Infrastructure of The Mafia
There is a clear hierarchy of authority in the Chaldean Mafia; one man is basically the “top dog”. He is a type of "godfather" to the gang. His name is Bahaa Kalasho.
Bahaa, born January 31, 1962, is currently serving time under the name Bahaa Kalasko, MDOC #181993. Regarded in the 1980s as “the leader of a strong-arm gang of thugs”, Bahaa received a life sentence in 1985 “after he and his gang murdered an elderly woman during a home invasion robbery”.
Bahaa’s uncle is Louis Akrawi who is an entrepreneur, but had a dual identity: “while Akrawi held the appearance of a respectable businessman on the surface, the residents of the Chaldean community recognized him as their version of the local mafia boss”. Following Uncle Akrawi’s footsteps, Bahaa’s younger brother Khairi “Harry” Kalasho would try to corner the drug market in Detroit in the time frame 1986–1989, only to be killed himself. With Harry gone, this left one bold energetic figure to keep the crime family alive: Bahaa stepped up to the plate. And he plays the movie role “script” version of a gangster quite well, even though he is still incarcerated in a state facility. But remember, Larry Hoover was able to direct and micromanage his gang, the Gangster Disciples, from behind bars: by using visits, the telephone, etc, and Bahaa definitely has this same tendency.
There appear to be two levels of authority underneath the top leader: primary and secondary operatives. Primary operatives enjoy the trust and appointed “missions” given to them by the godfather. The primary operatives, in turn, delegate some aspects of the “work assignments” to secondary operatives somewhat lower in the chain of the command. When three members of the Chaldean Mafia were killed on November 20, 2002, Christopher Kasshamoun, Wesam Akrawi, and Rany Sharak, these were secondary operatives: they did not know where the “stash” was located, even under brutal torture, they could not reveal anything, because they just did not know where the “stash” of drugs and cash was located. Only a primary level operative would know such “inside” secrets of the gang. And it would have been a primary operative that directed these three victims to have contact with the gang that ended up killing them. Their mission would have been simply to work out the deal for drugs, indicate the terms of the agreement such as prepayment, etc. They would not be privy to the kind of information their torturers thought they might have (i.e., where is their “drug house”). There also appear to be contractual associates: persons, particularly in the area of gang violence, who will be given a “contract” to assault, threaten, harass, or possibly kill someone who is a problem for the Chaldean Mafia. In the “drug underground” of America, there are as many potential “contractors” as there are distributors of marijuana and cocaine. They could be on a college campus, or in a corporate office, or in any community anywhere: demonstrating the terroristic impact of illegal drugs in America today. An example would be the Two-Sixers who are known for their contract killings, they rent themselves out to anyone who will offer a price. This contractual means of carrying out “hits” is done in and outside of prison. In one contract hit paid for by Khairi “Harry” Kalasho, the victim Munthir Saleem who was killed by multiple gunshots, the shooters collected only $10,000 for the work. They could have made an extra $10,000 if they had cut off Saleem’s head and thrown it in the street. Harry was upset that Saleem, a drug dealer, was encroaching on his sales territory. Harry also contracted the killing of another Detroit drug dealer named Sam Gaggo who was killed in 1988.
As in any criminal syndicate, family connections are important, and some “messages” may be relayed for purposes of secrecy only through direct family members or an attorney. This situation is necessitated by the fact that the leader is currently serving a life prison sentence and faces scrutiny in his mail and telephone and visiting situations. Among the known primary operatives are the “enforcers” for the Chaldean Mafia. These are the “muscle” of the organization in the Detroit area, and include: Chris, Norman, Flash, Sacco, and Safa. Other Kalasho family members operate in California and Arizona include cousins of Bahaa. Another primary operative, who serves as a kind of “ambassador” but who is not a “fighter”, is Bahaa’s longtime trusted friend Beretta. There is an active female gang auxiliary unit of the Chaldean Mafia. They visit incarcerated members of the gang and are often involved in violent fighting behavior in their communities.
Read more about this topic: Chaldean Mafia