[b]RANKING MEMBER OF COACHELLA MEXICAN MAFIA ARRESTED IN MEXICO AND RETURNED TO UNITED STATES: IN FEDERAL COURT TODAY


FBI * 11000 Wilshire Blvd. * Los Angeles, Ca 90024 * 310-996-3804,3343,4402 * Fax: 310-996-3345


For Immediate Release: October 29, 2007



RANKING MEMBER OF COACHELLA MEXICAN MAFIA ARRESTED IN MEXICO AND RETURNED TO UNITED STATES: IN FEDERAL COURT TODAY
A man alleged to be the second-highest ranking member of the Mexican Mafia’s criminal enterprise in the Coachella Valley was arrested by law enforcement authorities in Mexico at the request of the FBI, announced Eric Velez, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles.

Tony Gonzales-Rodriguez Jr., 37, of Indio, California, was one of 14 defendants charged in connection with Operation Clean House, an investigation into narcotics trafficking, the illegal sale of weapons and associated gang-related violence in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, California. According to the indictment, Gonzalez-Rodriguez and co-defendants controlled the narcotics trade in the Coachella Valley by selling narcotics, primarily methamphetamine, and by collecting “taxesâ€