Boston authorities blame two more murders on MS-13 employees in a long-running extortion case

In a sweeping federal case against suspected MS-13 members, prosecutors just pinned another murder on the brutal allegations against the international street gang known for its extreme violence.

In new indictments that Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy says demonstrate “a complete disregard for human life and the rule of law,” three men are accused of participating in different ways in the murder of two other men: Joaquin Aguilar of Allston December 18, 2010, in Chelsea; and Jose Cortez Cornejo on July 13, 2020, near Horseneck Road in Dartmouth.

U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young on Friday vacated an indictment charging two alleged MS-13 members with murder in connection with a racketeering conspiracy – the third such indictment in a massive MS-13 13 case that was first opened in 2017. On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal overturned a separate indictment against a third suspect on similar charges.

Charged are William “Humilde” Pineda Portillo, 31, of Everett; Jose “Cholo” Vasquez, aka “Little Crazy,” 31, of Somerville; and in the other case, Franklin Antonio “Tony” Amaya Paredes, 27, of New Bedford.

MS-13, also known as La Mara Salvatrucha, has deep roots in El Salvador but has transnational operations with cliques that expand its reach throughout the United States and other countries such as Honduras and Guatemala, according to court documents. According to prosecutors, the company is considered particularly violent and uses “murder, assault, extortion, kidnapping, obstruction of justice and drug trafficking” to further its nefarious operations.

Pineda Portillo was also charged in the first superseding indictment in the case, which related to the Dec. 18, 2010, killing of Joaquin Aguilar of Allston in Chelsea. Prosecutors have now linked Vasquez to the murder, saying that both men and others conspired to murder the 28-year-old, but that Vasquez was one of the men who actually stabbed him and left his handprint on the handle of the The silver kitchen knife left behind at the crime scene.

Vasquez is already serving a 212-month sentence – or 17 years and 8 months – in federal prison for another illegal conspiracy conviction. Pineda Portillo was also charged in that case but was deported shortly before the charges were returned. He was arrested in May 2022 while crossing the Texas border from Mexico, where he allegedly admitted to being a member of MS-13, and was sent back to Massachusetts, where he remains in federal custody pending trial.

Pineda Portillo and Vasquez – who prosecution witnesses described as leaders of the Trece Loco Salvatrucha (TLS) MS-13 clique in Somerville – were charged with Aguilar's 2010 murder.

In this case, shortly after 7 o'clock that December evening, Chelsea police responded to 6th Street where they found Aguilar still conscious but bleeding from twelve stab wounds to his head and chest. He would be pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital. Police traced his blood trail to the scene of the violence: under the Fifth Street on-ramp to southbound Route 1 in Chelsea.

In the 2020 case, Amaya Paredes is accused of luring Cortez Cornejo to a family party before then driving the victim to Horseneck Road, where he shot her. He was indicted by state authorities this year and in that case was allegedly identified as a member of MS-13.

“What these men allegedly did to their victims was particularly heinous – so much so that the circumstances continue to stand out more than a decade later,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the Boston FBI.

“Today’s charges should make it clear to MS-13 members and their associates that medieval violence and senseless murder will not be tolerated in Massachusetts,” Cohen added. “The FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force and its partners have worked hard for years to eradicate the violence caused by this transnational criminal organization and bring those responsible to justice.”

Courtesy / US District Court

The Fifth Street on-ramp to southbound Route 1 in Chelsea, where federal authorities say Joaquin Aguilar of Allston was murdered on Dec. 18, 2010. At the crime scene on the right you can see a silver knife that was used as a murder weapon. (Courtesy / US District Court)