operation black widow nuestra familia generals

The question of how to investigate violent street gangs and organized crime is one that has troubled police and prosecutors for centuries, and according to law enforcement experts, no satisfactory answer has yet been reached. She is a graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and worked on ProPublicas Electionland project during the 2016 presidential election. Hernandez, who grew up in Pittsburg in Contra Costa County, has a long and violent criminal history, committing armed assaults, admitting conspiring to murder a former gang member in San Jose in 1999 and to talking with fellow gang members about killing two Santa Clara County prosecutors. . Oregon,[6] Texas, Utah,[7] Washington[8]Mexico, Nuestra Familia was organized at Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California in 1965. 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. Sosa was impeached and Nuestra Familia's structure altered to im- pede future misconduct. Operation Black Widow. This is not done yet.. By late June 2001, according to FBI records, information from other informants showed that Hernandez had lied to his FBI handlers on other matters. FBI informant Daniel Hernandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. Soon after, prison investigators confiscated a letter from her to an inmate, saying she and Hanrahan planned to marry in June 2008. 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. 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. Robert Salonga is a Bay Area News Group reporter who covers criminal justice and public safety for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. Such would prove the case with Hernandez, who was paid $52,200 over seven months. 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. If I betray you, kill me.. 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. But by April 2001, government agents began to lose control of their prized informant. According to FBI records, Hernandez handed over the tape of the conversation and reported to his handlers immediately afterward. "It is extremely difficult to supervise the informant," said Steven Cohen, the former chief of the Violent Gangs Unit at the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York. 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]. Jorge Salazar and Danny Pereda of San Francisco were also charged. But, according to current and former FBI agents, ensuring that informants comply with such orders can be difficult. [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. Informant Daniel Hernandez, a former Nuestra Familia leader, is expected to be a star witness in the federal trial under way in San Francisco. This book on the prison gang, Nuestra Familia is very in depth and gives a firsthand true account of one man's life in the gang. While the recognized leaders of Nuestra Familia in Pelican Bay ask that members respect the former leaders, they have been effectively stripped of their authority. 1962(d) Racketeering Conspiracy. One FBI supervisor was starkly realistic about the whole process. The deputies who arrested her were apparently unaware of the federal charges. Phil Ferrari behind him. "I find it to be a horse of a different color from using a low-level informant. KTVU FOX 2 SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU and wires) - Seventeen alleged Nuestra Familia gang members were in custody and six others were being sought Friday on charges ranging from attempted murder to. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California has not followed: What should you do? Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). FBI informant Daniel Her- nandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. 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. 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. 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 . They do not have to get involved in this., Seave said the operation fits perfectly into the Ceasefire strategy. Under the guidelines, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and all other Justice Department agencies must report suspected criminal activity by informants to prosecutors and notify federal prosecutors when an informant is the target of a federal criminal investigation. If an individual is the target of a murder plot, you have to protect him.". 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. Communicating with paroled gang members out in the streets, Nuestra Familia leaders have been able to order crimes and collect a percentage of the take from robberies and sales of methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana by the state's thousands of Norteos -- Northern California gang members. [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. 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. At first, Hernandez came through, providing hours of incriminating tapes. The three Generals of the gangs leadership council were identified as David DC Cervantes, Antonio Chuco Guillen, and James Conejo Perez. "They almost become complicit in it," he said. He later admitted the "golf" trip was to deliver two pounds of methamphetamine to a cousin. 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 the gang's hit list, or they cut a deal as the government was about to indict them. Taped conversations indicated that on Nov. 1, 1998, they planned to proceed with the killings. 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. "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. 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. 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. If it comes to it we have no choice but if we have a choice in the matter, then let's make it the right choice. ", Hernandez then lectures Ramirez about how sometimes "we look the other way" when others are selling drugs, though "when they come and try to take over, that's different. Nevertheless, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. 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. State gang experts credit the Nuestra Familia with about 1,000 killings since it began in the late 1960s, with Norteo gang members claiming hundreds more lives. Authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, as well as other drugs. 3553. "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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. [22], 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 California Department of Corrections says Nuestra Familia controls street gangs from Bakersfield to the Oregon border. Teen girls arrested after allegedly riding scooters into San Francisco pedestrians, Internet personality Yo Pesci receives seven year sentence after flashing firearms on social media, Gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, Pollutants were released into San Jose rivers from construction firm, lawsuit claims. 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 . 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. 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. " Hernandez: "Yeah. Law enforcement authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, and dozens of firearms. 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. 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." 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. A locked padlock Some in law enforcement believe that, while fighting Nuestra Familia was worthwhile, younger members will soon rise to take leadership. 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. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. 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. The court also may order additional terms of supervised release, fines, and restitution. U.S. Attorney Steven Gruel declined to comment on whether the informant might lose his protection from prosecution, because Hernandez, by his own admission, violated terms of the agreement in which he said he would not lie to his handlers, commit new crimes, or keep any illegally earned assets. 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. Very seldom a white face will have a black mind.Nikki Giovanni (b. The arrests made yesterday, most significantly the arrests of the Nuestra Familia leadership, will severely cripple the ability of this criminal enterprise (and) disrupt the communications and organization structure of a criminal network that has terrorized our neighborhoods for far too long.. 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. 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 prisonin Colorado. 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. ". 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. The largest of the federal investigations was Operation Black Widow. 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. Gallegos, 35, a onetime associate in Hanrahans Salinas gang crew, is charged with conspiracy like the others, and he also faces additional federal counts of using a telephone to further the conspiracy. [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. "You can't be with him 24 hours a day. When confronted about unauthorized trips, Hernandez said he slipped away without permission to play golf in Stockton. Todays operation strikes a substantial blow to Nuestra Familia leadership. "Today's operation strikes a substantial blow to Nuestra Familia leadership. The indictments came after a three-year police investigation dubbed Operation Black Widow. To that end, he announced the debut Thursday of a county narcotics and gang task force overseen by the states Department of Justice. [ 11] Renewed organization You have a potential disaster waiting to happen," Cohen said. 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. And that price is going to be your freedom, said District Attorney Dean Flippo. Staff writer Nate Gartrell contributed to this report. As well as other drugs Hernandez handed over the tape of the U.S an individual is the of... Thursday of a different color from using a low-level informant confronted about trips. And Hanrahan planned to marry in June 2008 tape of the U.S official! 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