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Press Release

MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty to RICO Conspiracy Involving Attempted Murder

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – A member of MS-13’s Enfermos Criminales Salvatrucha clique in Chelsea, Mass., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to RICO conspiracy involving the attempted murder of a rival gang member.

 

Angel Pineda, a/k/a “Bravo,” 21, a Honduran national who resided in Revere, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy, and admitted responsibility for the attempted murder of a rival 18th Street gang member in Chelsea in September 2014. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV Judge deferred accepting the defendant’s plea agreement until sentencing, and scheduled sentencing for July 26, 2017. If the court accepts the plea agreement, Pineda will be sentenced to 10 years in prison and will be subject to deportation after completion of his sentence.

 

After a three-year investigation, Pineda was one of 61 defendants named in a January 2016 superseding indictment targeting the criminal activities of alleged leaders, members, and associates of MS-13 in Massachusetts. According to court documents, MS-13 is a violent transnational criminal organization whose branches or “cliques” operate throughout the United States, including Massachusetts. MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence against rival gang members to gain promotions and to maintain membership and discipline within the group. Specifically, MS-13 members are required to attack and murder rival gang members whenever possible. Pineda was a member of the Enfermos Criminales Salvatrucha clique in Chelsea. In furtherance of the MS-13 RICO conspiracy, on Sept. 8, 2014, Pineda and another MS-13 member, Jose Vasquez, a/k/a “Little Crazy,” attempted to murder a rival 18th Street gang member by stabbing him in Chelsea.

 

The RICO conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

 

Pineda is the fourteenth defendant to plead guilty in this case.

 

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Truco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief Joseph Cafarelli; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon, made the announcement.

 

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

Updated April 26, 2017

Topic
Violent Crime