SteyrAUG
06-20-14, 17:04
When I was a kid in the early 80s I thought these guys were gods. NYC was famous for being the epicenter of violent crime in the US (just watch Death Wish, The Exterminator or any dozen other vigilante films from that time) and these guys were taking on the horde of street gangs, muggers, rapists and other similar scumbags using only martial arts.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/SteyrAUG/GuardianAngels_zpsadbc5f22.jpg
To hear them tell it at the time, they went up against armed bad guys in the worst areas of NY. The TV movie "We're Fighting Back" (1981) depicts them learning their tactics the hard way with the leader even taking a shotgun blast.
On top of the bad guys, valiant Guardian Angel leader Curtis Sliwa had to battle a resentful police department who felt the group made them look bad in comparison and an openly hostile mayor's office who felt they were being undermined as well. Sliwa told tales of being repeatedly threatened and even kidnapped in 1980 by off-duty transit officers.
He seemed to be the "one guy" with his band of trusty men who actually cared about "the people" who selflessly put their lives on the line every night. They were there on the subways every night to protect those who must rely on them for transportation as part of their daily lives.
Just one problem, none of it was true.
Right from the start, the creation story of how the Magnificent Thirteen evolved into the Guardian Angels safety patrol has it's credibility issues.
The True Origins Of The Guardian Angels (http://www.therightperspective.org/2009/07/13/the-true-origins-of-the-guardian-angels/)
Two rather significant founding members of the Guardian Angels claim their ideas were appropriated by Sliwa who convinced them to let him act as the groups representative.
Then in 1992, after the statute of limitations on filing false police reports had expired, Sliwa admitted that he had fabricated several of the Angels' exploits, including a false allegation that he had been kidnapped in 1980 by off-duty transit officers. As well as admitting to "faking several kidnapping attempts on himself to make himself seem more valuable to the public" he said in later statements.
Obviously this discredits the other early members of the Guardian Angels who participated in staging several subway rescues in the 1980s in order to get publicity for the group. Sliwa also admitted that the New York City Chapter primarily patrolled the Restaurant Row section of midtown Manhattan, except for occasional well-publicized patrols in other neighborhoods and subway patrols to recruit new members.
Ironically after "crying wolf" over the years Sliwa actually was kidnapped in a bizarre plot to kill him for comments he made about John Gotti on his radio show in 1992. On June 19, 1992, Sliwa was kidnapped and shot by two gunmen after entering a stolen taxi in Manhattan. The taxi picked up Sliwa near his home in the East Village and a gunman hiding in the front passenger seat jumped up and fired several shots, hitting him in the groin and legs. The kidnapping was apparently foiled when Sliwa leapt from the front window of the moving cab and escaped. Sliwa underwent surgery for internal injuries and leg wounds.
Federal prosecutors eventually charged John A. Gotti, the son of Gambino crime family leader John Gotti, with the attempted murder, among a raft of other charges. Prosecutors claimed that Gotti was angered by remarks Sliwa had made about his father on his radio program. However, after three attempts to try him, the last on September 20, 2005, three separate juries were unable to agree to convict Gotti on all of the charges brought against him and the charges were dropped. Jurors later told reporters they did believe he had a role in Sliwa's shooting. Prosecutors declined to re-try Gotti and dismissed the charges against him. Sliwa has said he would seek damages in civil court. Michael Yannotti, a Gotti associate, was also charged with shooting Sliwa in the incident but was acquitted. Yannotti, however, was sentenced to 20 years on an unrelated racketeering charge. Judge Scheindlin, however, said evidence suggested Yannotti was the shooter.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/SteyrAUG/GuardianAngels_zpsadbc5f22.jpg
To hear them tell it at the time, they went up against armed bad guys in the worst areas of NY. The TV movie "We're Fighting Back" (1981) depicts them learning their tactics the hard way with the leader even taking a shotgun blast.
On top of the bad guys, valiant Guardian Angel leader Curtis Sliwa had to battle a resentful police department who felt the group made them look bad in comparison and an openly hostile mayor's office who felt they were being undermined as well. Sliwa told tales of being repeatedly threatened and even kidnapped in 1980 by off-duty transit officers.
He seemed to be the "one guy" with his band of trusty men who actually cared about "the people" who selflessly put their lives on the line every night. They were there on the subways every night to protect those who must rely on them for transportation as part of their daily lives.
Just one problem, none of it was true.
Right from the start, the creation story of how the Magnificent Thirteen evolved into the Guardian Angels safety patrol has it's credibility issues.
The True Origins Of The Guardian Angels (http://www.therightperspective.org/2009/07/13/the-true-origins-of-the-guardian-angels/)
Two rather significant founding members of the Guardian Angels claim their ideas were appropriated by Sliwa who convinced them to let him act as the groups representative.
Then in 1992, after the statute of limitations on filing false police reports had expired, Sliwa admitted that he had fabricated several of the Angels' exploits, including a false allegation that he had been kidnapped in 1980 by off-duty transit officers. As well as admitting to "faking several kidnapping attempts on himself to make himself seem more valuable to the public" he said in later statements.
Obviously this discredits the other early members of the Guardian Angels who participated in staging several subway rescues in the 1980s in order to get publicity for the group. Sliwa also admitted that the New York City Chapter primarily patrolled the Restaurant Row section of midtown Manhattan, except for occasional well-publicized patrols in other neighborhoods and subway patrols to recruit new members.
Ironically after "crying wolf" over the years Sliwa actually was kidnapped in a bizarre plot to kill him for comments he made about John Gotti on his radio show in 1992. On June 19, 1992, Sliwa was kidnapped and shot by two gunmen after entering a stolen taxi in Manhattan. The taxi picked up Sliwa near his home in the East Village and a gunman hiding in the front passenger seat jumped up and fired several shots, hitting him in the groin and legs. The kidnapping was apparently foiled when Sliwa leapt from the front window of the moving cab and escaped. Sliwa underwent surgery for internal injuries and leg wounds.
Federal prosecutors eventually charged John A. Gotti, the son of Gambino crime family leader John Gotti, with the attempted murder, among a raft of other charges. Prosecutors claimed that Gotti was angered by remarks Sliwa had made about his father on his radio program. However, after three attempts to try him, the last on September 20, 2005, three separate juries were unable to agree to convict Gotti on all of the charges brought against him and the charges were dropped. Jurors later told reporters they did believe he had a role in Sliwa's shooting. Prosecutors declined to re-try Gotti and dismissed the charges against him. Sliwa has said he would seek damages in civil court. Michael Yannotti, a Gotti associate, was also charged with shooting Sliwa in the incident but was acquitted. Yannotti, however, was sentenced to 20 years on an unrelated racketeering charge. Judge Scheindlin, however, said evidence suggested Yannotti was the shooter.