Pubdate: Wed, 15 Mar 2006
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
Copyright: 2006 St. Paul Pioneer Press
Contact:  http://www.twincities.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/379
Author: Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press

CRIME FIGHTER'S SON IS ACCUSED

Activist's 23-Year-Old Held In Drug Inquiry

Short of becoming a cop, Julia Cruz has done about all  she can to 
fight crime in St. Paul. She serves as a  mayoral appointee on the 
city's police review board and  has worked with programs that combat 
gangs and drugs.

But the scourges she has battled in her neighborhood  and elsewhere 
hit close to Cruz's own home last week.  Robert Cruz, her 23-year-old 
son, was one of 26  suspected associates of the Latin Kings street 
gang  rounded up for arrest in a reported drug ring. Her son  has 
been indicted in federal court on five drug charges  and one firearms charge.

Julia Cruz said Tuesday she has no knowledge of her son  being 
involved with the Latin Kings. The Rev. Darryl  Spence, who serves 
with Julia Cruz in a community  relations group called the God Squad, 
said Robert Cruz  has told him repeatedly he isn't affiliated with a gang.

"If this could happen to the child of Julie Cruz, who  is dedicated 
to our community and to doing what is  right, then it could happen to 
anyone's children,"  Spence said. "We're trying to save children, but 
the  devil's busy."

Julia Cruz, a lifelong West Side resident, said she  told her son to 
get an attorney but hasn't talked to  him otherwise.

"I don't think anyone over here supports those kinds of  activities," 
she said. "I don't have enough information  to say any more."

Last week's arrests came after a yearlong investigation  by the U.S. 
Drug Enforcement Administration and St.  Paul police. A federal 
indictment unsealed Thursday  charged Robert Cruz and 25 other people 
with conspiracy  to distribute narcotics and conspiracy to possess 
firearms during a drug-trafficking crime between  January 2004 and 
February, along with other charges.

He was arrested Thursday and released Friday on $25,000  bond, 
according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Although Robert Cruz doesn't have a formal entry in the  Metro Gang 
Strike Force's intelligence system, the  agency says he is associated 
with Latin King members  and calls him "a player" in the gang, said 
Cmdr. Ron  Ryan.

Other than traffic offenses, Robert Cruz doesn't appear  to have a 
criminal record in Minnesota. His attorney  could not be reached for comment.

As a youngster, Robert Cruz was a good athlete, said  West Side 
community leader Gilbert de la O. He said he  hoped that Robert 
Cruz's arrest wouldn't affect Julia  Cruz's work in the community.

"Julie has been one of these persons who you can call  at any time in 
the evening, any time in the day," de la  O said. "If there's a 
crisis in the community, if  there's some issues developing, she's 
there to mend  whatever is broken."

St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington said he doesn't  believe Robert 
Cruz's arrest will have any effect on  Julia Cruz's work on the 
Police Civilian Review  Commission, to which then-Mayor Norm Coleman 
appointed  her in 2000. She was reappointed by then-Mayor Randy  Kelly in 2004.

About six years ago, when Julia Cruz was Weed and Seed  coordinator 
in the city's Summit-University area, she  talked with Harrington 
about her son's gang  involvement, he said. Weed and Seed is a 
federal program aimed to weed out drugs and plant the seeds 
for  restoring neighborhoods.

"Julie is a very, very strict Christian and what she's  always said 
is, 'If you do the crime, you have to do  the time," Harrington said, 
adding that she had been  working with her church at the time to try 
to help her  son.

Julia Cruz, a former member of the St. Paul Human  Rights Commission, 
has worked with the God Squad, a  group of local ministers and others 
who serve as a  bridge between the community and law enforcement, 
since  its inception in the late 1990s, Spence said. The group  works 
especially with young people to try to keep them  out of gangs and 
defuse tension among gangs.

"Julie is an upright citizen that seeks right first,"  said Spence, 
saying she is frequently called "Sister  Cruz."
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