Criminal Mastermind Does His Work From Behind Bars, Police Say

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August 01, 2006 9:57 AM

New Jersey State Police this week issued a warrant for the arrest of a man they say was masterminding one of the most violent street gangs on the East Coast. And they say he was doing it from behind bars in a maximum security prison.

State Police say David Allen, who is currently serving a life sentence on a 2001 murder conviction, headed a brutal crime organization known as the Nine Trey Gangsters from his solitary-confinement cell in New Jersey State Prison. 

Police claim the gang is a subset of the infamous East Coast Bloods street crime syndicate and is responsible for scores of murders and drive-by shootings in connection with narcotic distribution in New Jersey.

Allen, dubbed "the Godfather" by associates, was issued the arrest warrant on charges of racketeering, extortion and money laundering. Authorities claim that Allen's leadership role in the Nine Trey Gangsters gave him nationwide clout with the East Coast Bloods and that he authorized hits and other "disciplinary actions" against defiant gang members.

The arrest was part of a massive raid launched by New Jersey State Police against 96 alleged members of the Nine Trey Gangsters, who police sources claim were responsible for more violence than any other source in the state. Four alleged top leaders, like Allen, were already incarcerated at the time of their arrests.

Robert Walker, a gang identification consultant and expert, says there should be no surprise that an inmate in a high-security prison could maintain leadership in a crime organization.

"It happens all the time," he says. "Inmates use everything at their disposal to get a message to the outside world -- they'll bribe prison guards or custodial workers, communicate through their attorney, write letters in code or send a message through an inmate going to court."

Walker described efforts to thwart communication between prisoners and gang affiliates as a losing battle, largely because prison officials have neither the time nor the energy to match the ingenuity of their counterparts.

"Really, there's not that much prison administrators can do," says Walker. "Convicts spend 20 out of ever 24 hours in their cells, and so they have plenty of time to spend plotting how to get information past security. Prison guards spend eight or 10 hours on duty, and that's it for them."

Allen has spent much of his adult life incarcerated on convictions for assault, racketeering, making terrorist threats, conspiracy and murder, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.