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Press Release

MS-13 Member Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for RICO Conspiracy Involving Attempted Murder

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – An MS-13 member was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for RICO conspiracy involving attempted murder. 

 

Daniel Menjivar, a/k/a “Roca,” a/k/a “Sitiko,” 22, a Salvadoran national who resided in Chelsea, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 13 years in prison and three years of supervised release.  Menjivar will also be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence.  In September 2017, Menjivar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy.  

 

After a multi-year investigation, Menjivar was one of 61 defendants named in an indictment targeting the criminal activities of alleged leaders, members, and associates of MS-13 in Massachusetts.  Menjivar was identified as a member of MS-13’s Enfermos Criminales Salvatrucha (ECS) clique, which operated in Chelsea. As described in court documents, MS-13 is organized into cliques, which are smaller groups acting under the larger mantle of MS-13 and operating in a specific region, city, or part of a city.

 

On May 29, 2014, Menjivar and another member of the ECS clique repeatedly stabbed and shot an alleged rival gang member in Chelsea. A cooperating witness recorded Menjivar admitting to the attempted murder on video, proudly telling his fellow gang members how he stabbed the victim 21 times. The victim survived the attack following life-saving efforts by first responders as well as emergency surgery.   

 

In April 2015, federal agents used a cooperating witness to make other recordings in which Menjivar and two other MS-13 members plotted to murder another MS-13 member who they incorrectly believed was cooperating with law enforcement. Menjivar also participated in at least one robbery in furtherance of MS-13 activities.

 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon made the announcement.

Updated January 29, 2018

Topic
Violent Crime