MS-13 Gang Member Charged with Racketeering
Long Island, New York – A six superseding indictment unsealed on August 8, 2018, charged five members of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), a transnational criminal organization, with racketeering and related offenses. The indictment adds one new defendant, Ruendy Jhonatan Hernandez-Vasquez, in connection with the October 10, 2016 murder of Javier Castillo in Freeport.
The superseding indictment also adds racketeering offenses and related charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering against previously charged defendants Jhonny Contreras, Reynaldo Lopez-Alvarado, and Jeffrey Amador in connection with the November 19, 2015 murder of Cesar Rivera-Vasquez in Babylon. Additionally, racketeering offenses were added against Ronald Catalan for a June 23, 2009 shooting in Brentwood.
According to the indictment, a total of 16 murders committed by MS-13 members have been charged in this superseding indictment and underlying indictments in this case. Hernandez-Vasquez was also issued a Red Notice by INTERPOL relating to an arrest warrant for a murder he allegedly committed in El Salvador before he illegally entered the United States.
On August 8, 2018, the following defendants were scheduled to be arraigned this morning before United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York:
– Ruendy Jhonatan Hernandez-Vasquez
– Jhonny Contreras
– Reynaldo Lopez-Alvarado
– Jeffrey Amador
– Ronald Catalan
The superseding indictment was announced by Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Geraldine Hart, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD); and Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD).
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, SCPD, and NCPD. The defendants face serious charges for their alleged involvement in MS-13’s violent crimes. The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Defendant: Ruendy Jhonatan Hernandez-Vasquez
Criminal Charges: Racketeering, murder, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana
City and State: Central Islip, New York
Exact Date: August 8, 2018
Sentence or Outcome: Arraignment scheduled
Keywords: MS-13, Racketeering, Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Cocaine, Marijuana, INTERPOL, Red Notice, El Salvador, United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, Suffolk County Police Department, Nassau County Police Department
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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