LARRY HOOVER

Rap Sheet
Reign: 1970s and 80s
Business: drugs and street crime
Region: Chicago
Claim to Fame: leader of the Gangster Disciples
Downfall: While in prison, his visitors' badges were bugged.
Sentence: life without parole
Status: federal ‘supermax’ prison in Florence, Colorado
Lesson: There’s not much privacy in prison.

Case File
“King” Larry Hoover is the architect of Chicago’s largest and most powerful street organization, the Gangster Disciples. Despite spending the past 34 years behind bars, to federal authorities he remains a serious threat – a brilliant but ruthless leader whose word can spell the difference between life and death on the streets. But Hoover’s supporters paint a picture of a changed man - a visionary delivering hope and encouragement to an abandoned community. It begs the question, how do you really know what’s in a man’s heart?  ‘American Gangster’ presents a complex portrait of a complex man, including interviews with federal prosecutors, former associates of the Gangster Disciples, Larry Hoover’s son, his wife - and Hoover himself.