3 MS-13 Leaders Convicted In Killings

Gang Members Were Among 22 Charged With Racketeering

Three leaders of the MS-13 street gang were convicted yesterday of conspiring to engage in a racketeering enterprise in which they participated in four murders and obstructed justice by threatening witnesses -- the latest in a string of victories for federal authorities in Maryland in their legal assault against the organization.

One of the defendants, Omar "Duke" Vasquez, 28, was sent by gang leaders in El Salvador to run the gang's operations in Maryland, the District and Northern Virginia, according to evidence presented by prosecutors. Vasquez had a mandate to call the shots for the various cliques that make up the gang, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, the prosecutors said.

After a six-week trial, the U.S. District Court jury deliberated for 2 1/2 days before convicting Vasquez, Henry S. "Homeboy" Zelaya, 20, and Jose "Piranha" Cruz Diaz, 27. Each faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.

The defendants were among 22 alleged MS-13 members charged in 2005 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Including yesterday's verdicts, 12 of the original defendants have either been found guilty of racketeering or pleaded guilty to that offense or related crimes. The first two to go to trial were convicted in November.

Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, who sat in the courtroom as the jury's decision was announced, said he hopes the verdicts will deter potential MS-13 recruits.

"I think it's an important verdict. I hope it will send the message that anyone who joins MS-13 will be subject to prosecution," Rosenstein said. "The evidence in this case was very chilling, establishing that these defendants engaged in sexual violence and murder."

According to evidence presented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James M. Trusty and Chan Park and by David Jaffe, a trial attorney with the Justice Department, Vasquez, Zelaya and Cruz Diaz participated in or approved the murders of four people between April 2003 and January 2005.

Prosecution witnesses, including fellow MS-13 members who have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the government, described the murders:

· On April 20, 2003, Zelaya fatally shot a gang rival, Noel B. Gudiel, in Langley Park, after other MS-13 gang members beat Gudiel and knocked him to the ground.

· On Nov. 22, 2003, Randy "Fenix" Calderon and Eliuth Madrigal were killed in Silver Spring. Calderon, a gang member, angered leaders by killing Madrigal inside an apartment used by one of the MS-13 members, according to court testimony. For this transgression, Calderon was fatally shot, according to government witnesses, who included a former MS-13 member who worked undercover for law enforcement for nearly two years.

· On Jan. 21, 2005, Vasquez, Cruz Diaz and other MS-13 members drove to an apartment building in Fairfax to look for rival gang members, one of whom had beaten an MS-13 member at a McDonald's in Northern Virginia, according to government witnesses. The MS-13 members shot at a group of youths sitting outside the building, killing Anthony Campos, 14. There was no evidence presented at the trial that Campos was involved in the McDonald's altercation or a member of any gang.

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow scheduled Zelaya's sentencing for July 30, Vasquez's for Aug. 6, and Cruz Diaz's for Aug. 10.