Gang Mom
The Evil Mother Whose Gang Secretly Preyed on a City
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The shocking true story of Mary Thompson, a Eugene, Oregon, anti-gang activist who secretly ran her own murderous mob of teenagers—including her own son.
Aaron Iturra was just eighteen years old when he was found dead in the bedroom of the Eugene, Oregon, home he shared with his mother and sister. Investigating the crime, Detective Jim Michaud found evidence pointing to an unlikely suspect: Mary Louise Thompson, also known as Gang Mom. Once a biker chick and police informer, she had become a locally famous anti-gang activist.
Michaud soon learned Thompson was a modern-day Fagin who was running her own gang of juveniles—including her own son, Beau—which preyed on the unsuspecting city, dealing dope and burglarizing homes. When Thompson had found out Iturra planned to testify against Beau in a felony case, she put out a hit on him.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Expanding on his 1997 Reader's Digest article, Rosen (former New York Times columnist) explores the lives of Mary Thompson and the teenage members of her Eugene, Ore., gang--the 74 Hoover Crips. Although seeming to be an anti-gang activist--as evidenced in speeches she gave at local high schools--Thompson convinced her posse that 17-year-old Aaron Iturra, whom she had entrusted to protect her son, needed to be killed. Detectives investigating the case came to her for help; what they found instead was a hidden past of recurrent crimes and lies. At first, police were doubtful they could get Thompson for murder and were prepared to settle for lesser charges, but thanks to her own incriminating statements through police wiretaps and while on the stand, she was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. While Rosen displays an extensive knowledge of gang lifestyle and terminology, as well as of police procedure and investigative techniques, his frequent interjections to the narrative ("Scripted tears, spare me!") only point out the obvious and detract from the overall effect.
