Mexican Mafia's dealings revealed
Prison guard among 37 arrested after 2-year probe
By Gregory Alan Gross
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 28, 2005
A prison guard was among 37 people who have been arrested after a two-year undercover investigation of the Mexican Mafia prison gang and its street-gang associates in San Diego, the FBI said yesterday.
The operation raises questions about the extent to which America's most feared prison gang may have compromised the state prison system itself.
Prison experts say that guards are at constant risk of being co-opted by inmates in general, and prison gangs in particular.
"They've got 24 hours a day to scheme on you, teamwork on you," said Daniel B. Vasquez, a former warden at San Quentin and Soledad state prisons and now a correctional consultant.
Authorities believe that the involvement of a guard with a prison gang is an isolated incident, but "this case sends a messages to guards and employees in the prison system that activities on behalf of the Mexican Mafia will not be tolerated," said FBI supervisor Max Regula of the San Diego office.
The FBI said the arrests were part of what it called Operation "La Mano Negra," a joint operation involving multiple federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as federal and state prosecutors.
La Mano Negra is Spanish for "the black hand," one of the identifying insignias of the Mexican Mafia.
Of the 37 people targeted by the investigation, 22 were arrested yesterday, said Dan Dzwilewski, special agent in charge of the San Diego office. Others already were in custody for prior offenses.
Charges, both state and federal, will range from possession and distribution of methamphetamine to conspiracy, kidnapping for extortion, criminal street gang activity and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In addition to the arrests, agents seized at least 35 firearms, more than 7 pounds of methamphetamine and more than $36,000, much of it acquired in the course of 25 undercover purchases of weapons and drugs.
The biggest prize of La Mano Negra, however, may have been the arrest of Jessica Chavez, a former guard at Donovan state prison in San Diego's Otay Mesa. She is accused of working for the Mexican Mafia.
The original target of La Mano Negra was Richard Buchanan, 50, a former prisoner described by the FBI as a high-ranking member of the gang.
Agent Dzwilewski said Buchanan and another man, Steve Parraz, 24, had just kidnapped a former Donovan inmate last Aug. 25 when they were stopped by San Diego police.
Buchanan, already being stalked by undercover officers as part of La Mano Negra, was arrested because he was a felon in possession of methamphetamine and a loaded gun, according to the FBI.
Soon after, investigators learned that the kidnapping had been carried out to cover up the prison gang's links to Chavez, the prison guard.
The kidnapped ex-con also had been using Chavez, and Buchanan thought if the con's relationship with Chavez came to light, it might expose her connection to the Mexican Mafia, Regula said.
The abduction of the former prisoner also was meant to show other inmates that the Mexican Mafia was beyond the reach of law enforcement and to be feared, the FBI said.
Chavez, 28, a four-year employee of the California Department of Corrections, was placed on administrative leave last September. She was arrested yesterday in Soledad.
Authorities contend Chavez aided Buchanan in the kidnap plot. Beyond that, however, Chavez's alleged activities on behalf of the prison gang were not detailed yesterday, as many of the court documents in connection with La Mano Negra remained under seal.
"I don't know of any other case where a correctional officer was actually arrested for gang activity," said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman in Sacramento for the California Department of Corrections.
The Mexican Mafia, also known as "La Eme," is considered by law enforcement to be "the largest and most established prison gang in the United States," with heavy influence over Hispanic street gangs and drug sales outside the prisons, Dzwilewski said.
Asked how many Hispanic street gangs in San Diego were affiliated or cooperated with the Mexican Mafia, Regula replied, "all of them."
While virtually every Latino street gangs might be persuaded or coerced into acting on behalf of La Eme, the number of guards who become conduits for prison gangs is probably small, experts say.
But the inmates are always looking for more, said Vasquez, and they can be both cunning and meticulous in the way they go about it.
"They watch you, they study you, they may ask questions of you – what kinds of sports do you like, what kind of car do you drive," the consultant said. "If you start to get a little too loose with your information, then they start to work on you."
Once the inmates find a guard they feel they can exploit, they might ask a guard for a small favor, said gang consultant Robert Walker, also a former corrections officer.
"They may ask you to mail a letter for them, a birthday card for the wife," Walker said. "The first time a guard does that, they're compromised. They're in a trap and they can't get out of it."
Guards who have been co-opted by inmates are known inside the prison as "mules," said Vasquez, noting that prison gangs use guards to smuggle information into and out of penitentiaries, as well as slipping contraband to the inmates, everything from drugs and guns.
"If you're a good mule, they'll protect you," he said.
Prison guard among 37 arrested after 2-year probe
By Gregory Alan Gross
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 28, 2005
A prison guard was among 37 people who have been arrested after a two-year undercover investigation of the Mexican Mafia prison gang and its street-gang associates in San Diego, the FBI said yesterday.
The operation raises questions about the extent to which America's most feared prison gang may have compromised the state prison system itself.
Prison experts say that guards are at constant risk of being co-opted by inmates in general, and prison gangs in particular.
"They've got 24 hours a day to scheme on you, teamwork on you," said Daniel B. Vasquez, a former warden at San Quentin and Soledad state prisons and now a correctional consultant.
Authorities believe that the involvement of a guard with a prison gang is an isolated incident, but "this case sends a messages to guards and employees in the prison system that activities on behalf of the Mexican Mafia will not be tolerated," said FBI supervisor Max Regula of the San Diego office.
The FBI said the arrests were part of what it called Operation "La Mano Negra," a joint operation involving multiple federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as federal and state prosecutors.
La Mano Negra is Spanish for "the black hand," one of the identifying insignias of the Mexican Mafia.
Of the 37 people targeted by the investigation, 22 were arrested yesterday, said Dan Dzwilewski, special agent in charge of the San Diego office. Others already were in custody for prior offenses.
Charges, both state and federal, will range from possession and distribution of methamphetamine to conspiracy, kidnapping for extortion, criminal street gang activity and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In addition to the arrests, agents seized at least 35 firearms, more than 7 pounds of methamphetamine and more than $36,000, much of it acquired in the course of 25 undercover purchases of weapons and drugs.
The biggest prize of La Mano Negra, however, may have been the arrest of Jessica Chavez, a former guard at Donovan state prison in San Diego's Otay Mesa. She is accused of working for the Mexican Mafia.
The original target of La Mano Negra was Richard Buchanan, 50, a former prisoner described by the FBI as a high-ranking member of the gang.
Agent Dzwilewski said Buchanan and another man, Steve Parraz, 24, had just kidnapped a former Donovan inmate last Aug. 25 when they were stopped by San Diego police.
Buchanan, already being stalked by undercover officers as part of La Mano Negra, was arrested because he was a felon in possession of methamphetamine and a loaded gun, according to the FBI.
Soon after, investigators learned that the kidnapping had been carried out to cover up the prison gang's links to Chavez, the prison guard.
The kidnapped ex-con also had been using Chavez, and Buchanan thought if the con's relationship with Chavez came to light, it might expose her connection to the Mexican Mafia, Regula said.
The abduction of the former prisoner also was meant to show other inmates that the Mexican Mafia was beyond the reach of law enforcement and to be feared, the FBI said.
Chavez, 28, a four-year employee of the California Department of Corrections, was placed on administrative leave last September. She was arrested yesterday in Soledad.
Authorities contend Chavez aided Buchanan in the kidnap plot. Beyond that, however, Chavez's alleged activities on behalf of the prison gang were not detailed yesterday, as many of the court documents in connection with La Mano Negra remained under seal.
"I don't know of any other case where a correctional officer was actually arrested for gang activity," said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman in Sacramento for the California Department of Corrections.
The Mexican Mafia, also known as "La Eme," is considered by law enforcement to be "the largest and most established prison gang in the United States," with heavy influence over Hispanic street gangs and drug sales outside the prisons, Dzwilewski said.
Asked how many Hispanic street gangs in San Diego were affiliated or cooperated with the Mexican Mafia, Regula replied, "all of them."
While virtually every Latino street gangs might be persuaded or coerced into acting on behalf of La Eme, the number of guards who become conduits for prison gangs is probably small, experts say.
But the inmates are always looking for more, said Vasquez, and they can be both cunning and meticulous in the way they go about it.
"They watch you, they study you, they may ask questions of you – what kinds of sports do you like, what kind of car do you drive," the consultant said. "If you start to get a little too loose with your information, then they start to work on you."
Once the inmates find a guard they feel they can exploit, they might ask a guard for a small favor, said gang consultant Robert Walker, also a former corrections officer.
"They may ask you to mail a letter for them, a birthday card for the wife," Walker said. "The first time a guard does that, they're compromised. They're in a trap and they can't get out of it."
Guards who have been co-opted by inmates are known inside the prison as "mules," said Vasquez, noting that prison gangs use guards to smuggle information into and out of penitentiaries, as well as slipping contraband to the inmates, everything from drugs and guns.
"If you're a good mule, they'll protect you," he said.
