The Prison Guard With a Gift for Cracking Gang Codes

As a corrections officer at a Westchester County, N.Y., prison in the 1990s, Gary Klivans was a one-man gang unit. Members of The Latin Kings and the Bloods made up a sizable part of the prison population. Klivans learned quickly that to handle them, he needed to understand them, and that meant understanding the code they used to communicate. Klivans taught himself to decipher their messages. He became one of the most sought-after code-breakers in the country. (Also see the related Facts So Romantic post, “View From the Inside: How Gang Members Use Secret Codes.”)

Even in retirement, his skills are in demand: Klivans