Video: Latin Kings Beatdown Captured By Hidden ATF Camera

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 24, 2014 6:00PM

The codes of conduct of street gangs has been well documented over the years but rarely do we get to see it executed with such clarity. Courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times we've embedded the video below, which was captured via hidden camera by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the basement of a west suburban home, that shows a member of the Latin Kings being issued a beatdown by 15 fellow Latin Kings because he failed to carry out a hit on a rival gang member.

The Latin King who ordered the beatdown, Nedal "Lucky" Issa, was sentenced to 16 years in prison Monday. Issa, a high-ranking "Inca" or chief in the gang, was arrested in 2006 but he spent most of that time in witness protection while cooperating with federal prosecutors, who used his testimony to convict up to 25 other Latin King members. His testimony was crucial in convicting four other members of the gang in 2011. Issa's cooperation and his having taken self-improvement courses while incarcerated resulted in prosecutors asking to cut their sentencing recommendation for him in half, to 17 years. U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle recognized Issa's efforts and cut the sentence by another year.

“He’s not the same person he was seven years ago when he first came before the court.”

Issa has said his cooperation with prosecutors has made him a marked man and even disowned by members of his family.