Feds say they've broken up new Brazilian gang before it could get really good at violence

The US Attorney's office this week announced the arrests of 14 people it said were some of the founders of a new Brazilian gang in the Boston area that was beginning to make a name for itself through gun and drug sales - and armed robberies, home invasions and kidnappings.

Members of the nascent Primeiro Comando da Massachusetts were still not very good at their craft, especially the armed robbery and violence parts, according to affidavits by an ATF agent who investigated them. Although they had established a stream of cocaine from New Jersey and boasted of a large supply of guns from Utah, authorities were able to quickly tie some members to an armed robbery and pistol whipping at a Weymouth gas station when, during their escape, one of them either shot himself by accident or was shot by one of the other two gang members with him, leaving behind a bloody sandal and forcing a trip to a Boston emergency room - where police seized additional evidence.

An effort to put pressure on an unspecified rival gang by kidnapping a Peabody girl who knew one of its members led to a standoff with police in Maynard that ended with a SWAT team storming the house.

An attempted armed robbery of a bodega on Brooks Street in East Boston on Oct. 18 by two gang members ended with them fleeing with no money - but one of their faces captured prominently by the store surveillance system. And members were quickly linked to an armed robbery of a pizza guy in Everett on Dec. 9 because they didn't turn off the phone's tracking or think to wipe the phone clean of fingerprints.

Among the people arrested on federal racketeering charges: Marcio "Marcinho" Costa, 28, of Malden, alleged leader of the gang, which the feds say started up only a couple of years ago and whose members were primarily either Brazilian nationals or locals of Brazilian descent.

According to an affidavit by an ATF agent who helped investigate the gang, Costa, who became a US citizen in February, used to live in Somerville but moved to Malden after a gang-related shooting at the Somerville apartment he shared with one of his alleged lieutenants, Joao Pedro "Bahianinho" Marques Guimares Gama, 21, a Brazilian national. Gama moved with Costa to Malden after the gunfire.

According to the affidavit, local and federal authorities became aware of the gang after noticing an uptick in illegal gun sales in Somerville and Malden. ATF engaged two "cooperating witnesses," both Portuguese-speaking immigrants who agreed to work with the feds in part based on a promise of help gaining them US citizenship, to buy guns from gang members. According to the affidavit, the cooperating witnesses made both gun and drug purchases in the parking lots of Stop & Shops in Malden and Somerville.

By the time the investigation was announced on Thursday, authorities had seized 31 firearms, including three shotguns, two sawed-off, and one rifle, as well as several hundred rounds of ammunition. One gang member was captured on a recording saying he had a steady source of guns from Utah; another was captured saying they had a cocaine source in New Jersey.

Although none of the members are charged with murder, Costa had begun talking about it as a gang tool, according to one of the affidavits. Around 8:50 p.m. on March 20, Costa met with an undercover ATF agent posing as a disgruntled courier for a Mexican drug gang to arrange a hit on one of the supposed drug gang's stash houses where it was allegedly storing more than 20 pounds of pure cocaine. According to the affidavit:

Costa asked, "So you mind if we kill those people?" The undercover responded that he did not. Costa stated: "If they have a gun, we should kill those guys." Henrique began to converse with Costa in Portuguese. Costa advised that Henrique was explaining how they needed to conduct the robbery and that Henrique stated they should try not to "kill" the guards, however, he (Costa) thought they "should kill" the guards.

Gang members also used some standard business techniques to win sales - such as gifts to prospective buyers and even offering discounts.

On Dec. 20, during a meeting outside an Everett home to arrange the sale of a gun, alleged gang member Fadwa Chimal, 19, gave one of cooperating witnesses "a small bag of what appeared to be powder cocaine as a 'gift,' " - and then bragged she could get up to five guns a week, none tied to previous shootings.

There was a limit to the gang member's friendliness, however: At a followup meeting in the parking lot of the Malden Stop & Shop, gang member Mouad Nessassi, 21, allegedly warned one of the cooperating witnesses he "would come after him" should anything go wrong. The witness ignored the threat and the deal was consummated after the parties drove to another site.

Following that deal, the affidavit continues, the gang members and the cooperating witnesses continued to negotiate via text on additional gun sales. For one reason or another they were having trouble closing the deal. At one point earlier this month, the ATF agent writes, one gang member agreed to drop the price of a rifle $100 from the price another gang member had offered it just a few days earlier.

Officials said gang members were responsible for various crimes in Malden, Revere, Everett, Somerville, Boston, Marlborough, Weymouth, Framingham, Peabody, Maynard, Lowell, Chelsea and Abington

First ATF affidavit (815k PDF).
Second AT affidavit (1.8M PDF).

Innocent, etc.