THE PETER "SANA" OJEDA CASE

The first man convicted of charges stemming from a probe into links between street-level drug sales and the prison-based Mexican Mafia was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison, a prosecutor said Thursday.Robert Ocampo, 29, is the first man convicted as a result of Operation Nemesis, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Lee.
Alleged ringleader Peter Ojeda, 63, of La Habra, was among 29 people arrested as a result of the two-year undercover investigation.
Ocampo was a middleman whose main contact was the No. 2 man in Ojeda's organization, authorities said.The sentence of 24 years and 4 months was handed down by U.S. District Judge David Carter on Monday, Lee said.Fifteen of the 29 defendants were charged with being part of a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization -- the RICO law created largely to attack organized crime.Among those facing the RICO charge are Ojeda, along with alleged No. 2 and No. 3 leaders, Marco Diaz, 31, of Santa Ana, and Jose Becerra, 38, of Placentia. They face up to life in prison if convicted, Lee said.Trial for Ojeda, Diaz and Becerra and 11 others is set to start Sept. 19, Lee said.Fourteen of the 29, including Ocampo, also were charged with conspiracy to distribute drugs.Since being indicted last June, 13 of the 29 defendants have pleaded guilty, and Ocampo was the only one to be tried so far, Lee said.Ocampo, referred to as "Wicked" in wiretapped phone conversations, was convicted Oct. 28 of conspiracy to distribute more than 150 grams of methamphetamine, an amount that made him eligible for a mandatory 10-year prison sentence.Based on the amount of methamphetamine and "his extensive criminal history," Ocampo received the harshest sentence so far in the case, Lee said.He had rejected a plea bargain prior to trial, said his attorney, David Kaloyanides.Other sentences handed down so far range from two years in prison for Ismael Esquivel and Orlando Alvarado; 30 months for David Melgoza and Ramon Meza; 60 months for Jose Martinez; 70 months for Diego Moreno; 108 months for Robert Cervantes; 144 months for Abel Azevedo and 210 months for Lawrence Morales