Brödraskapet (Swedish for The Brotherhood), shortend BSK, is a Swedish prison gang that was founded on May 27, 1995 by inmates inside the maximum security prison in Kumla, Sweden. The police in Sweden consider The Brotherhood to be a criminal organization in regard to the EU criteria for organized crime.
Background
In 1993, stricter rules were implemented in the Swedish prison system. Among the changes, the possibility for early parole was abolished. In accordance with a tougher view on crime in Swedish society, more persons received prison sentences and the sentences also got longer. This increased the pressure on the prison system and created a tougher environment in Swedish prisons, especially inside the larger security prisons like Kumla, Hall and Tidaholm.
The founding of The Brotherhood
Some of the worst inmates tried to fight the new system which led to an increased number of confrontations between prison guards and inmates. A serious riot occurred in the summer of 1994 at Tidaholm prison and parts of the prison were burnt to the ground. Some of the leaders of the riot at Tidaholm prison would later become some of the founding members of The Brotherhood. The response of the prison authorities to the inmates' actions was an extensive use of solitary confinement, forced relocations to other security prisons and delayed paroles. Around New Year's 1994/95, a group of hardcore inmates began to organize themselves inside Kumla security prison and in the spring of 1995 they founded The Brotherhood (also shortened "BSK"), the first prison gang in Sweden.
Danny Fitzpatrick
The initiator and leader of the organization was Danny "The Hood" Fitzpatrick (born 26 February 1953, assassinated 18 June 1998). He was serving an eight-year sentence for an armed robbery committed in Stockholm in 1992. He was also suspected of murdering a police officer in connection to another armed robbery in Högdalen the same year. The Brotherhood recruited some of the worst and most infamous criminals in Sweden. Their members were serving sentences for armed robberies, drugs, murder, attempted murder of police officers etc. Among other things the rules of The Brotherhood demanded that the members had to serve time in a security prison and refuse to participate in any rehabilitation programs and refuse to give specimen of urine for drug control. They also had to show court documents to prove that they were not informers. The prison authorities sent The Brotherhood members to solitary confinement and relocated members to other prisons in an effort to break up the organization. But these actions backfired and instead the organization spread to several other prisons. During the period 1996–1997 The Brotherhood is estimated to have consisted of 80–90 inmates and they had a strong influence over other inmates as well as the prison staff. According to police and prison authorities records, Brotherhood members were highly active in crime inside the prisons, mainly in drug dealing and violent crimes. A number of murders inside the Kumla and Tidaholm security prisons during the 1990s are believed to have been committed by The Brotherhood. A Brotherhood member is still serving a life sentence for murdering another inmate at the Tidaholm prison in 1998. According to the police investigation, the inmate was murdered for slandering the president of The Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood MC and The Brotherhood Wolfpack
At the end of the year 1995 the outlaw motorcycle club (omc) Asa MC in Stockholm joined up with Brotherhood members that had been released from prison and founded the first Brotherhood chapter outside of the prison walls. The chapter adopted the same organizational structure as a 1% MC and was located in Länna in the south of Stockholm. The Brotherhood MC chapter (BSK MC) consisted of about 15-20 members and maintained a high profile in the underworld of Stockholm during the years 1995-1998. BSK MC also recruited people that had not served time in prison. Therefore, Brotherhood members inside the security prisons started to use the addition ”Wolfpack” to emphasize a status difference. During the period 1996-1998 several Brotherhood members in Stockholm were arrested and convicted for various crimes such as extortion, illegal possession of firearms and abduction. Danny Fitzpatrick was released from the Hall prison in January 1998. During his celebration party a defector from the club was shot in the leg and another man received an axe blow to the head.