By JULIA REYNOLDS
Herald Salinas Bureau
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_14943640?source=most_viewed
Eight-month investigation yields 37 high-level arrests
An ambitious multi-agency operation aimed at dismantling the Central Coast leadership structure of the Nuestra Familia gang resulted in more than three dozen arrests during sweeps early Thursday.
At least 37 alleged gang members and associates were in custody after hours of coordinated raids across Monterey County, ending months of investigation that culminated in what some call the largest law enforcement operation ever to target the Nuestra Familia, one of the West's most violent crime organizations.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Attorney General Jerry Brown and a host of officials announced the results of the action Thursday. More than 200 law enforcement agents and officers took part in the sweeps, serving arrest and search warrants in Salinas and neighboring areas.
At least one of those sought had Santa Cruz County ties, and several others were targeted in the San Jose area, authorities said.
The operation, which will continue to play out in state and federal courts, aims to disband the Salinas-area regiment of a gang that for three decades has dominated criminal activity in farm towns across Northern California.
For months, gang investigators from the California Department of Justice, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Salinas Police Department, the Monterey County Gang Task Force and the FBI worked to prepare arrest warrants for more than 40 high-ranking members of the gang in Salinas and nearby counties.
The Nuestra Familia gang, which operates in and out of prisons, influences much of the criminal activity of thousands of Norteño gang members in Monterey and other California counties by ordering "hits" and demanding payments from drug sales, robberies and other gang crimes.
Norteño gang members, who police say number about 6,000 in Monterey County, act as street-level soldiers for prison-based Nuestra Familia, which operates as the "parent company" of the Norteños.
State gang experts credit the Nuestra Familia with about 1,000 killings since it began in the late 1960s, with Norteño gang members claiming hundreds more lives.
State and federal law enforcement officials chose Salinas for the raids because for years the city has been known as a hub of Nuestra Familia's activity.
Largest bust
Operation Knockout began last year with gang intelligence from the Salinas Police Department and other local agencies, and soon was spearheaded by the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement.
Of 44 arrest warrants obtained, 37 warrants ended with arrests Thursday. Outstanding warrants remain on seven unnamed people. Authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, as well as other drugs. A dozen firearms were taken during the day's searches.
"They saw today what happens," Schwarzenegger said. "This is not done yet."
In scale and ambition, the operation dwarfs the two largest cases against the Nuestra Familia: Operation Black Widow ended in 2005, and Operation Valley Star led to a massive trial just under way in a Sacramento federal court.
Both investigations were led by the FBI and crippled the gang's operations after the arrests of dozens of Nuestra Familia members and associates from Monterey County.
But neither investigation matched the scope of Operation Knockout — in numbers of those arrested and in its aim to effectively shut down the Nuestra Familia in Salinas.
State gang "czar" Paul Seave said he was pleased that so many law enforcement agencies came together.
"It's the way we should do business. It gives me hope that we can address something as complex as gang violence," he said.
Crippling blow for gang
Last fall, when Russoniello came to a Salinas "gang summit" for law enforcement, at least some of the time was spent on the early planning of Operation Knockout.
For eight months, officers conducted intense surveillance and investigation of Salinas-area Nuestra Familia associates, who they believed were loyal to the two remaining factions of the gang after Black Widow split the gang's leadership.
Of special interest were members who held positions of power within the gang, including Martin "Cyclone" Montoya, a man who investigators say was in charge of Nuestra Familia's powerful Salinas regiment.
Montoya is among a dozen of those arrested Thursday who face charges in federal court, where mandatory sentences for drug and gun crimes often mean longer prison terms. Others arrested include Castroville residents Dakota Vernon Casperson and Sheena Nicole Casperson.
Most of the defendants are headed to Monterey County court, where they will face drug, gang, weapons and possible conspiracy charges. But a few higher-level suspects, including Montoya, are headed to federal court, where arraignments were under way Thursday.
Montoya is one of 10 who were charged in a federal drug conspiracy case, facing a maximum of life in prison.
Two others, Raymundo "Ray-Ray" Carrasco Lopez and Adrian Angel Lopez, were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in a separate federal case.
The investigation is the first time law enforcement has attempted to bring in such large numbers of Nuestra Familia associates from one geographic area, and the hope is this will virtually shut down the gang's business in Salinas long enough for other anti-violence strategies to take hold.
Effect on Ceasefire
Local authorities hope the arrests will cripple the gang's grip on younger gang members in the area and make existing gang-violence intervention efforts, such as Ceasefire, more effective.
"The message that we are continuing to put out there is that if you think you are going to try and fill the vacuum (left by the arrests), if you are going to choose to move with the gangs and commit gang crimes, then you're going to pay a price. And that price is going to be your freedom," said District Attorney Dean Flippo. "But to those who choose to stop the violence, there are available resources to help them. They do not have to get involved in this."
Seave said the operation "fits perfectly into the Ceasefire strategy. ... Ceasefire depends on following through on commitments that if the violence doesn't stop, force will be applied vigorously."
When Operation Knockout was launched last fall, officials acknowledged there were no resources in place to help communities such as Salinas deal with the almost certain spates of violence that tend to follow mass arrests.
But now, police said they are prepared to respond with tactics developed as part of Operation Ceasefire.
At their news conference Thursday, local and state leaders, including Schwarzenegger, pointed to job training and other services offered by Ceasefire as the "other choice" gang members can make if they want to avoid crackdowns like Thursday's.
Attorney General Brown disagreed, saying he learned when he was mayor of Oakland that only "constant suppression" works with hard-core gang members. To that end, he announced the debut Thursday of a county narcotics and gang task force overseen by the state's Department of Justice.
Deputy Chief Kelly McMillin said more of Ceasefire's signature call-in meetings will be held in coming weeks in an effort to keep potential spikes in violence at bay.
Family Tree.
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site570/2010/0423/20100423_032319_family_tree.pdf
Herald Salinas Bureau
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_14943640?source=most_viewed
Eight-month investigation yields 37 high-level arrests
An ambitious multi-agency operation aimed at dismantling the Central Coast leadership structure of the Nuestra Familia gang resulted in more than three dozen arrests during sweeps early Thursday.
At least 37 alleged gang members and associates were in custody after hours of coordinated raids across Monterey County, ending months of investigation that culminated in what some call the largest law enforcement operation ever to target the Nuestra Familia, one of the West's most violent crime organizations.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Attorney General Jerry Brown and a host of officials announced the results of the action Thursday. More than 200 law enforcement agents and officers took part in the sweeps, serving arrest and search warrants in Salinas and neighboring areas.
At least one of those sought had Santa Cruz County ties, and several others were targeted in the San Jose area, authorities said.
The operation, which will continue to play out in state and federal courts, aims to disband the Salinas-area regiment of a gang that for three decades has dominated criminal activity in farm towns across Northern California.
For months, gang investigators from the California Department of Justice, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Salinas Police Department, the Monterey County Gang Task Force and the FBI worked to prepare arrest warrants for more than 40 high-ranking members of the gang in Salinas and nearby counties.
The Nuestra Familia gang, which operates in and out of prisons, influences much of the criminal activity of thousands of Norteño gang members in Monterey and other California counties by ordering "hits" and demanding payments from drug sales, robberies and other gang crimes.
Norteño gang members, who police say number about 6,000 in Monterey County, act as street-level soldiers for prison-based Nuestra Familia, which operates as the "parent company" of the Norteños.
State gang experts credit the Nuestra Familia with about 1,000 killings since it began in the late 1960s, with Norteño gang members claiming hundreds more lives.
State and federal law enforcement officials chose Salinas for the raids because for years the city has been known as a hub of Nuestra Familia's activity.
Largest bust
Operation Knockout began last year with gang intelligence from the Salinas Police Department and other local agencies, and soon was spearheaded by the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement.
Of 44 arrest warrants obtained, 37 warrants ended with arrests Thursday. Outstanding warrants remain on seven unnamed people. Authorities seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, as well as other drugs. A dozen firearms were taken during the day's searches.
"They saw today what happens," Schwarzenegger said. "This is not done yet."
In scale and ambition, the operation dwarfs the two largest cases against the Nuestra Familia: Operation Black Widow ended in 2005, and Operation Valley Star led to a massive trial just under way in a Sacramento federal court.
Both investigations were led by the FBI and crippled the gang's operations after the arrests of dozens of Nuestra Familia members and associates from Monterey County.
But neither investigation matched the scope of Operation Knockout — in numbers of those arrested and in its aim to effectively shut down the Nuestra Familia in Salinas.
State gang "czar" Paul Seave said he was pleased that so many law enforcement agencies came together.
"It's the way we should do business. It gives me hope that we can address something as complex as gang violence," he said.
Crippling blow for gang
Last fall, when Russoniello came to a Salinas "gang summit" for law enforcement, at least some of the time was spent on the early planning of Operation Knockout.
For eight months, officers conducted intense surveillance and investigation of Salinas-area Nuestra Familia associates, who they believed were loyal to the two remaining factions of the gang after Black Widow split the gang's leadership.
Of special interest were members who held positions of power within the gang, including Martin "Cyclone" Montoya, a man who investigators say was in charge of Nuestra Familia's powerful Salinas regiment.
Montoya is among a dozen of those arrested Thursday who face charges in federal court, where mandatory sentences for drug and gun crimes often mean longer prison terms. Others arrested include Castroville residents Dakota Vernon Casperson and Sheena Nicole Casperson.
Most of the defendants are headed to Monterey County court, where they will face drug, gang, weapons and possible conspiracy charges. But a few higher-level suspects, including Montoya, are headed to federal court, where arraignments were under way Thursday.
Montoya is one of 10 who were charged in a federal drug conspiracy case, facing a maximum of life in prison.
Two others, Raymundo "Ray-Ray" Carrasco Lopez and Adrian Angel Lopez, were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in a separate federal case.
The investigation is the first time law enforcement has attempted to bring in such large numbers of Nuestra Familia associates from one geographic area, and the hope is this will virtually shut down the gang's business in Salinas long enough for other anti-violence strategies to take hold.
Effect on Ceasefire
Local authorities hope the arrests will cripple the gang's grip on younger gang members in the area and make existing gang-violence intervention efforts, such as Ceasefire, more effective.
"The message that we are continuing to put out there is that if you think you are going to try and fill the vacuum (left by the arrests), if you are going to choose to move with the gangs and commit gang crimes, then you're going to pay a price. And that price is going to be your freedom," said District Attorney Dean Flippo. "But to those who choose to stop the violence, there are available resources to help them. They do not have to get involved in this."
Seave said the operation "fits perfectly into the Ceasefire strategy. ... Ceasefire depends on following through on commitments that if the violence doesn't stop, force will be applied vigorously."
When Operation Knockout was launched last fall, officials acknowledged there were no resources in place to help communities such as Salinas deal with the almost certain spates of violence that tend to follow mass arrests.
But now, police said they are prepared to respond with tactics developed as part of Operation Ceasefire.
At their news conference Thursday, local and state leaders, including Schwarzenegger, pointed to job training and other services offered by Ceasefire as the "other choice" gang members can make if they want to avoid crackdowns like Thursday's.
Attorney General Brown disagreed, saying he learned when he was mayor of Oakland that only "constant suppression" works with hard-core gang members. To that end, he announced the debut Thursday of a county narcotics and gang task force overseen by the state's Department of Justice.
Deputy Chief Kelly McMillin said more of Ceasefire's signature call-in meetings will be held in coming weeks in an effort to keep potential spikes in violence at bay.
Family Tree.
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site570/2010/0423/20100423_032319_family_tree.pdf
