October 15, 2019 — The Texas Mexican Mafia’s “free world” boss Raul (Alto) Ramos will never be free again, sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for drug-trafficking, robbery and extortion, among other offenses, last week in a federal court in San Antonio. Ramos, 54, pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy back in May 2018. He was one of 37 “La Eme” leaders, soldiers and associates from the Texas regime indicted in the case. U.S. District Court Judge Xavier Rodriguez handed down Ramos’ penalty last Tuesday. Per the 2017 indictment, Ramos oversaw the collection of almost $1,000,000 in street tax from Hispanic narcotics gangs across San Antonio, the Mexican Mafia’s headquarters in Texas. Founded inside the California Department of Corrections in 1957, the Mexican Mafia eventually spread to the street and today is one of the most powerful and ruthless criminal organizations in the United States. La Eme co-founder Rodolfo (Cheyenne) Cadena pioneered the concept of “controlling the inside in order to control the outside,” prior to his 1972 assassination behind bars. The state of Texas’ branch of the Mexican Mafia was started in the 1980s by Herbie Huerta, Jose Lopez and Benny Alonso. According to his plea deal, Alto Ramos joined La Eme in 1991 during his first stint in prison and was sponsored by Alonso, who just a few years ago, ordered a hit on his daughter-in-law for the belief that she stole $80,000 from him (she survived the attack). Until he was nabbed in 2017, Ramos spoke for Huerta and Alonso on the street. Although he wasn’t charged in any homicides, FBI agent Katherine Gutierrez testified at Ramos’ sentencing hearing that she had knowledge of him ordering Mexican Mafia soldiers to commit murder on the behalf of imprisoned La Eme shot callers. The attempted murder of Alonso’s daughter-in-law Teresa was included in the 1997 bust that brought Ramos down.
