NJ Violent Street Gang Members Convicted Of Murder, Extortion, Plotting To Kill Witnesses

Plainfield, NJ -- Slitting throats, shooting and stabbing victims were among the violent criminal acts done by Union and Somerset County members of the New Jersey branch of an international street gang, Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced Wednesday.

Following a 16-week trial and four days of deliberations, a federal jury convicted the eight members of the “La Mara Salvatrucha,” or “MS-13," – including the branch’s founding member – of racketeering-related crimes on June 1, the release stated.

The gang "MS-13" is a national and transnational gang with branches or “cliques” operating throughout the United States, including in Plainfield.

Santos Reyes-Villatoro, a/k/a “Mousey,” 43, of Bound Brook was the founding member of the Plainfield branch which operated in Union, Somerset, and Middlesex Counties.

He along with Mario Oliva of Plainfield and Roberto Contreras of Bound Brook served as “First Word,” or leader, of the group.

Members convicted included:

• Santos Reyes-Villatoro, a/k/a “Mousey,” 43, of Bound Brook;
• Mario Oliva, a/k/a “Zorro,” 29, of Plainfield;
• Roberto Contreras, a/k/a “Demonio,” 27, of Bound Brook;
• Julian Moz-Aguilar, a/k/a “Humilde,” 28, of Plainfield;
• Hugo Palencia, a/k/a “Taliban,” 24, of Plainfield;
• Jose Garcia, a/k/a “Chucky” and “Diabolico,” 24, of Plainfield;
• Esau Ramirez, a/k/a “Panda,” 25, of Plainfield;
• and Cruz Flores, a/k/a “Bruja,” 30, of Bound Brook.

Sentencing is set for Sept. 7.

A timeline of criminal events leading to arrests, according to the documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:

From 2007 through September 2013, MS-13 members from the PLS committed five murders in furtherance of MS-13’s objectives. On Feb. 9, 2009, Reyes-Villatoro, acting as the leader of the PLS, drove Moz-Aguilar and other MS-13 members through the streets of Plainfield searching for rival gang members, eventually stopping at the Plainfield train station. There, Moz-Aguilar used a firearm previously provided by Reyes-Villatoro to murder a victim who was believed to be a member of the Latin Kings, a rival gang.

On Feb. 27, 2010, Oliva drove a female member of MS-13 to an empty parking lot in Piscataway, and murdered her because she was suspected of working with law enforcement. Oliva then fled New Jersey with the assistance of Contreras and hid from law enforcement with the MS-13 Pinos clique in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

On Nov. 11, 2010, Palencia drove another MS-13 member to the area around Barack Obama Academy in Plainfield, where they encountered students challenging MS-13. Palencia pulled over, handed a firearm to another MS-13 member and instructed him to shoot at one of the individuals. The MS-13 member shot into the crowd, killing a bystander.

On Jan. 10, 2011, Moz-Aguilar, Roberto Contreras and other MS-13 members were in a car when they spotted a suspected 18th Street gang member in front of a restaurant. Contreras stopped the vehicle and an MS-13 member exited, approached the suspected rival gang member and shot him in the head.

On May 8, 2011, Flores murdered a victim who was caught socializing with 18th Street gang members. Flores and another MS-13 member cut his throat, beat him with a bat and stabbed him in the back 17 times. An MS-13 member involved in this murder fled New Jersey and was driven to Maryland soon after law enforcement began searching for him.

Garcia also recruited and hired MS-13 members from the Maryland-based Pinos clique to come to New Jersey and murder a woman in exchange for $40,000. The Pinos clique members were arrested by authorities as they pulled into Plainfield.

After several MS-13 members were arrested in July 2011, Ramirez and Garcia used phones from inside the Union County jail to order the murder of three witnesses believed to be cooperating with police and responsible for their arrests.

According to evidence presented at trial, members of the PLS also were responsible for an attempted murder of suspected Latin King members near a car wash in Plainfield; the attempted murder of suspected Latin King members in January 2009; a machete attack in May 2011 and another in June 2011 on the train tracks passing through Plainfield; an attempted murder shooting in Plainfield in May 2011; and several other violent crimes, including extortion, robbery and several weapons offenses.

The defendants were originally charged in a 26-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in September 2013. After today’s verdicts, 13 of the 14 individuals indictment have been convicted. One defendant remains a fugitive.

Here is a listing outlining the counts of which each defendant was found guilty and the maximum potential penalties associated with each of those counts is:

Reyes-Villatoro - Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy- Life in Prison; Count 2: Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Victim 5)- Mandatory life sentence; Count 3: Use of Firearm in Violent Federal Crime (Victim 5)- Life in prison; 10-year mandatory minimum; Count 4: Murder Resulting from Federal Firearm Crime (Victim 5)- Life in Prison

Oliva - Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy- Life in Prison; Count 8: Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Victim 10)- Mandatory life sentence; Count 9: Use of Firearm in Violent Federal Crime (Victim 10)- Life in prison; 10-year mandatory minimum; Count 10: Murder Resulting from Federal Firearm Crime (Victim 10)- Life in Prison

Contreras - Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy- 20 years in prison; Count 11: Accessory After the Fact to Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Victim 10)- 15 years;

Moz-Aguilar - Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy- Life in Prison; Count 2: Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Victim 5)- Mandatory life sentence; Count 3: Use of Firearm in Violent Federal Crime (Victim 5)- Life in prison; 10-year mandatory minimum; Count 4: Murder Resulting from Federal Firearm Crime (Victim 5)- Life in Prison

Palencia - Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy- Life in Prison; Count 12: Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Victim 11)- Mandatory life sentence; Count 13: Use of Firearm in Violent Federal Crime (Victim 11)- Life in prison; 10-year mandatory minimum; Count 14: Murder Resulting from Federal Firearm Crime (Victim 11)- Life in Prison

Garcia - Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy- 20 years; Count 15: Murder-for-Hire Conspiracy- 10 years; Count 16: Interstate Travel with Intent to Commit Murder-for-Hire- 10 years; Count 20: Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering- 10 years; Count 26: Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Victim 16, Victim 22, Victim 23)- 10 years

Ramirez - Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy- 20 years; Count 26: Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Victim 16, Victim 22, Victim 23)- 10 year

Flores - Count 18: Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Victim 15)- 10 years; Count 19: Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Victim 15)- Mandatory life sentence