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. Hernandez replies, "Yeah" and adds: "Why are you gonna beat up somebody when they're just gonna come back and shoot you up, right? More than 200 law enforcement agents and officers took part in the sweeps, serving arrest and search warrants in Salinas and neighboring areas. Hernandez cut a plea deal. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Chart: Bay Area rainfall totals for this week, Feds announce massive takedown of Californias Nuestra Familia gang and leadership, Man charged with molesting child of Cain Velasquez will go to trial, judge rules, Checkered past taints San Jose scrapyard where missing statue was found, This is an ongoing attack: San Jose leadership speaks out against food vendor assaults, San Jose firefighter claims sexual abuse, racism, swastikas drove her out, San Jose: Man dies after Tuesday shooting, | Criminal Justice and Public Safety Reporter. Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Spitz said Huerta has a previous felony assault conviction, giving her one strike under Californias Three Strikes law. 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 . 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. Authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, as well as other drugs. FBI surveillance photo, HO / HO. Unbeknownst to him, he'd been snared in the web of Operation Black Widow, a three-year FBI sting operation that led to federal racketeering and murder indictments against 21 gang members. 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. Pelican Bay State Prison. 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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 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. Before Ybarra and other gang members arrived at Gallegos' apartment, police parked a patrol unit near the building, according to police and FBI documents. Amaro also faces life in federal prison. 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. Government agents knew that working with such violent criminals was risky. The indictments came after a three-year police investigation dubbed Operation Black Widow. Jorge Salazar and Danny Pereda of San Francisco were also charged. 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. With no leaders in Pelican Bay, generals began fighting for power. For the FBI, infiltrating such an organization from the outside was virtually impossible. 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. "Today's operation strikes a substantial blow to Nuestra Familia leadership. The largest of the federal investigations was Operation Black Widow. Sosa was impeached and Nuestra Familia's structure altered to im- pede future misconduct. A preliminary examination in that case is scheduled for April 1. This investigation revealed the wide-ranging influence of the gang that extends far beyond prison walls. The indictment outlines that the Nuestra Familia used hierarchical and paramilitary structures to control thousands of California gang members and counties across Northern California even while most of the top leadership was incarcerated.. All were indicted for racketeering charges. FBI informant Daniel Her- nandez at a Nuestra Familia gang meeting in Rohnert Park. Really? According to Zilversmit, who represents another defendant, Hernandez not only helped the government build its case, but also took advantage of the freedom given him by law enforcement to first gain the position of go-between for Nuestra Familia leaders in prison and members on the street and eventually to take over the operation. At first, Hernandez came through, providing hours of incriminating tapes. 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. 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. "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. This civil war has been going on for quite a while, almost since the Black Widow convictions, said Julie Reynolds, a journalist who authored the book Blood in the Fields about the Black Widow case. Lock [21] Nuestra Familia members often use the image of a sombrero with a machete as their gang symbol. He was due to be released soon from Corcoran state prison, prosecutors said, where he served time on a 2007 assault charge. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California has not followed: What should you do? 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. 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. 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. 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 . 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 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. The NF has a formal written constitution and a membership of approximately 250, with an additional 1,000 associates. 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. "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. Attorney General Brown disagreed, saying he learned when he was mayor of Oakland that only constant suppression works with hard-core gang members. [14] Thirteen of the defendants pleaded guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. . Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. 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. 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: [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. San Jose: (408) 535-5061. FBI informant Daniel Her- nandez 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. The gang has been around since 1965, according to federal prosecutors, started inside Soledad prison to protect Hispanic inmates. Northern District of California Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Operation Black Widow Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate Nuestra Familia, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. But San Francisco attorney Marc Zilversmit contends the government's own legal filings reveal a federal role in the brutal prison-based gang, and raise troubling questions about how far the FBI can take an undercover operation. 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. 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 . Occasionally a black face goes with a white mind. Local deputies arrested her on March 16 in East Salinas for alleged probation violations, according to sheriffs logs. An official website of the United States government. 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. Details: According to the NF Constitution, the Street Regiment General oversees the NFs overall street operations. The General of the Prisons is responsible for the NFs overall pinta [prison] functions, and the General Advocates Office is the NFs justice department. Tiered just below these three NF Generals was the Inner Council, which consisted of four senior NF members who served as advisors to the Generals and provided a system of checks and balances. Hernandez was a big catch. 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. This case is being prosecuted by the Organized Crime Strike Force of the United States Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California. 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 I betray you, kill me.. 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