4 from area held in Latin Kings sting

More than 60 members of the Latin Kings gang were arrested in a statewide sting that included three alleged members from Fitchburg and one from Worcester.

The investigation and arrests Thursday morning involved more than 500 law enforcement officers, from federal to local levels, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, District of Massachusetts.

Among those arrested were Marlon Rivera, also known as King Pluto; Dairon Rivera, known as King Mafia; and Sophia Velasquez, known as Queen Sophia, all of Fitchburg, and Alvin Mojica, known as King Humble of Worcester.

More than a third of those arrested were from New Bedford.

During the four-year investigation, evidence was developed that the Latin Kings were involved with drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit more than 10 murders and other violent crimes, including robbery, shootings, stabbings and witness intimidation.

The members of the Latin Kings are being charged under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The FBI referred to the case at Operation Throne Down.

Among those arrested is Michael Cecchetelli, a 40-year-old Springfield resident with ties to the Genovese crime family who oversaw the gang’s operations from Massachusetts down to Florida, according to Joseph Bonavolonta, head of the FBI's Boston office.

Cecchetelli and other leaders ran the gang with a Mafia-style hierarchy, including a council of leaders and as many as 11 chapters across Massachusetts alone, authorities said. The leadership approach has become a model for other Latin Kings regions in the country, they said.

The Latin Kings have also grown to become the largest gang in Massachusetts prisons, with an estimated 400 members, including leaders who face charges for continuing to coordinate criminal activity outside the prison, authorities said.

“It’s a big hit precisely because we are able to take out all of the leadership,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling of the five-year investigation by the FBI and the state Department of Correction. "It will be extremely difficult for the gang to regroup in the region.”

A lawyer who represented Cecchetelli in a prior federal case declined to comment.

The majority of Thursday morning’s arrests took place across Massachusetts, but some gang members and associates were also arrested in Rhode Island and Connecticut, Bonavolonta said. The gang’s operations also stretched into New York, New Jersey and Maryland.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We believe under Michael Cecchetelli's leadership, the Eastern region of the Latin Kings is structured, organized, & run like La Cosa Nostra. Up until this a.m., he reigned over 14 states from MA to FL. 56 are in custody, 8 are actively being sought. https://t.co/6pMuw5zta8 pic.twitter.com/D3Jn15mMjF

— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) December 5, 2019