Larry Hoover is the founder of a street gang in Chicago called ‘Black Gangster Disciple Nation’ (the name later changed to Gangster Disciples). He is known as ‘King Larry’, ‘Prince Larry’ and like Pablo Escobar he is considered one, if not Chicago’s greatest mobster since Al Capone.

Hoover was later sentenced to 150-200 years in prison for killing a drug dealer. He has the name that resonates beyond the gangster underworld in mainstream American society. Hoover for his entire career was a notorious thief, drug dealer and murderer and his life when you really think about it is the stuff of fictional films. Now let us know more about this American gangster.

LARRY HOOVER: YOUTH

Larry Hoover was born on November 30, 1950. He grew up in Jackson Mississippi and later moved to Chicago, Illinois with his entire family. His family was looking for a better life when they left Mississippi, little did they know that Chicago would make Hoover one of the biggest mobsters in the whole country.

Hoover, at a young age, moved with the wrong crowd and made friends with dangerous people on the streets of Chicago. At 12, he and his friends called themselves Supreme Gangsters. Hoover was the main man leading the group. The band was constantly gaining followers and after the expansion people started calling it ‘Prince Larry’.

LARRY HOOVER: LIFE IN GANGS AND BEHIND BARS

Hoover then merged his gang with a direct rival that had David Barksdale as its leader. These two notorious groups, after their combination, came up with a new name, Black Disciple Nation. In 1973, the gang was linked to the murder of William Young and it was the start of Hoover’s long run-in with the law. 19-year-old Young was first kidnapped and then shot dead in the Englewood neighborhood. Hoover had been the one who had ordered the murder. Later that same year, Hoover and killer Andrew Howard were both arrested by police. In November 1973, Hoover was charged with murder and sentenced to 150–200 years in prison. Hoover was then sent to Statesville Correctional Center in Illinois.

While at the prison, he completed his General Educational Development Diploma and earned an Emergency Medical Technician License. Later, Hoover discovered that his gang leader, Barksdale, had died of kidney failure following a gunshot wound and in 1974. He was then taken in as leader of the gang. As expected, Hoover was carrying out his duties from the prison itself. There, he ran the largest crime cartel in his cell.

Under his mentorship, his gang was taking over Chicago’s South Side. He was influencing their every move directly from prison to dominate the south side of the drug trade. Hoover’s pharmaceutical business began in Chicago and eventually expanded throughout the United States.

LARRY HOOVER: AFTER BARS

After spending years behind bars, Hoover unexpectedly began to insist that he didn’t want to be associated with his violent past. He had a clear motive for becoming an urban Chicago political celebrity. His gang, ‘The Gangster Disciples’, began gaining an incredible fan base by changing their paths from violence to participating in charity events and carrying out peaceful projects. He even changed the gang’s name to “Growth and Development.” In 1995, estimates indicate that his group had 30,000 members in more than 35 US states. This success earned him and his gang around $100 million a year.

In 1995, after a lengthy federal investigation, Hoover was sentenced to life. After the 17-year investigation ended, they discovered Hoover’s involvement in the conspiracy and drug extortion. Hoover was arrested by federal agents and moved to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in 1997 for trial and was found guilty. Hoover was later sentenced to six life terms in prison and served at the United States Correctional Service, the maximum US facility in Colorado.

Later, it was discovered that his “non-profit” organizations were all fronts to mask money laundering. A testimony from one of his followers suggested that the charity proceeds did not help anyone. It was just a plot to help Larry Hoover earn more.

LARRY HOOVER: FORTUNE AND RUMORS OF DEATH

Due to Larry’s involvement in shady dealings, he has acquired assets of all kinds and pinning them down is a monumental challenge. Hoover was a drug expert who knew the ins and outs of money laundering. He managed to perfect the art of transferring money by doing different illicit activities. In the gang of nearly 30,000 members, each had a share of $3,300 a year. Looking at numbers like these, it’s safe to estimate that this American mobster was worth at least $100 million.

Many believe that Larry Hoover is dead, however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. He adapted every bill from the famous Cat with 9 Lives proverb. There have been several assassination attempts on this drug lord, but he continues to walk away. He is currently alive and serving his sentence in Colorado.