The Wild Cowboys were the most notorious drug dealing
gang in the
history of New York City, as far as sheer numbers of crack they dealt. They were started by the Sepulveda brothers,
Lenny and
Nelson, during the
time they attended George Washington H.S. in Washington Heights.
Eventually, the Wild Cowboys rose to the
top of the crack
game and controlled entire blocks in Washington Heights and The South Bronx. they virtually owned buildings in the South Bronx, near St Anns Park, and in Washington Heights, mainly in the W. 170's between Broadway and Amsterdam, then the epicenter of cocaine in all the USA. Besides making millions a week in sales of crack and cocaine, they were ruthless in dealings both personal and business.
They were known to intimidate and kill with ease anybody who opposed them or who would speak out against them. The NYPD combined with the DEA spent many years trying to bring them down, and eventually were successful in doing so. At one
time you couldn't walk down a street in Washington Heights or The Souuh Bronx without feeling their impact.
There are at least
2 books written about the lesser known
gang, at least in comparison with gangs like The Latin Kings and The Bloods. Wild Cowboys weren't about race, even though the majority of them were Dominican or Hispanic, they were strictly about power and control. The
best book on them is a book called "Wild Cowboys" which chronicles their rise to notoriety. It can be found on Amazon.com and if you want to read about real life "Kings of
New York" this is a good exaple.
The
Wild Cowboys controlled the entire
block of w 174th and Audubon Ave, not even the cops were
safe at those 4 corners back then.