These regiments primarily guaranteed the NFs vast influence and control over its own and its street gang members, ensured avenues to direct violence and other illicit activity, and secured means for the NF to make money through the commission of criminal activity. This is not done yet.. Sosa was impeached and Nuestra Familia's structure altered to im- pede future misconduct. Huerta, too, has been under the lens of law enforcement for nearly a decade. The more time you can get on someone whos in the hierarchy the better it is, because its less of an incentive to the young ones who see this as a romantic choice of lifestyle, she said. Amaros niece, Rebecca Guzman, was also charged. Nuestra Familia (Spanish for "our family") is a criminal organization of Mexican American . Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Hitt said agents tried to serve Guzman an arrest warrant in Salinas on Thursday but were unable to find her. 846, 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B) Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. An official website of the United States government. Hanrahan was a Nuestra Familia leader from Salinas who oversaw drug-dealing crews in that city and conveyed orders to the Nuestra Familias Watsonville regiment. [20] Operation Knockout Craig Fair, head of the FBIs San Francisco area field office, said the operation announced Thursday was one of the largest gang takedowns in FBI San Francisco divisions history.. At their news conference Thursday, local and state leaders, including Schwarzenegger, pointed to job training and other services offered by Ceasefire as the other choice gang members can make if they want to avoid crackdowns like Thursdays. Three gang members later said in interviews or police reports that Hernandez gave a "green light" to commit the murder. This is a carousel. The federal faction didnt approve of the treaty but the state side entered into it anyways, prompting a deep-seated conflict that continues to play out. These seven individuals for years led a violent and lucrative criminal organization from their prison cells. While the Mexican Mafia had initially been created to protect Mexicans in prison, there was a perceived level of abuse by members of La eMe towards the imprisoned chicanos from rural farming areas of Northern California. Six of the 13 are inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison. Attorney General Brown disagreed, saying he learned when he was mayor of Oakland that only constant suppression works with hard-core gang members. Robert Salonga is a Bay Area News Group reporter who covers criminal justice and public safety for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. Armando Frias, the gunman in the murder of Raymond Sanchez, says FBI informant Daniel Hernandez authorized the killing. Blood in the Fields also documents the history of Operation Black Widow, the FBI's questionable decade-long effort to dismantle the Nuestra Familia, along with its compromised informants and the turf wars it created with local law enforcement agencies. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California have declined to comment on the allegations in Zilversmit's filing. Nuestra Familia (Spanish for "our family") is a criminal organization of Mexican American (Chicano) prison gangs with origins in Northern California. [23] After months of investigation, at least 37 alleged gang members were arrested during the raids conducted. Law enforcement authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, and dozens of firearms. At least 37 alleged gang members and associates were in custody after hours of coordinated raids across Monterey County, ending months of investigation that culminated in what some call the largest law enforcement operation ever to target the Nuestra Familia, one of the Wests most violent crime organizations. For years, investigators have observed Huerta visiting Hernandez in jails and prisons and then delivering messages to local gang members. The 17 indictmentstarget several facets of the Nuestra Familia gang and represent the most significant law enforcement action to disrupt the NF organization in decades, Hinds said. But a few higher-level suspects, including Montoya, are headed to federal court, where arraignments were under way Thursday. "Informants cannot be monitored 24 hours a day," says Coulson, the former FBI commander. At the time of Operation Black Widow, law enforcement officials had estimated that Nuestra Familia was responsible for at least 600 murders in the previous 30 years. Deputy Chief Kelly McMillin said more of Ceasefires signature call-in meetings will be held in coming weeks in an effort to keep potential spikes in violence at bay. "Nuestra Familia will be back," says law enforcement gang consultant and former Modesto Police Officer Jared Lewis. In 2001, the five highest-ranking commanders of the gang were transferred to a maximum security prison in Colorado. Informant Daniel Hernandez, a former Nuestra Familia leader, is expected to be a star witness in the federal trial under way in San Francisco. The FBI's Operation Black Widow resulted in arrests and indictments of 150 members of Nuestra Familia gang. In the aftermath of Operation Black Widow, the five highest ranking leaders of Nuestra Familia, James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez, were transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Florence ADX, the federal supermax prison in Colorado. Norteo gang members, who police say number about 6,000 in Monterey County, act as street-level soldiers for prison-based Nuestra Familia, which operates as the parent company of the Norteos. 450 Golden Gate Avenue 13 Nuestra Familia gang leaders names. As San Francisco lawyer Mark Zilversmit, an attorney for one of the indicted Nuestra Familia members, notes, "That operative who's now working for the government is going to have to do some pretty bad things. The gangsters stopped in front of an apartment building, and Nuestra Familia member Paul Salcido and an associate got out of the car and ducked into an alley. If he is going to betray one group the gang what's going to stop him from betraying the second the government?". [18] The spark that led to the ongoing war between Nuestra Familia and members of the Mexican Mafia involved a situation in 1965 in which a member of La eMe stole a pair of shoes from a Northerner at Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy. The gangs targeted in this case are responsible for much of the illicit drug distribution and violent crime that has plagued areas throughout CA pic.twitter.com/cyLZ3Uls5c, FBI SanFrancisco (@FBISanFrancisco) September 16, 2021, We take aim at the head of the snake, Hinds said. We're going to take care of it. But police and the FBI, wanting to build their case, did not arrest the gang members for conspiracy to commit murder. In 2000 and 2001, 22 members were indicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges, including several who were allegedly serving as high-ranking gang leaders while confined in Pelican Bay. "The arrests made yesterday, most significantly the arrests of the Nuestra Familia leadership, will severely cripple the ability of this criminal enterprise to continue to facilitate crimes in communities throughout the state and help break a decades-old cycle of violence," said FBI San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Fair. The remaining nine defendants will face trial next year in San Francisco in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, and the legal proceedings are expected to last two to three years. Martin Ramirez, right, in Monterey County Court, with Sgt. Experts say the new guidelines were designed to provide outside checks and balances for the FBI without hindering agents' ability to do their jobs. Alberto Larez, 45, known in Salinas as "Bird," was taken into custody Thursday morning at his residence in . After months of investigation, at least 37 alleged gang members were arrested during the raids conducted. To join Nuestra Familia ("Our Family") and rise in its ranks takes years of studying the gang's written constitution, training, and committing violent crimes inside and outside of prison. Others arrested include Castroville residents Dakota Vernon Casperson and Sheena Nicole Casperson. But he says the defense's claims against the government are actually more serious than entrapment, in which the rights of a suspect are violated, because they allege the government actually was in a position of knowingly tolerating crimes. But Coulson said in an interview that agents should step in quickly if they learn a murder plot has been advanced. She remains at large. FBI records indicate that he failed to record or report on phone calls with gang members and he disappeared without telling his handlers. According to Zilversmit, who represents another defendant, Hernandez not only helped the government build its case, but also took advantage of the freedom given him by law enforcement to first gain the position of go-between for Nuestra Familia leaders in prison and members on the street and eventually to take over the operation. Because Operation Black Widow was supposed to be keeping constant tabs on Hernandez, the FBI and other agencies had to know that he was ordering crimes, and that was enough to make their behavior gross misconduct, Zilversmit argues. The indictment alleges an NF oath provides: If I lead, follow. Harriette Cole: I don't want the neighbor's kids at my house, Dear Abby: My wife said she doesn't like it, but it's part of my life, Ask Amy: I feel guilty for not speaking up about my co-worker's activities, Ask Amy: I'm your cabin housekeeper, and you apparently have no idea what I do. She had recently worked in a Salinas sandwich shop. The indictment also describes the NFs organizational structure and, in particular, the gangs governing body: a seven-member General Council, made up of three Generals and a four-member Inner Council, which makes significant decisions and oversees the activities of the NF and its subservient gangs. And John Boxer Mendoza wasn't some minor player, he was right up there under the top generals in the gang, working for them and implementing Nuestra Family policy. The California Department of Corrections says Nuestra Familia controls street gangs from Bakersfield to the Oregon border. Also charged in the indictment are defendants who allegedly participated in two conspiracies to possess and distribute methamphetamine, one in May of 2019 and the other in September 2020 to March 2021. "The more successful your informant becomes in the gang, the better, the more information you get. [20], Eventually, three new generals came to power at Pelican Bay, yet two were demoted, leaving only David "DC" Cervantes as the highest-ranking member of the gang in California. But at the trials, questions about the FBI's ability to fully control its gangster informants are being raised: When the FBI hires a criminal to be its eyes and ears in the inner workings of a dangerous gang, can the informant cease to engage in criminal activity? Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. She previously covered D.C. politics and California lawsuits for McClatchy's publications, including the Sacramento Bee, as a national real-time reporter. In a jailhouse interview, Frias said that days before the shooting, he was present when a gang commander placed a cell phone call to Hernandez in which Hernandez authorized the hit. "The problem in this case is all these guys have criminal histories, so you can't say they're not predisposed," he said. Stats to follow: THE FEDERAL PROSECUTION. With no leaders in Pelican Bay, generals began fighting for power. Four Monterey County Nuestra Familia gang associates face life in federal prison after their indictment in connection with the governments sweeping 2007 gang conspiracy case known as Operation Valley Star. "It doesn't matter what he says. The end result was the creation of federal and state factions of the gang that continue to lock horns. This investigation and prosecution are part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Salinas police sources say the FBI never passed on information about who had the guns, and Frias says that a number of the weapons are still in use today. That strategy was challenged by former Deputy Assistant FBI Director Daniel O. Coulson, who led bureau anti-terrorism and organized crime teams from 1966 to 1997, and who defends the use of criminal informants as "worth the risk" to make difficult cases. Official websites use .gov The attack occurred in October 1998, after a gangster was shot and wounded as part of a Nuestra Familia internal power struggle in Salinas. All seven members of the NFs General Council led the NF organization while incarcerated in the California prison system. In the Black Widow investigation, more than 20 gang members or associates have become informants or have agreed to testify against others in the case. He told the young man that if he wanted to be recognized by Nuestra Familia, he could appeal to the generals. Another problem is that in order for the informant to bring in good information, he must be a successful gang member, and the higher he moves in the organization, the more valuable the evidence he can provide to law enforcement trying to make a case against the gang leaders. "It's a typical defense move when the facts are against you, attack the people," said Chief Mike Dunbaugh of the Santa Rosa, Calif., Police Department, which was involved in the operation. Lewis Katz, the John C. Hutchins professor of law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, said that law enforcement allowing an informant to occupy a position of authority in a criminal organization would raise ethical, if not legal, questions about the handling of an investigation. The charges pending against these defendants are as follows: 21 U.S.C. It seems to me their primary responsibility is to stop crime.". Katz said that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that such an argument could hypothetically be used to overturn a conviction, but it has yet to rule in favor of any defendant making that kind of case. The gang has been around since 1965, according to federal prosecutors, started inside Soledad prison to protect Hispanic inmates. Thirteen of the defendants plead guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. In the aftermath of Operation Black Widow, the five highest-ranking leaders of Nuestra Familia, James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez, were transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Florence ADX, the federal supermax prison in Colorado. The FBI said gang commanders sent orders from six prisons in the state: Pelican Bay State Prison, High Desert State Prison, California State Prison-Sacramento, California State Prison-Solano, Pleasant Valley State Prison and Salinas Valley State Prison. For the FBI, infiltrating such an organization from the outside was virtually impossible. both faced life sentences in the FBI's sweeping Operation Black Widow conspiracy case in 2000. Two others, Raymundo Ray-Ray Carrasco Lopez and Adrian Angel Lopez, were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in a separate federal case. Operation Black Widow Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate Nuestra Familia, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. When it concluded in April 2001, after a $5 million. Very seldom a white face will have a black mind.Nikki Giovanni (b. . Law enforcement's use of informants is controversial. According to the NF Constitution, the Street Regiment General oversees the NFs overall street operations. The General of the Prisons is responsible for the NFs overall pinta [prison] functions, and the General Advocates Office is the NFs justice department. 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