| | |  News Around the Republic of Mexico 
Mexican Mafia Killings Detailed
 Craig Kapitan - San Antonio Express-News
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May 14, 2010
 |  | They put the green light (for a hit) on me before I even cooperated. They decided I know too much.
- Ricardo Saenz |  | | |
Three former Texas Mexican Mafia hit men engaged in a matter-of-fact, businesslike tone Thursday as they methodically described for federal jurors their participation in five San Antonio slayings.
Onetime mafia sergeant Ricardo Saenz said he agreed to testify against three high-ranking members who once were his bosses because he's seen too many people die.
He also has nothing to lose, he added, explaining the organization already has called for his killing.
“They put the green light (for a hit) on me before I even cooperated,” he said from the witness stand in federal court. “They decided I know too much. I'm always going to have that light on me, until they kill me or I disappear.”
The trial, which began Monday and could last up to a month, focuses on racketeering charges against accused Mexican Mafia general Jacinto “Cache” Navajar and lieutenants Mike Garcia and Jose “Bam Bam” Martinez.
They are the last defendants to stand trial after a four-year, FBI-led investigation that resulted in 34 arrests in 2008. Most of the defendants took plea deals, and now some are starting to appear on the witness stand.
Saenz described three slayings he said he was ordered to participate in while a member of the gang from 1996 to 2002. In each case, he brought a prospective member with him to help as part of an initiation, he said.
Saenz said his victims were:
• Jaime “Speedy” Lopez, a Mexican Mafia member who was accused of stealing from drug houses that were paying the gang 10 percent of their proceeds — known as “the dime” — for protection.
• Henry “Guero” Cantu, the owner of the Silverado bar and Bandido motorcycle gang member accused of holding back payments to the Mexican Mafia.
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