I had to laugh when I saw Alfredo Amezcua’s latest frantic email newsletter, which arrived in my in-box today. In it he stated that “We deserve a safer city.” I guess Amezcua forgot what he does for a living.
According to the California State Bar, Amezcua is a criminal defense lawyer. He also appears to handle family law. There is no mention of other specialties on his State Bar page.
Amezcua has made a living for over twenty years getting gang bangers, drug dealers, and sexual deviants out of jail. Now don’t get me wrong, they are entitled to a defense. However, how can he cry about public safety when he has been undermining public safety throughout his long career?
A friend of mine has heard Amezcua describe himself as a former gang member. He is said to have been the top lawyer for the head of the Mexican Mafia, Peter “Sana” Ojeda. In fact the L.A. Times identified Amezcua as an adviser for the United Gangs Council, in a 1993 article that also mentioned that Ojeda was a leader of this organization.
Ojeda was later arrested for allegedly taxing drug dealers. And then he was “sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to violating federal racketeering and narcotics laws,” according to an online news report.
Amezcua was also mentioned in another L.A. Times article in 1992, when another Urgan Gangs Council leader, Art Romo, was arrested, for alleged money laundering. In that article Amezcua was referred to as their “unofficial legal and political adviser.”
Ironically, Amezcua later served on the now-defunct Santa Ana EPIC Commission, which was essentially a gang commission. According to insiders he wanted to spend six figures to find out what gang members think of the SAPD. Any SAPD officer could tell you the answer to that query…
Amezcua’s silly campaign newsletter says we need to “eradicate violent crime, rampant graffiti, and gang violence.” That’s great, but if we do that how will Amezcua make a living?
I have a feeling Amezcua won’t be getting the Santa Ana Police Officers Association endorsment.
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Mr. Pedroza,
I did my own research and I think you should be more careful when digging in the past of anybody if you want to earn credibility. Google the article in LA TIMES wriitten February 08, 1993|ERIC YOUNG, TIMES STAFF WRITER "Gang-Truce Backers Hope It Is Key to Peace in City
Mediation: "Santa Ana City Councilman Miguel A. Pulido Jr. said he thinks the truce has decreased the level of violence, even though "it's difficult to quantify."With the help of Amezcua, Pulido's program came in response to a public outcry for a renewed fight against gang crime after the fatal shooting of Mauro V. Meza, a Santa Ana father of three."We now need to start planning for the summer," traditionally a time of increased violence on the street because more people stay outside longer, which sometimes leads to fights, Amezcua said.
Police agreed. "All it takes is one group confronting another and then (violence) starts all over again," said Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters.
what do you know, Pulido and Amezcua have come along way.
mrs carter,
This article proves nothing. We already knew that Amezcua was with Pulido for twenty years. However, Pulido wasn't always with him.
And it is ironic that now that Pulido has come around and is voting our way, Amezcua is finally challenging him. Talk about terrible timing!
Now, attacking lawyers who specialize in criminal law is not a very constitutional point of view. Criminal law typically is enforced by the government, unlike the civil law, which may be enforced by private parties.In the United States, criminal defense lawyers deal with the issues surrounding the apprehension, searches of client or property, and arrest of his or her client (Fourth Amendment), as well as any statements the client may have made. (Fifth Amendment). Criminal defense lawyers also deal with the substantive issues of the crimes with which his or her clients are charged. In the United States criminal defendants are entitled to the presumption of innocence until prosecutors prove each essential element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Criminal defense lawyers actively pursue their client's cause through all stages of a criminal prosecution. A NECESSARY EVIL, I guess.
mrs carter,
I thought I made that clear in my post. The fact is though that it is rather hypocritical for Amezcua to decry the gangs when he is the one who puts them back on the street. And he makes a very good living doing so.
Mr. Pedroza,
The article proves that Amezcua, Pulido and SA Police Department were part of the gang truce. If any of those "criminals" were found not guilty is because the law allowed it. Not Amezcua.
You cannot tell me that Pulido has no dark past (or maybe present). What is this a Glass Labyrinth ?
mrs carter,
But only Amezcua was involved in the legal defense of these scumbags.
Pulido was never a gang banger and he NEVER has tried to get these punks out of jail.
The one with the dark past is Alfredo...and now everyone knows the rest of the story.
I believe Al will make an excellent Mayor, Raised in Santa Ana (unlike Pulido) he knows the people. I had an opportunity to attend a safety committee meeting once, I could not believe what I was hearing. Mr Walters talking about how they were able to track stolen high end vehicles when they were stolen. How they were getting more police officers, how they tracked down a kid in floral park using helicopters and manpower for lighting bottle rockets, the same day another kid was killed on 12th street by a hit and run driver.
I felt these meetings were nothing more than how can we sell products for these companies so that we can get a kick back or money. I felt that little was being done to find hit and run drivers that have killed people (They have still failed to find my son's hit and run driver or interview my other son with a description of the Van that killed him a Brown van with Blue racing stripes on the side) this was six years ago. Instead of more police they should be putting more emphasis on middle school kids, more parks and recreation for these kids with interns from the colleges to keep them busy. More police do not solve the problem. Al could see the disgust in my reaction to that meeting and could sympathize with me.
I believe it was in 96 or 97 when the Register ran an article that there were no gang drive by shooting, or murders in that year and the police took all the credit that it was because of operation Orion, or something like that, but they did not give the gang truce any credit for stopping the gang violence and drive by shootings, The next week the Police reported that in that week they didn't know what had happened. They had more drive by's and gang shooting in that week than in the whole year. Yes, these may be bad guys, but they did try to make a positive difference in the community but they were not given any credit, and all hell broke loose. Al is a criminal defense attorney this is his job.
Mr Pulido is out of reach and out of touch with his community. He is too busy to be bothered with the little people, even those that helped get him elected when he fought city hall and won. He was the Robin hood of the time, now he is take from the poor and give to the rich. This time I have to give it to Mrs Carter I agree with you. I notice that Pulido is advertising on the OJ Blog now. What happened to the CABAL!
Lisann,
I believe that Amezcua is a self-serving fraud. He ran with Pulido for twenty years. Only now when we have an all-Latino council and Pulido is allied with solid progressives is Amezcua finally opposing him. What a joke!
You want to know why I endorsed Pulido? Read this: http://newsantaana.com/2010/08/15/why-i-am-voting-for-santa-ana-mayor-miguel-pulido/
Art,
I respect your opinion, I think that Al will make an excellent Mayor. Just as I believe that you will make an excellent School Board Member, and when you are elected I aim to contact you and the board about more community partnerships between SAUSD, GGUSD, and grants for the youth of Santa Ana to keep them occupied and out of gangs.
Lisann,
Thanks for your support! If I win you know you will have a friend on the School Board.
You people can say what you want about Mr. Amezcua, but I was a represented by him back in 2009 and I can tell you this.. my 4 year old niece could have five a better job than him. I was innocent of the crime and even took a lie detector test and past, did he even try to do some actual work to prove my innocence? NO! He just asked for more money and when I was found guilty, he told me "when all of this is over, I hope we can sit down and have a glass of wine".. is that what you tell everyone you screw over? But then again.. maybe if I was a high ranking .member of a major gang, he might have done a better job. He should be banned from the Superior Court System.