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| BostonHerald Eastie gang linked to al-Qaeda |
| 2005-01-06 |
| A burgeoning East Boston-based street gang made up of alleged rapists and machete-wielding robbers has been linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, prompting Boston police to ``turn up the heat'' on its members, the Herald has learned. A marriage made in Mecca      MS-13, which stands for La Mara Salvatrucha, is an extremely violent organization with roots in El Salvador, and boasts more than 100 ``hardcore members'' in East Boston who are suspected of brutal machete attacks, rapes and home invasions. Sound like full fledged al-Q There are hundreds more MS-13 gangsters in towns along the North Shore, said Boston police Sgt. Detective Joseph Fiandaca, who has investigated the gang since it began tagging buildings in Maverick Square in 1995. In recent months, intelligence officials in Washington have warned national law enforcement agencies that al-Qaeda terrorists have been spotted with members of MS-13 in El Salvador, prompting concerns the gang may be smuggling Islamic fundamentalist terrorists into the country. Law enforcement officials have long believed that MS-13 controls alien smuggling routes along Mexico. The warning is being taken seriously in East Boston, where Raed Hijazi, an al-Qaeda operative charged with training the suicide bombers in the attack on the USS Cole, lived and worked, prosecutors have charged. Also, the commercial jets that hurtled into the World Trade Center towers in New York City were hijacked from Logan International Airport.  MS-13 members congregate near the Maverick Square train station sporting white and blue bandannas, their skin inked with spider webs and ``laugh now, cry later'' clown faces. The theory that Salvadoran criminals manage to smuggle people over the border was bolstered this month when two Boston men described as MS-13 leaders were spotted on the North Shore days before Christmas - a year after they were deported by Boston Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators for gang-related crimes. One of the two men, Elmer ``Tiger'' Tejada, 24, who had been deported after being convicted of a slew of crimes, including attempted murder charges for hurling a machete at Chelsea cops, was busted in Lynn on New Year's Day. Tejada is described as ``an original MS-13 member'' from East Boston, sources said. A manhunt has been launched for the second fugitive, who is in the country illegally, Boston police said. |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |
| #24 Perhaps that was it Tu3031. I'll look. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-01-06 8:00:54 PM |
| #23 Don't think so, Ship. Helluva fire though. You might be thinking of the Worcester warehouse fire in December '99. 6 guys got killed that night. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-01-06 5:45:14 PM |
| #22 My dad was a firefighter in Everett and almost got killed in one of them back in '73 when they lost about 50 blocks. That rings a bell... was it made into a book or documentary? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-01-06 4:34:17 PM |
| #21 At one time a person could not get into the Armed Forces if they belonged to certain subversive organizations...those trying to undermine the U.S. There was a long list of "illegal" organizations that you had to swear that you did not belong to. Basically, certain organizations were illegal. Why not declare these gangs illegal since they are undermining the U.S. and breaking its laws? Can these gangs not be proscuted under RICO? Can we not shut the Mexico-U.S. border to these smugglers of terrorists? |
| Posted by: John Q. 2005-01-06 3:26:04 PM |
| #20 Chelsea went from being a big Jewish town into the 50's to being heavily Hispanic. Probably the poorest city in the state, it is/was also probably the most corrupt city in the state, having been taken over and run by the state since about 20 years ago. Burns down about every 50 years or so. My dad was a firefighter in Everett and almost got killed in one of them back in '73 when they lost about 50 blocks. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-01-06 2:22:32 PM |
| #19 I lived there in '91 and '92 so all I really remember is the North End being Italian with a lot of very good small restaurants. Dom's comes to mind (on Salem Street). I actually lived in Woburn and worked in Cambridge (that's when I got kicked out of the MIT Bar). |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2005-01-06 2:15:38 PM |
| #18 ISTR East Cambridge being as heavily Italian as Portugese, not that I knew anyone from there. Lots of Portugese in East Somerville, Mainly Italian in West Somerville (which Harvard kids called "slummerville") Plenty of grad students, recent grads, etc in Somerville. Not surprising its gone yuppie, as that tide was reaching Porter Square in those days. Chelsea was a shithole even then, but Eastie was rather better, or so Id always thought. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-01-06 2:07:31 PM |
| #17 Sorry - what tu said... |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-01-06 1:59:05 PM |
| #16 Yup - North End, Eastie, Revere and half of Chelsea are / were heavy Italian enclaves. North End's been gentrifed for the past 15-odd years; most of Eastie's a shithole, as is Chelsea; Revere has its good parts. |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-01-06 1:58:46 PM |
| #15 Okay. A little tour. The North End is the predominately Italian section of Boston. East Boston is actually across the Mystic River from downtown. You get there and back through the tunnels (Ted Williams, Sumner, Callahan, or the Blue Line T subway). Was predominately Italian, now has a heavy Hispanic and Cambodian community, with a lot of the Italians moving up the North Shore to Revere, Swampscott (if they could afford it), etc.. Logan is located in East Boston. East Cambridge is heavily Portugese and blue collar. It's not the Harvard Cambridge you always hear about. Somerville went from a blue collar town to home for a lot of the college kids and is heavily yuppified, being on the other side of Cambridge. 3 deckers you could've picked up for 100 grand about 15- 20 years ago are now pushing a million. Nice investment. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-01-06 1:45:08 PM |
| #14 Deacon, North End was Italian AND East Boston. And Revere, I think, and parts of Somerville. And East Cambridge. Just like NY, there wasnt just ONE Italian area. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-01-06 1:21:30 PM |
| #13 The Italian neighborhood in Boston is called the North End, not East End. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2005-01-06 10:25:32 AM |
| #12 "2. I remember when East Boston was all Italian." LH Isn't East Boston right next to Logan International Airport? With AQ conections and Logan in their comfort zone, these turds need more than just close watching. They need to be shut down. |
| Posted by: Dave 2005-01-06 10:14:44 AM |
| #11 guess i have no heart , and i haven't madfe it too 40 yet so we'll talk about that one later |
| Posted by: smokeysinse 2005-01-06 10:08:57 AM |
| #10 if you aren't a liberal at 20 you have no heart and if you aren't a conservative at 40 you have no brain. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-01-06 10:00:21 AM |
| #9 Q: What is a Conservative? A: A liberal who has been mugged Q: What is a Liberal? A: A Conservative who was layed off. |
| Posted by: TomAnon 2005-01-06 9:58:59 AM |
| #8 In recent months, intelligence officials in Washington have warned national law enforcement agencies that al-Qaeda terrorists have been spotted with members of MS-13 in El Salvador 1. Hasnt that been denied by authorities? 2. I remember when East Boston was all Italian. Gad, I feel old. 3. Sanctuary movement, huh. Geez, some of you guys were farther left than Ive ever been. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-01-06 9:38:06 AM |
| #7 It would be interresting to compare a map of MS-13 activities and locations to this: http://standeyo.com/News_Files/NBC/Terrorist_cells.html Also, Badanov has real interresting idea of comparing the old El Salvadoran smuggling routes to those being used today by MS-13. I know from experience as a minor who attended a church in Georgetown (District of Columbia) that was involved in providing sanctuary to ElSalvadorans "fleeing US aggression" during the war against communism. Many of these same people previously provided sanctuary to the very radical elements of the ant-Vietanam War movement during the 60's and 70's. NOTE to anyone monitoring I have not set foot near nor contacted anyone associated with that church for close to 30 years. |
| Posted by: TomAnon 2005-01-06 8:58:37 AM |
| #6 In recent months, intelligence officials in Washington have warned national law enforcement agencies that al-Qaeda terrorists have been spotted with members of MS-13 in El Salvador, prompting concerns the gang may be smuggling Islamic fundamentalist terrorists into the country Back in my left wing days I helped the network that smuggled El Salvadorans through the US into Canada and eastern seaboard. If this above quoted article is accurate and it is possible that the same folks are using that old network, I may know where at least some of the nodes are. Any law enforcement or intel folks monitoring: This may be worth looking into. |
| Posted by: badanov 2005-01-06 7:13:03 AM |
| #5 roots in El salvador, eh? Any of these guys ever caught with an official "how to illegally cross the the U.S.-Mexico border" comic book? Oh, yeah, Mexico just started publishing them, so we'll have to wait a month or two. |
| Posted by: Dripping Sarcasm 2005-01-06 7:03:59 AM |
| #4 I say we might as well take out the MS-13 hombres in the war against terror, MS-13 seems to be spreading all over the place and that's all they do, cause terror. |
| Posted by: Crereper Unomble7521 2005-01-06 3:31:52 AM |
| #3 Did Allah have a machete, bro? |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-01-06 12:11:53 AM |
| #2 Gangsta: Your money or your life! Jihadis need funding, you know. Citizen: I'd rather die than fund al-Qaeda. Gangsta: If you insist… [shoots Citizen. Enter Police] Cop #1: You're under arrest. |
| Posted by: Korora 2005-01-06 12:08:37 AM |
| #1 He should be easy to find - look for the guy with a clown face, spider tattos and a big machete. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-01-06 12:07:22 AM |