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."