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The Mexican Mafia is a little bit different then your average criminal street gang. First of all, they started out as a prison gang, rather then a street gang. Second of all, members deny the existence of the Mexican Mafia. Finally, they recruit members out of other hispanic street gangs. In Southern California the exert a kind of supervisory authority over drug traffic, collecting a "tax" from other gangs doing business in the area.
There are some interesting details in this article about the sentencing of Albert Angel "Spanky" Amaya, who is facing twenty five to life under California's three strikes law following his conviction in Riverside County. Specifically:
Guillermo Moreno Jr., a special agent with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, testified that Amaya was a high-ranking associate in the Mexican Mafia, or "La Eme," a prison gang that runs drugs sales in Southern California.(RIVERSIDE PRESS ENTERPRISE)
Amaya collected a third of the money that Inland gangs derived from drug sales, he said.
He said Amaya "collected taxes" directly for Salvador Orozco Hernandez, 43, a Bloomington man identified in federal documents as the kingpin of the organization's Inland efforts.
Moreno said by phone Friday that Albert Amaya has been a tax collector since at least 2005. He said Amaya continues to collect drug profits for La Eme despite being in jail.
"Phone calls, letters, visitors," Moreno said. "They utilize their close friends."
Most of the leadership for the Mexican Mafia is in prison already. It's hardly something these cats are afraid of. The Mexican Mafia keeps it low profile on purpose, and that seems to work pretty well for them, though recently there have been some heavy prosecutions down here. It's hard to stop a gang that operates in secrecy and actually draws its strength from the California Prison system. Not sure law enforcement has quite figured out an effective tactic here.
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