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Arrest mars gang success story

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Times Staff Writers

Mario Corona was lauded as one of Los Angeles’ top gang success stories.

Newspaper articles told of how Corona spent his youth on the streets as a gangster dubbed “Spider” for a Pacoima gang before going straight and rising in the ranks of gang intervention specialists. He spoke on panels and to students.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. March 7, 2007 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday March 07, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 67 words Type of Material: Correction
Mario Corona: An article in Tuesday’s California section about the arrest of gang-intervention worker Mario Corona stated that he was the third person employed through the L.A. Bridges anti-gang project to be arrested in the last two years. The organization Corona works for -- Communities in Schools -- receives funds from L.A. Bridges, but Corona’s salary was paid by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Along the way, he earned an undergraduate degree from Cal State Northridge and a master’s in social work from USC. Last month, he was the keynote speaker at an anti-gang conference in North Carolina.

But Corona was arrested last week on suspicion of possessing a pound of methamphetamine, and now could face deportation. His arrest has saddened and shocked people who are involved in gang prevention in the San Fernando Valley and elsewhere.

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“I am blown away. I didn’t see this coming,” said Bobby Arias, president of Communities in Schools, where Corona is director of the job development program, which finds jobs for former gang members.

“He was getting ready to go to law school,” Arias said. “He wanted to buy a house. I don’t know what happened.... He was 110% committed to this population. I’m at a loss for words as to this whole situation. This is a human tragedy.”

Arias said Corona trained a group of youths in the program to work as stagehands at the recent Academy Awards show. LAPD Capt. Joe Curreri said that Foothill Division narcotics detectives stopped Corona on Wednesday in Panorama City, and that the drug was found in his car. He said the stop was part of a larger investigation.

Corona’s arrest is the third to involve employees of the L.A. Bridges anti-gang program in the last two years, raising questions among some elected officials about giving city taxpayer dollars to former gang members.

“If we investigated others, I think we would probably find more problems,” Councilman Dennis Zine said.

Hector Marroquin, a former 18th Street gang member, founded No Guns, which received more than $1.5 million before its L.A. Bridges subcontract was canceled last year. The city funds were cut off after Marroquin was arrested on suspicion of felony gun possession and after he reportedly paid more than $200,000 in salaries to relatives.

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But others said that the vast majority of gang-intervention workers don’t break the law and that their street experiences are crucial to getting others out of gangs.

Corona was a member of the Pacoima Criminals gang by age 13. But he began his turnaround more than a decade ago when he started taking classes at Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

“It cuts me deep,” said Richard McMillan, one of Corona’s instructors at Pierce, about the arrest. “He is a shining example. I use him in my lectures. When they say the exam is too tough, I tell them, ‘Don’t tell me too tough.’ Then I bring up Mario Corona’s struggle.”

McMillan said that when he met Corona in 1996, he had tattoos, a shaved head and sunglasses.

“But he was sharp as a tack,” McMillan said.

McMillan said the one time Corona missed class was in 1998 when he was shot twice in the chest after answering a knock on his door. The last time McMillan saw Corona was in September. It was a happy occasion: A faith-based coalition gave him and Communities in Schools founder William “Blinky” Rodriguez awards for mentoring Corona.

“I was proud to call him my student,” McMillan said. “I can only hope there is some explanation.”

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Corona could not be reached for comment Monday.

In a profile that appeared in Tidings, a Los Angeles Archdiocese newspaper, Corona explained why he changed and why others could too.

“As cliche as it sounds, it was a couple of people who invested some time in me,” he told the paper. “That’s all it was. You know, it’s like we’re looking for some magic solution to gangs. But it’s not complex at all. It’s very simple. It’s just a matter of implementing it.”

Arias, however, said the arrest made him wonder how long Corona might have been involved in drugs -- or if he ever really left that world.

“There’s something there that I was totally oblivious to,” Arias said. “It’s just hard to fathom. It just boggles the mind. He was our poster child.”

Arias said 35 people work at Communities in Schools in North Hills, and about 10 are former gang members

Still, he added, “there’s no question when something like this happens, it can tarnish our efforts. But this movement is bigger than one person.”

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richard.winton@latimes.com

amanda.covarrubias@

latimes.com

Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report.

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