In documents filed in federal court Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Hitt and William Wong dismissed the accusations as lies, "heated rhetoric" and "zealous advocacy."
The filings include sworn statements from police officers and FBI agents that sharply contradict defense allegations that informant Charles Edwin Oak assaulted and possibly murdered rivals while federal agents turned a blind eye.
Friday's response to a motion filed last month to dismiss the case also provides new details of Oak's contract with the government, though questions about his continued involvement in Nuestra Familia's organized crime regiments remain unanswered.
"Our opposition demonstrates that the defense motions are without any evidence to support them," said Hitt, who is prosecuting the trials of about two dozen Nuestra Familia members and associates — more than half of whom are from Monterey County.
The massive conspiracy case is the result of Operation Valley Star, an FBI investigation that in 2006 and 2007 targeted Nuestra Familia members and associates from Salinas, Castroville and the Central Valley.
An admitted member of Nuestra Familia, Oak was known by the nickname "Peanut" and has been described as the kingpin of the gang's Stockton regiment.
Wore recorder
But for more than a year, Oak helped the government make a case against his colleagues by wearing a recorder while major drugs deals were allegedly arranged.
His top targets were two men considered to be the state leaders for the gang's street operations: Mario "Weasel" Diaz and Larry "Paqui" Amaro, of Castroville and Salinas.
As reported in February, The Herald found that Oak ordered assaults and other crimes in the months after he stopped working for the FBI.
But last month's motion to dismiss the case on grounds of "outrageous government misconduct" offered the first information suggesting Oak committed violent crimes while still on the government's payroll.
Slaying in 2006
The motion described a slew of bloody assaults and murders tied to Oak during 2006 — the same year he wore a wire for federal and state agents trying to break up Nuestra Familia drug operations from Salinas to Los Banos.
The defense documents stated that Oak had become the top suspect in the 2006 slaying of a Stockton man, and that his FBI handlers looked the other way.
Now, sworn affidavits filed by the government on Friday state that Oak was quickly ruled out as a suspect in the 2006 murder of John Escobar, once his alibi was confirmed by police.
Hitt says that FBI agents did look into Oak's possible involvement in the crime, but within a matter of days were told he was no longer considered a suspect.
In a sworn declaration, Stockton police detective Mark Reynolds stated, "After confirming (Oak's) alibi in October of 2006, (he) was no longer considered a suspect in the Escobar homicide." Reynolds stated that there are other possible suspects in the murder investigation, which is ongoing.
Despite this apparent exoneration, according to court filings, after the slaying Oak was re-read "verbatim" the FBI's rules stating that informants cannot commit unauthorized crimes while working for the government. Only "authorized" crimes, such as pre-arranged drug deals, are permitted, and then only with agents' approval and oversight.
Another of Oak's alleged unauthorized crimes was ordering the razor "slicing" of Norteño gang member Vincent Torres in a nearby prison. According to a Stockton police report, the attacker told Torres, "This is from Peanut," apparently referring to Oak.
Defense attorneys now acknowledge that the attack took place more than six months after the FBI stopped working with Oak.
While Hitt did not offer an opinion as to whether Oak may have ordered the assault, he said the crucial point for the case is that it did not occur while he worked for the government.
To prove outrageous misconduct, a higher court has said the government's agents must act in a manner "so grossly shocking and outrageous as to violate the universal sense of justice."
Cases meeting that standard, Hitt wrote in his response, are "exceedingly rare."
In the filing, Hitt did not respond to defense allegations that Oak beat Torres unconscious in a Stockton park in September 2006 — although that was a time when Oak was still in the government's employ.
Hitt said the defense motion included no supporting evidence for the claim, and therefore that allegation did not merit a response.
"I think if they had evidence, they would have submitted it," he said. "You don't see that."
In their motion, defense attorneys stated that support for those allegations will be presented at a future hearing.
Sealed evidence
Much of the evidence cited by both sides remains under seal, and because it is part of ongoing criminal investigations, may never see the light of day.
The filings do state that FBI agent John Hayes verbally "revoked" Oak's contract on June 8, 2007, shortly after Mario Diaz and Salinas resident Manuel Gauna were arrested — although the paperwork ending Oak's contract was not finalized until Oct. 30.
Three weeks after Oak was told he was off the job, coordinated "takedowns" in Monterey County and the Central Valley netted nearly two dozen more suspects, including Amaro, a primary target.
Life in danger
Hitt says that once the statements for obtaining arrest warrants became public record, agents knew Oak's life was in danger, because Nuestra Familia members would see that the informant identified as "CW-1" was obviously Oak.
Although Oak had been promised the chance to enter federal witness protection, it is unclear why he did not.
It's also unclear how he managed to survive after he was exposed as a Nuestra Familia "traitor."
But it is known that Oak somehow continued to function as the gang's regiment leader in his hometown of Stockton for nearly a year after he left the FBI.
Two months after Oak's contract ended — but months before the final paperwork was submitted — FBI agent Hayes identified him as the voice planning drug deals on intercepted jail phone calls.
Days later, the alleged beating of Torres took place, and soon after, Stockton police began its own wiretap operation — this time with Oak as the top target.
At the conclusion of "Operation Monster" the following spring, Stockton police arrested Oak and more than a dozen Nuestra Familia and Norteño gang associates, including two brothers from Salinas, Miguel Angel Gonzalez and Juan Ricardo Salazar.
Wiretap recordings had caught Oak ordering deadly assaults on rivals and obtaining illegal firearms. Grand jury testimony in that case indicates Oak thought some of his intended victims knew he was an informant.
Oak is serving a 10-year sentence in state prison, and it remains to be seen if the one-time star witness for Operation Valley Star will be called to testify if trials begin as scheduled this fall.
Julia Reynolds can be reached at 648-1187 or
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