MS-13 Member Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Racketeering (DOJ)

BOSTON - A member of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for his role in a previously-unsolved murder.

Adam Rodriguez, a/k/a "Pelon," 35, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 15 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In July 2024, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise. Rodriguez was charged in November 2023.

Rodriguez, along with co-defendants William Pineda Portillo, a/k/a "Humilde" and Jose Vazquez, a/k/a "Cholo" a/k/a "Little Crazy," conspired with others to murder a 28-year-old man on Dec. 18, 2010 in Chelsea, Mass. That evening, law enforcement responded to a 911 call in the vicinity of the Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1 in Chelsea. There, law enforcement found the victim with approximately 10 stab wounds to his chest and back, along with injuries to his head. The victim was transported to the hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. A recent re-examination of evidence collected during the initial investigation identified members of MS-13, including Vasquez, as having committed the murder.

In the week leading up to the incident, Rodriguez, Vasquez and other MS-13 members conspired to murder the victim because they believed the victim belonged to a rival gang. Evidence revealed that on the day of the murder, Pineda Portillo picked up Rodriguez, Vasquez, other MS-13 members, and the victim in Allston and drove the group to Chelsea. Once there, Rodriguez, Vasquez and the other gang members led the victim to an area under the Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1. Once in the secluded area under the highway, an MS-13 member hit the victim in the head with a rock, another MS-13 member stabbed the victim with a machete and Vasquez stabbed the victim with a knife. Vasquez's palm print was identified on the handle of a silver kitchen knife recovered from the murder scene. The victim's blood also was found on the knife.

An undercover recording of an MS-13 meeting that took place on Jan. 27, 2011 - approximately six weeks after the murder - captured Rodriguez acknowledging his participation in the murder and other gang members disciplining him for leaving Massachusetts after the murder without the gang's permission. Vasquez was also identified as being present for the meeting.

In July 2025, Vasquez was sentenced to 25 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Vasquez was already serving a 212-month prison sentence for a May 2018 federal conviction for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise. Vasquez will serve a total of 37 years for his crimes. Also in July 2025, Pineda Portillo, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was sentenced to 16 years in prison and will be subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence.

MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization with tens of thousands of members located in the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and elsewhere. MS-13 branches, or "cliques," operate throughout the United States, including in Massachusetts. In furtherance of its mission, MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence, specifically against rival gang members; kill informants; and support and defend fellow MS-13 members in attacks. MS-13 members maintain and enhance their status in the gang and the overall reputation of the gang by participating in such violent acts.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Geoffrey D. Noble, Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; Chief Shumeane Benford of the Somerville Police Department; and Chief Keith Houghton of the Chelsea Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division; United States Customs and Border Protection; United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Pohl, Meghan C. Cleary and Brian A. Fogerty of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.