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[LSN] The Life of a...Irish Mob-Affiliate


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 The Life of a...Irish Mob-Affiliate

By Troy Francis 

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This is a story of how an average everyday person’s life can devolve into a life of guns, drugs and criminal activity all because of the superficial glamour that can come alongside that way of life. But do not be fooled, the other side of this way of life is one of manipulation and terror which can leave long-lasting consequences for those that walk down that path.

 

I spoke to Mark Shepard who has previously been convicted of possession of a controlled substance (Schedule A) and resisting arrest.  Mark told me his story and how he got tangled up in the criminal lifestyle. Born and raised in New York City, Mark had a pretty uneventful childhood. He had friends like any other young person and achieved average grades at school. All was going well until at the age of eighteen Mark’s father got involved with some criminal gangs and this unfortunately led to his death after which his mother, afraid that her son would share the same fate, put Mark onto a plane to Los Santos, to give him a chance at a second life. This led to Mark leading a pretty normal working class life as a mechanic at a repair shop based in Strawberry, changing tyres and earning his pay cheque, which he used to pay rent on his apartment. The repair shop was just around the corner from the Vanilla Unicorn strip club, which, back then, was full of shady characters. It was there where Mark met the man that would introduce him to the criminal underworld.

 

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After work one evening, Mark was at the Vanilla Unicorn, when a man approached him offering him some weed and some pills to go and sell. At this time, Mark was fairly new to the city, young, naïve and easily manipulated. Clearly intimidated, he sold the drugs easily, bringing the profits back to the club. Soon, he became a regular at the club and things seemed to be going well, until his naivety led him pleading for his life with a gun against his head where the only way out was to sell drugs full time for the gang who owned the club.

 

Two years passed. Mark was working for the gang and proving himself to be a good money maker, earning up to two hundred thousand dollars a week. It was finally his turn to start to progress upwards within the gang and that process started with an oath, pledging his unwavering loyalty. He was taken to a long since shut down business in Mission Row, where he was led to a dingy back room which had nothing in it except a table, some chairs and a bible. It was here where he placed his hand on the bible and pledged his allegiance. Interestingly, Mark describes the moment as ‘ I was in such a state of bliss, even euphoria. Finally, being accepted into something, something all of us believed in and wanted to make work '. It was at this point that he felt like he was part of something bigger, a group who he thought cared for him, who had a common objective. He had vowed, in that moment, to keep the secrets of the gang, to hold himself with dignity and to treat an attack on another member of the gang or as Mark said himself ‘My brothers in arms’, as an attack on them all. With the cost of violating the oath, being his very life and soul. Quite persuasive words to be used on a twenty-year-old this, alongside the fast-paced and glamorous lifestyle made it easy for Mark to overlook the other side of this way of life.

 

Mark described his lifestyle as ‘wild’. They stole speedboats, got into high-speed car chases, destroyed cars, snorted cocaine and even trespassed on a multi-million dollar super-yacht, all whilst making significant amounts of money. Being a valuable member of the gang, he was given increasingly more responsibility. He was moving drugs, guns, backroom gambling, extortion, thefts, grand theft, blackmail, extortion corruption, basically anything that made money. He was involved. As Mark himself said, ‘I had finally had made it, I had my hand in the pot of gold.’ Mark soon attracted the attention of other gangs who attempted to poach him. Those that tried often ended up dead. It is only now that Mark is starting to understand that it was never about the belonging, nor the common objective that the ‘oath’ was all about, but it was about money and power. It came to a head when some of his gang become involved in politics, which led ultimately to a ‘job’ going wrong, resulting in Mark spending three years in Twin Towers.

 

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Mark describes prison as a place where racial politics is king, you spend a lot of time on your own, reflecting on your life, it can be a lonely place where you miss your friends, family and are at the behest of the guards that run the institution. Overall, it is very unpleasant. It was here where, unbeknown to Mark, his gang was beginning to unravel. On the outside, members of the gang were making side deals, getting ready for war with another crew. Once out of prison, it began to dawn on Mark how large the betrayal was from within his own organisation. Which led to a change on the streets, with old contacts being either paid off, run off, or bumped off. The gang itself went from moderately organised to completely dysfunctional over night. Trust between other gang members disintegrated, resulting in bloodshed on a significant scale. Which is when Mark saw the criminal life he had built, the line of work he was in for what it was worth. Ugly, dangerous, isolating and worthless.


So where did this leave Mark? As the war between gangs came to its end, and with the majority of Mark’s friends having been killed. He ended up locking himself in his apartment for months. Unsure who to trust, and scared that he would be next on the hit list. He was malnourished, unkept and on the verge of death. When he was found, it became apparent that he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and had developed a speech impediment. Following therapy, Mark is now trying to lead a normal life, however, he still struggles with some of the effects of the warring gangs. For example, the sight of blood now causes Mark issues, due to the amount of blood he has seen in his life. As a convicted felon, he cannot get a job. He often has urges of violence randomly towards people, which he has to keep in check.

 

So why did Mark tell me his story? To help others and redirect those who are on this path to make better choices, something which we can all get behind and support.

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If you have a story or if there is something you want to share with me, contact me, Troy Francis on 2858 or email [email protected] ((Jolagh))

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Edited by Jolagh
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Username: vegan69
Comment: is this the leaked story for saints row 7? are there gonna be lootboxes? my son keeps asking me to buy him cosmetics for saints row 6 and i think i'm going to drown him in the kitchen sink if there's more microtransactions in 7.

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USERNAME: 23INFAMOUS16

COMMENT: THIS JCAT WATCHED ONE TOO MANY MOB MOVIES U GOT A NOBODY TO TELL U A FAKE STORY 🤣 MOST HIS FRIENDS DIED EASY WAY TO SAY MOTHERF***ER GOT NOBODY TO BACK HIS BS CLAIMS UP!! NEVER HEARD OF HIM!! 

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