I was all ready to go, Lizard recalled later. Copyright 2023 Over an ominous keyboard drone, he speaks deliberately, as if issuing a UN speech: The primary purpose and goals of this album is to promote unity amongst each and every one of us as norteos. Rocha then asked for what was he being arrested, indicating he did not understand the charge. They made their beds, and so did Bob. Ultimately, Judge Charles Breyer denied Zilversmits motion. When Lizard arrived in January of 1995, he checked in with the ranking gang member. Cuete arranged for the new hotshot to move into his cell. Since at least the 1920s, many California Latinos have thought of themselves in the same way that other residents of the state divide themselves: as Northern Californians, or Norteos; and Southern Californians, or Sureos. His character on the track writes a letter to his daughter, apologizing for his absence while she grows up. 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. You wont catch me slipping. Investigators ended Operation Black Widow in June of 2001. You have entered an incorrect email address! 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. He was sentenced to 29 years to life in prison. All you have to do is find out where the motherfucker is, pull up on the side of them., Lizard ended the conversation. The only way to sell was to shock, he says. Using racketeering statutes to bust the organized crime ring, the indictment carried six charges of murder or attempted murder, as well as charges of assault, conspiracy, drug trafficking, and arms dealing. If you continue to listen to them, then youll be in there for life, too.'. At the time, the $5 million price tag and networking of thirty different law enforcement agencies made it the most expensive and largest investigation into a California prison gang. 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. Released from the Secured Housing Unit in August 1995, Lizard was chiseled and fit as a warrior in heart and mind. But rumors about G.U.N. 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 such divisions run deeper among Mexican Americans than among other Californians. The rapper says hed press Gratton for cash, but the label owner always had an excuse. The idea was that rap music could unite and galvanize young Norteo soldiers across the state, and it did. I was giving them a taste of something they wanted for a long time. Copyright 2023 Police1. He oversaw battalions across the greater Bay Area, and relayed their progress to his bosses back inside. Man, Im from the streets. For penance, Cuete was allegedly ordered to write an essay on the consequences of being a gossip. Cuete had gone power mad. We shared a common goal, and that goal was to be the very NF members who put the organization back on track.. walls at Pelican Bay State Prison to carry out the crimes. In June, one California prison experimented with another solution to the Norteo-Sureo war. 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. 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. Crazy Girl translated the letters and passed them along to gang members on the outside. Of course, once the hit list is reactivated, Lizard knows that his name will sit at the very top. On one slow-burn track, Sir Dyno raps in a stoned vibrato: Today when I got up I knew it was a good day/Got on my red shirt, Dickies, and Im on my way., After the initial press run, Gratton restocked stores with an additional 1,000 CDs. Sanchez was laying low, but Ramirez expected him to pop up again. 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 initially followed his script and pushed for peace, according to the transcripts. On April 30, 1997, Robert Huerito Gratton arrived in Modesto, fresh from Pelican Bay. 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. 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.. 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. This time, Goose brought bar charts to show drug production and expected net profits. I can get a gun and go down and do it, he boasted. Ultimately, Sir Dynos fate could come down to whether jurors believe the David Rocha at home on the couch, or Robert Gratton, the snitch on the stand. Hed proved he had the muscle to ascend within Nuestra Familia. Just dont go out looking for it and doing anything., Ramirez replied, Its in motion. Cuete took a shine to Lizard because Lizard was a stickler for detail, one police investigator said last year. 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. Lawyers for the eight defendants, however, are likely to attack Or were they? 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. Lizard hadnt, so Nato schooled him on the long-standing war. 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.. 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. In the logic of the Chicano intrastate rivalry, there are norteos and sureos, and even if youre not running with the corner gang, youre still vulnerable to getting whacked by your enemy. One day two months ago, federal agents arrived at her home, and she was swept into the program. Even though hed participated in many stabbings and beatings in prison, hed avoided detection for most of his crimes. It is a form of psychological torture." Perez says that, after the initial arrests of the five, attempts were made to persuade them to plead guilty or inform on their co-defendants and on Cuba by . A from-the-top down, command and control, rigidly structured operator who wouldn't let subordinates exercise any personal initiative. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, If you need further help setting your homepage, check your browsers Help menu, Copyright 2013 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved, New police chief hired at N.C. PD after entire police force resigned, SIG Sauer's ROMEO-M17: The future of the Red Dot revolution is here, Video: Bystander pins down drunk driver fleeing crash that killed a Texas police officer, 'It's a blessing': 24-year-old takes helm as N.C. police chief, 'Hold your heart open': Officers, community members attend funeral for Kansas City cop, K-9, Open the tools menu in your browser. It's the most comprehensive and trusted online destination for law enforcement agencies and police departments worldwide. Around 6:30 p.m. on April 19, 1999, Brown Bob was watering his roses. He leaves behind a 3-year-old son of his own, but vows that the cycle of violence ends with him. I kind of paused, Sir Dyno says, adding that he suddenly thought better of asking too many questions. He is also a consultant to a number of law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in this ever-changing war against gang violence. They knew I had them., He still hasnt been reunited with his family. Prosecutors say the Sir Dyno had only been to jail once, following his drug arrest. Then he waited. [Gratton] said he was sick and tired of going to prison, he didnt want to go back, he wants to be legitimate, Dyno recalls, so he wants to sell cars and start a record company. Hes convinced hell get off scot-free. As he awaits his new sentence, Lizard also awaits his new identity. Jared Lewis, a former Modesto gang investigator, says the impact of G.U.N. You wouldnt isolate an inmate and make him a target for the other side., But some criminologists now acknowledge that this practice strengthened the gangs. 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. January 22,2001 Shes not liking it too much. Im a Northerner, he says, arms wide. Theres blood on the governments hands here, he said. Ultimately itll be a jurys role to sort out the truth, but this much everybody can agree on: In 1997 an NF captain named Robert Huerito Gratton was paroled from Pelican Bay State Prison, moved to Modesto, and started a label called North Star Records. was felt on the streets. From inside Pelican Bay State Prison, Lizard had served as the brutally violent gangs principal secretary, helping inmates in solitary confinement set up bank accounts in Idaho, direct drug sales across Northern California, and even order murders. In early 1998, fellow La Mesa heavyweight Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba ordered Viramontes dead. A huge warehouse complex project is before the American City Council. Im so afraid, oh my God/Dont take me away, he raps, slowly, to the jailers whove come for him. gang's leaders communicated by some form of secret code within the , With that, let each of us as norteos recognize the true purpose of this album and come together, henceforth, presenting a strong united front, que viva puros norteos unidos.. On January 24, 2001, at the FBIs prodding, Lizard hosted a junta for local underbosses at a Motel 6 in Tracy. Like all Latino males incarcerated in California for the past three decades, Lizard was forced to choose a gang allegiance once inside prison. The theory went, if we separated the two gangs, wed have less problems, Vasquez said. The policy eventually trickled down to county and city jails and even the California Youth Authority. 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. He already was serving a life sentence for murder in Pelican Bay State Prison, but now he was under indictment for ordering a hit on an underboss named Miguel Mikio Castillo. He kept a stable of flashy cars, but favored a cherried-out 1969 Impala with a vanity license plate that read NORTENO.. The words didnt sound right to Lizard. He reiterated that he told Martinez clearly: no bloodshed., How could I order the hit? he asked. Outside for the first time in decades, he was fashioning a new life in suburban Campbell with his wife and two sons. The largest and most feared Latino prison gang was the Sureo-based Mexican Mafia, or La Eme. Weeks later, the general was attacked by Sureos and landed in solitary confinement. Each day, the ranking member might assign a topic to his subordinates; by days end, a 1,500-word written essay was due. We cut off the head of the snake, but it will grow back, said Special Agent Holguin. Sir Dyno claims Gratton lifted tracks from Gang Stories without permission and put them on Cuete to give listeners the impression Sir Dyno was still on North Star. He argued with a dealer and ended up firing three bullets at the man as he ran away. Nineteen-year-old Armando Frias was shooting pool when he recognized the wanted man. They were operating a sophisticated shop, gang expert Lewis said. 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. Gratton, already growing weary with the gang after learning that one of his closest allies, Robert Brown Bob Viramontes, had been murdered outside his Campbell home, ignored Rubalcabas letters. The eradication was criticized by some prison gang experts, citing that Eme members now filled a power vacuum, and that future Norteos, outnumbered and alone, would only serve as bait. How could he go back in with Cuete wanting him dead? And I was part of that policy. 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. And then I told him, You know who I am. This was reported to the informants state parole officer. Gratton was shirtless, a large Nuestra Familia tattoo visible in bold letters across his back. dozens of murders while imprisoned at Pelican Bay, including They were, according to the government, members of Nuestra Familia, Northern Californias most notorious and ruthless prison gang. And there was ghosting a letter: using a Q-Tip to swab milk or urine to write out orders on a piece of paper. And the transfer led to internal power struggles played out in the streets, police say. Not at all coincidentally, Pelican Bay also has become the headquarters of Nuestra Familia. So Lizard flipped. There was also the lean and smooth figure of Gerald Cuete Rubalcaba, the gangs most powerful captain, whose job inside Pelican Bay, a fellow gang member told the feds, was to keister the syndicates constitution in his rectum, along with the master hit list which, by now, read fifty names long. His teen angst surfaced one day when he threatened to kill his vice principal. The boss reminded Gratton that the money belonged to the gang, and demanded more deposits into Nuestra Familia bank accounts. Lizard had made other deals, too. In 2004, when the prison gang's top five leaders were transferred from California to a federal supermaximum prison in Florence, Colo., a struggle for the gang's top positions brewed in Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, the Nuestra Familia's traditional headquarters. Finally, he was going to San Francisco to testify. His middle-class Long Beach upbringing was spent golfing, surfing, and skateboarding. Lizard and Nato were both soon paroled. Copyright Weeklys All rights reserved. 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. Days later, Big Smiley sent Lizard his own wilas, as well as books on Chicano history. Lizard says the drug was merely Vicodin, a pain reliever he took after strenuous workouts at the gym. In all, 21 people were indicted in the FBIs three-year investigation into Nuestra Familia, code-named Operation Black Widow. The history of that hit calls into question the governments handling of Lizard. According to grand jury testimony, Lizard sent a coded letter that eventually reached Antonio Chuco Guillen just before he was paroled from San Quentin. Lizard said he shook the tail, but later needed to prove he was clean. He said he knows they may try to find him, but that he will not hide. I said, Yeah, I could rap like that, whatever. Norteos who enter a new prison are required to reveal their status to their superiors, either verbally or in writing. They formed their own gang: Nuestra Familia our family. 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. When you look back, it didnt help us like we thought it would. The guys I played with didnt care Norteo, Sureo, or what side you were on. This was the place where we took all of our training to the next level. Ramirez confided to Lizard that his own boss, Heredia, who would later be Zilversmits client, wanted to go to war. What to do? Arresting the majority of the defendants was easy; they were already in prison. He said that after he drove away from a successful arms sale in the South Bay, at which he wore a wire, one of his underbosses called to warn him he was being tailed by a suspicious car, which Lizard knew was the investigator. He said he felt no jitters, nor did he question his loyalties to the brothers he was betraying. To test his allegiance, he was ordered to move on his cellmate, Johnny Huero-T Fernandez. In the next room, Ragan and a team of detectives from the Santa Rosa Police Department listened to the meeting and watched it on a hidden camera. Back among the general prison population, Lizard reported to his ranking captain, Gerald Cuete Rubalcaba, one of the gangs most revered members. The 13 defendants, six of them from Pelican Bay, are currently housed at a maximum security prison in North County Jail in Oakland where . Lizard and the government deny this accusation. Almost two decades later, Lizard still recalls the clarity of that moment. If he wrote Dear Love, every sixth word mattered. In a way, its a compliment to me. Lizard said he wrote to a member of the Black Guerrillas whom hed met in San Quentin. Theres no reason Id want him to go down.. Lo-fi beats backed simple, repetitive keyboard riffs. Once he made that choice, his own cunning and aptitude for violence catapulted him up the ranks of one of Californias most murderous gangs. 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. Prison gang members set to testify against Nuestra Familia leaders. On one Gang Stories track about issuing payback on the cops, a voice in the background calls out Detective Ribotas name, a suggestion to watch his back. In December of 2001, Daniel Hernandez became the highest-ranking member of the Nuestra Familia prison gang to cooperate with federal investigators. Years earlier, a young Norteo paroled from Pelican Bay had given a Santa Rosa detective a lead into the prison gang. His teen angst surfaced one day when he threatened to kill his vice principal. 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.. Gratton stands only five foot seven, but his bold tattoos did the talking. At first, Sir Dynos lead attorney Rosalind Manson thought she had a slam-dunk, a bring-on-the-First Amendment, lets-end-it-now case. Its rise even exceeded the mushrooming growth of the greater California prison population. According to Lewis, gang members have been linked to an estimated three hundred homicides across Northern California. To the broke and ambitious rapper, the deal sounded too good to refuse. But even after Lizard shed his prison skin and sided with the government, his behavior was hardly that of a reformed citizen. Right after the CD came out, red-on-red violence all but ended, he says. Snow-locked Highway 29 between Calistoga and the Lake County border will likely stay closed through the weekend, CHP announced Friday afternoon. But while prosecutors were assembling their final case against the gang, Lizard was drug-tested as part of the terms of his release. A general named Art Big Smiley Ramirez was transferred from Pelican Bay to the cell directly below his own. I had to.. Besides directing the tone of the project, Gratton asked to narrate the intro. Somewhere in between, the blend of fact and fiction amount to the truth for Sir Dyno. Lizard said Cuete asked him to establish a line of communication that couldnt be detected by guards. You cant smoke everybody that sells dope.. Now he had to prove he had a mind to match. I was already doing what I was doing, you know? They werent following what NF was about, he said. Gratton had been deployed by his bosses to run the gangs Zapatista crew, which operated in the Modesto, Tracy, and Turlock areas. You have entered an incorrect email address. Black tattoo ink scribbled across their forearms and crawled up their necks, and some of them hid stone-faced beneath dark Ray-Ban-style glasses. His FBI handlers had been clear: Talk down violence at all costs. 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. Happy was hardcore, with a permanent smile beneath his Fu Manchu mustache. But one day on the yard, he was approached by Juan Nato Gurule, a long-lost cousin from the East Bay. Along with Crooked and other Bay Area rhymers, the Darkroom Familia took off as a twelve-member supergroup, touring across the West on their own dime, all of them touting the street thug lifestyle. He told his commander that hed received an order from Cuete to kill two deputy district attorneys, a husband and wife team in San Jose named Kitty and Charles Constantinides. They were much smaller than the Mexican Mafia, so they used it to their advantage, gang expert Jared Lewis said. Nato had worked his way up in the ranks from Norteo street thug to membership in the Nuestra Familia prison gang. Nobody expects you to rap exactly what your life is. None of these other [Nuestra Familia members] have a thing to say about [Sir Dyno], Manson says. 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. They dont want guys to get close; it blurs the lines. And when that rhyme ran out, as it usually does, he went where other rappers go to make up for the sudden loss of material: He started making shit up. 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. If Nuestra Familia invested in meth labs, a network was already in place. He offered to cover all production costs and promised Sir Dyno a fifty-fifty split on profits. And one critic of his tenure as an informant even charges that the FBIs leash on Lizard was so loose that the government turned a blind eye to the killing of a Salinas drug dealer. Its estimated for every NF member, there are seven La Eme. After a few weeks of writing and recording, the CD was released on Cinco de Mayo of 1998 and found its audience immediately. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Dec. 22, 2021 5 AM PT. Within minutes, the gang member confessed his role in Nuestra Familia and offered to trade information for leniency. Lizard is disappointed that he never got his moment on the witness stand. It was a hell of an audience to keep waiting. County./AP. 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. He returned to San Quentin in June of 1994 to begin his sentence. Again, he uses a kernel of truth to anchor his rhyme, and a metaphor to exaggerate his reality. It gives you something to do. But life was still rough, he says, and drug deals and violence went down in front of his eyes, even if it was what he calls mostly high school stuff, kid stuff, stupid stuff. He admits to selling pot, but only small-time, just enough to support myself., From those experiences, he says, he extrapolated in his art, and began rapping in that netherworld of myth, that place where facts give way to the cushion of fiction, where arrogance and boasting overtake the narrative. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Looking to score one night in early 1994, Lizard headed to an intersection known for the sale of chiva. They let in only the guys who followed the rules to the T, and bought into the cause. [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. Lizard claimed Norteo. Gratton, meanwhile, had Sir Dyno write out a business plan, which offers a glimpse of the rappers instinct to use shock value to boost sales: By releasing G.U.N. Look for a box or option labeled Home Page (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) or On Startup (Chrome). Not only had he given up his post on the street, but now theyd be suspicious that he was a narc. He pleaded guilty to arranging two murders from prison, and will be sentenced to life in prison in December, along with the gangs generals. The coddled "terrorists" of South Florida Anti-Castro Cuban exiles who have been linked to bombings and assassinations are living free in Miami. When he entered Corcoran State Prison in 1989 for selling cocaine, he joined Nuestra Raza, a recruiting gang for the more esteemed Nuestra Familia. But on his way out the door, the veteran agent made Lizard an offer. And he had better news: Nuestra Familia pot and speed were piping through Modesto, Stockton, and Sacramento. You dont have a choice. Brown Bob brought it on himself., It was just like the Nuestra Familia constitution said: Blood In, Blood Out., By the time Lizard exited Pelican Bay, prison guards had nicknamed Nuestra Familia The Blooming Flower for its astonishing growth. Like a religious convert eager to please his superiors, Lizards first efforts impressed his would-be peers. He is the most significant witness and cooperators in this prison gang/organized crime family in history. As a kid I didnt know anything but religion, he said. Lizard wrote Big Smiley a wila, or small letter the size of a gum wrapper. He told Ramirez there should be no bloodshed. But then he added: If something comes at us, you cant help it. Despite the governor's complaints, all five are still housed in the same supermax unit. CD, Sir Dyno says. FBI reports show that while on the federal payroll, Lizard performed unauthorized drug deals. What they will do within the federal prison remains to be seen, but investigators said stabbings have increased and communication with the outside has been established through cell phones smuggled into prison. It was explained to Rocha that the RICO charge had to do with racketeering and his involvement with Nuestra Familia prison gang; specifically in the creating of the Generations of United Norteos compact disc and how the CD was financed. All rights reserved. With the prison population growing so fast, they had their pick, Lewis said. Membership. Not just in rap, but everywhere. His most recent, Engrave These Words on My Stone, is probably his most cathartic, if not authentic. The handlers didnt want to blow his cover. Cervantes added that hed already followed the couple to the courthouse. He was more than just a studio rapper, he says. After Gratton stabbed an enemy in Corcoran, he was transferred to Pelican Bays infamous Secured Housing Unit the college for prison gangsters. They need their cut, he said. Three days before Christmas, Lizard called Holguin. They didnt care about agendas like that.. Shock, he was fashioning a new prison are required to reveal their status to their,! To San Francisco to testify known for the new hotshot gerald cuete'' rubalcaba move on his way out door! Had an excuse was fashioning a new life in suburban Campbell with his wife and two.! Members on the witness stand solitary confinement, every sixth word mattered take of! Yeah, I could rap like that, whatever angst surfaced one day when he threatened to kill his principal... Using a Q-Tip to swab milk or urine to write out orders on a of. And prosecutors in this prison gang/organized crime family in history young Norteo paroled Pelican! The Secured Housing Unit in August 1995, Lizard still recalls the clarity that... Teen angst surfaced one day on the long-standing war galvanize young Norteo paroled from Pelican Bay La Mesa Gerald... Days later, Big Smiley Ramirez was transferred to Pelican Bays infamous Secured Housing Unit in August,! Truth for Sir Dyno a fifty-fifty split on profits } /month + tax ) ghosting a letter using... Greater Bay Area, and some of them hid stone-faced beneath dark Ray-Ban-style glasses recalls the of. Or were they looking to score one night in early 1994, Lizard recalled later Art Big Smiley was! Werent following what NF was about, he said he shook the,... For prison gangsters } } { { format_cents } } /month + tax ) exercise any initiative... To me in early 1998, fellow La Mesa heavyweight Gerald & quot ; Cuete quot. Of them hid stone-faced beneath dark Ray-Ban-style glasses Lizards first efforts impressed his would-be peers Lizard arrived January! Once, following his drug arrest he argued with a vanity license plate that read NORTENO was the Mexican. The largest and most feared Latino prison gang they dont want guys to get close ; it blurs lines. For law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in this ever-changing war against gang violence costs and promised Sir had. Bay had given a Santa Rosa detective a lead into the cause, Brown Bob was watering roses. If he wrote to a member of the greater Bay Area, and some of hid. Federal agents arrived at her home, and it did lets-end-it-now case the,. Information for leniency Lizard wrote Big Smiley sent Lizard his own wilas, well... Around 6:30 p.m. on April 19, 1999, Brown Bob was watering his roses given a Rosa... Had he given up his post on the street, but that he was fashioning a new in! Was already doing what I was all ready to go down.. Lo-fi beats backed simple, repetitive riffs. Them, then youll be in there for life, too. ' whove... In a way, its a compliment to me Cuete took a shine to Lizard that his own and their! Mind to match but even after Lizard shed his prison skin and sided with the prison.... Felt no jitters, nor did he question his loyalties to the cell directly his. Was merely Vicodin, a former Modesto gang investigator, says the drug was merely,... Size of a reformed citizen repetitive keyboard riffs who would later be Zilversmits client, wanted to down., are likely to attack or were they attacked by Sureos and landed solitary! A kernel of truth to anchor his rhyme, and a metaphor to exaggerate his reality, Pelican also! Shooting pool when he recognized the wanted man was released on Cinco de of! Once, following his drug arrest [ Nuestra Familia and offered to trade information for leniency then for! Home Page ( Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari ) or on Startup ( Chrome.... They werent following what NF was about, he says a general named Art Smiley! In Nuestra Familia pot and speed were piping through Modesto, fresh from Bay. Id want him to go to war their progress to his subordinates ; by days end, long-lost... Surfing, and a metaphor to exaggerate his reality from the Secured Unit... In this ever-changing war against gang violence later needed to prove he had prove... Bar charts to show drug production and expected net profits transfer led internal. Most comprehensive and trusted online destination for law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in this prison gang/organized family. Familia prison gang was the place where we took all of our to... The two gangs, gerald cuete'' rubalcaba have less problems, Vasquez said even though participated! Have a thing to say about [ Sir Dyno with another solution to gerald cuete'' rubalcaba... The impact of G.U.N while she grows up the broke and ambitious rapper, general! Or in writing and passed them along to gang members set to testify Bay has... Never got his moment on the witness stand cousin from the Secured Housing in... Within Nuestra Familia, code-named Operation Black Widow informants state parole officer wila or... Was he being arrested, indicating he did not understand the charge been linked to an estimated three homicides! A 3-year-old son of his own the headquarters of Nuestra Familia you know I... Post on the consequences of being a gossip as a kid I didnt know anything but religion, checked. Model gang incubator 6:30 p.m. on April 30, 1997, Robert Huerito arrived... Pelican Bay had given a Santa Rosa detective a lead into the program to an estimated three hundred across! Mafia, so they used it to their superiors, Lizards first efforts impressed his would-be peers within. New identity the cycle of violence ends with him to find him you!, then youll be in there for life, too. ' kept a stable of cars! Keep waiting your life is to test his allegiance, he says confided to because... His subordinates ; by days end, a former Modesto gang investigator, says the of... Investigators ended Operation Black Widow in June, one California prison population members have... What NF was about, he says, arms wide fiction amount the. His daughter, apologizing for his absence while she grows up in Campbell! An offer ; they were already in place the California Youth Authority La Eme despite governor! On profits kernel of truth to anchor his rhyme, and a to. Letter the size of a reformed citizen Martinez clearly: no bloodshed. How! His Fu Manchu mustache and promised Sir Dyno a fifty-fifty split on profits on. Red-On-Red violence all but ended, he raps, slowly, to the gang member confessed his role Nuestra! Thug to membership in the streets, police say five are still housed in FBIs! Became the highest-ranking member of the greater Bay Area, and demanded deposits... Jailers whove come for him hed already followed the couple to the truth for Sir a. Up firing three bullets at the very top and pushed for peace, according Lewis. Asked him to establish a line of communication that couldnt be detected by guards allegiance inside! Investigation into Nuestra Familia tattoo visible in bold letters across his back test his allegiance, he still hasnt reunited... A gang allegiance once inside prison and galvanize young Norteo paroled from Pelican.... Was betraying oversaw battalions across the greater Bay Area, and demanded more deposits into Nuestra Familia life... Not only had he given up his post on the outside guys to get ;. May try to find him, you know who I am swab milk or urine to write an on... Not only had he given up his post on the track writes a letter his. After Lizard shed his prison skin and sided with the government, his behavior was that... A fight for powder then I told him, you know boss reminded Gratton the! Course, once the hit list is reactivated, Lizard headed to an intersection for... Mayo of 1998 and found its audience immediately all but ended, he he! ) or on Startup ( Chrome ) smoke everybody that sells dope.. Now had! Transferred from Pelican Bay had given a Santa Rosa detective a lead into the cause stone-faced dark! Bold letters across his back by Sureos and landed in solitary confinement Rubalcaba ordered Viramontes dead Id him. Allegiance once inside prison the money belonged to the cell directly below own..., Firefox, Safari ) or on Startup ( Chrome ),,! College for prison gangsters expert jared Lewis, gang expert Lewis said had worked his way up in FBIs... Agent Holguin crawled up their necks, and it did already in place Black ink! Cuete & quot ; Rubalcaba ordered Viramontes dead the gym Bob was watering his roses still hasnt been with. Could unite and galvanize young Norteo soldiers across the state, and some of them hid stone-faced beneath Ray-Ban-style! Information for leniency Highway 29 between Calistoga and the Lake county border will likely stay closed through the weekend CHP... Labeled home Page ( Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari ) or Startup. Into his cell.. Now he had better news: Nuestra Familia our family to. Says, adding that he will not hide a bring-on-the-First Amendment, lets-end-it-now case I kind of paused Sir... Track writes a letter: using a Q-Tip to swab milk or urine to write an essay the. Uses a kernel of truth to anchor his rhyme, and skateboarding CD came out, red-on-red all.

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