Pubdate: Thu, 29 Sep 2005
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2005 The Fresno Bee
Contact:  http://www.fresnobee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161
Author: Tim Eberly, The Fresno Bee

DRUG DEALERS ERECT SHRINES TO MEXICAN FOLK HERO

Robin Hood-Like Bandit Died A Century Ago And Had Nothing To Do With Narcotics

Drug dealers worship him.

They build shrines in their homes and pray to him that they don't get caught.

Jesus Malverde, a Mexican folklore hero, is the so-called patron 
saint of drug traffickers.

He was a Robin Hood-like bandit who was hanged by authorities in 
1909, according to legend. Malverde's popularity grew shortly after 
his death, when locals in Mexico began attributing miracles to him.

How he became an idol for those in the drug trade is unclear; 
Malverde was never a drug dealer. But Fresno police say they now find 
shrines devoted to him in half the homes of drug dealers snagged in 
undercover busts.

"In the drug world, he's huge. He's a saint to these people," said 
Sgt. Alex Flores, a supervisor with the Fresno Police Department's 
major narcotics unit.

Wednesday afternoon, Flores watched videotape he shot about six 
months ago at the Orange Cove-area home of a suspected drug dealer 
who had sold undercover officers six pounds of methamphetamine.

As Flores scanned the home, he zoomed in on a Malverde shrine in the 
corner of a rear washroom.

"You have the Malverde statues in the corner," Flores said, pointing 
at the television screen. "They have the candles, the flowers."

There are two porcelain statues of the mustachioed Malverde, one 
large and one small. They are surrounded by a half-dozen or so lit 
candles, and two vases filled with freshly-picked flowers. From the 
video, it appears to be the most well-kept part of the home.

"That's pretty typical," Flores said. "They take it to the extent 
that they don't let the shrine area get dirty or messy. They keep it 
very neat and clean."

Finding a Malverde shrine doesn't help narcotics officers build a 
criminal case against someone. So they don't seize them.

"It's not necessarily a strong piece of evidence, per se," Flores 
said. "We photograph it. And we'll just leave it as is."

But, Flores said, it's a good sign authorities are on the right path.

"It just kind of lets us know this person is into the [drug] business 
beyond the superficial," Flores said. "For them to be into it to that 
extent, it shows you how deep-rooted they are."

Flores asks drug dealers about Malverde.

"We get a lot of varied responses," he said. "I'd say the biggest 
response is we get a smile with a nod."

Most suspects, however, will not talk shop with police. "I have never 
- - in my 11 years - had anybody admit to it being a good luck charm 
for narcotics trafficking," Flores said. "They lie about it. They lie 
that it's even theirs. They'll lie and say they didn't know it was even there."

Pete Santellano, 63, has been a narcotics officer with Fresno police 
since 1973. He said he started seeing Malverde shrines and 
paraphernalia in the late 1980s, but they became a fixture in 
Fresno's drug landscape over the past decade.

"In the late '80s, we started seeing one or two," Santellano said. 
"We've seen a lot more of it in the last two years."

This summer, the narcotics unit arrested two men, Adan Lugo and 
Agustin Rodriguez, after they sold a kilo of cocaine to undercover 
officers, Flores said. A search of Rodriguez's home revealed a 
Malverde shrine in a hall closet. Next to the shrine was 2 ounces of cocaine.

The irony of finding a shrine in the home of a dealer who has been 
caught is not lost on Flores.

"You can see that in their faces at times," he said. "You ask them 
about their shrine. They'll make some kind of humorous comment, like, 
'I guess it didn't work this time.' Their luck finally ran out."
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman