Hed loaded up the hit list and was feuding with two of the generals while angling for a promotion. 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. As a kid I didnt know anything but religion, he said. He leaves behind a 3-year-old son of his own, but vows that the cycle of violence ends with him. They were getting orders in and out of that prison in no time. For the next three months, he made his bones among Norteos by slashing Sureo inmates, brothers hed once shouldered with. The only way to sell was to shock, he says. Thousands bought the album in the major record chains like Sam Goody's. Its not like her life used to be.. But in a coup d'etat of sorts, Gonzalez and Perez have been "demoted" to "Category 1," the lowest level of the Nuestra Familia, investigators say. Frias was not indicted in the federal case but was convicted of murdering Sanchez in a state case built on the FBI's investigation. He told them about killing Brown Bob. If you continue to listen to them, then youll be in there for life, too.'. Besides directing the tone of the project, Gratton asked to narrate the intro. Jan 27, 2005. Then he waited. How could he go back in with Cuete wanting him dead? Still Sir Dyno says he wasnt getting paid. 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. Lizard said that whenever brothers were allowed into the law library, they used sign language to swap information, trade intelligence reports, and even assign homework. 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. Lizard recalled feeling nothing in the aftermath of the hit. 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. Three days before Christmas, Lizard called Holguin. dozens of murders while imprisoned at Pelican Bay, including 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. Thats when I started pulling away, he says. After a few meetings, he told Sir Dyno he wanted to finance a project, but instead of using the rappers already-established label, Gratton opted to launch North Star Records. gang's leaders communicated by some form of secret code within the Lizard said Bob was marked because hed stuck his nose into matters that didnt concern him. That wasnt what I signed up for.. 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. Hes had plenty of time to contemplate. 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. These defendants wisely elected to plead guilty rather than face the prospect of Mr. Hernandez appearance as a trial witness against them.. That night, Holguin led a three-car caravan of police investigators, federal agents, and prison investigators to meet Lizard. The following day, Ray Sanchez walked into Caps Saloon, unaware that hed been the discussion of a hit. 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. 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. 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. Holguin also was searching for evidence that connected Lizard to a larger operation. In a memo to his colleagues, Helton talks about spotting G.U.N. You have permission to edit this article. 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. And then I told him, You know who I am. Lizard already knew all the old tricks. It's the most comprehensive and trusted online destination for law enforcement agencies and police departments worldwide. The system certainly creates you, makes you decide. They formed their own gang: Nuestra Familia our family. Its rise even exceeded the mushrooming growth of the greater California prison population. In his interview with FBI agents the next day, Gratton confessed hed concocted the idea for G.U.N. After that, he said, I didnt want any speculation coming my way because we still had meetings to take care of. Lizard said he compensated by assisting in unauthorized drug and arms deals. 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. In November 1998, he was pulled over on a traffic violation. 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. Rank and file morale plainly sucked under Parks. In a way, its a compliment to me. Not only was there one less Sureo, but Lizard also showed a knack for attacking without detection. Last year, a newly revised constitution for the gang was distributed through underground channels, allowing for change in the mesa's structure, said Santa Cruz County sheriff's Sgt. Arresting the majority of the defendants was easy; they were already in prison. Even outside prison, members were expected to remain loyal to the gang. Please subscribe to keep reading. They need their cut, he said. Therefore John Ashcroft is a chicken.. At the time, Operation Black Widow was just getting under way, and Grattons blueprint to the gangs hierarchy was invaluable. Lizard says the drug was merely Vicodin, a pain reliever he took after strenuous workouts at the gym. The rappers story varies somewhat depending on whos doing the telling. Lizard also followed protocol and reported his arrival to the prisons ranking gang member, Daniel Wino Perez. Since the government began using the antiracketeering statutes to take down crime families in 1970, the definition of coconspirator has been legally challenged and modified several times. Im from up here, I grew up with norteo friends. gang activity in Northern California about six years ago. One month later, he was visited by Louie Holguin, a special agent with the Department of Corrections who monitored parolees and prison gangs. By 1965, Sureos outnumbered Norteos by roughly seven to one inside the prison system. Theres no reason Id want him to go down.. Robert Brown Bob Viramontes was 44 and had shared cells with Nuestra Familias founding fathers in Soledad. Now youre in the gang., Lizard still recalls what Nato told him on that day back in San Quentin: Primo, if the North and South go to war, I cant protect you just because youre my blood. After all, race-based prison gang violence dominates Californias prison system, according to a 2002 report from the California State Department of Justice. only to sell records. You see, this is Norte, he growls on Scrap Killa. X-I-V fourteen, dont ever ask me what I mean/I got the gat that will put you in the dirt/I piss on your grave with your mamas feelings hurt.. with prosecutors for reduced sentences, The Press Democrat reported Lizard himself adamantly denied Zilversmits claims, insisting that he pressed for peace in the case of Sanchez. 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. According to Lizard, the commander had one more piece of information: Cuete says youre a no-good. Sir Dynos lawyers argue that a group trial will taint the jurys perception of their client. Sir Dyno believed hed just made a wise career choice. The FBI believes the exchange earned Lizard a quick $3,600. He just happened to have this talent, and he put this talent to use.. Frias used a pay phone to call another gang member, Roque Boxer Martinez, who said he would bring a .22 and meet Frias in the parking lot. The policy eventually trickled down to county and city jails and even the California Youth Authority. Its not realistic to integrate them now, said Holguin, now retired from the Department of Corrections. If Nuestra Familia invested in meth labs, a network was already in place. County./AP. You have entered an incorrect email address. He was born in Pittsburg, which made him a Norteo by birth. 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. At the end of the trial, after Mr. Rocha spends four to six months sitting with other Latin males, the rest of whom are chained to the floor, how will jurors see him as an individual and judge him fairly in light of the limited evidence against him? they argue in one motion. At any one time, an estimated two to three hundred members are incarcerated there, including the gangs top three generals. Lizard had been hiding out along the East Coast, a snitch buried deep inside federal protective custody. I even convinced the government that Im this crazy guy.. Lizard and Nato were both soon paroled. Holguin was well known to Nuestra Familia members hed interviewed hundreds of them during his three decades in the system. To test his allegiance, he was ordered to move on his cellmate, Johnny Huero-T Fernandez. Read another way, hes merely been persistent in denying his role. I can get a gun and go down and do it, he boasted. He offered to cover all production costs and promised Sir Dyno a fifty-fifty split on profits. I could rap political, I could rap street, it doesnt matter, Sir Dyno says. The more shock you had in your raps, at the time, the more you sold. Rap is an exaggeration of life, he says, just like in a movie. Hes turned his attention to rapping about what he knows, rather than what he fantasizes. He was arrested by investigator Tim Helton for selling and transporting meth. And I wanted to go high.. In the eyes of the law, that would make Sir Dyno a real-life gangster. was felt on the streets. Lizard is unapologetic about his behavior, even today. Hed been Cuetes right hand for four years. Sir Dyno had only been to jail once, following his drug arrest. You could see he was nervous, Holguin said. 305. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. Again, he uses a kernel of truth to anchor his rhyme, and a metaphor to exaggerate his reality. Gratton had been deployed by his bosses to run the gangs Zapatista crew, which operated in the Modesto, Tracy, and Turlock areas. Lizard has a thick handlebar mustache, broad shoulders, and is engraved with prison tattoos in Old English script. This was the place where we took all of our training to the next level. He argued with a dealer and ended up firing three bullets at the man as he ran away. They knew I had them., He still hasnt been reunited with his family. According to Ribotas report, when he asked about the rappers affiliation, Rocha denied having any gang involvement but is a norteo. Up to that point, Lizard had identified himself as a Sureo, but only when pressed. It always does., Even Judge Charles Breyer seemed to question the value of Operation Black Widow. The cells are bone-white and feature little more than a chrome toilet and cement platform with thin mattress and pillow. It wasnt quite the impression he wanted to make. Orders from the generals were arriving on the streets within weeks, if not days. 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. Or better yet, two prosecuting attorneys., Cervantes persisted. Grattons information cast a domino effect, eventually leading to 21 cooperating witnesses for the government. Request a quote for the most accurate & reliable non-lethal training, Get Curious Before Getting Furious: How Cynicism Impacts Behavior On Scene, Authorities say Nuestra Familia's revisions mean more violence in streets By Julia ReynoldsThe Monterey County HeraldMONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. 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. Rocha was asked, Do you want to speak to an attorney? Rocha did not respond, and went on to state, Im a musician. He also stated something to the effect, If you have a landscaper work on your yard, you dont care where the equipment comes from.'. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. He said that was where he picked up the nickname Lizard, from friends who admired his clandestine nature.. Under federal law, its rather easy to be declared a coconspirator in a RICO case. It is a form of psychological torture." 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