U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Statement of Leonard R Gilman, United States Attorney, Eastern District of Michigan Before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Concerning the Young Boy's Case - An Example of Non-Traditional Organized Crime on January 26, 1984

NCJ Number
94478
Author(s)
L R Gilman
Date Published
1984
Length
14 pages
Annotation
A variety of investigative techniques and cooperation between Federal and local law enforcement officials were successful in securing the imprisonment of a number of the leaders of Young Boys, Inc., a nontraditional 'organized' criminal enterprise in the Detroit area involved in drug trafficking.
Abstract
Young Boys, Inc. was a well-organized group of drug traffickers which distributed heroin directly to drug users throughout the Detroit area. The hallmark of this organization was its use of juveniles as young as 12-years-old to sell heroin to users in public housing projects. By using these boys in the most visible aspects of their operations and through other means, the leaders of Young Boys, Inc. managed to insulate themselves from conventional law enforcement efforts. The proactive investigation of Sylvester Seal Murray, a leader of the group, used a combination of techniques, including informants, pen registers, physical surveillance, undercover activity, financial investigation and analysis, and electronic surveillance. The investigation involved a cooperative effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Detroit Police Department, and the Michigan State Police. Murray and an associate, Milton David Jones, were convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and of tax offenses. Numerous high-level associates were convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute quantities of heroin and cocaine.