I
f
anyone
was
born
to
the
gangster
life,
it
is
Raymond
Chow.
Indeed,
the
more
one
looks
at
Raymond
Chow’s
background,
the
more
one
can
see
that
he
had
criminal
ties
that
gave
him
much
power,
and
he
knew
how
to
wield it.
As
Chow
tells
it,
he
committed
his
first
crime
at
age
8,
joined
the
Triads
and
cut
somebody
up
at
age
9,
and
by
age
12,
had
sex
with
a
prostitute
for
the
first
time.
In
his
teens,
the
young
hoodlum
was
involved
in
a
slew
of
criminal activities, such as gambling, extortion and racketeering.
Chow
had
the
swagger
and
style
of
a
big-time
gangster,
but
he
certainly
didn’t
look
like
one,
at
least
at
first
glance.
Barely
5’5”
tall,
he
had
a
distinctive
shaved
head,
a
pencil
mustache
and
a
penchant
for
white,
tailor-
made suits.
One
of
five
brothers,
Raymond
Chow
was
born
in
Hong
Kong
on
December
31,
1959,
as
Chow
Kwok-Cheung.
His
nickname,
“Shrimp
Boy,”
an
obvious
reference
to
his
short
stature,
was
given
to
him
by
his
grandmother
in
the belief that evil spirits could not find little children like her Raymond if they did not know their name.
Of
Taishanese
Chinese
descent,
Chow’s
family
comes
from
a
coastal
city
in
the
southern
Guangdong
province
in
the
People’s
Republic
of
China.
The
number
of
Taishanese
in
China
total
close
to
a
million,
while
another
half
million
reside
in
America.
The
Taishanese
count
many
notable
people
among
their
numbers,
including
artists,
politicians, movie stars and martial artists.
Chow
came
to
live
in
San
Francisco,
a
city
whose
population
includes
150,000
Chinese.
That
number
amounts
to
about
22
percent
of
the
population,
which
gives
San
Francisco
the
highest
percentage
of
residents
of
Chinese
descent of any major U.S. city.
About The Author
A
native
of
Thunder
Bay,
Canada,
and
based
in
Rock
Hill,
South
Carolina,
Ron
Chepesiuk
is
an
optioned
screen
-
writer,
award-winning
author,
documentary
producer
and
director,
publisher
(
www.strategicmediabooks.com
),
and
radio
host
(
www.artistfirst.com/crimebeat.htm
).
He
has
published
thirty-five
books
and
more
than
4,000
articles that have appeared in 350 plus magazines and newspapers, including the
New York Times
and
USA Today
.
He
is
a
two-time
Fulbright
Scholar
to
Bangladesh
and
Indonesia,
a
consultant
to
the
History
Channel’s
Gangland
TV
series
and
a
former
instructor
in
UCLA's
Extension
Journalism
program.
Three
of
his
books
have
been
optioned
for
movies.
His
documentary
on
the
Frank
Matthews
story
has
been
licensed
for
viewing
by
the
Discov
-
ery
Channel
.
Ron’s
scripts
have
placed
in
the
finals
of
the
Philadelphia
International
Film
Festival,
the
Charleston International Film Festival and the Harlem International Film Festival.
He
has
appeared
as
an
expert
interviewee
on
several
crime
shows
airing
on
History,
Biography,
Discovery,
ID,
Starz and other cable channels.
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