MS-13 member arrested on RICO charges in connection with Allston man’s death.
A man who Massachusetts State Police believe is part of MS-13 was arrested Wednesday in connection with the killing of an Allston man under a bridge in Chelsea in 2010, state police announced Thursday.
Adam Rodriguez, aka Pelon, 33, was charged in a superseding indictment with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, known as RICO or racketeering conspiracy, state police said in a statement. He appeared in Boston Federal Court on Wednesday afternoon.
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In Dec. 2010, Rodriguez and other members of MS-13 killed an Allston man, only for law enforcement to later match his voice to a Jan. 26, 2011, recording of Rodriguez’s voice where he acknowledged his part in the Allston man’s murder. State police did not name the Allston man in their statement.
On the recording, Rodriguez was beaten for 13 seconds by other members of MS-13 for leaving Massachusetts after the murder without the gang’s permission, state police said.
In a superseding indictment on Rodriguez, William Pineda Portillo, aka Humilde, was also hit with RICO charges. He was previously indicted in 2017, but after an arrest warrant was issued, police found that he was deported to El Salvador under a different name.
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Portillo was arrested in May 2022 on the outstanding warrant and returned to Boston after he was apprehended by law enforcement for crossing the border into Texas.
A subsequent investigation determined that a car owned by Portillo’s father was used to drive Rodriguez, other MS-13 gang members and the Allston man in Dec. 2010, state police said. Portillo was working to sell a firearm to someone he believed was a fellow MS-13 member, but who was instead a cooperating witness working with law enforcement. Portillo conspired to kill an MS-13 member because he believed he was an informant, state police said.
Portillo remains in custody awaiting trial.
The charge of RICO conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Rodriguez’s hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 16.