Montgomery County Pct. 1 Constable Cash, Analyst Bucks Honored
WILLIS, TX– In a rarely seen show of recognition and gratitude from the feds to local law enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) honored Montgomery County Precinct 1 Constable Philip Cash and Precinct 1 Analyst Kayce Bucks this week. Constable Cash and Analyst Bucks received hand-delivered commendations Tuesday, for their valuable participation in a massive multi-agency, multi-state federal racketeering investigation targeting the leadership of the Aryan Circle, which is a white supremacist, prison-based gang that operates a deadly and profitable criminal enterprise on the outside.
The ATF, which is part of the US Department of Justice, dubbed the effort “Operation Noble Virtue” and it was part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The enormous federally led operation was ongoing and productive since 2016 and resulted in 43 convictions of violent offenders across six states, in eight federal jurisdictions. The operation was distinctive in its enormity, the length of time and agencies involved, and the overall success of the resulting prosecutions, due in no small part to the hard work and dogged determination of those involved.
Recently retired ATF Special Agent Richard Boehning, who worked closely with Cash and Bucks on the Aryan Circle investigation, also attended the presentation at the Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, where he praised Bucks’ investigative skills and contribution to the success of the operation, serving as Chief Intelligence Analyst for Operation Noble Virtue.
Cash and Bucks were not new to working with federal and state agencies. Years earlier, when both worked for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Cash worked undercover for years and headed up the MCSO Special Investigations Unit (SIU), targeting drug manufacturers and traffickers. Cash partnered with federal and state agencies on a regular basis. As an MCSO Lieutenant, Cash worked with the ATF on their investigation targeting another white supremacist prison-based gang, the Aryan Brotherhood. During that investigation, Cash became acquainted with the skills of then MCSO co-worker, Analyst Kayce Bucks, who assisted in that investigation as well. Cash had no doubt Bucks would be a very valuable asset to the Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, and she has now distinguished herself with federal agencies.
“Kayce has done a tremendous job,” Cash said. “Not just on these cases, but as analyst on cases at the Sheriff’s Department.”
“That’s one of the reasons I stole her,” Cash quipped, referring to inviting Bucks to join him in the new department after becoming Constable.
The pair received beautifully framed certificates of commendation praising their efforts and memorializing the massive Operation Noble Virtue. The rarely presented certificates were signed by ATF Director Steven M. Dettelbach and DOJ Organized Crime and Gang Section Chief David L. Jaffe.
It’s important to note that taking part in these sorts of investigations poses great risk. As a result of previous work with the feds, Constable Cash had a “hit” placed on him by one of the Aryan leadership. Obviously, the effort was thwarted. The man who ordered someone to kill Cash was recently sentenced to life in prison. Fortunately, in a federal prison, a life sentence is actually what it says. Boehning says the RICO Act or RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), enacted in 1970 in response to the growing issue of organized crime, has made it much easier to punish those in leadership positions in organized crime.
“That’s the beauty of racketeering charges,” Boehning said. “You don’t have to be the one that actually pulls the trigger.”
The potential consequences for those who give orders to others are beneficial in many ways, he says. Once a criminal group is identified and those at the lower level are arrested for crimes that could carry lengthy sentences, Boehning says feds begin to “flip” the criminals. Agents explain to them how much shorter their sentences may be if they cooperate, and tell the truth. Despite having their bodies adorned with markings declaring their loyalty to the gangs for which they commit heinous crimes, when presented the choice between growing old behind bars and potentially being released while they could still have lives, he says most will choose to cooperate.
“There are only two types of federal inmates – those that cooperate, and those that wish they did,” Boehning said.
Investigators gain a wealth of information through these informants. While cooperating seems like the obvious choice, it carries tremendous risk as well. Boehning says there are countless documented incidents of gangs skinning their own members alive to take back the markings that identified them as part of that group.
Although it seems difficult to imagine, considering Montgomery County is one of the most conservative counties in Texas, with judges and juries who traditionally have supported law enforcement and harsh sentences for criminals, one of the leaders of the Aryan Circle was a local man. He is in federal prison now. More shocking is the information that organized white supremacist groups kept residences in Montgomery County for new parolees. In previous years, investigators knew they had gatherings by Lake Conroe, and were known to have the run of a notorious East Montgomery County trailer park that became a haven for white supremacist parolees.
Most locals are familiar with the notorious Aryan Brotherhood (ABT) white supremacist prison-based gang, which existed primarily in Texas. The Aryan Circle started in much the same way, as a sort of “spin-off” of the ABT. However, the Aryan Circle stretched much further than Texas, with one member, who became known during the aforementioned investigation, all the way in France.
While these organizations are typically formed and tend to recruit in and be run from prison, the members on the outside are still doing their bidding – taking orders. They come together annually for what would be called a convention if they were legal business associates. They were meeting in Kentucky at what they called “nationals” or “church” when Operation Noble Virtue began. This had occurred annually for years, but when they realized the feds were aware and watching, they ceased gathering there, Boehning said.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published a thorough 39-page report specifically about the Aryan Circle in 2009. The document is downloadable free of charge on their website, with no registration required. The ADL report contains information from the Aryan Circle’s origins, philosophy, and power structure, to identifiers such as the signs they “throw” (with graphics), as well as graphics and photos depicting their tattoos. These tattoos tend to only be black ink, often done inside prison with the items and supplies inmates can scavenge and hide to create them. It is common for these gang tattoos to be on necks and chests, or even faces where they’re clearly visible in booking photos. Many sources provide a variety of information regarding these groups, including archived federal press releases. However, for the curious citizen, the ADL report is more concise and requires far less searching and sifting, since it’s more of an overview, versus information released by entities about individual prosecutions, that may presume the reader already has some knowledge of the group or its practices.
Study of the activities and prosecution of any of the prison-based criminal networking gangs provides a glimpse of a violent, mercenary, and often frightening world that has existed, often undetected, in our own neighborhoods. Constable Cash and Analyst Bucks are among the law enforcement heroes who knew full-well the risk involved with working to disrupt the criminal activities of these evil groups, but they chose to do so for justice and for the community they love.
The agencies who participated Operation “Noble Virtue’ were as follows: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP); Texas Department of Public Safety; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; New Jersey Department of Corrections-Special Investigations Division; Indiana State Police; Fort Smith (AR) Police Department; Arkansas Department of Corrections; Arnold (MO) Police Department; Jefferson County (M) Sheriff’s Department; St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; St. Louis County Police Department; Indiana Department of Corrections; Carrollton (TX) Police Department; Montgomery County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Travis County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Tarrant County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office; Smith County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; McCurtain County (OK) Sheriff’s Office; Montgomery County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Liberty County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Harris County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Mercer County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) District Attorney’s Office; Sebastian County (AR) District Attorney’s Office; with The Organized Crime Drug Task Forces.
