BOSTON – A member of the Manchester Chapter of the Trinitarios pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to racketeering charges, including his participation in two murders and two other attempted murders.
Kelvin Liranzo Roman, a/k/a “Whoopty,” 27, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Nov. 17, 2026. Liranzo Roman was arrested and charged in February 2025.
The Trinitarios is a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States. The Trinitarios adhere to a Magna Carta, employ an internal hierarchy to coordinate and execute violence, and undertake extensive efforts to maintain the secrecy of the organization and its members.
During today’s court proceedings, Kelvin Liranzo Roman admitted to his membership in the gang and his participation as an accessory before the fact to the Sept. 2, 2023 murders of Jandriel Heredia and Abraham Diaz. During this incident, three members of the Trinitarios drove by Essex Street in Lynn and discharged numerous rounds at the people gathered outside. The gathering was a party celebrating a recent high-school graduation and a young man heading off to college. Seven people were shot during this incident, including Abraham Diaz and Jandriel Heredia who later died from the gunshot wounds they sustained.
Liranzo Roman admitted that before the shooting, he brought the vehicle used in the shooting to Lynn, knowing it would be used by the Trinitarios later that night to target rival gang members that the Trinitarios believed were at the party. The vehicle used in the shooting was owned by the deceased Trinitarios member and was used to send a message to rival gang members. After the shooting, the driver and two shooters were brought to Lawrence, and then later were brought to Liranzo Roman’s residence.
In February 2025, federal racketeering charges were unsealed against 22 leaders and members of the Trinitarios. The charges were the result of a multijurisdictional investigation which began in the aftermath of four murders as well as a series of attempted murders and shootings that took place in Lynn in 2023, allegedly committed by the Trinitarios criminal enterprise and its members. In March 2025, a Lynn member of the Trinitarios was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In June 2025, two members of the Trinitarios were charged with kidnapping a drug supplier. In July 2025, the leader of the Lynn Chapter was sentenced to 14 years in prison. In December 2025, two members of the Lynn Chapter, Michael Miliano and James Jimenez pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. In April 2026, Luis Enrique Santana pleaded guilty. In May 2026, Westyn Lantigua pleaded guilty. In June 2026, Luis Jeffrey Santana pleaded guilty.
On June 9, 2026, additional federal racketeering and drug charges were unsealed charging 26 additional leaders, members and associates of the Lawrence, Haverhill and Boston Chapters of the gang. According to court documents, the Trinitarios have allegedly participated in five additional murders in Essex County since 2017, bringing the total of federally charged murders to 11. Kelvin Liranzo Roman is the 12th defendant to plead guilty in the case
The charge of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity (also known as “racketeering conspiracy” or “RICO conspiracy”) provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker; Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble; and Lynn Police Chief Christopher P. Reddy made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Manchester, N.H. Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
