And most of it hung on Lizard. Im from up here, I grew up with norteo friends. Fourteen of those charged in federal court in Los Angeles and Santa Ana . The case grew out of information developed by Santa Rosa Police, Violence was averted in those cases, Gruel said. In November 1986, Lizard tried out these new skills on another inmate and was transferred to San Quentin. Still, the accusations put Lizards conduct under scrutiny. Even though the project had cash potential tomorrow, Sir Dyno still needed money today. Dec. 22, 2021 5 AM PT. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Gratton, Sir Dyno says, wanted him to aim his lyrics at bringing together norteos. All you have to do is find out where the motherfucker is, pull up on the side of them., Lizard ended the conversation. But the rapper has faith the judicial process will work in his favor. Gratton was also using heroin, another mistake in the eyes of the gang. Under federal law, its rather easy to be declared a coconspirator in a RICO case. Lizard also followed protocol and reported his arrival to the prisons ranking gang member, Daniel Wino Perez. In the next room, Ragan and a team of detectives from the Santa Rosa Police Department listened to the meeting and watched it on a hidden camera. But Wino rejected Lizard. When it concluded in April 2001, after a $5 million investment, it was one of the largest takedowns on a prison gang in US history. 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. Though vastly outnumbered, Nuestra Familia distinguished itself by organizing its troops along strict paramilitary lines. They were drooling, Lizard later wrote. But while prosecutors were assembling their final case against the gang, Lizard was drug-tested as part of the terms of his release. 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. Of course, once the hit list is reactivated, Lizard knows that his name will sit at the very top. On January 24, 2001, at the FBIs prodding, Lizard hosted a junta for local underbosses at a Motel 6 in Tracy. 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. His character on the track writes a letter to his daughter, apologizing for his absence while she grows up. Most importantly, he showed a willingness to draw sureo blood. Im so afraid, oh my God/Dont take me away, he raps, slowly, to the jailers whove come for him. When the five were transferred out of California, Gov. He just happened to have this talent, and he put this talent to use.. Quoting the prophet Jeremiah from the Old Testament, Bishop Manuel Cruz, a Cuban emigre himself, passionately said: "Woe to me if I do not care for my people and hear their cries." At Lizards behest, Crazy Girl opened two bank accounts and made deposits from gang soldiers who were required to remit 25 percent of their profits. Jared Lewis, a former Modesto gang investigator, says the impact of G.U.N. He crawled into his living room before dying in his familys arms. A member of the Mexican Mafia, Ortiz was cast out of the criminal organization in the mid-1990s after angering . Sir Dyno claims Gratton stiffed him on payments a few months after the CD hit the streets, and that he never worked with the dude again. 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. Ultimately, Judge Charles Breyer denied Zilversmits motion. He was a micro-manager. It was again explained to Rocha that Kelly was an FBI agent, and that Rocha was being placed under arrest for RICO conspiracy. 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. Whatever it is, you gotta go to the extreme. I could rap political, I could rap street, it doesnt matter, Sir Dyno says. She was nicknamed Crazy Girl and had the moniker tattooed over her right kneecap, according to FBI documents. His teen angst surfaced one day when he threatened to kill his vice principal. Since his first arrest, hes produced a new CD nearly every month. Lizard returned to the Bay Area and worked closely with FBI Agent Sean Ragan. FBI agents did not respond to interview requests. One of the highest-ranking defendants in the upcoming trial, 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. [Gratton] said he was sick and tired of going to prison, he didnt want to go back, he wants to be legitimate, Dyno recalls, so he wants to sell cars and start a record company. 15 year old Carlos "Casper" Silva a Preston parolee is arrested murders 3 people witin a seven week span on behalf of Nuestra familia. He tested positive, violating a federal policy that informants remain drug-free while working for the government. It wasnt quite the impression he wanted to make. It would bring the most attention and the most sales. I know theres some things you dont ask., Dyno claims thats the moment he realized hed been duped and would never see his cash. That report, based on information from another snitch, revealed that Cuete was demoted by the generals to the lowest rank for skimming funds and gossiping. Not far from Tristan sat Rico Smiley Garcia, facing the death penalty for carrying out his bosses orders and putting two bullets in the back of Castillos head. Theres blood on the governments hands here, he said. A few weeks later, the rapper signed a new contract with Dog Day Records and quickly released an album called Gang Stories. Now, the legal definition rests simply on whether a person has a slight connection to the mob. A from-the-top down, command and control, rigidly structured operator who wouldn't let subordinates exercise any personal initiative. Its as sensible as that East Coast-West Coast thing. One by one, the street commanders paid their respects. This may be called Tools or use an icon like the cog. I spoke to a classification officer at the San Joaquin County jail who confirmed that Rocha claimed to be norteo but didnt claim a particular set of a gang.. Hed picked up an ounce of weed at Rohnert Park and smoked a few joints with his buddy Israel Silent Mendoza. While Sanchez sipped beer, Frias met Martinez at his car. Please subscribe to keep reading. Not only had he given up his post on the street, but now theyd be suspicious that he was a narc. In November 1998, he was pulled over on a traffic violation. At any one time, an estimated two to three hundred members are incarcerated there, including the gangs top three generals. If youre a norteo, and youre flamed-up in reds a 49ers jersey will do a lone sureo, who might be dressed down in his Dodgers blue, could make a move on you, unprovoked. So far as you can trust anyone in a gang, hed trusted Cuete. There was Henry Happy Cervantes, built like a fire hydrant, who got caught on an FBI wire offering to murder two Santa Clara County district attorneys. Its just the way it is, Sir Dyno says. Hernandez has conducted himself as a cooperating witness with great dignity and character, a memo from the US Attorneys office stated. Lizard and the government deny this accusation. A grand jury indictment was in the works. The words didnt sound right to Lizard. Latinos, although initially thrown together, had to choose Norteo or Sureo. was drawing the attention its makers craved, and then some. All Gratton needed was a rapper. only to sell records. A judge will decide in December whether his cooperation as an informant outweighs his considerable criminal past. Lizard was the kind of guy who took the NF way very seriously. I am just as dangerous as they are.. He told them he could go undercover for them. The history of that hit calls into question the governments handling of Lizard. To the FBIs delight, he also boasted about his existing Ecstasy ring, which was clearing a few thousand dollars a week. I said, Yeah, I could rap like that, whatever. Meanwhile, Daniel Lizard Hernandez is just one step away from his own day of reckoning, and from possibly reentering the outside world. CD, Sir Dyno says. uncovered a hierarchy at Pelican Bay State Prison responsible for 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. In his FBI interrogation, Gratton never makes it clear whether Sir Dyno knew he was rapping for the mob, or that North Star Records had been set up to launder money. He says theres a street code: You dont ever ask too many questions, and both men stuck to that code. This time, Goose brought bar charts to show drug production and expected net profits. It took 26 years for death to catch up to Donald Ramon Ortiz. The theory went, if we separated the two gangs, wed have less problems, Vasquez said. In 1968, in response to La Emes overwhelming power, a group of Norteos bonded together in the exercise yard of what was then named Soledad State Prison. Lizard had been hiding out along the East Coast, a snitch buried deep inside federal protective custody. Maybe hed give me one hundred bucks to shut me up, or fifty bucks to shut me up, he says, or gas money or something.. Natos harsh sentence made Lizard rethink his lifes path. On April 30, 1997, Robert Huerito Gratton arrived in Modesto, fresh from Pelican Bay. During his time with Nuestra Raza, Gratton learned the boot camp basics: how to make shanks, decode letters, and memorize the NF Constitution. Rap is an exaggeration of life, he says, just like in a movie. While members of the Norteos gang are considered to be affiliated with Nuestra Familia, being a member of Nuestra Familia itself does not signify association as a Norteo. It wasnt worth it to me anymore., Yet the claim that the rapper was blissfully unaware of Grattons gang connections doesnt pass the sniff test for law-enforcement guys like Jared Lewis. SANTA ROSA Several members of the notorious Nuestra Familia The idea was to create a music CD that would appeal to young Latinos and help recruit them into the ranks of the Nortenos, the breeding ground for hate toward the soldados of the Mexican Mafia. But such divisions run deeper among Mexican Americans than among other Californians. And what had germinated inside the prisons was now blooming all across California. While the recognized leaders of the Norteos in Pelican Bay ask that members respect the former leaders, they have been effectively stripped of their authority. To test his allegiance, he was ordered to move on his cellmate, Johnny Huero-T Fernandez. He oversaw battalions across the greater Bay Area, and relayed their progress to his bosses back inside. Thats when Lizard began his career as a rider an inmate prone to acting violently toward fellow inmates. Im not sure you can undo it.. After the informant completed his undercover work, I discovered that the informant had engaged in unauthorized drug deals, Agent Ragan wrote. Despite the governor's complaints, all five are still housed in the same supermax unit. The policy eventually trickled down to county and city jails and even the California Youth Authority. The shooters blasted Brown Bob with seven shots to his arms, chest, back, and legs. the credibility of the witnesses convicted felons who made deals In an interview last year, Zilversmit said Lizard and his FBI handlers were culpable in the death of Sanchez. ', All of the early motions from Gruel and his team of US prosecutors pointed only to Sir Dynos role in making the album. That what I decided to do.. Its not like her life used to be.. slated for Sept. 13 in San Francisco, is Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba 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.. Not just in rap, but everywhere. After a Nuestra Familia-led intifada left Folsom State Prison wet with blood, officials transferred most if not all of that facilitys Norteos to other state institutions. At a hearing last month, Steven Gruel, US assistant attorney and Chief of Major Crimes, told the court that Sir Dynos limited role with Nuestra Familia made no difference under the law: It doesnt matter if you associate with a RICO enterprise for five years or five minutes; it still makes you part of the conspiracy.. Lizard said he shook the tail, but later needed to prove he was clean. You have permission to edit this article. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. Together, Nato and Lizard robbed drug dealers, committed petty crimes, and raised funds for their carnals back inside. At night, he ordered rows of Nuestra Familia inmates to recite aloud Aztec war chants to rattle guards and enemies. Rapper David Rocha thought a norteo gangsta CD was his ticket to glory -- not life in prison. As he awaits his new sentence, Lizard also awaits his new identity. Outside for the first time in decades, he was fashioning a new life in suburban Campbell with his wife and two sons. Whove come for him he oversaw battalions across the greater Bay Area, and legs craved and. Rests simply on whether a person has a slight connection to the mob November 1986, Lizard tried these. Donald Ramon Ortiz given up his post on the track writes a letter to his,. 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