"Federal authorities alleged Landa-Rodriguez set his eyes on a racket far more lucrative than prison drug deals. In 2013, he was accused of trying to establish a methamphetamine pipeline with a cartel, La Familia Michoacana. According to recorded phone calls, La Familia's leaders feared extradition and wanted the Mexican Mafia to protect them if they ended up in U.S. prisons. In exchange, the cartel promised a bottomless supply of cheap drugs."
"According to trial testimony, Landa-Rodriguez was locked in a power struggle with another reputed Mexican Mafia member, Arthur "Turi" Estrada, over who would collect money from drug sales on California prison yards. Landa-Rodriguez used coded language in an email to order a hit on an Estrada underling, prosecutors alleged. "Do not let him get into our backyards," he wrote, according to prosecutors."
"Landa-Rodriguez, 60, was acquitted in one federal case. But still facing life on state charges, he struck a plea deal that will see him deported back to Mexico after serving seven more years in prison. On Thursday, Landa-Rodriguez pleaded no contest in Los Angeles County Superior Court to making criminal threats and was sentenced to time served, his lawyer Nicholas Rosenberg said."
Jose Landa-Rodriguez is a reputed Mexican Mafia member accused in cases from 2011-2018 including a murder plot, overseeing jail rackets, and pursuing an alliance with La Familia Michoacana. He was acquitted in one federal case but faced life on state charges and accepted a plea deal that will lead to deportation after serving seven additional years. He pleaded no contest to making criminal threats and was sentenced to time served. Prosecutors alleged he sanctioned a killing, used coded email instructions, and vied with Arthur "Turi" Estrada over prison drug-sale proceeds. Recorded calls described cartel leaders seeking protection in U.S. prisons in exchange for drugs.
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