Gregory Robinson
A Mexican mafia boss left a note with instructions for younger members to ensure his gang didn’t die with him.
Braulio Castellanos spent 35 years incarcerated for two murders but was one of eight inmates granted compassionate release last month, according to Mary Xjimenez, a spokeswoman for the state corrections department.
During his lifetime, he controlled one of Los Angeles’ largest street gangs, Florencia-13.
Born in Mexicali, Mexico, Castellanos was brought to Los Angeles by his parents when he was six months old, according to parole records.
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In 1977, he graduated from Andrew Jackson High School.
At 21 years old, he was convicted of robbery and sentenced to six years in prison and would later tell a probation officer that those years behind bars ‘programmed me for violence’.
When he was 27, Castellanos was involved in a fight with a 22-year-old man called Mark Vasquez at the Lettuce Patch Lounge bar.
He claimed during a parole hearing that Vasquez and his friends 'yelled stuff at me' when he passed them at the bar.
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When the bar owner, Tito Lechuga, 65, tried to break up the fight, Castellanos slashed his throat. He had also stabbed Vasquez 12 times, who died later that night.
Castellanos was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to 21 years to life.
He lived under the most restrictive conditions in Pelican Bay State Prison for 25 years, meaning he could not use a telephone and his mail and visits were monitored.
His younger brother, Arturo, had also incarcerated at Pelican Bay for murder in 1979.
It is unclear when he joined the Mexican Mafia, however, at a parole hearing in 2000, Castellanos acknowledged that he had been classified as a member of the gang by authorities.
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The Castellanos brothers managed to run their old gang, Florencia, while incarcerated, law enforcement officials testified during trials in Los Angeles.
However, Braulio was considered the main figure behind the gang.
He was released on 12 May and his wife, along with his two children and six grandchildren, were there waiting for him.
His chilling instructions for his gang, which were obtained by the Los Angeles Times, state: “Choose four representatives. Two youngsters and two older.
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"Youngsters: One of middle school age, one of high school age. And the other two older. They have to be respected by their homies.”
“This way you cover all age groups and they know what the homeboys of that age are going,” the note continues. “I know when I was a youngster I knew… those that were active and those that were content just belonging."
He also commented on the supposed current state of the Mexican Mafia.
“As it stands, a handful of brothers have the larger percentage of the funds being generated throughout Southern Calif. "We, as the majority, shouldn’t allow this to continue,” he wrote.
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Castellanos died aged 64 last week due to stomach cancer.