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Nuestra Familia — Part 1
Page 34
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imnyediately arrested by un- what it's likadetrpagd burn
dercuver agents of the Judi- the Malia.
cial Police and charged with Lopez and “Colorade” Joe
mugder. Arias. a parolee from San
kok ok Quentin. met in the spring of
, 1972 in the Los Angeles area
ehe Mexican Mafia system They decided that an ideal
d
for running heroin across 1 aot for heroin lay in the
ihe border is simple and
foolproof. It might be de- San Fernando Valley, home
scribed as a self-help pro- ican community.
gram for ex-convicls. “Arias, a ranking Maba
A Southern California Def lieutenant. was supplied
partment of Corrections int with a late.model black Lin-
vealigator described it this} oom atong with clothes and |
Way: money by. organization fin- |
“Suppose you've just bee anciers, said a Department |
released from Quentin with of Corrections investigator.
{5 in your pocket, Yougoto In late summer, the pair
@ L.A. area and look up journcyed to Tijuana where
Jour brothers whoall served they met Albert “Beto” Ra-
fime with you. _— mirez, then another Mafia
“They supply you with g heroin dealer established in
Cat, some clothes and alit- the Bullring area of the
tle bread. town.
' “You jump ia your car , rr)
ant head for Td, ” Fugitive
Ramirez is a fugitive from
California wanted in San
Bernardino County for her-
oin sales.
Fight: ounces of the fami-
liar brown Mexican narcotic
was consigned to Arias and
Lopez by Ramirez. Arias
an¢ Lopez returned to the
First Time
“Now this is the first time
you're buying dope in Mexi-
1. You're sure to get ripped
f because everybody gets
pped off the first time they
yring some muney into Mex-
ica,
“But your Mafia brothers
can contact a member of the
organization and he'll front
xutt_ the dope on consign-
Intent. -
“You take the stuff north
gnd sell it In L.A. or Frisco
ind then you return the
gkim to the urganization.”
The “skim” is usually 10
pervent of the money earned
from street sales of the her-
oin, narcotics officers said.
That nioney, deposited in
bank accounts in the names
of ranking Mafia members,
AS used (0 expand the dope
suiugeling network or to pay
‘off certain Mexican officials.
8. x k & ent heroin and $1060 in cash.
dJinymy Lopez, 2 3% year = Arias. upon returning to
old Chin> state prison parol~ town, discovered Lopez had
ee, found out the hard way absconded Witrthetiope and
. they went into business in
August, 1972, investigators
say. .
and a number of other per-
sons were arrested outside a
San Bernardino drug store
for shaplifting. Arias was
out of town at the time.
The following day, Lopez{
‘was bailed out of jail and,
disappeared in the 1967 Ply;
mouth he was using at the!
time. ; 4
16
Trung Loadea
In the Plymouth's trunk,
investigators believe, was a
cache of three ounces of un-
for a large Mexican-Anver- -
money. went looking for
his former partner.
Qn Sept. 16. 1972, River.
sige County. deputies found
Lopez’ battered body in
some scrub bushes in Reche
Canyon.
The killer first shot his
victim in. non-vital areas.
Then, while Lopez was
kneeling. he was worked
over with a screwdriver.
Finally, he was shot in the
head and heart.
“TE you give the Mafia a
bad name or you burn the
Mafia. there’s only one pun--
ishment and that's death,” a
Riverside County investiga-
tor said. Arias is sought for
the Lopez murder,
&* * &
Mexican Mafia or Nuestra
Familia heroin dealers work
in every major California
population center. prison in-
vestigators believe.
Mafia territory includes
San Franciseo (primarily in
the Mission District), Los
Angeles, Sacramento, Fres- 1
no and Bakersfield.
Familia dealers are
known to serye San Jose, the
Imperial Valley and Oxnard.
Likewise, the two gangs
prisons,
Mafia and the Familia art.
ed at’San Queitin in p-
tember, 1968, over fifty lea
gangs have been Killed i
State prisons, Guthrie said,
_ Another 200 non-tatal knif-
ings and beatings have been
linked to the bloody atrag-
x & &
The war almost ended ma
truce. until a fateful Decem-
ber day last year in the
maximum security section
of Chino prison.
Rudy “Cheyenne” Cadena
was returning from a meal
when his body suddenly
Plammeted from a_ third
ier walkway in the ns
adjustment center, Prise
Although Cadena’s hea
smashed into the con
floor, he never felt it,
convicted robber and m
derer was dead before he
the ground,
When guards reached the
ay, there were over 56
Slashing knife wounds from
] Cadena's head to waist.
« ‘Set Up?
“He had been set up,”
San Bernardino area where ' have divided up California's Said a prison investigator.
“They got him when he least
Rackets in Folsonand San expected it.”
Quentin prisons are both :
Soledad, Duel Vocational fn-
members control rackets in
stitute in Tracy and aeh|
At the time of his death,
Iu early September, Lopez Mafia controlled. Familia {cadena was trying to forge
an end to hostilities between
the Mafia and Nuestra Fa-
milia.
As the undisputed
rehabilitation center. leader of the Mafia, he had
ooo. sent word to dozens of other
‘Hit is Proof Matia leaders asking thei
Contre! of a prison like fiews on a truce. ;
San Quentin means $4n2 | Ironically, when Caden
leaders Tun the rackets: igied, investigators te
dope. canteen ducats, bona- he was unaware that: most
roo ipressed and starched! brotherhood members were
denims, cigarettes ‘used as violently opposed .
prison currency) and homo- ¥ opposed to a truce
sexual prostitution. Coded Me
New inductees in either Ssages
roup are usually required Chino guards, it was lat
a prove themselves by mak- learned, knew Caden ee
ing a “hit” ‘against an or-
ganization enemier————»
Since the war between the
a
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