Known Aliases: AVLN, Vice Lords, VL, CVL (Conservative Vice Lords), TVL (Traveling Vice Lords), IVL (Insane Vice Lords), MVL (Mafia Insane Vice Lords), UVL (Unknown Vice Lords), Renegade Vice Lords, Cicero Insane Vice Lords, Ebony Vice Lords, Four Corner Hustlers (allied subset)
Origin: Illinois State Training School for Boys, St. Charles, Illinois — 1958. Founded by Edward 'Pepalo' Perry and six other incarcerated African American juveniles. Relocated operations to the North Lawndale neighborhood, West Side, Chicago, Illinois upon founders' release. Incorporated as a not-for-profit entity ('Conservative Vice Lords, Inc.') in 1967 during the community reinvestment era.
Active Regions: Primary AOR: Chicago (West Side — North Lawndale, East and West Garfield Park, Austin, Humboldt Park). Secondary AOR: Illinois (statewide), Indiana (Gary, Indianapolis, South Bend), Michigan (Detroit, Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor), Ohio (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati), Mississippi, Tennessee (Memphis), Alabama, Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Racine). Active within IDOC, Federal BOP, and multiple state correctional systems across the Midwest and South. Estimated membership: 30,000–35,000 (inclusive of all recognized factions).
Known Alliances: People Nation, Black P. Stone Nation, Latin Kings
Known Rivalries: Gangster Disciples (GD) — primary rival (People vs. Folk Nation axis). Simon City Royals — sustained territorial disputes on Chicago's North Side. Maniac Latin Disciples — Folk Nation adversary. Spanish Cobras — territorial opposition. Sureños — localized prison and street-level hostilities. Black Disciples — intermittent conflicts.
Primary Identifiers: Colors: Black, gold (primary), red (secondary, specific factions). Symbols: Five-pointed star, top hat, cane, Playboy bunny silhouette, martini glass, crescent moon, pyramid. Numeric codes: 312 (Chicago area code), 5 (People Nation), 22-12 (VL). Tattoos: Five-pointed star on left shoulder or chest, 'VL' on hands/neck, Playboy bunny, top hat and cane crossed, 'All Well' motto, faction-specific markings (e.g., 'CVL,' 'TVL'). Apparel: Chicago Bulls (red/black), Pittsburgh Pirates (gold/black), Iowa Hawkeyes (gold/black), University of Michigan (maize/blue — for M/Mafia faction), Vegas Golden Knights. Hand signs: Thumb, index and middle fingers extended forming a 'V' and 'L'. Graffiti: Five-pointed stars, top hats, canes, Playboy bunnies, broken and inverted six-pointed stars and pitchforks (disrespect to Folk Nation), 'VL' and faction initials.
Executive Summary:
The Almighty Vice Lord Nation (AVLN) holds the distinction of being the oldest major active street gang originating in the city of Chicago, with founding credentials traceable to 1958 within the Illinois juvenile correctional system. Under the leadership of co-founder Edward 'Pepalo' Perry and subsequent leadership figures including Willie Lloyd ('King of Kings'), the AVLN expanded from a West Side territorial clique into a sprawling multi-faction criminal enterprise with an estimated 30,000–35,000 members operating across over 25 states. The organization's complex genealogy includes numerous semi-autonomous branches — Conservative, Traveling, Insane, Unknown, Mafia Insane, Renegade, and Ebony Vice Lords among them — each maintaining distinct territorial claims while operating under the overarching AVLN command infrastructure and People Nation alliance.
The AVLN's breadth of criminal operations is extensive: large-scale narcotics distribution (heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine), firearms trafficking, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, contract murder, money laundering, and fraud. The organization historically maintained a sophisticated dual identity — operating legitimate community organizations (Conservative Vice Lords, Inc.) while simultaneously directing drug trafficking operations, a strategy that enabled federal grant acquisition during the 1960s–70s. Major federal RICO indictments, including the prosecution of Willie Lloyd and subsequent leadership dismantlement operations, have targeted AVLN infrastructure across multiple jurisdictions. Despite sustained law enforcement attrition, the AVLN's deep institutional memory, multi-generational membership base, and embedded correctional recruitment network sustain its classification as a Tier 1 domestic gang threat.