Benjamin Melendez
American gang leader
About Benjamin Melendez
Lived 1952 – 2017 (aged 64–65).
Benjamin "Yellow Benjy" Melendez (August 3, 1952 – May 28, 2017) was best known for brokering the gang truce in the Bronx and Harlem (New York City) in 1971. At that time, he was President of the Ghetto Brothers, a mainly ethnically Puerto Rican South Bronx gang, and lead vocalist of a musical group also known as the Ghetto Brothers.
Melendez was heavily involved in the rise of Puerto Rican nationalist consciousness among Nuyorican youth, having forged connections with the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. Melendez's family, including Melendez himself, were Conversos (Sephardic crypto-Jews), practicing their religion in secret even in the 1970s while being part of a Hispanic community.
Melendez was a subject in the 2015 documentary, Rubble Kings, which depicts events leading up to and following the Hoe Avenue peace meeting.
Melendez died May 28, 2017, at the age of 64.
Authored works
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Benjamin Melendez's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Benjamin Melendez?
American gang leader
When was Benjamin Melendez born?
Benjamin Melendez was born in 1952.
When did Benjamin Melendez die?
Benjamin Melendez died on 28 May 2017.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Benjamin Melendez
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Benjamin Melendez. https://biography.guide/benjamin-melendez/
MLA: "Benjamin Melendez." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/benjamin-melendez/.
Chicago: "Benjamin Melendez." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/benjamin-melendez/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
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