While in prison, the Hustlers’ leaders realized their need for additional protection and cooperation. With both heads severed off, members of the Four Corner Hustlers began mixing with heroine and other substances that their former bosses had forbidden. Albeit tight, the gang remained small and rather unorganized for most of the 70s.įollowing a shootout which took place at a Valentine’s Day party in 1972 and other criminal activities dating up to 1975, both original founders Wheat and Gauge were sentenced to spend somewhat long periods in prison and transferred to a federal penitentiary to serve their time. The two young African-Americans sought a way to protect their home territory, a narrow strip of land in Chicago’s West Garfield Park, from the influence of external gang members who would use the area for drug trafficking and violent crimes.Īt first a group of less than 10 people, the Four Corner Hustlers were designed as a fighting gang – a sort of self-protection effort – rather than a group which would engage in criminal activities or actively attempt to disrupt the life of its neighborhood.ĭrug trafficking and usage of illegal substances were strictly forbidden, but shoplifting and violence were often considered an effective way to assert dominance over rival groups. The Four Corner Hustlers (4CH) were born by the end of 1968, mostly thanks to the efforts of Vice Lords’ Walter Wheat and Freddie Gauge.

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