The 1992 film “American Me” enraged Mexican Mafia members to the extent that numerous people involved with the film were murdered. Actor Danny Trejo said in an interview that he was aware of 10 people having been murdered for their involvement with the film
Segments of the Mexican Mafia were enraged by the film, specifically the lead character’s rape as a juvenile and his death at the hands of his own followers at the end of his criminal career.
Whether as retaliation over their depiction in the film, or as a routine criminal racket, Mexican Mafia member Joe "Pegleg" Morgan, who served as the inspiration for the character of J.D., allegedly attempted to extort money from Olmos.
Court documents show that Olmos was a victim in one extortion count contained in a 33-count federal indictment. According to reportage by CBS News weekly 60 Minutes, three consultants on this film were later murdered because of the depiction of a homosexual rape scene which offended the Mexican Mafia gangsters’ machismo.
Actor Danny Trejo said in an interview that he was aware of 10 people having been murdered for their involvement with the film. The first killing occurred 12 days after the film’s premiere when one of the film’s consultants, Charles "Charlie Brown" Manriquez, a member of La Eme, was killed in Ramona Gardens, L.A.’s oldest public housing project.
Another consultant to the film, 49-year-old grandmother Ana Lizarraga, commonly known as "The Gang Lady", was murdered when she was gunned down in her East Los Angeles driveway while unloading groceries. A federal indictment accused La Eme of ordering the 1992 murder of Lizarraga. Lizarraga was a former gang member who was, by the time she was killed, an anti-gang counselor. She played a grandmother in the film. Her murder occurred eight months after American Me was completed.
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.