BOSTON — A Salvadoran national and MS-13 gang member has pleaded guilty to his role in three “brutal” murders, including killing his cousin, in New Bedford, Dartmouth, and Virginia, with one of the victims dismembered, the U.S. Attorney said.
Franklin Antonio Amaya Paredes, a/k/a “Mosca” or “Tony,” 28, of New Bedford, who is in the country illegally, pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to racketeering involving murder, conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving murder, and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for July 10.
The charges stem from two indictments: one in the District of Massachusetts and the other in the Eastern District of Virginia, Foley said. By agreement, Paredes’s federal charges in Virginia were transferred to Massachusetts.
Amaya Paredes participated in three murders, prosecutors said. In one killing in New Bedford in 2018, he and his associates dismembered the victim’s body and buried the remains in a nearby wooded area.
“This defendant – an illegal alien who’s been residing unlawfully in our country – admitted to participating in three brutal murders across state lines to advance MS-13’s violent agenda and be rewarded within the gang’s ranks,” Foley said.
“Let this serve as a clear message: individuals who come to this country and engage in this level of violence will be aggressively investigated, prosecuted and held fully accountable,” Foley said. “This transnational criminal organization is far-reaching, but my office will continue to use every resource to dismantle it and protect Massachusetts communities from such barbaric devastation.”
“As was the case here, my office will continue to work with agents and prosecutors across the country until MS-13 and other transnational criminal groups have been eliminated,” Foley said.
Ted Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, echoed her words.
“What Franklin Antonio Amaya Paredes did to his victims was particularly heinous – so much so that, years later, the circumstances of these three murders still stand out,” Docks said in a statement.
“The sheer brutality, cruel depravity, and terror he inflicted on behalf of MS-13 demonstrates a complete disregard for human life,” Docks said. “Amaya Paredes belongs behind bars, and that’s exactly where today’s conviction will keep him. Meanwhile, the FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement and community partners to dismantle this transnational criminal organization, bring an end to their senseless violence, and obtain justice for the victims of their crimes.”
According to court documents, Amaya Paredes was a member of the Uniones Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. The clique ran in southeastern Massachusetts, northern Virginia, and elsewhere in the U.S.
The clique was responsible for committing numerous murders and other acts of violence and distributing marijuana and cocaine in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, prosecutors said. Money generated from drug sales was used for the clique’s needs in the U.S., to fund MS-13 activities in El Salvador, and to help incarcerated MS-13 members.
On July 14, 2020, Amaya Paredes shot and killed his cousin near Horseneck Road in Dartmouth. Prosecutors said text messages showed that Paredes invited the victim to a family party where he was murdered.
Prosecutors said after being charged with murder by state authorities, Amaya Paredes confided that he killed his cousin because the cousin failed to “check in” with MS-13 leadership when he arrived in the New Bedford area from El Salvador and had done a poor job growing MS-13 in southeastern Massachusetts.
Amaya Paredes also conspired to kill a witness to the murder while in state custody, prosecutors said.
On Aug. 25, 2018, prosecutors said Amaya Paredes and other members of Uniones Locos Salvatrucha met in New Bedford to kill an associate of MS-13’s Directos Locos Salvatrucha clique.
MS-13 leadership in El Salvador had approved the murder because they believed the victim had betrayed MS-13. Prosecutors said they met the victim at the residence of an MS-13 member in New Bedford, and after the group ate dinner, Amaya Paredes and other clique members beat and strangled the victim to death.
Amaya Paredes and other Uniones Locos Salvatrucha members then dismembered the victim’s body and buried the remains in a nearby wooded area, prosecutors said. For participating in the murder, Amaya Paredes and other members of the group were promoted within MS-13’s ranks.
The victim’s remains have not yet been found.
In June 2019, prosecutors said Amaya Paredes and other members of Uniones Locos Salvatrucha conspired to kill people who frequently gathered to drink in a wooded area in the clique’s perceived territory in Reston, Virginia.
On June 23, 2019, Uniones Locos Salvatrucha members armed themselves with guns and machetes and traveled to the Hunters Woods area of Reston.
There, prosecutors said members of the group killed the first man they encountered by shooting him and slashing him with a machete, while Amaya Paredes and others remained in nearby cars ready to assist.
After the murder, Amaya Paredes and other members of the group drove to a nearby hotel room and recounted the details of the murder, prosecutors said.
MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization with tens of thousands of members located in the U.S., El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere, prosecutors said. MS-13 branches, or “cliques,” operate throughout the United States, including in Massachusetts and Virginia.
To further its mission, MS-13 members must commit violent acts, 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, prosecutors said.
For each charge of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy involving murder, Paredes faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, supervised release for up to five years, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross profits or other proceeds obtained by Paredes from racketeering activity.
For each charge of murder in aid of racketeering, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison, supervised release for up to five years, and a $250,000 fine.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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