knows he needs protection to make it through his sentence. He says it was more than just protection, though. It was like being led into a sanctuary. And you immediately became the man. Like a shot caller, by the way. Shot caller. Great prison movie about the Aryan Brotherhood, starring none other than Jaime Lannister.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah, actually a good movie. And another role where he gets to have sex with his sister. Am I right?

[Danny Gold]

Jesus. Sean Thompson goes on to say that to become a member, you have to make your bones, which means either kill someone or at a minimum, seriously mess them up, usually another inmate. There's also a blood in, blood out oath, which means you don't leave the gang unless you're dead. Although I've read some ex members say that the official blood oath and the pledge we mentioned earlier, it's basically nonsense made up by law enforcement. But yeah, I kind of feel like most gangs, especially prison gangs, do the blood in, blood out thing again. Another great prison movie, Blood in, Blood Out. Now, usually new members get a probationary period of around a year, but since Thompson was such a physical specimen and showed real skill with a knife, he's voted in immediately after getting in. The new members have to get a tattoo to be branded, though I think this has changed in recent years. Usually the initials A.B. swasthika, or 666 to symbolize the beast. Thompson also gets a. He gets a green shamrock, which is also a symbol of the gang. All Thompson had to do was show the tattoo on his hand and he was instantly in charge of white inmates. Just like that.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah. Shamrock with a swastika in it. Conor McGregor's dream.

[Danny Gold]

Hey, I mean, Conor is basically progressive compared to, like, other guys in the ufc. And for those press conferences, he gets a pass for me, you know, like the. The who, the fook? Is that like that? I mean, come on, you can't beat that. Connor's just. He's just, you know, and his ridiculous Instagram stories where he's clearly on drugs. You can't beat that.

[Sean Williams]

Yes.

[Danny Gold]

Thompson also began being groomed for leadership. He starts on the Aryan Brotherhood curriculum, which, yes, they do actually have one. He's reading books like Sun Tzu's the Art of War and Machiavelli's the Prince, which, you know, it's always kind of corny when people have like, the mob boss or the gangster reading that stuff. Guys Perfect new sponsor for 2025 Chubbies. You guys probably know them from their shorts. They make a ton of great clothing. I got the classic line swim trunk which is perfect because I need to get away from New York. It's 8 degrees, it feels comfortable. It's got great stretchy fabric. They've also got a Polo that I'm wearing right now. Super lightweight, comfortable. It was a Giants Polo, which the Giants are terrible. But the Polo is fantastic. And for a limited time you can use code [e-mail] and get 20% off your order. Don't miss out. Chubby's is here to help you take on 2025 in style. Starting with the comfiest, most versatile gear you've ever worn. For a limited time, our friends at Chubby's are giving our listeners 20% off with the promo code Underworld at checkout@chubby shorts.com that's 20% off your order with the promo code Underworld. Support our show and tell them we sent you. No matter where the new year takes you, Chubby's has the gear to keep you comfortable and looking your best. C H U B B I E S S H o r t s.com do it. Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds. Recently I asked Mint Mobile's legal team if big wireless companies are allowed to raise prices due to inflation. They said yes. And then when I asked if raising prices technically violates those onerous two year contracts, they said what the are you talking about? You? You insane Hollywood. So to recap, we're cutting the price of mint unlimited from $30 a month to just $15 a month. Give it a [e-mail] Switch $45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first 3 month plan only taxes and fees. Extra speed slower above 40 gigabytes. Details this episode is brought to you by Meundies. While Meundies can't totally help your love life, this Valentine's Day they can offer you insanely comfy undies and loungewear to buy or gift. Meundies has so many awesome Valentine's Day prints and styles. Plus you can match with your partner, friends or even your pets. This Valentine's Day, give the gift that'll keep them thinking of you and score huge site wide savings. @meundies.com Spotify that's meundies.com Spotify Meundies comfort from the outside in. But I think what's the other one they always talk about? The newer one. Oh. 48. 48 laws of power.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah, maybe Infinite jest.

[Danny Gold]

No, I don't think. I don't think that's part of their curriculum. Besides reading the books, though, where, you know, terrible entrepreneur instrument accounts get their quotes, he's also taught how to kill without a second thought. In an AB instruction manual that seized by authorities, it states, quote, the smell of fresh human blood can be overpowering, but killing is like having sex. The first time is not so rewarding, but it gets better and better with practice, especially when one remembers that it's a holy cause. Another member also tells authorities that members study books of anatomy so they would know how to kill better. By the early 80s, the gang spreads out of California into other states. Texas, Illinois, Kansas, and as far east as Georgia and Pennsylvania. When a member arrives, a full fledged member arrives at a new prison. They often carry out a demonstration killing to terrorize other inmates and set the tone. And they do the opposite of a lot of other gangs who, you know, would try to hide their murders or whatever it is. They want to flaunt it even in front of the guards, just to show that they're crazy. They do not care about consequences, even if it's a new life sentence. In early 1983, the AB commits one of their most infamous acts. A member is being led down a hall while shackled by a guard that apparently disrespected him before. The member pauses at another comic cell and puts his hand through the bar where the guy had a hidden handcuff key. He passes to him. As soon as his hands are free, he grabs a foot long knife from that other convict's waistband, stabs the guard 40 times, killing him.

[Sean Williams]

Jeez.

[Danny Gold]

Later that day at the same prison, an Aryan Brotherhood associate, not looking to be outdone, does the same maneuver, frees himself with the help of another con with a key and stabs three guards, killing one. And it's the first time in American federal prison history that two guards have been killed on the same day. And it cements the AB reputation as word spreads through the prison system that these guys are not to be trifled with. Now, there's only really 100 or 150 fully pledged members of the Aryan Brotherhood at any time. But there's thousands of associates, they call them peckerwoods, that operate as like a farm team or in different farm teams, different street gangs or prison gangs. They get protection, they get the good prison jobs, and they get other perks of being with the gang. If you guys remember how we talked about the Hell's Angels, and you Know, the other motorcycle clubs, the puppet clubs and whatnot. It's similar to that. There's other white gangs that are basically that for the AB, like, like the Nazi lowriders. But even with only 100 or so members by 1983, the organization is having some issues basically that it's hard to organize. And that's because each Aryan Brotherhood member has to vote on literally every big decision. So with these dudes spread out all over so many prisons, it might take weeks to make a decision. And things are just taking too long. Sometimes it would take eight weeks to get a vote on whether or not they should kill a guy. And it's, you know, decision lag right there. So they decide they need to get better organized.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah, Swiss style democracy. It's not for everyone.

[Danny Gold]

Yeah, not even the Swiss really, right?

[Sean Williams]

Not really the Swiss. No. They can't do it.

[Danny Gold]

At the time there's a few AB members that are at trial for assaulting other inmates and they decide to act as their own lawyers and subpoena some other AB members as witnesses. So a bunch of them end up being gathered at the same place for this trial, which is Chino Prison in California. Which, you know, it's a pretty solid move. Makes it a lot easier for them to communicate and come to this big decision, which is that there's going to be a council of 12 members to manage the brand. Each ruling council member is going to be elected by majority vote. And on top of that, there's going to be a thing called the Commission, made up of three members that oversee the council. According to Thompson, they're going to loosely model it on the Italian Mafia. And the AB goes further. There's going to be two councils and commissions, one for the federal system and one for the state system. In the federal system, two of the Commission members are going to be the Aryan Brotherhood's two most powerful members. Barry the Baron Mills and Tyler Davis Bingham, better known as TD Bingham the Baron, which, you know, we have to admit is a solid nickname for a prison gang leader. He's born in 1948 and is first seriously arrested when he's 19 for stealing a car. He's sent to something called an honorary farm, which I imagine is like a, you know, a prison work program. He escapes from that after a few months and decides to rob a 7 11, gets caught and is sentenced for five years for that one and sent to San Quentin. And there he links up with a newly formed Aryan Brotherhood.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah, I've got to say I'm spotting a slight flaw in the justice system here. I mean, anyone who does anything really bad and you just throw them in this big prison with all their other buddies with Hitler tats and handlebar moustaches. I mean, what you've got there is a perfect breeding ground for Nazis kissing each other on the lips.

[Danny Gold]

New Zealand, man, you're. Aren't you maybe going to South America soon?

[Sean Williams]

I am definitely going to South America in one year. So it's going to be different vibes.

[Danny Gold]

Yeah. Anyway, after he gets out of San Quentin in 1977, he plots a bank robbery with some other ex cons he met in San Quentin. And the plan is for the robbers to get away with 2 million in cash. But you know, best laid plans, they walk away with only 21,000 and they also get ratted out. And the Baron eventually gets sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, where he starts getting into serious trouble. He's convicted in 1979 of nearly beheading in another inmate over a gambling debt. Authorities also say he. He'd like to crochet in his cell, which, you know, that's. That's interesting. It's kind of Hippocrates. While also composing a list. Yeah. While also composing a list of enemies to kill, which sounds more first personality. Here's a quote from Mills from one of his various trials. We live in a different society than you do. There is justified violence in our society. I'm here to tell you that. I'm here to tell all you that. Then we've got TD Bingham, AKA the Hulk. His nickname comes from the fact that he is extremely large, which, you know, obvious, and could bench £500. Bingham is like, very physically imposing, even for someone in federal lockup. He's quick to violence and anger. A former AB member once said that he was the most violent person he'd ever met. He's constantly getting into fights, really savagely attacking people. Bingham spent most of his teenage years in and out of juvenile facilities, first getting arrested for petty theft when he's 19. He gets out of a more serious charge at 19 and then gets arrested only a few years later for armed robbery of a bank. And also, weirdly, he's like part Jewish and doesn't hide it. He's a Star of David tattoo on one arm and a swastika tattoo on the other, which is confusing. You know, it's a confused guy. In interviews, Thompson talks about how the Brotherhood actually isn't really about white supremacy. Its main thing now is for power and doing anything to get it.

[Sean Williams]

So are they actually white Supremacists, like, do they actually do anything outwardly race other than obviously having swastikas on their arms? But is, like, race just an easy way to separate folks behind bars these days? I don't know.

[Danny Gold]

I think it definitely has elements of that. There are definitely neo Nazis in it and skinheads. And, you know, they've killed what, they killed that Jewish prisoner like, 10 years ago or 20 years ago because he, like, after like two or three days. And they definitely attacked, you know, blacks. But they have alliances with. With the Mexican gangs. So it's weird. I like, you know, I can't say for certain, but I think they definitely. There's a large component of that. Is it the end all be all? No, because they work, obviously they work with Mexican gangs and they're more interested in power and money, so.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah, yeah.

[Danny Gold]

But, you know, every interview with these guys, it goes back and forth. Some of them say that it's really about that. Some of them say they. They are about that. Some of them say some of them are about that. So it's a hard thing to parse how much conviction there is in a lot of them. Another early member of the ab, who becomes a commissioner and then would actually go on to leave the gang and reveal a whole lot is a guy by the name of John Greshner. He's from Minnesota. You know, he has an absentee dad. He runs around in greaser street gangs as a kid. And he gets popped for a whole bunch of felonies in his teens and early 20s, including armed robbery and aggravated assault. Greshner escapes from prison in Minnesota, gets into a gunfight with a police officer, and while in federal lockup in Indiana, he meets Barry Mills, who recruits him. He joins in 1977, when it's still a pretty small group at that point, the gang is still just really in the California state system. But other members who are getting out of the state pens, you know, they are recidivists. And soon after, they're getting tagged on federal charges because they're doing stuff like bank robberies, drugs, guns. They end up being shipped all over the states, which, you know, what happens next, obviously, expansion. Greshner helps the gang really get going. He works on their banking and collection strategy, how to divvy up and make the money. And according to him, the AB's racism ends up coming second to power and profit, and they kind of use it as a calling card for other skinhead and white inmates to kind of feel this connection. He also claims that, again, this is one guy who was in the gang claiming it. So, you know, make of it what you will. He claims that some AB members practice a racist version of an old Viking raider religion called Asatru, or Asatru, I don't know how to pronounce it. He ends up leaving the gang in 1999. Talks a whole lot. But one of the guys we mentioned earlier, Michael Thompson, he ends up leaving the gang a lot earlier in the 1980s. And that has to do with another policy that they enact when they're forming these hierarchical structures in the early 80s. And that's what to do about snitches now, obviously, like. Like most gangs, snitches get. Get killed. In the early 1980s, though, a former AB member testifies against one of the commissioners. But he's in productive custody and the organization can't get to him. So they order a recently paroled member to go after his family. And the thing is that, like, if they can't get to you, they're gonna go after someone in your family until they get to someone. That's the policy. And he goes to the guy's family's house and shoots his dad in the head three times, killing him.

[Sean Williams]

Jesus.

[Danny Gold]

This is that new policy in action. We can't get you. We're gonna get everyone in your family until we can get to you. Shortly after the killing Thompson, who is at this point a member of the council, he defects from the AB and he later ends up testifying against the hitman, apparently. But his whole thing was that he was against that. He did not want to do it. He argued against the move for days, thinking it was wrong to kill people on the outside that aren't involved, but was overruled. By 1986, he's in the prison version of witness protection, and his family has been relocated and. And hidden. And he becomes the highest ranking defector at that time. Increasingly, though, the Aryan Brotherhood starts looking to create a real criminal organization focused way more on making money than the race war ideology. Although obviously, like we discussed, that's still a part. According to a declassified FBI report, the AB wanted to, quote, launch a cooperative effort of death and fear against staff and other inmates in order to take over the system they want to control everything from drug trafficking to pimping to extortion to murder for hire contracts. A member of the Aryan Brotherhood would later say to investigators, quote, the gang was no longer primarily bent on destroying blacks and the Jews and the minorities of the world, White supremacy and all that shit. It's a criminal organization. First and foremost.

[Sean Williams]

Guess that's some kind of an argument for capitalism.

[Danny Gold]

Get in money, man. It unites us all, you know, put aside your differences. This is also. This is a quote from an SPLC write up. In short order, the AB began taking over existing drugs and gambling operations run by white inmates throughout the federal prison system. Gressner said the leaders of these rings were offered a stark choice. Join the federal AB and start taking orders and kicking back money to the commissioners or die. Our old saying was one brother, meaning that one brother can walk into any joint and take it over any joint. Because the leaders of the other crews in there know that one brother has the entire brand behind him. So if they kill that one brother, sooner or later he'll reach from the grave through us to get his revenge. In the New Yorker article I mentioned, it goes into the detail of the story of a full fledged member, a protege of the Baron who shows up at Leavenworth Federal Prison in Kansas. He immediately goes to the yard shirtless and displays a giant shamrock tattoo on his chest. A crowd of white inmates gather around him and it's almost like he's a rock star. He then starts to take over the entire economy of the prison. First, he has his men go cell tier to cell tier and place attacks on the sale of pruno, which is prison wine. Then he takes over the poker game that was being run. He establishes other gambling operations on every prison tier. For small games, the inmates pay their debt out of their commissary. You know, cigarettes, candy, whatever. In the high roller game, where you've got drug lords betting thousands, the tallies would be settled at the end of the month and an AB member at a prison will be paid. If the gambling decks weren't paid on time, the prisoners would be beaten with a metal pipe and then eventually killed. If they still don't pay, the money is all then funneled to the leaders of the Ability. The guards also use the AB members as power brokers, knowing that their control was inevitable. And they do stuff like ask them if there's okay, if it's okay if a certain inmate can get back on the yard after being punished.

[Sean Williams]

You got to be a pretty big fan of gambling to be playing under those kind of conditions. I mean, yeah, pretty nuts. Speaking of which, actually, how's your crypto wallet looking?

[Danny Gold]

Dude, all I do is lose. Like, it is insane how much I lose, not how much I don't lose a lot, but like, I think I lost my. Like, I put like a G in in the last four Days once, the trump coin stuff. And I just lost it all going from like various shit coin to various shit coin. Did you gotta be on the Internet trump thing go.

[Sean Williams]

Did what happened to the trump coin thing? Did it go up?

[Danny Gold]

It went up and then it halved. But you know, I lost some on Melania coin, I lost some on a fake baron coin and then I lost a bunch last night on the JFK JFK files coin. It's just, dude, it's just, it's, it's, it's coins, dude. And I'm not on the inside, so I'm not doing so good. If you are the inside the underworld podcast at gmail dot com. Just let me in one of your telegram groups. Let me just make back what I lost and we'll call it. We'll call it a day. Anyway, the Aryan brother. I would definitely, I would definitely get murdered for losing in poker in prison like within a week and a half.

[Sean Williams]

My God. Yes, me too. I can't even add up.

[Danny Gold]

Yeah, yeah. The Aryan Brotherhood also gets big into drug trafficking with people even referring to it as the Heroin Brotherhood. The prison authorities and feds eventually realize like this is a big problem. And they start looking to isolate the top Aryan Brotherhood leaders by sending them to a then new style of prison called the supermax. The first official Supermax opens in 1983. That's in Marion, Illinois. And then by the 90s, a bunch more open, including the infamous one ADX Florence in 1994. In a Supermax, the prison is locked down 23 hours a day. Prisoners don't have cellmates and barely interact with other inmates or guards. It's reserved for the most dangerous and powerful criminals.

[Sean Williams]

Sounds, sounds really nice actually. This is you, Louis, the rude documentary.

[Danny Gold]

He, he goes, he doesn't go to super, he goes to that prison in Miami, right? But he's not, it's not a supermax. It's like a general pop one. Oh, that's a funny one. Watching him interact with people in America is always. Yeah, it's always interesting. Somehow through all this, the AB still manages to do their thing. They develop a lot of ways of communicating. Some as simple as passing passing messages through prison pipes to more sophisticated method methods like using Morse code on the prison bars. In the most sophisticated communication technique they use biliteral cipher, which is a language invented by a 17th century philosopher that used two distinct alphabets depending on how the letters were drawn. And of course the old standby by urine as invisible ink.

[Sean Williams]

Pretty difficult to write though.

[Danny Gold]

Never tried it. But I'll take your word for it. High security prisons cannot slow them down. At Folsom Prison, when AB leaders are sequestered from the general population, they have their associates just start indiscriminately stabbing people. Until the AB leaders are released. A local prison official at Pelican Bay says that the prison officials are unable to stop the AB reign of terror. Now, there's some other AB lore that involves the dealings with the Sicilian Mafia. Supposedly, the brother carries out multiple murder contracts from the Lucchese crime family behind bars, with one allegedly taking place right in front of the warden. But the more interesting story, the one I think that's the most well known, is the stuff with John Gotti, which is all over the place. And sources contradict each other left and right like crazy. Gotti enters Marion federal prison in 1992. Now, some accounts have it that Gotti struck up a business partnership with the AB and that this greatly increased their power and business on the outside. Other accounts have it that Gotti was just paying the AB protection money because in those federal prisons, they're the top dogs. According to this telling of events, the AB stops protecting Gotti in 1994 because he doesn't keep a promise to Barry Mills about helping him find a lawyer to overturn a decades old murder conviction. Then a few Years later, in 1996, a black inmate attacks and beats up Gotti. Now, the New York Times reports that this attack was actually done by the Ability because Gotti had stopped paying that protection money and they wanted to extort him. Others say the black inmate simply attacked him. However, all accounts have it that after his attack, Gotti offers the AB $500,000 to kill the inmate, which the Brotherhood agrees to. And according to testimony from an AB inmate, the plan was to shoot this guy to death behind bars to show that AB could get anyone at any time and through any means. And Mills thought that the shooting would be the most shocking way to do it, to show the rest of the prison population. But apparently they were not able to pull it off.

[Sean Williams]

You think all the murders they've done over the years, this one would be pretty easy. It's kind of strange.

[Danny Gold]

Yeah. Yeah. You know, maybe they. They lost their. Their innovation, their innovative techniques. You got to keep. You got. It's like Apple, you know, you got to keep. You got to keep innovating, otherwise you lose. So now, mid-90s, you've got serious AB members. Also, the few that are not serving life without parole, they're getting paroled because they're finishing up, you know, the early days. They joined in the mid-70s or the 80s, 20, 25 year sentences. And they're getting out and they're really getting the outside operations going. They're tapped in all over the U.S. they're causing havoc. You know, there's incidents killing police, others involving drug dealers getting killed who weren't paying the taxes. But there's also drama among the higher ups. Apparently getting to know Gotti has a negative effect on Mills, who starts seeing himself as a godfather like figure. Says Greshner, quote, barry started to want it to be like Gotti. He started to trip like he was some kind of godfather. He was a good brother before shit started going to his head. But it got to the point where I told him, look, bro, AB stands for Aryan Brotherhood, not Aryan Barryhood, which, you know, kind of a Shawn line there. But. But nice. Nicely.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah, nice never happened, but nice.

[Danny Gold]

I mean, maybe. Who knows? Also, this interview was from. It's from publication called Intelligence Report, which I think is run by the splc. So that's where a lot of the Grassner quotes come from. Want to give them, Give them their, their, their. You know, they are the source.

[Sean Williams]

And then I said to him, no, you insert amazing quip here. You do that.

[Danny Gold]

Yeah, that's very like, like 90s action hero line. At the end of. After the building blows up, Mills is no longer taking votes to decide things, even big things, like ordering hits on other AB members. He's not consulting the rest of the commission. Worse, some of these hits are apparently over personal beefs. Gressner's pissed enough that he eventually starts sending kites to other gang members about what's going on. And he even leaves the gang and soon testifies against other members. This is around 1999. Others. You know, I've seen stories that say he had a falling out with them, but either way, that's basically when he leaves.

[Sean Williams]

Wait, wait, so what's. What's a kite? He sends kites to people.

[Danny Gold]

Kites are just like messages sent in prison.

[Sean Williams]

All right, cool.

[Danny Gold]

Yeah. Meanwhile, the brand is still expanding, getting more involved with stuff on the outside. Robberies, contract killings, drugs, identity fraud, everything they can get their hands on. You know, they're like setting up warehouse headquarters and things like that. The feds are on it, though. There have been some big investigations and charges in the decades prior, but in the early 2000s, they hit them with a massive RICO indictment. And this time they're going after, like, the real higher ups in the leadership, but realizing that most of those Guys are already facing life without parole. They're going to go after them with the express purpose of getting them the death penalty. So In December of 2002, the feds finally indict the Aryan Brotherhood on massive charges. 29 inmates are charged, including top leadership like Barry Mills and T.D. bingham. Several women who, you know, act as their mules, a few ex cons, guns, and one former prison guard are also arrested, bringing the total people charged to 40. The charges include 32 murders and attempted murders. Then in 2005, an Aryan Brotherhood member in Colorado Supermax goes to the prison guards and confesses that he had been approached by the leaders of AB for technical advice on how to make bombs. The gang was apparently planning on terrorist attacks against federal facilities and the AB member thought it was a bit too far, even for them. The RICO trial doesn't end until 2006, and when it's finished, there's 30 convictions. TD Bingham and the Baron are convicted of murder, conspiracy and racketeering. But the jury is deadlocked on the death penalty. And this is seen as a huge failure because these guys are not going to be killed.

[Sean Williams]

I always wonder how the hell you're supposed to let a jury decide on the death penalty. It seems a bit of a cop out. If the state puts it on the table and says, now you guys have got to do it, like a bit. It, I don't know, it feels a bit cowardly in a way. I don't know. Thoughts.

[Danny Gold]

I actually don't know if it's different. I guess it's a federal charge, right? So, yeah, I don't know. For some reason I had it in my head that judges decided it as well.

[Sean Williams]

I thought so. Yeah.

[Danny Gold]

But you know, another thing that I'm not. I haven't done too much federal trial stuff, to be honest with you, involving the death penalty because all the stuff in New York really doesn't involve it. Chicago too. So yeah, it's interesting. There's a bunch of subsequent arrests and big charges brought over the next two decades, but the brand continues its expansion and its reign of terror. Barry Mills eventually dies in prison in 2018. TD Bingham, I think is still alive in ADX in Florence. In 2020, 60 AB members and associates are arrested inside and out of prison for violent crimes, fraud, gun trafficking and drug trafficking. And 80 pounds of meth are recovered. You know, meth just sounds like a natural thing for them to get into, you know? Yeah, yeah. That's all I get.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah.

[Danny Gold]

All right. Why do people believe in conspiracy theories if you're curious, I've got just the podcast for you. Conspiracy Theories. Every episode they investigate what people choose to believe and why. The archive of over 400 episodes digs into everything from aliens to, to secret societies, to murder cover ups to whatever the FBI said happened. Plus they have expert interviews and special guests. Tune into new episodes of Conspiracy Theories every Wednesday, free, wherever you listen to podcasts. Literally just last week it's revealed that three Aryan Brotherhood members that are already serving life sentences are on trial in what has been described as a secret federal trial. So not too many details are known, but I believe there's seven murder charges on that one. Can't say for certain, but I think many people still argue that the Aryan Brotherhood is the most powerful gang in the federal prison system. That or LA Ma. But they're, they're allies, so, you know, it is what it is. Oh, also Michael Thompson, who we, who we mentioned earlier, the part Native American guy who we've talked about a bunch here. He gets paroled in 2019. In 2015, a Mexican mafia hitman tried to kill him, but he was able to defend himself. He swears he's a peace activist now. But of course, you know, Mexican mafia hitman's doing it. Obviously it's on the orders of the ab. I think he actually might be headed to prison now on some fraud charges that just popped up. I saw that in December of 2024. The charges popped up earlier, but he got I think sentenced in 2024. But yeah, that is, that's the, the Aryan Brotherhood for you.

[Sean Williams]

Yeah. Crazy. I'd only known about these guys from Shock Caller and some Berlin gay bars, but this was really fascinating.

[Danny Gold]

Yeah, Shot Caller, you can see it takes, it takes a lot of scenes from, from real life of stuff that happened and uses it. And I think that guy who's like obsessed with, with, with prison movies and Aryan Brother because he's another one too with. I forget the actor, but it looks, I, I forget what it. Maybe I forget what it's called too, but it looked Felony Felon. I haven't seen that.

[Sean Williams]

Oh yeah, no, I haven't seen that.

[Danny Gold]

Shot Collar is well done. But yeah, as always, patreon.com the Underworld podcast for your bonuses. Sign up on Spotify, itunes as well. And you know, maybe start, start a Jewish mafia movie club with your friends. You know, kick it off. Watch 4 hours of Once Upon a Time in America, which is, you know, which is one of them quite. And work your way backwards through all the. Dude, I still love mobsters. It's it never gets mentioned. It's the story of Lucky Luciano and Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel teaming up to create the commission and taking out Joe Masseria and the other boss whose name I'm blanking on. And it's awesome. Christian Young. Christian Slater. Dude, you can't beat that.

[Sean Williams]

Oh, man. Yeah.

[Danny Gold]

Until next week. Thank you guys again, as always, for listening, and enjoy.