Slew of child sexual abuse lawsuits could bankrupt the Diocese of Sacramento, bishop says, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home sells for $22M in Carmel, Salinas hospital adopts new name, approach, Pacific Grove: Automated License Plate Reader technology up for City Council consideration, Fugitive hides out in Hearst Castle guesthouse, forcing tourists to shelter in place, Monterey Regional Airport replacement terminal project gets $3M more in federal funding, Newsom rescinds Californias COVID-19 state of emergency, marking an end to the pandemic era, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. All seven members of the NFs General Council led the NF organization while incarcerated in the California prison system. This investigation revealed the wide-ranging influence of the gang that extends far beyond prison walls. 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. 13 Nuestra Familia gang leaders names. Occasionally a black face goes with a white mind. The operation, known by its code-name: Black Widow, aimed at damaging and destabilizing the internal structure of Nuestra Familia by means of targeting its leaders. He previously reported in Washington, D.C., Salinas and the East Bay, and is a middling triathlete. To that end, he announced the debut Thursday of a county narcotics and gang task force overseen by the states Department of Justice. Gov. 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. 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. Operation Black Widow Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate Nuestra Familia, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. "You can't be with him 24 hours a day. Some in law enforcement believe that, while fighting Nuestra Familia was worthwhile, younger members will soon rise to take leadership. Law enforcement efforts to break up the criminal operation have been extremely difficult. [ 11] Renewed organization 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. Salinas Police photo Can he maintain credibility with fellow gangsters and yet prevent violent acts plotted by them in his presence? Ramirez told police upon his arrest as a co-conspirator in the murder that Hernandez, who had not yet been revealed as an informant, gave the go- ahead for the killing. 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. 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. 846, 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B) Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. 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. 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 . Sosa was impeached and Nuestra Familia's structure altered to im- pede future misconduct. But if you step back what does he have to do to move up in the gang? Hanrahan, 39, is currently in Pelican Bay State Prison serving a 13-year sentence on drug charges. Authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, as well as other drugs. Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate Nuestra Familia, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. It would be tough for Zilversmit to make a case that his client had no predisposition to commit the crimes he is accused of committing something the defense would have to prove in order win an acquittal, he said. 3553. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS The indictment handed down onAugust 25, 2021, and unsealed today, catalogues a litany of crimes allegedly directed by the Nuestra Familias command structure incarcerated in California prisons. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! 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. 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. 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. 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. It was not immediately disclosed how many of the 19 remaining defendants were arrested in the law-enforcement sweeps this week. Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Spitz said Huerta has a previous felony assault conviction, giving her one strike under Californias Three Strikes law. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. A preliminary examination in that case is scheduled for April 1. 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. reportedly high-ranking members of Nuestra Familia, are inmates at Pelican Bay -- Gerald Rubalcaba . All were indicted for racketeering charges. The defendants charged in the alleged racketeering conspiracy include the following: 18 U.S.C. Hernandez was a big catch. He has to in order to maintain credibility.". Instead, they received 10-year sentences in a plea deal negotiated by the gang's leaders after . The investigation is the first time law enforcement has attempted to bring in such large numbers of Nuestra Familia associates from one geographic area, and the hope is this will virtually shut down the gangs business in Salinas long enough for other anti-violence strategies to take hold. 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. [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. [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. Thirteen of the defendants plead guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. Former Salinas Police Officer Mike Lazzarini, now a gang investigator with the Santa Rosa Police Department, was one of those listening in on the murder plans. 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. FBI records indicate that he failed to record or report on phone calls with gang members and he disappeared without telling his handlers. Summer Lin covers breaking news and general assignment for The Mercury News. Both pleaded guilty in separate cases. Like Hanrahan, she was often named in witness testimony in the ongoing Valley Star trials in Sacramento federal court. 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. 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. The leadership vacuum resulted in a power struggle between prospective generals. 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. . 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. Northern District of California Montoya is one of 10 who were charged in a federal drug conspiracy case, facing a maximum of life in prison. He faces at least 20 years and perhaps life if convicted in the federal case. FBI informant Daniel Her- nandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. [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. FBI records show that by late July, the bureau stopped working with Hernandez, and he was arrested on a parole violation. Once membership was achieved, this membership was for life. Hill said she hoped the life sentences the defendants face will deter gang-involved youth from deeper involvement. "The more successful your informant becomes in the gang, the better, the more information you get. 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. 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 . The court also may order additional terms of supervised release, fines, and restitution. Taped conversations indicated that on Nov. 1, 1998, they planned to proceed with the killings. 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. 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. "If (suspects) commit a single overt act that furthers the conspiracy -- buying a gun or a car, for example -- that's enough to arrest them. If I stumble, push me. Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate Nuestra Familia, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. Most of the defendants are headed to Monterey County court, where they will face drug, gang, weapons and possible conspiracy charges. 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. 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. [8] Renewed organization 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. Alberto Larez, 45, known in Salinas as "Bird," was taken into custody Thursday morning at his residence in . [20], While Nuestra Familia is primarily a Chicano gang, membership sometimes extends to other Latinos as well as non-Latinos. State gang czar Paul Seave said he was pleased that so many law enforcement agencies came together. A dozen firearms were taken during the days searches. "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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hitt said the case against the newly indicted six grew stronger as the Valley Star trial unfolded last fall. 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. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. both faced life sentences in the FBI's sweeping Operation Black Widow conspiracy case in 2000. FBI informant Daniel Her- nandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. "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. 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. Huerta, too, has been under the lens of law enforcement for nearly a decade. 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." He was convicted of. 1962(d) Racketeering Conspiracy. 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. A lock ( 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, federal officials said. Among the crimes committed under Hernandez' leadership was the killing of a rival drug dealer. 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