MS-13 leader gets life, no parole

A Columbus man identified as the leader of the local MS-13 gang pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to racketeering and murder counts in a move that the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. said represented the dismantling of the violent international gang in the state.

Martin Neftali Aguilarrivera, 34, of North Linden, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Columbus to felony counts of conspiracy to commit racketeering and murder in the aid of racketeering, acknowledging involvement in five Columbus-area killings since 2006 as leader of the local MS-13 gang.

Aguilar-rivera, also known as “Momia,” avoided a potential death sentence in the case under a plea agreement that calls for life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“Momia is going to spend the rest of his life in federal prison without the possibility of release,” U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman told reporters following Monday’s hearing. “This is a big step forward for the fight against MS-13 here in Ohio and also … nationally and internationally.”

He added later: “I now feel confident saying that this investigation and this prosecution have succeeded in dismantling MS-13’S organization here in Ohio.”

Aguilar-rivera offered his plea, communicating in Spanish through an interpreter, before Chief District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr., who will announce a final sentence in coming months.

Aguilar-riverawas the leader and one of more than 20 people indicted as alleged members of the multinational criminal group’s Columbus organization. A yearslong investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, immigration officials, local law enforcement and others led to multiple counts of murder and attempted murder, assault, extortion, weapons possession and other violent acts.

Most of those involved have already submitted guilty pleas. Glassman said plea agreements were filed with the court by several others in the case Monday, including Jose Bonilla-mejia, 30, of Santa Maria, California, who also faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his role in several murders. Sargus has not yet formally reviewed and accepted Bonilla-mejia’s plea.

Kristin Beggs, an FBI supervisory special agent, also thanked the Hispanic community in Columbus for stepping forward.

“MS-13 consistently uses intimidation, threat and violence against members of the Hispanic community all over the world,” she said. “But here, residents decided that they were not going to be intimidated. They stood up and they contacted law enforcement, and the information that they provided was crucial to this investigation.”

The MS-13 investigation is ongoing, and Beggs urged anyone with information about related activities to contact her office at 614-849-1765.