BOSTON – A member of the Lynn Chapter of the Trinitarios was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for racketeering charges, including his participation in the attempted murder of two victims.
Westyn Lantigua, a/k/a “Wes,” a/k/a “Muddy,” 25, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 135 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In May 2026, Lantigua pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy. Lantigua 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 organize and execute violence, and undertake extensive efforts to maintain the secrecy of the organization and its members.
Photographs and videos showed Lantigua wearing Trinitarios beaded necklaces, making Trinitarios gang signs with his hands and associating with other members and leaders. Lantigua admitted to his membership in the gang and to his participation in a June 2022 shooting outside of a fast-food restaurant in Lynn. Lantigua drove past the drive-thru lane of the restaurant, where a vehicle believed to be used by rival gang members was in line. The vehicle was in fact occupied by two innocent female victims. Surveillance video showed Lantigua’s white Mercedes parked across the street from the exit of the parking lot waiting for the victims’ vehicle to leave.
As the victims’ vehicle left the fast-food restaurant parking lot, surveillance video showed Lantigua exit his vehicle and discharge numerous rounds from a fully automatic firearm at the victims’ vehicle. Both female occupants were hit by gunfire and survived, and their vehicle had 10 bullet holes. Fifteen 9mm casings were recovered at the scene. A review of Lantigua’s cellular phones showed photographs and videos of him possessing a fully automatic handgun around the time of the shooting and showed Lantigua in possession of distribution quantities of drugs.
Lantigua also participated in the Trinitarios conspiracy to conduct burglaries of convenience stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Through these burglaries, the Trinitarios stole lottery tickets that they would cash in shortly after they were stolen. Lantigua participated in multiple such break-ins and was captured on video redeeming stolen tickets with other members of the Trinitarios.
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. 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, members of the Trinitarios have allegedly participated in at least 15 murders in Essex County since 2017. Since 2025, a total of 56 leaders, members and associates have been charged in federal court.
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. 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, Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Ted 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. 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.
