Law Enforcement

SAN FRANCISCO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the seizure yesterday of 18.5 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated $1.85 million as part of a Department of Justice-led operation that targeted the Sinaloa cartel.

“This operation is an example of the complex and multi-jurisdictional work that Department of Justice agents do every day to keep California safe,” Attorney General Harris said. “I commend these agents for their bravery and professional excellence.”

Department of Justice special agents from the Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA) conducted an undercover sting operation into the cartel’s drug trafficking activities. Working with a confidential informant, an undercover agent arranged to purchase cocaine from an individual associated with the Sinaloa cartel, which operates in Baja California. Yesterday, at a prearranged meeting in a hotel parking lot in Colton, agents arrested two men and seized 18.5 kilos of cocaine.

Juan Mora Flores, 40, of Tecate, Mexico and Jose Vega Diaz, 47, of Whittier, CA, were arrested and booked at the Riverside County Jail. Both men are being held on $1 million bail.

The operation is the latest in a series of successful DOJ-led operations targeting transnational gangs across California. In June, DOJ agents led a multi-agency operation that led to the arrests of 101 transnational gang members in the Central Valley (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2512&y=&m=). In July, agents seized 18 kilos of cocaine from a vehicle that crossed the border at the Calexico port of entry http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2538&y=&m=). In August, the DOJ dismantled a large-scale U.S.-Mexico prescription drug trafficking operation. (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2553&y=&m=).

In responding to transnational gang crime in California, the state Department of Justice provides a wide range of investigative skills and forensic resources. The Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA) is one of 52 California Department of Justice-led task forces that coordinate the response to our state’s growing gang and drug trafficking problems.

The Attorney General’s INCA Task Force is composed of the following agencies: Beaumont Police Department, California Alcohol Beverage and Control, California Highway Patrol, Corona Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Murrieta Police Department, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside Police Department and the San Bernardino Police Department.

A photo of the seized narcotics is attached to the electronic version of this release, which can be viewed at http://oag.ca.gov/.

SAN FRANCISCO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the seizure last week of more than 50 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated $5 million as part of a Department of Justice-led undercover operation targeting the Guadalajara Cartel, an organization that smuggles large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine into California.

Department of Justice special agents from the Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA) conducted an undercover sting operation into the cartel’s drug trafficking activities. An undercover agent arranged to purchase cocaine from two individuals associated with the cartel. Last Thursday, at a prearranged meeting in a parking lot in Bellflower, agents arrested the two men and seized 42 kilos of cocaine. The Long Beach Police Department assisted the task force by serving a search warrant at a stash house in Bell Gardens, and seized an additional 9 kilos of cocaine and approximately $39,500 in drug proceeds.

Giovani Flores-Arias of Sinaloa, Mexico and Rene Guerrero of Indio, CA, were arrested and booked at the Long Beach Police Department. Flores is being held without bail and Guerrero is being held on $2 million bail. If convicted, the men each face a maximum of 25 years in state prison.

Some of the cocaine – which has an estimated street value of $5.1 million – was slated to be transported across the country for distribution. Previously, agents seized 22 pounds of methamphetamine from the Guadalajara drug cartel.

The operation is the latest in a series of successful DOJ-led operations targeting transnational gang crime across California. In June, DOJ agents led a multi-agency operation that led to the arrests of 101 transnational gang leaders and members in the Central Valley (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2512&y=&m=). In July, agents seized 18 kilos of cocaine from a vehicle that crossed the border at the Calexico port of entry (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2538&y=&m=). In August, the DOJ dismantled a large-scale U.S.-Mexico prescription drug trafficking operation (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2553&y=&m=).

In responding to transnational gang crime in California, the state Department of Justice provides a wide range of investigative skills and forensic resources. The Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA) is one of 52 California Department of Justice-led task forces that coordinate the response to our state’s growing gang and drug trafficking problems.

The Attorney General’s INCA Task Force is composed of the following agencies: Beaumont Police Department, California Alcohol Beverage and Control, California Highway Patrol, Corona Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Murrieta Police Department, Ontario Police Department, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside Police Department and the San Bernardino Police Department.

A photo of the seized narcotics is attached to the electronic version of this release, which can be viewed at http://oag.ca.gov/.

GILROY -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrests of 103 individuals, the majority of whom are gang members with prior felony convictions, after an 18-month investigation by California Department of Justice agents.

The California DOJ agents, along with 150 law enforcement personnel from local, state and federal agencies, made the arrests over the last three days for crimes that included the sale of drugs, firearms, and stolen property and vehicles in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

“After noticing an increase in crime, Gilroy officials asked for help in dismantling a gang network that had set up shop in their town,” Attorney General Harris said. “DOJ agents are uniquely suited to perform the undercover work vital to building complex, multi-jurisdictional cases like this one. This community is safer because of their hard work and their partnerships with federal and local law enforcement.”

As part of the operation, undercover Department of Justice agents purchased drugs and firearms, as well as stolen property and vehicles, from gang members and others with prior felony convictions.

To date, the operation has resulted in the seizure of more than 3 pounds of methamphetamine, 28.5 grams of heroin, 4 ounces of cocaine, 34 ecstasy tablets, 10 oxycontin pills, 44 firearms, 81 stolen vehicles and stolen property.

State charges include auto theft, possession of stolen property, gun charges, burglary, sales of narcotics (heroin, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy), and gang enhancements. Some suspects are also being arrested on federal indictments.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Harris announced several gang takedowns in the Central Valley, including the arrest of 101 leaders and members of two transnational gangs operating violent criminal enterprises in Madera, Los Banos, Livingston, Merced, Atwater and Dos Palos. (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2512&y=&m=)

Nuestra Familia is one of seven prison gangs in the state. Through top-down leadership, Nuestra Familia controls illegal activities inside several prisons, as well as most of the Nortenos gangs who operate in central California – from Yuba City to Bakersfield and from Salinas to the Sierra foothills. Through links to drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, these gangs move drugs, guns and human beings across the border and into communities throughout California.

The California Department of Justice, Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team (UNET) and the San Jose Regional Office were the lead investigative agencies and were supported by the Gilroy Police Department, California Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office – Northern District.

SACRAMENTO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today praised Governor Jerry Brown’s signature of Senate Bill 819, which will allow law enforcement officers to take more firearms out of the hands of those who are prohibited from owning them.

“Department of Justice Special Agents are the secret weapon of California law enforcement. I applaud Governor Brown for signing this law that will authorize our Special Agents to utilize existing funds to seize firearms from felons, gang members, the mentally ill and others who cannot legally possess such weapons,” Attorney General Harris said. “Seizing guns from the most dangerous among us is the kind of smart law enforcement that makes a difference in the everyday lives of Californians.”

SB 819, by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), allows the use of existing regulatory fees collected by gun dealers to fund the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS), a program administered by the California Department of Justice.

“There is a troubling blind spot in our current enforcement of firearms laws,” said Senator Leno. “Thousands of gun owners who once obtained their weapons legally still possess firearms despite subsequent issues, including criminal activities, which disqualify them from owning weapons. Innocent lives have been lost because we allow guns to be in the hands of known criminals and people who have serious mental illnesses. SB 819 helps remedy this troubling threat to public safety.”

The Bureau of Firearms has identified more than 18,000 Californians who illegally possess tens of thousands of firearms. Every day, 15 to 20 names are added to the list of prohibited persons who own firearms. SB 819 allows the Department of Justice to use a surplus from the Dealer’s Record of Sale account to enforce APPS. The program, which began in 2007, cross-references five databases to find people who legally purchased firearms since 1996 with those who have since been prohibited from owning or possessing them.

Law enforcement officials in California have long struggled to disarm people who are prohibited from owning a firearm. State and local officials lack the resources necessary to confiscate the enormous backlog of weapons, nor can they keep up with the daily influx of newly-prohibited persons. SB 819 helps to ensure that more persons on the APPS list are identified and their weapons confiscated.

In June, Attorney General Harris announced the results of a statewide sweep in which 1,209 firearms were seized from individuals legally barred from possessing them. The six-week sweep conducted by 99 agents from the Department of Justice also seized 155,731 rounds of ammunition and two grenades.

RIVERSIDE -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrests of 12 members of the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, along with the seizure of more than 300 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition, in San Bernardino, Imperial, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Santa Barbara counties after an 18-month investigation by California Department of Justice.

Seventy special agents from the California Department of Justice, along with law enforcement from 42 allied local and federal agencies, executed 52 search warrants and arrested subjects for crimes ranging from murder, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy, rape and narcotic related crimes.

“Our Department of Justice agents lead California's efforts to combat gang violence,” said Attorney General Harris. “Their expertise and ability to coordinate large-scale operations targeting the most organized and lethal gangs cannot be replicated. There is significant evidence that outlaw motorcycle gangs, like the ones whose member we arrested today, regularly perpetrate serious, violent crimes. Today’s action will make Californians safer.”

“This outlaw biker gang has been terrorizing our community for years and what happened today is another huge step in the war on gangs I declared in 2005,” said San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos. “This task force is a clear example of how a cooperative team approach can be effective in making our citizens safe. I want to thank California Attorney General Kamala Harris for her continued support and the hard work of her special agents in the Department of Justice for being such a key part of this team.”

The operation, code-named “Simple Green” was led by the Department of Justice’s Riverside INCA Task Force. In April 2010, the task force launched an investigation of the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, a transnational gang operating in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.

Through the course of the investigation, agents served 14 state search warrants and arrested 25 people. Agents also seized 46 lbs. of cocaine, 8 lbs. of methamphetamine, more than $37,000, 3 stolen vehicles, 26 firearms, a grenade launcher, a rocket launcher, four practice grenades and body armor.

A member of the Vagos Motorcycle Gang was recently arrested in the shooting of a rival gang member in a Nevada casino.

The California Department of Justice led the investigation, with support from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the San Bernardino County Sherriff’s Department, the San Bernardino County District Attorney, San Bernardino Police Department, Riverside Police Department, and Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

At 5:46 a.m., pacific time, on September 11, 2011, I was deeply touched to honor the memory of the many Americans who were tragically and senselessly killed on 9/11. I was honored to do so in the company of California men and women who are serving our state and our nation. We must never forget the more than 40 California residents who perished in the attacks, or the brave heroes in uniform who have given their lives defending our freedom since.

SAN FRANCISCO – The California Department of Justice today released the annual Crime in California report, which shows that the crime rate in every category of violent or property offenses decreased in California in 2010.

This is the fourth year in a row violent crime has decreased in California. In total, the violent crime rate decreased 6.9 percent, reaching its lowest level since 1968, and homicide and forcible rape rates are the lowest since 1966.

The Crime in California report is compiled by the California Department of Justice and is based on data reported by police and sheriff’s departments in all of California’s 58 counties. It presents an overview of the state’s criminal justice system through statistics for reported crimes, arrests and dispositions of adult felony arrests, and law enforcement officers killed or assaulted.

Crime rates have dropped from last year in several category measures, including homicide (-7.8 percent), robbery (-10 percent) and motor vehicle theft (-7.6 percent). Since peaking in 1989, the motor vehicle theft rate has decreased 62 percent.

The total arrest rate is 6 percent lower than last year; both adult and juvenile total arrest rates declined from last year.

The number of juvenile felony arrests has decreased by 11.2 percent in the past year, indicating that efforts to prevent crime at a young age have been successful. Adolescents involved in crime are at a greater risk of becoming offenders and victims as adults.

Continuing with the downward trend, there has also been a decrease in arrests for all types of property offenses across the board, including burglary, theft, and forgery for the third consecutive year.

The one area of increase came in the rate of dangerous drug arrests. Dangerous drugs are methamphetamine, phencyclidine and barbiturates. That number increased for the first time in 5 years by 12.2 percent over last year. Arrests for narcotics, marijuana and other drug offenses continued to decline.

The Crime in California 2010 report and data broken down by county are attached to the electronic version of this release, which can be found at oag.ca.gov.

SAN FRANCISCO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced today that a Vallejo man has entered into a plea for a four-year prison sentence for participating in an identity theft ring that defraud at least 29 victims in the Bay Area of at least $180,000.

Nick Luu, 30, of Vallejo, pled guilty in San Francisco Superior Court on August 24, 2011 to three counts of identity theft and admitted to participating in a conspiracy with five other defendants.

“Identity theft is one of the fastest growing and most insidious crimes in our technology-driven world,” Attorney General Kamala Harris said. “These criminals cost people their reputation, time and money. There must be accountability and consequences.”

From June 2009 to December 2009, Luu and five other conspirators stole personal information from various sources, including client records at a San Jose law office and Santa Clara dental office where Luu and another defendant worked.

The defendants used the information they stole to make false drivers licenses and file false change-of-address forms to divert the victims’ mail to Post Office boxes that the conspirators opened.

The conspirators then used the false driver’s licenses to open up credit accounts and buy luxury products including flat-screen TVs, Gucci watches, high-end clothing and jewelry. The defendants would often return the products for money.

Luu was one of two main defendants in the multi-defendant, 47-count complaint. Luu will be sentenced on January 5, 2012.

Luu’s three other co-defendants, Chev Chan, Matthew Medlin and Daniel Lee Lesly, have already pled. Chev Chan is due in court for pretrial on September 21.

The US Postal Inspectors Service was the law enforcement agency responsible for investigating the case with support from the California Department of Justice.

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced 15 arrests in a large-scale U.S.-Mexico prescription drug trafficking organization that used its proceeds to fund criminal activity in the United States.

The California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement initiated the investigation after conducting numerous border stops of members of the drug trafficking organization, some of whom were validated gang members. The group would acquire wholesale quantities of controlled pharmaceutical drugs, such as OxyContin and Hydrocodone, smuggle the drugs to Mexico where they were sold, and then smuggle the cash back into the United States to finance their criminal operations.

“Prescription drug diversion is a growing challenge for law enforcement, and one increasingly coordinated by well-funded criminal organizations,” said Attorney General Harris. “The people of California are safer now that our brave law enforcement officers have disrupted and dismantled this prescription drug diversion network.”

Anthony Wright, the leader of the organization, boasted that he earned $1,000 a day for the several years the operation was running. In the San Diego area, the organization brought upwards of $400,000 into the United States from Mexico in just a six-month period.

Since 2009, numerous border stops have been conducted on members of the drug trafficking organization, resulting in the seizure of approximately 1,288 OxyContin pills and 9,500 Hydrocodone pills, with an estimated street value of $78,000.

Wright, the primary source for this drug trafficking organization, frequented Dabney’s Pharmacy in South Central Los Angeles, which is believed to have provided large quantities of Hydrocodone and other controlled substances pharmaceuticals without reporting the transactions to the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. This pharmacy has failed to report filling any scheduled prescriptions to the state’s prescription monitoring program since November 2009, as required by state regulations. Agents also believe Wright acquired significant amounts of pharmaceutical controlled drugs by utilizing a large network of individuals to obtain prescriptions in return for money.

The controlled substance pharmaceutical drugs were acquired from San Diego, Riverside and Los Angeles counties through drug diversion programs, and prescription and insurance fraud. The pharmaceuticals were then smuggled into Tijuana, Mexico, where they were sold to illicit pharmacies. The traffickers smuggled the money back into the United States and used it to continue financing criminal activities.

Additionally, approximately $66,200 has been seized from members of the drug trafficking organization upon re-entry into the United States and Fatina Hicks and Derrick Belser were arrested on felony warrants for the transportation of controlled substances pharmaceuticals.

Five federal indictments were unsealed today, and earlier this month nine felony arrest warrants were issued by the Los Angeles and San Diego District Attorney’s offices.

Other agencies participating in the investigation include Homeland Security Immigration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, the Los Angeles and San Diego Counties District Attorney’s Offices, the California Department of Health Services, California Board of Pharmacy, and Los Angeles Police and Oceanside Police Departments, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, California Medical Board, Drug Enforcement Administration and the LA County Sherriff’s Office.

SAN FRANCISCO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that Richard John Schwalbe of Mill Valley was sentenced last week for embezzling at least $1.3 million from his employer and ordered to pay approximately $1.3 million in restitution and to serve two years, eight months in state prison.

Schwalbe, a former employee of Solectron Corporation, now Flextronics International Ltd., was convicted of two counts of grand theft. One count was for the embezzlement of certain funds that were owed to his employer into accounts that he controlled. The second count was for his acts in taking over and collecting in his personal account a debt owed by Insiphil, a Singapore based company, to Solectron.

“Embezzlement is a serious crime and comes with serious consequences,” Attorney General Harris said. “White-collar criminals must be held to the same standards as everyone else.”

A Department of Justice investigation found that Schwalbe had taken advantage of his position at Solectron Corporation to collect in his own account over $800,000 in obligations owed to Solectron. In a second scheme, Schwalbe was responsible for collecting an obligation owed to Solectron by Insphil. Misusing his position as credit manager, Schwalbe renegotiated the obligation owed by Insiphil, directed Solectron personnel to write down the obligation, and then caused Insiphil to continue making payments to an account controlled by Schwalbe. In total, Schwalbe embezzled more than $1.3 million from Solectron.

Schwalbe entered no contest pleas to two counts of grand theft, admitted taking more than $1.3 million, and admitted committing two or more related offenses involving theft. He was arrested on January 26, 2010 and entered his no contest pleas on June 24, 2011.

The case was prosecuted by Ronald D. Smetana, Senior Assistant Attorney General of the Special Crimes Unit. Special Agent Hal Berman and Investigative Auditor Robert Smith also assisted with the case. The case is People of the State of California v. Richard John Schwalbe, No. C1066702 (Santa Clara Superior Court).