BOSTON:- Two members of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, were recently sentenced in federal court in Boston for their roles in a previously unsolved murder. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provided valuable assistance to the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Massachusetts made the announcement.
Jose Vasquez, aka “Cholo,” aka “Little Crazy,” 31, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 25 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In May 2025, Vasquez pleaded guilty to violent crime in aid of racketeering. Vasquez was already serving a 212-month prison sentence for a May 2018 federal conviction for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise. In total, Vasquez will serve a total of 37 years for his MS-13-related crimes.
William Pineda Portillo, aka “Humilde,” 31, a Salvadoran national who was unlawfully residing in Everett, was sentenced by Judge Young to 16 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In May 2023, Pineda Portillo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise conspiracy.
Pineda Portillo and Vazquez were indicted by a federal grand jury along with other MS-13 members in September 2024. Specifically, Pineda Portillo and Vasquez 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 Chelsea, Mass. There, the victim was found 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 reexamination of evidence collected during the initial investigation identified members of MS-13, including Vasquez, as having committed the murder.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, Ted E. Docks; Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England Michael J. Krol; Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble; Somerville Police Department Chief Shumeane Benford; and Chelsea Police Department Chief Keith Houghton made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; USCIS; and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Pohl, Meghan C. Cleary, and Brian A. Fogerty of the Office’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case. (USCIS)