The inmates had to heat the letter to draw out the message, written in invisible ink. When they did, their orders were clear. Within hours, prosecutors say, California members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang sneaked into a nearby cellblock and killed two black inmates with handmade shanks as part of an order to "go to war" with blacks.

The deaths are two of the 32 murders and attempted murders detailed by federal prosecutors in a sweeping case against the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang that has infiltrated nearly every federal and state prison.
Prosecutors hope to dismantle the gang -- nicknamed the "Brand" -- in a series of trials that together make up what's believed to be the biggest capital murder case in U.S. history. Of the 40 men initially charged, as many as 16 could face the death penalty for crimes that reach back 30 years.

Prosecutors are pursuing the highly organized gang with a racketeering law originally passed to target Mafia leaders -- a tactic recently used with some success against other prison gangs in California and Texas.

"We're looking at this huge list of charges, and I'm unaware of any other case that's even close to this," said Dean Steward, attorney for defendant Barry "The Baron" Mills.

Opening statements in the trial of Mills and three others are scheduled to begin March 14 in Santa Ana. Mills and another alleged ringleader, Tyler "The Hulk" Bingham, could get the death penalty if convicted.

The 140-page indictment against the gang alleges a web of conspiracies to murder fellow inmates who offended gang members, cheated them on drug deals, failed to comply with the orders of leaders or snitched to prison authorities.

"This has the potential of being incredibly damaging to the brotherhood," said Joanna Mendelson of the Anti-Defamation League. "They rank among the most organized, systematic gangs in all the prison system."