He is now in protective custody at an unknown location. Two others, Raymundo Ray-Ray Carrasco Lopez and Adrian Angel Lopez, were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in a separate federal case. And the right choice is looking away.". But a few higher-level suspects, including Montoya, are headed to federal court, where arraignments were under way Thursday. Robert was a member of the Bay Area News Group reporting team awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for East Bay Times coverage of the fatal "Ghost Ship" fire. Authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, as well as other drugs. Hanrahan, 39, is currently in Pelican Bay State Prison serving a 13-year sentence on drug charges. . 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. The gangsters saw the vehicle as they approached and, according to the informant, postponed the attack. Can he maintain credibility with fellow gangsters and yet prevent violent acts plotted by them in his presence? Scott Adams faces 'consequence culture' as U.S. newspapers drop Dilbert, Tom Cruise's 'ditching' of Suri showcased by Judd Apatow's 'co-parenting' joke, ex-Scientology exec says. By 2007, three dozen of the gangs leaders and associates were arrested and charged with conspiracy in the Valley Star case that is still being tried in a Sacramento federal court. But now, police said they are prepared to respond with tactics developed as part of Operation Ceasefire. Both investigations were led by the FBI and crippled the gangs operations after the arrests of dozens of Nuestra Familia members and associates from Monterey County. [23], On June 11, 2013, Santa Clara County district attorney Jeff Rosen announced the indictment of 48 Nuestra Familia associates on 77 felony charges ranging from drug dealing to murder. "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. [14] Thirteen of the defendants pleaded guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. While the NF was composed of a relative few, it exercised control and wielded influence over thousands of subordinate gang members in counties and prisons throughout Northern California using such regiments. Lock Secure .gov websites use HTTPS We're going to take care of it. Of 44 arrest warrants obtained, 37 warrants ended with arrests Thursday. When agents learn a violent crime is being plotted, should they step in to prevent it and risk botching their undercover probe? 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. One FBI supervisor was starkly realistic about the whole process. Gov. Once the codes were understood and the messages intercepted, "Operation Black Widow" turned up 10 hit lists. Like Hanrahan, she was often named in witness testimony in the ongoing Valley Star trials in Sacramento federal court. [20] Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had complained that keeping the five remaining gang leaders located in the same prison only continued to add to California gang violence, and that they should be scattered throughout different prisons. [21] Renewed organization A decade ago, the FBI"s Operation Black Widow targeted the gang"s top leaders in Pelican Bay State Prison, as well as its out-of-prison regiment commanders for Salinas and other agricultural. Hitt said agents tried to serve Guzman an arrest warrant in Salinas on Thursday but were unable to find her. ", Such is the risk the government runs in using criminal informants to help law enforcement efforts. On June 18, 2001, Hernandez told his handlers that a subordinate was distributing more than a dozen guns to young gang members in town, according to FBI reports. He later told a federal grand jury that law enforcement agents had not arrested the gang members earlier because prosecutors and the task force wanted to gather more evidence in the murder conspiracy. As outlined in the indictment, membership in the NF involved a process of sponsorship, approval, and indoctrination. According to the transcripts, the group discussed the purchase of black ski masks, gloves and walkie-talkies to be used for the hits, and even the type of bullets to be fired. Before Ybarra and other gang members arrived at Gallegos' apartment, police parked a patrol unit near the building, according to police and FBI documents. 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. 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. Jorge Salazar and Danny Pereda of San Francisco were also charged. In the aftermath of Operation Black Widow, the five highest ranking leaders of Nuestra Familia were transferred to a federal supermaximum prison in Florence, Colorado. FBI informant Daniel Her- nandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. Nuestra Familia's new leadership General: David "DC" Cervantes Top Commanders: Daniel "Stork" Perez, of Salinas; Anthony "Chuco" Guillen, of San Jose; George "Puppet" Franco, of San Jose Demoted: Jose "Huerito" Gonzalez; James "Conejo" Perez Copyright 2008 Monterey County Herald Copyright 2013 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Also appearing at the press conference were Chief of the Office of Correctional Safety for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Derrick Marion, Santa Clara Sheriff Laurie Smith, and San Jose Deputy Chief of Police Elle Washburn. Ceasefire depends on following through on commitments that if the violence doesnt stop, force will be applied vigorously.. 4 Nuestra Familia gang members face life after, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), 4 Nuestra Familia gang members face life after indictment from Operation Valley Star, Avalanche engulfs two stories of Tahoe apartment building; evacuations are ordered, Nursing school admission can be a long wait in California. The gangs targeted in this operation are responsible for much of the illicit drug distribution and violent crime that has plagued areas in the South Bay, Salinas and the Central Valley for years, Fair said. In scale and ambition, the operation dwarfs the two largest cases against the Nuestra Familia: Operation Black Widow ended in 2005, and Operation Valley Star led to a massive trial. 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. 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. Prison gang case puts role of FBI informants under scrutiny / Investigation results in 13 guilty pleas; 9 more defendants face trial next year, for fbi-hernandez; FBI Informant Daniel Hernandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. Ramirez pled guilty for conspiring to murder Raymond Sanchez, and told Salinas police that the FBI's informant allowed the hit. All seven members of the NFs General Council led the NF organization while incarcerated in the California prison system. 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. Law enforcement efforts to break up the criminal operation have been extremely difficult. Really? 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. Ybarra recorded the anger of gang members while law enforcement agents listened in. A spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chair of a House committee currently investigating the FBI's use of criminals as informants, says the FBI is now "in the process of doing a complete review of the way they handle informants.". Dec. 9, 2002 -- The FBI didn't just infiltrate the notorious Nuestra Familia prison gang, it allowed an informant to continue the group's violent and criminal activities for seven months, pulling off drug and gun deals and the killing of a rival gang leader, a defense attorney for one of the men accused in the case alleges in a court filing. If I fall, avenge me. Agents only need to know that there is a conspiracy, Coulson said. Main Office: Salinas Police photo "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. The end result was the creation of federal and state factions of the gang that continue to lock horns. And, in the end, is the expected payoff -- indictments of brutal gangsters and busting their criminal enterprise -- worth the risk of paying dangerous informants who may continue to commit serious crime while under government supervision? 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. In December 2000, Hernandez struck a deal with the FBI. In 2001, the five highest-ranking commanders of the gang were transferred to a maximum security prison in Colorado. 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: Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? If he is going to betray one group the gang what's going to stop him from betraying the second the government?". Marshal Service, with the assistance of the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office, and the San Jose Police Department, and with support from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, Antioch Police Department, Campbell Police Department, Fremont Police Department, Kings County Sheriffs Office, Monterey County Sheriffs Office, Mountain View Police Department, Sacramento Police Department, Salinas Police Department, Menlo Park Police Department, Santa Clara County Parole Department, Santa Clara County Probation Department, Santa Clara Police Department, Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, Modesto Police Department, San Francisco Police Department, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department, and Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety. Huerta had been living in Castroville and living a low-key life in recent months, often expressing fears she might be indicted after FBI agents tried to contact her earlier this year. From cells in Pelican Bay State Prison, Nuestra Familia's leaders have ordered murders and assaults and controlled much of the drug trade in Northern California cities, according to court and law enforcement records. 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. 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. Outstanding warrants remain on seven unnamed people. An official website of the United States government. Government agents knew that working with such violent criminals was risky. Miss Manners: I shouldn't call because the phone scares people? That Watsonville-based team later evolved into the federal Valley Star investigation. Armando Frias, the gunman in the murder of Raymond Sanchez, says FBI informant Daniel Hernandez authorized the killing. Nuestra Familia (Spanish for "our family") is a criminal organization of Mexican American (Chicano) prison gangs with origins in Northern California. That case, as well as revelations about how a mob informant, James "Whitey" Bulger, was protected by some agents while he was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, led the Justice Department to set new guidelines for their agents in the handling of informants in January 2001. 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. A locked padlock Operation Black Widow. "Together, the government and Hernandez ran the street operations, installing a new organization, promoting and demoting members, setting up gun and drug deals, and espousing a philosophy of violence that eventually led to the death of a rival drug dealer, Raymond Sanchez," Zilversmit wrote in a 51-page statement filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in support of his motion to dismiss charges against his client, Armando "Suave" Heredia. 3553. A dozen firearms were taken during the days searches. At first, Hernandez came through, providing hours of incriminating tapes. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. 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. 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. 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 indictments came after a three-year police investigation dubbed Operation Black Widow. An ambitious multi-agency operation aimed at dismantling the Central Coast leadership structure of the Nuestra Familia gang resulted in more than three dozen arrests during sweeps early Thursday. "The more successful your informant becomes in the gang, the better, the more information you get. Law enforcement authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, and dozens of firearms. but they reasoned it was the only way they could build a far-reaching racketeering case that might break up the gang once and for all. When he left prison, he became Nuestra Familia's "street liaison commander" in charge of all the gang's operations outside prison, according to court documents. Hernandez cut a plea deal. And that price is going to be your freedom, said District Attorney Dean Flippo. The operation began in 1997 under the leadership of the FBI and involved nearly 30 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the state Department of Corrections; five district attorneys' offices and police departments of San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Salinas, San Jose, Visalia, Modesto, Tracy, Stockton and Watsonville, among others. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. FBI informant Daniel Hernandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. The message that we are continuing to put out there is that if you think you are going to try and fill the vacuum (left by the arrests), if you are going to choose to move with the gangs and commit gang crimes, then youre going to pay a price. A preliminary examination in that case is scheduled for April 1. Eventually, three new generals came to power at Pelican Bay, yet two were demoted, . Federal investigators refuse to comment on the case, saying they will eventually answer in court, and at least one local law enforcer calls the charge bogus. The defendants are scheduled to make initial federal court appearances before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Nathanael Cousins and U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Sallie Kim today. While all Nuestra Familia soldiers and captains in California are expected to follow the orders of Cervantes, a small percentage of the gang remains loyal to the former generals and captains imprisoned in Colorado. [20], 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. 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. [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. Gracia stepped down after publicly proclaiming her love for Hanrahan at a City Hall press conference. The only idea of wit, or rather that inferior variety of the electric talent which prevails occasionally in the North, and which, under the name of Wut, is so infinitely distressing to people of good taste, is laughing immoderately at stated intervals.Sydney Smith (17711845), A white face goes with a white mind. Taped conversations indicated that on Nov. 1, 1998, they planned to proceed with the killings. "The problem in this case is all these guys have criminal histories, so you can't say they're not predisposed," he said. 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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. [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. In a $5 million crime-fighting effort dubbed Operation Black Widow, several Nuestra Familia members agreed to become FBI informants; they wanted protection when they found themselves on. 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 . "Nuestra Familia will be back," says law enforcement gang consultant and former Modesto Police Officer Jared Lewis. 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. Operation Black Widow Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate Nuestra Familia, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. 1962(d) Racketeering Conspiracy. A San Jose native, he graduated from UCLA with a BA degree in history and from the University of Maryland with a MA degree in journalism. 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. The three Generals of the gangs leadership council were identified as David DC Cervantes, Antonio Chuco Guillen, and James Conejo Perez. 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. Amaro also faces life in federal prison. The day before the killing, gang subordinate Martin Ramirez discussed the enemy with Hernandez, who was wearing a recording device. 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 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. Of special interest were members who held positions of power within the gang, including Martin Cyclone Montoya, a man who investigators say was in charge of Nuestra Familias powerful Salinas regiment. The gang has been around since 1965, according to federal prosecutors, started inside Soledad prison to protect Hispanic inmates. Reach him the low-tech way at 408-920-5002. 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. U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan told the court that the undercover techniques used by FBI agents during the investigation were "well within established legal boundary." from the FBI informant." At least one of those sought had Santa Cruz County ties, and several others were targeted in the San Jose area, authorities said. 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. 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. Todays operation strikes a substantial blow to Nuestra Familia leadership. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasn't followed: What should you do? ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The indictment alleges an NF oath provides: If I lead, follow. It's all false.". With no leaders in Pelican Bay, generals began fighting for power. Read more about this topic: Nuestra Familia, It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. Credit: Janjaap Dekker FBI informant Daniel Hernandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. For years, investigators have observed Huerta visiting Hernandez in jails and prisons and then delivering messages to local gang members. Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Spitz said Huerta has a previous felony assault conviction, giving her one strike under Californias Three Strikes law. The largest of the federal investigations was Operation Black Widow. 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, . 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. 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. " Hernandez: "Yeah. reportedly high-ranking members of Nuestra Familia, are inmates at Pelican Bay -- Gerald Rubalcaba . Numerous convictions were overturned because information about informants was withheld from defendants and their attorneys. [20] Cervantes' rise marked the first time in decades that the Norteos had a single leader at the helm of their criminal organization. She had recently worked in a Salinas sandwich shop. 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