Law Enforcement

YUBA CITY — Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced today that narcotics agents of the Department of Justice and local law enforcement officials arrested 59 gang members, including one who bootstrapped his way from foot soldier to local commander by committing or ordering murders.

In sweeps today, agents arrested 33 gang members and seized 24 firearms in five Northern California counties as part of “Operation Crimson Tide.” The operation was conducted by more than 300 law enforcement agents in Sacramento, Sutter, Yuba, Colusa and Stanislaus Counties and involved more than 30 search warrants.

“Tragically, those arrested today chose to join dangerous gangs that deal in meth and murder,” Brown said. “By removing them from society, we are disrupting their criminal activities and making the people of Northern California safer.”

In January, agents from the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and a task force of local law enforcement officials initiated Operation Crimson Tide by targeting gangs in and around Yuba and Sutter Counties.

After extensive investigative work, DOJ agents and task force members uncovered a well-organized methamphetamine distribution network, involving large amounts of methamphetamine smuggled into the United States from Mexico. The investigation also helped solve four homicides of Surenos gang members and resulted in the arrests of 26 Nortenos gang members and several associates.

Last month, agents arrested Robert Juan Salazar, 24, for the March 2004 murder of a Surenos gang leader as he sat in his car with his six-year-old nephew. In the view of law enforcement, that began Salazar’s climb up the organizational ladder of the local Nortenos gang, which included ordering murders of rival gang members in April and December 2004 and July 2005. Salazar is being held without bail in Sutter County Jail on murder charges.

Over the course of the operation, DOJ agents and task force members were able to prevent one murder, two stabbings, two shootings, as well as arrest two wanted fugitive gang members and two gang members on murder charges. Prior to today’s enforcement action, Operation Crimson Tide led to the seizure of more than 17 pounds of methamphetamine, two handguns and two sawed-off shotguns. An additional 24 weapons and more than 11 pounds of illegal drugs were seized today.

All 59 arrestees (including the 33 arrested today) will be prosecuted by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office in one comprehensive gang prosecution case. All 30 search warrants were issued by the Sacramento County Superior Court. The cold-case homicide cases are being prosecuted by the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office.

Charges include distribution and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, firearms violations and murder.

The California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and the Yuba/Sutter Narcotic and Gang Enforcement Team led today’s operation. Participating agencies include:

Butte County Sheriff’s Department
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
California Highway Patrol
Colusa County Sheriff’s Department
Marysville Police Department
Modesto Police Department
Nevada County Sheriff’s Department
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department
Sacramento Police Department
Sutter County Probation Department
Sutter County Sheriff’s Department
Yuba City Police Department
Yuba County Probation Department
Yuba County Sheriff’s Department

SAN FRANCISCO - In a letter sent today, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. declined San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey's request to allow San Francisco to opt out of participating in Secure Communities, a national program that links the fingerprints of arrestees to a federal database maintained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that checks whether an arrestee is in this country illegally and has previously committed crimes.

"I think this program serves both public safety and the interests of justice,' Brown said. 'ICE's program advances an important law enforcement function by identifying those individuals who are in the country illegally and who have a history of serious crimes or who have previously been deported.'

California law designates the California Department of Justice to maintain the state fingerprint database for law enforcement purposes. When someone is arrested, the county forwards the fingerprints to the DOJ to identify the person, determine his or her criminal history and to discover any outstanding warrants. As in every other state, the DOJ then forwards those fingerprints to the FBI to check for any history of criminal activity outside of the state. Under the Secure Communities program, the FBI also forwards fingerprints collected at arrest to ICE. Before the inception of Secure Communities allowing fingerprint identification, if a county suspected an arrestee was in the country illegally, the county submitted the person's name to ICE for a background check.

Brown's letter is below:

Sheriff Michael Hennessey
City and County of San Francisco
Room 456, City Hall
Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102

RE: Secure Communities

Dear Sheriff Hennessey:

I am writing in response to your letter regarding the Secure Communities program developed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The program is scheduled to be rolled out in San Francisco next month. You requested that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) block ICE from running checks on the fingerprints collected in San Francisco. The Secure Communities program is up and running in 169 counties in 20 states, including 17 counties in California. Because I think this program serves both public safety and the interest of justice, I am declining your request.

The DOJ Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigative Services is the entity designated by California law to maintain a database of fingerprints used in the state for law enforcement purposes. When someone is arrested, the county forwards the fingerprints to the DOJ to identify the person, determine his or her criminal history and to discover any outstanding warrants. As in every other state, the DOJ forwards those fingerprints to the FBI to check for a history of criminal activity outside of the state. Under the Secure Communities program, the FBI forwards fingerprints collected at arrest to ICE. If ICE finds a match to prints in its database, ICE notifies the county. ICE's stated intent and practice is to place holds on those individuals who are in the country illegally and who have a history of serious crimes or who have been previously deported.

Prior to the Secure Communities program, the name, but not the fingerprint, provided by an individual on arrest was run through ICE's database of people known by ICE to be in the country illegally. Often, individuals with a criminal history were released before their immigration status was discovered. Using fingerprints is faster, race neutral and results in accurate information and identification.

In these matters, statewide uniformity makes sense. This is not simply a local issue. Many of the people booked in local jails end up in state prison or go on to commit crimes in other counties or states.

I appreciate your concern. But I believe that working with the federal government in this matter advances important and legitimate law enforcement objectives.

Sincerely,

EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Attorney General

**NOTE: Contact information for victims willing to speak with the press is available upon request**

LOS ANGELES — Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that nine men engaged in a Southern California boiler room, tricked out in high-roller style with a roulette wheel and other casino equipment, have been charged with 97 criminal counts for stealing at least $2.3 million from more than 1,500 desperate homeowners who were promised loan modifications but received no relief.

Arrested Tuesday and Wednesday night were Gregg Scott Quinn, 37, of Camarillo and Juan Pierre Washington, 40, of Winnetka, who worked as company sales managers and supervisors. They are being held at Los Angeles County Jail.

Gary Arnold Eisenberg, 71, of Westwood, a top telemarketer with the company, and Ira Itskowitz, 58, a sales manager, each spent more than five years in federal prison for previous fraud convictions and are already in federal custody for violating parole in connection with their participation in the scheme.

The four principal owners of the business, Niv Iskin, 30, of Reseda, Reviv Karpman, 38, of Tarzana, Tomer Kogman, 29, of Receda and Avraham Yechizkia, 34, of Encino; and a sales manager, Barel Iskin, 23, of Woodland Hills, are still being pursued by law enforcement.

“This company was just a boiler room, long on promises and upfront fees but short on foreclosure relief,” Brown said. “Its operators cruelly defrauded citizens trying valiantly to hang on to their homes.”

Brown’s office initiated its investigation in March 2009 in response to numerous consumer complaints against the defendants’ Canoga Park-based loan modification business, which operated as Mason Capital Group, LLC and Gretchen Fox and Associates.

When agents executed a search warrant at the office, they found a Las Vegas casino-themed sales floor complete with craps, poker and black jack tables fashioned as workstations, and a roulette wheel that top-selling telemarketers spun for cash bonuses (see photos attached).

Between January 2008 and June 2009, the four owners took in at least $2.3 million in up-front fees, which ranged from $1,000 to $5,000, from more than 1,500 homeowners throughout the country. In almost every case, no loan modifications were completed, as promised. Financial records indicate that the four owners spent hundreds of thousands on private school tuition, travel, entertainment, shopping and other personal expenses while running Mason Capital Group, LLC and Gretchen Fox and Associates.

To corral sales, the four owners used a telemarketing operation that targeted homeowners facing mortgage payment increases or foreclosure. During an initial call, the telemarketers touted the company’s team of “attorneys, forensic accounting personnel, and loan negotiators” available to negotiate reductions in interest rates, monthly payments and principal balances; their supposed 90% to 100% loan modification success rate and refund guarantee. The telemarketers then collected financial information from homeowners to determine if they “qualified” for the company’s services.

Soon after the initial call, homeowners received a follow-up call to inform them that their case had been “reviewed” and “approved.” Telemarketers closed sales by insisting the approval would expire unless homeowners acted quickly, while reminding them about the refund guarantee if promised results were not achieved.

In fact, the company completed very few loan modifications, rarely contacted lenders, failed to honor the refund guarantee, employed unlicensed “loan processors” and had no legal staff negotiating with lenders.

While homeowners waited, they were told their loan modifications, or refunds, would be voided if they tried independently to contact their lender. Many lost their homes to foreclosure as a result.

To skirt the state’s foreclosure laws, avoid paying refunds and conceal profits, the owners changed company names, claimed bankruptcy and shifted loan modification files to another business they created called, American Financial Group, LLC.

Investigators located victims in dozens of California cities, including: American Canyon, Anaheim, Antioch, Artesia, Atwater, Bakersfield, Ceres, Chico, Cotati, Cloverdale, Crestline, Delano, Elk Grove, Encino, Fountain Valley, Fremont, Fresno, Guerneville, Hanford, Hayward, Hercules, Hood, Indio, La Jolla, Lancaster, Laguna Hills, Lodi, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Manteca, Modesto, Montclair, N. Hollywood, Newhall, Newman, North Highlands, Oakdale, Oakland, Ontario, Palmdale, Pittsburg, Pleasanton, Poplar, Porterville, Redding, Richmond, Riverbank, Rodeo, Sacramento, San Jose, San Pablo, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Stanton, Stockton, Tracy, Tulare, Turlock, Union City, Upland, Valley Village, Van Nuys, Visalia, W. Sacramento and Yuba City.

Brown’s office will seek restitution for victims of this scam.

By law, all individuals and businesses offering mortgage foreclosure consulting or loan modification and foreclosure assistance services must register with Brown’s office and post a $100,000 bond. It is also illegal for loan modification consultants to charge up-front fees for their services.

Non-profit housing counselors certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provide free help to homeowners. To find a counselor in your area, call 1-800-569-4287.

If you are a homeowner who has been scammed, contact Brown’s office at 1-800-952-5225 or file a complaint online at: www.ag.ca.gov/consumers/general.php.

Brown has sought court orders to shut down more than 30 fraudulent foreclosure relief companies and has brought criminal charges and obtained lengthy prison sentences for dozens of other deceptive loan modification consultants. For more information on Brown’s action against loan modification fraud visit: http://ag.ca.gov/loanmod.

The 97 criminal counts filed against the nine defendants, include 63 counts of grand theft, 26 counts of unlawful foreclosure consulting, 7 counts of tax evasion and 1 count of conspiracy.

The United States Postal Inspection Service assisted in the investigation.

Copies of the complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and the Arrest Warrant are attached.

*** Brown will hold a news conference today at 1 p.m. at 1300 I Street in Sacramento to discuss the lawsuit. ***

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that his office has filed a civil suit against former California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) Board Member Alfred Villalobos, his company ARVCO Capital, and former CalPERS CEO Federico “Fred” Buenrostro, charging them with fraud.

“Working as a placement agent for ARVCO, Villalobos spent tens of thousands of dollars to lavishly entertain key senior executives at CalPERS, who then influenced the Board to authorize investments that generated over $40 million in commissions to Villalobos,” explained Brown. “None of these actions were disclosed as required by law, as state pension holders and taxpayers have every right to expect.”

According to the complaint, Villalobos influenced these CalPERS officials by, among other things, taking two of them on an around-the-world trip, taking another on a private jet trip to New York, and giving Buenrostro a $300,000 job and a condo when he left the pension fund.

Brown also obtained a court order to freeze Villalobos’ assets and place them in receivership to recover the more than $40 million in commissions that Villalobos earned during the period alleged in the complaint. Brown explained that the freeze order, granted yesterday, was necessary because Villalobos has transferred real estate suspiciously, has lost tens millions of dollars in high-stakes gambling, and maintains over 20 bank accounts. Among the assets placed under receivership are two Bentleys, two BMWs, a Hummer H2, art work worth more than $2.7 million, $6 million in yet-to-be-paid placement-agent commissions, and 14 pieces of real property in California, Nevada and Hawaii.

Specific charges allege that:

• Villalobos and ARVCO falsely represented that they had the required securities licenses and complied with all laws;

• Defendants gave, accepted, and failed to disclose gifts;

• Villalobos and ARVCO submitted bogus disclosure forms.

In addition to a permanent order preventing the defendants from violating state securities and unfair competition laws, and the imposition of civil penalties, Brown seeks to recover the more than $40 million in placement agent commissions that Villalobos and ARVCO collected. The receiver appointed by the court will be charged with recovering the money.

Brown's Office acknowledges the full support and assistance of CalPERS and its special review headed by Philip Khinda, Esq., of the Steptoe and Johnson law firm.

SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced today that special agents with the Department of Justice, working closely with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), have shut down three beverage-container recycling fraud rings in which rogue entrepreneurs trucked millions of cans and bottles from Arizona and Nevada to illegally claim California Redemption Value (CRV) refunds.

In total, the fraud rings robbed the state of more than $3.5 million used to operate the state’s recycling program as well as to promote recycling throughout California. Thirty-one individuals have been arrested in connection with these fraudulent activities.

“These bands of thieves have been caught red-handed running tons of cans and bottles from across the state’s border and fraudulently collecting money through the California Redemption Value program,” Attorney General Brown said. “Defrauding the state’s recycling program is not a way to make easy money. We are looking for you and you will be caught.”

Conviction of redemption fraud and the importation of recyclable materials is a felony if the redemption amount is over $400.

In one case originating in Nevada, a ring imported to California 1.6 million pounds of cans and bottles – enough, if not compacted, to fill 464 18-wheelers.

In another case, cans were not only hauled from the Phoenix area to Moreno Valley for the CRV deposit, they were filled with sand to add weight for an increased deposit return.

In a third case, agents looking for one recycling fraud suspect along Interstate 8 observed yet another truck carrying thousands of cans. That observation spurred a two-month investigation, resulting in the arrest of the owner of a recycling center and three other suspects.

California is one of 11 states with a bottle and can redemption program. Among its neighbors, Oregon has a program, but Nevada and Arizona do not. When a person purchases a bottle or can in California, the CRV is paid at the checkout stand. When the container is redeemed at one of the state’s 2,000 recycling facilities, the CRV is returned to the consumer. For beverage containers weighing less than 24 ounces, the CRV is 5 cents; for containers 24 ounces and greater, the CRV is 10 cents. For aluminum, the CRV equals $1.57 per pound.

When an out-of-state can or bottle is fraudulently redeemed in California, the program loses money because money is paid out for a container for which the CRV was never paid. This robs the CRV program, which relies on unclaimed CRV to administer the program and support a variety of activities that promote recycling across the state.

"Recycling fraud is a crime against California consumers and we take it very seriously,' said CalRecycle Director Margo Reid Brown. 'Our inspectors work closely with state and local law enforcement to root out and prosecute criminals who steal the money used to repay Californians and support our state's recycling programs. These arrests are evidence that recycling fraud will not be tolerated.'

California’s program began in 1987, following legislation passed in 1986. Today, about 80 percent of bottles and 84 percent of aluminum cans purchased in the state are returned for recycling.

“Californians are doing a great job recycling their bottles and cans,” added Attorney General Brown. “We don’t want people intent on committing recycling fraud to harm a program that is working well.”

To combat recycling fraud, CalRecycle staff visits major recycling processors to inspect loads of beverage containers delivered for CRV reimbursement. In 2009, the department removed 25 recycling centers from the state program for submitting fraudulent claims. CalRecycle refers recycling fraud cases to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation and prosecution.

Here’s how the three recycling fraud rings were broken up in April by the Department of Justice:

1. Department of Justice special agents observed Mariano Dejesus-Solis collecting and storing recyclable materials at his Las Vegas residence, as well as at several storage facilities in North Las Vegas. Twice a week, Dejesus-Solis and his accomplices drove 16-foot and 24-foot rental trucks filled with approximately 5,000 pounds of aluminum cans and bottles to a storage facility in Montclair (San Bernardino County) where the loads were parceled out to accomplices who would take them to recycling centers. The group defrauded the CRV program an estimated $2.5 million by illegally importing more than 1.6 million pounds of cans and bottles. On April 8, 15 suspects were arrested in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with assistance from local law enforcement.

2. In the Phoenix area, a group collected used beverage containers from consumers and purchased some from recycling centers at a reduced rate and then transported them to a residence in Moreno Valley (Riverside County). Daily, members of this group took multiple smaller loads to the Perris Valley Recycling Center (Riverside County) to redeem the CRV refund, defrauding the CRV fund an estimated $1 million. On April 20, a search warrant resulted in the seizure of 50,000 pounds of bottles and cans, with an estimated CRV value of $100,000. Many cans contained sand to add weight. Twelve people were arrested.

3. On Interstate 8 near Winterhaven, Calif. and Yuma, Ariz. agents with the Imperial County and San Diego Major Crimes Teams were looking for a CRV fraud suspect when they encountered another suspected CRV fraud ring -- two men transporting a large quantity of aluminum cans in a truck. This observation launched a two-month investigation, with assistance from CalRecycle, which resulted in the April 23 arrests of four people, including Michael Barshak, the owner and operator of ACE Recycler, a recycling center in San Diego. Agents have initially estimated that the ring’s operation, which spanned four months, transported 40,000 pounds of cans with an approximate value of $135,000.

These investigations were conducted by the Attorney General’s Division of Law Enforcement/Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence (DLE-BII) Major Crimes Team and CalRecycle, with assistance from many other law enforcement agencies including the offices of the San Bernardino and Riverside County Sheriffs, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Marshals Service and other Dept. of Justice enforcement teams.

To learn more about CalRecycle and the California Beverage Container Recycling Program, visit http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/. CalRecycle contact: Mark Oldfield (916) 319-9942 or mark.oldfield@CalRecycle.ca.gov.

Photos and a list of arrestees are attached.

HOLLISTER - Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that a former CVS pharmacy technician and her husband have been charged with 15 felony counts after the woman embezzled tens of thousands of highly addictive prescription pills worth $400,000 from her employer to supply to her drug-dealing husband.

Aimee and Alfred Riaski, both 41 and from Hollister, were arrested after an investigation by Brown’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement led to the recovery of more than 1,500 prescription tablets at the couple’s residence. If convicted, Aimee Riaski faces a maximum of 13 years, 8 months in jail and Alfred Riaski faces a maximum of 8 years, 4 months in jail.

“The Riaskis crafted a crude scheme to embezzle highly addictive pain pills from a neighborhood pharmacy and sell them at a profit on the streets,” Brown said. “Today’s criminal charges send a clear reminder to pill pushers that selling prescription drugs can lead to serious time behind bars.”

Brown’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement initiated its investigation into Aimee Riaski in February after an internal pharmacy audit at a Gilroy CVS revealed tens of thousands of missing prescription-drug tablets.

As a CVS pharmacy technician, Aimee Riaski was responsible for tracking the delivery of various prescription drugs. In this role, Riaski admitted to a CVS loss-prevention officer that she stole some 40,000 Vicodin (Hydrocodone) tablets over a 10-month period beginning in early 2009.

On February 19, Brown’s office served a search warrant at the Riaski residence in Hollister and recovered prescription drugs worth almost $17,000, including:
• 1,134 Vicodin tablets
• 305 Diazepam tablets
• 212 Darvon tablets
• 62 Ativan tablets
• 9 Lidocaine patches

The complaint, filed today by the San Benito District Attorney, alleges that the Riaskis embezzled, possessed, transported, and planned to sell thousands of highly addictive prescription drugs on the streets.

Aimee Riaski was charged with ten felony counts including: five counts of possession for sale of a controlled substance (H&S 11351(a) and H&S 11375(b)(1)); four counts of transporting a controlled substance (H&S 11352(a)); and one count of embezzlement (PC 504).

Alfred Riaski was charged with five felony counts of possession for sale of a controlled substance (H&S 11351(a) and H&S 11375(b)(1)) and one misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property (PC 496 (a)).

Aimee and Alfred Riaski, who were originally arrested in February, posted $30,000 and $20,000 bail, respectively. Both defendants pleaded not-guilty in court today.

Brown has made combating prescription-drug abuse a top priority by investigating and filing charges in more than 200 cases against physicians who have abused their trust, prescription-drug dealers who have peddled highly addictive pills and patients who have attained drugs by “doctor shopping” from doctor to doctor.

Last month, for example, Brown announced the arrest of a San Diego-based doctor, Mohammed Kady, who regularly prescribed pain medication, including Vicodin and codeine cough syrups to drug addicts and pill pushers without any justifiable medical purpose.

Brown’s office is also currently investigating a Southern California prescription-drug ring that operates by ordering prescription-drug pads from authorized vendors and using identities stolen from doctors. The pads are then either sold on the street to prescription-drug addicts or to individuals who are paid to fill the prescription and then sell the drugs on the underground market. The investigation has thus far linked 4,500 to 5,000 fraudulent prescriptions to the fraud ring and has led to one arrest.

California is at the forefront of technology that makes it more difficult for criminals to operate prescription- drug rings. Brown’s office has introduced significant technology upgrades to the state’s prescription- monitoring program, known as CURES, by creating an accessible, online database. The database is a critical tool in assisting law enforcement investigations. For more information on CURES visit: http://ag.ca.gov/bne/CURES.php.

The criminal complaints, filed today in San Benito County Superior Court, are attached.

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that agents from his office seized $1.5 million worth of drugs, including 79 pounds of methamphetamine and 11 pounds of cocaine, $30,000 in cash and eight firearms in another successful drug bust in Southern California Thursday night.

Ramon Salazar Camargo, 33, and his accomplice, Jesus Lopez, 21, were arrested Thursday night and are being held in Los Angeles County Jail on $3 million bail each.

“Little by little, bust by bust, we are sending the message to drug dealers that we are not going to allow them to operate in California,” Brown said. “We will track down, arrest and prosecute these criminals vigorously and relentlessly.”

Thursday’s arrests and seizures are the result of a successful “buy bust” operation conducted by agents from Brown’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE). Camargo and Lopez were arrested after negotiating a drug deal and delivering 20 pounds of methamphetamine to undercover agents in the parking lot of a Bell Gardens strip mall. After the initial seizure, officers executed a search warrant on a Los Angeles residence kept as a “stash house” where they seized additional methamphetamine, cocaine, firearms and currency.

Agencies involved in Thursday’s operation included Brown’s BNE Major Narcotics and Violence Team, Imperial County Narcotic Task Force, and Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police and Crime Task Force.

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that state narcotics agents seized 119 pounds of ice methamphetamine and 85 pounds of heroin in two separate operations in Southern California last night.

The two drug busts by Brown’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement also netted two pounds of cocaine and more than $33,000 in cash. Three suspects are in custody: Marco Alejo, 44, of Moreno Valley, Jorge Gonzalez, 39, of Torrance, and Sarah Magdalena Altamirano, 40, of Torrance.

“We’ve been fighting to keep dangerous, addictive drugs like methamphetamine and heroin off our streets,” said Brown. “Last night’s drug busts send another unequivocal message that California will do everything it can to arrest and lock up these callous purveyors of death and addiction.”

In last night’s raids, agents served a search warrant at 1507 South Palmetto Street in Ontario. During the subsequent search, agents discovered 81 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a closet in an upstairs bedroom. Marco Alejo was seen leaving the residence and was later detained by police and placed under arrest.

A few hours later, agents placed a home at 1018 West 223rd Street in Torrance under surveillance. When Jorge Gonzalez and his wife, Sarah Magdalena Altamirano, left the home in a pick-up truck, investigators followed. Officers stopped and searched their vehicle, discovering a suitcase containing 39 cellophane-wrapped one-pound packages of brown powder heroin. Both Gonzalez and his wife Altamirano were arrested.

Investigators then searched their residence and found approximately 46 pounds of black tar heroin, 38 pounds of ice methamphetamine, 2 pounds of cocaine and more than $33,000 in cash.

Alejo, Gonzalez and Altamirano are being held on $1 million bail.

State agents were joined in the raids by the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (L.A. IMPACT), Ontario Police Department, Pomona Police Department and California Highway Patrol.

SALINAS – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced that more than 200 agents from his Gang Suppression Enforcement Program and other law enforcement agencies today arrested 37 members of two vicious gangs responsible for a rampage of violence -- including more than three dozen murders and 200 shootings -- that terrorized the citizens of Salinas and nearby areas.

Today’s mass arrests was the culmination of an eight-month operation, code-named “Operation Knockout,” aimed at apprehending members of the Norteños and Sureños gangs that turned Salinas into a hub of murder, robbery and drug dealing.

The operation targeted the most dangerous gang leaders in the Salinas area. In addition to the arrests made today, agents seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, nine ounces of methamphetamine, $34,000 in cash, and 12 guns. An additional 57 arrests were made before today’s sweep.

“Operation Knockout was designed to restore safety to the streets of Salinas,” said Brown. “Citizens in John Steinbeck’s hometown deserve better than having to endure a violent crime rate that’s three times the national average. We owed it to the people of Salinas to arrest these out-of-control gang members and ensure a heightened sense of personal security throughout the city.”

Some 44 state and federal search warrants were served throughout Salinas, San Jose and other areas of Monterey County. Today’s arrests dealt a major blow to the Norteños and Sureños, two of Monterey County’s largest gangs, who are major distributors of powder cocaine, rock cocaine, and crystal methamphetamine throughout the county and are linked to dozens of homicides and shootings.

Brown also announced today that he has formed a task force to maintain today’s crackdown against drugs and major crimes. The Monterey County Narcotic and Violence Task Force will be overseen by the California Department of Justice and will include the California Highway Patrol, Marina Police Department, Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, Monterey Police Department, Salinas Police Department and Seaside Police Department.

In 2008 and 2009, there were 55 homicides in the city of Salinas. Based on the city’s population of 148,000, its violent crime rate was more than three times the national average. Only two of the 55 homicides were unrelated to gang violence. During this same reporting period, there were more than 200 reported shootings related to gang violence.

To combat the violence permeating the city, Brown deployed his Gang Suppression agents to work with the Salinas Police Department in a proactive approach to the gang problem. Special Agents identified the key gang leaders and created a complex investigative plan intended to make a significant impact on violent crime in the city. During the investigation, agents determined that much of the violence stemmed from a struggle between the Norteños and Sureños street gangs within Salinas over turf dominance, and more significantly, over control of illicit drug trafficking. The gangs ruled through intimidation and violence.

“Today’s operation has been a masterpiece of cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies,” said Salinas Police Chief Louis Fetherolf. “Today is day-one of Judgment Day!”

Today’s arrests come in addition to 57 prior arrests during the eight-month operation. Over the course of the investigation, agents identified a large cocaine and methamphetamine distribution group that was controlled by Norteños gang members operating in Salinas. The illegal drugs were supplied by Mexican drug-trafficking organizations.

More than 200 state, local and federal law enforcement personnel participated in today’s operation. The Attorney General’s Gang Suppression Enforcement Program is part of the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.

Other law enforcement agencies that assisted with today’s operation included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; California Highway Patrol; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Monterey County District Attorney’s Office; Monterey County Sheriff’s Department; Salinas Police Department; United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

SAN DIEGO – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced today that members of his office are working with law enforcement officials from Baja California as part of sweeping changes the Mexican government is making to its legal system.

“We will help our southern neighbor become more transparent and open,” Brown said.

Starting today, 80 prosecutors and agents from the Mexican state of Baja California will attend two days of classes at the Law Enforcement Coordination Center in El Centro (Imperial County). Agents with the California Attorney General’s Office, joined by officials from the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office, as well as from the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department, will teach sessions on topics such as case preparation and the handling of evidence.

The centuries-old Mexican legal system, which stems from the Napoleonic era, involves closed hearings, written inquisitions and a presumption of guilt. In 2008, the Mexican government approved a constitutional amendment to replace much of its system to make it more like the legal system of the United States. The transformation, which will alter both how evidence is collected and how trials are conducted, is expected to be complete by 2016.

Rommel Moreno, the Attorney General of Baja California, asked Attorney General Brown for assistance as Baja California joins 30 other Mexican states to change its system. The U.S. federal government, along with law enforcement agencies around the country, is also assisting Mexico with the transition.

“After these changes are complete, Mexico’s legal system will be more transparent and open, which will improve the strength of the country’s democracy,” said Brown. “We will help our southern neighbor in this transition.”

This week’s training of Baja California officials is being coordinated by the Attorney General’s foreign prosecution and law enforcement unit, a part of the Division of Law Enforcement’s Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence. The unit works with Mexican officials in apprehending suspects in the United States who are wanted for crimes in Mexico, as well as enlisting the help of Mexican officials in solving crimes in California.

In December 2009, the unit assisted Mexican officials in apprehending and extraditing Sandra Cruz Villa, who was living in Lake County and was suspected of a triple murder. She awaits trial in Mexico. For more information about the unit, please see http://ag.ca.gov/cbi/foreign.php.