But police and the FBI, wanting to build their case, did not arrest the gang members for conspiracy to commit murder. 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. State and federal law enforcement officials chose Salinas for the raids because for years the city has been known as a hub of Nuestra Familias activity. The indictment charges all seven of the members who make up the Nuestra Familias ruling body: the General Council, said Acting U.S. Attorney Hinds. . And the right choice is looking away.". 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. 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. "Brown Bob," had spent most of his life inside California's state prisons, rising to become one of the highest ranking members of Nuestra Familia, the notoriously vicious Northern California Latino prison gang. Among the crimes committed under Hernandez' leadership was the killing of a rival drug dealer. Further, the indictment describes the appointment by these leaders of NF members to positions of power over hierarchical and paramilitary structures called regiments, imposed on its gang members operating on the streets in California. 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. He told the young man that if he wanted to be recognized by Nuestra Familia, he could appeal to the generals. [19], Since the written constitution of the Norteos stated that the gang's leaders resided in Pelican Bay State Prison in California; the relocation of the five leaders led to turmoil among its members. But a few higher-level suspects, including Montoya, are headed to federal court, where arraignments were under way Thursday. When agents learn a violent crime is being plotted, should they step in to prevent it and risk botching their undercover probe? 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. Authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, as well as other drugs. 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. 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. According to multiple gang experts, one main sticking point was the so-called End of Hostilities agreement in 2012 by Californias four main prison gangs, including the Nuestra Familia and their longtime rivals, the Mexican Mafia. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Details: 3553. "It doesn't matter what he says. Nevertheless, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. 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. If its criminal to believe in the power of love, I am a criminal, Gracia declared to local news media. The attorney is asking for the charges against his client, Heredia, to be dismissed, and the attorneys for 23 other defendants in the case have joined the filing, asking that all charges be dismissed. In December 2000, Hernandez struck a deal with the FBI. An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. According to the indictment, NF members and associates were involved in plots to kill 14 victims between April 2013 and July 2019 as part of the charged racketeering conspiracy. 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. Three gang members later said in interviews or police reports that Hernandez gave a "green light" to commit the murder. [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. She had recently worked in a Salinas sandwich shop. 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. The NF is alleged in the indictment to be a criminal enterprise that was created to organize, protect, discipline, profit from, and maintain the allegiance of gang members on the streets of and within custodial facilities 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. Nuestra Familia are prison enemies of the Southern chicanos who consisted of La eMe, better known as the Mexican Mafia. Main Office: This is a carousel. At first, Hernandez came through, providing hours of incriminating tapes. FBI records indicate that he failed to record or report on phone calls with gang members and he disappeared without telling his handlers. Experts say the new guidelines were designed to provide outside checks and balances for the FBI without hindering agents' ability to do their jobs. The operation was conducted with the help of a highly connected inside source -- Daniel Hernandez, the street general who had confirmed that the green light . Informant Daniel Hernandez, a former Nuestra Familia leader, is expected to be a star witness in the federal trial under way in San Francisco. For links to documents cited in this story, go to the Center for Investigative Reporting website. He is now in protective custody at an unknown location. By disrupting gang leadership, we reduce violence on our streets. "I find it to be a horse of a different color from using a low-level informant. " Hernandez: "Yeah. [21] Nuestra Familia's written constitution allegedly states that no member should prioritize women, money or drugs over their membership in the gang. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasn't followed: What should you do? 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. She previously covered D.C. politics and California lawsuits for McClatchy's publications, including the Sacramento Bee, as a national real-time reporter. On that day, police undercover vehicles followed the gang members through the streets while a California Highway Patrol helicopter tracked them from the air. This case is being prosecuted by the Organized Crime Strike Force of the United States Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California. Staff writer Nate Gartrell contributed to this report. 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. All were indicted for racketeering charges. To that end, he announced the debut Thursday of a county narcotics and gang task force overseen by the states Department of Justice. Among the six men and women indicted March 10 on charges of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana for the gang were Castroville resident Carolyn Huerta, as well as Salinas residents Robert Bubba Hanrahan, Juan Wino Gallegos and Rebecca Guzman. The Monterey County District Attorneys office has since charged her with felony resisting arrest and she remains in the jail in Salinas. 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]. Thirteen of the defendants plead guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. 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. At one point in the transcript, Ramirez and Hernandez are talking about whether to beat up or kill the intended victim, and Ramirez remarks: "Might as well kill the mother -- if it's for a third strike." The indictment, unsealed Thursday, surprised local law enforcement officials who eight years ago began pursuing several of the defendants as part of a task force named Operation Northern Exposure. [ 11] Renewed organization Can he maintain credibility with fellow gangsters and yet prevent violent acts plotted by them in his presence? Local deputies arrested her on March 16 in East Salinas for alleged probation violations, according to sheriffs logs. 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. He has to in order to maintain credibility.". Thirteen defendants have pleaded guilty. 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. But if you step back what does he have to do to move up in the gang? both faced life sentences in the FBI's sweeping Operation Black Widow conspiracy case in 2000. "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. tape telephone conversations with gang members and set up organizational meetings in Rohnert Park, Salinas, San Francisco, Milpitas, Tracy and Sacramento that the FBI would secretly videotape. Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Spitz said Huerta has a previous felony assault conviction, giving her one strike under Californias Three Strikes law. 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. 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. 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, . A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. If I betray you, kill me.. It should bring them some reality that its not romantic at all.. Credit: Janjaap Dekker FBI informant Daniel Hernandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. Some in law enforcement believe that, while fighting Nuestra Familia was worthwhile, younger members will soon rise to take leadership. 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. [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 investigation, dubbed Operation Black Widow, was a joint effort by the FBI and state and local police in Northern California to break the Nuestra Familia gang, which police say operated from Salinas to the Oregon border and was run from inside the state's high-security Pelican Bay State Prison. He was convicted of racketeering charges in the Bay Area FBI case called Operation Black Widow. 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." The largest of the federal investigations was Operation Black Widow. Amaros niece, Rebecca Guzman, was also charged. He previously reported in Washington, D.C., Salinas and the East Bay, and is a middling triathlete. If I stumble, push me. This event put into motion the longest-running gang war in the state of California. For months, gang investigators from the California Department of Justice, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Salinas Police Department, the Monterey County Gang Task Force and the FBI worked to prepare arrest warrants for more than 40 high-ranking members of the gang in Salinas and nearby counties. [8] Renewed organization "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. 1962(d) Racketeering Conspiracy. Police heard shots and screaming and swarmed the alley, where they arrested Salcido and other gang members. Montoya is among a dozen of those arrested Thursday who face charges in federal court, where mandatory sentences for drug and gun crimes often mean longer prison terms. The problem is that to break gangs and organized crime, inside information is needed, but such groups and especially street gangs are extremely difficult for undercover police to infiltrate. From our investigation, he appeared to be someone who was extremely dangerous and had a lot of authority within the Northern gang structure, she said. Journalist Reynolds uses her unprecedented access to gang members, both in and out of . Its the way we should do business. 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. Five defendants in the Valley Star case have already undergone trials in Sacramento federal court, and all have been convicted of drug and conspiracy charges. One incident that raises questions about the investigation involves FBI informant Joe Ybarra, through whom investigators tracked a revenge murder plot through the streets of Salinas but postponed making arrests; in the interim, a man was killed and his companion seriously wounded. Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Spitz said Huerta has a previous felony assault conviction, her. With fellow gangsters and yet prevent operation black widow nuestra familia generals acts plotted by them in his presence of.! Did not arrest the gang 40 pounds of marijuana, as well as other.! 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