On a cold day in December, nearly two dozen reputed members of the Trinitarios, a violent Dominican street gang, gathered at an Airbnb in Manchester, N.H., where leaders warned that their “secret society’’ was enforcing stricter rules for its chapters in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. And those who broke them could be killed.
In a scene reminiscent of the notorious Mafia gatherings bugged by law enforcement decades ago, gang leaders spoke of baptizing new members, loyalty to the crime “family’’ above all else, a hierarchy where the “supreme’’ boss and top lieutenants were insulated to avoid prosecution, and swift retaliation for anyone who betrayed or disrespected the gang.
“We are going to write a new history,’’ Ery Jordani Rosario, the reputed second-in-command of the Trinitarios in Massachusetts, allegedly told the group.
All along, according to prosecutors, a cooperating witness was secretly recording the meeting. And the interaction would lead to a sweeping federal racketeering case in Boston last month that would expose the inner workings of a violent street gang that has terrorized the North Shore, where violence is encouraged, and betrayal could mean death.
Twenty-two reputed members and associates of the transnational gang are accused of conspiracy to commit racketeering involving a litany of crimes: six murders in Lynn and Lawrence; funneling fentanyl and cocaine from Mexican drug cartels to distribution networks in Maine; stealing lottery tickets during break-ins at convenience stores; and robbing FedEx drivers of iPhones.
Gang members wreaked havoc on communities across the state for more than a decade and “were responsible for years of bloodshed,’’ US Attorney Leah B. Foley said when announcing the charges last month. She credited an intensive investigation by federal, state, and local law enforcement with dismantling the organization.
Court records, photos and videos, and a lengthy affidavit lay out the allegations. Gang members and associates are accused of two fatal shootings in Lawrence: that of 18-year-old Juan Espinal in March 2017 and 25-year-old Mandy Tran in November 2017; and four murders in Lynn: those of Jandriel Heredia, 21, of Revere and Abraham Diaz, 25, of Lynn, in September 2023; and the killing of Kyle Mel,19, and Isiah Acevedo, 16, on Dec. 27, 2023.
“We are scared for our lives and the lives of other citizens of Lynn,’’ Heredia’s mother, Ivelisse Garcia, said during a hearing in federal court last month, urging a judge to keep gang members jailed while awaiting trial. “I live in constant fear that they can come after us, our loved ones, or anyone in the city we know.’’
The indictment alleges that Enmanuel Paula-Cabral, 33, is the “supreme’’ leader of the Trinitarios in Massachusetts and ordered a number of murders. He pleaded not guilty to the racketeering conspiracy charge and is being held without bail.
His lawyer said he denies the charges.
“The allegations are based on a number of cooperating unidentified witnesses who are motivated by their own self-interests in trying to deflect the criminal investigation from themselves and others that they are affiliated with,’’ said Paula-Cabral’s attorney, Thomas Iovieno. “The government has chosen to believe these undisclosed witnesses and I expect a jury will not likewise agree after hearing the evidence.’’
The Trinitarios was founded in 1993 at Rikers Island jail in New York City by immigrants from the Dominican Republic, according to authorities. It has multiple chapters in Lawrence, Lynn, Worcester, Boston, and Haverhill, according to court filings.
The gang recruits members from high schools in Lynn and Lawrence. Those charged with being part of the sprawling organization range in age from 15 to 35.
Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker, who partnered with federal authorities on the case and prosecuted some alleged gang members in state court, said, “I worry deeply about a whole generation of kids that are becoming involved in this significant criminal behavior and what led them to this.’’
One photograph attached to court records depicts the body of Daniel Marquez, a 17-year-old probationary member of the Trinitarios, lying in his casket with the gang’s trademark blue and red beads on his chest. He was stabbed to death on Aug. 22, 2023, during a fight with rival gang members inside a Lynn convenience store. Another teen, who was 14 at the time of the incident, is charged with second-degree murder in state court. In the federal case, prosecutors allege that Paula-Cabral sent a text boasting that he ordered a crew “to destroy’’ members of the rival gang after Marquez’s slaying.
So on Sept. 2, 2023, gang members allegedly drove Marquez’s green Honda Accord down Essex Street in Lynn and sprayed gunfire at a group of partygoers, killing Heredia and Diaz, and wounding five others, according to prosecutors.
Then, on Dec. 26, 2023, two Trinitarios members and an associate were wounded in a shooting at Pizza Hut in Lynn, leading to state charges against two reputed members of a rival gang.
The following night, federal prosecutors allege, Trinitarios associate member David Garcia drove by several teenagers on Camden Street in Lynn as gang member Angel Santos fired a machine gun, killing Mel and Acevedo.
In February, Garcia pleaded guilty to federal racketeering conspiracy and admitted to his role in the murders. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors have agreed to recommend that he be sentenced to no more than 30 years in prison.
Two other gang members, Tomy Sanchez Tejeda and Abel Severino Reyes, recently pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and admitted to participating in the slayings of Heredia and Diaz. Under plea agreements, the government has agreed to recommend no more than 30 years in prison for Tejeda and no more than 40 years in prison for Reyes. Separately, the head of the Lynn chapter recently pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.
During the Dec. 1, 2024, meeting in Manchester, members were ordered to “hustle’’ to make money by any means possible, including gun and drug trafficking, break-ins at convenience stores to steal lottery tickets, armed robberies of iPhones from FedEx delivery drivers, unemployment fraud, and credit card scams, according to the court filings.
And everyone was told to kick in $30 a week to a “fundo’’ to support fellow members incarcerated for murders, armed robbery, drug trafficking, and other crimes. An additional $50 was collected from 20 members present that day as an initial startup fee for the fund.
“Since not all of us are bandits and we are not all going to get arrested, we need to help those who will,’’ Jordani Rosario, the alleged second-in-command, said. “The biggest privilege that you have is that the ones that are in jail, they are giving us, to everyone that’s here, the opportunity to run with a responsible family.’’
Luis Jeffrey Santana, also known as Sopita, the reputed leader of the Manchester chapter, told the group that “rule number one is unity.’’
The Trinitarios’s annual celebration, which included an initiation for new members, was traditionally held at an Airbnb every Feb. 27, the Dominican Republic Independence Day, but gang leaders said they planned to move the date to avoid scrutiny from law enforcement officials who had become aware of the ritual, according to the affidavit.
“It’s a secret society,’’ Jordani Rosario told the group.
The leaders lamented that the gang was divided, and some members were already cooperating with authorities.
Jordani Rosario said gang members were risking their freedom if convicted of crimes that would send them to prison for at least 10 years and had to eliminate members who betrayed them or could not be trusted.
If you don’t “move’’ with the gang, Jordani Rosario warned, “unfortunately, I’ll move you.’’
Shelley Murphy can be reached at shelley.murphy@globe.com. Follow her @shelleymurph.
