They saw today what happens, Schwarzenegger said. Its the way we should do business. "Operation Quiet Storm," as dubbed by the FBI's San Francisco area field office, yielded 17 indictments and 55 charged defendants, prompting an array of regional agencies including the FBI, Drug. Slew of child sexual abuse lawsuits could bankrupt the Diocese of Sacramento, bishop says, ID released of Santa Cruz man killed in Bonny Doon solo crash, Capitola officials share wharf rebuild plans, Weekend solo crash claims life in Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz County supervisors reject Andy Schiffrin Planning Commission nomination, Driver suffers major injuries in Scotts Valley highway crash, Newsom rescinds Californias COVID-19 state of emergency, marking an end to the pandemic era, Former Santa Cruz man victim of fatal Kansas shooting, Cabrillo College appoints Martha Victoria Vega to Area 5 trustee seat, Going with flow: How the Santa Cruz water treatment plant took on Januarys storms. "He was directed that any telephone calls he made, any meeting he had with various NF members or associates, he was to record the conversations," FBI Special Agent Sean Ragan told the grand jury. Her attorney Jeremy Dzubay said its up to District Attorney Dean Flippo to decide whether her local case must be tried before Huerta is taken into federal custody. When confronted about unauthorized trips, Hernandez said he slipped away without permission to play golf in Stockton. A dozen firearms were taken during the days searches. The Inner Council members that round out the seven were listed as Samuel Sammy Luna, Guillermo Capone Solorio, Trinidad Trino Martinez and George Puppet Franco. Read more about this topic: Nuestra Familia, It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding. He also admitted receiving about $7,000 for drugs and other criminal activities with gang members and to participating in other unauthorized drug deals while on the FBI's payroll. Arizona, Florida,[2] Georgia, Idaho,[3] Nevada,[4] Kansas,[5] New Mexico, Northern California, SAN JOSE - A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging 17 defendants with racketeering conspiracy, including acts involving murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and money laundering, and charging five others with drug trafficking-related crimes. Once the codes were understood and the messages intercepted, "Operation Black Widow" turned up 10 hit lists. To that end, he announced the debut Thursday of a county narcotics and gang task force overseen by the states Department of Justice. It is clear they have hard and fast rules, and those who run afoul are met with intimidation and violence that spills into our communities, said DEA Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon. Agents only need to know that there is a conspiracy, Coulson said. For years, investigators have observed Huerta visiting Hernandez in jails and prisons and then delivering messages to local gang members. The deputies who arrested her were apparently unaware of the federal charges. By late June 2001, according to FBI records, information from other informants showed that Hernandez had lied to his FBI handlers on other matters. He was convicted of racketeering charges in the Bay Area FBI case called Operation Black Widow. Local deputies arrested her on March 16 in East Salinas for alleged probation violations, according to sheriffs logs. Subpoenaed phone records show that an eight-minute call was placed from a Salinas gang member's cell phone to Hernandez five days before the killing, but there is no FBI report or transcript of the call to indicate he had taped it, as required by the informant's agreement with the FBI. The NF has a formal written constitution and a membership of approximately 250, with an additional 1,000 associates. She is a graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and worked on ProPublicas Electionland project during the 2016 presidential election. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Defense attorneys lost a motion to dismiss the case, based on a claim that the government was responsible for murder and assault because it essentially ran Nuestra Familia activities through its informant Daniel Hernandez, who commanded the gang's street operations outside of prison. Was the Black Widow investigation, with its 22 indictments and possible convictions and breakup of the criminal enterprise, worth the risk? That forces police to turn to informants, who by their very nature are untrustworthy. A check of her cell phone showed gang indicia, the report said, referring to photos of gang members. The defendants charged in the alleged racketeering conspiracy include the following: 18 U.S.C. Huerta is known among gang members as the wife of Joseph Pinky Hernandez, one the Nuestra Familias top leaders serving a life sentence in a Colorado supermax prison. [21], Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate Nuestra Familia, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. Huerta, too, has been under the lens of law enforcement for nearly a decade. It seems to me their primary responsibility is to stop crime.". Known as one of the most powerful prison gangs in California, Nuestra Familia has been plagued by infighting in recent years, starting in the early 2000s when a number of high-ranking members were prosecuted federally after a similar complex probe dubbed Operation Black Widow. For the FBI, infiltrating such an organization from the outside was virtually impossible. Zilversmit accuses the government of knowing that the murder was going to happen, but doing nothing to either stop it or warn the victim that he was in danger, and he says the money raised from drug and gun deals, as well as robberies and extortion ordered by Hernandez, went to the FBI, not the 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. Members of the organization are considered to have taken a "blood oath" to join the gang, and are considered lifelong participants. Taped conversations indicated that on Nov. 1, 1998, they planned to proceed with the killings. Before Ybarra and other gang members arrived at Gallegos' apartment, police parked a patrol unit near the building, according to police and FBI documents. They do not have to get involved in this., Seave said the operation fits perfectly into the Ceasefire strategy. [14] Thirteen of the defendants pleaded guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. Ybarra recorded the anger of gang members while law enforcement agents listened in. But neither investigation matched the scope of Operation Knockout in numbers of those arrested and in its aim to effectively shut down the Nuestra Familia in Salinas. But officials say it soon expanded outside, and over the last three-and-a-half decades has carried out hundreds of murders and thousands of robberies, staking its claim to its turf with intimidation and violence. FBI surveillance photo, HO / HO. Operation Black Widow. Two others, Raymundo Ray-Ray Carrasco Lopez and Adrian Angel Lopez, were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in a separate federal case. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Alberto Larez, 45, known in Salinas as "Bird," was taken into custody Thursday morning at his residence in . Once membership was achieved, this membership was for life. [14] 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. 846, 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B) Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. Very seldom a white face will have a black mind.Nikki Giovanni (b. Nevertheless, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. from the FBI informant." "The problem in this case is all these guys have criminal histories, so you can't say they're not predisposed," he said. Upon being paroled after serving more than six years for assault, he would become a paid informant and would not be prosecuted for racketeering in the current federal case in San Francisco, according to his agreement with the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office. If its criminal to believe in the power of love, I am a criminal, Gracia declared to local news media. 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. Police heard shots and screaming and swarmed the alley, where they arrested Salcido and other gang members. One local police officer, however, was skeptical of the lawyer's claims. But to those who choose to stop the violence, there are available resources to help them. This is a carousel. The Bay Areas top federal prosecutor announced a sweeping array of indictments targeting the notorious Nuestra Familia prison gang, boasting that a five-year operation had culminated in a takedown of the organizations leadership responsible for an expanse of drug trafficking and brutal street violence spanning Northern California. Phil Ferrari behind him. 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. It is clear they have hard and fast rules, and those who run afoul are met with intimidation and violence that spills into our communities," said DEA Special . 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. Monterey County Assistant District Attorney Ann Hill, who prosecuted Hanrahan locally in 2007, said she was pleased to hear about the new charges because Hanrahan is due to be released from state prison in nine years or less. "Nuestra Familia will be back," says law enforcement gang consultant and former Modesto Police Officer Jared Lewis. Operation Quiet Storm was the culmination of more than 5 years of complex investigative work. But if you step back what does he have to do to move up in the gang? As outlined in the indictment, membership in the NF involved a process of sponsorship, approval, and indoctrination. [11], Members of Nuestra Familia are known to wear red bandanas ("red rags") to identify themselves. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, 36 of the defendants named in the indictments were already in state prison and have been moved to federal holding facilities. The inmates who formed the Nuestra Familia gang banded together to protect themselves from the Mexican Mafia, but then grew to be involved in drug dealing, extortion and robbery.[17]. For more than 10 years, one of California's most brutal criminal organizations has been operating from behind the walls of the state's highest- security prison. Montoya is one of 10 who were charged in a federal drug conspiracy case, facing a maximum of life in prison. He was convicted of. Hernandez, as street liaison commander, previously had given a "no-bloodshed" order, and, according to the transcript, he tried to calm the situation, although he was ambiguous in playing both of his roles -- informant and gang leader. [21] Other symbols include use of the number 14 or XIV, as the letter "N" is the 14th letter of the English alphabet. All seven members of the NFs General Council led the NF organization while incarcerated in the California prison system. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI (San Francisco, Sacramento, and Phoenix Divisions), the DEA, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the U.S. . Can he maintain credibility with fellow gangsters and yet prevent violent acts plotted by them in his presence? Instead, they received 10-year sentences in a plea deal negotiated by the gang's leaders after . [15] The gang's main sources of income are distributing cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine within prison systems as well as in the community and extorting drug distributors on the streets.[16]. Like Hanrahan, she was often named in witness testimony in the ongoing Valley Star trials in Sacramento federal court. Thirteen defendants have pleaded guilty. Last fall, when Russoniello came to a Salinas gang summit for law enforcement, at least some of the time was spent on the early planning of Operation Knockout. FBI informant Daniel Her- nandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. He said, however, that the courts have generally given law enforcement leeway in their handling of informants, and Cohen agreed. When Operation Knockout was launched last fall, officials acknowledged there were no resources in place to help communities such as Salinas deal with the almost certain spates of violence that tend to follow mass arrests. [ 11] Renewed organization [21] Nuestra Familia members often use the image of a sombrero with a machete as their gang symbol. The cops had to call 300 people to tell them there were death threats against them. Most of the defendants are headed to Monterey County court, where they will face drug, gang, weapons and possible conspiracy charges. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. In a letter to the court, Frias said that a fellow gang member "pushed the matter (with Hernandez) and finally got the 'green light' for the murder .. . In the weeks leading up to Lizard's arrest, Kayln . With no leaders in Pelican Bay, generals began fighting for power. He later admitted the "golf" trip was to deliver two pounds of methamphetamine to a cousin. Both pleaded guilty in separate cases. Frias, the convicted triggerman in the April 2001 murder, thinks the FBI's operation may have destabilized Nuestra Familia, but he gives more credit to the gang leaders' own "hypocrisy" in turning on each other for any decline in its strength. The indictment alleges an NF oath provides: If I lead, follow. 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Lawsuits seeking more than $2 billion have been filed against the government by families of people murdered in the course of informant-based investigations. "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. U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello said the mass arrests sent a direct message to the gangs followers: Stop the violence. Summer Lin covers breaking news and general assignment for The Mercury News. 1943), The report reflects incredibly terrible judgments, shockingly sparse concern for human life, instances of officials lacking the courage to exercise the responsibilities of their high office and some very bewildering thought processes.Jane Jarrell Smith, U.S. widow of American astronaut Michael J. Smith. The largest of the federal investigations was Operation Black Widow. 450 Golden Gate Avenue He told the young man that if he wanted to be recognized by Nuestra Familia, he could appeal to the generals. These seven individuals for years led a violent and lucrative criminal organization from their prison cells. 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. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Everyone in the Salinas Nuestra Familia crew was arrested in the murder, except Hernandez, who continued to inform on the gang. The government's response had been due to be filed with the court on Nov. 29, but prosecutors requested and were given an additional 10 days. The judge agreed, saying "the government has presented substantial evidence suggesting that the government's role in the affairs of the Nuestra Familia was at most that of a facilitator" and, citing legal precedent, was not "tantamount to the 'engineering and direction of the criminal enterprise from start to finish.' The California Department of Corrections says Nuestra Familia controls street gangs from Bakersfield to the Oregon border. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. The gang has strict categories of military-style membership ranks, ranging from a Category One member, who might strive to be the "regiment commander" of a city, to Category Three, one of only three positions on the gang's governing board in Pelican Bay. In legal motions filed over the past four weeks, defense attorneys for 15 alleged members of the Nuestra Familia the prison gang that governs the Northern California-based Norteo and. "Start whacking these fools," one gang member exhorted in one such discussion. For eight months, officers conducted intense surveillance and investigation of Salinas-area Nuestra Familia associates, who they believed were loyal to the two remaining factions of the gang after Black Widow split the gangs leadership. In 2000 and 2001, 22 members were indictment|indicted on RICO (law)|racketeering charges, including several who were allegedly serving as high-ranking gang leaders while confined in Pelican Bay . Operation Black Widow Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate Nuestra Familia, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. Numerous convictions were overturned because information about informants was withheld from defendants and their attorneys. 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. The leadership vacuum resulted in a power struggle between prospective generals. Six of the 13 are inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison. Local authorities hope the arrests will cripple the gangs grip on younger gang members in the area and make existing gang-violence intervention efforts, such as Ceasefire, more effective. San Francisco, CA 94102, San Francisco: (415) 436-7200 Operation Black Widow was recorded in Oakland, CA 2015-2018 Mastered by Jim Haras Mixed by Samuel Montero Torres and Mackenzie Chami Layout by Kevin Gan Yuen Dedicated to Tami Lynn Torres license all rights reserved tags Tags heavy electronics modular synth power electronics Los Angeles about If you like Operation Black Widow, you may also like: In the late 1990s, law enforcement officials put into action the only plan that could crack open the violent criminal enterprise -- getting someone from the inside to turn on his brethren. The investigation into the outfit, which had been going on since 1997, got a break in December 2000, when Daniel "Lizard" Hernandez facing life in prison for charges that included murder plots in the course of a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) enterprise contacted the Special Services Unit of the California Department of Corrections to talk about becoming an informer. 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? Sosa was impeached and Nuestra Familia's structure altered to im- pede future misconduct. If I betray you, kill me.. "It was decided to allow it to go on until sufficient overt acts were completed that prosecutors felt that convictions could be obtained," Lazzarini testified. 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. In December 2000, Hernandez struck a deal with the FBI. Operation Black Widow Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate the group, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. Ramirez pled guilty for conspiring to murder Raymond Sanchez, and told Salinas police that the FBI's informant allowed the hit. [21] Renewed organization One "test" a prospective member must pass to join Nuestra Familia is to have committed at least one murder for "the cause," according to a gang investigator with the state Corrections Department as well as Al Valdez, an investigator with the Orange County district attorney's office and a gang consultant with the state attorney general's office. This investigation revealed the wide-ranging influence of the gang that extends far beyond prison walls. "Courts tend to say this may well be something that should be policed internally, but they haven't been ready to give the benefit to defendants," Cohen said. Todays operation strikes a substantial blow to Nuestra Familia leadership. Hernandez cut a plea deal. A lock ( 1962(d) Racketeering Conspiracy. Following that, the television news show " 60 Minutes " asked if a prison exists that can actually isolate the hardened criminal leaders. 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.. A lot of the street violence in the past 10 years in Salinas and Watsonville and San Jose stems from this, and in the prison yards too.. Police joined the FBI in a multi-jurisdictional effort to bring down members of the gang after a crime spree through Watsonville and neighboring cities began in the fall of 2003. Thirteen of the defendants plead guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. 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. Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Spitz said Huerta has a previous felony assault conviction, giving her one strike under Californias Three Strikes law. Hernandez replies, "Yeah" and adds: "Why are you gonna beat up somebody when they're just gonna come back and shoot you up, right? The operation, which will continue to play out in state and federal courts, aims to disband the Salinas-area regiment of a gang that for three decades has dominated criminal activity in farm towns across Northern California. It's a business. 13 Nuestra Familia gang leaders names. Two of the indictments centered on a dozen people split between two San Jose-based Norteo gangs, alleging a string of crimes involving drug running, robberies, attempted murder and murder, acting Northern California U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds said at a Thursday news conference. Details: A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Armando Frias, the gunman in the murder of Raymond Sanchez, says FBI informant Daniel Hernandez authorized the killing. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS In April 2010, federal and local law enforcement agencies concluded what was considered the most significant effort to dismantle the Central Coast leadership structure of Nuestra Familia. And that price is going to be your freedom, said District Attorney Dean Flippo. Dear Abby: Why do they imply my husband is a freak? A high-ranking Nuestra Familia gang leader from Salinas was arrested this week in an FBI takedown of one of the gang's largest street regiments, . The court also may order additional terms of supervised release, fines, and restitution. 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. Each is charged in this indictment. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California, Indictment Describes the Prison Gangs Nexus of Power Overseeing Thousands of Gang Members Throughout California, The Nuestra Familias General Council And Other Members And Associates Charged With Racketeering, Oakland Resident Charged With Fentanyl And Methamphetamine Sales In Tenderloin, East Bay Resident Found Guilty Of Attempting To Help Smuggle Cocaine Through Bay Area Airports, San Jose Man Sentenced To More Than 16 Years Following Jury Convictions For Meth Trafficking And Gun Charges. Operation Knockout: Gang raid targets Nuestra, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), CIF State boys basketball playoffs: Monterey rallies for win over Kingsburg, Operation Knockout: Gang raid targets Nuestra Familia in Salinas, Avalanche engulfs two stories of Tahoe apartment building; evacuations are ordered, Nursing school admission can be a long wait in California. Dzubay said that although resisting arrest is usually a misdemeanor, authorities elevated it to a felony because an enhancement charge alleged she committed her crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang.. [24], Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 00:46, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, "Prison Gangs (continued) - Gangs and Security Threat Group Awareness", "Authorities arrest 11 key gang members in east Hillsborough", "Bust of gang offers hope for Dodge City immigrants", "Gangs are becoming a growing threat across Utah", "The Marietta Daily Journal - Ga Supreme Court upholds brothers murder convictions", "Special Issue: Gangs in the United States", "Federal indictments crack vast prison crime ring", "Gang raid targets Nuestra Familia in Salinas", Organized Crime in California Annual Report 2007-08, "New leadership, constitution for Nuestra Familia", "Gang and Security Threat Group Awareness", "Eight-month investigation yields 37 high-level arrests", "Nuestra Familia case: Details of biggest gang prosecution in Santa Clara County history", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuestra_Familia&oldid=1141826410, Drug trafficking, extortion, robbery, homicide, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 00:46. " Hernandez: "Yeah. The largest investigation into both the Norteos and Nuestra Familia, this operation was characterized by more than 20 arrests. [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. Journalist Reynolds uses her unprecedented access to gang members, both in and out of . "Informants cannot be monitored 24 hours a day," says Coulson, the former FBI commander. Several witnesses in the Valley Star case testified that they and others in the gangs Salinas crew often gave Huerta free drugs and helped her with her rent because she was a gang generals wife. , however, was skeptical of the criminal enterprise, worth the risk is to stop the violence, are... With no leaders in Pelican Bay, generals began fighting for power will! 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