{"id":2948,"date":"2018-10-05T21:36:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-06T01:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/?page_id=2948"},"modified":"2018-10-05T21:36:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-06T01:36:00","slug":"ronald-h-of-the-collegiate-crowns","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/?page_id=2948","title":{"rendered":"Ronald H of the Collegiate Crowns"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is my opinion that the spread and use of hard drugs in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s was a major factor in the demise of the youth gangs from that time.\u00a0 I express this in more detail in Brooklyn Rumble<\/em>, and specifically traced the descent into heroin addiction for \u201cCarlos Dragon,\u201d a member of the Mau Maus.<\/p>\n

Today I would like to write about \u201cRonald H,\u201d and his own battle with heroin in the summer of 1959.<\/p>\n

Before jumping right away into Ronald\u2019s struggle with drug addiction, I would like to tether that to his history with gangs first.<\/p>\n

Born in 1940, Ronald lived in the Bronx in a 4-story apartment building at 784 Beck Street that had a dry cleaning business on the ground floor.\u00a0 \u00a0The building was kept in a very neat and clean condition.\u00a0 The block was mostly old, 3-story private homes in various grades of deterioration.<\/p>\n

As most readers of this website will know, I don\u2019t have near as much information on Bronx youth gangs as I do on Manhattan and Brooklyn gangs.\u00a0 Because of this and with Ronald being a member of a Bronx gang (more on that later), it gave me an extra reason to write about him.\u00a0 That way I can improve upon the paucity of Bronx gang info I have on this website.<\/p>\n

In the 1950s, Beck Street in the Bronx was a highly delinquent area.\u00a0 Not only was this an area where youth gangs roamed, it was also a hot zone for drug dealing.<\/p>\n

It was around the age of 14 when Ronald first began his career in breaking the law with a series of arrests for minor crimes.\u00a0 This included run-ins with the Juvenile Aid Bureau and happened between the years 1954-1957, when he was between the ages of 14-17.\u00a0 Some of the things he was picked up for were opening a fire hydrant, carrying a lighted cigarette on the subway and using false ID to purchase a bottle of wine at a liquor store.\u00a0 When he was 16 years old, Ronald also began smoking marijuana and drinking wine excessively on the streets.<\/p>\n

In 1957, Ronald joined a Bronx gang called the Collegiate Crowns.\u00a0 I still have yet to figure out where the turf of the Collegiate Crowns was, but they were a mostly black gang and were part of \u201cCrown nation,\u201d several Bronx gangs with the word \u201cCrowns\u201d in their name.\u00a0 The two main Crown gangs were the Egyptian Crowns and the Valiant Crowns.\u00a0 Other smaller gangs that also put Crown in their name were the Bohemian Crowns, Mafia Crowns, Seven Crowns and Royal Crowns.\u00a0 Supposedly the Crown alliance had 800 members in it, but when large numbers like that are thrown around I am suspicious as gangs rarely – if ever – reached numbers like that.\u00a0 But seeing as it is a conglomeration, I suppose it could be possible they would reach 800 members, although I remain doubtful.<\/p>\n

I found two news articles mentioning the Collegiate Crowns; one from 1957 and the other from 1960.\u00a0 Seeing as this story doesn\u2019t go into 1960, I will only mention the 1957 article.\u00a0 The 1957 article is entitled \u201c2 Teeners Wounded as Feud Flares.\u201d\u00a0 It described two shootings in which a member of the Sportsmen and a member of the Collegiate Crowns were wounded by an automatic pistol.<\/p>\n

The surprising thing is how late Ronald joined the Collegiate Crowns.\u00a0 Many gang members joined their respective gangs around 13-15 years of age, so when it came to jitterbugging (gang fighting), Ronald was a late bloomer when he joined at 17 years of age..\u00a0 Interestingly, his report states he sustained a stab wound of the left chest in 1956.\u00a0 Seeing as this was before him joining the Collegiate Crowns, and with nothing else to go on, I can only guess it was a \u201cregular\u201d fight, or perhaps he got stabbed by a gang and decided to get protection and joined the Collegiate Crowns.<\/p>\n

Whatever the details were behind Ronald\u2019s stab wound in 1956 and his tardy foray into the gang world, he made up for it and became an active and enthusiastic member of the gang.\u00a0 Five times he was caught by the police for violent acts which are outlined below.\u00a0 More than likely there were more crimes that police were not able to catch Ronald doing.\u00a0 Here is what they did find:<\/p>\n

At 11:00 p.m. on May 16, 1957, in the hallway of 939 Longwood Avenue in the Bronx, Ronald and several others beat Joseph Yates with their fists and an iron bed post.\u00a0 He was charged with 3rd<\/sup> degree assault, possession of a weapon and put on probation.<\/p>\n

On June 2, 1957 at 12:15 in the morning, Ronald was out on the streets with six others.\u00a0 It was at 163rd<\/sup> Street and Southern Boulevard when Ronald and his six companions followed Augustin Matos and his wife and kicked and punched Augustin when they surrounded him in a circle (circle beating).<\/p>\n

On June 27, 1957, Ronald was up even later than the June 2 incident.\u00a0 At 2:45 a.m. he was caught in a grocery store at 878 East 163rd<\/sup> Street where he had smashed in the glass door.\u00a0 Two cutters were found in his pocket.<\/p>\n

On December 7, 1957, at around 6:00 p.m. in the hallway of 822 Hewitt Place in the Bronx, Ronald and three companions assaulted Alfred Ingram Jr. with their fists and feet when he refused to join the Collegiate Crowns.\u00a0 Ronald was charged with 3rd<\/sup> degree assault, but the charged was reduced to disorderly conduct.\u00a0 He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to time served.<\/p>\n

At 9:00 a.m. on January 31, 1958, in the basement of 839 Kelly Street, Ronald and a companion pointed a gun at a 14-year-old boy named Hector Bermudez.\u00a0 They also punched him in the face, head and body with their fists.<\/p>\n

Because of all these arrests, Ronald was hit with a Violation of Probation, but his punishment didn\u2019t amount to much when his probation was merely resumed.\u00a0 Somehow he stayed out of trouble (or more likely wasn\u2019t caught in criminal acts) and five and a half months later he was discharged from probation with a favourable report on December 31, 1958.<\/p>\n

Even though Ronald had stayed out of trouble for the last 5 and a half months and got discharged from probation, he had everyone fooled.\u00a0 He harbored a secret that nobody knew: he had become a heroin addict.\u00a0 His addiction began around July 1958 and amazingly he was able to hide it from everyone, even his own mother (although she found out much later).<\/p>\n

Drugs weren\u2019t exactly a new revelation to youth gangs from that time, even heroin.\u00a0 But once heroin got someone in its grip, they were ruined.\u00a0 But heroin wasn\u2019t the only temptation out there.\u00a0 I had the opportunity to ask a member of the Egyptian Crowns about drugs and he said:<\/p>\n

All gang members drank, or smoked pot, or pills, or even glue.\u00a0 At 16 we all drank wine in the park, hallway, roof, and corners as we sang do-wops. The wines we drank back then were Ripple, Thunderbird, Hombre, Arriba, white port, and sometimes Chianti (the wine bottle in a straw basket). Wine was cheap and got us drunk.<\/p>\n

Part of the problem was his mother didn\u2019t have any controls over Ronald and living in a delinquent area the negative influences got the best of the young teen.\u00a0 In a way it\u2019s somewhat of a surprise that Ronald\u2019s mother didn\u2019t wise up to his addiction.\u00a0 Her own brother had his own history with drug use and was in a state prison on drug charges.\u00a0 The family was devastated when they found out.<\/p>\n

Ronald\u2019s mother denied knowing about her son\u2019s drug addiction.\u00a0 However, Ronald privately felt that his mother and grandparents suspected him of drug use, but they were so hurt over his uncle\u2019s own\u00a0 battle with drugs that they chose to ignore his problems by closing their eyes and pretending it didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

Whether his mother knew about his drug addiction or not, in a way she couldn\u2019t be blamed for not knowing.\u00a0 Ronald never stole money from the home (stealing money from home was a tell-tale sign of addiction).\u00a0 Not only that, he was also able to keep jobs throughout his addiction and was generally an excellent employee at each of his three work places. \u00a0At one of his jobs, he was so good that his boss trusted Ronald with company funds. These two points lulled his mother into a false sense of security even though their well-kept basement apartment was in the heart of an area notorious for narcotic distribution.<\/p>\n

At first Ronald began skin popping the heroin, but then shortly after that he began mainlining the drug directly into his veins.\u00a0 His habit grew and it got to be so bad he was using six to seven bags of heroin every day.\u00a0 The cost got as high as $14 a day.\u00a0 He claimed that he did not have to steal to support his habit and that the money he earned from his jobs provided for some of his habit.\u00a0 The rest of the money was raised by selling drugs himself.<\/p>\n

Ronald claimed he had his habit under control, but this was said unconvincingly.\u00a0 The one time he tried to stop, he only lasted three days.\u00a0 Ronald could not hide his drug use from his mother forever, though.\u00a0 Around August 1959, his mother finally clued in that her son was addicted to heroin.\u00a0 By that time his habit had being going on for over a year.\u00a0 She noted his strange behavior and saw needle marks on both his arms where he was mainlining the drug.\u00a0 When she confronted Ronald about his drug habit he actually admitted it to her and they talked about it.\u00a0 They talked about checking him into Riverside Hospital which specialized in helping addicts get better, but a solid plan never got past the discussion stage and nothing was done.<\/p>\n

Although Ronald\u2019s mother found out about his addiction in August 1959, law enforcement had an eye on him already in July.\u00a0 As already mentioned above, Ronald was able to pay for his addiction to heroin by dealing drugs.\u00a0 This is what the police had observed, specifically on July 16, 1959.\u00a0 That was the day he came under their radar and was the beginning of the end for him.<\/p>\n

It was at 2:35 in the afternoon on July 16, 1959 when Ronald was selling narcotics at Longwood Avenue and Kelly Street.\u00a0 A police undercover agent approached Ronald and asked to purchase drugs.\u00a0 Ronald directed him to the hallway of 811 Kelly Street where he sold one package of heroin to the undercover agent for $3.00. \u00a0After the sale, the police took the package of heroin to a laboratory for examination.\u00a0 According to the police, the package contained two grains of heroin powder.<\/p>\n

Now that they knew Ronald was dealing the drugs, the police kept him under observation and over the next seven weeks they saw him in other drug transactions with numerous drug addicts.\u00a0 Finally, on September 8, 1959, at 3:45 p.m., they arrested him in the hallway of 791 Dawson Street for the July 16 sale.\u00a0 They searched him and found two glassine bags in his left shoe that contained heroin.\u00a0 He admitted to the police that he was a heroin user and had paid $3.00 for each bag.<\/p>\n

\"791<\/a>

791 Dawson Street Bronx today. It’s now a parking lot.<\/p><\/div>\n

Ronald was taken to the 41st<\/sup> Precinct where he was officially arrested and detained for the drug sale.\u00a0 During the ensuing investigation, more details came out about Ronald\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

It turned out it was actually in June 1959 that the police became aware of Ronald\u2019s drug dealing around the area of Longwood Avenue and Kelly Street.\u00a0 With this information, the undercover agent had a neighborhood drug user introduce him to Ronald.\u00a0 Over the seven weeks before Ronald\u2019s arrest, several of Ronald\u2019s customers who bought drugs from him were arrested.\u00a0 However, none of them would co-operate with the police in naming Ronald as their source.<\/p>\n

Ronald admitted that he was addicted to heroin for at least one year and also admitted to the sale he made in July 1959.\u00a0 However, as for selling drugs, he said it was on a limited basis. Of the sales he did make, most of them were \u201cphoney\u201d bags of powder.\u00a0 This fake powder fooled drug addicts and he was thus able to separate them from their money in order to feed his own habit.<\/p>\n

He got his own drugs in East Harlem on 116th<\/sup> Street and Lenox Avenue which was an extremely active hot spot for drug activity at that time.\u00a0 He bought as much as he could each time and in the case of the July 1959 sale that he made to the undercover agent, he had bought a $5.00 bag, then cut it and made two $3.00 bags which he hid in the hallway of 811 Kelly Street.<\/p>\n

Ronald admitted selling the drugs to the undercover agent in July, but when it came to his arrest in September and being caught with the two glassine envelopes in his shoe, he said they did not contain heroin.\u00a0 He said they actually contained a substance called \u201cBonita,\u201d which resembled heroin, but was actually worthless. At the time he had the Bonita he was out of a job and needing to provide for his habit, he made up these two fake bags, hoping to sell them to a clueless addict.\u00a0 As for the police finding two grains of heroin in the bag he sold, he said they planted it in order to frame him for arrest.<\/p>\n

All this small-time intrigue merely branded Ronald by the police as a \u201csmall street pusher, operating primarily to support his own habit.\u201d\u00a0 He was a small fry in the vast ocean of drug trade in NYC.<\/p>\n

As the probation officer asked questions, Ronald came to the realization that although he at first thought he could kick the habit, in reality he was woefully unprepared to beat his addiction.\u00a0 Admission was the first step; the next was reformatory.<\/p>\n

Ronald was sentenced to one and a half years to three years to a reformatory and when he got there, a psychiatric report was conducted to gain understanding to his thoughts on his drug addiction.\u00a0 When he was interviewed, it was noted that he was \u201cvery frank and cooperative,\u201d and that he admitted to using drugs, mainly marijuana and heroin.\u00a0 He said he was using about 3-7 bags per day and could not break has habit.\u00a0 When he was in the system with no drugs to keep him going, he had to quit cold turkey and was unable to sleep for two weeks and had severe withdrawal reactions.<\/p>\n

Ronald was proud of himself that he never stole to keep his habit going and between working and pushing he was able to take care of himself.\u00a0 In his opinion, drug addiction was fine as long as if you could afford it and could take care of yourself.\u00a0 He said that he didn\u2019t \u201cdig being natural,\u201d and that he wanted to be high all the time.\u00a0 When he drank alcohol he was aggressive, but when he was high on heroin he was calm.\u00a0 He claimed that he could better understand jazz music when he was high on drugs.\u00a0 Yet Ronald said he wanted to learn a new way of life, but it was clear that he wasn\u2019t convinced himself that he really wanted to quit.\u00a0 The prognosis was \u201csuperficially he states that he is going to give it up entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n

A report on Ronald\u2019s education in the reformatory concluded that he impressed as \u201cdull, immature and lacking in insight.\u00a0 Nevertheless receptive.\u00a0 Feels that drug addiction is no longer a hindrance to him and that \u2018I have seen the light.\u2019 Will require considerable bolstering.\u201d\u00a0 Although his future seemed shaky at the outset, he did feel remorse for the trouble he caused his family.<\/p>\n

Ronald\u2019s time in the reformatory had its ups and downs.\u00a0 Although he was a good worker in machine shop and paid attention in class, he also had a reputation to fly off the handle and hated to be told what to do.\u00a0\u00a0 He had some disciplinary infractions, one as minor as tying the four corners of his bed sheet and another for having an extra shirt under his bed.\u00a0 But two serious ones involved violent altercations, one for assaulting a fellow inmate and another for attacking a guard.\u00a0 He was locked up for five days for both of those infractions.\u00a0 As he served his time, he was able to get his education and even graduated with his high school diploma.\u00a0 However, at the same time as his parole came up there were questions whether he could make it.\u00a0 A May 1, 1961 report stated in part that Ronald, \u201c\u2026like the others, has a driving urge to \u2018be accepted\u2019 and would tend to do anything required to become a part of some kind of organization or gang to fulfill the need unless he has some careful guidance.\u00a0 Up to a point he can see the wisdom of breaking away from the kind of associates he had, but I sense a lack of real will to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ronald\u2019s grandfather from the west coast sent him some letters and was ready to even take him in, his mother cared for him and even his father who he was estranged from, sent him two letters.\u00a0 He was paroled in September 1961 and my hope and belief is that he had enough support at home to help him get over from being influenced by the bad elements in his neighborhood.<\/p>\n

After he was paroled, I know nothing else what happened to him.\u00a0 Hopefully he made a good life of it after getting out of reformatory and was able to stay away from drugs.<\/p>\n

\"Congratulations<\/a>

Congratulations Letter for Getting Diploma<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is my opinion that the spread and use of hard drugs in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s was a major factor in the demise of the youth gangs from that time.\u00a0 I express this in more … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2259,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/Pdrj3O-Ly","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2948"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2959,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2948\/revisions\/2959"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorkcitygangs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}