NYC Gangsters using Cincinnati Reds caps to intimidate potential witnesses

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The Cincinnati Reds baseball cap has become a prominent fashion accessory in New York City courthouses and authorities are not happy about it. This recent penchant for the Reds is not an affectionate nod to NL MVP Joey Votto or even a disrespect to the Mets. The baseball cap with the iconic ‘C’ in the middle has become popular with Bloods gang members as a way to intimidate witnesses and show gang solidarity.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, more than a dozen men appear at Queens Supreme Court wearing the black-and-red caps with a red ‘C’ in the front. Gang prosecutors claim that these young men are members of the Bloods—one of the most notorious and dangerous gangs in the nation.

Prosecutors say the Bloods gang members use the red ‘C’ on the cap as a poke-in-the-eye to their rival gang the Crips—who use blue as their wardrobe theme. The members use other more subtle methods to show their gang red in other courtrooms, but are usually not noticed by anyone outside of the police.

Bloods consider the bright red ‘C’ a bitch slap to the Crips and a brazen message to testifying witnesses. Officials attribute the high presence of Bloods in the Queens courthouse comes from the gang’s stronghold in the nearby Far Rockaway housing projects.

Baseball caps as part of a gang’s attire is nothing new. The Raiders black-and-silver caps with a pirate’s face was all the gang rage in Los Angeles during the ’90's and the Pittsburgh Pirates hat is favored by the Latin Kings. Right now the Reds cap is the color of choice by other gangs in Chicago and Indianapolis.

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