Transnational Organized Crime
Special Project Team
Kamala D. Harris
|Jeff Tsai||Special Assistant Attorney General|
|Larry Wallace||Director, Division of Law Enforcement|
|Rei Onishi||Deputy Attorney General
Government Law Section
|Leif Dautch||Deputy Attorney General
Appeals, Writs and Trials Section
|Mateo Munoz||Director, Office of California-Mexico
Advisory Work Group
|Kent Shaw||Chief, Bureau of Investigation|
|Darren Nelson||Analyst, CA State Threat Assessment Center|
|Anthony DaSilva||Deputy Attorney General
Appeals, Writs and Trials Section
|Antonette Cordero||Deputy Attorney General
Civil Rights Enforcement Section
|Jonathon Bertran-Harris||Associate Governmental Program Analyst|
The Office of the Attorney General would like to offer its appreciation for the assistance and consultation that a range of individuals and organizations have provided in the research, preparation, writing, and production of this Report.
The assistance of a team from the California State Threat Assessment Center, which included Ryan Stonebraker, Matthew Hawkins, and David Herbst, was instrumental in organizing and analyzing intelligence information and trends.
The dedication of the men and women in California law enforcement to combatting transnational criminal organizations has been the key to our success in disrupting and dismantling these groups. In particular, the Attorney General would like to acknowledge the advice and help provided by the following individuals and their offices: Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern, Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (“HIDTA”) Director Roger Bass, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, Citrus Heights Police Chief Chris Boyd, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, Campbell Police Sergeant Dan Livingston, San Diego and Imperial Counties HIDTA Director Kean McAdam, Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell, El Segundo Police Lieutenant Carlos Mendoza, San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos, Central Valley HIDTA Director William Ruzzamenti, Los Angeles County Sheriff John Scott, Northern California Regional Intelligence Center Director Mike Sena, the California Board of Equalization’s Investigation and Special Operations Division Chief Randy Silva, and Central Coast Gang Investigator Association Executive Director Michael Walker. Special commendation and thanks for research assistance and consultation are also due to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the Chula Vista Police Department, the California Department of Business Oversight’s Money Transmitters Division, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Los Angeles Regional Criminal Information Clearinghouse, and the CalGang Network System.
The Attorney General is grateful for the insight and support from California’s law enforcement associations, which represent the men and women who lead the fight against transnational organized crime in our communities. Our thanks in particular go to the California State Sheriffs’ Association, the California Police Chiefs’ Association, the California District Attorneys’ Association, the California Narcotics Officers’ Association, and the California Peace Officers’ Association.
Our efforts combatting transnational organized crime are shared with federal law enforcement in California, and the Office of the Attorney General expresses appreciation for case and research information provided by the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Central and Southern Districts of California and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. Additional federal support for the preparation and production of this Report was generously provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Homeland Security Investigations), the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy and National Security Council, and the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Transnational organized crime reaches into California from abroad, and collaboration with law enforcement partners and government entities outside of our state is vital. This Report benefited immensely from the insight and assistance from the staff and members of the Southwest Border Anti-Money Laundering Alliance, a coalition made up of the Attorneys General offices from Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. We also would like to acknowledge the cooperation from the Legal Attaché of the Mexican Attorney General’s Office.
Experts from academia, public policy institutions, and private industry provided valuable research assistance in the development of the Report. The Office of the Attorney General would like to thank Richard Boscovich (Microsoft Corp. Digital Crimes Unit), Professor Ami Carpenter (University of San Diego), Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown (Brookings Institution), David Finn (Microsoft Corp. Digital Crimes Unit), Beth Givens (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse), Melissa Kriz (Fox Entertainment Group, Inc.), Michael Robinson (Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.), Professor Stefan Savage (University of California, San Diego), Professor David Shirk (University of San Diego), Professor Pamela Starr (University of Southern California), and Karen Thorland (Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.).
Finally, the Attorney General would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the many people in the California Department of Justice – including its Division of Law Enforcement, Criminal Law Division, Public Rights Division, Civil Law Division, and Communications and Imaging Resource Center – who made this Report possible. Special thanks go to Guillermo Auyon, Danielle Ayers, Julie Basco, Sonia Bui, Teresa Carnero, Erasmo Carrizosa, Joe Dominic, Jeremy Dunn, Oscar Estrella, Geannie Franco, Jeanne Gahagan, Roy Giorgi, Kimberly Granger, Janette Gunther-Allen, Michael Haroldson, Justin Ito, Val Jimenez, Dean Johnston, Dave King, Ernesto Limon, Keith Lyon, Mark Mackler, Luis Marquez, Janet Mistchenko, Tricia Morgensen, Robert Morgester, Michael Newman, Alex Nocon, Jessica Owen, Charles Penn, Somerset Perry, Gloria Pingrey, Mitchell Pryor, Christina Rogers, Vicki Sands, Karen Sandusky, Epifanio Sevillo, Peter Shear, Karen Sherwood, Randy Sivilla, Robert Sumner, Mike Whitaker, Jon Wolff, and Michele Wong.