gerald cuete'' rubalcaba

With most prison gangs who try and use the mail, there’s a big lag time — things get lost, hits get reversed — so there’s a lot of miscommunication. It gives you a sense of purpose. For this outburst, prison administrators shipped Lizard off to Pelican Bay State Prison — the last stop for riders. A typical Norteño outfit might include a red belt, red shoes, and red shoelaces. Down one tricep it reads “East” and down the other, “Bay.” On the side of his shaved head he has a dragon next to the words “Convicted by Insanity.”. Permanent short link for Go Daddy.com Just ez2.me. “I was all ready to go,” Lizard recalled later. Paleto Bay, San Andreas, is the birthplace of John Steinbeck and the setting for his epic masterpiece, East of Eden, but it is also the home of Nuestra Familia, one of the most violent gangs in America. At Lizard’s behest, Crazy Girl opened two bank accounts and made deposits from gang soldiers who were required to remit 25 percent of their profits. After three decades, Nuestra Familia is now an institution on Northern California streets and is spreading rapidly through the suburbs of the Central Valley, gang investigator Lewis said. Lizard’s letters were sent to code breakers at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. I wanted my brothers to eventually put me in a position that would enable me to push the Familia into the future, on a profound level.”. For the next three months, he “made his bones” among Norteños by slashing Sureño inmates, brothers he’d once shouldered with. When the state-of-the-art super-max penitentiary opened in 1989, built exclusively for the state’s 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. These Familianos could be considered the NF's board of directors … A grand jury indictment was in the works. After severa… Articles & Shopping. Orders from the generals were arriving on the streets within weeks, if not days. If it read “Hello Love!,” it was every eighth word. Two months later, the leaders met again at the Los Robles Lodge in Santa Rosa. 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. walls at Pelican Bay State Prison to carry out the crimes. Gerald Cuete Rubalcaba Sir Dyno Death Sir Dyno 320kbps Darkroom Familia Sir Dyno. Its rise even exceeded the mushrooming growth of the greater California prison population. “Or better yet, two prosecuting attorneys.”, Cervantes persisted. Justin Berton, East Bay Express (Emeryville, CA), Oct. 20. “You won’t catch me slipping.” Investigators ended Operation Black Widow in June of 2001. For now, at least, the final guilty pleas appeared to have pruned back the Blooming Flower. < First Data/Western Union Sued For Immigration Forum Assault, Islam and Independence in Spain and Italy, Could the Last Person to Leave the Street Please Turn the Light Out, Slightly Woozier Thoughts on the Impossibility of Justice. . In 2000, a yard riot launched by gang members ended after 250 inmates were injured, many of them with stab wounds. After sentencing, leadership of the organization will be dispersed across the country, while new members look to fill the void. Ultimately, Judge Charles Breyer denied Zilversmit’s motion. He pleaded guilty to arranging two murders from prison, and will be sentenced to life in prison in December, along with the gang’s generals. Norteño emblems and clothing are based on the color red. Ramirez bragged to Lizard that he’d 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. Meanwhile, Lizard received government paychecks totaling more than $52,000 for his seven months of work, according to FBI reports. Or were they? Nuestra Familia prestige is now generational, passed from father to son, uncle to nephew. Lizard also followed protocol and reported his arrival to the prison’s ranking gang member, Daniel “Wino” Perez. But Lizard’s exploits show how prison policies adopted to control gangs such as Nuestra Familia may actually have helped them bloom. But government agents said that Brown Bob actually had pulled away from the gang. On January 24, 2001, at the FBI’s prodding, Lizard hosted a junta for local underbosses at a Motel 6 in Tracy. Ramirez confided to Lizard that his own boss, Heredia, who would later be Zilversmit’s client, wanted “to go to war.” What to do? Even outside prison, members were expected to remain loyal to the gang. According to an FBI report, Cuete and his cohorts have continued to manage the gang while awaiting transfer to federal prisons from Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail. Former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernández, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristán and Tex Marín Hernández. . ‘Where are you from?’ When you tell them, they direct you to that side of the prison. Napa’s new card room, Ace & Vine, opened for business this past week. If you wish to change your alliance, you will still have to prove to Norteños you are worthy, and the Sureños will want to kill you for switching sides.”. Who Are the Enemies of Western Civilization. The idea was that rap music could unite and galvanize young Norteño soldiers across the state, and it did. Even now, he talks about the incident with the distance that soldiers put between themselves and their wartime deeds. 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. Lizard recalled feeling nothing in the aftermath of the hit. Back among the general prison population, Lizard reported to his ranking captain, Gerald “Cuete” Rubalcaba, one of the gang’s most revered members. He told Ramirez there should be “no bloodshed.” But then he added: “If something comes at us, you can’t help it. He did not return letters seeking comment for this article. “I wanted to get out of there, to come to California and do what I needed to do.”. Any Nuestra Familia member who betrayed his fellow carnals was subject to article two, section five of the group’s constitution: “AN AUTOMATIC DEATH SENTENCE WILL BE PUT ON FAMILIANO THAT TURNS TRAITOR, COWARD, OR DESSERTER” [sic]. Then Lizard got lucky. 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. They were Gerald “Cuete” Rubalcaba, my pal Lizard Hernandez, and Robert “Huero” Gratton. Bakersfield was the traditional dividing point, but with the crush of immigration, the numerically superior Sureños pushed the demarcation line further north, first to Fresno and then to Modesto. Lizard said he attacked Huero-T as he slept, pummeling him into a bloody mess until guards pulled him off. “He is the most significant witness and cooperators in this prison gang/organized crime family in history. The five who'll be spending life in a Federal penitentiary are Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, James Morado, Cornelio "Comi" Tristan, Joseph Raymond "Pinky" Hernandez, and Tex "Terrible T" Hernandez. Lizard said he shook the tail, but later needed to prove he was clean. the credibility of the witnesses — convicted felons who made deals The history of that hit calls into question the government’s handling of Lizard. In April 19, 1999, NF member Santos "Badboy" Burnias and two NR members David "Dreamer" Escamilla and Albert "Beto" Avila stole a Ford Explorer and headed for Palo Santo Drive in Campbell, California where Brown Bob was living. Next time for Go Daddy.com: Easy to you just www.ez2.me. To test his allegiance, he was ordered to move on his cellmate, Johnny “Huero-T” Fernandez. Membership. Cuete and Lizard proved just how far their reach extended in early 1999. If Nuestra Familia invested in meth labs, a network was already in place. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. Daniel “Lizard” Hernandez was awakened by an FBI agent at 4 a.m. a few weeks ago. But one day on the yard, he was approached by Juan “Nato” Gurule, a long-lost cousin from the East Bay. The red line also called for (NF) lieutenant David Cervantes to be put on retirement status. . Case levels over the next couple of weeks may determine if restrictions can be reduced on a variety of businesses, including restaurants. 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. 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. Rubalcaba is accused in court papers of ordering Like all Latino males incarcerated in California for the past three decades, Lizard was forced to choose a gang allegiance once inside prison. Otherwise, he was free to go about his business. Nortenos are now beginning to answer for themselves and not pay tax to anyone. 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 syndicate's constitution in his rectum, along with the master hit list which, by now, read fifty names long. Salinas underboss Alberto Larez estimated that over the last ten years he’d sent Cuete and the generals “40, 45 thousand dollars.”. He told his commander that he’d received an order from Cuete to kill two deputy district attorneys, a husband and wife team in San Jose named Kitty and Charles Constantinides. Then, several weeks later, a Pelican Bay investigator intercepted a letter penned by Lizard to one of his superiors. Dyno dyno.com Dyno drains. At any one time, an estimated two to three hundred members are incarcerated there, including the gang’s top three generals. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. Norteño emblems and clothing are based on the color red. This was reported to the informant’s state parole officer. . It’s the life story of a petty hood who reached his full criminal potential only afterentering the California prison system. Police are wanting to talk to anyone who might have information about the incident on Feb. 18 outside apartments on Soscol Avenue. Since this time the Nortenos have broken off of being under the NF. . The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. One of the suspects hit his victim over the head with a catalytic converter after being caught in the act, Napa Police said. As he awaits his new sentence, Lizard also awaits his new identity. “This was the place where we took all of our training to the next level. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. 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. Articles & Shopping. Lizard had made other deals, too. Around 6:30 p.m. on April 19, 1999, Brown Bob was watering his roses. So far as you can trust anyone in a gang, he’d trusted Cuete. All of these directives were channeled through him. “You gotta understand, all these guys made their own choices,” he said. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. . A man in Napa who left his keys in the car watched a woman steal it, but police caught her shortly thereafter. Smiley replied that it was true, but not to worry — no one was moving on it. Released from the Secured Housing Unit in August 1995, Lizard was chiseled and fit as a warrior in heart and mind. To the FBI’s delight, he also boasted about his existing Ecstasy ring, which was clearing a few thousand dollars a week. Gerald Marvin Rubalcaba of Visalia, age 43, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance Violation Parole: Felony Reckless Driving Evading P.O. 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 … Outside for the first time in decades, he was fashioning a new life in suburban Campbell with his wife and two sons. They knew I had them.”, He still hasn’t been reunited with his family. Retrieved on 2008-3-22.Modern Prison Gangs. dozens of murders while imprisoned at Pelican Bay, including Still, the gang has been dealt a serious wound with Lizard’s help. Lizard was paroled to the outside world on May 18, 2000. Lizard claimed Norteño. But on his way out the door, the veteran agent made Lizard an offer. Over the next four years, Lizard and Cuete masterminded and penned more than three thousand letters, according to an FBI report. Lizard also sent Crazy Girl a decoding list, known in FBI documents as “The Salutation Code.” In each letter he wrote, the greeting unlocked a key to the rest of the letter. Please subscribe to keep reading. This time, Goose brought bar charts to show drug production and expected net profits. The shooters blasted Brown Bob with seven shots to his arms, chest, back, and legs. But Wino rejected Lizard. In his role as head of security, Cuete was responsible for stashing the group’s original constitution among his legal papers, and “keistering” the gang’s master hit list in his rectum, according to FBI documents. Crazy Girl translated the letters and passed them along to gang members on the outside. But while prosecutors were assembling their final case against the gang, Lizard was drug-tested as part of the terms of his release. The justices will decide whether prisoners are denied their constitutional rights when forced to cell with another inmate based on race; a ruling could force administrators to consider full integration. According to prison officials, gang leaders could arrange such deals by offering to keep the peace. And with an ever-increasing prison population that only assures the continued growth of it and other gangs, the very segregation that bolstered the gangs’ strength appears irrevocable. The CD had been funded in 1998 from Pelican Bay prison by the top Nuestra Familia general, Gerald “Cuete” Rubalcaba. Need a drains expert? Former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernández, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristán and Tex Marín Hernández. After he was expelled, his parents sent him back north to live with an aunt in Pittsburg, where he continued to carouse. Need a drains expert? Just don’t go out looking for it and doing anything.”, Ramirez replied, “It’s in motion. Almost two decades later, Lizard still recalls the clarity of that moment. The words didn’t sound right to Lizard. The strings of evidence crossed, and the investigation grew, joined by the FBI and dubbed Operation Black Widow. And most of it hung on Lizard. Holguin was well known to Nuestra Familia members — he’d interviewed hundreds of them during his three decades in the system. As Chuco watched from up the street, David “Dreamer” Escamilla and Santos “Bad Boy” Burnias charged their target and chased him into his garage. When Lizard arrived in January of 1995, he checked in with the ranking gang member. Daniel Hernandez sends a red line to several imprisoned (NF) leaders recommeding the impeachment of (NF) General Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba and lieutenant Sheldon Villanueva. But the state prison guards’ union and correctional officials have argued that to mix inmates now would only bring more violence. Lizard said he was forced into performing the unauthorized drug deals after an investigator from Santa Clara County nearly blew his cover. I was showing them everything.”, Today, Lizard said he flipped because he was tired of people pushing their own agendas. His FBI handlers had been clear: Talk down violence at all costs. But if we want to prepare these people for integration to society, maybe we need to integrate them in the prison first, get them used to living with different peoples.”. In hindsight, the move only solidified the stature of race-based gangs, said Daniel Vasquez, a former San Quentin prison warden and gang investigator. Looking to score one night in early 1994, Lizard headed to an intersection known for the sale of chiva. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. • A trial-setting hearing will be held Dec. 1 for the lead defendant, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba and James "Tibbs" Morado, Cornelio "Corny" Tristan, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Tex Marin Hernandez, Daniel "Stork" Perez, Alberto "Bird" Larez and Henry "Happy" Cervantes. Inside Corcoran State Prison, Lizard reported to the ranking commander and heard some troubling news. Lizard returned to the Bay Area and worked closely with FBI Agent Sean Ragan. So Lizard flipped. . He also was responsible for ensuring the battalions on the streets were holding fast against Sureños and sending drug profits to help pay the legal bills of their incarcerated generals. “They were drooling,” Lizard later wrote. SANTA ROSA — Several members of the notorious Nuestra Familia That was enough to send Holguin back to Lizard’s hotel room to make an arrest. Lizard said Bob was marked because he’d stuck his nose into matters that didn’t concern him. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. They spent the next two days debriefing their new informant. “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. “This was our college,” Lizard said. Zilversmit said the feds were preoccupied with preserving their investigation instead of saving lives. Florida Department of Corrections. “We are not going to whack no DAs!”. He told them about the codes, the phony law firm, the bank accounts. The unit requires pin-drop silence from its inmates. Still, the accusations put Lizard’s conduct under scrutiny. The five former leaders are James "Tibbs" Morado, 59, whose common-law wife, 20-year-old Salinas resident Crystal Nenque, was found slain on Hecker Pass Road near Watsonville in 2005; Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, 58; Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, 52; Cornelio Tristan, 46; and former Monterey resident Tex Marin Hernandez, 53. Arthur “Big Smiley” Ramirez asserted authority over prerogatives held by Pablo “Pantera” Pena. One day two months ago, federal agents arrived at her home, and she was swept into the program. “They were caught up in power grabs and backstabbing. New soldiers became captains and generals by stabbing or killing people. “Lizard was the kind of guy who took ‘the NF way’ very seriously. Here’s my card.’“. Nuestra Familia was organized in either the Folsom, California or Soledad, California Correctional Training Facilities in 1968.Gang and Security Threat Group Awareness. “He was very concerned about his family’s safety, his safety. A few years earlier, the two attorneys had nailed former general Pinky Hernandez for ordering a murder, and Cuete wanted to offer their coffins as a “gift” to Pinky. Lizard hinted in his early letters that he’d be sending more important documents for his “legal case.” In actuality, he sent a list of code names using Aztec and Spanish words. It gives you something to do. • A trial-setting hearing will be held Dec. 1 for the lead defendant, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba and James "Tibbs" Morado, Cornelio "Corny" Tristan, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Tex Marin Hernandez, Daniel "Stork" Perez, Alberto "Bird" Larez and Henry "Happy" Cervantes. January 22,2001 In November 1986, Lizard tried out these new skills on another inmate and was transferred to San Quentin. Norteño emblems and clothing are based on the color red. In total, aside from the five convictions and twenty guilty pleas credited to Lizard’s grand jury testimony and undercover work, federal officials said Operation Black Widow led to a total of 75 Nuestra Familia convictions. “I wanted to be that NF member who the people could count on,” Lizard recalled. Lizard sent word to Big Smiley to corroborate this story. While Nuestra Familia is primarily a Chicano gang, membership sometimes extends to other Latinos as well as non-Latinos. Sanchez was laying low, but Ramirez expected him to pop up again. Nato had worked his way up in the ranks from Norteño street thug to membership in the Nuestra Familia prison gang. Cuete arranged for the new hotshot to move into his cell. He was still using meth and heroin, on-again off-again pleasures he’d picked up back in Pittsburg. Nato’s harsh sentence made Lizard rethink his life’s path. “I told him, ‘Listen. Every day we prepared for war.”, Lizard speaks about his gang membership with such conviction and authority that one law enforcement official jokingly compared his oratory skills to those of Fidel Castro. These Familianos could be considered the NF's board of directors and ran the organization's business from prison. When a young child ran toward Highway 29 traffic, an AmCan city employee was the right person at the right place to prevent a tragedy. who joined the FBI and other agencies in an investigation of street Both were steeped in the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. According to Lewis, gang members have been linked to an estimated three hundred homicides across Northern California. Eventually, he returned there, unable to cope with life in the slow lane. But within a few months, Nato got pinched for robbery, and with his long rap sheet, he got 39 years. 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