A 28-year-old Salvadoran national and admitted member of the MS-13 gang, who was living unlawfully in New Bedford, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to his role in three brutal murders committed to advance the gang’s violent agenda across Massachusetts and Virginia.
Franklin Antonio Amaya Paredes, also known as “Mosca” or “Tony,” entered the plea to charges including racketeering involving murder, conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving murder, and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering. The charges stemmed from separate indictments in Massachusetts and Virginia, with the Virginia case transferred to Boston by agreement. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for July 10, 2026.
U.S. District Court photo.
Prosecutors described the crimes as particularly heinous, involving beatings, strangulation, shootings, machete attacks, and dismemberment—all carried out in service of the Uniones Locos Salvatrucha (ULS) clique of MS-13, which operated in northern Virginia, southeastern Massachusetts, and elsewhere. The gang used drug trafficking proceeds to fund operations in the U.S. and support activities in El Salvador, including aid for imprisoned members…