Steven Worthey, Racketeering, Texas 2014

Aryan Brotherhood Members Plead Guilty to Federal Racketeering Charges in Texas

HOUSTON – In a shocking turn of events, two high-ranking members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) have pleaded guilty to racketeering charges related to their membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise.

Steven Worthey, of San Antonio, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. James Lawrence Burns, aka “Chance,” of Dallas, also pleaded guilty to the same charge on July 3, 2014.

According to court documents, Worthey, Burns, and other ABT gang members and associates agreed to commit multiple acts of murder, robbery, arson, kidnapping, and narcotics trafficking on behalf of the ABT gang.

The ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system, where it modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang formed in the California prison system during the 1960s.

The ABT primarily concerned itself with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy/separatism, but over time, it expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.

In order to be considered for ABT membership, a person must be sponsored by another gang member, after which they serve an unspecified term as a prospect while their conduct is observed by the members of the ABT.

Worthey and Burns are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8, 2014, each facing a maximum penalty of life in prison. This case is part of a larger investigation involving a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

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