Larry Hoover’s latest push for freedom now includes one of the most recognizable names in organized crime prosecution.
At a clemency hearing in Chicago on Tuesday, April 7, former federal judge and ex-New York mob prosecutor John Gleeson urged the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to recommend parole for the 75-year-old founder of the Gangster Disciples, arguing that Hoover no longer poses a threat after spending more than five decades behind bars.
Gleeson, who built his reputation prosecuting Mafia figures including Gambino boss John Gotti, told the board that Hoover should not be judged solely by the man he was in the 1970s and 1990s.
“Larry Hoover poses no risk of danger to the community,” Gleeson said during the hearing, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Gleeson is now part of Hoover’s legal team after serving as a federal judge in Brooklyn and later as a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
The appearance marked a significant moment in Hoover’s years-long effort to secure release. Hoover remains imprisoned on a 150-to-200-year Illinois sentence for ordering the 1973 murder of 19-year-old William “Pooky” Young. Because the crime occurred before Illinois abolished discretionary parole in 1978, Hoover is still eligible to seek clemency from Gov. JB Pritzker.
Hoover’s supporters believe his chances improved after President Donald Trump commuted Hoover’s federal life sentence last year. Hoover had spent decades in the ADX Florence supermax prison in Colorado after being convicted in 1997 of running the Gangster Disciples from inside prison.
Prosecutors said at the time that the organization had roughly 30,000 members in more than 30 states and generated as much as $100 million annually through drug trafficking and racketeering.
The Gangster Disciples, which Hoover helped build in Chicago in the late 1960s, grew into one of the country’s most powerful and violent street gangs. The group became known for its rigid chain of command, prison recruitment network, and expansion across the Midwest and South.
His attorneys argued that Hoover has spent years renouncing the gang and expressing remorse. Lawyer Justin Moore told the board, “We are not here to excuse what happened in Mr. Hoover’s life. We are here to talk about accountability.”
Hoover’s wife, Winndye, also spoke, telling board members that he has missed nearly every major milestone in his children’s lives. “He’s not a monster,” she said. “His family loves him.”
Prosecutors pushed back sharply. Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Enrique Abraham said Hoover’s release would minimize the gravity of Young’s murder and ignore the fact that Hoover historically directed violence through others. “William Young never got a second chance,” Abraham said.
The three-member panel will now send a confidential recommendation to Pritzker, who has final authority over whether Hoover is granted clemency. The board is expected to make its recommendation within the next two months.
