California - Gang crony testifies against two in triple slaying in Pico Rivera

OFF THE WIRE
Sandra T. Molina
 whittierdailynews.com
LOS ANGELES - A self-professed Mexican Mafia member turned state's witness testified Wednesday he wore a wire and recorded a gang shot-caller admitting he ordered a shooting at a crowded Pico Rivera pizza parlor that left three men dead.
Raymond Cuevas, a two-strike convict who received parole for felony vandalism and was released in an attempt by authorities to get a confession from the defendant, said he wore the wire seven times in conversations with Rudy "Chapo" Ruiz, 32, of Whittier.
"He told me over the phone that he let somebody have it," said Cuevas, who was incarcerated at the time but was working with the Operation Safe Jail, an investigative gang unit within the county's jail system.
During one of the recordings, Cuevas said, Ruiz told him he "got a couple of guys together to do the shooting at the pizza parlor."
But, according to Cuevas, the gang leader believed the parlor was hosting a party for members of the rival Mongol motorcycle gang.
Cuevas testified that Ruiz told him he "let some Mongols have it." However, under cross-examination, Cuevas said Ruiz never mentioned the Mongols by name, just that a motorcycle gang was being targeted.
"I put two and two together myself," he said.
Instead, the Old School Riders, a motorcycle club with no gang ties, according to prosecutors, was holding a benefit dinner outside Falcone's Pizza, 9247 Slauson Ave., when two armed men started firing into the crowd.
Cuevas' testimony, which put a spotlight on the secretive world of the Mexican Mafia and its operations in Pico Rivera and Whittier, came during a preliminary hearing at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles to determine if Ruiz and fellow defendant John "Diablo" Perez, 44, of Pico Rivera will stand trial for the triple slayings.
The hearing continues today.
The two men are charged with the June 27, 2009 murders of Carlos Carrera, 39, of La Habra and Garret Dandini, 25, and Tony Dandini, 39, both of Whittier.
They are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder and seven counts of attempted murder.
Asked by Deputy District Attorney Arisa Mattson what the consequences were for testifying against Ruiz and Perez, Cuevas laughed nervously.
"Death," he said.
Dressed in orange county jail jumpsuits, their hands cuffed to waist chains, the defendants sat and listened to Cuevas testify, occasionally smiling at one another.
Prosecutors allege that Perez and Ruiz personally used a gun to commit the crimes, intentionally fired the weapons and committed the shooting for the benefit of and at the direction of a street gang.
During his testimony, Cuevas described Ruiz's role in the Mexican Mafia as a "gunner," or trigger man.
"Rudy's known as a killer," he testified.
Cuevas said Ruiz also was in charge of collecting money on behalf of the Mexican Mafia in Pico Rivera, parts of Whittier, Bell, Cudahy and Norwalk.
"We tax people doing illegal activity," he said.
During cross-examination by Ruiz's attorney Lawrence Young, Cuevas admit that Ruiz never mentioned Falcone's in the recorded conversations.
Cuevas also testified that Ruiz asked him to keep an eye on Diablo, whom Cuevas did not know.
"He was afraid he was going to roll over on him" about the shooting, Cuevas said.
sandra.molina@sgvn.com
562-698-0955, ext. 3029

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