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Gang leaders in federal hands
Some
fear Nuestra Familia members can broaden reach in U.S. prisons
Monterey County
Herald | September 9, 2005 Friday
Copyright 2005 Monterey County Herald. All Rights Reserved. Posted with
permission.
By JULIA REYNOLDS and GEORGE B. SANCHEZ;
Herald Staff Writers
SAN FRANCISCO --The intense federal prosecution of Nuestra Familia leaders
ended Thursday with a warning from the judge who has presided over the
case since 2000.
"This was a very expensive prosecution, involving millions,"
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer said after sentencing the gang's
top five leaders to life in federal prison.
Federal prison officials now, he said, need to make sure they keep the
gang from spreading throughout the country the way it spread though the
California prison system.
The responsibility for keeping the gang under control is now in the hands
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Breyer said.
Chained and surrounded by nine U.S. marshals in a specially modified courtroom,
James "Tibbs" Morado, 57, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez,
55, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, 50, Cornelio Tristan, 44, and
Tex Marin Hernandez, 50, were all given life terms in federal prison with
the condition that if they are ever released for any reason, they will
be returned to California prisons.
"At the time of the pleas, I voiced concerns" about the potential
for contamination of the federal system, Breyer said. "I think what
I said then is true today. It is a serious concern."
California authorities also had expressed fears that federal officials
might cut deals with the quintet that would enable some or all to be freed
in exchange for cooperation.
U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan praised 10 agencies for their roles in the
investigation, including the Monterey County Sheriff's Office and District
Attorney's Office and the Salinas Police Department.
Operation Black Widow began with the promise of crippling the Nuestra
Familia. In 2000, federal prosecutor Robert Mueller, now head of the FBI,
began the case in Salinas with 11 indictments, saying the arrests would
have "a dramatic impact on criminal activities" in Monterey
County and elsewhere.
This week, it all ended quietly and without fanfare. Only a few onlookers
attended Thursday's hearing.
The case had been at an impasse for nearly a year since the men agreed
to life sentences in federal custody after pleading guilty to a single
count of conspiring to conduct a criminal enterprise through a pattern
of racketeering.
Federal prosecutors had assumed the state would quickly commute the defendants'
life sentences so they could enter the federal system.
Some district attorneys protested the commutation, fearing the defendants
could enter federal witness protection programs or become eligible for
federal parole if it is reinstated.
Last week, the state's Supreme Court advised Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
to relinquish the gang leaders from life sentences in California as long
as federal authorities provided the necessary assurances.
On Wednesday, the governor signed commutation letters for each of the
five defendants.
Thursday's sentencing hearing began with a moment of tension when attorneys
realized the letters from the governor's office hadn't arrived. Once the
faxed letters were delivered by U.S. Attorney Edward Torpoco, the proceeding
went quickly.
Through their attorneys, the defendants asked for two changes to their
pre-sentencing reports, which Breyer agreed to do.
One was that they be described as "Mexican" or "Mexican/Indian"
instead of "White/Hispanic."
Another was a request to strike a description of the gang's communication
methods that said coded messages are delivered by the defendant's spouses
and girlfriends. Defense attorneys said the defendants felt the paragraph's
language might be used to keep family members from visiting them in the
future.
With the federal sentences finally handed down, the five are likely to
be transferred from a holding facility in Dublin to various federal prisons
within a few weeks.
Many of the original defendants were serving prisons terms in California
when they were indicted federally.
The "final five" leaders all had life sentences. They were locked
down for 23 hours a day in the security housing unit at Pelican Bay State
Prison. Despite the heaviest security of any California prison, they managed
to run one of the nation's most sophisticated criminal enterprises, issuing
orders for murders and other crimes on the streets via smuggled messages
or through inmates being paroled.
In an attempt to "cut off the head" of the gang, federal prosecutors
teamed up with state law enforcement agencies to launch Operation Black
Widow.
But some gang investigators, like Al Valdez of the Orange County District
Attorney's Office, say that putting the gang's hard-core leaders into
the federal system may broaden the gang's reach.
"They have plans and they have connections," he said. The gang
may or may not succeed in gaining a strong base in federal prisons, he
said, "but they certainly will attempt it."
Attorney Ann Moorman, who represents Rubalcaba, said the sentences were
the "right result for this case."
Because the case never went to trial, some questions that surfaced during
the years of waiting will never be answered.
One concern is the precise role played by criminal informants, whom defense
attorneys said were too active in the gang's criminal activities while
working as government witnesses. One key informant, Danny Hernandez, is
expected to be released from custody within weeks although he committed
numerous crimes with and without the knowledge of his FBI handlers during
the investigation, according to FBI reports and other documents.
Assistant United States Attorney Edward Torpoco defended the use of criminal
informants during Operation Black Widow.
"Law enforcement in the past has typically used whatever means it
can within the bounds of the law to combat organized crime," he said.
"The alternative was to do nothing and that was not an acceptable
alternative," Torpoco explained.
Another lingering question, as some investigators suspect, is whether
the five leaders played a role in the death of 20-year-old Crystal Morado
of Salinas, while they awaited trial. Crystal Morado married James Morado
while he was in the Dublin facility, and was found slain several months
later on Hecker Pass near Gilroy.
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