Grattons wife was the cousin of a rapper named E-Clips, who at the time was a member of Darkroom Familia. They also hardened into gang boundaries on the streets. Not only had he given up his post on the street, but now theyd be suspicious that he was a narc. On January 24, 2001, at the FBIs prodding, Lizard hosted a junta for local underbosses at a Motel 6 in Tracy. Hernandez has conducted himself as a cooperating witness with great dignity and character, a memo from the US Attorneys office stated. The guys I played with didnt care Norteo, Sureo, or what side you were on. To the FBIs delight, he also boasted about his existing Ecstasy ring, which was clearing a few thousand dollars a week. It would bring the most attention and the most sales. The policy eventually trickled down to county and city jails and even the California Youth Authority. According to Lizard, the commander had one more piece of information: Cuete says youre a no-good. Its a tough call. ', All of the early motions from Gruel and his team of US prosecutors pointed only to Sir Dynos role in making the album. They were operating a sophisticated shop, gang expert Lewis said. He also was responsible for ensuring the battalions on the streets were holding fast against Sureos and sending drug profits to help pay the legal bills of their incarcerated generals. Its founding fathers adopted the phrase Blood in, blood out, and wrote a fifty-page constitution setting out the organizations bylaws. He just happened to have this talent, and he put this talent to use.. When Lizard asked Goose about protection for the rings, the underling said, Ill produce the manpower [and] the weapons to facilitate our needs and firepower to lay the motherfuckers down.. No one who got whacked was an innocent man. If Nuestra Familia invested in meth labs, a network was already in place. All Gratton needed was a rapper. Three days before Christmas, Lizard called Holguin. He was betraying these people hed come up with, people hed been close to. So far as you can trust anyone in a gang, hed trusted Cuete. The rationale for the federal case, officials said, was to cripple the gang's power base . In a memo to his colleagues, Helton talks about spotting G.U.N. It wasnt worth it to me anymore., Yet the claim that the rapper was blissfully unaware of Grattons gang connections doesnt pass the sniff test for law-enforcement guys like Jared Lewis. Once paroled, Lizard then served as Nuestra Familias highest-ranking member outside prison. Both were steeped in the Jehovahs Witnesses faith. Anytime he drove out of the area, he had to call Ragan or his partner. s success filtered back up to Pelican Bay, and Gratton began receiving frequent letters from his boss, Gerald Cuete Rubalcaba. Over the next four years, Lizard and Cuete masterminded and penned more than three thousand letters, according to an FBI report. Rocha was asked, Do you want to speak to an attorney? Rocha did not respond, and went on to state, Im a musician. He also stated something to the effect, If you have a landscaper work on your yard, you dont care where the equipment comes from.'. As a kid I didnt know anything but religion, he said. Jared Lewis, a former Modesto gang investigator, says the impact of G.U.N. Copyright 2023 Hed turned his parents garage into a makeshift studio, recorded cassettes, and sold them at low-rider shows and East Bay record stores. Fourteen of those charged in federal court in Los Angeles and Santa Ana . For that reason, he explains, he turned to dealing methamphetamine. We aint gonna whack no prosecuting attorney, Lizard said. Then he helped the FBI take the gang down. promotional posters around town and learning from a confidential informant that Robert Gratton, one of the faces on the posters, was financing North Star from meth sales. But even after Lizard shed his prison skin and sided with the government, his behavior was hardly that of a reformed citizen. Lizard also sent Crazy Girl a decoding list, known in FBI documents as The Salutation Code. In each letter he wrote, the greeting unlocked a key to the rest of the letter. Lizard and Nato were both soon paroled. A grand jury indictment was in the works. Daniel Hernandez sends a red line to several imprisoned (NF) leaders recommeding the impeachment of (NF) General Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba and lieutenant Sheldon Villanueva. The CD includes Nuestra Familia artwork and a statement that the success of this project has resulted from true Norteo unity we applaud the Carnalismo we would also like to give a special thanks to our family [emphasis theirs] and all the warriors. Trial witness R.G. They made their beds, and so did Bob. He told them about killing Brown Bob. If you wish to change your alliance, you will still have to prove to Norteos you are worthy, and the Sureos will want to kill you for switching sides.. When the NF trial begins on November 3 jury selection starts this week federal attorneys will use photographs and lyrics from the G.U.N. You have entered an incorrect email address. Prison gang members set to testify against Nuestra Familia leaders. 15 year old Carlos "Casper" Silva a Preston parolee is arrested murders 3 people witin a seven week span on behalf of Nuestra familia. Lexipol. They had all their dirty laundry to air out and they were allowing those agendas to decide how they acted, what they wanted the gang to do, how they were conducting affairs within the gang. For the next three months, he made his bones among Norteos by slashing Sureo inmates, brothers hed once shouldered with. Rocha then asked for what was he being arrested, indicating he did not understand the charge. That was their fuck-up. Holguin and his team came up empty that night. Operation Knockout Lizard reminded his brothers about the warriors in Pelican Bay. The five former leaders are James "Tibbs" Morado, 59, whose common-law wife, 20-year-old Salinas resident Crystal Nenque, was found slain on Hecker Pass Road near Watsonville in 2005; Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, 58; Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, 52; Cornelio Tristan, 46; and former Monterey resident Tex Marin Hernandez, 53. Today, the real Sir Dyno has five kids, a home in Tracy, and makes a living off CD sales, which he estimates at beyond 100,000 nationwide. Sir Dyno accepts this rivalry, and its where many of his raps come from. But I knew more about Cuete and his family, and he did about mine. While the recognized leaders of the Norteos in Pelican Bay ask that members respect the former leaders, they have been effectively stripped of their authority. Danny was telling me, But Im not a gang member,' Holguin said. Four months into his service as a snitch, FBI agents concluded that he had lied to one of his handlers when he said he was headed to Stockton for a round of golf. slated for Sept. 13 in San Francisco, is Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba At night, he ordered rows of Nuestra Familia inmates to recite aloud Aztec war chants to rattle guards and enemies. I did it because I was ordered to do it. CD, Sir Dyno says. The Nuestra Familia trial is expected to last four to six months, and the government will call seventy witnesses. Nuestra Familia members in the Secured Housing Unit kept to a punishing daily regimen of crunches and push-ups, followed by makeshift weightlifting with a barbell fashioned from pillow cases filled with books and magazines. Years earlier, a young Norteo paroled from Pelican Bay had given a Santa Rosa detective a lead into the prison gang. Then, several weeks later, a Pelican Bay investigator intercepted a letter penned by Lizard to one of his superiors. Hed began his criminal career as a teenage norteo gang member, pulling off smash-and-grab robberies of jewelry stores. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. They moved together into a Pittsburg apartment, and Nato continued his cousins indoctrination in Nuestra Familia. To the broke and ambitious rapper, the deal sounded too good to refuse. The justices will decide whether prisoners are denied their constitutional rights when forced to cell with another inmate based on race; a ruling could force administrators to consider full integration. Not at all coincidentally, Pelican Bay also has become the headquarters of Nuestra Familia. At the end of the trial, after Mr. Rocha spends four to six months sitting with other Latin males, the rest of whom are chained to the floor, how will jurors see him as an individual and judge him fairly in light of the limited evidence against him? they argue in one motion. December 12, 1976. Lizard wrote Big Smiley a wila, or small letter the size of a gum wrapper. And most of it hung on Lizard. Its not a good thing, said former San Quentin warden Vasquez. They taught him to grind down plastic shampoo bottles into shanks for knifing an attacker, and to roll up the pages of National Geographic as makeshift spear handles. According to Lizard and FBI informants, the accounts held up to $25,000. At the time, norteo street gangs were engaged in red-on-red turf wars, and were giving up overall ground to the sureos, their blue-clad enemies from the south. Maybe hed give me one hundred bucks to shut me up, or fifty bucks to shut me up, he says, or gas money or something.. Lizard said he beat Ruiz to a pulp with his fists, bringing his victim close to death. Following his arrival at the jail, Dyno was interviewed by Thomas Ribota, another Modesto detective. Violence was averted in those cases, Gruel said. No one who entered the system could safely walk alone. In April 2001, FBI agents, along with assistance from 24 local and state agencies, ended Operation Black Widow. , Just as knowledge can be the key, there is strength in numbers; therefore, we norteos can no longer continue to fight against one another. And the transfer led to internal power struggles played out in the streets, police say. They were caught up in power grabs and backstabbing. Bakersfield was the traditional dividing point, but with the crush of immigration, the numerically superior Sureos pushed the demarcation line further north, first to Fresno and then to Modesto. When it concluded in April 2001, after a $5 million investment, it was one of the largest takedowns on a prison gang in US history. His middle-class Long Beach upbringing was spent golfing, surfing, and skateboarding. But once youre in the gang, you have a choice as to how high you want to go. If you ever want to help yourself, you can. Lizard said he was forced into performing the unauthorized drug deals after an investigator from Santa Clara County nearly blew his cover. Lizard was then ordered to make a move on Jeremiah Ruiz, a Nuestra Familia dropout. I was getting my game back, Lizard said. He told the young man that if he wanted to be recognized by Nuestra Familia, he could appeal to the generals. Lizard prepared to take the stand against Nuestra Familia. And in response, FBI documents indicate that street soldiers in Nuestra Familia have ordered a two-year moratorium on murders while they wait for recent publicity to fade. The young guys trying to make their name were always the craziest, just as Lizard once had been. Sureos tended to be more-recent immigrants who often disparaged Norteos as second-generation Latinos who groveled for agricultural jobs and neglected their mother tongue, according to Joseph Hernandez, a criminal justice professor at Sacramento State University and expert in Latino gangs. If you say, I dont know, they say Where are you from? When you tell them, they direct you to that side of the prison. There sat Cornelio Corny Tristan, one of three alleged NF generals. Gratton knew nothing about the music business, but he had bricks of cash and a simple plan: to produce a rap CD that would work as a recruiting tool for Nuestra Familia and also serve to launder the gangs drug money. Once that dried, the correspondent would write another letter in ink on the page, but the recipient knew to hold it up to the light to read the real message. Its estimated for every NF member, there are seven La Eme. the credibility of the witnesses convicted felons who made deals Thats it. Jacobs told Viramontes he was marked, but promised he wouldn't let it happen in his yard. Thats when I started pulling away, he says. The DA was forced to offer Lizard a six-year deal, which he happily accepted. Theyre dwarfed by La Eme, but decided to become highly organized.. I was giving them a taste of something they wanted for a long time. He and his team of agents tore through Lizards hotel room, looking for evidence to send him back to the clink a bag of pot, a letter to a carnal, a bag of speed. He told Ramirez there should be no bloodshed. But then he added: If something comes at us, you cant help it. I can get a gun and go down and do it, he boasted. He could shank n roll, as the prisoners say. The consequences that the gangs have caused in society have given rise to two effects, which are the most outstanding: gang violence and citizen insecurity. You gotta understand, all these guys made their own choices, he said. By the time Dyno got to the specially constructed federal courtroom, he was fifteen minutes behind schedule. The thought of slashing his cousin made no sense. who joined the FBI and other agencies in an investigation of street When the state-of-the-art super-max penitentiary opened in 1989, built exclusively for the states 2,800 most violent inmates, Governor George Deukmejian hailed it a model for the rest of the nation. Instead, it has become a model gang incubator. Lizards letters were sent to code breakers at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. And with an ever-increasing prison population that only assures the continued growth of it and other gangs, the very segregation that bolstered the gangs strength appears irrevocable. The handlers didnt want to blow his cover. They were expected to smuggle in a copy of the Nuestra Familia constitution inside their legal folders and commit the document and its philosophy to memory. uncovered a hierarchy at Pelican Bay State Prison responsible for Its just the way it is, Sir Dyno says. Then at fourteen, Hernandez began to glimpse a different world. Hed been Cuetes right hand for four years. All norteos must unite with the determination to fight and challenge all those who oppose our unity and advancement toward equal justice. Lizard said he shook the tail, but later needed to prove he was clean. After all, race-based prison gang violence dominates Californias prison system, according to a 2002 report from the California State Department of Justice. On the new CD, he pounded out a few norteo rhymes, deriving material from his meth bust, after which hed pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and was sentenced to a year of house arrest. Happy was hardcore, with a permanent smile beneath his Fu Manchu mustache. In a corner of his home thats been scribbled on with black markers by one of his kids, Sir Dyno still works daily, mixing beats on a computer, recording new rhymes, diddling on a keyboard. Salinas underboss Alberto Larez estimated that over the last ten years hed sent Cuete and the generals 40, 45 thousand dollars.. Just dont go out looking for it and doing anything., Ramirez replied, Its in motion. If it read Hello Love!, it was every eighth word. "He's trying to regroup these guys. Gratton is the guy whos going to make the entire case against David; its his word against Davids. Daniel "Lizard" Hernandez helped Nuestra Familia run a criminal empire from inside state prison. The case grew out of information developed by Santa Rosa Police, Cuete was among the final holdouts. Louis G Rubalcaba, 15826 Silvergrove Drive, South Whittier / Sunshine Acres CDP, CA 90604 Find homes for sale, market statistics, foreclosures, property taxes, real estate news, agent reviews, condos, neighborhoods on Blockshopper.com Youre hot, the underboss said. He told them he could go undercover for them. Frias returned to the bar, gun tucked in his waistband, walked behind Sanchez, and fired a bullet into the base of his skull, killing him. Thousands bought the album in the major record chains like Sam Goody's. He makes drug deals here, he caps sureos there, he disses cops everywhere, all of it in the name of norteo supremacy. After a few meetings, he told Sir Dyno he wanted to finance a project, but instead of using the rappers already-established label, Gratton opted to launch North Star Records. Weeks later, the general was attacked by Sureos and landed in solitary confinement. They sat by and watched these guys pick each other off one by one. According to motions filed by Zilversmit, at least two other alleged Nuestra Familia members were attacked while the feds were listening in. Rapper David Rocha thought a norteo gangsta CD was his ticket to glory -- not life in prison. Copyright Weeklys All rights reserved. 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