Springfield Latin Kings Leader Sentenced for Cocaine Distribution and Firearm Charge

BOSTON – The former “enforcer” of the Massachusetts Latin Kings gang was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Springfield for distributing cocaine and illegally possessing a firearm.

Bienvenido Nuñez, 38, of Springfield, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  In May 2016, he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and distributing cocaine. 

In October 2014, an investigation was initiated in an effort to disrupt and dismantle the Latin Kings’ criminal activity in Springfield and Holyoke.  Members and associates of the Latin Kings were engaged in the distribution of narcotics.  In addition, disputes with rival gangs over criminal activity and drug turf were on the rise and resulted in serious crimes of violence, including armed assaults with firearms and murder.  The investigation led to the arrest of 12 alleged Latin Kings members, including Nuñez, in connection with drug and firearms offenses in November 2015. 

As alleged in court documents, Nuñez held the position of “enforzador,” or “enforcer,” of the Massachusetts chapter of the Latin Kings gang at the time of his arrest on Nov. 9, 2015.  Nuñez pleaded guilty today to distributing seven grams of cocaine in Chicopee on Aug. 4, 2015, and to possessing a .40 caliber Beretta pistol on the day of his arrest.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine A. Wagner of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.