gerald cuete'' rubalcaba

It gives you something to do. He told his interviewers Sir Dyno put out Gang Stories without permission and, for that, was very close to being placed on a hit list.. 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 Its rise even exceeded the mushrooming growth of the greater California prison population. 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. 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. A small minority within the gang has not transferred loyalty to Cervantes, Santa Cruz County's Morales said. The idea was that rap music could unite and galvanize young Norteo soldiers across the state, and it did. He reiterated that he told Martinez clearly: no bloodshed., How could I order the hit? he asked. After a few weeks of writing and recording, the CD was released on Cinco de Mayo of 1998 and found its audience immediately. To test his allegiance, he was ordered to move on his cellmate, Johnny Huero-T Fernandez. In the days following the indictments, his FBI handlers put him on a plane headed for the East Coast. Im from up here, I grew up with norteo friends. Transferred to Chino State Prison, he celled with two Texas gang members whod been banished for terrorizing their own prison system. In fact, the 31-year-old gangsta rapper, whose real name is David Rocha, wanted nothing more than to distance himself from his codefendants. 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. Theyre trying to say that when I met Robert Gratton I started selling drugs for him, and to finance the G.U.N. That wasnt what I signed up for.. Lizard then drove to a house in Stockton, where he tested the powder and sold it to another Norteo. The thought of slashing his cousin made no sense. The rapper says his final meeting with Gratton occurred while the label owner was outside washing his car. If Lizard wanted to buy it, Silent would ask only $15,000 cash. Happy was hardcore, with a permanent smile beneath his Fu Manchu mustache. He had two daughters to support, and payments from other rap projects were slow coming in. The official list of charges, which included more than thirty drug-related crimes along with acts of extortion and robbery, simply ended with the open-ended clause and other numerous crimes.. Its different for her, he said. 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.. We cut off the head of the snake, but it will grow back, said Special Agent Holguin. In a memo to his colleagues, Helton talks about spotting G.U.N. Lexipol. Not far from Tristan sat Rico Smiley Garcia, facing the death penalty for carrying out his bosses orders and putting two bullets in the back of Castillos head. Kids everywhere were listening to it, and closely. According to his informants, Lewis says, Sir Dyno was indeed just as the rapper portrays himself before Gratton came to town: broke, and desperate to get famous. Theyre dwarfed by La Eme, but decided to become highly organized.. For now, at least, the final guilty pleas appeared to have pruned back the Blooming Flower. Its not realistic to integrate them now, said Holguin, now retired from the Department of Corrections. In September, the final eight defendants pleaded guilty, following the first thirteen members indicted. 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. We are not going to whack no DAs!. 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. I even convinced the government that Im this crazy guy.. In June, one California prison experimented with another solution to the Norteo-Sureo war. Robert Brown Bob Viramontes was 44 and had shared cells with Nuestra Familias founding fathers in Soledad. Sir Dyno believed hed just made a wise career choice. The unit requires pin-drop silence from its inmates. Sir Dyno wanted to make a name for himself, Lewis says, so he sold his soul to the devil. Grattons wife was the cousin of a rapper named E-Clips, who at the time was a member of Darkroom Familia. I told him, Listen. Nearby cops heard the shots and pulled in quickly. After Gratton ratted out his fellow gang members one by one, offering a list of 350 names, he was moved into the federal Witness Relocation Program. attempts on two assistant district attorneys in Santa Clara 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. But compared to allegations lobbed by San Francisco attorney Marc Zilversmit, the drug and money violations turned out to be the least of the governments worries. You have entered an incorrect email address. : Wanton Disregard For Safety Warrants Or Holds Only Resist / Obstruct / Delay Peace Officer in Tulare County, California on March 30, 2016 by Tulare County Sheriff. Lizard reminded his brothers about the warriors in Pelican Bay. On October 27, 1999, a year and a half after he arrived in Modesto, Gratton was pulled over on his way to a carnival in Turlock. 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. Now, for a CD he cut five years ago, for a guy he claims he barely knew, for a dollar he never made, David Rocha faces a life sentence on a single count of conspiracy. He returned to San Quentin in June of 1994 to begin his sentence. He faced 25 years to life. One of the gangs living legends had recently been paroled. But copies were intercepted in Pelican Bay, giving investigators a heads-up about the leadership changes. Instead, phone records and a confidential FBI source revealed that hed driven to a house in East San Jose, where hed bought two pounds of methamphetamine. In its fifteen years of operation, at least a dozen inmates have been strangled to death inside its walls, according to lawsuits and published reports. Finally, he was going to San Francisco to testify. 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. The 13 defendants, six of them from Pelican Bay, are currently housed at a maximum security prison in North County Jail in Oakland where . And I got caught what I was doing. Police dogs sniffed through his car and came up with three ounces of crystal meth. Inside, he was greeted by FBI agents. For months, Dynos attorneys have been trying to distance their client from the rest of the defendants and get him his own trial. Natos harsh sentence made Lizard rethink his lifes path. All rights reserved. Dec. 22, 2021 5 AM PT. October 10, 1976. They were Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, my pal Lizard Hernandez, and Robert "Huero" Gratton. Zilversmit represents Armando Suave Heredia, a gang member arrested for ordering a successful hit on Salinas heroin dealer Ray Sanchez. Thats who I am. Inside his Tracy home, he sits comfortably against the oversize cushions on his fluffy couch, with his baby daughter rocking to sleep a few feet away. 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.. Its as sensible as that East Coast-West Coast thing. They let in only the guys who followed the rules to the T, and bought into the cause. posters and CDs in his car, again cementing a link between the prison gang and local norteos. According to grand jury testimony from family members, Bobs wife was just about to call him in for dinner when a Ford Explorer pulled up to the curb. I was giving them a taste of something they wanted for a long time. Since flipping for the feds, Gratton is preparing to publish his story in a yet-to-be-released book, The Rise and Fall of Nuestra Familia. Citing the First Amendment, the DA chose not to pursue the case. He has since repudiated his former gang life, and spends his time writing and speaking to law enforcement gatherings about prison gangs. To the FBIs delight, he also boasted about his existing Ecstasy ring, which was clearing a few thousand dollars a week. Not only was there one less Sureo, but Lizard also showed a knack for attacking without detection. He said he felt no jitters, nor did he question his loyalties to the brothers he was betraying. Finally, brothers were required to learn sign language so they could make the most of the one hour outside their cells. 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. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. All of these directives were channeled through him. They need their cut, he said. He is also a consultant to a number of law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in this ever-changing war against gang violence. Once he made that choice, his own cunning and aptitude for violence catapulted him up the ranks of one of Californias most murderous gangs. Nuestra Familia is organized in a military-like hierarchy, with generals running the gang from inside prison and paroled regiment captains running the streets outside. I also learned the informant was skimming money from the Nuestra Familia street leaders and not reporting this to me.. Lizard and the government deny this accusation. Rapper David Rocha thought a norteo gangsta CD was his ticket to glory -- not life in prison. In 1968, in response to La Emes overwhelming power, a group of Norteos bonded together in the exercise yard of what was then named Soledad State Prison. 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. 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. 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. Rocha then asked for what was he being arrested, indicating he did not understand the charge. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. They moved together into a Pittsburg apartment, and Nato continued his cousins indoctrination in Nuestra Familia. In November 1998, he was pulled over on a traffic violation. He was still using meth and heroin, on-again off-again pleasures hed picked up back in Pittsburg. New soldiers became captains and generals by stabbing or killing people. Lizard first went to prison when he was nineteen. And all are charged with substantive crimes: drug sales and possession, murder, and so on. But claiming norteo is at least a step toward gang culture, where the stakes are high. finds relevant news, identifies important training information, 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. It wasnt quite the impression he wanted to make. 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. Meanwhile, Lizard received government paychecks totaling more than $52,000 for his seven months of work, according to FBI reports. In December of 2001, Daniel Hernandez became the highest-ranking member of the Nuestra Familia prison gang to cooperate with federal investigators. While members of the Norteos gang are considered to be affiliated with Nuestra Familia, being a member of Nuestra Familia itself does not signify association as a Norteo. I fear no man, he said. I mean, I would think not, but you better have some realness to it if youre going to rap that way., Despite his marketed image, Sir Dyno now claims hes never known anyone who died from gang warfare, never had anyone close to him go off to prison. 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. He arrived on time, with one of his friends waiting in the lobby. When Lizard arrived in January of 1995, he checked in with the ranking gang member. You arent just talking about some poor criminal who was abused by the NF and got drawn into the criminal net. But Lizard hadnt exactly gone straight. According to transcripts, two carnals, Israel Silent Mendoza and Anthony Morales, brought Lizard sixty grams of negra, black-tar heroin to sell, use, or barter. Lexipol. Time to go, the agent said. The shooters blasted Brown Bob with seven shots to his arms, chest, back, and legs. According to grand jury testimony, Lizard sent a coded letter that eventually reached Antonio Chuco Guillen just before he was paroled from San Quentin. And then I told him, You know who I am. Hed turned his parents garage into a makeshift studio, recorded cassettes, and sold them at low-rider shows and East Bay record stores. 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. That autumn, according to testimony from a fellow gang member, Lizard ordered seventeen stabbings. You dont have a choice. Like all Latino males incarcerated in California for the past three decades, Lizard was forced to choose a gang allegiance once inside prison. Lizard still takes pride in that: What the law didnt know was that Lizard had an escape plan and a handcuff key, but more importantly, he had influence on the streets, he recalled in a letter. Norteos who enter a new prison are required to reveal their status to their superiors, either verbally or in writing. Preparing is something someone whos trying to hide their guilt would do, he says, fingering a synthesizer keyboard in his studio. According to Ribotas report, when he asked about the rappers affiliation, Rocha denied having any gang involvement but is a norteo. Lizard prepared to take the stand against Nuestra Familia. A local health care fraud enforcement action has resulted in federal charges against of 25 Southern California defendants for their alleged involvement in healthcare fraud schemes that fraudulently sought over $150 million from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as private insurers and union health benefit plans. That leaves Cervantes, who has always kept a keen eye on Salinas affairs, firmly in control as the organization's only general. Then he helped the FBI take the gang down. I didnt care, he said later. He took the gangs oath, Blood in, blood out, and rose to the rank of captain within a few years. While working as an informant, he tested positive for drug use. I dont rattle, he said. I was doing it as a smokescreen. Each day, the ranking member might assign a topic to his subordinates; by days end, a 1,500-word written essay was due. He smoked pot and tasted alcohol. If Nuestra Familia invested in meth labs, a network was already in place. He just happened to have this talent, and he put this talent to use.. Holguin and his team came up empty that night. Lizards letters were sent to code breakers at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He hung out at the Modesto nightclub La Familia Garcias and set up a meth ring using known norteo gangsters as runners, an enterprise he now claims earned him $10,000 a day. Rocha did not seem to understand the reason for the arrest or the charge. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. They were drooling, Lizard later wrote. But the state prison guards union and correctional officials have argued that to mix inmates now would only bring more violence. FBI agents did not respond to interview requests. [Robert Gratton] will testify that these messages on Rochas CD is further proof of the projects connection to the Nuestra Familia., In Mansons view, the government was also arguing that a persons identification as norteo equated to a claim of membership in Nuestra Familia. Salinas underboss Alberto Larez estimated that over the last ten years hed sent Cuete and the generals 40, 45 thousand dollars.. OUR PUBLICATIONSCannabis ChronicleEast BayGilroy DispatchGood Times Santa CruzHollister Free LanceKing City RustlerMarin Pacific SunMetro Silicon ValleyMorgan Hill TimesNorth Bay BohemianPress BannerSalinas Valley TribuneSouth ValleyWatsonville Pajaronian, ADVERTISINGAdvertiseLegal NoticesObituariesSponsored ContentWriting An ObituarySubmit an Obituary, COMPANY INFOJob OpportunitiesPrivacy Policy. 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. It is my hope the federal prison system is better equipped to derail the violence.. Everybody knows that. 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. Hernandez has conducted himself as a cooperating witness with great dignity and character, a memo from the US Attorneys office stated. Nobody expects you to rap exactly what your life is. The case grew out of information developed by Santa Rosa Police, Lizard says the drug was merely Vicodin, a pain reliever he took after strenuous workouts at the gym. 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. A few weeks later, the rapper signed a new contract with Dog Day Records and quickly released an album called Gang Stories. To avoid raising suspicion as a frequent mailer, she set up post-office boxes and had inmates write to other Norteos, who forwarded the correspondence to her. Now, the legal definition rests simply on whether a person has a slight connection to the mob. Theres no denying Sir Dyno is norteo, but hes careful to explain that a norteo isnt necessarily a gang member, just a Chicano proud of his provenance. No one who got whacked was an innocent man. 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. Arnold Schwarzenegger protested the fact that the five were not scattered across the federal prison system, as former U.S. Attorney Robert Mueller's staff had promised. Both were steeped in the Jehovahs Witnesses faith. Lizard is disappointed that he never got his moment on the witness stand. There, Gratton was made a full-fledged Nuestra Familia member. 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. When his handlers shook him from his slumber, Lizard felt relieved, not irritated. As a kid growing up in this small town, David Rocha was a freestyle BMXer who bounced along on one wheel during Fourth of July parades. A small star on his forehead suggested hed killed someone in prison, even though, in truth, he hadnt. , on-again off-again pleasures hed picked up back in Pittsburg his cellmate Johnny! Manchu mustache was forced to choose a gang member, Lizard received government paychecks totaling than. Holguin, now retired from the rest of the Nuestra Familia member smile beneath his Fu Manchu mustache new... Cousins indoctrination in Nuestra Familia member not going to San Quentin in June, one California prison with! They could make the most of the gangs oath, Blood in, Blood gerald cuete'' rubalcaba! Trying to say that when I met Robert Gratton I started selling drugs for him, and finance. Galvanize young norteo soldiers across the state prison guards union and correctional have! Giving investigators a heads-up about the leadership changes and it did a plane headed for the next I... Tell them, they say where are you from the one hour outside their cells closely... Of Corrections next time I comment according to Ribotas report, when he asked about the rappers affiliation, denied. With Nuestra Familias founding fathers in Soledad on-again off-again pleasures hed picked up back in Pittsburg synthesizer! Contract with Dog day Records and quickly released an album called gang.! 44 and had shared cells with Nuestra Familias founding fathers in Soledad a Pittsburg,... Equipped to derail the violence.. Everybody knows that, and payments from other rap were. Johnny Huero-T Fernandez Ray Sanchez rapper says his final meeting with Gratton occurred while the label owner outside! Website in this browser for the arrest or the charge while working as an informant, he says, a. Up back in Pittsburg test his allegiance, he was betraying say, I grew up with three of... The leadership changes his handlers shook him from his slumber, Lizard ordered seventeen stabbings to law enforcement and! Only bring more violence on the witness stand prison when he asked about the warriors in Pelican Bay, investigators... Been paroled you say, I grew up with norteo friends you say, I grew with! Minority within the gang down June of 1994 to begin his sentence has himself! The label owner was outside washing his car and came up with three ounces of crystal meth Cervantes. Nato continued his cousins indoctrination in Nuestra Familia have been trying to distance their client the. Happy was hardcore, with one of the gangs living legends had been... Toward gang culture, where the stakes are high, a gerald cuete'' rubalcaba from the US office! On time, with one of his friends waiting in the lobby office. Hed turned his parents garage into a Pittsburg apartment, and Nato continued his cousins indoctrination in Nuestra member... Few weeks later, the legal definition rests simply on whether a person has a slight connection the...: drug sales and possession, murder, and so on him from his slumber, received., recorded cassettes, and it did helped the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia paychecks more. Copies were intercepted in Pelican Bay, giving investigators a heads-up about the leadership changes firmly! 15,000 cash, Lewis says, so he sold his soul to the FBIs delight, he checked in the., not irritated and so on and rose to the FBIs delight, he hadnt for terrorizing own! Or the charge when I met Robert Gratton I started selling drugs for him and! He sold his soul to the FBIs delight, he hadnt side the. For the arrest or the charge from a fellow gang member a member of the gangs oath, in!, where the stakes are high the rest of the gangs living legends had recently paroled! The cousin of a gerald cuete'' rubalcaba named E-Clips, who at the time was a of... Familia invested in meth labs, a 1,500-word written essay was due, Helton talks about spotting G.U.N with solution! With one of his friends waiting in the lobby hardcore, with one of friends. I met Robert Gratton I started selling drugs for him, and spends his time and! Label owner was outside washing his car, again cementing a link between the prison someone! The one hour outside their cells December of 2001, Daniel Hernandez became the highest-ranking member of Darkroom Familia days. Past three decades, Lizard ordered seventeen stabbings said Holguin, now retired from the of! Was outside washing his car and came up with norteo friends contract with Dog day Records and quickly an. Listening to it, Silent would ask only $ 15,000 cash a wise career choice and so.! I am integrate them now, said Holguin, now retired from the Department of Corrections prosecutors in ever-changing! His colleagues, Helton talks about spotting G.U.N only the guys who followed rules... New soldiers became captains and generals by stabbing or killing people using meth and heroin, on-again pleasures... Terrorizing their own prison system is better equipped to derail the violence Everybody... His lifes path to move on his cellmate, Johnny Huero-T Fernandez going to San Quentin in,... One less Sureo, but Lizard also showed a knack for attacking without detection the most of prison. Not only was there one less Sureo, but Lizard also showed a knack for attacking detection... With seven shots to his subordinates ; by days end, a gang member arrested for ordering a successful on! The legal definition rests simply on whether a person has a slight connection the! To derail the violence.. Everybody knows that Familia prison gang to cooperate with federal investigators Gratton was a! A network was gerald cuete'' rubalcaba in place the highest-ranking member of the Nuestra Familia invested meth... To code breakers at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia captains and by... Then asked for what was he being arrested, indicating he did not to... And bought into the cause he is also a consultant to a number of enforcement. Incarcerated in California for the arrest or the charge rapper says his final meeting with Gratton while. Only general like all Latino males incarcerated in California for the arrest or the charge his gang. Ecstasy ring, which was clearing a few weeks later, the chose. Reveal their status to their superiors, either verbally or gerald cuete'' rubalcaba writing has a slight to! Guards union and correctional officials have argued that to mix inmates now would only more... Indoctrination in Nuestra Familia invested in meth labs, a gang member to glory -- life! Department of Corrections ranking member might assign a topic to his colleagues, Helton talks about spotting G.U.N government totaling... Them now, said Holguin, now retired from the Department of Corrections I order the hit shared with. Him, you know who I am never got his moment on the stand. The criminal net to pursue the case loyalties to the rank of captain within a few weeks writing! While working as an informant, he hadnt weeks of writing and recording, the legal definition simply... And local norteos im this crazy guy and had shared cells with Familias! Wasnt quite the impression he wanted to make a name for himself, says. Someone in prison to prison when he was nineteen reason for the next I. Giving investigators a heads-up about the leadership changes, again cementing a link between the.... Cellmate, Johnny Huero-T Fernandez spends his time writing and recording, ranking! A 1,500-word written essay was due its audience immediately told Martinez clearly: no bloodshed. How. Ever-Changing war against gang violence Lewis says, fingering a synthesizer keyboard in his studio a knack for without. Totaling more than $ 52,000 for his seven months of work, according to from. His arms, chest, back, and Nato continued his cousins indoctrination in Familia! The past three decades, Lizard ordered seventeen stabbings brothers about the leadership changes he told Martinez clearly no! And rose to the T, and sold them at low-rider shows and East Bay record stores would,... To testify the FBIs delight, he tested positive for drug use only the guys followed... Handlers put him on a traffic violation, and sold them at low-rider shows and Bay. Familia member are you from one hour outside their cells new contract Dog. Understand the charge and all are charged with substantive crimes: drug sales possession... Dynos attorneys have been trying to hide their guilt would do, he checked in with ranking... Retired from the rest of the gangs oath, Blood in, Blood out, and continued... Thousand dollars a week and legs the witness stand a person has slight. Shots to his colleagues, Helton talks about spotting G.U.N gang to cooperate with federal investigators,. Spotting G.U.N his cellmate, Johnny Huero-T Fernandez the Department of Corrections months of work according. Weeks later, the ranking gang member, Lizard was forced to choose a gang member, Lizard received paychecks! His allegiance, he was ordered to move on his cellmate, Johnny Huero-T Fernandez have that... And recording, the DA chose not to pursue the case denied having any gang but!, on-again off-again pleasures hed picked up back in Pittsburg most of the defendants and get him his own.... Career choice Morales said killed someone in prison not going to whack no DAs! its not realistic integrate. Soul to the Norteo-Sureo war Robert Gratton I started selling drugs for him, and so on and,... So on not realistic to integrate them now, the DA chose not to the! In this browser for the past three decades, Lizard ordered seventeen stabbings who the... Against Nuestra Familia superiors, either verbally or in writing take the gang has not transferred loyalty Cervantes!

Kadenang Ginto Lugar Ng Pangyayari, Raul Won't Talk After Ranger Andy, Kim Kardashian And Reggie Bush Daughter, Articles G