The almost anonymous end of Antonio Fort's life was another violent chapter in the tale of a Chicago family devoted to crime for more than three decades.

The 31-year-old Fort--whose bullet-riddled body was found floating in the shallows of Wolf Lake in Hammond, Ind., Thursday afternoon by a fisherman--was one of at least seven children of Jeff Fort, the notorious imprisoned leader of the Black P Stone Nation or El Rukn street gang. His body apparently had been there a day or two, officials said.

At first, the only identification authorities had were his tattoos. On his upper left arm was a drawing of a tombstone and the name that authorities believed was a deceased family member, with the words, "Die before I forget." On his back were a five-point star and crescent moon with "World Wide" and "RPSN Love" around it. And on his right upper arm, a pyramid topped with a five-point star and the words "Almighty El Rukn" above it.

Family members who had heard news reports and who had filed a missing persons report with Chicago police earlier in March, traveled to Hammond Friday to meet with Lake County Coroner Thomas Philpot where they identified Antonio Fort's body.

In 1992, Antonio Fort was sentenced to a 70-month prison term for conspiring to buy a half kilogram of cocaine for $15,500. He was not the only one of Jeff Fort's children to have a run-in with the law.

Watketa Valenzuela, 25, who allegedly headed the largest faction of the Black P Stone Nation--which Jeff Fort had renamed El Rukn in the 1980s--pleaded guilty to narcotics conspiracy charges in federal court earlier this month and is facing up to life in prison when he is sentenced on June 9.

One Chicago police officer familiar with the Fort family and the Rukn street gang, sarcastically called Antonio's involvement "carrying on the good family name."

But the extent of Antonio's involvement in the gang still is unclear.

His younger brother was essentially running the gang. And years ago, Jeff Fort actually ordered some of his "troops" to beat up Antonio because he was "such a screwup," an officer familiar with the case said. Jeff Fort even ordered pictures taken and brought to him so that he could make sure they did the job right, the officer said.

Jeff Fort is serving what amounts to a life prison sentence for separate convictions for murder and conspiring with the Libyan government to commit terrorist acts in the United States.

"I think sometimes people just assumed he was bad because of who his father is," said a man who identified himself only as a friend of Antonio's. "Now don't get me wrong, Antonio had gotten into some trouble. He wasn't an angel, but he really wasn't that bad either. Sometimes people get caught up in things."

Hammond Police Detectives Ted Poplawski and Mario Chapa, along with detectives from Chicago's Calumet Area police district headquarters, were continuing to investigate the murder Friday. Wolf Lake borders Illinois and Indiana, and it is unclear where Antonio's body was dumped, according to Hammond officer Brian Miller.