The alleged leader of an MS-13 clique in New York City “was the one signing the death warrants” for the ruthless gang — including ordering up the slaying of a 16-year-old boy found nearly decapitated in a Queens park, federal prosecutors said Monday in closing arguments at his murder trial.
Melvi Amador-Rios, 32, the head of the Centrales Locos Salvatruchas clique of MS-13, was allegedly behind the gruesome stabbing death of Julio Vasquez in 2017, and also called for the murder of another teen who was left paralyzed by the attempt on his life, according to prosecutors.
“They kill anyone who gets in their way — they live, die and kill by those rules,” Brooklyn Assistant US Attorney Nadia Moore told jurors Monday about MS-13, the notorious Central American gang with thousands of members across the US.
“He made a choice to rob and kill for the gang,” she said about Amador-Rios, nicknamed “Letal” and “Pinky.”
“The defendant was the one signing the death warrants.”
Vasquez was lured to Alley Pond Park in Queens on May 16, 2017 where MS-13 members Josue Leiva and Luis Rivas stabbed him over 30 times.
Amador-Rios “oversaw the murder,” while underlings Rivas and Leiva “carried it out,” Moore told the jury.
The teen was marked for death after he failed to carry out a hit for the notorious gang — prompting Amador-Rios to suspect he was an informant working with the feds, prosecutors argued.
Amador-Rios is also accused of instructing underlings to kill 16-year-old Luis Serrano because he was believed to be a member of a rival gang.
The Oct. 22, 2016 hit was botched, leaving Serrano alive — but a paraplegic.
Jurors previously heard from Serrano, who entered the courtroom in a motorized wheelchair and testified about the day he was attacked and the grueling nine-month hospital stay he endured after being shot in the head.
MS-13 snitch Jose Gonzalez also testified during the two-week trial, telling jurors how Amador-Rios had told him to take out Serrano.
In Vasquez’ case, prosecutors said Amador-Rios had initially ordered the killings of three MS-13 members — starting with one he thought was cavorting with a rival crew.
But when the gang was unable to track down their target, Amador-Rios became suspicious of another member he thought may have warned the mark, according to the feds.
Amador-Rios then allegedly instructed Vasquez to kill the suspected tipster — but when the teen failed to carry out the hit, the gang began to suspect he was working with law enforcement and the leader ordered he be murdered as well, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, Amador-Rios was “good at keeping his hands clean,” prosecutor Anna L. Karamigios said Monday in rebuttal to arguments from the defense that the alleged gang boss was not caught on camera or via DNA.
“The defendant was good at making sure his face wasn’t caught on video,” Karamigios told the jury.
Amador-Rios’ attorney Murray Singer argued in his closing statement there were no hard facts linking his client to the charges, just cellphone data.
He claimed prosecutors were misguidedly using cooperating witnesses with questionable motivations as “gospel” and relying on recorded jail calls that should only be taken as “high school gossip.”
“There is not a single recorded call where Melvi ordered or suggested he ordered anything,” Singer said.
Singer also argued jurors should be skeptical of the cooperating witnesses, since they allegedly testified to get shorter sentences or to obtain visas to stay legally in the US.
“What better way to get a Visa than testify against MS-13?” Murray said.
“There is no case to be brought here except for the five cooperators,” Murray argued, referring to Rivas and Leiva, who have each pleaded guilty in Vasquez’ slaying, and the three men charged for Serrano’s attempted murder.
Gonzalez, admitted gunman Kevin Paniagua and the third co-defendant, Francisco Ramos, have also each pleaded guilty for their participation in the botched hit. Gonzalez is currently locked up as he awaits sentencing.