Wife of Imprisoned Gang Leader Arrested

The wife of the imprisoned leader of the San Fernando Valley branch of the Mexican Mafia has been arrested on suspicion of running a mail and identity theft ring, authorities said Wednesday.

Petra Cecilia Gonzales, 40, was taken into custody Feb. 8 at her home in Palmdale by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies of the Santa Clarita Valley Station. The deputies were acting on information they received a day earlier that Gonzales was purchasing mail stolen by suspects in the Antelope, Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, Sheriff’s Det. Dave Lingscheit said.

“Her primary thing is identity theft,” Lingscheit said. “This woman’s basically a fence buying mail from suspects all over the place. It has been going on for quite a while.”

Gonzales is being held at Twin Towers jail in lieu of $85,000 bail pending an appearance Feb. 28 in Antelope Superior Court.

Gonzales told Santa Clarita burglary detectives she is the wife of Frank Fernandez, a Mexican Mafia leader who was sentenced to life in prison under federal racketeering laws. Fernandez was among 40 members of the gang--also called La Eme--indicted by a federal grand jury in 1999 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. He was convicted in October.

Gonzales also told deputies she is the mother of Dominique “Nick” Gonzales, a Mexican Mafia member who also was convicted in the case. He was sentenced to 210 months in prison, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

Lingscheit said detectives are consulting with the FBI and federal prosecutors because evidence recovered at Gonzales’ home in the 23900 block of Rambler Avenue may assist them in their ongoing case against Mexican Mafia leaders.

Some of the proceeds from the mail and identity theft ring were being given to the Mexican Mafia, which Lingscheit described as “probably the most dangerous prison gang there is.”

Authorities say Gonzales was using the stolen mail to obtain checks and personal information, which she used to commit forgeries, identity thefts and credit card frauds and make false credit applications.

“She was making portfolios on people,” Lingscheit said. “She had notebooks in which she would record a person’s name, address, Social Security number, driver’s license number, date of birth and credit card account numbers. Then she’d throw the mail away.”

Lingscheit said detectives are still investigating the mail thefts, and expect to make more arrests. About a dozen victims have been identified and more are expected. But based on the nature of the crime, victims of identity theft frequently aren’t aware it has occurred for many months, he said.

“Nine out of 10 people don’t even know their identity’s been stolen,” he said.

U.S. Postal Service inspectors were present at Petra Gonzales’ arrest and the search of her home, spokeswoman Pamela Prince said. Because the district attorney’s office filed state charges against Gonzales, the postal service will not be pursuing a federal case, she said.

Mail theft and the subsequent identity theft has been an increasing problem nationwide in recent years, Prince said.

“In some ways, this type of crime can be one of the most devastating because it can go on for years,” she said. “I know of one victim whose thief even took out a life insurance policy on the victim.”