"Mile High Killers" Gangland episode nothing but "lies, lies, lies," says GRASP's Francisco Gallardo

On Friday, even as the Darrent Williams murder trial was offering Denverites the sort of ugly, unburnished portrait of gang life the Reverend Leon Kelly sees everyday, The History Channel aired an episode of its Gangland series entitled "Mile High Killers." And Francisco Gallardo, program director for Gang Rescue and...

By Michael Roberts

March 8, 2010

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On Friday, even as the Darrent Williams murder trial was offering Denverites the sort of ugly, unburnished portrait of gang life the Reverend Leon Kelly sees everyday, The History Channel aired an episode of its Gangland series entitled "Mile High Killers." And Francisco Gallardo, program director for Gang Rescue and Support Project (GRASP), who cooperated in the making of the show, couldn't be more pissed off about how it turned out. In the video seen above, he rips the highly publicized presentation apart, claiming that Gangland personnel misled him about their approach, claiming that they would focus on something other than sheer sensationalism. He calls the results "nothing but lies, lies, lies, lies, lies" -- and plenty more besides.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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