Eventually, he returned there, unable to cope with life in the slow lane. But the rapper has faith the judicial process will work in his favor. Crazy Girl translated the letters and passed them along to gang members on the outside. As a kid I didnt know anything but religion, he said. Holguin and his team came up empty that night. 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. I can get a gun and go down and do it, he boasted. For instance, if Lizard wrote Hey Love, that meant that every third word was part of the real message. He told them about killing Brown Bob. He arrived on time, with one of his friends waiting in the lobby. Had they not almost burned my identity, I wouldnt have had to be doing any of that, he said. Californias most fearsome prison is located near the Oregon border, a windswept fortress surrounded by three walls and two barbed-wire fences. 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. Its getting airtime on radio stations in the Central Valley, and Sir Dyno has gone into super-marketing campaign mode, making a goal to get the ballad single Daddys Home in rotation on 75 radio stations nationwide. He did not return letters seeking comment for this article. And though prison officials recently reorganized the housing in a way that slows down gang communications, coded directives are still smuggled out that translate to violence in California cities and farm towns. Please subscribe to keep reading. That wasnt what I signed up for.. They formed their own gang: Nuestra Familia our family. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). It is my hope the federal prison system is better equipped to derail the violence.. Finally, brothers were required to learn sign language so they could make the most of the one hour outside their cells. Sicc OG. 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. Frias, a 22-year-old Salinas native, maintains that Hernandez, the informant, approved the "green light," the execution order, on Sanchez while working for the FBI. And I was part of that policy. Instead, he says, Gratton talked business. By 1965, Sureos outnumbered Norteos by roughly seven to one inside the prison system. He is also a consultant to a number of law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in this ever-changing war against gang violence. After several years of upheaval -- stemming largely from the massive federal prosecution called Operation Black Widow -- the top leadership of the Nuestra Familia is once again firmly established. To Sir Dyno and his attorneys, the report demonstrates his utter confusion under unbelievable circumstances. He said he knows they may try to find him, but that he will not hide. Rocha then asked for what was he being arrested, indicating he did not understand the charge. Nato had worked his way up in the ranks from Norteo street thug to membership in the Nuestra Familia prison gang. Fourteen of those charged in federal court in Los Angeles and Santa Ana . In NF, they dont want you to be friends in case you have to do something down the road, Lizard wrote. He wanted gang members to start cooking the drug themselves. Till Eternity which most people simply call the G.U.N. I am just as dangerous as they are.. Meanwhile, Daniel Lizard Hernandez is just one step away from his own day of reckoning, and from possibly reentering the outside world. 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.. Daniel "Lizard" Hernandez helped Nuestra Familia run a criminal empire from inside state prison. I wanted to be that NF member who the people could count on, Lizard recalled. Snow-locked Highway 29 between Calistoga and the Lake County border will likely stay closed through the weekend, CHP announced Friday afternoon. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. 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. Gratton is the guy whos going to make the entire case against David; its his word against Davids. In August 1998, the CD appeared on the radar of Tim Helton, an investigator on Modestos Street Terrorism and Apprehension Team. He recorded From the Barrio with Love, taking his name outside California and into pockets of Chicano markets in places such as Phoenix, Denver, and Albuquerque. Despite the governor's complaints, all five are still housed in the same supermax unit. I did it because I was ordered to do it. 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. 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. Together, Nato and Lizard robbed drug dealers, committed petty crimes, and raised funds for their carnals back inside. The album would preach the unification of norteos Chicanos born north of an invisible border located somewhere around Fresno who, once inside the prison system, were eligible to join Nuestra Familia. Membership. The history of that hit calls into question the governments handling of Lizard. He seems likely to face civil and/or criminal penalties for what appears to be at best mismanagement and at worst blatant corruption that. As he awaits his new sentence, Lizard also awaits his new identity. 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 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. The job seemed like a good fit. I didnt care, he said later. I had to.. Finally, he was going to San Francisco to testify. Gratton sought out Sir Dyno because the rapper had a following, needed to produce a successful CD, and was familiar with music distribution and marketing. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. In September, the final eight defendants pleaded guilty, following the first thirteen members indicted. But Lizard hadnt exactly gone straight. The shooters blasted Brown Bob with seven shots to his arms, chest, back, and legs. Its the life story of a petty hood who reached his full criminal potential only afterentering the California prison system. But the feds believe his relationship with Gratton ran deeper than words on wax. 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. But within a few months, Nato got pinched for robbery, and with his long rap sheet, he got 39 years. I wanted to get out of there, to come to California and do what I needed to do.. Hernandez never belonged to either group until he ended up in prison. Then, several weeks later, a Pelican Bay investigator intercepted a letter penned by Lizard to one of his superiors. According to one source, Ribota took the CD to the San Joaquin County district attorneys office to see if it constituted an official threat to a police officer. You gotta understand, all these guys made their own choices, he said. Lizard first went to prison when he was nineteen. Lizards government handlers ultimately boasted that their prized informant delivered unprecedented effectiveness as a cooperating witness. According to a memo by prosecutors in the US Attorneys Office, his unshakable undercover effort will forever leave its mark in the history of law enforcement. Based on Lizards grand jury testimony alone, the US Attorneys office estimates that twenty Nuestra Familia members pleaded guilty, and five others were convicted in courts across Northern California. I also learned the informant was skimming money from the Nuestra Familia street leaders and not reporting this to me.. Click here to follow the step-by-step murder of Brown Bob, as conducted from inside prison walls. Gang affiliation in California is often a matter of geography, but for Daniel Hernandez it wasnt that simple. Assistant US Attorney Steven Gruel responded in court papers that federal agents couldnt be blamed for failing to notify the victim, since Sanchez already knew that he had serious problems with Heredias gang (in fact, he had been hiding). Gruel also offered four instances in which Lizards testimony did lead FBI agents to inform Norteos they were marked for death. But I knew more about Cuete and his family, and he did about mine. Hed been Cuetes right hand for four years. 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. Im from up here, I grew up with norteo friends. Sanchez was laying low, but Ramirez expected him to pop up again. On his first day of freedom, according to Grattons account, a norteo named Big Smokey met him at the bus terminal, set him up with $5,000 in cash, a 9mm pistol, and a condom. December 12, 1976. They, in turn, approved hits and issued directives, while prison censors were prevented from reading the supposedly legal correspondence. They need their cut, he said. Inside, he was greeted by FBI agents. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. Symbols and culture Danny was telling me, But Im not a gang member,' Holguin said. 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. After the informant completed his undercover work, I discovered that the informant had engaged in unauthorized drug deals, Agent Ragan wrote. Special Agent Kelly explained to Rocha that he was being placed under arrest for violation of RICO conspiracy, the report states. The Apprehension Teams scrutiny proved to be Sir Dynos downfall. He kept a stable of flashy cars, but favored a cherried-out 1969 Impala with a vanity license plate that read NORTENO.. According to court documents, Gratton says he regularly fronted Sir Dyno four ounces at a time. Rocha did not seem to understand the reason for the arrest or the charge. Lizard was the kind of guy who took the NF way very seriously. 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.. The CD includes Nuestra Familia artwork and a statement that the success of this project has resulted from true Norteo unity we applaud the Carnalismo we would also like to give a special thanks to our family [emphasis theirs] and all the warriors. Trial witness R.G. 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. 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.. 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