It was a rather hot and smoggy day in the City of Monterey Park in July of 1972. The temperature was close to 89 degrees. Joe Delia was out on patrol duty when he spotted what appeared to him as a possible drug addict walking along one of the residential streets within the city. Joe Delia was an expert at catching intravenous drug users. He got so good that he even beat the PhD who wrote the book that most defense lawyers used to dis-credit officers in court on being an "expert" on the use of drugs.
One of the reasons this person was suspicious to Officer Delia was that on this hot day, this person was wearing a heavy trench coat. An earlier court ruling said that an officer could no longer have a person stopped for investigative purposes and order the person to roll up his sleeves to be inspected for illegal drug use.
As Joe was in the process of a "pat-down" to insure that the person did not possess any weapons, Joe felt a soft bulge under the person’s shirt. Joe thinking that this was the man's stash of narcotics started pulling at the bulge. The man shouted at Joe that this was not his stash. At that very time, the bulge was yanked out. To Joe's surprise, it was the man's colostomy bag and it was full. Joe not only got most of it on him but also on the man he took it from. Needless to say, the man was not arrested, but Joe had to go home and change uniforms.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
ARMANDO "LUNES" "MUNDI" VARELA
At the prodding of my dear friend, COP Jon Elder, I am writing about an extra ordinary person. Yes, this person had been a murderer and yes, he had also been a member of the Mexican Mafia. He like a few men that had enough of the madness of the organization, decided to come over to our side to fight the very group that they swore an oath to behold. They obviously could not become members of law enforcement, but they helped put away several members of the Mexican Mafia legally. (Either testifying in court or giving us the needed information to turn others that came to our side)."Mundi" had a "persona" about him that made you want to believe his sincerity when talking to him. He was straight forward in answering the questions, and if he made a mistake, he would later bring it to our attention. We, at the Prison Gang Task Force (PGTF) had an occasion to take him to eat or drink, (he was of course on parole, but as far as I knew he did not have the 1 B condition (no drinking) attached to his sentence.
Several of us PGTF members had an opportunity to be alone with Mundi and had the benefit of de-briefing him on a one on one interview. He was very sharp when it came down to dates and who was involved in certain crimes.
As a cop, I cannot call him a friend, but an ally in the fight against the Mexican Mafia. Whenever he got lonely, he would either call us or just drop in at the trailer operation. One day after being placed into the Federal Witness program, he decided to leave that area, and came back to Monterey Park to one of the watering holes that he was familiar with, Agostino's Restaurant.
He did this all because he missed being around his new found police "buddies" and had no one else to talk to.
We let him hang around and drink for a couple of hours and then got in touch with the Federal Marshall's office. They blew a gasket when they found out about Mundi's shenanigans. He was indeed, a very interesting eMe killer.
Mundi later ended up in Arizona, where he helped out a dear cop friend of mine, (Frank "Paco" Marcell) that also has some interesting stories to tell.
I waited until after he died to tell this story for obvious reasons. May He Rest In Peace.
Several of us PGTF members had an opportunity to be alone with Mundi and had the benefit of de-briefing him on a one on one interview. He was very sharp when it came down to dates and who was involved in certain crimes.
As a cop, I cannot call him a friend, but an ally in the fight against the Mexican Mafia. Whenever he got lonely, he would either call us or just drop in at the trailer operation. One day after being placed into the Federal Witness program, he decided to leave that area, and came back to Monterey Park to one of the watering holes that he was familiar with, Agostino's Restaurant.
He did this all because he missed being around his new found police "buddies" and had no one else to talk to.
We let him hang around and drink for a couple of hours and then got in touch with the Federal Marshall's office. They blew a gasket when they found out about Mundi's shenanigans. He was indeed, a very interesting eMe killer.
Mundi later ended up in Arizona, where he helped out a dear cop friend of mine, (Frank "Paco" Marcell) that also has some interesting stories to tell.
I waited until after he died to tell this story for obvious reasons. May He Rest In Peace.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD GUYS GONE?
It is hard to pick up a newspaper and not read about some reporter being found out about the story that he wrote was plagiarized. Is this a sign of the times? In my book I wrote about the news media persons who we allowed to visit our trailer operation. They were indeed few, but they had integrity to tell the stories we gave them. They were factual and sometimes these same persons were allowed to talk to our informants. These persons spent enough time with us to know what we had going on was an honest attempt at bringing down this new phenomenon known as the Mexican Mafia.
We never told them what to write, or asked to see their drafts of the stories. The persons from which I speak of are Joe Ramirez formally from television station KNBC, Steve Mallory, and the late Don Harris. There was one other that wrote stories for Reader's Digest, Nathan Adams.
Don Harris produced a video in 1974, entitled the PRISON GANGS. This film was a reality look at the Mexican Mafia. This film later became a training film for officers involved in fighting the prison gangs. This film also won several awards including the Peabody Award from Columbia University. Steve Mallory did another video on 1976 on another prison gang known as the Nuestra Familia. This also was one of the best documentaries on this gang that I have seen to date.
Joe Ramirez reported stories about this gangs on live television that he researched as a reporter for KNBC. These were also of the best quality.
Sure there are a few writers today with this same integrity. Two that come to mind are Chris Blatchford, and Bill Richardson from Tempe, Arizona.
I have recently read some stories written by others and for the most part was accurate. I have let those writers know that what they had written on the Mexican Mafia were right on.
The bottom line is that the news media can be an effective tool for law enforcement; but one just has to be cautious as to whom they trust with the story.
We never told them what to write, or asked to see their drafts of the stories. The persons from which I speak of are Joe Ramirez formally from television station KNBC, Steve Mallory, and the late Don Harris. There was one other that wrote stories for Reader's Digest, Nathan Adams.
Don Harris produced a video in 1974, entitled the PRISON GANGS. This film was a reality look at the Mexican Mafia. This film later became a training film for officers involved in fighting the prison gangs. This film also won several awards including the Peabody Award from Columbia University. Steve Mallory did another video on 1976 on another prison gang known as the Nuestra Familia. This also was one of the best documentaries on this gang that I have seen to date.
Joe Ramirez reported stories about this gangs on live television that he researched as a reporter for KNBC. These were also of the best quality.
Sure there are a few writers today with this same integrity. Two that come to mind are Chris Blatchford, and Bill Richardson from Tempe, Arizona.
I have recently read some stories written by others and for the most part was accurate. I have let those writers know that what they had written on the Mexican Mafia were right on.
The bottom line is that the news media can be an effective tool for law enforcement; but one just has to be cautious as to whom they trust with the story.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
DON HARRIS
This story is a request from my son and a couple other persons who feel this story should be told.
Don Harris was a brilliant story writer and video producer of the best prison gang documentary that has come out to date. He had an understanding of mankind both good and bad. Don was very forthright and when I first met him he laid it on the line. He said that he had heard about the Task Force operations and wanted to do a story about the inmates in prison and in free society. He said that he would appreciate working with us, but that he would do the story without our help, but wanted to get the facts straight.
We checked out his credentials which were impeccable. We decided to allow him access to our files and interview our informants. We also took him inside the prisons and down to Tijuana to interview Joe Morgan’s crime partner, Harry Gamboa Buckley. (Buckley refused to be interviewed, but Don was satisfied with our attempts.)
We worked on other stories with him and became good friends. Don told us about a madman preacher that had taken his congregation to Guyana where he felt that he would not be pursued nor persecuted. Don said that Congressman Leo Ryan had received letters from family members of preacher Jim Jones that complained that their relatives were being abused. Congressman Ryan decided to go to Guyana to check out the story, and asked Don if he would care to join him.
Don was telling this in front of Chief Jon Elder who felt this could be a very dangerous assignment and told me to give Don my bullet proof vest.
We later learned from newspaper accounts that upon arrival in Guyana, they were met at the airport by armed guards who escorted them to see Jim Jones. They apparently talked to a few members of the congregation, but could feel the tension in the air. As they were leaving, a car followed them back to the airport. As they were about to enter their plane, the men that had followed them suddenly and without warning shot all of them. Don may have survived the shooting, but to make sure they were dead, they shot Don in the head with a shotgun.
After this, the men returned to Jim Jones who was sitting at the table making sure that his entire congregation, 908 members were drinking the cyanide laced kool-aid that he had prepared. Jim Jones then killed himself by using a gun.
The real tragedy here was that this madman took away at the tender age of 42, one of the kindest, brilliant men that I had the honor of knowing. RIP
Don Harris was a brilliant story writer and video producer of the best prison gang documentary that has come out to date. He had an understanding of mankind both good and bad. Don was very forthright and when I first met him he laid it on the line. He said that he had heard about the Task Force operations and wanted to do a story about the inmates in prison and in free society. He said that he would appreciate working with us, but that he would do the story without our help, but wanted to get the facts straight.
We checked out his credentials which were impeccable. We decided to allow him access to our files and interview our informants. We also took him inside the prisons and down to Tijuana to interview Joe Morgan’s crime partner, Harry Gamboa Buckley. (Buckley refused to be interviewed, but Don was satisfied with our attempts.)
We worked on other stories with him and became good friends. Don told us about a madman preacher that had taken his congregation to Guyana where he felt that he would not be pursued nor persecuted. Don said that Congressman Leo Ryan had received letters from family members of preacher Jim Jones that complained that their relatives were being abused. Congressman Ryan decided to go to Guyana to check out the story, and asked Don if he would care to join him.
Don was telling this in front of Chief Jon Elder who felt this could be a very dangerous assignment and told me to give Don my bullet proof vest.
We later learned from newspaper accounts that upon arrival in Guyana, they were met at the airport by armed guards who escorted them to see Jim Jones. They apparently talked to a few members of the congregation, but could feel the tension in the air. As they were leaving, a car followed them back to the airport. As they were about to enter their plane, the men that had followed them suddenly and without warning shot all of them. Don may have survived the shooting, but to make sure they were dead, they shot Don in the head with a shotgun.
After this, the men returned to Jim Jones who was sitting at the table making sure that his entire congregation, 908 members were drinking the cyanide laced kool-aid that he had prepared. Jim Jones then killed himself by using a gun.
The real tragedy here was that this madman took away at the tender age of 42, one of the kindest, brilliant men that I had the honor of knowing. RIP
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
DEATH OF THE COMMUNICATOR
Thirty-five years ago I never thought that I would be writing this. You see, I was one of the many cops from several agencies that were trying to put him back in prison. It was amongst other things that I thought this man was what I termed the "Communicator" for the eMe. Some of our informants agreed. I was told that he was using his agency for criminal activities. Most of the investigators, including myself agreed on this point. I know that the Prison Gang Task Force did everything in it's power to discover all we could about his agency and most of his employees, in fact I even had an inside man (an ex-con) who passed on anything he heard.
As we assembled the various pieces of the puzzle, we could not come up with enough to arrest him. We, (law enforcement) made several arrests of employees, and investigated the deaths of some of the employees but could not connect him directly to any of these activities. He had political clout, as did a few other similar agencies.
We went so far as to include the media, but this too was not enough, until the Get Going Project started to catch heat. I was there on the day this man's project closed, so was a young Lieutenant and his Sergeant from LAPD. We were indeed happy, why not, we had taken down one of what we considered the eMe's strongholds. (It was actually the LA City Councilman, Arthur Snyder whose relentless pursuit that made it official.)
I could go on and on, but I will bring it to a close in the next few paragraphs.
It was around 2002 that I was asked by CIA, an informant of mine (Not the Central Intelligence Agency), to meet with this man. I was leery at first for good reasons. This man certainly knew who I was, even my former boss COP Jon Elder told me he thought it was a bad idea, I wouldn't be the first man that this guy had murdered.
We met in a Denny's Restaurant in Newport Beach, California. The man was as awesome then as when I first started pursuing him. It took about 1/2 hour to clear the air, and we both agreed that what happened in the past should be put behind us. He told me that he had became a born-again Christian and was trying to change the attitudes of not only the kids on the street that were leaning to get into the gang life, but also going inside the prisons to talk to gang members telling them there was a better life through Jesus Christ. He seemed sincere, and I tended to believe him. We talked about how this action was needed and must have talked for a couple of hours.
We met several times after this meeting. We never discussed eMe business per say, if I knew something about a person or incident he would just look at me and smile. From this, I knew it must be true.
He was in the process of writing a book, which I never had a chance to see, because he died before it was published.
I had given him a copy of my book and his comment was that it was written by someone who knew what he was talking about, one who would have had to have lived it to tell it as accurate as portrayed. He even liked the fact that I corrected the part about "Pie Face" being his Padrino. He was not, but when asked, he said that he swore never to divulge that information, and he would take it to the grave; he did.
His name is Rafael "Chispas" Sandoval, ex-director of the COMMUNITY CONCERN CORPORATION. As Paul Harvey says, "now you know the rest of the story".
As we assembled the various pieces of the puzzle, we could not come up with enough to arrest him. We, (law enforcement) made several arrests of employees, and investigated the deaths of some of the employees but could not connect him directly to any of these activities. He had political clout, as did a few other similar agencies.
We went so far as to include the media, but this too was not enough, until the Get Going Project started to catch heat. I was there on the day this man's project closed, so was a young Lieutenant and his Sergeant from LAPD. We were indeed happy, why not, we had taken down one of what we considered the eMe's strongholds. (It was actually the LA City Councilman, Arthur Snyder whose relentless pursuit that made it official.)
I could go on and on, but I will bring it to a close in the next few paragraphs.
It was around 2002 that I was asked by CIA, an informant of mine (Not the Central Intelligence Agency), to meet with this man. I was leery at first for good reasons. This man certainly knew who I was, even my former boss COP Jon Elder told me he thought it was a bad idea, I wouldn't be the first man that this guy had murdered.
We met in a Denny's Restaurant in Newport Beach, California. The man was as awesome then as when I first started pursuing him. It took about 1/2 hour to clear the air, and we both agreed that what happened in the past should be put behind us. He told me that he had became a born-again Christian and was trying to change the attitudes of not only the kids on the street that were leaning to get into the gang life, but also going inside the prisons to talk to gang members telling them there was a better life through Jesus Christ. He seemed sincere, and I tended to believe him. We talked about how this action was needed and must have talked for a couple of hours.
We met several times after this meeting. We never discussed eMe business per say, if I knew something about a person or incident he would just look at me and smile. From this, I knew it must be true.
He was in the process of writing a book, which I never had a chance to see, because he died before it was published.
I had given him a copy of my book and his comment was that it was written by someone who knew what he was talking about, one who would have had to have lived it to tell it as accurate as portrayed. He even liked the fact that I corrected the part about "Pie Face" being his Padrino. He was not, but when asked, he said that he swore never to divulge that information, and he would take it to the grave; he did.
His name is Rafael "Chispas" Sandoval, ex-director of the COMMUNITY CONCERN CORPORATION. As Paul Harvey says, "now you know the rest of the story".
Monday, February 11, 2008
INMATE INGENUITY
This was written by a dear friend and fellow employee of mine while working for TDC.
"Wish I had pictures from my early years with TDCJ, I could top this. During an AC (Aryan Circle) and MM (Mexican Mafia) war in 1996, I caught 3 inmates going o the outside recreation yard. They were looking rather "buffed-up" (inmates who work out a lot tend to get big muscles).
Of course they are routinely searched before going to the recreation yard and were found with 1/2" - 1" thick magines sewn together with thread and wire to form a vest under their uniforms that covered from just below the throat to below the waist band. If that wasn't enough, they even had fashioned a type of shin guard from the same material. Thanks went out to the family and citizens concerned for their "mental stimulation" enough to send the mags to the poor offender.
Oh, and they were "laced up" meaning they each had "picos" (shanks, or stabbing devices), secured inside their boxers, tied up to their draws by a strong woven thread so it would dangle just below the crotch. (We had to be very careful to always strip search since a shank in that area would obviously injure the searching officer.)
During the HPL (Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos) and the TS (Texas Sydicate war, I later found some HPL members at the Garza Unit with "pens" in their pocket, which they innocently carried in their uniform pockets. Upon perusal, we found the blades from standard pencil sharpeners wedged and melted into the ends of the ppens cartridges (ink cartridges removed or chopped off to disguise the weapons. (Pencil sharpeners have very strong blades, about the width of 5-6 razor blades, and quite a bit sharper. They make a good throat slasher.) The cap remained in place and they tried to look like a bunch of "nerds", but their intent was to attack the TS members...Such is the life in prison. Stay safe out there.
"Wish I had pictures from my early years with TDCJ, I could top this. During an AC (Aryan Circle) and MM (Mexican Mafia) war in 1996, I caught 3 inmates going o the outside recreation yard. They were looking rather "buffed-up" (inmates who work out a lot tend to get big muscles).
Of course they are routinely searched before going to the recreation yard and were found with 1/2" - 1" thick magines sewn together with thread and wire to form a vest under their uniforms that covered from just below the throat to below the waist band. If that wasn't enough, they even had fashioned a type of shin guard from the same material. Thanks went out to the family and citizens concerned for their "mental stimulation" enough to send the mags to the poor offender.
Oh, and they were "laced up" meaning they each had "picos" (shanks, or stabbing devices), secured inside their boxers, tied up to their draws by a strong woven thread so it would dangle just below the crotch. (We had to be very careful to always strip search since a shank in that area would obviously injure the searching officer.)
During the HPL (Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos) and the TS (Texas Sydicate war, I later found some HPL members at the Garza Unit with "pens" in their pocket, which they innocently carried in their uniform pockets. Upon perusal, we found the blades from standard pencil sharpeners wedged and melted into the ends of the ppens cartridges (ink cartridges removed or chopped off to disguise the weapons. (Pencil sharpeners have very strong blades, about the width of 5-6 razor blades, and quite a bit sharper. They make a good throat slasher.) The cap remained in place and they tried to look like a bunch of "nerds", but their intent was to attack the TS members...Such is the life in prison. Stay safe out there.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
TATTOOS
I would venture to say that most people have noticed the tattoos on people of all walks of life.
Although I personally find them distasteful, maybe due to my age (73), I must admit that some of them actually are quite fasinating. They come in all sizes and shapes. Most of the ones that people see are done by persons that work/own a tattoo studio. These tattoos are brightly colored and depict such innocuous things such as flowers, animales, fruits, etc.
The tattoos that I want to talk about are not so innocuous, in fact they are quite harmful and even deadly, if used by those non-members of various prison gangs, outlaw motorcyle gangs etc.
I remember receiving word from a CDC (Cal.Dept.of Corrections) employee that said that a new inmate was received at Folsom Prison in the early 1970's wearing the emblem of the prison gang known as the Aryan Brotherhood. The inmate was held down by several AB members while one used a sharp shank to cut the tattoo of his chest. Most prison gangs take it personal when a non member takes it upon himself to use what they consider a copy righted symbol.
It is easy for the trained eye, (especially a gang officer) to distinguish a prison tattoo from a free world tattoo. Most of those older and some newer prison tattoos are made with Indian Ink using any kind of pin or needle to penetrate the skin. Over the years there have been ex-cons and
street gang members afflicted with the hepititus C virus. (This virus attacks the liver and can cause death.)
Here are just a few examples of weird places on the body that I have witnessed or have been told to me by reliable persons:
On the inside of the lower lip; behind the ears; on the neck; on the ear lobe; between the fingers; on the top of the head; and the best (worse one), was on the penis of an old time Mexican Mafia member who was recently murdered in a bar. This was discovered by a policeman who was booking the member in on a narcotics charge.
I am sure there are many other places but these are the ones that I know about.
Although I personally find them distasteful, maybe due to my age (73), I must admit that some of them actually are quite fasinating. They come in all sizes and shapes. Most of the ones that people see are done by persons that work/own a tattoo studio. These tattoos are brightly colored and depict such innocuous things such as flowers, animales, fruits, etc.
The tattoos that I want to talk about are not so innocuous, in fact they are quite harmful and even deadly, if used by those non-members of various prison gangs, outlaw motorcyle gangs etc.
I remember receiving word from a CDC (Cal.Dept.of Corrections) employee that said that a new inmate was received at Folsom Prison in the early 1970's wearing the emblem of the prison gang known as the Aryan Brotherhood. The inmate was held down by several AB members while one used a sharp shank to cut the tattoo of his chest. Most prison gangs take it personal when a non member takes it upon himself to use what they consider a copy righted symbol.
It is easy for the trained eye, (especially a gang officer) to distinguish a prison tattoo from a free world tattoo. Most of those older and some newer prison tattoos are made with Indian Ink using any kind of pin or needle to penetrate the skin. Over the years there have been ex-cons and
street gang members afflicted with the hepititus C virus. (This virus attacks the liver and can cause death.)
Here are just a few examples of weird places on the body that I have witnessed or have been told to me by reliable persons:
On the inside of the lower lip; behind the ears; on the neck; on the ear lobe; between the fingers; on the top of the head; and the best (worse one), was on the penis of an old time Mexican Mafia member who was recently murdered in a bar. This was discovered by a policeman who was booking the member in on a narcotics charge.
I am sure there are many other places but these are the ones that I know about.
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