Jose Vasquez, Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering, Massachusetts 2024

BOSTON – In a shocking development, Jose Vasquez, a 31-year-old local leader of the transnational criminal organization known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, pleaded guilty today to committing a previously unsolved murder of a man in Chelsea, Mass. in 2010.

Vasquez, a/k/a “Cholo,” a/k/a “Little Crazy,” entered a guilty plea to one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering in U.S. District Court. The charge provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

The crime took place on Dec. 18, 2010, at approximately 7:10 p.m. when law enforcement responded to a 911 call under the Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1 in Chelsea. There, a 28-year-old male was found with approximately 10 stab wounds to his head, back and chest. The victim was transported to the hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his wounds.

A recent reexamination 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, Vasquez and other MS-13 members conspired to murder the victim because they believed the victim belonged to a rival gang.

Vasquez is currently serving a 212-month prison sentence for a May 2018 federal conviction of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy. 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.

Vasquez was a member and local leader of the Trece Locos Salvatrucha, or TLS, clique of MS-13 operating in Somerville, Mass. In addition to being a leader of an MS-13 clique, Vasquez personally participated in racketeering activity and acts of violence on behalf of MS-13. Sentencing for Vasquez’s guilty plea is scheduled for June 30, 2025.

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