Tony Casas, 77; Former Prisons Official Worked on Film ‘American Me’

Tony Casas, 77, former deputy director of corrections for the state of California and technical advisor for the film “American Me,” died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at his Palm Desert home, his daughter Belinda said.

As a member of the Department of Corrections’ Prison Gang Task Force, he helped educate law enforcement officers about the workings of the so-called Mexican Mafia. His background with incarcerated Latino gang members eventually led to his consulting with Floyd Mutrux, who wrote the original story for “American Me,” and then with Edward James Olmos, who reworked the script and directed the 1992 film.

Anthony Lopez Casas was born March 26, 1929, and grew up in La Verne. After leaving behind a rough youth, he worked days at Norton Air Force Base and attended Cal Poly Pomona at night, finally earning his bachelor’s in sociology at 32.

Casas retired from corrections work in 1987 after having served as associate warden of San Quentin State Prison for the previous three years. He continued to counsel juvenile offenders and testify as an expert witness in gang-related death-penalty cases.