The Rise and Fall of the Nuestra Familia: The Biography of Robert L. Gratton, One of California's Highest-Ranking Prison Gang Members

This book follows the life of Robert Gratton, one of the highest-ranking members of La Nuestra Familia, one of California's most violent prison gangs credited with over 300 murders. Until now, little has been known about its 38-year history and activities. Members follow a blood oath and are sworn to a lifetime commitment and secrecy enforced through the threat of death.

Through extensive interviews with Gratton, Nina Fuentes tells the tale of his journey from troubled youth involved in petty crime to his rise to the top of the hierachy of this most feared prison gang. The level of insider detail provided in these pages has never before been known outside of La Nuestra Familia itself.

After findhing himself in a situation similar to that faced by Henry Hill and Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, two of Italian Mafia's heaviest hitters, he bodly decides to follow their lead. Facing the possibility of life in prison, Gratton turned FBI informer, earning an automatic death sentence for his disloyalty.

Gratton, with a new lease on life and in the Witness Protection Program, has since become involved with nuermous law enforcement agencies in the hope that his experience will enable them to understand and combat the insidious influence of gangs on American society.