Federal court in Boston last week handed down a sentence to an East Side Money Gang (ES$G) member convicted of racketeering and drug trafficking.
Henry Del Rio, known as “Junior” and “JR,” was 21 years old and living in Chelsea when U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns imposed a sentence of five years in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Del Rio’s guilty plea in February 2018 covered one count of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity (RICO), one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin, and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
As a self-admitted ES$G member, Del Rio belonged to a Chelsea-based street gang that employs violence to advance criminal enterprises and maintain discipline within its ranks. The gang’s violent tactics serve multiple purposes: safeguarding members and associates, attacking rival gang members and associates, and discouraging potential witnesses from cooperating with authorities. Beyond violence, ES$G engages in drug trafficking operations involving cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin across Chelsea and nearby communities.
Working alongside other gang members and associates, Del Rio participated in heroin and drug distribution schemes in Chelsea. He also sold a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun with an obliterated serial number and a 30-round, high-capacity magazine to a confidential informant; the weapon came from his residence on Gerrish Street in Chelsea. Del Rio was among 53 defendants indicted in June 2016 on federal firearms and drug charges stemming from an investigation of street gang networks that had formed alliances to move weapons and drugs throughout Massachusetts and perpetrate violence against rival organizations. Court documents identify the defendants as leaders, members, and associates of the 18th Street Gang, East Side Money Gang and the Boylston Street Gang, collectively responsible for operating a gun and drug pipeline across numerous eastern Massachusetts cities and towns.