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GANGS A PRESENCE IN UTICA, BUT SEVERITY OF PROBLEM UNCLEAR

UTICA -- Does Utica have a gang problem?

The answer may depend on whom you talk to. 

Violent gangs may not be as prevalent in Utica as they are in larger cities, but these groups continue to attract youths with promises of glamour and respect, law enforcement officials say. 

And sometimes a gang-related tragedy, such as the recent fatal beating of a 15-year-old Thomas R.  Proctor Senior High School student, serves as a reminder of how deadly that appeal can be. 

"I believe we have an emerging gang problem, and this case brings it to the forefront," Oneida County First Assistant District Attorney Scott McNamara said. 

Defining just what is a gang can be tough, law enforcement officials say.  Just because a group of youths gathers on a street corner wearing the same color bandanas and dresses alike doesn't mean it is a gang, police and prosecutors agree. 

It becomes a gang when these social groups cross the line into criminal activity, whether it's drug-dealing, graffiti or -- in this most recent case -- fatal initiation rituals, officials say. 

"You always have groups that tend to stick together, but on occasion it gets carried a little too far," said Lt.  Sherman Jones, commander of the Utica Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division. 

Sang Vu's Dec.  9 death was the most serious gang-initiation McNamara said he's seen in Utica.  Three men have been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the case. 

"We have a dead young man who was killed during an initiation into a gang -- that is very concerning," McNamara said. 

Earlier this year, two large organized drug-distribution gangs were split up, including Brick Money, which used its drug proceeds to finance rap CDs, he said. 

a Utica officials also have seen a rise in graffiti -- a sign of gang activity, as long as police know what it means, McNamara said. 

"Graffiti is one of the easiest things for us to see when gangs are emerging and trying to mark their territories," McNamara said.  "Half the battle is trying to understand the graffiti: Is it tagging, or is it in fact gang-related?"

Point of concern

According to the Oneida County Sheriff's Office gang-related database, dozens of gang members are among the more than 4,000 inmates that are brought annually to the jail.  In 2003, the Oneida County jail took in 79 confirmed gang members, followed by 64 in 2004 and 30 in 2005. 

Utica Mayor Tim Julian said city police have closely monitored gang activity since 2004, and he is concerned. 

"Do we have a gang problem in the likes of a Syracuse or Albany or Rochester?" Julian said.  "No.  But do we have smaller groups that consider themselves gangs and are problematic? Yes."

Sang Vu's death showed this, he said. 

"Obviously there's some sort of gang structure and there are kids wanting to be part of that structure," Julian said. 

Sang Vu is one such example of someone who wanted to belong, said Robert Palmieri, Utica's deputy public safety commissioner.  When it was time to prove he was tough enough to become a member of the Asian Boyz gang, Vu said, "I'm ready," according to police statements. 

"How can you say that isn't a gang problem?" Palmieri said.  "Call it whatever you want to call it, but this kid lost his life because he wanted to be in a specific gang.  In these kids' eyes, that is a gang - -- a group of kids in an organization that quite frankly are not going to be walking grandma and grandpa across the street."

Utica resident Rhonda Woodson said she moved to Utica from the Bronx in 2001 so she wouldn't have to worry about gang violence.  Since then, the mother of three has heard people talking about gangs in Utica. 

"I've heard of it, like the Bloods and the Crips," she said.  "I haven't paid much mind to it because I don't have anything to do with it."

Nevertheless, gang problems in the city are a concern, she said, especially when she thinks about her children. 

Proctor student Maritza Colon said Vu's death heightened the awareness of gangs among students, teachers and security. 

But gangs stay under the radar, for the most part, she said. 

"It is there; there are obvious signs of gangs, but you just ignore it and try to mind your own business," she said.  "It's not like they walk through the halls in one big group and everyone knows who they are."

When violence erupts

In the mid-1990s, shooting deaths marked a peak in turf wars between New York City gangsters that came to compete with Utica drug dealers, McNamara said.  Several years ago, prospective gangsters robbed local taxi drivers as a form of initiation. 

But for all the fear of deadly turf wars and gang retaliation, scavenging gangs in tight-knit Utica tend to be less violent than their counterparts in places such as New York City and Los Angeles, officials said. 

They don't always stick to the guidelines of their affiliated gangs, and members occasionally jump from gang to gang or socialize with members of opposing gangs -- something that would be unacceptable in larger cities, McNamara said. 

"In Utica, a Blood or Crip will not fight somebody in the city, because they know each other and sometimes they are distantly related through family," he said. 

But when gang members come to Utica from New York City with their eye on drug-dealing, violence soon follows, McNamara said. 

"The locals don't want people coming from outside the city and taking over, and the people from the city don't care about the locals," McNamara said.  "Then we have a turf war."

When the shootings begin, the victims and the witnesses are usually afraid to talk to police for fear of retribution, police said.  So law enforcement officers are left to piece together what might or might not have been gang activity. 

"The code of silence -- 'I didn't see anything, I didn't do anything, I don't know what you're talking about,'" Utica Lt.  Jones said.  "That's what we face, and that's part of the job."

Solutions

As police and prosecutors continuously educate themselves about identifying and understanding gangs, there are also efforts to inform teachers, counselors and parents on how to steer youths away from the gangster life. 

That's where prevention has to start, Palmieri said. 

"They're out there preying on specific areas to get notoriety, and that's what these kids are looking for because unfortunately that's what they're not getting at home," he said.  "So that becomes their claim to fame, and this becomes their family."

Julian said law enforcement officials need to analyze information that already has been gathered on gang activity, and take steps to create a formalized reaction, he said. 

But the issue is not just a Utica problem, Julian said.  If there are gangs, they're not going to stay in the city, but will travel throughout the region. 

"It's not just a problem we need to address on our own," Julian said.  "It's an issue that should break beyond the fundamental boundaries of Utica."

Because what begins as a street dispute can soon escalate into trouble elsewhere, said Barbara Klein, president of the Utica City School District Board of Education. 

"I think it's everywhere," she said.  "If you belong to a gang, you take it with you.  You don't drop it at the door when you go somewhere."

- -- Contributing to this story: Vanessa Ebbeling and Renee Gamela