Gabriel Cruz
The Voice
Contributing Writer
February 24, 2004
Valentine’s Day is known as a day of love, but in over 1,100 different locations worldwide, people organized and gathered to demonstrate their anger, sadness and demand that people listen to the situation of disappearing and murdered women in Juarez and Chihuahua.
In the city of Juarez, it was estimated that over 7,000 people from Australia, England, United States, Denmark, France and other nations marched to protest the Mexican Government for ignoring the situation. Amnesty International, a human rights organization organized the protest and March.
Many mothers of the missing daughters cried and others yelled in anger and disgust as they told their brief stories to a crowded lecture hall of journalists and members of the media from all over the world.
“When you leave, tell me with certainty of knowing the time when you will return.”
That was the slogan on shirts the Cervantes family wore, with a picture of Neyra Azcucena Cervantes, a 20 year old young woman from Chihuahua, Mexico, as they passed out information regarding the disappearance of over 300 women ages 14-25 in the cities of Juarez and Ciudad Chihuahua, Mexico.
On May 13, 2003, Neyra Azcucena Cervantes went to work one morning then stopped by school to talk with a school professor. Afterward she went to work, but never made it home that night. During previous months, it was explained by Neyra to her mother Rebecca that someone was following her around. To this day, her mother Rebecca Cervantes pleads to others regarding information of her daughter’s murder. No response has been heard. This is just one of the many of hundreds of stories that are told by the families of those women who have disappeared in the cities of Juarez and Chihuahua Mexico.
Livi Alcaraz, a current GCC student, made the trip to Juarez with 17 other students from various colleges such as Arizona State University, Mesa Community College, and Phoenix College.
“I went to because of what is going on with the women who have been disappearing and being murdered,” said Alcaraz. “I wanted to show my respect and support in the cause, and bring awareness to the people who do not know of the situation, I hope our presence will shed light to the government to show them that what is going on is not right, and something should be done,” continued Alcaraz.
Among those who also attended to show support were, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, other internationally known actresses and several U.S. Congresswomen.
“I am rich, I am famous, I am white. I have a daughter and granddaughter, and I know if they disappeared, the authorities would work very hard to find out who did it.” Said Fonda, “I have worked very hard to feel in my body what it would be like to lose a child and go to the authorities and be dismissed or beaten or have relatives beaten by the authorities just because the police needed to blame it on somebody because they were covering up for the people who did it.”
“I’m here because 300 young vibrant women are not,” said Field. “Now is the time on this planet when we have to stand up and shine the light on injustice.”
Mexican and International human-rights groups put the number of Juarez slayings at over 300 since 1993, when the body of the first victim was found. After the march, which ended at a central city park in Juarez, a special prayer was held for the victims, and local buses transported people free of charge to the local dance hall where “The Vagina Monologues” was performed free of charge by Fonda, Field and the other actresses.
Eve Ensler who wrote the Monologues said, “By this time next year, there will be people in prison. If that doesn’t happen, we will be back.”
Original Link: http://www.gccaz.edu/voiceonline/index.cfm?id=4168
Friday, August 08, 2014
[Newspaper Archive] Juarez crimes remain unsolved mysteries
 |
| College Students all over the Phoenix were often seen wearing this shirt in the fall of 2003 |
Gabriel Cruz,
The Voice
Contributing Writer
February 10, 2004
Imagine living in a city of over a million people. Then, imagine your mother, or your sister waking up one morning and going out in to the city to seek a job. You come home from school, excited, hoping your mother or sister found a new job at a new factory that just opened up. You wait hours and hours for your mother or sister to return, but they never do.
Since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the early 90’s, many multinational corporations, which pay little or no taxes to the Mexican Government, have established factories across the border from El Paso, Texas in the city of Juárez, Mexico.
Since 1993, more than 300 murders and disappearances have occurred on and around the streets of this large city. Pink crosses are painted on poles as a memorial to all the missing women and victims.
Many of the women who have disappeared have later been found dumped in ditches, shallow graves, or in the desert, raped and murdered. Many remain missing. This has prompted the FBI to get somewhat involved, yet the Mexican government has been less cooperative in the situation. What shocks everyone who is familiar with the murder and disappearance the most is that law enforcement has failed to uncover and find the answers to the disappearance and murder of the women.
The documentary Senorita Extraviada by Lourdes Portillo, aired on PBS brought international attention to the situation in 2002, when the film won the Special Jury Prize award at Sundance Film Festival. Since then, some of the women Portillo interviewed for the documentary have also turned up missing. Cries to the United Nations have been strong by human rights organizations who have stood firm to bring awareness to what is happening.
“Even though the issue has become an international concern, the Mexican Government still has not acted in a manner that would befit a concerned government, there are no transparent investigation plans as of yet, this is a shameful situation that could bring down any president,” said Portillo.
There are many questions, about who is responsible for the crimes. Drug cartels? Corrupt Law Enforcement officials? Serial Killers? Satanic Cults? Prostitution rings? Organ harvesting and trade?
“These crimes are crimes against humanity and they are an atrocity that is spreading not only in Mexico, but in Guatemala where there are hundreds of women who have been murdered in the last two years. What does this tell us, that in globalized world, poor women are disposable, that they can be sacrificed for the nefarious purposes and the killers can enjoy impunity?” says Portillo.
With all the questions that exist there is one thing that is clear, crimes are being committed, apparently without punishment.
In the next issue of The Voice, Gabriel Cruz will be traveling to Juarez to cover an event put on by several human rights activist organizations from across the world which will honor what is quickly becoming an international situation
Original Link:
[Poem] La Loca de la Raza Cosmica - La ChrisX - A Feminist response to “I am Joaquin”
Before I post this online, I'd like to note that I looked for this poem all over the internet back in 2001-2005 and could not find it. It was later that a young mujer in MEChA from Arizona State University had this on weathered up piece of paper that was tearing up. She allowed me to borrow it and copy it word for word, stanza from stanza, so I thank her for doing that. I told her that this needed to be put online so Chicanos Y Chicanas, Raza all over the cyberspace could stumble upon it and read it.
There are many theories to who "La ChrisX" was, is, but I would rather that stay a mystery, and that people focus more on what the poem has to say. "La ChrisX" is obviously all that strong mujeres she talks about in the poem. - Gabriel Cruz, November 2005
-----------------------------
La Loca de la Raza Cosmica
A Feminist response to “I am Joaquin”
by La Chrisx
Dedico este trabajo a las mujeres Chicanas
For as different as we all may seem,
There are many theories to who "La ChrisX" was, is, but I would rather that stay a mystery, and that people focus more on what the poem has to say. "La ChrisX" is obviously all that strong mujeres she talks about in the poem. - Gabriel Cruz, November 2005
-----------------------------
La Loca de la Raza Cosmica
A Feminist response to “I am Joaquin”
by La Chrisx
Dedico este trabajo a las mujeres Chicanas
Esta dedicado a las Locas/ a las reinas de la Raza Cosmica
For as different as we all may seem,
When intricacies are compared
We are all one,
And the same.
Soy la Mujer Chicana, una maravilla
Soy tan simple como la capirotada
And at the same time I am as complicated to understand as the Aztec Pyramids.
Soy la Reina de la Raza Cosmica (al estilo Califas)
Soy la Reina de la Raza Cosmica (al estilo Califas)
Soy señorita
Soy ruca loca
Soy mujerona
Soy Santa
Soy madre
Soy Ms.
Soy la India Maria
Soy la Adelita
Soy Radical
Soy la Revolucionaria
Soy la Chicana en los picket lines
Soy la Chicana en los conferences
Soy la Chicana en los teatros
Soy la que hecha chingazos por su Raza
Soy el grito: “Chicano Power!”
Soy United Farmworker Buttons
Soy la Mexican flag
Soy la madre (El esclavo) de mi padre,
De mi hermano, de mi esposo
Soy la comida en la mesa cuando llegan
Del jale
Soy la que calienta los TV dinners
Soy tamales at Christmas time
Soy love-maker to my main man
Soy dreamer
Soy streetwalker
Soy la good woman
Soy la quien “mi carnal” hace rape
Soy shacking up
Soy staying at home until I’m married
Or dead
Soy dumping my old man, even though I’m pregnant with his child
Soy getting married in Reno with kids at home
Soy mother of 12, married at 14
Soy staying together for the kids’ sakes
Soy la que se chinga pa’mantener a su familia
Soy marianismo, living to love and support
my husband and to nurture and teach
my children
Soy la battered wife
Soy la drop-out
Soy the first in my family to graduate from high school
Soy la directora
Soy la poverty pimp
Soy “tank you” en vez de thank you
Soy “chooz” en vez de shoes
Soy refinada-educated in assimilated/Anglicized/private institutions
Soy la caneria
Soy “silicon valley”
Soy los fields
Soy el unemployment
Soy el welfare
Soy la Avon lady
Soy la que va a visitor al Pinto
Soy la piensa que un Pinto, es a bean
Soy la political prisoner
Soy Saturday nights en el Drunk Tank
Soy Juvenile Hall
Soy week-ender at Elmwood
Soy la que Mandan a Frontera, the California Women’s Institute
Soy la que tiene Probation Officer
Soy the A.A.
Soy the methadone clinic
Soy beign under psychiatiric care
Soy finding strength from within
My Chicana Soul
Soy someone who understands
Soy dope-pusher
Soy straight
Soy preaching … and not listening to
What I say
Soy el catechism
Soy la Holy-roller
Soy la que nunca se puede levanter for Church on Sundays
Soy wondering if there is a God
Soy la Virgen de Guadalupe
Soy la low-rider
Soy la cruzer en su Monte-Carlo
Soy un ten-speed or walking
Soy el Joseph Magnin’s
Soy la K-Mart
Soy el Goodwill
Soy styling
Soy wearing tire sandals con sarape
Soy concerts cuando ando bien loca
Soy el Disco, el Starlight, y el Palomar
Soy el Hilton
Soy the Texas Inn
Soy the Knights of Columbus
Soy bragging about a good bato
Soy echándole a el y su mendiga madre
Soy stepping out on my old man
Soy being true
Soy going out with my brother as chaperone
Soy la que vive con double standards:
My old man has a lover, but I’d be out on the streets if I had one
Soy la community organizer
Soy not being able to get involved
Because my husband, or father
Won’t let me out at night
Soy la madre que le hecha madres al principal
Soy thinking my children’s teachers are his second parents
Soy alcohólica,
Soy social drinker
Soy marijuana
Soy junky
Soy straight
Soy la natural high- Y que?
Soy blue sniffer
Soy white, red or yellow pills,
Soy crystal
Soy el grito del Mariachi
Soy salsa
Soy Oldies but goodies
Soy Freddie Fender
Soy Little Joe
Soy Vicente Fernandez
Soy la Vicky Carr
Soy versos de la Santa Biblia
Soy True Confessions, Playgirl, or Viva
Soy Novelas de Amor
Soy Literatura Revolucionaria
Soy never reading at all
Soy spray painting on the wall
Soy ojos negros y piel canela
Soy dying my hair a flaming red or yellow
Soy mexicana
Soy Mexican-American
Soy American of Spanish Surname (A.S.S.)
Soy Latina
Soy Puerto Riqueza
Soy Cocoanut
Soy Chicana
Soy achieving a higher status en la causa, De la mujer
U del hombre Chicano
Con mucho carino dedico esto a las locas de la Raza Cosmica,
Y si no te puedes ver aquí hermana, solo te puedo decir
“Dispensa”
[Archive News] Noisy protest greets Napolitano plan
By Gary Grado
East Valley Tribune (AZ)
January 10, 2006
As Gov. Janet Napolitano laid out her "four-point plan" Monday to curb illegal immigration, 3,000 protesters marched outside the Capitol chanting "Si se puede" or "Yes we can" — the rallying cry of immigrant farm worker activist Cesar Chavez.
The Phoenix group Immigrants without Borders organized the gathering, which at times reached noise and enthusiasm levels rivaling college football games.
Men in white T-shirts with black "Security" on them made a human chain to separate the crowd from the doors where legislators, staff and others filed out.
Gabriel Cruz, a 26-year-old Glendale Community College student wearing a T-shirt that said "Danger: Educated Chicano," skipped and hopped between the demonstrators and security chain, pumping his fist, urging the frenzy.
Demonstrations on the opening day of the Legislature tend to be festive and quiet, said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.
"I can't remember anything of this magnitude," Goddard said.
Illegal immigration and its associated problems have become a political hot point in recent years in Arizona and promise to become a major point of contention this year between the governor and the Republican controlled Legislature.
The chanting crowd moved to a stage set up at 17th Avenue and Adams Street, where speakers and signs dotting the crowd said they want immigrants to be recognized as a productive force that can help the American economy.
They also want an end to anti-immigrant legislation.
"Don't give up the hope," said Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix.
Rodrigo Becerra, who owns a Phoenix construction company, handed out fliers.
"A sleeping giant is finally waking up," he said. "We're here because there's a need for our workforce and we're here to fill that need."
Gerardo Rosas, a Cave Creek landscaper whose 2-year-old son tugged on his belt to get his attention, said most illegal immigrants would rather stay in Mexico. But they cross the border to give their children a better life.
"I work for my kids, I live for my kids," he said in Spanish.
Napolitano said her $100 million plan is tough and realistic. She wants to come down hard on human smugglers and employers who hire illegal immigrants, tighten the border with more manpower and equipment, attack the fraudulent document market and go after car thieves who drive to Mexico and return with illegal immigrants. She also said she's going to keep the heat on the federal government to establish a guest worker program and allow the National Guard be posted at the border.
Cruz, a Democrat, said he saw Napolitano's proposal as just a political move.
"It's an election year," he said.
Original Link: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=56814
East Valley Tribune (AZ)
January 10, 2006
As Gov. Janet Napolitano laid out her "four-point plan" Monday to curb illegal immigration, 3,000 protesters marched outside the Capitol chanting "Si se puede" or "Yes we can" — the rallying cry of immigrant farm worker activist Cesar Chavez.
The Phoenix group Immigrants without Borders organized the gathering, which at times reached noise and enthusiasm levels rivaling college football games.
Men in white T-shirts with black "Security" on them made a human chain to separate the crowd from the doors where legislators, staff and others filed out.
Gabriel Cruz, a 26-year-old Glendale Community College student wearing a T-shirt that said "Danger: Educated Chicano," skipped and hopped between the demonstrators and security chain, pumping his fist, urging the frenzy.
Demonstrations on the opening day of the Legislature tend to be festive and quiet, said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.
"I can't remember anything of this magnitude," Goddard said.
Illegal immigration and its associated problems have become a political hot point in recent years in Arizona and promise to become a major point of contention this year between the governor and the Republican controlled Legislature.
The chanting crowd moved to a stage set up at 17th Avenue and Adams Street, where speakers and signs dotting the crowd said they want immigrants to be recognized as a productive force that can help the American economy.
They also want an end to anti-immigrant legislation.
"Don't give up the hope," said Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix.
Rodrigo Becerra, who owns a Phoenix construction company, handed out fliers.
"A sleeping giant is finally waking up," he said. "We're here because there's a need for our workforce and we're here to fill that need."
Gerardo Rosas, a Cave Creek landscaper whose 2-year-old son tugged on his belt to get his attention, said most illegal immigrants would rather stay in Mexico. But they cross the border to give their children a better life.
"I work for my kids, I live for my kids," he said in Spanish.
Napolitano said her $100 million plan is tough and realistic. She wants to come down hard on human smugglers and employers who hire illegal immigrants, tighten the border with more manpower and equipment, attack the fraudulent document market and go after car thieves who drive to Mexico and return with illegal immigrants. She also said she's going to keep the heat on the federal government to establish a guest worker program and allow the National Guard be posted at the border.
Cruz, a Democrat, said he saw Napolitano's proposal as just a political move.
"It's an election year," he said.
Original Link: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=56814
[Archived Web Page] Jacob Cruz Baseball Career
Jacob Cruz does not own this web site, just a devoted fan. I do know that Jacob and his family visited the original web page from time to time.
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 194-210lbs
• Throws and bats Left-handed
Growing Up:
Jacob was born on January 28th 1973 to Beatriz and Jacob Cruz in Oxnard (Channel Islands), California. He was born right handed, yet he learned to play baseball left-handed. As he grew up, with the area he resided in, and the era it was, Fernando Valenzuela at the time with the Dodgers was his baseball idol. He credits his father as being real influential with his baseball, but his mother, just as his father, had a tremendous amount of influence on his baseball career as well. From little league he had to come home and take a nap before he could play a baseball game, and he had to eat a certain amount of food before he was allowed to go out to the Little League games. She was very instrumental in his baseball.
High School:
He started going to Channel Islands High School, home of the Raiders, where he still visits once a year to talk to the teachers and the head coaches of the baseball program. He still sends them a quite a bit of equipment, throughout the year. In high school, - He hit .494 as a Jr, with 2 home runs. In 1991 he was touted as one of the best California Prep players. The California Angels thought was good enough to be drafted and took him in the 45th Round. Jacob decided other things were more important at the time. Here are some highlights of his high school career.
• Drew 50 walks in 2 seasons.
• A 3 time All-Miramonte League. (Named 2nd team as a freshman.)
• He was an All-Ventura County as Junior and Senior. Hit .443 with 8 homeruns his senior year.
• ALL-CIF two years including first team as a senior.
• Played for the Gold Medal winning west Squad at the Jr. Olympics.
• Named Mizuno All-America in High School.
College Freshman (1992)
Jacob decided to attend a primer college baseball program. He didn't go wrong when he choose any better than Arizona State University who had won several national championships. The only really memorable highlight of his freshman year was that he was able to go a perfect 5 for 5 against UC Santa Barbara.
College Sophomore - 1993
Jacob was able to assist the Arizona State Sun Devils to the Six-Pac Championship (The Hardest Division in the Nation to Play Baseball In, by Baseball America, at the time.) He was then later to help The Team to The College World Series, were Arizona State was ranked #1 in the College World Series Bracket. They came home disappointed, finishing tie for 7th place in the nation. At the end of the season, he was on a 14th Game Hitting Streak which carried on in to the 1994 Season.
College Junior - 1994
Jacob began was a Junior Year at Arizona State University. During the season, Jacob had a 30 Game Hitting Streak. He LED the team to a 3rd place finish in the College World Series.
• Finalist for Golden Spikes Award (Equivalent to The Heisman Trophy)
Six-Pac Player of The Year (The Six-Pac Division, now defunct, was rated Hardest Division to play college baseball in)
• 2nd In The Nation in hits
• 1st Team All-Collegiate
• 2nd Team All-America
• All-Regional Tournament Team
• Drafted 32nd overall in the Nation in the 1st Round by The San Francisco Giants.
• One of the highlight that year was that he was able to hit a home-run off HIGHLY TOUTED MAJOR LEAGUE baseball prospect and #1 Draft pick in the nation that year, Paul Wilson.
• Another highlight included hitting a home-run off Tennessee starting Quarterback, and Ace Todd Helton in Regional Post-Season play. Before he left, he said "Hey, I might even be able to play for Phoenix (meaning The Triple A club of the Giants, The Phoenix Firebirds)!
Professional San Jose - 1994:
He was the 32nd overall pick in the 1994 draft and the 2nd 1st round pick by the Giants. The supplemental selection was compensation from Will Clark signing with the Texas Rangers. Right after college, at the age of 21, he began his pro career with San Jose, appearing in 31 games after joining club in late June. His batting average was .246, walked 9 times, scored 14 runs, 29 hits, 7 doubles, 12 RBIS, and struck out 22 times in 118 at bats.
Double A - Shereveport - 1995:
Jacob appeared in the Double-A All-Star Game, And Tex-Mex All Star Game. He was name to the Post-Season All-Star Team. He finished 2nd in the league In Runs with 88, and tied for 2nd in doubles with 33. He batted .297 with 136 hits in 458 at-bats in 127 games. He had 1 triple and 13 homeruns with 77 RBI's, 9 stolen bases, 57 walks and struck out 72 times.
Triple A - Phoenix - 1996:
Cruz returned to Phoenix to play baseball. He basically tore up the AAA with his hitting setting many streaks and keeping his die-hard fans from college very impressed. In 121 games, he hit .285 in 435 at-bats. He scored 60 runs on 124 hits, 26 doubles, 4 triples, 62 walks, and 7 home runs. He had 75 Runs batted in, but he also struck out 77 times. The Phoenix Firebirds voted Jacob Cruz as Team MVP. He led the team in hits and runs batted in for the 1996 Season. (Source: The Arizona Republic Newspaper)
The Call - Thursday, July 19, 1996: Jacob Cruz got his callup to The San Francisco Giants. He went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts against Hideo Nomo in his first game. The next day he hits his 1st major league hit and home-run to lead off the 5th inning. It was a curve-ball of Tom Candiotti! On July 22nd Jacob's home-run from two night before was voted as "The Highlight of the Week" by Major League Baseball. By the end of the 1996 baseball season he started in left-field in front of an injured Barry Bonds. While with the Giants, He played in 33 games, and had a batting average of .234 He batted 77 times, with 10 runs, 18 hits, 3 doubles, 3 home-runs, 10 RBIs, 8 walks, and struck out 24 times. He was hit by a pitch twice, had 1 sacrifice hit, 2 sacrifice fly's, and was caught stealing once.
Jacob: The most memorable event I can recall. Baseball related, for myself, my most memorable moment as a player was probably my first big league hit, a big league home run. I don't think I'll ever forget that; I felt like I was floating around the bases. The first time I was called up to play in the majors I was very excited. That was 2 years out of college, and I was called into my manager’s office, and I wasn't sure if I was in trouble or not. He called me into his office and told me I was going to the big leagues, and for the first time to hear those words, that you're going to the majors, it was very exciting, it was a dream come true. I'm still here, up and down, but it's still like I'm living a dream.
Phoenix - 1997: Jacob returned to play for Phoenix. Jacob in 1997 had a 25 game hitting streak and was voted as an ALL-MINOR LEAGUE ALL-STAR and the AAA ALL-STAR GAME. While in Phoenix in 1997, in 127 games, he hit .361 in 493 at bats, 178 hits, 45 doubles, 3 triples, 12 homeruns, 64 walks, 95 RBIS, 18 stolen bases, and had 64 strikeouts. He was currently leading the league in .avg, hits, and doubles before he was called up to San Francisco once again.
San Francisco - 1997:
He had a .160 in 25 at-bats, in 16 games, he scored 3 runs, on 4 hits, 1 double. He had 3 RBIs, 3 walks, and struck out 4 strikeouts.
The Trade - 1998: On July 23, 1998, he was traded along with Steve Reed for RHP Jose Mesa, LHP Alvin Mormon and INF Shawn Dunston. Cruz got sent to Cleveland!
1999: Overall at AAA Fresno & Buffalo, Jacob hit .309 (158 hits in 511 abs) with 102 Runs scored, 25 doubles, 31 Home-runs, and 98 RBI in 132 games...His 31 HR would have ranked tied for 4th in the International League had he played a full season while his 98 RBI would have ranked 6th...
June 1, 2001
Jacob Cruz got traded from Cleveland to the Colorado Rockies for Jody Gerut and Josh Bard. He says he is excited and looking forward to playing for Colorado, but by the end of 2001 Season, Jacob was put on Waivers by Colorado! No one claimed him! On December 23, 2001 Jacob signed a contract with the Triple A team of the Detroit Tigers (Toledo) with a clause for chance to get called up a to Tigers roster.
Jacob Cruz leaves Reds - October 7, 2004
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Jacob Cruz refused the Cincinnati Reds' attempt to assign him outright to the minors leagues on Thursday, opting to become a free agent. Cruz was the Reds' top pinch hitter last season, going 14-for-55 (.255). He also started 22 games in the outfield, first base and as designated hitter after he was promoted from Triple-A Louisville on April 28. Cruz hit .224 overall with three homers and 28 RBIs.
At about this time in life, I stopped chronicling Jacob's Career since I was attending college, maybe someday in the future I will backtrack and fill in the gaps. I knew he played in Korea and in Mexico but in 2010 I was able to get reconnected with him. So one I may fill in the history highlights of 2005-2010.
Coaching Career:
On December 13, 2010, The Arizona Diamondbacks hired Jacob to be that hitting coach for the Yakima Bears, which is the short single A season team. He was then promoted to the Advanced A Team, Visalia Rawhide as the hitting Coach in November 2011. As of 2014, He is the Hitting Coach at the Double A team of the Diamondbacks, The Mobile Baybears.
Quotes on Jacob Cruz
Legendry College Baseball Coach Jim Brock on Jacob Cruz:
"Best Left-handed Swing I've Ever Seen. I have never had anyone come this far in three years. I've coached major leaguers Barry Bonds, Pat Listach, Mike Devereaux and others and it's still not even close how far he has matured."
John Pierson ASU'S former hitting coach On Jacob Cruz in 1994:
"His body is not even close to maturing out, His bat speed and power should keep improving. I want to see him when he's 25. He has the natural instincts and the fluid movement right now. It's just a matter of maturing physically."
Bonnie Webb:
"Jacob Will Always Be remembered by the Die Hard Fans Of Shreveport, As an adopted parent in the booster club, their have only been a handful of players that I've been proud to know a Jacob Is one of those fine young men."
Gordon Webb Medical Doctor of the Shreveport Captains:
"Jacob Was never ill or injured, meaning Jacob's excellent condition and attitude will be an asset to some lucky pro team."
Ron Wotus (Triple A manager in Phoenix):
"Jacob takes this game very seriously and works very hard at it. All he really needs to play more games. Cruz has a chance to be successful in this game.”
Dusty Baker:
"The dude can play ball, he has been getting a lot of breaks and he has been taking advantage of them."
Jacob's Father:
"Jacob may not have the speed or the power some players may have, but he knows the game mentally and that makes him so much more unpredictable."
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 194-210lbs
• Throws and bats Left-handed
Growing Up:
Jacob was born on January 28th 1973 to Beatriz and Jacob Cruz in Oxnard (Channel Islands), California. He was born right handed, yet he learned to play baseball left-handed. As he grew up, with the area he resided in, and the era it was, Fernando Valenzuela at the time with the Dodgers was his baseball idol. He credits his father as being real influential with his baseball, but his mother, just as his father, had a tremendous amount of influence on his baseball career as well. From little league he had to come home and take a nap before he could play a baseball game, and he had to eat a certain amount of food before he was allowed to go out to the Little League games. She was very instrumental in his baseball.
High School:
He started going to Channel Islands High School, home of the Raiders, where he still visits once a year to talk to the teachers and the head coaches of the baseball program. He still sends them a quite a bit of equipment, throughout the year. In high school, - He hit .494 as a Jr, with 2 home runs. In 1991 he was touted as one of the best California Prep players. The California Angels thought was good enough to be drafted and took him in the 45th Round. Jacob decided other things were more important at the time. Here are some highlights of his high school career.
• Drew 50 walks in 2 seasons.
• A 3 time All-Miramonte League. (Named 2nd team as a freshman.)
• He was an All-Ventura County as Junior and Senior. Hit .443 with 8 homeruns his senior year.
• ALL-CIF two years including first team as a senior.
• Played for the Gold Medal winning west Squad at the Jr. Olympics.
• Named Mizuno All-America in High School.
College Freshman (1992)
Jacob decided to attend a primer college baseball program. He didn't go wrong when he choose any better than Arizona State University who had won several national championships. The only really memorable highlight of his freshman year was that he was able to go a perfect 5 for 5 against UC Santa Barbara.
College Sophomore - 1993
Jacob was able to assist the Arizona State Sun Devils to the Six-Pac Championship (The Hardest Division in the Nation to Play Baseball In, by Baseball America, at the time.) He was then later to help The Team to The College World Series, were Arizona State was ranked #1 in the College World Series Bracket. They came home disappointed, finishing tie for 7th place in the nation. At the end of the season, he was on a 14th Game Hitting Streak which carried on in to the 1994 Season.
College Junior - 1994
Jacob began was a Junior Year at Arizona State University. During the season, Jacob had a 30 Game Hitting Streak. He LED the team to a 3rd place finish in the College World Series.
• Finalist for Golden Spikes Award (Equivalent to The Heisman Trophy)
Six-Pac Player of The Year (The Six-Pac Division, now defunct, was rated Hardest Division to play college baseball in)
• 2nd In The Nation in hits
• 1st Team All-Collegiate
• 2nd Team All-America
• All-Regional Tournament Team
• Drafted 32nd overall in the Nation in the 1st Round by The San Francisco Giants.
• One of the highlight that year was that he was able to hit a home-run off HIGHLY TOUTED MAJOR LEAGUE baseball prospect and #1 Draft pick in the nation that year, Paul Wilson.
• Another highlight included hitting a home-run off Tennessee starting Quarterback, and Ace Todd Helton in Regional Post-Season play. Before he left, he said "Hey, I might even be able to play for Phoenix (meaning The Triple A club of the Giants, The Phoenix Firebirds)!
Professional San Jose - 1994:
He was the 32nd overall pick in the 1994 draft and the 2nd 1st round pick by the Giants. The supplemental selection was compensation from Will Clark signing with the Texas Rangers. Right after college, at the age of 21, he began his pro career with San Jose, appearing in 31 games after joining club in late June. His batting average was .246, walked 9 times, scored 14 runs, 29 hits, 7 doubles, 12 RBIS, and struck out 22 times in 118 at bats.
Double A - Shereveport - 1995:
Jacob appeared in the Double-A All-Star Game, And Tex-Mex All Star Game. He was name to the Post-Season All-Star Team. He finished 2nd in the league In Runs with 88, and tied for 2nd in doubles with 33. He batted .297 with 136 hits in 458 at-bats in 127 games. He had 1 triple and 13 homeruns with 77 RBI's, 9 stolen bases, 57 walks and struck out 72 times.
Triple A - Phoenix - 1996:
Cruz returned to Phoenix to play baseball. He basically tore up the AAA with his hitting setting many streaks and keeping his die-hard fans from college very impressed. In 121 games, he hit .285 in 435 at-bats. He scored 60 runs on 124 hits, 26 doubles, 4 triples, 62 walks, and 7 home runs. He had 75 Runs batted in, but he also struck out 77 times. The Phoenix Firebirds voted Jacob Cruz as Team MVP. He led the team in hits and runs batted in for the 1996 Season. (Source: The Arizona Republic Newspaper)
The Call - Thursday, July 19, 1996: Jacob Cruz got his callup to The San Francisco Giants. He went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts against Hideo Nomo in his first game. The next day he hits his 1st major league hit and home-run to lead off the 5th inning. It was a curve-ball of Tom Candiotti! On July 22nd Jacob's home-run from two night before was voted as "The Highlight of the Week" by Major League Baseball. By the end of the 1996 baseball season he started in left-field in front of an injured Barry Bonds. While with the Giants, He played in 33 games, and had a batting average of .234 He batted 77 times, with 10 runs, 18 hits, 3 doubles, 3 home-runs, 10 RBIs, 8 walks, and struck out 24 times. He was hit by a pitch twice, had 1 sacrifice hit, 2 sacrifice fly's, and was caught stealing once.
Jacob: The most memorable event I can recall. Baseball related, for myself, my most memorable moment as a player was probably my first big league hit, a big league home run. I don't think I'll ever forget that; I felt like I was floating around the bases. The first time I was called up to play in the majors I was very excited. That was 2 years out of college, and I was called into my manager’s office, and I wasn't sure if I was in trouble or not. He called me into his office and told me I was going to the big leagues, and for the first time to hear those words, that you're going to the majors, it was very exciting, it was a dream come true. I'm still here, up and down, but it's still like I'm living a dream.
Phoenix - 1997: Jacob returned to play for Phoenix. Jacob in 1997 had a 25 game hitting streak and was voted as an ALL-MINOR LEAGUE ALL-STAR and the AAA ALL-STAR GAME. While in Phoenix in 1997, in 127 games, he hit .361 in 493 at bats, 178 hits, 45 doubles, 3 triples, 12 homeruns, 64 walks, 95 RBIS, 18 stolen bases, and had 64 strikeouts. He was currently leading the league in .avg, hits, and doubles before he was called up to San Francisco once again.
San Francisco - 1997:
He had a .160 in 25 at-bats, in 16 games, he scored 3 runs, on 4 hits, 1 double. He had 3 RBIs, 3 walks, and struck out 4 strikeouts.
The Trade - 1998: On July 23, 1998, he was traded along with Steve Reed for RHP Jose Mesa, LHP Alvin Mormon and INF Shawn Dunston. Cruz got sent to Cleveland!
1999: Overall at AAA Fresno & Buffalo, Jacob hit .309 (158 hits in 511 abs) with 102 Runs scored, 25 doubles, 31 Home-runs, and 98 RBI in 132 games...His 31 HR would have ranked tied for 4th in the International League had he played a full season while his 98 RBI would have ranked 6th...
June 1, 2001
Jacob Cruz got traded from Cleveland to the Colorado Rockies for Jody Gerut and Josh Bard. He says he is excited and looking forward to playing for Colorado, but by the end of 2001 Season, Jacob was put on Waivers by Colorado! No one claimed him! On December 23, 2001 Jacob signed a contract with the Triple A team of the Detroit Tigers (Toledo) with a clause for chance to get called up a to Tigers roster.
Jacob Cruz leaves Reds - October 7, 2004
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Jacob Cruz refused the Cincinnati Reds' attempt to assign him outright to the minors leagues on Thursday, opting to become a free agent. Cruz was the Reds' top pinch hitter last season, going 14-for-55 (.255). He also started 22 games in the outfield, first base and as designated hitter after he was promoted from Triple-A Louisville on April 28. Cruz hit .224 overall with three homers and 28 RBIs.
At about this time in life, I stopped chronicling Jacob's Career since I was attending college, maybe someday in the future I will backtrack and fill in the gaps. I knew he played in Korea and in Mexico but in 2010 I was able to get reconnected with him. So one I may fill in the history highlights of 2005-2010.
Coaching Career:
On December 13, 2010, The Arizona Diamondbacks hired Jacob to be that hitting coach for the Yakima Bears, which is the short single A season team. He was then promoted to the Advanced A Team, Visalia Rawhide as the hitting Coach in November 2011. As of 2014, He is the Hitting Coach at the Double A team of the Diamondbacks, The Mobile Baybears.
Quotes on Jacob Cruz
Legendry College Baseball Coach Jim Brock on Jacob Cruz:
"Best Left-handed Swing I've Ever Seen. I have never had anyone come this far in three years. I've coached major leaguers Barry Bonds, Pat Listach, Mike Devereaux and others and it's still not even close how far he has matured."
John Pierson ASU'S former hitting coach On Jacob Cruz in 1994:
"His body is not even close to maturing out, His bat speed and power should keep improving. I want to see him when he's 25. He has the natural instincts and the fluid movement right now. It's just a matter of maturing physically."
Bonnie Webb:
"Jacob Will Always Be remembered by the Die Hard Fans Of Shreveport, As an adopted parent in the booster club, their have only been a handful of players that I've been proud to know a Jacob Is one of those fine young men."
Gordon Webb Medical Doctor of the Shreveport Captains:
"Jacob Was never ill or injured, meaning Jacob's excellent condition and attitude will be an asset to some lucky pro team."
Ron Wotus (Triple A manager in Phoenix):
"Jacob takes this game very seriously and works very hard at it. All he really needs to play more games. Cruz has a chance to be successful in this game.”
Dusty Baker:
"The dude can play ball, he has been getting a lot of breaks and he has been taking advantage of them."
Jacob's Father:
"Jacob may not have the speed or the power some players may have, but he knows the game mentally and that makes him so much more unpredictable."
[Archive] US: Social media spreads and grows the anti-SB1070 movement
Billie Greenwood
All Voices
July 29, 2010
The growing movement of migrant rights proponents who are in opposition to Arizona's anti-immigrant SB 1070 law --enacted today-- is propelled by social media networking sites, like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Pro-migrant organizations use social media to engage community members, utilize volunteers, share images and news events, and alert the press.
Two organizations in the vanguard of the effort are the Puente Movement and the National Day Labor Organizing Network. Their live-tweeting of events on-the-ground in Phoenix on the first day of the implementation of SB 1070 communicate actions of protest and civil disobedience to national and international sympathizers as well as to local participants in the events.
Several other registered Twitter users are focusing attention not only on the actions in Phoenix, but also on a variety of aspects of the pro-migrant news nationwide. They include: @mrdaveyd, @thinkmexican, @detentionwatch, @newman_chris, @theSoundStrike, @willcoley, @4onelove, @opalayo, @izofice, @kyledeb, @trail2010, @BstandsforB, and @lafronteratimes. These various users focus on particular relevant dimensions of the issues: immigrant detention, boycott of Arizona, the DREAM Act, and news affecting immigrants and migrants, particularly from Latin America.
Opal Tometi from Arizona's PUENTE movement recounts that Twitter opened up a dialogue between Phoenix activists and rap superstar, Talib Kweli. Kweli subsequently denounced SB 1070 as the result of communication with his fans on Twitter.
According to Tometi: "SB 1070 was intended to silence the voices of immigrants and communities of color, but Twitter has served as a vehicle for communication, a space for non-violent resistance, and a platform for liberation."
The Puente Movement and the National Day Labor Organizing Network have launched the Alto Arizona campaign and use the Twitter hashtag "#AltoArizona." They will use this hashtag throughout July 29th to tag their tweets on the various events they have planned. The hashtag "#SB1070" documents the growing conversation around SB 1070's implementation and the popular resistance to the law.
The groups' Facebook pages, the Puente Human Rights Movement and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, have garnered thousands of fans.
Breaking news on social networking sites is a phenomenon on the rise as agents of change use cell phones, cameras and the written word to communicate what's occurring in their locale to the wider world.
Original Link: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6415128-social-media-spreads-and-grows-the-antisb1070-movement
All Voices
July 29, 2010
The growing movement of migrant rights proponents who are in opposition to Arizona's anti-immigrant SB 1070 law --enacted today-- is propelled by social media networking sites, like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Pro-migrant organizations use social media to engage community members, utilize volunteers, share images and news events, and alert the press.
Two organizations in the vanguard of the effort are the Puente Movement and the National Day Labor Organizing Network. Their live-tweeting of events on-the-ground in Phoenix on the first day of the implementation of SB 1070 communicate actions of protest and civil disobedience to national and international sympathizers as well as to local participants in the events.
Several other registered Twitter users are focusing attention not only on the actions in Phoenix, but also on a variety of aspects of the pro-migrant news nationwide. They include: @mrdaveyd, @thinkmexican, @detentionwatch, @newman_chris, @theSoundStrike, @willcoley, @4onelove, @opalayo, @izofice, @kyledeb, @trail2010, @BstandsforB, and @lafronteratimes. These various users focus on particular relevant dimensions of the issues: immigrant detention, boycott of Arizona, the DREAM Act, and news affecting immigrants and migrants, particularly from Latin America.
Opal Tometi from Arizona's PUENTE movement recounts that Twitter opened up a dialogue between Phoenix activists and rap superstar, Talib Kweli. Kweli subsequently denounced SB 1070 as the result of communication with his fans on Twitter.
According to Tometi: "SB 1070 was intended to silence the voices of immigrants and communities of color, but Twitter has served as a vehicle for communication, a space for non-violent resistance, and a platform for liberation."
The Puente Movement and the National Day Labor Organizing Network have launched the Alto Arizona campaign and use the Twitter hashtag "#AltoArizona." They will use this hashtag throughout July 29th to tag their tweets on the various events they have planned. The hashtag "#SB1070" documents the growing conversation around SB 1070's implementation and the popular resistance to the law.
The groups' Facebook pages, the Puente Human Rights Movement and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, have garnered thousands of fans.
Breaking news on social networking sites is a phenomenon on the rise as agents of change use cell phones, cameras and the written word to communicate what's occurring in their locale to the wider world.
Original Link: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6415128-social-media-spreads-and-grows-the-antisb1070-movement
[Archive:] Arizona’s Suite of New Anti-Immigrant Bills Moves to Senate
by Julianne Hing
Colorlines
Wednesday, February 23 2011, 4:02 PM EST.
Last night the Arizona Senate Appropriations Committee cleared the way for a host of bills targeting undocumented immigrants to advance to the Senate floor. SB 1611, Senate President Russell Pearce’s latest effort to punish the state’s immigrant community with harsh sanctions and restrictions, was one of them.
SB 1611 will head to the Senate floor after clearing a narrow 7-6 vote in which two of the committee’s nine Republicans voted against the bill, the East Valley Tribune reported. SB 1611 seeks to ban undocumented immigrant kids from K-12 education if their parents cannot produce a U.S. birth certificate or naturalization documents. The bill would also force Arizona businesses to use E-Verify, the federal immigration database. Those who don’t could have their business license revoked. The bill would also forbid undocumented students from attending community college and state universities, even if they paid out-of-state tuition, and cut undocumented immigrants off from emergency medical care. People who want to file for a marriage license would need to show their immigration papers. And people would not be able to buy or operate vehicles without producing proof of legal residence. If they’re caught driving without proper documentation they could face a month of jail time.
In a marathon nine-hour meeting, state senators weighed the pros and cons of SB 1611. Sen. Rich Crandall, who ultimately voted against it, said he was concerned about how the bill would affect tourism.
“I don’t want people flying in for the big golf tournament or the auto auction and have to bring their birth certificate with them,” Crandall said, the East Valley Tribune reported.
Other opposition focused on how the bills could hurt the state’s already ailing economy.
“We recognize the concern that individuals have in Arizona about the undocumented-worker problem and the costs to the state government,” said Democratic state Sen. Paula Aboud, The Arizona Republic reported. “But if jobs are our focus, if the economy and turning our economy around in Arizona is what’s critical, these immigration bills don’t do it. They hurt our image.”
But Pearce has remained firm in his support for harsher laws.
“If we’re going to stop this invasion — and it is an invasion — you’re going to have to stop rewarding people for breaking those laws,” Pearce said during the nine-hour meeting yesterday, the paper reported. “I make no apology for demanding the taxpayers be protected.”
The Senate Appropriations Committee also cleared the way for SB 1308 and SB 1309, the pair of bills that would create a special Arizona state citizenship and end birthright citizenship, to move to the Senate floor. In doing so, Arizona became the first state legislative committee to approve legislation to roll back constitutional guarantees of birthright citizenship to children born in the country, the Arizona Republic reported. The bills had been held back in committee several times over the last few weeks and reassigned in tricky legislative shuffling. Sen. Ron Gould conceded at one of those early hearings in February that he didn’t have the votes necessary to move the bill out of committee. The committee also approved SB 1405, which forces hospital workers to ask for proof of immigration status before providing patients with non-emergency medical care.
Monday’s announcement of Pearce’s omnibus immigration bill seemed to materialize out of nowhere. “It was obvious a lot of them hadn’t been able to read it before,” said Gabriel Cruz, an immigrant rights activist who sat in on the committee hearings last night. “Some of [the senators] said it was a first reading that they had read it.”
During the hearing Pearce admitted that he had just come up with the idea over the weekend, the East Valley Tribune reported.
Immigrant rights activists say the maneuver is proof of Pearce’s desperation. “It is clear he does not have the votes to do what he wanted the way he wanted,” said Alfredo Gutierrez, a former state senator who heads the immigrant rights group Somos America. “Pearce has clearly staked his reputation on the 14th amendment bills, but now he’s found himself on the defensive.”
Gutierrez said that the gigantic omnibus bill included Pearce’s Republican colleagues’ various immigration-related bills, and he suspected that the omnibus bill squeaked by on a pact that enough senators will want to support their own bills, so they will support the omnibus bill, as well as SB 1308 and 1309.
“It’s proof that we’re being effective,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said he expects plenty more back-door maneuvers in the coming weeks as Pearce tries to keep his party in line to make sure that SB 1308 and SB 1309 pass once they make it to the Senate floor.
Still, the sheer number of anti-immigrant bills is staggering. Last night the committee also considered bills to end the state’s Medicaid program and trim its welfare program. The Senate Judiciary Committee also approved a bill that would designate the Colt Revolver as Arizona’s official state firearm.
“They had all these bills, and then all of sudden it was midnight and they wanted to go to a bill to have a state firearm for the state,” said Cruz.
“That’s when I felt, I wouldn’t say offended, but that they were making a mockery of what they were doing.”
Many of the provisions in these bills are currently unconstitutional, say immigrant and civil rights groups. But Pearce and his colleagues have been direct about their intent to trigger a Supreme Court review of cases like 1982’s Plyer v. Doe, which established children’s rights to public education regardless of their immigration status, and the landmark 1898 case U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, when the Supreme Court ruled that children born in the U.S. are automatically U.S. citizens, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Along the way to the Supreme Court, these laws also help intimidate and terrorize immigrant communities, immigrant rights activists argue.
“Politicians are trying to scare a lot of people into leaving Arizona,” said Cruz, who predicted that the Republican-controlled Senate would likely pass SB 1611, given the state’s legislative history. “I just don’t comprehend the hatred or the fear or the greed that some of these politicians have.”
Today the House Appropriations Committee will vote on HB 2070, which would allow Gov. Jan Brewer to create an armed force called the Arizona State Guard for any reason she deemed necessary.
[Archive] Wings of Peace continues food tradition
By CAROLYN DRYER,
Editor
GLENDALE STAR
December 9, 2013
It has been quietly going on for 19 years, and in a few months Wings of Peace will celebrate its 20th year of serving hot meals 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday to those who need it. Founder Louise Pennartz still directs traffic and solicits donations from anyone who has a spare dime or dollar to buy more food.
The fourth Thursday of November every year, regular volunteers are joined by special holiday volunteers to serve close to 400 people a complete Thanksgiving dinner at Knights of Columbus Hall, on 49th Avenue just north of Northern Avenue.
Among the holiday help was Gabriel Cruz, editor in chief of The Voice, Glendale Community College student newspaper. Cruz fit right in and did whatever veteran volunteers asked of him, lugging in large containers of turkey, dressing and vegetables.
A couple diners stood up and entertained with songs and a few guitar medleys. Even an APS clown walked through the aisles, then sat down and created balloon animals for the kids. Lots of turkey with all the trimmings, lots of dessert to fill tummies.
The Christmas party meal will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 17 at Knights of Columbus. At this party, which also is open to the public, Santa makes an appearance, and will hand out toys to the kids.
It is not that much different from the dinner served this past Thanksgiving. The lines form early, and diners have a chance to take home second helpings along with extra treats for the kids, and hugs all around from volunteers. Go to eat, or just to help out.
Original Link: http://www.glendalestar.com/features/collection_477ede82-5eae-11e3-b279-001a4bcf887a.html
Editor
GLENDALE STAR
December 9, 2013
 |
| Gabriel Cruz pours gravy on a diner’s meal at the Wings of Peace Thanksgiving dinner. |
It has been quietly going on for 19 years, and in a few months Wings of Peace will celebrate its 20th year of serving hot meals 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday to those who need it. Founder Louise Pennartz still directs traffic and solicits donations from anyone who has a spare dime or dollar to buy more food.
The fourth Thursday of November every year, regular volunteers are joined by special holiday volunteers to serve close to 400 people a complete Thanksgiving dinner at Knights of Columbus Hall, on 49th Avenue just north of Northern Avenue.
Among the holiday help was Gabriel Cruz, editor in chief of The Voice, Glendale Community College student newspaper. Cruz fit right in and did whatever veteran volunteers asked of him, lugging in large containers of turkey, dressing and vegetables.
A couple diners stood up and entertained with songs and a few guitar medleys. Even an APS clown walked through the aisles, then sat down and created balloon animals for the kids. Lots of turkey with all the trimmings, lots of dessert to fill tummies.
The Christmas party meal will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 17 at Knights of Columbus. At this party, which also is open to the public, Santa makes an appearance, and will hand out toys to the kids.
It is not that much different from the dinner served this past Thanksgiving. The lines form early, and diners have a chance to take home second helpings along with extra treats for the kids, and hugs all around from volunteers. Go to eat, or just to help out.
Original Link: http://www.glendalestar.com/features/collection_477ede82-5eae-11e3-b279-001a4bcf887a.html
Wednesday, August 06, 2014
[Poem / Ode] Ode to the colonized
By Vanessa Gallego
You shop at Walmart, the silent stranger, of the peoples of the tres worlds~ You check off Hispanic in the census, and the results is your detention referral, into a life of slave service and cultural homicide, making you speak English, co-conspire against your people and become the FBI, the CIA, DEA, any government position of the U.S of A.
But why you say if we live in the Land of the Free, look our mother, Statue of sweet liberty, embracing the EAST, never looking South, its the indigenous people that she hates, and she habitually kicks out.
Cause we aint white, cause we all “look alike” brown bastard people who continue to fight, The system, the administration, with every breath that we take, living in poverty that the system and the man creates, And holds us in, castrating our culture, our voice, making us the “other”, turning our sisters and brothers against one another,
What menace have we caused that we’re continually shunned, what makes American culture superior for one?
Does our Spanish and Indigenous scare you to the point; were you looking for war at every fucking checkpoint?
Homeland Security, what the fuck were you thinking, protecting an imaginary border, from people only seeking, A better life, a chance to survive; escape government corruption, and U.S genocide, From Honduras, Oaxaca, Puebla, mi gente, tu ordio, tu malicia, tu racismo lo sienten.
Y que motherfuckers, what else will you do, more Patriotic Acts and more Prop 2 c notes, too? This is a call for all those oppressed who are tired of listening to FOX news and CBS, Media, creating sheep by the masses A Perfect Circle of hate, In which our government brainwashes and instigates,
And if your mind still can’t metabolize the fact that you’re still colonized, then turn ON the radios, turn on the TV’s and watch the killing of innocent Iraqis
You shop at Walmart, the silent stranger, of the peoples of the tres worlds~ You check off Hispanic in the census, and the results is your detention referral, into a life of slave service and cultural homicide, making you speak English, co-conspire against your people and become the FBI, the CIA, DEA, any government position of the U.S of A.
But why you say if we live in the Land of the Free, look our mother, Statue of sweet liberty, embracing the EAST, never looking South, its the indigenous people that she hates, and she habitually kicks out.
Cause we aint white, cause we all “look alike” brown bastard people who continue to fight, The system, the administration, with every breath that we take, living in poverty that the system and the man creates, And holds us in, castrating our culture, our voice, making us the “other”, turning our sisters and brothers against one another,
What menace have we caused that we’re continually shunned, what makes American culture superior for one?
Does our Spanish and Indigenous scare you to the point; were you looking for war at every fucking checkpoint?
Homeland Security, what the fuck were you thinking, protecting an imaginary border, from people only seeking, A better life, a chance to survive; escape government corruption, and U.S genocide, From Honduras, Oaxaca, Puebla, mi gente, tu ordio, tu malicia, tu racismo lo sienten.
Y que motherfuckers, what else will you do, more Patriotic Acts and more Prop 2 c notes, too? This is a call for all those oppressed who are tired of listening to FOX news and CBS, Media, creating sheep by the masses A Perfect Circle of hate, In which our government brainwashes and instigates,
And if your mind still can’t metabolize the fact that you’re still colonized, then turn ON the radios, turn on the TV’s and watch the killing of innocent Iraqis
[Poem] Under Shadows of . . .
By Salvador Reza
Under shadows of fear I work construction.
Under shadows of shame my kids hide their status.
Under shadows of losing my job I use fake papers.
I don’t speak against poor education, my kids are targeted.
I want to elect caring school administrators but I can’t vote.
I want to be counted but I am discounted.
My Spanish is ridiculed and my Nahuatl erased.
I work but my quality of life is slave-like.
No, it’s not the Mexico of early 1500s.
It’s today on the streets of Phoenix.
Under shadows of fear I work construction.
Under shadows of shame my kids hide their status.
Under shadows of losing my job I use fake papers.
I don’t speak against poor education, my kids are targeted.
I want to elect caring school administrators but I can’t vote.
I want to be counted but I am discounted.
My Spanish is ridiculed and my Nahuatl erased.
I work but my quality of life is slave-like.
No, it’s not the Mexico of early 1500s.
It’s today on the streets of Phoenix.
[Poem] Xochiqueztal de Ometeol by Luis Angel Viniegra
Xochiqueztal de Ometeol
by Luis Angel Viniegra
From the timeless Calli Ollin Gardens of Ometeotl...
To the smoking mountain clouds of Tenochtitlan...
To the spirit rains
Of our honored Mexicayotl elders...
From the Tonal Y Nagual
Of the Highlands of Teotihuacan...
Ehecatl spread prolific pollen...
Lluikamina arched destiny arrows
Into the sky...
Como las lagrimas de fuego
Del Manadato de Cuauhtemok...
Flung across the winds of time...
To the feathered serpent Ximalli...
Reflecting the healing rays
Of the six sun arising...
The Xinachtli now blossoms...
into lifegiving
Precious flowers...
Like the Medicinal Yerba Buena...
Resilient...
Like the centurion Saguaro...
As radiant sunflowers...
Across the valles of Aztlán...
The Xochiquetzal de Ometeol
by Luis Angel Viniegra
From the timeless Calli Ollin Gardens of Ometeotl...
To the smoking mountain clouds of Tenochtitlan...
To the spirit rains
Of our honored Mexicayotl elders...
From the Tonal Y Nagual
Of the Highlands of Teotihuacan...
Ehecatl spread prolific pollen...
Lluikamina arched destiny arrows
Into the sky...
Como las lagrimas de fuego
Del Manadato de Cuauhtemok...
Flung across the winds of time...
To the feathered serpent Ximalli...
Reflecting the healing rays
Of the six sun arising...
The Xinachtli now blossoms...
into lifegiving
Precious flowers...
Like the Medicinal Yerba Buena...
Resilient...
Like the centurion Saguaro...
As radiant sunflowers...
Across the valles of Aztlán...
The Xochiquetzal de Ometeol
Tuesday, August 05, 2014
[Some history on La Cosa Nostra in Arizona]
The original web page was talked about in The Arizona Republic on June 7, 2001
The original web page was taken down, I have no name for it as I'd like to add to it when I can.
When it comes to 'La Cosa Nostra,’ Arizona has had an interesting history dealing with this subject. Most of this information was provided to me by various people I have spoken with, books I have read, newspaper article archives I have looked for on microfilm, and or notes acquired from the Freedom of Information Act. If you are real serious, I recommend you all read the book called “The Arizona Project which you can find on Amazon.com very easily.
[Desclaimer:] I personally thank anyone who has helped me; there are many individuals who I will not name for obvious reasons. I am not saying everything you read on this web site is true, and I will cite sources when I can list them, but according to backtracking and follow ups, a lot of these things seemed to really be facts and check out for themselves.
Various law enforcement officials have told me that many 'wiseguys' consider Arizona and Phoenix a "haven" and virtually untapped, yet have never ever got a strong hold as they may have in other cities. I have been getting A LOT of e-mails from un-named sources and different people that Arizona is also a hot bed for people in the Federal Witness Protection program when it comes to figures dealing with La Cosa Nostra! (Note: In the Law Enforcement world, the word "Mafia" is not used and the term best used is "La Cosa Nostra")
Due to contrary belief that everything west of Chicago, must answer to Chicago, Phoenix and Arizona does not belong to the Chicago Mob, Arizona has been, and still is open territory since the first infiltration of that state in the 1940's.
The 1930s and 1940’s
Many are under the assumption that Joe Bonanno, head of the Bonnano family was the first major Cosa Nostra figure to move into Arizona, but this is false. Joe Bonanno gained most of the media attention for his presence in Tucson because he was one of the members of the so called Commission, and head of the mob family that still bares his name to this day.
Pete Licavoli and Mo Dalitz bought land in Tucson in the late 1930s. Peter Licavoli was one of the first five ruling dons of Detroit. Licavoli purchased the Grace Ranch in 1944 and died there in January of 1984. Grace Ranch existed on Wrightson Road near the Rincon Mountains. According to William Roemer in his book The Enforcer, Pete LiCavoli was a capo régime (Captain of a regime) whose connections went back to Detroit.
Beginning in 1946, Licavoli, the Arizona mob boss, operated an illegal gambling wire service with Kemper Marley Sr., the wealthiest liquor distributor in the state. Later, Marley's United Liquor Co. supplied Emprise dog tracks with 10 percent of their alcoholic beverages. (You will read about Emprise and Marley later in the Don Bolles Section of this page)
Licavoli's Grace Ranch became the meeting spot for the syndicate with high powered figures like Tony Mirabile, Anthony Accardo, Sam Giancana, Paul Ricca, Moe Dalitz, Senator and Presidential Candidate Barry Goldwater and a host of Las Vegas movers and shakers visiting at one time or another.
Even the allegedly banished Bonanno was seen on occasion making an appearance there. Licavoli is survived by his sons Michael and Pete Jr. A third son Ted died of Cancer according to an e-mail I received from David LiCavoli. Pete Jr. was accused at one time of running a massive drug smuggling operation.
Licavoli later sued local newspapers and government officials when they backed out of an indictment. Arizona became the headquarters for Licavoli's expansion efforts which later included rackets in the areas of New Mexico, Nevada, Southwestern Texas, Southern California and Mexico.
The 1950’s
On November 4, 1955, Retiree "William Nelson" who had lived rather quietly in his then-rural East Bethany Home Road neighborhood for six years died. He walked out to his driveway, slipped behind the wheel of his pickup truck and turned the ignition key setting off a bomb that shattered windows three blocks away. Law officers never had any doubts about why "Nelson," who was actually a former Al Capone henchman named WILLIE BIOFF, was murdered. He had been an extortionist and had turned informant 'on the mob colleagues' years earlier to save his skin. Now Gray stucco apartments cover the spot at 1250 E. Bethany Home Road. "He apparently talked about extortion in movieland," said Arizona Newspaper reporter Don Bolles. (You will read more about Don Bolles in the 1970's section of this page.)
For more on Willie Bioff in Arizona, visit his link on the bottom of the section.
On the night of December 2, 1958, mob hit men paid a visit to the Encanto home of Las Vegas crime kingpin and Riviera hotel president GUS GREENBAUM, one time associate of Bugsy Siegel. When Greenbaum's housekeeper reported for work the next morning, she found Greenbaum and his spouse, Bess, dead, their throats slit.
Greenbaum's excessive drinking, gambling, womanizing, and drug habits eventually caused him to begin skimming from casino operations. However, his embezzlement was soon discovered by the Chicago. The double murder remains unsolved. The location of this house is located at 1115 West Monte Vista. (The New Times: Phoenix)
The 1960’s
In the late 1960s, in Tucson, there was at least 10 bombings in a span of 12 months that ‘damaged homes and businesses that had some known or suspected link to the Mafia. Extortion, mob warfare and simple revenge all may have figured into the blasts. Police caught two men who admitted carrying out two of the bombings, but their contention that a mastermind put them up to it was never proved and remains a mystery to this day’
’On July 21, 1968, Shortly before 9:30 p.m., a car pulled over near University of Arizona Hospital, just around the corner from the East Elm Street home of Joseph Bonanno Sr. What happens or who was involved no one knows, but a bomb went off at the Bonanno home.
The night before, two dynamite charges at the Grace Ranch on the Northeast Side had damaged several cars and a shed, and knocked out the electrical power. The owner of the ranch on East Wrightstown Road was Peter J. Licavoli Sr., a former mob leader and bootlegger in Detroit.
Then at 10:17 one night, two bombs exploded about 30 seconds apart outside the North Side home of Peter Notaro. He was known to the FBI as a Mafia member and Bonanno bodyguard who had followed Bonanno to Tucson. Notaro's wife and daughter were inside when the dynamite damaged parts of two patio walls, ripped out patio screens and broke windows.
As summer stretched into autumn, bombs hit Metro Auto Plastic Co., 1926 N. Stone Ave. An FBI agent reported that a Metro owner socialized in nightclubs with gangsters and "has been repairing the automobiles for most all of the hoodlums in Tucson for the past several years."
The next blast was at the Wig Salon of Beauty, 2739 E. Speedway, now a strip mall with a juice store and a pharmacy. The salon receptionist was the wife of mobster Charles J. "Batts" Battaglia. That night, someone also blew part of the roof off the home of a man whom FBI reports identified as a mob associate.
The next day, Sept. 17, U.S. Rep. Morris K. Udall asked the FBI director to assign more agents to fight organized crime in Tucson. Udall, a Democrat and former Pima County attorney, quoted Police Chief Bernard L. Garmire, who warned that the Mafia aimed to make Arizona "the future criminal playground of America."’ (Source: The Arizona Star Newspaper)
Note: I have many conflicting reports of who Charles J. "Batts" Battaglia. Some sources have told me he was loyal to ‘Lilo’ who was Carmine Galante I assume, some told me he was one of Joe Bonanno’s most loyal bodyguard, and another source tells me he was a capo from Los Angeles who tried to have Bonanno killed. Charles J. "Batts" Battaglia was involved with in Tucson, but that is a name that you should definitely look up and make your own decision.
In the 1970's
A young lad and big mob enforcer by the name of TONY ‘THE ANT’ SPILOTRO was placed in Las Vegas to watch the gambling interests of The Chicago Mob. Tony Spilotro is best known as the character portrayed by Joe Pesci in Casino as "Nicky Santoro". Representing Las Vegas, also meant representing any thing west of the Mississippi River. At that time, Tony Spilotro placed a solider by the name of Paul/Paulie John “The Indian” Schiro in Scottsdale. He ran the ‘Scotch Mist’ Restaurant, which many people from Chicago and California used as a hangout. Paul Schiro was featured in a 1978 Arizona Republic special report on Mafia figures in the state. He was a business partner to the 73-year-old Emil Vaci, (You will read about him in the 1980s) who once operated a mob-connected business ferrying gamblers to Las Vegas. Both men were members of the "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang," a burglary ring that burrowed into walls of businesses and residences to take jewelry and artwork. Before Paul Schiro, it was JACK TOCCO who ran Chicago's interest in Phoenix.
‘A Chinese restaurant, a Mexican restaurant and now, again, an Italian eatery, have been serial occupants of the building that housed Papa Joe's Italian Restaurant on North 32nd St., a mob haunt run by the late Joseph F. Tocco, who was brother of Jack.’ (Sources: Roemer, Casino, Arizona Republic, Don Bolles)
On the morning of Feb. 19, 1975. ED LAZAR, an accountant testifying against land-fraud artists,
was shot to death in the stairwell of a Central Corridor parking garage, on the underground level of a parking garage on Central Avenue. The unsolved, gangland-style execution occurred the day before Lazar was scheduled to testify before a Maricopa County grand jury about his dealings with Ned Warren, ‘the godfather of Arizona land fraud.’ The place where he was gunned down was the rear parking garage (second underground level), on 3003 North Central Avenue in Phoenix.
A Tempe man who called himself "Joseph Nardi" started his car on the morning of October 6, 1975, a dynamite explosion ripped through rear axle of his Lincoln Continental, that blew out 75 of his neighbors' windows and hurled portions of his car a quarter of a mile away.
"Nardi" was actually mob informer LOUIS BOMBACINO, 52 at the time, had been living there with his wife and teenage son under an assumed name provided by the FBI after his 1968 testimony helped send a half-dozen high-level Chicago mobsters to the penitentiary and crack a multimillion dollar gambling racket. The case remains unsolved. This happened at 201 East Hermosa in Tempe. (Source: Time Magazine; The New Times Phoenix)
During his brief stint living in time in Tempe, Bombacino was eventually caught peddling irrigation equipment stolen from the company and profiting from a gambling-prostitution ring.
DON BOLLES
Don Bolles was a reporter with the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. He once wrote a series on organized crime called "The Newcomers" that put over 200 Mafia members or associates in the state.
During the 1974 Arizona gubernatorial race, Marley (You read about him in the 1940s with LiCavoli) was the biggest contributor to Gov. Raul Castro's campaign. After the election, the Castro administration appointed Marley to the state racing commission, but he was forced to resign because of adverse publicity from stories written by Don Bolles.
On June 2nd 1976, A newspaper reporter and Arizona Organized Crime Historian, Don Bolles entered his car at 11:34 A.M. when a remote-control dynamite bomb ripped through his white Datsun as he was preparing to leave the parking lot of the then Hotel Clarendon, 401 W. Clarendon Ave./ (now Les Jardins hotel) located at 3738 North Fourth Avenue in Phoenix. Don Bolles died 11 days later.
No one could figure it out, but most knew that the LCN was somehow involved. Bolles was able to uncover much of Arizona's underworld figures, or businessmen involved with many people involved with the organized crime. Don Bolles paved the way for many law enforcement officers to get involved with organized crime figures in the state of Arizona.. Bolles, in his last statement before lapsing into unconsciousness, he mentioned the Mafia, John Adamson and Emprise Corp., a Buffalo, N.Y. company. Emprise was convicted in 1972 of a federal charge of conspiring to hide Mafia interest in a Las Vegas, Nev., casino. Emprise and the Funk family were partners in six dog-racing tracks in the state of Arizona and the Prescott Downs horse track, and Bolles had ripped their operations in print." (Source: Arizona Business Gazette- January 5, 1990)
I asked my mother about the subject of Don Bolles that fact that I had not been born yet. She replied "I remember it well, I was Pregnant with your older sister and it was real depressing to the community. He was a well respected newspaper journalist. I remember the flags being at half mast."
Bill Roemer
FBI agent William F. Roemer, Jr. was assigned to New York godfather, Joe Bonnano, in Tucson, where it is believed he controlled his New York family from his desert home. Being assigned, to the New York mob, he also had ran in to many Chicago mob hoods in Arizona. While in Tucson, Roemer was acquitted to an informant from Chicago as Nino. ‘Nino was not so big in Chicago, but he was a big time guy in Tucson.’
(Roemer also had encounters with Tony Spilotro, LiCavoli and Bonanno in Tucson from time to time. You can read more about his encounters in his book The Enforcer, Spilotro: The Chicago Mob's Man Over Las Vegas. By William F. Roemer, Jr.)
The 1980's
Media known mob associate HENRY HILL went to in to Phoenix to testify before entering the Federal Protection Program. ‘The testimony was in connection with the alleged organized crime links of a major liquor wholesaler that had been about to become the largest wine and liquor distributor in the state of Arizona. On the eve of Henry's taking the stand, however, the company withdrew its application for licensing and agreed to withdraw from doing further business in the state. (Source: WiseGuy; Life in a Mafia Family by Nicholas Pileggi) Henry Hill is best known in "Goodfellas" portrayed by actor Ray Liotta.
EMIL "MAL" VACI was 73 years old, but he would not reach to be 74. He had been implicated with Jay Vandermark, the slot skim expert who cheated the Chicago mob by diverting some of the skim to himself. Vaci fled to Phoenix, where he was the maitre d' of Ernesto's Back Street, a well-known restaurant. After being contacted on the telephone there, he told the employees that he had to leave for a while. He was never seen again alive. On June 7, 1986, Vaci's body was found wrapped in a tarp in a drainage ditch canal near 48th Street and Thomas Road (Phoenix) by a couple hiking in the desert.. He had been shot in the back. ( The Source: The Enforcer Roemer, The Arizona Republic)
’Well-dressed people still hoist drinks at Durant's Restaurant, 2611 N. Central Ave. (Phoenix) , whose long-time owner Jack Durant survived to die a natural death at the age of 82 in 1987 even though a Bolles card asserts, "Reliable information says Durant crossed the mob on gambling debt in Las Vegas and they've had a long-standing contract out on him." (Source: Don Bolles Cards / Arizona Republic)
The 1990's
Mr. Allen Glick, who was used as a front man in connection with LCN tied casinos in Las Vegas, in the early 1970's and 1980's, has financial ties with Jerry Simms, the owner of Turf Paradise, here in Arizona. The controversy over the new owner of Turf Paradise racetrack has erupted into a squabble between state agencies, with a Gaming Department investigator ripping the state Department of Racing for shoddy research into the background of Jeremy E. "Jerry" Simms. Gov. Jane Hull, apparently agreeing with that view, fired Jim Higginbottom, the Racing Department director who endorsed Simms' application to run the track.
Brian Callaghan, a gaming investigator, said in a memo to his boss that racing officials overlooked serious problems in Simms' background before licensing him to operate the state's largest non-Indian wagering business. He also has ongoing financial entanglements with Allen Glick, once a powerful Las Vegas casino owner who fronted for organized crime. In the affidavit, Simms asserts that Glick was a victim of Mafia extortion in the Las Vegas gambling business and ultimately helped the government convict mobsters of skimming profits. As corroboration, Simms pointed out that a former FBI agent has written a letter vouching for Glick.
The 1994 letter from Clark B. Hall, a retired agent who headed the Las Vegas probe, portrays Glick as an American hero who resisted Mafia thugs, provided the FBI with vital information and gave testimony that was critical in sending 16 criminals to prison. Those characterizations contradict other federal government depictions of Glick as a straw man who bought several casinos with Mafia-greased loans, became the "hub of the conspiracy," and then testified under an immunity agreement. In an interview, Hall said Glick unwittingly "got in bed with the mob? (and) made the decision to stay in bed with them." Although that choice was "not commendable," Hall said, Glick proved to be a devastating witness against the Mafia. "I'm a very loyal guy to those who I believe have exerted themselves on behalf of the government," Hall added.
Like Glick, Simms helped the FBI win numerous convictions while testifying under an immunity agreement. Simms, a bank founder and financier, says he was naive and stupid but never knowingly broke the law. He says he went to the FBI when he realized his associates were corrupt. Records show Simms did not go to federal authorities until nearly two years after the bribes and extortion attempts. In written responses to Republic questions, Simms also said his friendship with Glick goes back 25 years and includes a series of loans to Glick's company, ALTA Resources. A movie and book was written by Nicholas Pileggi called "Casino" which has Mr. Allen Glick portrayed in the movie by Phillip Green. (Sources- Arizona Republic and The Gambling Magazine http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/articles/48/48-465.htm)
About 300 guests turned out Saturday night to celebrate the 90th birthday of Joseph 'Joe Bananas' Bonanno, retired boss of New York's Bonanno crime family. He retired to Tucson in 1968. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Gov. Fife Symington sent their regards by telegram." (Source: The Arizona Republice: - January 17, 1995)
Gambino Underboss SALVATORE GRAVANO, better known as SAMMY ‘THE BULL’ GRAVANO entered the witness protection program after testifying against Gamino boss, Jon Gotti and more than 30 other former mob confederates in the early 1990s. Sammy took the name Jimmy Moran and entered the swimming pool business in the booming Scottsdale, Ariz., area. But after writing an autobiography detailing his criminal exploits, he left the witness protection program in 1998, saying it was too confining.
Gravano made a conscious decision to return to a life of crime after his son was busted for trying to send a pound of pot to New York. "Gravano decided that he would supervise his son's drug trafficking so as to make it more profitable and less likely to be detected by law enforcement," said a prosecutor.
September 2, 1999 - Some 20 mobsters, brokers and officials of HealthTech International Inc., an Arizona company that ran fitness centers, were charged in the case. In a 12-month, $3 million scam, the mobsters bought securities at rock bottom prices and sold them at huge profits after brokers helped raise the price of the stock artificially high by over pitching it to unsuspecting investors.
So far, 16 defendants have pleaded guilty, two were convicted at trial and charges against two others are pending, said assistant U.S. attorney Celeste Koeleveld.
The gangsters used their usual hardball hoodlum methods to intimidate co-opted brokers and HealthTech executives and make sure they played ball with the mob. And when things didn't go smoothly, when the brokers and company officials caused problems, or when disagreements erupted between mobsters, things were settled at classic gangland sit-downs, some of them pretty crowded affairs, at various Brooklyn restaurants
An e-mail I received before this was sent to me. I have researched some of the names and things do come up extremely sketchy, so I decided to let you research it yourself. The entire email is composed below: ‘Phoenix and Scottsdale are haven for telemarketing scam run by guys from the Buffalo fraction . Mostly stock scams and hedge funds . Buffalo has a lot of guys running book in the Tempe area and a few thugs shaking down restaurants and loan sharking. A few names that you may want to look into are Danny Ivancolangelo, Murray Blake , Tommy and Joey Pellegrino , Moe and Sam Alimo"
Someone anonymous me this information.
On May 24,2002. The FBI went in and shut down the company (whose official name I don't know) that sells the Longitude penis enlargement pills. Michael Cansoli and Vincent Passafiume, members of the NY Bonnano Mafia family were running the business. Many sport's cars such as Lamborghinis and Ferrari’s were seized as well. This company was based in Scottsdale, AZ.
Links:
Pete Licaoli
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKlicavoli.htm
An Experience with Pete Licavoli and Joesph Bonnano; by Roy Drachman
http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/drachman/0702.html
Joesph Bonanno
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bonanno
Willie Bioff in Tucson
http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/drachman/0701.html
Gus Greenbuam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Greenbaum
http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/drachman/0702.html
Don Bolles
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special01/
Sam ‘The Bull’ Gravano
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Gravano
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/gravano/index_1.html
The Tucson Mob Bombings
Day 1: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/related/8057
Day 2: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/related/8183
Day 3: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/related/8270
Day 4: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/related/8448
A Not So GoodFella: Barry Goldwater links with Organized Crime
http://www.weeklywire.com/ww/06-22-98/tw_curr4.html
Tucson Mob
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/1999-07-22/smith.html
[Arizona Mafia - La Costa Nostra article] Mob bust nets 2 Arizonans - 14 arrests cover 30 years of hits
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 26, 2005
Two Arizona men were among 14 suspects indicted and arrested Monday on racketeering charges that cover numerous Mafia murders over the past three decades, including the 1986 hit of Las Vegas mob enforcer Tony "The Ant" Spilotro.
The case appears to solve one of Phoenix's most notorious homicides: the 1986 slaying of restaurant maitre d' Emil "Mal" Vaci, who had been called before a federal grand jury investigating Spilotro's criminal operation.
Paul Schiro, 67, of Phoenix, identified by authorities as a mob burglar and hit man who worked for Spilotro, was among those named in the indictment. Schiro, nicknamed "The Indian," already is in prison for other crimes. advertisement
Another Arizona suspect, Anthony Doyle, 60, of Wickenburg, was arrested Monday by an FBI SWAT team. The former Chicago police officer is suspected of assisting a key Chicago crime boss in the mid-1980s.
The federal indictment, unsealed Monday, includes allegations of conspiracy, bookmaking, extortion, loan sharking, obstructing justice and other crimes. Defendants include Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, regarded as one of Chicago's top organized-crime figures, and others identified as "made" members of the Mafia.
"This unprecedented indictment puts a hit on the mob," said Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. attorney for the district of northern Illinois, in a written statement. "After so many years, it lifts the veil of secrecy and exposes the violent underworld of organized crime."
Robert Grant, top FBI official in Illinois, described the charges as "a milestone in the FBI's battle against organized crime."
The investigation, dubbed Operation Family Secrets, culminated Monday with arrests in Illinois, Florida and Arizona.
Authorities said seven of the defendants either committed murder or agreed to do so. Only one of the homicides took place in Arizona.
Schiro moved to the Valley in the mid-1960s and was featured in a 1978 Arizona Republic special report on Mafia figures in the state. He was a business partner to the 73-year-old Vaci, who once operated a mob-connected business ferrying gamblers to Las Vegas. Both men were members of the "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang," a burglary ring that burrowed into walls of businesses and residences to take jewelry and artwork.
In 1986, while Spilotro was under investigation, someone shot Vaci six times in the head and dumped his body in a dry canal near 48th Street and Thomas Road in Phoenix. That killing is among 18 attributed to defendants from 1970 to 1986. The indictment does not implicate Schiro specifically, but federal prosecutors allege that he "committed murder and other crimes on behalf of the (mob)."
A week after Vaci died, Spilotro and his brother, Michael, were beaten and buried alive in an Indiana cornfield, purportedly because the Vaci hit had not been sanctioned. That sordid tale was portrayed in a 1995 film, Casino, featuring Joe Pesci as Tony Spilotro.
Doyle was one of two police officers suspected of helping Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Sr. by providing information on a homicide investigation. The indictment does not list Doyle among those who committed murder. Records indicate he moved to Arizona from Illinois about four years ago.
During an initial appearance Monday at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Doyle requested a court-appointed lawyer but made no other comments.
Reach the reporter at dennis.wagner@arizonarepublic.com.
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 26, 2005
Two Arizona men were among 14 suspects indicted and arrested Monday on racketeering charges that cover numerous Mafia murders over the past three decades, including the 1986 hit of Las Vegas mob enforcer Tony "The Ant" Spilotro.
The case appears to solve one of Phoenix's most notorious homicides: the 1986 slaying of restaurant maitre d' Emil "Mal" Vaci, who had been called before a federal grand jury investigating Spilotro's criminal operation.
Paul Schiro, 67, of Phoenix, identified by authorities as a mob burglar and hit man who worked for Spilotro, was among those named in the indictment. Schiro, nicknamed "The Indian," already is in prison for other crimes. advertisement
Another Arizona suspect, Anthony Doyle, 60, of Wickenburg, was arrested Monday by an FBI SWAT team. The former Chicago police officer is suspected of assisting a key Chicago crime boss in the mid-1980s.
The federal indictment, unsealed Monday, includes allegations of conspiracy, bookmaking, extortion, loan sharking, obstructing justice and other crimes. Defendants include Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, regarded as one of Chicago's top organized-crime figures, and others identified as "made" members of the Mafia.
"This unprecedented indictment puts a hit on the mob," said Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. attorney for the district of northern Illinois, in a written statement. "After so many years, it lifts the veil of secrecy and exposes the violent underworld of organized crime."
Robert Grant, top FBI official in Illinois, described the charges as "a milestone in the FBI's battle against organized crime."
The investigation, dubbed Operation Family Secrets, culminated Monday with arrests in Illinois, Florida and Arizona.
Authorities said seven of the defendants either committed murder or agreed to do so. Only one of the homicides took place in Arizona.
Schiro moved to the Valley in the mid-1960s and was featured in a 1978 Arizona Republic special report on Mafia figures in the state. He was a business partner to the 73-year-old Vaci, who once operated a mob-connected business ferrying gamblers to Las Vegas. Both men were members of the "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang," a burglary ring that burrowed into walls of businesses and residences to take jewelry and artwork.
In 1986, while Spilotro was under investigation, someone shot Vaci six times in the head and dumped his body in a dry canal near 48th Street and Thomas Road in Phoenix. That killing is among 18 attributed to defendants from 1970 to 1986. The indictment does not implicate Schiro specifically, but federal prosecutors allege that he "committed murder and other crimes on behalf of the (mob)."
A week after Vaci died, Spilotro and his brother, Michael, were beaten and buried alive in an Indiana cornfield, purportedly because the Vaci hit had not been sanctioned. That sordid tale was portrayed in a 1995 film, Casino, featuring Joe Pesci as Tony Spilotro.
Doyle was one of two police officers suspected of helping Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Sr. by providing information on a homicide investigation. The indictment does not list Doyle among those who committed murder. Records indicate he moved to Arizona from Illinois about four years ago.
During an initial appearance Monday at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Doyle requested a court-appointed lawyer but made no other comments.
Reach the reporter at dennis.wagner@arizonarepublic.com.
[Archive] New Chicano Literature class offered for Spring semester at GCC
By Violeta Lopez
The Voice
December 13th, 2002
Beginning in the spring of 2003, GCC will be offering a Chicano Literature class to students interested in learning the works of Mexican-American writers of the Southwest.
According to the course description, the class will sample poetry, fiction and essays viewed in their relationship to American cultural heritage and to contemporary culture.
The class, available for the first time, also has a section reserved for honor students. Gabriel Cruz, a student at GCC, contacted the Department Chair for the English department, Betty Hufford, to ask why the college did not offer a Chicano Literature class. Cruz said, “Since GCC’s Hispanic population makes up 17% of the student body, it was about time the college offered a course that would help students familiarize themselves with their heritage and how it has affected American Literature.”
Cruz was told that if enough students were interested in taking the course, the college would begin to offer it. So Cruz went around asking students if they were interested in taking the course and the common response was a “yes”. Cruz said, “I have worked hard with others to make this class available for spring and I hope students will register for the class.”
The class, ENH112, covers two general studies requirements, Humanities and Cultural Awareness. According to the official course outline, the class will cover Chicano poetry, fiction and theater. Students will learn about literary techniques and criticism, major literary movements in Chicano poetry, and major Chicano poets and playwrights. No prerequisites are required to register for the class.
The only class available will be taught on Tuesday evenings from 7:10 to 9:50 p.m. beginning January 21, 2003. The instructor will be Dr. David Miller, English Department.
Miller says, “I am very glad that I will be teaching this class in the spring semester. I hope that GCC will expand the Chicano studies area and offer other classes relating to the Chicano movement. This is an excellent course for students that are learning Spanish and want to familiarize themselves with the culture.”
[Archive] Student bring gubernatorial candidates to forum: Tragic family event sparks political activism by GCC journalist
The Glendale Star
April 18, 2002
By CAROLYN DRYER
Editor
Gabriel Cruz did not intend to become politically active, at least not during his senior year at Glendale High School. What Cruz intended to do was get a high school diploma and think about his future.
Instead, Cruz dropped out a month before he was scheduled to graduate, but later earned his diploma at Chris-Town Academy. In the meantime, tragedy struck, when his cousin’s infant daughter was killed last September.
Cruz said he looked up to his cousin and was devastated by the death of 21 month-old Liana Sandoval. Liana’s mother confessed to police the toddler had been beaten to death, and she and her boyfriend had weighted the girl’s body with a rock and dumped it into a canal.
The pair was arrested and is awaiting trail on first-degree murder charges. The couple was also charged with child abuse, and the mother also was charged with failure to protect her child.
There was something wrong with the system Cruz said, and he began to question Child Protection Services agency and the people supposed to protect his young cousin.
Cruz was enrolled at Glendale Community College, and he had become involved with the college’s M.E.Ch.A (Movimento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán) organization, a Hispanic student group dedicated to promoting high education among Hispanics. The group offers opportunities to young Hispanics for leadership development, community service, political activism, cultural awareness and educational enrichment.
Cruz wrote a commentary for the GCC Voice, the campus newspaper in which he said, “Before this news and event unfolded, there were warning signs.
“Months before, Liana’s father Anthony Sandoval and his family were noticing signs of abuse on his two daughters Isabella and Liana. Neighbors also claimed that Liana and her older sister, Isabella, were often left alone. This information was reported to Child Protective Services; yet, CPS was unable to come up with any hard substantial evidence of neglect or abuse.”
Cruz began to consider how he could affect change in a system he believes does not offer workers adequate pay, nor incentives to do a better job of looking after Arizona’s youngest citizens. Cruz concluded that change starts at the top, with the governor.
Bringing the candidates for governor together in a forum on the GCC campus, however, proved to be a challenge. Cruz said he was told that gubernatorial candidates would only appear on a state university campus, not a community college.
Gary Sievers, one of Cruz’s instructors at GCC said the 22-year-old refused to accept that, and he called each candidate. Democrat Alfredo Gutierrez was the easiest candidate to talk with, Cruz said, and agreed to participate in the forum, which is scheduled for noon April 24 at the GCC gym.
Other who have agreed to participate is: Independent candidate Richard Mahoney; Democrat Mike Newcomb; Republic Carol Springer, the state treasurer and representatives of Republicans Betsey Bayless and Matt Salmon.
Democrats Mark Osterloh and Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano have declined M.E.Ch.A’s invitation.
Cruz said Napolitano is waiting for a better opportunity to push her own agenda, but he and his fellow M.E.Ch.A members plan to wait until after the forum to decide which candidate deserves their backing.
While M.E.Ch.A cannot endorse a candidate, individual members can come together and register people to vote and actively campaign.
That is what Cruz plans to do – get out the vote and make sure each one counts.
The GCC gym is at 6000 West Olive Avenue.
April 18, 2002
By CAROLYN DRYER
Editor
Gabriel Cruz did not intend to become politically active, at least not during his senior year at Glendale High School. What Cruz intended to do was get a high school diploma and think about his future.
Instead, Cruz dropped out a month before he was scheduled to graduate, but later earned his diploma at Chris-Town Academy. In the meantime, tragedy struck, when his cousin’s infant daughter was killed last September.
Cruz said he looked up to his cousin and was devastated by the death of 21 month-old Liana Sandoval. Liana’s mother confessed to police the toddler had been beaten to death, and she and her boyfriend had weighted the girl’s body with a rock and dumped it into a canal.
The pair was arrested and is awaiting trail on first-degree murder charges. The couple was also charged with child abuse, and the mother also was charged with failure to protect her child.
There was something wrong with the system Cruz said, and he began to question Child Protection Services agency and the people supposed to protect his young cousin.
Cruz was enrolled at Glendale Community College, and he had become involved with the college’s M.E.Ch.A (Movimento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán) organization, a Hispanic student group dedicated to promoting high education among Hispanics. The group offers opportunities to young Hispanics for leadership development, community service, political activism, cultural awareness and educational enrichment.
Cruz wrote a commentary for the GCC Voice, the campus newspaper in which he said, “Before this news and event unfolded, there were warning signs.
“Months before, Liana’s father Anthony Sandoval and his family were noticing signs of abuse on his two daughters Isabella and Liana. Neighbors also claimed that Liana and her older sister, Isabella, were often left alone. This information was reported to Child Protective Services; yet, CPS was unable to come up with any hard substantial evidence of neglect or abuse.”
Cruz began to consider how he could affect change in a system he believes does not offer workers adequate pay, nor incentives to do a better job of looking after Arizona’s youngest citizens. Cruz concluded that change starts at the top, with the governor.
Bringing the candidates for governor together in a forum on the GCC campus, however, proved to be a challenge. Cruz said he was told that gubernatorial candidates would only appear on a state university campus, not a community college.
Gary Sievers, one of Cruz’s instructors at GCC said the 22-year-old refused to accept that, and he called each candidate. Democrat Alfredo Gutierrez was the easiest candidate to talk with, Cruz said, and agreed to participate in the forum, which is scheduled for noon April 24 at the GCC gym.
Other who have agreed to participate is: Independent candidate Richard Mahoney; Democrat Mike Newcomb; Republic Carol Springer, the state treasurer and representatives of Republicans Betsey Bayless and Matt Salmon.
Democrats Mark Osterloh and Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano have declined M.E.Ch.A’s invitation.
Cruz said Napolitano is waiting for a better opportunity to push her own agenda, but he and his fellow M.E.Ch.A members plan to wait until after the forum to decide which candidate deserves their backing.
While M.E.Ch.A cannot endorse a candidate, individual members can come together and register people to vote and actively campaign.
That is what Cruz plans to do – get out the vote and make sure each one counts.
The GCC gym is at 6000 West Olive Avenue.
[Archive] [Associated Press] Arizona governor proposes $100 million plan to confront immigration
Link: http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AZ_XGR_NAPOLITANO_IMMIGRATION_AZOL-?SITE=AZMES&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-01-09-20-13-38
By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano proposed a $100 million plan Monday to lessen Arizona's vast problems from illegal immigration and is asking the military to pay for stationing National Guard troops at the state's porous border with Mexico.
The governor also vowed to punish businesses that continue to break the law by hiring illegal immigrants, crack down on the smugglers and fraudulent documents used by border-crossers and provide money for immigration efforts by state and local police.
"We are going to step up and protect our citizens when the federal government fails them - but this is a federal problem, and we expect the federal government to do its part," Napolitano told lawmakers on the opening day of the Legislature.
Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point along the country's southern border, serves as a hub for smugglers who transport illegal workers across the country.
Even though immigrants provide the economy with cheap labor, Arizona and other border states shoulder huge health care and education costs for illegal workers and their families. Public pressure is mounting for state politicians who face re-election races this year to confront the problems, even though immigration has long been considered the sole province of the federal government.
The state already has about 170 National Guard troops stationed at the border, assisting federal and state officers with communications, fence construction and anti-drug efforts.
Napolitano proposed extending the National Guard's border efforts to have troops work at border crossing points, assist with cargo inspection and operate mobile observation points so they could report suspicious activity.
Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros, a Defense Department spokesman, declined to comment on Napolitano's request. The governor said she is awaiting on a response to her request from the military.
Napolitano provided few details of her other immigration plans.
An estimated 3,500 to 4,000 people gathered outside the Capitol on Monday to protest what they said was an anti-immigrant sentiment at the Legislature, which last year considered two dozen immigration proposals. Only a few became law.
Gabriel Cruz, a 26-year-old college student who participated in the protest, said he understands the idea behind Napolitano's proposal to provide police agencies with more money to confront illegal immigration, yet he couldn't help but think the governor was motivated by politics.
"In a way, I think she was pandering to voters," Cruz said. "It's a political year. She needs to get re-elected. She's catering to the right."
Republicans say the Democratic governor has been trying to paper over a weak record on immigration.
Napolitano, who freed up a modest amount of money last year to help authorities confront illegal crossings, said she's trying to lessen a problem that the federal government hasn't adequately confronted.
"We are very pleased to see that she sees this as the kind of emergency that really needs the resources put behind it," said Senate President Ken Bennett, R-Prescott.
Still, Bennett said some of Napolitano's proposals are similar to ideas pushed by Republicans in recent years.
Republican also are seizing on the public's frustration with illegal immigration.
They have proposed a special squad of the state police to focus on border problems, limits on the government benefits available to immigrants and cutting off shared state income tax revenue for cities that discourage police officers from inquiring about people's immigration status.
Elias Bermudez, the chief organizer of the protest outside the Capitol, said putting more money into border enforcement won't fix the problem, which he believes can be overhauled only by the federal government.
"Our people are not going through the fences (at the border) because they don't want to come here legally," Bermudez said. "They are going through the fences because this country doesn't have the law that allows them to come through the port of entry."
2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
[Archive] Only 2 Of 12 Initiatives Likely To Make Deadline
Original Link:
http://www.azcapitoltimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=1036
By Daniel Burnette
Arizona Capitol Times
July 2, 2004
At most, only two of the 12 proposed ballot measure petitions might actually be filed by the July 1 deadline.
Heading into that deadline, the measure drawing the most speculation is I-3-04, which would deny state services and voting rights to illegal immigrants.
The fate of the petition effort is being questioned because of the fallout between Chairwoman Kathy McKee and the recently removed treasurer, Rusty Childress.
The two went separate ways when Mr. Childress, believing that Ms. McKee’s intention of using only volunteer petitioners would fail, went to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) to hire a
California firm to use paid circulators in gathering signatures.
Ms. McKee, for her part, has said Mr. Childress’s action to bring in FAIR amounted to an attempted “hostile takeover” of Protect Arizona Now (PAN), the group that launched the proposed initiative.
Earlier this month, a Maricopa County Superior Court ruled that Ms. McKee did have the authority to fire Mr. Childress as treasurer of Protect Arizona Now. The court also ordered Mr. Childress to turn over any petition signatures to Ms. McKee by June 23.
Dan Stein, executive director of Washington, D.C.-based FAIR, said on June 22 that all the petitions the group has collected will be turned over to Protect Arizona Now on June 29. He declined to say how many
signatures have been gathered. Any signatures gathered after June 29 will be submitted to PAN on July 1, Mr. Stein said. Ms. McKee said on June 23 that she nor her attorney had yet heard from FAIR.
“There’s going to be so many legal problems if they don’t turn them in,” Ms. McKee said. “The court ordered Rusty [Mr. Childress] to turn over all the petition signatures he had, and he gave us 37. He said the rest were in California. Now, why signatures collected in Arizona that have to be
submitted to the Arizona secretary of state are in California, I don’t know.”
Later, on June 24, Ms. McKee said that even though she’s not certain how many signatures have been collected, she intends to turn them into the Secretary of State’s Office.
Rep. Russell Pearce, R-18 and an adviser to Protect Arizona Now, said June 24 that he’s not sure how many signatures have been collected, but he’s confident that “we should have enough signatures, including a cushion” to account for some that may prove to be invalid.
I-3-04 and several other of the proposed initiatives that would effect statutory changes require a minimum of 122,612 signatures of registered voters to place the measure on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.
Public Funding Of Candidates Targeted
Another proposal getting a lot of attention with voters is C-4-04, which would
amend the state Constitution to prohibit use of public money to fund any
political candidate or campaign for non-federal statewide office or for the
Legislature.
The committee promoting the “No Taxpayer Money for Politicians” petition filed petitions bearing the signatures of 275,100 purported voters with the Secretary of State on June 24. The minimum requirement is signatures of 183,917 registered voters. The Secretary of State has 15 days (Saturday and Sunday
excluded) to perform a preliminary examination of each petition (for serial numbers, circulator’s affidavit and notarization) and to select a 5 per cent random sample. County recorders check the sample against voter registration files. If the sample indicates a validity percentage which when applied to the total number of signatures filed indicates a sufficient filing, the petition will be certified for the November ballot. The initiative
proposes to deny all funding from any public source for Arizona’s Clean Elections
system, which is funded by a combination of public sources, including and income-tax credited donations. But the biggest portion, about two-thirds, of the funding comes from a 10 per cent
surcharge on all civil and criminal fines.
Nathan Sproul, a consultant to the backers of the measure, said: “We’re very pleased with the response we’ve received from Republicans, Democrats and independents. No matter what the political
affiliation, they see the damage that’s being done to the state spending $13 million on political campaigns when the state has more urgent financial needs.”
“This is to repeal Clean Elections,” said Doug Ramsey, spokesman for Keep It Clean. “This is an issue the voters of Arizona already have decided” in approving public funding of state political campaigns through a 1998 ballot measure.
“The people who are attacking it are being deceptive,” Mr. Ramsey said. “The description of the initiative implies that more money will go to education and senior citizens but there’s absolutely nothing in the language of the measure itself that requires that. The money would go into the general fund to be used
as the Legislature wants.”
C-4-04 and other proposed constitutional changes require a minimum 183,917 signatures of registered voters in order to appear on the November ballot.
Representatives of only two other petition drives responded to phone calls from the Arizona Capitol Times seeking information on whether they have enough signatures to file by July 1.
Chavez Holiday
Gabriel Ramiro Sandoval Cruz, [Glendale] spokesman for the Cesar Chavez Holiday measure (I-9-04), declined to say how many signatures the circulators gathered but said, “We’re not going to be able to file for this time around.”
“Truthfully, it’s been difficult to get that number of signatures since we didn’t file [the initiative application] until late March,” Mr. Cruz said. “We are going to re-file for an upcoming election. And we did get some money, about $10,000. We’ll look at the measure and submit it again.
“I believe Georgia, Florida are considering bills to have a Cesar Chavez holiday. It will be really sad if those states have a Chavez holiday before Arizona, which is where he was born.”
‘Last Call’
Jim R. Lugo, chairman of Arizona United for I-02-2004, said his group’s petition signatures won’t be submitted seeking to extend the “last call” for liquor sales because the Legislature did it for him.
“We dropped our petition drive when the Legislature extended the last call hours 2 a.m. from 1 a.m.,” Mr. Lugo said. “We’re happy with that even though it wasn’t as long as we wanted [until 3 a.m.]
Mr. Lugo said he likely willget involved in the drive to have a paid Cesar Chavez Holiday put on the ballot in
2006.
Other Organizers
None of the other petition organizers responded. All were called at least twice during the week of June 21, except for Mark Osterloh (C-3-04, education spending, and I-6-04, voter reward act), whose telephone number is out of service and for whom another number couldn’t be found, and George Shropshear (C-5-04, residential property value cap) whose phone rang without being answered by human or machine.
Mr. Osterloh told Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services that he was dropping the drive on the Voter Reward Act, because he got too late a start to get financial backing and it was tough to get voters
focused on the issue in a presidential election year. He said he’ll try again for the 2006 ballot. He didn’t
say what he was doing with his other initiative, to increase public education spending
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