Larry Hoover

Larry Hoover was born on December 25, 1950 in Jackson, Mississippi, in a bustling household filled with grandparents, parents and siblings.

When young Hoover was four, the family shifted to Chicago, Illinois in search of a better life. Little did the senior Hoovers know that the move would turn out to be detrimental for their family!

At the age of 12, Larry Hoover’s criminal activities began. He clubbed with local friends who called themselves ‘Supreme Gangsters’ and engaged in petty crimes such as theft and mugging.

When ‘Supreme Gangsters’ grew in size, Hoover emerged as its natural leader. As a kingpin, Hoover merged his gang ‘Supreme Gangsters’ with a rival gang led by David Barksdale. Together, they became the Black Gangster Disciple Nation. Their illicit activities also intensified as they engaged themselves in shooting and assault.

In 1969, after Barksdale was wounded in a shooting, Hoover took charge of the Gangster Disciples. The gang assumed control of the South Side drug trade, making more than $1,000 a day in profits.

By the time Hoover reached his early 20s, he had been convicted of several offences. What’s more, he had been in and out of prison several times and had survived six separate shooting attempts on his life.

He was quite academically inclined for a criminal. Despite being a grade school dropout, Hoover earned his GED and an emergency medical technician’s license while incarcerated.

Though Larry Hoover’s entire life revolved around criminal activities involving conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, and running a continuing criminal enterprise within the confinements of the prison, his foremost offence occurred in 1973 when he ordered the killing of William ‘Pooky’ Young, a 19-year old neighborhood youth who was charged with stealing money and drugs from the gang. Along with Andrew Howard who executed his order, Hoover was sent to prison.