Prosecutors in a sweeping federal case against suspected MS-13 members just tacked on yet another murder to the brutal allegations against the international street gang known for its extreme violence.
In new charges that acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said demonstrates “a complete disregard for human life and the rule of law,” three men have been accused of participating in various ways in the murder of two other men: Joaquin Aguilar, of Allston, on Dec. 18, 2010, in Chelsea; and Jose Cortez Cornejo on July 13, 2020, near Horseneck Road in Dartmouth.
U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young on Friday unsealed an indictment charging two suspected MS-13 members with those murder as connected to a racketeering conspiracy — it’s the third such indictment filed in a huge MS-13 case first opened in 2017. On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal unsealed a separate indictment against a third suspect on related charges.
Charged are William “Humilde” Pineda Portillo, 31, of Everett; Jose “Cholo” Vasquez, who also goes by “Little Crazy,” 31, of Somerville; and, in the other case, Franklin Antonio “Tony” Amaya Paredes, 27, of New Bedford.
MS-13, also known as La Mara Salvatrucha, has deep roots in El Salvador but has transnational operations with cliques pushing its reach throughout the U.S. and other countries like Honduras and Guatemala, according to court filings. Prosecutors say it is known as particularly violent, using “murder, assault, extortion, kidnapping, obstruction of justice and drug trafficking” to further its nefarious business.
Pineda Portillo was also charged in the first superseding indictment in this case, which was connected to the murder of Joaquin Aguilar, of Allston, on Dec. 18, 2010, in Chelsea. Prosecutors have now connected Vasquez to the murder, saying that while both men and others conspired to murder the 28-year-old, Vasquez was one of the men who actually stabbed him, leaving his palm print on the handle of the silver kitchen knife left at the scene.
Vasquez is already serving a 212-month — or 17 years and 8 months — sentence in federal prison on another racketeering conspiracy conviction. Pineda Portillo, likewise, was indicted in that case but was deported just before the indictment was returned. He was arrested in May 2022 crossing the Texas border from Mexico, where he allegedly admitted he was a member of MS-13, and sent back to Massachusetts, where he remains in federal custody pending trial.
Pineda Portillo and Vasquez — who prosecution witnesses have described as the leader of the Trece Loco Salvatrucha (TLS) MS-13 clique in Somerville — were indicted in the 2010 murder of Aguilar.
In that case, Chelsea Police responded to 6th Street a little after 7 that December evening where they found Aguilar still conscious but bleeding from 12 stab wounds to his head and chest. He would be pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital. Police tracked his blood trail to the site of the violence: under the Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1 southbound in Chelsea.
In the 2020 case, Amaya Paredes is accused of luring Cortez Cornejo to a family party before then driving the victim to Horseneck Road where he shot and killed him. He was charged that year by state authorities and during that case he was allegedly identified as an MS-13 member.
“What these men allegedly did to their victims was particularly heinous — so much so that, over a decade later, the circumstances still stand out,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the Boston FBI.
“Today’s charges should make it clear to MS-13 members and their associates that medieval-style violence and senseless murder will not be tolerated in Massachusetts,” Cohen added. “The FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force and its partners have put years of hard work into rooting out all the violence this transnational criminal organization has created and bringing those responsible to justice.”
Courtesy / U.S. District Court
The Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1 southbound in Chelsea, where federal authorities say Joaquin Aguilar, of Allston, was murdered on Dec. 18, 2010. A silver knife used as a murder weapon is seen at the scene at right. (Courtesy / U.S. District Court)
Boston Herald file photo
MS-13 graffiti with Boston’s skyline in the distance. (Herald file photo)
