Apparently fake clemency letter for Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover sent to Gov. JB Pritzker
Weeks after President Donald Trump commuted the federal life sentence of Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, a letter arrived at the offices of Gov. JB Pritzker that appeared to be Hoover's final push for freedom: asking for clemency in his state murder case.
At first glance, the petition, which was stamped as received by the governor's office on June 16, would seem to be a legitimate plea from Hoover himself, using the same language about atonement and redemption that the imprisoned gang leader has used in numerous previous requests for parole and clemency from the courts.
But a closer inspection revealed some tell-tale signs that the document, first obtained by the Tribune through a public records request, might be a fake.
For one, it was purportedly sent June 5 from the 'supermax' prison in Florence, Colorado where Hoover, 74, had been housed for the past three decades. But Hoover had in fact been released from that facility days prior due to Trump's clearing of his federal sentence on May 29.
Another clue: the stationery used in the three-page letter had a quote at the bottom often attributed to the medieval fraternal organization known as freemasons, along with one of the group's insignias depicting a square and compass. Hoover's attorneys say he never would have had access to such stationery in the high-security environment in Florence, where use of any insignias is banned.
When the Tribune reached out to lead Hoover attorney Justin Moore on Wednesday, he said he had suspicions about the authenticity of the letter but could not say for certain that Hoover had not sent it.
On Wednesday evening, Moore confirmed on social media that the petition was sent without the knowledge or consent of Hoover's legal team and is believed to be a forgery.
'I was just informed that there was a fake clemency petition sent to the Governor of Illinois with Larry Hoover's name forged on it,' Moore wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'I've already had one media outlet contact me about this. No one from my office, nor any other retained attorney by Larry Hoover assisted with this.'
Moore said Thursday he was still investigating its origins and hoped to talk to Hoover about it soon.
A spokesman for Pritzker's office had no comment on the document Thursday.
The apparently fake clemency request may be a blip in Hoover's ongoing legal saga, but it's also an indication of the lasting mystique that continues to follow one of Chicago's most notorious gang leaders even though he's been behind bars for more than 50 years.
The letter obtained by the Tribune had been received Monday by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, which reviews all requests for clemency and makes recommendations to the governor.
Pritzker, who formally announced Thursday he will run for a third term, has previously commented that any clemency requests from Hoover would be treated the same as any other prisoner.
'We have a process in the state of Illinois,' Pritzker told reporters soon after Trump's commutation of Hoover's federal sentence. 'If you want to seek commutation or pardon, you go through a process. First you apply through the Prisoner Review Board, and then the Prisoner Review Board makes a recommendation to the governor.'
Pritzker said it was important to make decisions based on a full record, after interviewing not only the prisoner but also their family, friends as well as victims or victims' relatives.
'I have, as you know, had pardons and commutations, hundreds of them during the course of my administration, and they all — every single one of them has involved that kind of a record,' Pritzker said.
Hoover's other avenue to freedom would be the granting of parole, a decision made by the Prisoner Review Board. His most recent bid for parole fell short last year, though he's allowed to renew his request next year, records show.
Once one of the nation's largest street gangs, the Gangster Disciples became a major criminal force under Hoover's leadership, with operations that spread to dozens of U.S. cities and were as sophisticated as many legitimate corporations, including a strict code of conduct for members and a franchise-style system for drug sales.
Hoover was convicted in state court in 1973 of the murder of William Young, one of Hoover's gang underlings who was shot to death that same year after he and others had stolen from gang stash houses. He was sentenced to 200 years in prison.
In the early 1990s, before Hoover was charged in federal court, former Chicago Mayor Eugene Sawyer lobbied the IDOC parole board on his behalf, arguing that Hoover could help stem Chicago's street violence if he were allowed to return home, the Tribune reported at the time.
Hoover was indicted in federal court in 1995 on charges he continued to oversee the murderous drug gang's reign of terror from prison. He was convicted on 40 criminal counts in 1997, and then-U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber sentenced him to the mandatory term of life.
For years, Hoover had been housed in solitary confinement at the supermax prison in Colorado, which counts a number of high-profile and notorious detainees, including Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, Sept. 11 terrorist attack plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, and Jeff Fort, the Chicago gang leader who founded the El Rukns.
Federal prosecutors vehemently opposed any breaks for Hoover, arguing he did untold damage to communities across Chicago during his reign on the streets. They argued he has continued to hold sway over the gang's hierarchy while imprisoned, even promoting an underling he'd secretly communicated with through coded messages hidden in a dictionary.
Hoover's attorneys, meanwhile, have claimed that decades behind bars have left him a changed man and that prosecutors have unfairly painted him as a puppet master to try to keep him locked up.
At a hearing last year, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey asked Hoover's defense attorney point-blank: 'How many other murders is he responsible for?'
'I don't know what the methodology is for determining that,' attorney Bonjean replied, somewhat taken aback by the unusually blunt query.
'So many we can't count?' Blakey shot back.
Days after Trump commuted his federal sentence, Hoover was transferred out of the supermax prison in Florence and is currently being housed in the Colorado state Department of Corrections system, though his exact whereabouts are not public.
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