A Sobering Experience Causes Azusa Party Club to Change Its Priorities : Civics: The deaths of two youths prompts the mostly Latino group to focus on becoming better citizens.

When they began hanging out together about six years ago, they looked like an emerging gang. They called themselves the Mafia STAFF, coining the acronym: Sticking Together as a Family Forever.

The youths, most of them Latino, gained a reputation around Azusa as a party bunch whose members sometimes had trouble with the law; several of them have criminal records.

But last October, after a typically rowdy party, two STAFF members got onto a motorcycle and wrapped it around a light post on Foothill Boulevard. Both were killed. It was a turning point for the group.

Today, members are trying to change their image. They want to exchange the parties for civic-oriented activities. They hope to put their energy and unity to positive use and help clean up their city.

At a recent meeting, one of STAFF’s founders, Tommy Gaitan, 20, stood at a podium before 65 of his fellow members and urged them to stay out of trouble.

“You have to know when to walk away and how to keep our name dignified,” he said. “Your mouths can work as well as your hands.”

STAFF’s first full-fledged exercise in civic duty was a candidates forum and dinner dance in March. All seven City Council candidates and the two mayoral candidates participated. The $7 admission charge netted $2,000, which STAFF donated to the Azusa American Little League during a public ceremony on April 25.

This month, the group participated in a festival organized by the St. Francis of Rome Church, selling shrimp cocktails from a booth. The proceeds will go toward financing future projects.

“I’ve seen them mature,” said Luis Zamora, a local businessman who is unofficially helping the group. “They are realizing that there is more to life than partying. They’ve passed a crucial point; they know they can make a difference. They’re going to go forward now, not backward.”

Still, STAFF leaders are learning that once a group has been perceived as a gang, that image is not easily changed. The trust of civic leaders is hard to win and easily lost. And the presence of other gangs presents a constant temptation to backslide.

In their effort to transform the group, senior members of STAFF have met with Azusa Police Chief Byron Nelson and Mayor Eugene Moses, hoping to persuade civic leaders of their good intentions.

Both officials have offered skeptical support.

“The ones I talked to seem serious and ambitious,” said Moses, who knows the parents of several members. “They need guidance to stay on the right track. I told them if they are serious about wanting to be better citizens and getting involved with civic affairs, we’re going to help them.”

Nelson, who said he has never seen a group as large as STAFF try to change itself, said he needs to see a lot of change before he’ll completely trust its members.

Despite STAFF’s similarities to a gang, police never classified it as a gang and have not attributed any crimes to the group collectively, even though several individual members have records. But police encountered enough trouble with STAFF parties to be wary of the group. Nelson said his officers have been pelted with rocks and bottles while trying to break up some of the group’s parties.

STAFF leaders recently were pressed to salvage their new-won trust after a young man, whom police identified as a STAFF member, was involved in a drive-by shooting. STAFF leaders deny he is a member, saying he merely associated with the group. Whether he was an official member or not, the incident has damaged STAFF’s reputation.

Another founder, Ray Muro, 26, said the incident “has broken down what we’ve built.”

“It seems the community isn’t as trusting anymore. People have a ‘Let’s-wait-and-see’ attitude.”

Senior members say they are working to rid the group of troublemakers and those who are not interested in pursuing the new goals.

Joe Angulo, STAFF president, said he recently asked a few members to resign because their actions were hurting the group’s reputation. “It’s difficult,” Angulo, 20, said. “These guys are our friends; we grew up with them. But they understand that we can’t have them as a part of our group.”

When Gaitan and four other Latino youths formed the organization in 1986, they had no particular purpose but to party. The group grew quickly to about 40 members and took on some of the characteristics of a gang. The named themselves Mafia STAFF because someone suggested they looked tough, like the Mafia.

Today, members number about 100, ranging in age from 15 to 26. There are two auxiliary groups: 12 high school boys called The Young Ones and five young women called Lady STAFF. The Young Ones were allowed in despite concerns of some senior members that they would not be able to stay out of trouble.

Raul Garcia, STAFF vice president, said, “The younger ones want to be members so much, they won’t jeopardize it by doing something stupid.”

Following their decision to legitimize, STAFF dropped the word Mafia from the name and established a policy against wearing gang attire. Members all have hats adorned with the STAFF name, but it is a rule that no one wear the hats outside of Azusa. Members fear other groups will think the hats are gang attire.

During his meeting with STAFF leaders, Nelson presented an even stricter prescription for making the group legitimate. He suggested they give police a roster of members, stop having parties, change the name--since it now has negative connotations--and hold future meetings to report progress.

Muro said STAFF has given the police a membership roster and has suspended all parties, at least through July. In place of partying, he said, they are planning to do community cleanup and work with local school boards to find ways of encouraging youngsters to stay in school.

Muro, who graduated from Azusa High High School and is studying psychology at Citrus College, said that staying in school is something that STAFF emphasizes. He said the group would like to offer tutoring and is looking into establishing scholarship funds for students who can’t afford to attend college.

However, Muro said, staying out of trouble is always difficult because STAFF members are singled out by Azusa’s hard-core gang. These gang members, police say, have been involved in beatings, stabbings and shootings. Muro said senior members are planning on discussing the situation with Nelson before any confrontations occur.

“Our guys are civilized, they’re not the type to retaliate. But I can’t say for certain what would happen” if attacked, he said. “The gang members that are threatening us are all armed. It’s scary. A lot of our guys look and act hard-core, but they’re not. Most are really good people.”

“I hope they’re successful,” Nelson said. “My hand is out. I want to help them legitimize. But first I’m going to have to see a substantial effort on their part.”