Shower Posse is a Jamaican gang, started by Lester Lloyd Coke, which is involved in drug and arms smuggling. Its home is in Tivoli Gardens in Jamaica. It has several North American branches. The North American branches were first founded by Vivian Blake in the Canadian city of Toronto, Ontario.[1] The gang operates in expatriate Jamaican communities in the US states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the city of Miami, Florida.[1][2][3][4]
| Founded | 1980s |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Tivoli Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Territory | Jamaica, Canada, United States and United Kingdom |
| Ethnicity | Jamaican |
| Membership | 1,500–2,000 in Jamaica and 4,000–5,000 in other countries |
| Activities | Drug trafficking, arms trafficking, racketeering, and murder |
| Allies | Jamaica Labour Party |
Name edit
There are differing reports on the origin of the name. One theory is that it comes from the promises of its associated politicians to shower supporters with gifts.[5] Another view is that it is a reference to the gang showering opponents with bullets.[1] A third theory is that the gang got its name from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) election slogan 'Shower', which was a response to the PNP's 'Power' that was coined from Manley's 'Power for the people' slogan in the 1970s.[6]
History edit
The Jamaica Labour Party-aligned Shower Posse has been provided with arms, training, and transport to the United States by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[7]
On 4 August 1985, a gun battle erupted at a picnic attended by approximately 2,000 Jamaicans in Oakland, New Jersey, during which elements of the Shower Posse and Spangler Posse from Brooklyn and the Bronx fought with the Boston-based Dog Posse and Tel Aviv Posse. Three people were killed, nine were wounded, and police retrieved thirty-three handguns from the scene.[8]
The Shower Posse was involved in a drug war with the Junior Black Mafia in Southwest Philadelphia during the 1980s and early 1990s.[9]
In 1989, former member Charles "Little Nut" Miller was charged with drug trafficking but agreed to testify against other gang leaders in order to receive immunity. In his testimony – in which he implicated himself in nine murders – Miller revealed his connection to the JLP as a "political enforcer", as well as to the CIA, going as far to state that "the United States made me what I am."[10]
In 2009 the United States began to demand that Christopher Coke, then leader of the Shower Posse, with extensive and well-known links to the JLP, be extradited to New York, where he would face charges of smuggling drugs and weapons.[11][12] Then prime minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, who was also the Member of Parliament for that district (West Kingston), initially questioned the legality of the request, claiming that warrantless wiretapping had been used to collect information on Coke. However, he eventually relented, after public indignation to what many Jamaicans viewed as a cover-up to protect a politically connected drug trafficker, and on 17 May 2010 an arrest warrant was issued for Coke, leading to a state of civil unrest within Kingston, and especially Tivoli Gardens.[13][14] Coke was eventually arrested outside of Kingston on 22 June 2010. On Friday, 15 June 2012, a New York federal district court sentenced Coke to two consecutive sentences: 20 years for racketeering and conspiracy, and an additional three years for conspiracy to commit assault.
In January 2021, the former lieutenant of the Shower Posse, Harry "Harry Dog" McLeod, was shot and killed in an attack in Kingston.[15]
In popular culture edit
The 2014 novel A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James features a gang called Storm Posse, who share many features with Shower Posse, based in a fictionalised version of Tivoli Gardens named "Copenhagen City".[16]
Christopher Coke and the Shower Posse were the subject of an episode of the Netflix documentary series, Drug Lords, released in 2018.[17]
References edit
- ^ a b c "No remedy for 'Posse'; International drug cartel calling the shots in Toronto's northwest end." Drew Halfnight. National Post. 8 May 2010. p. A14.
- ^ James R. Zazzali (1988). "Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi". The Nevada Observer. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006.
- ^ "The Mafia in New Jersey - AFRICAN-AMERICANS - JAMAICANS - AFRO-LINEAL ORGANIZED CRIME". www.mafianj.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ L Gunst (13 November 1989). "Jamaican Drug Gangs: Johnny-Too-Bad and the Sufferers". Nation. United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023.
- ^ "Police raise curtain on the 'Shower Posse'" Colin Freeze. The Globe and Mail. 5 May 2010. p. A11.
- ^ "The Cokes then and now - News". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ Edmonds, Kevin (2016). "Guns, gangs and garrison communities in the politics of Jamaica". Race & Class. 57 (4). SAGE Journals: 54–74. doi:10.1177/0306396815624864. S2CID 146933185.
- ^ Investigations, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on (1988). Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi : Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 726. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023.
- ^ Seth Ferranti (25 October 2011). "Street legends: Aaron Jones". GorillaConvict.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023.
- ^ "The CIA, the Cold War, and Cocaine: The Connections of Christopher "Dudus" Coke". NACLA. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ "Tension in Tivoli as US awaits word on Dudus's extradition - News". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ "EDITORIAL - This is not Somalia, we hope". The Gleaner. 9 September 2009. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Jamaica Declares State of Emergency". CBS News. The Associated Press. 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- ^ "Jamaica Declares State of Emergency". The New York Times. Reuters. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023.
- ^ "'Harry Dog', Dudus' 'ex-lieutenant', shot dead in West Kingston". Loop News. 31 January 2021. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ Lazar, Zachary (23 October 2014). "'A Brief History of Seven Killings' - Marlon James". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Christopher Coke: Jamaica's Narco Prince". Drug Lords. Season 2. Episode 3. Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023.