Feds ID 17 Alleged MS-13 Gang Members Charged In A Dozen Long Island Murders

Seventeen members and associates of the La Mara Salvatrucha gang, also known as MS-13, have been charged with racketeering, 12 murders, attempted murders, assaults, obstruction of justice, arson, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and related firearms and conspiracy charges relating to the gang’s activities on Long Island, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday.

The 59-count indictment was unsealed last week in federal court in Central Islip and includes charges related to the April 11 murder of four young men in a Central Islip park.

“MS-13 is one of the most vicious criminal gangs in this country today,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a press release. “As I said when I visited Long Island after these murders took place in April, MS-13’s motto may be ‘kill, rape and control’, but the Department of Justice’s motto is justice for victims and consequences for criminals. We are committed to bringing violent criminals to justice, and this indictment is the next step in our mission of finding, prosecuting, and eradicating the MS-13 threat.”

Among the counts added in a third superseding indictment are charges against:

• Alexis Hernandez, 20, of Central Islip, NeSantos Leonel Ortiz-Flores, 19, of Central Islip, and Omar Antonio Villalta, 22, of Central Islip, and Charlottesville, Virginia, in connection with the April 11 murders of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos in Central Islip
• Mario Aguilar-Lopez, 18, of Brentwood, Enrique Portillo, 20, of Central Islip, Alexi Saenz, 22, of Brentwood, Jairo Saenz, 20, of Brentwood, and Jose Suarez, 23, of Central Islip, in connection with the Jan. 30 murder of Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla, a suspected rival gang member, and assault of an innocent bystander at El Campesino Deli in Central Islip
• Jeffrey Amador, 21, of Brentwood, and Ronald Catalan, 26, of Brentwood, in connection with the Oct. 21, 2015, attempted murder of two suspected rival gang members

Suffolk Police Commissioner Tim Sin speaks during a press conference Wednesday.

According to the allegations in the government’s detention letter, on the evening of April 11, two female associates of MS-13 lured five young men, including the four victims, to a community park in Central Islip at the direction of MS-13 members who believed the victims to be members of a rival gang. More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates, including Hernandez, Ortiz-Flores and Villalta, met in a heavily wooded area behind the park where they discussed the plan to kill the victims, distributed weapons and waited for word from the females that they had arrived, authorities said.

According to the allegations in the government’s detention letter, when the female MS-13 associates arrived at the park, they led the victims to a wooded area and notified MS-13 members of their location by text message.

Hernandez, Ortiz-Flores, Villalta and the other MS-13 members approached and surrounded the victims and attacked and killed Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre and Villalobos using machetes, knives and wooden clubs, authorities said. The fifth victim escaped.

According to the allegations in the detention letter, the MS-13 members and associates dragged the victims’ bodies a short distance to a more secluded spot and fled the scene. The victims’ bodies were discovered the following evening.

Portillo, Alexi Saenz and Jairo Saenz were previously charged with the Sept. 13, 2016, murders of Brentwood teens Nisa Mickens and Kyla Cuevas. In the superseding indictment, they are also charged, along with Aguilar-Lopez and Suarez, in connection with the Jan. 30 murder of Alvarado-Bonilla, a suspected rival gang member, and the assault of an innocent bystander.

The government contends in the detention letter that, on the day of the alleged murder, Portillo, an alleged member of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside (“Sailors”) clique, saw Alvarado-Bonilla, a suspected rival gang member, inside a deli in Central Islip. Portillo reported this sighting to Alexi Saenz and Jairo Saenz, the leaders of the Sailors clique, who directed Aguilar-Lopez, Suarez and another MS-13 associate to go to the deli and kill Alvarado-Bonilla, authorities said.

The government alleges that after arriving at the deli, Aguilar-Lopez approached Alvarado-Bonilla from behind and shot him multiple times, killing him, and also striking an employee of the deli.

Amador and Catalan, who was the alleged leader of the Brentwood Locos Salvatruchas (“BLS”) clique of the MS-13, are also charged in connection with the Oct. 21, 2015, attempted murders and assaults of two men that occurred in North Bay Shore.

According to the allegations, on that evening, MS-13 members had decided to retaliate against suspected members of the rival Latin Kings gang for an assault on an MS-13. Amador, Catalan and other MS-13 members observed a group of people they believed to be Latin Kings, approached the group and fired multiple shots before running back to the car and fleeing the scene, authorities said. Two people were struck by the gunfire, but they survived.

The third superseding indictment also charges members of the Sailors and BLS MS-13 cliques with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, the proceeds of which the government contends were used to help finance MS-13’s criminal operations.

“Today’s announcement is the culmination of excellent police work, and true collaboration between the Suffolk County Police Department, and our federal law enforcement partners,” Suffolk Police Commissioner Tim Sini said. “The fact that this case was done in approximately three months is nothing short of outstanding, and I want to thank everyone involved for their critical work.

"This is another huge blow against MS-13. It shows that we will not tolerate violence in our communities. It shows that we will stop at nothing to achieve justice. And it means that we will prevail.”

MS-13’s leadership is based in El Salvador and Honduras, but the gang has thousands of members across the United States, comprised primarily of immigrants from Central America. With numerous branches, or “cliques,” MS-13 is the most violent street gang on Long Island. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders and assaults. Since 2010 alone, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 40 murders in the Eastern District of New York and has convicted dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders.

The Justice Department identified those charged as:

• Edwin Amaya-Sanchez (“Strong”), 30, of Brentwood
• William Castellanos (“Dizzy” and “Satanico”), 20, of Central Islip
• Jhonny Contreras (“Reaper”), 23, of Brentwood
• Reynaldo Lopez-Alvarado (“Mente”), 25, of Brentwood
• Elmer Alexander Lopez (“Smiley,” “Little Smiley” and “Alex”), of Brentwood
• Selvin Shavez (“Flash”), 20, of Brentwood
• German Cruz (“Bad Boy”), 19, of Brentwood
• Enrique Portillo (“Oso” and “Turkey”), 20, of Central Islip
• Alexi Saenz (“Blasty” and “Big Homie”), 22, of Brentwood
• Jairo Saenz (“Funny”), 20, of Brentwood
• Mario Aguilar-Lopez (“Cuchumbo”), 18, of Brentwood
• Jeffrey Amador (“Cruel”), 21, of Brentwood
• Ronald Catalan (“Stranger”), 26, of Brentwood
• Alexis Hernandez, 20, of Central Islip
• Santos Leonel Ortiz-Flores, 19, of Central Islip
• Jose Suarez (“Chompira”), 23, of Central Islip
• Omar Antonio Villalta (“Anticristo”), 22, of Central Islip and Charlottesville, Virginia

Photo: Evan Rolla