The Ping On ( zh, t=平安, j=ping4 on1) was a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based criminal organization. The organization rose to power in the 1970s and continued to operate throughout the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. The Ping On was founded by Stephen "Sky Dragon" Tse who had heavy ties to the infamous 14K Triad in Hong Kong.

History

The Ping On was regarded as a "farm team" for the 14K triad in Hong Kong. The ambition of Stephen Tse was to come to Boston to set up another hub on the East Coast of the United States. However, it was not directly affiliated with 14K despite Stephen Tse having a history with them. The organization had several allies in the late 1980s, including the Hung Mong which was in operation in New York City.

Decline

In 1984, Stephen Tse was jailed for refusing to cooperate with authorities in regards to Asian organized crime in the city. During this time, a large number of Vietnamese refugees had moved to Boston, in particular

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

. When Stephen Tse was released from jail in 1986, the landscape of organized crime was very different, and not nearly as one sided as it was when he was last free. The power vacuum left by the decline of Ping On was linked by early police reports to the

Boston Chinatown massacre The Boston Chinatown massacre or Tyler Street Massacre was a gang-related shooting in which five men were killed execution-style in a Boston Chinatown gambling den in the early morning hours of January 12, 1991. A sixth victim was seriously inj ...

, which later FBI investigations revealed to be perpetrated by Ping On members and related to a feud with a rival gang member.

References

{{Reflist Organizations based in Boston Chinese-American organized crime groups Gangs in Massachusetts Triad groups