The Santa Fe Ring begun in 1866 as a land-grab scheme of two conniving attorneys. It was a form of organized crime which infiltrated New Mexico Territory’s executive, judicial, legislative, and law enforcement branches for the participants’ mutual gain. In the 1870’s, anti-Ring grass-roots revolts sprang up throughout the Territory, but opponents were defeated by rigged elections, malicious prosecutions, and assassination. Yet the Ring was almost destroyed by one young man: Billy Bonney, hero of the Lincoln County War freedom fight, whom it branded for death as the outlaw, “Billy the Kid.”#sagebrushtrilogy #thesantaferingvsbillythekid