Companies tied to Gangster Disciples co-founder Larry Hoover, his family and supporters facing new federal scrutiny

Companies linked to imprisoned Gangster Disciples kingpin Larry Hoover and his family and supporters are under federal scrutiny, according to records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

A federal grand jury has subpoenaed the Illinois secretary of state’s office for the incorporation records of 22 companies, including the Larry Hoover Project LLC and the Larry Hoover Sr. Legal Defense Fund Ltd.

The subpoena, dated Jan. 13, is part of an active investigation, a source told the Sun-Times.

Federal prosecutors wouldn’t comment on the case.

No one has been charged with any crime in connection with it.

The grand jury was empaneled in 2020 — the year Hoover began his quest for a sentencing break under the federal First Step Act. Among other things, that law, signed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018, allows federal convicts to seek reductions in their sentences for selling crack cocaine based on lower penalties enacted in 2010.

Hoover’s lawyer Justin Moore said he hasn’t been contacted by federal authorities and doesn’t know what the grand jury is looking into.

Moore said it “would be surprising” if Hoover or his family members are under investigation, saying he’s isolated in prison, with his communications closely monitored, and Hoover’s family members lead “law-abiding lives.”

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Hoover, 71 — described by a federal judge last year as “one of the most notorious criminals in Illinois history” — is serving a life sentence at the federal super-max prison in Colorado, convicted in 1997 of running a criminal enterprise in which authorities said he oversaw a $100 million-a-year drug business with tens of thousands of gang soldiers in Chicago and other cities.

After five decades in prison, the last 25 of them held in isolation, Moore said Hoover deserves to go free.

“Mr. Hoover deserves to be judged on who he is today,” his lawyer said. “I hope our justice system will allow him to return home to live out his final days with family.”

Last summer, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber denied Hoover’s request for a new sentencing hearing.

Leinenweber freed several of Hoover’s former top associates who also asked for new sentencing hearings under the First Step Act.

They included Johnny “Crusher” Jackson, who was convicted in 2000 of narcotics conspiracy after more than four years on the run. One of Jackson’s companies is named in the Jan. 13 subpoena.

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Jackson was once an “assistant governor” of the Gangster Disciples, controlling the drug market in Bronzeville, including the now-demolished Robert Taylor Homes public housing complex sprawled along the Dan Ryan Expressway, according to prosecutors. They argued against the release of Jackson and other leaders of the gang under the First Step Act.

Over prosecutors’ objections, Jackson was freed and placed on five years of supervised release — the federal justice system’s term for probation. Then, he tried to get that supervised release ended early but, on Dec. 2, lost that effort.

In a court filing, prosecutors had told the judge, “Jackson’s continued connection to the GDs is particularly troubling.”

Jackson had a clothing line called Gentleman of Distinguished Nature, whose acronym GDN is the same as that of the Gangster Disciples Nation and whose website quotes Jackson saying he served a prison term for a drug conspiracy “involving father figure Larry Hoover.”

And prosecutors said Jackson’s wife recently had sent Hoover $500 for prison commissary expenses — more than the $340 Jackson has paid toward his outstanding forfeiture judgment of $1 million.

Leinenweber denied Jackson’s request to end his supervision early but allowed him to travel for work “within the continental United States.”

Over prosecutors’ objections, Jackson was allowed to travel to Belize in late 2021 and early 2022 to meet his boss James “J Prince” Price, a Houston music executive and promoter. In a court filing, Jackson’s lawyer said the trip was to learn about Price’s real-estate business.

The judge denied Jackson’s request to transfer his parole supervision to Houston to be closer to Price, founder of Rap-A-Lot Records, who’s among those who have rallied for Hoover’s release.

The state incorporation records that federal authorities have subpoenaed include those for Jackson’s company Building Visionaries LLC. He and his wife are listed on the documents as managers of the company, which gives an address on the South Side. Jackson’s lawyer didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Other companies listed in the subpoena include:

• The Larry Hoover Project LLC, whose officers include Hoover’s son Larry Hoover Jr. and wife Winndye Jenkins-Hoover and Hoover’s lawyer, who’s based in Texas. The company has a Dallas address.
• The Larry Hoover Sr Legal Defense Fund Ltd., which was created in 2016 and involuntarily dissolved in 2018, according to the secretary of state. The agent for the company was Anthony McIntyre, who wouldn’t comment.
• The Antmound Foundation in Waukegan. McIntyre is listed as its founder and president.
• Supergiant Entertainment Inc., created in 2004 and dissolved the next year, and Supergiant Media Group Inc., established in 2012 and no longer a business in good standing, according to the secretary of state. Andre E. Williams is listed as the agent for both south suburban companies.
• TDP Entertainment Inc., established in 2020 and also not a business in good standing, according to the secretary of state. The south suburban company’s managers were listed as Eric Chatman and Damone Emery, who couldn’t be reached.

Last year, in a story on a website called Tastemaker Collective Media, they were quoted as saying Williams and Supergiant helped them get started in the music business. Chatman was quoted as saying, “J Prince flew me and a few guys down to Houston to talk about the gun violence in Chicago and how we can fix it.”

The article, which says TDP stands for Trust Da Process, was accompanied by a photo of Chatman and Emery with Hoover’s wife, Price and Drake, the rapper. Earlier this month, Price was in Chicago and joined police officials, Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) and others at Fenger Academy High School in Roseland in a discussion about gun violence in Chicago.

U.S. District Court files