Oct 29 2007
Man pleads not guilty in crackdown on Mexican Mafia
Tony Gonzales-Rodriguez Jr.
The person who federal authorities say is the Mexican Mafia’s No. 2 man in the Coachella Valley appeared on drug-trafficking charges in a Riverside federal courtroom Monday after months on the lam.
The arrest comes as part of a federal crackdown on the prison-based gang that is suspected of controlling drug traffic outside the walls, including in the Coachella Valley.
Mexican authorities arrested Tony Gonzales-Rodriguez Jr. on Friday in Mexicali, where he was living illegally as a U.S. citizen and worked at a painting business, according to the FBI. He was extradited to this country over the weekend.
Gonzales-Rodriguez is the last of 14 defendants to be arrested in the case against the Coachella Valley franchise of the prison-based gang.
The other 13 were arrested in April and are awaiting trial. Gonzales-Rodriguez pleaded not guilty in federal court in Riverside. He is being held without bail.
Such sweeps have also netted arrests in San Diego, where federal prosecutors are charging gang members already in prison with racketeering.
An Indio man was sentenced last week to life in federal prison after being convicted of running drugs between California and Fargo, N.D.
Alberto Chachia and nine other defendants have been sentenced in North Dakota’s crackdown on the Mexican Mafia, according to a Department of Justice news release.
The gang started in California prisons about 50 years ago and is also known as “La Eme,” which translates to “The M.” It uses its power over prison life to control Hispanic gang members who are not incarcerated, according to court documents.
Local gangs pay a portion of proceeds from illegal activities, including drug sales. The money, which helps pay for protection in prisons to other gangs, is based on the premise that all gang members will end up in prison and that the money goes toward insurance for a safe time there, according to court documents.
Local leader Jose Chavez Huerta, considered the No. 1 drug trafficker in the area, and Gonzales-Rodriguez paid the so-called taxes to higher-ranking members who are in the prison system.
“It’s clear that in recent years members of the Mexican Mafia have been exerting significant control over some street gangs,” said Thom Mrozek, U.S. attorney’s office spokesman. “The Coachella Valley case illustrates the relationship from a member of the Eme to the gang all the way down to the activities of street-level drug dealers.”
Gonzales-Rodriguez is accused of controlling the sale and distribution of narcotics in the Inland area and collecting “taxes” for the Mexican Mafia. He is also accused of directing most of the gang-related violence in the area.
Huerta and Gonzales-Rodriguez would negotiate prices and quantities of drugs with suppliers. Gonzales-Rodriguez oversaw methamphetamine distribution at homes in Thermal and Indio.
Huerta, who was arrested earlier, is accused of trafficking in methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.
A series of confidential informants and recorded phone conversations led authorities to the arrests, according to an affidavit filed by the U.S. attorney’s office.
In one conversation, Gonzales-Rodriguez told another of the defendants to bury the drugs underground because they believed police were on their way.
In another conversation, Huerta was heard threatening to kill a deputy who had pulled over a car with drugs in it. The deputy was alerted and left the area safely, according to court documents.
The main gang leadership is based in prison and Mrozek said sending more members back to prison will not deter authorities from continuing to prosecute the gang.
“Our job is to target criminal enterprises. Just because a guy was incarcerated for 20 years and we’re going to put him back for the rest of his life where he may engage in additional activity doesn’t mean we aren’t going to do it,” Mrozek said.
Man pleads not guilty in crackdown on Mexican Mafia – 10:00 PM PDT on Monday, October 29, 2007 – By SONJA BJELLAND and JOHN ASBURY – The Press-Enterprise – http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_C_mafia30.3ddafd3.html
How about this, if they commit crimes, they go to jail. If they commit crimes from a secure location (prison), they get the death penalty.