SOUTH LOS ANGELES : Deal Will Provide 100 Jobs to Gang Members
A South Los Angeles minister on Monday unveiled a plan that would provide work for about 100 gang members marketing a long-distance telephone service.
The Rev. James Stern said he had struck a deal with the Affinity Network Inc., a Los Angeles-based firm that provides AT&T; service at discounted prices. An Affinity official said that his company will train the gang members, who will initially be paid about $5 an hour to find businesses interested in signing up for the service.
Stern hailed the plan as a way of supporting the truce between the Crips and Bloods, saying that gang members will eventually revert to violence unless new economic opportunities are made available.
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