Last week in federal court in Boston, three members and associates of the 18th Street Gang—including a Chelsea resident—entered guilty pleas to charges related to unlicensed firearms trafficking on city streets.
The defendants are Oscar Oliva, a/k/a “Droopy,” 26, of East Boston; Ralph Bonano, 23, of East Boston; and Dennis Pleites Ramos, 23, of Chelsea. All three pleaded guilty to engaging in the business of dealing with firearms without a license. Oliva additionally pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine base and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf set sentencing for January 2018.
Between 2015 and 2016, federal investigators uncovered a network of street gangs that had formed alliances to traffic weapons and drugs across Massachusetts while perpetrating violence against rival organizations. The investigation led to the indictment of 53 defendants in June 2016 on federal firearm and drug charges. Among those charged were alleged leaders, members, and associates of the 18th Street Gang, the East Side Money Gang, and the Boylston Street Gang, organizations that primarily operated in East Boston, Boston, Chelsea, Brockton, Malden, Revere, and Everett. The investigation resulted in the seizure of more than 70 firearms, along with cocaine, cocaine base (crack), heroin, and fentanyl.
As a leader within the 18th Street gang—a multi-national criminal organization active throughout the United States—Oliva participated in a major conspiracy to distribute firearms in the Greater Boston area. He personally engaged in at least 12 firearms transactions involving at least 13 weapons with a cooperating witness. The cooperating witness obtained over 30 firearms total from the conspiracy during the investigation, including assault rifles, shotguns, and handguns, several bearing obliterated serial numbers. Bonano and Pleites Ramos participated in selling handguns throughout the Greater Boston area. Beyond the firearms trafficking, Oliva also distributed cocaine base (crack cocaine) to a cooperating witness.