TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA EME -SAME ORGANIZATION

[mayugastank]

Authorities: 'Mexican Mafia' behind 1997 quintuple slaying, other killings

By C. BRYSON HULL Associated Press Writer

The shotgun slayings of five people in a San Antonio home last August came from a single order by the top lieutenant in Texas' largest prison-based gang, authorities say.

Nine other killings over three years also have been blamed on 16 alleged members of a notorious Texas prison gang in a federal racketeering indictment unsealed Monday.

The indictment accuses the Mexican Mafia, also known as the "Mexikanemi" or "La Eme," of routinely dealing drugs, robbing, extorting and assaulting.

The Aug. 8, 1997, quintuple murders, the worst mass murder in modern San Antonio history, apparently stemmed from an order to rob the house, given by Robert "Beaver" Perez, 40, a top lieutenant in the organization.

San Antonio police Capt. Jeff Page told the San Antonio Express-News that the gang was after drugs and a large sum of money it believed to be at the West French Place duplex.

The bodies of 49-year-old Rodolfo Vara, his 19-year-old daughter, Elbira; her fiance, Ricardo Gonzalez, 18; 19-year-old Chris Tobias and Edward Medel, 18, were discovered shot execution-style amid the Vara's ransacked duplex.

The federal indictment says 28-year-old Jesse "Chango" Gomez, Roberto De Los Santos and another suspect still at large shot all five.

De Los Santos would became a murder victim of his own gang after the slayings, the affidavit states.

Six days later, Perez allegedly ordered 24-year-old mob captain Robert "Robe" Herrera and several other unnamed suspects to kill De Los Santos for talking too freely about the crime, according to the affidavit. De Los Santos was choked, beaten and run over with a car.

Officials say the gang was born and controlled from inside Texas' prisons.

"Eventually, members sought to generate income outside the walls of the Texas prison system to help inmates with legal expenses, commissary expenses and the financial needs of inmates' families," the affidavit states.

The largest source of revenue for the organization was a "street tax," or money extorted from drug dealers, authorities said. Sellers who refused to pay the 10 percent, also known as "the Dime," were robbed, beaten and killed by Mexican Mafia crews, records say.

Gang associates also sold heroin, cocaine and marijuana throughout the San Antonio area, according to police.

Federal authorities say unindicted co-conspirator Heriberto "Herb" Huerta ran the Mexican Mafia from his prison cell. Perez carried out Huerta's instructions on the street and communicated with his boss via letters, court documents show.

"Many of these letters described the struggle for power within the Texas Mexican Mafia," the affidavit states.

The infighting followed Huerta's imprisonment, and eventually led to the slaying of Luis "Blue" Adames on Nov. 23, 1994.

Perez reportedly ordered six associates to murder Adames after he challenged Huerta and Perez for leadership of the organization.

In all, members of the group are accused of at least 14 murders over three years.

"This indictment is not the first, nor will it be the last, to target dangerous members of this criminal organization," said Bill Blagg, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.

Among others charged were: Juan "Jon" Johns, 25; Martin "Pancake" Ortegon, 30; Victor "Tito" Pena, 37; Michael Perez, 24; and Joe "Yogi" Sandoval, 36. Eight others are being sought, but their names haven't been released.

Each is charged with a single racketeering conspiracy count, which carries a possible life sentence.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the San Antonio police department, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office and the Bexar County District Attorney's Office.

[mayugastank]

Mexikanemi prison gang, also known as the Texas Mexican Mafia or Emi, was formed in the early 1980’s within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The Mexikanemi is highly structured and is estimated to have 2,000 members, most of whom are Mexican nationals or Mexican-American males living in Texas at the time of their incarceration. Mexikanemi poses a significant drug-trafficking threat to communities in the Southwestern U.S., particularly in Texas. Mexikanemi gang members reportedly traffic multi-kilogram quantities of powdered cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine; multi-ton quantities of marijuana; and thousand-tablet quantities of ecstasy from Mexico into the U.S. for distribution both inside and outside prison. Mexikanemi gang members obtain narcotics from associates or members of the Jaime Herrera-Herrera, Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, and/or the Vicente Carrillo-Fuentes Mexican DTOs. In addition, Mexikanemi members maintain a relationship with Los Zetas, a Mexican paramilitary/criminal organization employed by the Cardenas-Guillen DTO as its personal security force.

[mayugastank]

Mexikanemi prison gang, also known as the Texas Mexican Mafia or Emi, was formed in the early 1980’s within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The Mexikanemi is highly structured and is estimated to have 2,000 members, most of whom are Mexican nationals or Mexican-American males living in Texas at the time of their incarceration. Mexikanemi poses a significant drug-trafficking threat to communities in the Southwestern U.S., particularly in Texas. Mexikanemi gang members reportedly traffic multi-kilogram quantities of powdered cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine; multi-ton quantities of marijuana; and thousand-tablet quantities of ecstasy from Mexico into the U.S. for distribution both inside and outside prison. Mexikanemi gang members obtain narcotics from associates or members of the Jaime Herrera-Herrera, Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, and/or the Vicente Carrillo-Fuentes Mexican DTOs. In addition, Mexikanemi members maintain a relationship with Los Zetas, a Mexican paramilitary/criminal organization employed by the Cardenas-Guillen DTO as its personal security force.

[mayugastank]

In testimony today, San Antonio police officer Valentin Lopez, who said he dedicates much of his professional life to investigating the gang, testified that the Texas Mexican Mafia is still run by Heriberto "Herbie" Huerta, who is serving three life terms in a federal prison in Colorado.

Huerta was one of the founders and was sent to prison after a trial in the early 1990s that targeted him and other gang figures.

Lopez testified that he went to high school with Huerta in San Antonio before Huerta enveloped himself in crime and went to state prison.

Lopez said he came upon information that makes law enforcement believe Huerta, as president, still runs the show.

"Herb Huerta las year had $8,000 in his bank," Lopez said, referring to Huerta's prison account. "He claims it's for lawyers and appeals and that kind of stuff."

"He still runs the Texas Mexican Mafia."

The money, Lopez said, comes from the gang's collection of a 10-percent street tax imposed on drug dealers who peddle on gang turf. Its members collect as much as $23,000 to $27,000 a week, Lopez estimated.

The four defendants on trial -- Jimmy "Panson" Zavala, Johnny "Gira" Garcia-Esparza, Juan Victor "Smiley" Valles and Sammy "Spiderman" Garcia -- face federal charges related to drug-trafficking conspiracy, money laundering and using firearms to further drug crimes.

While seemingly irrelevant to the four defendants, prosecutors contend the gang's origins and structure are essential for jurors to understand that the gang operates as an organization, using violence and murder to further its causes.

The Texas Mexican Mafia -- while not officially linked to the larger California-based prison gang called the Mexican Mafia -- has a partial connection.

According to Lopez, while serving time in Lompoc, Calif., Huerta obtained permission to form a chapter of the gang in Texas from the heads of the Mexican Mafia.

The gang sprouted in 1984 or 1985 in Texas as a rag-tag coalition of prisoners aimed at protecting themselves from enemies, primarily the Texas Syndicate gang.

In his 1994 murder conspiracy and racketeering trial, Huerta said he was the spiritual leader of the Mexikanemi Science Temple of Aztlan, a group that worships a pre-Hispanic creed.

The goal, Huerta said, wasn't a gang or violence, but to "build character, so that (members) may learn to love instead of hate."

One goal was to create a network of legitimate businesses.

Not so, law officers say.

They point to a the group's own constitution a set of by-laws that calls for a strict heirarchy, with a president and vice president, followed by ranks along a paramilitary line - generals, captains, lieutenants, sergeants and soldiers.

It describes the group in more nefarious terms.

"Being a criminal organization, we work in any criminal aspect or interest for the benefit and advancement of Mexikanemi," the constitution, which surfaced in Huerta's trial and is being used in the current trial, says. "We shall deal in drugs, contract killings, prostitution, large scale robbery, gambling, weapons and everything imaginable."

The constitution also called for members to obey rules. The No. 1 rule -- don't be "a snitch."

Cooperating with law enforcement results in severe punishment.

"There is only one (punishment)," Lopez testified. "Death."

Even if the advancement of Mexican people was the original goal, law officers say, the message is now far different, given the massive amounts of money churned through the gang's illegal efforts.

"It was supposed to help the organization, but because of so much money, that has gotten lost," Lopez testified.

Testimony in the three to four week trial continues this afternoon with at least one gang turncoat taking the stand. If convicted, the four defendants face up to life in prison.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gcontreras@express-news.net CommentsLogin | Sign Up 0 comment(s) on "NEW: Trial focuses on history, organization of Mexican Mafia" You have 2000 characters remaining for your comment.Readers are solely responsible for the content of the comments they post here. Comments are subject to the site's terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of mySA.com. Readers whose comments violate the terms of use may have their comments removed or all of their content blocked from viewing by other users without notification.

[MMRbkaRudog]

What do you mean same org??

[mayugastank]

What do you mean same org??

Theres been alot written on how they were not officially linked-but in fact they were started by an EME member who was recruited in Federal Prison. He went on to seek the permission of the group to start a Texas Chapter. They share the same rivals and allys. The book the black hand speaks on a Federal commission that brought the 2 groups together and made bylaws identical for all EME chapters in Arizona-California-Texas. A faction broke off in Arizona after the national bylaws were imposed. They felt Arizona should be able to regulate Arizona. Thus the creation of the NEW MEXICAN MAFIA a rival to all EME clicks throughout the nation. Texas seems to have made alot of members in a short period of time (330 members since 1984) as compared to about (150-250 EME members in Californias history since 1954) Arizona consists of about 50 members. They are said( Arizona) to be the most profitable -organized and united MM.

[mayugastank]

Christine Pelisek
​
More than 1,300 local and federal law enforcement officers swooped down early this morning to serve warrants at 47 homes and apartments in Los Angeles. Forty four Avenues gang members and associates were arrested in the sweep.

Above: A press conference discussing the massive operation was held today outside LAPD Academy and included Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, Acting U.S. Attorney George Cardona and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich.


​
Alleged Cop Killer: Carlos "Stoney" Velasquez
The 222-page federal indictment is a story of murder, attempted murder, extortion, money laundering, intimidation and plots to smuggle drugs and cell phones into prisons.It also alleges that Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff Juan Escalante's accused shooter, Carlos "Stoney" Velasquez, admitted in wiretaps to a fellow gangster that he killed the 27-year-old deputy outside his Cypress Park home in retribution for the shooting death of his cousin Danny "Klever" Leon by Los Angeles Department Police Department officers in February of 2008. Escalante was getting into his car on his way to work when he was gunned down on August 2, 2008.


For months after the deputies killing, police wondered whether Escalante was killed because of his work at Men's Central Jail in Downtown LA or if it was a case of mistaken identity by gang members who were searching for gang rivals.

The indictment also alleges that, among other things, Mexican Mafia members were training new leaders of the Avenues gangsters to take over the drug dealing and extortion operations on Drew Street after dozens of its Drew Street clique members were picked up in the June 2008 take-down that netted Maria "Chata" Leon.

Leon is the reputed matriarch of a drug-dealing family of gangsters that included her sons and who terrorized the neighborhood for over two decades. In May, a federal judge sentenced Leon to eight years in federal prison. She plead guilty to two counts of racketeering and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.

The indictment was a veritable "who's who" of Avenues gangsters that included such members of the Aguirre Mexican Mafia family as Rudy "Lil Psycho" Aguirre, his father Rudy Aguirre Sr. and cousin Richie "Lil Pee Wee" Aguirre, who is serving a life sentence in Kearn Valley State Prison for three murders he committed in the mid-1990s.

Richie Aguirre's older brother is Mexican Mafia member Alex "Pee Wee" Aguirre, who was indicted by the feds in the '90s, and has an Avenues clique called the Pee Wee Gangsters named after him.

In one of many creepy parts of the indictment, Rudy Aguirre Jr. and Rudy Aguirre Sr. met with a Mexican Mafia member in Pelican Bay State Prison, wanting permission to retaliate against a man they identified as "Boo Boo" because "Boo Boo" had not assisted an Avenues gang member who had been fatally injured during a shooting with a rival gang member and had not shown "sufficient respect" for the Aguirre family. The Mexican Mafia member authorized that "Boo Boo" should get a pounding for disrespecting the gang.

In another wiretapped interview, Rudy Aguirre Jr. said he would allow a gang member named Anthony Rodriguez to continue to work for Richie Aguirre, who was controlling drugs in county jail from his prison cell, once he got out of county jail, if he was not restricted to a supervised halfway house. Rodriguez said he would stay out of the halfway house by claiming he had a legitimate job and that he would get a letter of support from the director of Homeboy Industries.

Documents show that Rudy Aguirre Jr. began to lay low when he suspected he was a target of the 2008 indictment of the Drew Street clique even though he was told by Avenues gangster James Campbell that he had not been named.

A month later, on August 2, Carlos "Stoney" Velasquez (who had recently been appointed as the new leader of the drug trade on Drew Street), Guillermo Hernandez and others allegedly shot to death Deputy Escalante with a .40 caliber handgun in an area controlled by the Avenues. (Velasquez, and Hernandez were arrested by the LAPD for the deputy's killing last December 12. They were subsequently charged with one count each of murder with the special circumstance that the killing was carried out to further the activities of a criminal gang. Jose Renteria was charged in April. A fourth suspect is on the lam).

That same day, after two juvenile members of the Avenues disposed of the gun, another Avenues gang member was overheard on a wiretap attempting to get to the bottom of the shooting and to find out whether the hit was ordered by the Mexican Mafia.

On August 15, authorities listened to a wiretapped conversation between Jose Leon and alleged shooter Velasquez about law enforcement efforts to track down the killers of Escalante. Leon told Velasquez that Mexican Mafia leaders wanted Cypress and 43rd Street cliques of the Avenues to become more active in the Drew Street drug trade because of the arrests made in June by the feds.

Velasquez allegedly told Leon that he had killed Escalante in retribution for the death of Leon's AK-47-wielding brother, Danny, by police officers on February 21, 2008, after fatally gunning down Marco Salas, a former Cypress Park gang member and almost killing his two-year-old granddaughter. Velasquez stated specifically that "Klever took one with him." Leon told Velasquez that he would protect Velasquez' brother and Avenues gang member Jose Gomez from retaliation for cooperating with law enforcement, because Velasquez killed the deputy.

On September 20, Aguirre Jr. took another trip to Pelican Bay to inform a Mexican Mafia member that "tax" payments had stopped because of the arrests of Drew street clique members, and that Drew Street had been shut down and James Campbell had been arrested. The Mexican Mafia member instructed Aguirre to have his lawyer send him a book about the Mexican Mafia and mark it as "confidential."

On December 11, 2008, Velasquez got word that there was an "emergency" because cops were conducting searches of gang members residences near Avenue 57. That same day, Rodriguez told Velasquez to get a gun. Velasquez told Richie Aguirre that a fellow gangster's residence had been searched by the cops, who seized their assault rifles but couldn't find their stash of narcotics.

Velasquez then told a gangster to spread the rumor that Velasquez had been drinking with a fellow gangster when Escalante was murdered in order to create an alibi.

The indictment brings to light the sleazy drug-filled and violent world of the Avenues gangsters, from girlfriends who sneak notes into prison for their boyfriends, then lie to judges that they will stay out of the gang life to get smaller sentences; to old-time gangsters who hide heroin in their rectums to smuggle into jail, and to newbie
juvenile members who pay $10 a week so they can carry a weapon.

And the pride they feel. In one telling conversation, Richie Aguirre, on a cellphone hidden in his cell, told a female caller that she should be proud that her brothers had been featured in a "Gangland" episode about the Avenues gang on the History Channel, and that authority had changed hands within the Mexican Mafia from his brother Alex Aguirre to him.