http://www.modbee.com/24hour/weird/v-dp ... 1238c.html

Drug dealers see Mexico folk hero as saint
The Associated Press
Last Updated: November 7, 2005, 08:36:11 PM PST

BAKERSFIELD, California (AP) - A bandit out of Mexican folklore has become a patron saint to many drug dealers in this California city, and some even have altars to the Robin Hood-like character in their homes, authorities say.
Jesus Malverde is known as the "narco saint" by many law enforcement officers and drug dealers.

His existence has never been verified, but legends claim that Malverde was caught and hanged as a thief in the early 20th century before he began appearing to people in peril to save them.

Up to 80 percent of Mexican nationals involved in the Bakersfield drug trade have Malverde's likeness on a personal item, police Detective Pete Cavazos estimated.

"It protects the drug dealer and brings good luck to the drug dealer," Cavazos was quoted as telling the The Bakersfield Californian. "It might sound comical to others, but they take it very, very seriously."

Mexicans have a way of creating "saints out of figures who give them a glimmer of hope in their everyday lives," said Richard T. Rodriguez, an English and Latino studies professor at the University of Illinois.


Good folks!