Whatever you want. That 50 percent looked like gold., Sir Dyno claims he never asked where Gratton got his money, and whether or not the jury believes that could be key to his fate. Hed began his criminal career as a teenage norteo gang member, pulling off smash-and-grab robberies of jewelry stores. And I wanted to go high.. Zilversmit represents Armando Suave Heredia, a gang member arrested for ordering a successful hit on Salinas heroin dealer Ray Sanchez. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. The rapper arrived dressed in neatly pressed beige Dickies pants, spotless work boots, and an untucked flannel-print shirt a vato in his Sunday best, mumbling his apologies. Whites joined the Aryan Brotherhood or Nazi Low Riders for protection. 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. You wont catch me slipping. Investigators ended Operation Black Widow in June of 2001. You gotta understand, all these guys made their own choices, he said. Membership. None of these other [Nuestra Familia members] have a thing to say about [Sir Dyno], Manson says. Enter https://www.police1.com/ and click OK. Man, Im from the streets. As evidence, family members said, he had a large Aztec goddess tattooed atop the Nuestra Familia logo on his back. You cant smoke everybody that sells dope.. 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. Cuete and Lizard proved just how far their reach extended in early 1999. Three leaders soon emerged at Pelican Bay, filling the ranks of the gang's mesa, or board of directors: David "DC" Cervantes of Chino, Jose "Huerito" Gonzalez and James "Conejo" Perez. Shes not liking it too much. I could rap political, I could rap street, it doesnt matter, Sir Dyno says. Still, the weekend he got out, he was intent on getting paid. Rank and file morale plainly sucked under Parks. And I was part of that policy. Even though he was broke and sleeping on friends couches, Sir Dyno felt he was on the cusp of the big time, ready to break. This was reported to the informants state parole officer. After all, race-based prison gang violence dominates Californias prison system, according to a 2002 report from the California State Department of Justice. In his role as head of security, Cuete was responsible for stashing the groups original constitution among his legal papers, and keistering the gangs master hit list in his rectum, according to FBI documents. Lizard wrote Big Smiley a wila, or small letter the size of a gum wrapper. Of course, once the hit list is reactivated, Lizard knows that his name will sit at the very top. Ramirez bragged to Lizard that hed already chased Sanchez out of Salinas Chinatown at least once, and had warned him that he needed to pay taxes if he wanted to deal in Salinas. Dyno has since expanded his own label, Darkroom Studios, starred in three independent movies, and penned a fictional autobiography about a gangster named Joaquin who takes up arms for the Zapatistas. Even now, he talks about the incident with the distance that soldiers put between themselves and their wartime deeds. Lizard said he attacked Huero-T as he slept, pummeling him into a bloody mess until guards pulled him off. By now, rumors were swirling that G.U.N. And all are charged with substantive crimes: drug sales and possession, murder, and so on. He was still using meth and heroin, on-again off-again pleasures hed picked up back in Pittsburg. Cervantes added that hed already followed the couple to the courthouse. There sat Cornelio Corny Tristan, one of three alleged NF generals. Lizard was then ordered to make a move on Jeremiah Ruiz, a Nuestra Familia dropout. If you say, Nothing, youre not gonna make it. Years earlier, a young Norteo paroled from Pelican Bay had given a Santa Rosa detective a lead into the prison gang. That wasnt what I signed up for.. Lizard returned to the Bay Area and worked closely with FBI Agent Sean Ragan. Lexipol. 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. Had they not almost burned my identity, I wouldnt have had to be doing any of that, he said. The CD had been funded in 1998 from Pelican Bay prison by the top Nuestra Familia general, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba. I didnt have a choice, he recalled. But one day on the yard, he was approached by Juan Nato Gurule, a long-lost cousin from the East Bay. According to transcripts and court documents, Ramirez brought up the touchy subject of Ray Sanchez, a competing heroin dealer who was boasting of taking over the drug game. Over the next four years, Lizard and Cuete masterminded and penned more than three thousand letters, according to an FBI report. You arent just talking about some poor criminal who was abused by the NF and got drawn into the criminal net. 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 . You have entered an incorrect email address. Lizard is disappointed that he never got his moment on the witness stand. Whatever it is, you gotta go to the extreme. The Norte-os are trying to establish (in Salinas) but every time they try to, there's shootouts." If Lizard wanted to buy it, Silent would ask only $15,000 cash. Dec. 22, 2021 5 AM PT. Then, several weeks later, a Pelican Bay investigator intercepted a letter penned by Lizard to one of his superiors. Now, nearly all Norte-o soldiers and Nuestra Familia regiment captains across California answer to Cervantes, gang experts say, but re-establishing the gang's control over the streets has not been easy. 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. Rocha still did not understand the charge or why he was being placed into custody. It is here that the stories begin to diverge: Rocha claims that in the eleven or so months he knew Gratton, the parolee never discussed his ties to the highly secretive prison gang. posters and CDs in his car, again cementing a link between the prison gang and local norteos. At Lizards behest, Crazy Girl opened two bank accounts and made deposits from gang soldiers who were required to remit 25 percent of their profits. Lizard and Nato were both soon paroled. 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. Both were steeped in the Jehovahs Witnesses faith. Like other major prison gangs, including the Aryan Brotherhood and the Mexican Mafia, Nuestra Familia issues orders from its power base in the Security Housing Unit of Pelican Bay. 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. That was their fuck-up. She was nicknamed Crazy Girl and had the moniker tattooed over her right kneecap, according to FBI documents. If youre a norteo, and youre flamed-up in reds a 49ers jersey will do a lone sureo, who might be dressed down in his Dodgers blue, could make a move on you, unprovoked. In an interview last year, Zilversmit said Lizard and his FBI handlers were culpable in the death of Sanchez. In his interview with FBI agents the next day, Gratton confessed hed concocted the idea for G.U.N. His FBI handlers had been clear: Talk down violence at all costs. He tested positive, violating a federal policy that informants remain drug-free while working for the government. But the state prison guards union and correctional officials have argued that to mix inmates now would only bring more violence. Lizards initial work was flawless. The three ounces found in Sir Dynos car, Gratton was claiming, came from him a statement which, if true, puts Sir Dyno squarely within the gang conspiracy. After sentencing, leadership of the organization will be dispersed across the country, while new members look to fill the void. Lizard then drove to a house in Stockton, where he tested the powder and sold it to another Norteo. In her written response, she pointed out the governments logical error: All NF members and associates are norteos; David is a norteo. I was showing them everything., Today, Lizard said he flipped because he was tired of people pushing their own agendas. s success filtered back up to Pelican Bay, and Gratton began receiving frequent letters from his boss, Gerald Cuete Rubalcaba. Hed picked up an ounce of weed at Rohnert Park and smoked a few joints with his buddy Israel Silent Mendoza. He was as bright and loyal as they came, so Cuete could trust him.. He was a micro-manager. The idea was to create a music CD that would appeal to young Latinos and help recruit them into the ranks of the Nortenos, the breeding ground for hate toward the soldados of the Mexican Mafia. We aint gonna whack no prosecuting attorney, Lizard said. On January 24, 2001, at the FBIs prodding, Lizard hosted a junta for local underbosses at a Motel 6 in Tracy. It remains to be seen ultimately whether this prosecution was warranted, he said in accepting the guilty pleas. But rumors about G.U.N. Rapper David Rocha thought a norteo gangsta CD was his ticket to glory -- not life in prison. Prosecutors say the The only problem is the limiting of audience outside Northern California., After costs for radio spots and posters and printing, the plan estimated profits of $21,051 on the first 4,000 units. It looked like they were unhappy with the content of G.U.N., Manson says, and thats why David was indicted for the content of his music. The "filter," or official paperwork announcing the hit, came down to Jacobs, who, by this time, had developed a close friendship with Viramontes. Its not like her life used to be.. In total, aside from the five convictions and twenty guilty pleas credited to Lizards grand jury testimony and undercover work, federal officials said Operation Black Widow led to a total of 75 Nuestra Familia convictions. Not just in rap, but everywhere. They were caught up in power grabs and backstabbing. By the time he turned 25, Dyno had carved his own niche as a Chicano gangsta rapper, mixing Spanish with English. He said he knows they may try to find him, but that he will not hide. Days later, Big Smiley sent Lizard his own wilas, as well as books on Chicano history. Lizard swung his weight around hard. Lizard recalled feeling nothing in the aftermath of the hit. But recently, Lizard spoke on the phone with her, discussing their new lives. Hernandez never belonged to either group until he ended up in prison. Sir Dyno, however, isnt charged with any individual crime, just one count of RICO conspiracy, and his connection to that crime seems to be largely related to his performance on Generations of United Norteos. They spent the next two days debriefing their new informant. , it will help establish the label financially. They made their beds, and so did Bob. We are not going to whack no DAs!. All you have to do is find out where the motherfucker is, pull up on the side of them., Lizard ended the conversation. Even though the project had cash potential tomorrow, Sir Dyno still needed money today. I even convinced the government that Im this crazy guy.. It was again explained to Rocha that Kelly was an FBI agent, and that Rocha was being placed under arrest for RICO conspiracy. But Lizards exploits show how prison policies adopted to control gangs such as Nuestra Familia may actually have helped them bloom. Were going to take care of it tonight., But then he talked about looking the other way. He told his carnal, We got more on the table than just a fight for powder. Not with NF.. He said that was where he picked up the nickname Lizard, from friends who admired his clandestine nature.. There was also the lean and smooth figure of Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, the gang's most powerful captain, whose job inside Pelican Bay, a fellow gang member told the feds, was to "keister" the. Lizard and the government deny this accusation. Around 6:30 p.m. on April 19, 1999, Brown Bob was watering his roses. These defendants wisely elected to plead guilty rather than face the prospect of Mr. Hernandez appearance as a trial witness against them.. Following his arrival at the jail, Dyno was interviewed by Thomas Ribota, another Modesto detective. The idea was that rap music could unite and galvanize young Norteo soldiers across the state, and it did. slated for Sept. 13 in San Francisco, is Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba Just dont go out looking for it and doing anything., Ramirez replied, Its in motion. I cant muscle the guy because I dont know what hes involved with, he reasoned, so either I make an issue of it and make an enemy I dont want, or just let it go. Sanchez was laying low, but Ramirez expected him to pop up again. Inside the state prison system, norteos side with Nuestra Familias syndicates, and sureos with La Eme, aka the Mexican Mafia. He crawled into his living room before dying in his familys arms. Consider this reasoning using an unrelated example: All chickens are bipeds; John Ashcroft is a biped. I was a soldier, and a good one.. 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. 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. It probably aggravated the situation, and forced people to align, pick a side. had pulled down between $50,000 and $80,000. Holguin was well known to Nuestra Familia members hed interviewed hundreds of them during his three decades in the system. This time, Goose brought bar charts to show drug production and expected net profits. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. The voice doesnt sound like Sir Dynos, but officers in the streets took offense. There was Henry Happy Cervantes, built like a fire hydrant, who got caught on an FBI wire offering to murder two Santa Clara County district attorneys. I dont rattle, he said. 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 Danny was telling me, But Im not a gang member,' Holguin said. Joe Gonzales orders the murder of familiano Richard Hernandez for failing to carry out orders. FBI agents did not respond to interview requests. Despite the governor's complaints, all five are still housed in the same supermax unit. The amount of violence attributed to the men inside the courtroom and their associates on the outside was staggering: fifteen killings, eighty conspiracies to murder, ten attempted murders, ten felony assaults, one hundred assaults, and two drive-by shootings. He was more than just a studio rapper, he says. Copyright 2023 According to Ribotas report, when he asked about the rappers affiliation, Rocha denied having any gang involvement but is a norteo. Rocha then asked for what was he being arrested, indicating he did not understand the charge. I was ready to go, he recalled. But within a few months, Nato got pinched for robbery, and with his long rap sheet, he got 39 years. But government agents said that Brown Bob actually had pulled away from the gang. 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. But in a coup d'etat of sorts, Gonzalez and Perez have been "demoted" to "Category 1," the lowest level of the Nuestra Familia, investigators say. ', All of the early motions from Gruel and his team of US prosecutors pointed only to Sir Dynos role in making the album. For seven months, he secretly recorded meetings with his gangs underbosses, allowing federal agents to listen in as his carnals planned drug deals, bought firearms, and talked openly about killing people, including two deputy district attorneys from Santa Clara County. Then in late April 2001, more than two years since hed last spoken to Robert Gratton, he was summoned to a meeting with his parole officer. Sir Dynos lawyers argue that a group trial will taint the jurys perception of their client. 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. He leaves behind a 3-year-old son of his own, but vows that the cycle of violence ends with him. The following day, Ray Sanchez walked into Caps Saloon, unaware that hed been the discussion of a hit. Last year, a newly revised constitution for the gang was distributed through underground channels, allowing for change in the mesa's structure, said Santa Cruz County sheriff's Sgt. Request a quote for the most accurate & reliable non-lethal training, Get Curious Before Getting Furious: How Cynicism Impacts Behavior On Scene, Authorities say Nuestra Familia's revisions mean more violence in streets By Julia ReynoldsThe Monterey County HeraldMONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. Monterey County's deadliest gang has new leadership and a new constitution, forcing changes that law enforcement officers say is translating to increased violence in the streets. He took a job at a golf course and used his access to the links to reclaim his swing, sometimes playing 36 holes a day. Holguin and his team came up empty that night. He wanted to know what assurances could be made for him. Lizard reminded his brothers about the warriors 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. A huge warehouse complex project is before the American City Council. Since then, district attorneys from five NorCal counties had teamed up to share unsolved homicide files on dead Norteos. 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. 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.. There are 150,000 pages of discovery to sort through, photographs from dozens of crime scenes, audiotapes from hours of hidden wires, and hours of surveillance videos. They didnt care about agendas like that.. At home, Sir Dyno says hes just waiting for the truth to come out, but the phrase emerges like one thats been worn out, a fortification against the harsher truth: He stands to lose everything. In his FBI interrogation, Gratton never makes it clear whether Sir Dyno knew he was rapping for the mob, or that North Star Records had been set up to launder money. The policy eventually trickled down to county and city jails and even the California Youth Authority. And in another case, according to his handlers, Lizard drove to Lodi with Happy Cervantes for a weekend getaway, where he left his wire behind and failed to stay in touch with the FBI. Listening in policy eventually trickled down to county and City jails and even the California state Department of Justice empty. Own, but officers in the system because he was tired of people pushing their own choices, was! Got ta go to the informants state parole officer ta understand, five. 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